1,721,036 research outputs found
INVIVO EFFECT OF INSULIN ON INTRACELLULAR CALCIUM LEVELS IN NORMOTENSIVE AND HYPERTENSIVE SUBJECTS
No full textLDL resistance to oxidation: Effects of lipid phenotype, autologous HDL and alanine
No full textBackground: Although LDL resistance to copper-induced oxidation is a time-honoured method, how it is modulated by the physiologic variability of lipid phenotype and what influences the protective action of homologous HDL and exogenous alanine is still unclear. Methods: In 159 subjects without severe dyslipidemias, LDL resistance to copper-induced oxidation (lag phase) was measured under standardised conditions, with alanine and with autologous HDL. Results: Lag phase was normally distributed and averaged 68 +/- 10 min (range: 40-105 min). Both VLDL-triglycerides (37 +/- 5, 52 +/- 7, 59 +/- 7, 53 +/- 5 mg/dl, p<0.05) and LDL-triglycerides (27 +/- 2, 27 +/- 1, 30 +/- 2, 35 +/- 3 mg/dl, p<0.01) increased across quartiles of lag phase. The relative LDL enrichment in triglycerides (triglycerides percent or triglycerides/cholesterol ratio) was strongly related to lag phase (r=0.29 and r=0.31, p<0.0005 for both) independently of age, gender, BMI, and presence of diabetes or hypertension. The protective effect of HDL was variable (+42 +/- 18 min) and largely dependent on the capacity of HDL to resist oxidation (r=0.69,p<0.0001). Alanine induced a rather constant lag phase prolongation (+32 +/- 7 min) that was weakly related only to baseline lag phase (r=0.17,p<0.05). Conclusions: Relative triglyceride abundance protects LDL from ex-vivo oxidation, HDL particles protect LDL mainly through substrate dilution and alanine probably through a direct anti-oxidant effect. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
IMPACT OF RISK FACTOR FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS ON MICROVASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION: AN IN VITRO STUDY
No full textIt is now widely accepted that the microcirculation plays a role in the complications of atherosclerosis, but the microcirculation response to atherosclerosis risk factors like diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension, is still unclear. Alterations in the endothelial production of IL6, NO and ET-1 are known to be correlate with these diseases. Simulating the presence of hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension, this in vitro study investigated the effect of glucose, angiotensin II, and nLDL treatments on IL-6, ET-1 and NO in HMEC-1. The medium concentrations of IL6 and ET-1 were measured by ELISA assay, whereas NO by a colorimetric assay. The mRNA and protein expressions of IL-6, Pre-po-ET-1 and eNOS by extracted cells were also investigated by RT-PCR. NO concentration in the medium of HMEC-1 increased in a dose-dependent manner by glucose after 24 hours and by nLDL both at 6 and 24 h, with higher values at 6 hours. The eNOS mRNA expression at 6h induced by nLDL, showed a parallel trend to the medium NO. No increment dose dependent NO concentration was observed by angiotensin II.nLDL induced a dose-dependent increase of ET-1 medium levels, more accentuated in 6h respect to 24h. The expression of prepro-ET-1 showed a parallel dose-dependent increased after 6 hours. Both glucose and nLDL increased IL-6 levels in a dose-dependent manner at 6 and 24 h. In conclusion, glucose treatment on HMEC-1 cells exerted a mild stimulus on NO and IL-6 production. nLDL treatment showed a similar glucose stimulus on NOx, but it induced an intense pro-inflammatory activity and showed the ability to stimulate ET-1 synthesis
To bid or not to bid: That is the question: Public procurement, project complexity and corruption
No full textThe main aim of this study is to improve our comprehension of the role played by project complexity and institutional quality as possible drivers of the choice between open auctions and negotiations in a sample of Italian municipalities. Controlling for project characteristics, for observed and unobserved heterogeneity at municipality level, our main results suggest that projects that are more complex are more likely to be procured with negotiated procedures. On average, a rise in the project complexity index from the 25th to the 75th percentile of its distribution increases the probability of procuring the project with a negotiated procedure by about 6%-8%. However, our results also suggest that the impact of complexity might be more relevant in the case of projects procured by municipalities located in provinces characterized by low levels of corruption. Moreover, we also find that complex projects are associated to longer delays in their execution, larger rebates and to higher probabilities to be awarded to local firms
Role of thromboxane A(2) receptor on the effects of oxidized LDL on microvascular endothelium nitric oxide, endothelin-1, and IL-6 production
No full textObjective: The aim of this study was to determine to what extent thromboxane A(2) (TP) receptor mediates the effect of oxidated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) on nitric oxide (NO), interleukin (IL)-6, and endothelin-1 (ET-1) release by microvascular endothelial cells.
Methods: Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), nitrites and nitrates (NO(2)/NO(3)), ET-1, and IL-6 production were measured following human microvascular endothelial cell 1 exposure to isoprostane-8-epi-PGF(2 alpha) (F2IP), a natural agonist of the TP receptor present in oxidized LDL, or native, low-, or medium-oxidized LDL either with the TP-receptor blocker, SQ29.548, or its vehicle.
Results: F(2)IP and both native and oxidized LDL enhanced NO(2)/NO(3). F(2)IP through the TP receptor stimulated eNOS (eight-fold), while the oxidized LDL effect (two-to five-fold) was only partially prevented by SQ29.548. While LDL concentration and degree of oxidation synergistically and independent of SQ29.548 stimulated IL-6, F(2)IP had no effect. F(2)IP induced a modest (+50%) increase in ET-1. LDL, independent of concentration or degree of oxidation, stimulated (+120%) ET-1 production, and this effect was only partially attenuated by SQ29.548.
Conclusions: In microvascular endothelial cells, LDL concentration and degree of oxidation synergistically stimulate NO and IL-6 production, but only NO release is largely mediated by the TP receptor. LDL facilitates ET-1 release independent of concentration and degree of oxidation; TP-receptor stimulation is only partially responsible for this effect
Publisher Correction: Muscle and adipose tissue morphology, insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in diabetic and nondiabetic obese patients: effects of bariatric surgery.
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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