Duodenal adipose tissue is associated with obesity in baboons (Papio sp) : a novel site of ectopic fat deposition in non-human primates

AimsEctopic fat is a recognized contributor to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction, while the role of fat deposition inside intestinal wall tissue remains understudied. We undertook this study to directly quantify and localize intramural fat deposition in duodenal tissue and determine its association with adiposity.MethodsDuodenal tissues were collected from aged (21.21.3years, 19.53.1kg, n=39) female baboons (Papio sp.). Fasted blood was collected for metabolic profiling and abdominal circumference (AC) measurements were taken. Primary tissue samples were collected at the major duodenal papilla at necropsy: one full cross section was processed for hematoxylin and eosin staining and evaluated; a second full cross section was processed for direct chemical lipid analysis on which percentage duodenal fat content was calculated.Results Duodenal fat content obtained by direct tissue quantification showed considerable variability (11.95 +/- 6.93%) and was correlated with AC (r=0.60, p<0.001), weight (r=0.38, p=0.02), leptin (r=0.63, p<0.001), adiponectin (r=-0.32, p<0.05), and triglyceride (r=0.41, p=0.01). The relationship between duodenal fat content and leptin remained after adjusting for body weight and abdominal circumference. Intramural adipocytes were found in duodenal sections from all animals and were localized to the submucosa. Consistent with the variation in tissue fat content, the submucosal adipocytes were non-uniformly distributed in clusters of varying size. Duodenal adipocytes were larger in obese vs. lean animals (106.9 vs. 66.7 mu m(2), p=0.02).Conclusions Fat accumulation inside the duodenal wall is strongly associated with adiposity and adiposity related circulating biomarkers in baboons. Duodenal tissue fat represents a novel and potentially metabolically active site of ectopic fat deposition

Women, men and coronary heart disease: a review of the qualitative literature

Aim. This paper presents a review of the qualitative literature which examines the experiences of patients with coronary heart disease. The paper also assesses whether the experiences of both female and male patients are reflected in the literature and summarizes key themes. Background. Understanding patients' experiences of their illness is important for coronary heart disease prevention and education. Qualitative methods are particularly suited to eliciting patients' detailed understandings and perceptions of illness. As much previous research has been 'gender neutral', this review pays particular attention to gender. Methods. Published papers from 60 qualitative studies were identified for the review through searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PREMEDLINE, PsychINFO, Social Sciences Citation Index and Web of Science using keywords related to coronary heart disease. Findings. Early qualitative studies of patients with coronary heart disease were conducted almost exclusively with men, and tended to generalize from 'male' experience to 'human' experience. By the late 1990s this pattern had changed, with the majority of studies including women and many being conducted with solely female samples. However, many studies that include both male and female coronary heart disease patients still do not have a specific gender focus. Key themes in the literature include interpreting symptoms and seeking help, belief about coronary 'candidates' and relationships with health professionals. The influence of social roles is important: many female patients have difficulties reconciling family responsibilities and medical advice, while male patients worry about being absent from work. Conclusions. There is a need for studies that compare the experiences of men and women. There is also an urgent need for work that takes masculinity and gender roles into account when exploring the experiences of men with coronary heart disease

Between Boston and Berlin: American MNCs and the shifting contours of industrial relations in Ireland

peer-reviewedDrawing on detailed qualitative case studies and utilizing a national business system lens, we explore a largely underrepresented debate in the literature, namely the nature of change in a specific but critical element of business systems, that is the industrial relations (IR) institutions of the State and the impact of MNCs thereon. Given the critical mass of US investment in Ireland, we examine how US MNCs manage IR in their Irish subsidiaries, how the policies and practices they pursue have impacted on the Irish IR system, and more broadly their role in shaping the host institutional environment. Overall, we conclude that there is some evidence of change in the IR system, change that we trace indirectly to the US MNC sector. Further, the US MNC sector displays evidence of elements of the management of IR that is clearly at odds with Irish traditions. Thus, in these firms we point to the emergence of a hybrid system of the management of IR and the establishment of new traditions more reflective of US business system.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Velocity-force characteristics of an interface driven through a periodic potential

We study the creep dynamics of a two-dimensional interface driven through a periodic potential using dynamical renormalization group methods. We find that the nature of weak-drive transport depends qualitatively on whether the temperature $T$ is above or below the equilibrium roughening transition temperature $T_c$. Above $T_c$, the velocity-force characteristics is Ohmic, with linear mobility exhibiting a jump discontinuity across the transition. For $T \le T_c$, the transport is highly nonlinear, exhibiting an interesting crossover in temperature and weak external force $F$. For intermediate drive, $F>F_*$, we find near $T_c^{-}$ a power-law velocity-force characteristics $v(F)\sim F^\sigma$, with $\sigma-1\propto \tilde{t}$, and well-below $T_c$, $v(F)\sim e^{-(F_*/F)^{2\tilde{t}}}$, with $\tilde{t}=(1-T/T_c)$. In the limit of vanishing drive ($F\ll F_*$) the velocity-force characteristics crosses over to $v(F)\sim e^{-(F_0/F)}$, and is controlled by soliton nucleation.Comment: 18 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Exenatide regulates pancreatic islet integrity and insulin sensitivity in the nonhuman primate baboon Papio hamadryas.

The glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exenatide improves glycemic control by several and not completely understood mechanisms. Herein, we examined the effects of chronic intravenous exenatide infusion on insulin sensitivity, β cell and α cell function and relative volumes, and islet cell apoptosis and replication in nondiabetic nonhuman primates (baboons). At baseline, baboons received a 2-step hyperglycemic clamp followed by an l-arginine bolus (HC/A). After HC/A, baboons underwent a partial pancreatectomy (tail removal) and received a continuous exenatide (n = 12) or saline (n = 12) infusion for 13 weeks. At the end of treatment, HC/A was repeated, and the remnant pancreas (head-body) was harvested. Insulin sensitivity increased dramatically after exenatide treatment and was accompanied by a decrease in insulin and C-peptide secretion, while the insulin secretion/insulin resistance (disposition) index increased by about 2-fold. β, α, and δ cell relative volumes in exenatide-treated baboons were significantly increased compared with saline-treated controls, primarily as the result of increased islet cell replication. Features of cellular stress and secretory dysfunction were present in islets of saline-treated baboons and absent in islets of exenatide-treated baboons. In conclusion, chronic administration of exenatide exerts proliferative and cytoprotective effects on β, α, and δ cells and produces a robust increase in insulin sensitivity in nonhuman primates

Overcoming the challenges of public data archiving for citizen science biodiversity recording and monitoring schemes

1. Public data archiving (PDA) is widely advocated as a means of achieving open data standards, leading to improved data preservation, increased scientific reproducibility, and transparency, as well as additional data use. 2. Public data archiving was primarily conceived to archive data from short‐term, single‐purpose scientific studies. It is now more widely applied, including to large‐scale citizen science biodiversity recording and monitoring schemes which combine the efforts of volunteers with professional scientists. 3. This may affect the financial security of such schemes by reducing income from data and analytical services. Communication between scheme organizers and researchers may be disrupted, reducing scientific quality and impeding scheme development. It may also have an impact on the participation of some volunteers. 4. Synthesis and applications. In response to the challenges of public data archiving for citizen science biodiversity recording and monitoring schemes, the archive function of scheme organizations should be better recognized by those promoting open data principles. Increased financial support from the public sector or from commercial or academic data users may offset financial risk. Those in favour of public data archiving should do more to facilitate communication between nonscheme users and the originating schemes, while a more flexible approach to data archiving may be required to address potential impacts on volunteer participation

Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe

In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, we find that lake summer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade−1) between 1985 and 2009. Our analyses show that surface water warming rates are dependent on combinations of climate and local characteristics, rather than just lake location, leading to the counterintuitive result that regional consistency in lake warming is the exception, rather than the rule. The most rapidly warming lakes are widely geographically distributed, and their warming is associated with interactions among different climatic factors—from seasonally ice-covered lakes in areas where temperature and solar radiation are increasing while cloud cover is diminishing (0.72°C decade−1) to ice-free lakes experiencing increases in air temperature and solar radiation (0.53°C decade−1). The pervasive and rapid warming observed here signals the urgent need to incorporate climate impacts into vulnerability assessments and adaptation efforts for lakes.Peer reviewe

A global database of lake surface temperatures collected by in situ and satellite methods from 1985–2009

Peer reviewe

Limits on the production of scalar leptoquarks from Z (0) decays at LEP

A search has been made for pairs and for single production of scalar leptoquarks of the first and second generations using a data sample of 392000 Z0 decays from the DELPHI detector at LEP 1. No signal was found and limits on the leptoquark mass, production cross section and branching ratio were set. A mass limit at 95% confidence level of 45.5 GeV/c2 was obtained for leptoquark pair production. The search for the production of a single leptoquark probed the mass region above this limit and its results exclude first and second generation leptoquarks D0 with masses below 65 GeV/c2 and 73 GeV/c2 respectively, at 95% confidence level, assuming that the D0lq Yukawa coupling alpha(lambda) is equal to the electromagnetic one. An upper limit is also given on the coupling alpha(lambda) as a function of the leptoquark mass m(D0)