The use of technological support in communication disorders : how development of computer-based tools can refine the treatment of motor speech disorders

The goal of this project is to investigate new possibilities of employing interactive technologies in the delivery of treatment for patients with Motor Speech Disorders (MSD). Specifically, the project explores how computer-based tools can refine current methodologies, when considering the three main phases in the delivery of MSD treatment: (1) the preparation of treatment programs, (2) the practicing of speech motor skills, (3) the autonomous management of communication outside the clinic. In addressing each of these steps, a concrete technological solution to an identified problem is proposed, developed and evaluated.LEI Universiteit LeidenThe investigations in this dissertation were supported by a Mosaic grant by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).Language Use in Past and Presen

Global Regulation by Horizontally Transferred Regulators Establishes the Pathogenicity of Escherichia coli

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli is an emerging pathogen that causes diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Much of the genomic information that affects virulence is acquired by horizontal transfer. Genes necessary for attaching and effacing lesions are located in the locus for enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island. LEE gene transcription is positively regulated by Ler, which is also encoded by the LEE, and by Pch regulators, which are encoded at other loci. Here we identified genes whose transcription profiles were similar to those of the LEE genes, by comparing the effects of altering ler and pch transcript levels. We assigned these genes into two classes, according to their transcription profiles. By determining the binding profiles for Ler and Pch, we showed that both were involved in regulating one class of genes, but only Pch was involved in regulating the other class. Binding sites were found in the coding region as well as the promoter region of regulated genes, which include genes common to K12 strains as well as 0157-specific genes, suggesting that both act as a global regulator. These results indicate that Ler and Pch orchestrate the transcription of virulence genes, which are captured by horizontal transfer and scattered throughout the chromosome

Exact asymptotic form of the exchange interactions between shallow centers in doped semiconductors

The method developed in [L. P. Gor'kov and L. P. Pitaevskii, Sov. Phys. Dokl. 8, 788 (1964); C. Herring and M. Flicker, Phys. Rev. 134, A362 (1964)] to calculate the asymptotic form of exchange interactions between hydrogen atoms in the ground state is extended to excited states. The approach is then applied to shallow centers in semiconductors. The problem of the asymptotic dependence of the exchange interactions in semiconductors is complicated by the multiple degeneracy of the ground state of an impurity (donor or acceptor) center in valley or band indices, crystalline anisotropy and strong spin-orbital interactions, especially for acceptor centers in III-V and II-VI groups semiconductors. Properties of two coupled centers in the dilute limit can be accessed experimentally, and the knowledge of the exact asymptotic expressions, in addition to being of fundamental interest, must be very helpful for numerical calculations and for interpolation of exchange forces in the case of intermediate concentrations. Our main conclusion concerns the sign of the magnetic interaction -- the ground state of a pair is always non-magnetic. Behavior of the exchange interactions in applied magnetic fields is also discussed

Corrigendum: whole-transcriptome analysis of Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (Sakai) Suggests Plant-Species-Specific Metabolic Responses on Exposure to Spinach and Lettuce Extracts.

Verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) can contaminate crop plants, potentially using them as secondary hosts, which can lead to food-borne infection. Currently, little is known about the influence of the specific plant species on the success of bacterial colonisation. As such, we compared the ability of the VTEC strain, E. coli O157:H7 ‘Sakai’, to colonise the roots and leaves of four leafy vegetables: spinach (Spinacia oleracea), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), vining green pea (Pisum sativum) and prickly lettuce (L. serriola), a wild relative of domesticated lettuce. Also, to determine the drivers of the initial response on interaction with plant tissue, the whole transcriptome of E. coli O157:H7 Sakai was analysed following exposure to plant extracts of varying complexity (spinach leaf lysates or root exudates, and leaf cell wall polysaccharides from spinach or lettuce). Plant extracts were used to reduce heterogeneity inherent in plant-microbe interactions and remove the effect of plant immunity. This dual approach provided information on the initial adaptive response of E. coli O157:H7 Sakai to the plant environment together with the influence of the living plant during bacterial establishment and colonisation. Results showed that both the plant tissue type and the plant species strongly influence the short-term (1 hour) transcriptional response to extracts as well as longer-term (10 days) plant colonisation or persistence. We show that propagation temperature (37 versus 18 oC) has a major impact on the expression profile and therefore preadaptation of bacteria to a plant-relevant temperature is necessary to avoid misleading temperature-dependent wholescale gene-expression changes in response to plant material. For each of the plant extracts tested, the largest group of (annotated) differentially regulated genes were associated with metabolism. However, large-scale differences in the metabolic and biosynthetic pathways between treatment types indicate specificity in substrate utilisation. Induction of stress-response genes reflected the apparent physiological status of the bacterial genes in each extract, as a result of glutamate-dependent acid resistance, nutrient stress or translational stalling. A large proportion of differentially regulated genes are uncharacterised (annotated as hypothetical), which could indicate yet to be described functional roles associated with plant interaction for E. coli O157:H7 Sakai