We describe the public ESO near-IR variability survey (VVV) scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane where star formation activity is high. The survey will take 1929 h of observations with the 4-m VISTA telescope during 5 years (2010-2014), covering ˜109 point sources across an area of 520 deg2, including 33 known globular clusters and ˜350 open clusters. The final product will be a deep near-IR atlas in five passbands (0.9-2.5 μm) and a catalogue of more than 106 variable point sources. Unlike single-epoch surveys that, in most cases, only produce 2-D maps, the VVV variable star survey will enable the construction of a 3-D map of the surveyed region using well-understood distance indicators such as RR Lyrae stars, and Cepheids. It will yield important information on the ages of the populations. The observations will be combined with data from MACHO, OGLE, EROS, VST, Spitzer, HST, Chandra, INTEGRAL, WISE, Fermi LAT, XMM-Newton, GAIA and ALMA for a complete understanding of the variable sources in the inner Milky Way. This public survey will provide data available to the whole community and therefore will enable further studies of the history of the Milky Way, its globular cluster evolution, and the population census of the Galactic Bulge and center, as well as the investigations of the star forming regions in the disk. The combined variable star catalogues will have important implications for theoretical investigations of pulsation properties of stars

In recent years, the time-honored reputation of lactobacilli as promoters of gastrointestinal and female urogenital health has been qualified. This has occurred due to a rare association with human infection in the presence of certain predisposing factors and their potential to act as a source of undesirable antibiotic resistance determinants to other members of the indigenous microbiota. This necessitates greater caution in their selection for use in microbial adjunct nutrition and disease management (prophylaxis and therapy). It was against this background that 46 Lactobacillus strains from human and dairy sources were assayed for susceptibility to 44 antibiotics. All strains were resistant to a group of 14 antibiotics, which included inhibitors of cell wall synthesis (cefoxitin [30 microg] and aztreonam [30 microg]), protein synthesis (amikacin [30 microg], gentamicin [10 microg], kanamycin [30 microg], and streptomycin [10 microg]), nucleic acid synthesis (norfloxacin [10 microg], nalidixic acid [30 microg], sulphamethoxazole [100 microg], trimethoprim [5 microg], co-trimoxazole [25 microg], and metronidazole [5 microg]), and cytoplasmic membrane function (polymyxin B [300 microg] and colistin sulphate [10 microg]). All strains were susceptible to tetracycline (30 microg), chloramphenicol (30 microg), and rifampicin (5 microg). Four human strains and one dairy strain exhibited atypical resistance to a penicillin, bacitracin (10 microg), and/or nitrofurantoin (300 microg). One human strain was also resistant to erythromycin (15 microg) and clindamycin (2 microg). These resistances may have been acquired due to antibiotic exposure in vivo, but conclusive evidence is lacking in this regard. Seven microorganism-drug combinations were evaluated for beta-lactamase activity using synergy and nitrocefin tests. The absence of activity suggested that cell wall impermeability appeared responsible for beta-lactam resistance. The occurrence of a minority of lactobacilli with undesirable, atypical resistance to certain antibiotics demonstrates that not all strains are suitable for use as probiotics or bacteriotherapeutic agents. The natural resistance of lactobacilli to a wide range of clinically important antibiotics may enable the development of antibiotic/probiotic combination therapies for such conditions as diarrhea, female urogenital tract infection, and infective endocarditis.

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.

Photometry and long‐slit spectroscopy are presented for 14 S0 and spiral galaxies of the Fornax, Eridanus and Pegasus cluster, and NGC 7582 group. The structural parameters of the galaxies are derived from the R‐band images by performing a two‐dimensional photometric decomposition of the surface brightness distribution. This is assumed to be the sum of the contribution of a bulge and disc component characterized by elliptical and concentric isophotes with constant (but possibly different) ellipticity and position angles. The rotation curves and velocity dispersion profiles are measured from the spectra obtained along the major axis of galaxies. The radial profiles of the Hβ, Mg and Fe line‐strength indices are presented too. Correlations between the central values of Mg2, 〈Fe〉, Hβ and σ are found. The age, metallicity and α/Fe enhancement of the stellar population in the centre and at the radius where bulge and disc give the same contribution to the total surface brightness are obtained using stellar population models with variable element abundance ratios. Three classes of bulges are identified. The youngest bulges (∼2 Gyr) with ongoing star formation, intermediate‐age bulges (4–8 Gyr) have solar metallicity, and old bulges (∼10 Gyr) have high metallicity. Most of the sample bulges display solar α/Fe enhancement, no gradient in age and a negative gradient of metallicity. The presence of negative gradient in the metallicity radial profile favours a scenario with bulge formation via dissipative collapse. This implies strong inside‐out formation that should give rise to a negative gradient in the α/Fe enhancement too. But, no gradient is measured in the [α/Fe] radial profiles for all the galaxies, except for NGC 1366. In this galaxy there is a kinematically decoupled component, which is younger than the rest of host bulge. It possibly formed by enriched material probably acquired via interaction or minor merging. The bulge of NGC 1292 is the most reliable pseudo‐bulge of our sample. The properties of its stellar population are consistent with a slow build‐up within a scenario of secular evolution.

Growing evidence underlines the pivotal role of infant gut colonization in the development of the immune system. The possibility to modify gut colonization through probiotic supplementation in childhood might prevent atopic diseases. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and early infancy in preventing atopic diseases. PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating the use of probiotics during pregnancy or early infancy for prevention of allergic diseases. Fixed-effect models were used, and random-effects models where significant heterogeneity was present. Results were expressed as risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Seventeen studies, reporting data from 4755 children (2381 in the probiotic group and 2374 in the control group), were included in the meta-analysis. Infants treated with probiotics had a significantly lower RR for eczema compared to controls

Background & AimsIntestinal 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.MethodsThe 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.ResultsTwenty-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<0.01). Compared with healthy controls, children with CF had significantly different intestinal microbial core structures. The levels of Eubacterium rectale, Bacteroides uniformis, Bacteroides vulgatus, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium catenulatum, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were reduced in children with CF. A similar but more extreme pattern was observed in children with CF who were taking antibiotics. LGG administration reduced fecal CLP and partially restored intestinal microbiota. There was a significant correlation between reduced microbial richness and intestinal inflammation.ConclusionsCF causes qualitative and quantitative changes in intestinal microbiota, which may represent a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of CF. Administration of probiotics restored gut microbiota, supporting the efficacy of probiotics in reducing intestinal inflammation and pulmonary exacerbations.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT 01961661

Recognizing the possible beneficial effect of prebiotics in food, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a Technical meeting to start work on the evaluation of the functional and health properties of prebiotics. A group of international experts agreed on guidelines, recommended criteria, and methodology for conducting a systematic approach for the evaluation of prebiotics leading to its safe use in food. It was recommended that a full expert consultation be convened under the auspices of FAO. This work provides governments, industry, and consumers with scientific advice in relation to functional and health aspects of prebiotics and general guidance for the assessment of prebiotics in relation to their nutritional properties or safety. These guidelines may also be used by Member Countries and Codex Alimentarius to identify and define what data need to be available to accurately substantiate health and nutrition claims.

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.