Transgenic amplification of glucocorticoid action in adipose tissue causes high blood pressure in mice

Obesity is closely associated with the metabolic syndrome, a combination of disorders including insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. A role for local glucocorticoid reamplification in obesity and the metabolic syndrome has been suggested. The enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) regenerates active cortisol from inactive 11-keto forms, and aP2-HSD1 mice with relative transgenic overexpression of this enzyme in fat cells develop visceral obesity with insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Here we report that aP2-HSD1 mice also have high arterial blood pressure (BP). The mice have increased sensitivity to dietary salt and increased plasma levels of angiotensinogen, angiotensin II, and aldosterone. This hypertension is abolished by selective angiotensin II receptor AT-1 antagonist at a low dose that does not affect BP in non-Tg littermates. These findings suggest that activation of the circulating renin-angiotensin system (RAS) develops in aP2-HSD1 mice. The long-term hypertension is further reflected by an appreciable hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the distal tubule epithelium of the nephron, resembling salt-sensitive or angiotensin II–mediated hypertension. Taken together, our findings suggest that overexpression of 11β-HSD1 in fat is sufficient to cause salt-sensitive hypertension mediated by an activated RAS. The potential role of adipose 11β-HSD1 in mediating critical features of the metabolic syndrome extends beyond obesity and metabolic complications to include the most central cardiovascular feature of this disorder

A False Start in the Race Against Doping in Sport: Concerns With Cycling’s Biological Passport

Professional cycling has suffered from a number of doping scandals. The sport’s governing bodies have responded by implementing an aggressive new antidoping program known as the biological passport. Cycling’s biological passport marks a departure from traditional antidoping efforts, which have focused on directly detecting prohibited substances in a cyclist’s system. Instead, the biological passport tracks biological variables in a cyclist’s blood and urine over time, monitoring for fluctuations that are thought to indirectly reveal the effects of doping. Although this method of indirect detection is promising, it also raises serious legal and scientific concerns. Since its introduction, the cycling community has debated the reliability of indirect biological-passport evidence and the clarity, consistency, and transparency of its use in proving doping violations. Such uncertainty undermines the legitimacy of finding cyclists guilty of doping based on this indirect evidence alone. Antidoping authorities should address these important concerns before continuing to pursue doping sanctions against cyclists solely on the basis of their biological passports

高分子絶縁材料の電気的特性に及ぼす電子線照射効果に関する研究

八戸工業大

Dielectric Relaxation Phenomena of Polylactic Acid with -Crystalline Chitin

-crystalline chitin was added to polylactic acid (PLA), and this PLA was then heat-treated at 100∘C for one minute. The crystallinity of the heat-treated PLA increased to more than 40%, and its crystallization speed also increased significantly. The temperature dependency of these materials’ relative permittivity () and relative dielectric loss factor () was also examined. The dielectric absorption peak value in curve of the PLA to which chitin was added and was smaller than that of PLA without chitin. Additionally, the Havriliak-Negami relaxation function was used to produce approximation curves for the frequency dependency of and of chitin with PLA added at 80∘C. As a result, the relaxation strength (Δ) of the chitin with PLA added was smaller than that of the PLA without chitin, and the relaxation time () of the chitin with PLA added was approximately 2.5 times larger than that of the PLA without chitin