Identification Of Common Features Research Articles

BRICS Expanding in the Light of the Principles of International Law

Introduction. Starting from January 1, 2024, Argentina3, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should acquire membership of the alliance with the former acronym “BRICS” due to the decision adopted by its XV Summit held on August 22–24, 2023. According to one of the official acts classified as a guide for Russian National Policy in International Affairs, namely the “Concept of Russia’s Participation in BRICS”, approved by the President of the Russian Federation back in 2013, BRICS is to be deemed as a valid tool for strengthening the interstate cooperation. Taking into account other dimensions, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive strategy for cooperation between the alliance countries and define mutually agreed principles of partnership. Theoretical Basis. Methods. The research provides the analysis of the doctrinal positions of the most qualified domestic and expatriate publicists in international law, effective international treaties and international legal acts of the United Nations, official documents (declarations) of the annual BRICS summits, materials of the UN International Law Commission regarding its papers on the topic “Peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)”, outcome of the International Court of Justice practice as of the main judicial organ within the United Nations. In the course of performing the research, a number of general and particular scientific methods of cognition were used, including methods of systemic, structural and functional analysis, formal logic, deduction and induction, the method of comparative law, formal legal analysis and historical retrospective approach. The latter are especially productive in the study of the genesis and evolution of the concepts of “principle” in international law, “international organization”, integration, “paraorganization”, “multipolar world”, etc. Results. Both the BRICS emergence and expanding stand as direct challenge to such an international order, which proceeds from the inviolability of the existence of a single “decision-making center” (i. e., the United States and its satellites) as its core basis. In this aspect, resultant from the outcome of the XIV and XV summits held in 2022 and 2023, as well as of a new configuration of multilateralism previously initiated by China in Johannesburg (July 2018) for states that expressed ambition to cooperate with BRICS (PartNIR – “Partnership in the field of a new Industrial Revolution”), in the functioning of BRICS have been developed atypical models for involving third countries into partnership, including interaction with the countries of the region of the state chairing the group, which is carried out within the “BRICS-outreach” format. In light of the above, the study of such aspects pertaining to the theory and practice of international law as the application of the basic principles of international law and jus cogens norms to such cooperation in order to implement multilateralism, as well as the development of special principles of cooperation within the framework of BRICS should be raised to the rank of a specific subject of analysis. Discussion and Conclusion. In the course of the research, certain theses were formulated which relate to the analysis of current relationships of the “five” – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, accompanied by the assessment of the prospects for the forthcoming future in cooperation of the alliance under new formats. Thus, within the framework of BRICS, preference is given to multilateral or bilateral agreements, as opposed to the institutionalization (which involves coordinating the relationships of the involved parties by creating an international organization/institution). The identification of common features with universally widespread forms, on the one hand, and the distinctive properties of the international legal instruments used by the BRICS, on the other one, in no way deprives the analyzed segment of interstate cooperation of the “cementing” elements inherent to the entire system of international law, which include “basic principles”, “peremptory norms of general international law (jus cogens)”, as well as sectoral and special principles of legal regulation of interstate (“inter-governmental”) public relationship.

Contrastive approach in teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language

The article continues a series of studies dedicated to teaching the Ukrainian language to foreign students who either know or have experience in studying Russian. This group comprises foreigners from post-Soviet countries, as well as foreign master’s and postgraduate students who previously studied in Ukrainian higher education institutions in Russian. In compliance with the Law on Education, they are now studying Ukrainian or learning it as the state language of their current country of study. The mastery of a new foreign language, as is commonly known, is built upon existing speaking experience, which determines the methodological necessity of comparing the systems of the known language with the language being studied. Such a comparative analysis allows the identification of common features in both languages and facilitates the application of previously acquired knowledge and skills in learning a new foreign language. Interference, understood as the interaction of different language systems, directly impacts the acquisition of a new language system. The foundation for studying and regulating interference processes lies in the contrastive approach. Contrastive linguistics aims to identify differences and similarities between modern languages, aiding in determining the directions of interference and explaining the cause of typical errors. In our previous articles, we explored interference effects when Russian-speaking foreigners studied the Ukrainian language, focusing on phonetics, grammar, and syntax. These studies involved a comparative analysis of the functional-communicative organization of sentences, exemplified by the examination of ways to express subject-predicate relations in Ukrainian and Russian. Functional-communicative grammar emphasizes the pivotal role of syntax as a system that organizes all other language levels. It views a sentence from a communicative organizational perspective as an utterance formed according to a specifically defined structural scheme, with the structural core being the predicate. The predicate designates specific positions for the participants in the situation described by the proposition (subject names or actants) and their quantity. The proposed article investigates various types of extenders for the predicative centre of sentences, considers primary methods of expressing object, meaning, and circumstantial relations in both simple and complex sentences, and highlights key differences in expressing these relations between Ukrainian and Russian. These differences merit the attention of Russian-speaking learners to prevent interference errors. The methodical recommendations provided herein may prove beneficial to teachers and methodologists in developing training programs, crafting textbooks, and designing teaching materials for Ukrainian language instruction tailored to specific groups of foreign learners. They also serve as valuable resources for novice teachers in preparing for practical classes.

TRADITIONS OF THE FRENCH THEATER OF ABSURD IN VICTOR SOLODCHUK’S PLAY “WHERE WE WERE EIGHT YEARS”

The article analyzes Solodchuk’s play «Where We Were Eight Years,» which was included in the electronic version of Anthology-24, published this year. The play is analyzed from the perspective of the French theater of the absurd, through the identification of common features in the play and in the plays written by S. Beckett and Ionesco, namely: a similar worldview, which is influenced by specific historical events, loss of the meaning of life, life without purpose and faith. The kaleidoscopic form of narrative organization, the absurdity and paradox of events, and the grotesque characters whose dialogues are reduced to a limited monologue, they do not understand each other. The form and style of the antidrama are subordinated to the effect of the evidence itself — the grotesque, the farce, brought to the point of excess, which reveals the monotony and meaninglessness of life. The desire to comprehend the universals of existence, the recurring patterns in human life are introduced into the text through the genre of parable, myth, symbol, and metaphor. The word loses its logical and grammatical connections, becomes grotesque, which leads to the loss of its meaning. The absurdist principle is also realized at the level of the figurative system of Solodchuk’s play, where the character appears as a multi-voiced entity. In the texts of the representatives of the theater of the absurd, attention is focused on material objects that replace the Other, so the role of things, objects, scenery increases, and to some extent they replace the object of communication for the characters. In Solodchuk’s play, the object is the Backpack, which is empowered with extraordinary abilities to take away aggression from the outside world. The open ending overcomes, even denies, the technique of ’exhaustiveness’ of dialogue in absurdist texts and appeals to the conceptual creation of the future.

Графическое исследование показателей энергетической эффективности потребления топливно-энергетических ресурсов странами мира

The article is devoted to the comparative study of the energy characteristics of countries around the world, which is based on the construction of graphic maps of energy characteristics. The article presents the author’s maps of the energy intensity and electrical capacity of GDP by PPP of the countries of the world, the energy intensity and electrical capacity of per capita GDP by PPP of the countries of the world, a map of per capita energy consumption and electricity consumption in various countries of the world, and a map of the characteristics of CO2 emissions in various countries of the world, with the distribution of characteristics along the axes of GDP per capita and per capita electricity consumption. The materials analyze the results of the constructed maps and draw appropriate conclusions. Based on the maps of the energy intensity and electrical intensity of GDP by PPP of the countries of the world, conclusions are drawn about the high differences in the level of energy efficiency of the economies of different countries of the world, both in terms of total consumption of fuel and energy resources and electric energy, in particular. The constructed map of the energy intensity and electrical intensity of per capita GDP by PPP in various countries of the world makes it possible to group countries by indicators of energy efficiency of electricity consumption, taking into account the scale of economic development per capita. The identified country groups make it possible to carry out a subsequent analysis of the energy and economic characteristics of individual countries, to identify common features, and to develop principles, mechanisms, and methods of managing the economy and energy facilities of countries, taking into account the identified features. The map of per capita energy consumption and electricity consumption in various countries of the world presented in the materials made it possible to clearly identify that the indicators of per capita energy consumption and electricity consumption of the countries of the world are proportional. The article presents a map of the characteristics of CO2 emissions from different countries of the world, reflecting the distribution of countries relative to each other in terms of relative CO2 emissions, which allows us to clearly identify a significant difference in carbon dioxide emissions, which indicates a difference in the characteristics of the efficiency of consumption of fuel and energy resources. The results obtained make it possible to perform a subsequent grouping of countries with the identification of common features as well as the development of differentiated directions of energy policy aimed at effective economic development.

Identification of system-level features in HIV migration within a host.

Identify system-level features in HIV migration within a host across body tissues. Evaluate heterogeneity in the presence and magnitude of these features across hosts. Using HIV DNA deep sequencing data generated across multiple tissues from 8 people with HIV, we represent the complex dependencies of HIV migration among tissues as a network and model these networks using the family of exponential random graph models (ERGMs). ERGMs allow for the statistical assessment of whether network features occur more (or less) frequently in viral migration than might be expected by chance. The analysis investigates five potential features of the viral migration network: (1) bi-directional flow between tissues; (2) preferential migration among tissues in the same biological system; (3) heterogeneity in the level of viral migration related to HIV reservoir size; (4) hierarchical structure of migration; and (5) cyclical migration among several tissues. We calculate the Cohran's Q statistic to assess heterogeneity in the magnitude of the presence of these features across hosts. The analysis adjusts for missing data on body tissues. We observe strong evidence for bi-directional flow between tissues; migration among tissues in the same biological system; and hierarchical structure of the viral migration network. This analysis shows no evidence for differential level of viral migration with respect to the HIV reservoir size of a tissue. There is evidence that cyclical migration among three tissues occurs less frequent than expected given the amount of viral migration. The analysis also provides evidence for heterogeneity in the magnitude that these features are present across hosts. Adjusting for missing tissue data identifies system-level features within a host as well as heterogeneity in the presence of these features across hosts that are not detected when the analysis only considers the observed data. Identification of common features in viral migration may increase the efficiency of HIV cure efforts as it enables targeting specific processes.

Genetic architecture of cardiac aging: A fly perspective

Risks of cardiovascular diseases increases drastically in aging populations, but its genetic underpinning remains largely unknown. Previous studies characterised the molecular and functional conservation of cardiomyocytes between humans and Drosophila melanogaster. The short life cycle of the fly allowed the study of aging and the identification of common features with mammals: a reduction of cardiac reverse and an increase of arrhythmias. Recently, we published (Saha et al. eLife, 2022, PMID: 36383075) an analysis of the genetic architecture of cardiac performance in young flies and reported correlation between genes associated with cardiac phenotypes in both flies and humans. This supports a conserved genetic architecture regulating adult cardiac function between fly and human. We used Drosophila as a model to decipher the genetic architecture of cardiac aging and elucidate the influence of natural genetic variations on this process. We previously reported GWAS of cardiac performance in young flies using the DGRP. The same population was analysed in aged flies on 196 inbred lines and approx. 4500 individuals. GWAS were performed on the aging of 8 cardiac performance traits to identify genetic variants associated with variability of cardiac senescence. Overall, we identified 293 variants at whole genome Bonferroni correction. The identified genes networks associated with natural variation of cardiac aging were used to gain insight into the molecular and cellular processes affected. Several genetic variants are associated to nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial proteins. Two antagonistic transcription factors are predicted to regulate this set of genes and have themselves variants associated with the natural variations of cardiac aging, suggesting that alterations of the corresponding gene regulatory network play a determining role in cardiac aging. In addition, data mining identifies strong overlap between genes associated to cardiac aging in flies and genes associated to cardio-vascular pathologies in humans, highlighting conserved genetic mechanisms associated with natural variations of cardiac traits from flies to humans. The analysis of natural variations of cardiac aging in Drosophila represents a major advance in understanding the mechanisms underlying the genetic architecture of these complex traits. It holds promise for the identification of the genes and mechanisms underlying cardiac disorders in humans.

Пенсионные системы государств Центральной Азии

Orientation towards the formation of the Eurasian socio-economic space implies the coordination of social policy, including in the field of pension provision. The harmonization of pension systems involves an analysis of the conditions for the formation and main parameters, the identification of common features and differences, and the determination of development prospects. The key problems of pension systems in the countries of Central Asia are the limited coverage of working people with pension insurance combined with a low basis for calculating pension contributions. The demographic factor plays a dual role in the functioning of pension systems. The countries of the region are characterized by a low proportion of older populations coupled with high rates of aging. At the present stage this can be seen as a demographic bonus, but in the long term it will become a serious challenge for the sustainability of pension systems. The situation is aggravated by the high migration outflow of the able-bodied population. One of the ways to increase the stability of pension systems can be to increase the role of state pensions – the development of the state system of social protection of pensioners as the main link in the pension system supplemented by private insurance and funded payments.

ФОРМУВАННЯ СИСТЕМИ ОБЛІКОВО-АНАЛІТИЧНОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ФІНАНСУВАННЯ ЖИТЛОВОГО БУДІВНИЦТВА В УКРАЇНІ

The article focuses on establishing the accounting and analytical support for funding housing construction. The paper's significance lies in the lack of adequate information assistance for the entities involved in Ukraine's housing construction financing system. This sector is fraught with high investment risks, complex organizational mechanisms for attracting funding, and legislative and regulatory oversight. The publication aims to develop approaches for establishing an accounting and analytical framework to support the financing of housing construction in Ukraine. The article uses the following methods: analysis of scientific works and systematisation (identification of common features and differences) of views of Ukrainian scientists on the subject of research (to substantiate the definition of accounting and analytical support for housing construction financing and the expediency of its formation on the basis of a systematic approach and taking into account the information needs of a wide range of stakeholders); generalisation and deduction (to identify approaches to the organisation of this system for financing housing construction); agent theory (to solve the problem of information asymmetry). The main results of the study presented in the article include: formulation of the essence of the system of accounting and analytical support of housing construction financing; allocation of functional and elemental approaches to the organisation of this system; characteristics of the elements of this system (subjects, objects, subject, purpose, objectives of this system, methods and technologies for obtaining, verifying and presenting accounting and analytical information to users); characteristics of interests and information needs of the subjects of the system of accounting and analytical support of housing construction financing in the context of mechanisms for aligning the interests of principals and agents as a basis for solving problems arising in the relationship between developers and investors, as well as with other stakeholders, in particular, opportunistic behaviour of individual subjects and asymmetry of information.

Mentoring and Coaching in the Training of Teachers for the New Ukrainian School

The relevance of the chosen topic of the article is determined by the fact that at the time of development of postmodern society there is a growing awareness of the need for innovation in the educational process, the use of mentoring and coaching in training teachers for the New Ukrainian School and in building teacher-student relationships. The purpose of the article is to study and substantiate the importance of mentoring and coaching in the training of teachers for the New Ukrainian School, identification of common features and differences in the concept of coaching and mentoring. The article analyzes connection of three didactic theories with the phases of mentoring and coaching in the training of teachers for the New Ukrainian School, presents collegial models of counseling in the New Ukrainian School, defines common and different features in the concepts of coaching and mentoring. In the field of work with young professionals, with students within the New Ukrainian School, the terms mentoring, coaching and tutoring are used as forms of counseling. In a broad sense, mentors can coach, but it is very difficult for a coach to become a mentor. On the other hand, mentors and coaches can become tutors, but tutors are unlikely to become coaches or mentors. In order to guide and advise young professionals, students in a contemporary educational institution, the criteria of tutoring, coaching will be considered, characteristics of behaviorism, cognitivism and constructivism will be defined and the characteristics of building relationships in the perspective of these didactic theories will be presented.

PECULIARITIES OF ASSOCIATION OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SUPERCLASS PISCES INTO SOCIAL GROUPS

The article presents the results of the analysis of modern literary sources on the identification of common features that contribute to the maintenance of representatives of different species of the superclass Pisces together, ensuring the social organization of individuals in a school. The article considers a «school» as a group of fish that is kept together by social attraction. The social benefits of such social association are considered, namely: providing protection from predators through mechanisms that include increased detection of predators, reduced chances of capture and entanglement of predators; increasing the ability of fish to find prey, i.e., increased success in finding food; increased probability of finding a sexual partner; hydrodynamic efficiency.
 The article describes and analyzesthe scientific evidence for the existence of phenotypic homogeneity (color, shape, size) between individuals in a school; the mechanisms by which fish are able to distinguish between group members by choosing to associate with similar.
 The popular theory of the «oddity effect» is characterized. It states that rare, phenotypically distinct individuals within a school are more likely to be targeted by predators. It is confirmed that the homogeneity of individuals in a school in terms of color, odor, body size and shape, both in homogeneous and mixed schools, is due to the «oddity effect» and the «confusion effect» and is explained by an adaptive defense mechanism against predation. It is noted that modern research provides new data that contradict the predictions of the «oddity effect», which indicates the prospects for further research on this scientific issue.
 It is noted that the complex interactive behavior of fish is influenced by differences in the sex ratio of interacting individuals in a school. It is emphasized that the influence of hormonal regulation on the social behavior of fish is significant and has its own characteristic features, which, unlike terrestrial animals, are not sufficiently studied, so this area of research is promising.

ІНКЛЮЗІЯ СІЛЬСЬКО-МІСЬКИХ АГЛОМЕРАЦІЙ: СВІТОВА ТА УКРАЇНСЬКА ПРАКТИКА

The article is devoted to the characteristics of the Ukrainian and world practice of the formation of inclusion of rural-urban socio-spatial formations. The purpose of the study is to identify the practical dimension of the inclusion of rural-urban agglomerations of Ukraine in comparison with the world experience. For its implementation, the task of defining the essence of inclusion as a social phenomenon was formulated; characteristics of its manifestation at the level of united territorial communi- ties (UTC) and districts; identification of common features and differences in the process of formation of well-being inclusion in Ukrainian and foreign rural-urban socio-spatial formations. The achievement of the goal of the research was facilitated by the use of theoretical assets of Ukrainian and foreign scientists on the specified problem, systemic and synergistic approaches, methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis . This author’s approach to determining the essence of these «mixed» in terms of population composition and socio-spatial functions formations gives grounds for concluding that there is a synergy effect from the territorial reform, which consists in the presence of a real possibility of solving a complex of social problems connected with of overcoming socio-cultural and everyday differences between cities and villages through the gradual creation of the inclusion of rural-urban agglomeration formations with the final addition of the phenomenon of the continuum by a complete social merger (convergence) of villages and cities. The scientific novelty of the study consists in determining the essence of inclusion as a social phenomenon in its socio-spatial dimension, the peculiarities of its manifestation in the UTC and districts created in the process of reforming the territorial system of Ukraine. According to the results of the research, the connection of the process of formation of inclusion in the rural-urban spatial environment with the tendency of their integration on the basis of continuity and convergence was revealed; it was found that the countries of Latin America, Asia and Africa face the same problems of cohesion and social integration of vil- lages and cities as our country. It has been proven that Ukraine has certain advantages over these countries, which are related to the presence of significant natural resources, large cities with their scientific, technical and cultural potential, is a unitary, democratic state with ethnically and socially homogene of population composition that gives hope for a practical solution to the investigated problem. Prospects for further scientific explorations in the specified direction require the concentration of efforts of economists on the basis of interdisciplinarity in order to conduct applied research at the level of individual UTCs and districts.

Reminiscences of Impressionism in the works of Ukrainian avant-garde artists

The purpose of the study is to reveal the identification of common features in the work of Ukrainian avant-garde artists, which have the character of impressionism. Methodology of the study employs historical-logical, comparative methods, formal analysis and method of interpretation. Scientific novelty of the research consists in the role of impressionism in the formation of the creative manner of such artists of the Ukrainian avant-garde as O. Bogomazov, D. Burliuk, K. Malevich, O. Exter was first explored in the article. Conclusions. Experiments in the spirit of impressionism and post-impressionism helped the representatives of the Ukrainian avant-garde to free themselves from the method of repetition of the full-scale image towards the free transformation of the pictorial sensation and construction of the work with the help of purely pictorial elements, discarding the plot, literature, instructive character and many other layers. Impressionism was the first step in freeing painting from the boundaries of material form

Identification of common features within massage therapists' professional identity.

In Ontario, Canada, MTs are regulated and have a common scope of practice. However, diverse practice settings and approaches to care create a need for MTs to articulate their professional identity. This study sought to answer, "what common features are foundational to the professional identity of MTs in Ontario?" This quantitative research study was a part of a larger exploratory sequential mixed methods study. An online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted based on previous qualitative findings. MTs in Ontario, who held an active certificate, were invited to participate. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The analysis revealed 17 common features that were endorsed by most respondents. Participants also reported thinking of themselves as healthcare professionals, rather than service providers, a feeling that was held across practice settings. Interesting and unexpected differences were noted in statements regarding the perception of MTs, areas of profession-specific knowledge, and the establishment of the therapeutic relationship. This study furthers an understanding of MTs' identity. Specifically, MTs consider themselves to be HCPs who are confident in their knowledge and abilities, especially their communication skills. They believe in providing individualized care and empowering their patients to take charge of their own health. Despite areas of overwhelming agreement, disagreement in endorsement was seen in areas such as MTs perception of their external image, use of evidence in practice, and the establishment of professional boundaries. These areas provide an opportunity for future research to continue to develop a body of knowledge regarding MTs professionalism and identity.

Systemic Innovation Areas for Heritage-Led Rural Regeneration: A Multilevel Repository of Best Practices

This paper presents the result of the analysis of the data gathered from 20 Role Models (RM) case studies regarding their successful heritage-led rural regeneration models. For the study and comparison of the narratives of these Role Models two tools were used: the Community Capitals Framework, which studied the transference of capitals in each process and the identification of six Systemic Innovation Areas that allow this capital transference. A multilevel repository of best practices has been developed allowing the identification of common features, mechanisms for mobilisation of capitals and required resources that will facilitate the replication in other rural areas. The results of this work support the acknowledgement of the contribution of culture, together with cultural and natural heritage, to economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability in rural areas reinforcing the role of culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development.

The principle of synergy in the creativity of the sixties as an innovation of Ukrainian Culture

The purpose of the article is to study the principles of synergy in the work of the sixties as a novelty of Ukrainian art, analysis of common intentions, and creative achievements in the creation of new dogmas of Ukrainian culture. The research methodology is based on the analytical method, which consists of the study of historical, art, and cultural sources. Cultural-historical - to consider the general state of Ukrainian fine arts, cinema, theater, the literary direction of the period, art history - provides an analysis of the phenomenon in an artistic context. The scientific novelty lies in the identification of common features in the work of cultural figures of the 1960s, their comparison, and analysis of the synergy of their activities. Conclusion. The principles of the synergy of artists of the late 1950 - 1960s are revealed, their ideological and artistic factors in the creation of Ukrainian art are highlighted.

The Potential for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in EU Countries in the Context of Sustainable Development

For the European Union, innovation and entrepreneurship are strong vectors to overcome global societal challenges from climate change and sustainable energy to food and healthy living. Innovation is a facilitator of entrepreneurship and a way of empowering people to take charge of their lives and economic prosperity. At the same time, entrepreneurship is the answer to innovation, the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship being undeniably interrelated. This research proposes assessing the potential for innovation and entrepreneurship in EU countries in the context of sustainable development. With the help of hierarchical clustering analysis, EU countries were classified into four relevant clusters on the basis of the variables considered, which allowed the identification of common features and existing differences. The research was conducted using data provided by the Global Innovation Index, Global Entrepreneurship Index, Eurostat database, and Candriam ESG Country Report at the level of the 27 EU countries. The main results revealed high-performing countries in terms of innovation and entrepreneurship potential, providing relevant information for policy-makers, business practitioners, NGOs, and academics on the direction they need to take for good practice models to be adapted and implemented in countries with sub-optimal performance, to provide them with support for improvement of their innovation and entrepreneurship potential.

Molecular characterization and heterologous expression of two \u03b1-glucosidases from Metschnikowia spp, both producers of honey sugars

Backgroundα-Glucosidases are widely distributed enzymes with a varied substrate specificity that are traditionally used in biotechnological industries based on oligo- and polysaccharides as starting materials. According to amino acid sequence homology, α-glucosidases are included into two major families, GH13 and GH31. The members of family GH13 contain several α-glucosidases with confirmed hydrolytic activity on sucrose. Previously, a sucrose splitting activity from the nectar colonizing yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii which produced rare sugars with α-(1→1), α-(1→3) and α-(1→6) glycosidic linkages from sucrose was described.ResultsIn this study, genes codifying for α-glucosidases from the nectaries yeast M. gruessii and M. reukaufii were characterised and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli for the first time. Recombinant proteins (Mg-αGlu and Mr-αGlu) were purified and biochemically analysed. Both enzymes mainly displayed hydrolytic activity towards sucrose, maltose and p-nitrophenyl-α-d-glucopyranoside. Structural analysis of these proteins allowed the identification of common features from the α-amylase family, in particular from glycoside hydrolases that belong to family GH13. The three acidic residues comprising the catalytic triad were identified and their relevance for the protein hydrolytic mechanism confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. Recombinant enzymes produced oligosaccharides naturally present in honey employing sucrose as initial substrate and gave rise to mixtures with the same products profile (isomelezitose, trehalulose, erlose, melezitose, theanderose and esculose) previously obtained with M. reukaufii cell extracts. Furthermore, the same enzymatic activity was detected with its orthologous Mg-αGlu from M. gruessii. Interestingly, the isomelezitose amounts obtained in reactions mediated by the recombinant proteins, ~ 170 g/L, were the highest reported so far.ConclusionsMg/Mr-αGlu were heterologously overproduced and their biochemical and structural characteristics analysed. The recombinant α-glucosidases displayed excellent properties in terms of mild reaction conditions, in addition to pH and thermal stability. Besides, the enzymes produced a rare mixture of hetero-gluco-oligosaccharides by transglucosylation, mainly isomelezitose and trehalulose. These compounds are natural constituents of honey which purification from this natural source is quite unviable, what make these enzymes very interesting for the biotechnological industry. Finally, it should be remarked that these sugars have potential applications as food additives due to their suitable sweetness, viscosity and humectant capacity.

Проблемы человеческого развития в социально-трудовой сфере российских регионов

Today, one of the important factors for the development of the Russian territories is availability of quality human capital, which development is constrained by both economic and socio-cultural barriers, i.e. qualitative characteristics of the population, social and cultural factors, working conditions, social and labor relations, etc. In this regard, the article is aimed at analyzing human development in the social and labor sphere through socio-cultural indicators – vocation, unstable employment relations, quality of work life, etc. – on the basis of gender approach. The scientific significance of the work is generalization of the research results on the development of human and labor potential, identification of common features, gender differences, and factors limiting human development. The obtained results have practical importance in identifying the priority management activities regarding the risks of developing human potential. The information base of the research is the data of the monitoring the qualitative state of labor potential in the Vologda Oblast and the Rosstat survey data on social and demographic issues and people’s quality of life in the Russian regions. The study shows that it is professional vocation that is one of the metamotivators and the most significant contributing factors in major fulfillment of quality characteristics of the work force, and that the problem of the underemployed turns out to be a human development limiter with persistent imbalance between the educational services and the labor market needs. The paper proves that the existing signs of unstable labor relations negatively affect the workers’ social well-being and the quality of their working life. The obtained results are of practical relevance for identifying priority management actions in the area of human development risks. The work has shown that when managing human resources development, it seems necessary to account the distribution of unstable and unsteady social and labor relations as well as the compliance of educational services with the labor market needs.

SMoLR: visualization and analysis of single-molecule localization microscopy data in R

BackgroundSingle-molecule localization microscopy is a super-resolution microscopy technique that allows for nanoscale determination of the localization and organization of proteins in biological samples. For biological interpretation of the data it is essential to extract quantitative information from the super-resolution data sets. Due to the complexity and size of these data sets flexible and user-friendly software is required.ResultsWe developed SMoLR (Single Molecule Localization in R): a flexible framework that enables exploration and analysis of single-molecule localization data within the R programming environment. SMoLR is a package aimed at extracting, visualizing and analyzing quantitative information from localization data obtained by single-molecule microscopy. SMoLR is a platform not only to visualize nanoscale subcellular structures but additionally provides means to obtain statistical information about the distribution and localization of molecules within them. This can be done for individual images or SMoLR can be used to analyze a large set of super-resolution images at once. Additionally, we describe a method using SMoLR for image feature-based particle averaging, resulting in identification of common features among nanoscale structures.ConclusionsEmbedded in the extensive R programming environment, SMoLR allows scientists to study the nanoscale organization of biomolecules in cells by extracting and visualizing quantitative information and hence provides insight in a wide-variety of different biological processes at the single-molecule level.

Learning for Personalized Medicine: A Comprehensive Review From a Deep Learning Perspective.

With the recent advancements in analyzing high-volume, complex, and unstructured data, modern learning methods are playing an increasingly critical role in the field of personalized medicine. Personalized medicine (i.e., providing tailored medical treatment to individual patients through the identification of common features, including their genetics, inheritance, and lifestyle) has attracted the attention of many researchers in recent years. This paper provides an overview of the research progress in the application of learning methods, with a focus on deep learning in personalized medicine. In particular, three domains of applications are reviewed: drug development, disease characteristic identification, and therapeutic effect prediction. The main objective of this review is to consider the applied methods in detail and to offer insights into their pros and cons. Although having demonstrated advantages in coping with data complexity and nonlinearity and in recognizing features and associating structural data, the studied learning methods are not a panacea to all medical problems. Hence, we discuss the existing research challenges and clarify future study directions.