MICROMYCETS OF SUBSTRATES TO BE USED IN CULTIVATING AGARICUS BIOSPORUS (J. LANGE) IMBACH

The object of investigation: the micromycetes of the grain and compost-peaty champignon substrates. The work is aimed at studying the species composition and ecology of the soil mushrooms, at revealing the complexes of micromycetes, characteristic for the champignon substrate; at studying the influence of micromycetes from the GS champignon on its development; at studying the influence of the yeast preparations on the number of micromycetes in the substrate and the crop of champignons. More fully studied has been the species composition of micromycetes in the champignon substrate. The characteristic of the qualitative and quantitative distribution of mushrooms, its dynamics has been given. The essential influence of micromycetes and its role in the morphological conversion of champignons have been established. The data on interrelations of macro-micromycetes and colonization of the champignon myceliumby micromycetes can be used in the biomonitoring of the micromycete development. The interconnection between the champignon crop, the number of micromycetes and the quantity of the new yeast preparations to be inserted in the substrate has been established. The data on studying the interrelations of the macro-micromycetes and its effect on the development of champinons; on insertion of additives for increasing the crop of champignons have been introduced in service. The insertion of preparation Alexandrina (1,5 g/l) has consisted the crop addition of champignons by 1,8 kg-m*992. The field of application: the ecology of micromycetes, the soil mycology, champignon-keepingAvailable from VNTIC / VNTIC - Scientific & Technical Information Centre of RussiaSIGLERURussian Federatio

Rapid Biosensor for Detection of Antibiotic-Selective Growth of Escherichia coli

A rapid biosensor for the detection of bacterial growth was developed using micromechanical oscillators coated in common nutritive layers. The change in resonance frequency as a function of the increasing mass on a cantilever array forms the basis of the detection scheme. The calculated mass sensitivity according to the mechanical properties of the cantilever sensor is ∼50 pg/Hz; this mass corresponds to an approximate sensitivity of ∼100 Escherichia coli cells. The sensor is able to detect active growth of E. coli cells within 1 h. The starting number of E. coli cells initially attached to the sensor cantilever was, on average, ∼1,000 cells. Furthermore, this method allows the detection of selective growth of E. coli within only 2 h by adding antibiotics to the nutritive layers. The growth of E. coli was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. This new sensing method for the detection of selective bacterial growth allows future applications in, e.g., rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing

Views of people with traumatic spinal cord injury about the components of self-management programs and program delivery: a Canadian pilot study

Abstract Background Given the increasing emphasis on the community management of spinal cord injury (SCI), strategies that could be developed and implemented in order to empower and engage individuals with SCI in promoting their health and minimizing the risk of health conditions are required. A self-management program could be one approach to address these complex needs, including secondary complications. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the importance attributed to the components of a self-management program by individuals with traumatic SCI and explore their views/opinions about the delivery of such a program. Methods Individuals with SCI were recruited by email via the Rick Hansen Institute (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) as well as an outpatient hospital spinal clinic. Data were collected by self-report using an on-line survey. Results The final sample size was 99 individuals with traumatic SCI. The components of a self-management program that were rated as “very important” by the greatest proportion of participants included: exercise (n= 53; 53.5%), nutrition (n= 51; 51.5%), pain management (n= 44; 44.4%), information/education on aging with a SCI (n= 42; 42.4%), communicating with health care professionals (n= 40; 40.4%), problem solving (n= 40; 40.4%), transitioning from rehabilitation to the community (n= 40; 40.4%), and confidence (n= 40; 40.4%). Overall, 74.7% (n= 74) of the sample rated the overall importance of the development of a self-management program for individuals with traumatic SCI as “very important” or “important”. Almost 40% (n= 39) of the sample indicated that an internet-based self-management program would be the best delivery format. The highest proportion of participants indicated that the program should have individuals of a similar level of injury (n= 74; 74.7%); having individuals of a similar age (n= 40; 40.4%) was also noted. Over one-quarter of the sample (n= 24) had a depression score consistent with significant symptoms of depression. Conclusions Future research is needed to further evaluate how the views of people with traumatic SCI change over time. Our findings could be used to develop and pilot test a self-management program for individuals with traumatic SCI

Plasticity of the injured human spinal cord: insights revealed by spinal cord functional MRI.

IntroductionWhile numerous studies have documented evidence for plasticity of the human brain there is little evidence that the human spinal cord can change after injury. Here, we employ a novel spinal fMRI design where we stimulate normal and abnormal sensory dermatomes in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury and perform a connectivity analysis to understand how spinal networks process information.MethodsSpinal fMRI data was collected at 3 Tesla at two institutions from 38 individuals using the standard SEEP functional MR imaging techniques. Thermal stimulation was applied to four dermatomes in an interleaved timing pattern during each fMRI acquisition. SCI patients were stimulated in dermatomes both above (normal sensation) and below the level of their injury. Sub-group analysis was performed on healthy controls (n = 20), complete SCI (n = 3), incomplete SCI (n = 9) and SCI patients who recovered full function (n = 6).ResultsPatients with chronic incomplete SCI, when stimulated in a dermatome of normal sensation, showed an increased number of active voxels relative to controls (p = 0.025). There was an inverse relationship between the degree of sensory impairment and the number of active voxels in the region of the spinal cord corresponding to that dermatome of abnormal sensation (R(2) = 0.93, pConclusionsIn this work we demonstrate the use of spinal fMRI to investigate changes in spinal processing of somatosensory information in the human spinal cord. We provide evidence for plasticity of the human spinal cord after traumatic injury based on an increase in the average number of active voxels in dermatomes of normal sensation in chronic SCI patients and an increased number of intraspinal connections in incomplete SCI patients relative to healthy controls

Spinal connectivity analysis.

<p>From left to right: Interspinal connectivity analysis in healthy controls (projected image), statistical comparison of controls to incomplete SCI patients (bar graph), interspinal connectivity analysis in incomplete SCI patient (projected image) and statistical comparison of controls to recovered SCI patients. The projected images represent a single subject from three angles (oblique left, coronal, obliqe right). The blue lines represent interspinal connections, the orange-yellow lines represent spinal cord-caudal brainstem connections and the red spectrum represents spinal cord-rostral brainstem connections. The number of inter-spinal connections to the prime cluster is shown as a projected image for both uninjured controls (A) and incomplete, chronic SCI patients (B). A one-way ANOVA comparing the mean number of interspinal connections to the prime cluster across healthy control (blue and red bar graph), incomplete SCI (green and purple bar graph) and recovered SCI participants (yellow and orange bar graph) was significant (p<0.001). Significant post-hoc Tukey tests included the difference between control participants stimulated in the C5 dermatome and incomplete SCI patients stimulated above the level of injury (* p = 0.045, blue vs. green bar graph) and recovered SCI participants stimulated above the level of injury (# p = 0.03, blue vs. yellow bar graph).</p

The spinal fMRI response of chronic SCI patients.

<p>The spinal fMRI response of chronic SCI patients.</p

Region of interest analysis.

<p>Left panel: A region of interest (ROI) analysis conducted in a healthy individual (A and B) and a chronic SCI patient (C and D); axial images through the cervical zone of the spinal cord corresponding to the dermatome stimulated. A: Thermal stimulation of the right C5 dermatome of a 30 year old male. B: Thermal stimulation of the left C8 dermatome of the same individual. C: Thermal stimulation of the right C5 dermatome in a 19 year old male with a chronic C6 ASIA D SCI. D: Thermal stimulation of the left C8 dermatome in the same individual. Right: Quantification of the ROI analysis across all healthy controls (n = 20) and incomplete SCI patients (n = 9). Bar graph: uninjured controls stimulated at the C5 dermatome (blue) and C8 dermatome (red). Incomplete, chronic SCI patients stimulated above the level of injury (green) and below the level of injury (purple). A one way ANOVA was significant at p = 0.003. Post hoc tukey test revealed a significant difference between thermal stimulation above the level of injury in chronic SCI patients, *p = 0.025. There was no significant difference between thermal stimulation of the C5 and C8 regions of control participants. There was no significant difference between thermal stimulation below the level of injury in chronic SCI patients and thermal stimulation of either the C5 or C8 regions in healthy controls.</p

Spinal fMRI/sensory deficit relationship.

<p>Pearson’s correlation analysis between the absolute number of active voxels in the spinal cord dorsal quadrant region of interest (corresponding to the dermatome stimulated) and the AIS clinical sensory score of that same dermatome. All data contained within this analysis was taken from incomplete SCI patients who were stimulated in dermatomes below the level of their SCI. R² = 0.93, p<0.001. AIS sensory score  = 8, normal sensation. AIS sensory score  = 0, no sensation. AIS sensory score encompasses both pin-prick and light touch clinical tests.</p