Publications by authors named "Beate Herrmann"

Background: Structural changes in modern mining industry increase the potential for medical emergencies. Furthermore, rescue times in mining are prolonged and public medical resources are not consistently available.

Objectives: We sought to train mine rescue brigade lay people to cover medical emergencies in mining.

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Environmental temperature is a driving factor in evolution, and it is commonly assumed that metabolic adaptations to cold climates are the result of transgenerational selection. Here, we show in mice that even minor changes in maternal thermogenesis alter the metabolic phenotype already in the next generation. Male offspring of mothers genetically lacking brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis display increased lean mass and improved glucose tolerance as adults, while females are unaffected.

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Introduction: Injection of 3-iodothyronamine into experimental animals profoundly affects their metabolism and body temperature. As 3-iodothyronamine is rapidly acetylated in vivo after injection, it was hypothesized that the metabolites N- or O-acetyl-3-iodothyronamines could constitute the active hormones.

Methods: Adult male mice were injected once daily with one of the metabolites (5 mg/kg body weight intraperitoneally dissolved in 60% DMSO in PBS) or solvent.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tachycardia, cardiac hypertrophy, and elevated body temperature are key indicators of systemic hyperthyroidism, attributed to excessive thyroid hormone action in tissues, but new findings suggest significant contributions from the brain as well.
  • A study using mice that lack specific thyroid hormone transporters (double knock-out) compared their body temperature and heart function to wild-type mice treated with thyroid hormone, revealing that central thyroid hormone actions are crucial for symptoms like hyperthermia and cardiac hypertrophy.
  • The results indicate that while heart rate remained generally stable in both models, the double knock-out mice showed irregularities in heart rate patterns, highlighting the importance of the central nervous system in managing these cardiovascular issues.
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Stimulation of thermogenic pathways appears to be a promising approach to find new ways of tackling metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes mellitus type 2. Thermogenic, weight reducing and insulin sensitizing effects of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE 5) inhibitors have recently been postulated, suggesting that modulators of endogenous cGMP signaling have the therapeutic potential to treat metabolic disorders. However, most studies have been performed in vitro or in animals that were not glucose intolerant.

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Objective: Maternal and environmental factors control the epigenetic fetal programming of the embryo, thereby defining the susceptibility for metabolic or endocrine disorders in the offspring. Pharmacological interventions required as a consequence of gestational problems, e.g.

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Inherited mtDNA mutations cause severe human disease. In most species, mitochondria are inherited maternally through mechanisms that are poorly understood. Genes that specifically control the inheritance of mitochondria in the germline are unknown.

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Brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates nutritional energy as heat via the uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1) and BAT activity correlates with leanness in human adults. Here we profile G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in brown adipocytes to identify druggable regulators of BAT. Twenty-one per cent of the GPCRs link to the Gq family, and inhibition of Gq signalling enhances differentiation of human and murine brown adipocytes.

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The liver is the principal source of glutamate in blood plasma. Recently we have discovered that efflux of glutamate from hepatocytes is catalyzed by the transporter OAT2 (human gene symbol SLC22A7). Organic anion transporter 2 (OAT2) is an integral membrane protein of the sinusoidal membrane domain; it is primarily expressed in liver and much less in kidney, both in rats and humans.

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Definition Of The Problem: There is an increasing demand for invasive forms of cosmetic surgery. In view of the omnipresent confrontation with some idealized standards of beauty in advertising, films, beauty-shows etc., this paper deals with the question of whether women undergo cosmetic surgery because they are forced by a norm-setting beauty system or whether they choose these operations themselves.

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