BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Clinical observations indicate that implicit procedural learning, a central component of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation, is impeded following spinal cord injury. In accordance, previous research has revealed a specific deficit in implicit sequence learning among individuals with paraplegia using a standard, manual version of the serial reaction time task. To extend these findings and shed light on the underlying sources of potential spinal cord injury-related deficits in sequence learning, we used an ocular activated serial reaction time task to compare sequence learning performance between individuals with tetraplegia and healthy controls. PARTICIPANTS AND MEASURES Twelve participants with spinal cord injury in C5-T1 were compared to 12 matched control participants on measures derived from an ocular activated serial reaction time task. Depression and additional cognitive measures were assessed to explore the source and specificity of potential sequence learning deficits. RESULTS Like controls, and in contrast with previous findings in paraplegia, the spinal cord injury group showed intact implicit sequence learning, evidenced by declining reaction times and improved anticipation over the first six blocks of the serial reaction time task, and an advantage for the initial learning sequence over a novel interference sequence. CONCLUSIONS The ocular activated serial reaction time task elicited a performance pattern similar to standard motor versions, such that participants with tetraplegia demonstrated unimpaired sequence learning. This suggests that previously reported implicit sequence learning deficits in spinal cord injury directly involved motor functioning rather than cognitive aspects of the task, and that the ocular activated sequence learning task could be a valid alternative for assessing implicit sequence learning in populations that cannot perform spinal-cord dependent motor tasks. Implications for post-spinal cord injury rehabilitation and adjustment are discussed.The molecular mechanisms that allow pathogenic bacteria to infect animals have been intensively studied. On the other hand, the molecular mechanisms by which bacteria acquire virulence functions are not fully understood. In the present study, we experimentally evaluated the evolution of a non-pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli in a silkworm infection model and obtained pathogenic mutant strains. As one cause of the high virulence properties of E. coli mutants, we identified amino acid substitutions in LptD (G580S) and LptE (T95I) constituting the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) transporter, which translocates LPS from the inner to the outer membrane and is essential for E. coli growth. The growth of the LptD and LptE mutants obtained in this study was indistinguishable from that of the parent strain. The LptD and LptE mutants exhibited increased secretion of outer membrane vesicles containing LPS and resistance against various antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides, and host complement. In vivo cross-linking studies revealed that the conformation of the LptD-LptE complex was altered in the LptD and LptE mutants. Furthermore, several clinical isolates of E. coli carried amino acid substitutions of LptD and LptE that conferred resistance against antimicrobial substances. This study demonstrated an experimental evolution of bacterial virulence properties in an animal infection model and identified functional alterations of the growth-essential LPS transporter that led to high bacterial virulence by conferring resistance against antimicrobial substances. Oxythiaminechloride These findings suggest that non-pathogenic bacteria can gain virulence traits by changing the functions of essential genes, and provide new insight to bacterial evolution in a host environment.INTRODUCTION Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Vietnam. The current TB burden is unknown as not all individuals with TB are diagnosed, recorded and notified. The second national TB prevalence survey was conducted in 2017-2018 to assess the current burden of TB disease in the country. METHOD Eighty-two clusters were selected using a multistage cluster sampling design. Adult (≥15 years of age) residents having lived for 2 weeks or more in the households of the selected clusters were invited to participate in the survey. The survey participants were screened for TB by a questionnaire and digital chest X-ray after providing written informed consent. Individuals with a positive symptom screen and/or chest X-ray suggestive of TB were asked to provide sputum samples to test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Ziehl-Neelsen direct light microscopy, Xpert MTB/RIF G4, BACTEC MGIT960 liquid culture and Löwenstein-Jensen solid culture. Bacteriologically confirmed TB cases were defiB diagnostic capacity and access to care, along with reducing TB stigma, need to be top priorities for TB control and elimination in Vietnam.Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major human pathogen, causing pneumonia and sepsis. Genetic components strongly influence host responses to pneumococcal infections, but the responsible loci are unknown. We have previously identified a locus on mouse chromosome 7 from a susceptible mouse strain, CBA/Ca, to be crucial for pneumococcal infection. Here we identify a responsible gene, Cd22, which carries a point mutation in the CBA/Ca strain, leading to loss of CD22 on B cells. CBA/Ca mice and gene-targeted CD22-deficient mice on a C57BL/6 background are both similarly susceptible to pneumococcal infection, as shown by bacterial replication in the lungs, high bacteremia and early death. After bacterial infections, CD22-deficient mice had strongly reduced B cell populations in the lung, including GM-CSF producing, IgM secreting innate response activator B cells, which are crucial for protection. This study provides striking evidence that CD22 is crucial for protection during invasive pneumococcal disease.A definitive study on the prevalence of adult unilateral hearing loss and hearing aid rehabilitation is lacking in Korea. The purpose of our study was to investigate the prevalence of adult unilateral hearing loss and the factors associated with hearing aid use in patients with unilateral hearing loss in South Korea. We obtained data from 2009 to 2012 from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES), a cross-sectional, nationwide and population-based survey in the Republic of Korea. We analyzed the prevalence and associated factors of unilateral hearing loss and hearing aid adoption by univariable and multivariable analysis. Unilateral hearing loss was defined as pure tone average ≥ 41 dB in the worse hearing ear, and less then 41 dB in the other ear assessed at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 kHz. From 2009 to 2012, 33,252 individuals participated in the KNHANES. Among them, the number of patients with unilateral hearing loss was 1632 (5.55%) and the prevalence of hearing aid adoption in unilateral hearing loss was 1.