Specific gut microbial, biological, and psychiatric profiling related to binge eating disorders: A cross-sectional study in obese patients

Background & aimsBinge eating disorder (BED) is a frequent eating disorder associated with obesity and co-morbidities including psychiatric pathologies, which represent a big health burden on the society.The biological processes related to BED remain unknown. Based on psychological testing, anthropometry, clinical biology, gut microbiota analysis and metabolomic assessment, we aimed to examine the complex biological and psychiatric profile of obese patients with and without BED.MethodsPsychological and biological characteristics (anthropometry, plasma biology, gut microbiota, blood pressure) of 101 obese subjects from the Food4Gut cohort were analysed to decipher the differences between BED and Non BED patients, classified based on the Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis (Q-EDD). Microbial 16S rDNA sequencing and plasma non-targeted metabolomics (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) were performed in a subcohort of 91 and 39 patients respectively.ResultsBED subjects exhibited an impaired affect balance, deficits in inhibition and self-regulation together with marked alterations of eating behaviour (increased emotional and external eating). BED subjects displayed a lower blood pressure and hip circumference. A decrease in Akkermansia and Intestimonas as well as an increase in Bifidobacterium and Anaerostipes characterized BED subjects. Interestingly, metabolomics analysis revealed that BED subjects displayed a higher level of one food contaminants, Bisphenol A bis(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) ether (BADGE.2H(2)O) and a food derived-metabolite the Isovalerylcarnitine.ConclusionsNon-targeted omics approaches allow to select specific microbial genera and two plasma metabolites that characterize BED obese patients. Further studies are needed to confirm their potential role as drivers or biomarkers of binge eating disorder

Nutrition and the ageing brain: moving towards clinical applications

The global increases in life expectancy and population have resulted in a growing ageing population and with it a growing number of people living with age-related neurodegenerative conditions and dementia, shifting focus towards methods of prevention, with lifestyle approaches such as nutrition representing a promising avenue for further development. This overview summarises the main themes discussed during the 3 Symposium on "Nutrition for the Ageing Brain: Moving Towards Clinical Applications" held in Madrid in August 2018, enlarged with the current state of knowledge on how nutrition influences healthy ageing and gives recommendations regarding how the critical field of nutrition and neurodegeneration research should move forward into the future. Specific nutrients are discussed as well as the impact of multi-nutrient and whole diet approaches, showing particular promise to combatting the growing burden of age-related cognitive decline. The emergence of new avenues for exploring the role of diet in healthy ageing, such as the impact of the gut microbiome and development of new techniques (imaging measures of brain metabolism, metabolomics, biomarkers) are enabling researchers to approach finding answers to these questions. But the translation of these findings into clinical and public health contexts remains an obstacle due to significant shortcomings in nutrition research or pressure on the scientific community to communicate recommendations to the general public in a convincing and accessible way. Some promising programs exist but further investigation to improve our understanding of the mechanisms by which nutrition can improve brain health across the human lifespan is still required

« Dansa es us dictatz gracios ». La dansa occitane du XIIe au XIVe siècle

This paper is conceived as the first chapter of a thorough interdisciplinary investigation on the Occitan dansa, the French virelai and other related Romance lyrical genres. By combining philological and musicological approaches, we discuss the definition of the dansa-form based on medieval sources and the delimitation of its corpus, both in Occitan and Catalan milieu. Moreover, we aim to retrace the history of the troubadours’ dansa from its outset to 1400 and back to its possible origin. Concerning this particular aspect, we focus on the alleged derivation of the dansa from the popular poetry of pièces à refrain and/or of “zadjal-type” poems. An in-depth analysis of the dansa’s characteristic features and its comparison with the sacred repertoire of Latin hymns and conductus lead us to a different conclusion: the roots of the dansa-form are to be found in the courtly troubadours’ canso, through an interference with the liturgical and paraliturgical production of the responsoria

Effects of difficulties experienced on self-efficacy and attributions in a study task with tablet

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[What is the role of the gut microbiota in the development of alcohol use disorders?]

Alcohol addiction is a complex and multifactorial disease influenced by social, psychological and biological aspects. The current pharmacological drugs used in the management of alcohol dependence have shown only a modest efficacy and the relapse rate remains high in this disease. Recently, the gut microbiota, a huge and dynamic ecosystem made up of billions of microorganisms living in our intestine, has been shown to regulate many important functions for human health. Indeed, the gut microbiota is known to influence our metabolism, our immune system as well as our nervous system with consequences for brain functions, mood and behaviour. We have shown that heavy and chronic alcohol consumption induced important changes in the composition of the gut microbiota. Furthermore, the microbial changes are associated with the severity of depression, anxiety and alcohol craving that are important factors predicting the risk of relapse. This suggests the existence of a gut-brain axis in alcohol dependence and supports the development of new therapeutic alternatives, targeting the gut microbiota, in the management of alcohol dependence

"Should I watch it again?" An exploratory study on how middle school students interact with videos

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Promoting information integration across multiple conflicting videos

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Fostering middle school students’ processing of conflicting videos: effect of a sorting activity to improve the consideration of divergent arguments

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Fostering middle school students’ processing of conflicting videos: effect of a sorting activity to improve the consideration of divergent arguments

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