1,720,975 research outputs found
The mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier: a link between carbohydrate and lipid metabolism
No full textOlive oil increases the hepatic triacylglycerol content in mice by a distinct influence on the synthesis and oxidation of fatty acids
No full textDiet supplementation with olive oil exerts beneficial effects on an organism, even if an increase in the level of hepatic lipids has been concomitantly observed. This study was therefore designed to investigate whether the stimulation of lipogenesis was responsible for the olive oil-induced hepatic fat accumulation. In mice fed for 8 weeks with an olive oil-enriched diet, an increase of about 2.6 fold in the level of liver triglycerides was found in comparison to animals fed with a corn oil-containing diet. Despite that, no increase in the activities of cytosolic lipogenic enzymes or of the mitochondrial tricarboxylate carrier was found; on the contrary, a decrease in the activity of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I was observed. This impairment of fatty acid oxidation, which was not apparent in corn oil-fed animals, may have had a role in the increase of hepatic lipid content found in the olive oil-fed mice.
A conclusive finding from this study is that the different effects of the two dietary oils on the hepatic lipid metabolism in mice can be attributed to their specific fatty acid composition. In fact, olive oil, as has been previously reported, contains more oleic acid in comparison to corn oil which, on the contrary, is rich in linoleic acid. The present data, therefore, reinforce the current view of fatty acids as being powerful and versatile modulators of lipid metabolism
Dietary combination of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and pine nut oil prevents CLA-induced fatty liver in mice
No full textConjugated linoleic acid (CLA) strongly prevents fat accumulation in adipose tissue of mice, even if hepatic fat deposition and insulin resistance are concomitantly observed. This study investigated the possibility of maintaining the antiadiposity properties of CLA while preventing adverse effects such as liver steatosis and hyperinsulinemia. To this end, mice were divided into three groups and fed a standard diet (control) or a diet supplemented with 1% CLA (CLA) or a mixture of 1% CLA plus 7.5% pine nut oil (CLA + P). The combination of CLA + P preserved the CLA-mediated antiadiposity properties (70% fat reduction), preventing hepatic steatosis and a sharp increase in plasmatic insulin starting from the eighth week of CLA treatment. The assay of both fatty acid synthesis and oxidation in the CLA + P mice revealed a time-dependent biphasic behavior of the corresponding enzymatic activities. A sudden change in these metabolic events was indeed found at the eighth week. A strong correlation between the changes in key enzymes of lipid metabolism and in insulin levels apparently exists in CLA-fed mice. Furthermore, lower levels of lipids, in comparison to values found in CLA-fed mice, were observed in the liver and plasma of CLA + P-fed animals
Regional perspectives on influenza surveillance in South America
Full text linkFil: Savy, V. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.The implementation of influenza vaccination programs emphasize the necessity of an extended influenza surveillance in the countries of the region. As it is based on the activity of National Influenza Centers we intend to make a description of their work, their historical background and further development. Technical capacities in influenza South America laboratories, and networks in Argentina, Brazil and Chile are shown. Examples of different viral circulation in a unique country or in countries with common borders illustrate the importance of the information obtained by means of the virological surveillance. Specific characteristics of the region as long distances and the lack of modern information systems require a suitable fitting of the systems that are working in Northern Hemisphere countries. The contribution of motivated physicians and public health workers must not to be disregarded. The following actions are proposed: optimizing technical capacities of National Influenza Centers in order to improve the quality of data available; improving the communication of the information obtained by surveillance activities to all the participants; increasing the cooperation among the countries; motivate health authorities to become aware of influenza impact in public health
Pinus koraiensis seed oil (PinnoThinTM) supplementation reduces body weight gain and lipid concentration in liver and plasma of mice
No full textVegetable oils from the seeds of some conifera, such as Pinus pinaster and Pinus koraiensis, are currently under investigation for their use in the feed industry and/or as dietary supplements.
In this study the effects of a pine nut oil-supplemented diet in mice, in comparison to control animals fed with a maize oil enriched diet, were investigated. Furthermore, we have also studied a possible modulation of the de novo fatty acid synthesis in the liver of the pine nut oil-fed animals.
Pine nut oil caused a significant reduction in body weight gain and liver weight (37.4 and 13.7%, respectively). An impressive decrease in plasma triglycerides and total cholesterol (31.8 and 28.5%, respectively) was also found in pine nut oil-fed animals. Liver lipids were also positively influenced by pine nut oil. The mitochondrial and cytosolic enzyme activities involved in hepatic fatty acid synthesis were strongly reduced both in pine nut oil and maize oil-fed animals, thus suggesting that the benefi cial effects of pine nut oil are not due to an inhibition of hepatic lipogenesis. We can summarize that a pine nut oil-supplemented diet reduces body weight gain without any influence on the feed intake and decreases lipid concentration in liver and plasma without any infl uence on the enzymes of the de novo fatty acid synthesis in mice
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
- …
