12 research outputs found
Cerebrospinal fluid levels of insulin, leptin, and agouti-related protein in relation to BMI in pregnant women
Objective:
During pregnancy, metabolic interactions must be adapted, though neuroendocrine mechanisms for increased food intake are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize differences in insulin, leptin, and agoutiârelated protein (AgRP) levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in pregnant women with normal weight (NW) and pregnant women with overweight (OW) or obesity (OB). Placenta as a source for increased peripheral AgRP levels during pregnancy was also investigated.
Methods:
Women were recruited at admission for elective cesarean section. Insulin, AgRP, and leptin were measured in serum and CSF from 30 NW, 25 OW, and 21 OB at term. Serum during pregnancy and placenta at term were collected for further AgRP analysis.
Results
Immunohistology showed placental production of AgRP and serum AgRP levels increased throughout pregnancy. CSF AgRP, leptin, and insulin levels were higher in OW and OB than NW. Serum leptin and insulin levels were higher and AgRP lower in OB than NW.
Conclusions:
High serum AgRP levels might protect from the suppressive effects of leptin during pregnancy. Pregnant women with OB and OW might further be protected from the suppressive effect of leptin by high CSF AgRP levels. Evidence was found, for the first time, of human placental AgRP production mirrored by levels in the circulation
Foundations of Collective Cultural Rights in International Human Rights Law
Although collective cultural rights are included in international human rights law, their precise place and their nature and significance are not well-explored or understood. This paper aims to show where collective cultural rights can be found in international human rights law and explore how these rights fit in the general body and framework of international human rights law. The starting point in this chapter is international human rights law, which implies that the analysis of collective cultural rights is framed by positive law and international legal instruments, such as treaties and conventions, as well as by soft law instruments, such as declarations, recommendations and resolutions. In this paper, the two categories of collective rights and cultural rights are defined, drawing a distinction between a) different types of collective rights, including rights for collectivities as such, rights for individuals as members of collectivities, and rights with a collective interest or object; and b) between different types of cultural rights, including rights that explicitly refer to âcultureâ and rights that relate to culture or have a cultural dimension. This paper furthermore analyses various contentious issues surrounding collective rights and cultural rights in international human rights law, including the lack of clarity on the object and subject of these rights. The paper then outlines the different forms of collective cultural rights in international human rights law, by providing examples of legal provisions in international human rights law that can be classified as collective cultural rights. Finally, the paper elaborates on how collective subjects and collective cultural interests are integrated in international human rights law and analyses how and to what extent collective cultural rights provisions provide answers to the above-noted issues
Outbreak of hospital-acquired gastroenteritis and invasive infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes, Finland, 2012
Constructions of bilingualism in Finnish Government programmes and a newspaper discussion site debate
Effect of fatigue and annual ringsâ orientation on mechanical properties of wood under cross-grain uniaxial compression
The mechanics of fresh wood with and without a fatigue pre-treatment that mimics a mechanical pulping process was experimentally studied. The mechanical properties of Norway spruce samples under compression are considered with the macroscopic stressâstrain data and from local strain properties via digital image correlation technique. The results highlight the effects of the orientation of the wood annual rings compared to the loading direction and of the pre-fatigue. The wood presents a low yield point when the annual rings are tilted compared to the load axis, but the Youngâs modulus and yield stress are higher when the annual rings are either parallel or perpendicular to the load direction. In the last case, buckling of softest layers occurs. The fatigue treatment makes the wood less stiff as deduced from the decreases of Youngâs modulus and yield stress, whatever the orientation of annual rings. Secondly, it creates a thin and localized softened layer