Karate Kata training: A promising intervention for behavioral problems in elementary school children.

Behavioral issues frequently arise in primary school children, affecting their academic performance, social interactions, and general welfare. These concerns encompass challenges related to attention, concentration, aggression, oppositional behavior, and social maladaptation. The purpose of the current study was to examine the impacts of karate Kata training on extrinsic behavioral problems of elementary school students. The Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire was given to all fourth- to sixth-grade students from a male elementary school, totaling 241 students, in Mashhad, Iran. A total of 76 eligible school-aged children with a total score of 65 and above in attention, aggression, oppositional defiance, and social maladaptation issues were selected and randomly assigned to an exercise group (n = 38) or a no-exercise control group (n = 38). Participants in the exercise group were instructed to engage in Kata training, which consists of a series of choreographed movements designed to enhance physical and mental discipline, for a duration of 12 60-min sessions, whereas the participants in the control group followed their daily activities. The CBCL from the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment was used to assess dependent variables such as attention and concentration, aggression, oppositional defiance, and social maladaptation at baseline and post-intervention. The repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated that Kata training results in significant improvements in attention and concentration and significant reductions in aggression, oppositional defiance, and social maladaptation among elementary school students (all ps < .001). These results highlight the potential benefits of incorporating Kata training into interventions aimed at improving the behavioral outcomes of children.

Alleviation of H2O2 toxicity by extracellular catalases in the phycosphere of Microcystis aeruginosa.

High levels of environmental H2O2 represent a threat to many freshwater bacterial species, including toxic-bloom-forming Microcystis aeruginosa, particularly under high-intensity light conditions. The highest extracellular catalase activity-possessing Pseudoduganella aquatica HC52 was chosen among 36 culturable symbiotic isolates from the phycosphere in freshly collected M. aeruginosa cells. A zymogram for catalase activity revealed the presence of only one extracellular catalase despite the four putative catalase genes (katA1, katA2, katE, and srpA) identified in the newly sequenced genome (∼6.8 Mb) of P. aquatica HC52. Analysis of secreted catalase using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was identified as KatA1, which lacks a typical signal peptide, although the underlying mechanism for its secretion is unknown. The expression of secreted KatA1 appeared to be induced in the presence of H2O2. Proteomic analysis also confirmed the presence of KatA1 inside the outer membrane vesicles secreted by P. aquatica HC52 following exposure to H2O2. High light intensities (> 100 µmol m-2 s-1) are known to kill catalase-less axenic M. aeruginosa cells, but the present study found that the presence of P. aquatica cells supported the growth of M. aeruginosa, while the extracellular catalases in supernatant or purified form also sustained the growth of M. aeruginosa under the same conditions. Our results suggest that the extracellular catalase secreted by P. aquatica HC52 enhances the tolerance of M. aeruginosa to H2O2, thus promoting the formation of M. aeruginosa blooms under high light intensities.

The acquisition of sign languages in rural contexts - what can we do when samples will always be 'too small'?

Our knowledge and theories about language acquisition are skewed towards urban languages, and primarily English (Kidd & Garcia, 2022). Cristia and colleagues convincingly show that studies on the acquisition of rural languages are scarce. The authors suggest that in rural settings, combining experimental and observational approaches is critical to testing and sharpening our theories about language acquisition. Nevertheless, they also acknowledge the numerous challenges that make it difficult to conduct, analyse and publish this type of work.

Development of sign phonology in Kata Kolok.

Much like early speech, early signing is characterised by modifications. Sign language phonology has been analysed on the feature level since the 1980s, yet acquisition studies predominately examine handshape, location, and movement. This study is the first to analyse the acquisition of phonology in the sign language of a Balinese village with a vibrant signing community and applies the same feature analysis to adult and child data. We analyse longitudinal data of four deaf children from the Kata Kolok Child Signing Corpus. The form comparison of child productions and adult targets yields three main findings: i) handshape modifications are most frequent, echoing cross-linguistic patterns; ii) modification rates of other features differ from previous studies, possibly due to differences in methodology or KK's phonology; iii) co-occurrence of modifications within a sign suggest feature interdependencies. We argue that nuanced approaches to child signing are necessary to understand the complexity of early signing.

ArcR contributes to tolerance to fluoroquinolone antibiotics by regulating katA in Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that shows a unique ability to quickly respond to a variety of antibiotics. The Crp/Fnr family transcriptional regulator ArcR controls expression of arginine deiminase pathway genes arcABDC, which enable the utilization of arginine as an energy source for cell growth under anaerobic conditions. However, ArcR shares low overall similarity with other Crp/Fnr family proteins, suggesting that they differ in the response to environmental stress. In this study, MIC and survival assays were performed to determine the role of ArcR in antibiotic resistance and tolerance. The results showed that deletion of arcR reduced tolerance of S.aureus to fluoroquinolone antibiotics, mainly through a defect in the response to oxidative stress. In ΔarcR mutant, the expression of the major catalase gene katA was downregulated, and katA overexpression restored bacterial resistance to oxidative stress and antibiotics. We showed that ArcR directly regulated katA transcription by binding to the promoter region of katA. Therefore, our results revealed the contribution of ArcR in bacterial tolerance to oxidative stress and subsequently to fluoroquinolones antibiotics. This study added our understanding on the role of Crp/Fnr family in bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics.

A novel role of catalase in cholesterol uptake of Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori infection is known to be a significant risk factor for the development of gastric cancers in humans. This pathogen exhibits unique biological characteristics in membrane lipid composition. Specifically, H. pylori incorporates exogenous cholesterol into biomembranes and uses cholesterol as the membrane lipid constituents. A previous study by our group demonstrated that phosphatidylethanolamine of H. pylori functions as the cholesterol-binding lipid. It is, however, unclear whether H. pylori is equipped with protein molecules involved in the cholesterol uptake. We, therefore, examined H. pylori proteins that tightly bind to cholesterol. As a consequence, H. pylori catalase (KatA) turned out to be a candidate of the cholesterol uptake-associated protein. In addition, an H. pylori mutant strain that expresses KatA protein lacking catalase activity was significantly lower in total cholesterol contents than the wild-type H. pylori strain. The putative amino acid sequence of KatA found out to contain a number of the cholesterol recognition/interaction amino acid consensus sequence domains (CRAC and CARC domains). These results suggest that H. pylori KatA with normal folding conformation acts as the cholesterol-binding or -storage protein.

The Catalase KatA Contributes to Microaerophilic H2O2 Priming to Acquire an Improved Oxidative Stress Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus has to cope with oxidative stress during infections. In this study, S. aureus was found to be resistant to 100 mM H2O2 during aerobic growth. While KatA was essential for this high aerobic H2O2 resistance, the peroxiredoxin AhpC contributed to detoxification of 0.4 mM H2O2 in the absence of KatA. In addition, the peroxiredoxins AhpC, Tpx and Bcp were found to be required for detoxification of cumene hydroperoxide (CHP). The high H2O2 tolerance of aerobic S. aureus cells was associated with priming by endogenous H2O2 levels, which was supported by an oxidative shift of the bacillithiol redox potential to -291 mV compared to -310 mV in microaerophilic cells. In contrast, S. aureus could be primed by sub-lethal doses of 100 µM H2O2 during microaerophilic growth to acquire an improved resistance towards the otherwise lethal triggering stimulus of 10 mM H2O2. This microaerophilic priming was dependent on increased KatA activity, whereas aerobic cells showed constitutive high KatA activity. Thus, KatA contributes to the high H2O2 resistance of aerobic cells and to microaerophilic H2O2 priming in order to survive the subsequent lethal triggering doses of H2O2, allowing the adaptation of S. aureus under infections to different oxygen environments.

"We missed the psychological support": A case study about the preparation of the Brazilian bronze medal kata team for the 2019 Pan American Games.

Purpose: The main aim of the study was to describe the key factors involved in the preparation process of the Brazilian bronze medal kata team for the 2019 Pan American Games, focusing on the athletes' perceptions. Methods: Three male athletes from the Brazilian team performed a semistructured interview to identify the following topics: specific time for preparation, training organization, supplementary support, and perception and suggestion about the efficiency of the preparation process. Results: Data from interviews were gathered and coded, and the major themes were summarized as follows after performing content analysis of the data: (a) technical and tactical training took the major part of the preparation; (b) the high level of the coaches helped the team to reach the technical quality of the kata; (c) better psychological support during the preparation could improve the athletes' performance during the training and competition; and (d) the lack of financial support compromised the commitment of the athletes during the training routine. Conclusion: We concluded, based on the athletes' perception, that the most positive factor during preparation for a major competition was the high amount of time focused on technical-tactical training. Even with limitations to performing the physical training, the athletes recognized the importance of the physical component, to increase performance. Financial and psychological support could have helped the team to reach a better result (gold medal) attenuating the training distress.

The Effects of Aquatic Versus Kata Techniques Training on Static and Dynamic Balance in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The present study aimed to compare the effect of a land-based and a swimming-based exercise program on balance abilities in children with autism. Thirty children were voluntarily selected and randomly assigned to karate exercise, aquatic training and control groups. Participants practiced for 10 weeks, 2 sessions of 60 min per week. Before and after the 10-week intervention, static and dynamic balance tests were administered. The results showed that both interventions had a significant effect on balance abilities (p < 0.001); interestingly, we found the greater improvement in balance performance in kata techniques group. Due to the importance of balance performance on daily functions, communication and interaction skills, karate and swimming exercises can be the valuable interventions added to autism's daily programs. Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials number: IRCT20180626040242N1.

Kaizen-Kata, a Problem-Solving Approach to Public Service Health Care in Mexico. A Multiple-Case Study.

Purpose: Mexico's public hospitals are experiencing major operational problems which seriously affect the care of Mexican citizens. Some hospitals have initiated efforts to apply the Kaizen philosophy to improve this situation. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze the methodological impact of Kaizen-Kata implementation in Mexican public hospitals that have tried to solve operational problems using this improvement approach. Design/Methodology/Approach: The service organization implemented Kaizen-Kata methodology in order to improve one operational problem-process in health care. A case-study approach was used in this research in order to understand the effects of the Kaizen-Kata methodology in solving problems in their operational procedures. Findings: Six specific drivers were identified when applying the Kaizen-Kata methodology. Furthermore, the impact on the levels of implementation of the Kaizen-Kata methodology in each of the improvement teams studied was also identified. Research Limitations: The main limitation of the research is that only three case-studies are presented thus it is not possible to generalize its results. Practical Implications (Where Possible): Other public hospitals can use this specific example as a working guide to solve the operational problems of health systems. Originality/Value: A methodology of continuous improvement in manufacturing was imported from the industry sector for application in an operational health care process. The Kaizen-Kata methodology contributed significantly to improving issues involving delays, customer complaints, process reworks and extra-cost, among other effects of operational problems.

Cognitive Interaction Technology in Sport-Improving Performance by Individualized Diagnostics and Error Prediction.

The interdisciplinary research area Cognitive Interaction Technology (CIT) aims to understand and support interactions between human users and other elements of socio-technical systems. Important reasons for the new interest in understanding CIT in sport psychology are the impressive development of cognitive robotics and advanced technologies such as virtual or augmented reality systems, cognitive glasses or neurotechnology settings. The present article outlines this area of research, addresses ethical issues, and presents an empirical study in the context of a new measurement and assessment system for training in karate. Recent advances in the field of cognitive assistance systems enabled largely automatized assessments of individual mental representation structures for action sequences, such as choreographed movement patterns in dance or martial arts. Empirical investigations with karate practitioners of different skill levels demonstrate that advanced software-based survey and algorithmic analysis procedures based on cognitive models generate individualized performance predictions for a movement sequence from the Kanku-dai kata (a pre-defined karate movement sequence), which correlated significantly not only with formal expertise (kyu/dan rank) but also with the actual likelihood of mistakes in action execution. This information could prospectively be used to define individual training goals for deliberate practice and incorporated into cognitive interaction technology to provide appropriate feedback. We argue that the development of cognitive interaction systems for sport should explicitly take ethical issues into consideration and present a particular developed engineering approach. The potential benefits of such an assistance system for intermediate and advanced practitioners include more effective and flexible practice, as well as supportive effects, and more flexible training schedules. Furthermore, we argue that researchers from the field of sport psychology can benefit from advances in technological systems that enhance the understanding of mental and motor control in skilled voluntary action.

Differential expression of the major catalase, KatA in the two wild type Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, PAO1 and PA14.

KatA is the major catalase required for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) resistance and acute virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14, whose transcription is governed by its dual promoters (katAp1 and katAp2). Here, we observed that KatA was not required for acute virulence in another wild type P. aeruginosa strain, PAO1, but that PAO1 exhibited higher KatA expression than PA14 did. This was in a good agreement with the observation that PAO1 was more resistant than PA14 to H2O2 as well as to the antibiotic peptide, polymyxin B (PMB), supposed to involve reactive oxygen species (ROS) for its antibacterial activity. The higher KatA expression in PAO1 than in PA14 was attributed to both katAp1 and katAp2 transcripts, as assessed by S1 nuclease mapping. In addition, it was confirmed that the PMB resistance is attributed to both katAp1 and katAp2 in a complementary manner in PA14 and PAO1, by exploiting the promoter mutants for each -10 box (p1m, p2m, and p1p2m). These results provide an evidence that the two widely used P. aeruginosa strains display different virulence mechanisms associated with OxyR and Anr, which need to be further characterized for better understanding of the critical virulence pathways that may differ in various P. aeruginosa strains.

Establishment and application of CRISPR interference to affect sporulation, hydrogen peroxide detoxification, and mannitol catabolism in the methylotrophic thermophile Bacillus methanolicus.

Bacillus methanolicus is a thermophilic, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. It is a facultative methylotroph which can use carbon and energy sources including mannitol and the one-carbon (C1) and non-food substrate methanol for growth and overproduction of amino acids, which makes it a promising candidate for biotechnological applications. Despite a growing tool box for gene cloning and expression, tools for targeted chromosomal gene knockouts and gene repression are still missing for this organism. Here, the CRISPRi-dCas9 technique for gene repression was established in B. methanolicus MGA3. Significantly reduced spore formation on the one hand and increased biofilm formation on the other hand could be demonstrated when the stage zero sporulation protein A gene spo0A was targeted. Furthermore, when the mannitol-1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase gene mtlD was targeted by CRISPRi, mtlD RNA levels, and MtlD specific activities in crude extracts were decreased to about 50 % which resulted in reduced biomass formation from mannitol. As a third target, the catalase gene katA was chosen. Upon targeting katA by CRISPRi, catalase activity was decreased to about 25 % as shown in H2O2 drop assays and by determination of specific catalase activity in crude extracts. Our results support the predicted functions of Spo0A in sporulation and biofilm formation, of MtlD for mannitol catabolism, and of catalase in hydrogen peroxide dismutation. Thus, CRISPR interference as developed here serves as basis for the functional characterization of B. methanolicus physiology as well as for its application in biotechnology.

Oligoribonuclease Contributes to Tolerance to Aminoglycoside and ß-Lactam Antibiotics by Regulating KatA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen and is intrinsically resistant to a variety of antibiotics. Oligoribonuclease (Orn) is a 3'-to-5' exonuclease that degrades nanoRNAs. The Orn controls biofilm formation by influencing the homeostasis of cyclic-di-GMP. Previously, we demonstrated that Orn contributes to the tolerance of P. aeruginosa to fluoroquinolone antibiotics by affecting the production of pyocins. In this study, we found that mutation in the orn gene reduces bacterial tolerance to aminoglycoside and ß-lactam antibiotics, which is mainly due to a defective response to oxidative stresses. The major catalase KatA is downregulated in the orn mutant, and overexpression of the katA gene restores the bacterial tolerance to oxidative stresses and the antibiotics. We further demonstrated that Orn influenced the translation of the katA mRNA and narrowed down the region in the katA mRNA that is involved in the regulation of its translation. Therefore, our results revealed a novel role of the Orn in bacterial tolerance to oxidative stresses as well as aminoglycoside and ß-lactam antibiotics.

Helicobacter pylori Outer Membrane Vesicles Protect the Pathogen From Reactive Oxygen Species of the Respiratory Burst.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) play an important role in the persistence of Helicobacter pylori infection. Helicobacter OMVs carry a plethora of virulence factors, including catalase (KatA), an antioxidant enzyme that counteracts the host respiratory burst. We found KatA to be enriched and surface-associated in OMVs compared to bacterial cells. This conferred OMV-dependent KatA activity resulting in neutralization of H2O2 and NaClO, and rescue of surrounding bacteria from oxidative damage. The antioxidant activity of OMVs was abolished by deletion of KatA. In conclusion, enrichment of antioxidative KatA in OMVs is highly important for efficient immune evasion.

Detection of Catalase Activity by Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE)in Cell Extracts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Bacteria in nature and as pathogens commonly face oxidative stress which causes damage to proteins, lipids and DNA. This damage is produced by the action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), singlet oxygen, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical. ROS are generated by antimicrobials, environmental factors (e.g., ultraviolet radiation, osmotic stress), aerobic respiration, and host phagocytes during infective processes. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a versatile bacterium, is a prevalent opportunistic human pathogen which possesses several defense strategies against ROS. Among them, two catalases (KatA and KatB) have been well characterized by their role on the defense against multiple types of stress. In this protocol, KatA and KatB activities are detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). It is also suggested that the detection of KatB is elusive.

First description of a catalase-negative Staphylococcus aureus from a healthy carrier, with a novel nonsense mutation in the katA gene.

We have screened 2568 healthy individuals (mostly children) for Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae nasal carriage between 2010 and 2012. Out of the isolated 751 S. aureus strains, we found one methicillin-sensitive catalase-negative S. aureus (CNSA). Our CNSA isolate possessed a novel nonsense point mutation in the katA gene leading to early truncation of the protein product. The strain was resistant to penicillin and erythromycin, but sensitive to all other tested antibiotics and carried the enterotoxin A gene. It belonged to sequence type 5 (ST5), which is a successful, worldwide spread, usually MRSA clone. Catalase has been described as a virulence factor strictly required for nasal colonisation, and this is the first case contradicting this theory, as all previous CNSA isolates derived from infections. This is the first report of a CNSA from a symptomless carrier as well as the first occurrence in Hungary.

[The modern characteristics of species identification of coagulase-positive bacteria of Staphylococcus genus.]

The development of molecular techniques of research in the end of XX century permitted to broaden nomenclature of species forming genus Staphylococcus that nowadays numbers 51 species and 27 sub-species. The pathogenic species of genus have a capacity to coagulate blood plasma of mammals forming group of coagulase-positive staphylococci including 7 species: S. aureus, S. delphini, S. intermedius, S. pseudintermedius, S. lutrae, S. schleiferi ssp. сoagulans, S hyicus. In clinical practice, S.aureus is considered as the most virulent among staphylococci. The cumulated data testifies increasing etiologic significance of other representatives of group of coagulase-positive staphylococci in human and animal infection pathology. The keen attention is needed to be paid to Staphylococcus intermedius of group (SIG), uniting three close kindred species: S. pseudintermedius, S. intermedius, S. delphini. Among them the most broadly prevailed are methicillin-resistant clones of S. pseudintermedius, capable to bring on in patient various pyoinflammatory diseases. The laboratory methods based on phenotype tests, provide no opportunity to differentiate coagulase-positive staphylococci because of significant similarity of phenotype characteristics in certain representatives of this group. Te comparative analysis was implemented concerning efficiency of various methods of species identification of coagulase-positive staphylococci: biochemical, molecular genetic (multi-primer polymerase chain reaction for identifying differences in gene structure of thermonuclease, analysis of polymorphism of lengths of restricting fragments of catalase gene and their sequencing), matrix-activated laser desorptional/ionizing time-of-flight mass-spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS) with various modes of probe preparation. The analysis was applied to 117 isolates of representatives of SIG, separated from ill and healthy individuals of small domestic animals, clinical isolates form patients of hospitals. The multi-primer polymerase chain reaction permitted to identify 97% of isolates, analysis of polymorphism of lengths of restricting fragments of catalase gene - 100% of isolates that confirms efficiency of molecular genetic methods of analysis. The MALDI-ToF MS requires replenishment data base of mass-spectrometer and application of the mode of preliminary protein extraction of samples fo increasing efficiency of species identification of coagulase-positive staphylococci.

Global transcriptomic analysis of the response of Corynebacterium glutamicum to ferulic acid.

Corynebacterium glutamicum can survive by using ferulic acid as the sole carbon source. In this study, we assessed the response of C. glutamicum to ferulic acid stress by means of a global transcriptional response analysis. The transcriptional data showed that several genes involved in degradation of ferulic acid were affected. Moreover, several genes related to the stress response; protein protection or degradation and DNA repair; replication, transcription and translation; and the cell envelope were differentially expressed. Deletion of the katA or sigE gene in C. glutamicum resulted in a decrease in cell viability under ferulic acid stress. These insights will facilitate further engineering of model industrial strains, with enhanced tolerance to ferulic acid to enable easy production of biofuels from lignocellulose.

Novel nonsense mutation in the katA gene of a catalase-negative Staphylococcus aureus strain

Abstract We report the first description of a rare catalase-negative strain of Staphylococcus aureus in Chile. This new variant was isolated from blood and synovial tissue samples of a pediatric patient. Sequencing analysis revealed that this catalase-negative strain is related to ST10 strain, which has earlier been described in relation to S. aureus carriers. Interestingly, sequence analysis of the catalase gene katA revealed presence of a novel nonsense mutation that causes premature translational truncation of the C-terminus of the enzyme leading to a loss of 222 amino acids. Our study suggests that loss of catalase activity in this rare catalase-negative Chilean strain is due to this novel nonsense mutation in the katA gene, which truncates the enzyme to just 283 amino acids.