A dietary intervention for postmenopausal hot flashes: A potential role of gut microbiome. An exploratory analysis.

Objective: This study examined the role of gut microbiome changes in mediating the effects of a dietary intervention on the frequency and severity of postmenopausal vasomotor symptoms METHODS: Postmenopausal women (n = 84) reporting ≥2 moderate-to-severe hot flashes daily were randomly assigned, in 2 successive cohorts, to an intervention including a low-fat, vegan diet and cooked soybeans (½ cup [86 g] daily) or to stay on their usual diet. Over a 12-week period, frequency and severity of hot flashes were recorded with a mobile application. In a subset of 11 women, gut microbiome was analyzed at baseline and after 12 weeks of the dietary intervention (low-fat vegan diet with soybeans), using deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing.

Shallow shotgun sequencing reduces technical variation in microbiome analysis.

The microbiome is known to play a role in many human diseases, but identifying key microbes and their functions generally requires large studies due to the vast number of species and genes, and the high levels of intra-individual and inter-individual variation. 16S amplicon sequencing of the rRNA gene is commonly used for large studies due to its comparatively low sequencing cost, but it has poor taxonomic and functional resolution. Deep shotgun sequencing is a more accurate and comprehensive alternative for small studies, but can be cost-prohibitive for biomarker discovery in large populations.

Longitudinal transkingdom gut microbial approach towards decompensation in outpatients with cirrhosis.

Objective: First decompensation development is a critical milestone that needs to be predicted. Transkingdom gut microbial interactions, including archaeal methanogens, may be important targets and predictors but a longitudinal approach is needed.

Design: Cirrhosis outpatients who provided stool twice were included.

Transcriptomic Data Sets for Zymomonas mobilis 2032 during Fermentation of Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX)-Pretreated Corn Stover and Switchgrass Hydrolysates.

The transcriptomes of Zymomonas mobilis 2032 were captured during the fermentation of ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX)-pretreated corn stover and switchgrass hydrolysates containing different concentrations of glucose and xylose. RNA samples were collected when Z. mobilis was fermenting glucose or xylose.

Assessing the relationship between the rumen microbiota and feed efficiency in Nellore steers.

Background: Ruminants rely upon a complex community of microbes in their rumen to convert host-indigestible feed into nutrients. However, little is known about the association between the rumen microbiota and feed efficiency traits in Nellore (Bos indicus) cattle, a breed of major economic importance to the global beef market. Here, we compare the composition of the bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities in the rumen of Nellore steers with high and low feed efficiency (FE) phenotypes, as measured by residual feed intake (RFI).

Metagenomic Information Recovery from Human Stool Samples Is Influenced by Sequencing Depth and Profiling Method.

Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (16S) has long been a go-to method for microbiome characterization due to its accessibility and lower cost compared to shotgun metagenomic sequencing (SMS). However, 16S sequencing rarely provides species-level resolution and cannot provide direct assessment of other taxa (e.g.

The Bacterial and Fungal Microbiota of Nelore Steers Is Dynamic Across the Gastrointestinal Tract and Its Fecal-Associated Microbiota Is Correlated to Feed Efficiency.

The ruminant gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiome plays a major role in the health, physiology and production traits of the host. In this work, we characterized the bacterial and fungal microbiota of the rumen, small intestine (SI), cecum and feces of 27 Nelore steers using next-generation sequencing and evaluated biochemical parameters within the GIT segments. We found that only the bacterial microbiota clustered according to each GIT segment.

The Ruminococci: key symbionts of the gut ecosystem.

Mammalian gut microbial communities form intricate mutualisms with their hosts, which have profound implications on overall health. One group of important gut microbial mutualists are bacteria in the genus Ruminococcus, which serve to degrade and convert complex polysaccharides into a variety of nutrients for their hosts. Isolated decades ago from the bovine rumen, ruminococci have since been cultured from other ruminant and non-ruminant sources, and next-generation sequencing has further shown their distribution to be widespread in a diversity of animal hosts.

Enhanced aerobic exercise performance in women by a combination of three mineral Chelates plus two conditionally essential nutrients.

Background: Certain essential and conditionally essential nutrients (CENs) perform functions involved in aerobic exercise performance. However, increased intake of such nutrient combinations has not actually been shown to improve such performance.

Methods: For 1 mo, aerobically fit, young adult women took either a combination of 3 mineral glycinate complexes (daily dose: 36 mg iron, 15 mg zinc, and 2 mg copper) + 2 CENs (daily dose: 2 g carnitine and 400 mg phosphatidylserine), or the same combination with generic mineral complexes, or placebo ( = 14/group).

Sequence-based analysis of the genus resolves its phylogeny and reveals strong host association.

It has become increasingly clear that the composition of mammalian gut microbial communities is substantially diet driven. These microbiota form intricate mutualisms with their hosts, which have profound implications on overall health. For example, many gut microbes are involved in the conversion of host-ingested dietary polysaccharides into host-usable nutrients.

Correction: Directed Evolution Reveals Unexpected Epistatic Interactions That Alter Metabolic Regulation and Enable Anaerobic Xylose Use by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.

Directed Evolution Reveals Unexpected Epistatic Interactions That Alter Metabolic Regulation and Enable Anaerobic Xylose Use by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The inability of native Saccharomyces cerevisiae to convert xylose from plant biomass into biofuels remains a major challenge for the production of renewable bioenergy. Despite extensive knowledge of the regulatory networks controlling carbon metabolism in yeast, little is known about how to reprogram S. cerevisiae to ferment xylose at rates comparable to glucose.

Controlling microbial contamination during hydrolysis of AFEX-pretreated corn stover and switchgrass: effects on hydrolysate composition, microbial response and fermentation.

Background: Microbial conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks into biofuels remains an attractive means to produce sustainable energy. It is essential to produce lignocellulosic hydrolysates in a consistent manner in order to study microbial performance in different feedstock hydrolysates. Because of the potential to introduce microbial contamination from the untreated biomass or at various points during the process, it can be difficult to control sterility during hydrolysate production.

Engineering and two-stage evolution of a lignocellulosic hydrolysate-tolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for anaerobic fermentation of xylose from AFEX pretreated corn stover.

The inability of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to ferment xylose effectively under anaerobic conditions is a major barrier to economical production of lignocellulosic biofuels. Although genetic approaches have enabled engineering of S. cerevisiae to convert xylose efficiently into ethanol in defined lab medium, few strains are able to ferment xylose from lignocellulosic hydrolysates in the absence of oxygen.

Effect of storage conditions on the stability and fermentability of enzymatic lignocellulosic hydrolysate.

To minimize the change of lignocellulosic hydrolysate composition during storage, the effects of storage conditions (temperature, pH and time) on the composition and fermentability of hydrolysate prepared from AFEX™ (Ammonia Fiber Expansion - a trademark of MBI, Lansing, MI) pretreated corn stover were investigated. Precipitates formed during hydrolysate storage increased with increasing storage pH and time. The precipitate amount was the least when hydrolysate was stored at 4 °C and pH 4.

Soft-tissue reconstruction of the distal lower leg and foot: are free flaps the only choice? Review of 215 cases.

Free flaps are the first choice procedure to manage soft-tissue defect of the lower limb for many authors, but loco-regional pedicled flaps are an alternative since they were described in the 1980s. We analysed the changes in our practice to reconstruct soft-tissue defects of the distal third of the leg. A retrospective chart review identified 215 cases of distal leg soft-tissue defect treated in the department during 15 years.

[Pinctada margaritifera nacre (mother-of-pearl): physico-chemical and biomechanical properties, and in vitro cytocompatibility].

Purpose Of The Study: Pinctada maxima nacre (mother-of-pearl) has been recently proposed as a bone substitute. The purpose of this work was to assess the in vitro cytocompatibility of Pinctada margaritifera nacre and its physico-chemical and biomechanical properties.

Material And Methods: The cytocompatiblity was assessed in contact with human osteoprogenetic cells.

[Vascularized bone pedicle grafts of the hand and wrist: literature review and new donor sites].

Some situations in hand surgery require vascularized bone grafts. Good mechanical strength and decreased time for bone healing may explain their use. Although many donor sites have been described, the authors were interested by donor sites with a blood supply provided by an accessory vessel not disturbing the perfusion of the hand.

[Microsurgery and esthetic considerations. Two cases of heel reconstruction].

With two case reports of heel reconstruction on female patients the authors report the advantages and drawbacks of the two main types of reconstruction: free or regional flaps. Regional flaps are technically easy and reliable but their aesthetic after-effects on the donor site may be disabling, specially on the leg of a female patient. Microsurgery is technically more difficult and presents more complications specially on the lower limb.

Congenital fibrous hamartoma of the hand: a case report.

A patient with a rare localization of a congenital fibrous hamartoma of the hand is described, and the differential diagnosis is discussed. A review of the literature shows the rare frequency of localization of this lesion on the limb extremities.

[Shortening arthrodesis of three wrist bones].

In advanced cases of wrist osteoarthritis with lesions of the radio-scaphoid and mediocarpal joints, and when a proximal row carpectomy is not possible because of lesions of the head of the capitate, we suggest a new technique: The hamate-capitate-lunate shortening arthrodesis with a scaphoid-triquetral resection. The good results observed with proximal row carpectomies, and particularly their long-term reliability, have encouraged us on this new path. Effectively, this operation takes the concept of proximal row carpectomy one step further by reconstructing the head of the capitate with the lunate whose proximal articular surface is often not deteriorated even in very advanced cases of radio and mediocarpal osteoarthritis.

Arterial and portal blood supply in cirrhosis: a functional evaluation.

The uptake of (125)I albumin microaggregates (U-(125)I-AMA) from portal blood, during a single passage through the hepatic reticuloendothelial system, has been found to be generally decreased in cirrhosis. To investigate if a similar phenomenon occurs for the colloid flowing through the hepatic artery, the U-(125)I-AMA was first calculated in normal dogs after injection of a mixture of (51)Cr red blood cells ((51)Cr-RBC) and (125)I-AMA into the hepatic artery by comparing hepatic indicator dilution curves (IDC) obtained with both indicators. In nine dogs, the U-(125)I-AMA from hepatic artery blood was generally over 90%, as previously reported for the same colloid flowing through the portal vein in another group of normal dogs.