Language Proficiency Entails Tuning Cortical Activity to Second Language Speech.

Cortical tracking of linguistic structures in speech, such as phrases (<3 Hz, delta band) and syllables (3-8 Hz, theta band), is known to be crucial for speech comprehension. However, it has not been established whether this effect is related to language proficiency. Here, we investigate how auditory cortical activity in second language (L2) learners tracked L2 speech.

Word and object recognition during reading acquisition: MEG evidence.

Studies on adults suggest that reading-induced brain changes might not be limited to linguistic processes. It is still unclear whether these results can be generalized to reading development. The present study shows to which extent neural responses to verbal and nonverbal stimuli are reorganized while children learn to read.

The genomics of mycobacteria.

The species Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis are the causal agents, respectively, of tuberculosis and paratuberculosis in animals. Both mycobacteria, especially M. bovis, are also important to public health because they can infect humans.

Understanding the relationship between Mycobacterium bovis spoligotypes from cattle in Latin American countries.

Spoligotyping is the most frequently used method for genotyping isolates of Mycobacterium bovis worldwide. In the current work, we compared spoligotypes from 1684 M. bovis isolates from Argentina (816), Brazil (412), Chile (66), Mexico (274) and Venezuela (116), obtained from cattle, humans, pigs, wild boars, farmed deer, goats, buffaloes, cats, and wild animals.

Spontaneous excision of the O-polysaccharide wbkA glycosyltranferase gene is a cause of dissociation of smooth to rough Brucella colonies.

The brucellae are Gram-negative pathogens that cause brucellosis, a zoonosis of worldwide importance. The genus Brucella includes smooth and rough species that differ in that they carry smooth and rough lipopolysaccharides, respectively. Brucella abortus, B.

European 1: a globally important clonal complex of Mycobacterium bovis.

We have identified a globally important clonal complex of Mycobacterium bovis by deletion analysis of over one thousand strains from over 30 countries. We initially show that over 99% of the strains of M. bovis, the cause of bovine tuberculosis, isolated from cattle in the Republic of Ireland and the UK are closely related and are members of a single clonal complex marked by the deletion of chromosomal region RDEu1 and we named this clonal complex European 1 (Eu1).

Genomic island 2 is an unstable genetic element contributing to Brucella lipopolysaccharide spontaneous smooth-to-rough dissociation.

Brucella is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes a worldwide-distributed zoonosis. The genus includes smooth (S) and rough (R) species that differ in the presence or absence, respectively, of the O-polysaccharide of lipopolysaccharide. In S brucellae, the O-polysaccharide is a critical diagnostic antigen and a virulence determinant.

Differential gene expression between Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The high sequence identity among the Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomes contrasts with the physiological differences reported between these pathogens, suggesting that variations in gene expression may be involved. In this study, microarray hybridization was used to compare the total transcriptome of M. bovis and M.

A novel chimeric mitochondrial RNA localized in the nucleus of mouse sperm.

Six identical cDNA clones corresponding to an RNA of 1685 nucleotides that is enriched in mouse sperm compared with testis were isolated from a mouse testis cDNA library. The sequence of these clones corresponds to the 16S mitochondrial RNA plus an inverted repeat of 120 bp covalently joined to the 5' end of the RNA. By RT-PCR, it was demonstrated that this transcript, referred to as chimeric RNA, was present in mouse sperm, testis, liver, kidney, brain, and spleen.

Partial sequencing of Reissner's fiber glycoprotein I (RF-Gly I).

The bulk of the secretion of the subcommissural organ is formed by glycoproteins that appear to be derived from two precursor forms of 540 and 320 kDa. Upon release into the ventricle, these glycoproteins aggregate to form Reissner's fiber. We report the isolation of three cDNA clones from a cDNA library prepared from bovine subcommissural organ RNA, by using an anti-Reissner's fiber serum for immunoscreening.

Effect of administration of diethylcarbamazine with and without fluconazole on experimental fungal infections in mice.

Other researchers have found that diethylcarbamazine (DEC) is effective treatment for filariasis despite a lack of demonstrated in vitro antifilarial activity. The results of our previous investigations using feline and murine leukemia virus models encouraged us to investigate the use of DEC with other infections. In our current experiments, DEC treatment was associated with lower brain fungal burden in fluconazole-treated mice following intravenous injection of Aspergillus fumigatus or increasing numbers of Cryptococcus neoformans organisms, and lower brain and kidney levels of Candida albicans following intravenous injection of increasing numbers of C.

Adenovirus pneumonia with severe sequelae in an immunocompetent adult.

Notable complications from adenovirus pneumonia in healthy adults are rare. We report a well-documented case of adenovirus type 3 infection in a previously well adult woman that resulted in severe pulmonary complications as well as self-limited ocular, hepatic, and gastrointestinal abnormalities.

Effect of administration of diethylcarbamazine on experimental bacterial and fungal infections in mice.

Other researchers have found that diethylcarbamazine (DEC) is effective treatment for filariasis despite a lack of demonstrated in vitro antifilarial activity. The results of our previous investigations using feline and murine leukemia virus models encouraged us to investigate the use of DEC with other infections. In the current experiments, DEC treatmentS was associated with (a) increased survival and decreased brain Streptococcus pneumoniae levels following S.

fos-mediated repression of cardiac myosin light chain-2 gene transcription.

The transcription of the chicken cardiac myosin light chain-2 (MLC-2) promoter containing a 1.3 Kb 5'-flanking DNA segment is repressed upon co-transfection with an expression vector (pMMV) containing the proto-oncogene fos in embryonic chicken cardiac muscle cells in culture. Similar concentrations of co-transfectants containing other genes e.

Characteristics and outcome variables of HIV cases at a university-based medical practice.

An increasing number of AIDS cases occur each year in West Virginia despite its small urban population. From January 1984 to March 1991 at the Marshall University based multispecialty internal medicine group (the University Physicians in Internal Medicine), 66 HIV-infected persons were treated, most of whom are native West Virginians and always resided in the state. The study group consisted of 61 men and 5 women; four-fifths of the men are homosexual/bisexual and one-seventh used intravenous illicit drugs.

Assay of chloramphenicol acetyl transferase by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A procedure to measure chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) activity by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is described. The antibiotic as well as the acetylated derivatives are well resolved on a Superspher RP-18 column using equal parts of acetonitrile and 10 mM sodium acetate (ph 5.0) as a solvent.

Characterization of 5'-flanking region of heart myosin light chain 2A gene. Structural and functional evidence for promoter activity.

Two recombinant clones, lambda LC5 and lambda LC13, encompassing the entire regulatory myosin light chain 2 (MLC2A) gene of chicken heart muscle were isolated. Of these, lambda LC5 which contains a large 5'-flanking sequence of about 7.0 kb, was characterized by a partial nucleotide sequence analysis.

Co-ordinate control of gene expression. Muscle-specific 7 S RNA contains sequences homologous to 3'-untranslated regions of myosin genes and repetitive DNA.

We have cloned and sequenced a complementary DNA copy (pSS48) of a novel muscle-specific, low molecular weight RNA, 7 S RNA, isolated from embryonic chick cardiac muscle cells. The hybridization pattern of plasmid pSS48 DNA to chick genomic DNA suggests that 7 S RNA is derived from the repetitive chick DNA with a repetition frequency of about 300 copies per haploid genome. Under low stringency, pSS48 DNA also hybridizes with high specificity to the single copy gene for chick myosin light chain (MLC) and to myosin heavy chain (MHC), and possibly to other co-ordinately expressed genes for chick muscle proteins.