Column perifusion of collagenase-isolated mouse pancreatic islets was used to study the dynamics of insulin release in experiments lasting for several hours. The methyl esters of L-leucine and L-arginine were synthetised. Whereas L-arginine methyl ester (L-arginine OMe) had no effect, L-leucine OMe stimulated the release of insulin. The effect of L-leucine OMe was maximal at 5 mmol/liter. Whereas

The β-cell function, total islet volume, and number were studied in 1- to 18-month-old mice, together with the extractable pancreatic insulin and glucagon. The β-cell function, determined as the total amount of insulin released in response to glucose from the in vitro perfused pancreas showed an agerelated increase, without any differences in the kinetics of insulin secretion between young and old

The human HLA-D histocompatibility region encodes class II antigens each of which consists of two polypeptide chains (α and β) inserted in the plasma membrane. These molecules are implicated in the regulation of the immune response1-3 but several human diseases are also found to be associated with certain HLA-DR antigens4. The occurrence of insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes (IDDM) is strongly as

Background: Alcohol use disorders are a major but often unrecognized health problem. Alcohol markers can therefore be of great value for diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment evaluation. Phosphatidylethanol in blood (B-PEth) is an alcohol biomarker with higher clinical sensitivity and specificity than commonly used alcohol markers but has shown a considerable interindividual variation in relation to

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) impacts many veterans and active duty soldiers, but diagnosis can be problematic due to biases in self-disclosure of symptoms, stigma within military populations, and limitations identifying those at risk. Prior studies suggest that PTSD may be a systemic illness, affecting not just the brain, but the entire body. Therefore, disease signals likely span multipl

This study is the first to use a newly-developed material via hydrothermal method, cerium oxide nanowires doped with reduced graphene oxide (CNW-RGO) for reductive H2 production. The detailed characteristics of the CNW-RGO materials were investigated to explore the capabilities of reductive production. The mean diameter of the CNWs was uniform at 22 nm. Owing to RGO-doping, the energy gap between

Chronic lung diseases (CLDs), such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, and lung cancer, are among the leading causes of morbidity globally and impose major health and financial burdens on patients and society. Effective treatments are scarce, and relevant human model systems to effectively study CLD pathomechanisms and thus discover and validate potential new targe

Background: Strenous exercise stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) axis in order to ensure homeostasis and promote anabolism. Furthermore, exercise stimulates a transient increase in the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) suggested to mediate the anxiolytic effects of exercise. Athletes with secondary functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) have been reported to have lowe

Background: This case control study aimed to investigate whether symptoms of sexual dysfunction are more common in males from infertile couples than in the general population and to explore whether symptoms of sexual dysfunction are associated to hypogonadism. Objectives: Participants were 165 subfertile men in infertile heterosexual relationships, 18–50 years of age, with sperm concentrations < 1

We have measured the soft X-ray absorption and emission spectra of near B-K and C-K absorption edges of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) doped with a small amount (0.32 at.%) of boron (B), including incident/takeoff angle dependence.The main peak intensities at the B-K edge around 182 eV were almost independent on the change of takeoff angle. On the other hand, the satellite peak around 1

Low energy buildings are usually characterized by a very well insulated building envelope and an efficient ventilation system that makes use of the heat in the exhaust air. Internal heat gains from residents and their use of appliances can cover the heating demand to a certain extent. The magnitude of internal heat gains that cover demand are often modelled in a simplified way and thus can be asso

Journalism has an important role in making political participation visible to the public. In representing the voices of the public, journalism produces discourses on democratic engagement that tell us a great deal about the norms of how these discourses conceive of practices of political engagement. The aim of this article is to study the ways in which speaker identities are given to and taken by Journalism has an important role in making political participation visible to the public. In representing the voices of the public, journalism produces discourses on democratic engagement that tell us a great deal about the norms of how these discourses conceive of practices of political engagement. The aim of this article is to study the ways in which speaker identities are given to and taken by

The performance of the latest released Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM mission (IMERG) version 5 (IMERG v5) and the TRMM Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis 3B42 version 7 (3B42 v7) are evaluated and compared at multiple temporal scales over a semi-humid to humid climate transition area (Huaihe River basin) from 2015 to 2017. The impacts of rainfall rate, latitude and elevation on

The Kurdish economy is today heavily dependent on hydrocarbons exports. Current trends are that hydrocarbons exporting and processing countries, as well as interest groups within these countries, are pushing to expand production and maximise profits while this is still possible. The magnitude and observed acceleration of the present climate emergency - with major impacts both in terms of loss of c

The governance of prostitution in Italy's modern history and present times has seen the institution of two prostitution policy regimes. The first was introduced in 1860, with the implementation of a system of regulated prostitution. In Italy, most of the estimated data on outdoor and indoor prostitution are produced by NGOs and institutions operating in harm reduction and antitrafficking projects.

Global food insecurity levels remain stubbornly high. One of the surest ways to grasp the scale and consequence of global inequality is through a food systems lens. In a predominantly urban world, urban food systems present a useful lens to engage a wide variety of urban (and global) challenges-so called 'wicked problems.' This paper describes a collaborative research project between four urban fo

A healthy dietary pattern is associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and reduced inflammation. To explore this at the molecular level, we investigated the effect of a Nordic diet (ND) on changes in the gene expression profiles of inflammatory and lipid-related genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of individuals with MetS. We hypothesized that the intake of an ND co