Effect of hydrolyzed milk on the adhesion of Lactobacilli to intestinal cells

Milk is an essential part of the human diet and is undoubtedly a major calcium source in human nutrition, accepted well by most individuals. Knowledge on how the components from dairy products support or reduce the adherence of probiotics to the intestinal epithelium is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acid-hydrolyzed milk on the adhesion ability of two potentially probiotic strains (Lactobacillus plantarum S2, Lactobacillus gasseri R) to in vitro human intestinal epithelial model consisting of Caco-2 and mucus-secreting HT29-MTX co-culture. The adhesion of our tested strains L. gasseri and L. plantarum was 4.74 and 7.16%, respectively, when using inoculum of 2 × 108 CFU ml–1. Addition of acid-hydrolyzed milk to co-culture decreased the adherence by 53.7% for L. gasseri R and by 62.2% for L. plantarum S2. The results of this study evidently indicate the potential importance of the food matrix as a factor influencing probiotic colonization of the gut

Oscillatory subglacial drainage in the absence of surface melt

The presence of strong diurnal cycling in basal water pressure records obtained during the melt season is well established for many glaciers. The behaviour of the drainage system outside the melt season is less well understood. Here we present borehole observations from a surge-type valley glacier in the St Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada. Our data indicate the onset of strongly correlated multi-day oscillations in water pressure in multiple boreholes straddling a main drainage axis, starting several weeks after the disappearance of a dominant diurnal mode in August 2011 and persisting until at least January 2012, when multiple data loggers suffered power failure. Jökulhlaups provide a template for understanding spontaneous water pressure oscillations not driven by external supply variability. Using a subglacial drainage model, we show that water pressure oscillations can also be driven on a much smaller scale by the interaction between conduit growth and distributed water storage in smaller water pockets, basal crevasses and moulins, and that oscillations can be triggered when water supply drops below a critical value. We suggest this in combination with a steady background supply of water from ground water or englacial drainage as a possible explanation for the observed wintertime pressure oscillations

Tradisi Perawatan Ibu Hamil dalam Masyarakat di Kecamatan Kemuning Kabupaten Indragiri Hilir

This research was conducted in Kemuning Sub-district of Indragiri Hilir Regency with title of research of Tradition of Pregnant Mother Care in Society. This study aims to determine the stages of women's care in the community of Kemuning Sub-district Indragiri Hilir and to know if the tradition value in pregnant women treatment already conform with the medic treatment in the clinic. This research is descriptive qualitative research. Subjects in this study consist of 9 people, midwives and customs leaders who can help researchers. The purpose of purposive sampling is to adjust to research objectives. The data collection of reports using guidelines. The results show that currently rituals are still performed pregnant women in the Malay community. Pregnancy care pregnant women are not free from the help of a shaman and many taboos that should not be done by a pregnant woman. The food that do not allowed to consume by the pregnant women consist of some animal and begetable. Pregnant women apply some things that should not be done during pregnancy. The role of a husband in pregnancy is to lead the wife to studying pregnancy, while the role of in-laws or parents during pregnancy is to help with homework such as cooking and other homework. In the family of pregnancy care is the routine exams and the implementation of midwife messages, continue pregnancy abstinence, consultation to the midwife when it is sick, regards the message of the family, often eat cashew for the confidence of the child's skin Is born white later (it is Believed By the Malay community) and to the dentist there are sick. Family and midwife are sources of information. Safe information in pregnancy care is information that comes from a midwife.Keywords; Tradition, pregnant women's care, Malay ssociet

Growth of bifidobacteria in mammalian milk

Microbial colonization of the mammalian intestine begins at birth, when from a sterile state a newborn infant is exposed to an external environment rich in various bacterial species. An important group of intestinal bacteria comprises bifidobacteria. Bifidobacteria represent major intestinal microbiota during the breast-feeding period. Animal milk contains all crucial nutrients for babies’ intestinal microflora. The aim of our work was to test the influence of different mammalian milk on the growth of bifidobacteria. The growth of seven strains of bifidobacteria in human milk, the colostrum of swine, cow’s milk, sheep’s milk, and rabbit’s milk was tested. Good growth accompanied by the production of lactic acid was observed not only in human milk, but also in the other kinds of milk in all three strains of Bifidobacterium bifidum of different origin. Human milk selectively supported the production of lactic acid of human bifidobacterial isolates, especially the Bifidobacterium bifidum species. The promotion of bifidobacteria by milk is species-specific. Human milk contains a key factor for the growth of specific species or strains of human-origin bifidobacteria compared to other kinds of milk. In contrast, some components (maybe lysozyme) of human milk inhibited the growth of Bifidobacterium animalis. Animal-origin strains of bifidobacteria were not able to significantly grow even in milk of animal origin, with the exception of B. animalis subsp. lactis 1,2, which slightly grew in sheep’s milk

Technology for large-scale translation of clinical practice guidelines : a pilot study of the performance of a hybrid human and computer-assisted approach

Background: The construction of EBMPracticeNet, a national electronic point-of-care information platform in Belgium, was initiated in 2011 to optimize quality of care by promoting evidence-based decision-making. The project involved, among other tasks, the translation of 940 EBM Guidelines of Duodecim Medical Publications from English into Dutch and French. Considering the scale of the translation process, it was decided to make use of computer-aided translation performed by certificated translators with limited expertise in medical translation. Our consortium used a hybrid approach, involving a human translator supported by a translation memory (using SDL Trados Studio), terminology recognition (using SDL Multiterm termbases) from medical termbases and support from online machine translation. This has resulted in a validated translation memory which is now in use for the translation of new and updated guidelines. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the hybrid human and computer-assisted approach in comparison with translation unsupported by translation memory and terminology recognition. A comparison was also made with the translation efficiency of an expert medical translator. Methods: We conducted a pilot trial in which two sets of 30 new and 30 updated guidelines were randomized to one of three groups. Comparable guidelines were translated (a) by certificated junior translators without medical specialization using the hybrid method (b) by an experienced medical translator without this support and (c) by the same junior translators without the support of the validated translation memory. A medical proofreader who was blinded for the translation procedure, evaluated the translated guidelines for acceptability and adequacy. Translation speed was measured by recording translation and post-editing time. The Human Translation Edit Rate was calculated as a metric to evaluate the quality of the translation. A further evaluation was made of translation acceptability and adequacy. Results: The average number of words per guideline was 1,195 and the mean total translation time was 100.2 min/1,000 words. No meaningful differences were found in the translation speed for new guidelines. The translation of updated guidelines was 59 min/1,000 words faster (95% CI 2-115; P=.044) in the computer-aided group. Revisions due to terminology accounted for one third of the overall revisions by the medical proofreader. Conclusions: Use of the hybrid human and computer-aided translation by a non-expert translator makes the translation of updates of clinical practice guidelines faster and cheaper because of the benefits of translation memory. For the translation of new guidelines there was no apparent benefit in comparison with the efficiency of translation unsupported by translation memory (whether by an expert or non-expert translator

Results from a Phase 1 Study of Sodium Selenite in Combination with Palliative Radiation Therapy in Patients with Metastatic Cancer.

In preclinical studies, selenite had single agent activity and radiosensitized tumors in vivo. Here we report results from a Phase 1 trial in 15 patients with metastatic cancer treated with selenite (5.5 to 49.5 mg) orally as a single dose 2 hours before each radiation therapy (RT) treatment. Patients received RT regimens that were standard of care. The primary objective of the study was to assess the safety of this combination therapy. Secondary objectives included measurement of pharmacokinetics (PK) and evaluation of efficacy. Endpoints included assessment of PK, toxicity, tumor response, and pain before and after treatment. The half-life of selenite was 18.5 hours. There were no adverse events attributable to selenite until the 33 mg dose level, at which the primary toxicities were grade 1 GI side effects. One patient treated with 49.5 mg had grade 2 GI toxicity. Although this was not a DLT, it was felt that the highest acceptable dose in this patient population was 33 mg. Most patients had stabilization of disease within the RT fields, with some demonstrating objective evidence of tumor regression. Most patients had a marked improvement in pain and seven out of nine patients with prostate cancer had a decrease in PSA ranging from 11-78%. Doses up to 33 mg selenite were well tolerated in combination with RT. A randomized, well controlled study is needed at the 33 mg dose level to determine if selenite results in clinically meaningful improvements in the response to palliative RT

High-resolution mapping of fluoroquinolones in TB rabbit lesions reveals specific distribution in immune cell types.

Understanding the distribution patterns of antibiotics at the site of infection is paramount to selecting adequate drug regimens and developing new antibiotics. Tuberculosis (TB) lung lesions are made of various immune cell types, some of which harbor persistent forms of the pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. By combining high resolution MALDI MSI with histology staining and quantitative image analysis in rabbits with active TB, we have mapped the distribution of a fluoroquinolone at high resolution, and identified the immune-pathological factors driving its heterogeneous penetration within TB lesions, in relation to where bacteria reside. We find that macrophage content, distance from lesion border and extent of necrosis drive the uneven fluoroquinolone penetration. Preferential uptake in macrophages and foamy macrophages, where persistent bacilli reside, compared to other immune cells present in TB granulomas, was recapitulated in vitro using primary human cells. A nonlinear modeling approach was developed to help predict the observed drug behavior in TB lesions. This work constitutes a methodological advance for the co-localization of drugs and infectious agents at high spatial resolution in diseased tissues, which can be applied to other diseases with complex immunopathology

An Assessment of Anthropogenic Impact in a Nature Reserve: the Santoña Marshes (Northern Spain)

The Santoña Marshes Nature Reserve is one of the most important ecosystems of the Spanish Cantabrian coast due to its ecological value as a wintering area for migratory birds. Since an increase in population and substantial changes in the use of land have been observed in this area during the last century, the aim of this work was to attempt to see if anthropogenic activities are recorded in the accumulating sediments. Two sediment cores (50 cm length) were collected for isotopic dating (210Pb and 137Cs) and geochemical study (heavy metals). The data indicate an increasing trend in sedimentation rates during the last century, probably related to the progressive loss of the estuarine domains and the changes in their original hydrodynamic conditions due to infilling and the construction of dykes. However, no significant anthropogenic inputs of heavy metals have been detected in recent times.La Reserva Natural de las Marismas de Santoña, situada en la costa cantábrica, posee un gran valor ecológico como lugar de invernada de aves migratorias. Dado el importante aumento de la presencia humana en la zona durante el último siglo, este trabajo tiene como objetivo estudiar si estas actividades antrópicas han dejado su huella en los sedimentos acumulados. Para ello se ha abordado la datación isotópica (137Cs y 210Pb) y el estudio geoquímico (metales pesados) de dos sondeos de 50 cm de longitud. Los resultados obtenidos señalan la existencia de un importante incremento en las tasas de sedimentación durante el ultimo siglo, posiblemente relacionado con la pérdida progresiva de la superficie y de las dinámicas estuarinas como consecuencia de los rellenos y de la construcción de diques. Sin embargo, no se han detectado niveles significativos de contaminación en metales pesados en los sedimentos más recientes

An improved model for joint segmentation and registration based on linear curvature smoother

Image segmentation and registration are two of the most challenging tasks in medical imaging. They are closely related because both tasks are often required simultaneously. In this article, we present an improved variational model for a joint segmentation and registration based on active contour without edges and the linear curvature model. The proposed model allows large deformation to occur by solving in this way the difficulties other jointly performed segmentation and registration models have in case of encountering multiple objects into an image or their highly dependence on the initialisation or the need for a pre-registration step, which has an impact on the segmentation results. Through different numerical results, we show that the proposed model gives correct registration results when there are different features inside the object to be segmented or features that have clear boundaries but without fine details in which the old model would not be able to cope. </jats:p

Étude de la contamination par les métaux lourds du champ d'épandage des eaux usées de la ville de Marrakech (Maroc)

La bioconcentration du Zn, Cu et Cd a été étudiée chez Melanopsis praemorsa L. (Gastéropode prosobranche) provenant de deux sites d'une khettara située dans le champ d'épandage des eaux usées de la ville de Marrakech. Les khettaras représentent un système d'irrigation traditionnel que l'on trouve dans certaines zones arides et semi-arides de la région ouest-paléarctique. L'eau est mise à jour par drainage de la nappe phréatique. Le degré de contamination de ce gastéropode s'avère très élevé et les teneurs métalliques augmentent de l'hiver à l'été. Les causes de la variabilité des concentrations métalliques chez les gastéropodes des deux stations ont été recherchées par des expériences de transplantation, et par des dosages de métaux au niveau du sédiment, de la spirogyre et du périphyton installé sur des substrats artificiels. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les différences entre les concentrations métalliques accumulées par les Melanopsis dans les deux stations pourraient être attribuées à la spéciation du métal dans l'eau. D'autres facteurs peuvent être mis en cause et méritent d'être précisés.Molluscs are well known for their capacity to bioaccumulate heavy metals from water or sediments. This study involves an evaluation of the contamination level of the undergroud and surface waters from a specific irrigation system known as a « khetarra », located near the town of Marrakech (Morocco). Khettaras represent a traditional systern by means ofwhich the ground water is drained to the surface and then can be used as drinking water or for irrigation in some arid and semi-arid areas. The bioindicator chosen was the gasteropod Melanopsispraemorca L. Two stations (Kl and K2) were investigated in a khettara located in spreading Marrakech waste water. The contamination of soils and water by heavy metals, eipecially Zn, Cu and Cd was first described by EL MEZD1 (1985) and SEDKI(1990).The studied khettara (1500 m. in length) is contaminated in two different ways: first by infiltration of waste water from the Seguia system and secondly directly by over-flow and escape of a main common sewer which crosses over the khetarra between the Kl andK2 stations.At each station, sediment peripbyton, Spirogyra and M. praemorsa were sampled in different seasons. Each sample was prepared for analysis (S.A.A. varian 475.AA) according to the method described by COSSON (1987). Flame atomization was chosen for Zn and Cu, the grafite furnace for Cd.The main results concern the level of contamination, with a comparison between Kl and K2 stations, the variation in contamination according to the seasons, the dilferent routes of contamination, namely through water or by the trophic chaîn (periphfion and Spirogyra).The degree of contamination in M. praemona is signifïcatively higher at the Kl station, with the following ranking: Zn> Cu> Cd (fig. 2, 3 and 4). Compared with other literature data: FORSTNER et al., 1981; RADA, 1985; COSSON, 1987; PIP, 1992, the upper concentrations are the highest.The metal concentrations increase from winter to summer, with significant differences between winter and spring or summer values at Kl for Zn, Cu, Cd; the same distinction, but only for Zn and Cd at K2 station.The causes of variation in metal concentrations in the gasteropods from the two sites were investigated,by in situ cotransplantation experiences and by measuring metaflic concentrations in sediments, periphyton and Spirogyra. Results show that differences in gasteropod metal concentrations between sites appear to be related to differences in aqueous metal speciation. The data concerning the food chain show that metallic concentrations are higher for periphyton and, Spirogyra living at Kl station, this according to the data for M. praemorsa.In contrast, the level of contamination in sediments is higher at K2 station. The most probable hypothesis is that organic and suspended matter, present at a higher level in this station, bind the heary metals and reduce their bioavailability.The cotransplantation between Kl and K2 stations shows that the individuals transferred from Kl to K2 station for 15 days cease to bioaccumulate Zn and Cd. A detoxification process occurs for these two metals but not for Cu, which continues to increase; thus, bioavailability of different metals at the same station is not equivalent. On the other hand the individuals transferred from K2 to Kl station do not increase their Zn, Cu or Cd concentrations even after 30 days. Concerning this fact FRAZIER and GEORGE (1983) suggest the possibility of an adaptation to initial conditions.It seems that many other factors influence metal bioaccumulation and merit further study, e.g.: the size and the age of individuals, the biological cycle with the period of reproduction ; the interaction of abiotic factors: T°, salinity, dissolved orygen, turbidity, lighting