Ethnic stereotypes’ reflection by means of modern cinematography

The aim of the research work is to identify the specifics of auto and hetero stereotypes about Americans and Russians on the example of modern cinema in the USA and Russia. It is established that the specificity of ethnic stereotypes represented by modern films of the USA and Russia depends on the culture of the society, the conditions of its development, the depth of contacts between ethnic groups in the process of historical developmen

English idioms peculiarities in political discourse (Based on British and American media)

The article deals with the analysis of idioms functioning in the political discourse reflecting characteristic cultural features based on British and American political text

Efficient Model Learning for Human-Robot Collaborative Tasks

We present a framework for learning human user models from joint-action demonstrations that enables the robot to compute a robust policy for a collaborative task with a human. The learning takes place completely automatically, without any human intervention. First, we describe the clustering of demonstrated action sequences into different human types using an unsupervised learning algorithm. These demonstrated sequences are also used by the robot to learn a reward function that is representative for each type, through the employment of an inverse reinforcement learning algorithm. The learned model is then used as part of a Mixed Observability Markov Decision Process formulation, wherein the human type is a partially observable variable. With this framework, we can infer, either offline or online, the human type of a new user that was not included in the training set, and can compute a policy for the robot that will be aligned to the preference of this new user and will be robust to deviations of the human actions from prior demonstrations. Finally we validate the approach using data collected in human subject experiments, and conduct proof-of-concept demonstrations in which a person performs a collaborative task with a small industrial robot

The phenomenon of multiculturalism in the regional strategizing

The purpose of the article is to justify the possibility of the modernizing development of the region based on the rational use of the potential of a mixed economy of its territories. In contrast to the existing ideas about multiculturalism as a problem, demonstrating the structural imbalances in the economy of the region, the authors view it as a phenomenon that allows the region to provide a competitive advantage. The methodological base of this study is the convergence of the system, synergistic, institutional and endogenous approaches, and sharing a number of theories - growth poles, territorial industrial clusters, balanced development. The article shows the role of the institutional environment in realizing the potential of a diversified economy in the region. It formulates conceptual positions of the mechanism of regional strategizing aimed at the development of relations between territories with the different types of lifestyles. The basis of the interactions is the consensus of economic interests, compromise of competitive aspirations and market positions of the entities as equal partners. It is concluded that there is the need to change the existing system of regional strategizing in terms of strengthening its focus on the formation of the institutional channels for the communication of corporate, small-scale and farm structures. The recommendations on the potential of the mixed economy of the regions were used in the development of the Strategy of investment development for the Rostov region until 2020

Phytopathogenicity of avian mycoplasma Mycoplasma gallisepticum S6: Morphologic and ultracytostructural changes in plants infected with the vegetative forms and the viable but nonculturable forms of the bacterium

The data obtained in this study proved that Mycoplasma gallisepticum S6 known as avian pathogen had a phytopathogenic potential. The vegetative forms and the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) forms of this mycoplasma could infect the plants via an assemblage of rootlets, invade different tissues, persist there and cause destructive events characteristic to phytomycoplasmoses. In comparison with the vegetative forms, the VBNC forms induced more prominent destructive changes. This phenomenon might be connected to increasing expression of proteins responsible for virulence in the bacterial cells. The fact that M. gallisepticum S6 could demonstrate virulent features (infectivity, invasiveness, persistence and toxigenicity) in regard to plants seems to require a development of new ways for controlling phytomycoplasmoses taking into account the probable presence of asymptomatic carriers of this bacterium. © 2009 Elsevier GmbH

Language and cultural code peculiarities within the framework of crosscultural communication

The article deals with the peculiarities of linguistic and cultural code-specific features which have a significant impact on the successful communication process within the framework of intercultural interaction. According to the research work, the basic ground of cross-cultural communication operates with definitions and cultural elements, which are of primary importance in the language-mastering process and adaptation procedure to the foreign language environmen

Genome sequences of Acholeplasma laidlawii strains differing in sensitivity to ciprofloxacin

© 2017 Medvedeva et al. Acholeplasma laidlawii is a well-suited model for study of the molecular basis of the adaptation of mollicutes to environmental conditions. Here we present the whole-genome sequences of four strains of A. laidlawii with differential sensitivity to ciprofloxacin

ДИАГНОСТИЧЕСКИЕ ПРИЗНАКИ ПЕРА КУРООБРАЗНЫХ ПТИЦ

Microstructure of the contour feathers (remex and covert) of 9 species has been compared:Bonasa bonasia, Tetrao urogallus, Lagopus lagopus, Lyrurus tetrix, Coturnix coturnix,Perdix perdix, Francolinus francolinus, Phasianus colchichus, Gallus gallus domesticus.Feathers (one remige and one covert feather) from 3–15 specimens of each specieshave been studied. It is shown, that the length of a wing varies considerably, positivelycorrelating with the size of birds.Сравнивали микроструктуру контурных перьев (маховых и покровных) 9 видов: рябчика, глухаря, белой куропатки, тетерева, перепела, серой куропатки,  обыкновенного турача, обыкновенного фазана, домашней курицы. Изучены перья 3–15 особей каждого вида, по одному маховому и покровному перьев каждой особи. Показано, что длина крыла значительно колеблется, положительно коррелируя с размерами птицы. Наличие перьевой пары служит дополнительным диагностическим признаком

Effects of doping and epitaxy on optical behavior of NaNbO3 films

Cube-on-cube epitaxy of perovskite sub-cell of Pr-doped and undoped NaNbO3 is obtained in 130-nm-thick films on top of (La0.18Sr0.82)(Al0.59Ta0.41)O3 (001) substrates. Experimental studies show that the edge of optical absorption red-shifts and some interband transitions change in the films compared to crystals. Bright red luminescence is achieved at room-temperature under ultraviolet excitation in the Pr-doped film. An interband mechanism of luminescence excitation is detected in the film, which is in contrast to the intervalence charge transfer mechanism in the crystal. The results are discussed in terms of epitaxially induced changes of crystal symmetry and ferroelectric polarization in the films. It is suggested that the band structure and interband transitions in NaNbO3and the transition probabilities in the Pr ions can be significantly modified by these changes.Peer reviewe