There is an increasing interest in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, one of the most abundant bacterial species found in the gut, given its potentially important role in promoting gut health. Although ...some studies have phenotypically characterized strains of this species, it remains a challenge to determine which factors have a key role in maintaining the abundance of this bacterium in the gut. Besides, phylogenetic analysis has shown that at least two different F. prausnitzii phylogroups can be found within this species and their distribution is different between healthy subjects and patients with gut disorders. It also remains unknown whether or not there are other phylogroups within this species, and also if other Faecalibacterium species exist. Finally, many studies have shown that F. prausnitzii abundance is reduced in different intestinal disorders. It has been proposed that F. prausnitzii monitoring may therefore serve as biomarker to assist in gut diseases diagnostics. In this mini-review, we aim to serve as an overview of F. prausnitzii phylogeny, ecophysiology and diversity. In addition, strategies to modulate the abundance of F. prausnitzii in the gut as well as its application as a biomarker for diagnostics and prognostics of gut diseases are discussed. This species may be a useful potential biomarker to assist in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease discrimination.
Summary
Several observational studies have assessed the association between psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and type 2 diabetes mellitus, with inconclusive results. We set out to investigate the ...association between psoriasis, PsA and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Observational studies assessing the relationship between psoriasis or PsA and type 2 diabetes mellitus up to December 2012 were identified by electronic and hand searches in Medline, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar. For each study we collected the first author's last name, publication year, country of origin, study design, characteristics of participants (sample size, age and sex), the variables incorporated into the multivariable analyses, and the odds ratios (ORs) of psoriasis associated with diabetes along with the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). From the data provided in each article, the crude OR was also calculated. Forty‐four observational studies (in 37 articles) were identified for the final analysis. The pooled OR from random‐effects analysis was determined to be 1·76 (95% CI 1·59–1·96). The highest risk was for patients suffering from PsA (OR 2·18, 95% CI 1·36–3·50). We also observed a dose effect in the risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus, as patients considered as having severe psoriasis had higher risk (OR 2·10, 95% CI 1·73–2·55) than the pooled OR. We perform meta‐regression and sensitivity analyses to explore sources of heterogeneity among the studies and to determine how they would influence the estimates, and found no significant influence in the results of the meta‐analyses. The findings support the association between psoriasis, PsA and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Some caution must be taken in the interpretation of these results because there may be heterogeneity between studies.
What's already known about this topic?
Several observational studies have assessed the association between psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and type 2 diabetes mellitus, with inconclusive results.
What does this study add?
A systematic review and meta‐analysis including all observational studies up to December 2012.
Investigation of the influence of psoriatic arthritis and the severity of the disease on the risk of diabetes.
We completed a meta‐analysis of regional and global climate model simulations (n = 96) of the impact of Amazonian deforestation on Amazon basin rainfall. Across all simulations, mean (±1σ) change in ...annual mean Amazon basin rainfall was −12 ± 11%. Variability in simulated rainfall was not explained by differences in model resolution or surface parameters. Across all simulations we find a negative linear relationship between rainfall and deforestation extent, although individual studies often simulate a nonlinear response. Using the linear relationship, we estimate that deforestation in 2010 has reduced annual mean rainfall across the Amazon basin by 1.8 ± 0.3%, less than the interannual variability in observed rainfall. This may explain why a reduction in Amazon rainfall has not consistently been observed. We estimate that business‐as‐usual deforestation (based on deforestation rates prior to 2004) would lead to an 8.1 ± 1.4% reduction in annual mean Amazon basin rainfall by 2050, greater than natural variability.
Key Points
Deforestation of the Amazon likely to lead to reductions in regional rainfall
Current deforestation extent estimated to reduce annual rainfall across Amazon basin by 1.8%
By 2050, deforestation estimated to reduce annual rainfall by 8.1%, greater than natural variability
Aim: We have designed a study with the objective of describing the clinical impact of other viruses different from the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in hospitalized infants with bronchiolitis.
...Methods: A 3 year prospective study was conducted on infants admitted to the Paediatrics Department of the Severo Ochoa Hospital (Spain). We studied the frequency of 16 respiratory viruses. Clinical characteristics of RSV‐only infections were compared with other single agent viral infections.
Results: Positive results were confirmed in 275 (86.5%) of the 318 children studied. A single virus was detected in 196 patients and 79 were dual or multiple viral infections. RSV was detected in 61.3% of total bronchiolitis. Rhinovirus (RV) was 17.4% of the identified virus, followed by human bocavirus (HBoV), adenovirus and metapneumovirus (hMPV). Only RV, HBoV and hMPV were significant as single infections. RSV patients were younger than HBoV (p > 0.0001) and hMPV (p = 0.025). Seasonality was clearly different between them. Children with RSV infection needed treatment in the intensive care unit more frequently than others.
Conclusions: In hospitalized infants, RSV was the most frequent agent in bronchiolitis in winter, but other viruses were present in 47% of the patients. RV, HBoV and hMPV had a significant proportion of single infections. Clinical characteristics were similar amongst them, but seasonality was clearly different.
The ventral hippocampus (vHPC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) are each required for the expression of anxiety-like behavior. Yet the role of each individual element ...of the circuit is unclear. The projection from the vHPC to the mPFC has been implicated in anxiety-related neural synchrony and spatial representations of aversion. The role of this projection was examined using multi-site neural recordings combined with optogenetic terminal inhibition. Inhibition of vHPC input to the mPFC disrupted anxiety and mPFC representations of aversion, and reduced theta synchrony in a pathway-, frequency- and task-specific manner. Moreover, bilateral, but not unilateral, inhibition altered physiological correlates of anxiety in the BLA, mimicking a safety-like state. These results reveal a specific role for the vHPC-mPFC projection in anxiety-related behavior and the spatial representation of aversive information within the mPFC.
•The vHPC-mPFC pathway is required for normal anxiety-like behavior•Anxiety-related increases in vHPC-mPFC theta synchrony require direct vHPC-mPFC input•Spatial representations of aversion in the mPFC are dependent on direct vHPC input•The effects of inhibition of vHPC inputs are task, pathway, and frequency specific
Padilla-Coreano et al. use optogenetic inhibition and multi-site neurophysiology to demonstrate pathway- and frequency-specific effects of inhibiting ventral hippocampal input to the medial prefrontal cortex. Terminal inhibition reduced anxiety-like behavior, theta synchrony, and spatial representations of aversion within the cortex.
Ewing sarcoma is characterized by chromosomal translocations fusing the EWS gene with various members of the ETS family of transcription factors, most commonly FLI1. EWS-FLI1 is an aberrant ...transcription factor driving Ewing sarcoma tumorigenesis by either transcriptionally inducing or repressing specific target genes. Herein, we showed that Sprouty 1 (SPRY1), which is a physiological negative feedback inhibitor downstream of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors (FGFRs) and other RAS-activating receptors, is an EWS-FLI1 repressed gene. EWS-FLI1 knockdown specifically increased the expression of SPRY1, while other Sprouty family members remained unaffected. Analysis of SPRY1 expression in a panel of Ewing sarcoma cells showed that SPRY1 was not expressed in Ewing sarcoma cell lines, suggesting that it could act as a tumor suppressor gene in these cells. In agreement, induction of SPRY1 in three different Ewing sarcoma cell lines functionally impaired proliferation, clonogenic growth and migration. In addition, SPRY1 expression inhibited extracellular signal-related kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling induced by serum and basic FGF (bFGF). Moreover, treatment of Ewing sarcoma cells with the potent FGFR inhibitor PD-173074 reduced bFGF-induced proliferation, colony formation and in vivo tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner, thus mimicking SPRY1 activity in Ewing sarcoma cells. Although the expression of SPRY1 was low when compared with other tumors, SPRY1 was variably expressed in primary Ewing sarcoma tumors and higher expression levels were significantly associated with improved outcome in a large patient cohort. Taken together, our data indicate that EWS-FLI1-mediated repression of SPRY1 leads to unrestrained bFGF-induced cell proliferation, suggesting that targeting the FGFR/MAPK pathway can constitute a promising therapeutic approach for this devastating disease.
Intestinal barrier integrity is a prerequisite for homeostasis of mucosal function, which is balanced to maximise absorptive capacity, while maintaining efficient defensive reactions against chemical ...and microbial challenges. Evidence is mounting that disruption of epithelial barrier integrity is one of the major aetiological factors associated with several gastrointestinal diseases, including infection by pathogens, obesity and diabetes, necrotising enterocolitis, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. The notion that specific probiotic bacterial strains can affect barrier integrity fuelled research in which in vitro cell lines, animal models and clinical trials are used to assess whether probiotics can revert the diseased state back to homeostasis and health. This review catalogues and categorises the lines of evidence available in literature for the role of probiotics in epithelial integrity and, consequently, their beneficial effect for the reduction of gastrointestinal disease symptoms.
Some studies have reported a high prevalence of bronchiectasis in patients with uncontrolled asthma, but the factors associated with this condition are unknown. The objective of this study was to ...determine the prevalence of bronchiectasis in uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma and to identify risk factors and their correlation with bronchiectasis in these patients.
This is a prospective study of data from consecutive patients with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma. Diagnosis of bronchiectasis was based on high-resolution computed tomography. A prognostic score was developed using a logistic regression model, which was used to determine the factors associated with bronchiectasis.
A total of 398 patients (60% with severe asthma) were included. The prevalence of bronchiectasis was 28.4%. The presence of bronchiectasis was associated with a higher frequency of chronic expectoration (OR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.49-5.84; p = 0.002), greater severity of asthma (OR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.29-4.57; p = 0.006), at least one previous episode of pneumonia (OR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.03-5.69; p = 0.044), and lower levels of FeNO (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99; p = 0.016). The NOPES score was developed on the basis of these variables (FeNOcut off point 20.5 ppb, Pneumonia, Expectoration and asthma Severity), and it ranges from 0 to 4 points, where 0 means "no risk" and 4 corresponds to "high risk". The NOPES score yielded an AUC-ROC of 70% for the diagnosis of bronchiectasis, with a specificity of 95%.
Almost a third of the patients with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma had bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis was related to the severity of asthma, the presence of chronic expectoration, a previous history of pneumonia, and lower levels of FeNO. The NOPES score is an easy-to-use scoring system with a high prognostic value for bronchiectasis in patients with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Scope
The objective of this study is to determine the cardiovascular effects of the probiotics Bifidobacterium breve CECT7263 (BFM) and Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 (LC40), and the short chain ...fatty acids butyrate, and acetate in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).
Methods and results
Ten five‐week old Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and fifty aged‐matched SHR are randomly distributed into six groups: control WKY, control SHR, treated SHR‐LC40, treated SHR‐BMF, treated SHR‐butyrate, and treated SHR‐acetate. Chronic treatments with LC40 or BFM increase butyrate‐producing bacteria and prevent the blood pressure increase in SHR. Oral treatment with butyrate or acetate also prevents the increase in both blood pressure and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio. All treatments restore the Th17/Treg balance in mesenteric lymph nodes, normalized endotoxemia, and prevent the impairment of endothelium‐dependent relaxation to acetylcholine, as a result of reduced NADPH oxidase‐driven reactive oxygen species production. These protective effects might be mediated by both the reduction in vascular lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway and the increase in Treg infiltration in the vasculature.
Conclusion
The probiotics LC40 and BFM prevent dysbiosis and the development of endothelial dysfunction and high blood pressure in genetic hypertension. These effects seem to be related to endotoxemia reduction and to increase Treg accumulation in the vasculature.
The probiotics LC40 and BFM prevent dysbiosis and the development of endothelial dysfunction and high blood pressure in genetic hypertension. This effect seems to be related to endotoxemia reduction, vascular TLR4 pathway impairment, and to increase Treg accumulation in the vasculature.
Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) process is used in the present investigation to manufacture long fibre reinforced composite parts using the MarkOne® 3D-printer. In ALM, a continuous filament ...(including a tow of fibres) of composite material is injected by the printer, at high temperature, over a plain tool, forming the part while the material is cooled down. The used composite filament is formed by a PA (Nylon™) matrix and carbon or glass fibre reinforcements. Previous works have shown an improvement on the mechanical properties of a part, when some zones include a nylon based composite reinforcement using ALM. Nevertheless, the characterization of fully made nylon-based ALM composite material parts has not been reported. Thus, the aim of this investigation is the experimental characterization of composite nylon-based coupons. The plane strength and stiffness properties of the composites are obtained, both for tensile and compression load states. Results showed that the obtained mechanical properties for ALM composites are not yet comparable to those obtained by traditional methods (pre-pregs). This fact may be explained by the high porosity found in ALM coupons as well as a low fibre volume obtained. Nevertheless, the mechanical properties improvement in comparison to non-reinforced nylon parts is remarkable.
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