Breast milk contains more than 700 species of bacteria, Spanish researchers find

Jan. 4, 2013 ? Spanish researchers have traced the bacterial microbiota map in breast milk, which is often the main source of nourishment for newborns. The study has revealed a larger microbial diversity than originally thought: more than 700 species.

The breast milk received from the mother is one of the factors determining how the bacterial flora will develop in the newborn baby. However, the composition and the biological role of these bacteria in infants remain unknown.

A group of Spanish scientists have now used a technique based on massive DNA sequencing to identify the set of bacteria contained within breast milk called microbiome. Thanks to their study, pre- and postnatal variables influencing the micriobial richness of milk can now be determined.

Colostrum is the first secretion of the mammary glands after giving birth. In some of the samples taken of this liquid, more than 700 species of these microorganisms were found, which is more than originally expected by experts. The results have been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"This is one of the first studies to document such diversity using the pyrosequencing technique (a large scale DNA sequencing determination technique) on colostrum samples on the one hand, and breast milk on the other, the latter being collected after one and six months of breastfeeding," explain the coauthors, Mar?a Carmen Collado, researcher at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) and Alex Mira, researcher at the Higher Public Health Research Centre (CSISP-GVA).

The most common bacterial genera in the colostrum samples were Weissella, Leuconostoc, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Lactococcus. In the fluid developed between the first and sixth month of breastfeeding, bacteria typical of the oral cavity were observed, such as Veillonella, Leptotrichia and Prevotella.

"We are not yet able to determine if these bacteria colonise the mouth of the baby or whether oral bacteria of the breast-fed baby enter the breast milk and thus change its composition," outline the authors.

The heavier the mother, the fewer the bacteria

The study also reveals that the milk of overweight mothers or those who put on more weight than recommended during pregnancy contains a lesser diversity of species.

The type of labour also affects the microbiome within the breast milk: that of mothers who underwent a planned caesarean is different and not as rich in microorganisms as that of mothers who had a vaginal birth. However, when the caesarean is unplanned (intrapartum), milk composition is very similar to that of mothers who have a vaginal birth.

These results suggest that the hormonal state of the mother at the time of labour also plays a role: "The lack of signals of physiological stress, as well as hormonal signals specific to labour, could influence the microbial composition and diversity of breast milk," state the authors.

Help for the food industry

Given that the bacteria present in breast milk constitute one of initial instances of contact with microorganisms that colonise the infant's digestive system, the researchers are now working to determine if their role is metabolic (it helps the breast-fed baby to digest the milk) or immune (it helps to distinguish beneficial or foreign organisms).

For the authors, the results have opened up new doors for the design of child nutrition strategies that improve health. "If the breast milk bacteria discovered in this study were important for the development of the immune system, its addition to infant formula could decrease the risk of allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases," conclude the authors.

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Journal Reference:

  1. R. Cabrera-Rubio, M. C. Collado, K. Laitinen, S. Salminen, E. Isolauri, A. Mira. The human milk microbiome changes over lactation and is shaped by maternal weight and mode of delivery. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012; 96 (3): 544 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.112.037382

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/KfZFuI4HuTE/130104083103.htm

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What's wrong with gay marriage? Let me count the ways?

Actually, I?ll let Brandon Vogt do it. ?He lays out 10 common arguments in favor of same-sex marriage, and then deftly deflates them in Our Sunday Visitor.??As Brandon points out:

?This is not an attack on people with same-sex attractions. All people, regardless of sexual orientation, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Instead, this article is a rational look at whether civil marriage, an institution that touches all people and cultures, should be redefined.?

Here?s his first three:

1. Marriage has evolved throughout history, so it can change again.

Different cultures have treated marriage differently. Some promoted arranged marriages. Others tied marriage to dowries. Still others saw marriage as a political relationship through which they could forge family alliances.

But all these variations still embraced the fundamental, unchanging essence of marriage. They still saw it, in general, as a public, lifelong partnership between one man and one woman for the sake of generating and raising children.

This understanding predates any government or religion. It?s a pre-political, pre-religious institution evident even in cultures that had no law or faith to promote it.

Yet, even supposing the essence of marriage could change, would that mean it should? We know from other areas of life such as medical research and nuclear physics that just because you can do something doesn?t mean you ought. After all, such action may not be ethical or serve the common good. Even if this argument had historical basis, it would not necessarily be a good reason to change the meaning of marriage.

2. Same-sex marriage is primarily about equality.

This argument is emotionally powerful since we all have deep, innate longings for fairness and equality. Moreover, history has given us many failures in this area, including women banned from voting and African-Americans denied equal civil rights. The question, of course, is whether same-sex couples are denied equality by not being allowed to marry each other.

To answer that, we first must understand equality. Equality is not equivalency. It does not mean treating every person or every group in exactly the same way. To use an analogy, men and women have equal rights, but because they significantly differ they require separate restrooms. Equality means treating similar things similarly, but not things that are fundamentally different.

Second, there are really two issues here: the equality of different people and the equality of different relationships. The current marriage laws already treat all people equally. Any unmarried man and unmarried woman can marry each other, regardless of their sexual orientation; the law is neutral with respect to orientation just as it ignores race and religion.

The real question is whether same-sex relationships differ significantly from opposite-sex relationships, and the answer is yes. The largest difference is that same-sex couples cannot produce children, nor ensure a child?s basic right to be raised by his mother and father. These facts alone mean we?re talking about two very different types of relationships. It?s wrong, therefore, to assume the state should necessarily treat them as if they were the same.

Same-sex marriage advocates may argue that it?s discriminatory to favor heterosexual spouses over homosexual couples. With all of the benefits flowing from marriage, this unfairly endorses one set of relationships over another. But if the state endorsed same-sex marriage, it would then be favoring gay ?spouses? over unmarried heterosexual couples. The argument runs both ways and is ultimately self-defeating.

3. Everyone has the right to marry whomever he or she loves.

Though catchy, few people truly believe this slogan. Most of us acknowledge there should be at least some limitations on marriage for social or health reasons. For example, a man can?t marry a young child or a close relative. And if a man is truly in love with two different women, he?s legally not allowed to marry both of them, even if both agree to such an arrangement.

To put it simply, in the eyes of the state, marriage is not about adults; it?s about children. Claiming a ?right to marry whomever I love? ignores the true emphasis of marriage.?So, the real question here is not whether marriage should be limited, but how. To answer that, we must determine why the government even bothers with marriage. It?s not to validate two people who love each other, nice as that is. It?s because marriage between one man and one woman is likely to result in a family with children. Since the government is deeply interested in the propagation and stabilization of society, it promotes and regulates this specific type of relationship above all others.

Notice that nobody is telling anyone whom he or she can or cannot love. Every person, regardless of orientation, is free to enter into private romantic relationships with whomever he or she chooses. But there is no general right to have any relationship recognized as marriage by the government.

Read it all.??It addresses common accusations of bigotry, homophobia, civil rights and more. (Note: his discussion focuses purely on civil marriage and he bases his arguments on biology, reason and history?not theology.)??After you read it over, you may want to keep it handy. ?I have a feeling we as a country, and as a church, will be talking about this a lot in the months to come.

Meantime, in related news, the cardinal archbishop of Chicago has launched a campaign against same-sex marriage in Illinois. ?Read what he had to say here. ??

Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2013/01/whats-wrong-with-gay-marriage-let-me-count-the-ways/

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Bering Sea study finds prey density more important to predators than biomass

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 3-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kelly Benoit-Bird
kbenoit@coas.oregonstate.edu
541-737-2063
Oregon State University

CORVALLIS, Ore. Marine resource managers often gauge the health of species based on overall biomass, but a new study of predator-prey relationships in the Bering Sea found that it isn't the total number of individuals that predators care about it's how densely they are aggregated.

It's more than searching for an easy meal, the researchers say. Predators need to balance how much energy they expend in searching for food with the caloric and nutrient value of that which they consume. When prey doesn't aggregate, however, the search for food becomes much more difficult affecting the health of the predators' offspring and the vitality of their overall population.

Results of the study were published this week in the journal PLOS ONE. The study was part of the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Project, which was funded by the North Pacific Research Board and the National Science Foundation.

"We had to think very differently about these interactions, trying to see the world from the predators' point of view," said Kelly Benoit-Bird, an Oregon State University marine ecologist and lead author on the study. "When we first tried to identify good foraging locations for predator species we looked at areas of high prey numbers because it makes sense that they'd be where the food is. But the results didn't match what we might have expected.

"Predator populations that should have been doing well, based on prey numbers or biomass, were in fact not doing well," added Benoit-Bird, an associate professor in OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. "What we discovered is that smaller aggregations of prey are more attractive to predators if they are sufficiently dense."

The findings are particularly important, scientists say, because almost all fisheries management is based on biomass tons of fish and not how those fish may be distributed in the sea.

In their study, the researchers looked at the feeding behaviors of three co-occurring species in the Bering Sea, all of which consume juvenile pollock or krill black-legged kittiwakes, thick-billed murres and northern fur seals. When they attempted to find a spatial relationship between these predators and the pollock using areal biomass and numerical abundance, they found little correlation.

However, when they began finding small patches of prey at certain depths and of sufficient density, the predators were there. And though the scientists know why feeding efficiency they aren't sure how.

"To be honest, we aren't really sure how these predators which may travel many miles locate the densest aggregations at depths well below the surface and often at night," said Scott Heppell, a fisheries ecologist at Oregon State University and co-author on the PLOS ONE paper. "You wouldn't think murres and fur seals would have that much in common, but in this case they do."

"In a way, they're looking for the same thing that commercial fishing fleets look for high-quality prey in aggregations dense enough to be economical," added Heppell, an assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife at OSU.

Benoit-Bird likened the predator-prey link to locating a box of popcorn in a darkened movie theater. You may have to search for it, she noted, but if you find the popcorn box, the payoff will be much more significant than what you might get by stumbling upon individual kernels in the dark that are spread throughout the theater even though the number of kernels is the same.

That payoff is particularly meaningful for nurturing young, the researchers point out. During their two-year study, the research group tagged and observed female fur seals from St. Paul Island and Bogoslof Island as they swam hundreds of kilometers over a period of 1-2 weeks to gorge on nutrient-rich pollock then return to their homes to nurse pups.

They also tagged and observed adult murres and kittiwakes at St. Paul, St. George and Bogoslof Islands. The birds would capture local prey to feed their chicks during the day, but make numerous long flights at night to gorge on energy-rich, deep-water prey before returning to their nests to feed their chicks.

"It is a trade-off strategy," said Benoit-Bird, a 2010 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. "They feed themselves in one place and nourish their offspring from another."

This concept of prey "patchiness" can change rapidly, the researchers noted. Pollock aggregated only when the number of individuals in an area reached a certain threshold; below that threshold, they swam as individuals.

"If the population is sufficiently diffuse, the pollock don't aggregate and that could spell trouble for species that prey upon them," Heppell said. "A 10 percent shift in the number of fish could change how the entire stock behaves and have a major impact on the birds, seals and other predators."

###

Other authors on the PLOS ONE paper include Brian Battaile, Chad Nordstrom and Andrew Trites of the University of British Columbia; Brian Hoover and Nathan Jones, University of California's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories; David Irons and Kathy Kuletz of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage; and Rosana Paredes, Robert Suryan and Chad Waluk of Oregon State University.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 3-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kelly Benoit-Bird
kbenoit@coas.oregonstate.edu
541-737-2063
Oregon State University

CORVALLIS, Ore. Marine resource managers often gauge the health of species based on overall biomass, but a new study of predator-prey relationships in the Bering Sea found that it isn't the total number of individuals that predators care about it's how densely they are aggregated.

It's more than searching for an easy meal, the researchers say. Predators need to balance how much energy they expend in searching for food with the caloric and nutrient value of that which they consume. When prey doesn't aggregate, however, the search for food becomes much more difficult affecting the health of the predators' offspring and the vitality of their overall population.

Results of the study were published this week in the journal PLOS ONE. The study was part of the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Project, which was funded by the North Pacific Research Board and the National Science Foundation.

"We had to think very differently about these interactions, trying to see the world from the predators' point of view," said Kelly Benoit-Bird, an Oregon State University marine ecologist and lead author on the study. "When we first tried to identify good foraging locations for predator species we looked at areas of high prey numbers because it makes sense that they'd be where the food is. But the results didn't match what we might have expected.

"Predator populations that should have been doing well, based on prey numbers or biomass, were in fact not doing well," added Benoit-Bird, an associate professor in OSU's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. "What we discovered is that smaller aggregations of prey are more attractive to predators if they are sufficiently dense."

The findings are particularly important, scientists say, because almost all fisheries management is based on biomass tons of fish and not how those fish may be distributed in the sea.

In their study, the researchers looked at the feeding behaviors of three co-occurring species in the Bering Sea, all of which consume juvenile pollock or krill black-legged kittiwakes, thick-billed murres and northern fur seals. When they attempted to find a spatial relationship between these predators and the pollock using areal biomass and numerical abundance, they found little correlation.

However, when they began finding small patches of prey at certain depths and of sufficient density, the predators were there. And though the scientists know why feeding efficiency they aren't sure how.

"To be honest, we aren't really sure how these predators which may travel many miles locate the densest aggregations at depths well below the surface and often at night," said Scott Heppell, a fisheries ecologist at Oregon State University and co-author on the PLOS ONE paper. "You wouldn't think murres and fur seals would have that much in common, but in this case they do."

"In a way, they're looking for the same thing that commercial fishing fleets look for high-quality prey in aggregations dense enough to be economical," added Heppell, an assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife at OSU.

Benoit-Bird likened the predator-prey link to locating a box of popcorn in a darkened movie theater. You may have to search for it, she noted, but if you find the popcorn box, the payoff will be much more significant than what you might get by stumbling upon individual kernels in the dark that are spread throughout the theater even though the number of kernels is the same.

That payoff is particularly meaningful for nurturing young, the researchers point out. During their two-year study, the research group tagged and observed female fur seals from St. Paul Island and Bogoslof Island as they swam hundreds of kilometers over a period of 1-2 weeks to gorge on nutrient-rich pollock then return to their homes to nurse pups.

They also tagged and observed adult murres and kittiwakes at St. Paul, St. George and Bogoslof Islands. The birds would capture local prey to feed their chicks during the day, but make numerous long flights at night to gorge on energy-rich, deep-water prey before returning to their nests to feed their chicks.

"It is a trade-off strategy," said Benoit-Bird, a 2010 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. "They feed themselves in one place and nourish their offspring from another."

This concept of prey "patchiness" can change rapidly, the researchers noted. Pollock aggregated only when the number of individuals in an area reached a certain threshold; below that threshold, they swam as individuals.

"If the population is sufficiently diffuse, the pollock don't aggregate and that could spell trouble for species that prey upon them," Heppell said. "A 10 percent shift in the number of fish could change how the entire stock behaves and have a major impact on the birds, seals and other predators."

###

Other authors on the PLOS ONE paper include Brian Battaile, Chad Nordstrom and Andrew Trites of the University of British Columbia; Brian Hoover and Nathan Jones, University of California's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories; David Irons and Kathy Kuletz of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage; and Rosana Paredes, Robert Suryan and Chad Waluk of Oregon State University.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/osu-bss123112.php

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Pet Dog | Man Tries To Reclaim Pet Dog From Rescue Centre Two ...

By Anna Edwards

PUBLISHED: 12:09 EST, 31 December 2012

A dog owner who tried to reclaim his pet from an RSPCA re-homing centre just two weeks after dropping it off discovered it had already been put down.

Distraught Jody Long, 28, gave Jack Russell Rosie to the Stubbington Ark when a letting agent said pets were banned from his new house.

He was due to move home for work and thought the RSPCA centre, near Fareham, Hanmpshire, was best placed to care for the five-year-old dog.

But after moving into the property in Worthing, West Sussex, his landlord said he was happy for Jody to live with the pet after all.

Delighted Jody, who publishes an online knitting magazine, phoned the Ark in the hope of being reunited with Rosie but was told it was not possible.

He initially thought Rosie had been successfully rehomed or that they had a policy of not returning pets to their original owner.

But when he phoned again a short while later to check Rosie had settled with her new owner and old basket, he was distressed to learn she had actually been put down.

Jody said: ?When I found out I could have Rosie in my new place, I was so happy. I rang the Ark straight away.

?But they told me that I couldn?t have Rosie back.

?I thought it was because they didn?t give dogs back to previous owners but a few weeks later I found out that they had put her down.

?I was completely devastated. I couldn?t talk about what had happened as I was so upset.

?If I?d have known that was going to happen I?d never have given her to them.?

Jody rescued Rosie from owners who couldn?t cope with her and he now feels ?betrayed? by the RSPCA, which he had put his trust in.

Jody admits Rosie would often bark when left alone and was known to chase cats.

But he says this did not cause him any problems and was nothing that could not be solved by placing her with the correct family.

Stubbington Ark manager Mike Ward said: ?Our notes show

Click here to view rest of article from original site

Leave a Reply

Source: http://dog.petsgo.org/pet-dog-man-tries-to-reclaim-pet-dog-from-rescue-centre-two-weeks-after-leaving-it-only-to-be-told-it-had-been-put-down/

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tenth avenue south: Party at our house!

We spent a fabulous four days in Decatur visiting Frank's family followed by one day home to repack and four more fabulous days in Charlotte visiting my family. Then we came home last night to this...

Our new(ish) hot water heater had flooded our basement. Our basement is half finished (den, bedroom, bathroom) and half garage. The good news is that I got to use my new Hunter rain boots to splash through bedroom closet while cleaning it out.?

Did I mention that we're having the house appraised this morning to hopefully refinance??

Um, yea.

So already today we've had a visit from the appraiser, a contractor friend, and the plumber is here now. We're still waiting on ServePro (the clean up crew) and the insurance adjuster.?

Rockin' New Years Eve party, huh?

I'm tempted to put on a sparkly dress and serve champagne.

Might help seal some deals! ;)

But, I'm not complaining!

We're still blessed beyond measure and everything can be fixed.?

I'm reminded of a quote I just saw in a great little book my mom and I found at?Urban Outfitters...

No, not that (although it works, too).?

"When I hear somebody say 'Life is hard',?

I am always tempted to ask 'Compared to what?'"

-Sydney Harris

I am going to go ahead and claim this though...

Source: http://tenthavenuesouth.blogspot.com/2012/12/party-at-our-house.html

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harshhaswani0: I think I need anger management. Advice ...

Folks, I've been separated for nearly two months and I'm now working on self-improvement.

One area I identified that I need to work on is managing my anger.

My husband would bring out the monster in me. No, I would never throw things or hurt anyone in the process, but I'd drop a few F-bombs here and there and I'd certainly get LOUD.

Thing is, I generally don't have a temper. Most of my friends, even childhood friends, would be surprised if they were told that I have a temper. But I do.

People who know me too well and know how to push my buttons unleash that ugly side of me. My dad, my mom sometimes, and now my husband. I thought my temper problems were done with. That I was just an angry teen. That I'd overcome it. Apparently not.

Thing is, I'd been to individual counseling for an extended period of time before I got married. So I'm not sure that that's the route to go.

Does anyone recommend any self-help books or techniques to calm me down when I sense getting frustrated to the point of losing my cool?

Thanks in advance<3

Source: http://talkaboutmarriage.com/ladies-lounge/64155-i-think-i-need-anger-management-advice.html

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Source: http://harshhaswani0.blogspot.com/2012/12/i-think-i-need-anger-management-advice.html

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Source: http://adbvitotu.posterous.com/harshhaswani0-i-think-i-need-anger-management

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Cleveland Mobile ? Cell Phone | Game | iPad & iPhone Repair

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