A small molecule UPR modulator for diabetes identified by high throughput screening.

Unfolded protein response (UPR) is a stress response that is specific to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). UPR is activated upon accumulation of unfolded (or misfolded) proteins in the ER's lumen to restore protein folding capacity by increasing the synthesis of chaperones. In addition, UPR also enhances degradation of unfolded proteins and reduces global protein synthesis to alleviate additional accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER.

Neratinib protects pancreatic beta cells in diabetes.

The loss of functional insulin-producing β-cells is a hallmark of diabetes. Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (MST1) is a key regulator of pancreatic β-cell death and dysfunction; its deficiency restores functional β-cells and normoglycemia. The identification of MST1 inhibitors represents a promising approach for a β-cell-protective diabetes therapy.

A novel inhibitor of inducible NOS dimerization protects against cytokine-induced rat beta cell dysfunction.

Background And Purpose: Beta cell apoptosis is a major feature of type 1 diabetes, and pro-inflammatory cytokines are key drivers of the deterioration of beta cell mass through induction of apoptosis. Mitochondrial stress plays a critical role in mediating apoptosis by releasing cytochrome C into the cytoplasm, directly activating caspase-9 and its downstream signalling cascade. We aimed to identify new compounds that protect beta cells from cytokine-induced activation of the intrinsic (mitochondrial) pathway of apoptosis.

Development and validation of the Somali WHOQOL-BREF among refugees living in the USA.

Purpose: This study is the first translation and validation of the WHOQOL-BREF for general use in Somali refugee populations.

Methods: A community sample of 303 Somali refugees living in the USA responded to the WHOQOL-BREF following translation, adaptation, and validation guidelines established by the World Health Organization. Psychometric properties of the quality of life instrument were assessed including tests of the four-domain factor structure using multiple regression and principal component analysis.

The likelihood of khat chewing serving as a neglected and reverse 'gateway' to tobacco use among UK adult male khat chewers: a cross sectional study.

Background: Chewing khat leaves is often accompanied by tobacco use. We assessed aspects of tobacco use and explored factors associated with tobacco use patterns (frequency of use per week) among khat chewers who used tobacco only when chewing khat ("simultaneous tobacco and khat users", STKU).

Methods: A sample of 204 male khat chewers was recruited during random visits to khat outlets.

Colostrum avoidance, prelacteal feeding and late breast-feeding initiation in rural Northern Ethiopia.

Objective: To identify specific cultural and behavioural factors that might be influenced to increase colostrum feeding in a rural village in Northern Ethiopia to improve infant health.

Design: Background interviews were conducted with six community health workers and two traditional birth attendants. A semi-structured tape-recorded interview was conducted with twenty mothers, most with children under the age of 5 years.

Significant associations of age, menopausal status and lifestyle factors with visceral adiposity in African-American and European-American women.

Background: Elevated visceral adiposity is strongly predictive of cardiometabolic disease, but, due to the high cost of biomedical imaging, assessment of factors contributing to normal variation in visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissue partitioning in large cohorts of healthy individuals are few, particularly in ethnic and racial minority populations.

Objective: To describe age, menopausal status, smoking and physical activity differences in VAT and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) mass in African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) women.

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging measures of VAT and ASAT mass and VAT% (VAT/VAT+ASAT, %) were obtained from a cross-sectional sample of 617 EA and 111 AA non-diabetic women aged 18-80 years.

Cardiac rehabilitation for women: a systematic review.

Purpose: Current cardiac rehabilitation (CR) evidence was systematically evaluated to identify program components that may yield improvements in physiological and psychosocial outcomes in women.

Methods: A search was conducted in the electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Sport Discus and Cochrane Library. Search terms included women, heart disease, exercise therapy, and cardiac rehabilitation.

Symptom prevalence of ADHD in a community residential substance abuse treatment program.

Objective: ADHD is a common comorbid condition with substance use disorder. This study seeks to examine the discrepancy in the prevalence rate between those previously diagnosed with ADHD and those diagnosed while in treatment. It is hypothesized that clients with ADHD would have earlier unsuccessful terminations from treatment than non-ADHD clients and that the ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS Version 1.

Visceral adiposity and its anatomical distribution as predictors of the metabolic syndrome and cardiometabolic risk factor levels.

Background: Despite the recognition that central obesity plays a critical role in chronic disease, few large-scale imaging studies have documented human variation in abdominal adipose tissue patterning.

Objective: We aimed to compare the associations between abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and visceral abdominal tissue (VAT), which were measured at different locations across the abdomen, and the presence of the metabolic syndrome (MS; National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III definition) and individual cardiometabolic risk factors.

Design: This study included 713 non-Hispanic whites aged 18-86 y, in whom VAT and ASAT were assessed by using multiple-image magnetic resonance imaging.

Anatomical patterning of visceral adipose tissue: race, sex, and age variation.

Objective: We tested sex, race, and age differences in the patterning of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Research Methods And Procedures: Contiguous 1-cm-thick magnetic resonance (MR) images of the abdomen were collected from 820 African-American and white adults. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine the effects of image location, sex, race, and age (>or=50 vs.

Sex differences in young adulthood metabolic syndrome and physical activity: the Fels longitudinal study.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of habitual physical activity (PA) on the metabolic syndrome (MS) in young adult men and women.

Research Methods And Procedures: Cross-sectional PA data were utilized from 249 women and 237 men, aged 18-40 years in the Fels Longitudinal Study. MS components--abdominal circumference (AC), triglycerides (TG), HDL, blood pressure (BP), and fasting glucose (FG)--were dichotomized according to the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III revised criteria.

New saliva DNA collection method compared to buccal cell collection techniques for epidemiological studies.

Epidemiological studies may require noninvasive methods for off-site DNA collection. We compared the DNA yield and quality obtained using a whole-saliva collection device (Oragene DNA collection kit) to those from three established noninvasive methods (cytobrush, foam swab, and oral rinse). Each method was tested on 17 adult volunteers from our center, using a random crossover collection design and analyzed using repeated-measures statistics.

The belated autopsy and identification of an eighteenth century naval hero--the saga of John Paul Jones.

John Paul Jones, the "Father of the American Navy," is known for the battletime assertion that he had "not yet begun to fight." His central role in a triumph of scientific forensic identification more than a century after his death is less known. John Paul Jones died in 1792 and was buried in Paris, France.

Troglitazone antagonizes metabolic effects of glucocorticoids in humans: effects on glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, suppression of free fatty acids, and leptin.

Glucocorticoids induce insulin resistance in humans, whereas thiazolidinediones enhance insulin sensitivity. Although the effects of glucocorticoids and thiazolidinediones have been assessed in isolation, interaction between these drugs, which both act as ligands for nuclear receptors, has been less well studied. Therefore, we examined the metabolic effects of dexamethasone and troglitazone, alone and in combination, for the first time in humans.

Effective use of thiazolidinediones for the treatment of glucocorticoid-induced diabetes.

We evaluated the efficacy of a thiazolidinedione in the treatment of diabetes induced by glucocorticoids. We examined the effectiveness of troglitazone in seven patients with long-standing steroid-induced diabetes. Five of the seven subjects were treated with insulin alone, one was treated with both insulin and oral therapy and one was treated with oral therapy alone.