Genomic Diversity among Beijing and non-Beijing Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates from Myanmar

Background: The Beijing family of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is dominant in countries in East Asia. Genomic polymorphisms are a source of diversity within the M. tuberculosis genome and may account for the variation of virulence among M. tuberculosis isolates. Till date there are no studies that have examined the genomic composition of M. tuberculosis isolates from the high TB-burden country, Myanmar. Methodology/Principle Findings: Twenty-two M. tuberculosis isolates from Myanmar were screened on whole-genome arrays containing genes from M. tuberculosis H37Rv, M. tuberculosis CDC1551 and M. bovis AF22197. Screening identified 198 deletions or extra regions in the clinical isolates compared to H37Rv. Twenty-two regions differentiated between Beijing and non-Beijing isolates and were verified by PCR on an additional 40 isolates. Six regions (Rv0071-0074 [RD105], Rv1572-1576c [RD149], Rv1585c-1587c [RD149], MT1798-Rv1755c [RD152], Rv1761c [RD152] and Rv0279c) were deleted in Beijing isolates, of which 4 (Rv1572-1576c, Rv1585c-1587c, MT1798-Rv1755c and Rv1761c) were variably deleted among ST42 isolates, indicating a closer relationship between the Beijing and ST42 lineages. The TbD1 region, Mb1582-Mb1583 was deleted in Beijing and ST42 isolates. One M. bovis gene of unknown function, Mb3184c was present in all isolates, except 11 of 13 ST42 isolates. The CDC1551 gene, MT1360 coding for a putative adenylate cyclase, was present in all Beijing and ST42 isolates (except 1). The pks15/1 gene, coding for a putative virulence factor, was intact in all Beijing and non-Beijing isolates, except in ST42 and ST53 isolates. Conclusion: This study describes previously unreported deletions/extra regions in Beijing and non-Beijing M. tuberculosis isolates. The modern and highly frequent ST42 lineage showed a closer relationship to the hypervirulent Beijing lineage than to the ancient non-Beijing lineages. The pks15/1 gene was disrupted only in modern non-Beijing isolates. This is the first report of an in-depth analysis on the genomic diversity of M. tuberculosis isolates from Myanmar

Cognitive Control Functions in Unipolar Major Depression with and without Co-Morbid Anxiety Disorder

Background: Impaired cognitive control functions have been demonstrated in both major depression (MDD) and anxiety disorder (A), but few studies have systematically examined the impact of MDD with co-morbid A (MDDA), which is the main aim of this study. Method: We compared patients with MDD with (MDDA; n = 24) and without co-morbid A (n = 37) to a group of healthy controls (HC; n = 92) on three subtests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery; intra–extra dimensional, stop signal task, and spatial working memory. These tasks correspond to a theoretical model consisting of three separable but interrelated executive control functions: Shifting, Inhibition, and Updating. A simple psychomotor speed measure was also included. Results: After controlling for age, gender, and education level, the results showed that the MDDA group displayed significantly impaired performance on the functions Shifting and Updating compared to HC. There emerged no significant differences between any of the patient groups and HC regarding Inhibition. The pure MDD group did not display dysfunctions relative to the HC group on the main executive control variables, but displayed slowed psychomotor speed. Contrary to expectation there were no significant differences between the MDDA and the MDD groups. Conclusion: Co-morbid anxiety should be taken into account when studying cognitive control functions in major depression

But a walking shadow: designing, performing and learning on the virtual stage

Representing elements of reality within a medium, or taking aspects from one medium and placing them in another is an act of remediation. The process of this act, however, is largely taken for granted. Despite the fact that available information enables a qualitative assessment of the history of multimedia and their influences on different fields of knowledge, there are still some areas that require more focused research attention. For example, the relationship between media evolution and new developments in scenographic practice is currently under investigation. This article explores the issue of immediacy as a condition of modern theatre in the context of digital reality. It discusses the opportunities and challenges that recent technologies present to contemporary practitioners and theatre design educators, creating a lot of scope to break with conventions. Here, we present two case studies that look into technology-mediated learning about scenography through the employment of novel computer visualization techniques. The first case study is concerned with new ways of researching and learning about theatre through creative exploration of design artefacts. The second case study investigates the role of the Immersive Virtual World Second Life™ (SL) in effective teaching of scenography, and in creating and experiencing theatrical performances

Characteristics of 454 pyrosequencing data—enabling realistic simulation with flowsim

Motivation: The commercial launch of 454 pyrosequencing in 2005 was a milestone in genome sequencing in terms of performance and cost. Throughout the three available releases, average read lengths have increased to ∼500 base pairs and are thus approaching read lengths obtained from traditional Sanger sequencing. Study design of sequencing projects would benefit from being able to simulate experiments

Within-Network Connectivity in the Salience Network After Attention Bias Modification Training in Residual Depression: Report From a Preregistered Clinical Trial

Alterations in resting state networks (RSNs) are associated with emotional- and attentional control difficulties in depressed individuals. Attentional bias modification (ABM) training may lead to more adaptive emotional processing in depression, but little is known about the neural underpinnings associated with ABM. In the current study a sample of 134 previously depressed individuals were randomized into 14 days of computerized ABM- or a closely matched placebo training regime followed by a resting state magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Using independent component analysis (ICA) we examined within-network connectivity in three major RSN’s, the default mode network (DMN), the salience network (SN) and the central executive network (CEN) after 2 weeks of ABM training. We found a significant difference between the training groups within the SN, but no difference within the DMN or CEN. Moreover, a significant symptom improvement was observed in the ABM group after training.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02931487

Prevalence and subtypes of Influenza A Viruses in Wild Waterfowl in Norway 2006-2007

The prevalence of influenza A virus infection, and the distribution of different subtypes of the virus, were studied in 1529 ducks and 1213 gulls shot during ordinary hunting from August to December in two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007, in Norway. The study was based on molecular screening of cloacal and tracheal swabs, using a pan-influenza A RT-PCR. Samples found to be positive for influenza A virus were screened for the H5 subtype, using a H5 specific RT-PCR, and, if negative, further subtyped by a RT-PCR for the 3'-part of the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, encompassing almost the entire HA2, and the full-length of the neuraminidase (NA) gene, followed by sequencing and characterization. The highest prevalence (12.8%) of infection was found in dabbling ducks (Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal and Mallard). Diving ducks (Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Scoter, Common Eider and Tufted Duck) showed a lower prevalence (4.1%). In gulls (Common Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull and Kittiwake) the prevalence of influenza A virus was 6.1%. The infection prevalence peaked during October for ducks, and October/November for gulls. From the 16 hemagglutinin subtypes known to infect wild birds, 13 were detected in this study. Low pathogenic H5 was found in 17 dabbling ducks and one gull

Transplantation for renal failure secondary to enteric hyperoxaluria: a case report

Enteric hyperoxaluria can lead to renal failure. There have only been a few reports of renal transplantation as treatment of endstage renal disease secondary to enteric hyperoxaluria and results have been mixed. This report describes a patient with Crohn's disease who developed chronic renal failure from enteric hyperoxaluria. He subsequently had a successful renal transplant without any post-operative oxalate related complications and has satisfactory renal function almost three years later. Aggressive pre-transplant hemodialysis was not done. The literature associated with renal transplantation for enteric hyperoxaluria is reviewed