The Glucagon Receptor Is Required for the Adaptive Metabolic Response to Fasting

SummaryGlucagon receptor (Gcgr) signaling maintains hepatic glucose production during the fasting state; however, the importance of the Gcgr for lipid metabolism is unclear. We show here that fasted Gcgr−/− mice exhibit a significant increase in hepatic triglyceride secretion and fasting increases fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in wild-type (WT) but not in Gcgr−/− mice. Moreover fasting upregulated the expression of FAO-related hepatic mRNA transcripts in Gcgr+/+ but not in Gcgr−/− mice. Exogenous glucagon administration reduced plasma triglycerides in WT mice, inhibited TG synthesis and secretion, and stimulated FA beta oxidation in Gcgr+/+ hepatocytes. The actions of glucagon on TG synthesis and FAO were abolished in PPARα−/− hepatocytes. These findings demonstrate that the Gcgr receptor is required for control of lipid metabolism during the adaptive metabolic response to fasting

CETOBaC - Centre d’études turques, ottomanes, balkaniques et centrasiatiques

Marc Aymes, chargé de recherche au CNRSBenjamin Gourisse, ATER à l’Université Paris-I/Panthéon-SorbonneEmmanuel Szurek, doctorant à l’EHESS Sociologie historique de l’État en Turquie depuis les Tanzimat Le séminaire s’est poursuivi en 2010-2011 pour sa troisième année consécutive. Il demeure articulé au programme ANR TRANSTUR, « Ordonner et transiger. Modalités de gouvernement et d’administration en Turquie et dans l’Empire ottoman du XIXe siècle à nos jours » (2008-2011), dont il permet de d..

Staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis versus bacteremia strains: Subtle genetic differences at stake

AbstractInfective endocarditis (IE)(1) is a severe condition complicating 10–25% of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. Although host-related IE risk factors have been identified, the involvement of bacterial features in IE complication is still unclear. We characterized strictly defined IE and bacteremia isolates and searched for discriminant features. S. aureus isolates causing community-acquired, definite native-valve IE (n=72) and bacteremia (n=54) were collected prospectively as part of a French multicenter cohort. Phenotypic traits previously reported or hypothesized to be involved in staphylococcal IE pathogenesis were tested. In parallel, the genotypic profiles of all isolates, obtained by microarray, were analyzed by discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC)(2). No significant difference was observed between IE and bacteremia strains, regarding either phenotypic or genotypic univariate analyses. However, the multivariate statistical tool DAPC, applied on microarray data, segregated IE and bacteremia isolates: IE isolates were correctly reassigned as such in 80.6% of the cases (C-statistic 0.83, P<0.001). The performance of this model was confirmed with an independent French collection IE and bacteremia isolates (78.8% reassignment, C-statistic 0.65, P<0.01). Finally, a simple linear discriminant function based on a subset of 8 genetic markers retained valuable performance both in study collection (86.1%, P<0.001) and in the independent validation collection (81.8%, P<0.01). We here show that community-acquired IE and bacteremia S. aureus isolates are genetically distinct based on subtle combinations of genetic markers. This finding provides the proof of concept that bacterial characteristics may contribute to the occurrence of IE in patients with S. aureus bacteremia

Cultural landscape of traditional house compounds in Terengganu

As it was observed that Terengganu traditional residential landscapes are disappearing fast, it seemed obvious that something had to be done before oblivion sets in. Therefore, taking the traditional houses compounds as basic building blocks of the traditional villages, a survey on 16 house compounds found mostly in the valley of the Terengganu River, was conducted. The study was aimed at demonstrating i) that these units have a particular identity, ii) that they are valuable assets to the state as cultural landscapes. The 16 house compounds have been divided into four categories or types, based on socio-economic differences amongst the inhabitants reported in background literature on Terengganu, i.e: “rakyat�, “aristocrat�, “clan heritage� and “farmer�. The investigation entails the use of pictures, interviews, lists of features and sketch plans of the house compounds. The findings are presented in tables of frequencies revealing priorities for each type: “rakyat� - household activities, “aristocrat� -status symbols, “clan heritage� -family ties, and “farmer� -harvest and storage. The resulting “portraits� are then analysed against a series of seventeen criteria for cultural value drawnd the literature on cultural landscape assessment. In conclusion, the landscape in the house compounds are found to present varying identity types, homogeneity, variety, symbiosis and ethic norms, and hence qualify as cultural landscape. This can be considered as a valuable indication for the rest of the house compounds in ancient villages. The research intends to serve as a first stage framework towards further course of action to document and /or to preserve what remains of the identified heritage in Terengganu

Régulation des voies mitogéniques par les molécules modulant la concentration intracellulaire de calcium dans les cellules ß pancréatiques

MONTPELLIER-BU Sciences (341722106) / SudocSudocFranceF

Copolycondensation of regular functional silane and siloxane in aqueous emulsion using B(C6F5)3 as a catalyst

International audienceThe copolycondensation of siloxane and silane bearing hydrido and methoxy groups, resp., was carried out in a surfactant-free aq. emulsion, at room temp. and using B(C6F5)3 as a water-tolerant Lewis acid. Several characterization techniques, including triple detection SEC, 29Si NMR and MALDI-TOF, confirmed the generation of linear polymers (no macrocycles), of av. molar masses ranging between 30 and 80 000 g×mol-1, and bearing silanol end-groups. Colloidal evolution with time showed that a stable surfactant-free emulsion was generated before some coalescence occurs by decreasing the content of silanol groups suspected to stabilize the emulsion. The kinetics of reaction was followed by SEC, and revealed the generation of small cycles, along with linear oligomers, before converting them to poly(dimethylsiloxane) chains. A tentative mechanism, where ring-opening polymn. of the most stranded cyclosiloxane and polycondensation of polymer chains are considered, is proposed