Detection and discrimination of herpes simplex viruses, Haemophilus ducreyi, Treponema pallidum, and Calymmatobacterium (Klebsiella) granulomatis from genital ulcers

Background. Genital ulcer disease (GUD) is commonly caused by pathogens for which suitable therapies exist, but clinical and laboratory diagnoses may be problematic. This collaborative project was undertaken to address the need for a rapid, economical, and sensitive approach to the detection and diagnosis of GUD using noninvasive techniques to sample genital ulcers. Methods. The genital ulcer disease multiplex polymerase chain reaction (GUMP) was developed as an inhouse nucleic acid amplification technique targeting serious causes of GUD, namely, herpes simplex viruses (HSVs), Haemophilus ducreyi, Treponema pallidum, and Klebsiella species. In addition, the GUMP assay included an endogenous internal control. Amplification products from GUMP were detected by enzyme linked amplicon hybridization assay (ELAHA). Results. GUMP-ELAHA was sensitive and specific in detecting a target microbe in 34.3% of specimens, including 1 detection of HSV-1, three detections of HSV-2, and 18 detections of T. pallidum. No H. ducreyi has been detected in Australia since 1998, and none was detected here. No Calymmatobacterium ( Klebsiella) granulomatis was detected in the study, but there were 3 detections during ongoing diagnostic use of GUMP-ELAHA in 2004 and 2005. The presence of C. granulomatis was confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and nucleotide sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for phylogenetic analysis. Conclusions. GUMP-ELAHA permitted comprehensive detection of common and rare causes of GUD and incorporated noninvasive sampling techniques. Data obtained by using GUMP-ELAHA will aid specific treatment of GUD and better define the prevalence of each microbe among at-risk populations with a view to the eradication of chancroid and donovanosis in Australia.

Forrest Gump.

Se propone un material de trabajo en torno a la película. Ésta trata de un chico con deficiencia. Se trabaja la discriminación, la lucha por la igualdad, la superación personal, la amistad, el respeto, la autoestima, el amor y el aprecio por la vida. Se propone una reflexión sobre el contexto histórico, social y político que se relata en la película, análisis de ésta y debate.

Simultaneous detection and differentiation of human Polyomaviruses JC and BK by a rapid and sensitive PCR-ELAHA assay and a survey of the JCV subtypes within an Australian population

Human polyomaviruses JCV and BKV can cause several clinical manifestations in immunocompromised hosts, including progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) and haemorrhagic cystitis. Molecular detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is recognised as a sensitive and specific method for detecting human polyomaviruses in clinical samples. In this study, we developed a PCR assay using a single primer pair to amplify a segment of the VP1 gene of JCV and BKV. An enzyme linked amplicon hybridisation assay (ELAHA) using species-specific biotinylated oligonucleotide probes was used to differentiate between JCV and BKV. This assay (VP1-PCR-ELAHA) was evaluated and compared to a PCR assay targeting the human polyomavirus T antigen gene (pol-PCR). DNA sequencing was used to confirm the polyomavirus species identified by the VP1-PCR-ELAHA and to determine the subtype of each JCV isolate. A total of 297 urine specimens were tested and human polyomavirus was detected in 105 specimens (35.4%) by both PCR assays. The differentiation of JCV and BKV by the VP1-PCR-ELAHA showed good agreement with the results of DNA sequencing. Further, DNA sequencing of the JCV positive specimens showed the most prevalent JCV subtype in our cohort was 2a (27%) followed by 1b (20%), 1a (15%), 2c (14%), 4 (14%) and 2b (10%). The results of this study show that the VP1-PCR-ELAHA is a sensitive, specific and rapid method for detecting and differentiating human polyomaviruses JC and BK and is highly suitable for routine use in the clinical laboratory. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A sensitive, specific, and cost-effective multiplex reverse transcriptase-PCR assay for the detection of seven common respiratory viruses in respiratory samples

Cell culture and direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) assays have been traditionally used for the laboratory diagnosis of respiratory viral infections. Multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (m-RT-PCR) is a sensitive, specific, and rapid method for detecting several DNIA and RNA viruses in a single specimen. We developed a m-RT-PCR assay that utilizes multiple virus-specific primer pairs in a single reaction mix combined with an enzyme-linked amplicon hybridization assay (ELAHA) using virus-specific probes targeting unique gene sequences for each virus. Using this m-RT-PCR-ELAHA, we examined the presence of seven respiratory viruses in 598 nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) samples from patients with suspected respiratory infection. The specificity of each assay was 100%. The sensitivity of the DFA was 79.7% and the combined DFA/culture amplified-DFA (CA-DFA) was 88.6% when compared to the m-RT-PCR-ELAHA. Of the 598 NPA specimens screened by m-RT-PCR-ELAHA, 3% were positive for adenovirus (ADM), 2% for influenza A (Flu A) virus, 0.3% for influenza B (Flu B) virus, 1% for parainfluenza type I virus (PIV1), 1% for parainfluenza type 2 virus (PIV2), 5.5% for parainfluenza type 3 virus (PIV3), and 21% for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The enhanced sensitivity, specificity, rapid result turnaround time and reduced expense of the m-RT-PCR-ELAHA compared to DFA and CA-DFA, suggests that this assay would be a significant improvement over traditional assays for the detection of respiratory viruses in a clinical laboratory.

A helykötődés és a környezetvédő viselkedés közötti összefüggések vizsgálata turisztikai kontextusban

A személy-környezet összeillés elméletei szerint az emberek viselkedésmintázata és a specifi kus környezeti feltételek között összefüggés áll fenn (Dúll, 1998). Ahogyan Gump (1990) rámutat, két ember hasonlóbban viselkedik egy adott helyen, mint ugyanazon ember két eltérő helyen. Brighem (1991) mindezt azzal magyarázza, hogy az egyén és a környezet között kialakuló interakció során illeszkedés alakul ki az egyén céljai és a környezet elrendezése között. A fi zikai környezet felépítése hatással van a társas interakciók kibontakozásának lehetőségére is, ezáltal befolyásolják az ott élők megküzdési stratégiáit (Evans et al., 1996, in: Dúll, 2009). Az interakciókat gátló helyek ennek megfelelően a személyek közötti kommunikáció hiányához, egymástól való elidegenedéshez vezethetnek. Az így kialakuló kollektív szemlélet hiánya számos, fenntarthatósági szempontból fontos viselkedés gátját képezheti (például javak megosztott igénybevétele, közösségi javak felelős használata). Mindez magyarázatul szolgálhat olyan esetekben is, ahol azt láthatjuk, hogy ugyanazon személy eltérő fogyasztási és viselkedési mintákat követ más-más helyszínen. Turisztikai szempontból azonban fontosabb annak vizsgálata, hogy egy adott desztináció milyen hatással van az odaérkező vendégek viselkedésére, módosítja-e azt, és ha igen, milyen irányba és miért.

Cooperative or collaborative learning: Is there a difference in university students’ perceptions?

The hypothesis that the same educational objective, raised as cooperative or collaborative learning in university teaching does not affect students’ perceptions of the learning model, leads this study. It analyses the reflections of two students groups of engineering that shared the same educational goals implemented through two different methodological active learning strategies: Simulation as cooperative learning strategy and Problem-based Learning as a collaborative one. The different number of participants per group (eighty-five and sixty-five, respectively) as well as the use of two active learning strategies, either collaborative or cooperative, did not show differences in the results from a qualitative perspective.

Entrevista a Quico Rovira-Beleta. El traductor (audiovisual) en su laberinto

Para el público que frecuenta las salas de cine, la figura del traductor para el doblaje es prácticamente invisible. Y, sin embargo, muchos de los diálogos que recordamos, algunas de las citas de cine que nos llevan de la mano por el camino de nuestra memoria cinematográfica han salido con toda probabilidad de la cabeza del traductor Quico Rovira-Beleta. Desde el padre de Luke Skywalker a la caja de bombones de Forrest Gump, desde las diatribas contra la risa de El nombre de la rosa, pasando por los pingüinos de Madagascar y los poemas de Shakespeare de Sentido y sensibilidad, hasta el universo Marvel (el doblaje de Los guardianes de la galaxia le ha proporcionado el Premio ATRAE del Público 2015), Quico Rovira-Beleta sigue traduciendo con la pasión y el rigor que merece esta profesión, enseñando a futuros profesionales del gremio los engranajes de una buena traducción audiovisual. Con casi mil películas en su haber como traductor, el hijo de Francisco Rovira-Beleta (director dos veces nominado al Óscar por Los Tarantos y El amor Brujo, respectivamente) admite que su historia personal está ligada al cine y muy especialmente a la historia del cine español, aunque reconoce su amor por la palabra más que por la imagen. Vale la pena descubrir qué hay en la trastienda de esos doblajes cinematográficos en la voz de alguien que lleva treinta años en el oficio, que sabe cómo empezó todo y cómo ha evolucionado, que responde a los detractores del doblaje al mismo tiempo que respeta profundamente la versión original. Alguien sin miedo a guiarte por los entresijos del mundo de la traducción abordando la complejidad de una tarea de enorme repercusión social.