Methodological vector of professional training development of foreign language teachers

Until recently, the question of the methodological role in the professional activity of a teacher, depending on the peculiarities of the performed functions, has remained unexplored. Also, a number of urgent problems have not been fully studied. What is the actual connection between teaching methodology and methodology? What is the influence of methodology on teaching methodology? How can methodology help teachers while implementing their multifunctional professional tasks? This study can be divided into several stages: identification of the connection between the general methodology of teaching foreign languages and methodology (the first stage of the research); clarification of the main directions of the methodological function implementation of the theory of teaching foreign languages (second stage of the research); specifying the conditions of the successful implementation of the methodological function of teaching foreign languages theory (third stage of the research). The study not only reveals the connections between teaching methodology with methodology, but also identifies the prospects for the development of methodological thought in relation to the professional training of foreign language teachers. This prospect is closely related to the methodological function of teaching methodology. The implementation of the present function is aimed at the research, reconstruction and description of certain methods and value-based objects of language education as well as methodological reflection of scientific research conducted within the framework of the given study and the educational activity. The consideration of the teaching methodology from the point of view of methodology allows us to reveal the content and direction of the methodological function realisation within the given science as well as to provide arguments for the significance of the inclusion into the scientific vocabulary of such categories as ‘methodological consciousness’ and ‘methodological culture’

Effectiveness of first-line antiretroviral therapy and correlates of longitudinal changes in CD4 and viral load among HIV-infected children in Ghana

Background: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up in resource-limited countries, with limited capacity for CD4 and HIV viral load monitoring, presents a unique challenge. We determined the effectiveness of first-line ART in a real world pediatric HIV clinic and explored associations between readily obtainable patient data and the trajectories of change in CD4 count and HIV viral load. Methods: We performed a longitudinal study of a cohort of HIV-infected children initiating ART at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Pediatric HIV clinic in Accra, Ghana, aged 0-13 years from 2009-2012. CD4 and viral load testing were done every 4 to 6 months and genotypic resistance testing was performed for children failing therapy. A mixed linear modeling approach, combining fixed and random subject effects, was employed for data analysis. Results: Ninety HIV-infected children aged 0 to 13 years initiating ART were enrolled. The effectiveness of first-line regimen among study participants was 83.3%, based on WHO criteria for virologic failure. Fifteen of the 90 (16.7%) children met the criteria for virologic treatment failure after at least 24 weeks on ART. Sixty-seven percent virologic failures harbored viruses with ≥ 1 drug resistant mutations (DRMs); M184V/K103N was the predominant resistance pathway. Age at initiation of therapy, child’s gender, having a parent as a primary care giver, severity of illness, and type of regimen were associated with treatment outcomes. Conclusions: First-line ART regimens were effective and well tolerated. We identified predictors of the trajectories of change in CD4 and viral load to inform targeted laboratory monitoring of ART among HIV-infected children in resource-limited countries

Oligoclonal bands increase the specificity of MRI criteria to predict multiple sclerosis in children with radiologically isolated syndrome

Background: Steps towards the development of diagnostic criteria are needed for children with the radiologically isolated syndrome to identify children at risk of clinical demyelination. Objectives: To evaluate the 2005 and 2016 MAGNIMS magnetic resonance imaging criteria for dissemination in space for multiple sclerosis, both alone and with oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid added, as predictors of a first clinical event consistent with central nervous system demyelination in children with radiologically isolated syndrome. Methods: We analysed an international historical cohort of 61 children with radiologically isolated syndrome (18 years), defined using the 2010 magnetic resonance imaging dissemination in space criteria (Ped-RIS) who were followed longitudinally (mean 4.2 4.7 years). All index scans also met the 2017 magnetic resonance imaging dissemination in space criteria. Results: Diagnostic indices (95% confidence intervals) for the 2005 dissemination in space criteria, with and without oligoclonal bands, were: sensitivity 66.7% (38.4\u201388.2%) versus 72.7% (49.8\u201389.3%); specificity 83.3% (58.6\u201396.4%) versus 53.9% (37.2\u201369.9%). For the 2016 MAGNIMS dissemination in space criteria diagnostic indices were: sensitivity 76.5% (50.1\u201393.2%) versus 100% (84.6\u2013100%); specificity 72.7% (49.8\u201389.3%) versus 25.6% (13.0\u201342.1%). Conclusions: Oligoclonal bands increased the specificity of magnetic resonance imaging criteria in children with Ped-RIS. Clinicians should consider testing cerebrospinal fluid to improve diagnostic certainty. There is rationale to include cerebrospinal fluid analysis for biomarkers including oligoclonal bands in planned prospective studies to develop optimal diagnostic criteria for radiologically isolated syndrome in children

Problems of translating English and German proverbs into Russian: the comparative aspect

This article presents the results of the comparative analysis of translatability of English and German proverbs into Russian, which allows to discover specific features of communicants within various linguocultures, which is one of the priority areas of modern linguistic research. The work emphasizes that due to their figurativeness and ethno-cultural specificity, proverbs are a striking example of untranslatability or difficult translatability. This determines the significance of the research under discussion – the increasing need of society for high-quality translation and training of qualified translators. Despite a sufficient number of works devoted to paremiology, the major attention is paid to the semantic and structural features of proverbs in different languages under the absence of comprehensive studies on the translation of proverbial units, which hampers the complete study of the translation problem of paremias. The purpose of the study is to identify close correlations between the proverbs of different languages based on the comparative analysis of the linguistic material of the English, German and Russian languages and a comparison of approaches to the solutions of the problems of their translation. The accomplishment of the stated purpose predetermined the objectives of the study: basing on the analysis of experience concerning proverbs that was accumulated by modern linguistics, to reveal the notion of a proverb; to study the reflection of the linguistic world-picture in the proverbs of the English, German and Russian languages, as well as to conduct the comparative translation analysis. As a result, the authors were able to identify and describe the difficulties encountered in translating English and German proverbs into Russian. The article presents the author's classification of the studied phraseological units in accordance with their translatability from the source language into the target language. All research results are supported by the statistical data

Semantic field “appearance”: gender specificity (based on the English, German and Russian languages)

This study presents the results of a comparative analysis of the gender of lexical units with the seme “appearance” in the German, English and Russian languages. Fantasy books were used as the research material. The carried out comparative analysis of the gender aspect using the field method in Russian, English, German shows that in the studied languages, along with similarities, there are also differences in gender representation due to the specifics of the language. Comparative analysis of the semantic field “Appearance” allowed identifying the use of gender-relevant means in three languages, which confirms the fact that gender, as a socio-cultural construct, finds a vivid expression in different linguistic cultures

Factors in Early Feeding Practices That May Influence Growth and the Challenges That Arise in Growth Outcomes Research

Growth in preterm infants is associated with improved outcomes during both the initial hospitalization and long-term. A single center investigation evaluated preterm infant in-hospital growth trajectory and how it related to early nutritional practices as a way to identify areas for quality improvement. Infants born <34 weeks’ gestational age and with discharge at or prior to 40 weeks’ gestational age were included and were divided into quartiles based on their change in weight z-score through hospitalization. Early nutritional factors were compared between the lowest and highest growth quartiles. Although the highest growth quartile experienced less days of parenteral nutrition and higher enteral caloric density in the first week, as the data was analyzed, potential statistical pitfalls became apparent. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate selection bias and cohort effect related to both the inclusion criteria for this cohort as well as the inherent challenges in comparison of preterm infant growth trajectories by standard fetal growth charts

Distant contact in the English-language discourse of the print media

Technological progress is making changes in all areas of our life, including interaction between people. Information is available thanks to various means, which make it possible to express an opinion in the so-called distant dialogue. In this sense, the discourse of the print media is not an exception, its participants come into contact and exchange opinions with a delay in time. The specifics of such a dialogue requires careful analysis in order to clarify the mechanisms of this kind of interaction, as well as the language means of contact in the press. Contact mechanisms and its language features are not studied well enough as readers have been able to send their responses to this or that article only recently. The developed methodology was tested on the material from the British newspaper “The Guardian”. As a result, the authors have identified the external and internal dialogical structure in the discourse of the print media, as well as a set of language means of distant contact in the discourse. Moreover, understanding the distant dialogue nature helps to manage successful communication and can be used at practical classes in linguistics to develop students' skills in article and response writing and modeling dialogue situations