Two adrenalectomies py -45erformed fourteen years apart notoriously alleviated insulin resistance in a female teenager with Congenital Generalized Lipoatrophy (CGL, 1988) and in a murine model of CGL ...(2002). Following a successful therapeutic trial with anti-glucocorticoids, we performed the first surgical procedure on an 18-year-old girl. Before surgery, the anti-glucocorticoid therapy produced a rapid and striking drop in fasting serum insulin levels (from over 400 to 7.0 mU/L) and a slower -but impressive- fall in fasting serum triglycerides from 7,400 to 220-230 mg/dL. In contrast, fasting serum glucose levels dropped more slowly, from 225-290 to 121-138 mg/dL. Two weeks following total adrenalectomy, the fasting serum glucose level was 98 mg/dL, with a corresponding serum insulin level of 10 mU/L. During an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, the 2-hour serum glucose was 210 mg/dL, and serum insulin values during the test did not exceed 53 mU/L. In 2002, the A-ZIP/F1 hypoleptinemic mouse had its adrenal glands removed. Even though this CGL model does not respond well to leptin replacement, an infusion of recombinant leptin reduced the characteristic hypercorticosteronemia of this murine model of CGL. Adrenalectomy in this transgenic mouse improved insulin sensitivity in the liver and muscle. In summary, adrenalectomy -in both a human and a mouse case of CGL- limited adipose tissue exposure to corticosteroid action and led to a notorious metabolic improvement. On a broader scenario, given that leptin restrains the adrenal axis, the reduced leptin activity of the leptin resistance displayed by obese subjects should lead to adrenal axis overactivity. This overactivity should result in elevated serum levels of free cortisol, free fatty acids, and glycerol. In this manner, leptin resistance should lead to peripheral (adipose tissue, liver, and muscle) insulin resistance and islet beta-cell apoptosis, paving the way to Type 2 diabetes.
Trichoderma virens is a ubiquitous soil fungus successfully used in biological control due to its efficient colonization of plant roots. In fungi, 4-phosphopantetheinyl transferases (PPTases) ...activate enzymes involved in primary and secondary metabolism. Therefore, we cloned the PPTase gene ppt1 from T. virens and generated PPTase-deficient (Δppt1) and overexpressing strains to investigate the role of this enzyme in biocontrol and induction of plant defense responses. The Δppt1 mutants were auxotrophic for lysine, produced nonpigmented conidia, and were unable to synthesize nonribosomal peptides. Although spore germination was severely compromised under both low and high iron availability, mycelial growth occurred faster than the wild type, and the mutants were able to efficiently colonize plant roots. The Δppt1 mutants were unable of inhibiting growth of phytopathogenic fungi in vitro. Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings co-cultivated with wild-type T. virens showed increased expression of pPr1a:uidA and pLox2:uidA markers, which correlated with enhanced accumulation of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid, camalexin, and resistance to Botrytis cinerea. Co-cultivation of A. thaliana seedlings with Δppt1 mutants compromised the SA and camalexin responses, resulting in decreased protection against the pathogen. Our data reveal an important role of T. virens PPT1 in antibiosis and induction of SA and camalexin-dependent plant defense responses.
ERG and Reggeon Field Theory Contreras, Carlos H.
Journal of physics. Conference series,
06/2018, Letnik:
1043, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In this paper we present our recent non perturbative functional renormalization group analysis of Reggeon Field Theory to the interactions of Pomeron and Odderon fields. We establish the existence of ...a fixed point and its universal properties, which exhibits a novel symmetry structure in the space of Odderon-Pomeron interactions. We briefly discuss the implications of our findings for the existence of an Odderon in high energy scattering.
Este artículo es producto de la revisión bibliográfica y de reflexiones surgidas acerca de esta con nuestros alumnos en la Cátedra de Historia de las Ideas y Movimientos Sociales Contemporáneos, ...dictada en la Escuela de Estudios Políticos y Administrativos de la Universidad Central de Venezuela: al comprobar en las lecturas que no hay una precisión conceptual que permita definir qué realmente se entiende por movimiento social, ante las diferentes interpretaciones que del concepto se observan, así como del exagerado uso de la idea para calificar las diferentes manifestaciones sociales que han tenido lugar en Venezuela, España y otras partes del mundo en estos últimos tiempos, lo que genera confusión para identificar claramente qué es un “movimiento social”.
We study a 1D scalar conservation law whose non-local flux has a single spatial discontinuity. This model is intended to describe traffic flow on a road with rough conditions. We approximate the ...problem through an upwind-type numerical scheme and provide compactness estimates for the sequence of approximate solutions. Then, we prove the existence and the uniqueness of entropy weak solutions. Numerical simulations corroborate the theoretical results and the limit model as the kernel support tends to zero is numerically investigated.
Mining environmental liabilities generate environmental pollution. The objective of the present study was to determine the yield of white clover (Trifolium repens) and orchard grass (Dactylis ...glomerata) cultivated in mining environmental passives adding black earth and compost as a substrate in the Buenaventura Julcani Huancavelica Company. The treatments were the combinations: 4: 3.1: 3.1: 3:1.1 kg of RP: RP, TN: RP, C: RP, TN, C respectively. They were distributed in four treatments with twelve experimental units for each species of leguminous and gramineous grass, we worked according to the completely randomized design (DCA) with a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement, the experimental unit being a treatment with twelve repetitions. The variables evaluated were: germination percentage (TG) and stem survival percentage (TST). For the statistical analysis, the SPSS software was used.
The majority of scientific papers on the subject of respiratory patterns in insects have dealt with the discontinuous gas-exchange cycle (DGC). The DGC is characterized by the release of bursts of ...CO(2) from the insect, followed by extended periods of spiracular closure. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the evolutionary origin and physiological function of this unusual respiratory pattern. We expand upon one of these (the oxidative damage hypothesis) to explain not only the occurrence of the DGC but also the mechanistic basis for the transition to two other well-characterized respiratory patterns: the cyclic pattern and the continuous pattern. We propose that the specific pattern employed by the insect at any given time is a function of the amount of oxygen contained in the insect at the time of spiracular closure and the aerobic metabolic rate of the insect. Examples of each type of pattern are shown using the insect Rhodnius prolixus. In addition, contrary to the expectations deriving from the hygric hypothesis, it is demonstrated that the DGC does not cease in Rhodnius in humid air.
In the early stages, prostate cancer is androgen‑ dependent; therefore, medical castration has shown significant results during the initial stages of this pathology. Despite this early effect, ...advanced prostate cancer is resilient to such treatment. Recent evidence shows that derivatives of Cannabis sativa and its analogs may exert a protective effect against different types of oncologic pathologies. The purpose of the present study was to detect the presence of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) on cancer cells with a prostatic origin and to evaluate the effect of the in vitro use of synthetic analogs. In order to do this, we used a commercial cell line and primary cultures derived from prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. The presence of the CB1 and CB2 receptors was determined by immunohistochemistry where we showed a higher expression of these receptors in later stages of the disease (samples with a high Gleason score). Later, treatments were conducted using anandamide, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol and a synthetic analog of anandamide, methanandamide. Using the MTT assay, we proved that the treatments produced a cell growth inhibitory effect on all the different prostate cancer cultures. This effect was demonstrated to be dose-dependent. The use of a specific CB1 receptor blocker (SR141716) confirmed that this effect was produced primarily from the activation of the CB1 receptor. In order to understand the MTT assay results, we determined cell cycle distribution by flow cytometry, which showed no variation at the different cell cycle stages in all the cultures after treatment. Treatment with endocannabinoids resulted in an increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells as determined by Annexin V assays and caused an increase in the levels of activated caspase-3 and a reduction in the levels of Bcl-2 confirming that the reduction in cell viability noted in the MTT assay was caused by the activation of the apoptotic pathway. Finally, we observed that endocannabinoid treatment activated the Erk pathway and at the same time, produced a decrease in the activation levels of the Akt pathway. Based on these results, we suggest that endocannabinoids may be a beneficial option for the treatment of prostate cancer that has become nonresponsive to common therapies.
PDF
