Efficacy of Using Probiotics with Antagonistic Activity against Pathogens of Wound Infections: An Integrative Review of Literature.

The skin and its microbiota serve as physical barriers to prevent invasion of pathogens. Skin damage can be a consequence of illness, surgery, and burns. The most effective wound management strategy is to prevent infections, promote healing, and prevent excess scarring. It is well established that probiotics can aid in skin healing by stimulating the production of immune cells, and they also exhibit antagonistic effects against pathogens via competitive exclusion of pathogens. Our aim was to conduct a review of recent literature on the efficacy of using probiotics against pathogens that cause wound infections. In this integrative review, we searched through the literature published in the international following databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus using the search terms "probiotic" AND "wound infection." During a comprehensive review and critique of the selected research, fourteen in vitro studies, 8 animal studies, and 19 clinical studies were found. Two of these in vitro studies also included animal studies, yielding a total of 39 articles for inclusion in the review. The most commonly used probiotics for all studies were well-known strains of the species Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus rhamnosus. All in vitro studies showed successful inhibition of chosen skin or wound pathogens by the selected probiotics. Within the animal studies on mice, rats, and rabbits, probiotics showed strong opportunities for counteracting wound infections. Most clinical studies showed slight or statistically significant lower incidence of surgical site infections, foot ulcer infection, or burn infections for patients using probiotics. Several of these studies also indicated a statistically significant wound healing effect for the probiotic groups. This review indicates that exogenous and oral application of probiotics has shown reduction in wound infections, especially when used as an adjuvant to antibiotic therapy, and therefore the potential use of probiotics in this field remains worthy of further studies, perhaps focused more on typical skin inhabitants as next-generation probiotics with high potential.

Geometrical gaze following in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

A series of experiments investigating the degree of gaze understanding in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) is reported. Results show that marmosets follow the gaze of a human experimenter readily and also use the gaze to locate food in a modified version of the object choice task if influences of chance probabilities and prepotent response tendencies are controlled for. In addition, this new version of the task allows the assessment of the accuracy of gaze following. Marmosets precisely extrapolate gaze direction, past distracting objects and from considerable distances, thereby meeting the criteria of so-called geometrical gaze following. The presence of this ability in common marmosets suggests that higher forms of gaze following might be more widely distributed among nonhuman primates than previously thought.

A new mark test for mirror self-recognition in non-human primates.

For 30 years Gallup's (Science 167:86-87, 1970) mark test, which consists of confronting a mirror-experienced test animal with its own previously altered mirror image, usually a color mark on forehead, eyebrow or ear, has delivered valuable results about the distribution of visual self-recognition in non-human primates. Chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans and, less frequently, gorillas can learn to correctly understand the reflection of their body in a mirror. However, the standard version of the mark test is good only for positively proving the existence of self-recognition. Conclusive statements about the lack of self-recognition are more difficult because of the methodological constraints of the test. This situation has led to a persistent controversy about the power of Gallup's original technique. We devised a new variant of the test which permits more unequivocal decisions about both the presence and absence of self-recognition. This new procedure was tested with marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus), following extensive training with mirror-related tasks to facilitate performance in the standard mark test. The results show that a slightly altered mark test with a new marking substance (chocolate cream) can help to reliably discriminate between true negative results, indicating a real lack of ability to recognize oneself in a mirror, from false negative results that are due to methodological particularities of the standard test. Finally, an evolutionary hypothesis is put forward as to why many primates can use a mirror instrumentally - i.e. know how to use it for grasping at hidden objects - while failing in the decisive mark test.