Variable speech in children is considered a natural physiological phenomenon. This variability typically decreases as development progresses, leading to more consistent speech. If pathological phonological processes accompany variable production, inconsistent production can be a predictor of dyslexia. Analyzing the development of natural physiological variability and consistency is crucial for diagnosing speech inconsistency. The study aims to describe the performance of Slovak unimpaired monolingual children with appropriate speech intelligibility, aged between 5;07 to 6;00 years, regarding the consistency and variability of speech. In a study of 89 typically developing Slovak children aged 5;07 to 6;00 years, 75% exhibited consistent speech. The remaining 25% showed variability ranging from 3% to 17%. Consonant substitutions fell within natural physiological phonological processes. The findings suggest natural physiological variability can occur in children within this age range. Neither gender nor place of residence (rural/urban) significantly influenced speech variability and consistency. These data may inform diagnostic criteria.
Covid-19 je vysoce nakažlivé onemocnění způsobené koronavirem SARS-CoV-2 a jeho pandemie zasáhla postupně celý svět. Zatímco většina symptomů tohoto onemocnění mizí v průběhu akutní fáze, některé symptomy mohou přetrvávat po dobu několika měsíců. Tento stav je označován jako post-COVID-19 syndrom. Kognitivní poruchy jsou jedním z možných dlouhodobě trvajících symptomů, které mají přímou souvislost s komunikačními schopnostmi pacientů. Tyto obtíže se manifestují zejména v oblasti výbavnosti slov, ve verbální fluenci a informační hodnotě diskurzu. Tato přehledová studie sumarizuje dosavadní informace o kognitivně-komunikačních poruchách souvisejících se syndromem post-COVID-19, ale přináší také přehled dalších dlouhodobě přetrvá- vajících komplikací z oblasti poruch jazyka, řeči a polykání, které mohou vzniknout na základě onemocnění covidem-19.
COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and its pandemic has gradually affected the entire world. While most symptoms of this disease disappear during the acute phase, some symptoms may persist for several months. This condition is referred to as the post-COVID-19 syndrome. Cognitive impairment is one of the possible long-lasting symptoms that are directly related to patients' communication abilities. These difficulties manifest mainly in the area of verbal recall, verbal fluency and the informational value of discourse. This review summarises the existing information on cognitive-communication disorders associated with the post-COVID-19 syndrome, but also provides an overview of other long-term persistent complications of language, speech and swallowing that may arise from COVID-19.
- MeSH
- Speech-Language Pathology * MeSH
- Otolaryngology * MeSH
- Voice Disorders MeSH
- Speech Disorders MeSH
- Hearing Disorders MeSH
- Publication type
- Interview MeSH
PURPOSE: A new high-resolution next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based method was established to type closely related European type II Toxoplasma gondii strains. METHODS: T. gondii field isolates were collected from different parts of Europe and assessed by whole genome sequencing (WGS). In comparison to ME49 (a type II reference strain), highly polymorphic regions (HPRs) were identified, showing a considerable number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After confirmation by Sanger sequencing, 18 HPRs were used to design a primer panel for multiplex PCR to establish a multilocus Ion AmpliSeq typing method. Toxoplasma gondii isolates and T. gondii present in clinical samples were typed with the new method. The sensitivity of the method was tested with serially diluted reference DNA samples. RESULTS: Among type II specimens, the method could differentiate the same number of haplotypes as the reference standard, microsatellite (MS) typing. Passages of the same isolates and specimens originating from abortion outbreaks were identified as identical. In addition, seven different genotypes, two atypical and two recombinant specimens were clearly distinguished from each other by the method. Furthermore, almost all SNPs detected by the Ion AmpliSeq method corresponded to those expected based on WGS. By testing serially diluted DNA samples, the method exhibited a similar analytical sensitivity as MS typing. CONCLUSION: The new method can distinguish different T. gondii genotypes and detect intra-genotype variability among European type II T. gondii strains. Furthermore, with WGS data additional target regions can be added to the method to potentially increase typing resolution.
- MeSH
- Genetic Variation MeSH
- Genotype MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction MeSH
- Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length MeSH
- DNA, Protozoan genetics MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Toxoplasma * genetics MeSH
- High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key driver in the evolution of bacterial genomes. The acquisition of genes mediated by HGT may enable bacteria to adapt to ever-changing environmental conditions. Long-term application of antibiotics in intensive agriculture is associated with the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria with the consequences causing public health concern. Commensal farm-animal-associated gut microbiota are considered the reservoir of the resistance genes. Therefore, in this study, we identified known and not-yet characterized mobilized genes originating from chicken and porcine fecal samples using our innovative pipeline followed by network analysis to provide appropriate visualization to support proper interpretation.
- MeSH
- Anti-Bacterial Agents MeSH
- Bacteria genetics MeSH
- Genes, Bacterial MeSH
- Genome, Bacterial MeSH
- Microbiota * MeSH
- Swine MeSH
- Gene Transfer, Horizontal * MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
The Sec translocon is a highly conserved membrane assembly for polypeptide transport across, or into, lipid bilayers. In bacteria, secretion through the core channel complex-SecYEG in the inner membrane-is powered by the cytosolic ATPase SecA. Here, we use single-molecule fluorescence to interrogate the conformational state of SecYEG throughout the ATP hydrolysis cycle of SecA. We show that the SecYEG channel fluctuations between open and closed states are much faster (~20-fold during translocation) than ATP turnover, and that the nucleotide status of SecA modulates the rates of opening and closure. The SecY variant PrlA4, which exhibits faster transport but unaffected ATPase rates, increases the dwell time in the open state, facilitating pre-protein diffusion through the pore and thereby enhancing translocation efficiency. Thus, rapid SecYEG channel dynamics are allosterically coupled to SecA via modulation of the energy landscape, and play an integral part in protein transport. Loose coupling of ATP-turnover by SecA to the dynamic properties of SecYEG is compatible with a Brownian-rachet mechanism of translocation, rather than strict nucleotide-dependent interconversion between different static states of a power stroke.
- MeSH
- Adenosine Triphosphate metabolism MeSH
- Adenosine Triphosphatases genetics metabolism MeSH
- Bacterial Proteins * metabolism MeSH
- Nucleotides metabolism MeSH
- SecA Proteins metabolism MeSH
- Escherichia coli Proteins * metabolism MeSH
- SEC Translocation Channels chemistry MeSH
- Protein Transport MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of the systematic review is to assess AI's capabilities in the genetics of prostate cancer (PCa) and bladder cancer (BCa) to evaluate target groups for such analysis as well as to assess its prospects in daily practice. RECENT FINDINGS: In total, our analysis included 27 articles: 10 articles have reported on PCa and 17 on BCa, respectively. The AI algorithms added clinical value and demonstrated promising results in several fields, including cancer detection, assessment of cancer development risk, risk stratification in terms of survival and relapse, and prediction of response to a specific therapy. Besides clinical applications, genetic analysis aided by the AI shed light on the basic urologic cancer biology. We believe, our results of the AI application to the analysis of PCa, BCa data sets will help to identify new targets for urological cancer therapy. The integration of AI in genomic research for screening and clinical applications will evolve with time to help personalizing chemotherapy, prediction of survival and relapse, aid treatment strategies such as reducing frequency of diagnostic cystoscopies, and clinical decision support, e.g., by predicting immunotherapy response. These factors will ultimately lead to personalized and precision medicine thereby improving patient outcomes.
Wild strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis were tested in an experimental hyperbaric chamber to determine the possible effect of hyperbaric oxygen on the susceptibility of these strains to the antibiotics ampicillin, ampicillin + sulbactam, cefazolin, cefuroxime, cefoxitin, gentamicin, sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim, colistin, oxolinic acid, ofloxacin, tetracycline, and aztreonam during their cultivation at 23 °C and 36.5 °C. Ninety-six-well inoculated microplates with tested antibiotics in Mueller-Hinton broth were cultured under standard incubator conditions (normobaric normoxia) for 24 h or in an experimental hyperbaric chamber (HAUX, Germany) for 24 h at 2.8 ATA of 100% oxygen (hyperbaric hyperoxia). The hyperbaric chamber was pressurised with pure oxygen (100%). Both cultures (normoxic and hyperoxic) were carried out at 23 °C and 36.5 °C to study the possible effect of the cultivation temperature. No significant differences were observed between 23 and 36.5 °C cultivation with or without the 2-h lag phase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis. Cultivation in a hyperbaric chamber at 23 °C and 36.5 °C with or without a 2-h lag phase did not produce significant changes in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis. For the tested strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the possible effect of hyperbaric oxygen on their antibiotic sensitivity could not be detected because the growth of these bacteria was completely inhibited by 100% hyperbaric oxygen at 2.8 ATA under all hyperbaric conditions tested at 23 °C and 36.5 °C. Subsequent tests with wild strains of pseudomonads, burkholderias, and stenotrophomonads not only confirmed the fact that these bacteria stop growing under hyperbaric conditions at a pressure of 2.8 ATA of 100% oxygen but also indicated that inhibition of growth of these bacteria under hyperbaric conditions is reversible.
- MeSH
- Ampicillin pharmacology MeSH
- Bacteria, Anaerobic MeSH
- Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology MeSH
- Bacteria MeSH
- Escherichia coli MeSH
- Hyperbaric Oxygenation * MeSH
- Klebsiella pneumoniae MeSH
- Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination pharmacology MeSH
- Oxygen MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Microbial Sensitivity Tests MeSH
- Oxidative Stress MeSH
- Pseudomonas Infections * MeSH
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa MeSH
- Sulbactam MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
