Active auditory experience in infancy promotes brain plasticity in Theta and Gamma oscillations

Language acquisition in infants is driven by on-going neural plasticity that is acutely sensitive to environmental acoustic cues. Recent studies showed that attention-based experience with non-linguistic, temporally-modulated auditory stimuli sharpens cortical responses. A previous ERP study from this laboratory showed that interactive auditory experience via behavior-based feedback (AEx), over a 6-week period from 4- to 7-months-of-age, confers a processing advantage, compared to passive auditory exposure (PEx) or maturation alone (Naïve Control, NC). Here, we provide a follow-up investigation of the underlying neural oscillatory patterns in these three groups. In AEx infants, Standard stimuli with invariant frequency (STD) elicited greater Theta-band (4–6 Hz) activity in Right Auditory Cortex (RAC), as compared to NC infants, and Deviant stimuli with rapid frequency change (DEV) elicited larger responses in Left Auditory Cortex (LAC). PEx and NC counterparts showed less-mature bilateral patterns. AEx infants also displayed stronger Gamma (33–37 Hz) activity in the LAC during DEV discrimination, compared to NCs, while NC and PEx groups demonstrated bilateral activity in this band, if at all. This suggests that interactive acoustic experience with non-linguistic stimuli can promote a distinct, robust and precise cortical pattern during rapid auditory processing, perhaps reflecting mechanisms that support fine-tuning of early acoustic mapping

Inactivación de genes de Mycobacterium tuberculosis y su potencial utilidad en la prevención y el control de la tuberculosis.

Availability of the M. tuberculosis genome sequence and the development of sophisticated systems for genetic manipulation of bacilli offer the potential for new and effective tools to prevent and control tuberculosis. Efficient methods to inactivate mycobacterial genes have been developed. These methods have become the cornerstone for the application and development of mycobacterial functional genomics. Specific mutants are generated to establish the role of targetted genes associated with mycobacterial physiology and pathogenesis. Gene inactivation, supported directly or indirectly by the deciphering of the mycobacterial genome, has permitted the generation of large numbers of M. tuberculosis mutants. Analysis of these mutants has (in some cases) established relationships between gene products and their role in mycobacterial physiology and pathogenesis.El conocimiento derivado del genoma de Mycobacterium tuberculosis, junto con el desarrollo de sofisticados sistemas para la manipulación genética del bacilo, ofrece la mayor promesa para el desarrollo de herramientas nuevas y más eficientes para prevenir y controlar la tuberculosis. Se han desarrollado métodos más eficientes para la inactivación de genes micobacterianos que se han convertido en el pilar de la genómica funcional micobacteriana. La generación de mutantes mediante la inactivación génica, apoyada directa o indirectamente por el desciframiento del genoma micobacteriano, ha permitido la generación de un número significativo de mutantes de M. tuberculosis. En algunos casos, el análisis de estas mutantes ha establecido relaciones entre los productos génicos y sus funciones en la fisiología y la patogenicidad de la micobacteria. En esta revisión se describen los estudios más representativos basados en dichas mutantes

GenoType MTBDRplus 1.0® para la detección de resistencia cruzada entre isoniacida y etionamida en aislamientos de Mycobacterium tuberculosis multirresistentes

Introduction: A variable proportion of isolates of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis also presents resistance to ethionamide. It is important to determine whether resistance to isoniazid is independent or crossed with resistance to ethionamide, given that this could lead to the re-evaluation of second-line anti-tuberculosis treatment. The GenoType MTBDRplus® molecular test is used for the detection of MDR-MTB, as it identifies mutations associated with resistance to isoniazide and could detect cross-resistance with ethionamide.Objective: To evaluate the performance of GenoType MTBDRplus® in comparison with sequencing in the detection of mutations in gene katG and promotor inhA in clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis.Materials and methods: The GenoType MTBDRplus 1.0® commercial kit and sequencing were used to evaluate mutations in gene katG and promotor inhA in 30 multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates that were resistant to ethionamide. The laboratory strain H37Rv and three pan-sensitive isolates acted as controls.Results: The kappa index for the comparison between the results of sequencing and GenoType MTBDRplus® was 1. All the isolates resistant to isoniazid and ethionamide had the mutations detected by GenoTypeMTBDRplus® in the katG gene and 40% of them in promotor inhA. Sequencing also revealed katG mutations in positions different to those detected by GenoType MTBDRplus®.Conclusion: GenoType MTBDRplus® is able to detect resistance to isoniazid rapidly. Our results suggest that it could also be used to screen for cross-resistance with ethionamide.Introducción. Una parte de los aislamientos de Mycobacterium tuberculosis multirresistente también presenta resistencia a la etionamida. Es importante determinar si la resistencia a la isoniacida es independiente o se cruza con la resistencia a la etionamida, ya que si sucede lo segundo habría que reevaluar el tratamiento antituberculoso de segunda línea. La prueba molecular GenoType MTBDRplus® detecta las mutaciones asociadas con la resistencia a isoniacida y podría detectar la resistencia cruzada a la etionamida.Objetivo. Evaluar la prueba GenoType MTBDRplus® y comparar su desempeño con el de la secuenciación, en la detección de mutaciones en el gen katG y en el promotor inhA en aislamientos clínicos de M. tuberculosis multirresistente.Materiales y métodos. Se utilizaron el estuche comercial GenoType MTBDRplus 1.0® y la secuenciación para evaluar mutaciones en el gen katG y en el promotor inhA en 30 aislamientos de M. tuberculosis multirresistente con resistencia a la etionamida. La cepa de laboratorio H37Rv y tres aislamientos sensibles a los medicamentos de primera línea, sirvieron de control.Resultados. Al comparar los resultados de la secuenciación y de la prueba GenoType MTBDRplus®, el índice kappa fue de 1. Todos los aislamientos resistentes a la isoniacida y la etionamida tenían las mutaciones detectadas con la prueba GenoTypeMTBDRplus® en el gen katG, y 40 % de ellos, las detectadas en el promotor inhA. Mediante secuenciación se encontraron, además, mutaciones en katG en posiciones diferentes a las detectadas por la prueba GenoType MTBDRplus®.Conclusión. La prueba GenoTypeMTBDRplus® tiene la capacidad de detectar rápidamente la resistencia a isoniacida. Además, los resultados del estudio sugieren que también podría utilizarse como prueba de tamización para detectar la resistencia cruzada a etionamida

Effect of the molding temperature and cooling time on the residual stresses of crystal polystyrene

The use of crystal polystyrene for high performance components requires knowledge of the distribution of residual stresses. The aim of this research was to analyze the influence of the molding temperature and cooling time on the residual stresses present in parts of two types of crystal polystyrene PS1 and PS2, processed by injection molding. The results obtained using photoelasticity showed that at low temperatures the residual stresses increase due to the processes of formation and destruction of intermolecular forces. Internal stresses were reduced in the polymer specimens with greater thickness because the molecular relaxation of chains of polystyrene is facilitated by the space increase between the walls of the mold. It was concluded that the photoelasticity technique can be applied effectively in the measurement of residual stresses in injection molded crystal polystyrene parts

Effect of the molding temperature and cooling time on the residual stresses of crystal polystyrene

The use of crystal polystyrene for high performance components requires knowledge of the distribution of residual stresses. The aim of this research was to analyze the influence of the molding temperature and cooling time on the residual stresses present in parts of two types of crystal polystyrene PS1 and PS2, processed by injection molding. The results obtained using photoelasticity showed that at low temperatures the residual stresses increase due to the processes of formation and destruction of intermolecular forces. Internal stresses were reduced in the polymer specimens with greater thickness because the molecular relaxation of chains of polystyrene is facilitated by the space increase between the walls of the mold. It was concluded that the photoelasticity technique can be applied effectively in the measurement of residual stresses in injection molded crystal polystyrene parts

Effect of the molding temperature and cooling time on the residual stresses of crystal polystyrene

The use of crystal polystyrene for high performance components requires knowledge of the distribution of residual stresses. The aim of this research was to analyze the influence of the molding temperature and cooling time on the residual stresses present in parts of two types of crystal polystyrene PS1 and PS2, processed by injection molding. The results obtained using photoelasticity showed that at low temperatures the residual stresses increase due to the processes of formation and destruction of intermolecular forces. Internal stresses were reduced in the polymer specimens with greater thickness because the molecular relaxation of chains of polystyrene is facilitated by the space increase between the walls of the mold. It was concluded that the photoelasticity technique can be applied effectively in the measurement of residual stresses in injection molded crystal polystyrene parts

Population structure among Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates from pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Colombia

Background: Phylogeographic composition of M. tuberculosis populations reveals associations between lineages and human populations that might have implications for the development of strategies to control the disease. In Latin America, lineage 4 or the Euro-American, is predominant with considerable variations among and within countries. In Colombia, although few studies from specific localities have revealed differences in M. tuberculosis populations, there are still areas of the country where this information is lacking, as is a comparison of Colombian isolates with those from the rest of the world. Principal Findings: A total of 414 M. tuberculosis isolates from adult pulmonary tuberculosis cases from three Colombian states were studied. Isolates were genotyped using IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), spoligotyping, and 24-locus Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTRs). SIT42 (LAM9) and SIT62 (H1) represented 53.3% of isolates, followed by 8.21% SIT50 (H3), 5.07% SIT53 (T1), and 3.14% SIT727 (H1). Composite spoligotyping and 24-locus MIRU- VNTR minimum spanning tree analysis suggest a recent expansion of SIT42 and SIT62 evolved originally from SIT53 (T1). The proportion of Haarlem sublineage (44.3%) was significantly higher than that in neighboring countries. Associations were found between M. tuberculosis MDR and SIT45 (H1), as well as HIV-positive serology with SIT727 (H1) and SIT53 (T1). Conclusions: This study showed the population structure of M. tuberculosis in several regions from Colombia with a dominance of the LAM and Haarlem sublineages, particularly in two major urban settings (Medellı ´n and Cali). Dominant spoligotypes were LAM9 (SIT 42) and Haarlem (SIT62). The proportion of the Haarlem sublineage was higher in Colombia compared to that in neighboring countries, suggesting particular conditions of co-evolution with the corresponding human population that favor the success of this sublineage

Protocol for the selection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis spontaneous resistant mutants to d-cycloserine

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is known for its adaptive capability in developing resistance to antibiotics, through the selection of spontaneous mutations that arise during treatment. Generating spontaneous antibiotic-resistant mutants in vitro is challenging but necessary for studying this phenomenon. A protocol was designed and tested to select stable, MTB spontaneous, d-cycloserine (DCS) resistant mutants. Twenty-four colonies resistant to DCS were selected, demonstrating an increase between 1 and 4 times the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) set for Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv ATCC 27294 reference strain