Osteocalcin (OC) is encoded by the bone γ-carboxyglutamate (Gla) protein (BGLAP) gene, and it is released by osteoblasts during osteogenesis. Its expression can be modulated by growth factors, hormones, cytokines and physical stimuli via signal transduction pathways, binding to the BGLAP gene promoter or interactions with nuclear transcription factors. It was recently demonstrated that uncarbox...

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress in female athletes is understudied. We investigated oxidative stress in sportswomen of different disciplines according to combined oral contraceptive (OC) use and lifestyle/alimentary habits. METHODS Italian sportswomen (n = 144; mean age 23.4 ± 4.2 years; body mass index 21.2 ± 2.2 kg m-2; sport activity 9.2 ± 4.1 h week-1) were analyzed; 48 % were volleyball play...

The use of oral contraceptives (OC) is associated with an increased risk of thrombosis, suggesting OC exert procoagulant and/or antifibrinolytic effects. Given that physical exercise physiologically leads to an activation of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis, this study tested the hypothesis that OC might compromise the fibrinolytic response to exercise. Fibrinolytic variables were measured in...

Some but not all models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) emphasize the role of dysfunctional beliefs in the etiology and maintenance of this disorder. Clinical observations suggest that some OCD patients have prominent dysfunctional beliefs associated with their obsessions and compulsions, while other patients do not show this pattern. It is possible that dysfunctional beliefs play a role...

Oseltamivir is a potent, well-tolerated antiviral for the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza. Although no relationship with treatment could be demonstrated, recent reports of abnormal behavior in young individuals with influenza who were receiving oseltamivir have generated renewed interest in the central nervous system (CNS) tolerability of oseltamivir. This single-center, open-label study...

The effects of high calcium diet on body weight in OC treated rats are unknown. This study therefore investigated the effect of increasing dietary calcium from 0.9% to 2.5% on body weight, food ingestion, water intake, heart weight index and renal weight index in female Sprague-Dawley rats treated with a combination of OC steroids (ethinyloestradiol + norgestrel). The rats were assigned into th...

Yersinia enterocolitica (Ye) is a gram-negative bacterium; Ye serotype O:3 expresses lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with a hexasaccharide branch known as the outer core (OC). The OC is important for the resistance of the bacterium to cationic antimicrobial peptides and also functions as a receptor for bacteriophage phiR1-37 and enterocoliticin. The biosynthesis of the OC hexasaccharide is directed by...

Australia's tidal marshes have suffered significant losses but their recently recognised importance in CO2 sequestration is creating opportunities for their protection and restoration. We compiled all available data on soil organic carbon (OC) storage in Australia's tidal marshes (323 cores). OC stocks in the surface 1 m averaged 165.41 (SE 6.96) Mg OC ha-1 (range 14-963 Mg OC ha-1). The mean O...

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the association of body mass index (BMI) with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health utilities, health care resource utilization, productivity, activity impairment, and the associated costs. METHODS Results were from the 2013 EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK) National Health and Wellness Survey, a nationally representative, online survey of respon...

The present study sought to replicate and extend a study by Abramowitz et al. (2009), who examined how well experiential avoidance (EA) and obsessive beliefs predicted obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in a non-clinical sample. The current study utilized a severe, clinical, treatment-seeking sample (N=108), and examined how well EA and obsessive beliefs predicted changes in OC symptoms from pr...