Transcriptional profiling reveals the expression of novel genes in response to various stimuli in the human dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cutaneous mycoses are common human infections among healthy and immunocompromised hosts, and the anthropophilic fungus <it>Trichophyton rubrum </it>is the most prevalent microorganism isolated from such clinical cases worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the transcriptional profile of <it>T. rubrum </it>exposed to various stimuli in order to obtain insights into the responses of this pathogen to different environmental challenges. Therefore, we generated an expressed sequence tag (EST) collection by constructing one cDNA library and nine suppression subtractive hybridization libraries.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 1388 unigenes identified in this study were functionally classified based on the Munich Information Center for Protein Sequences (MIPS) categories. The identified proteins were involved in transcriptional regulation, cellular defense and stress, protein degradation, signaling, transport, and secretion, among other functions. Analysis of these unigenes revealed 575 <it>T. rubrum </it>sequences that had not been previously deposited in public databases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study, we identified novel <it>T. rubrum </it>genes that will be useful for ORF prediction in genome sequencing and facilitating functional genome analysis. Annotation of these expressed genes revealed metabolic adaptations of <it>T. rubrum </it>to carbon sources, ambient pH shifts, and various antifungal drugs used in medical practice. Furthermore, challenging <it>T. rubrum </it>with cytotoxic drugs and ambient pH shifts extended our understanding of the molecular events possibly involved in the infectious process and resistance to antifungal drugs.</p

An application of the Rasch model to reading comprehension measurement

An effective reading comprehension measurement demands robust psychometric tools that allow teachers and researchers to evaluate the educational practices and track changes in students’ performance. In this study, we illustrate how Rasch model can be used to attend such demands and improve reading comprehension measurement. We discuss the construction of two reading comprehension tests: TRC-n, with narrative texts, and TRC-e, with expository texts. Three vertically scaled forms were generated for each test (TRC-n-2, TRC-n-3, TRC-n-4; TRC-e-2, TRC-e-3 and TRC-e-4), each meant to assess Portuguese students in second, third and fourth grade of elementary school. The tests were constructed according to a nonequivalent groups with anchor test design and data were analyzed using the Rasch model. The results provided evidence for good psychometric qualities for each test form, including unidimensionality and local independence and adequate reliability. A critical view of this study and future researches are discussed.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), PortugalThis research was supported by Grant FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-010733 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through the European program COMPETE (Operational Program for Competitiveness Factors) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio