Impact of glutamine supplementation on glucose homeostasis during and after exercise.

The interaction of glutamine availability and glucose homeostasis during and after exercise was investigated, measuring whole body glucose kinetics with [3-3H]glucose and net organ balances of glucose and amino acids (AA) during basal, exercise, and postexercise hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp periods in six multicatheterized dogs. Dogs were studied twice in random treatment order: once with glutamine (12 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1); Gln) and once with saline (Con) infused intravenously during and after exercise. Plasma glucose fell by 7 mg/dl with exercise in Con (P < 0.05), but it did not fall with Gln. Gln further stimulated whole body glucose production and utilization an additional 24% above a normal exercise response (P < 0.05). Net hepatic uptake of glutamine and alanine was greater with Gln than Con during exercise (P < 0.05). Net hepatic glucose output was increased sevenfold during exercise with Gln (P < 0.05) but not with Con. Net hindlimb glucose uptake was increased similarly during exercise in both groups (P < 0.05). During the postexercise hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic period, glucose production decreased to near zero with Con, but it did not decrease below basal levels with Gln. Gln increased glucose utilization by 16% compared with Con after exercise (P < 0.05). Furthermore, net hindlimb glucose uptake in the postexercise period was increased approximately twofold vs. basal with Gln (P < 0.05) but not with Con. Net hepatic uptake of glutamine during the postexercise period was threefold greater for Gln than Con (P < 0.05). In conclusion, glutamine availability modulates glucose homeostasis during and after exercise, which may have implications for postexercise recovery.     

First Record of Rosellinia desmazieresii on Scots Pine and its Association with Disease in Poland

Rosellinia desmazieresii was found for the first time on a tree of Scots pine. It occurred on a dying tree in a mixed Scots pine-oak plantation in Poland. The fungus girdled the base of the trunk, where perithecia were produced abundantly. The fungus was evidently the cause of the tree's poor growth and ultimate death.     

A clockwork hypothesis: synaptic release by rod photoreceptors must be regular

We can see at light intensities much lower than an average of one photon per rod photoreceptor, demonstrating that rods must be able to transmit a signal after absorption of a single photon. However, activation of one rhodopsin molecule (Rh*) hyperpolarizes a mammalian rod by just 1 mV. Based on the properties of the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel and data on [Ca2+] in the rod synaptic terminal, the 1 mV hyperpolarization should reduce the rate of release of quanta of neurotransmitter by only 20%. If quantal release were Poisson, the distributions of quantal count in the dark and in response to one Rh* would overlap greatly. Depending on the threshold quantal count, the overlap would generate too frequent false positives in the dark, too few true positives in response to one Rh*, or both. Therefore, quantal release must be regular, giving narrower distributions of quantal count that overlap less. We model regular release as an Erlang process, essentially a mechanism that counts many Poisson events before release of a quantum of neurotransmitter. The combination of appropriately narrow distributions of quantal count and a suitable threshold can give few false positives and appropriate (e.g., 35%) efficiency for one Rh*.     

Association of common variation in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">PPARA</Emphasis>gene with incident myocardial infarction in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A Go-DARTS study

Background

Common variants of the PPARA gene have been found to associate with ischaemic heart disease in non diabetic men. The L162V variant was found to be protective while the C2528G variant increased risk. L162V has also been associated with altered lipid measures. We therefore sought to determine the effect of PPARA gene variation on susceptibility to myocardial infarction in patients with type 2 diabetes. 1810 subjects with type 2 diabetes from the prospective Go-DARTS study were genotyped for the L162V and C2528G variants in the PPARA gene and the association of the variants with incident non-fatal myocardial infarction was examined. Cox's proportional hazards was used to interrogate time to event from recruitment, and linear regression for analysing association of genotype with quantitative clinical traits.

Results

The V162 allele was associated with decreased risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction (HR = 0.31, 95%CI 0.10–0.93 p = 0.037) whereas the C2528 allele was associated with increased risk (HR = 2.77 95%CI 1.34–5.75 p = 0.006). Similarly V162 was associated with a later mean age of diagnosis with type 2 diabetes and C2582 an earlier age of diagnosis. C2528 was also associated with increased total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, which did not account for the observed increased risk. Haplotype analysis demonstrated that when both rare variants occurred on the same haplotype the effect of each was abrogated.

Conclusion

Genetic variation at the PPARA locus is important in determining cardiovascular risk in both male and female patients with diabetes. This genotype associated risk appears to be independent of the effect of these genotypes on lipid profiles and age of diagnosis with diabetes.

     

Biocide application for increasing storage periods and maintaining quality and chemical constituents of banana fruits

Banana fruits were treated with biocides formulated from essential oils of anise, coriander or black cumin seeds. Treated and non-treated fruits were stored at temperatures of 5, 10, 15 and 20°C. Samples were stored for periods of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days. The collected samples in each interval were subjected to estimation of decay development and quality degree, in addition to the chemical constituents of starch, sugars, vitamin C of pulp and peel chlorophyll content. Results reveal that non-treated banana fruits decayed continuously by lapse of storage periods. However, this decay was significantly delayed by lowering the storage temperature. Soaking banana fruits in the tested biocides showed a positive potential for interrupting the decay in stored banana fruits and this promising impact was much more pronounced at lower storage temperature. Further, biocide treated banana fruits kept their good quality for longer storage periods compared to non-treated fruits, due to lower ripening rates which promisingly prolonged shelf-life. As the starch content gradually decreased during storage, the total sugar content increased. On the other hand, biocide application retarded the conversion of starch into simple sugars, especially at the low temperature rate. Additionally, the imposed treatments maintained vitamin C in banana pulp and lowered the decline in peel chlorophyll content.     

Application of combined biocides and gamma radiation for keeping good quality stored grapefruits

Grapefruits were irradiated with gamma rays at doses of 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 KGy. Irradiated and non-irradiated fruits were soaked in biocides formulated from essential oils of fennel, peppermint and caraway oil. All treated and non-treated fruits were stored at room temperature (20 ± 1°C) for a period of 70 days. Samples were taken every 14 days for different quality determinations. Non-treated fruits were decayed continuously alongside the different storage periods. However, exposing the studied fruits to gamma radiation induced a promising effect for retarding this decay. Moreover, soaking citrus fruits in the formulated biocides induced further interruption of fruit decay. In addition, the applied treatment exhibited other positive effects for keeping the good quality of the studied fruits during storage.     

复方环丙酮胺治疗浅部真菌病的疗效观察

观察复方环丙酮胺喷剂治疗浅部真菌病的疗效。第Ⅰ批给予复方环丙酮胺喷剂,1次/d喷于患处,用药4周后观察疗效;第Ⅱ批随机入A、B组,A组给予复方环丙酮胺喷剂+曲安奈德喷剂,B组给予复方环丙酮胺喷剂,均1次/d喷于患处,用药2周、4周后观察疗效。第Ⅰ批治疗4周总有效率为80%;第Ⅱ批A、B组治疗2周总有效率分别为75%及82.35%,治疗4周总有效率分别为94.74%及100%。复方环丙酮胺喷剂和复方环丙酮胺喷剂+曲安奈德喷剂治疗浅部真菌病的疗效相似(P>0.05),且疗效显著、局部刺激小、瘙痒缓解明显、安全性较高。     

大鼠脑缺血再灌注后血清中血管内皮生长因子与神经元凋亡的研究

目的:通过检测SD大鼠脑缺血再灌注模型血清中血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)与神经元凋亡动态表达变化的关系,以探讨两者之间的相关性。方法:将40只大鼠随机分为8组:对照组、假手术组和脑缺血30min再灌注12h组、1d组、3d组、5d组、7d组、及14d组,每组5只。采用ELISA双抗夹心法检测大鼠血清中血管内皮生长因子、原位细胞凋亡TUNEL法检测脑组织中的凋亡神经细胞数。结果:再灌注12h、1d、3d、5d、7d及14d大鼠血清VEGF表达和凋亡神经元百分比的变化均为负相关性(均为P<0.05)。结论:在脑缺血再灌注大鼠模型中,缺血诱导使VEGF的表达发生变化,VEGF通过直接或间接的途径抑制神经元凋亡。     

Production of environmentally safe biocides from essential oils having antimicrobial activity

Different liquid formulations of anise, coriander and black cumin essential oils were used for preparing some biocides. The prepared formulations were tested for their antimicrobial activity against some post-harvest pathogenic microorganisms. The tested microorganisms were Fusarium oxysporum (Dray rot of potato), Alternaria alternata (Black rot of tomato), Penicillium italicum, P. digitatum, (Blue and green rot of orange, respectively), Botryitus cinerea (Gray rot of strawberry) and Erwinia carotovora (Soft rot of potato).The results revealed that the different formulations showed a complete inhibition effect on the growth of most of the tested microorganisms. Also, the antimicrobial activity of the formulated essential oils did not affect the formulation process compared with the original oil.