Insulin-Mimic Components in Acer truncatum Leaves: Bio-Guided Isolation, Annual Variance Profiling and Regulating Pathway Investigated by Omics

Insulin mimic can promote transporting glucose to muscle tissue and accelerate glucose consumption. It is commonly occurring in many functional foods or traditional medicines. Anti-diabetes molecules from food sources are highly safe and suitable for long-term use to prevent early diabetes. The leaves of Acer truncatum was found glucose uptake promotion in our phenotypic screening. However, its bioactive components and mechanism are still unclear. We collected leaves from trees of different ages (2, 3, 4, 7 and 11 years old) and profiled the ingredients by LC-MS/MS. The essential active component (myricitrin) was acquired following bio-guide on a whole organism Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Its content in the leaves was not affected by tree ages. Therefore, myricitrin can serve as a quality mark for functional foods derived from A. truncatum leaves. The transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis in Zebrafish explored the differentially expressed genes and metabolites. Based on joint-pathway enrichment and qRT-PCR verification, the critical bioactive component myricitrin was found to affect toll-like receptors signaling pathways to regulate glucose uptake. Our findings disclosed a bioactive marker (myricitrin) in A. truncatum leaves and explored its regulation mechanism, which rationalized the anti-diabetes function of the herbal food.

ЗАХОДИ СТИМУЛЮВАННЯ РОЗВИТКУ СИСТЕМ КЛАСТЕРНОГО ПАРТНЕРСТВА В КРАЇНАХ ЄС

The lack of normative regulation for the procedures of creating cluster partnerships in Ukraine, their organizational and legal forms as well as the government support instruments triggers a critical need to explore successful international experience, of the EU countries in particular. The purpose of this article is to provide insights into the best European practices in developing initiatives, programmes and platforms to support cluster partnership schemes. The study employs general scientific research methods, in particular, the method of logical generalization and statistical analysis to investigate the neighbouring countries of Ukraine that were awarded with the ECEI Label by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA). It is emphasized that most European countries have developed and continue to develop and improve their cluster policies and programmes to support their national economy competitiveness and create new jobs. At the level of the European Union, methodology and tools for national innovation development were introduced in the early 1980s. Cluster policy support programmes have been launched since the late 1990s. Currently, to ensure the core principles of the cluster partnership development, the EU policy is focused on improving the environment for the effective cluster operation in all member states, as well as on supporting their internationalization. Although country-specific programmes to enhance cluster partnerships have different priorities and implement a vast range of diverse tools, they all pursue the same goals: they seek to provide appropriate support and meet the needs of all cluster partnership actors along with improving the environment for sustainable national development. Among the analysed programmes and platforms, this paper is focused on the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis (ESCA) which contributes to the improvement of skills, competencies and practices in cluster management within the cluster partnership framework. The information presented on the ESCA platform demonstrates that currently more than 1100 cluster partnerships from 45 countries have been tested for and / or awarded with the BRONZE quality mark, about 130 gained SILVER and over 100 were awarded with GOLD quality mark. The study also provides cluster analysis of Ukraine's neighbouring countries that quality marks for effective cluster partnership management. Among such countries the leader is Romania – 81 clusters have received quality marks. To date, the European Initiative has recognized three ECEI quality marks as a reliable International Standard for Cluster Partnership Management. The findings reveal that the EU experience in supporting cluster partnerships is relevant for other countries seeking to boost their innovative development, this also refers to Ukraine in particular, where, to a great disappointment, there are yet no legal regulations to support and develop cluster partnerships.

Transformation of education: Possible perspectives

In the light of the growing technological revolution, the question of the viability of traditional education has become more acute. They try to persuade the proponents of digital transformation that it is inefficient in the new conditions. Schools and universities are intimidated by the generation Z which is "non-compliant" with standard approaches. They spend most of their free time online, have a clip way of thinking and are unable to concentrate their attention on something for a long time. Opponents of digitalization try to protect teenagers from unlimited use of gadgets. Issues about reasonable use of digital devices which do not harm their health are widely discussed. But in the spring of 2020, there arose such a situation that the harm from using gadgets by teenagers could not be compared to the possibility of the learning process breakdown. Educational institutions are urgently switched to distance learning. The transition revealed many problems, some of which were being solved in the course of the working process. It becomes obvious that distance learning cannot be used as the only possible format of work. The future of education depends on many factors. Will it remain universal with the quality mark of traditional education, or will it undergo a radical transformation? The purpose of this article is to find out whether the new generation of young people is so different that all the approaches of the traditional education system are smashed against its “armor”. Or, under the banner of the generation Z, the idea of a radical transition to a completely new education is being promoted.

HOTEL SERVICES QUALITY ASPECTS

The article defines the concept of hotel service quality as a set of properties and characteristics of hotel services, formed by the relationship of all stakeholders in their provision, potentially or actually able to most effectively meet the established and expected needs of customers. Comparison of requirements for hotel categories set by standards of different countries: Criteria 2015-2020 HotelStars system, The Diamond standard, National rating Quality mark from TGCSA, State Russian system and Ukraine DSTU 4269: 2003 showed a certain obsolescence and irrelevance of the requirements of the National standard for certain criteria. In addition, DSTU 4269: 2003 does not have a block of quality indicators.In Ukraine in 2019, 131 hotels were inspected for compliance with the National Standard, which is three times more than the previous year (43 in 2018), most of which were set the category of «4 stars» – 48. The leader in the total number of surveyed hotels is the Kiev region – 34 hotels. The Kiev region is also the leader in the number of hotels, which were awarded the category of «3 stars» – 14 hotels and «4 stars» – 13 hotels in 2019. According to the number of hotels, which were awarded «5 stars», the leader was the Odessa region – 8 hotels in 2019 received this status mainly in the city of Odessa.The choice of hotel services quality aspects is a priority in its evaluation. The author proposes to expand the list of criteria according to the SERVQUAL methodology and to assesses the hotel services quality in terms of materiality, tangibility, reliability, safety, responsiveness, cogency, speed, empathy, accessibility, flexibility, guarantees, strategic quality management and quality control.Each of the 12 quality aspects is revealed by a set of individual quality indicators and determined by a comprehensive indicator, will calculate the integrated level of hotel services qua-lity, assess indicators in dynamics and in comparison with other hotels, and in the future assess the readiness of hotels to reach the international level.Keywords: quality, hotel, service, aspect, standard, category.

Development strategies of education exports in foreign countries

Generalized is foreign practice in development of educational internalization. The paper uses methods of analysis of documents, statistical data, website content in the field of Higher education internalization, secondary analysis of sociological surveys. The article summarizes the world practice of higher education internalization development and identifies megatrends that determine directions of Higher education internalization development. The study of national strategies for development of education made it possible to identify five universal directions for development of Higher education internalization: provision of education that meets international standards and the formation of a brand of the national education system as having a high quality mark; expanding research activities by strengthening international research networks; promoting cooperation with members of the international community through international non-governmental organizations and international partnership; improving the infrastructure of educational organizations; and elaboration of plans for development of Higher education internalization in certain areas, reference groups. The practical significance of the research results lies in development of proposals for improving activities of state authorities and educational organizations of the Russian Federation in the field of Higher education internalization.

MEDIA IMAGE AS AN IMPORTANT MEANING OF UZBEKISTAN’S IMAGE FORMATION: THEORETICAL AND COGNITIVE ASPECTS

This article analyzes that the media image is an important tool for shaping the image of the country and the theoretical and cognitive aspects of the image. We perceive an object or event through our senses, see and hear them. We understand and comprehend the new information received. They are then placed in our memory as a definite quality mark, image, or ‘piece of symbol’. Therefore, in the modern media space, it is important to understand the content of information about a country, positive or negative information about the image of the region, to understand the realities of what is happening in the region. In the same process, the person who reads the news is the executor of the cognitive activity. There is a "subject-object relationship" between the subject, that is, the person and the area that is the object of cognitive activity. The main issue is the perception of the person receiving the information in relation to that country. How the country is perceived by the recipient of the information is always important. The nature of any image is closely related to the information stored in the subconscious. For this reason, the study of image in a cognitive context is required. The problem of formation and development of the regional image is one of the interdisciplinary studies from the theoretical and methodological point of view. That is, it is not just a problem facing the science of journalism or mass communications. The issue is multidisciplinary, including sociology, imageology, economics, political science, philosophy, linguistics, especially cognitive linguistics, and can be studied in various aspects. Cognitiveness is a scientific phenomenon that connects language with thinking, that is, consciousness, and explores in deep theoretical aspects the integral connection of psychological, biological, and neurophysiological aspects with social, cultural, and linguistic phenomena in the formation of a particular imagination. According to scholars, cognitive linguistics in this respect is divided into various sub-branches such as psycholinguistics, anthropolinguistics, ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistics. In this research, we tried to study the role of journalism in the formation and development of the country's image, the cognitive impact of the language of the media on the consciousness of the public (audience).

The Powder Diffraction File: a quality materials characterization database

The ICDD's Powder Diffraction File™ (PDF®) is a database of inorganic and organic diffraction data used for phase identification and materials characterization by powder diffraction. The PDF has been available for over 75 years and finds application in X-ray, synchrotron, electron, and neutron diffraction analyses. With entries based on powder and single crystal data, the PDF is the only crystallographic database where every entry is editorially reviewed and marked with a quality mark that alerts the user to the reliability/quality of the submitted data. The editorial processes of ICDD's quality management system are unique in that they are ISO 9001:2015 certified. Initially offered as text on paper cards and books, the PDF evolved to a computer-readable database in the 1960s and today is both computer and web accessible. With data mining and phase identification software available in PDF products, and the databases’ compatibility with vendor (third party) software, the 1 000 000+ published PDF entries serve a wide range of disciplines covering academic, industrial, and government laboratories. Details describing the content of database entries are presented to enhance the use of the PDF.