The cervicovaginal microbiome plays an important role in protecting women from dysbiosis and infection caused by pathogenic microorganisms. In healthy reproductive-age women the cervicovaginal ...microbiome is predominantly colonized by protective
spp. The loss of these protective bacteria leads to colonization of the cervicovaginal microenvironment by pathogenic microorganisms resulting in dysbiosis and bacterial vaginosis (BV).
and
sp. are two of the many anaerobes that can contribute to BV, a condition associated with multiple adverse obstetric and gynecological outcomes.
has been linked to high Nugent scores (relating to BV morphotypes) and preterm birth (PTB), whilst some bacterial members of the
family are highly prevalent in BV, and identified in ~85-95% of cases. The functional impact of
and
sp. in BV is still poorly understood. To determine the individual immunometabolic contributions of
sp. and
within the cervicovaginal microenvironment, we utilized our well-characterized human three-dimensional (3-D) cervical epithelial cell model in combination with multiplex immunoassays and global untargeted metabolomics approaches to identify key immune mediators and metabolites related to
and
sp. infections. We found that infection with
significantly elevated multiple proinflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and MCP-1) and altered metabolites related to energy metabolism (nicotinamide and succinate) and oxidative stress (cysteinylglycine, cysteinylglycine disulfide and 2-hydroxygluatrate).
sp. infection significantly elevated multiple sphingolipids and glycerolipids related to epithelial barrier function, and biogenic amines (putrescine and cadaverine) associated with elevated vaginal pH, vaginal amine odor and vaginal discharge. Our study elucidated that
elevated multiple proinflammatory markers relating to PTB and STI acquisition, as well as altered energy metabolism and oxidative stress, whilst
sp. upregulated multiple biogenic amines associated with the clinical diagnostic criteria of BV. Future studies are needed to evaluate how these bacteria interact with other BV-associated bacteria within the cervicovaginal microenvironment.
The aim of this study was to determine the health risk associated with vegetable irrigation using lowland water in the town of Mbouda. Watered vegetables and water from five yards and three wells ...used by market gardeners were analysed in the dry season using standardized methods. Bacterial levels ranging from 6.37 ± 0.71 to 9.03 ± 0.43 Log CFU/100 g/DM (dry matter) were detected in the various vegetables produced in the lowlands of Mbouda: Escherichia coli (4.10–5.03 Log CFU/100 mL), faecal coliforms (5.28–5.99 Log CFU/100 mL), Shigella spp. (4.86–6.25 Log CFU/100 mL) and Salmonella spp. (3.85–5.21 Log CFU/100 mL) in irrigation water; Ascaris spp. eggs, Entamoeba spp. cysts, Ancylostoma spp. eggs and nematode larvae were detected at levels above the standard recommended by the World Health Organization. This sets 3 Log CFU/100 mL of these bacteria in water, 1–2 Log CFU/25 g/DM on vegetables, but 3 Log CFU/25 g/DM for faecal coliforms as acceptable limits and zero for any parasitic stage (eggs, cysts, and larvae). This constitutes a real health risk for consumers. The town's virtually nonexistent sewage system could be at the root of this water pollution.
Résumé
L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer le risque sanitaire lié à l'irrigation des légumes par les eaux des bas‐fonds de la ville de Mbouda. Les légumes arrosés et les eaux d'arrosage de cinq cours et de trois puits ont été analysés en saison sèche suivant des méthodes normalisées. Les taux des bactéries recherchées allant de 6,37 ± 0,71 à 9,03 ± 0,43 Log UFC/100 g/MS ont été détectés sur les différents légumes; Escherichia coli (4,10 à 5,03 Log UFC/100 ml), les coliformes fécaux (5,28 à 5,99 Log UFC/100 ml), Shigella spp. (4,86 à 6,25 Log UFC/100 ml) et Salmonella spp. (3,85 à 5,21 Log UFC/100 ml) dans les eaux; les œufs d'Ascaris spp., les kystes d'Entamoeba spp. et les larves de nématodes ont été détectés à des niveaux supérieurs à la norme recommandée par l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé. Cette dernière fixe à zéro tout stade parasitaire, à 3 Log UFC/100 ml ces bactéries dans les eaux et de 1 à 3 Log UFC/25 g MS dans les légumes la borne acceptable. Cela constitue un risque sanitaire réel pour les consommateurs. Le système d'assainissement quasi inexistant dans cette ville pourrait être à l'origine de cette pollution des eaux.
Breccias associated with tectonic, fluid and sedimentary evolution of rifted margins can provide information on a variety of processes reflecting the modes of extension. In this paper, we analyse the ...numerous breccias exposed in the Agly Massif that was part of the European side of the Cretaceous rift now inverted in the eastern Pyrenees. Using a combination of petrologic and sedimentologic analyses, field-based structural study, and multivariate analysis of clast shape and diversity, binding lithology and size, and breccia fabrics, we distinguish 5 types of breccias reflecting depositional, tectonic, and salt-related processes. The integration of these processes in the tectonic history of the eastern Pyrenees confirms the attribution of these breccias to the Cretaceous rifting. We emphasize the major role played by the evaporitic Triassic particularly during the first stages of rifting as a major decoupling level at the basement/cover interface. Salt tectonics and shearing assisted by the circulation of fluids are reflected by hydrofracturing at the base of the Mesozoic cover. As this weak mechanical layer is later extracted as extension increases, a brittle detachment system developed along the cover-basement interface to exhume of deep crust and mantle. The relationships between brecciation and Cretaceous extension in the Pyrenees argue for a mixed mode of rifting associated with ductile and brittle deformation during the formation of the hyper-extended rift domain.
This study examined the relationship between Compulsive Buying (CB) complaints and reactive temperament, effortful control, depression, and materialism by gender. One hundred and twenty-four male and ...286 female students answered the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, the 11-item Material Values Scale, the Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS), and the Effortful Control Scale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire–Short Form. As expected, in both genders CBS scores were strongly linked to materialism. For males but not females, depression scores were also associated with CBS scores. Only in women, high BAS reactivity and low effortful control additionally emerged as independent significant predictors for CBS scores. These findings highlight a clear gender difference of underlying factors of CB complaints.
ABSTRACT
Borehole fluid injections are common for the development of hydrocarbon and geothermic reservoirs. Often they induce numerous microearthquakes. Spatio‐temporal dynamics of such induced ...microseismic clouds can be used to characterize reservoirs. However, a fluid‐induced seismicity can be caused by a wide range of processes. Here we show that linear pore pressure relaxation and a hydraulic fracturing are two asymptotic end members of a set of non‐linear diffusional phenomena responsible for seismicity triggering. To account for the whole range of processes we propose a rather general non‐linear diffusional equation describing the pore pressure evolution. This equation takes into account a possibly strong enhancement of the medium permeability. Both linear pore pressure relaxation and hydraulic fracturing can be obtained as special limiting cases of this equation. From this equation we derive the triggering front of fluid induced seismicity, which is valid in the general case of non‐linear pore pressure diffusion. We demonstrate corresponding seismicity signatures on different case studies.
Over 20% of mortality during acute liver failure is associated with the development of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Thus, HE is a complication of acute liver failure with a broad spectrum of ...neuropsychiatric abnormalities ranging from subclinical alterations to coma. HE is caused by the diversion of portal blood into systemic circulation through portosystemic collateral vessels. Thus, the brain is exposed to intestinal-derived toxic substances. Moreover, the strategies to prevent advancement and improve the prognosis of such a liver-brain disease rely on intestinal microbial modulation. This is supported by the findings that antibiotics such as rifaximin and laxative lactulose can alleviate hepatic cirrhosis and/or prevent HE. Together, the significance of the gut-liver-brain axis in human health warrants attention. This review paper focuses on the roles of bacteria metabolites, mainly ammonia and bile acids (BAs) as well as BA receptors in HE. The literature search conducted for this review included searches for phrases such as BA receptors, BAs, ammonia, farnesoid X receptor (FXR), G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 (GPBAR1 or TGR5), sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2), and cirrhosis in conjunction with the phrase hepatic encephalopathy and portosystemic encephalopathy. PubMed, as well as Google Scholar, was the search engines used to find relevant publications.
The intestinal epithelial barrier plays an important role in maintaining host health. Breakdown of intestinal barrier function is known to play a role in many diseases such as infectious enteritis, ...idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease, and neonatal inflammatory bowel diseases. Recently, increasing research has demonstrated the importance of understanding how intestinal epithelial barrier function develops in the premature neonate in order to develop strategies to promote its maturation. Optimizing intestinal barrier function is thought to be key to preventing neonatal inflammatory bowel diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis. In this review, we will first summarize the key components of the intestinal epithelial barrier, what is known about its development, and how this may explain NEC pathogenesis. Finally, we will review what therapeutic strategies may be used to promote optimal development of neonatal intestinal barrier function in order to reduce the incidence and severity of NEC.
Aim: The Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Scale is a popular instrument that assesses an individual's responsiveness to reward and punishment. It is widely translated and validated in different ...languages. However, the Hindi version of this scale is not yet available. The present study aimed to adapt the BIS/BAS scale into Hindi and examine its psychometric properties and factor structure. Method: The original BIS/BAS scale was translated into Hindi using the translation and back-translation method. The translated Hindi version along with the NEO-FFI and HADS was administered on 200 participants. Psychometric properties, i.e., reliability, validity, and factor structure, were estimated. Result: Cronbach's α coefficient ranged between .68 and .80, while test-retest reliability ranges between .85 and .92. The validity is also adequate. The findings support the five-factor structure of the BIS/BAS scale. Limitations: The present study has a relatively small sample, which is drawn from only one Hindi-speaking region of India. Conclusion: It was found that the Hindi version of the BIS/BAS scale is a reliable and valid tool with good psychometric properties.
Early modern copperplate engravers, painters, and printers produced an increasing number of images that depicted Jewish individuals or more often groups of Jewish men and women. Many of these images ...sought to present an ideal type, displaying (allegedly) typical Jewish dress and outward appearance. Some of these images saw adaptations already during the eighteenth-century, but all were photographed, reprinted, adapted, and altered from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. This article choses three images - an engraving of a Jewish man and woman from an early-eighteenth century costume book, the depiction of a Jewish couple from a late eighteenth-century painting, and the painting of Bertha Pappenheim posing as early modern Jewish merchant Glikl bas Judah from the early twentieth century - and follows their adaptations over time. I analyze how these adaptations were (re)used in different contexts and the problems they may create for historians as well as for (non-professional) observers interested in the history of early modern European Jewry. The afterlife of these early modern images is often framed in a discourse of Jewish belonging and identity. Especially popular adaptations are characterized by an uncritical and sometimes ahistorical approach to these images.
Research suggests that interpersonal approach-avoidance behaviours influence group evaluations. However, previous work partly neglected the multi-sensory and contextual cues at stake during ...interpersonal interactions and may offer a limited picture of the phenomenon. Here, we argue that immersive virtual reality (IVR) represents a useful tool to address this issue. In IVR, we implemented interpersonal approach-avoidance behaviours and tested their construct validity. Based on a careful examination of the literature, we defined two construct validity criteria: the evaluative influence of repeated approach-avoidance behaviours as well as the activation of the corresponding neuropsychological systems. In two experiments (NExp1 = 199, NExp2 = 205), we tested whether, compared to avoidance, approach leads to more positive group evaluations on self-report, reaction time based and behavioural intention measures. Additionally, we investigated whether the IVR operationalisations influence the neuropsychological systems assumed to underlie approach-avoidance behaviours. Overall, the findings are not consistent with the hypotheses and do not conclusively validate our IVR approach-avoidance operationalisation. Although additional research should examine more thoroughly the issues raised by the current work by investigating new ways of implementing approach-avoidance in IVR, the present contribution paves the way for such future developments. Despite these challenges, we encourage a consideration of the full-fledged subtleties of social interactions via adequate tools (IVR) for the study of approach-avoidance.
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