Effect of the Darolac (Oralis SB) Probiotic Formulation on Oral Health: A Narrative Review.

Gingivitis and periodontitis are prevalent periodontal conditions associated with dysbiosis of the oral cavity, which leads to inflammation and bleeding of gums, loss of tooth attachment, and degradation of the underlying bone structure. The standard adjunctive treatment for periodontal conditions, chlorhexidine mouthwash, is effective but is associated with several side effects. Probiotics have been explored as an alternative solution that promotes oral health by restoring homeostasis in the oral cavity.

Perceptual Cue Weighting Matters in Real-Time Integration of Acoustic Information During Spoken Word Recognition.

This study investigates whether listeners' cue weighting predicts their real-time use of asynchronous acoustic information in spoken word recognition at both group and individual levels. By focusing on the time course of cue integration, we seek to distinguish between two theoretical views: the associated view (cue weighting is linked to cue integration strategy) and the independent view (no such relationship). The current study examines Seoul Korean listeners' (n = 62) weighting of voice onset time (VOT, available earlier in time) and onset fundamental frequency of the following vowel (F0, available later in time) when perceiving Korean stop contrasts (Experiment 1: cue-weighting perception task) and the timing of VOT integration when recognizing Korean words that begin with a stop (Experiment 2: visual-world eye-tracking task).

Psychobiotics and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: Where Do We Go from Here?

The bidirectional relationship between the gut microbiota and the nervous system is known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The MGBA controls the complex interactions between the brain, the enteric nervous system, the gut-associated immune system, and the enteric neuroendocrine systems, regulating key physiological functions such as the immune response, sleep, emotions and mood, food intake, and intestinal functions. Psychobiotics are considered tools with the potential to modulate the MGBA through preventive, adjunctive, or curative approaches, but their specific mechanisms of action on many aspects of health are yet to be characterized.

Review and Perspectives on for Infants' and Children's Health.

The influence of microbiota dysbiosis in early life is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for the development of several chronic diseases later in life, including an increased risk of asthma, eczema, allergies, obesity, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The question whether the potential lifelong consequences of early life dysbiosis could be mitigated by restoring microbiota composition remains unresolved. However, the current evidence base suggests that protecting the normal development of the microbiome during this critical developmental window could represent a valuable public health strategy to curb the incidence of chronic and lifestyle-related diseases.

Total Transit Time and Probiotic Persistence in Healthy Adults: A Pilot Study.

Background/aims: Motility, stool characteristics, and microbiota composition are expected to modulate probiotics' passage through the gut but their effects on persistence after intake cessation remain uncharacterized. This pilot, open-label study aims at characterizing probiotic fecal detection parameters (onset, persistence, and duration) and their relationship with whole gut transit time (WGTT). Correlations with fecal microbiota composition are also explored.

Impact of probiotic supplementation on exercise endurance among non-elite athletes: study protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, clinical trial.

Background: Some probiotics appear to improve athletic performance, endurance, and recovery after intense exercise. Other formulations may provide performance-related benefits via immune and gastrointestinal functions in athletic individuals. However, few formulations have been studied for both types of effects among non-elite athletes.

Dutch listeners' perception of English lexical stress: A cue-weighting approach.

We investigate whether acoustic cue weightings are transferred from the native language to the second language [research question 1 (RQ1)], how cue weightings change with increasing second-language proficiency (RQ2), and whether individual cues are used independently or together in the second language (RQ3). Vowel reduction is a strong cue to lexical stress in English but not Dutch. Native English listeners and Dutch second-language learners of English completed a cue-weighting stress perception experiment.

Efficacy of a Multi-Strain Probiotic Formulation in Pediatric Populations: A Comprehensive Review of Clinical Studies.

A probiotic formulation combining Rosell-52, Rosell-33, and Rosell-71 with fructooligosaccharides, first commercialized in China, has been sold in over 28 countries since 2002. Clinical studies with this blend of strains were conducted mainly in pediatric populations, and most were published in non-English journals. This comprehensive review summarizes the clinical studies in infants and children to evaluate the efficacy of this probiotic for pediatric indications.

The effects of psychobiotics on the microbiota-gut-brain axis in early-life stress and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Psychobiotics are considered among potential avenues for modulating the bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, defined as the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA). Even though causality has not yet been established, intestinal dysbiosis has emerged as a hallmark of several diseases, including neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs). The fact that the microbiota and central nervous system are co-developing during the first years of life has provided a paradigm suggesting a potential role of psychobiotics for earlier interventions.

Criteria to Qualify Microorganisms as "Probiotic" in Foods and Dietary Supplements.

Still relevant after 19 years, the FAO/WHO definition of probiotics can be translated into four simple and pragmatic criteria allowing one to conclude if specific strains of microorganisms qualify as a probiotic for use in foods and dietary supplements. Probiotic strains must be (i) sufficiently characterized; (ii) safe for the intended use; (iii) supported by at least one positive human clinical trial conducted according to generally accepted scientific standards or as per recommendations and provisions of local/national authorities when applicable; and (iv) alive in the product at an efficacious dose throughout shelf life. We provide clarity and detail how each of these four criteria can be assessed.

Safety and Effect of a Low- and High-Dose Multi-Strain Probiotic Supplement on Microbiota in a General Adult Population: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Few studies have focused on dose-response analyses of multi-strain probiotics in the general adult population. This study aimed at comparing how a low- and high-dose of a multi-strain probiotic supplement (containing R0052, R0011, R0215, R1001, R0070, ssp. BB536, R1012, ssp.

Bifidobacterium longum R0175 attenuates post-myocardial infarction depressive-like behaviour in rats.

Caspase-3 activation in the limbic system and depressive-like symptoms are observed after an acute myocardial infarction (MI) and studies suggest that inflammation may play a significant role. Combined treatment with the probiotic strains Bifidobacterium longum and Lactobacillus helveticus in rats has been shown to attenuate caspase-3 activation and depressive-like behaviour together with a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines. The present study was designed to determine the respective contribution of these two strains on caspase-3 activity in the limbic system and on depressive-like behaviour.

Syntactic Cues Take Precedence Over Distributional Cues in Native and Non-Native Speech Segmentation.

This study investigates whether syntactic cues take precedence over distributional cues in native and non-native speech segmentation by examining native and non-native speech segmentation in potential French-liaison contexts. Native French listeners and English-speaking second-language learners of French completed a visual-world eye-tracking experiment. Half the stimuli contained the pivotal consonant /t/, a frequent word onset but infrequent liaison consonant, and half contained /z/, a frequent liaison consonant but rare word onset.

Experience with a second language affects the use of fundamental frequency in speech segmentation.

This study investigates whether listeners' experience with a second language learned later in life affects their use of fundamental frequency (F0) as a cue to word boundaries in the segmentation of an artificial language (AL), particularly when the cues to word boundaries conflict between the first language (L1) and second language (L2). F0 signals phrase-final (and thus word-final) boundaries in French but word-initial boundaries in English. Participants were functionally monolingual French listeners, functionally monolingual English listeners, bilingual L1-English L2-French listeners, and bilingual L1-French L2-English listeners.

Common and Distinctive Functions of the Hippo Effectors Taz and Yap in Skeletal Muscle Stem Cell Function.

Hippo pathway downstream effectors Yap and Taz play key roles in cell proliferation and regeneration, regulating gene expression especially via Tead transcription factors. To investigate their role in skeletal muscle stem cells, we analyzed Taz in vivo and ex vivo in comparison with Yap. Small interfering RNA knockdown or retroviral-mediated expression of wild-type human or constitutively active TAZ mutants in satellite cells showed that TAZ promoted proliferation, a function shared with YAP.

Effects of the Native Language on the Learning of Fundamental Frequency in Second-Language Speech Segmentation.

This study investigates whether the learning of prosodic cues to word boundaries in speech segmentation is more difficult if the native and second/foreign languages (L1 and L2) have similar (though non-identical) prosodies than if they have markedly different prosodies (Prosodic-Learning Interference Hypothesis). It does so by comparing French, Korean, and English listeners' use of fundamental-frequency (F0) rise as a cue to word-final boundaries in French. F0 rise signals phrase-final boundaries in French and Korean but word-initial boundaries in English.

The Hippo signal transduction network for exercise physiologists.

The ubiquitous transcriptional coactivators Yap (gene symbol Yap1) and Taz (gene symbol Wwtr1) regulate gene expression mainly by coactivating the Tead transcription factors. Being at the center of the Hippo signaling network, Yap and Taz are regulated by the Hippo kinase cassette and additionally by a plethora of exercise-associated signals and signaling modules. These include mechanotransduction, the AKT-mTORC1 network, the SMAD transcription factors, hypoxia, glucose homeostasis, AMPK, adrenaline/epinephrine and angiotensin II through G protein-coupled receptors, and IL-6.

The Hippo signal transduction pathway in soft tissue sarcomas.

Sarcomas are rare cancers (≈1% of all solid tumours) usually of mesenchymal origin. Here, we review evidence implicating the Hippo pathway in soft tissue sarcomas. Several transgenic mouse models of Hippo pathway members (Nf2, Mob1, LATS1 and YAP1 mutants) develop various types of sarcoma.

The Hippo transducer YAP1 transforms activated satellite cells and is a potent effector of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma formation.

The role of the Hippo pathway effector YAP1 in soft tissue sarcomas is poorly defined. Here we report that YAP1 activity is elevated in human embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS). In mice, sustained YAP1 hyperactivity in activated, but not quiescent, satellite cells induces ERMS with high penetrance and short latency.

Limitations on adaptation to foreign accents.

Although foreign accents can be highly dissimilar to native speech, existing research suggests that listeners readily adapt to foreign accents after minimal exposure. However, listeners often report difficulty understanding non-native accents, and the time-course and specificity of adaptation remain unclear. Across five experiments, we examined whether listeners could use a newly learned feature of a foreign accent to eliminate lexical competitors during online speech perception.

What to do with screening for distress scores? Integrating descriptive data into clinical practice.

Objective: Implementation of routine Screening for Distress constitutes a major change in cancer care, with the aim of achieving person-centered care.

Method: Using a cross-sectional descriptive design within a University Tertiary Care Hospital setting, 911 patients from all cancer sites were screened at the time of their first meeting with a nurse navigator who administered a paper questionnaire that included: the Distress Thermometer (DT), the Canadian Problem Checklist (CPC), and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS).

Results: Results showed a mean score of 3.

The Hippo pathway member Yap plays a key role in influencing fate decisions in muscle satellite cells.

Satellite cells are the resident stem cells of skeletal muscle. Mitotically quiescent in mature muscle, they can be activated to proliferate and generate myoblasts to supply further myonuclei to hypertrophying or regenerating muscle fibres, or self-renew to maintain the resident stem cell pool. Here, we identify the transcriptional co-factor Yap as a novel regulator of satellite cell fate decisions.

Hippo signaling in mammalian stem cells.

Over the past decade, the Hippo signaling cascade has been linked to organ size regulation in mammals. Indeed, modulation of the Hippo pathway can have potent effects on cellular proliferation and/or apoptosis and a deregulation of the pathway often leads to tumor development. Importantly, emerging evidence indicates that the Hippo pathway can modulate its effects on tissue size by the regulation of stem and progenitor cell activity.