Rigid class scheduling and its value for online learning in higher education.

The spread of coronavirus infection brings changes to all spheres of activity, including education, which is increasingly moving to a distance learning format. The ultimate goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the recommendations for developing a rigid class scheduling method in the framework of online learning using advanced approaches updating traditional learning mechanisms. Overall, this research was conducted among 226 students and 54 teachers representing Moscow Aviation Institute and Kazan Federal University. Research methodology basis was represented by a sociological survey, which allowed identifying the problems of implementation of online learning from the students' standpoint. The collected outcomes showed that for 35% of students, one of the main problems in distance learning was the lack of self-discipline, which can be further adjusted by a clearly established schedule of classes (37% of respondents) and tests (29% of respondents). At the same time, the collected data showed that the learning process was most efficient in subgroups 1 (0.5), 2 (0.3), and 5 (0.45). Recommendations provided for further distance education improvement, first of all, related to schedule formation issues. More precisely, the paper emphasized the need for time constraints, even distribution of subjects, use of special applications, designation of dates for knowledge checking, and inclusion of additional learning materials. The findings and results of this work are believed to be of scientific value for the methodological departments of educational institutions responsible for curricula preparation as they are expected to significantly contribute to educational process advancement.

Genetic polymorphisms of CYP17A1, vitamin D receptor and androgen receptor in Italian heredo-familial and sporadic prostate cancers.

BACKGROUND: Searching for genetic and environmental factors predisposing to prostate cancer, common single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CYP17A1, CYP19A1, VDR genes, and the number of CAG repeats from AR were investigated in Italian heredo-familial prostate cancer (HFPC) patients controlled for dietary intake and life style habits. METHODS: We evaluated differences between HFPC and sporadic cancers, in the pattern of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms in CYP17A1, CYP19A1, VDR genes, and the CAG repeat from AR, controlling for dietary intake and lifestyle habits in a regionwide population. Ninety-five patients with HFPC were identified and 378 sporadic prostate cancers were randomly selected as controls. Dietary intake and lifestyle habits were determined through self-administered questionnaires in all patients. Genotyping of polymorphisms for CYP17A1, CYP19A1, VDR, and the CAG repeat from AR was carried out using pyrosequencing. RESULTS: HFPC cases were significantly younger than controls, whereas similar proportions of localized tumours, favourable histology, and abnormal prostate serum antigen levels (4-19 ng/ml) were detected in the two groups. A statistically evident gene-gene interaction was found: a 5-fold higher probability [odds ratio (OR)=4.83; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.37-17.02] of HFPC was observed in the subgroup profiling VDR1 T/T genotypes coupled with VDR2 T/T genotype. Among nutrients, an increase in HFPC risk (OR=3.14; 95% CI: 1.12-8.81) was found only for zinc, when associated with the VDR2 T/T genotype. CONCLUSIONS: Significant evidence for positive interactions between VDR1 and VDR2 genotypes was demonstrated, suggesting that high-risk multigenic polymorphism profiles could variously sustain HFPC tumorigenesis.