Canine-assisted Speech Therapy for Children with Communication Impairments: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Developmental dysphasia (DD) is a disorder resulting in a communication impairment. Children diagnosed with this condition are usually referred to a speech therapist. Further to conventional speech therapy it is possible to adopt a complementary animal-assisted approach. For the present study, we assembled a cohort comprising 69 children diagnosed with DD. The children in the experimental group (n = 31; 21 male, 10 female) ranged from 4 to 7 years (M = 5.53 years, SD = 0.81 years). The control group was comprised of children (n = 38; 31 male, 7 female) aged from 4 to 6 years (M = 4.85 years, SD = 0.51 years). While the latter received traditional speech therapy, the experimental group experienced sessions enhanced by animal-assistance therapy (AAT) with a dog present for co-therapy purposes. As primary outcome measures, the Kwint-Stambak (KS) test was adopted (for assessing facial motricity), together with the Bruininks-Oseretsky (BO) test (for evaluating motor proficiency). Both of these revealed statistically significant improvement in some primary outcome measures for the experimental group over the control group. Regarding narrowing and shutting of the eyes, as well as filling up the cheeks with air and smiling (as measured by the KS test), the experimental group did significantly better than the control group. The inclusion of dogs in such therapy increased the chances of success in certain abilities, when assessed by the KS and BO tests (odds ratios for success: 1.6 and 2.0, respectively), compared with the control group. Canine-assisted speech therapy may be a valuable tool for enhancing the effect of speech therapy on children with DD, and we speculate that the reason for this relates to the nature of communication between children and companion animals.     

Correlation between the activity of digestive enzymes and nonself recognition in the gut of Eisenia andrei earthworms

Earthworms Eisenia andrei, similarly to other invertebrates, rely on innate defense mechanisms based on the capability to recognize and respond to nonself. Here, we show a correlation between the expression of CCF, a crucial pattern-recognition receptor, and lysozyme, with enzyme activities in the gut of E. andrei earthworms following a microbial challenge. These data suggest that enzyme activities important for the release and recognition of molecular patterns by pattern-recognition molecules, as well as enzymes involved in effector pathways, are modulated during the microbial challenge. In particular, protease, laminarinase, and glucosaminidase activities were increased in parallel to up-regulated CCF and lysozyme expression.     

Modulation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> biofilm growth by cell-free spent cultures from lactobacilli

E. coli biofilms cause serious problems in medical practice by contaminating surfaces and indwelling catheters. Due to the rapid development of antibiotic resistance, alternative approaches to biofilm suppression are needed. This study addresses whether products released by antagonistic bacteria — Lactobacillus isolates from vaginal and dairy-product samples could be useful for controlling E. coli biofilms. The effects of diluted cell-free supernatants (CFS) from late-exponential Lactobacillus cultures on the growth and biofilm production of Escherichia coli were tested. Most of the CFS applied as 10⁻² had no impact on bacterial growth, biofilm development however was influenced even by 10⁻⁴ of CFS. Initial screening by crystal violet assay showed that biofilm modulation varied between different CFS and E. coli combinations from inhibition to activation; however three of the tested CFS showed consistency in biofilm suppression. This was not due to antibacterial activity since Live/Dead fluorescence labeling showed insignificant differences in the amount of dead cells in control and treated samples. Some E. coli strain-specific mechanisms of response to the three CFS included reduction in hydrophobicity and motility. Released exoploysaccharides isolated from the three CFS stimulated sessile growth, but proteinase K reduced their inhibitory activities implying participation of protein or peptide biofilm suppression factor(s).     

Trimeric organization of photosystem I is required to maintain the balanced photosynthetic electron flow in cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Photosynthesis Research - In Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and some other cyanobacteria photosystem I reaction centres exist predominantly as trimers, with minor contribution of monomeric form, when...     

Organic co-solvents affect activity,stability and enantioselectivity of haloalkane dehalogenases

Haloalkane dehalogenases are microbial enzymes with a wide range of biotechnological applications, including biocatalysis. The use of organic co-solvents to solubilize their hydrophobic substrates is often necessary. In order to choose the most compatible co-solvent, the effects of 14 co-solvents on activity, stability and enantioselectivity of three model enzymes, DbjA, DhaA, and LinB, were evaluated. All co-solvents caused at high concentration loss of activity and conformational changes. The highest inactivation was induced by tetrahydrofuran, while more hydrophilic co-solvents, such as ethylene glycol and dimethyl sulfoxide, were better tolerated. The effects of co-solvents at low concentration were different for each enzyme-solvent pair. An increase in DbjA activity was induced by the majority of organic co-solvents tested, while activities of DhaA and LinB decreased at comparable concentrations of the same co-solvent. Moreover, a high increase of DbjA enantioselectivity was observed. Ethylene glycol and 1,4-dioxane were shown to have the most positive impact on the enantioselectivity. The favorable influence of these co-solvents on both activity and enantioselectivity makes DbjA suitable for biocatalytic applications. This study represents the first investigation of the effects of organic co-solvents on the biocatalytic performance of haloalkane dehalogenases and will pave the way for their broader use in industrial processes.     

Comparison of four routinely used vitamin D automated immunoassays

BackgroundTo compare four automated immunoassays for the measurement of 25(OH)-vitamin D (25-OHD) and to assess the impact on the results obtained from a healthy population.MethodsWe analysed 100 serum samples on Unicel DxI 800 (Beckman Coulter), Architect i1000 (Abbott), Cobas e411 (Roche) and Liaison XL (DiaSorin). Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plots were used for method comparison. In order to categorise the obtained values, results were categorised into the following groups: 0-25 nmol/L, 25-50 nmol/L, 50-75 nmol/L and above 75 nmol/L and compared. The percentage of samples below 75 nmol/L, and below 50 nmol/L was then calculated for every method.ResultsAccording to paired comparisons, each method differs from others (p<0.0001) except Cobas vs Architect, which do not show a statistically significant difference (p=0.39). The strongest correlation was found between Liaison and Architect (ρ=0.94, p<0.0001). The percentage of samples below the recommended value of 75 nmol/L were: 70% (Architect), 92% (Liaison), 71% (Cobas) and 89% (Unicel). The percentage of samples below the value of 50 nmol/L were: 17% (Architect), 55% (Liaison), 28% (Cobas) and 47% (Unicel).ConclusionsThe observed differences stem from the use of different analytical systems for 25-OHD concentration analysis and can result in different outcomes. The recommended values should be established for each assay in accordance with the data provided by the manufacturer or in the laboratory, in accordance with proper standardisation.     

HLA-DR7-Specific monoclonal antibodies and a chimpanzee anti-DR7 serum detect different epitopes on the same molecule

We describe here two monoclonal antibodies with HLA-DR7 serologic specificity. The antibodies, SFR16-DR7M, a cytotoxic rat IgM antibody of high affinity, and SFR16-DR7G, a noncytotoxic antibody of the rat IgG 2a class, react with only DR7-positive cells in radioimmunoassay. The cytotoxic activity of SFR16-DR7M correlates completely with the presence of the DR7 specificity, and segregates with the DR7-bearing haplotype in a family. SFR16-DR7M precipitates a class II molecule with the electrophoretic characteristics of DR molecules from LG-10, an HLA-DR7 homozygous cell line. SFR16-DR7G completely inhibits the cytotoxicity of SFR16-DR7M, but only partially inhibits the cytotoxicity of a chimpanzee antiserum with DR7 specificity, Gay/Swei. In binding-inhibition studies, binding of SFR16-DR7M to LG-10 cells is only partially inhibited by the chimpanzee antiserum and vice versa. Both SFR16-DR7M and Gay/Swei reciprocally deplete the same class II molecules from a ³⁵S-methionine-labeled detergent-solubilized membrane preparation of the LG-10 cell line. The chimpanzee serum Gay contains antibodies reactive with epitopes on separated DR7 beta chains, while both SFR16-DR7M and SFR16-DR7G bind only to DR7 alpha-beta complexes. These data suggest that at least two allogeneic epitopes exist which result in the same serologic specificity, and that these epitopes differ in their requirement for alpha-beta complex formation.