Prolonged hypervolemic hemodilution decreases functional capillary density of ileal mucosa in pigs revealed by sidestream dark-field imaging

Objective  

Hemodilution changes the physical properties of blood by reducing its hematocrit and blood viscosity. We tested whether prolonged hypervolemic hemodilution (HHD) impairs functional capillary density (FCD) of ileal mucosa in healthy mechanically-ventilated pigs and if there is any correlation between changes in FCD of ileal and sublingual mucosas during HHD.     

Studies of ultrasonic dehydration efficiency

The aim of this investigation was to define the effectiveness of non-contact drying using ultrasonic vibrations. Disk radiators were used for carrying out experiments, and a special drying chamber was designed to provide resonant amplification of ultrasonic vibrations (from 130 to 150 dB). Drying of ginseng and other vegetables demonstrated that the application of ultrasonic vibrations reduced power inputs by 20% in comparison with convective drying. It also led to a decrease of 6% in final moisture content, if the duration of drying was constant. The level of intensification of ultrasonic drying was high (up to 50 g for 1 kg of drying material), which helped to lower the temperature of the drying agent and improve the quality of the dried products.     

Electro-microinjection of fish eggs with an immobile capillary electrode

Microinjection with ultra-fine glass capillaries is widely used to introduce cryoprotective agents and other foreign molecules into animal cells, oocytes, and embryos. The fragility of glass capillaries makes difficult the microinjection of fish eggs and embryos, which are usually protected by a hard outer shell, called the chorion. In this study, we introduce a new electromechanical approach, based on the electropiercing of fish eggs with a stationary needle electrode. The electropiercing setup consists of two asymmetric electrodes, including a μm-scaled nickel needle placed opposite to a mm-scaled planar counter-electrode. A fish egg is immersed in low-conductivity solution and positioned between the electrodes. Upon application of a short electric pulse of sufficient field strength, the chorion is electroporated and the egg is attracted to the needle electrode by positive dielectrophoresis. As a result, the hard chorion and the subjacent yolk membrane are impaled by the sharp electrode tip, thus providing direct access to the egg yolk plasma. Our experiments on early-stage medaka fish embryos showed the applicability of electro-microinjection to fish eggs measuring about 1 mm in diameter. We optimized the electropiercing of medaka eggs with respect to the field strength, pulse duration, and conductivity of bathing medium. We microscopically examined the injection of dye solution into egg yolk and the impact of electropiercing on embryos'' viability and development. We also analyzed the mechanisms of electropiercing in comparison with the conventional mechanical microinjection. The new electropiercing method has a high potential for automation, e.g., via integration into microfluidic devices, which would allow a large-scale microinjection of fish eggs for a variety of applications in basic research and aquaculture.     

Blockbusters and market expansion: evidence from the motion picture industry

Like other cultural industries, the theatrical film industry is subject to the ‘blockbuster effect’, where popular products often dominate their competition by orders of magnitude over relatively short-run time horizons. This paper investigates this particular feature of the industry and the implication for overall market size. Using simple regression analysis, a positive relationship between (product-level) market concentration and market size is established using weekly box office revenue data from the US motion picture industry. This empirical evidence supports a simple theoretical model of heterogeneous consumers who selectively participate in the market.     

Education and the problem of social inequality in Russia

The socioeconomic changes that took place in Russia in the 1990s defined both the ideology and practice of educational reform. The answer to the question: ‘Was the educational system democratized?’, is of key importance in evaluating the social outcomes of the educational reforms. In this paper, I discuss three aspects of the problem of inequality in school education in Russia: (a) social stratification and institutional changes in the school system; (b) regional features and inequality in education; and (c) the school as the site of social differentiation. The first and second aspects are concerned with macro tendencies, and I use official statistical data in discussing these. The third aspect has a socio-psychological orientation, and here I draw on material from research undertaken by the Centre of Sociology of Education in the Russian Academy of Education.     

Values education: The Power2Achieve approach for building sustainability and enduring impact

Schools today struggle to prepare students for the moral and performance character challenges they will face in the 21st Century. Whether it is bolstering academic performance, reducing dropout, or improving integrity and safety, developing the character and culture of excellence and ethics is a critical need of schools—and yet they must do so with limited time and money amid a sea of competing priorities and mandates, and without the aid of required curricula, training and coaching. In this article, we describe the Power2Achieve Program, a student-centered, teacher-delivered program for developing the character and culture needed for success in school, work and beyond. We lay out the key theoretical and practical features of the program, describe how it aligns with and enhances other current school improvement pedagogies, and present our research approach for continuous improvement and assessment of impact.