Research on development of nanotechnology in the Republic of Kazakhstan

In the history of civilization, materials and technology that defined the face of the era have appeared more than once. It is enough to recall the “age” of bronze and iron, steam and electricity, the atomic “age” and the computer age. Nanomaterials (NM) are undoubtedly among such materials, and the 21st century opens the era of nanotechnology. Most experts in the field of science and technology policy, strategic planning and investment are confident that in the next decade nanorevolution is expected in all areas of science, production, defense, medicine, mode of life, recreation and entertainment. Its consequences will be more extensive than the consequences of the computer revolution in the last third of the 20th century, i.e., a large-scale and systematic invasion of nanostructured materials, products and methods of their production will literally come to all spheres of life. The paper analyzes the ways of nanotechnology development and the use of various nanomaterials and nanoproducts in various sectors of the world economy and environmental protection. Nanotechnology is a field of fundamental and applied science that provides theoretical justification for practical methods of research, production, and products application with an atomic structure by manipulating atoms and molecules. The aim of the work is to study the development of nanotechnology and its role in the modern economy. The article considers the ways of development of nanotechnology in Kazakhstan, as well as promising directions of their development and application in the field of mechanical engineering and industry in general.

Communication bibliometric research in Latin American scientific journals (2009-2018)

The objective of this article is to analyze the distinctive characteristics of research production in the field of communication in Latin American scientific communication journals. Meta-research is necessary because it allows re-evaluating the field and offers new horizons in knowledge production. Two studies were conducted: 1) Bibliometric analysis of 116 journals in eight databases and 24 publications in the Web of Science and Scopus; 2) Content analysis including that of 407 articles over a period of 10 years (2009–2018). The findings demonstrate a research trend in the Latin American region toward international standards, evidenced by a preponderance of empirical over essay studies. Universities in the region published most of the journals in the field and circulation was predominantly biannual. Contrary to expectations, the most widely disseminated topic was health communication, partly owing to a large sample of Brazilian journals. Within the empirical research, the qualitative approach was predominant. The interview was the most widely used research method in the region. Finally, the most used theories were agenda setting and framing. Imminent challenges arise, i.e., to strengthen indigenous theoretical production and to position the region's themes and reflection more decisively in knowledge production at a global level. El objetivo del presente artículo es analizar las características distintivas de la producción de investigación en el campo de la comunicación en las revistas científicas de comunicación latinoamericanas. La meta-investigación es necesaria, ya que permite revaluar el campo y ofrecer nuevos horizontes en la producción de conocimientos. Se realizaron 2 estudios: 1) Análisis bibliométrico a 116 revistas presentes en ocho bases de datos, y luego a 24 publicaciones presentes en Web of Science y Scopus; 2) Análisis de contenido, que incluye el análisis de 407 artículos en un periodo de 10 años (2009-2018). Los hallazgos demostraron una tendencia en la investigación en Latinoamérica a los estándares internacionales, evidenciada en la preponderancia de los estudios empíricos sobre los ensayísticos. Las universidades de la región editan la mayoría de las revistas del campo y predomina la circulación semestral. Contrario a las expectativas, la temática más difundida fue comunicación en salud, en parte por la muestra amplia de revistas brasileñas. Dentro de la investigación empírica predomina de manera amplia el enfoque cualitativo. La entrevista es el método de investigación más usado en la región. Finalmente, las teorías más usadas en Latinoamérica fueron el establecimiento de la agenda y el enmarque. Surgen desafíos inminentes: fortalecer la producción teórica autóctona y posicionar la reflexión y las temáticas de la región de manera más decida en la producción de conocimiento en el concierto global.

ON THE ISSUE OF INFORMATION INTERACTION IN THE TESTING LABORATORY OF WHEELED VEHICLES: RECORDS MANAGEMENT ASPECT

The documentary aspect of information interaction of the laboratory for testing of wheeled vehicles is analyzed. The main components of information interaction are identified, which are information infrastructure, information resources and information security. The automated information system used in the activities of the laboratory for testing wheeled vehicles, as well as the main types of documents created and used by the laboratory are described. The subjects of information interaction of the laboratory with which information is exchanged, including documents, have been identified. The documentation of the management system of the training-research-production motor transport laboratory has been systematized. The main traditional and electronic information resources used in the activities of the training-research-production motor transport laboratory are determined. Measures to ensure the protection of information are described, which consist in the use of a qualified electronic signature for identification in an automated information system, as well as for the signing of electronic documents.

New Perspectives on the Neurobiology of Sign Languages

The first 40 years of research on the neurobiology of sign languages (1960–2000) established that the same key left hemisphere brain regions support both signed and spoken languages, based primarily on evidence from signers with brain injury and at the end of the 20th century, based on evidence from emerging functional neuroimaging technologies (positron emission tomography and fMRI). Building on this earlier work, this review focuses on what we have learned about the neurobiology of sign languages in the last 15–20 years, what controversies remain unresolved, and directions for future research. Production and comprehension processes are addressed separately in order to capture whether and how output and input differences between sign and speech impact the neural substrates supporting language. In addition, the review includes aspects of language that are unique to sign languages, such as pervasive lexical iconicity, fingerspelling, linguistic facial expressions, and depictive classifier constructions. Summary sketches of the neural networks supporting sign language production and comprehension are provided with the hope that these will inspire future research as we begin to develop a more complete neurobiological model of sign language processing.

Research Production and International Visibility in Higher Education: The Evolution of Romanian Universities from 2011 to 2019

The international visibility of Romanian universities is relatively weak, even when compared with neighboring countries. This is explained by the historical heritage of the former communist regime and the lack of a clear vision for a post-communist strategic policy that could guide the research enterprise. This study examined whether the higher education reforms launched in 2011 had an effect on the research output, impact and international visibility of Romanian universities. The researchers used bibliometric data and university ranking data from ARWU, THE and QS Rankings. Trends in aggregate bibliometric indicators were analyzed for 38 universities as a whole, and by type of institution. Additionally, the Theil index was utilized to measure the degree of concentration of the research output across three institutional types. The findings reveal that there was significant growth in research output during the first years following the 2011 Education Law. However, this growth could not be sustained beyond 2014, except for Teaching & Research Universities and medical universities. This suggests that the reforms are producing the expected results at institutions that implemented and enforced new evaluation systems heavily oriented toward research.

Regularities and features of acoustic emission under plasma electrolytic oxidation of wrought Al-Mg alloy

The paper highlights the characteristic features of acoustic emission (AE) in the process of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of aluminum alloy, and also reveals the correlation of 4 main stages of PEO process with AE signals. The fundamental possibility to establish and detail the features of oxidation stages and to compare different PEO modes by AE signals was demonstrated. The results obtained substantiate the high potential of AE method as an instrument of in situ research, production monitoring and control, and evaluation of quality of PEO process on aluminum alloys.

Research of Light Field Technology

Light field technology is a relatively new theory and technical direction. At present, it has played a significant role in scientific research, production and life, national defense and military, but there are still many problems to be solved in terms of theoretical description, technical implementation, software and hardware processing capabilities, commercialization costs, and ease of use. Therefore, research the light field technology, explore the principle and application of light field imaging, and put forward some enlightenments for its application in industrial machine vision.

Advances in Breast Cancer Management and Extracellular Vesicle Research, a Bibliometric Analysis

Extracellular vesicles transport variable content and have crucial functions in cell–cell communication. The role of extracellular vesicles in cancer is a current hot topic, and no bibliometric study has ever analyzed research production regarding their role in breast cancer and indicated the trends in the field. In this way, we aimed to investigate the trends in breast cancer management involved with extracellular vesicle research. Articles were retrieved from Scopus, including all the documents published concerning breast cancer and extracellular vesicles. We analyzed authors, journals, citations, affiliations, and keywords, besides other bibliometric analyses, using R Studio version 3.6.2. and VOSviewer version 1.6.0. A total of 1151 articles were retrieved, and as the main result, our analysis revealed trending topics on biomarkers of liquid biopsy, drug delivery, chemotherapy, autophagy, and microRNA. Additionally, research related to extracellular vesicles in breast cancer has been focused on diagnosis, treatment, and mechanisms of action of breast tumor-derived vesicles. Future studies are expected to explore the role of extracellular vesicles on autophagy and microRNA, besides investigating the application of extracellular vesicles from liquid biopsies for biomarkers and drug delivery, enabling the development and validation of therapeutic strategies for specific cancers.

Policy Lessons From Medical Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

This article discusses the medical/therapeutical responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their political economy context. First, the very quick development of several vaccines highlights the richness of the basic knowledge waiting for therapeutical exploitation. Such knowledge has largely originated in public or non-profit institutions. Second, symmetrically, there is longer-term evidence that the private sector (essentially big pharma) has decreased its investment in basic research in general and has long been uninterested in vaccines in particular. Only when flooded with an enormous amount of public money did it become eager to undertake applied research, production scale-up and testing. Third, the political economy of the underlying public-private relationship reveals a profound dysfunctionality with the public being unable to determine the rates and direction of innovation, but at the same time confined to the role of payer of first and last resort, with dire consequences for both advanced, and more so developing countries. Fourth, on normative grounds, measures like ad hoc patent waivers are certainly welcome, but this will not address the fundamental challenge, involving a deep reform of the intellectual property rights regimes and their international protection.

Dialectical Collaborative Theatre: Practising equality by facilitating non-material ideology in the production process

This article discusses the relationship between ethics and ideology and how this relationship forms the basis of the practice of BloodWater Theatre, a collective I formed to explore equality in collaborative theatre-making. I highlight the prevalence of inequality, even in oppositional theatre, and argue for Dialectical Collaborative Theatre (DCT), a research/production/performance methodology I developed to interrupt hegemonic collaborative theatre practice. I discuss the development of DCT, derived from Marx’s theory of ‘capital’ and ‘cooperation’, analysing BloodWater Theatre’s practical exploration of the tensions between performance as product and as process. I propose a rethinking of the enduring association of ‘utility’ with capitalist objectives of productivity and profit, proposing instead Bentham’s ethical formulations of utility. I argue that the relationship between material and non-material ideology should be explored, to facilitate utopian ideals and reposition ethics in collaborative theatre practice today.