Scientific initiatives of RUDN students: what the winners of the "Project Start" competition told about

Does distance learning cause anxiety? Is there a drug for tendon repair? What problems do copyright holders face? Young scientists of the RUDN University have studied these issues, and what conclusions they have drawn, read in our material.

Manifestations of anxiety and stress tolerance in Russian and Chinese students studying remotely

Online learning is a source of stress for both Russian and Chinese students. One of the urgent tasks of psychological science is to find solutions that will help students cope with the distance learning format. A student of the Faculty of Philology proved that Chinese students are more stress-resistant and less anxious. This is due to their cultural characteristics: they lead a more active lifestyle, play sports, maintain their emotional state at a high level and endure difficulties more steadfastly. The study will help to find ways to increase stress tolerance in Russian students.

“At the moment, I propose to solve the problem of online learning through cultural exchange. For example, at joint trainings to increase stress tolerance, students can exchange experiences — how they maintain their psychological health. I have no doubt that Chinese students have something to tell about their lifestyle, which helps them during the pandemic,” Elizaveta Farennikova.

• Farennikova Elizaveta — Bachelor’s degree, direction “Psychology”, Faculty of Philology.

Development of a prototype of a biomedical cellular product for the restoration of dystrophic disorders in tendon tissue

If the tendons are damaged, the chances of full recovery are negligible. The students of the medical institute decided to withdraw the drug themselves to normalize dystrophic traumatic tendon disorders. A research plan has already been developed, which has successfully passed the defense before the competition commission. The work continues, and very soon Polina Struyeva and Georgy Kuplinov will begin the practical part of the study.

At the moment, the plan is to conduct two experiments: in vitro and in vivo. To do this, Polina and George collaborated with students from other fields to create a bioreactor. Its purpose is dynamic stimulation of tendons. This is necessary to improve the quality of tendons at all stages of subsequent work. In the in vitro part, students plan to conduct a test for the strength of tendons and the performance of the bioreactor. In the in vivo part, it is necessary to transplant cultured tendons into rats to check their survival and check the strength properties of the entire tendon into which the site was transplanted.

“Tendon injuries cause great damage to society. According to statistics, in Russia there are 8,200 injuries of the musculoskeletal system per 100,000 population. At the same time, tendons never fully restore their properties as a result of healing after injury. With frequent damage, tissue degeneration occurs, which leads to dysfunction. Based on this, we decided to raise this topic and develop a prototype of tendon treatment,” the students said.

• Kuplinov Georgy — specialist, direction “Pharmacy”, Medical Institute.
• Struyeva Polina — Bachelor’s degree, direction “Biology”, Medical Institute.

Problems of legal protection of the exclusive right to a trademark in the Internet information and telecommunications network: challenges of the digital Age

Many copyright holders have problems protecting their rights with respect to means of individualization. The overwhelming number of these designations is associated with the misuse of trademarks on the Internet. Daria identified two main illegal ways: using them as part of a domain name, as well as in advertising. The student has formed her own legislative initiatives to improve the regulation of this issue based on the experience of the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.

“In most such disputes, copyright holders face insecurity of their interests due to an outdated regulatory framework that does not imply an expansive interpretation of the ways of using means of individualization in the Internet era,” Daria Proskurina.

• Darya Proskurina — Master’s degree, Law Institute.

Modification of the method of synthesis of the cathepsin linker of bioconjugates of antibodies for targeted chemotherapy

The method of treating oncology with targeted chemotherapy is not readily available due to the high cost of all three commercially available drugs. In order to reduce the cost of their production process, it is necessary to develop a high—quality and universal method for the synthesis of a linker — a synthetic fragment of DNA or RNA. It plays a crucial role in the stability of the entire conjugate — an artificially synthesized hybrid molecule, since it binds two biomolecules. Ekaterina described in detail the developed techniques that take into account all the nuances of synthesis and give the most successful results. One of the reactions is a previously undescribed, inexpensive and simple way to obtain a high-purity product, which is extremely important for further synthesis.

“I chose my path with my heart. My parents are doctors. I’ve always been proud of it and wanted to do something with the same dedication as them. Targeted chemotherapy as a method of targeted drug delivery directly to tumor cells is a very popular, albeit young direction in medicine. I hate pain, and I hate when people suffer from cancer. That’s how I found my way in the fight against this disease,” Ekaterina Ganzhula.

• Ganzhula Ekaterina — Bachelor’s degree, direction “Chemistry”, Faculty of Science.