University College Cork

About: University College Cork is a education organization based out in Cork, Ireland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 12056 authors who have published 28452 publications receiving 958414 citations. The organization is also known as: Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh & National University of Ireland, Cork.

Exopolysaccharide-Forming Weissella Strains as Starter Cultures for Sorghum and Wheat Sourdoughs

Abstract: The addition of sourdough fermented with lactic acid bacteria synthesizing organic acids and oligo- and exopolysaccharides (EPS) from sucrose enhances texture, nutritional value, shelf life, and machinability of wheat, rye, and gluten-free bread. This study compared acetate, mannitol, and oligosaccharide formation of EPS-producing strains of Weissella and Leuconostoc spp. to the traditional sourdough starter Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis. In broth, Leuconostoc strains generally formed acetate and mannitol, whereas Weissella produced only small amounts of acetate and no mannitol in the presence of sucrose. In the presence of sucrose and maltose, Weissella and Leuconostoc strains synthesized glucooligosaccharides and EPS. Strains of Weissella were employed as starter cultures for wheat and sorghum sourdough and formed 0.8−8 g kg−1 EPS and gluco-oligosaccharides but only low amounts of acetate and mannitol. In contrast, the formation of EPS from sucrose led to the production of high amounts of acetate and m...

Review article: probiotics for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome – focus on lactic acid bacteria

Abstract: SummaryBackground Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a poorly understood, yet highly prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID). The withdrawal, due to adverse events, of a number of pharmacological agents that were approved for the treatment of IBS has left a therapeutic vacuum for patients suffering from the disorder. Aim To review, summarise and critically evaluate current knowledge of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) used to treat IBS. Methods We assessed a comprehensive range of relevant literature from Pubmed, Medline and online sources based on our definition of LAB which included both typical and atypical species, covering Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, Enterococci, Streptococci and Bacilli. Results Of the 42 trials evaluated examining the efficacy of LAB in IBS, 34 reported beneficial effects in at least one of the endpoints or symptoms examined, albeit with tremendous variation in both the magnitude of effect and the choice of outcome under consideration. However, numerous concerns have been expressed over deficits of trial design and execution relating to strain selection, optimum dosage, mode of action, safety and long-term tolerability in a disorder that can persist throughout the lifetime of affected individuals. Conclusions Progress in the field will require an improved understanding of how the microbiota impacts on health and disease, adequately powered long-term multicentre trials and the embracing of bench to bedside approaches. Recent incremental advances suggest these areas are being addressed and that the future holds much promise for the use of lactic acid bacteria in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

Using fuzzy cognitive mapping as a participatory approach to analyze change, preferred states, and perceived resilience of social-ecological systems

Abstract: There is a growing interest in the use of fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) as a participatory method for understanding social-ecological systems (SESs). In recent years, FCM has been used in a diverse set of contexts ranging from fisheries management to agricultural development, in an effort to generate transparent graphical models of complex systems that are useful for decision making, illuminate the core presumptions of environmental stakeholders, and structure environmental problems for scenario development. This increase in popularity is because of FCM’s bottom-up approach and its ability to incorporate a range of individual, community-level, and expert knowledge into an accessible and standardized format. Although there has been an increase in the use of FCM as an environmental planning and learning tool, limited progress has been made with regard to the method’s relationship to existing resilience frameworks and how the use of FCM compares with other participatory modeling/approaches available. Using case study data developed from community-driven models of the bushmeat trade in Tanzania, we examine the usefulness of FCM for promoting resilience analysis among stakeholders in terms of identifying key state variables that comprise an SES, evaluating alternative SES equilibrium states, and defining desirable or undesirable state outcomes through scenario analysis.

A transformation of respondently conditioned stimulus function in accordance with arbitrarily applicable relations

Abstract: Adult male subjects saw a sexual film clip paired with a nonsense syllable (C1). Similarly, an emotionally neutral film clip was paired with a second nonsense syllable (C3). Responses to the nonsense syllables were recorded as skin resistance responses. Subjects were also trained in a series of related conditional discriminations, using the C1 and C3 stimuli, from which the following equivalence relations were predicted; A1-B1-C1, A2-B2-C2, and A3-B3-C3. Some subjects were given matching-to-sample (equivalence) tests after the conditional discrimination training (Experiment 1), whereas others were not (Experiment 2). Subjects were tested for a transformation of eliciting functions by presenting the A1 and A3 stimuli, which were related through equivalence to C1 and C3, respectively. Five of the 6 subjects who showed significantly greater conditioned responses to C1 than to C3, also showed significantly greater skin resistance responses to A1 than to A3. Two additional subjects demonstrated a transformation of an eliciting stimulus function in accordance with five-member equivalence relations (Experiment 3), and another 5 subjects demonstrated similar effects in accordance with the relations of sameness and opposition (Experiment 4).