Dynamics of the bacterial gut microbiota in preterm and term infants after intravenous amoxicillin/ceftazidime treatment

BACKGROUND: It is important to understand the consequences of pre-emptive antibiotic treatment in neonates, as disturbances in microbiota development during this key developmental time window might affect early and later life health outcomes. Despite increasing knowledge regarding the detrimental effect of antibiotics on the gut microbiota, limited research focussed on antibiotic treatment duration. We determined the effect of short and long amoxicillin/ceftazidime administration on gut microbiota development during the immediate postnatal life of preterm and term infants. METHODS: Faeces was collected from 63 (pre) term infants at postnatal weeks one, two, three, four and six. Infants received either no (control), short-term (ST) or long-term (LT) postpartum amoxicillin/ceftazidime treatment. RESULTS: Compared to control infants, ST and LT infants' microbiota contained significantly higher abundance of Enterococcus during the first two postnatal weeks at the expense of Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus. Short and long antibiotic treatment both allowed for microbiota restoration within the first six postnatal weeks. However, Enterococcus and Bifidobacterium abundances were affected in fewer ST than LT infants. CONCLUSIONS: Intravenous amoxicillin/ceftazidime administration affects intestinal microbiota composition by decreasing the relative abundance of Escherichia-Shigella and Streptococcus, while increasing the relative abundance of Enterococcus and Lactobacillus species during the first two postnatal weeks. Thriving of enterococci at the expense of bifidobacteria and streptococci should be considered as aspect of the cost-benefit determination for antibiotic prescription.</p

Hermeneutics and Nature

This paper contributes to the on-going research into the ways in which the humanities transformed the natural sciences in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries. By investigating the relationship between hermeneutics -- as developed by Herder -- and natural history, it shows how the methods used for the study of literary and artistic works played a crucial role in the emergence of key natural-scientific fields, including geography and ecology

Neural Substrate of Cold-Seeking Behavior in Endotoxin Shock

Systemic inflammation is a leading cause of hospital death. Mild systemic inflammation is accompanied by warmth-seeking behavior (and fever), whereas severe inflammation is associated with cold-seeking behavior (and hypothermia). Both behaviors are adaptive. Which brain structures mediate which behavior is unknown. The involvement of hypothalamic structures, namely, the preoptic area (POA), paraventricular nucleus (PVH), or dorsomedial nucleus (DMH), in thermoregulatory behaviors associated with endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS])-induced systemic inflammation was studied in rats. The rats were allowed to select their thermal environment by freely moving in a thermogradient apparatus. A low intravenous dose of Escherichia coli LPS (10 µg/kg) caused warmth-seeking behavior, whereas a high, shock-inducing dose (5,000 µg/kg) caused cold-seeking behavior. Bilateral electrocoagulation of the PVH or DMH, but not of the POA, prevented this cold-seeking response. Lesioning the DMH with ibotenic acid, an excitotoxin that destroys neuronal bodies but spares fibers of passage, also prevented LPS-induced cold-seeking behavior; lesioning the PVH with ibotenate did not affect it. Lesion of no structure affected cold-seeking behavior induced by heat exposure or by pharmacological stimulation of the transient receptor potential (TRP) vanilloid-1 channel (“warmth receptor”). Nor did any lesion affect warmth-seeking behavior induced by a low dose of LPS, cold exposure, or pharmacological stimulation of the TRP melastatin-8 (“cold receptor”). We conclude that LPS-induced cold-seeking response is mediated by neuronal bodies located in the DMH and neural fibers passing through the PVH. These are the first two landmarks on the map of the circuitry of cold-seeking behavior associated with endotoxin shock

The effects of storage conditions on long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid mediators, and antioxidants in donor human milk - A review.

Donor human milk (DHM) is the recommended alternative, if maternal milk is unavailable. However, current human milk banking practices may negatively affect the nutritional quality of DHM. This review summarises the effects of these practices on polyunsaturated fatty acids, lipid mediators and antioxidants of human milk. Overall, there is considerable variation in the reported effects, and further research is needed, particularly with lipid mediators and antioxidants. However, to preserve nutritional quality, DHM should be protected from light exposure and storage at 4 °C minimised, to prevent decreases in vitamin C and endocannabinoids and increases in free fatty acids and lipid peroxidation products. Storage at -20 °C prior to pasteurisation should also be minimised, to prevent free fatty increases and total fat and endocannabinoid decreases. Storage ≤-70 °C is preferable wherever possible, although post-pasteurisation storage at -20 °C for three months appears safe for free fatty acids, lipid peroxidation products, and total fat content

Information on Farms, Families, etc. - Port Oneida Fair Oral History Project, 2010

Summary and partial transcripts of oral history interviews conducted for the Port Oneida Fair Oral History Project by Tom Van Zoeren in August 2010.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107646/2/Info-PtOneidaFair.zi

Oral History Audio Files - Sleeping Bear Dunes Region - Burdickville Area - Crosby, 2009

Audio recordings of oral history interview with John Crosby conducted by Tom Van Zoeren on September 9, 2009. Focuses on Burdickville area history and the families of the region as well as covering some personal history and background. Description of recordings based on summary available in 'Information on Farms, Families, etc.' series.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107653/2/Audio-Crosby.zi

Oral History Audio Files - Sleeping Bear Dunes Region - Other Areas - Bufka, 2004

Audio recordings of oral history interview with members of the Bufka family conducted by Tom Van Zoeren and others on April 20, 2004. Includes a group discussion facilitated by Tom Urich, Tom Van Zoeren, and others, an interview with Jerome and John Bufka conducted by Barbara Siepker, and a interview/tour with Jerome Bufka interviewed by Laura Quackenbush. Interviews focus on the Bufka farm in Maple City, Michigan. Description of recordings based on very brief summaries available in 'Information on Farms, Families, etc.' series.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107601/2/Audio-Bufka.zi

Oral History Audio Files - Other Areas, non-Sleeping Bear Dunes Region - Scott, 2006-2007

Audio recordings of oral history interviews with members of the Scott family in 2006 and 2007. Interview with Peggy Scott McCreight conducted by Tom Van Zoeren on November 21, 2006 focuses on Scott family history. Interview with Dorothy Scott Patton conducted by Tom Van Zoeren on November 21, 2006 focuses on personal and family history, including work during World War II. Interview with Alice Elizabeth Scott Bahls conducted by Tom Van Zoeren on February 6, 2007 focuses on personal and family life including attending the University of Michigan and responses to World War II. Description of recordings based on summaries available in 'Information on Farms, Families, etc.' series.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107622/2/Audio-Scott-McCreight.ziphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107622/3/Audio-Scott-Patton.ziphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107622/4/Audio-Scott-Bahls.zi

Oral History Audio Files - Sleeping Bear Dunes Region - Burdickville Area - Lanham, 2003-2009

Audio recordings of oral history interviews with two members of the Lanham family conducted between 2003 and 2010. Interviews with Dottie Lanham conducted on May 24, 2003 by Ruth Roderick and from 2005 to 2008 by Tom Van Zoeren. Discusses growing up during the Depression in the Burdickville area, married life, and other people and relatives living in the area. Interview with Nancy Lanham conducted on January 28, 2009 by Tom Van Zoeren and covers her life growing up as well as family history of her parents and grandparents. Description of recordings based on summaries or transcripts available in 'Information on Farms, Families, etc.' series.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107597/2/Audio-Lanham-Dottie_tracks.ziphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107597/3/Audio-Lanham-Dottie_part1.ziphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107597/4/Audio-Lanham-Dottie_part2.ziphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107597/5/Audio-Lanham-Dottie_2003.ziphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107597/6/Audio-Lanham-Nancy.zi