Bioactive Compounds from Lemon (Citrus limon) Extract Overcome TNF-α-Induced Insulin Resistance in Cultured Adipocytes

The consumption of plant-based food is important for health promotion, especially regarding the prevention and management of chronic diseases such as diabetes. We investigated the effects of a lemon extract (LE), containing ≥20.0% total flavanones and ≥1.0% total hydroxycinnamic acids, on insulin signaling in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with TNF-α, which was used to mimic in vitro the insulin resistance condition that characterizes diabetes mellitus. Our results showed LE increased PPARγ, GLUT4 and DGAT-1 levels, demonstrating the potential of this lemon extract in the management of insulin resistance conditions associated with TNF-α pathway activation. LE treatment further decreased the release of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and restored triglyceride synthesis, which is the main feature of a healthy adipocyte.     

Photooxygenation of a Microbial Arene Oxidation Product and Regioselective Kornblum–DeLaMare Rearrangement: Total Synthesis of Zeylenols and Zeylenones

We report the enantioselective total syntheses of zeylenol (+)‐ 1 , as well as its congeners (?)‐ 7 and 16 , and of 3‐O‐debenzoylzeylenone 28 . To this end, a new variant of the Kornblum–DeLaMare rearrangement, which utilises neighbouring‐group participation to impart regioselectivity, has been developed. The approach employs photooxygenation of building blocks derived from a microbial arene oxidation product.     

Geometric characterizations of C1 manifolds in Euclidean spaces by tangent cones

A remarkable and elementary fact that a locally compact set $F$ of Euclidean space is a smooth manifold if (and only if) the lower and upper paratangent cones to $F$ coincide at every point, is proved. The celebrated von Neumann’s result (1929) that a locally compact subgroup of the general linear group is a smooth manifold, is a straightforward application.     

Investigation of regenerative tissue for replacing the Bruch's membrane

In the present study the anisotropic mechanical properties such as elasticity and diffusion of bovine Bruch's membrane (BM) and a collagen foils (CF) are compared with each other. For this reason, a constitutive material law is developed and implemented into a FEM software. Based on tensile tests, the material parameters of both materials are identified. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Homogeneity or heterogeneity? Profiles of opportunities to learn in primary teacher education and their relationship to cultural context and outcomes

The curriculum of teacher education has been described as heterogeneous across countries and influenced by the context in which it is implemented. The present study investigates this potential heterogeneity by conducting latent class analysis of opportunities to learn mathematics, mathematics pedagogy and general pedagogy in primary teacher education as indicated by future teachers from 15 countries at the end of their training. The aim was to identify curricula profiles based on data from the “Teacher Education and Development Study: Learning to Teach Mathematics (TEDS-M)”. In each teacher education component, three groups of primary teachers were identified which differed quantitatively and qualitatively. Associations between these profiles and countries revealed broader cultural influences on OTL and thus shared (within a culture) and at the same time distinct (between cultures) visions of what primary teachers should know. Within countries, associations between curricula profiles and teacher education programs pointed to shared (within a program) and at the same time distinct (between programs) visions of what primary teachers should know at the end of their training. The OTL profiles were significantly related to outcomes of primary teacher education in terms of mathematics content knowledge, mathematics pedagogical content knowledge and general pedagogical knowledge.     

On a class of nonlinear variational–hemivariational inequalities

A three critical points theorem for nondifferentiable functions is pointed out and an existence result of multiple solutions for a Neumann elliptic variational–hemivariational inequality involving the p-laplacian is established. As an application, a Neumann problem for elliptic equations with discontinuous nonlinearities is studied.     

Qualitative Analysis of Gradient-Type Systems with Oscillatory Nonlinearities on the Sierpi′nski Gasket

Under an appropriate oscillating behavior either at zero or at infinity of the nonlinear data, the existence of a sequence of weak solutions for parametric quasilinear systems of the gradient-type on the Sierpi′nski gasket is proved. Moreover, by adopting the same hypotheses on the potential and in presence of suitable small perturbations, the same conclusion is achieved. The approach is based on variational methods and on certain analytic and geometrical properties of the Sierpi′nski fractal as, for instance, a compact embedding result due to Fukushima and Shima.     

Synthesis and reactivity of germyl complexes of manganese and rhenium

Trichlorogermyl complexes M(GeCl₃)(CO)_nP_{5? n} (1–4) [M = Mn, Re; n = 2, 3; P = PPh(OEt)₂ (a), P(OEt)₃ (b)] were prepared by allowing chloro compounds MCl(CO)_nP_{5? n} to react with an excess of GeCl₂?dioxane in 1,2-dichloroethane. Treatment of compounds 1–4 with LiAlH₄ in thf yielded trihydridegermyl derivatives M(GeH₃)(CO)_nP_5?n (5–8), whereas treatment of the same complexes with NaBH₄ in ethanol afforded triethoxygermyl derivatives M[Ge(OEt)₃](CO)_nP_5?n (9–11). Trimethylgermyl compounds M(GeMe₃)(CO)_nP_5?n (12, 13) and the alkynylgermyl derivative Mn[Ge(CCPh)₃](CO)₃[PPh(OEt)₂]₂ (14a) were also prepared by allowing trichlorogermyl compounds 1–4 to react with either MgBrMe or Li⁺CCPh^?, respectively, in thf. Treatment of compound Re(GeCl₃)(CO)₃[PPh(OEt)₂]₂ (4a) with SnCl₂?2H₂O gave the stannyl-germyl derivative Re[GeCl₂(SnCl₃)](CO)₃[PPh(OEt)₂]₂ (15a). The complexes were characterised by spectroscopy and X-ray crystal structure determination of 4a, 5a, and 13a.