Design of the University Mobile Educational Environment

The article addresses issues related to the description of the aspects of the instructional design of a mobile educational environment of a modern higher education institution. The authors give the definitions of the mobile educational environment, describe its functional features, and also consider the requirements for its instructional design and development. The article presents the clustering of digital services for the full implementation of a mobile educational environment (services for planning and supporting educational activities, services for organizing and supporting educational activities, communication and feedback services, general information services). The results of the experimental research to identify the attitude of students, teachers and administrative workers to the functional significance of mobile technologies and their application in the educational process are presented

Endothelial dysfunction in adolescents with arterial hypertension: results of rheovasographic evaluation and heart rate variability analysis

Background As a major regulator of local vascular homeostasis, the endothelium maintains vascular tone through the balance between vasodilatation and vasoconstriction. Upsetting this tight balance leads to endothelial dysfunction . The latter is thought to be a marker of future cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. The purpose of this research was to assess endothelial vasomotor function with relation to heart rate variability in adolescents with arterial hypertension. Material and methods 56 adolescents (33 males, 23 females, aged 22 ± 2 years) were subdivided into equal groups (regarding gender, age, body mass index and genetic burden) according to hypertension appearance and smoking habits. All of them underwent forearm rheovasography with measurements of reactive hyperemia test heart rate variability being taken (a five-minute recording). As reliable values for evaluating endothelial function, relative changes in the peak blood flow velocity (DdZ/ /dT) and pulse blood volume (DdV) at the 1st min after reperfusion were used. The following parameters of the time (RRNN, SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, CV) and frequency (TP, VLF, LF, HF; LF/HF) domain analysis were used for assessing heart rate modulation. Results Our analysis elicited a significant difference in both velocity and volume characteristics between hypertensive smokers and healthy individuals. Endothelial function in hypertensive non-smoking patients and normotensive smokers was also impaired. Heart rate variability was decreased and sympathetic tone prevailed in hypertensive adolescents. Both are associated with endothelial dysfunction. Conclusions Endothelial function is likely to be impaired in hypertensive adolescents, particularly among those who smoke. Moreover, heart rate variability is decreased and sympathetic tone prevails with relation to endothelial dysfunction towards the autonomic imbalance

ПРОГНОЗУВАННЯ РЕЗУЛЬТАТИВНОСТІ ІННОВАЦІЙНИХ ПРОЄКТІВ

The article examines the role of innovations in the development of the national economy. We have analyzed the dynamics of budget financing of strategic priorities of innovative activities and activities in the field of technology transfer in Ukraine for 2019-2021. Priorities support increases annually, and there were identified priorities where funding  decreases.We conducted a predictive assessment of innovative projects using the clustering procedure. The implementation of the proposed proposal is highlighted in the example of 46 research works in the medical field. A scoring system for planned scientific results and products of research work has been developed, and relative values of indicators were calculated,  which were the basis of clustering. The Fuzzy Clustering and Data Analysis  Toolbox program set is used to solve the problem of fuzzy clustering based  on the fuzzy c-means algorithm. It was determined that factors such as  novelty, the expected effect of implementation, the methodological level and  material and technical base of the study, and the qualifications of the  main performers of the study have an impact on the predictive effectiveness  and the final results. The results of clustering research work according to the specified indicators, and three clusters were obtained. Analysis of the structure of indicators in clusters showed that the first cluster includes the most effective research works and the second – intermediate ones. The  hird cluster includes ineffective scientific research. Attribution of the planned research to a certain cluster based on expert evaluations of four  selected informative indicators allows for predicting the possible  ffectiveness of the innovation with sufficient accuracy.The statistic of indicators of average scores in each cluster was analyzed. Reliable differences between clusters were established using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. The conducted clustering provides reasonable recommendations regarding the feasibility of financing  an innovative project based on forecast expert assessments. У статті розглянуто роль інновацій у розвитку національної економіки.  Проаналізовано динаміку бюджетного фінансування стратегічних  пріоритетів інноваційної діяльності та діяльності у сфері трансферу  технологій в Україні за 2019–2021 роки. Визначено пріоритети, підтримка  яких зростає щорічно, та пріоритети, де фінансування зменшується. Запропоновано здійснювати прогнозну оцінку інноваційних проєктів з використанням процедури кластреризації.  Висвітлено реалізацію винесеної пропозиції на прикладі науково-дослідних робіт медичної сфери. Показано бальну систему експертної  оцінки інноваційних розробок. Визначено показники, що мають  найбільший вплив на прогнозну ефективність. Наведено результати кластеризації науково-дослідних робіт за визначеними показниками. Проаналізовані статистичні показники середніх бальних оцінок в  кожному кластері. Встановлено достовірні відмінності між кластерами з використанням непараметричного критерію Манна–Уітні. Проведена  кластеризація дає обґрунтовані рекомендації щодо доцільності  фінансування інноваційного проєкту на основі прогнозних експертних оцінок.

Молекулярно-генетический полиморфизм популяций американской норки (Neovison vison) в модельных звероводческих хозяйствах и на прилегающих к ним территориях в Беларуси

American mink (Neovison vison) is both a problematic invader and an economically valuable fur breed species in Belarus. The increasing scale of mink breeding for fur and the growing impact of this invasive species on the local ecosystems requires sound, novel strategies for managing both farm and wild populations. Containment of wild American mink populations under the effects of possible migration from the fur farms could be especially problematic. With that issue in mind, we have used microsatellite analysis todetermine the genetic polymorphism in two color breeds of farm-bred American mink in the populations of several Belorussian model fur farms, as well as the same characteristics for the feral populations on the territories adjacent to said fur farms. We confirm the presence of effective influx of mink into the wild from fur farms, determined through the means of analyzing microsatellite genotype data of feral and farm populations.Американская норка (Neovison vison) в Беларуси является одновременно проблематичным инвазивным и экономически значимым хозяйственным видом. Растущие масштабы хозяйственного разведения на мех и увеличивающееся воздействие этого вида на локальные экосистемы требует принятия надежной и последовательной стратегии менеджмента его диких и хозяйственных популяций. Этот подход поднимает проблематику контроля диких популяций американской норки в условиях потенциальной миграции особей в дикую среду из звероводческих хозяйств – встает вопрос наличия факта побегов особей в дикую среду в Беларуси. С целью разрешения этого вопроса мы осуществили генетический анализ двух хозяйственных популяций американской норки, а также диких групп на сопряженной со зверохозяйствами территории, использовав в качестве генетических маркеров микросателлиты, чем подтвердили наличия эффективного потока особей в дикую среду из зверохозяйств, а также привели характеристики генетического полиморфизма для рассматриваемых популяций американской норки

Synthetic Polymers Provide a Robust Substrate for Functional Neuron Culture

Substrates for neuron culture and implantation are required to be both biocompatible and display surface compositions that support cell attachment, growth, differentiation, and neural activity. Laminin, a naturally occurring extracellular matrix protein is the most widely used substrate for neuron culture and fulfills some of these requirements, however, it is expensive, unstable (compared to synthetic materials), and prone to batch-to-batch variation. This study uses a high-throughput polymer screening approach to identify synthetic polymers that supports the in vitro culture of primary mouse cerebellar neurons. This allows the identification of materials that enable primary cell attachment with high viability even under “serum-free” conditions, with materials that support both primary cells and neural progenitor cell attachment with high levels of neuronal biomarker expression, while promoting progenitor cell maturation to neurons.Biomaterials & Tissue Biomechanic

МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ ПРОЦЕССА ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ТОПОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ СТРУКТУР В СЛОЯХ ВАКУУМНОГО РЕЗИСТА

The modeling of formation of topological structures with 3D elements of various sizes and configurations in а vacuum resist exposed to pulsed laser radiation with different energy density was carried out. It was found experimentally that the simulation allows predicting the actual parameters of lithography laser systems for high-quality formation of 3D topology elements in layers of vacuum resist when creating masks. Изучены методом моделирования процессы формирования топологичеких структур с 3D-элементами различных размеров и конфигурации в слоях вакуумного резиста импульсным лазерным излучением с разной плотностью энергии. Экспериментально установлено, что моделирование позволяет прогнозировать реальные параметры работы установок лазерной вакуумной микролитографии для качественного формирования 3D-элементов топологии в слоях вакуумного резиста при создании масок.

Peculiarities of Epidemiological Situation on the West Nile Fever in 2012 in the Territory of the Russian Federation

During the epidemic season of 2012 453 cases of West Nile fever (WNF) were registered in the territory of the 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Epidemic process is spreading itself towards the northern regions of Russia. The presence of markers of West Nile fever virus in carriers and vectors of the disease as well as acquired immunity among the population against the West Nile virus (WNV) have been identified in the territory of 53 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The epidemic process is characterized by a number of peculiarities concerning both its epidemiological and clinical aspects. With the intensification of diagnostic works among the patients with clinical symptomatology similar to WNF, first and foremost in the territories where WNV markers have been detected, prognosticated is the registration of WNF incidence among the population extending over a large area of the Russian Federation

Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Astrocyte Functionality Compares Favorably with Primary Rat Astrocytes

Astrocytes are essential for the formation and maintenance of neural networks. However, a major technical challenge for investigating astrocyte function and disease-related pathophysiology has been the limited ability to obtain functional human astrocytes. Despite recent advances in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) techniques, primary rodent astrocytes remain the gold standard in coculture with human neurons. We demonstrate that a combination of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4) directs hPSC-derived neural precursor cells to a highly pure population of astroglia in 28 d. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we confirm the astroglial identity of these cells and highlight profound transcriptional adaptations in cocultured hPSC-derived astrocytes and neurons, consistent with their further maturation. In coculture with human neurons, multielectrode array recordings revealed robust network activity of human neurons in a coculture with hPSC-derived or rat astrocytes [3.63 ± 0.44 min−1 (hPSC-derived), 2.86 ± 0.64 min−1 (rat); p = 0.19]. In comparison, we found increased spike frequency within network bursts of human neurons cocultured with hPSC-derived astrocytes [56.31 ± 8.56 Hz (hPSC-derived), 24.77 ± 4.04 Hz (rat); p &lt; 0.01], and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings revealed an increase of postsynaptic currents [2.76 ± 0.39 Hz (hPSC-derived), 1.07 ± 0.14 Hz (rat); p &lt; 0.001], consistent with a corresponding increase in synapse density [14.90 ± 1.27/100 μm2 (hPSC-derived), 8.39 ± 0.63/100 μm2 (rat); p &lt; 0.001]. Taken together, we show that hPSC-derived astrocytes compare favorably with rat astrocytes in supporting human neural network activity and maturation, providing a fully human platform for investigating astrocyte function and neuronal-glial interactions.</p

WEST NILE FEVER WORLDWIDE AND IN THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN 2016, AND FORECAST OF EPIDEMIC SITUATION DEVELOPMENT IN 2017

In Europe, as in Russia and Canada, outlined was a tendency to the increase in the morbidity rates, while in the US – the incidence was somewhat lower as compared to previous years. On the whole, West Nile fever incidence rates in the Russian Federation by regions during the epidemic season, 2016 were below the average long-term index. Above the average regional annual incidence rates were registered in the Saratov region only and accounted for 64 % of all reported cases in Russia. Analysis of the monitoring results indicated the circulation of WNF virus markers in carriers of the pathogen in 10 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the presence of IgG antibodies in healthy population cohorts in 30 RF entities. According to molecular-genetic typing of WNF virus samples from a deceased patient in the Astrakhan Region and mosquito Culex samples from the Volgograd Region, WNF virus genotype I was established. Forecasting of epidemiological situation development for the year 2017 does not rule out the possibility of local increase in WNF incidence in certain regions of Russia