Educational Tourism: Tribute to Fashion or New Educational Opportunities?

The relevance of this article lies in the need to study educational tourism as one of the ways to motivate students in educational process.  The article discusses new technologies in the educational process, which must be made more saturated and practically applicable. Visualization and the ability to implement the acquired knowledge can interest students and increase their interest in learning the information included in the curriculum. The purpose of the study is to analyze the importance of educational tourism for students. Research methods: As research methods, the following ones were used: questionnaire survey of participants of educational tours and free-style interviews with teachers and organizers of educational tourism, allowing identifying such characteristics of educational tourism’s value for students as awareness of participants about the project, previous personal experience, interest and satisfaction with the project. Research results: the article considers the importance of educational tourism from the point of view of its participants like students, accompanying teachers, from the point of view of the organizers of the tourist and educational project. The novelty and originality of the research lies in the fact that educational tourism is considered as an alternative to educational activities, which allows not only to make a trip, but also to acquire new knowledge, skills and abilities during it, which will be learned much better than just memorizing the material from the book. It is shown that the value of educational tourism can be assessed if there is knowledge about its components such as interest and personal experience of its participants, satisfaction or dissatisfaction with certain elements of the educational tour, awareness of the project possibilities, features of the organization and implementation of the tour. It is revealed that educational tourism performs not only directly educational, but also socially significant functions for society. The study shows that the project participants perceive the educational component easily and without difficulties and there is a high interest of students in educational tours. It is revealed that the accompanying notes a positive dynamic in the interest in the educational process after participation in the project. Both its participants and its organizers perceive the possibility of expanding the project positively. It is determined that the greatest difficulty in the organization of educational tourism is caused by the lack of support of state structures, which in turn causes difficulty in entering new sites where the project can be implemented. It is shown that the educational component of the project is positively evaluated by both direct consumers and teachers in terms of the correctness in the construction of the narrative and semantic parts. It is shown that to the positive aspects of educational tourism can be attributed the emotional involvement of participants in the educational process during the excursion service, as well as increasing the level of their interest in further study. Practical significance: the data obtained in this work can be used in social psychology, pedagogy, age psychology, pedagogical psychology, as well as for further theoretical development of this issue

The role and impact of information technology on the educational process

Digital technologies have influenced various spheres of social relations, transcending national borders and legal system peculiarities. As a result, the determinants of social relations have been transformed, impacting the educational process. This study aims to examine the current state of the educational process in Ukraine concerning the application of information and telecommunication technologies. During the research, general methods of scientific inquiry were employed, including dialectical, formal-logical, and structural -functional methods, as well as several empirical methods. The conclusion was drawn regarding the necessity of restructuring elements of the educational process, primarily to enable distance learning. Also, the authors of this research identified the absence of a single correct strategy for adapting entrepreneurial entities to digital technologies. Therefore, an approach to structuring the educational process was proposed, highlighting the measures that need to be modified when utilizing digital technologies. The research findings are relevant and useful for the authorities to implement tools to influence the digitalization of education in Ukraine

Functional organization of hsp70 cluster in camel (Camelus dromedarius) and other mammals

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 6 (2011): e27205, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027205.Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is a molecular chaperone providing tolerance to heat and other challenges at the cellular and organismal levels. We sequenced a genomic cluster containing three hsp70 family genes linked with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class III region from an extremely heat tolerant animal, camel (Camelus dromedarius). Two hsp70 family genes comprising the cluster contain heat shock elements (HSEs), while the third gene lacks HSEs and should not be induced by heat shock. Comparison of the camel hsp70 cluster with the corresponding regions from several mammalian species revealed similar organization of genes forming the cluster. Specifically, the two heat inducible hsp70 genes are arranged in tandem, while the third constitutively expressed hsp70 family member is present in inverted orientation. Comparison of regulatory regions of hsp70 genes from camel and other mammals demonstrates that transcription factor matches with highest significance are located in the highly conserved 250-bp upstream region and correspond to HSEs followed by NF-Y and Sp1 binding sites. The high degree of sequence conservation leaves little room for putative camel-specific regulatory elements. Surprisingly, RT-PCR and 5′/3′-RACE analysis demonstrated that all three hsp70 genes are expressed in camel's muscle and blood cells not only after heat shock, but under normal physiological conditions as well, and may account for tolerance of camel cells to extreme environmental conditions. A high degree of evolutionary conservation observed for the hsp70 cluster always linked with MHC locus in mammals suggests an important role of such organization for coordinated functioning of these vital genes.This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project 09-04-00643 and 09-04-00660, project from ‘‘Genofond dynamics’’ program, and Grant of the Program of Molecular and Cellular Biology RAN to Dr. Evgen’ev; and by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation (State contract 14.740.11.0757 and Russia President Grant to young scientists MK-1418.2010.4. The research was supported by State Contract N16.552.11.7034 of Ministry of Education and Science

Xenobiotic-induced activation of human aryl hydrocarbon receptor target genes in Drosophila is mediated by the epigenetic chromatin modifiers

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is the key transcription factor that controls animal development and various adaptive processes. The AHR\u27s target genes are involved in biodegradation of endogenous and exogenous toxins, regulation of immune response, organogenesis, and neurogenesis. Ligand binding is important for the activation of the AHR signaling pathway. Invertebrate AHR homologs are activated by endogenous ligands whereas vertebrate AHR can be activated by both endogenous and exogenous ligands (xenobiotics). Several studies using mammalian cultured cells have demonstrated that transcription of the AHR target genes can be activated by exogenous AHR ligands, but little is known about the effects of AHR in a living organism. Here, we examined the effects of human AHR and its ligands using transgenic Drosophila lines with an inducible human AhR gene. We found that exogenous AHR ligands can increase as well as decrease the transcription levels of the AHR target genes, including genes that control proliferation, motility, polarization, and programmed cell death. This suggests that AHR activation may affect the expression of gene networks that could be critical for cancer progression and metastasis. Importantly, we found that AHR target genes are also controlled by the enzymes that modify chromatin structure, in particular components of the epigenetic Polycomb Repressive complexes 1 and 2. Since exogenous AHR ligands (alternatively - xenobiotics) and small molecule inhibitors of epigenetic modifiers are often used as pharmaceutical anticancer drugs, our findings may have significant implications in designing new combinations of therapeutic treatments for oncological diseases. © Akishina et al

Didactic principles of university information educational systems designing

© Authors. The attention of all parts of perspective education system should be focused on promising information technologies - a catalyst for development. Presenting information as a new resource for society development, the authors determine the didactic basis for designing effective information educational systems. Universal didactic principles for information educational systems design have been developed, the details of which for discipline and for the subject adapt them to the university organizational and pedagogical conditions. The pedagogical management functions in modern educational conditions that determine the students' motivation and stimulation initiation mechanism for mastering a knowledge new system to develop the individual's creative abilities, self-development are revealed. The paper is intended for researchers, teachers, and specialists in the field of information educational technologies

Combination of hypomorphic mutations of the Drosophila homologues of aryl hydrocarbon receptor and nucleosome assembly protein family genes disrupts morphogenesis, memory and detoxification

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor is essential for biological responses to endogenous and exogenous toxins in mammals. Its Drosophila homolog spineless plays an important role in fly morphogenesis. We have previously shown that during morphogenesis spineless genetically interacts with CG5017 gene, which encodes a nucleosome assembly factor and may affect cognitive function of the fly. We now demonstrate synergistic interactions of spineless and CG5017 in pathways controlling oxidative stress response and long-term memory formation in Drosophila melanogaster. Oxidative stress was induced by low doses of X-ray irradiation of flies carrying hypomorphic mutation of spineless, mutation of CG5017, and their combination. To determine the sensitivity of these mutants to pharmacological modifiers of the irradiation effect, we irradiated flies growing on standard medium supplemented by radiosensitizer furazidin and radioprotector serotonin. The effects of irradiation were investigated by analyzing leg and antenna morphological structures and by using real-time PCR to measure mRNA expression levels for spineless, Cyp6g1 and Gst-theta genes. We also examined long-term memory in these mutants using conditioned courtship suppression paradigm. Our results show that the interaction of spineless and CG5017 is important for regulation of morphogenesis, long-term memory formation, and detoxification during oxidative stress. Since spineless and CG5017 are evolutionary conserved, these results must be considered when evaluating the risk of combining similar mutations in other organisms, including humans

Ferro-electric phase transition in a polar liquid and the nature of \lambda-transition in supercooled water

We develop a series of approximations to calculate free energy of a polar liquid. We show that long range nature of dipole interactions between the molecules leads to para-electric state instability at low temperatures and to a second-order phase transition. We establish the transition temperature, T_{c}, both within mean field and ring diagrams approximation and show that the ferro-electric transition may play an important role explaining a number of peculiar properties of supercooled water, such as weak singularity of dielectric constant as well as to a large extent anomalous density behavior. Finally we discuss the role of fluctuations, shorter range forces and establish connections with phenomenological models of polar liquids.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps figure, density anomaly at T=4C analysis adde

Интерстициальное заболевание легких, ассоциированное с системной склеродермией, у пациента с длительным стажем работы мраморщиком

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a disease characterized by vasculopathy, fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, most often complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD). The incidence of SSc reaches 20 cases per 1 million population per year, while changes in the lungs are found in more than half of patients and are characterized by a rapid increase in fibrosis, poorly controlled respiratory failure, and an unfavorable prognosis. It is important to trace the features of the formation and course of ILD and its relationship with occupational hazards in patients diagnosed with SSc. Dust pathology of the respiratory organs (chronic dust bronchitis and silicosis) is most typical for people with long work experience in mining. Silicosis in these patients may be accompanied by SSc with rapid progression of bronchial obstruction, restrictive disorders, as well as myocardial involvement and the development of pulmonary hypertension.Системная склеродермия (ССД) – заболевание, характеризующееся васкулопатией, фиброзом кожи и внутренних органов и наиболее часто осложняющееся интерстициальным заболеванием легких (ИЗЛ). Заболеваемость ССД достигает 20 случаев на 1 млн населения в год, при этом изменения в легких обнаруживаются более чем у половины пациентов и отличаются быстротой нарастания фиброза, плохо контролируемой дыхательной недостаточностью и неблагоприятным прогнозом. Важно проследить особенности формирования и течения ИЗЛ и его связь с профессиональными вредностями у пациентов с диагнозом ССД. Пылевая патология органов дыхания (хронический пылевой бронхит и силикоз) наиболее характерны для людей с длительным стажем работы в отраслях горной промышленности. Силикоз у таких пациентов может сопровождаться ССД с быстрым прогрессированием бронхиальной обструкции, рестриктивных нарушений, а также поражением миокарда и развитием легочной гипертензии

Parent-of-origin effects on nuclear chromatin organization and behavior in a Drosophila model for Williams–Beuren Syndrome

Prognosis of neuropsychiatric disorders in progeny requires consideration of individual (1) parent-of-origin effects (POEs) relying on (2) the nerve cell nuclear 3D chromatin architecture and (3) impact of parent-specific miRNAs. Additionally, the shaping of cognitive phenotypes in parents depends on both learning acquisition and forgetting, or memory erasure. These processes are independent and controlled by different signal cascades: the first is cAMPdependent, the second relies on actin remodeling by small GTPase Rac1 – LIMK1 (LIM-kinase 1). Simple experimental model systems such as Drosophila help probe the causes and consequences leading to human neurocognitive pathologies. Recently, we have developed a Drosophila model for Williams–Beuren Syndrome (WBS): a mutant agnts3 of the agnostic locus (X:11AB) harboring the dlimk1 gene. The agnts3 mutation drastically increases the frequency of ectopic contacts (FEC) in specific regions of intercalary heterochromatin, suppresses learning/memory and affects locomotion. As is shown in this study, the polytene X chromosome bands in reciprocal hybrids between agnts3 and the wild type strain Berlin are heterogeneous in modes of FEC regulation depending either on maternal or paternal gene origin. Bioinformatic analysis reveals that FEC between X:11AB and the other X chromosome bands correlates with the occurrence of short (~30 bp) identical DNA fragments partly homologous to Drosophila 372-bp satellite DNA repeat. Although learning acquisition in a conditioned courtship suppression paradigm is similar in hybrids, the middle-term memory formation shows patroclinic inheritance. Seemingly, this depends on changes in miR-974 expression. Several parameters of locomotion demonstrate heterosis. Our data indicate that the agnts3 locus is capable of trans-regulating gene activity via POEs on the chromatin nuclear organization, thereby affecting behavior