The increased prevalence of obesity in modern society is associated with incidence of obesity related diseases and represents a financial burden on public health. Important discovery in the field of microbial ecology of the gut was the possible involvement of the gut microbiota in obesity development. Using new molecular techniques and gnotobiotic animal models has revealed the relation between the regulation of body mass and energy balance of the host with the microbial community of the gut. Gut microbiota affects nutrient intake, facilitate the extraction of energy from food and promote storage of the calories in host adipose tissue through processes of fermentation, absorption and through the effect on the expression of host genes (e.g. Fiaf) and the activity of host enzymes (e.g. AMPK). In obese mice and humans the gut microbiota is clearly able to obtain energy from food more effectively as in the lean subjects. There are significant differences in the composition of microbial communities in relation to fat vs. lean phenotype. In the gut of obese animals and humans the increased proportion of the Firmicutes at the expense on Bacteroidetes was consistently detected. Both are the dominant bacterial groups in mammalian gastrointestinal tract, accounting together for 90% of all bacteria. It has been shown that gut microbiota is involved also in patophysiology of obesity through factors such as microbial LPS. Existing results show that high fat diet can affect the composition of microbial community in the gut and that these changes can further affect the incidence of metabolic disease. This evidence potentially opens a new field of manipulation of the gut microbiota as a new strategy to treat obesity and related diseases.

The present study deals with the sampling, isolation and biochemical characterization of Staphylococcus aureus from raw milk of cow and buffalo, and milk products (khoa sweets and cottage cheese) collected from different unorganized sectors of Agra city, India. Samples of raw milk from cow, cottage cheese and khoa sweets indicated that S.aureus contamination was higher in east of Agra (Ram Bagh), whereas samples of raw milk from buffalo, collected from the west of Agra (Sikandra), showed higher S.aureus contamination. Least contamination was observed in samples of khoa sweets and cottage cheese collected from west of Agra (Sikandra) and in samples of cow and buffalo milk collected from North of Agra (Dayalbagh) and east of Agra (Ram Bagh), respectively. The incidence of high contamination in raw milk and milk products suggests that protective measures are inadequate and need to be enforced to avoid potential threat to public health.

Key words: milk / milk products / microbiology / Staphylococcus aureus / isolation / biochemical characterization

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide but also very common in domestic cats and dogs. Recent research in mammary gland biology has provided support for the cancer stem cell-hypothesis. The main focus of this hypothesis is that tumor originates from mammary stem or progenitor cells as a result of deregulation of the normally precise regulated process of self-renewal, which is their main characteristics. As a result, tumors contain and are driven by a cellular subcomponent that retains key stem-cell properties and enable development and differentiation of the tumor tissue, which results in extensive cellular heterogeneity. The role of cancer stem cells in cancer tissues resembles the role of normal stem cells in healthy tissue. Cancer stem cells have been first discovered in hematopoietic and later in solid cancers like brain, prostate, colon, pancreas and breast cancer. Identification of these cells in healthy and tumor breast tissue has helped to elucidate the origin of molecular complexity of breast cancer in humans and animals. The cancer stem-cell hypothesis has important implications for early detection and prevention of hereditary and sporadic form of breast cancer in humans. Aberrant stem cells with deregulated self-renewal mechanism are highly resistant to radiation and chemotherapy and therefore represent a central target in development of more effective drugs and therapies for breast cancer treatment.

Key words: mammary gland / stem cells / cancer / medicine