69 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H, H-2′ & H-6′), 7.52 (d, J = 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-6), 7.42 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H, H-3′

& H-5′), 6.96 (dd, J = 8.8, 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-4), 6.63 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 1H, H-3), 3.62 Lumacaftor solubility dmso (s, 3H, CH3O-2), 1.28 (s, 9H, (CH3)3C-4′); EI-MS: m/z 355 [M + 2]+, 353 [M]+, 338 [M-CH3]+, 322 [M-OCH3]+, 289 [M-SO2]+, 197 [C10H13SO2]+, 156 [C7H7ClNO]+. 146–148 °C; Molecular formula: C16H18ClNO3S; Molecular weight: 339; IR (KBr, ѵmax/cm−1): 3208 (N H stretching), 3079 (Ar C H stretching), 1609 (Ar C C stretching), 1363 (S O stretching);1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 7.27 (d, J = 2.8 Hz, 1H, H-6), 6.91 (dd, J = 8.8, 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-4), 6.89 (s, 2H, H-3′ & H-5′), 6.66 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 1H, H-3), 3.72 (s, 3H, CH3O-2), 2.62 (s, 6H, CH3-2′ & CH3-6′), 2.24 (s, 3H, CH3-4′); EI-MS: m/z 341 [M + 2]+, 339 [M]+, 324 [M-CH3]+, 308 [M-OCH3]+, 275 [M-SO2]+, 183 [C9H11SO2]+, 156 [C7H7ClNO]+. Light purple amorphous

solid; Yield: 65%; M.P. 136–138 °C; Molecular formula: C14H14ClNO4S; Molecular weight: 327; IR (KBr, ѵmax/cm−1): 3190 (N H stretching), 3057 (Ar C H stretching), 1601 (Ar C C stretching), 1359 (S O stretching); 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 7.64 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H, H-2′ & H-6′), 7.12 (dd, J = 8.8, 2.8 Hz, 1H, H-4), 7.04 (d, J = 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-6), 6.92 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 2H, H-3′ & H-5′), 6.63 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 1H, H-3), 3.85 (s, 3H, CH3O-4′), 3.40 (s, 3H, CH3O-2); EI-MS: m/z 329 [M + 2]+, 327 [M]+, 312 [M-CH3]+, 296 [M-OCH3]+, 263 [M-SO2]+, 171 [C7H7OSO2]+,

AZD6738 molecular weight 156 [C7H7ClNO]+. Grey amorphous solid; Yield: 71%; M.P. 156–158 °C; Molecular formula: C15H14ClNO4S; Molecular Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase weight: 339; IR (KBr, ѵmax/cm−1): 3218 (N H stretching), 3081 (Ar C H stretching), 1612 (Ar C C stretching), 1356 (S O stretching), 1720 (C=O stretching); 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 7.97 (d, J = 8.0 Hz, 2H, H-2′ & H-6′), 7.86 (d, J = 8.4 Hz, 2H, H-3′ & H-5′), 7.54 (d, J = 2.0 Hz, 1H, H-6), 6.99 (dd, J = 8.4, 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-4), 6.63 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 1H, H-3), 3.63 (s, 3H, CH3O-2), 2.59 (s, 3H, CH3CO); EI-MS: m/z 341 [M + 2]+, 339 [M]+, 324 [M-CH3]+, 208 [M-OCH3]+, 275 [M-SO2]+, 183 [C8H7OSO2]+, 156 [C7H7ClNO]+. Cream grey amorphous solid; Yield: 69%; M.P. 156–158 °C; Molecular formula: C17H14ClNO3S; Molecular weight: 347; IR (KBr, ѵmax/cm−1): 3215 (N H stretching), 3085 (Ar C H stretching), 1615 (Ar C C stretching), 1365 (S O stretching); 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 8.36 (brd s, 1H, H-7′), 7.90 (d, J = 7.6 Hz, 1H, H-4′), 7.86 (d, J = 8.8 Hz, 1H, H-3′), 7.84 (d, J = 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-8′), 7.73 (dd, J = 8.4, 2.0 Hz, 1H, H-2′), 7.60 (ddd, J = 9.6, 1.2 Hz, 1H, H-6′), 7.58 (ddd, J = 9.6, 2.4 Hz, 1H, H-5′), 7.09 (br.

The secretariat to the committee is provided by the Immunisation section of the Department of Health. The Agenda is agreed between the Chairman and the secretariat and includes issues raised by members, through letters to the committee and by the Ministers of Health. Until recently the advice that the committee Galunisertib cost provided to Ministers was just that advice. However, relevant provisions of the NHS Constitution

were enacted via Regulations which came into force on 1st April 2009. The Regulations specify that the public in England have the right to receive vaccinations as specified in any “Recommendation” of the committee that relates to a new national vaccination programme or to changes to an existing national

vaccination programme. The Recommendation must be on a question specifically referred by the Secretary of State, be based on an assessment which demonstrates cost-effectiveness and not relate to travel or occupational health. All other decisions of the JCVI are merely advisory. The JCVI adopted new terms of reference at their meeting on 17th June 2009. They are (in part): “To advise the Secretary of State for Health and Welsh buy VRT752271 Ministers on matters relating to communicable diseases, preventable and potentially preventable through vaccination and immunisation”. The JCVI’s statutory functions do not relate to Thymidine kinase Scotland or Northern Ireland although their Ministers may choose to accept

its advice. The role of the committee in ultimate decision making is discussed further below. There is a JCVI code of practice for members which is published on the committee website (http://www.dh.gov.uk/ab/JCVI/index.htm), however a revised Code of Practice and JCVI Protocol are in development. At each meeting all members must declare any potential conflicts of interest and a register of such interests is maintained and published on the website. These potential conflicts are classified as personal or non-personal. Personal conflicts arise where the individual has themselves received money for consultancies with industry, fee paid work where industry pays the member in cash or kind or where the members holds shares in a company (actual sums of money are not given in the declaration). Industry here refers to companies, partnerships of individuals who are involved with the manufacture, promotion or supply of vaccines, trade associations representing such companies or similar bodies engaged in research and development or marketing of products under consideration by the committee. Non-personal conflicts are those where payment benefits a department for which a member is responsible but is not received by the member personally. The usual examples are industry funded grants and fellowships, payments of salaries for staff or sponsorship of research by industry.

3). The use of an IPG strip of broad pI range of 3–11 facilitated the analysis of many proteins in the basic region, which were missing from 2D gels in previous studies, e.g. the key antigens FetA and NspA [12]. In addition to lipoprotein NMB1126/1164 identified by MALDI MS, a further 74 different proteins were identified by linear trap MS/MS (see Supplemental Table). Based on the protein localization algorithm

PSORTb v.2.0 [32] and previous observations, 32 were predicted outer INK1197 ic50 membrane proteins. In addition, four were located in the inner membrane and four in the periplasm. For proteins NMB0313, NMB1126/NMB1164, putative lipoprotein NlpD, putative phosphate acetyltransferase Pta and competence lipoprotein ComL, a signal peptide sequence was predicted, but no further information exists as to whether they are secreted or are membrane components. The remaining proteins were either cytoplasmic or their localization not yet predicted. The proportion of cytosolic proteins identified in the current study was similar to the published OMV protein datasets [11], [12] and [13]. The ability to manufacture vaccine batches consistently is a critical Alectinib factor

for the quality, safety and efficacy of the product. Vaccine consistency is ensured by adherence to good manufacturing practice, use of in-process controls and quality control of the final product. Changes in the growth medium used for the production of bacterial GPX6 vaccine components might be expected to affect

the antigen expression and hence the consistency of the product. Complex vaccine components like meningococcal OMVs are especially susceptible to such changes. Our study has compared the antigen composition and immunogenicity of OMV vaccines produced from the meningococcal 44/76 reference strain grown in two commonly used media for meningococcal OMV vaccines, FM and MC.6M. OMVs from this strain, cultivated in FM, were used in the protection trial in Norway [5] and [6]. Overall, the results showed that the OMVs produced using the two culture media had a similar protein composition. The major porins, PorA and PorB, were expressed at similar levels, as were Omp85 and RmpM, which are involved in outer membrane synthesis and stability, respectively [33] and [34]. Consistent with this, the two OMV vaccines induced the same levels of specific antibodies to these proteins in mice. A high correlation between the titres in SBA of the mice sera and the levels of PorA-specific antibodies was observed in support of previous findings that PorA is the primary target for bactericidal antibodies in mice [35] and [36]. However, mice vaccinated with 2.0 μg of the MC.

19 Maximum production of metabolite was achieved in late log phase, which remained constant during stationery phase. Antibiotic production usually occurs in the stationery phase. In our case, the production of the metabolite by S. fradiae metabolite production was directly proportional

to the growth rate. 20 Selleckchem Selisistat Ethyl acetate extract from the culture supernatant showed the good antifungal activity than the ethanol extract of the biomass, thus showing the extracellular nature of the metabolite. Mostly antibiotics are extracellular, 21 further studies on the extraction; purification and characterization of the antifungal metabolite are currently in progress. In conclusion, the findings of the present study showed that in nature occurring actinomycetes have a great prospective to produce metabolites against fungi enabling the

finding of new antimicrobial compounds and hence merit future studies. All authors have none to declare. Authors are thankful to Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi, India, for financial help to carry out this research work. “
“Chromone nucleus has been recognized as a versatile molecular framework, which is part of the pharmacophore of a wide variety learn more of biologically active molecules and has affinity for a variety of macromolecular targets.1 Recently, we have reported the synthesis and evaluation of chromone derivatives as topoisomerase inhibitors.2 Among the other cytotoxic/anti-cancer/antitumor

chromone derivatives developed includes phosphoric ester derivatives3 Flavone acetic acid derivatives.4 Replacement of the furanose Ergoloid ring of nucleoside with isoxazolidine and isoxazoline to obtain modified nucleoside with anticancer and antiviral applications has recently drawn considerable attention5 as chemical moieties bearing above nucleus were reported to possess important biological activities anticancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial or antifungal activity.6 The DNA intercalative and cytotoxic properties of different isoxazolidinyl polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been reported.7 and 8 Recently, we have reported synthesis and cytotoxic studies of isoxazolidines against selected human cancer cell lines.9 Keeping in view the anticancer/cytotoxic activities of chromone derivatives and isoxazolidine bearing chemical moiety, it was considered worthwhile to evaluate our previously designed and synthesized chromano-piperidine fused isoxazolidines (3a–b) along with new derivatives (3c–j) for in-vitro cytotoxic potential against different human cancer cell lines. The compounds (3a–j) were obtained by adopting synthetic protocol reported by us.

6) billion with contributions from: chlamydia $516.7 million; gonorrhea $162.1 million; hepatitis B virus $50.7 million; HIV $12.6 billion; human papilloma virus $1.7 billion; herpes simplex Regorafenib virus type 2 $540.7 million; Syphilis $39.3 million; trichomoniasis $24.0 million. Costs of alternative interventions such as screening programs are not included in these direct medical cost estimates. For Chlamydia

in the US, there was an assessment of the societal cost of STDs via productivity losses [33]. In the US the evidence suggests a very large burden of treatment costs for STDs. Elsewhere the burden is poorly measured, but as the infections are widespread and severe disease can follow, it is likely substantial. It is obvious that the more expensive a vaccine is to manufacture and distribute the less cost effective it will be. Requirements, such as multiple doses and a cold chain can AP24534 research buy increase manufacturing and distribution costs. Even more problematic would be the requirement for repeated immunizations over a long period. Vaccines are often cost effective because they are cheap. As products used in large quantities there can be economies of scale in their manufacture and companies can adopt a high volume low margin strategy. In the case of STIs targeting high risk individuals to improve cost

effectiveness could have the perverse effect of increasing the price of the vaccine. Dramatic reductions in the price of vaccines for developing countries have been mainly driven by tiered pricing and procurement strategies [1], but have also required cheaper manufacture. For example, new methods of manufacturing hepatitis B vaccine were required to produce hepatitis B vaccine in large volumes [1]. The price of hepatitis vaccine has fallen dramatically from $30 per dose of hepatitis B plasma vaccine in 1981 when it was introduced down to the UNICEF Supply Division price of $0.25 per dose of recombinant monoclonal vaccine in 2006 [1]. For tiered pricing to be possible, with payments in richer populations driving manufacturer profits, there needs to be a requirement for vaccination

in those richer markets. For example, HPV vaccination was launched with a price of around $360 per course in the US, but is now available through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) in low income countries for $4.50 [34]. The Dichloromethane dehalogenase opportunity for tiered pricing is more apparent for the viral STIs, where a cure is not possible through current treatment, treatment of disease causes a burden on the system [32] and there is a psychosocial burden [35]. Efficacy from randomized controlled trials provides a limited characterization of the activity of a vaccine. The protection observed in a vaccine trial will inevitably be over a limited period. If protection wanes rapidly loss of protection may be revealed, but not if it wanes slowly. The need for booster doses due to waning protection will of course increase program costs.

Given the wide-ranging costs and the immediate need for some of the projects recommended in this report to either start or accelerate, governments of dengue-endemic countries should consider assigning and securing funding now. Funding from a range of public and private organisations should be considered including both traditional and innovative funding sources. At the same time, funding from the global community will be essential. Unfortunately, while dengue is a high priority in endemic countries, it is a low priority among

decision-makers in the global health community, whose priority is typically those diseases with the highest mortality. It is critical that the global public health community Selleck CP-673451 starts to view dengue as the major public health concern Selleck PI3K Inhibitor Library that it is. The collected meeting recommendations highlight the importance of preparing for dengue vaccine introduction now (see Box 1 for a summary of recommendations). It will be necessary to document and publicise the true human and economic costs of dengue. Under-reporting of dengue remains a significant problem so comprehensive analyses in different regions need to be performed to quantify expansion factors. To support these efforts and to prepare for requirements during and after vaccine introduction, there is a need to ensure that high quality active surveillance systems and diagnostics are introduced so as

to gather more detailed and representative background data. To facilitate comparisons and meta-analyses, toolkit applications and protocols in diagnostics, surveillance and computational modelling that can be easily shared and applied in different countries/regions should be developed and disseminated. Document and publicise the true human and economic costs of dengue. Initial introduction of a dengue vaccine should be in a country or region with effective surveillance capabilities, where reliable data are already available, and

where there is the ability to conduct high quality pharmacovigilance studies. Regardless, each dengue-endemic country should develop detailed logistical plans for dengue vaccine introduction, including how to incorporate a dengue vaccine into existing vaccination schedules and other requirements unique Rutecarpine to a dengue vaccine. A series of educational programmes for health care workers, decision-makers and the public should be planned and implemented where required. These would include continuing, and enhanced, training of physicians in the diagnosis of dengue, training health care workers in logistical aspects of vaccine implementation, and preparation for potential issues in order to be ready to address public concerns as they arise. It will be critical to identify sustainable sources of funding, both to support vaccine introduction and to maintain the vaccination programme.

The high burden of severe rotavirus disease in the second year of life documented in the current study emphasises the importance of continued protection, and the potential public health value

that even a modestly efficacious vaccine would bring if incorporated into Malawi’s national immunisation programme. Vaccine efficacy in Malawi was substantially lower than observed in clinical trials of both Rotarix and RotaTeq in upper and middle income countries, where an efficacy of 85–100% against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis had been demonstrated in the first year of life [6], [7] and [8], DAPT order and where protection is relatively well conserved into the second year of life [29], [30], [31] and [32]. Potential reasons (e.g. maternal antibodies, breastfeeding, concurrent OPV administration, malnutrition, concomitant HIV infection, rotavirus strain diversity, enteric co-infections, “force of

infection”) why the efficacy of live, oral rotavirus vaccines may be lower in developing countries have been discussed previously, but remain incompletely understood [33], [34] and [35]. In our study, all mothers were breastfeeding, and >99% of infants received concomitant OPV [14]. Less than 5% of enrolled infants were HIV infected [14]. The impact of nutritional status selleckchem on vaccine efficacy and the role of concurrent infection with other enteric pathogens in this study cohort is currently already being explored. Although there is no reliable, consistent laboratory correlate that predicts clinical protection following rotavirus vaccination [36] and [37], it is known that the serum immune response to rotavirus vaccines decreases by income level of country [33]. The anti-rotavirus IgA seroconversion rate following vaccination in this study, 52.9%, is one of the lowest reported for Rotarix [33]. In this regard, it is worthy of mention that Malawi is a very low income country (Gross National Income per capita of $810 per annum) with an under 5 mortality rate of 100 per 1000 live births (http://www.who.int/gho/countries/mwi.pdf). A particular feature of this study

was the diversity of circulating strains encountered, including genotypes G8, G9 and G12, with only a minority of strains carrying the G1P[8] genotype on which the vaccine is based. Surveillance of rotavirus strains undertaken in Malawi since 1997 has described an extraordinary diversity of rotaviruses [22], and African countries are known to harbour a wide variety of rotavirus strains [38]. The diversity of circulating strains documented during this study, when examined further at the whole genomic level, does not however explain the reduced vaccine efficacy in Malawi [39]. Furthermore, vaccine efficacy was consistent across strain types in both Malawian and South African populations [14] and [40].

For example leaves of P. subpeltata, and Cinnamomum iners for the treatment of jaundice; Centratherum anthelmenticum, Clerodendrum inerme, Cyclea peltata, Ervatamia heyneana for diabetes; roots of, Hydrocotyle javanica and Heracelum rigens for diarrhoea; Blepharis asperrima for bone fracture; root of Adenia hondala, Pimpinella heyneana ( Fig. 2J) and Eryngium foetidum ( Fig. 2D) for wound healing; Jasminum malabaricum for conjunctivitis and root of Curculigo orchioides for spinder sting and Randia dumetorum ( Fig. 2L) as antidote

for snake bite and seeds of Caesalpinia bonducella for rabies ( Fig. 2C). The following plants i.e. A. hondala, Andrographis serpyllifolia, Arisaema leschenaultii, Barleria prionitis, Biophytum sensivitum, B. asperrima, Canna indica, Capsicum frutescens, Centratherum anthelminticum, C. iners, Cryptolepis buchanani, learn more Cucumis prophetarum, Antidiabetic Compound Library ic50 Dendrophthoe falcate, Desmodium pulchellum,

E. foetidum, Gymnema sylvestre, Hedychium coronarium, H. javanica, Justicia wynaadensis, Leonurus sibiricus, Momordica dioica, P. subpeltata, P. heyneana, Platanthera susannae, Pothos scandens reported in the paper were not recorded for similar use by earlier workers who explored the ethnomedicinal knowledge of Kodagu district. 8, 9, 11 and 12 Some of the plants identified in the study area have been listed as endangered in the IUCN Red data book. These include A. hondala, A. paniculata ( Fig. 2A), C. orchioides, Exacum bicolor ( Fig. 2E), Gloriosa superba ( Fig. 2F), Garcinia gummigutta, H. coronarium ( Fig. 2G), H. rigens ( Fig. 2H), Mucuna prurita ( Fig. 2I), P. susannae ( Fig. 2K) and Rauwolfia serpentina. Some of plants presented are considered as poisonous if consumed. These of include Abrus precatorius (seed), A. hondala (root tuber), Agave americana (leaf), A. leschenaultii (root tuber), Argemone mexicana (seed), C. prophetarum (fruit), Datura

stramonium (fruit), G. superba (root tuber), Jatropha curcas (seed), L. nicotianaefolia (leaf), R. dumetorum (fruit) and Vitex negundo (leaf). During the survey it was found that the herbal healers collect medicinal plants from nearby forests. Elder people (above 60 years age old) mentioned and utilized more variety of medicinal plants compared to younger generation. The names of the informants have been given in Table 1. Women have very little knowledge of medicinal plants. Similarly, literate person of the tribal hadies were found to have less knowledge of medicinal plants as compared to illiterate ones due to lack of their interest. While sharing the knowledge, the tribal people showed very high interest to gain the advance knowledge of these plants but tried to skip and did not fully cooperate to render the ethnomedicinal information. It was also noted that most of the herbal healers were hesitant in disclosing their knowledge.

However, PCV also

increases the colonization prevalence of non-vaccine serotypes (NVTs) – a phenomenon termed serotype replacement – leaving overall pneumococcal carriage prevalence virtually unchanged. PCV introduction into the routine pediatric immunization schedule in the United States and other countries has resulted in near-elimination of VT-IPD not only in infants (the age-group targeted for vaccination), but also in the unimmunized general population [8]. This indirect protection is a critical component of the vaccine’s public health impact. In the United States, it accounted for 69% of all IPD cases prevented in the first three years of licensure [9] and a 44–63% absolute decrease in pneumococcal pneumonia admissions in adults [10]. PCVs have selleck now been incorporated into routine childhood immunization in 96 countries. Another 51 countries, many in the developing world, plan to introduce PCV in the coming years [11]. With demand

growing, multiple manufacturers are developing PCV products; licensing authorities have had to determine what data should support such licensure and be required for post-licensure monitoring. Disease endpoint trials are now difficult or impossible to conduct because of ethical considerations in placebo-control comparisons and sample size requirements in head-to-head trials. Licensure approaches are therefore anchored on correlations of immunogenicity to IPD protection established in the randomized controlled trials, and

immunogenicity non-inferiority measures in new PCV Tenofovir price products [12]. Although this approach has a strong scientific basis and is accepted by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and the World Health Organization (WHO), it lacks a crucial component: impact of pneumococcal vaccines on NP carriage among both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, and consequent effects on disease among the unvaccinated as well as the fully or partially vaccinated. NP effects may also prove an Histone demethylase essential component of the licensing approach for novel non-polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccines such as those based on pneumococcal proteins. Not only do vaccine products merit consideration from this perspective of impact on carriage, so do vaccine schedules; the number of primary-series doses and addition of a booster dose may affect the magnitude of the indirect effect. We posited the causal chain in the indirect effect paradigm as follows (Fig. 1): 1. PCV decreases VT-carriage prevalence and density in vaccinated individuals. Reduction in prevalence is achieved by reductions in acquisition rates and density, rather than reductions in duration of VT carriage [13], [14] and [15]. Evidence for the first link in this chain and for individual carriage as a precondition for pneumococcal disease is addressed elsewhere [16].

, 2003 and Vallor et al., 2001). During pregnancy, steroid hormones such as progesterone and estradiol stimulate high levels of glycogen deposition onto vaginal epithelium further promoting the growth of favorable acidophilic vaginal

bacteria like Lactobacillus. However, these hormones also play a significant role in immunosuppression during pregnancy. While this effect is adaptive as it allows tolerance of the developing offspring, it may also increase maternal vulnerability to environmental MAPK Inhibitor Library price challenges ( Trowsdale and Betz, 2006 and Zuk and Stoehr, 2002). Stress during pregnancy can exaggerate the normal physiological immunosuppression, thereby increasing maternal vulnerability to genitourinary infection and its related obstetrical risks including associations with neurodevelopmental disorders. For instance, in a recent epidemiological study, mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder reported greater frequency and severity of vaginal bacterial infections during pregnancy ( Zerbo et al., 2013). Importantly, recurrent vaginal bacterial and fungal infections can trigger a variety of local and global responses that may result in the eventual loss of the beneficial LY2157299 in vitro Lactobacillus-dominant vaginal ecosystem ( Gupta et al., 1998 and Ehrstrom et al., 2005). The downstream effects of stress-related Lactobacillus depletion on maternal-infant microbial transmission,

host metabolism, and immune function remain to be examined, but likely include important consequences for the developing brain. Two different modes of maternal-infant transmission have been proposed: 1) horizontal, where the infant’s predominant microbial acquisition is from the external environment, and 2) vertical, where there is maternal transmission of vaginal microbes during parturition (Bright and Bulgheresi, 2010). Emerging evidence, however, suggests that vertical transmission primarily accounts

for the initial colonization of the infant gut, which can influence maturation of the gastrointestinal tract and ensure the proper extraction of energy and macromolecules essential for normal development (Bright and Bulgheresi, 2010, Cilieborg secondly et al., 2012, Collado et al., 2012 and Mackie et al., 1999). Recent appreciation for the influence of this mother-infant microbial transmission on offspring development has sparked new interest in understanding the potential connection between perturbations during pregnancy and early life programming. At the turn of the twentieth century, French pediatrician Henry Tissier proposed that human infants develop within a sterile environment, with primary microbial exposure occurring through contact of the newborn with maternal vaginal microbiota (Tissier, 1900). However, recent studies have cast some reservations on the ‘sterile’ womb hypothesis (Funkhouser and Bordenstein, 2013).