3,949 research outputs found
Genistein-mediated diet tends to increase oxidative stress in the vasculature of female ob/ob mice
No full textabstract: Morbid obesity is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. A major contributor to the pathogenesis of these diseases is impaired vasodilation resulting from elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS). This is because certain ROS such as superoxide are raised with obesity and scavenge the endogenous vasorelaxant nitric oxide, resulting in hypertension. The objective of this study was to measure the ability of genistein to quench superoxide in the vasculature of ob/ob mice, an animal model of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Genistein is an isoflavonic phytoestrogen naturally found in soy products. While genistein has documented antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it is not known whether this protects the vasculature from oxidative stress. Genistein was hypothesized to reduce superoxide in arteries from female ob/ob mice. The superoxide indicator dihydroethidium (DHE) [2µL/mL HEPES buffer] was added to isolated aortae and mesenteric arteries from mice fed either a control (standard rodent chow containing 200-300 mg genistein/kg) or genistein-enriched (600mg genistein/kg rodent chow) diets for 4 weeks. Frozen tissues sections were collected onto glass microscope slides and examined using confocal microscopy. Contrary to the hypothesis, a diet containing twice the amount of genistein found in standard chow did not significantly reduce superoxide concentrations in aortae (p=0.287) or mesenteric arteries (p=0.352). Superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme that breaks down superoxide, was significantly upregulated in the genistein-enriched diet group (p=0.004), although this elevation did not promote the breakdown of superoxide. In addition, the inflammatory marker iNOS was not downregulated in the genistein-enriched diet group (p>0.05). The results indicate that high amounts of isoflavones, like genistein, may not exhibit the purported antioxidant effects in the vasculature of obese or diabetic subjects. Further studies examining arteries from ob/ob mice fed a genistein-free diet are needed to elucidate the true effects of genistein on oxidative stress
Detached and interacting OB star binaries
No full text. We present an analysis of detached and interacting OB star binaries. Values of masses, radii, and internal structure constants from stars in detached systems are in excellent agreement with the latest stellar models. Some revisions to the effective temperature scale for O stars would seem to be required. The mass-exchanging, or interacting, OB binaries discussed in this sample seem to require case A models to explain their properties, rather than the published case B models. 1. The detached O+O star binaries Eclipsing binary stars with well-defined light-curves at more than one passband, and accurate radial velocity curves for both components, provide us with definitive empirical masses, radii, temperatures and luminosities. The compilation by Andersen (1991) of such data for unevolved, detached binaries covered the main sequence from 0.6M fi to 23M fi , with only two binaries (EM Car, V478 Cyg) making a precise contribution to our empirical knowledge of O stars. Schonberner & Harma..
Sc-26196, a delta-6 desaturase inhibitor, normalizes glucose tolerance in ob/ob mice
No full text2012 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.The incidence of diabetes has reached epidemic levels worldwide, and while researchers know more about the phenomenon than ever, an effective treatment still remains elusive. Recently, chronic low-grade inflammation has been shown to play a key role in insulin resistance and diabetes. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate a role for the delta-6 desaturase (D6D) in diabetes, and furthermore to elucidate the potential mechanism by which inhibition of D6D by sc-26196 treatment could restore glucose tolerance in obese insulin resistant ob/ob mice. Treatment of 4-month-old male ob/ob mice with the selective D6D inhibitor sc-26196 (SC, 100 mg/kg/d for 4 weeks) improved response to an acute glucose challenge (1 mg/g BW i.p.), as indicated by lower peak (146% vs. 219% of fasting) and final (85% vs. 180% of fasting 2 hours-post bolus) blood glucose levels versus untreated ob/ob mice (p<0.01). Increased hepatic macrophage infiltration in addition to increased phosphorylation of JNK proteins and inhibitory IRS phosphorylation in untreated ob mice was attenuated by sc-26196 treatment, which suggests that D6D inhibition improves glucose tolerance by decreasing inflammation and restoring insulin signaling by way of the IRS/PI3K pathway. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of sc-26196 treatment for glucose intolerance in ob/ob mice and results warrant future studies for use of sc-26196 in the clinical treatment of insulin resistance and diabetes
Naravna in kulturna dediščina ob reki Dravi med Ptujem in Središčem ob Dravi na primeru zgodovinopisja ptujsko-ormoškega območja
No full textOn the example of the historiography of the Ptuj-Ormož area the author presents the knowledge about the natural and cultural heritage of the area at the Drava River between Ptuj and Središče ob Dravi which was gained as a consequence of the development of the places being located next to the river. The author is dealing with the relation of the society towards the natural and cultural heritage. She has focused on the presentation of natural parks with their specialties and on the results gained from protective and scientific archaeological researches that had been done because of planed environmental interventions. The extraordinary natural and archaeological richness between Ptuj and Središče ob Dravi - long ago this area gave shelter to people who had developed here their culture and enriched with it our everyday life - has been described in this paper by presenting the articles accessible in the literature from the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. Because of the extensiveness of the topic the author has limited herself to the survey of results about the natural and cultural heritage being presented by experts from the Ptuj-Ormož area.Na primeru zgodovinopisja ptujsko-ormoškega območja avtorica v prispevku predstavlja spoznanja o naravni in kulturni dediščini ob reki Dravi med Ptujem in Središčem ob Dravi, ki so nastala kot posledica razvoja krajev ob njej. Obravnava odnos družbe do naravne in kulturne dediščine. Osredotočila se je na prikaz naravnih parkov z njihovimi posebnostmi in na izsledke, pridobljene iz zaščitnih in znanstvenih arheoloških raziskovanj, opravljenih zaradi načrtovanih posegov v okolje. Izredno naravno in arheološko bogastvo med Ptujem in Središčem ob Dravi - to območje je že davno dajalo zavetje ljudem, ki so tu razvijali kulturo in z njo bogatili naš vsakdan - je v prispevku navedeno s predstavitvijo člankov v dostopni literaturi s konca 20. in začetka 21. stoletja. Zaradi obsežnosti teme se je avtorica omejila na prikaz izsledkov o naravni in arheološki dediščini, ki so jo predstavili strokovnjaki s ptujsko-ormoškega območja
OB-EIAD175 - Copper plates from Tummalagudem (set II), reign of Vikramendravarman II, year 11
No full textCopper plates from Tummalagudem (set II), reign of Vikramendravarman II, year 1
Štrekljeva zbirka ljudskih pesmi ob prelomu stoletja
No full textThe author presents the most significant work of the Slovene folklorist and Slavist Karl Štrekelj, the book Slovenske narodni pesni 1-4 (1895-1923). He also discloses historical and social background which influenced the publication of teh collection. Štrekelj's significant views, particularly hist stand towards the folk culture, are introduced, and his work appraised.The author revises some earlier evaluations of Štrekelj's opus, made by Štrekelj's contemporaries and followers. By pointing to the both deficiencies and still valid aspects of Štrekelj's work, the author qualifies his contribution as exceptional for Slovenian folkloristics. He emphaisises however, the necessity of historical approach since by using contemporary criteria Štrekelj's work would be misprized.Avtor v svojem delu predstavlja najpomembnejše delo slovenskega slavista in folklorista Karla Štreklja, knjigo Slovenske narodne pesmi 1-4. Ob zbirki razgrinja zgodovinsko in družbeno ozadje, ki je vplivalo na zasnovo in izdajo zbirke, hkrati pa avtor predstavlja Štrekljev znanstveni nazor in njegov pogled na ljudsko kulturo in oceni Štrekljevo delo. Avtor revidira nekatere ocene Štrekljevih sodobnikov in nadaljevalcev njegovega dela. Ob opozarjanju na pomanjkljivosti in prispevek dobre srani Štrekljevega dela pa prikaže Štrekljev izjemni slovenskii folkloristiki, hkrati pa poudarja nujnost zgodovinskega pogleda, saj bi le z današnjimi merili krivično ovrednotili Štrekljevo ime
Suppressing hyperinsulinemia prevents obesity but causes rapid onset of diabetes in leptin-deficient Lepob/ob mice
No full textObjective: Hyperinsulinemia is commonly associated with obesity. Mice deficient in the adipose-derived hormone leptin (Lepob/ob) develop hyperinsulinemia prior to onset of obesity and glucose intolerance. Whether the excess of circulating insulin is a major contributor to obesity and impaired glucose homeostasis in Lepob/ob mice is unclear. It has been reported previously that diet-induced obesity in mice can be prevented by reducing insulin gene dosage. In the present study, we examined the effects of genetic insulin reduction in Lepob/ob mice on circulating insulin, body composition, and glucose homeostasis. Methods: Leptin expressing (Lepwt/wt) mice lacking 3 insulin alleles were crossed with Lepob/ob mice to generate Lepob/ob and Lepwt/wt littermates lacking 1 (Ins1+/+;Ins2+/−), 2 (Ins1+/+;Ins2−/−) or 3 (Ins1+/−;Ins2−/−) insulin alleles. Animals were assessed for body weight gain, body composition, glucose homeostasis, and islet morphology. Results: We found that in young Lepob/ob mice, loss of 2 or 3 insulin alleles reduced plasma insulin levels by 75–95% and attenuated body weight gain by 50–90% compared to Ins1+/+;Ins2+/−;Lepob/ob mice. This corresponded with ∼30% and ∼50% reduced total body fat in Ins1+/+;Ins2−/−;Lepob/ob and Ins1+/−;Ins2−/−;Lepob/ob mice, respectively. Loss of 2 or 3 insulin alleles in young Lepob/ob mice resulted in onset of fasting hyperglycemia by 4 weeks of age, exacerbated glucose intolerance, and abnormal islet morphology. In contrast, loss of 1,2 or 3 insulin alleles in Lepwt/wt mice did not significantly alter plasma insulin levels, body weight, fat mass, fasting glycemia, or glucose tolerance. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings indicate that hyperinsulinemia is required for excess adiposity in Lepob/ob mice and sufficient insulin production is necessary to maintain euglycemia in the absence of leptin. Author Video: Author Video Watch what authors say about their articles Keywords: Hyperinsulinemia, Lepob/ob, Obesity, Hyperglycemi
Adaptive Evolution of Leptin in Heterothermic Bats
No full textPMCID: PMC3217946This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Scheduling participants of Assessment Centres
No full textAssessment Centres are used as a tool for psychologists and coaches to ob- serve a number of dimensions in a person's behaviour and test his/her potential within a number of chosen focus areas. This is done in an intense course, with a number of dierent exercises which expose each participant's ability level in the chosen focus areas. The participants are observed by assessors with the purpose of gathering material for reaching a conclusion on each participant's personal pro le. We consider the particular case that arises at the company Human Equity (www.humanequity.dk), where Assessment Centres usually last two days and involve 3-6 psychologists or trained coaches as assessors. An entire course is composed of a number of rounds, with each round having its individual duration. In each round, the participants are divided into a number of groups with prespeci ed pairing of group sizes and assessors. The scheduling problem amounts to determining the allocation of participants to groups in each round. We have developed a model and solution approach for this particular scheduling problem, which may be viewed as a rather extensive generalization of the Social Golfer Problem.No keywords;
Labour market transitions and employment regimes: Evidence on the flexibility-security nexus in transitional labour markets
No full textThis paper deals with the question whether the concept of transitional labour market (TLM) might be useful to formulate hypotheses about the relationship between the size and nature of labour market transitions and the performance of employment regimes. The paper starts from the idea that the TLM concept, as being developed by Günther Schmid and others, might be connected with the notion of employment regimes as defined by Gösta Esping-Andersen and others. Subsequently the paper aims at testing empirically whether the claims of the TLM concept with respect to labour market flexibility and work security hold in the real worlds of European labour markets. The paper comes to the conclusion that the liberal regime combines a high level of labour mobility and flexibility (although not much higher than the corporatist or socialdemocratic regime) with a low level of work security, and that the social-democratic regime comes out with a high level of work security but a (somewhat) lower level of labour market mobility. However, these regimes do not fit that nicely in the ideal-type as this conclusion might suggest: the liberal regimes also have fairly high levels of employment security and social-democratic countries have fairly high levels of labour mobility and flexibility. The convergence hypothesis might find some ground in these findings. -- Thema der Studie ist die Frage, ob das Konzept der Übergangsarbeitsmärkte bei der Formulierung von Hypothesen zur Beziehung von Umfang und Formen der Arbeitsmarktübergänge und der Leistungsfähigkeit von Beschäftigungsregimes hilfreich sein könnte. Ausgangspunkt ist die Idee, ob das Konzept der Übergangsarbeitsmärkte, wie es von Günther Schmid und anderen entwickelt wurde, mit dem von Gösta Esping- Andersen und anderen geschaffenen Konzept der Beschäftigungsregimes verknüpft werden könnte. Anschließend wird durch empirische Analysen getestet, ob die in der Theorie formulierten Anforderungen des Übergangsarbeitsmarkt-Konzepts hinsichtlich Arbeitsmarktflexibilität und Beschäftigungssicherheit den tatsächlichen Anforderungen auf den europäischen Arbeitsmärkten standhalten. Als Ergebnis ist festzuhalten, dass in liberalen Beschäftigungsregimen eine hohe Mobilität und Flexibilität der Arbeit (die aber nicht sehr viel höher ist als in korporatistischen oder sozialdemokratischen Beschäftigungsregimen) mit einer niedrigen Arbeitsplatzsicherheit einhergeht und dass in sozialdemokratischen Regimen eine hohe Arbeitsplatzsicherheit mit einem etwas niedrigeren Niveau der Mobilität auf dem Arbeitsmarkt verknüpft ist. Diese Regime entsprechen aber nicht so genau dem Idealtyp, wie es die dargelegten Schlussfolgerungen suggerieren könnten: auch die liberalen Beschäftigungsregime haben ein durchaus hohes Niveau der Beschäftigungssicherheit und sozialdemokratische Länder ein hohes Niveau von Mobilität und Flexibilität auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Diese Ergebnisse legen das Aufgreifen der Konvergenz-Hypothese nahe.
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