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Repeated pulmonary exacerbation and progressive lung function decline characterize cystic fibrosis (CF) disease, and represents one of the leading causes of mortality in this patient population. Recent studies have shown, using culture-independent assays, that multiple microbial species can be detected in airway samples from CF patients. Moreover, specific groups of bacteria within these bacterial communities or microbiota, are highly associated with disease-associated factors such as antibiotic administration. This raises the possibility that, as in other human niches, pathogenic processes in the CF airways represent polymicrobial activities and that microbiome composition and perturbations to these communities define patient pulmonary health status. Airway samples are typically collected through the mouth, and are thus susceptible to contamination by upper airway secretions; hence, caution must be exercised in interpreting these data. Nonetheless, given the continuum of the upper and lower respiratory tract, understanding the contribution of these mixed-species assemblages to airway health is essential to improving CF patient care. This article aims to discuss recent advances in the field of CF airway microbiome research and interpret these findings in the context of CF pulmonary disease.

An experimental test of a biodynamic agriculture method of weed suppression was carried out in growth chambers to establish the feasibility of the method as a preliminary to field trials. Four generations of Brassica rapa plants were used in a randomized block design. Treated flats received ashed seeds prepared according to biodynamic indications. Seed weight and counts were measured at the end of each generation, and germination of the control and experimental seed was investigated at the end of generation four. The biodynamic seed peppers, created and applied as described here, had no effect on seed production or viability, and did not effectively inhibit reproduction of the targeted species over the course of four consecutive treatments.

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Neural regeneration is of great interest due to its potential to treat traumatic brain injuries and diseases that impact quality of life. Growth factor mediated differentiation can take up to several weeks to months to produce the cell of interest whereas chemical stimulation may be as minimal as a few hours. The smaller time scale is of great clinical relevance. Adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) were treated for up to 24 h with a novel differentiation media containing the cyclic ketamine compounds to direct neurogenic induction. The extent of differentiation was investigated by proteome changes occurring during the process. The treatments indicated the ADSCs responded favorably to the neurogenic induction media by presenting a number of morphological cues of neuronal phenotype previously seen and a higher cell population post induction compared to previous studies. Furthermore, approximately 3500 proteins were analyzed and identified by mass spectrometric iTRAQ analyses. The bioinformatics analyses revealed hundreds of proteins whose expression level changes were statistically significant and biologically relevant to neurogenesis and annotated as being involved in neurogenic development. Complementing this, the Bioplex cytokine assay profiles present evidence of decreased panel of stress response cytokines and a relative increase in those involved in neurogenesis.

Background: Previous research has shown that many people experience a temporary worsening of mood following acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) and that concurrent use of serotonergic medications may influence such mood responses. We investigated mood and other consequences of ATD in women with bulimia nervosa who were or were not using concurrent serotonergic medications compared with women without bulimia. Methods: Women self-referred for treatment of bulimia who were either not currently using psychoactive medications (n= 26) or who were using serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications exclusively (n= 13), as well as medication-free normaleater control women (n= 25) completed interviews and questionnaires assessing eating and comorbid psychopathology and then participated in an ATD procedure involving balanced and tryptophan-depleted conditions. Results: In the tryptophan-depleted condition, the groups displayed similar and significant decrements in plasma tryptophan levels and mood. Women with bulimia who were using serotonin reuptake inhibitors, but not the other groups, also reported an increased urge to binge eat in the tryptophan-depleted condition. Limitations: Application of medication in participants with bulimia was not random. Conclusion: Acute reductions in serotonin availability produced similar mood-reducing effects in bulimic and nonbulimic women. To the extent that ATD affected subjective experiences pertinent to eating (i.e., urge to binge eat), such effects appeared to depend upon ATD-induced competition with the therapeutic effects of serotonergic medications., Introduction Bulimia nervosa has been associated with alterations in central serotonin (5-HT) function, (1) thought to implicate constitutional (e.g., hereditary) influences (2-5) and state-related (e.g., dietary) factors. (2,6) Whereas pertinent [...]