Assays for insulin and insulin-like metabolic activity based on hepatocytes, myocytes and diaphragms.

Despite the eminent importance of studies with primary and cultured adipocytes or adipose tissues on the basis of their physiological role in the regulation of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in humans in combination with the relative low expenditure in preparing adipocytes of high quality and number, compounds and drug candidates for future antidiabetic and antiobesity therapy have to be analyzed for their effects in primary and cultured hepatocytes and myocytes or liver and muscle tissues, too. In principle, the majority of the assays described above for adipocytes can be adapted for the use with hepatocytes and myocytes. However, the following selection takes into account the relative contribution of each process monitored to its role in the whole-body regulation of intermediary metabolism in the normal and disease state. Moreover, technical aspects, such as requirement for a special equipment and applicability in throughput screening assays for drug discovery, were additional criteria

Political participation, diffused governance, and the transformation of democracy : patterns of change

Although democratic governments have introduced a number of institutional reforms in part intended to increase citizens’ political involvement, studies show a continued decline in regular political engagement. This book examines different forms of political participation in democracies, and in what way the delegation of public responsibilities—or, the diffusion of politics—has affected patterns of participation since the 1980s. The book addresses this paradox by directly investigating the impact of institutional changes on citizens’ political participation empirically. It re-analyses patterns of political participation in contemporary democracies, providing an in-depth time series cross-sectional analysis that helps develop a better understanding of how variation in political participation can be explained, both between countries and over time. As such, it develops an institutional theoretical framework which can help to explain levels of participation and shows that, instead of displaying more political apathy, citizens have reallocated or displaced their activities to a broader array of forms of participation.-- Part I: The Changing Democratic System -- 1. Patterns of Change -- 2. The Three Sides of the Coin: Unpacking Political Participation -- 3. Structuring Diffusion: Explaining Levels of Political Participation -- Part II: Patterns of Participation: The Impact of Competence Diffusion -- 4. Participation and Horizontal Diffusion -- 5. Participation and Vertical Diffusion -- 6. Political Participation and Diagonal Diffusion -- Part III: Democracy at the Crossroads? Some Conclusions -- 7. Levels of Political Participation and Multi-Directional Diffusion -- 8. Patterns of Change: Diffused DemocracyPublished version of EUI PhD thesis, 201