Active Research Research Articles

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF THE PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECT OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE CORRECTION OF INFLAMMATION

Osteoarthritis is considered one of the leading causes of chronic disability and is a significant problem on human health and the economy. Chronic pain is the dominant symptom that prompts patients to seek medical attention. Pain mechanisms in osteoarthritis remained unknown for a long time. However, it is known that chronic inflammation of the joint can be a key factor in the occurrence and exacerbation of pain or changes in the perception of pain. Pharmacological therapy is often based on the use of steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but their long-term use or large doses can cause side effects. That is why the development of new methods of treatment of inflammatory processes is the object of active research, as they can affect various mechanisms. In this context, carboxytherapy is an interesting alternative or addition to existing treatment regimens aimed at reducing pain in patients with osteoarthritis. This method involves the administration of medical carbon dioxide (CO2) to improve blood supply to tissues, which can contribute to humoral, biochemical and tissue mechanisms. Studying the effects of carboxytherapy in animal models of inflammation is important for understanding its potential benefits and mechanisms of action. Objective. Study of anti-inflammatory properties of carboxytherapy both in monotherapy and in its combined use. Methods. Carboxytherapy is the injection of carbon dioxide in monotherapy and when used in combination on the formalin model of inflammation in animals. Results. The obtained research results prove the anti-inflammatory properties of carbon dioxide on the model of formalin inflammationin animals. Conclusions. The combined use of carboxytherapy enhanced the effect of conventional drugs on the formalin model of inflammation in animals. The establishment of an anti-inflammatory effect of carboxytherapy indicates the therapeutic value of CO2, while emphasizing the need for further in-depth studies to explore its mechanisms and confirm the efficacy for clinical use.

SCIENTIFIC PROJECT TEAMS MANAGEMENT IN WARTIME REALITIES: PERSONNEL SECURITY ENSURING ASPECTS

The study is devoted to the scientific project teams management in the realities of wartime and personnel security ensuring aspects. The purpose of the work was to identify features that should be taken into account by personnel management and scientific and pedagogical personnel who are heads of scientific projects during the management of project teams engaged in research work under the influence of wartime risks. The research methodology means the use of content analysis and specialized literature processing, as well as taking expert opinion on modern features of scientific project management into account. As a result of the study, features were identified that should be taken into account by managers and scientific and pedagogical staff , including heads of scientific projects, when managing project teams mission is to provide research work under the influence of wartime risks; the characteristic features of the scientific projects management in comparison with applied research were investigated; the peculiarities of the scientific project team formation are determined, personnel risks accompanying the process of implementing a scientific project both in peacetime and in wartime are determined, and proposals are made for optimizing the management of scientific projects in the realities of wartime. The peculiarities of the scientific project team formation have been established, which include: the need for a team member to belong to the work team of a scientific institution or institution of higher education, the team members' compliance with the characteristics of active researchers, their availability of professional publications on the topic of the project; search for people with scientific degrees and scientific titles and united by common scientific interests. The field of application of research results is science management, project management, flexible management and team management in scientific and educational institutions, critical infrastructure enterprises and business structures.

Pharmaceutical Properties of the Phloretin-4,4'-Bipyridine Cocrystal: Structure Analysis, Drug Release Profile, and Antioxidant Activity Research.

To improve the water solubility of phloretin, we synthesized the Phl-4B cocrystal using the solvent evaporation method. Various analytical techniques including powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1HNMR, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) were employed to evaluate the crystal thermodynamics and structure. The results of PXRD and SCXRD showed that it was a new cocrystal crystallized in the P-1 space group of the triclinic system. Thermal analysis confirmed the purity of the Phl-4B cocrystal. The equilibrium solubility of the Phl-4B cocrystal in pH 1.2 was improved. In vitro simulated digestion experiments indicated that the release of the Phl-4B cocrystal followed Fick diffusion. The stability activity of phloretin after pharmaceutical cocrystallization was improved. The antioxidant of the Phl-4B cocrystal was better than that of pure Phl.

FlexiStiff: A Variable Tensile Stiffness Element for Modulating the Behavior of Tensegrity Structures

Soft and tensegrity structures are two configurations that have appeared as robots continue to draw inspiration from nature and diversify beyond rigid machines toward compliant systems. One artificial manifestation of a biological attribute that is an active research topic is the body's capacity to calibrate its stiffness for adapting its behavior to a given task. This study brings together these designs spaces and presents a soft tensile element named FlexiStiff for tensegrity structures to enable transitioning between flexible and stiff states for variable load‐bearing capability and compliance. The device's tensile stiffness constant can be increased by 4400% with a change in pressure. It can provide a high blocking force of 535.5 N and can endure elongation up to 184%. It is assembled using four commercially available materials and a two‐step fabrication method consisting of 3D printing and elastomer curing. As opposed to classical tensegrities for which shape change is inexpensive in terms of energy, this work betokens a new stage in their design wherein the arrangement can radically alter the magnitude of its demand for external energy for shape morphing, a crucial characteristic for operation in partially mapped environments that present diverse terrains and disturbances of varying intensities prompting adaptability.

Curriculum Reform Practices in “Cosmetic Product Formulation Design and Preparation Technology” Under the Perspective of Integration of Industry, Education, and Research

With the upgrading of industries, the cosmetics industry has posed new requirements for technical talents. As a professional core course in cosmetic technology, “Cosmetic Product Formulation Design and Preparation Technology” serves as the foundation for cultivating students’ abilities in cosmetic development and preparation. To foster high-quality skilled talents capable of adapting to the rapid growth of color cosmetics and to better promote the deep integration of scientific and technological industries with curriculum teaching, the teacher team embarked on active explorations and practical teaching research for curriculum teaching reform from four dimensions: strengthening top-level design, enriching teaching content, optimizing teaching design, and reforming assessment methods. These efforts have enhanced students’ comprehensive vocational qualities and innovative consciousness, contributing to the teaching reform in higher vocational colleges under the integration of industry, education, and research.

Analysis of Subsurface Damage Structures of Gallium Nitride Substrates Induced by Mechanical Polishing with Diamond Abrasives

Subsurface damage (SSD) structures induced by mechanical polishing of gallium nitride (GaN) substrates are comprehensively investigated using atomic force microscopy, cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, and cross‐sectional transmittance electron microscopy. The low removal rate of the CMP process is a barrier to high productivity of a GaN wafering process; therefore, reducing the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process time by reducing the depth of SSD induced by mechanical processing is an active research area. To better understand the SSD structures, the surface roughness, SSD depth, and SSD distributions induced by mechanical polishing are quantitatively evaluated in this study. The SSD structures induced by mechanical polishing can be quantitatively exhibited as the SSD distribution with the damage strength at the outermost surface and the damage propagation, which are obtained by CMP process time‐resolved CL imaging method. On the basis of the analysis results, a schematic model of the SSD structures for mechanically polished GaN substrates is proposed.

The Case for Research and Publication in Retirement

This column examines the role of research and publication by retired faculty from two perspectives: the varying ability according to discipline and the extrinsic and intrinsic rewards of remaining an active scholar. Faculty that depend heavily on university support and working in teams such as many STEM areas and some Social Science disciplines will find it harder to remain active researchers. Humanities faculty with a tradition of individual authorship and dependence upon library resources will face fewer barriers. Fine Arts faculty fall in the middle depending on their area. Few retired faculty will receive extrinsic financial rewards and will lose the indirect rewards from their universities as active researchers. The main intrinsic reward is maintaining their self-image as scholars with the ability to share their knowledge. Faculty may continue to get satisfaction from monitoring their influence from their citation and readership counts. The column also recognizes that some faculty will make the valid decision to give up research and publication to focus on other personal rewards.

Evolving Management of Breast Cancer in the Era of Predictive Biomarkers and Precision Medicine.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the world as well as in the United States. Molecular and histological differentiation have helped clinicians optimize treatments with various therapeutics, including hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy. Recently, immunotherapy has become the standard of care in locally advanced triple-negative breast cancer and an option across molecular subtypes for tumors with a high tumor mutation burden. Despite the advancements in personalized medicine directing the management of localized and advanced breast cancers, the emergence of resistance to these therapies is the leading cause of death among breast cancer patients. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify and validate predictive biomarkers to direct treatment selection, identify potential responders, and detect emerging resistance to standard therapies. Areas of active scientific and clinical research include novel personalized and predictive biomarkers incorporating tumor microenvironment, tumor immune profiling, molecular characterization, and histopathological differentiation to predict response and the potential emergence of resistance.

Exploring behaviours of RESTful APIs in an industrial setting

A common way of exposing functionality in contemporary systems is by providing a Web-API based on the REST API architectural guidelines. To describe REST APIs, the industry standard is currently OpenAPI-specifications. Test generation and fuzzing methods targeting OpenAPI-described REST APIs have been a very active research area in recent years. An open research challenge is to aid users in better understanding their API, in addition to finding faults and to cover all the code. In this paper, we address this challenge by proposing a set of behavioural properties, common to REST APIs, which are used to generate examples of behaviours that these APIs exhibit. These examples can be used both (i) to further the understanding of the API and (ii) as a source of automatic test cases. Our evaluation shows that our approach can generate examples deemed relevant for understanding the system and for a source of test generation by practitioners. In addition, we show that basing test generation on behavioural properties provides tests that are less dependent on the state of the system, while at the same time yielding a similar code coverage as state-of-the-art methods in REST API fuzzing in a given time limit.

Transferability of machine-learning-based global calibration models for NO2 and NO low-cost sensors

Abstract. It is essential to accurately assess and verify the effects of air pollution on human health and the environment in order to develop effective mitigation strategies. More accurate analysis of air pollution can be achieved by utilizing a higher-density sensor network. In recent studies, the implementation of low-cost sensors has demonstrated their capability to quantify air pollution at a high spatial resolution, alleviating the problem of coarse spatial measurements associated with conventional monitoring stations. However, the reliability of such sensors is in question due to concerns about the quality and accuracy of their data. In response to these concerns, active research efforts have focused on leveraging machine learning (ML) techniques in the calibration process of low-cost sensors. These efforts demonstrate promising results for automatic calibration, which would significantly reduce the efforts and costs of traditional calibration methods and boost the low-cost sensors' performance. As a contribution to this promising research field, this study aims to investigate the calibration transferability between identical low-cost sensor units (SUs) for NO2 and NO using ML-based global models. Global models would further reduce calibration efforts and costs by eliminating the need for individual calibrations, especially when utilizing networks of tens or hundreds of low-cost sensors. This study employed a dataset acquired from four SUs that were located across three distinct locations within Switzerland. We also propose utilizing O3 measurements obtained from available nearby reference stations to address the cross-sensitivity effect. This strategy aims to enhance model accuracy as most electrochemical NO2 and NO sensors are extremely cross-sensitive to O3. The results of this study show excellent calibration transferability between SUs located at the same site (Case A), with the average model performance being R2 = 0.90 ± 0.05 and root mean square error (RMSE) = 3.4 ± 0.9 ppb for NO2 and R2 = 0.97 ± 0.02 and RMSE = 3.1 ± 0.8 ppb for NO. There is also relatively good transferability between SUs deployed at different sites (Case B), with the average performance being R2 = 0.65 ± 0.08 and RMSE = 5.5 ± 0.4 ppb for NO2 and R2 = 0.82 ± 0.05 and RMSE = 5.8 ± 0.8 ppb for NO. Interestingly, the results illustrate a substantial improvement in the calibration models when integrating O3 measurements, which is more pronounced when SUs are situated in regions characterized by elevated O3 concentrations. Although the findings of this study are based on a specific type of sensor and sensor model, the methodology is flexible and can be applied to other low-cost sensors with different target pollutants and sensing technologies. Furthermore, this study highlights the significance of leveraging publicly available data sources to promote the reliability of low-cost air quality sensors.

Rhodium‐Catalyzed C−H Bond Annulation for the Synthesis of 5‐ and 6‐Membered N‐Heterocyclic Building Blocks

AbstractThe sustainable preparation of N‐heterocycles is one of the most active research areas owing to their predominance as synthetics building blocks with extensive applications in organic, pharmaceutical, and material chemistry fields. Among the various catalytic protocols, the C−H bond functionalization with the concomitant C−N bond formation, so‐called C−H bond annulation, has become one of the most sustainable routes to access N‐heterocycles because it starts from low‐functionalized materials and generates a limited amount of waste, all respecting the concept of atom economy. Rhodium complexes often catalyze these reactions. This review focuses on the synthesis of 5‐ and 6‐membered ring N‐containing heterocycles such as indoles, pyrroles, indolines, (iso)quinolinones, dihydroquinolines, and pyrrolidones from readily available starting materials, with an emphasis on the novel C−H bond cascade synthetic methodologies via C−N/C−C bond formation, as well as on the mechanisms of these reactions, especially the oxidation steps. We hope this review will help researchers looking to prepare N‐heterocycles in a minimum of steps and those who want to develop new methodologies based on C−H bond activation/functionalizations.

The administration of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in pediatric hematology: a literature review

The discovery of immune checkpoints (IC) has become a landmark event in immuno-oncolog y, improving the understanding of the mechanisms of tumor cells evading immune sur veillance. Based on this, a group of drugs such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) were developed, the ef fect of which is due to the rupture of the immunological synapse and recognition by tumor T cells. Currently, ICIs are successfully used in the treatment of a number of malignant neoplasms, improving the indicators of diseasefree and overall sur vival. However, determining the role of these drugs in the treatment of children with tumors of the blood system is the subject of active research. This article presents a review of the literature on topical aspects of the administration of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in pediatric hematolog y. Their mechanisms of action, ef fectiveness and potential complications of therapy are presented.

P-342 Improving consent procedures to increase oocyte donation rates

Abstract Study question Can consent procedures for donation of surplus frozen oocytes be changed to improve donation rates? Summary answer Obtaining informed consent for donation of oocytes after freezing could be improved by adapting new consent procedures used in genomic biomedical research for ART contexts. What is known already The widespread adoption of oocyte cryopreservation has led to a rapid accumulation of oocytes in cryostorage, since the number of people who return to use their eggs remains low. Previous studies show that many people intend to donate their surplus cryopreserved oocytes, but few people actually donate them. Increased rates of donation are required to address chronic shortages of eggs available for both reproductive and research purposes. Study design, size, duration This paper examines whether advances in consent procedures in genomic research and biobanking, such as Dynamic Consent interfaces, could be utilised within the ART context to improve patient experience and oocyte donation rates. Ethical issues with dynamic consent are considered as well as the possible benefits of such a system for potential donors and recipients of oocytes. Participants/materials, setting, methods This paper undertakes ethical analysis of the procedures used for obtaining informed consent in egg freezing for donation of surplus eggs. We consider whether these could be improved and argue that adapting advances in consent procedures, such as dynamic consent interfaces, may help to facilitate donation, with benefits to both donors and recipients. Main results and the role of chance While people freezing eggs often express an intent to donate eggs surplus to their own needs at the start of the freezing process, in few cases does this translate to actual donation. Current processes seek consent for donation at limited times throughout the cryostorage period. Further, some countries such as Australia require that eggs be donated to specific active research projects at the time that eggs are to be relinquished from storage. Factors such as these impede donation and fail to facilitate the initial expressed intent to donate surplus eggs. We hypothesise that consent processes can be improved in ways that may boost rates of donation while still satisfying the requirements of informed consent. Dynamic consent allows continuous review of consent decisions through an online interface. Adaptation of this approach to the context of egg cryopreservation and donation may have several benefits, as continuous communication and review opportunities encourage patient engagement. It may enhance understanding of the need for eggs and increase knowledge of opportunities to donate surplus eggs. While dynamic consent may benefit both potential donors and recipients, careful implementation would be required to ensure compatibility with counselling requirements and other ethical standards for reproductive donation in particular. Limitations, reasons for caution We consider the potential benefits to donors and recipients but do not analyse the costs of implementing such a system of consent for clinics. Further, specific clinics may have consent procedures that differ from the model we use here and may be constrained by regulatory contexts Wider implications of the findings Recent research suggests that cryopreserved oocytes are rarely used or donated. Improving procedures for obtaining informed consent promises to increase rates of donation and improve patient experience. Dynamic consent tools have been widely used in biobanking and genomics research to positive effect but would be novel within the ART context. Trial registration number Not Applicable

Metrological assessment of the carbon tubes behavior under thermal variation for the compensation of 3D devices

Abstract Composite materials are increasingly used in 3D metrology, especially for portable measuring devices such as articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (AACMM), 3D scanners, and ball bars. Their use is justified by their interesting mechanical properties including their low density, good rigidity, and especially their light weight, which makes them ideal for portable devices, that are meant to be often transported by the user. However, due to their complex composition, the characterization of the thermal behavior of composite materials remains complicated compared to standard materials and is nowadays an active research subject. In fact, the coefficient of thermal expansion of composite materials is dependent of the very specific composition of the composite material considered. Hence, it is function of several parameters such as the orientation of the fibers, the fiber volume fraction, the ply sequence, the cooling rate, etc. In the other hand, in 3D metrology, and especially in portable 3D metrology, determining the expansion coefficient of the different part of the measurement devices used is necessary. In fact, the portable measurement machines are often integrated and used directly on the shop floor, where the thermal variations can be important and then heavily impact the measurements results. In some cases, the lack of knowledge of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the composite materials that compose the portable measuring machine can significantly increase the measurement uncertainty.

A comprehensive study of Tianma Toutong Tablets from the dual dimensions of quality and efficacy using fingerprint techniques and network pharmacology

BackgroundThe quality of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the prerequisite for ensuring its safe and effective clinical application. With the increasing popularity of TCM worldwide, the quality control of TCM products has become increasingly crucial. Tianma toutong tablet (TMTTT) is mainly used for migraine caused by external wind and cold, blood stasis, or deficiency of blood and nourishment. However, the mechanism of action of TMTTT is still unclear, and there has been a lack of in vitro antioxidant activity research and migraine treatment mechanism research. Therefore, it is urgent to establish a set of comprehensive and effective evaluation methods. Resultsthree fingerprint profiles were established using HPLC, UV, and DSC analysis methods, and established three digital parameters simple complexity index (SX), simple clarity index (SY), simple complexity clarity ratio (Sω), 22 batches of samples were evaluated using a comprehensive linear quantitative fingerprint method (CLQFM). In addition, the antioxidant activity of the samples was determined using the DPPH method, and the relationship between fingerprint peaks in different fingerprints and antioxidant capacity was explored using Pearson correlation coefficients. Finally, network pharmacological research was conducted to investigate the potential targets, compounds, and pathways involved in the treatment of migraines with TMTTT. The results showed that the 22 batches of samples were classified into different quality grades. TMTTT exhibited good antioxidant activity, the fingerprint-efficacy relationship showed that gastrodin, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, imperatorin and isoimperatorin had strong antioxidant capacity, providing directions for the identification of active compounds. A total of 36 core targets were identified and screened by network pharmacology, which AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1), albumin (ALB), insulin (INS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and compounds such as β-sitosterol, chrysophanol, vanillin are the key to the treatment of migraine, providing references for subsequent clinical research and new drug development. Significance: This study examined the consistency of the quality of TMTTT and the mechanism of action in treating migraines from both quality and efficacy perspectives, providing a favorable direction for further research on TMTTT and offering new ideas for the quality control of TCM compound formulations.

Two Decades of Audiovisual Translation Studies: A Bibliometric Literature Review

Audiovisual Translation (AVT) studies have been among the burgeoning disciplines in translation studies. Although much progress has been made in AVT, there has been little scholarship heretofore to sketch a comprehensive understanding of the domain mapping using bibliometric analysis. Based on a total of 1,424 journal articles collected from the Web of Science Core Collection (SSCI, A&HCI, and ESCI) and Scopus from 2002 to 2022, the publication trends, research progress, research hotspots, and research frontiers were analyzed and visualized using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. The results of this study show that research on AVT has experienced exponential growth in the last two decades and is likely to follow an upward trend in the future. Topics including subtitling, dubbing, audio description, reception, and media accessibility have been frequently explored; and active researchers from Europe and Iran, as well as productive institutes in Europe, the USA, and China, with publications in influential journals, have contributed greatly to AVT studies. The historical development of AVT studies also implies an interdisciplinary trend. These findings provide insights into AVT studies, with a comprehensive overview, which is of great reference significance for researchers in understanding the past achievements of the discipline and carrying out their future research.

Взаимосвязь профессионального выгорания и ранних дезадаптивных схем у экстремальных психологов

<p style="text-align: justify;">Professional burnout is a very common syndrome that affects the well-being of people and the work of entire organizations. It is actively studied on various professional samples, especially on representatives of socionomic professions ("human-to-human"). Over the last decade, early maladaptive schemas (EMS) have been found to be associated with burnout. Despite active research, data on both burnout and EMS in extreme psychologists are lacking. The present study was conducted on this particular sample, which is intended to fill the existing gap. Thirty-six extreme psychologists participated in the study, most of the respondents worked in the emergency department or with hospice patients. The full versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire adapted by N. Vodopyanova for socionomic professions, as well as J. Young’s questionnaire for early maladaptive schemes in the adaptation of P. Kasyanik and E. Romanova. Using correlation analysis, it was found that most EMS were related to burnout. After analyzing the data obtained during the empirical study, an additional hypothesis, and an alternative set of techniques to test it were proposed. The results of the study may be of practical importance for burnout prevention in psychologists of extreme profile.</p>

Using Knowledge Graphs to Analyze the Characteristics and Trends of Forest Carbon Storage Research at the Global Scale

Research on forest carbon storage (FCS) is crucial for the sustainable development of human society given the context of global climate change. Previous FCS studies formed the science base of the FCS field but lacked a macrolevel knowledge summary. This study combined the scientometric mapping tool VOSviewer and multiple statistical models to conduct a comprehensive knowledge graph mining and analysis of global FCS papers (covering 101 countries, 1712 institutions, 5435 authors, and 276 journals) in the Web of Science database as of 2022, focusing on revealing the macro spatiotemporal pattern, multidimensional research status, and topic evolution process of FCS research at the global scale, so as to grasp the status of global FCS research more clearly and comprehensively, thereby facilitating the future decision-making and practice of researchers. The results showed the following: (1) In the past three decades, the number of FCS papers indicated an increasing trend, with a growth rate of 4.66/yr, particularly significant after 2010. These papers were mainly from Europe, the Americas, and Asia, while there was a huge gap between Africa, Oceania, and the above regions. (2) For the research status at the national, institutional, scholar, and journal levels, the USA, with 331 FCS papers and 18,653 total citations, was the most active and influential country in global FCS research; the United States Forest Service topped the influential ranking with 4115 citations; Grant M. Domke and Jerome Chave were the most active and influential FCS researchers globally, respectively. China’s activity (237 papers) and influence (5403 citations) ranked second, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most active research institution in the world. Currently, FCS research is published in a growing number of journals, among which Forest Ecology and Management ranked first in the number of papers (154 papers) and citations (6374 citations). (3) In recent years, the keyword frequency of monitoring methods, driving factors, and reasonable management for FCS has increased rapidly, and many new related keywords have emerged, which means that researchers are not only focusing on the estimation and monitoring of FCS but also increasingly concerned about its driving mechanism and sustainable development.

The project-based learning model of training engineers: exploring opportunities for building an individual learning trajectory from the students’ and instructors’ perspectives

Introduction. The project-based approach into engineering training is an innovative education practice that exemplifies the UNESCO strategy for implementing such practices in education worldwide. The motivation of the study is justified by the fact that the implementation of project-based learning involves building a student learning trajectory, which meets demands for competitive specialists in the automotive industry. The research aimed to investigate opportunities for building students’ learning paths in correlation with the formal performance of the project-based learning model and to elicit issues for its improving. Materials and methods. The study used analysis of previous research and formal performance indicators of the project activity at the Mechanical Engineering Center, where pilot engineering training was launched at Togliatti State University (TSU, Russian Federation). To collect empirical data, an online survey was administered among 118 engineering students (its reliability reached Cronbach’s alpha 0.84), and unstructured and focused interviews among student advisors and project supervisors were conducted. Methods of descriptive statistics and IBM SPSS Statistics 23 package were employed to process the obtained quantitative data. Research results. Quantitative performance indicators of the model demonstrate overall positive dynamics in engineers’ training from 2017 to the present. The study discovered project satisfaction at the Mechanical Engineering Centre (74.1%) and the majority of students (71.9%) evaluate positively project opportunities. The correlation between the project role and the awareness of project opportunities was found (r = 0.23; p < 0.05): all student advisors considered project activity as an opportunity to develop their learning trajectory. However, 14.9% of participants did not consider such project prospects. The focused interview clarified reasons for this choice. Conclusion. The study shows that the correlation between the positive dynamics of formal indicators and assessments of the opportunities of building an individual learning trajectory reveals the need to improve the introduced model in terms of finding the optimal balance between the number of projects and their quality. The study prospects include the formation of students’ readiness and internal motivation for participating in engineering projects. The TSU experience in evaluating the opportunities of forming students’ learning paths through project participation can be helpful for other Russian universities where project-based learning is implemented.

Current Diagnostic Techniques for Pneumonia: A Scoping Review.

Community-acquired pneumonia is one of the most lethal infectious diseases, especially for infants and the elderly. Given the variety of causative agents, the accurate early detection of pneumonia is an active research area. To the best of our knowledge, scoping reviews on diagnostic techniques for pneumonia are lacking. In this scoping review, three major electronic databases were searched and the resulting research was screened. We categorized these diagnostic techniques into four classes (i.e., lab-based methods, imaging-based techniques, acoustic-based techniques, and physiological-measurement-based techniques) and summarized their recent applications. Major research has been skewed towards imaging-based techniques, especially after COVID-19. Currently, chest X-rays and blood tests are the most common tools in the clinical setting to establish a diagnosis; however, there is a need to look for safe, non-invasive, and more rapid techniques for diagnosis. Recently, some non-invasive techniques based on wearable sensors achieved reasonable diagnostic accuracy that could open a new chapter for future applications. Consequently, further research and technology development are still needed for pneumonia diagnosis using non-invasive physiological parameters to attain a better point of care for pneumonia patients.