We evaluated the antimicrobial activities of a cationic Gemini surfactant, trans-1,4-bis[2-(alkanoyloxy)ethyldimethylammonio]-2-butene dichloride [II-m-2(t-butene)] and its derivatives against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. The II-m-2(t-butene) compound was previously shown to have good surface activity and biodegradability. A dodecanoyloxy derivative (m = 12) of II-m-2(t-buten...

Obese leptin-deficient ob/ob mice exhibit a low-grade chronic inflammation together with a low muscle mass. Our aim was to analyze the changes in muscle expression levels of genes related to oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in leptin deficiency and to identify the effect of in vivo leptin administration. Ob/ob mice were divided in three groups as follows: control ob/ob, leptin-treate...

Mea sure ments of me te o ro log i cal vari ables and sur face en ergy com po nents over the South China Sea (SCS) are com pared with the NCEP-DOE AMIP-II reanalysis (NCEP2). The ob ser va tions were con ducted on a re search ves sel in the sum mers of 2004 and 2006. In ad di tion, a one-col umn ocean model is used to sim u late sur face en ergy com po nents and up per-level wa ter tem per a tu...

A detailed understanding of pancreatic β-cell mass distribution is a key element to fully appreciate the pathophysiology of models of diabetes and metabolic stress. Commonly, such assessments have been performed by stereological approaches that rely on the extrapolation of two-dimensional data and provide very limited topological information. We present ex vivo optical tomographic data sets of ...

Fo ram apli ca das ro ti nas com bi na das de po ten ci al, en vol ven do var re du ras vol ta mé tri cas e pa ra das de po ten ci al, na re gião dos ad-átomos de hi dro gê nio so bre ele tro dos de Pt, em di fe ren tes so lu ções áci das, para pro du zir um au men to da cor ren te de pico da ele tro-desorção do “ter ce i ro” áto mo de hi dro gê nio que apa re ce cer ca de 0.22 V vs. RHE. Este ...

Antenatal treatment with glucocorticoids (GC) poses long-lasting effects on endocrine and cardiovascular function. Given that leptin attenuates adrenal function and the reported sex differences in plasma leptin concentration, we hypothesized that antenatal GC will affect leptin levels and leptin modulation of adrenal function in a sex-specific manner. Pregnant sheep were randomly given betameth...

Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein, aP2, is a member of the intracellular fatty acid binding protein family. Previously, studies have shown increased insulin sensitivity in aP2-deficient mice with dietary obesity. Here, we asked whether aP2-related alterations in lipolytic response and insulin production are features of obesity-induced insulin resistance and investigated the effects of aP2-de...

OBJECTIVES In the ob/ob mouse model of obesity, chronic absence of leptin causes a significant increase of orexin (OX) production by hypothalamic neurons and excessive food intake. The altered OX level is linked to a dramatic increase of the inhibitory innervation of OX producing neurons (OX neurons) and the over expression of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) by OX neurons of o...