18 research outputs found

    Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC

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    Inulin-type fructans modulate intestinal Bifidobacterium species populations and decrease fecal short-chain fatty acids in obese women

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    Background & aims : Inulin-type fructans (ITF) prebiotics promote changes in the composition and activity of the gut microbiota. The aim of this study was to determine variations on fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentration in obese women treated with ITF and to explore associations between Bifidobacterium species, SCFA and host biological markers of metabolism. Methods Samples were obtained in a randomized, double blind, parallel, placebo-controlled trial, with 30 obese women randomly assigned to groups that received either 16 g/day ITF (n = 15) or maltodextrin (n = 15) for 3 months. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of Bifidobacterium spp. was performed in feces by PCR-DGGE and q-PCR, and SCFA profile was analyzed by gas chromatography. Spearman correlation analysis was performed between the different variables analyzed. Results The species Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum and Bifidobacterium adolescentis were significantly increased at the end of the treatment in the prebiotic group (p <0.01) with being B. longum negatively correlated with serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin (p <0.01). Total SCFA, acetate and propionate, that positively correlated with BMI, fasting insulinemia and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) (p <0.05), were significantly lower in prebiotic than in placebo group after the treatment period. Conclusions ITF consumption selectively modulates Bifidobacterium spp. and decreases fecal SCFA concentration in obese women. ITF could lessen metabolic risk factors associated with higher fecal SCFA concentration in obese individuals

    GUT MICROBIOTA IS IMPLICATED IN CANCER-INDUCED CACHEXIA

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    BACKGROUND AND AIMS : We know that the gut microbiota is implicated in energy metabolism and it role has been mostly studied upon obesity . Here we set the hypothesis that the gut microbiota could also be implicated in metabolic alterations associated with cancer, cachexia. METHODS : This hypothesis was assessed in BALB/c mice intravenously injected with mouse proB BAF3 cells transfected with BCR-ABL gene in order to allow the development of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Muscles (tibialis, gastrocnemius), liver, intestine and adipose tissues were withdrawn 2 weeks after injection for further biochemical and histological analysis. Gut microbiota composition was assessed by RT-qPCR. RESULTS : BCR-ABL expressing CML constitutes a new model of cancer cachexia, as proven by a decrease in adipose and muscle tissue weights. In both male and female, Lactobacillus spp. levels in caecal content drastically decrease, independently of food intake (p<0,001). Moreover, this decrease is highly correlated to muscle markers of atrophy, such as Atrogin-1 mRNA (r = -0,8885, p<0,0001). Finally, increasing the level of Lactobacillus spp. levels by dietary prebiotics allows to lessen Atrogin-1 mRNA induction in the muscle. CONCLUSIONS : In this new model of cancer cachexia, we highlight two important facts : first, gut microbiota modification is associated with cancer-induced cachexia ; second, modulation of gut microbiota counteracts markers of muscle atrophy. Therefore, we suggest that gut microbiota is implicated in cancer cachexia and may constitute a new target in the treatment of this metabolic disease

    Antimicrobial prophylaxis in companion animal surgery: A scoping review for European Network for Optimization of Antimicrobial Therapy (ENOVAT) guidelines

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    Surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP) is widely used to reduce the risk of surgical site infections (SSI), but there is uncertainty as to what the proportion of SSI reduction is. Therefore, it is difficult for surgeons to properly weigh the costs, risks and benefits for individual patients when deciding on the use of SAP, making it challenging to promote antimicrobial stewardship in primary practice settings. The objective of this study was to map the veterinary evidence focused on assessing the effect of SAP on SSI development and in order to identify surgical procedures with some research evidence and possible knowledge gaps. In October 2021 and December 2022, Scopus, CAB Abstracts, Web of Science Core Collection, Embase and MEDLINE were systematically searched. Double blinded screening of records was performed to identify studies in companion animals that reported on the use of SAP and SSI rates. Comparative data were available from 34 out of 39123 records screened including: eight randomised controlled trials (RCT), 23 cohort studies (seven prospective and 16 retrospective) and three retrospective case series representing 12476 dogs and cats in total. Extracted data described peri- or post-operative SAP in nine, and 25 studies, respectively. In the eight RCTs evaluating SAP in companion animals, surgical procedure coverage was skewed towards orthopaedic stifle surgeries in referral settings and there was large variation in SAP protocols, SSI definitions and follow-up periods. More standardized data collection and agreement of SSI definitions is needed to build stronger evidence for optimized patient care

    Molecular genetics of vestibular organ development

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    Identification of symbol digit modality test score extremes in Huntington's disease

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    Studying individuals with extreme phenotypes could facilitate the understanding of disease modification by genetic or environmental factors. Our aim was to identify Huntington's disease (HD) patients with extreme symbol digit modality test (SDMT) scores. We first examined in HD the contribution of cognitive measures of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) in predicting clinical endpoints. The language-independent SDMT was used to identify patients performing very well or very poorly relative to their CAG and age cohort. We used data from REGISTRY and COHORT observational study participants (5,603 HD participants with CAG repeats above 39 with 13,868 visits) and of 1,006 healthy volunteers (with 2,241 visits), included to identify natural aging and education effects on cognitive measures. Separate Cox proportional hazards models with CAG, age at study entry, education, sex, UHDRS total motor score and cognitive (SDMT, verbal fluency, Stroop tests) scores as covariates were used to predict clinical endpoints. Quantile regression for longitudinal language-independent SDMT data was used for boundary (2.5% and 97.5% quantiles) estimation and extreme score analyses stratified by age, education, and CAG repeat length. Ten percent of HD participants had an extreme SDMT phenotype for at least one visit. In contrast, only about 3% of participants were consistent SDMT extremes at two or more visits. The thresholds for the one-visit and two-visit extremes can be used to classify existing and new individuals. The identification of these phenotype extremes can be useful in the search for disease modifiers.Neurological Motor Disorder

    Analytical Methodologies for the Determination of Organics in Sea Water: A Review of Methods During the Last Decade and Future Scenario

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    Gut Microbiota, Obesity and Bariatric Surgery: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

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    A New Boson with a Mass of 125 GeV Observed with the CMS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider

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    The Higgs boson was postulated nearly five decades ago within the framework of the standard model of particle physics and has been the subject of numerous searches at accelerators around the world. Its discovery would verify the existence of a complex scalar field thought to give mass to three of the carriers of the electroweak force-the W+, W-, and Z(0) bosons-as well as to the fundamental quarks and leptons. The CMS Collaboration has observed, with a statistical significance of five standard deviations, a new particle produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The evidence is strongest in the diphoton and four-lepton (electrons and/or muons) final states, which provide the best mass resolution in the CMS detector. The probability of the observed signal being due to a random fluctuation of the background is about 1 in 3 x 10(6). The new particle is a boson with spin not equal to 1 and has a mass of about 1.25 giga-electron volts. Although its measured properties are, within the uncertainties of the present data, consistent with those expected of the Higgs boson, more data are needed to elucidate the precise nature of the new particle
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