Recent studies in humans and rhesus monkeys have suggested the possibility that the adipose tissue hormone leptin has a stimulatory and/or permissive effect on the onset of puberty in the male. We evaluated this hypothesis by measuring leptin in groups of male rats between the ages of 26 days and 96 days. A statistically significant positive correlation was present between serum leptin and age,...

The use of micro- and nanodevices as multifunctional systems for biomedical applications has experienced an exponential growth during the past decades. Although a large number of studies have focused on the design and fabrication of new micro- and nanosystems capable of developing multiple functions, a deeper understanding of their interaction with cells is required. In the present study, we ev...

In this work we selected double-stranded DNA sequences capable of forming stable triplexes at 20 or 50 degrees C with corresponding 13mer purine oligonucleotides. This selection was obtained by a double aptamer approach where both the starting sequences of the oligonucleotides and the target DNA duplex were random. The results of selection were confirmed by a cold exchange method and the influe...

This study was aimed at finding out whether weight reduction alone can improve liver function in obese patients with fatty liver. We did a longitudinal, clinical intervention study on weight reduction by behavior modification, diet and exercise. The study subjects were 25 patients referred to an obesity clinic in whom obesity is the sole factor causing abnormal liver function and fatty liver. P...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effect of soy polysaccharide on fecal weight and humidity in growing rats in relation to cellulose and a Soy formula without dietary fiber. METHODS Twelve, 21-day-old, Wistar male rats, were distributed into three groups and fed AIN-93G ration with varying amounts of dietary fiber: Polysaccharide Group, 5% fiber in the form of soy polysaccharide; Soy Formula Group, 5%...

background and objectives: several investigations have been done to evaluate the effect of ramadan fasting on fetal and maternal health, which have all led to controversial results. the role of ramadan fasting time in birth weight is still unclear. this study evaluated the effect of fasting at different periods of pregnancy on birth weight. methods: 250 pregnant women fasting at least one day d...

Leptin and adiponectin are two important adipose tissue derived cytokines. Serum adiponectin levels decrease in obesity and chronic disease, whereas leptin shows a positive correlation with inflammation. Given that serum leptin and adiponectin levels vary among different ethnic groups, the aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of leptin and adiponectin in a random sample of appare...

To investigate the effect of teeth clenching on isokinetic knee extension at various velocities, isokinetic muscle strength during knee extension was measured in association with teeth clenching at 30, 60, 150, 300 and 450 degrees per second (deg/s) using the Cybex 6000 isokinetic dynamometer. The volunteer subjects were 9 healthy males (26.2•} 0.97 years). The peak torque per body weight and a...

This study was conducted to investigate growth and the complications in the hospitalized pediatric patients receiving either enteral (n = 26) or parenteral (n = 15) nutrition. Anthropometric measures as well as the results of biochemical analyses and complete blood counts were recorded. Weight, height and weight for height were expressed in z scores. The improvement in z scores for the 26 child...