Effect of beta-adrenergic stimulation on whole-body and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue lipolysis in lean and obese men

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Obesity is characterised by increased triacylglycerol storage in adipose tissue. There is in vitro evidence for a blunted beta-adrenergically mediated lipolytic response in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) of obese individuals and evidence for this at the whole-body level in vivo. We hypothesised that the beta-adrenergically mediated effect on lipolysis in abdominal SAT is also impaired in vivo in obese humans. METHODS: We investigated whole-body and abdominal SAT glycerol metabolism in vivo during 3 h and 6 h [2H5]glycerol infusions. Arterio-venous concentration differences were measured in 13 lean and ten obese men after an overnight fast and during intravenous infusion of the non-selective beta-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline [20 ng (kg fat free mass)(-1) min(-1)]. RESULTS: Lean and obese participants showed comparable fasting glycerol uptake by SAT (9.7+/-3.4 vs 9.3+/-2.5% of total release, p=0.92). Furthermore, obese participants showed an increased whole-body beta-adrenergically mediated lipolytic response versus lean participants. However, their fasting lipolysis was blunted [glycerol rate of appearance: 7.3+/-0.6 vs 13.1+/-0.9 micromol (kg fat mass)(-1) min(-1), p<0.01], as was the beta-adrenergically mediated lipolytic response per unit SAT [Delta total glycerol release: 140+/-71 vs 394+/-112 nmol (100 g tissue)(-1) min(-1), p<0.05] compared with lean participants. Net triacylglycerol flux tended to increase in obese compared with lean participants during beta-adrenergic stimulation [Delta net triacylglycerol flux: 75+/-32 vs 16+/-11 nmol (100 g tissue)(-1) min(-1), p=0.06]. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: We demonstrated in vivo that beta-adrenergically mediated lipolytic response is impaired systematically and in abdominal SAT of obese versus lean men. This may be important in the development or maintenance of increased triacylglycerol stores and obesity

The renewable energy and energy efficiency potential of Waitakere City : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Technology in Energy Management at Massey University

Electricity restrictions and blackouts have occurred in Waitakere City in the past and are likely to occur again in the future unless the city can become more self reliant by meeting, at least in part, the increasing energy requirements for what is one of the fastest growing cities in New Zealand. In this study the potentials for energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy resources have been broadly quantified and assessed using desktop analysis of publicly available data for stationary final use energy systems (i.e. excluding transportation) within the geographical area of Waitakere City and adjoining waters. It was found that energy efficiency and energy conservation measures can consistently and predictably achieve overall energy savings and reduce daily and seasonal peak demand. The best renewable energy resource potential exists with solar and geothermal for heating applications and wave, offshore and inshore wind and tidal currents for electricity generation. There is very limited potential for hydro and bioenergy systems beyond what already exists. PV solar and land based wind power generation are currently only feasible for limited off-grid applications. This scoping study confirms the achievability of the vision expressed in Waitakere City Council's "Long Term Council Community Plan" (LTCCP) that by 2020 " Waitakere City will be an energy cell, not an energy sink. Air quality supports good health". A range of flagship projects have been identified to progress the achievement of this vision. Waitakere City Council can use this report as part of the development of a comprehensive energy management plan

Rancang Bangun Aplikasi Penyewaan Studio di Kota Palangka Raya

Penelitian ini mengangkat permasalahan tentang kendala yang dihadapi oleh musisi di Kota Palangka Raya terkait dengan proses rekaman, publishing, dan promosi musik mereka. Meskipun terdapat studio rekaman yang memenuhi standar platform musik digital, namun kehadiran satu-satunya studio tersebut mengakibatkan penumpukan musisi dalam proses rekaman di studio tersebut.Untuk mengatasi masalah ini, penulis merancang dan membangun aplikasi penyewaan studio rekaman. Rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana cara merancang dan membangun aplikasi penyewaan studio rekaman di Palangka Raya. Batasan masalah meliputi penelitian pada studio rekaman umum, pengguna aplikasi harus memiliki akun untuk login, dan data yang dikelola meliputi informasi studio, jam sewa studio, pemesanan studio, dan pengguna aplikasi.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah merancang dan membangun aplikasi sistem penyewaan studio rekaman di Kota Palangka Raya. Manfaat dari penelitian ini antara lain memberikan solusi bagi studio rekaman dalam pengolahan data penyewaan, menunjang kinerja studio rekaman dengan sistem terkomputerisasi, serta menyediakan informasi dan laporan yang dibutuhkan untuk efisiensi pengelolaan penyewaan oleh admin. Dengan demikian, penelitian ini diharapkan dapat memberikan kontribusi positif bagi industri musik lokal di Kota Palangka Raya

RELIGIOSIDADE/ESPIRITUALIDADE E ADESÃO AO TRATAMENTO EM PACIENTES COM HIPERTENSÃO ARTERIAL SISTÊMICA

Introdução: A não adesão ao tratamento é um fator de risco frequentemente não reconhecido que contribui para a pressão arterial não controlada. Religiosidade e espiritualidade atuam como fatores comportamentais que podem interferir no desenvolvimento e no curso de determinadas doenças, como a hipertensão arterial sistêmica. Objetivos: Este estudo objetiva conhecer os níveis de adesão ao tratamento, de religiosidade e espiritualidade dos pacientes com hipertensão arterial sistêmica; e verificar se há relação entre os mesmos. Método: Foram selecionados 100 pacientes com hipertensão arterial, acima de 18 anos, em ambulatório de cardiologia e realizada entrevista estruturada com instrumentos validados para avaliação da adesão terapêutica, da religiosidade e da espiritualidade. Resultados: A prevalência de adesão terapêutica encontrada foi de 41%. Observou-se associação entre idade mais elevada, maior tempo de tratamento e adesão (p = 0,02). Os pacientes aderentes apresentaram altos níveis de religiosidade e espiritualidade, não sendo observada associação significativa entre adesão e religiosidade (p = 0,11) ou espiritualidade (p = 0,53). Conclusões: Na casuística estudada, foram encontrados altos níveis de adesão ao tratamento, de religiosidade e de espiritualidade. Não houve relação estatisticamente significativa entre esses fatores

Distinct inflammatory signatures of upper and lower body adipose tissue and adipocytes in women with normal weight or obesity

Introduction: Upper and lower body fat accumulation poses an opposing obesity-related cardiometabolic disease risk. Depot-differences in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) function may underlie these associations. We aimed to investigate the inflammatory signatures of abdominal (ABD) and femoral (FEM) SAT in postmenopausal women with normal weight or obesity. Methods: We included 23 postmenopausal women with normal weight (n = 13) or obesity (n = 10). In vivo secretion of adipokines from ABD and FEM SAT was measured using the arterio-venous balance technique. Adipokine gene expression and adipocyte morphology were examined in ABD and FEM SAT. Furthermore, adipokine expression and secretion were investigated in vitro using differentiated human primary ABD and FEM subcutaneous adipocytes derived from the study participants. Results: Plasma leptin and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 concentrations were higher, and ABD and FEM adipocytes were larger in women with obesity than normal weight. No differences in adipocyte size and blood flow were apparent between ABD and FEM SAT. We found significant release of leptin and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 from ABD and FEM SAT, with higher fractional release of MCP-1 from ABD than FEM SAT. Gene expression of leptin, PAI-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α was lower in ABD than FEM SAT and higher in women with obesity than normal weight. In ABD adipocytes, interleukin-6, PAI-1, and leptin gene expression were higher, while adiponectin and dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 gene expression were lower than in FEM adipocytes. Finally, ABD adipocytes secreted less MCP-1 compared to FEM adipocytes. Discussion: These findings demonstrate that upper and lower body SAT and adipocytes are characterized by distinct inflammatory signatures in postmenopausal women, which seem independent of adipocyte size

Modified Dark Matter in Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters

Modified Dark Matter (MDM) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by gravitational thermodynamics, that naturally accounts for the universal acceleration constant observed in galactic rotation curve data; a critical acceleration related to the cosmological constant, $\Lambda$, appears as a phenomenological manifestation of MDM. We show that the resulting mass profiles, which are sensitve to $\Lambda$, are consistent with observations at the galactic and galaxy cluster scales. Our results suggest that dark matter mass profiles contain information about the cosmological constant in a non-trivial way.Comment: To be published in the Proceedings of the Bahamas Advanced Study Institute and Conferences (BASIC

Studies on the antiobesity effect of zinc-α2-glycoprotein in the ob/ob mouse

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of the lipid depletion by zinc-a(2)-glycoprotein (ZAG). DESIGN: Studies were conducted in the ob/ob mouse, or on isolated adipocytes from these animals or their lean counterparts. RESULTS: Treatment of these animals for 15 days with ZAG (100? µg, intravenously, daily) resulted in a reduction of body weight of 6.55? g compared with phosphate-buffered saline-treated controls, without a change in food or water intake, but with a 0.4?°C rise in rectal temperature. ZAG-treated mice had a 30% reduction in carcass fat mass and a twofold increase in weight of brown adipose tissue. Epididymal adipocytes from ZAG-treated mice showed an increased expression of ZAG and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), and this was maintained for a further 3 days in the absence of ZAG. There was an increased lipolytic response to isoproterenol, which was retained for 3 days in vitro in the absence of ZAG. Expression of HSL was also increased in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, as was also adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL). There was a rapid loss of labelled lipid from epididymal adipose tissue of ZAG-treated mice, but not from the other depots, reflecting the difference in sensitivity to lipolytic stimuli. The increased expression of HSL and ATGL may involve the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, as the active (phospho) form was upregulated in all adipose depots after ZAG administration, whereas in vitro studies showed induction of HSL and ATGL by ZAG to be attenuated by PD98059, an inhibitor of the ERK pathway. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that ZAG not only induces direct lipolysis, but also sensitizes adipose tissue to other lipolytic stimuli

Hormone-Sensitive Lipase Serine Phosphorylation and Glycerol Exchange Across Skeletal Muscle in Lean and Obese Subjects : Effect of β-Adrenergic Stimulation

OBJECTIVE—Increased intramuscular triacylglycerol (IMTG) storage is a characteristic of the obese insulin-resistant state. We aimed to investigate whether a blunted fasting or β-adrenergically mediated lipolysis contributes to this increased IMTG storage in obesity