Annual CREMRU-JCI survey of corporate real estate practices in Europe and North America: 1993-2002

The annual survey of corporate real estate practices has been conducted by CREMRU since 1993 and in collaboration with Johnsons Controls Inc. since 1997. This year the survey forms the first stage of a broader research project: International Survey of Corporate Real Estate Practices: longitudinal study 1993-2002, being undertaken for the Innovative Construction Research Centre at the University of Reading, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The survey has been endorsed by CoreNet, the leading professional association concerned with corporate real estate, which opened it to a wider audience. This summary of the ten annual surveys focuses on the incidence of corporate real estate management (CREM) policies, functions and activities, as well as the assessment of knowledge or skills relevant to the CREM function in the future. Both are of vital interest to educational institutions concerned with this field, as well as the personnel and training functions within organisations concerned with better management of their property.

An in vitro assessment of the effects of broad-spectrum antibiotics on the human gut microflora and concomitant isolation of a Lactobacillus plantarum with anti-Candida activities

Chemostat culture was used to determine the effects of the antimicrobial agents tetracycline and nystatin on predominant components of the human gut microflora. Their addition to mixed culture systems caused a non-specific, and variable, decrease in microbial populations, although tetracycline allowed an increase in numbers of yeasts. Both had a profound inhibitory effect upon populations seen as important for gut health (bifidobacteria, lactobacilli). However, a tetracycline resistant Lactobacillus was enriched from the experiments. A combination of genotypic and phenotypic characterisations confirmed its identity as Lactobacillus plantarum. This strain exerted powerful inhibitory effects against Candida albicans. Because of its ability to resist the effects of tetracycline, this organism may be useful as a probiotic for the improved management of yeast related conditions such as thrush and irritable bowel syndrome. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vitro three-stage continuous fermentation of gluco-oligosaccharides produced by Gluconobacter oxydans NCIMB 4943 by the human colonic microflora

Gluco-oligosaccharides produced by Gluconobacter oxydans NCIMB 4943 from maltodextrin as the source, were evaluated for their fermentability by the human colonic microflora. The selectivity of growth of desirable bacteria in the human colon was studied in a three-stage continuous model of the human large intestine. Populations of bacteria, and their fluctuations as a response to the fermentation, were enumerated using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The gluco-oligosaccharides resulted in increases in numbers of bifidobacteria and the Lactobacillus/Enterococcus group in all 3 vessels of the system, representing the proximal, transverse and distal colonic areas. The prebiotic indices of the glucooligosaccharides were 2.29, 4.23 and 2.74 in V1, V2 and V3 respectively.

In vitro fermentation of mixed linkage glucooligosaccharides produced by Gluconobacter oxydans NCIMB 4943 by the human colonic microflora

The aim of this study was to develop selectively fermented (prebiotic) carbohydrate molecules which would also result in the generation of butyric acid. Glucooligosaccharides produced by Gluconobacter oxydans NCIMB 4943 from various types of maltodextrins were evaluated for their fermentation by mixed cultures of human colonic microflora. The selectivity of growth of desirable bacteria (bifidobacteria, lactobacilli) was studied in stirred pH-controlled (6.8) batch cultures. Bacterial populations were enumerated using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Gluco-oligosaccharides resulted in significantly (P<0.05) increased numbers of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli within 24 hours. Bacteroides, clostridial and eubacterial populations were slightly decreased at 48 h. There was very little difference in selectivity between the maltodextrin substrates and the products, although maltodextrin displayed a slightly less selective fermentation than the gluco-oligosaccharide products, also stimulating the growth of bacteroides, clostridia and eubacteria. Gluco-oligosaccharides, produced from G19 maltodextrin, resulted in the best prebiotic effect with the highest prebiotic index (PI) of 5.90 at 48 hours. Acetate, propionate and butyrate were all produced from glucooligosaccharides, derived from G19 maltodextrin, at 48 hours but no lactate or formate were detected.

Fecal microbiota in patients receiving enteral feeding are highly variable and may be altered in those who develop diarrhea

Background: The pathogenesis of diarrhea in patients receiving enteral feeding includes colonic water secretion, antibiotic prescription, and enteropathogenic colonization, each of which involves an interaction with the gastrointestinal microbiota. Objective: The objective was to investigate temporal changes in the concentrations of fecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in patients starting 14-d of enteral feeding and to compare these changes between patients who do and do not develop diarrhea. Design: Twenty patients starting exclusive nasogastric enteral feeding were monitored for 14 d. Fecal samples were collected at the start, middle, and end of this period and were analyzed for major bacterial groups by using culture independent fluorescence in situ hybridization and for SCFAs by using gas-liquid chromatography. Results: Although no significant changes in fecal microbiota or SCFAs were observed during enteral feeding, stark alterations occurred within individual patients. Ten patients (50%) developed diarrhea, and these patients had significantly higher concentrations of clostridia (P = 0.026) and lower concentrations (P = 0.069) and proportions (P = 0.029) of bifidobacteria. Patients with and without diarrhea had differences in the proportion of bifidobacteria (median: 0.4% and 3.7%; interquartile range: 0.8 compared with 4.3; P = 0.035) and clostridia (median: 10.4% and 3.7%; interquartile range: 14.7 compared with 7.0; P = 0.063), respectively, even at the start of enteral feeding. Patients who developed diarrhea had higher concentrations of total fecal SCFAs (P = 0.044), acetate (P = 0.029), and butyrate (P = 0.055). Conclusion: Intestinal dysbiosis occurs in patients who develop diarrhea during enteral feeding and may be involved in its pathogenesis. Am J Clin Nutr 2009; 89: 240-7.

Prebiotics and bowel cancer

Bowel cancer is a growing malignancy, with more than a million annual cases reported worldwide. It has been suggested that there is microbial involvement in onset of the disease and that an altered composition has previously been observed in those suffering from the malignancy, compared to healthy counterparts. The use of prebiotic functional foods to modify the colonic microflora may provide a method of reducing genotoxic potential within the colon, whilst offering-Protective strategies in the form of metabolites such as butyrate. The following review highlights some of the studies that demonstrate the potentia role for prebiotics as protective factors against bowel cancer.

Top-down systems biology modeling of host metabotype-microbiome associations in obese rodents

Covariation in the structural composition of the gut microbiome and the spectroscopically derived metabolic phenotype (metabotype) of a rodent model for obesity were investigated using a range of multivariate statistical tools. Urine and plasma samples from three strains of 10-week-old male Zucker rats (obese (fa/fa, n = 8), lean (fal-, n = 8) and lean (-/-, n = 8)) were characterized via high-resolution H-1 NMR spectroscopy, and in parallel, the fecal microbial composition was investigated using fluorescence in situ hydridization (FISH) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) methods. All three Zucker strains had different relative abundances of the dominant members of their intestinal microbiota (FISH), with the novel observation of a Halomonas and a Sphingomonas species being present in the (fa/fa) obese strain on the basis of DGGE data. The two functionally and phenotypically normal Zucker strains (fal- and -/-) were readily distinguished from the (fa/fa) obese rats on the basis of their metabotypes with relatively lower urinary hippurate and creatinine, relatively higher levels of urinary isoleucine, leucine and acetate and higher plasma LDL and VLDL levels typifying the (fa/fa) obese strain. Collectively, these data suggest a conditional host genetic involvement in selection of the microbial species in each host strain, and that both lean and obese animals could have specific metabolic phenotypes that are linked to their individual microbiomes.