Efficacy and Safety of Probiotics, Prebiotics and Synbiotics in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Treatments that target alterations in gut microbiota may be beneficial for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy and safety of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics. Factors considered in the analysis included global IBS symptoms and/or abdominal pain, secondary symptoms and the frequency of adverse events. A total of 33 RCTs involving 4,321 patients were identified. Overall, probiotics significantly improved global IBS symptoms compared to placebos (standardised mean difference = −0.32, 95% confidence interval: −0.48 to −0.15; P <0.001), with significant heterogeneity between studies (I2 = 72%; P <0.001). This remained apparent in both single- and multi-strain probiotic interventions as well as synbiotic formulations. However, evidence regarding prebiotics was scarce. There were no significant inter-group differences in terms of the frequency of adverse events. Future RCTs should address methodological limitations, including short follow-up periods and patient adherence.Keywords: Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Dietary Supplements; Probiotics; Prebiotics; Synbiotics; Meta-Analysis; Systematic Review

Kinetics and Mechanism of Reduction of 4(p-Dimethylamino)-Benzylidene-3-Methyl-1-Phenyl-2-Pyrazolin-5-one by Bisulphite Ions in Aqueous Ethanolic Media

The kinetics of the title reduction studied in aqueous ethanolic media spectrophotometrically. The effect of hydrogen ion concentration on the reduction rate was investigated in buffer solutions at constant ionic strength of 1.0. The reaction was found to be of the first order in both reactants and inverse first order with respect to the hydrogen ion. The rate of the reaction decreased with increasing ethanol as well as hydrogen ion concentrations. Pseudo-first-order rate constant, kob was obtained by monitoring the disappearance of the [dye]. Activation parameters have been evaluated and a tentative reaction mechanism was discussed

Trophic interactions in the coastal ecosystem of Morocco: An Ecopath approach

Abstract The Moroccan Atlantic coast is considered as one of the richest fishing areas in the world, having rich biodiversity, and supporting the fisheries sector. However, studies have shown that the ecosystem presently suffers from overexploitation of fishery resources and environmental degradation. To quantify these impacts, the characterization of the ecosystem is essential. In this work, an Ecopath model (EwE), which assumes steady-state and mass-balanced conditions for the Moroccan Atlantic coast ecosystem, was developed and balanced. Network analysis included in the Ecopath software package was used to estimate trophic interactions and the maturity of the ecosystem. The model consisted of 29 functional groups. The results showed a Total System Throughput (TST) which is comprised mainly of flows into detritus, followed by export, consumption, and respiration. Systemic indicators, suggest that the Moroccan Atlantic coast is an immature and developing ecosystem. Further observations on the functioning and dynamics of the ecosystem are discussed

Global synchronization for delayed complex networks with randomly occurring nonlinearities and multiple stochastic disturbances

This is the post print version of the article. The official published version can be obained from the link - Copyright 2009 IOP Publishing LtdThis paper is concerned with the synchronization problem for a new class of continuous time delayed complex networks with stochastic nonlinearities (randomly occurring nonlinearities), interval time-varying delays, unbounded distributed delays as well as multiple stochastic disturbances. The stochastic nonlinearities and multiple stochastic disturbances are investigated here in order to reflect more realistic dynamical behaviors of the complex networks that are affected by the noisy environment. By utilizing a new matrix functional with the idea of partitioning the lower bound h1 of the time-varying delay, we employ the stochastic analysis techniques and the properties of the Kronecker product to establish delay-dependent synchronization criteria that ensure the globally asymptotically mean-square synchronization of the addressed stochastic delayed complex networks. The sufficient conditions obtained are in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) whose solutions can be readily solved by using the standard numerical software. A numerical example is exploited to show the applicability of the proposed results.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under Grant GR/S27658/01, an International Joint Project sponsored by the Royal Society of the UK, the National 973 Program of China under Grant 2009CB320600, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 60804028, the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education for New Teachers under Grant 200802861044, the Teaching and Research Fund for Excellent Young Teachers at Southeast University of China, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Robust synchronization of a class of coupled delayed networks with multiple stochastic disturbances: The continuous-time case

In this paper, the robust synchronization problem is investigated for a new class of continuous-time complex networks that involve parameter uncertainties, time-varying delays, constant and delayed couplings, as well as multiple stochastic disturbances. The norm-bounded uncertainties exist in all the network parameters after decoupling, and the stochastic disturbances are assumed to be Brownian motions that act on the constant coupling term, the delayed coupling term as well as the overall network dynamics. Such multiple stochastic disturbances could reflect more realistic dynamical behaviors of the coupled complex network presented within a noisy environment. By using a combination of the Lyapunov functional method, the robust analysis tool, the stochastic analysis techniques and the properties of Kronecker product, we derive several delay-dependent sufficient conditions that ensure the coupled complex network to be globally robustly synchronized in the mean square for all admissible parameter uncertainties. The criteria obtained in this paper are in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) whose solution can be easily calculated by using the standard numerical software. The main results are shown to be general enough to cover many existing ones reported in the literature. Simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the proposed results

Sterile neutrino dark matter in B−LB-L extension of the standard model and galactic 511 keV line

Sterile right-handed neutrinos can be naturally embedded in a low scale gauged $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of the standard model. We show that, within a low reheating scenario, such a neutrino is an interesting candidate for dark matter. We emphasize that if the neutrino mass is of order of MeV, then it accounts for the measured dark matter relic density and also accommodates the observed flux of 511 keV photons from the galactic bulge.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, references added, final version appeared in JCA

Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment and mu -> e gamma in B-L Model with Inverse Seesaw

We study the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, a_\mu, and lepton flavor violating decay \mu -> e \gamma in TeV scale B-L extension of the Standard Model (SM) with inverse seesaw mechanism. We show that the B-L contributions to a_\mu are severely constrained, therefore the SM contribution remains intact. We also emphasize that the current experimental limit of BR(\mu -> e \gamma) can be satisfied for a wide range of parameter space and it can be within the reach of MEG experiment.Comment: 10 pages, 4 Figure

Determinants of Increasing Trend of Self-Medication in a Pakistani Community

Purpose: To determine the major reasons, sources, diseases and drugs responsible for increasing trend of self-medication.Method: A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in the district of Faisalabad in Pakistan. Respondents (1488) were classified on the basis of age, sex, education, lifestyle and their economical level. A questionnaire was distributed among the sample population to collect data.Results: Majority of respondents involved in self-medication were aged between 15 and 20 years. Family members (N = 717, 48 %) were considered the major source of information for self-medicated drugs. Lack of time (N = 504, 37 %) while economic issues (N = 485, 33 %) were the major reasons for self-medication. Medical stores were the source of drug purchase by 1087 (73 %) respondents. Headache (N = 772, 52 %) and fever (N = 600, 40 %) were the main indications for self-medication while 694 respondents reported that they engage in single-dose self-medication. Paracetamol (N = 689, 46 %), other analgesics (N = 488, 33 %),  non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (N = 680, 46 %) were reported to be used frequently for self-medication.Conclusion: Self-medication is prevalent in the Pakistani community due to easy access to over the counter (OTC) and prescription-only medicines  (POM). This may lead to untoward effects in consumers of the products. Special interventions by relevant regulatory agencies regarding the sale of the drugs are therefore required.Keywords: Self-medication, OTC drugs, Pharmacist

Exact Analysis of Scaling and Dominant Attractors Beyond the Exponential Potential

By considering the potential parameter $\Gamma$ as a function of another potential parameter $\lambda$[47], We successfully extend the analysis of two-dimensional autonomous dynamical system of quintessence scalar field model to the analysis of three-dimension, which makes us be able to research the critical points of a large number of potentials beyond the exponential potential exactly. We find that there are ten critical points in all, three points $P_{3, 5, 6}$} are general points which are possessed by all quintessence models regardless of the form of potentials and the rest points are closely connected to the concrete potentials. It is quite surprising that, apart from the exponential potential, there are a large number of potentials which can give the scaling solution when the function $f(\lambda)(=\Gamma(\lambda)-1)$ equals zero for one or some values of $\lambda_{*}$ and if the parameter $\lambda_{*}$ also satisfies the condition Eq.(16) or Eq.(17) at the same time. We give the differential equations to derive these potentials $V(\phi)$ from $f(\lambda)$. We also find that, if some conditions are satisfied, the de-Sitter-like dominant point $P_4$ and the scaling solution point $P_9$(or $P_{10}$) can be stable simultaneously but $P_9$ and $P_{10}$ can not be stable simultaneity. Although we survey scaling solutions beyond the exponential potential for ordinary quintessence models in standard general relativity, this method can be applied to other extensively scaling solution models studied in literature[46] including coupled quintessence, (coupled-)phantom scalar field, k-essence and even beyond the general relativity case $H^2 \propto\rho_T^n$. we also discuss the disadvantage of our approach.Comment: 16 pages,no figure, this new revision has taken the suggestions from CQG referees and has been accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit