Exposure to bacterial and fungal bioaerosols in facilities processing biodegradable waste

The aim of the study was to determine the exposure of workers within biodegradable waste processing facilities to bacteria and fungi to identify any exposures of potential concern to health. Occupational measurements were performed in six composting and three bioenergy (bioethanol or methane/biogas) producing facilities. Bioaerosols were measured from breathing zones with Button aerosol or open face cassette filter samplers, and swab specimens were taken from the nasal mucous membranes of the workers. Aspergillus fumigatus, Bacillus cereus group, Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Streptomyces spp., and Yersinia spp. were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). A. fumigatus, and mesophilic and thermophilic actinobacteria were also cultivated fromfilters. Bacterial airborne endotoxins collected by IOM samplers were analyzed using a Limulus assay.mBioaerosol levels were high, especially in composting compared to bioenergy producing facilities. Endotoxin concentrations in composting often exceeded the occupational exposure value of 90 EU/m3, which may be harmful to the health. In addition to endotoxins, the concentrations of A. fumigatus (up to 2.4 × 105 copies/m3) and actinobacteria/Streptomyces spp. (up to 1.6 × 106 copies/m3) in the air of composting facilities were often high. Microbial and endotoxin concentrations were typically highest in waste reception and pre-treatment, equal or decreased during processing and handling of treated waste, and lowest in wheel loader cabins and control rooms/outdoors. Still, the parameters measured in wheel loader cabins were often higher than in the control sites, which suggests that the use of preventive measures could be improved. B. cereus group, Salmonella spp., and Yersinia spp. were rarely detected in bioaerosols or nasal swabs. Although Campylobacter spp. DNA was rarely detected in air, as a new finding, Campylobacter ureolyticus DNA was frequently detected in the nasal mucous membranes of workers, based on partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Moreover, especially A. fumigatus and C. ureolyticus spp. DNA concentrations in swabs after the work shift were significantly higher than before the shift, which indicates their inhalation or growth during the work shift. Microbial qPCR analysis of bioaerosols and swab samples of nasal mucosa allowed measuring exposure in various work operations and during the work shift, identifying problems for health risk assessment to improve working conditions, and evaluating the eectiveness of preventive measures and personal protection of workers.Peer reviewe

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Dose-dependent LDL-cholesterol lowering effect by plant stanol ester consumption: clinical evidence

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Overall Dietary Quality Relates to Gut Microbiota Diversity and Abundance

Disturbances in gut microbiota homeostasis may have metabolic consequences with potentially serious clinical manifestations. Diet influences the host’s metabolic health in several ways, either directly or indirectly by modulating the composition and function of gut microbiota. This study investigated the extent to which dietary quality is reflected in gut microbiota diversity in overweight and obese pregnant women at risk for metabolic complications. Dietary quality was measured by a validated index of diet quality (IDQ) and microbiota composition was analyzed using 16SrRNA gene sequencing from 84 women pregnant less than 18 weeks. The alpha diversity, measured as Chao1, observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs), phylogenetic diversity, and the Shannon index were calculated. The IDQ score correlated positively with the Shannon index (rho = 0.319, p = 0.003), but not with the other indexes. The women who had the highest dietary quality (highest IDQ quartile) had higher gut microbiota diversity in all the investigated indexes, when compared to the women with the lowest dietary quality (lowest IDQ quartile; p < 0.032). Consequently, a higher dietary quality was reflected in a higher gut microbiota diversity. The presented approach may aid in devising new tools for dietary counseling aiming at holistic health, as well as in microbiome studies, to control for dietary variance</p

Early pregnancy serum IGFBP-1 relates to lipid profile in overweight and obese women

Correction: Volume: 6 Issue: 10 Article Number: e05248 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05248Lower level of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP-1) has been observed in insulin resistance, while higher level of matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) has been linked to obesity. The aim here was to study in overweight and obese women, typically manifesting with insulin resistance, whether IGFBP-1 and MMP-8 are related to and reflect systemic low-grade inflammation, metabolism and diet. Fasting serum from overweight and obese pregnant women (n = 100) in early pregnancy were analysed for IGFBP-1, phosphorylated IGFBP-1 (phIGFBP-1) and MMP-8. High-sensitivity CRP and GlycA were used as markers for low grade inflammation. GlycA and lipids were quantified using NMR. IGFBP-1 associated negatively with GlycA, evidenced by higher concentrations in the lowest quartile (median 1.53 (IQR 1.45-1.72)) compared to the highest (1.46 (1.39-1.55)) (P = 0.03). Several lipid metabolites, particularly HDL-cholesterol, correlated inversely with phIGFBP-1 (FDRPeer reviewe

Cholesterol lowering efficacy of plant stanol ester in a new type of product matrix, a chewable dietary supplement

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol lowering efficacy of a new type of chewable plant stanol ester food supplement was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, controlled four-week intervention. The participants (LDL cholesterol > 3 mmol/L) consumed four supplements daily with meals either with (n = 50) or without (n = 53) plant stanol esters. Plant stanol ester supplement (2 g/d plant stanols) lowered LDL cholesterol by 7.6%, serum cholesterol by 4.9%, and non-high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by 6.6% compared with controls (P <0.003). HDL cholesterol or serum triacylglycerol concentrations were unchanged. The taste of the supplement was considered good/very good by 68% of the responders, and convenience to consume it was considered easy/very easy by 78% of the responders. No side effects were reported. In conclusion, this new type of small-volume chewable plant stanol ester supplement lowered LDL cholesterol concentration in hypercholesterolemic subjects providing a convenient dietary tool to regulate circulating cholesterol levels. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Living with Overweight, Rather than a History of Gestational Diabetes, Influences Dietary Quality and Physical Activity during Pregnancy

(1) Background: Clinical practice guidelines recommend dietary and physical activity counselling for pregnant women with gestational diabetes (GDM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which a history of GDM and living with overweight before pregnancy modify dietary quality and physical activity during pregnancy. (2) Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study of 1034 pregnant women from different parts of Finland. The data were collected through electronic questionnaires. Dietary quality and physical activity were measured with stand-alone indices and compared according to the history of GDM and overweight status based on body mass index (BMI) category. (3) Results: Overall, 53% of the women had a poor dietary quality (Index of Diet Quality (IDQ) score p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Pregnant women, particularly if living with overweight, commonly have a poor dietary quality and a light level of physical activity. A history of GDM is not reflected in the lifestyle habits, despite the assumption that they have received lifestyle counselling during a previous pregnancy. Pregnant women would benefit from new means to promote healthy lifestyle changes.</p

Ravintolisien käyttö on yleistä ja poikkeaa suosituksista raskaana olevilla

LÄHTÖKOHDAT Tavoitteena oli tutkia suomalaisten raskaana olevien naisten ravintolisien käyttöä ja verrata saantia raskausajan suosituksiin.MENETELMÄT Aineisto (n = 542) kerättiin sähköisellä lomakkeella. Raportoidun ravintolisien käytön perusteella laskettiin vitamiinien, kivennäisaineiden ja kalaöljyn rasvahappojen päivittäinen saanti. Probiooteista selvitettiin käytetyimmät lajit.TULOKSET Tutkimukseen osallistuneista naisista 98 % (532/542) oli käyttänyt jotain ravintolisää raskauden aikana, ja käytettyjen valmisteiden määrä oli 1–9. Yleisimmin käytettiin (82 % vastanneista) raskaana oleville suunnattua monivitamiini- ja kivennäisainevalmistetta. Naisista 70 %:n mukaan monivitamiini- ja kivennäis­aine­valmistetta suositellaan käytettäväksi raskauden aikana. D-vitamiinilisän suosituksesta tiesi 61 % vastanneista sekä foolihapon suosituksesta raskautta edeltävälle ajalle 85 % ja raskauden ajalle 82 %. Ravintolisien käyttäjistä 5 %:lla ylittyi vähintään yhden ravintoaineen turvallisen saannin yläraja.PÄÄTELMÄT Raskaana olevat naiset käyttävät yleisesti ravintolisiä, jopa huomattavan suurina annoksina. Terveydenhuollossa on siten oleellista selvittää ravintolisien käyttöä raskaana olevilta sekä ohjata valmisteiden asianmukaisessa valinnassa ja annostelussa.</p

Overweight and obesity status in pregnant women are related to intestinal microbiota and serum metabolic and inflammatory profiles

Background: Overweight and obesity may predispose women to clinical complications during their pregnancy. We hypothesize that a higher degree of overweight status is related to a range of aberrations in biomarkers already in early pregnancy. Our objective was to investigate whether intestinal microbiota, serum metabolic and inflammatory profiles differ in relation to the degree of overweight status in pregnant women.Methods: This study investigated 52 overweight and 47 obese pregnant women in early pregnancy. Fecal samples were analyzed for intestinal microbiota composition by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and Qiime pipeline. Circulating serum metabolites, including lipids, amino acids and GlycA, a marker of low-grade inflammation, were analyzed by NMR metabolomics and hsCRP was quantified by immunoassay. Serum zonulin levels were analyzed to depict intestinal permeability by Zonulin ELISA kit and LPS activity for endotoxemia by Limulus amebocyte lysate assay. The analyses were adjusted for multiple comparisons using Benjamini-Hochberg procedure for false discovery rate controlling.Results: The relative abundance of bacterial family Prevotellaceae (adjusted P = 0.19) and markers of low-grade inflammation, hsCRP (P = 0.0015) and GlycA (P Conclusions: The detected alterations in intestinal microbiota and metabolic and inflammatory profiles related to obesity status may offer new alternative tools to supplement standard clinical measures to predict the risk for metabolic alterations during the early phase of pregnancy.</div

Increased intestinal permeability, measured by serum zonulin, is associated with metabolic risk markers in overweight pregnant women

Background. Increased intestinal permeability with subsequent metabolic endotoxemia, i.e., elevated circulating levels of bacterial lipopolysaccharide, LPS, has been introduced as a novel initiator of obesity related metabolic disturbances in non-pregnant individuals. The objective was to investigate the extent to which intestinal permeability, measured by serum zonulin concentration, is related to metabolic endotoxemia and metabolic risk markers in overweight pregnant women. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study including 100 pregnant overweight women in early pregnancy. Serum zonulin was analyzed using ELISA, and markers for metabolic endotoxemia (LPS), inflammation (high-sensitive C-reactive protein and glycoprotein acetylation GIyA), glucose metabolism (fasting glucose and insulin), and lipid metabolism were measured. Results. Higher serum zonulin concentration associated positively with LPS (P = 0.02), inflammatory markers (P <0.001), insulin (P <0.001), insulin resistance (P <0.001), and triglycerides (P = 0.001), and negatively with insulin sensitivity (P = 0.001) (ANOVA with Tukey's corrections or Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test with Bonferroni correction for zonulin quartiles). All the observed associations were confirmed (P <0.015) in a linear regression model adjusted with potential confounding factors. Both LPS and GlycA showed positive relationship with insulin resistance, serum insulin, triglycerides, total and LDL-cholesterol and negative relationship with insulin sensitivity (P Conclusions. Our findings suggest that increased serum zonulin concentration, i.e., increased intestinal permeability, contributes to metabolic endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and insulin resistance in overweight pregnant women. By reinforcingintestinal barrier, it may be possible to manipulate maternal metabolism during pregnancy with subsequent health benefits. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe