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The radial profiles of the Hb, Mg, and Fe line-strength indices are presented for a sample of eight spiral galaxies with a low surface-brightness stellar disc and a bulge. The correlations between the central values of the line-strength indices and velocity dispersion are consistent to those known for early-type galaxies and bulges of high surface-brightness galaxies. The age, metallicity, and alpha/Fe enhancement of the stellar populations in the bulge-dominated region are obtained using stellar population models with variable element abundance ratios. Almost all the sample bulges are characterized by a young stellar population, on-going star formation, and a solar alpha/Fe enhancement. Their metallicity spans from high to sub-solar values. No significant gradient in age and alpha/Fe enhancement is measured, whereas only in a few cases a negative metallicity gradient is found. These properties suggest that a pure dissipative collapse is not able to explain formation of all the sample bulges and that other phenomena, like mergers or acquisition events, need to be invoked. Such a picture is also supported by the lack of a correlation between the central value and gradient of the metallicity in bulges with very low metallicity. The stellar populations of the bulges hosted by low surface-brightness discs share many properties with those of high surface-brightness galaxies. Therefore, they are likely to have common formation scenarios and evolution histories. A strong interplay between bulges and discs is ruled out by the fact that in spite of being hosted by discs with extremely different properties, the bulges of low and high surface-brightness discs are remarkably similar.

Green tea is a popular beverage, prepared with infusion of unfermented dried leaves of Camellia sinensis, and is one of the most relevant sources of polyphenolic compounds in the human diet. This study reports green tea flavan-3-ol absorption, metabolism and complete urinary excretion up to 48 h in 20 healthy volunteers. Urinary and tea samples were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Green tea contained monomeric flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins with a total polyphenol content of 728 μmol. A total of 41 metabolites were identified in urines, all present in conjugated forms. Among these, six colonic metabolites of green tea flavan-3-ols were identified for the first time after green tea consumption in humans. The average 48 h bioavailability was close to 62%, major contributors being microbial metabolites. Some volunteer showed a 100% absorption/excretion, whereas some others were unable to efficiently absorb/excrete this class of flavonoids. This suggests that colonic ring fission metabolism could be relevant in the putative bioactivity of green tea polyphenols.

The EC Regulation No. 1924/2006 on Nutrition and Health claims made on foods has generated considerable debate and concern among scientists and industry. At the time of writing, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has not approved any probiotic claims despite numerous human trials and meta-analyses showing evidence of beneficial effects. On 29th and 30th September 2010, ten independent, academic scientists with a documented record in probiotic research, met to discuss designs for future probiotic studies to demonstrate health benefits for gut and immune function. The expert panel recommended the following: (i) always formulate a precise and concrete hypothesis, and appropriate goals and parameters before starting a trial; (ii) ensure trials have sufficient sample size, such that they are adequately powered to reach statistically significant conclusions, either supporting or rejecting the a priori hypothesis, taking into account adjustment for multiple testing (this might necessitate more than one recruitment site); (iii) ensure trials are of appropriate duration; (iv) focus on a single, primary objective and only evaluate multiple parameters when they are hypothesis-driven. The panel agreed that there was an urgent need to better define which biomarkers are considered valuable for substantiation of a health claim. As a first step, the panel welcomed the publication on the day of the meeting of EFSA's draft guidance document on immune and gut health, although it came too late for study designs and dossiers to be adjusted accordingly. New validated biomarkers need to be identified in order to properly determine the range of physiological functions influenced by probiotics. In addition, validated biomarkers reflecting risk factors for disease, are required for article 14 claims (EC Regulation No. 1924/2006). Finally, the panel concluded that consensus among scientists is needed to decide appropriate clinical endpoints for trials.

The intestinal microbiota is an ecosystem formed by a variety of ecological niches, made of several bacterial species and a very large amount of strains. The microbiota is in close contact with the intestinal mucosa or epithelial interface which is, after the respiratory area, the largest surface of the body, occupying approximately 250-400 m(2). The physiological activities of the microbiota are manifold and are just being unraveled. Based on the observations of the multiple roles played by the microbiota in health and disease, the notion of modifying it with appropriate formulations, i.e. probiotics, is being tested in several settings. This review summarizes the current knowledge on probiotics and discusses both limitations and acquired evidence to support their use in preventive and therapeutic medicine.

We present the results of the VLT/VIMOS integral-field spectroscopic observations of the inner 28"x28" (3.1 kpc x 3.1 kpc) of the interacting spiral NGC 5719, which is known to host two co-spatial counter-rotating stellar discs. At each position in the field of view, the observed galaxy spectrum is decomposed into the contributions of the spectra of two stellar and one ionised-gas components. We measure the kinematics and the line strengths of the Lick indices of the two stellar counter-rotating components. We model the data of each stellar component with single stellar population models that account for the alpha/Fe overabundance. We also derive the distribution and kinematics of the ionised-gas disc, that is associated with the younger, less rich in metals, more alpha-enhanced, and less luminous stellar component. They are both counter-rotating with respect the main stellar body of the galaxy. These findings prove the scenario where gas was accreted first by NGC 5719 onto a retrograde orbit from the large reservoir available in its neighbourhoods as the result of the interaction with its companion NGC 5713, and subsequently fuelled the in situ formation of the counter-rotating stellar disc.

A method for isolating potential probiotic lactobacilli directly from traditional milk-based foods was developed. The novel digestion/enrichment protocol was set up taking care to minimize the protective effect of milk proteins and fats and was validated testing three commercial fermented milks containing well-known probiotic Lactobacillus strains. Only probiotic bacteria claimed in the label were isolated from two out of three commercial fermented milks. The application of the new protocol to 15 raw milk samples and 6 traditional fermented milk samples made it feasible to isolate 11 potential probiotic Lactobacillus strains belonging to Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus johnsonii, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus vaginalis species. Even though further analyses need to ascertain functional properties of these lactobacilli, the novel protocol set-up makes it feasible to isolate quickly potential probiotic strains from traditional milk-based foods reducing the amount of time required by traditional procedures that, in addition, do not allow to isolate microorganisms occurring as sub-dominant populations.

International audience; Health claims for probiotics are evaluated by the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies of the European Food Safety Authority. Despite a substantial amount of basic and clinical research on the beneficial effects of probiotics, all of the evaluated claim applications thus far have received a negative opinion. With the restrictions on the use of clinical endpoints, validated biomarkers for gut health and immune health in relation to reduction in disease risk are needed. Clear-cut criteria for design as well as evaluation of future studies are needed. An open dialogue between basic and clinical scientists, regulatory authorities, food and nutrition industry, and consumers could bridge the gap between science and marketing of probiotics.

Bacteria used to ferment milk to obtain yogurt belong to thermophilic, bile-sensitive species of lactic acid bacteria, which are not ideally suited for survival into the human gut. However, assessing the viability of these bacteria through the digestive tract may be relevant to evaluate their potential to deliver some beneficial effects for the well-being of the consumer. The well-known reduction in the symptoms caused by lactose maldigestion is not the only benefit provided by yogurt starter cultures; some additional effects will be reviewed here, with special attention paid to data that may suggest a strain-dependent effect, features that are not present with lactose hydrolysis.

Nuclear stellar discs (NSDs), of a few tens to hundreds of parsec across, are a common and yet poorly studied feature of early-type galaxies. Still, such small discs represent a powerful tool to constrain the assembling history of galaxies, since they can be used to trace to the epoch when galaxies experienced their last major merger event. By studying the fraction and stellar age of NSDs, it is thus possible to test the predictions for the assembly history of early-type galaxies according to the current hierarchical paradigm for galaxy formation. In this paper we have produced the most comprehensive census of NSDs in nearby early-type galaxies by searching for such discs in objects within 100 Mpc and by using archival images from the Hubble Space Telescope. We found that NSDs are present in approximately 20 per cent of early-type galaxies, and that the fraction of galaxies with NSDs depends neither on their Hubble type nor on their galactic environment, whereas the incidence of NSDs appears to decline in the most massive systems. Furthermore, we have separated the light contribution of 12 such discs from that of their surrounding stellar bulge in order to extract their physical properties. This doubles the number of decomposed NSDs and although the derived values for their central surface brightness and scalelength are consistent with previous studies, they also give a hint of possible different characteristics due to different formation scenario between nuclear discs and other kinds of large galactic discs.

We present 2323 High-Amplitude \delta-Scuti (HADS) candidates discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) by the SuperMACHO survey (Rest et al. 2005). Frequency analyses of these candidates reveal that several are multimode pulsators, including 119 whose largest amplitude of pulsation is in the fundamental (F) mode and 19 whose largest amplitude of pulsation is in the first overtone (FO) mode. Using Fourier decomposition of the HADS light curves, we find that the period-luminosity (PL) relation defined by the FO pulsators does not show a clear separation from the PL-relation defined by the F pulsators. This differs from other instability strip pulsators such as type c RR Lyrae. We also present evidence for a larger amplitude, subluminous population of HADS similar to that observed in Fornax (Poretti et al. 2008)., Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures, AJ accepted

Since its launch on October 2002, the INTEGRAL satellite has revolutionized our knowledge of the hard X-ray sky thanks to its unprecedented imaging capabilities and source detection positional accuracy above 20 keV. Nevertheless, many of the newly-detected sources in the INTEGRAL sky surveys are of unknown nature. However, the combined use of available information at longer wavelengths (mainly soft X-rays and radio) and of optical spectroscopy on the putative counterparts of these new hard X-ray objects allows pinpointing their exact nature. Continuing our long-standing program running since 2004 (and with which we identified more than 100 INTEGRAL objects) here we report the classification, through optical spectroscopy, of 25 unidentified high-energy sources mostly belonging to the recently published 4th IBIS survey., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 1 table; accepted for publication in the Proceedings of HEPRO-II Conference (International Journal of Modern Physics D, in press; eds. G.E. Romero, F.A. Aharonian and J.M. Paredes)

To systematically evaluate and update evidence on the efficacy and safety of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis CNCM I-3446 supplementation in preterm infants. The Cochrane Library and MEDLINE databases and major pediatric conference proceedings were searched in December 2008 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The company that manufactures B lactis was contacted for unpublished data. The review was restricted to RCTs performed in preterm infants or = 2 (3 RCTs, n = 293, risk ratio [RR] 0.53, 95% CI 0.16-1.83), risk of sepsis (2 RCTs, 397 cultures, RR 0.6, 95% CI 0.07-5.2), and use of antibiotics (2 RCTs, n = 255, RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.28-1.62). The power of these studies, however, does not allow for a definitive statement regarding a reduced risk of necrotizing enterocolitis. B lactis supplementation did have some effects on anthropometric parameters. No adverse events associated with B lactis supplementation were reported. Evidence regarding the potential beneficial effects of B lactis supplementation in preterm infants is encouraging. Further studies to assess clinically relevant outcomes are needed

Recent investigations clearly indicate that the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus paracasei IMPC2.1 can be incorporated into vegetables to obtain innovative probiotic foods whose marketing has been authorized by the Italian Ministry of Health. In this study, strain IMPC2.1 was characterized at a molecular level in order to define its taxonomic position and to develop a PCR test for strain-specific identification. Molecular methods, such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multiplex PCR, have provided evidence that strain IMPC2.1 indeed belongs to the L. paracasei species. In addition, a cluster analysis of fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (f-AFLP) data strongly indicated that strain IMPC2.1 and nine other L. paracasei strains (including strain ATCC 334) belong to the same species and are definitely differentiated from the type strain L. casei ATCC 393. The f-AFLP technique was also used to identify a strain-specific DNA fragment of L. paracasei IMPC2.1 — encoding an amino acid sequence similar to a glycosyltransferase of probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus HN001 — which enabled us to develop a rapid PCR test for strain-specific identification. The strain-specificity of the PCR test was assessed by comparison with a total of 73 bacterial strains mainly isolated from vegetable products that did not produce any amplified fragment. These strains belonged to the L. paracasei species, to 6 additional species of Lactobacillus and to Weissella cibaria, W. confusa, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pediococcus pentosaceus. A method similar to the one used in this study can be adopted to develop easy, rapid detection techniques for monitoring other bacteria in complex microbiota.

The transferability of a large plasmid that harbors a tetracycline resistance gene tet(S), to fish and human pathogens was assessed using electrotransformation and conjugation. The plasmid, originally isolated from fish intestinal Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis KYA-7, has potent antagonistic activity against the selected recipients (Lactococcus garvieae and Listeria monocytogenes), preventing conjugation. Therefore the tetracycline resistance determinant was transferred via electroporation to L. garvieae. A transformant clone was used as the donor in conjugation experiments with three different L. monocytogenes strains. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing the transfer of an antibiotic resistance plasmid from fish-associated lactic bacteria to L. monocytogenes, even if the donor L. garvieae was not the original host of the tetracycline resistance but experimentally created by electroporation. These results demonstrate that the antibiotic resistance genes in the fish intestinal bacteria have the potential to spread both to fish and human pathogens, posing a risk to aquaculture and consumer safety.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma is a major player in maintaining intestinal mucosa homeostasis, but whether PPAR-gamma is directly involved in probiotic-mediated effects and the molecular events involved in its activation are not known.We investigated the role of PPAR-gamma in the immunomodulatory effects of Lactobacillus crispatus M247 on intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) and the role of probiotic-derived H(2)O(2) on PPAR-gamma activity.L crispatus M247 supplementation in mice significantly increased PPAR-gamma levels and transcriptional activity in the colonic mucosa. L crispatus M247 induced PPAR-gamma nuclear translocation and enhanced transcriptional activity in epithelial (CMT-93) cells, as demonstrated by the increased luciferase activity of a PPAR-gamma-responsive element, PPAR-gamma-responsive gene up-regulation, and reduced activity of an nuclear factor-kappaB-responsive element. Pharmacologic PPAR-gamma inhibition or silencing by small interfering RNA cancelled the L crispatus M247-mediated effects in CMT-93 cells. Because Lactobacillus strains producing little H(2)O(2) failed to activate PPAR-gamma, we investigated the role of L crispatus M247-derived H(2)O(2) in PPAR-gamma activation. L crispatus M247 induced a transient rise in intracellular H(2)O(2) and PPAR-gamma transcriptional activity was cancelled by antioxidant or H(2)O(2) scavenger. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 was not required for PPAR-gamma up-regulation mediated by L crispatus M247 in mice, although the protective effects of L crispatus M247 on dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis were less pronounced in TLR-2(-/-) mice.L crispatus M247 uses H(2)O(2) as a signal transducing molecule to induce PPAR-gamma activation in IEC, directly modulating epithelial cell responsiveness to inflammatory stimuli.

The gastrointestinal tract of neonates becomes colonized immediately after birth with environmental microorganisms, mainly from the mother; strong evidence suggests that the early composition of the microbiota of neonates plays an important role for the postnatal development of the immune system. The present study was designed to evaluate by means of a molecular biology approach the relation between the intestinal ecosystem of the newborn and the mode of delivery. The intestinal bacterial composition on d 3 of life was investigated in 23 infants born by vaginal delivery and in 23 infants delivered by cesarean section. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and PCR-temperature gradient gel electrophoresis have been utilized, together with the specific amplifications for 10 Bifidobacterium species, 3 Ruminococcus species, and Bacteroides. The intestinal microbiota of neonates delivered by cesarean delivery appears to be less diverse, in terms of bacteria species, than the microbiota of vaginally delivered infants. The intestinal microbiota after cesarean delivery is characterized by an absence of Bifidobacteria species. Vaginally delivered neonates, even if they showed individual microbial profiles, were characterized by predominant groups such as B. longum and B. catenulatum. Our data demonstrate that the mode of delivery has a deep impact on the composition of the intestinal microbiota at the very beginning of human life. This study opens the path to further investigations to confirm the link between microbiota composition and immune system development and to identify tools for the modulation of the intestinal microbiota of cesarean-delivered neonates. Additionally, we underline the importance of adequate microbiological tools used to support clinically relevant trials, if intestinal microbiota is considered as a study outcome.

The postnatal period of a new human being is characterized, from the microbiological point of view, by the formation of a new ecosystem: the microflora of the human gut. In adulthood a number of barriers exert a potent selective action on bacteria arriving from the mouth, but in the very first stage of our life, these barriers are kept at a very low level, temporarily allowing penetration into the gut of bacteria that are not really believed to be "gut related." Moreover, type of delivery (natural vs. cesarean) and feeding (breast vs. bottle feeding) play dramatic roles in determining the microflora composition. In the last decade a number of articles have reported results on neonates' microflora obtained by means of culture-independent analysis. Data obtained by means of these techniques are in agreement with those produced by selective media, but they also provide some new insights about the presence of anaerobic bacteria. The focus of this article is to update knowledge on infants' microflora during the first 6 mo of life.

We evaluated the relationship between the intestinal microbiota composition and clinical outcome in a group of 15 high-risk patients admitted for acute infection and/or surgical/accidental trauma who were treated with systemic antibiotics according to standard intensive care unit (ICU) protocols. There was a high mortality rate amongst these patients, each of whom had a considerable organ failure score at admission, respiratory assistance during the most of their ICU stay and a long length of stay. All of these individuals received sedation and enteral nutrition, and the majority also received insulin, vasoactive drugs and some stress-ulcer prophylaxis agents. The intestinal microbiota composition was assessed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), a molecular biology tool used to characterize bacterial ecosystems. As all of the patient subjects were in good health prior to their acute illness and admission to the ICU, the first faecal samples obtained from this group showed a DGGE banding pattern that was similar to that of healthy subjects. After 1 week of critical illness, coupled with intensive care treatment, including antibiotics, a very definite alteration in the overall microbiota composition was evident, as revealed by a reduction in the number of DGGE bands. Further pronounced changes to the DGGE banding profiles could be observed in patients remaining in the ICU for 2 weeks. Moreover, a dominant band, identified by sequencing as highly related to Enterococcus, was detected in the DGGE profile of some of our patient subjects. We also performed real-time PCR and obtained results that were in agreement with our qualitative evaluations using DGGE. The degree of organ failure and ICU mortality was significantly higher in patients for whom a high reduction in microbiota biodiversity was coupled with a massive presence of enterococci. A statistically significant link between these two ecological traits and the use of clindamycin was also found.

(abridged) Photometry and long-slit spectroscopy are presented for a sample of 6 galaxies with a low surface brightness stellar disc and a bulge. The stellar and ionised-gas kinematics were measured along the major and minor axis in half of the sample galaxies, whereas the other half was observed only along two diagonal axes. Spectra along two diagonal axes were obtained also for one of the objects with major and minor axis spectra. The kinematic measurements extend in the disc region out to a surface-brightness level mu_R~24mag/arcsec^2 reaching in all cases the flat part of the rotation curve. The stellar kinematics turns out to be more regular and symmetric than the ionised-gas kinematics, which often shows the presence of non-circular, off-plane, and non-ordered motions. This raises the question about the reliability of the use of the ionised gas as the tracer of the circular velocity in the modeling of the mass distribution, in particular in the central regions of low surface brightness galaxies., Accepted for pubblication on MNRAS (11 figures and 15 tables)

Aggregation process affects the ability of Lactobacillus crispatus, a probiotic, to survive into the gastro-intestinal environment and to adhere to the intestinal mucosa. To elucidate mechanisms underlying this process, a comparative proteomic study was carried out on a wild type strain M247 and its spontaneous isogenic mutant Mu5, which had lost the aggregative phenotype. Results highlighted an overall lower amount of enzymes involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism in strain M247 compared to strain Mu5, suggesting a reduction in the general growth rate, probably caused by nutrient limitation in cell aggregates, coherently with the phenotypic traits of the strains. Moreover, the up-regulation of a putative elongation factor Tu in the wild type M247 strain could suggest a role of this particular protein in the adhesion mechanism of L. crispatus.

Sara Soldi,1 Sotirios Vasileiadis,2 Francesca Uggeri,1 Mariachiara Campanale,3 Lorenzo Morelli,4 Maria Vittoria Fogli,5 Fiorella Calanni,5 Maria Grimaldi,5 Antonio Gasbarrini31AAT – Advanced Analytical Technologies Srl, Piacenza, Italy; 2Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Australia; 3Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Division, Catholic University of Rome, Rome, Italy; 4Microbiology Institute, Catholic University of Piacenza, Piacenza, Italy; 5Alfa Wassermann SpA, Bologna, ItalyAbstract: Rifaximin, with its low systemic absorption, may represent a treatment of choice for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), mainly due to its ability to act on IBS pathogenesis, through the influence on gut microbiota. The aim of the present study was to assess, by biomolecular tools, the rifaximin active modulation exerted on gut microbiota of non-constipated IBS patients. Fifteen non-constipated IBS subjects were treated with 550 mg rifaximin three times a day for 14 days. Stool samples were collected before starting the treatment, at the end of it, and after a 6-week washout period. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, and next-generation sequencing were applied to all the samples to verify and quantify possible microbial fluctuations. Rifaximin treatment did not affect the overall composition of the microbiota of the treated subjects, inducing fluctuations in few bacterial groups, balanced by the replacement of homologs or complementary bacterial groups. Rifaximin appeared to influence mainly potentially detrimental bacteria, such as Clostridium, but increasing the presence of some species, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. A decrease in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio after 14 days of treatment and bacterial profiles with higher biodiversity were observed during the follow-up compared to baseline. Rifaximin treatment, although effective on IBS symptom relief and normalization of lactulose breath test, did not induce dramatic shifts in the microbiota composition of the subjects, stimulating microbial reorganization in some populations toward a more diverse composition. It was not possible to speculate on differences of fecal microbiota modification between responders vs nonresponders and to correlate the quali-/quantitative modification of upper gastrointestinal microbiota and clinical response.Keywords: IBS, rifaximin, next-generation sequencing, microbiota

The link between diet and health has been recognized since the Grecian period; as Hippocrates said, "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food". Although the primary goals of diet are meeting nutritional requirements and providing energy, there is increasing awareness that a correct and balanced diet may prevent the insurgence of diet-related pathologies and/or improve well-being and life expectancy, also reflecting on the ageing process. Research on the interaction among nutrients, gut microbiota and host metabolism is presently unravelling the molecular mechanisms underlying the positive and negative effects of traditional diets on health and ageing, providing useful information for the design of innovative foods targeting specific needs and segments of the population. The food supply chain plays a key role in ensuring quality and safety through both comprehensive quality management and inspection systems and a focused innovation process mainly devoted to the creation of functional foods. However, innovation and scientific development pose a problem of information asymmetry towards final consumers; thus, regulatory aspects and private and public communication strategies must be efficiently developed.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) affects predominantly preterm infants, who have specific risk factors leading to intestinal dysbiosis. Manipulations of gut microbiota through probiotics have the potential to prevent NEC.The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of probiotics for NEC prevention in preterm infants, with a focus on specific strains, microbiological strength of currently available studies, and high-risk populations.PubMed and the Cochrane Library were searched for trials published within 4th February 2015. Randomized-controlled trials reporting on NEC and involving preterm infants who were given probiotics in the first month of life were included in the systematic review.Twenty-six studies were suitable for inclusion in the meta-analysis.Data about study design, population, intervention and outcome were extracted and summarized independently by two observers. Study quality and quality of evidence were also evaluated.Fixed-effects models were used and random-effects models where significant heterogeneity was present. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore sources of heterogeneity among studies. Results were expresses as risk ratio (RR) with 95 % confidence interval (CI).The main outcome was incidence of NEC stage ≥2 according to Bell's criteria.Probiotics prevented NEC in preterm infants (RR 0.47 [95 % CI 0.36-0.60], p

We disentangle two counter-rotating stellar components in NGC 4191 and characterize their physical properties (kinematics, morphology, age, metallicity, and abundance ratio). We performed a spectroscopic decomposition on integral field data to separate the contribution of two stellar components to the observed galaxy spectrum across the field of view. We also performed a photometric decomposition, modelling the galaxy with a S\'ersic bulge and two exponential disks of different scale length, with the aim of associating these structural components with the kinematic components. We measured the equivalent width of the absorption line indices on the best fit that represent the kinematic components and compared our measurements to the predictions of stellar population models. We have evidence that the line-of-sight velocity distributions (LOSVDs) are consistent with the presence of two distinct kinematic components. The combined information of the intensity of the LOSVDs and photometry allows us to associate the S\'ersic bulge and the outer disk with the main kinematic component, and the inner disk with the secondary kinematic component. The two kinematic stellar components counter-rotate with respect to each other. The main component is the most luminous and massive, and it rotates slower than the secondary component, which rotates along the same direction as the ionized gas. We also found that the two kinematic components have the same solar metallicity and sub-solar abundance ratio, without the presence of significant radial gradients. On the other hand, their ages show strong negative gradients and the possible indication that the secondary component is the youngest. We interpret our results in light of recent cosmological simulations and suggest gas accretion along two filaments as the formation mechanism of the stellar counter-rotating components in NGC 4191 (Abridged)., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Methanogens commonly inhabit swine intestine. We analyzed the gut archaeal population by extracting DNA from the feces of nine piglets. We performed PCR to target the V6-V8 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Subsequent denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed the presence of Methanobrevibacter boviskoreani, which has not previously been identified in pigs. We confirmed these data with a PCR-DGGE analysis of the mcrA gene, and subsequent sequencing. At 63 days old, the only band in fecal samples corresponded to M. boviskoreani. The DGGE analysis also showed that Methanobrevibacter smithii, which was abundant at 28 days, was dramatically reduced at 42 days, and it completely disappeared at 63 days. To confirm these data, we quantified M. smithii and the total archaeal population by quantitative PCR (qPCR); moreover, we designed a new set of species-specific primers based on the 16S rRNA gene of M. boviskoreani. The qPCR results confirmed the reduction in M. smithii over time and a simultaneous increase in M. boviskoreani. At 63 days, the total numbers of archaea and M. boviskoreani genomes were comparable, which suggested that M. boviskoreani represented the dominant archaea. This work showed that the archaeal population shifted during weaning, and M. boviskoreani replaced M. smithii.

The term microbiome defines the overall amount of microbial genes harbored by the microbiota, the microbes inhabiting the human intestinal tract, this makes up approximately 150 thousands genes that add to our genome to assembly an interactive meta-genome. Probiotics, defined according to the FAO/WHO documents and by an ISAPP consensus meeting have always been part of human diet in a variety of fermented foods, and, nowadays are the object of possible interventions aimed at restoring microbiota healthy balance. Recent genomic studies are clearly suggesting that the microbiota plays a role in a large number of physiological functions, far beyond the digestive ones. The most relevant symbiotic functions of microbial community structure and its genomic composition are represented by its critical contribute to resistance to the infections, and more broadly by its influence on the immune system activity which in turn modulates the composition of the gut microbiota. Recent advances in neurosciences have also shown the relevant role of the so-called “Gut-brain axis” meaning that gut’s bacterial community has a deep impact on the nervous system. These relevant roles of microbiota make it worthwhile to study factors that shape its composition. This is indeed influenced by several internal and external factors such as the initial intestinal colonization at birth, the genetic background of the host, intercurrent antibiotic treatments and, on top of all these, diet. The possible changes of microbiota during pregnancy are still under debate. Gut microbiota is probably undergoing a dramatic remodeling in order to exploit food energy at its best. Changes that might impact and contribute to changing immunomodulation by the end of pregnancy are still controversial. Pregnant stool samples collected during the third trimester showed an enrichment in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, similar to the situation detected in inflammatory bowel disease and obesity, as well as the reduction of health-related bacteria such as Faecalibacterium, a butyrate-producing bacteria with anti-inflammatory effects. These intriguing findings are in contrast with those reported later by other studies in which little or no modifications of the faecal microbiota composition were reported during early and late pregnancy. These controversies do not dwarf the importance of macrobiotic in pregnancy, rather they underline the quest for future studies

Bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance (AR) genes may represent a hazard for human health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the origin, cell number, biotype, phenotypic and genotypic AR profile of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) isolated from the production chain of Salame Piacentino . The 390 isolates were genetically ascribed to 98 different strains belonging to 13 Staphylococcus species: Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus pasteuri were the predominant followed by Staphylococcus hominis , Staphylococcus cohnii and Staphylococcus epidermidis . Eight antibiotic resistant strains, isolated from skin and salami samples, were detected in different steps along the manufacturing process. Determination of the minimum inhibition concentrations of all CNS strains showed a high frequency of phenotypic tetracycline and erythromycin (83.7% and 68.4% respectively) and a lower kanamycin (40.8%) resistant. The most frequently detected AR genes were erm C (37.8%), tet (L) and tet (K) (31.6% and 34.7% respectively) mainly in skin before washing with water at 65 °C and in faeces samples, but only S. xylosus harbouring tet (K) gene was detected during the salami ripening. Our findings show that, the production chain of Salame Piacentino is a source of antibiotic resistant CNS, but the salami manufacturing process leads a strong reduction of the antibiotic resistant strains and the hazard for human health.

Small kinematically-decoupled stellar discs with scalelengths of a few tens of parsec are known to reside in the centre of galaxies. Different mechanisms have been proposed to explain how they form, including gas dissipation and merging of globular clusters. Using archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging and ground-based integral-field spectroscopy, we investigated the structure and stellar populations of the nuclear stellar disc hosted in the interacting SB0 galaxy NGC 1023. The stars of the nuclear disc are remarkably younger and more metal rich with respect to the host bulge. These findings support a scenario in which the nuclear disc is the end result of star formation in metal enriched gas piled up in the galaxy centre. The gas can be of either internal or external origin, i.e. from either the main disc of NGC 1023 or the nearby satellite galaxy NGC 1023A. The dissipationless formation of the nuclear disc from already formed stars, through the migration and accretion of star clusters into the galactic centre is rejected., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS in press, updated references

The use of bacteria as beneficial biological agents being used as food ingredients or as active components of food supplements dates back to the early 1900s. These bacteria must reach the human gut in a viable form and in numbers sufficiently high to attain a substantial presence amongst the thousands of bacteria inhabiting the gut; they have also to exert some beneficial action. These beneficial actions have been supported by hundreds of papers, the vast majority of them dealing with subjects in which the ratio among the different bacterial groups of the gut were altered by pathological conditions; the administration of probiotic bacteria are able to restore the function of the gut microbiota. In healthy people the action of probiotics is possibly related to different mechanisms, linked to strain-specific action of probiotics and relying on the replacement of some autochthonous bacteria with specifically selected probiotic strains.

Intestinal microflora has metabolic, trophic and protective functions, and can be modified in pathological conditions and by the exogenous administration of probiotics. Probiotics are defined as living microorganisms which resist gastric, bile, and pancreatic secretions, attach to epithelial cells and colonize the human intestine. In the last twenty years research has been focused on the identification of the role of planktonic flora and adhesive bacteria in health and disease, and on the requisite of bacterial strains to become probiotic product which can be marketed. Probiotics can be commercialized either as nutritional supplements, pharmaceuticals or foods, but the marketing as a pharmaceutical product requires significant time, complex and costly research, and the demonstration of a well-defined therapeutic target. This review examines the sequential steps of research which, from the identification of a possible probiotic strain, lead to its production and marketing, summarizing the whole process existing behind its development, through its growth in laboratory, the studies performed to test its resistance to human secretions and stability, microencapsulation technologies, and safety tests.

Optical spectroscopic identification of the nature of 21 unidentified southern hard X-ray objects is reported here in the framework of our campaign aimed at determining the nature of newly-discovered and/or unidentified sources detected by INTEGRAL. Our results show that 5 of these objects are magnetic Cataclysmic Variables (CVs), 4 are High-Mass X-ray Binaries (HMXBs; one of which is in the Large Magellanic Cloud) and 12 are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). When feasible, the main physical parameters for these hard X-ray sources are also computed using the multiwavelength information available in the literature. These identifications further underscore the importance of INTEGRAL in the study of the hard X-ray spectrum of AGNs, HMXBs and CVs, and the usefulness of a strategy of catalogues cross-correlation plus optical spectroscopy to securely pinpoint the actual nature of the X-ray sources detected with INTEGRAL., 14 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication on A&A, main journal. Figures 1 and 2 and Table 1 will only appear on the on-line version of the paper

Probiotic research is progressing rapidly with strong scientific-based observations. New molecular biologic techniques for the more accurate identification of intestinal microflora and seminal studies that have helped define the function of commensal bacteria in the gut have been reported recently. In functional terms, new techniques are operational to study the affect of microbial–host “crosstalk” between both bacteria and the host. Probiotics have been shown to initiate the activation of specific genes localized to these cells. Both the bacterial and host aspects of microbiota–host crosstalk can now be studied, in particular thanks to simplified in vivo gnotobiotic mouse models. Their functional genomic studies enable the screening for probiotic potential and for investigating the modulated expression of genes involved in a broad range of intestinal functions including regulation of nutrient uptake and metabolism, mucosal barrier and epithelial cell function, xenobiotic metabolism, and strengthening of the innate immune system. An important function of probiotics is its effect on the gut immune system. The latter may work by enhancing mucosal barrier function, preventing apoptosis of epithelial cells and ultimately, decreasing antigen uptake, especially in the small bowel. Clinically, there is strong evidence that some probiotics improve the digestibility of lactose and others prevent the recurrence of pouchitis after inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) surgery. There is reasonably strong evidence for the efficacy of probiotics in childhood infectious gastroenteritis and antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Recent data suggest the potential efficacy of probiotic strains in atopic eczema, IBD, Helicobacter pylori gastritis, neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis and as a substitute for inadequate initial neonatal colonization.

The ability of potentially probiotic strains of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paracasei to survive on artichokes for at least 90 days was shown. The anchorage of bacterial strains to artichokes improved their survival in simulated gastrointestinal digestion. L. paracasei IMPC2.1 was further used in an artichoke human feeding study involving four volunteers, and it was shown that the organism could be recovered from stools.

With the aim of developing new functional foods, a traditional product, the table olive, was used as a vehicle for incorporating probiotic bacterial species. Survival on table olives of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (three strains), Lactobacillus paracasei (two strains), Bifidobacterium bifidum (one strain), and Bifidobacterium longum (one strain) at room temperature was investigated. The results obtained using a selected olive sample demonstrated that bifidobacteria and one strain of L. rhamnosus ( Lactobacillus GG) showed a good survival rate, with a recovery of about 10 6 CFU g −1 after 30 days. The Lactobacillus GG population remained unvaried until the end of the experiment, while a slight decline (to about 10 5 CFU g −1 ) was observed for bifidobacteria. High viability, with more than 10 7 CFU g −1 , was observed throughout the 3-month experiment for L. paracasei IMPC2.1. This strain, selected for its potential probiotic characteristics and for its lengthy survival on olives, was used to validate table olives as a carrier for transporting bacterial cells into the human gastrointestinal tract. L. paracasei IMPC2.1 was recovered from fecal samples in four out of five volunteers fed 10 to 15 olives per day carrying about 10 9 to 10 10 viable cells for 10 days.

Orally consumed viable bacteria with proposed beneficial health effects, the so-called probiotics, are increasingly used to treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. It has been recently suggested that specifically selected lactobacilli could have a therapeutic role in female urogenital tract infections. It has been also suggested that some of these bacteria could be not intravaginally instilled, but also orally delivered. The authors investigate the ability of lactobacilli isolated from the vagina to survive gastrointestinal tract transit, and establish a link between the rate of intestinal survival and vaginal colonization.

The primary claim of probiotics is their beneficial influence on the intestinal ecosystem, which, in turn, may provide protection against gastro-intestinal infections. The positive actions on human health include antagonistic activity against pathogens, anti-allergic effects and other effects on the immune system. In recent years, the concept of probiotics evolved from food with beneficial, even if not clearly established, effects on well-being, to the new area of the nutraceuticals or functional foods. This concept was developed further into the biotherapeutics, which are the clinical applications of probiotic microorganisms originally selected for food use. Whereas several of these health claims remain controversial, well-planned clinical trials increasingly support the claims for some carefully selected probiotic strains. Aim of this review is to provide a first attempt to evaluate these two areas of use of probiotics and to draw a borderline between them. Only a more in-depth knowledge of the mechanisms underlying the probiotic effects will allow a clear discrimination between the food use and the clinical use.

A prototype of a reduced fat (60% w/w) edible table biospread, with an added viable, nongrowing, mixed-strain and potentially probiotic culture was developed. Conventional commercial aqueous-phase ingredient and reduced fat spread processing technologies were modified to achieve acceptable strain viability (≥ 10 5 cfu/mL) during scraped-surface heat exchange emulsion processing and biospread shelf life. The modifications consisted of: 1 spilt-stream pasteurization of the aqueous and lipid phases (thereby obviating the need for in-line pasteurization of the water-in-oil emulsion during processing); 2 reduction of the second scraped-surface tube-chiller A-unit agitation rate (thereby achieving a biphasic moisture droplet size distribution in the product); 3 emulsification, processing and packaging under oxygen-free nitrogen (thereby creating anaerobic conditions within the product); 4 employing a near-neutral pH, multicomponent, structured, hydrocolloid-stabilized aqueous phase. The viability of added bifidobacteria was markedly less than that of lactobacilli, in spite of the biospread ingredient and processing modifications employed. It is advocated that further improvement of bifidobacteria viability is warranted before progressing to the validation of biological properties in vivo and making a commercial biospread available to the consumer. Les consommateurs attendent de l'industrie laitiere des produits formules pour ameliorer leur composition nutritionnelle et ainsi contribuer a un nutrition plus saine. Dans cette etude un prototype de matiere grasse de table tartinable reduit en matiere grasse (60% p/p) enrichi d'un melange de souches bacteriennes viables probiotiques potentielles est developpe. Les technologies conventionnelles de production de matieres grasses tartinables a teneur reduite en matiere grasse sont modifiees pour une viabilite des souches acceptable (>10 5 cfu.ml) pendant le procede d'emulsion et la duree de conservation du produit. Malgre les modifications apportees au procede, la viabilite des bifidobacteries reste faible.

An expert panel was convened in October 2013 by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) to discuss the field of probiotics. It is now 13 years since the definition of probiotics and 12 years after guidelines were published for regulators, scientists and industry by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the WHO (FAO/WHO). The FAO/WHO definition of a probiotic--"live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host"--was reinforced as relevant and sufficiently accommodating for current and anticipated applications. However, inconsistencies between the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation Report and the FAO/WHO Guidelines were clarified to take into account advances in science and applications. A more precise use of the term 'probiotic' will be useful to guide clinicians and consumers in differentiating the diverse products on the market. This document represents the conclusions of the ISAPP consensus meeting on the appropriate use and scope of the term probiotic.

Observations spanning a large wavelength range, from X-ray to radio, of the Type IIb supernova 2011hs are presented, covering its evolution during the first year after explosion. The optical light curve presents a narrower shape and a fainter luminosity at peak than previously observed for Type IIb SNe. High expansion velocities are measured from the broad absorption H I and He I lines. From the comparison of the bolometric light curve and the time evolution of the photospheric velocities with hydrodynamical models, we found that SN 2011hs is consistent with the explosion of a 3-4 Msun He-core progenitor star, corresponding to a main sequence mass of 12-15 Msun, that ejected a mass of 56Ni of about 0.04 Msun, with an energy of E= 8.5 x 10^50 erg. Such a low-mass progenitor scenario is in full agreement with the modelling of the nebular spectrum taken at $\sim$215 days from maximum. From the modelling of the adiabatic cooling phase, we infer a progenitor radius of $\approx$500-600 Rsun, clearly pointing to an extended progenitor star. The radio light curve of SN 2011hs yields a peak luminosity similar to that of SN 1993J, but with a higher mass loss rate and a wind density possibly more similar to that of SN 2001ig. Although no significant deviations from a smooth decline have been found in the radio light curves, we cannot rule out the presence of a binary companion star., 25 pages, 19 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The Sa spiral NGC 4138 is known to host two counter-rotating stellar disks, with the ionized gas co-rotating with one of them. We measured the kinematics and properties of the two counter-rotating stellar populations to constrain their formation scenario. A spectroscopic decomposition of the observed major-axis spectrum was performed to disentangle the relative contribution of the two counter-rotating stellar and one ionized-gas components. The line-strength indices of the two counter-rotating stellar components were measured and modeled with single stellar population models that account for the alpha/Fe overabundance. The counter-rotating stellar population is younger, marginally more metal poor, and more alpha-enhanced than the main stellar component. The younger stellar component is also associated with a star-forming ring. The different properties of the counter-rotating stellar components of NGC~4138 rule out the idea that they formed due to bar dissolution. Our findings support the results of numerical simulations in which the counter-rotating component assembled from gas accreted on retrograde orbits from the environment or from the retrograde merging with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 3 on-line tables, accepted for publication in A&A

We present the stellar populations properties of the interacting spiral NGC 5719, which is known to host two cospatial counter-rotating stellar discs.

Context. The Vista Variables in the V\'ia L\'actea (VVV) ESO Public Survey is a variability survey of the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the disk carried out from 2010 on ESO Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). VVV will eventually deliver a deep near-IR atlas with photometry and positions in five passbands (ZYJHK_S) and a catalogue of 1-10 million variable point sources - mostly unknown - which require classifications. Aims. The main goal of the VVV Templates Project, that we introduce in this work, is to develop and test the machine-learning algorithms for the automated classification of the VVV light-curves. As VVV is the first massive, multi-epoch survey of stellar variability in the near-infrared, the template light-curves that are required for training the classification algorithms are not available. In the first paper of the series we describe the construction of this comprehensive database of infrared stellar variability. Methods. First we performed a systematic search in the literature and public data archives, second, we coordinated a worldwide observational campaign, and third we exploited the VVV variability database itself on (optically) well-known stars to gather high-quality infrared light-curves of several hundreds of variable stars. Results. We have now collected a significant (and still increasing) number of infrared template light-curves. This database will be used as a training-set for the machine-learning algorithms that will automatically classify the light-curves produced by VVV. The results of such an automated classification will be covered in forthcoming papers of the series., Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in A&A. Most of the data are now accessible through http://www.vvvtemplates.org/

In this study, we systematically evaluated safety aspects in clinical trials with probiotics and synbiotics in young infants (0-2 years of age). This study is an update of earlier reports and covers the recent literature from 2008-2013. The safety evaluation is performed along the Common Terminology Clinical Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 4.0 scale, hereby also providing guidance for future studies. Safety aspects are represented and related to number of participants per probiotic strain/culture, study duration, dosage, clinical condition and selected afflictions. The results show a deficiency in the precise reporting and classification of adverse events in most studies. Analysis of 57 clinical trials with probiotics and synbiotics in combination with eight follow-up studies indicate that probiotic administration to infants between 0 and 24 months is safe with regard to the evaluated strains in infants with a particular health status or susceptibility. Most adverse events and serious adverse events were considered unrelated to the study product, and there were no major safety concerns. Almost all studies concluded that none of the adverse effects were related to the study product; the study products are generally well tolerated. Finally, inconsistent, imprecise and potentially incomplete reporting as well as the variation in probiotic strains, dosages, administration regimes, study populations and reported outcomes, greatly limit the generalizability of conclusions and argue convincingly for obligatory and standardised behaviour on adverse events (CTCAE) reporting in 'food' studies.© 2014 Wageningen Academic Publishers.

Background & Aims Intestinal inflammation is a hallmark of cystic fibrosis (CF). Administration of probiotics can reduce intestinal inflammation and the incidence of pulmonary exacerbations. We investigated the composition of intestinal microbiota in children with CF and analyzed its relationship with intestinal inflammation. We also investigated the microflora structure before and after Lactobacillus GG (LGG) administration in children with CF with and without antibiotic treatment. Methods The intestinal microbiota were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Intestinal inflammation was assessed by measuring fecal calprotectin (CLP) and rectal nitric oxide (rNO) production in children with CF as compared with healthy controls. We then carried out a small double-blind randomized clinical trial with LGG. Results Twenty-two children with CF children were enrolled in the study (median age, 7 years; range, 2–9 years). Fecal CLP and rNO levels were higher in children with CF than in healthy controls (184±146 µg/g vs. 52±46 µg/g; 18±15 vs. 2.6±1.2 µmol/L NO2−, respectively; P

Minimum inhibitory contentrations (MICs) of selected inhibitors of cell wall synthesis (benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, and vancomycin), protein synthesis (gentamicin, streptomycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and erythromycin), and nucleic acid synthesis (co-trimoxazole, rifampicin, and metronidazole) were determined by gradient diffusion (E test; AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden) on deMan, Rogosa, Sharpe (MRS) agar for Lactobacillus strain GG and 11 closely related, rapidly growing, facultatively anaerobic, potentially probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains. All strains were resistant to vancomycin (MIC90 > or = 256 microg/ml), co-trimoxazole (MIC90 > or = 32 microg/ml), metronidazole (MIC90 > or = 32 microg/ml), gentamicin (MIC90 > or = 128 microg/ml), and streptomycin (MIC90 > or = 256 microg/ml), and sensitive to pencillin G (MIC90 > 0.375 microg/ml), ampicillin (MIC90 > 0.750 microg/ml), rifampicin (MIC90 > 0.375 microg/ml), tetracycline (MIC90 > 1.5 microg/ml), chloramphenicol (MIC90 > 8 microg/ml), and erythromycin (MIC90 > 2 microg/ml). E test MICs were also determined for L. acidophilus National Collection of Food Bacteria (NCFB) 1748 and L. reuteri Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen 20016T by the inoculum application method recommended by the manufacturer (swabbing), with and without antibiotic prediffusion for 1 h at room temperature, and by an alternative inoculum application (agar overlay) method, without antibiotic prediffusion. Antibiotic prediffusion increased the MICs for penicillin G, ampicillin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol by up to 2 log2 MIC dilutions without changing antibiotic susceptibility category. Agar overlay application also increased the MICs for these antibiotics as well as for gentamicin by up to 3 log2 MIC dilutions without changing antibiotic susceptibility category. Exact agreement between MICs determined by swab and agar overlay application without antibiotic prediffusion was strain dependent: 54.5% for strain DSM 20016T and 72.7% for strain NCFB 1748. The swab and agar overlay gradient diffusion methods provide a reliable basis for antibiotic susceptibility testing of rapidly growing, facultatively anaerobic lactobacilli, using MRS agar as test medium and are readily applicable for testing individual isolates as needed.