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In two eye-tracking pilots during reading, we investigated real-time processing of formality-register congruence and subject-verb morphosyntactic congruence, and their relation. Participants read, in German, two context sentences conveying a formal or informal situation, followed by a target sentence containing a high- or low-register verb (e.g., Engl. transl. "The policeman detained the activist" vs. "The policeman grabbed the activist") which matched or mismatched context formality. The second pilot additionally manipulated subject-verb morphosyntactic congruence (e.g., Engl. transl. "*The policeman detain the activist"; "*The policeman grabbed the activist"). We observed main effects of formality-register and morphosyntactic congruence on verb reading times, as well as an interaction effect at the post-verbal object noun. Higher degrees of context and target sentence formality resulted in longer reading times. Ongoing investigation will further clarify our pilot findings, which suggest some interference between formality-register and morphosyntactic congruence processing.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have antimicrobial and antifungal activity. SeNPs using Se resistant bacteria is a low cost and eco-friendly technology. Fungal contamination of wood during drying is one of the main causes of economic losses in the wood industry. The bacterium Delftia sp. 5 resistance to Se and its ability to produce SeNPs able to inhibit the growth of the wood brown-rotting fungus Oligoporus pelliculosus was analyzed. The strain showed an optimal SeNPs production when selenite concentration was 160 mg L−1. The SeNPs were spherical with an average size 192.33 ± 8.6 nm and a zeta potential of -41.4 ± 1.3 nm. The SeNPs produced by Delftia sp. 5 (33.6 ± 0.1 mg L−1 Se) inhibited the growth of O. pelliculosus in agar plates and in Nothofagus pumilio (Lenga) wood samples. Delftia sp. 5 SeNPs could be used for embedding lenga wood prior to drying for preventing the growth of the deteriorating fungi O. pelliculosus.

ABSTRACT Large dog breeds commonly produce unformed faeces. The present study hypothesised that foods for large dog breeds require higher starch gelatinisation (SG) to reduce organic matter flow to colon. Fifteen Rottweilers (Ro; 49.4 ± 6.12 kg), 18 Beagles (Be; 12.13 ± 1.75 kg) and 20 Shih‐Tzus (ST; 4.62 ± 1.15 kg) were fed one of three diets, all based on the same sorghum formulation, processed to obtain three levels of SG: SG90 (91.8% SG), SG50 (50.7% SG) and SG30 (27.4% SG). Foods were provided for 23 days, and the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of nutrients, faecal production and fermentation products, Na, K and Cl apparent absorption and gastrointestinal transit time (GTT) were evaluated. Results were submitted to analysis of variance considering SG, breed and their interactions, and means compared by the Tukey test (p < 0.05). All dogs promptly ate the foods. Faeces scores were lower for Ro than for Be and ST, and lower for SG30 than SG90 (p < 0.05). Faeces pH was higher, and total short‐chain fatty acids were lower for SG90 than for SG50 and SG30 (p < 0.01), regardless of breed. No diet effect was observed for GTT (p > 0.05), but it was lower for Ro (41.7 ± 6.2 h) than for ST (48.7 ± 8.6 h). The CTTAD of nutrients was lower for SG30, intermediary for SG50 and higher for SG90 (p < 0.05), and among breeds CTTAD was higher for Be than ST and Ro (p < 0.05), which did not differ from each other, except for crude protein CTTAD which was lower for Ro (p < 0.05). The apparent absorption of Na and K was higher for the SG90 treatment, and for Be in comparison with Ro and ST (p < 0.05). Food SG had a remarkable influence on Ro faeces formation and on the CTTAD in all breeds. Greater fermentation in the colon and lower protein CTTAD may be involved in Ro unformed faeces formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sepsis is the most serious complication of flexible ureteroscopy (F-URS) and laser lithotripsy. We assessed the influence of positive stone culture (SC) on major infectious complications (sepsis, septic shock). Methods: This prospective study enrolled adult patients deemed suitable for F-URS and laser lithotripsy from nine centers (January 2022–August 2023). Inclusion criteria were as follows: kidney stone(s), preoperative midstream urine culture (MSUC), stone(s) assessed at computed tomography scan, and SC. Exclusion criteria were as follows: bilateral procedures, ureteral stones, and children. Group 1 included patients with sterile SC. Group 2 included patients with positive SC. Data are presented as median (interquartile range). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors associated with having a positive SC. Results: In total, 293 patients were included. Median age was 51.0 (24) years. There were 167 (57.0%) males. Group 2 included 32 (2.5%) patients. Group 2 patients were significantly older [75.0 (14) vs 51.0 (23) years, p = 0.02]. Stone features were similar. Major infectious complications were higher in Group 2 (15.6% vs 0.4%). One patient died because of sepsis in Group 2. Two out of 6 (33.3%) patients with major infectious complications had the same pathogen in MSUC and SC. In the multivariable regression analysis, diabetes (OR 3.23), symptomatic urinary infections within 3 months before operation (OR 4.82) and preoperative stent/nephrostomy (OR 2.92) were factors significantly associated with higher odds of positive SC. Conclusions: Patients with positive SC have a higher incidence of major infectious complications after F-URS lithotripsy. SC should be performed whenever feasible because there is a poor correlation between MSUC and SC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present review paper by members of the collaborative research center “Register: Language Users' Knowledge of Situational-Functional Variation” (CRC 1412), we assess the pervasiveness of register phenomena across different time periods, languages, modalities, and cultures. We define “register” as recurring variation in language use depending on the function of language and on the social situation. Informed by rich data, we aim to better understand and model the knowledge involved in situation- and function-based use of language register. In order to achieve this goal, we are using complementary methods and measures. In the review, we start by clarifying the concept of “register”, by reviewing the state of the art, and by setting out our methods and modeling goals. Against this background, we discuss three key challenges, two at the methodological level and one at the theoretical level: (1) To better uncover registers in text and spoken corpora, we propose changes to established analytical approaches. (2) To tease apart between-subject variability from the linguistic variability at issue (intra-individual situation-based register variability), we use within-subject designs and the modeling of individuals' social, language, and educational background. (3) We highlight a gap in cognitive modeling, viz. modeling the mental representations of register (processing), and present our first attempts at filling this gap. We argue that the targeted use of multiple complementary methods and measures supports investigating the pervasiveness of register phenomena and yields comprehensive insights into the cross-methodological robustness of register-related language variability. These comprehensive insights in turn provide a solid foundation for associated cognitive modeling.

The present study combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings with fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) to investigate automatic neural responses to morphemes in developing and skilled readers. Native English-speaking children (N = 17, grade 5–6) and adults (N = 28) were presented with rapid streams of base stimuli (6 Hz) interleaved periodically with oddballs (i.e., every fifth item, oddball stimulation frequency: 1.2 Hz). In a manipulation-check condition, tapping into word recognition, oddballs featured familiar words (e.g., roll) embedded in a stream of consonant strings (e.g., ktlq). In the experimental conditions, the contrast between oddball and base stimuli was manipulated in order to probe selective stem and suffix identification in morphologically structured pseudowords (e.g., stem + suffix pseudowords such as softity embedded in nonstem + suffix pseudowords such as trumess). Neural responses at the oddball frequency and harmonics were analyzed at the sensor level using non-parametric cluster-based permutation tests. As expected, results in the manipulation-check condition revealed a word-selective response reflected by a predominantly left-lateralized cluster that emerged over temporal, parietal, and occipital sensors in both children and adults. However, across the experimental conditions, results yielded a differential pattern of oddball responses in developing and skilled readers. Children displayed a significant response that emerged in a mostly central occipital cluster for the condition tracking stem identification in the presence of suffixes (e.g., softity vs. trumess). In contrast, adult participants showed a significant response that emerged in a cluster located in central and left occipital sensors for the condition tracking suffix identification in the presence of stems (e.g., softity vs. stopust). The present results suggest that while the morpheme identification system in Grade 5–6 children is not yet adult-like, it is sufficiently mature to automatically analyze the morphemic structure of novel letter strings. These findings are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of morphological processing across reading development.

Inflectional values, such as singular and plural, sustain agreement relations between constituents in sentences, allowing sentence parsing and prediction in online processing. Ideally, these processes would be facilitated by a consistent and transparent correspondence between the inflectional values and their form: for example, the value of plural should always be expressed by the same ending, and that ending should only express plural. Experimental research reports higher processing costs in the presence of a non-transparent relation between forms and values. While this effect was found in several languages, and typological research shows that consistency is far from common in morphological paradigms, it is still somewhat difficult to precisely quantify the transparency degree of the inflected forms. Furthermore, to date, no accounts have quantified the transparency in inflection with regard to the declensional classes and the extent to which it is expressed across different parts of speech, depending on whether these act as controllers of the agreement (e.g., nouns) or as targets (e.g., adjectives). We present a case study on Italian, a language that marks gender and number features in nouns and adjectives. This work provides measures of the distribution of forms in the noun and adjective inflection in Italian, and quantifies the degree of form-value transparency with respect to inflectional endings and declensional classes. In order to obtain these measures, we built Flex It, a dedicated large-scale database of inflectional morphology of Italian, and made it available, in order to sustain further theoretical and empirical research.

Objective: The study aimed to explore the perspective of parents of children with cancer when searching for information at different points in the treatment. Method: This is a descriptive study with qualitative data analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 22 parents at two public hospitals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Results: We did not observe a pattern in the search for information during the disease trajectory, but different needs regarding the type of information as the child or adolescent advances within the therapeutic plan. The primary sources of information were: doctors, other health professionals than nurses and the internet. The doctor remains the reference as a source of information. Nurses presented a very modest role concerning their possibilities to serve as educators and information providers. Parents stressed the need for precise and individualized information. Conclusions: The professionals involved in the care for this population are expected to be ready to provide information and to adopt strategies to simplify the information given to enable these families for care and for the decision-making process during treatment.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from freshwater fish (hatcheries and captures) from Paraná river (Argentina) were analyzed by using culture-dependent approaches. The species belonging to Carnobacterium (C.) divergens, C. inhibens, C. maltaromaticum, C. viridans and Vagococcus (V.) salmoninarum were identify as predominant by RAPD-PCR and 16 s rRNA gene sequencing. C. maltaromaticum (H-17, S-30, B-42 and S-44) grew in raw fish extract and slightly reduced the medium pH (5.81–5.91). These strains exhibited moderate fish sarcoplasmic protein degradation (≤ 73 %) releasing small peptides and free amino acids, being alanine, glycine, asparagine and arginine concentrations increased in a higher extent (17.84, 1.47, 1.26 and 0.47 mg/100 mL, respectively) by S-44 strain at 96 h incubation. Interestingly C. maltaromaticum H-17 was able to inhibit Listeria monocytogenes. Results suggest that these strains would contribute to the development of new safe and healthy fishery products with improved nutritional and sensory characteristics.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for the majority of living organisms, and it has been identified as selenocysteine in the active site of several selenoproteins such as glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and deiodinases. Se deficiency in humans is associated with viral infections, thyroid dysfunction, different types of cancer, and aging. In several European countries as well as in Argentina, Se intake is below the recommended dietary Intake (RDI). Some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can accumulate and bio-transform selenite (toxic) into Se-nanoparticles (SeNPs) and Se-amino acids (non-toxic). The microbial growth, Se metabolite distribution, and the glutathione reductase (involved in selenite reduction) activity of Se-enriched LAB were studied in this work. The ninety-six assayed strains, belonging to the genera Lactococcus, Weissella, Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and Fructobacillus could grow in the presence of 5 ppm sodium selenite. From the total, eight strains could remove more than 80% of the added Se from the culture medium. These bacteria accumulated intracellularly between 1.2 and 2.5 ppm of the added Se, from which F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 contained the highest intracellular amount. These strains produced only the seleno-amino acid SeCys as observed by LC-ICP-MS and confirmed by LC-ESI-MS/MS. The intracellular SeCys concentrations were between 0.015 and 0.880 ppm; Lb. brevis CRL 2051 (0.873 ppm), Lb. plantarum CRL 2030 (0.867 ppm), and F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 (0.625 ppm) were the strains that showed the highest concentrations. Glutathione reductase activity values were higher when the strains were grown in the presence of Se except for the F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 strain, which showed an opposite behavior. The cellular morphology of the strains was not affected by the presence of Se in the culture medium; interestingly, all the strains were able to form spherical SeNPs as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Only two Enterococcus strains produced the volatile Se compounds dimethyl-diselenide identified by GC-MS. Our results show that Lb. brevis CRL 2051, Lb. plantarum CRL 2030, and F. tropaeoli CRL 2034 could be used for the development of nutraceuticals or as starter cultures for the bio-enrichment of fermented fruit beverages with SeCys and SeNPs.

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element present as selenocysteine (SeCys) in selenoproteins, which have an important role in thyroid metabolism and the redox system in humans. Se deficiency affects between 500 and 1000 million people worldwide. Increasing Se intake can prevent from bacterial and viral infections. Se deficiency has been associated with cancer, Alzheimer, Parkinson, decreased thyroid function, and male infertility. Se intake depends on the food consumed which is directly related to the amount of Se in the soil as well as on its availability. Se is unevenly distributed on the earth's crust, being scarce in some regions and in excess in others. The easiest way to counteract the symptoms of Se deficiency is to enhance the Se status of the human diet. Se salts are the most toxic form of Se, while Se amino acids and Se-nanoparticles (SeNPs) are the least toxic and most bio-available forms. Some bacteria transform Se salts into these Se species. Generally accepted as safe selenized microorganisms can be directly used in the manufacture of selenized fermented and/or probiotic foods. On the other hand, plant growth-promoting bacteria and/or the SeNPs produced by them can be used to promote plant growth and produce crops enriched with Se. In this chapter we discuss bacterial Se metabolism, the effect of Se on human health, the applications of SeNPs and Se-enriched bacteria, as well as their effect on food fortification. Different strategies to counteract Se deficiency by enriching foods using sustainable strategies and their possible implications for improving human health are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenium, which is present as SeCys in selenoproteins, is involved in cancer prevention, thyroid functioning, and pathogen inhibition. Lactobacilli can biotransform inorganic Se into seleno-amino acids. Growth, Se accumulation and seleno-amino acid formation by Lactobacillus acidophilus CRL636 and L. reuteri CRL1101 in a Se-supplemented medium were studied. Moreover, survival of Se-enriched strains to different pH values and bile salts was analyzed. L. acidophilus CRL636 showed low growth rate in the presence of Se while differences were less evident for L. reuteri CRL1101, which displayed higher amounts of intracellular SeCys and SeMet than the CRL636 strain. Interestingly, both lactobacilli could produce Se-nanoparticles. Se-enriched lactobacilli showed lower growth rates than non-Se exposed cells. The adverse effect of bile salts and the ability to survive at pH 4.0 diminished for the Se-enriched L. reuteri strain. The studied lactobacilli could be used as Se-enriched probiotics or as a vehicle for manufacturing Se-containing fermented foods.