Breastfeeding increases microbial community resilience

Objective

Since the present group had already described the composition of the intestinal microbiota of Brazilian infants under low social economic level, the aim of the present study was to analyze the microbial community structure changes in this group of infants during their early life due to external factors.

Association between maternal prepregnancy obesity and breastfeeding duration: Data from a nationwide prospective birth cohort

Association of maternal obesity with shorter breastfeeding duration may involve different factors and might be modified by parity. In a national birth cohort, we aimed to estimate the association between prepregnancy body mass index (pBMI) and breastfeeding duration after adjustment for sociodemographic, pregnancy, and other characteristics and assess the effect modification of parity in such associations. In 2012, 3,368 mother–infant dyads were randomly included at birth in the French Epifane cohort. Breastfeeding information was collected in maternity wards and by phone interview at 1, 4, 8, and 12 months postpartum. Poisson regression analyses estimated the association of pBMI with the number of days of “any breastfeeding” (ABF) and “exclusive breastfeeding” (EBF) in unadjusted and adjusted models. Interactions between parity and pBMI were tested. Obesity before pregnancy was independently associated with shorter ABF duration (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.86, 95%CI [0.74, 0.99]) compared to normal‐weight status. Parity showed an effect modification only with EBF duration. Among primiparae, no association was found for obesity, but overweight was significantly associated with shorter EBF duration independently of all covariates (IRR = 0.74 [0.58, 0.95]). Among multiparas, obesity was associated with shorter EBF duration after controlling for sociodemographic factors (IRR = 0.71 [0.53, 0.95]). This association was no longer statistically significant after controlling for other covariates. Obesity appears to be a strong risk factor in shorter ABF duration. Furthermore, parity is a key factor in the relationship of pBMI to shorter EBF duration. Overweight primiparous and obese multiparous women need additional support to prolong breastfeeding duration.     

La demande de chirurgie esthétique : questions ouvertes et nouvelles perspectives pour la recherche

Objectives

This study aims to offer an overview of the most important results of current research on the request for cosmetic surgery, to provide some indications for practitioners working in the field, and to open new avenues for research.

Factors associated with brain volume in major depression in older adults without dementia: results from a large autopsy study

Objective

We examined brain volume and atrophy in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) without dementia that were referred to a large autopsy service. We also examined potential risk factors for brain atrophy, including demographics and clinical variables.

Methods

In this study, 1373 participants (787 male) aged 50 years or older who died from natural causes were included. Participants with no reliable informant, with cognitive impairment or dementia, with a medical history of severe chronic disease, or with prolonged agonal state were excluded. Presence of MDD at least once in their lifetime was defined according to the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM. Brain volume was measured immediately after removal from the skull.

Results

Mean age at death was 68.6 ± 11.6, and MDD was present in 185 (14%) individuals. Smaller brain volume was associated with older age (p < 0.001), lower education (years; p < 0.001), hypertension (p = 0.001), diabetes (p = 0.006), and female gender (p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis adjusted for sociodemographics and cardiovascular risk factors, smaller brain volume was not associated with major depression (β = ?0.86, 95% CI = ?26.50 to 24.77, p = 0.95).

Conclusions

In this large autopsy study of older adults, MDD was not associated with smaller brain volumes. Regardless of the presence of MDD, in this sample of older adults without dementia, we found that smaller brain volumes were associated with risk factors for brain neurodegeneration such as older age, diabetes, hypertension, and lower education. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biological indicators of prognosis in Ewing's sarcoma: An emerging role for lectin galactoside‐binding soluble 3 binding protein (LGALS3BP)

Starting from an experimental model that accounts for the 2 most important adverse processes to successful therapy of Ewing's sarcoma (EWS), chemoresistance and the presence of metastasis at the time of diagnosis, we defined a molecular signature of potential prognostic value. Functional annotation of differentially regulated genes revealed 3 major networks related to cell cycle, cell‐to‐cell interactions and cellular development. The prognostic impact of 8 genes, representative of these 3 networks, was validated in 56 EWS patients. High mRNA expression levels of HINT1, IFITM2, LGALS3BP, STOML2 and c‐MYC were associated with reduced risk to death and lower risk to develop metastasis. At multivariate analysis, LGALS3BP, a matricellular protein with a role in tumor progression and metastasis, was the most important predictor of event‐free survival and overall survival. The association between LGALS3BP and prognosis was confirmed at protein level, when expression of the molecule was determined in tumor tissues but not in serum, indicating a role for the protein at local tumor microenvironment. Engineered enhancement of LGALS3BP expression in EWS cells resulted in inhibition of anchorage independent cell growth and reduction of cell migration and metastasis. Silencing of LGALS3BP expression reverted cell behavior with respect to in vitro parameters, thus providing further functional validation of genetic data obtained in clinical samples. Thus, we propose LGALS3BP as a novel reliable indicator of prognosis, and we offer genetic signatures to the scientific communities for cross‐validation and meta‐analysis, which are indispensable tools for a rare tumor such as EWS.     

Messages from the Aalst Allergy Study

Background  The prevalence of sensitization and allergic disease has increased significantly worldwide. The aim of the “Aalst Allergy Study” was to document prevalences of sensitization and allergic symptoms, and to evaluate the effect of personal and environmental influences on these prevalences in an unbiased Belgian pediatric population. Methods  A cross-sectional study was performed in an unbiased population of 2021 Belgian schoolchildren (3.4–14.8 years). Skin prick testing with the most common aeroallergens was performed. Allergic symptoms as well as potential risk factors for sensitization and allergic disease were documented by a parental questionnaire. Results  The prevalence of sensitization to the most common aeroallergens and the prevalence of allergic diseases (eczema, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis) were in line with the data in the literature. The association of current allergic symptoms with sensitization was only significant in the children aged ≥6 years. Age, gender, body mass index, bedroom environment and exposure to pets were the factors significantly associated with sensitization and allergic symptoms. Conclusions  Our study corroborates the reported prevalences of sensitization and allergic diseases. Moreover the study illustrates the complexity of the search for factors involved in the process of sensitization and allergic disease. The impact of different potential causative factors is not only influenced by mutual interactions of these factors, but also by the existence of distinct subtypes of disease.     

Evaluation of immunohematologic routine methods using the new erythrocyte-magnetized technology on the QWALYS 2 system

BACKGROUND: QWALYS 2 is a fully automated system for ABO/D grouping, Rh phenotyping, K typing, and antibody screening (ABS). Its new erythrocyte-magnetized technology (EMT) is based on the use of magnetic nanoparticles and avoids centrifugation and washing steps.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Overall 499 blood samples were tested with our routine blood bank methods for ABO/D grouping, 313 samples for Rh phenotyping and K typing (microtiter plates; Olympus PK 7200), and 478 samples for ABS (gel centrifugation technique, DiaMed). All samples were tested in parallel with the EMT.
RESULTS: In 496 of 499 samples (99.4%), a complete concordance between the observed (QWALYS 2) and the expected results for ABO/D grouping was found. One sample with a weak A in an AB blood group and 2 samples with a weak D were not detected by the QWALYS system. Rh phenotyping and K tests revealed a 100% concordance. In the two ABS techniques, 427 samples were negative in both and 15 samples showed the same antibody specificity in both. Three immunoglobulin M antibodies were as expected negative in EMT and positive by DiaMed. In 32 cases (6.7%), false-positive reactions were observed by EMT due to 22 unspecific reactions (4.6%) and 10 lipemic or fibrinic plasmas (2.1%). One autoantibody was found by EMT only.
CONCLUSION: The EMT is reliably suited to ABO/D grouping, Rh phenotyping, and K testing and is suitable to detect immunoglobulin G red blood cell alloantibodies as well. The rate of false-positive reactions in ABS due to lipemic and fibrinic samples needs to be reduced.