Abstract
Background
Fermented foods are staples of the human diet and fermentation process has been used by humans for thousands of years. The preparation of fermented foods was performed in the past ...without knowledge of the role of microorganisms involved. Nowadays, fermented foods, due to their proclaimed health benefits for consumers, are becoming increasingly popular. Our study was constructed to provide data on awareness and use of fermented foods among people in North-eastern Slovenia.
Methods
The cross-sectional study included 349 individuals (16–89 years of age). An online survey was designed to assess the participants' knowledge of fermentation, fermented foods, the consumption of fermented foods and awareness of the health benefits. Data were collected from March to June 2021 and analyzed using IBM SPSS 27.0.
Results
Compared with the youngest participants (< 21 years) knowledge of fermentation was higher in older individuals (
p
< 0.001). More than a half of the participants recognized the role of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in fermentation process, however, only 18.3% of participants were aware of the role of the molds. Only 25.9% of the participants have become acquainted with fermented foods at home and 62.2% of them were aware of health benefits of fermented foods, but mostly on gastrointestinal health and the immune system.
Conclusions
As people today live predominantly in urban areas and incline towards westernized foods, they often lack the knowledge of fermentation and awareness regarding the nutritional value of fermented foods and their preparation. Steps should be taken to educate younger generations regarding the health benefits of fermented foods especially considering that most of them expressed their interest in learning more about the process.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one of the most stressful situations in emergency medicine. Nurses involved in performing basic and advanced resuscitation procedures are therefore exposed to a ...certain amount of stress. The purpose of this study was to determine the stressors and the level of stress experienced by nurses during resuscitation. A cross-sectional quantitative study was done. The sample consisted of 457 nurses who worked in emergency units. First demographic data were collected, followed by a questionnaire regarding the effect of different situations that occur during and after resuscitation on nurses including Post-Code Stress Scale questionnaire. The most disturbing situations for respondents were resuscitation of young person (MV = 3.7, SD = 1.4), when they fail to establish an intravenous pathway (MV = 3.5, SD = 1.4), chaotic situation during resuscitation (MV = 3.4, SD = 1.4) and making decision about termination of resuscitation (MV = 3.1, SD = 1.5). Research has shown that nurses are exposed to a certain amount of stress during resuscitation, but most of them manage to compensate for stress effectively.
Higher education lecturers go through a long developmental path from graduate students to academic title of professor. On this path, the most
delicate period is the retirement. The age of 60 or 65, ...which is approximately the same as the retirement age in most developed countries, is supposed to be the onset of old age. Today, when we live longer and healthier, irreparable damage would occur if society and the state didn’t take advantage of the knowledge, wisdom and skills that senior professors have accumulated throughout their careers. The vast majority of senior professors could still contribute and participate in the development of society. In our article, we presented the results of a
survey regarding the academic and life activities of senior professors,
members of the Center for Retired and Distinguished higher education teachers of the University of Maribor. The results showed that the vast majority of retired and professors emeriti were still active in academic
life and contributed to the development and functioning of the University.
Visokoškolski učitelji prolaze dugi razvojni put od diplomanta do profesora. Na tom putu je jedno od najdelikatnijih razdoblja odlazak u mirovinu. Starost od 60 ili 65 godina, otprilike ista kao i starost za umirovljenje u većini razvijenih zemalja, označava početak starosti. Danas, kada živimo duže i zdravije, događa se nepopravljiva šteta ako društvo i država ne iskoriste znanje, mudrost i vještine koje je starija
generacija akademika akumulirala tijekom svoje karijere. Velika većina starijih profesora može doprinijeti i sudjelovati u razvoju društva. U ovom članku prikazujemo rezultate istraživanja o akademskim i životnim aktivnostima članova Centra za umirovljene i zaslužne profesore Sveučilišta u Mariboru. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je velika većina umirovljenih i zaslužnih profesora aktivna u akademskom životu i konstruktivno doprinosi razvoju i djelovanju Sveučilišta.
, a Gram-negative bacterium, is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness worldwide. Its adhesion mechanism is mediated by several bacterial factors, including flagellum, protein adhesins, ...lipooligosaccharides, proteases, and host factors, such as surface glycans on epithelial cells and mucins. Fungal lectins, specialized carbohydrate-binding proteins, can bind to specific glycans on host and bacterial cells and thus influence pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the effects of fungal lectins and protease inhibitors on the adhesion of
to model biotic surfaces (mucin, fibronectin, and collagen) and Caco-2 cells as well as the invasion of Caco-2 cells. The lectins
agglutinin (MOA) and
tectonin 2 (Tec2) showed remarkable efficacy in all experiments. In addition, different pre-incubations of lectins with
or Caco-2 cells significantly inhibited the ability of
to adhere to and invade Caco-2 cells, but to varying degrees. Pre-incubation of Caco-2 cells with selected lectins reduced the number of invasive
cells the most, while simultaneous incubation showed the greatest reduction in adherent
cells. These results suggest that fungal lectins are a promising tool for the prevention and treatment of
infections. Furthermore, this study highlights the potential of fungi as a rich reservoir for novel anti-adhesive agents.
The aim of this systematic review was to present the indirect influence of probiotics on the incidence and duration of acute upper respiratory-tract infections in older people, by regulating the ...immune system. Eight randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials met the inclusion criteria, considering the threshold of older people being 60 years and over. Single strain probiotics were used in all studies, including three probiotic strains used in fermented foods: Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus OLL1073R-1, Lacticaseibacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei CNCM I-1518 and Lacticaseibacillusparacasei Shirota, and three probiotic strains used as food supplements: Loigolactobacillus coryniformis K8 CECT5711, Bacillus subtilis CU1 and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG. Current evidence showed that certain probiotic strains were better than a placebo in lowering the incidence or number of older people experiencing acute upper respiratory tract infections; however, not all probiotic strains were efficient, and not all studies reported statistically significant outcomes. More high quality large-scale properly controlled clinical studies focusing on older people are warranted.
Campylobacter spp. are a major cause of bacterial food-borne diarrhoeal disease. This mainly arises through contamination of meat products during processing. For infection, Campylobacter spp. must ...adhere to epithelial cells of the mucus layer, survive conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, and colonise the intestine of the host. Addition of probiotic bacteria might promote competitive adhesion to epithelial cells, consequently reducing Campylobacter jejuni colonisation. Effect of Lactobacillus spp. (PCS20, PCS22, PCS25, LGG, PCK9) on C. jejuni adhesion, invasion and translocation in pig (PSI cl.1) and chicken (B1OXI) small-intestine cell lines, as well as pig enterocytes (CLAB) was investigated.
Overall, in competitive adhesion assays with PSI cl.1 and CLAB cell monolayers, the addition of Lactobacillus spp. reduced C. jejuni adherence to the cell surface, and negatively affected the C. jejuni invasion. Interestingly, Lactobacillus spp. significantly impaired C. jejuni adhesion in three-dimensional functional PSI cl.1 and B1OXI cell models. Also, C. jejuni did not translocate across PSI cl.1 and B1OXI cell monolayers when co-incubated with probiotics. Among selected probiotics, Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG was the strain that reduced adhesion efficacy of C. jejuni most significantly under co-culture conditions.
The addition of Lactobacillus spp. to feed additives in livestock nutrition might be an effective novel strategy that targets Campylobacter adhesion to epithelial cells, and thus prevents colonisation, reduces the transmission, and finally lowers the incidence of human campylobacteriosis.
Diaper dermatitis is the most common inflammatory skin eruption within the diaper area in infants and toddlers. Although it rarely causes problems for prolonged periods of time, it causes ...considerable distress for both infants and parents. Diapered skin is exposed to friction, excessive hydration, varying pH, and is in constant contact with urine and feces, both of which are highly irritant to the skin. The three most common types of diaper dermatitis include chaffing dermatitis, irritant contact dermatitis, and diaper candidiasis. However, a variety of other skin conditions may manifest in the diaper area. Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus are most frequently isolated from the affected area and are thought to have a predominant role in diaper dermatitis. The review includes an overview of the epidemiology, etiology, and common skin microbiota in the diaper area. State‐of‐the‐art strategies for diagnosis, management, and prevention of diaper dermatitis are also included. Appropriate skin care can help in the prevention of diaper dermatitis and can aid the reparation of the skin. This review discusses common causes, skin microbiota within the diapered area, differential diagnosis, and finally possible prevention and treatment recommendations. Recent findings have proven that the key to efficient eradication of irritant diaper dermatitis lies in its prevention.
Probiotics are known for their positive effects on the gut microbiota. There is growing evidence that the infant gut and skin colonization have a role in the development of the immune system, which ...may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis. This systematic review focused on evaluating the effect of single-strain probiotic lactobacilli consumption on treating children's atopic dermatitis. Seventeen randomized placebo-controlled trials with the primary outcome of the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index were included in the systematic review. Clinical trials using single-strain lactobacilli were included. The search was conducted until October 2022 using PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Cochrane library and manual searches. The Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Meta-analyses and sub meta-analyses were performed using Cochrane Collaboration methodology. Due to different methods of reporting the SCORAD index, only 14 clinical trials with 1124 children were included in the meta-analysis (574 in the single-strain probiotic lactobacilli group and 550 in the placebo group) and showed that single-strain probiotic lactobacilli statistically significantly reduced the SCORAD index compared to the placebo in children with atopic dermatitis (mean difference MD: -4.50; 95% confidence interval CI: -7.50 to -1.49; Z = 2.93;
= 0.003; heterogeneity I
= 90%). The subgroup meta-analysis showed that strains of
were significantly more effective than strains of
,
or
. A longer treatment time and younger treatment age statistically significantly reduced symptoms of atopic dermatitis. The result of this systematic review and meta-analysis shows that certain single-strain probiotic lactobacilli are more successful than others in reducing atopic dermatitis severity in children. Therefore, careful consideration to strain selection, treatment time and the age of the treated patients are important factors in enhancing the effectiveness of reducing atopic dermatitis in children when choosing probiotic single-strain lactobacilli.
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