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Selected AbstractsThe relationship of postprandial glucose to HbA1cDIABETES/METABOLISM: RESEARCH AND REVIEWS, Issue S2 2004Rüdiger Landgraf Abstract The gold standard for the assessment of the overall glycemic control is the determination of HbA1c. There are, however, insufficient data to determine reliably the relative contribution of fasting and postprandial plasma glucose to HbA1c. Increasing evidence suggests that excessive excursions of postprandial glucose might be important for the development of micro- and macroangiopathic complications. With respect to the treatment options, one important question to be answered is whether premeal, postmeal or fasting plasma glucose, alone or in combination, will be necessary in adjusting the therapy to achieve optimal HbA1c levels while minimizing hypoglycemia. HbA1c is difficult to predict from fasting plasma glucose. There are indications that there is a shift in the relative contribution from postprandial glucose at good to fair HbA1c levels (<7.3% to <9.2%) to fasting plasma glucose at high HbA1c (>9.3%). There is also a better correlation of afternoon and evening plasma glucose with HbA1c than with prebreakfast and prelunch plasma glucose values. Since the definition on how to define postprandial glucose is still a matter of debate and since postprandial glucose depends on the premeal blood glucose level and, on the time of the meal, its size and composition and the therapeutic strategy, the data so far available are inconclusive and the best correlation of HbA1c is with the area under the glucose profiles. Continuous glucose monitoring under daily life conditions will be the key to definitely unravel the relationship among HbA1c and fasting, premeal, postprandial and postabsorptive plasma glucose. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The phylogenetic position of the East Asian freshwater crayfish Cambaroides within the Northern Hemisphere Astacoidea (Crustacea, Decapoda, Astacida) based on molecular dataJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006A. Braband Abstract The phylogenetic position of the four East Asian freshwater crayfish species of the genus Cambaroides is not settled. Morphological phylogenetic analyses suggest close affinities of Cambaroides with North American Cambaridae. This view is based mainly on characters of the male and female reproductive organs. In contrast, the only molecular phylogenetic analysis so far available leaves the phylogenetic position of Cambaroides unresolved. The question of whether Cambaroides is monophyletic or paraphyletic has so far been neither addressed morphologically nor with molecular data sets. Here we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of all four currently described species of Cambaroides in the framework of Northern Hemisphere freshwater crayfish (Astacoidea) relationships based on partial sequences of two mitochondrial genes (CO1 and 12S rRNA). Despite some evidence in favour of a monophyletic Cambaroides more data is needed to resolve this question. Our analyses suggest a close relationship of the North American Cambaridae and the European Astacidae, leaving the Asian Cambaroides basal to them. If these results hold true the similar reproductive organs of Cambaroides and American Cambaridae must be either homoplastic or ancestral for Northern Hemisphere Astacoidea. Zusammenfassung Die phylogenetische Beziehung der vier ostasiatischen Flusskrebsarten der Gattung Cambaroides in Relation zu den anderen Taxa der Astacoidea ist weitgehend unbestimmt. Phylogenetische Analysen morphologischer Merkmale der Reproduktionsorgane unterstützen eine nahe Verwandtschaft von Cambaroides und den in Nordamerika lebenden Vertretern der Cambaridae. Bislang existierende molekulare Ergebnisse können dieses Ergebnis nicht stützen, lassen aber die Fragen der Monophylie und der phylogenetischen Position von Cambaroides innerhalb der Astacoidea unbeantwortet. Diese Arbeit zeigt die erste umfassende phylogenetische Analyse aller vier beschriebenen rezenten Spezies der Gattung Cambaroides und ihrer phylogenetischen Beziehung innerhalb der Astacoidea, anhand zweier mitochondrialer Genabschnitte (12S rRNA und CO1). Unsere Analyse zeigt die nahe Verwandtschaft der nordamerikanischen Cambaridae und der europäischen Astacidae, während Cambaroides basal zu dieser Gruppierung steht. Dieses Ergebnis lässt den Schluss zu, dass die ähnlichen Reproduktionsorgane von Cambaroides und den amerikanischen Cambaridae entweder plesiomorph für die Astacoidea oder konvergent sind. [source] Molecular mimicry and autoimmune liver disease: virtuous intentions, malign consequencesLIVER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2001Dimitrios-Petrou Bogdanos Abstract: The pathogenesis of autoimmune liver disease and autoimmunity associated with chronic viral hepatitis remains poorly understood. One of the major hurdles to a deeper understanding of these pathological processes is the absence of clearly defined inductive mechanisms, which, if identified and characterised, could guide clinical strategies for their prevention or allow therapeutic intervention. Molecular mimicry leading to crossreactive autoimmune responses has gained strong experimental support in the past decade. A fundamental premise of this hypothesis is the involvement of a mimicking environmental trigger. In view of the numerous viral and bacterial agents epidemiologically linked to autoimmune liver diseases, we and others have proposed molecular mimicry to be an important mechanism in these diseases. We also propose similar crossreactive mechanisms to operate in the generation of autoimmunity in viral hepatitis. This review focuses on molecular mimicry at the level of the B-cell, as few data on T-cell crossreactivity in liver disease are thus far available. [source] Morphology of the Lingual Dorsal Surface and Oral Taste Buds in Italian Lizard (Podarcis sicula)ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 2 2010F. Abbate Summary With 4 figures The Italian lizard (Podarcis sicula) is the most diffused reptile in Italy, but it is also present in other European countries. This lizard belongs to the Lacertidae family, lives near walls, slants and along the borders of the paths; its diet includes bugs and aracnids. No data are so far available in literature about the three-dimensional morphology of the tongue of Podarcis sicula, therefore the aim of the present paper was to study by scanning electron and light microscopy the three-dimensional characteristics of the dorsal lingual surface and moreover the presence of chemosensory receptors like the taste buds in the oral cavity. Our results demonstrate that the Podarcis sicula tongue is a triangular muscular membranous organ, dorsoventrally flattened and that three different areas can be observed: a bifid apex, a body and a root. No papillae were observed in the apex, characterized by a flattened mucosa and by two deep median pouches. In the body cylindrical papillae with a flat surface are present, aborally gradually substituted by imbricated papillae. Foliate-like papillae were observed in the lateral parts of the tongue body. No sensory structures were showed on the lingual dorsal surface, while they were numerous in the oral cavity, particularly on the gingival epithelium. The light microscopy shows, on the dorsal surface, a stratified pavimentous not keratinized epithelium, conversely keratinized along the ventral surface. Many caliciform cells on the lateral parts of the papillae, deputed to the secretion of mucus, were also observed. Therefore, the results obtained in this paper could give a contribution to the knowledge of the tongue anatomy in a species widely diffused in different European countries and could be of help for clinical purposes in reptiles. [source] | |||||||||||||