Probiotics on Pediatric Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

The potential association between gut microbiota perturbations and childhood functional gastrointestinal disturbances opens interesting therapeutic and preventive possibilities with probiotics. The aim of this review was to evaluate current evidence on the efficacy of probiotics for the management of pediatric functional abdominal pain disorders, functional constipation and infantile colic. Thus far, no single strain, combination of strains or synbiotics can be recommended for the management of irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain or functional constipation in children. However, Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 may be considered for the management of breastfed colic infants, while data on other probiotic strains, probiotic mixtures or synbiotics are limited in infantile colic

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG-supplemented formula expands butyrate-producing bacterial strains in food allergic infants.

Dietary intervention with extensively hydrolyzed casein formula supplemented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (EHCF+LGG) accelerates tolerance acquisition in infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA). We examined whether this effect is attributable, at least in part, to an influence on the gut microbiota. Fecal samples from healthy controls (n=20) and from CMA infants (n=19) before and after treatment with EHCF with (n=12) and without (n=7) supplementation with LGG were compared by 16S rRNA-based operational taxonomic unit clustering and oligotyping. Differential feature selection and generalized linear model fitting revealed that the CMA infants have a diverse gut microbial community structure dominated by Lachnospiraceae (20.5±9.7%) and Ruminococcaceae (16.2±9.1%). Blautia, Roseburia and Coprococcus were significantly enriched following treatment with EHCF and LGG, but only one genus, Oscillospira, was significantly different between infants that became tolerant and those that remained allergic. However, most tolerant infants showed a significant increase in fecal butyrate levels, and those taxa that were significantly enriched in these samples, Blautia and Roseburia, exhibited specific strain-level demarcations between tolerant and allergic infants. Our data suggest that EHCF+LGG promotes tolerance in infants with CMA, in part, by influencing the strain-level bacterial community structure of the infant gut

Constraining four neutrino mass patterns from neutrinoless double beta decay

All existing data on neutrino oscillations (including those from the LSND experiment) imply a four neutrino scheme with six different allowed mass patterns. Some of the latter are shown to be disfavored by using a conservative upper bound on the $\beta beta 0 \nu$ nuclear decay rate, if neutrinos are assumed to be Majorana particles. Comparisons are also made with restrictions from tritium $\beta$-decay and cosmology.Comment: One equation and three entries in a table have been changed, some typographical errors corrected and a few references added. The basic conclusions are not changed. To be published in Physics Letters. B., 9 pages, 4 figure

Dysbiosis of bifidobacteria and Clostridium cluster XIVa in the cystic fibrosis fecal microbiota

BACKGROUND: Recurrent antimicrobial interventions and disease-related intestinal dysfunction are suspected to contribute to the dysbiosis of the gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The present study set out to detect and identify microbial discriminants in the gut microbiota composition that are associated with CF-related intestinal dysbiosis. METHODS: An in-depth description of CF-associated gut dysbiosis was obtained by screening denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprints for potentially discriminating bacterial species, and quantification by means of real-time PCR analyses using group-specific primers. RESULTS: A total of 8 DGGE band-classes assigned to the genus Bifidobacterium (n=3), and members of Clostridium clusters XIVa (n=3) and IV (n=2), were significantly (p<0.05) underrepresented in samples of patients with CF. Real-time PCR analyses confirmed a significantly lower abundance and temporal stability of bifidobacteria and Clostridium cluster XIVa in the faecal microbiota of patients with CF. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to report specific microbial determinants of dysbiosis in patients with CF

Different Types of Door-Opening Motions as Contributing Factors to Containment Failures in Hospital Isolation Rooms

10.1371/journal.pone.0066663PLoS ONE86-POLN

Complex Pharmacology of Free Fatty Acid Receptors

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are historically the most successful family of drug targets. In recent times it has become clear that the pharmacology of these receptors is far more complex than previously imagined. Understanding of the pharmacological regulation of GPCRs now extends beyond simple competitive agonism or antagonism by ligands interacting with the orthosteric binding site of the receptor to incorporate concepts of allosteric agonism, allosteric modulation, signaling bias, constitutive activity, and inverse agonism. Herein, we consider how evolving concepts of GPCR pharmacology have shaped understanding of the complex pharmacology of receptors that recognize and are activated by nonesterified or “free” fatty acids (FFAs). The FFA family of receptors is a recently deorphanized set of GPCRs, the members of which are now receiving substantial interest as novel targets for the treatment of metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Further understanding of the complex pharmacology of these receptors will be critical to unlocking their ultimate therapeutic potential

Cytokine profile and induction of T helper type 17 and regulatory T cells by human peripheral mononuclear cells after microbial exposure

The immunomodulatory effects of probiotics were assessed following exposure of normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), cord blood cells and the spleen-derived monocyte/macrophage cell line CRL-9850 to Lactobacillus acidophilus LAVRI-A1, Lb. rhamnosus GG, exopolysaccharides (EPS)-producing Streptococcus thermophilus St1275, Bifidobacteriun longum BL536, B. lactis B94 and Escherichia coli TG1 strains. The production of a panel of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines by PBMC following bacterial stimulation was measured, using live, heat-killed or mock gastrointestinal tract (GIT)-exposed bacteria, and results show that (i) all bacterial strains investigated induced significant secretion of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines from PBMC-derived monocytes/macrophages; and (ii) cytokine levels increased relative to the expansion of bacterial cell numbers over time for cells exposed to live cultures. Bifidobacteria and S. thermophilus stimulated significant concentrations of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, an interleukin necessary for the differentiation of regulatory T cells (Treg)/T helper type 17 (Th17) cells and, as such, the study further examined the induction of Th17 and Treg cells after PBMC exposure to selected bacteria for 96 h. Data show a significant increase in the numbers of both cell types in the exposed populations, measured by cell surface marker expression and by cytokine production. Probiotics have been shown to induce cytokines from a range of immune cells following ingestion of these organisms. These studies suggest that probiotics' interaction with immune-competent cells produces a cytokine milieu, exerting immunomodulatory effects on local effector cells, as well as potently inducing differentiation of Th17 and Treg cells

The role of Probiotics in allergic diseases

Allergic disorders are very common in the pediatric age group. While the exact etiology is unclear, evidence is mounting to incriminate environmental factors and an aberrant gut microbiota with a shift of the Th1/Th2 balance towards a Th2 response. Probiotics have been shown to modulate the immune system back to a Th1 response. Several in vitro studies suggest a role for probiotics in treating allergic disorders. Human trials demonstrate a limited benefit for the use of probiotics in atopic dermatitis in a preventive as well as a therapeutic capacity. Data supporting their use in allergic rhinitis are less robust. Currently, there is no role for probiotic therapy in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Future studies will be critical in determining the exact role of probiotics in allergic disorders

Neutrinoless double beta decay within Self-consistent Renormalized Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation and inclusion of induced nucleon currents

The first, to our knowledge, calculation of neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$-decay) matrix elements within the self-consistent renormalised Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (SRQRPA) is presented. The contribution from the momentum-dependent induced nucleon currents to $0\nu\beta\beta$-decay amplitude is taken into account. A detailed nuclear structure study includes the discussion of the sensitivity of the obtained SRQRPA results for $0\nu\beta\beta$-decay of $^{76}$Ge to the parameters of nuclear Hamiltonian, two-nucleon short-range correlations and the truncation of the model space. A comparision with the standard and renormalized QRPA is presented. We have found a considerable reduction of the SRQRPA nuclear matrix elements, resulting in less stringent limits for the effective neutrino mass.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl