The influence of pH on the sex-related differences in renal organic ion transport.

The stimulating effects of elevated medium pH and androgen on in vitro transport of p-aminohippurate and N-methylnicotinamide (NMN) were additive, although the androgenic effect was pH-dependent only in the case of NMN. The similarity of response of the 2 systems supports the idea of a common passive efflux pathway for organic anions and cations.     

Staged progression model for epidemic spread on homogeneous and heterogeneous networks

In this paper, epidemic spread with the staged progression model on homogeneous and heterogeneous networks is studied. First, the epidemic threshold of the simple staged progression model is given. Then the staged progression model with birth and death is also considered. The case where infectivity is a nonlinear function of the nodes’ degree is discussed, too. Finally, the analytical results are verified by numerical simulations.     

Gut hormone PYY(3-36) physiologically inhibits food intake

Food intake is regulated by the hypothalamus, including the melanocortin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) systems in the arcuate nucleus. The NPY Y2 receptor (Y2R), a putative inhibitory presynaptic receptor, is highly expressed on NPY neurons in the arcuate nucleus, which is accessible to peripheral hormones. Peptide YY(3-36) (PYY(3-36)), a Y2R agonist, is released from the gastrointestinal tract postprandially in proportion to the calorie content of a meal. Here we show that peripheral injection of PYY(3-36) in rats inhibits food intake and reduces weight gain. PYY(3-36) also inhibits food intake in mice but not in Y2r-null mice, which suggests that the anorectic effect requires the Y2R. Peripheral administration of PYY(3-36) increases c-Fos immunoreactivity in the arcuate nucleus and decreases hypothalamic Npy messenger RNA. Intra-arcuate injection of PYY(3-36) inhibits food intake. PYY(3-36) also inhibits electrical activity of NPY nerve terminals, thus activating adjacent pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons. In humans, infusion of normal postprandial concentrations of PYY(3-36) significantly decreases appetite and reduces food intake by 33% over 24 h. Thus, postprandial elevation of PYY(3-36) may act through the arcuate nucleus Y2R to inhibit feeding in a gut-hypothalamic pathway.