rAAV expressing recombinant antibody for emergency prevention and long-term prophylaxis of COVID-19

IntroductionNumerous agents for prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2-induced diseases are currently registered for the clinical use. Formation of the immunity happens within several weeks following vaccine administration which is their key disadvantage. In contrast, drugs based on monoclonal antibodies, enable rapid passive immunization and therefore can be used for emergency pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19. However rapid elimination of antibody-based drugs from the circulation limits their usage for prolonged pre-exposure prophylaxis.MethodsIn current work we developed a recombinant adeno-associated viral vector (rAAV), expressing a SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (RBD)-specific antibody P2C5 fused with a human IgG1 Fc fragment (P2C5-Fc) using methods of molecular biotechnology and bioprocessing.Results and discussionsA P2C5-Fc antibody expressed by a proposed rAAV (rAAV-P2C5-Fc) was shown to circulate within more than 300 days in blood of transduced mice and protect animals from lethal SARS-CoV-2 virus (B.1.1.1 and Omicron BA.5 variants) lethal dose of 105 TCID50. In addition, rAAV-P2C5-Fc demonstrated 100% protective activity as emergency prevention and long-term prophylaxis, respectively. It was also demonstrated that high titers of neutralizing antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus were detected in the blood serum of animals that received rAAV-P2C5-Fc for more than 10 months from the moment of administration.Our data therefore indicate applicability of an rAAV for passive immunization and induction of a rapid long-term protection against various SARS-CoV-2 variants

Safety and immunogenicity of rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in healthy adolescents: an open-label, non-randomized, multicenter, phase 1/2, dose-escalation study

To protect young individuals against SARS-CoV-2 infection, we conducted an open-label, prospective, non-randomised dose-escalation Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of the prime-boost “Sputnik V” vaccine administered at 1/10 and 1/5 doses to adolescents aged 12–17 years. The study began with the vaccination of the older cohort (15-to-17-year-old participants) with the lower (1/10) dose of vaccine and then expanded to the whole group (12-to-17-year-old participants). Next, 1/5 dose was used according to the same scheme. Both doses were well tolerated by all age groups. No serious or severe adverse events were detected. Most of the solicited adverse reactions were mild. No significant differences in total frequencies of adverse events were registered between low and high doses in age-pooled groups (69.6% versus 66.7%). In contrast, the 1/5 dose induced significantly higher humoral and T cell-mediated immune responses than the 1/10 dose. The 1/5 vaccine dose elicited higher antigen-binding (both S and RBD-specific) as well as virus-neutralising antibody titres at the maximum of response (day 42), also resulting in a statistically significant difference at a distanced timepoint (day 180) compared to the 1/10 vaccine dose. Higher dose resulted in increased cross-neutralization of Delta and Omicron variants.;Clinical Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04954092, LP-007632

INTEGRATIVE TEACHING MODEL OF READING AS A COMPONENT OF A TRANSLATOR'S PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

The article is concerned with the development, validation, and verification of the effectiveness of the teaching model of reading as a component of professional translation of scientific and technical texts in the field of Informatics and Computer Hardware. The effectiveness of the proposed teaching model has been verified experimentally by comparing the formed translator's reading skills before and after the start of the training course created by the authors. A research analysis made it possible to consider this type of reading as an important component of translators' professional activities. The translator's reading of scientific and technical texts was studied from interdisciplinary perspectives, such as: theory of translation, linguodidactics, didactics of translation, cognitive science, psychology, psycholinguistics, and discourse approach. Its distinctive characteristics were defined in order to formulate general and specific translator's reading skills which are essential for translators. Based on the conclusions obtained from the analysis, a teaching model of reading as a component of a translator's professional activities was developed and described. This model consists of the following components: (1) target component, (2) conceptual component, (3) methodological component and (4) component of results. In order to form the translator's reading skills, case technology was used based on teaching through; comprehension, analysis and solution of specific problems (cases) which do not generally have a unique solution. The developed technique on the basis of case technology may improve the level of students' motivation and prepare them for future professional activities. The results of the study can be used for supplementary translators' training programs, such as 'Professional translation for expert communities', for developing similar materials applied to other languages, in qualification upgrading courses for translation trainers, or special translation training programs at linguistic universities and faculties

INTEGRATIVE TEACHING MODEL OF READING AS A COMPONENT OF A TRANSLATOR'S PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

The article is concerned with the development, validation, and verification of the effectiveness of the teaching model of reading as a component of professional translation of scientific and technical texts in the field of Informatics and Computer Hardware. The effectiveness of the proposed teaching model has been verified experimentally by comparing the formed translator's reading skills before and after the start of the training course created by the authors. A research analysis made it possible to consider this type of reading as an important component of translators' professional activities. The translator's reading of scientific and technical texts was studied from interdisciplinary perspectives, such as: theory of translation, linguodidactics, didactics of translation, cognitive science, psychology, psycholinguistics, and discourse approach. Its distinctive characteristics were defined in order to formulate general and specific translator's reading skills which are essential for translators. Based on the conclusions obtained from the analysis, a teaching model of reading as a component of a translator's professional activities was developed and described. This model consists of the following components: (1) target component, (2) conceptual component, (3) methodological component and (4) component of results. In order to form the translator's reading skills, case technology was used based on teaching through; comprehension, analysis and solution of specific problems (cases) which do not generally have a unique solution. The developed technique on the basis of case technology may improve the level of students' motivation and prepare them for future professional activities. The results of the study can be used for supplementary translators' training programs, such as 'Professional translation for expert communities', for developing similar materials applied to other languages, in qualification upgrading courses for translation trainers, or special translation training programs at linguistic universities and faculties

Information technologies as applied to translation of specialized texts

The purpose of this article is to find out information technologies used by translators in their professional activity. For this purpose, the concept of "information translation environment" was analyzed, including information technologies used by professional translators. Researchers distinguish various types of information technologies which can be used by translators. In order to systematize them, an analysis of the studies and survey of professional translators were carried out. The analysis of studies made it possible to define three groups of information resources: the information resources used in the translation process; network information technologies; and auxiliary information resources. As an example, the group of information resources used in the translation process was analyzed, and difficulties encountered by translators in their work were highlighted. The results obtained from the studies and survey of translators can be used for preparing lectures on translation didactics and developing practical materials on forming technical translators' information competency

GENDER AND ETHNIC FACTORS IN ORAL PROFICIENCY ASSESSMENT: "CAN DO" AND "CAN'T DO"

The main purpose of this exploratory study is to determine the relationship between the test takers' ethnic background and gender and the efficacy of oral proficiency testing. The methodology includes (1) theoretical analyses in testology, interdidactics, linguodidactics, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, methods of teaching foreign languages in the aspect of the research problem; (2) interviewing the test takers, the test developers and the testers, didactic analyses of 60 videotapes of oral proficiency testing, as well as self-evaluation of the testees; (3) methods of statistical analysis, which was used to verify the findings. 60 native test takers from Syria, Vietnam, Russia, males and females in each group equally, participated at the experimental research. The typical test tasks aimed at oral proficiency assessment, recommended by the State Russian as a Foreign Language Testing System and ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, were used. Main results of this study are: (1) there is a strong and significant relationship between the test takers' ethnics and gender, on the one hand, and test performance, on the other hand; (2) certain types of the test tasks provoke the test takers' communicative failures, caused by gender and ethnic blockages, barriers and taboos on realization of discourse and behavioral strategies; (3) these communicative misfits may not be corrected or eliminated by didactic means, e.g. or special training, since they are determined by ethnic moral norms and standards. The results of the study may be implemented in the system of teaching foreign languages and language proficiency testing, they may be useful for the test developers, the test administrators and foreign language teachers

Formation of structure in hard-alloy coatings from powders under passage of a powerful pulse of electric current

A method of ultrafast deposition of hard-alloy coatings from powders upon passage of a powerful pulse of electric current is considered. The structure of the coatings obtained by the electric-pulse and standard processes is studied by metallographic, electron microscope and x-ray diffraction analyses. The physical, mechanical and cutting properties of the hard-alloy coatings are determined. The endurance of the cutting tools with hard-alloy coatings is estimated under the conditions of large-scale and pilot productions. The possibility of creation of tools with enhanced operating characteristics is demonstrated.The work has been performed within Provision of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 9, 2010 No. 220 “On Measures for Attracting Leading Scientists to Russian Higher Professional Educational Organizations, Scientific Institutions of Academies of Sciences and State Research Centers of the Russian Federation” (Agreement No. 14.B25.31.0012 of June 26, 2013).Peer Reviewe

Translation-oriented reading of scientific-technical texts vs ordinary reading: Psychological and psycholinguistic aspects

Translation-oriented reading makes it possible to identify the differences and similarities of the professional reading and ordinary reading in psychological and psycholinguistic terms. The translator should comprehend both the meaning of the source text and its linguistic form of representation in order to produce an adequate translation. The analysis of translation-oriented reading based on the cognitive approach suggests that the translator arrives at a concept representing the content and meaning to be retrieved from the text. The obtained results may be used for the future research connected with the professional translator’s training. © 2018, Slovenska Vzdelavacia Obstaravacia. All rights reserved

Specific features of special discourse genres in information technology

The author analyses genres of special discourse related to information technology (IT) in terms of difficulties experienced by translators of scientific and technical texts in understanding them. For this purpose, surveys of professional translators were conducted which made it possible to identify the most typical genres: press release, instruction, corporate website and user’s manual. A discourse analysis was carried out of these genres according to specified criteria in order to compare and confirm the results of the survey as well as identify the easiest and the most difficult IT genres for translators to understand. © 2017, Slovenska Vzdelavacia Obstaravacia. All rights reserved