Search results for "Endocrine System"

The guilty couch potato: The role of negative emotions in reducing recovery through media use

2012

This article addresses ego depletion as a mechanism influencing media-based stress recovery processes. Using structural equation modeling, relationships between ego depletion, procrastination, guilt, enjoyment, vitality, and recovery experience were tested using data from an online survey (N=471). Results suggest that ego depletion may increase the risk of negatively appraising the use of interactive (video games) and noninteractive (television) entertaining media as a form of procrastination. The resulting guilt is negatively related to the recovery experience associated with using entertainment. Therefore, ego-depleted individuals may benefit less from the psychological recovery potential…

Proanthocyanidins and Where to Find Them: A Meta-Analytic Approach to Investigate Their Chemistry, Biosynthesis, Distribution, and Effect on Human He…

2021

Proanthocyanidins (PACs) are a class of polyphenolic compounds that are attracting considerable interest in the nutraceutical field due to their potential health benefits. However, knowledge about the chemistry, biosynthesis, and distribution of PACs is limited. This review summarizes the main chemical characteristics and biosynthetic pathways and the main analytical methods aimed at their identification and quantification in raw plant matrices. Furthermore, meta-analytic approaches were used to identify the main plant sources in which PACs were contained and to investigate their potential effect on human health. In particular, a cluster analysis identified PACs in 35 different plant famili…

Receptor for advanced glycation end products is subjected to protein ectodomain shedding by metalloproteinases.

2008

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a 55-kDa type I membrane glycoprotein of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Ligand-induced up-regulation of RAGE is involved in various pathophysiological processes, including late diabetic complications and Alzheimer disease. Application of recombinant soluble RAGE has been shown to block RAGE-mediated pathophysiological conditions. After expression of full-length RAGE in HEK cells we identified a 48-kDa soluble RAGE form (sRAGE) in the culture medium. This variant of RAGE is smaller than a 51-kDa soluble version derived from alternative splicing. The release of sRAGE can be induced by the phorbol ester PMA and the calcium ionophore c…

Identification and characterization of autoantibodies against catalase and α-enolase in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis

1998

SUMMARY Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown aetiology. Recent studies have shown that genetic factors and both cellular and humoral immunological abnormalities are important in the pathogenesis of PSC. The most prominent autoantibodies in PSC are anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). The autoepitopes of ANCA in PSC are not well defined. The aim of this study was to identify corresponding ANCA autoantigens in patients with PSC. A biochemical approach with enrichment and partial purification of soluble neutrophil proteins, detection of autoantibodies by Western blot and partial amino acid sequencing were used. Two new autoantigen/aut…

A role for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma in resveratrol-induced colon cancer cell apoptosis.

2014

Scope Resveratrol may function as a chemopreventive agent. A recent clinical study demonstrates a reduction in tumor cell proliferation in colorectal patients receiving repeated oral ingestion of resveratrol. However, gaps remain in our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms by which resveratrol exerts its chemopreventive effect. We have previously demonstrated that resveratrol induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells and that resveratrol can sensitize chemoresistant colon cancer cells to various drugs. Based on its ability to activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) in colon cancer cells, we sought to determine the implication of this nuclear transcription factor in …

The use of mobile technology for online shopping and entertainment among older adults in Finland

2017

Older adults use mobile devices for online shopping as often as younger adults.Mobile-based entertainment use is most typical for younger male adults.Older female adults use mobile-based entertainment least frequently.Age, household structure and high education predict mobile-based online shopping.Mobile-based entertainment use is best predicted by age and gender. Older adults are becoming an important market segment for all internet-based services, but few studies to date have considered older adults as online shoppers and users of entertainment media. Utilising the concept of life course, this article investigates the use of mobile technologies for online shopping and entertainment among …

Diabetes: Genetic variation underpins metformin response.

2016

Metformin is the first-line antidiabetic drug with over 100 million users worldwide, yet its mechanism of action remains unclear1. Here the Metformin Genetics (MetGen) Consortium reports a three-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS), consisting of 13,123 participants of different ancestries. The C allele of rs8192675 in the intron of SLC2A2, which encodes the facilitated glucose transporter GLUT2, was associated with a 0.17% (p=6.6×10−14) greater metformin-induced in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in 10,577 participants of European ancestry. rs8192675 is the top cis expression quantitative trait locus (cis-eQTL) for SLC2A2 in 1,226 human liver samples, suggesting a key role for hepatic GLUT2 …

Serum miRNAs in women affected by hyperandrogenic polycystic ovary syndrome: the potential role of miR-155 as a biomarker for monitoring the estropro…

2018

MicroRNAs can be used as very efficient circulating biomarkers. The role of microRNAs in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the effects of antiandrogen therapy on microRNA expression is still not fully understood. A panel of serum microRNAs were retrotranscribed via looped reverse primer transcription specific for each miRNA and quantified via probe specific RT-PCR in 16 Caucasian hyperandrogenic PCOS women selected according to the Rotterdam criteria and in a subset of seven patients after four months of sequential reverse antiandrogenic therapy. All women recruited underwent an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and a baseline total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins cholesterol, tr…

Intra-individual variability in TSH levels of healthy women during the first half of pregnancy

2017

TSH is the parameter most widely accepted to assess thyroid function, especially in pregnant women. The aim of this current study was to analyze intra-individual changes in TSH during the first half of pregnancy in women with TSH levels higher than 2.5mIU/L in early pregnancy.An observational, prospective study was conducted on 243 healthy pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy. Thyroid function was assessed by testing TSH and free T4 levels. A subgroup of women with TSH levels2.5mIU/L underwent additional tests (TSH, free T4, peroxidase antibodies). Information on dietary iodine intake and/or iodine supplements was also recorded.Mean TSH level was 1.89mIU/L (range 0.024-6.48mIU…

2014

Nitric oxide (NO) derived from the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) has antihypertensive, antithrombotic, anti-atherosclerotic and antiobesogenic properties. Resveratrol is a polyphenol phytoalexin with multiple cardiovascular and metabolic effects. Part of the beneficial effects of resveratrol are mediated by eNOS. Resveratrol stimulates NO production from eNOS by a number of mechanisms, including upregulation of eNOS expression, stimulation of eNOS enzymatic activity and reversal of eNOS uncoupling. In addition, by reducing oxidative stress, resveratrol prevents oxidative NO inactivation by superoxide thereby enhancing NO bioavailability. Molecular pathways underlying these effects of resve…