Creating Metacognitive Experiences During Written Communication: Positive Self-Talk Using the Thinking Mirror

Theoretically, when children see themselves in the thinking mirror and say positive thoughts to themselves about their communicative behaviors, they may activate a variety of cognitive events. Positive self-talk using the thinking mirror may act as a metacognitive experience triggering positive thoughts, feelings, and sensations that may contribute to children\u27s permanent metacognitive knowledge, clarify their cognitive goals, and initiate cognitive actions during written communication. Such positive experiences may strengthen children\u27s intrinsic motivation to communicate thoughts during subsequent writing and reading endeavors

Deciphering the infectious process of Colletotrichum lupini in lupin through transcriptomic and proteomic analysis

The fungal phytopathogen Colletotrichum lupini is responsible for lupin anthracnose, resulting in significant yield losses worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying this infectious process are yet to be elucidated. This study proposes to evaluate C. lupini gene expression and protein synthesis during lupin infection, using, respectively, an RNAseq-based transcriptomic approach and a mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach. Patterns of differentially-expressed genes in planta were evaluated from 24 to 84 hours post-inoculation, and compared to in vitro cultures. A total of 897 differentially-expressed genes were identified from C. lupini during interaction with white lupin, of which 520 genes were predicted to have a putative function, including carbohydrate active enzyme, effector, protease or transporter-encoding genes, commonly described as pathogenicity factors for other Colletotrichum species during plant infection, and 377 hypothetical proteins. Simultaneously, a total of 304 proteins produced during the interaction were identified and quantified by mass spectrometry. Taken together, the results highlight that the dynamics of symptoms, gene expression and protein synthesis shared similarities to those of hemibiotrophic pathogens. In addition, a few genes with unknown or poorly-described functions were found to be specifically associated with the early or late stages of infection, suggesting that they may be of importance for pathogenicity. This study, conducted for the first time on a species belonging to the Colletotrichum acutatum species complex, presents an opportunity to deepen functional analyses of the genes involved in the pathogenicity of Colletotrichum spp. during the onset of plant infection

High-throughput screening for antifungal activities of bacterial and fungal isolates in a cheese-like medium.

Fungal spoilage is one of the causes of consequential losses in the dairy industry. In this context, the use of bioprotective cultures can be an alternative or a complementary approach to be considered. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and propionibacteria, as well as some fungal species, can exhibit antifungal activities with large differences in activity between strains. Therefore, it is necessary to develop high-throughput screening methods to test a large number of strains and find the most efficient ones. In the present study, we developed a miniaturized high-throughput screening technique to rapidly detect antifungal activities in a cheese-like model. This model, distributed in a 24-well plate, consisted of 5-fold concentrated whole milk ultrafiltration retentate (final fat concentration of 45%), rennet (0.03%) and inoculated with a mesophilic lactic commercial starter and a pH indicator. Each well of the plate could be considered as a miniature cheese of ~2 g. Potent antifungal isolates were cultured in two dairy media; (i) a 10%-reconstituted low heat skim milk supplemented with 45% anhydrous milk fat (LH) and (ii) a 6-fold concentrated milk ultrafiltration permeate sterilized by 0.22 μm filtration and complemented with 10 g/l yeast extract and a pH indicator (UF). After cultivation, cultures (100 µl) were deposited on the miniature cheese surfaces followed by inoculation in duplicate with 50 spores or cells of 4 different fungal targets (1 fungi/plate), e.g., Mucor racemosus, Galactomyces geotrichum, Penicillium commune and Yarrowia lipolytica, and incubation at 12°C for up to 15 days. We screened 505 bacterial isolates belonging to Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc and Propiobacterium genera and 198 fungal isolates belonging to 28 genera. This high-throughput screening for antifungal activity revealed that 52 and 216 bacteria, and, 53 and 89 fungi, inhibited at least one fungal target after cultivation in UF and LH, respectively. Among the 4 tested fungal targets, P. commune was the most frequently inhibited fungus while only few isolates were able to inhibit M. racemosus or Y. lipolytica. This method opens new possibilities to screen microorganisms for antifungal activities. These results also underline the importance of the culture and screening media used on the expression of antifungal activities by bacteria or fungi

Diversity of spoilage fungi in dairy products and environment, and their resistance to chemical preservatives

Fungal spoilage is one of the causes of consequential losses in the dairy industry. In this context, the use of bioprotective cultures can be an alternative or a complementary approach to be considered. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and propionibacteria, as well as some fungal species, can exhibit antifungal activities with large differences in activity between strains. Therefore, it is necessary to develop high-throughput screening methods to test a large number of strains and find the most efficient ones. In the present study, we developed a miniaturized high-throughput screening technique to rapidly detect antifungal activities in a cheese-like model. This model, distributed in a 24-well plate, consisted of 5-fold concentrated whole milk ultrafiltration retentate (final fat concentration of 45%), rennet (0.03%) and inoculated with a mesophilic lactic commercial starter and a pH indicator. Each well of the plate could be considered as a miniature cheese of ~2 g. Potent antifungal isolates were cultured in two dairy media; (i) a 10%-reconstituted low heat skim milk supplemented with 45% anhydrous milk fat (LH) and (ii) a 6-fold concentrated milk ultrafiltration permeate sterilized by 0.22 μm filtration and complemented with 10 g/l yeast extract and a pH indicator (UF). After cultivation, cultures (100 µl) were deposited on the miniature cheese surfaces followed by inoculation in duplicate with 50 spores or cells of 4 different fungal targets (1 fungi/plate), e.g., Mucor racemosus, Galactomyces geotrichum, Penicillium commune and Yarrowia lipolytica, and incubation at 12°C for up to 15 days. We screened 505 bacterial isolates belonging to Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc and Propiobacterium genera and 198 fungal isolates belonging to 28 genera. This high-throughput screening for antifungal activity revealed that 52 and 216 bacteria, and, 53 and 89 fungi, inhibited at least one fungal target after cultivation in UF and LH, respectively. Among the 4 tested fungal targets, P. commune was the most frequently inhibited fungus while only few isolates were able to inhibit M. racemosus or Y. lipolytica. This method opens new possibilities to screen microorganisms for antifungal activities. These results also underline the importance of the culture and screening media used on the expression of antifungal activities by bacteria or fungi

Microbiote des produits fermentés par approches culturales et métagénomiques Exemple d'un fromage artisanal : le Pélardon

International audienceCes dernières années, les approches métagénomiques (basées sur le séquençage de l’ADN microbien) sont devenues incontournables dans l’étude des écosystèmes microbiens des aliments, supplantant parfois les approches culturales classiques souvent considérées comme laborieuses. A travers l’exemple du Pélardon, fromage artisanal au lait cru de chèvre fabriqué par backslopping de lactosérum, nous avons comparé les communautés microbiennes au cours de la fabrication du fromage révélées par deux approches cuture-indépendantes, i.e. métagénétique 16S et métagénomique Shotgun, ainsi que par approche culturale. Cette dernière a reposé sur la déréplication et l’identification par spectrométrie de masse MALDI-TOF de plus de 600 isolats bactériens isolés de quatre milieux de culture différents. Pour ces trois méthodes, les analyses ont été réalisées sur des échantillons de Pélardon prélevés à trois stades de fabrication : caillage, affinage précoce (2 semaines) et affinage prolongé (2 mois) en analysant croûte et cœur séparément. La reconstruction des dynamiques microbiennes a montré une diversité croissante au cours de la fabrication. Les trois approches s’accordent sur la dominance marquée de Lactococcus lactis dans le caillé, suivi de Leuconostoc mesenteroides. En revanche, les stades d’affinage ont été marqués par de fortes divergences entre les différentes approches, menant à des visions très différentes des communautés, que ce soit en surface ou au cœur du Pélardon. Ainsi, cinq genres parmi lesquels Lacticaseibacillus et Enterococcus, n’ont été détectés que par l’analyse culture-dépendante tandis que six autres genres (i.e. Brachybacterium, Acinetobacter) n’ont été mis en évidence qu’à travers les approches culture-indépendantes. Si certains genres correspondaient à des populations sous-dominantes, il n’en est pas de même pour Lacticaseibacillus paracasei. Cette espèce représentait près de la totalité des flores lactiques cultivables en cœur des fromages affinés et n’a pas été détectée par l’analyse métagénétique ou Shotgun. A l’inverse, sur la base des analyses culture-indépendantes, L. lactis restait dominante tout au long de l’affinage en surface et au cœur, tandis qu’elle n’était plus détectée sur aucun des milieux utilisés par approche-culture dépendante au second stade d’affinage étudié (2 mois). Plusieurs hypothèses biologiques ont été envisagées pour expliquer cette divergence. Toutefois, ces résultats ont permis de mettre en exergue les forces et les biais liées aux approches basées sur l’ADN et illustrent, par ailleurs, la nécessité d’une approche polyphasique dans l’étude des dynamiques microbiennes des fromages artisanaux

More on clinical renal genetics.

Contains fulltext : 89212.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)1 april 201

Spectrum of mutations in the renin-angiotensin system genes in autosomal recessive renal tubular dysgenesis

Autosomal recessive renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD) is a severe disorder of renal tubular development characterized by early onset and persistent fetal anuria leading to oligohydramnios and the Potter sequence, associated with skull ossification defects. Early death occurs in most cases from anuria, pulmonary hypoplasia, and refractory arterial hypotension. The disease is linked to mutations in the genes encoding several components of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS): AGT (angiotensinogen), REN (renin), ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme), and AGTR1 (angiotensin II receptor type 1). Here, we review the series of 54 distinct mutations identified in 48 unrelated families. Most of them are novel and ACE mutations are the most frequent, observed in two-thirds of families (64.6%). The severity of the clinical course was similar whatever the mutated gene, which underlines the importance of a functional RAS in the maintenance of blood pressure and renal blood flow during the life of a human fetus. Renal hypoperfusion, whether genetic or secondary to a variety of diseases, precludes the normal development/ differentiation of proximal tubules. The identification of the disease on the basis of precise clinical and histological analyses and the characterization of the genetic defects allow genetic counseling and early prenatal diagnosis

More on clinical renal genetics

status: publishe