Molecular analysis of Mycobacterium isolates from extrapulmonary specimens obtained from patients in Mexico

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little information is available on the molecular epidemiology in Mexico of <it>Mycobacterium </it>species infecting extrapulmonary sites in humans. This study used molecular methods to determine the <it>Mycobacterium </it>species present in tissues and body fluids in specimens obtained from patients in Mexico with extrapulmonary disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Bacterial or tissue specimens from patients with clinical or histological diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis were studied. DNA extracts from 30 bacterial cultures grown in Löwenstein Jensen medium and 42 paraffin-embedded tissues were prepared. Bacteria were cultured from urine, cerebrospinal fluid, pericardial fluid, gastric aspirate, or synovial fluid samples. Tissues samples were from lymph nodes, skin, brain, vagina, and peritoneum. The DNA extracts were analyzed by PCR and by line probe assay (INNO-LiPA MYCOBACTERIA v2. Innogenetics NV, Gent, Belgium) in order to identify the <it>Mycobacterium </it>species present. DNA samples positive for <it>M. tuberculosis </it>complex were further analyzed by PCR and line probe assay (INNO-LiPA Rif.TB, Innogenetics NV, Gent, Belgium) to detect mutations in the <it>rpo</it>B gene associated with rifampicin resistance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 72 DNA extracts, 26 (36.1%) and 23 (31.9%) tested positive for <it>Mycobacterium species </it>by PCR or line probe assay, respectively. In tissues, <it>M. tuberculosis </it>complex and <it>M. genus </it>were found in lymph nodes, and <it>M. genus </it>was found in brain and vagina specimens. In body fluids, <it>M. tuberculosis </it>complex was found in synovial fluid. <it>M. gordonae</it>, <it>M. smegmatis</it>, <it>M. kansasii</it>, <it>M. genus</it>, <it>M. fortuitum/M. peregrinum </it>complex and <it>M. tuberculosis </it>complex were found in urine. <it>M. chelonae/M. abscessus </it>was found in pericardial fluid and <it>M. kansasii </it>was found in gastric aspirate. Two of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>complex isolates were also PCR and LiPA positive for the <it>rpo</it>B gene. These two isolates were from lymph nodes and were sensitive to rifampicin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>1) We describe the <it>Mycobacterium </it>species diversity in specimens derived from extrapulmonary sites in symptomatic patients in Mexico; 2) Nontuberculous mycobacteria were found in a considerable number of patients; 3) Genotypic rifampicin resistance in <it>M. tuberculosis </it>complex infections in lymph nodes was not found.</p

Acts of omission and commission in the embodied learning of diasporic capoeira and swimming

This paper compares ethnographic experiences of two settings characterised by embodied learning: the African-Brazilian dance/martial-art/game capoeira, and swimming for fitness and leisure, both as practiced in the UK. We consider the ways in which participants in these scenes stage-manage the display of their learning environments, focusing on the rituals and routines of instruction and practice. Applying Scott’s (2018) sociology of nothing as an analytical framework, we identify an inverse relationship between two forms of social action. In capoeira, we notice primarily acts of commission (somebodies enacting somethingness), whereas in swimming, we observe more acts of omission (nobodies enacting nothingness), although the distinction is not absolute. In both contexts, we explore the role of space, community, and the body in the negotiation of omissive and commissive socially meaningful action. This relates to Delamont’s interests in capoeira, ethnography and learning physical practices outside the classroom

Taking the fun out of it: the spoiling effects of researching something you love

This reflexive analysis of two sports ethnographers’ studies of an aerobics class and a swimming pool explores the effects of doing fieldwork on a physical activity that one loves. While using our bodies as phenomenological sites of perception initially created an epistemological advantage, researching the familiarly beloved not only ‘took the fun out of’ the activity, but also more profoundly challenged our ‘exercise identities’. Emulating poor technique, enduring interactional awkwardness, and deep acting role performances, combined to take their toll, so that ‘going native’ became a matter not just of intellectual disadvantage but of ontological destabilisation. Doing activity-based ethnography on something personally special is a double-edged sword: on the one hand elucidating awareness, but on the other depriving the researcher of pleasure and ‘spoiling’ aspects of their identity