Imbalances in faecal and duodenal Bifidobacterium species composition in active and non-active coeliac disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gut bifidobacteria are believed to influence immune-related diseases. The objective of this study was to assess the possible relationships between the gut bifidobacteria composition and coeliac disease (CD) in children.</p> <p>A total of 48 faecal samples (30 and 18 samples from active and no active CD patients, respectively) and 33 duodenal biopsy specimens of CD patients (25 and 8 samples from active and non-active CD patients, respectively) were analysed. Samples (30 faecal samples and 8 biopsies) from a control age-matched group of children were also included for comparative purposes. Gut <it>Bifidobacterium </it>genus and species were analyzed by real-time PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Active and non-active CD patients showed lower numbers of total <it>Bifidobacterium </it>and <it>B. longum </it>species in faeces and duodenal biopsies than controls, and these differences were particularly remarkable between active CD patients and controls. <it>B. catenulatum </it>prevalence was higher in biopsies of controls than in those of active and non-active CD patients, whereas <it>B. dentium </it>prevalence was higher in faeces of non-active CD patients than in controls. Correlations between levels of <it>Bifidobacterium </it>and <it>B. longum </it>species in faecal and biopsy samples were detected in both CD patients and controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reductions in total <it>Bifidobacterium </it>and <it>B. longum </it>populations were associated with both active and non-active CD when compared to controls. These bacterial groups could constitute novel targets for adjuvant dietary therapies although the confirmation of this hypothesis would require further investigations.</p

Bifidobacterium strains suppress in vitro the pro-inflammatory milieu triggered by the large intestinal microbiota of coeliac patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coeliac disease (CD) is an enteropathy characterized by an aberrant immune response to cereal-gluten proteins. Although gluten peptides and microorganisms activate similar pro-inflammatory pathways, the role the intestinal microbiota may play in this disorder is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the faecal microbiota of coeliac patients could contribute to the pro-inflammatory milieu characteristic of CD and the possible benefits of bifidobacteria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The effect of faeces of 26 CD patients with active disease (mean age 5.5 years, range 2.1–12.0 years), 18 symptom-free coeliac disease (SFCD) patients (mean age 5.5 years, range 1.0–12.3 years) on a gluten-free diet for 1–2 years; and 20 healthy children (mean age 5.3 years, range 1.8–10.8 years) on induction of cytokine production and surface antigen expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined. The possible regulatory roles of <it>Bifidobacterium longum </it>ES1 and <it>B. bifidum </it>ES2 co-incubated with faecal samples were also assessed <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Faeces of both active CD and SFCD patients, representing an imbalanced microbiota, significantly increased TNF-α production and CD86 expression in PBMCs, while decreased IL-10 cytokine production and CD4 expression compared with control samples. Active CD-patient samples also induced significantly higher IFN-γ production compared with controls. However, <it>Bifidobacterium </it>strains suppressed the pro-inflammatory cytokine pattern induced by the large intestinal content of CD patients and increased IL-10 production. Cytokine effects induced by faecal microbiota seemed to be mediated by the NFκB pathway.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The intestinal microbiota of CD patients could contribute to the Th1 pro-inflammatory milieu characteristic of the disease, while <it>B. longum </it>ES1 and <it>B. bifidum </it>ES2 could reverse these deleterious effects. These findings hold future perspectives of interest in CD therapy.</p

Amino acetaldehyde conformers: structure and spectroscopic properties

Producción CientíficaWe present a computational study of the different conformers of amino acetaldehyde. This molecule is a precursor of glycine and also an isomer of the detected molecules acetaldehyde and methylformamide. In addition, a previous theoretical result shows that amino acetaldehyde could be formed from the gas phase reaction of formamide with CH+5⁠. Different computational approaches, going from density functional theory (DFT) to coupled cluster (CC) calculations, are employed for the characterization of the amino acetaldehyde conformers. We locate four low-lying conformation on the singlet potential energy surface (PES), two with a synperiplanar arrangement of the carboxylic oxygen atom and the NH2 group, and the other two conformers with an anticlinal disposition. All levels of theory predict the conformer with a synperiplanar arrangement and the H atoms of the NH2 group pointing in the direction of the oxygen, denoted as in-sp-amino acetaldehyde, as the most stable. The viability of the interconversion processes between the four conformers in space is analysed. Relevant spectroscopic parameters to rotational spectroscopy with ‘spectroscopic’ accuracy at the composite level are reported. Vibrational frequencies and infrared intensities are also computed at the CC with single and double excitations (CCSD) level including anharmonic corrections. This information could help in the experimental characterization of amino acetaldehyde that could be considered as a good candidate molecule to be searched for in space.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Grant AYA2017-87515-P)Junta de Castilla y León (Ref. project VA010G18

Formation of Protonated Glycine Isomers in the Interstellar Medium

Producción CientíficaA computational study of protonated glycine isomers with [H6C2O2N]+ molecular formula has been carried out. All of them are possible products of the reaction between protonated hydroxylamine and acetic acid. All reaction processes that could form the [H6C2O2N]+ isomers considered in this work are exothermic except for those initiated by the most stable isomer of protonated hydroxylamine which give CH3CONH2+OH and CH3COHNOH2+ isomers. The analysis of the potential energy surfaces corresponding to the reaction of protonated hydroxylamine and acetic acid has been focused on the most abundant products, namely, CH3CONH2+OH, CH3COONH3+, and CH3C(OH)+ONH2, obtained from a previous chemical dynamics simulations study. From this analysis we found that even if the reactions of formation of the CH3COONH3+ and the CH3C(OH)+ONH2 isomers are exothermic processes, significant activation barriers were found in the paths leading to these products. The only exothermic process (ΔE = −23.9 kcal mol–1 at the CCSD(T) level) with no net activation barrier was initiated by the high-energy isomer of protonated hydroxylamine, which leads to the CH3CONH2+OH isomer. Therefore, the formation of this isomer could be feasible under interstellar conditions from the reaction of the less stable isomer of protonated hydroxylamine and acetic acid. In addition, an analysis of their neutral counterparts, with [H5C2O2N] molecular formula, has been carried out. The relevant spectroscopic parameters for [H6C2O2N]+ and [H5C2O2N] isomers that could help in their laboratory or astronomical detection, by radioastronomy or infrared spectroscopy, are reported.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad ( grant AYA2017-87515-P)Junta de Castilla y León (Grant VA010G18)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Predoctoral FPU Grant FPU17/02987

Pattern of Consumption of Sports Supplements of Spanish Handball Players: Differences According to Gender and Competitive Level

(1) Background: Given the physiological characteristics of handball, players may require the use of certain sports supplements (SS). However, very few studies have investigated the consumption of SS in handball. The aims were to determine the number of handball players who consume SS, to analyze their SS consumption pattern according to gender and competitive level, and to assess whether the SS they consume are supported by scientific evidence, and to which group they belong according to the classification of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). (2) Methods: A descriptive-correlational study was carried out on the habitual consumption of SS in 360 federated Spanish players by using a self-administered and validated questionnaire. (3) Results: These showed 65.8% of the sample consumed SS. According to the total number of participants, the most consumed supplements were from Group A: sports drinks (30.8%) and whey protein (30.4%). When analyzing the data by gender, the men’s consumption was significantly higher for whey protein (p < 0.001), caffeine (p = 0.009), and creatine monohydrate (p < 0.001). When analyzed by competitive level, the provincial category players group showed a significantly lower consumption than the rest of the groups for protein bars (p = 0.038), whey protein (p = 0.005) and creatine monohydrate (p < 0.001), while the honor division group showed a significantly higher intake of creatine monohydrate than the remaining groups (p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The handball players showed a moderate consumption of SS, without using substances that were not supported by scientific evidence and opting in most cases for supplements belonging to group A from the AIS classification. Men tended to consume more SS, and SS consumption increased based on competitive level

Comportamiento ecológico de los gestores de campos de golf en Andalucía (España)

La práctica del golf tiene un gran potencial turístico en países como España o en regiones como Andalucía. Pero es necesario cuidar de su desarrollo para que se haga de una manera racional y equilibrada. Recientemente, la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía ha aprobado una nueva normativa que regula las condiciones de implantación y funcionamiento de los campos de golf andaluces. Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio realizado sobre la sostenibilidad de los campos de golf en Andalucía desde la perspectiva empresarial. Entre los principales resultados, se puede destacar que los directivos de campos de golf se sienten motivados en su comportamiento ecológico fundamentalmente por la necesidad de satisfacer aspectos empresariales (imagen y responsabilidad social), quedando en un segundo plano otros factores propios de su entorno, como las demandas de los jugadores, la influencia de la legislación y la de los grupos ecologistas

In vitro comparative study on the friction of stainless steel wires with and without Orthospeed (JAL 90458) on an inclined plane

Background: During the treatment of orthodontics, in the mechanics of slide, there takes place friction, which they reduce the slide of the arch across bracket. Therefore, clinical there takes place an increase of the time of treatment. There are different the technologies that try to reduce this friction, as the self-ligating braces. The purpose of this study was to research the in vitro behavior of JAL 90458 as a buffering agent which reduces friction between brackets and stainless steel arch wires of different cross sections and sizes. Material and Methods: Three types of stainless steel wires with different cross sections and three types of ligatures were used with and without JAL 90458 to measure the friction according to the time and distance traveled by the brackets on an inclined plane with two angulations. The Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks was applied to determine the degree of friction between the group using and the group not using the product ( P ≤ .05). Results: Separate analysis of the arch wires, ligatures and angulation with and without the compound revealed statistically significant differences between the groups, showing that friction was reduced significantly when JAL 90458 was used ( P ≤ .01). The 0.021x0.025” arch wires and the arch wires attached using elastic ligatures produce the least resistance to sliding among all of those analyzed when the product was not used ( P ≤ .05). Conclusions: The results show that JAL 90458 reduces friction independently of arch wire cross section, type of ligature and angulation of the measuring instrument

No effect of unemployment on intimate partner-related femicide during the financial crisis: a longitudinal ecological study in Spain

Background: Spain’s financial crisis has been characterized by an increase in unemployment. This increase could have produced an increase in deaths of women due to intimate partner-related femicides (IPF). This study aims to determine whether the increase in unemployment among both sexes in different regions in Spain is related to an increase in the rates of IPF during the current financial crisis period. Methods: An ecological longitudinal study was carried out in Spain’s 17 regions. Two study periods were defined: pre-crisis period (2005–2007) and crisis period (2008–2013). IPF rates adjusted by age and unemployment rates for men and women were calculated. We fitted multilevel linear regression models in which observations at level 1 were nested within regions according to a repeated measurements design. Results: Rates of unemployment have progressively increased in Spain, rising above 20 % from 2008 to 2013 in some regions. IPF rates decreased in some regions during crisis period with respect to pre-crisis period. The multilevel analysis does not support the existence of a significant relationship between the increase in unemployment in men and women and the decrease in IPF since 2008. Discussion: The increase in unemployment in men and women in Spain does not appear to have an effect on IPF. The results of the multilevel analysis discard the hypothesis that the increase in the rates of unemployment in women and men are related to an increase in IPF rates. Conclusions: The decline in IPF since 2008 might be interpreted as the result of exposure to other factors such as the lower frequency of divorces in recent years or the medium term effects of the integral protection measures of the law on gender violence that began in 2005

Intestinal dysbiosis and reduced immunoglobulin-coated bacteria associated with coeliac disease in children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coeliac disease is a chronic intestinal inflammatory disorder due to an aberrant immune response to dietary gluten proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. Mucosal immune response through IgA secretion constitutes a first line of defence responsible for neutralizing noxious antigens and pathogens. The aim of this study was the characterization of the relationships between immunoglobulin-coated bacteria and bacterial composition of faeces of coeliac disease (CD) patients, untreated and treated with a gluten-free diet (GFD) and healthy controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IgA-coated faecal bacterial levels were significantly lower in both untreated and treated CD patients than in healthy controls. IgG and IgM-coated bacterial levels were also significantly lower in treated CD patients than in untreated CD patients and controls. Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria ratio was significantly reduced in both CD patients compared to controls. <it>Bifidobacterium</it>, <it>Clostridium histolyticum</it>, <it>C. lituseburense </it>and <it>Faecalibacterium prausnitzii </it>group proportions were less abundant (<it>P </it>< 0.050) in untreated CD patients than in healthy controls. <it>Bacteroides-Prevotella </it>group proportions were more abundant (<it>P </it>< 0.050) in untreated CD patients than in controls. Levels of IgA coating the <it>Bacteroides-Prevotella </it>group were significantly reduced (<it>P </it>< 0.050) in both CD patients in comparison with healthy controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In CD patients, reduced IgA-coated bacteria is associated with intestinal dysbiosis, which altogether provide new insights into the possible relationships between the gut microbiota and the host defences in this disorder.</p