“Russian author” in 1739: Gottlieb Bayer, Ivan Taubert and the First Steps of Russian School Literary Canon

In the 1730s, the administration of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences redesigned the program of study at the Academy’s gymnasium. Their goal was to create an institution capable of preparing specialists not only for the Academy itself, but also for the civil service, which required people educated in both Russian and German. The regulation (reglament) developed by Georg Krafft in 1739, besides preserving the previous division of the gymnasium into Latin and German departments, redesigned the instruction offered by the German department to form a full curriculum, in which Russian-style instruction was as important as mastering the German language. This visionary project put together classes in which pupils whose native language was Russian would study in the same classroom as students whose native language was German, which led the Academy to develop a corpus of bilingual (German/Russian) textbooks. A key element of the syllabus was the study of “a Russian author” (analogous to the well-developed system of “reading authors” in European Latin schools), the first time this method had been introduced in a Russian school. Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer’s “Azov History” (Begebenheiten von Azow, 1736–37), translated into Russian by Ivan Taubert (1737), was chosen as the set text. The whole syllabus provided by Krafft’s 1739 gymnasium regulation, as well as the book-selling practice of the Academy in the early 1740s, makes it clear that the selection of Bayer's book was not coincidental — it corresponded well to the Russian reading public's ideas about proper verbal composition. The marginal status of verse (poetry) in this structure, combined with the actors’ attention to questions of style, provide the basis for a new narrative for Russian literary history of the 1730s, centered around the collective work of the translators of the under-studied Russian Society (Rossijskoe sobranie), established in 1735. Such a narrative would consider the whole catalogue of books published by the Academy, whether in Russian or in other languages

«Русский автор» в 1739 году: Г. З. Байер, И. И.Тауберт и формирование русского школьного канона

In the 1730s, the administration of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences redesigned the program of study at the Academy’s gymnasium. Their goal was to create an institution capable of preparing specialists not only for the Academy itself, but also for the civil service, which required people educated in both Russian and German. The regulation (reglament) developed by Georg Krafft in 1739, besides preserving the previous division of the gymnasium into Latin and German departments, redesigned the instruction offered by the German department to form a full curriculum, in which Russian-style instruction was as important as mastering the German language. This visionary project put together classes in which pupils whose native language was Russian would study in the same classroom as students whose native language was German, which led the Academy to develop a corpus of bilingual (German/Russian) textbooks. A key element of the syllabus was the study of “a Russian author” (analogous to the well-developed system of “reading authors” in European Latin schools), the first time this method had been introduced in a Russian school. Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer’s “Azov History” (Begebenheiten von Azow, 1736–37), translated into Russian by Ivan Taubert (1737), was chosen as the set text. The whole syllabus provided by Krafft’s 1739 gymnasium regulation, as well as the book-selling practice of the Academy in the early 1740s, makes it clear that the selection of Bayer's book was not coincidental — it corresponded well to the Russian reading public's ideas about proper verbal composition. The marginal status of verse (poetry) in this structure, combined with the actors’ attention to questions of style, provide the basis for a new narrative for Russian literary history of the 1730s, centered around the collective work of the translators of the under-studied Russian Society (Rossijskoe sobranie), established in 1735. Such a narrative would consider the whole catalogue of books published by the Academy, whether in Russian or in other languages. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2019.8.2.6В 1730-х гг. в Петербургской академии наук велась разработка учебных программ для гимназии, которые позволили бы сделать ее учебным заведением, готовящим специалистов не только для Академии наук, но и шире — для различных родов государственной службы, где было востребовано знание немецкого и русского языков. По Регламенту Г. В. Крафта (1739) гимназия не просто сохраняла разделение на немецкое и латинское отделения. Преподавание в немецкой школе выстраивалось так, что курсы представляли собой завершенный круг наук, в котором обучение русскому стилю было не менее значимым, чем овладение немецким. Визионерски конструируя классы, где в равной степени смешивались бы ученики с различными родными языками, Академия наук создавала билингвальный корпус учебных пособий, позволявший вести обучение одновременно на немецком и русском языках (и обучать им).Важнейшим элементом этого комплекса оказывался впервые формально вводившийся в русскую школьную программу «русский (по аналогии с латинским/греческим) автор». Эту ключевую позицию заняла изданная в 1736–1737 гг. по-немецки и переведенная в 1737 г. И. И. Таубертом «Азовская история» Г. З. Байера. Анализ комплекса школьных пособий, предлагавшихся Регламентом Крафта, а также книготорговой практики Академии наук начала 1740-х гг. показывает, что этот выбор не был случайным, — он согласовывался со взглядами читающей русской публики (а также сотрудников Академии наук) на структуру вербального производства. Маргинальное положение стихотворных текстов в этой структуре и вместе с тем внимание ее акторов к вопросам стиля ставят вопрос о возможности исторического нарратива о русской литературе 1730-х гг., в центре которого оказывались бы коллегиальная работа переводчиков Российского собрания и содержание всей совокупности издававшихся Академией наук книг — не только на русском языке. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2019.8.2.

Metrological Characteristics of the Potentiometric Assay Developed for Determining the Antioxidant Activity of Ascorbic Acid

The potentiometric assay for determining the antioxidant activity of ascorbic acid has been developed and validated according to the following parameters: specificity, linearity, accuracy, repeatability, intermediate precision. The linearity was in the concentration range of 0.002 – 0.02 mol L–1 (r2 = 0.9993). The percentage of recovery was found to be in the range from 95.38 to 105.00 %. The values of %RSD for repeatability and intermediate precision were 1.86 and 1.95 %, respectively. The method is accurate and reliable, with the relative standard deviation of less than 2 %. It has been proven that the method developed is express, rapid, highly sensitive, accurate and sufficiently reliable

The Cyanotoxin BMAA Induces Heterocyst Specific Gene Expression in <i>Anabaena</i> sp. PCC 7120 under Repressive Conditions

Cyanobacteria synthesize neurotoxic &#946;-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA). The roles of this non-protein amino acid in cyanobacterial cells are insufficiently studied. During diazotrophic growth, filamentous cyanobacteria form single differentiated cells, called heterocysts, which are separated by approximately 12&#8315;15 vegetative cells. When combined nitrogen is available, heterocyst formation is blocked and cyanobacterial filaments contain only vegetative cells. In the present study, we discovered that exogenous BMAA induces the process of heterocyst formation in filamentous cyanobacteria under nitrogen-replete conditions that normally repress cell differentiation. BMAA treated cyanobacteria form heterocyst-like dark non-fluorescent non-functional cells. It was found that glutamate eliminates the BMAA mediated derepression. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) permitted to detect the BMAA impact on the transcriptional activity of several genes that are implicated in nitrogen assimilation and heterocyst formation in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. We demonstrated that the expression of several essential genes increases in the BMAA presence under repressive conditions

A randomised trial of anti-GM-CSF otilimab in severe COVID-19 pneumonia (OSCAR).

BACKGROUND: Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and dysregulated myeloid cell responses are implicated in the pathophysiology and severity of COVID-19. METHODS: In this randomised, sequential, multicentre, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, adults aged 18-79 years (Part 1) or ≥70 years (Part 2) with severe COVID-19, respiratory failure and systemic inflammation (elevated C-reactive protein/ferritin) received a single intravenous infusion of otilimab 90 mg (human anti-GM-CSF monoclonal antibody) plus standard care (NCT04376684). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients alive and free of respiratory failure at Day 28. RESULTS: In Part 1 (n=806 randomised 1:1 otilimab:placebo), 71% of otilimab-treated patients were alive and free of respiratory failure at Day 28 versus 67% who received placebo; the model-adjusted difference of 5.3% was not statistically significant (95% CI -0.8-11.4%, p=0.09). A nominally significant model-adjusted difference of 19.1% (95% CI 5.2-33.1%, p=0.009) was observed in the predefined 70-79 years subgroup, but this was not confirmed in Part 2 (n=350 randomised) where the model-adjusted difference was 0.9% (95% CI -9.3-11.2%, p=0.86). Compared with placebo, otilimab resulted in lower serum concentrations of key inflammatory markers, including the putative pharmacodynamic biomarker CC chemokine ligand 17, indicative of GM-CSF pathway blockade. Adverse events were comparable between groups and consistent with severe COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients alive and free of respiratory failure at Day 28. However, despite the lack of clinical benefit, a reduction in inflammatory markers was observed with otilimab, in addition to an acceptable safety profile