Singing pedagogy and contemporary vocal music: A troubled relationship

In this paper, we explore the interrelationships between knowledge construction in the field of Vocal Pedagogy and compositional forms of the academic music of the 20th century. We propose that research logics within Vocal Technique contributed to the thinking of the time providing a matrix to consider the vocal instrument from an objectivist position. The importance of the inquiries presented lies on the slow expansion that contemporary vocal music acquired in the last years, and in the absence of a Vocal Technique teaching method that considers the particular characteristics of this repertoire. As a current challenge, we consider necessary to chart a new model in Vocal Technique that favors the interpretation of the vocal repertoire of the 20th Century, and to establish a corpus of knowledge about (i) which are the new required skills and abilities, (ii) how they are produced, and (iii) how they should be taught.Laboratorio para el Estudio de la Experiencia MusicalConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Singing pedagogy and contemporary vocal music: A troubled relationship

In this paper, we explore the interrelationships between knowledge construction in the field of Vocal Pedagogy and compositional forms of the academic music of the 20th century. We propose that research logics within Vocal Technique contributed to the thinking of the time providing a matrix to consider the vocal instrument from an objectivist position. The importance of the inquiries presented lies on the slow expansion that contemporary vocal music acquired in the last years, and in the absence of a Vocal Technique teaching method that considers the particular characteristics of this repertoire. As a current challenge, we consider necessary to chart a new model in Vocal Technique that favors the interpretation of the vocal repertoire of the 20th Century, and to establish a corpus of knowledge about (i) which are the new required skills and abilities, (ii) how they are produced, and (iii) how they should be taught.Laboratorio para el Estudio de la Experiencia MusicalConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Vacunación antigripal y correlación con la gravedad de infección por SARS-CoV-2. Estudio en la Comunidad Canaria.

Introducción: La gripe estacional y la infección por SARS.CoV-2 comparten similitudes, en su sintomatología y en los grupos de riesgo que mayor gravedad del cuadro presentan. Objetivo: Comprobar el porcentaje de ingreso hospitalario, ingreso en UCI y fallecimiento por SARS-CoV-2 entre vacunados y no vacunados frente a la gripe. Material y métodos: Se presenta un estudio descriptivo, observacional, de carácter retrospectivo en el que se incluye a los contagiados por el virus SARS-CoV-2 en Canarias durante la primera ola de la pandemia de COVID-19, desde el 31 de enero de 2020 al 31 de mayo de 2020. Resultados: La base de datos está constituida por 356 individuos extraídos de una población de 2447 pacientes que contrajeron COVID durante la primera ola de la pandemia en la población canaria, de los cuales solo 236 tienen información sobre signos y síntomas, factores de riesgo, hospitalización y fallecimiento. No se han encontrado diferencias significativas entre los vacunados y no vacunados de la gripe con respecto a tener o no síntomas COVID (p = 0,760). Con respecto a los factores de riesgo, los vacunados presentan mayor número de factores de riesgo (p = 0,008). Así como tampoco se demuestra relación entre hospitalización, ingreso en UCI y/o fallecimiento con el hecho de estar vacunado frente a la gripe. Conclusión: La vacunación de la gripe no produce una disminución de la gravedad de la infección por SARS-CoV-2.Introduction: Seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection share similarities in their symptomatology and in the risk groups with the most severe symptoms. Objective: To determine the percentage of hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 between those vaccinated and those not vaccinated against influenza. Material and methods: We present a descriptive, observational, retrospective study including those infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the Canary Islands during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, from 31 January 2020 to 31 May 2020. Results: The database consists of 356 individuals drawn from a population of 2447 patients who contracted COVID during the first wave of the pandemic in the Canary Islands population, of which only 236 have information on signs and symptoms, risk factors, hospitalisation and death. No significant differences were found between those vaccinated and unvaccinated against influenza with respect to having or not having COVID symptoms (p = 0.760). With regard to risk factors, those vaccinated had a greater number of risk factors (p = 0.008). Nor was there any relationship between hospitalisation, admission to the ICU and/or death and being vaccinated against influenza. Conclusion: Influenza vaccination does not reduce the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infectio

Primera detección de CMY-2 en Salmonella Heidelberg en Sudamérica

Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg ranks among the most prevalent causes of human salmonellosis in the United States and Canada, although it has been infrequently reported in South American and European countries. Most Salmonella infections are self-limiting; however, some invasive infections require antimicrobial therapy. In this work we characterized an oxyimino-cephalosporin resistant S. Heidelberg isolate recovered from an inpatient in a Buenos Aires hospital. CMY-2 was responsible for the ß-lactam resistance profile. S. Heidelberg contained a 97 kb plasmid belonging to the Inc N group harboring blaCMY-2. ISEcp1 was located upstream blaCMY-2 driving its expression and mobilization. The isolate belonged to sequence type 15 and virotyping revealed the presence of sopE gene. In this study we identified the first CMY-2 producing isolate of S. Heidelberg in Argentina and even in South America.Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg es uno de los principales agentes causantes de salmonelosis en humanos en Estados Unidos y Canadá, sin embargo, resulta infrecuente en los países de Sudamérica y Europa. En este trabajo se caracterizó un aislamiento de S. Heidelberg resistente a oximino-cefalosporinas recuperado de un paciente internado en un hospital de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Se evidenció la presencia de un plásmido de 97 kb perteneciente al grupo de incompatibilidad IncN, portador del gen blaCMY-2. ISEcp1 fue localizado corriente arriba de blaCMY-2, promoviendo su expresión y movilización. El aislamiento de S. Heidelberg correspondió al secuenciotipo 15 y en la virotipificación se detectó el gen sopE. En este trabajo describimos por primera vez la producción de CMY-2 en una cepa de S. Heidelberg en nuestro país y América Latina.Fil: Cejas, Daniela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Microbiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vignoli, Rafael. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Quinteros, Mirta. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas F. J. Muñiz; ArgentinaFil: Marino, Ricardo. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas F. J. Muñiz; ArgentinaFil: Callejo, Raquel. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas F. J. Muñiz; ArgentinaFil: Betancor, Laura. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Gutkind, Gabriel Osvaldo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Microbiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Radice, Marcela Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Departamento de Microbiología, Inmunología y Biotecnología. Cátedra de Microbiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Comparative genomics of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis ST-11 isolated in Uruguay reveals lineages associated with particular epidemiological traits

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a major cause of foodborne disease in Uruguay since 1995. We used a genomic approach to study a set of isolates from different sources and years. Whole genome phylogeny showed that most of the strains are distributed in two major lineages (E1 and E2), both belonging to MLST sequence type 11 the major ST among serovar Enteritidis. Strikingly, E2 isolates are over-represented in periods of outbreak abundance in Uruguay, while E1 span all epidemic periods. Both lineages circulate in neighbor countries at the same timescale as in Uruguay, and are present in minor numbers in distant countries. We identified allelic variants associated with each lineage. Three genes, ycdX, pduD and hsdM, have distinctive variants in E1 that may result in defective products. Another four genes (ybiO, yiaN, aas, aceA) present variants specific for the E2 lineage. Overall this work shows that S. enterica serovar Enteritidis strains circulating in Uruguay have the same phylogenetic profile than strains circulating in the region, as well as in more distant countries. Based on these results we hypothesize that the E2 lineage, which is more prevalent during epidemics, exhibits a combination of allelic variants that could be associated with its epidemic ability

Cultural variations in perceptions and reactions to social norm transgressions: a comparative study

IntroductionHumans are similar but behave differently, and one main reason is the culture in which they are born and raised. The purpose of this research is to examine how the perception and reaction to those who transgress social norms may vary based on the individualism/collectivism of their culture.MethodsA study (N = 398) conducted in the United Kingdom, Spain, and China showed differences in the perception and reaction to incivilities based on individualism/collectivism.ResultsPeople from highly collective countries (China) perceive uncivil transgressors as immoral and enact more social control over them than people from highly individualistic countries (U.K.). They also experience more discomfort when facing uncivil transgressors, and this discomfort mediates the increasing immorality perceived on the agents of incivilities in contrast with people from less collective countries.DiscussionOur findings provide insights into how cultural factors shape individuals’ perceptions of social norm violations and emphasize the importance of considering cultural differences when addressing incivility

Genotypic and phenotypic analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Derby, looking for clues explaining the impairment of egg isolates to cause human disease

Salmonella enterica serovar Derby causes foodborne disease (FBD) outbreaks worldwide, mainly from contaminated pork but also from chickens. During a major epidemic of FBD in Uruguay due to S. enteritidis from poultry, we conducted a large survey of commercially available eggs, where we isolated many S. enteritidis strains but surprisingly also a much larger number (ratio 5:1) of S. Derby strains. No single case of S. Derby infection was detected in that period, suggesting that the S. Derby egg strains were impaired for human infection. We sequenced fourteen of these egg isolates, as well as fifteen isolates from pork or human infection that were isolated in Uruguay before and after that period, and all sequenced strains had the same sequence type (ST40). Phylogenomic analysis was conducted using more than 3,500 genomes from the same sequence type (ST), revealing that Uruguayan isolates clustered into four distantly related lineages. Population structure analysis (BAPS) suggested the division of the analyzed genomes into nine different BAPS1 groups, with Uruguayan strains clustering within four of them. All egg isolates clustered together as a monophyletic group and showed differences in gene content with the strains in the other clusters. Differences included variations in the composition of mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, insertion sequences, transposons, and phages, between egg isolates and human/pork isolates. Egg isolates showed an acid susceptibility phenotype, reduced ability to reach the intestine after oral inoculation of mice, and reduced induction of SPI-2 ssaG gene, compared to human isolates from other monophyletic groups. Mice challenge experiments showed that mice infected intraperitoneally with human/pork isolates died between 1–7 days p.i., while all animals infected with the egg strain survived the challenge. Altogether, our results suggest that loss of genes functions, the insertion of phages and the absence of plasmids in egg isolates may explain why these S. Derby were not capable of producing human infection despite being at that time, the main serovar recovered from eggs countrywide

Therapeutic Assay with the Non-toxic C-Terminal Fragment of Tetanus Toxin (TTC) in Transgenic Murine Models of Prion Disease

The non-toxic C-terminal fragment of the tetanus toxin (TTC) has been described as a neuroprotective molecule since it binds to Trk receptors and activates Trk-dependent signaling, activating neuronal survival pathways and inhibiting apoptosis. Previous in vivo studies have demonstrated the ability of this molecule to increase mice survival, inhibit apoptosis and regulate autophagy in murine models of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders in which the main pathogenic event is the conversion of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) into an abnormal and misfolded isoform known as PrPSc. These diseases share different pathological features with other neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. Hitherto, there are no effective therapies to treat prion diseases. Here, we present a pilot study to test the therapeutic potential of TTC to treat prion diseases. C57BL6 wild-type mice and the transgenic mice Tg338, which overexpress PrPC, were intracerebrally inoculated with scrapie prions and then subjected to a treatment consisting of repeated intramuscular injections of TTC. Our results indicate that TTC displays neuroprotective effects in the murine models of prion disease reducing apoptosis, regulating autophagy and therefore increasing neuronal survival, although TTC did not increase survival time in these models

A novel real-time PCR assay for quantitative detection of Campylobacter fetus based on ribosomal sequences

Background: Campylobacter fetus is a pathogen of major concern for animal and human health. The species shows a great intraspecific variation, with three subspecies: C. fetus subsp. fetus, C. fetus subsp. venerealis, and C. fetus subsp. testudinum. Campylobacter fetus fetus affects a broad range of hosts and induces abortion in sheep and cows. Campylobacter fetus venerealis is restricted to cattle and causes the endemic disease bovine genital campylobacteriosis, which triggers reproductive problems and is responsible for major economic losses. Campylobacter fetus testudinum has been proposed recently based on genetically divergent strains isolated from reptiles and humans. Both C. fetus fetus and C. fetus testudinum are opportunistic pathogens for immune-compromised humans. Biochemical tests remain as the gold standard for identifying C. fetus but the fastidious growing requirements and the lack of reliability and reproducibility of some biochemical tests motivated the development of molecular diagnostic tools. These methods have been successfully tested on bovine isolates but fail to detect some genetically divergent strains isolated from other hosts. The aim of the present study was to develop a highly specific molecular assay to identify and quantify C. fetus strains. Results: We developed a highly sensitive real-time PCR assay that targets a unique region of the 16S rRNA gene. This assay successfully detected all C. fetus strains, including those that were negative for the cstA gene-based assay used as a standard for molecular C. fetus identification. The assay showed high specificity and absence of cross-reactivity with other bacterial species. The analytical testing of the assay was determined using a standard curve. The assay demonstrated a wide dynamic range between 102 and 107 genome copies per reaction, and a good reproducibility with small intra- and inter-assay variability. Conclusions: The possibility to characterize samples in a rapid, sensitive and reproducible way makes this assay a good option to establish a new standard in molecular identification and quantification of C. fetus species.EEA BalcarceFil: Iraola, Gregorio. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias. Sección Genética Evolutiva; Uruguay. Institut Pasteur Montevideo. Unidad de Bioinformática; UruguayFil: Pérez, Ruben. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias. Sección Genética Evolutiva; UruguayFil: Betancor, Laura. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Higiene. Departamento de Bacteriología y Virología; UruguayFil: Marandino, Ana. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias. Sección Genética Evolutiva; UruguayFil: Morsella, Claudia Graciela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Laboratorio de Bacteriología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Mendez, Maria Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Laboratorio de Bacteriología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Paolicchi, Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Laboratorio de Bacteriología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Piccirillo, Alessandra. Università degli Studi di Padova. Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione; ItaliaFil: Tomás, Gonzalo. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias. Sección Genética Evolutiva; UruguayFil: Velilla, Alejandra Vanesa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Laboratorio de Bacteriología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Calleros, Lucía. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias. Sección Genética Evolutiva; Urugua