APPROACHES TO ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND WAYS TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLICATION ACTIVITY IN THE LARGE MEDICAL SCHOOL

The article deals with the topical problem associated with the evaluation methodology of publication activity and ways to stimulate the publication activity in a large medical school. There is investigated the development of theregulatory framework in relation to the structural modernization of the public sector science. We apply anintegrated approach to performance evaluation based on expert evaluation of the importance of research and bibliometric analysis in the citation index. The article presents the structure and functionality of the publication activity indicators. A list of criteria for effectiveness of the medical school as a part of the «road map» is given. Methods of improving the publication activity and ways for its promotion at author’ and organization level are presented. The key factors forsuccessfulness of organizational and administrative measures to improve the publication activity and university rankings are computer support of R&D and scientific communication, acquisition of new above professional and inter-professional skills and competences by researchers, implementation of effective analytical online resources, monitoring of research activities, special seminars for training researchers to operate online resources

Children’s Creativity and Personal Adaptation Resources

The study provides insights into the aspects of creativity, the structure of psychometric intelligence, and personal adaptation resources of senior preschool children. Creativity and intelligence are presented as general adaptation resources. Existing studies of creative ability and creativity as integral individual characteristics in the context of adaptation are analyzed. The aim is to identify varied sets of creativity and personal adaptation resource markers that differentiate groups of children in order to determine possible strategies for adaptation, preservation, and development of their creative abilities at the beginning of lyceum schooling. It embraces the use of the E. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (figural version), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), and the G. Rorschach Test. A sample of the study consisted of 122 children, aged 6–7 and enrolled in a school. The average IQ score among the children was above 115 (M = 133.7, σ = 9.9). The entire sample was divided into four groups by the originality-elaboration ratio according to the TTCT. The correctness of the children’s division into the groups according to the markers of creativity and personal adaptation resources is confirmed by the discriminant analysis. We have identified the factor structure of creativity, intelligence, and personal adaptation resources in the entire sample of children and in each of the groups. In the group of preschoolers with high originality and elaboration, the resulting structure integrated the components of creativity with personal adaptation resources and intelligence scores. In the group of children with a low level of originality and elaboration, the markers of creativity, intelligence, and personal adaptation resources are not interlinked

Printable Alginate Hydrogels with Embedded Network of Halloysite Nanotubes: Effect of Polymer Cross-Linking on Rheological Properties and Microstructure

Rapidly growing 3D printing of hydrogels requires network materials which combine enhanced mechanical properties and printability. One of the most promising approaches to strengthen the hydrogels consists of the incorporation of inorganic fillers. In this paper, the rheological properties important for 3D printability were studied for nanocomposite hydrogels based on a rigid network of percolating halloysite nanotubes embedded in a soft alginate network cross-linked by calcium ions. Particular attention was paid to the effect of polymer cross-linking on these properties. It was revealed that the system possessed a pronounced shear-thinning behavior accompanied by a viscosity drop of 4–5 orders of magnitude. The polymer cross-links enhanced the shear-thinning properties and accelerated the viscosity recovery at rest so that the system could regain 96% of viscosity in only 18 s. Increasing the cross-linking of the soft network also enhanced the storage modulus of the nanocomposite system by up to 2 kPa. Through SAXS data, it was shown that at cross-linking, the junction zones consisting of fragments of two laterally aligned polymer chains were formed, which should have provided additional strength to the hydrogel. At the same time, the cross-linking of the soft network only slightly affected the yield stress, which seemed to be mainly determined by the rigid percolation network of nanotubes and reached 327 Pa. These properties make the alginate/halloysite hydrogels very promising for 3D printing, in particular, for biomedical purposes taking into account the natural origin, low toxicity, and good biocompatibility of both components