***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: An anthroposophic lifestyle  , which has been associated with reduced allergy risk in children , has several characteristics that could influence gut microbiota . This study aim ed to investigate the impact of anthroposophic lifestyle as well as specific early life exposures on the gut microbiota . In total , 665 stool sample s from 128 mother-infant pairs from the ALADDIN birth cohort study were included . Sample s collected from infants at ages 6 days , 3 weeks , 2 months and 6 months , and from their mothers before and after delivery , respectively , were analyzed using 454-pyrosequencing . Information regarding lifestyle exposures was collected prospect ively through interviews and question naires . Six-month-old infants in anthroposophic families had a significantly higher abundance of Bifidobacterium and lower abundances of Bacteroides and Veillonella . Caesarean section and breastfeeding had a significant impact on the microbiota : caesarean section was primarily associated with delayed colonization of Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides , whereas breastfed children had a higher relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and a lower abundance of Clostridiales . However , despite large differences in lifestyle exposures , we determined no significant differences in the gut microbiota between the anthroposophic and non-anthroposophic mothers or their infants ' before 6 months of age Background Neonatal sepsis due to intestinal bacterial translocation is a major cause of morbidity and mortality . Underst and ing microbial colonisation of the gut in prematurity may predict risk of sepsis to guide future strategies to manipulate the microbiome . Methods Prospect i ve longitudinal study of premature infants . Stool sample s were obtained weekly . DNA was extracted and the V6 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA was amplified followed by high throughput pyrosequencing , comparing subjects with and without sepsis . Results Six neonates were 24–27 weeks gestation at birth and had 18 sample s analysed . Two subjects had no sepsis during the study period , two developed late-onset culture-positive sepsis and two had culture-negative systemic inflammation . 324 350 sequences were obtained . The meconium was not sterile and had predominance of Lactobacillus , Staphylococcus and Enterobacteriales . Overall , infants who developed sepsis began life with low microbial diversity , and acquired a predominance of Staphylococcus , while healthy infants had more diversity and predominance of Clostridium , Klebsiella and Veillonella . Conclusions In very low birth weight infants , the authors found that meconium is not sterile and is less diverse from birth in infants who will develop late-onset sepsis . Empiric , prolonged antibiotics profoundly decrease microbial diversity and promote a microbiota that is associated not only with neonatal sepsis , but the predominant pathogen previously identified in the microbiome . Our data suggest that there may be a ‘ healthy microbiome ’ present in extremely premature neonates that may ameliorate risk of sepsis . More research is needed to determine whether altered antibiotics , probiotics or other novel therapies can re-establish a healthy microbiome in neonates Perinatal administration of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG ( ATCC 53103 ) , reduces incidence of atopic eczema in at-risk children during the first 2 years of life ( infancy ) . We have therefore assessed persistence of the potential to prevent atopic eczema at 4 years . Atopic disease was diagnosed on the basis of a question naire and a clinical examination . 14 of 53 children receiving lactobacillus had developed atopic eczema , compared with 25 of 54 receiving placebo  ( relative risk 0.57 , 95 % CI 0.33 - 0.97 ) . Skin prick test reactivity was the same in both groups : ten of 50 children previously given lactobacillus compared with nine of 50 given placebo tested positive . Our results suggest that the preventive effect of lactobacillus GG on atopic eczema extends beyond infancy Abstract Objective : To test the hypothesis that maternal complications significantly affect gut colonization patterns in very low birth weight infants . Methods : Forty-nine serial stool sample s were obtained weekly from nine extremely premature infants enrolled in a prospect i ve longitudinal study . Sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from stool sample s was performed to approximate the intestinal microbiome . Linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate relationships between perinatal complications and intestinal microbiome development . Results : Subjects with prenatal exposure to a non-sterile intrauterine environment , i.e. prolonged preterm premature rupture of membranes ( PPPROM ) and chorioamnionitis exposure , were found to have a relatively higher abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the stool across all time points compared to subjects without those exposures , irrespective of exposure to postnatal antibiotics . Compared with those delivered by Caesarean section , vaginally delivered subjects were found to have significantly lower diversity of stool microbiota across all time points , with lower abundance of many genera , most in the family Enterobacteriaceae . Conclusions : We identified persistently increased potential pathogen abundance in the developing stool microbiota of subjects exposed to a non-sterile uterine environment . Maternal complications appear to significantly influence the diversity and bacterial composition of the  stool microbiota of premature infants , with findings persisting over time Background The ' hygiene hypothesis ' suggests that early exposure to microbes can be protective against atopic disease . The intestinal microbial flora could operate as an important postnatal regulator of the Th1/Th2 balance . The aim of the study was to investigate the association between early intestinal colonisation and the development of  asthma in the first 3 years of life . Methods In a prospect i ve birth cohort , 117 children were classified according to the Asthma Predictive Index . A positive index included wheezing during the first three years of life combined with eczema in the child in the first years of life or with a parental history of asthma .  A faecal sample was taken at the age of 3 weeks and cultured on selective media . Results Asthma Predictive Index was positive in 26/117 ( 22 % ) of the children . The prevalence of colonisation with Bacteroides fragilis was higher at 3 weeks in index+ compared to index- children ( 64 % vs. 34 % p < 0,05 ) . Bacteroides fragilis and Total Anaerobes counts at 3 weeks were significantly higher in children with a positive index as compared with those without . After adjusting for confounders a positive association was found between Bacteroides fragilis colonisation and Asthma Predictive Index ( odds ratio : 4,4 ; confidence interval : 1,7 – 11,8 ) . Conclusion Bacteroides fragilis colonisation at age 3 weeks is an early indicator of possible asthma later in life . This study could provide the means for more accurate targeting of treatment and prevention and thus more effective and better controlled modulation of the microbial milieu BACKGROUND It is debated whether a low total diversity of the gut microbiota in early childhood is more important than an altered prevalence of particular bacterial species for the increasing incidence of allergic disease . The advent of powerful , cultivation-free molecular methods makes it possible to characterize the total microbiome down to the genus level in large cohorts . OBJECTIVE We sought to assess microbial diversity and characterize the dominant bacteria in stool during the first year of life in relation to atopic eczema development . METHODS Microbial diversity and composition were analyzed with barcoded 16S rDNA 454-pyrosequencing in stool sample s at 1 week , 1 month , and 12 months of age in 20 infants with IgE-associated eczema and 20 infants without any allergic manifestation until 2 years of age ( Clinical Trials.gov ID NCT01285830 ) . RESULTS Infants with IgE-associated eczema had a lower diversity of the total microbiota at 1 month ( P = .004 ) and a lower diversity of the bacterial phylum Bacteroidetes and the genus Bacteroides at 1 month ( P = .02 and P = .01 ) and the phylum Proteobacteria at 12 months of age ( P = .02 ) . The microbiota was less uniform at 1 month than at 12 months of age , with a high interindividual variability . At 12 months , when the microbiota had stabilized , Proteobacteria , comprising gram-negative organisms , were more abundant in infants without allergic manifestation ( Empirical Analysis of Digital Gene Expression in R [ edgeR ] test : P = .008 , q = 0.02 ) . CONCLUSION Low intestinal microbial diversity during the first month of life was associated with subsequent atopic eczema Background A modest number of prospect i ve studies of the composition of the intestinal microbiota and eczema in early life have yielded conflicting results . Objective To examine the relationship between the bacterial diversity of the gut and the development of eczema in early life by methods other than stool culture . Methods Fecal sample s were collected from 21 infants at 1 and 4 months of life . Nine infants were diagnosed with eczema by the age of 6 months ( cases ) and 12 infants were not ( controls ) . After conducting denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis ( DGGE ) of stool sample s , we compared the microbial diversity of cases and controls using the number of electrophoretic b and s and the Shannon index of diversity ( H ' ) as indicators . Results Control subjects had significantly greater fecal microbial diversity than children with eczema at ages 1 ( mean H ' for controls = 0.75 vs. 0.53 for cases , P = 0.01 ) and 4 months ( mean H ' for controls = 0.92 vs. 0.59 for cases , P = 0.02 ) . The increase in diversity from 1 to 4 months of age was significant in controls ( P = 0.04 ) but not in children who developed eczema by 6 months of age ( P = 0.32 ) . Conclusion Our findings suggest that reduced microbial diversity is associated with the development of eczema in early life BACKGROUND Alterations in intestinal microflora have been linked to the development of allergic disease . Recent studies suggest that healthy infant immune development may depend on the establishment of a diverse gut microbiota rather than the presence or absence of specific microbial strains . OBJECTIVES We investigated the relationship between diversity of gut microbiota in the early postnatal period and subsequent development of eczema and atopy in the first year of life . METHODS Fecal sample s were collected 1 wk after birth from 98 infants at high risk of allergic disease , who were followed prospect ively to age 12 months .  Fecal microbial diversity was assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism ( T-RFLP ) using restriction enzymes Sau96I and AluI , with a greater number of peaks representing greater diversity of bacterial communities . RESULTS Microbial diversity at day 7 was significantly lower in infants with eczema at age 12 months as compared to infants without eczema ( AluI mean number of peaks 13.1 vs. 15.5 , p = 0.003 , 95 % CI for difference in means -3.9 , -0.8 ; Sau96I 14.7 vs. 17.2 , p = 0.03 , 95 % CI -4.9 , -0.3 ) . No differences were observed for atopic compared to non-atopic infants , or infants with two allergic parents compared to those with one or no allergic parent . CONCLUSIONS A more diverse intestinal microbiota in the first week of life is associated with a reduced risk of subsequent eczema in infants at increased risk of allergic disease . Interventions that enhance microbial diversity in early life may provide an effective means for the prevention of eczema in high-risk infants Over the last two decades the incidence of allergic diseases has increased in industrialized countries , and consequently new approaches have to be explored Acquisition of the gastrointestinal microbiota at birth may have long-term health impacts . We longitudinally characterised major microbial communities in the faeces of a cohort of infants using  molecular methods .  Faecal sample s were prospect ively obtained at several time points after birth from eighty-three infants .  Real-time PCR using SYBR green and primers targeted at 16S rRNA gene sequences were used to quantify Bifidobacterium , Lactobacillus acidophilus group , Bacteroides – Prevotella group , Enterobacteriaceae , Enterococcus , Clostridium coccoides – Eubacterium rectale group , Clostridium leptum group and Staphylococcus . Microbial community abundance was expressed relative to amplification of sequences conserved universally for domain bacteria . Faecal copy number of 16S rRNA genes increased non-significantly from a mean of 4·1 × 109/g on day 1 to 1·1 × 1010/g on day 4 . All microbial communities were detected from day 1 after birth . Enterobacteriaceae and lactobacilli predominated on day 1 , while bifidobacteria and staphylocci increased on day 4 . Bacteroides – Prevotella and C. coccoides – E. rectale increased by day 180 . C. leptum was detected in half of the cohort at birth and in a slightly larger percentage by 6 months . Caesarean section was associated with delayed colonisation by several bacterial communities . Higher socio-e 
    Output:
    
Overall , a greater relative abundance of Bacteroidaceae , Clostridiaceae , and Enterobacteriaceae and a lower relative abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae and Lactobacillaceae is associated with the development of allergic sensitization , eczema , or asthma .
Reduced bacterial diversity can be associated with the development of allergic disease .
The association between the composition of the intestinal microbiota and the development of allergic disease or asthma is less consistent in older children than in neonates , suggesting that early‐life microbial exposure plays a more important role .