Emerging trends in 'smart probiotics' : functional consideration for the development of novel health and industrial applications

The link between gut microbiota and human health is well-recognized and described. This ultimate impact on the host has contributed to explain the mutual dependence between humans and their gut bacteria. Gut microbiota can be manipulated through passive or active strategies. The former includes diet, lifestyle, and environment, while the latter comprise antibiotics, pre- and probiotics. Historically, conventional probiotic strategies included a phylogenetically limited diversity of bacteria and some yeast strains. However, biotherapeutic strategies evolved in the last years with the advent of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), successfully applied for treating CDI, IBD, and other diseases. Despite the positive outcomes, long-term effects resulting from the uncharacterized nature of FMT are not sufficiently studied. Thus, developing strategies to simulate the FMT, using characterized gut colonizers with identified phylogenetic diversity, may be a promising alternative. As the definition of probiotics states that the microorganism should have beneficial effects on the host, several bacterial species with proven efficacy have been considered next generation probiotics. Non-conventional candidate strains include Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Bacteroides fragilis, and members of the Clostridia clusters IV, XIVa, and XVIII. However, viable intestinal delivery is one of the current challenges, due to their stringent survival conditions. In this review, we will cover current perspectives on the development and assessment of next generation probiotics and the approaches that industry and stakeholders must consider for a successful outcome

The role of sterol carrier protein 2 in the regulation of Leydig cell steroidogenesis

The aim of the studies described in this thesis was to clarify the rele of SCP2 in the regulation of steroid production in rat Leydig cells. The ra te of steroid production in the adrenal, the ovary, the placenta and the testis is determined by the rate of conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone. The complex of reactions and the localization of the enzymes involved in this so called cholesterol side chain cleavage are well known. The P- 450scc enzyme complex catalyzing the production of pregnenolone from cholesterol is located in the inner mitochondria! membrane of steroidogenic cells (Fig.l.l). Several substances that regulate steroidogenesis, regulate the rate of pregnenolone formation via an intracellular transducing mechanism after binding to the plasma membrane of the cell. Different "second messengers" are involved in the transduetion of the signal from the plasma membrane to other processesjmessengers in the cell which are involved in regulation of steroid production. It is also known that protein synthesis and the transfer of cholesterol to the inner mitochondria! membrane are important in regulation of steroidogenesis. It is not known, however, if, and in which way the induction of secend messenger systems in steroidogenic cells is linked with protein synthesis, cholesterol transfer and activatien of the cholesterol side chain cleavage reaction inside the mitochondria. In this respect, sterol carrier protein 2 (SCP2) is one of the possible proteins that could be involved in transduetion of the signal from the secend messengers to the cscc enzyme complex

Comparing human and automatic thesaurus mapping approaches in the agricultural domain

Knowledge organization systems (KOS), like thesauri and other controlled vocabularies, are used to provide subject access to information systems across the web. Due to the heterogeneity of these systems, mapping between vocabularies becomes crucial for retrieving relevant information. However, mapping thesauri is a laborious task, and thus big efforts are being made to automate the mapping process. This paper examines two mapping approaches involving the agricultural thesaurus AGROVOC, one machine-created and one human created. We are addressing the basic question "What are the pros and cons of human and automatic mapping and how can they complement each other?" By pointing out the difficulties in specific cases or groups of cases and grouping the sample into simple and difficult types of mappings, we show the limitations of current automatic methods and come up with some basic recommendations on what approach to use when.Comment: 10 pages, Int'l Conf. on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications 200

Curate and storyspace: an ontology and web-based environment for describing curatorial narratives

Existing metadata schemes and content management systems used by museums focus on describing the heritage objects that the museum holds in its collection. These are used to manage and describe individual heritage objects according to properties such as artist, date and preservation requirements. Curatorial narratives, such as physical or online exhibitions tell a story that spans across heritage objects and have a meaning that does not necessarily reside in the individual heritage objects themselves. Here we present curate, an ontology for describing curatorial narratives. This draws on structuralist accounts that distinguish the narrative from the story and plot, and also a detailed analysis of two museum exhibitions and the curatorial processes that contributed to them. Storyspace, our web based interface and API to the ontology, is being used by curatorial staff in two museums to model curatorial narratives and the processes through which they are constructed

Crowdsourced Evaluation of Semantic Patterns for Recommendations

Abstract. In this paper we explore the use of semantics to improve diversity in recommendations. We use semantic patterns extracted from Linked Data sources to surface new connections between items to provide diverse recommendations to the end users. We evaluate this methodology by adopting a bottom-up approach, i.e. we ask users of a crowdsourcing platform to choose a movie recommendation from among five options. We evaluate the results in terms of a diversity measure based on the semantic distance of topics and genres of the result list. The results of the experiment indicate that there are features of semantic patterns that can be used as an indicator of its suitability for the recommendation process.

An Isotropic Light Sensor for Measurements of Visible Actinic Flux in Clouds

A low-cost isotropic light sensor is described consisting of a spherical diffuser connected to a single photodiode by a light conductor. The directional response to light is isotropic to a high degree. The small, lightweight, and rugged construction makes this instrument suitable not only for application on aircraft or under balloons but also on the ground in microclimatological studies. A vertical profile of actinic flux in the visible range (400-750 nm) in Arctic stratus, obtained with this instrument under a tethered balloon during the FIRE experiment in 1998, is presented

Towards Managed Structuration: Exploring Bridging Mechanisms for IS Enabled Change in Multi-site Implementation Projects

This paper aims to enhance our understanding of the bridging mechanisms underlying information system (IS) enabled change in multi-site implementation projects, and explore opportunities for intentionally shaping such change. To achieve this, we develop and empirically demonstrate the added value of a multi-site practice perspective. The perspective conceptualizes IS-enabled change as a product of interactions between processes in two related socio-technical systems: the project and local implementation sites. We introduce the term ‘bridging mechanisms’ to pin point three interaction types between the project and local site that contribute to IS-enabled change: practice alignment, shifting actors, and shared action. We analyse bridging mechanisms during the implementation process of a government funded project implementing IS in order to enhance older adults’ social networks and enable them to live at home independently at three local sites. Drawing on insights derived from this empirical analysis as well as previous literature, we discuss how the multi-site practice perspective brings together known change interventions in a holistic perspective on multi-site implementation. Moreover, we propose three practical applications of bridging mechanisms, i.e., bridging tactics, that allow for managed structuration during multi-site IS implementation

New Rules of Engagement:How Adaptation To Online Media Changes Older Adults' Social Connectedness

Older adults often struggle to adjust to the rapid changes in the digitizing media landscape. In this article, we study, first, how 10 older adults adapt new online media into their daily lives and, by doing so, adjust to the changing "rules of engagement" that guide online-media use in their social surroundings. Second, we analyze how this adaptation process generates change in older adults' social connectedness. Results suggest that older adults' non-use of popular online media results in social exclusion. Enhancing their social connectedness, requires older adults to (partially) conform to new communication norms and values. Based on our findings, we propose three adaptation strategies that enhance both offline and online social connectedness

Adaptation step-by-step : challenges for real-time spatial personalization

In this paper we outline challenges for user modeling and personalization with spatial information. To illustrate those challenges we use a use case with a real-time routing system that implements a mobile museum guide for providing personalized tours tailored to the user position inside the museum and her interests. In this scenario we combine on the one hand (1) interactive discovery of user's interests applied for semantic recommendations of artworks and art-related topics, and on the other hand (2) dynamic step-by-step adaptation of a user's route through a museum based on her current position and changing interests. For this, the existing CHIP mobile museum guide was extended with a routing mechanism based on the SWI-Prolog Space package