1,721,133 research outputs found
Central Italy:Unexpected Macro-and-Micro Nutrient Deficiencies in Regular Diet of Residents from Pisa Province. The Potential Role of Medical Education
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Relationship of electron transfer process in the erythrocyte membrane with metabolic energy efficiency and body-mass index.
No full textErythrocyte Transplasma Membrane Electron Transport, Oxidative Stress, Body Mass and Lifestyle in Healthy and in Type 1 Diabetic Families
No full textErythrocytes export electrons across the cell membrane to external oxidants (such as ferryicyanide) through a redox system that remains still unknown. The rate of ferricyanide reduction varies as a function of cytoplasmic electron donor concentration. Indeed, the pathway is linked to a set of intracellular redox couples including NADH/NAD+, GSSG/SGSH, and ascorbate/vitamin C.
Since the activity of membrane electron transport systems appears to be closely related to the redox homeostasis and the metabolic state of the cell, our aim was to characterise the membrane reducing system in healthy and in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) families and its relationship with nutritional indicators and oxidative biomarkers. Particularly, present research work aimed at evaluating in healthy and T1DM families: (a) the rate of erythrocyte electron transport in relation with body mass and metabolic efficiency, (b) modulating effects of diet and lifestyle on erythrocyte electron transfer system.
We measured the erythrocyte electron transport to extracellular ferricyanide (RBC vfcy) in 100 healthy controls and 99 non-diabetic relatives of type 1 diabetics. Erythrocyte Na/H exchange (RBC NHE), RBC glutathione (GSH), plasma thiols, plasma and RBC malondialdheyde were also determined, in addition to plasma glucose, insulin, lipids, HbA1c, creatinine clearance, and urinary albumin. Moreover, we assessed dietary habits and lifestyle of 76 relatives and 95 healthy subjects by using the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer and Nutrition questionnaires.
a. Among healthy controls, individuals with BMI≤25 kg/m2 had lower rates of electron transport in comparison with age-gender-matched subjects who were overweight or obese. Indeed, RBC vfcy correlated positively with two indices of fat body mass (BMI and circulating triglycerides), and negatively with an index of lean body mass (24-hour urinary creatinine excretion). Moreover, RBC vfcy showed a negative association with RBC NHE and plasma MDA. On the contrary, among relatives, RBC vfcy did not change significantly with BMI. It showed a positive association with RBC MDA, negative with RBC GSH.
b. Both Spearman’s rank correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses including lifestyle information found different independent variables to be positively associated with RBC vfcy: daily dietary intake of vitamin C among healthy controls, whereas time spent in regular exercise among relatives.
In conclusion, (a) electron transfer catalysed by the transmembrane ferricyanide reductase activity may reflect the functional state of membrane proton pumps that modulate cellular metabolism by regulating the intracellular redox levels. In the case we should have a useful tool to indirectly evaluate some aspects of energy balance in human metabolic diseases by using easily accessible cells and simple laboratory procedure. Moreover, the transport system, that seems functionally normal, contributes to oxidation in T1DM families, whereas in healthy people it protects from oxidation. Furthermore, (b) dietary intake of vitamin C and sporting activities modulate erythrocyte electron transfer efficiency. In the cytosol, ascorbic acid or vitamin C can donate electrons to trans-plasma membrane electron transfer activity in erythrocytes. Thus, intracellular electron donors available from dietary sources can be very important in maintaining the redox environment of a cell, i.e. the summation of the products of the reduction potential and reducing capacity of the linked redox couples present. Our data also support indirect evidence suggesting that regular exercise may improve electron transport efficiency. However, the reason why independent lifestyle variables associated with RBC vfcy markedly differed among population subgroups remains unknown
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and macrosomia: a controversial story.
No full textIncreased perinatal morbidity-mortality are associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We studied 69 non-diabetic pregnancies (age 30 +/- 5 years) by repeating oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT, 100 g; area under glycemic, AUGC as g min/dl, and insulinemic, AUIC as mU min/ml, curves were calculated) and HbA1c measurement at 14, 24 and 33 weeks. In the 3rd trimester, 7 women had abnormal OGTT, but none of the 12 mothers of large babies (> 3.9 kg) had GDM. Among 15 pregnants with basal body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2, 2 developed GDM, 5 had babies > 3.9 kg, 8 had normal birthweight babies. Those pregnants who showed after-load hyperglycemia despite normal insulin secretory response (insulin resistance) developed GDM, but delivered normal birthweight babies. Large neonates were delivered from women with the greatest both gestational weight gain and insulin sensitivity, but normal glucose tolerance. The heaviest pregnants with normal both glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity had normal weight gain and normal birthweight infants. Neonatal body weight was correlated with maternal gestational weight gain, placental weight, 3rd trimester AUIC/AUGC ratio and 1st-2nd trimester HbA1c
“Haemoglobin glycosilated control and psychological features in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems: a pilot study”, 43rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigation. Frankfurt am Main 01-04/04/2009.
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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
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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