Motivating students to learn English for Professional Purposes (non-linguisticuniversity)

The study aims to investigate the main motivation factors to learn English for Professional Purposes and how they enable the formation of students' English foreign language communicative competence (non-linguistic university). The importance of this subject is caused by the need of effective training professionals able to compete in the modern labor market. The paper suggests the survey of one hundred and fourteen Crimean Business Institute and Tomsk Polytechnic University students. The methods used in the research are a questionnaire and the survey that comprises fifteen items developed to achieve the aim of the study. Three types of survey questions are used to collect the data: open-ended, ordinal scale and multiple-choice questions. The findings reveal that instrumental motivation prevails among students who are learning English for Professional Purposes as they focus on personal or professional interests and contacts, as well as ambitions. The study suggests the list of the most important motivation factors to learn English for Professional Purposes

Hypoxic Adaptation of Mitochondrial Metabolism in Rat Cerebellum Decreases in Pregnancy

Function of brain amino acids as neurotransmitters or their precursors implies changes in the amino acid levels and/or metabolism in response to physiological and environmental challenges. Modelling such challenges by pregnancy and/or hypoxia, we characterize the amino acid pool in the rat cerebellum, quantifying the levels and correlations of 15 amino acids and activity of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (OGDHC). The parameters are systemic indicators of metabolism because OGDHC limits the flux through mitochondrial TCA cycle, where amino acids are degraded and their precursors synthesized. Compared to non-pregnant state, pregnancy increases the cerebellar content of glutamate and tryptophan, decreasing interdependence between the quantified components of amino acid metabolism. In response to hypoxia, the dependence of cerebellar amino acid pool on OGDHC and the average levels of arginine, glutamate, lysine, methionine, serine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan increase in non-pregnant rats only. This is accompanied by a higher hypoxic resistance of the non-pregnant vs. pregnant rats, pointing to adaptive significance of the hypoxia-induced changes in the cerebellar amino acid metabolism. These adaptive mechanisms are not effective in the pregnancy-changed metabolic network. Thus, the cerebellar amino acid levels and OGDHC activity provide sensitive markers of the physiology-dependent organization of metabolic network and its stress adaptations

Effect of a biogenic silica and green-teaflavonoids-based mechanocomposite on Fragaria × ananassa Duch. leaf anatomy in in vitro conditions

For the first time light and scanning electron microscopy have been to reveal changes in the anatomical structure of leaf blades of Fragaria × ananassa Duch. regenerants cultivated in nutrient media supplemented with biogenic silica and green-tea-flavonoids-based mechanocomposite. An increase in the density of stomata per unit area of the leaf, size of the stomatal gaps, thickness of the epidermis and mesophyll have been noted. The revealed changes in the leaf blade structure under mechanocomposite treatment contribute to the further successful acclimatization of regenerants to ex vitro conditions

Effect of a biogenic silica and green-teaflavonoids-based mechanocomposite on

For the first time light and scanning electron microscopy have been to reveal changes in the anatomical structure of leaf blades of Fragaria × ananassa Duch. regenerants cultivated in nutrient media supplemented with biogenic silica and green-tea-flavonoids-based mechanocomposite. An increase in the density of stomata per unit area of the leaf, size of the stomatal gaps, thickness of the epidermis and mesophyll have been noted. The revealed changes in the leaf blade structure under mechanocomposite treatment contribute to the further successful acclimatization of regenerants to ex vitro conditions

On the role of the mitochondrial 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex in amino acid metabolism

Mitochondria are tightly linked to cellular nutrient sensing, and provide not only energy, but also intermediates for the de novo synthesis of cellular compounds including amino acids. Mitochondrial metabolic enzymes as generators and/or targets of signals are therefore important players in the distribution of intermediates between catabolic and anabolic pathways. The highly regulated 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (OGDHC) participates in glucose oxidation via the tricarboxylic acid cycle. It occupies an amphibolic branch point in the cycle, where the energy-producing reaction of the 2-oxoglutarate degradation competes with glutamate (Glu) synthesis via nitrogen incorporation into 2-oxoglutarate. To characterize the specific impact of the OGDHC inhibition on amino acid metabolism in both plant and animal mitochondria, a synthetic analog of 2-oxoglutarate, namely succinyl phosphonate (SP), was applied to living systems from different kingdoms, both in situ and in vivo. Using a high-throughput mass spectrometry-based approach, we showed that organisms possessing OGDHC respond to SP by significantly changing their amino acid pools. By contrast, cyanobacteria which lack OGDHC do not show perturbations in amino acids following SP treatment. Increases in Glu, 4-aminobutyrate and alanine represent the most universal change accompanying the 2-oxoglutarate accumulation upon OGDHC inhibition. Other amino acids were affected in a species-specific manner, suggesting specific metabolic rearrangements and substrate availability mediating secondary changes. Strong perturbation in the relative abundance of amino acids due to the OGDHC inhibition was accompanied by decreased protein content. Our results provide specific evidence of a considerable role of OGDHC in amino acid metabolism

Up-regulation of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase as a stress response

2-Oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (OGDHC) operates at a metabolic cross-road, mediating Ca2+- and ADP-dependent signals in mitochondria. Here, we test our hypothesis that OGDHC plays a major role in the neurotransmitter metabolism and associated stress response. This possibility was assessed using succinyl phosphonate (SP), a highly specific and efficient in vivo inhibitor of OGDHC. Animals exposed to toxicants (SP, ethanol or MnCl2), trauma or acute hypoxia showed intrinsic up-regulation of OGDHC in brain and heart. The known mechanism of the SP action as OGDHC inhibitor pointed to the up-regulation triggered by the enzyme impairment. The animal behavior and skeletal muscle or heart performance were tested to correlate physiology with the OGDHC regulation and associated changes in the glutamate and cellular energy status. The SP-treated animals exhibited interdependent changes in the brain OGDHC activity, glutamate level and cardiac autonomic balance, suggesting the neurotransmitter role of glutamate to be involved in the changed heart performance. Energy insufficiency after OGDHC inhibition was detectable neither in animals up to 25 mg/kg SP, nor in cell culture during 24 h incubation with 0.1 mM SP. However, in animals subjected to acute ethanol intoxication SP did evoke energy deficit, decreasing muscular strength and locomotion and increasing the narcotic sleep duration. This correlated with the SP-induced decrease in NAD(P)H levels of the ethanol-exposed neurons. Thus, we show the existence of natural mechanisms to up-regulate mammalian OGDHC in response to stress, with both the glutamate neurotransmission and energy production potentially involved in the OGDHC impact on physiological performance