How Can We Advance Integrative Biology Research in Animal Science in 21st Century? Experience at University of Ljubljana from 2002 to 2022.

In this perspective analysis, we strive to answer the following question: how can we advance integrative biology research in the 21st century with lessons from animal science? At the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science, we share here our three lessons learned in the two decades from 2002 to 2022 that we believe could inform integrative biology, systems science, and animal science scholarship in other countries and geographies. Cultivating multiomics knowledge through a conceptual lens of integrative biology is crucial for life sciences research that can stand the test of diverse biological, clinical, and ecological contexts. Moreover, in an era of the current COVID-19 pandemic, animal nutrition and animal science, and the study of their interactions with human health (and vice versa) through integrative biology approaches hold enormous prospects and significance for systems medicine and ecosystem health.

Distinctive probiotic features share common TLR2-dependent signalling in intestinal epithelial cells.

The underlying mechanisms of probiotics and postbiotics are not well understood, but it is known that both affect the adaptive and innate immune responses. In addition, there is a growing concept that some probiotic strains have common core mechanisms that provide certain health benefits. Here, we aimed to elucidate the signalization of the probiotic bacterial strains Lactobacillus paragasseri K7, Limosilactobacillus fermentum L930BB, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp.

Nutrihealth Study: Seasonal Variation in Vitamin D Status Among the Slovenian Adult and Elderly Population.

Several studies conducted around the world showed substantial vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among different population groups. Sources of vitamin D in the human body include ultraviolet B (UVB)-light-induced biosynthesis and dietary intake, but people's diets are often poor in vitamin D. Furthermore, in many regions, sun exposure and the intensity of UVB irradiation during wintertime are not sufficient for vitamin D biosynthesis.

Efficacy of Using Probiotics with Antagonistic Activity against Pathogens of Wound Infections: An Integrative Review of Literature.

The skin and its microbiota serve as physical barriers to prevent invasion of pathogens. Skin damage can be a consequence of illness, surgery, and burns. The most effective wound management strategy is to prevent infections, promote healing, and prevent excess scarring.

Health Professionals' Knowledge of Probiotics: An International Survey.

The objective of this study was to survey health professionals to investigate their knowledge of probiotics. An online survey was conducted to gather data on the knowledge of health professionals. The online survey was distributed via email and social media platforms using snowball sampling.

Determination of Biogenic Amines in Cheese by Ion Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry Detection.

A new method for determination of underivatized biogenic amines in cheese based on ion exchange chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometric detection was proposed. The method was applied to the analysis of 10 biogenic amines (trimethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, 2-phenylethylamine, spermine, spermidine, tryptamine, agmatine, and tyramine) in different types of cheese. The amines were extracted only with water without any additional derivatization step or sample cleanup.

Microbes in Infant Gut Development: Placing Abundance Within Environmental, Clinical and Growth Parameters.

Sound and timely microbial gut colonization completes newborn's healthy metabolic programming and manifests in infant appropriate growth and weight development. Feces, collected at 3, 30, and 90 days after birth from 60 breastfed Slovenian newborns, was submitted to microbial DNA extraction and qPCR quantification of selected gut associated taxa. Multivariate regression analysis was applied to evaluate microbial dynamics with respect to infant demographic, environmental, clinical characteristics and first year growth data.

Effects of synbiotic fermented milk containing Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12 on the fecal microbiota of adults with irritable bowel syndrome: A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

We conducted a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentric study to investigate the influence of a synbiotic fermented milk on the fecal microbiota composition of 30 adults with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The synbiotic product contained Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5, Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis BB-12, Streptococcus thermophilus, and dietary fiber (90% inulin, 10% oligofructose), and a heat-treated fermented milk without probiotic bacteria or dietary fiber served as placebo.

Inulin-type fructan fermentation by bifidobacteria depends on the strain rather than the species and region in the human intestine.

Inulin-type fructans (ITF) are known to cause a health-promoting bifidogenic effect, although the ITF degradation capacity of bifidobacteria in different intestinal regions remains unclear. The present study aims at offering new insights into this link, making use of a collection of 190 bifidobacterial strains, encompassing strains from gut biopsies (terminal ileum and proximal colon; mucosa-associated strains) and the simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (SHIME®; proximal and distal colon vessels; lumen-associated strains). A multivariate data analysis of all fermentation data revealed four clusters corresponding with different types of ITF degradation fingerprints, which were not correlated with the region in the intestine, suggesting that the degradation of ITF is uniform along the human intestine.

Vitamin D Status and Its Determinants in Healthy Slovenian Pregnant Women.

Background/aims: Vitamin D deficiency is a common underdiagnosed condition. The aim of this was to analyze the status of vitamin D and its determinants in healthy Slovenian pregnant women.

Methods: A total of 132 volunteer pregnant women completed a questionnaire including baseline demographics, food frequency, physical activities; anthropometrical measurements, body mass index and levels of 25-(OH)D in serum were performed during the third trimester, and dietary intakes were assessed during the 27-28th week of gestation.

Comparison of a Web-Based Dietary Assessment Tool with Software for the Evaluation of Dietary Records.

Background: Dietary assessment in clinical practice is performed by means of computer support, either in the form of a web-based tool or software. The aim of the paper is to present the results of the comparison of a Slovenian web-based tool with German software for the evaluation of four-day weighted paper-and-pencil-based dietary records (paper-DRs) in pregnant women.

Methods: A volunteer group of pregnant women (n=63) completed paper-DRs.

Behavior of Staphylococcus aureus in culture broth, in raw and thermized milk, and during processing and storage of traditional Greek Graviera cheese in the presence or absence of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris M104, a wild, novel nisin A-producing raw milk isolate.

This study was conducted to evaluate the behavior of Staphylococcus aureus during processing, ripening, and storage of traditional Greek Graviera cheese in accordance with European Union Regulation 1441/2007 for coagulase-positive staphylococci in thermized milk cheeses. Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris M104, a wild, novel nisin A-producing (NisA+) strain, also was evaluated as an antistaphylococcal adjunct.

Comparison of paper- and web-based dietary records: a pilot study.

Background/aims: Paper-based dietary records (Paper-DR) can be replaced by web-based dietary records (Web-DR) in both epidemiological studies and clinical practice to reduce the time and logistic burden. We aimed to compare Paper-DR and Web-DR.

Methods: We compared the matching of different food items (n = 1,103) from Paper-DR and Web-DR for energy and 48 nutrients among 16 pregnant volunteers, with DR for the same individuals matched for the same 4 days.

Improved Draft Genome Sequence of Probiotic Strain Lactobacillus gasseri K7.

Lactobacillus gasseri K7 is an isolate from infant feces and has in vitro and in vivo established probiotic properties. Here, we report the improved version of the draft genome sequence, which comprises 8 scaffolds (13 contigs), a total length of 1.99 Mb, and 1,841 predicted protein-coding sequences.

Challenges in determining body fat in pregnant women.

Background/aims: Determining body composition in pregnant women is challenging as not all of the existing applicable methodologies can be used during pregnancy and not all of the methods have been properly standardized. The aim of this study was to compare the existing anthropometric methods for the evaluation of body composition, especially in pregnant women.

Methods: One hundred forty-seven pregnant volunteers aged [average (SD)] 31 years (± 4) in gestational week 32 (± 3) provided information on their age and prepregnancy body mass.

Association of dietary type with fecal microbiota in vegetarians and omnivores in Slovenia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover differences in the human fecal microbiota composition driven by long-term omnivore versus vegan/lacto-vegetarian dietary pattern. In addition, the possible association of demographic characteristics and dietary habits such as consumption of particular foods with the fecal microbiota was examined.

Methods: This study was conducted on a Slovenian population comprising 31 vegetarian participants (11 lacto-vegetarians and 20 vegans) and 29 omnivore participants.

Cryotrap/SPME/GC/MS method for profiling of monoterpenes in cheese and their clustering according to geographic origin.

A variant of purge/cryotrap/thaw/static headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) was developed as a means for preconcentrating Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) in cheese. An originally designed cryotrap partially filled with glass beads was employed that facilitated efficient flow-through of purging gas and trapping of the volatiles. In stopped-flow mode, thawing was allowed, and the same vessel was used for the exposure of the appropriate SPME fiber, effectively achieving double preconcentration.

Detection and quantification of probiotic strain Lactobacillus gasseri K7 in faecal samples by targeting bacteriocin genes.

Lactobacillus gasseri K7 is a probiotic strain that produces bacteriocins gassericin K7 A and K7 B. In order to develop a real-time quantitative PCR assay for the detection of L. gasseri K7, 18 reference strains of the Lactobacillus acidophilus group and 45 faecal samples of adults who have never consumed strain K7 were tested with PCR using 14 pairs of primers specific for gassericin K7 A and K7 B gene determinants.

Evaluation of Lactobacillus strains for selected probiotic properties.

Eleven strains of Lactobacillus collected in the Culture Collection of Dairy Microorganisms (CCDM) were evaluated for selected probiotic properties such as survival in gastrointestinal fluids, antimicrobial activity, and competition with non-toxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 for adhesion on Caco-2 cells. The viable count of lactobacilli was reduced during 3-h incubation in gastric fluid followed by 3-h incubation in intestinal fluid. All strains showed antimicrobial activity and the three most effective strains inhibited the growth of at least 16 indicator strains.

Wide-Inhibitory Spectra Bacteriocins Produced by Lactobacillus gasseri K7.

The aim of our study was to determine the genetic characterization and classification of Lb. gasseri K7 bacteriocins, comparison with bacteriocins of the Lb. gasseri LF221 strain and other related strains.

Chemiluminescence of non-differentiated THP-1 promonocytes: developing an assay for screening anti-inflammatory milk proteins and peptides.

Human leukemic THP-1 promonocytes are widely used as a model for peripheral blood monocytes. However, superoxide production during respiratory burst (RB) of non-differentiated THP-1 (nd-THP-1) cells is very low. Here we present a rapid and low-cost method for measuring the chemiluminescence (CL) of opsonized zymosan (OZ) induced RB which allows detection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced priming of nd-THP-1 cells on the basis of CL reaction kinetics.

Quantification of live and dead probiotic bacteria in lyophilised product by real-time PCR and by flow cytometry.

The basic requirement for probiotic bacteria to be able to exert expected positive effects is to be alive; therefore, appropriate quantification methods are crucial. Due to disadvantages of conventional microbiological methods, the bacterial quantification based on the nucleic acid detection is increasingly used. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possibility to use propidium monoazide (PMA) in combination with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method or LIVE/DEAD BacLight viability kit in combination with flow cytometry (FCM) for determination of probiotic bacteria in a lyophilised product containing Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis ssp.

Changes in the microbial composition of raw milk induced by thermization treatments applied prior to traditional Greek hard cheese processing.

The microbiological quality, safety, and composition of mixtures of ewe's and goat's milk (90:10) used for cheesemaking were evaluated before and after thermization at 60 and 67 degrees C for 30 s. Such mild thermal treatments are commonly applied to reduce natural contaminants of raw milk before processing for traditional hard Greek cheeses. Raw milk samples had an average total bacterial count of 7.