Globalization has not only mediated the growth of the clothing industry; but also let individuals to interact with different cultures and caused changes of buying habits. Within this context, the aim ...of this study is to reveal the effect of ethnocentrism, cosmopolitanism, consumer decision making style, involvement and perceived risk on the intention to purchase domestic brand clothing products. From the research subjects who are individuals older than 18 years living in Istanbul, 464 usable surveys are collected. According to the results, ethnocentrism, brand conscious, fashion conscious and price conscious purchasing styles positively affect intention to purchase domestic brand clothing products. Furthermore, it has been found that cosmopolitanism negatively affects ethnocentrism.
A semi-structured interview assessing the presence and characteristics of spontaneous appearance-related images was designed and administered. A total of 18 patients with body dysmorphic disorder ...(BDD) and 18 normal controls took part. The BDD patients were found to have spontaneously occurring appearance-related images that were significantly more negative, recurrent, and viewed from an observer perspective than control participants. These images were more vivid and detailed and typically involved visual and organic (internal body) sensations. The study also found that BDD images were linked to early stressful memories, and that images were more likely than verbal thoughts to be linked to these memories. Implications for theory and clinical practice are discussed.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To determine the effects of different preparations of hormone therapy (HT) on lipid and glucose metabolism, coagulation factors, and bone mineral density (BMD) in overweight and obese postmenopausal ...women.
A randomized, nonblinded, controlled study.
Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
A total of 352 overweight and obese (body mass index >25 kg/m
2) postmenopausal women.
Ninety women received 2.5 mg of tibolone; 84 received 2 mg of E
2 plus 1 mg of norethisterone acetate (E
2/NETA); 90 received 0.625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen plus 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEE/MPA); and 88 did not receive any menopausal therapy (control).
At baseline and after 6 months of treatment, we measured total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), insulin, glucose, factor VII, factor VIII, von Willebrand factor, antithrombin III, protein S, protein C, fibrinogen, and BMD at the lumbar spine L
1-L
4.
There were no statistically significant differences among the groups for any variables at baseline. After 6 months of treatment, the three regimens decreased total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, and fibrinogen; E
2/NETA and CEE/MPA increased HDL, and tibolone decreased HDL; higher insulin concentrations were found in the control and tibolone groups. Body mass index, HDL, fibrinogen levels, and L
1-L
4 BMD were independent factors in the prediction of HT use.
Body mass index, HDL, fibrinogen levels and L
1-L
4 BMD were independent factors in the prediction of HT use. Treatment with tibolone, E
2/NETA, and CEE/MPA resulted in minimal improvement in lumbar spine BMD but had a beneficial effect on the procoagulation system, with minimal changes in glucose metabolism after 6 months of therapy.
Abstract only
Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and trans‐differentiation into myofibroblast‐like (MFB‐like) cells is a key process in liver injury and fibrogenesis, a known prelude to ...cirrhosis. This study investigated the role of tissue‐type plasminogen activator (t‐PA) and its receptor, LRP1, in HSC activation. Primary rat HSCs or rat HSC‐T6 cells were treated with t‐PA from 1 min to 48 hrs. We find that at 24 hrs, t‐PA antagonizes activation of primary HSC and HSC‐T6 cells, as indicated by decreases in α‐SMA protein and collagen type I mRNA. Further, 48 hr treatment with t‐PA reduces cell viability. Non‐proteolytic t‐PA is also an antagonist, indicating a signaling mechanism. Increased p‐LRP1, followed by p‐AKT, is seen shortly after treatment (within 10 min), and antagonism of LRP1 or PI3K/AKT pathways, using specific inhibitors, is able to inhibit p‐AKT and prevent t‐PA‐mediated decreases in α‐SMA. After acute liver injury using carbon tetrachloride, mice lacking t‐ PA (globally) or LRP1 (conditionally in HSCs) retain higher density of an α‐SMA+, MFB‐like cell population compared to control mice by 4–7 days after cessation of injury. These data show that t‐PA is able to control HSC activation
in vitro
in an LRP1‐ dependent manner, and that interruption of LRP1 function in HSCs sustains MFB‐like cell populations during recovery after acute injury
in vivo
. Supported by NIH R01‐CA035373 (GKM, WMM) and F30DK091959 (LIK).
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors belonging to the NR1 subfamily of nuclear receptors. The PPARs play key roles in the control of ...glucose and lipid homeostasis, and the synthetic isoform-specific PPAR agonists are used clinically to improve insulin sensitivity and to lower serum triglyceride levels. All of the previously reported PPAR agonists form the same characteristic interactions with the receptor, which have been postulated to be important for the induction of agonistic activity. Here we describe a new class of PPARα/γ modulators, the 5-substituted 2-benzoylaminobenzoic acids (2-BABAs). As shown by x-ray crystallography, the representative compounds BVT.13, BVT.762, and BVT.763, utilize a novel binding epitope and lack the agonist-characteristic interactions. Despite this, some compounds within the 2-BABA family are potent agonists in a cell-based reporter gene assay. Furthermore, BVT.13 displays antidiabetic effects in ob/ob mice. We concluded that the 2-BABA binding mode can be used to design isoform-specific PPAR modulators with biological activity in vivo.
The bio-dynamic relations of soil aggregate stability, as a widely accepted soil quality indicator, with the physical, chemical and biological soil properties are very complicated in the soil system, ...and there exist many methods of measuring the soil aggregate stability to establish these relations. This study aimed to evaluate different aggregate stability methodologies for loamy sand soils. The applied aggregate stability methods of the research chiefly involved sieving soil samples through either multiple sieves or a single sieve using operations of wet sieving, dry sieving, pre-wetting, slow wetting, fast wetting and mechanical breakdown. These were used either alone or in combination, and the methods were compared in terms of a detachability index (DI), which is the ratio of the Mean Weight Diameter after wet sieving (MWDW) to that before wet sieving (MWDD). The statistical analysis showed that the mean values of the DI for wet sieving by multiple sieves, fast wetting and mechanical breakdown varied significantly (*P < 0.05) from other methods. Clearly, depending upon the magnitude and extent of aggregate destructive forces, the DI changed significantly, and simulating diverse physical processes which could operate sequentially or simultaneously resulted in different consequences in terms of the aggregate stability.
Profound changes in the development and the maturation of neonates' organs and organ systems over variable periods of time potentially place neonates at increased risk and/or at different risks ...compared with adults or older children on exposure to pharmaceutical agents. Most studies of drugs in neonates focus on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic end points and include insufficient numbers of patients to permit evaluation of safety. Only one fourth to one third of approved drugs have received adequate pediatric study to permit labeling for treatment of all appropriate pediatric populations.
The initial goal of the Newborn Drug Prioritization Group was to develop a reproducible, objective process for evaluating drugs most in need of study in the neonatal population based on a universally acceptable priority ranking. The criteria would be applicable across therapeutic classes and would identify those drugs for which immediate study was most needed.
Because the therapeutic requirements of the neonate are unique in comparison to older infants and children, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed the Newborn Drug Development Initiative to address the limited study of off-patent drugs in newborns. In March 2003, they convened a meeting of pediatric pharmacologists and pediatric specialists from the FDA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health, and academic institutions to discuss how to increase the study of drugs for the newborn. One of the working groups was charged to develop generic criteria for overall prioritization of drugs for study in newborns. Because resources are limited, and not all drugs identified by the 4 clinically focused working groups can receive study at the same time, a process for priority ranking is necessary.
The panel identified 4 general categories containing different numbers of criteria as important for ranking drugs for priority investigation: (1) the disease and indication, including elements such as the potential for adverse outcomes, frequency in newborns, and level of evidence for treatment of newborns; (2) drug characteristics, including elements such as duration of dosing, lack of age-appropriate formulation, clinically relevant drug-drug and drug-disease interactions, and drug disposition in newborns; (3) feasibility and methodology for newborn studies, including both analytical considerations and clinical end points; and (4) the ethical basis for study, including elements to address benefit or harm due to exposure to the study drug, study methodology, and benefit of the new treatment relative to established standard therapy. Based on these categories, a list of criteria to warrant study of a drug in newborns was developed.
A process for judicious use of limited resources to rectify these deficiencies remains an urgent public health need.
Food associated indigenous microbial communities exert antagonistic effects on pathogens and may routinely deliver health relevant microorganisms to the GI tract. By using molecular, culture ...independent methods including PCR-DGGE of 16S rDNA-coding regions and real-time PCR (RT-PCR) as well as BIOLOG metabolic fingerprinting, microbial communities on lettuce were analyzed in samples from fields, from supermarkets and soil. Amplified 16S rRNA gene sequences (57.7%) could be assigned to species previously reported as typical for the phyllosphere including Pantoea agglomerans, Pseudomonas flavescens, Moraxella spp., and Mycobacterium spp. 71.8% of the sequences obtained represented so far undescribed taxa. Principal component analysis of BIOLOG metabolic profiles indicated a seasonal variation in the lettuce phyllosphere microbial community structure. Various lactic acid bacteria were detected including several Lactobacillus and Leuconostoc species in particular on lettuce from organic farming. By RT-PCR lactobacilli were found with a range of abundances from 1x10⁴ to 1x10⁵ copies/g lettuce. Considering the importance of salad in many diets lettuce may contribute to a constant supply with LAB.
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