Altruistic behavior and the bidimensional just world belief.

Thirty participants were sampled after donating charity to a street beggar and were compared by means of 2 short scales of belief in ajust world for self (BJWS) and belief in a just world for others (BJWO) with 30 randomly selected people who passed the beggar by without donating charity. We assumed that BJWO would be negatively related to altruistic behavior, whereas BJWS would be positively linked with it. A logistic regression analysis introducing BJWS, BJWO, and participants' age and gender as predictors showed that BJWO was negatively related to altruistic behavior, whereas the BJWS tended to be positively associated to it.

Role of thyroid state on induction by ciprofibrate of laurate hydroxylase and peroxisomal enzymes in rat liver microsomes.

The effects of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism upon liver microsomal omega-laurate hydroxylase activity (cytochrome P450 IV A1-dependent), peroxisome proliferation marker enzyme activities and acyl CoA oxidase (AOX) expression induced by ciprofibrate (2 mg/kg/day during 8 days) were studied in the male Wistar rat so as to clarify firstly the possible involvement of thyroid hormones in the modification of peroxisomal ciprofibrate-induced enzyme activities in relation to hepatic microsomal cytochrome P450 IV A1 induction, and secondly the possible direct effect of thyroid hormones on the gene expression of specific peroxisomal enzymes. No significant change was found in the ciprofibrate-induced omega-laurate hydroxylase activity in hypothyroid rats or in rats that had received a large dose of triiodothyronine (LT3), suggesting that the thyroid hormone does not interfere with the peroxisome proliferation process through such an indirect mechanism. The induction by ciprofibrate [2-(4-(2-2dichlorocyclopropyl)phenoxyl-2methyl-propion ic acid)] of mitochondrial alpha-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase and microsomal bilirubin UDPGT was decreased about 3-fold and 1.

Comparative and simultaneous effects of simvastatin and ciprofibrate on plasma lipid parameters and upon hepatic drug metabolizing and peroxisome proliferation marker enzymes in the male Wistar rat.

The effects of an associated treatment with Ciprofibrate and Simvastatin upon plasma lipid parameters, liver Mixed Function Oxidases enzymes and peroxisomal markers have been studied in male Wistar rats. The association was efficient upon triglycerides, but not upon cholesterol. The inducive and proliferative effects commonly exerted by Ciprofibrate (5 mg/kg/day) were not significantly modified by the simultaneous treatment with Simvastatin (10 mg/kg/day).

[Influence of thyroid status on microsomal and peroxysomal enzyme induction by fibrates in rats].

The influence of thyroid hormones upon the inductive effects on microsomal enzymes and the hepatic proliferation produced by different fibrates was studied in the male rat. A pharmacological dose of triiodo-L-thyronine significantly lowers the total cytochrome P450 content induced by some equi-effective doses of clofibrate, ciprofibrate, bezafibrate and fenofibrate. The ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase activity (ECOD) is concomitantly decreased.