Conflict Consulting Clinic as a Method of Practical Training of Humanities Students

Conflictology as an educational program aimed at training specialists in the field of conflict resolution includes not only theoretical aspects, it is focused on modern practice. This stems both from the interdisciplinary subject field of conflict management, which combines the fundamental and applied components, as well as the needs of the labor market and the students themselves. At the same time, being in the circle of social sciences and humanities, conflict management faces the traditional challenges for this industry, associated with the most relevant forms of organizing students’ practical work. The article analyzes the unique experience of the clinical form of organizing the practice of students majoring in conflictology, which has been implemented at St. Petersburg State University for 10 years. The practice of students, organized in the form of a conflict consulting clinic, first of all solves the problem of adapting students to the conditions and requirements of the practical activity of a conflictologist. The authors focus on the issues of correlating the clinical form to the requirements of the newest educational standard. The main forms and stages of students’ work in the clinic are presented. The article describes the opportunities of students in acquiring the skills and abilities in conflict resolution, organizing and conducting the negotiation process, mastering conflict management strategies. The authors conclude that the conflict consulting clinic is a complex pedagogical methodology that includes both in-class and out-of-class forms of student practical activity in working with real cases based on client requests and promoting mediation, as well as teacher supervision with rhythmically organized discussion and correction of students’ actions, which ensures due professionalism and quality services provided by students to external consumers

Conflict Potential on Account of Media Extraterritoriality

In the context of the media sphere, people seemed to be simple consumers of a discourse overflowing with symbols. The need to consume those types of products is imposed by the media industry itself, which totally confirms itself by offering satisfaction. The authors of this article set themselves the task of describing the conflict potential of modern media, which have an extraterritorial character and act as tools for constructing a conflict of values and conflict management. The authors highlighted the vitality of the fact that the conflict of values and identity is one of the most severe forms of actualization of contradictions between the subjects of conflict interaction.В контексте медиасферы люди рассматриваются, как потребители дискурса, переполненного символами. Потребность потребления такого рода продуктов накладывается самой медиаиндустрией, тотально себя самоутверждающей путем предложения удовлетворения. Авторы данной статьи ставили перед собой задачу описания конфликтного потенциала современных медиа, имеющих экстерриториальный характер и выступающих в качестве инструментов конструирования конфликта ценностей, управления конфликтом. Авторы отмечают, что конфликт ценностей и идентичности является одной из самых жестких форм актуализации противоречий между субъектами конфликтного взаимодействия

Streamlined vessels for speedboats: Macro modifications of shark skin design applications

Functional properties of shark denticles have caught the attention of engineers and scientist today due to the hydrodynamic effects of its skin surface roughness. The skin of a fast swimming shark reveals riblet structures that help to reduce skin friction drag, shear stresses, making its movement to be more efficient and faster. Inspired by the structure of the shark skin denticles, our team has conducted a study on alternative on improving the hydrodynamic design of marine vessels by applying the simplified version of shark skin skin denticles on the surface hull of the vessels. Models used for this study are constructed and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations are then carried out to predict the effectiveness of the hydrodynamic effects of the biomimetic shark skins on those models. Interestingly, the numerical calculated results obtained shows that the presence of biomimetic shark skin implemented on the vessels give improvements in the maximum speed as well as reducing the drag force experience by the vessels. The pattern of the wave generated post cruising area behind the vessels can also be observed to reduce the wakes and eddies. Theoretically, reduction of drag force provides a more efficient vessel with a better cruising speed. To further improve on this study, the authors are now actively arranging an experimental procedure in order to verify the numerical results obtained by CFD. The experimental test will be carried out using an 8 metre flow channel provided by University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia. © 2018 Author(s)

Acatalasemic mice are mildly susceptible to adriamycin nephropathy and exhibit increased albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis

Background: Catalase is an important antioxidant enzyme that regulates the level of intracellular hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. The effects of catalase deficiency on albuminuria and progressive glomerulosclerosis have not yet been fully elucidated. The adriamycin (ADR) nephropathy model is considered to be an experimental model of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. A functional catalase deficiency was hypothesized to exacerbate albuminuria and the progression of glomerulosclerosis in this model. Methods: ADR was intravenously administered to both homozygous acatalasemic mutant mice (C3H/AnLCs(b)Cs(b)) and control wild-type mice (C3H/AnLCs(a)Cs(a)). The functional and morphological alterations of the kidneys, including albuminuria, renal function, podocytic, glomerular and tubulointerstitial injuries, and the activities of catalase were then compared between the two groups up to 8 weeks after disease induction. Moreover, the presence of a mutation of the toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) gene, which was previously reported in the C3H/HeJ strain, was investigated in both groups. Results: The ADR-treated mice developed significant albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis, and the degree of these conditions in the ADR-treated acatalasemic mice was higher than that in the wild-type mice. ADR induced progressive renal fibrosis, renal atrophy and lipid peroxide accumulation only in the acatalasemic mice. In addition, the level of catalase activity was significantly lower in the kidneys of the acatalasemic mice than in the wild-type mice during the experimental period. The catalase activity increased after ADR injection in wild-type mice, but the acatalasemic mice did not have the ability to increase their catalase activity under oxidative stress. The C3H/AnL strain was found to be negative for the tlr4 gene mutation. Conclusions: These data indicate that catalase deficiency plays an important role in the progression of renal injury in the ADR nephropathy model

Improved blood tests for cancer screening: general or specific?

Diagnosis of cancer at an early stage leads to improved survival. However, most current blood tests detect single biomarkers that are of limited suitability for screening, and existing screening programmes look only for cancers of one particular type. A new approach is needed. Recent developments suggest the possibility of blood-based screening for multiple tumour types. It may be feasible to develop a high-sensitivity general screen for cancer using multiple proteins and nucleic acids present in the blood of cancer patients, based on the biological characteristics of cancer. Positive samples in the general screen would be submitted automatically for secondary screening using tests to help define the likelihood of cancer and provide some indication of its type. Only those at high risk would be referred for further clinical assessment to permit early treatment and mitigate potential overdiagnosis. While the assays required for each step exist, they have not been used in this way. Recent experience of screening for breast, cervical and ovarian cancers suggest that there is likely to be widespread acceptance of such a strategy

A Global Network of Science and Technology Advice in Foreign Ministries

This paper is a product of the International Dialogue on Science and Technology Advice in Foreign Ministries (Vienna Dialogue) in October 2016, involving more than twenty nations and several international organisations. The event was a key step to further develop the Foreign Minister Science and Technology Advisor Network (FMSTAN), growing from an initial group of five nations. The Vienna Dialogue was convened by the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) at the Vienna headquarters of IIASA, bringing together diplomats from foreign ministries to consider the value of evidence for informed decision-making by nations with regard to issues, impacts and resources within, across and beyond national boundaries. The evidence comes from the natural and social sciences with engineering and medicine as well as other areas of technology. By building common interests among nations, science is a tool of diplomacy, promoting cooperation and preventing conflict in our world. Science diplomacy was discussed as an international, interdisciplinary and inclusive process to help balance national interests and common interests in view of urgencies today and across generations in our globally-interconnected civilization

Long non-coding RNAs and cancer: a new frontier of translational research?

Author manuscriptTiling array and novel sequencing technologies have made available the transcription profile of the entire human genome. However, the extent of transcription and the function of genetic elements that occur outside of protein-coding genes, particularly those involved in disease, are still a matter of debate. In this review, we focus on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are involved in cancer. We define lncRNAs and present a cancer-oriented list of lncRNAs, list some tools (for example, public databases) that classify lncRNAs or that scan genome spans of interest to find whether known lncRNAs reside there, and describe some of the functions of lncRNAs and the possible genetic mechanisms that underlie lncRNA expression changes in cancer, as well as current and potential future applications of lncRNA research in the treatment of cancer.RS is supported as a fellow of the TALENTS Programme (7th R&D Framework Programme, Specific Programme: PEOPLE—Marie Curie Actions—COFUND). MIA is supported as a PhD fellow of the FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia), Portugal. GAC is supported as a fellow by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Research Trust, as a research scholar by The University of Texas System Regents, and by the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Global Research Foundation. Work in GAC’s laboratory is supported in part by the NIH/ NCI (CA135444); a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Idea Award; Developmental Research Awards from the Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Brain Cancer, Multiple Myeloma and Leukemia Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grants from the National Institutes of Health; a 2009 Seena Magowitz–Pancreatic Cancer Action Network AACR Pilot Grant; the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the RGK Foundation