IntroductionSleep disturbance and sleep disruption are associated with chronic, low grade inflammation and may underpin a range of chronic diseases in night shift workers. Through modulation of the intestinal microbiota, probiotic supplements may moderate the effects of sleep disruption on the immune system. The aim of this study was to examine 14 days of daily probiotic supplementation on the acute response of acute phase proteins and immune markers to sleep disruption associated with night shift work (Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: 12617001552370).MethodsIndividuals (mean age 41 ± 11 yrs; 74% female) performing routine night shift were randomly assigned to a probiotic group (1 × 1010 colony forming units (CFU) Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1 or 1 × 1010 CFU Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis UABla-12) or placebo (n= 29 per group). Participants undertook a 14-day supplementation period that coincided with a period of no night shifts followed by two consecutive night shifts. Blood samples were collected prior to the start of supplementation (V1), prior to commencing the first night shift (V2), after the first night shift (V3) and after the second night shift (V4). Serum was assessed for markers of stress (cortisol), acute phase response (C reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, pentraxin), adhesion markers (serum E-selectin, mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1), and serum cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1ra, IL-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-10). Sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and a Fitbit activity tracker.ResultsThe groups were well balanced on key markers and the probiotic strains were well tolerated. The 14-day supplementation period that coincided with typical night-day sleep-wake cycles leading up to night shift (V1 to V2) was associated with significant changes in the placebo group in the concentration of serum cortisol (p = 0.01), pentraxin (p = 0.001), MAdCAM-1 (p = 0.001), and IL-1ra (p=0.03). In contrast, probiotic supplementation moderated changes in these serum markers from V1 to V2. No significant interaction effects (time by group) were observed for the serum markers prior to and after night shift work following probiotic supplementation due to the substantial changes in the serum markers that occurred during the normal sleep period from V1 to V2.ConclusionsProbiotics may moderate the effects of anticipatory stress on the immune system in the lead up to night shift.

Escalating plasma transfusion was associated with 30-day mortality, but female donor plasma recipients had less pulmonary dysfunction and fewer poor outcomes compared with male-only recipients. Although our retrospective study findings neither support nor refute a strategic policy to exclude female donor plasma to reduce catastrophic transfusion-related acute lung injury, they raise concern that such a policy may have unanticipated effects on outcome in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and highlight a need for additional studies in this and other patient groups.

Four females were studied during a 10-day heat acclimation regimen consisting of 2 h per day of stationary cycle riding (means = 46% VO2 max) in a hot environment (40 degrees C, 50% RH) to determine the effects of heat acclimation on changes in plasma volume and vascular protein both at rest and during exercise. Changes in plasma volume were calculated from hematocrit and hemoglobin measurements. Plasma volume decreased during each 2-h session on baseline days through heat day 6 (-4.9% to -1.2%). On heat days 8 and 10, there was an expansion of plasma volume during the session (1.4% and 0.8%). This hemodilution was significantly different (P less than 0.05) from the hemoconcentration on baseline through heat day 4. The gain of protein during the 2-h session was not significantly different on any of the heat days from that on baseline days. With acclimation of females to work in the heat, there is an increased ability to maintain the fluid of the vascular compartment during a 2-h exercise session in the heat.

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Objective Despite the move to at-home, small-volume collection kits to facilitate large population-based studies of faecal microbial compositional profiling, there remains limited reporting on potential impacts of faecal subsampling approaches on compositional profiles. This study aimed to compare the microbial composition from faecal subsamples (< 5 g) collected from the beginning and end of a single bowel movement in ten otherwise healthy adults (6 female, 4 male; age: 24–55 years). Microbial composition was determined by V3–V4 16s rRNA sequencing and compared between subsamples. Results There were no significant differences in OTU count (p = 0.32) or Shannon diversity index (p = 0.29) between the subsamples. Comparison of relative abundance for identified taxa revealed very few differences between subsamples. At the lower levels of taxonomic classification differences in abundance of the Bacillales (p = 0.02) and the Eubacteriaceae family (p = 0.03), and the Eubacterium genera (p = 0.03) were noted. The observation of consistent microbial compositional profiles between faecal subsamples from the beginning and end of a single bowel movement is an important outcome for study designs employing this approach to faecal sample collection. These findings provide assurance that use of a faecal subsample for microbial composition profiling is generally representative of the gut luminal contents more broadly.