Natural Observation of Alcohol Price and Promotions at Bars: Implications for Alcohol Misuse Prevention.

Alcohol misuse among young adults remains a primary public health concern given the wide range of short- and long-term physical, social, and societal consequences of the behavior. On-premise drinking establishments, which allow alcohol consumption on site (i.e.

Highly selective and compact tunable MOEMS photonic crystal Fabry-Perot filter.

The authors report a compact and highly selective tunable filter using a Fabry-Perot resonator combining a bottom micromachined 3-pair-InP/air-gap Bragg reflector with a top photonic crystal slab mirror. It is based on the coupling between radiated vertical cavity modes and waveguided modes of the photonic crystal. The full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the resonance, as measured by microreflectivity experiments, is close to 1.

Optimisation of a silicon/silicon dioxide substrate for a fluorescence DNA microarray.

This paper presents a comprehensive theory and experimental characterisation of the modulation of the fluorescence intensity by the construction of optical interferences on oxidised silicon substrates used for DNA microarrays. The model predicts a 90-fold variation of the fluorescence signal depending on the oxide thickness. For a Cy3 dye, the signal is maximal for a 90 nm oxide thickness corresponding to a 7.

Effect of carbohydrate ingestion on adipose tissue lipolysis during long-lasting exercise in trained men.

To study whether sucrose administration acts on lipid mobilization during prolonged exercise, we used subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue microdialysis in eight well-trained subjects submitted at random to two 100-min exercises (50% maximal aerobic power) on separate days. After 50 min of exercise, the subjects ingested either a sucrose solution (0.75 g/kg body wt) or water.

Adipose tissue lipolysis and hormone-sensitive lipase expression during very-low-calorie diet in obese female identical twins.

Eight pairs of obese female monozygotic twins were subjected to a 4-week, very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) that induced a decrease in mean body mass index from 32.9 +/- 1.1 to 29.

Cardio-respiratory changes during the onset of head-down tilt.

Background: During spaceflight, changes in the cardiovascular system and in pulmonary mechanics take place but no apparent impairment of respiratory function occurs. However, little is known about the first hours in microgravity.

Hypothesis: The changes occurring at the same time in the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems could interact and lead to a transient impairment of blood gases at the onset of microgravity.

Response of fat cells to growth hormone (GH): effect of long term treatment with recombinant human GH in GH-deficient adults.

GH deficiency impairs lipid metabolism in adults, but little is known about the direct effect of GH on adipose tissue in humans. First, the in vitro response of fat cells to GH in five GH-deficient adults was studied; second, it was investigated whether 6-month recombinant human GH (rhGH) administration modifies this response. Biopsies of fat were obtained from the periumbilical region before and after rhGH administration.

Effects of physiological and pharmacological variation of sympathetic nervous system activity on plasma non-esterified fatty acid concentrations in man.

1. The consequence of the sympatholytic effect of clonidine (alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist) was compared with the effect of a physiological inhibition of sympathetic nervous system activity (change from upright to supine position) on plasma catecholamine and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations in overnight fasting healthy men. 2.

Effect of long-term rhGH administration in GH-deficient adults on fat cell epinephrine response.

Besides exerting its own lipolytic effect, growth hormone (GH) has been reported to potentiate the lipolytic response of adipose tissue to epinephrine. It was thought interesting to find out whether long-term recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) administration modifies epinephrine-induced lipolysis in isolated adipocytes of GH-deficient adults. In a double-blind protocol, GH-deficient subjects received either 6 mo placebo (controls, n = 5) or 6 mo rhGH (treated, n = 5).

Absence of arterial hypertension despite chronic plasma noradrenaline elevation: evidence for down-regulation of alpha-adrenoceptors. A case report.

A 44 year old-healthy female presented chronic and stable high levels of plasma noradrenaline (NA) without any major change in adrenaline. The diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma was discarded. These increased levels of NA offered an unique opportunity to investigate under in vivo conditions a putative regulation of alpha-adrenoceptors by this endogenous catecholamine.

[Value of agglutination tests for the rapid identification of isolated streptococci in medical microbiology].

The clinical need for rapidly and correctly differentiating pathogenic streptococci into Lancefield groups prompted the development of rapid agglutination techniques by the direct colony method. Pastorex Streptogroupe (Diagnostics Pasteur, France) and Streptex (Wellcome Diagnostics, USA) were tested on 90 streptococcal isolates and compared with the identification obtained by conventional procedures. No cross-reactions were observed with any of the 33 strains of enterococci and of the seven strains representative of other genus among Gram-positive bacteria.

An anti-Cryptococcus neoformans monoclonal antibody directed against galactoxylomannan.

Six monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were produced by immunizing mice with a Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A spheroplast lysate (CNSL). Two mAb were of the IgG1 isotype; the others were IgM. The results obtained with one IgM mAb (CN6) are reported herein.

Lipolytic response of adipocytes to epinephrine in sedentary and exercise-trained subjects: sex-related differences.

Adipose tissue lipolytic activity is increased in endurance-trained subjects, but little is known about the mechanisms of this increase. To understand more fully the mechanisms involved and to discover whether sex-related differences exist, biopsies of fat were performed in the periumbilical region of 20 sedentary subjects (10 women (W) and 10 men (M)) and 20 trained subjects (10 W, 10 M); the in vitro response to epinephrine of the collagenase-isolated fat cells was studied. Glycerol release, chosen as an adipocyte lipolysis indicator, was measured by bioluminescence.

Platelet alpha 2-adrenoceptors and adrenergic adipose tissue responsiveness after moderate hypocaloric diet in obese subjects.

Platelet alpha 2-adrenoceptor number was studied in obese subjects treated by a moderate hypocaloric diet (1000-1200 kcal/day = 4200-5000 kg/day) for 21-25 days. Spontaneous lipolysis and adrenergic responsiveness of isolated subcutaneous abdominal adipocytes, collected by a biopsy procedure, were studied before and after treatment on the same subjects. The number of alpha 2-adrenoceptor binding sites (Bmax values) of the platelets was increased after the hypocaloric diet, while there was no change in the equilibrium dissociation constant.

Lipolytic response of fat cells to catecholamines in sedentary and exercise-trained women.

It has been shown that adipose tissue lipolytic activity is increased in endurance-trained subjects. In women, adipose tissue is extensive and it was thought interesting to confirm that endurance training increases the capacity of female adipose tissue to mobilize lipids, and moreover to more fully understand the mechanisms involved. So, biopsies of fat were obtained from the periumbilical region of 13 trained female runners (T) and 17 sedentary women (S) and the in vitro response to catecholamines of the collagenase-isolated fat cells was studied.

Alpha 2-antagonist compounds and lipid mobilization: evidence for a lipid mobilizing effect of oral yohimbine in healthy male volunteers.

Investigations were carried out to analyse the interactions of alpha 2-antagonists (yohimbine, idazoxan, SK & F-86,466) with human fat cell alpha 2-adrenoceptors. All the alpha 2-antagonists enhanced the lipolytic potencies of epinephrine with an order of potency: yohimbine greater than idazoxan greater than SK & F-86,466; the same order was also found in 3H-yohimbine competition studies on human fat cell membranes. The most potent agent, yohimbine, was administered orally in humans to define the conditions of appearance and the time-course of a putative lipid-mobilizing action.

Lack of desensitization of catecholamine-induced lipolysis in fat cells from trained and sedentary women after physical exercise.

A study was designed to assess whether a period of physical exercise (100 min; 60% of maximal aerobic power), known to promote sympathetic nervous system activation, had a functional impact on human fat cell responsiveness to catecholamines and beta-agonists. The lipolytic activity of isolated sc fat cells was measured before and after a period of exercise in trained and sedentary women with a similar body mass index values [20.4 +/- 0.

[Gas-liquid chromatography in microbiological diagnosis].

With gas-liquid chromatography, it is possible to detect chemical compounds which are specific of micro-organisms: either metabolic products, or structural components. This technique permits to simplify the diagnosis: it is the case for anaerobic bacteria, where the analysis of the fermentation acids produced in a 48 hours liquid culture enables to rapidly establish the diagnosis, at least as far as the genus is concerned. It may also increase the accuracy of the diagnosis by searching such or such metabolite or structural component which are specific of a species or a sub-species.

Effect of physical training in humans on the response of isolated fat cells to epinephrine.

Endurance training helps muscle tissue oxidize lipids and therefore helps conserve glycogen. It was thought interesting to find out if, in addition to this preferential use of fatty acids by muscle tissue, there is an increase in the capacity of adipose tissue to mobilize lipids. So the response to epinephrine of collagenase-isolated fat cells obtained after biopsies of fat performed in the periumbilical region of 10 trained marathon runners (T) and 10 sedentary subjects (S), all males, was studied in vitro.

[Value of cassette-recorded long-term 8-channel EEG monitoring in status epilepticus--technical note].

Prolonged EEG-taped recording is a significant recent improvement in technique, with the 8 channels providing the possibility of exploration of the whole scalp. First used for ambulatory monitoring, it was also tested in comatose patients with status epilepticus. The advantages are: the the good quality of the EEGs even after recording continuously for many days, and without drawback for intensive nursing; the help in recognizing infraclinical seizures, often misunderstood by the nursing staff, and the control of treatment; the participation in prospective chronobiological studies.