Butyrate-producing bacteria supplemented in vitro to Crohn's disease patient microbiota increased butyrate production and enhanced intestinal epithelial barrier integrity

The management of the dysbiosed gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is gaining more attention as a novel target to control this disease. Probiotic treatment with butyrate-producing bacteria has therapeutic potential since these bacteria are depleted in IBD patients and butyrate has beneficial effects on epithelial barrier function and overall gut health. However, studies assessing the effect of probiotic supplementation on microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions are rare. In this study, butyrate-producing bacteria (three mono-species and one multispecies mix) were supplemented to the fecal microbial communities of ten Crohn's disease (CD) patients in an in vitro system simulating the mucus-and lumen-associated microbiota. Effects of supplementation in short-chain fatty acid levels, bacterial colonization of mucus environment and intestinal epithelial barrier function were evaluated. Treatment with F. prausnitzii and the mix of six butyrate-producers significantly increased the butyrate production by 5-11 mol%, and colonization capacity in mucus-and lumen-associated CD microbiota. Treatments with B. pullicaecorum 25-3(T) and the mix of six butyrate-producers improved epithelial barrier integrity in vitro. This study provides proof-of-concept data for the therapeutic potential of butyrate-producing bacteria in CD and supports the future preclinical development of a probiotic product containing butyrate-producing species

Medical emergencies related to ethanol and illicit drugs at an annual, nocturnal, indoor, electronic dance music event

Introduction: Medical problems are frequently encountered during electronic dance music (EDM) events. Problem: There are uncertainties about the frequencies and severity of intoxications with different types of recreational drugs: ethanol, "classical" illicit party drugs, and new psychoactive substances (NPS). Methods: Statistical data on the medical problems encountered during two editions of an indoor electronic dance event with around 30,000 attendants were retrieved from the Belgian Red Cross (Mechelen, Belgium) database. Data on drug use were prospectively collected from the patient (or a bystander), the clinical presentation, and/or toxicological screening. Results: In the on-site medical station, 487 patients were treated (265 in 2013 and 222 in 2014). The most frequent reasons were trauma (n = 171), headache (n = 36), gastro-intestinal problems (n = 44), and intoxication (n = 160). Sixty-nine patients were transferred to a hospital, including 53 with severe drug-related symptoms. Analysis of blood samples from 106 intoxicated patients detected ethanol in 91.5%, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in 34.0%, cannabis in 30.2%, cocaine in 7.5%, amphetamine in 2.8%, and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in 0.9% of patients (alone or in combination). In only six of the MDMA-positive cases, MDMA was the sole substance found. In 2014, the neuroleptic drug clozapine was found in three cases and ketamine in one. Additional analyses for NPS were performed in 20 cases. Only in one agitated patient, the psychedelic phenethylamines 25B-NBOMe and 25C-NBOMe were found. Conclusions: At this particular event, recreational drug abuse necessitated on-site medical treatment in one out of 350 attendants and a hospital transfer in one out of 1,000. Ethanol remains the most frequently abused (legal) drug, yet classical illicit recreational drugs are also frequently (co-) ingested. The most worrying observation was high-risk poly-drug use, especially among MDMA users. Regarding NPS, the number of cases was low and the clinical presentations were rather mild. It should be stressed that these observations only apply to this particular event and cannot be generalized to other EDM events

Translational research into the effects of cigarette smoke on inflammatory mediators and epithelial TRPV1 in Crohn’s disease

Crohn's disease is a pathological condition of the gastro-intestinal tract, causing severe transmural inflammation in the ileum and/or colon. Cigarette smoking is one of the best known environmental risk factors for the development of Crohn's disease. Nevertheless, very little is known about the effect of prolonged cigarette smoke exposure on inflammatory modulators in the gut. We examined the effect of cigarette smoke on cytokine profiles in the healthy and inflamed gut of human subjects and in the trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid mouse model, which mimics distal Crohn-like colitis. In addition, the effect of cigarette smoke on epithelial expression of transient receptor potential channels and their concurrent increase with cigarette smoke-augmented cytokine production was investigated. Active smoking was associated with increasedIL-8transcription in ileum of controls (p < 0,001; n = 18-20/group). In the ileum, TRPV1 mRNA levels were decreased in never smoking Crohn's disease patients compared to healthy subjects (p <0,001; n = 20/group). In the colon, TRPV1 mRNA levels were decreased (p = 0,046) in smoking healthy controls (n = 20/group). Likewise, healthy mice chronically exposed to cigarette smoke (n = 10/group) showed elevated ilealCxcl2(p = 0,0075) and colonicKcmRNA levels (p = 0,0186), whereas TRPV1 mRNA and protein levels were elevated in the ileum (p = 0,0315). Although cigarette smoke exposure prior to trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid administration did not alter disease activity, increased pro-inflammatory cytokine production was observed in the distal colon (Kc: p = 0,0273; Cxcl2: p = 0,104; Il1-beta: p = 0,0796), in parallel with the increase ofTrpv1mRNA (p < 0,001). We infer that CS affects pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in healthy and inflamed gut, and that the simultaneous modulation of TRPV1 may point to a potential involvement of TRPV1 in cigarette smoke-induced production of inflammatory mediators

Detecting and imaging time-lapse conductivity changes using electromagnetic methods

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an in situ recovery process used to extract bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands in Northern Alberta, Canada. The steam heats the oil, allowing it to be pumped to the surface. The success of this technique depends on being able to propagate steam throughout the reservoir but irregular growth may occur due to the heterogeneity of the reservoir. This affects the amount of oil that is produced and illustrates the need to monitor steam chamber growth. The steam affects the electrical conductivity of the reservoir, thus creating a physical property contrast. This thesis investigates how electromagnetic methods can be used to monitor the time-lapse conductivity changes due to SAGD processes. A simple but illustrative survey design procedure was developed to examine a variety of field surveys that include surface and borehole transmitters operating in the frequency or time domain. Compared to standard DC resistivity surveys, the ability to resolve the steam chamber is significantly enhanced using EM. Notably, the feasibility study showed that the steam can be recovered using a low-cost large-loop surface transmitter and borehole measurements, despite the shielding effects of the overlying conductive cap rock. When applied to an example based on a field site, this survey recovered the synthetic steam chambers and discerned an area of limited growth that resulted from a blockage in the reservoir. At a different field site, the reservoir is too deep to use surface methods but steam growth was monitored using crosswell DC resistivity. The sensitivity matrix shows that these electric crosswell surveys do not contain enough information to image the entire reservoir between the wells. By extending to multi-frequency electromagnetic methods using the same survey design, the sensitivity to the reservoir increased and allowed for recovery of the steam chambers. Electromagnetic methods also provide valuable information about the background conductivity of the layers above the reservoir, including structures such as paleo-channels and the conductive cap rock. By using airborne, surface-based, and downhole surveys, I show that the Athabasca oil sands can be explored and monitored using electromagnetic methods.Science, Faculty ofGraduat

Henri Pirenne. Mahomet et Charlemagne, genèse et aventure d’une hypothèse historique

L'oeuvre d'Henri Pirenne consacrée à "Mahomet et Charlemagne", a suscité ét suscite encore aujourd'hui un débat très intense. La genèse et les aventures d’une hypothèse historique, tel est le fil conducteur de ce texte, consacré à la naissance, la réception et la récupération de cette thèse importante portant sur le début du Moyen Âge et sur l’influence de l’Islam sur l’Europe occidentale. Imaginée durant l’exil de Pirenne en Allemagne lors de la première guerre mondiale, élaborée dans le climat d’après-guerre de recherche de vérités nouvelles et de ressentiment anti-allemand, diffusée par un orateur talentueux qui combinait le statut d’historien éminent avec celui de héros national, hypothèse affirmée avec force par PIrenne, d’Anvers à Alger, d’Oslo au Caire et au sein des plus importantes universités des États-Unis, "Mahomet et Charlemagne" occupe sans nul doute une place particulière dans l'historiographie médiévale.Traduction: Zoé Derleyninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Reduced Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum levels in mucosa of UC patients correlate with aberrant CLDN1 expression

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