Islet beta cell adaptation to dexamethasone-induced insulin resistance was characterized with respect to glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and islet innervation. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected daily with dexamethasone (2 mg/kg for 12 days), which resulted in hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia compared with controls (which were injected with sodium chloride). Insulin secretion was charac

A short wavelength approximation of a boundary integral operator for two-dimensional isotropic and homogeneous elastic bodies is derived from first principles starting from the Navier-Cauchy equation. Trace formulas for elastodynamics are deduced connecting the eigenfrequency spectrum of an elastic body to the set of periodic rays where mode conversion enters as a dynamical feature.

Arabidopsis MAP kinase 4 (MPK4) functions as a regulator of pathogen defense responses, because it is required for both repression of salicylic acid (SA)-dependent resistance and for activation of jasmonate (JA)-dependent defense gene expression. To understand MPK4 signaling mechanisms, we used yeast two-hybrid screening to identify the MPK4 substrate MKS1. Analyses of transgenic plants and genome

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women after menopause. In essence major risk factors for CVD are similar in women as for men inclusive of serum lipid perturbations. The effects of estrogens and hormone replacement therapy on lipid metabolism is widely discussed and warrant further evaluation especially when combined with other lipid lowering drugs. STUDY D

Helicobacter pylori is a cause of chronic gastritis and leads to development of atrophy in some cases. There is evidence that the heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) of H. pylori is involved in induction of chronic inflammation. Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to H. pylori HSP60 in an adult cohort from Saaremaa, Estonia (68 persons, median age 57 years), with a high prevalence of antibodies to cell sur

The relationship between leukocyte migration and parenchymal cell death in vivo remains poorly documented. Accordingly, cell killing in the rat mesentery, as recorded by propidium iodide staining, was investigated with an intravital approach. Superfusion of platelet-activating factor (PAF, 10(-8) M) or N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP, 10(-8) M) led to extensive leukocyte extravasatio

We have previously found that DNA replication was affected within one cell cycle after seeding Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in the presence of the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitor 2-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO). We could, however, not rule out if this was due to an effect on the G1/S transition and/or on DNA synthesis elongation. In the present paper, we use a bromodeoxyuridine- flow cytome

The swelling behavior of polyelectrolyte gels with and without short-range attraction was studied at variable permittivities using Monte Carlo simulations. The primitive model, with explicit treatment of all charged species augmented with an attractive square-well potential between network particles, was used. Discontinuous volume transitions appeared at critical values of the depth of the square-

A structure determination in combination with a kinetic study of the steroid converting isozyme of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, SS-ADH, is presented. Kinetic parameters for the substrates, 5β-androstane-3β,17β-ol, 5β-androstane-17β-ol-3-one, ethanol, and various secondary alcohols and the corresponding ketones are compared for the SS- and EE-isozymes which differ by nine amino acid substitut

Exclusively synthesized by normal neutrophil and monocyte precursor cells, myeloperoxidase (MPO) functions not only in host defense by mediating efficient microbial killing but also can contribute to progressive tissue damage in chronic inflammatory states Such as atherosclerosis. The biosynthetic precursor, apoproMPO, is processed slowly in the ER, undergoing cotranslational N-glycosylation, tran

Decorin belongs to the small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycan family, interacts with fibrillar collagens, and regulates the assembly, structure, and biomechanical properties of connective tissues. The decorin-collagen type I-binding region is located in leucine-rich repeats 5–6. Site-directed mutagenesis of this 54-residue-long collagen-binding sequence identifies Arg-207 and Asp-210 in leucine-ri

A potentially important indirect effect of export processing zones (EPZs) is the catalyst effect. The foreign affiliates attracted to the EPZs could stimulate local firms to begin to export by showing them how to produce, market, sell and distribute manufactured goods on the world market. Our results indicate a significant catalyst effect in Malaysia.

Caveolae were isolated from rat lungs by a combination of affinity partitioning and sucrose gradient centrifugation. After homogenization of the lungs directly in a polyethylene glycol–dextran two-phase system and conventional phase partitioning, the polyethylene glycol-rich top phase was affinity partitioned with fresh bottom phase containing dextran-linked wheat-germ agglutinin. The lectin selec

The extractability of phosphorus (P) was studied in an acid, unfertilized soil at an abandoned farm and in 40 different soils from former agricultural fields and pastures. Oxalate/Oxalic acid extraction was compared with a number of other methods in order to evaluate the suitability of oxalate/oxalic acid as a method for extracting P from soil. The extracting efficiency and a rough estimate of the

Possible consequences of the production of small black holes at the LHC for different scenarios with large extra dimensions are investigated. The effects from black hole production on some standard jet observables are examined, concentrating on the reduction of the QCD cross section. It is found that black hole production of partons interacting on a short enough distance indeed seem to generate a

Escherichia coli K1 and Group B Streptococcus (GBS) are the most common bacteria that cause meningitis during the neonatal period. Complement, the first line of defence in the host, acts on these bacteria to opsonize with various components of complement for subsequent presentation to phagocytes. To counteract these opsonization effects, E. coli and GBS bind to the complement regulators C4 binding

The majority of aggressive forms of the childhood tumor neuroblastoma can with current treatment protocols not be cured and possess a major challenge in pediatric oncology. After initial rounds of chemotherapy, surgery and irradiation, which in most cases result in tumor regression, these aggressive neuroblastomas relapse and frequently develop drug resistance. As approximately 50% of the children

Sugarcane bagasse-a residue from sugar and ethanol production from sugar cane-is a potential raw material for lignocellulosic ethanol production. This material is high in xylan content. A prerequisite for bioethanol production from bagasse is therefore that xylose is efficiently fermented to ethanol, In the current study, ethanolic fermentation of steam-pretreated sugarcane bagasse was assessed in