Prebiotics, faecal transplants and microbial network units to stimulate biodiversity of the human gut microbiome

Accumulating evidence demonstrates the intimate association between human hosts and the gut microbiome. Starting at birth, the sterile gut of the newborn acquires a diverse spectrum of microbes, needed for immunological priming. However, current practices (caesarean sections, use of formula milk) deprive newborns from being exposed to this broad spectrum of microbes. Unnecessary use of antibiotics and excessive hygienic precautions (e.g. natural versus chlorinated drinking water) together with the Western diet further contribute to a decreased microbial diversity in the adult gut. This has been correlated with recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel diseases and obesity, among others. A healthy gut microbiome is thus characterized by a diverse network of metabolically interacting microbial members. In this context, we review several existing and novel approaches to manage the gut microbiome. First, prebiotic compounds should be re-defined in the sense that they should enhance the ecological biodiversity rather than stimulating single species. Recent studies highlight that structurally different polysaccharides require specific primary degraders but also enhance a similar network of secondary degraders that benefit from cross-feeding. A faecal transplantation is a second approach to restore biodiversity when the microbiota is severely dysbiosed, with promising results regarding C.difficile-associated disease and obesity-related metabolic syndromes. A final strategy is the introduction of key microbial network units, i.e. pre-organized microbial associations, which strengthen the overall microbial network of the gut microbiome that supports human health

Strongly walk-regular graphs

We study a generalization of strongly regular graphs. We call a graph strongly walk-regular if there is an $\ell >1$ such that the number of walks of length $\ell$ from a vertex to another vertex depends only on whether the two vertices are the same, adjacent, or not adjacent. We will show that a strongly walk-regular graph must be an empty graph, a complete graph, a strongly regular graph, a disjoint union of complete bipartite graphs of the same size and isolated vertices, or a regular graph with four eigenvalues. Graphs from the first three families in this list are indeed strongly $\ell$-walk-regular for all $\ell$, whereas the graphs from the fourth family are $\ell$-walk-regular for every odd $\ell$. The case of regular graphs with four eigenvalues is the most interesting (and complicated) one. Such graphs cannot be strongly $\ell$-walk-regular for even $\ell$. We will characterize the case that regular four-eigenvalue graphs are strongly $\ell$-walk-regular for every odd $\ell$, in terms of the eigenvalues. There are several examples of infinite families of such graphs. We will show that every other regular four-eigenvalue graph can be strongly $\ell$-walk-regular for at most one $\ell$. There are several examples of infinite families of such graphs that are strongly 3-walk-regular. It however remains open whether there are any graphs that are strongly $\ell$-walk-regular for only one particular $\ell$ different from 3

An unusual location of gouty panniculitis: A case report.

Gouty panniculitis, characterised by the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in subcutaneous tissue, is a rare clinical manifestation of gout. The case of a 67-year-old man is reported, who presented an erythematous nodule on the upper part of the right buttock suspicious for an abscess. This was in the context of chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Histopathologic examination demonstrated gouty panniculitis. Because infection was suspected, an incision was performed. The lesion was found to be densely calcified and friable, without purulent discharge. Therefore, a surgical en-bloc resection was performed. The wound healed slowly initially due to a combination of malnutrition, chemotherapy and infection. A wound infection with Enterococcus faecium was treated with antibiotic therapy (carbapenem for seven days) and local therapy. At 6-week follow up the wound showed good granulation tissue and was healing well by secondary intention. The patient was instructed to continue anti-hyperuricaemic treatment. In patients known to have long-standing hyperuricaemia and gout with nonspecific subcutaneous erythematous nodules, gouty panniculitis should be considered

The D0 Run IIb Luminosity Measurement

An assessment of the recorded integrated luminosity is presented for data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider from June 2006 to September 2011 (Run IIb). In addition, a measurement of the effective cross section for inelastic interactions, also referred to as the luminosity constant, is reported. This measurement incorporates new features that lead to a substantial improvement in the precision of the result. A luminosity constant of \sigma_{LM} = 48.3\pm1.9\pm0.6 mb is obtained, where the first uncertainty is due to the accuracy of the inelastic cross section used by both CDF and D0, and the second uncertainty is due to D0 sources. The recorded luminosity for the highest E_T jet trigger is L_rec = 9.2 \pm 0.4 fb^{-1}, with a relative uncertainty of 4.3%.Comment: 20 pages, 23 figure

An integrated optical Bragg grating refractometer for volatile organic compound detection

We report an integrated optical Bragg grating detector, fabricated using a direct UV-writing approach, that when coated with a thin-film of a hydrophobic siloxane co-polymer can perform as an all-optically accessed detector for hydrocarbon vapour. Upon exposure to a series of organic solvent vapours, both negative and positive Bragg wavelength shifts of differing magnitudes were measured. This was attributed to a combination of swelling and/or hydrocarbon solvent filling the free volume within the polymer film. A quantitative structural property relationship (QSPR) approach was utilised to create a multiple variable linear regression model, built from parameters that chemically described the hydrocarbons and the intermolecular interactions present between the co-polymer and hydrocarbon molecules. The resulting linear regression model indicated that the degree of swelling of the polysiloxane thin film when exposed to vapours of different hydrocarbons was due to the physico-chemical properties of the hydrocarbons and that this was the main causative factor of the measured Bragg wavelength shifts. Furthermore, this linear regression model allows for the prediction of the Bragg wavelength shift that would be measured upon exposure to vapours of another defined hydrocarbon. This detector is intrinsically safe in flammable environments. It includes on-chip thermal compensation, operates at telecoms wavelengths and has a predictable response to a variety of hydrocarbons making it ideal for detection of flammable hydrocarbon vapours in industrial and domestic processes

Visible Sector Supersymmetry Breaking Revisited

We revisit the possibility of "visible sector" SUSY models: models which are straightforward renormalizable extensions of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), where SUSY is broken at tree level. Models of this type were abandoned twenty years ago due to phenomenological problems, which we review. We then demonstrate that it is possible to construct simple phenomenologically viable visible sector SUSY models. Such models are indeed very constrained, and have some inelegant features. They also have interesting and distinctive phenomenology. Our models predict light gauginos and very heavy squarks and sleptons. The squarks and sleptons may not be observable at the LHC. The LSP is a stable very light gravitino with a significant Higgsino admixture. The NLSP is mostly Bino. The Higgs boson is naturally heavy. Proton decay is sufficently and naturally suppressed, even for a cutoff scale as low as 10^8 GeV. The lightest particle of the O'Raifeartaigh sector (the LOP) is stable, and is an interesting cold dark matter candidate.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

Hydrellia lagarosiphon Deeming (Diptera: Ephydridae), a potential biological control agent for the submerged aquatic weed, Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss ex Wager (Hydrocharitaceae)

The leaf-mining fly, Hydrellia lagarosiphon Deeming (Diptera: Ephydridae), was investigated in its native range in South Africa, to determine its potential as a biological control agent for Lagarosiphon major (Ridl.) Moss ex Wager (Hydrocharitaceae), an invasive submerged macrophyte that is weedy in many parts of the world. The fly was found throughout the indigenous range of the plant in South Africa. High larval abundance was recorded at field sites with nearly all L. major shoots sampled ontaining larvae, with densities of up to 10 larvae per shoot. Adults laid batches of up to 15 eggs, usually on the abaxial sides of L. major leaves. The larvae mined internally, leaving the epidermal tissues of the upper and lower leaves intact. The larvae underwent three instars which took an average of 24 days and pupated within the leaf tissue, from which the adults emerged. Impact studies in the laboratory showed that H. lagarosiphon larval feeding significantly restricted the formation of L. major side branches. Based on its biology and damage caused to the plant, Hydrellia lagarosiphon could be considered as a useful biological control candidate for L. major in countries where the plant is invasive