It is generally known that differences exist between males and females with regard to sensitivity to cold. Similar differences even among females in different hormonal balance might influence microvascular response during cold provocation testing. The aim of the present study was to measure sex hormone levels, cold and cold pain perception thresholds and compare them to cutaneous laser-Doppler flux response during local cooling in both the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Our results show that individual sensitivity to cold influences cutaneous microvascular response to local cooling; that microvascular reactivity is more pronounced during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle; and that reactivity correlates with hormone levels. The effect of specific sex hormone levels is related to the cold-provocation temperature.
COBISS.SI-ID: 525742873
Reduced availability of nitric oxide leads to dysfunction of endothelium which plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the study was to determine whether L-arginine improves the endothelial function of microvessels by increasing nitric oxide production. After the ingestion of L-arginine, the endothelium-dependent vasodilation increased only in the group of young trained subjects. There were no differences in the endothelium-independent vasodilation before and after ingestion of L-arginine. With aging endothelium-independent vasodilation decreased while endothelium-dependent vasodilation remained mainly unchanged. Obtained results demonstrated that a single dose of L-arginine influences endothelium-dependent vasodilation predominantly in young, trained individuals.
COBISS.SI-ID: 526005529
Quantitative magnetization transfer magnetic resonance imaging (qMT-MRI) was employed to characterize dry-cured ham tissues differing in anatomical positions and processing protocols. Experimentally obtained MR images of dry-cured ham sections were analyzed by the well-established binary-spin-bath (BSB) model. The model enabled an efficient discrimination between a free-water proton pool and a restricted-macromolecular proton pool. Significant differences in restricted pool sizes were found among different ham sections. Values of the restricted pool size obtained by the model were in a good agreement with chemically determined protein content. The study confirmed the feasibility of the applied qMT-MRI as a nondestructive tool for characterizationof dry-cured ham tissues.
COBISS.SI-ID: 29066023