Search results for "Dino"
showing 10 items of 490 documents
POSTPRANDIAL HYPERGLYCEMIA IS A DETERMINANT OF PLATELET ACTIVATION IN EARLY 2 DIABETES MELLITUS
2010
BACKGROUND: Chronic hyperglycemia is a major contributor to in vivo platelet activation in diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of acarbose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, on platelet activation and its determinants in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: Forty-eight subjects (26 males, aged 61 +/- 8 years) with early type 2 diabetes (baseline hemoglobin A(1c) < or = 7% and no previous hypoglycemic treatment) were randomly assigned to acarbose up to 100 mg three times a day or placebo, and evaluated every 4 weeks for 20 weeks. The main outcome measures were urinary 11-dehydro-thromboxane (TX)B(2) (marker of in vivo platelet activation) and 8-iso-prostaglandi…
Preliminary analysis of osteocyte lacunar density in long bones of tetrapods: all measures are bigger in sauropod dinosaurs.
2013
Osteocytes harbour much potential for paleobiological studies. Synchrotron radiation and spectroscopic analyses are providing fascinating data on osteocyte density, size and orientation in fossil taxa. However, such studies may be costly and time consuming. Here we describe an uncomplicated and inexpensive method to measure osteocyte lacunar densities in bone thin sections. We report on cell lacunar densities in the long bones of various extant and extinct tetrapods, with a focus on sauropodomorph dinosaurs, and how lacunar densities can help us understand bone formation rates in the iconic sauropod dinosaurs. Ordinary least square and phylogenetic generalized least square regressions sugge…
Serum and urine markers of type I collagen metabolism in elderly women with high and low bone mineral density.
1996
The serum markers of bone formation (carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I collagen, PICP) and resorption (pyridinoline cross-links containing telopeptide of type I collagen, ICTP), as well as urinary resorption markers, pyridinoline (Pyr) and deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr), were studied in 78-year-old women with high (n = 18) and low (n = 17) bone mineral density (BMD) measured from the calcaneus and tibia. The low-BMD group had higher values for PICP (P = 0 center dot 025), Pyr (P = 0 center dot 001) and Dpyr (P < 0 center dot 001) than the high-BMD group. No inverse relationship between these markers and BMD was, however, observed within the study groups. ICTP, Pyr and Dpyr correlated with eac…
Synthesis of chiral 1,5-disubstituted pyrrolidinones via electrophile-induced cyclization of 2-(3-butenyl)oxazolines derived from (1R,2S)- and (1S,2R…
2006
Starting from (1R,2S)- and (1S,2R)-norephedrine, enantiomers of the corresponding 2-(3-butenyl)oxazolines were prepared in a two-step process. The cyclization of the intermediate alkenylamides with phenylselenyl bromide afforded cyclic imidates instead of the expected pyrrolidinones. The electrophile-induced cyclizations of 2-alkenyloxazolines with bromine or iodine produced diastereomeric mixtures of chiral 1,5-disubstituted pyrrolidinones. The ring closure of the all-cis (1R,2S,5R)-diastereomer 7 with NaH resulted in the tetrahydropyrrolo[2,1-b]oxazol-5-one derivative 18, which was alternatively prepared by the cyclocondensation of (1R,2S)-norephedrine with levulinic acid.
Regulation of IL-12 p40 Promoter Activity in Primary Human Monocytes: Roles of NF-κB, CCAAT/Enhancer-Binding Protein β, and PU.1 and Identification o…
2001
Abstract Appropriate regulation of IL-12 expression is critical for cell-mediated immune responses. In the present study, we have analyzed the regulation of IL-12 p40 promoter activity in primary human monocytes in vivo. Accordingly, we analyzed the p40 promoter by in vivo footprinting in resting and activated primary human blood CD14+ monocytes. Interestingly, footprints at binding sites for trans-activating proteins such as C/EBP, NF-κB, and ETS were only found upon stimulation with LPS and IFN-γ. In contrast, a footprint over a purine-rich sequence at −155, termed GA-12 (GATA sequence in the IL-12 promoter), was observed in resting, but not activated, cells. Further characterization of t…
The gp130-stimulating designer cytokine hyper-IL-6 promotes the expansion of human hematopoietic progenitor cells capable to differentiate into funct…
2000
Abstract Objective . Hyper-IL-6, a fusion protein of interleukin-6 and its specific receptor, together with stem cell factor leads to the proliferation of primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells. Based on these findings, the current study examined whether hyper-IL-6 promotes the growth of precursor cells that can be further differentiated into dendritic cells in the presence of additional cytokines. Methods . Dendritic cell cultures were generated from CD34 + hematopoietic progenitor cells derived either from bone marrow or from peripheral blood. CD34 + cells were cultured in the presence of cytokines for 2 weeks and then used for phenotyping and T-cell stimulation assays. Results . Hyper-…
β-Catenin Signaling Drives Differentiation and Proinflammatory Function of IRF8-Dependent Dendritic Cells
2014
Abstract β-Catenin signaling has recently been tied to the emergence of tolerogenic dendritic cells (DCs). In this article, we demonstrate a novel role for β-catenin in directing DC subset development through IFN regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) activation. We found that splenic DC precursors express β-catenin, and DCs from mice with CD11c-specific constitutive β-catenin activation upregulated IRF8 through targeting of the Irf8 promoter, leading to in vivo expansion of IRF8-dependent CD8α+, plasmacytoid, and CD103+CD11b− DCs. β-Catenin–stabilized CD8α+ DCs secreted elevated IL-12 upon in vitro microbial stimulation, and pharmacological β-catenin inhibition blocked this response in wild-type cells…
Configurations and conformations of torreyol (δ-cadinol), α-cadinol, T-muurolol and T-cadinol
1981
Abstract The configurations and conformations of torreyol (6; “δ-cadinol”,10α-hydroxy-4-muurolene), α-cadinol (7; 10α-hydroxy-4-cadinene), T-muurolol (8; 10β-hydroxy-4-muurolene), and T-cadinol (9; 10β-hydroxy-4-cadinene) have been determined by an extensive PMR study using lanthanide-induced shifts. Characteristic mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of muurolols and cadinols are briefly discussed.
Excitotoxic Hippocampal Membrane Breakdown and its Inhibition by Bilobalide: Role of Chloride Fluxes
2003
We have previously shown that hypoxia and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation induce breakdown of choline-containing phospholipids in rat hippocampus, a process which is mediated by calcium influx and phospholipase A (2) activation. Bilobalide, a constituent of Ginkgo biloba, inhibited this process in a potent manner (Weichel et al., Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 360, 609-615, 1999). In this study, we used fluorescence microscopy and radioactive flux measurements to show that bilobalide does not interfere with NMDA-induced calcium influx. Instead, bilobalide seems to inhibit NMDA-induced fluxes of chloride ions through ligand-operated chloride channels. In our experimen…
Avarol restores the altered prostaglandin and leukotriene metabolism in monocytes infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1
1991
Abstract Infection of monocytes with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) (strain Ada-M) caused increased levels of leukotriene B 4 (LTB 4 ) and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) in vitro. These two products result from the activities of the two enzymes cyclooxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase. The addition of the sesquiterpenoid hydroquinone Avarol, an HIV inhibitor, strongly reduced the levels of LTB 4 and PGE 2 via inhibition of both cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase in monocytes. The 50% inhibition concentrations (IC 50 ) for the enzymes were determined to be 2.26 μM (cyclooxygenase) and 1.97 μM (lipoxygenase). A 50% reduction of the extent of PGE 2 and LTB 4 production in HIV-infected monocytes…