Verbalization of the Concept "Machine" in the Linguistic World Views of Russian and English Speakers

The paper focuses on the verbalization of the concept of "machine" in the Russian and English linguistic conceptions of the world. The study provides a comparative analysis of representation of the concept "machine" in two cultures and reveals ethnocultural specificity for Russian and English speakers. The significance of the work is due to the interest of modern linguistics and the Intercultural Communication Theory in the process of encoding a national mentality in the form of linguistic units. The authors describe ethnoculutural similarities and differences in the verbalization of the concept “machine” in Russian and English

Influence of Nanoparticles Deposition Conditions on the Microarc Coatings Properties

The surface charge of biomaterials significantly contributes to such processes as protein adsorption or biofilm formation and consequently osseointegration bone tissue and implant. There are a set of methods to create a charge on dielectric biomaterials surface. One of the perspective methods of materials electrization is an introduction of the nanoparticles with appropriate biomedical properties into biomaterial. Boehmite AlO(OH) nanoparticles is perspective for the biomaterials surface modification due to its high surface area and positive charge. In this work, the investigations of microarc calcium phosphate biocoatings modified by boehmite nanoparticles on the Ti substrate were presented. A variation of the nanoparticles deposition parameters allowed producing calcium phosphate coatings with different morphology and boehmite nanoparticles size distribution. The investigations of the modified coatings by the transmission and scanning electron microscopy methods are presented in the work

Student-Centered Learning: The Experience of Teaching International Students in Russian Universities

The paper focuses on the use of student-centered technologies when teaching international students of the Preparatory Department in the Russian language. The authors review such technologies as problem-based learning, search, research, and design technologies. The main emphasis is on gaming technologies. The feasibility of their use arises from the specific character of education of international students at the Preparatory Department. The paper presents potential applications of these methods and validates their use. The main supporting argument is that student-centered communicative technologies in general, and gaming techniques in particular, improve the quality of training for international students when used in the organization of the learning process. The authors emphasize the need for the teacher's personal activity in the educational process, including the use of student-centered communication technologies

Mutants of phage bIL67 RuvC with enhanced Holliday junction binding selectivity and resolution symmetry

Viral and bacterial Holliday junction resolvases differ in specificity with the former typically being more promiscuous, acting on a variety of branched DNA substrates, while the latter exclusively targets Holliday junctions. We have determined the crystal structure of a RuvC resolvase from bacteriophage bIL67 to help identify features responsible for DNA branch discrimination. Comparisons between phage and bacterial RuvC structures revealed significant differences in the number and position of positively-charged residues in the outer sides of the junction binding cleft. Substitutions were generated in phage RuvC residues implicated in branch recognition and six were found to confer defects in Holliday junction and replication fork cleavage in vivo. Two mutants, R121A and R124A that flank the DNA binding site were purified and exhibited reduced in vitro binding to fork and linear duplex substrates relative to the wild-type, while retaining the ability to bind X junctions. Crucially, these two variants cleaved Holliday junctions with enhanced specificity and symmetry, a feature more akin to cellular RuvC resolvases. Thus, additional positive charges in the phage RuvC binding site apparently stabilize productive interactions with branched structures other than the canonical Holliday junction, a feature advantageous for viral DNA processing but deleterious for their cellular counterparts

Marine Invertebrate Extracts Induce Colon Cancer Cell Death via ROS-Mediated DNA Oxidative Damage and Mitochondrial Impairment

Marine compounds are a potential source of new anticancer drugs. In this study, the antiproliferative effects of 20 invertebrate marine extracts on three colon cancer cell models (HGUE-C-1, HT-29, and SW-480) were evaluated. Extracts from two nudibranchs (Phyllidia varicosa, NA and Dolabella auricularia, NB), a holothurian (Pseudocol ochirus violaceus, PS), and a soft coral (Carotalcyon sp., CR) were selected due to their potent cytotoxic capacities. The four marine extracts exhibited strong antiproliferative effects and induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/Mtransition, which evolved into early apoptosis in the case of the CR, NA, and NB extracts and necrotic cell death in the case of the PS extract. All the extracts induced, to some extent, intracellular ROS accumulation, mitochondrial depolarization, caspase activation, and DNA damage. The compositions of the four extracts were fully characterized via HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS analysis, which identified up to 98 compounds. We propose that, among the most abundant compounds identified in each extract, diterpenes, steroids, and sesqui- and seterterpenes (CR); cembranolides (PS); diterpenes, polyketides, and indole terpenes (NA); and porphyrin, drimenyl cyclohexanone, and polar steroids (NB) might be candidates for the observed activity. We postulate that reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation is responsible for the subsequent DNA damage, mitochondrial depolarization, and cell cycle arrest, ultimately inducing cell death by either apoptosis or necrosis.This research was funded by projects AGL2015-67995-C3-1-R, AGL2015-67995-C3-2-R AGL2015-67995-C3-3-R, RTI2018-096724-B-C21, and 2018-096724-B-C22 from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; Project P11-CTS-7625 from Andalusian Regional Government Council of Innovation and Science; projects PROMETEO/2012/007, PROMETEO/2016/006, and VALi+D fellowship (ACIF/2015/158) from Generalitat Valenciana to VR-Tand CIBER (CB12/03/30038, Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición, CIBERobn)

Pnc1 piggy-back import into peroxisomes relies on Gpd1 homodimerisation.

Peroxisomes are eukaryotic organelles that posttranslationally import proteins via one of two conserved peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS1 or 2) mediated pathways. Oligomeric proteins can be imported via these pathways but evidence is accumulating that at least some PTS1-containing monomers enter peroxisomes before they assemble into oligomers. Some proteins lacking a PTS are imported by piggy-backing onto PTS-containing proteins. One of these proteins is the nicotinamidase Pnc1, that is co-imported with the PTS2-containing enzyme Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1, Gpd1. Here we show that Pnc1 co-import requires Gpd1 to form homodimers. A mutation that interferes with Gpd1 homodimerisation does not prevent Gpd1 import but prevents Pnc1 co-import. A suppressor mutation that restores Gpd1 homodimerisation also restores Pnc1 co-import. In line with this, Pnc1 interacts with Gpd1 in vivo only when Gpd1 can form dimers. Redirection of Gpd1 from the PTS2 import pathway to the PTS1 import pathway supports Gpd1 monomer import but not Gpd1 homodimer import and Pnc1 co-import. Our results support a model whereby Gpd1 may be imported as a monomer or a dimer but only the Gpd1 dimer facilitates co-transport of Pnc1 into peroxisomes

Cloning, purification and preliminary crystallographic analysis of a putative pyridoxal kinase from Bacillus subtilis

A putative pyridoxal kinase from B. subtilis has been cloned, overexpressed, purified and crystallized and data have been collected to 2.8 Å resolution

Capital investment of overseas Vietnamese to the economy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The paper explores the vital issues of attracting investment from Vietnamese emigrants of different generations to the economy of the present-day Vietnam. We give the definition of the Vietnamese Diaspora (Viet Kieu) and a short overview of emigrant waves. In addition, we explain how leaders of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam have interacted with overseas Vietnamese and their organizations in the field of economy over the years. The paper demonstrates geographic differences existing in this type of investment. Further, we outline the measures taken to encourage the Viet Kieu investment in the country’s economy as well as the success rate of these measures. Finally, we specify the barriers to investing in the national economy of Vietnam for "overseas fellow nationals"