ABSTRACT
We present the results from ELISA IgG/IgM tests vs rtPCR diagnostic testing of individuals both with and without clinical symptoms, travel arrangements and cross-border movement, in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic during the entire 2021. rtPCR test results were a prerequisite for any planned trip, requirement for diagnosis and protocol treatment. The collected data are cumulative and the statistics might become helpful to each individual in deciding on a particular line of action. Our Molecular Diagnostics Unit is licensed within the territory of Bulgaria. Our methods present strict protocols from the guidelines of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, the kits used were all CE, the overall concept in sync with the global regulations per CDC and the WHO. The cumulated results for each month show high correlation between the levels of IgM and the number of patients testing positive for COVID with the rtPCR. We present retrospective data of utmost importance for the regions near border crossing point in a situation of pandemic with involvement of local and international authorities. Determining the titer of Covid antibodies provides important information with regard to vaccination and compare levels of titers of acute elevated IgM titers in patients with severe COVID-19 with positive PCR results in an attempt to implement more ELISA testing as a significant, informative and important part of establishing a patient's status, given the easier access to rapid tests when triaging patients for admission to hospital and with the need for emergency resuscitation. © 2022, Bulgarian Society for Microbiology (Union of Scientists in Bulgaria). All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The paper analyzes the transformations occurring at the level of society’s institutional matrix under the influence of a unique combination of evolutionary (increasing complexity of information and technological development) and revolutionary (the COVID-19 pandemic) factors. The authors suggest that current institutional transformations result in the formation of digital spheres of society, constituting in their totality the digital information environment, and model their structural relationships and the preferred scenarios for each segment of the institutional transformation. Based on the analysis of doctrinal theories, the legal and regulatory framework of the Russian Federation, and statistical data specifying the outcome of the transformations on the example of the North Caucasian Federal District in a cross section of the Karachayevo-Chircassian Republic and the Stavropol Territory, the authors highlight the problems in the regulation of digital areas, noting great scientific interest and practical significance of further consideration of the dynamics of the digital information environment. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
It is often pointed out that pronunciation instruction, unlike many other aspects of language learning, is a very physical activity. In teaching the pronunciation of a foreign language, face-to-face tuition with an experienced, phonetically trained instructor remains the best option. But the COVID pandemic and the shift to online teaching which universities in Bulgaria had to make virtually overnight about two years ago, forced course instructors to adapt very quickly both their teaching materials and resources as well as their teaching methods and practices to the new realities of life in / with the epidemic. The present paper addresses the question of teaching English pronunciation at tertiary level during the COVID pandemic. It discusses briefly the advantages and disadvantages of a number of digital resources which university students have found useful both in class and for individual work outside the virtual classroom on various segmental and suprasegmental aspects of the pronunciation of the foreign language.
ABSTRACT
In a brief summary we present a report of the results from rtPCR diagnostic tests of individuals with travel arrangements and border-crossing movement, and the importance of restrictive measures, diagnostic testing and travel limitations in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic during the summer months of 2020. rtPCR test results were a prerequisite for any planned trip and border crossing, therefore the collected data are cumulative and the statistics extremely helpful and necessary. Our Molecular Diagnostics Unit is licensed within the territory of Bulgaria. Our methods were strict protocols from the guidelines of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Bulgaria, the kits used were all CE, the overall concept in sync with the global regulations as from the CDC and the WHO. We demonstrated an increase in the number of infected randomly tested travelers during the summer months and thereafter, giving a glimpse of the magnitude of the pandemic that followed. We showed a total increase of infection from 12.5% in July to almost 56% for the month of November. The current report presents retrospective data and makes suggestions that are available to nations and applicable locally;it is of immense importance for the regions located near border-crossing points in a situation of pandemic of such magnitude without immediate access to vaccines or reliable treatment for the novel infectious disease outbreaks.