The project focuses on dietary interventions in type 2 diabetes(T2D). The aim was to investigate how glucose metabolism and other manifestations of insulin resistance should be influenced by a) the composition of macronutrients and b) frequency of meals; and to characterize the possible mechanisms of these dietary interventions in patients with T2D. A. In a randomized crossover study, 50 patients T2D and 50 age-matched healthy subjects underwent in a random order meal tolerance tests with three isocaloric meals (vegan sandwich; V-meal, hamburger; M-meal, or cheese sandwich; S-meal. Blood samples for analysis were taken at time 0 and after 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after meal ingestion. Plasma concentrations of plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, lipids, oxidative stress markers and gastrointestinal hormones (GIHs) were investigated. Both basal and postprandial plasma concentrations of glucose and insulin were significantly higher in patients with T2D (p<0.001); basal and postprandial concentrations of almost all other GIHs (except for ghrelin) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly increased (p<0.001), while ascorbic acid, reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase activity were decreased in patients with T2D compared to healthy controls (p<0.001). The meal rich...

The main purpose of this thesis is to use Image Spectroscopy as a tool to monitor the environmental conditions in a region affected by anthropogenic activities via estimating both geochemical and biochemical parameters on a regional scale. The research has been carried on the Sokolov lignite mine, NW Bohemia, a region affected by long-term extensive mining. The thesis is divided into two thematic parts. First part is devoted to applications of Image Spectroscopy into Acid Mine Drainage mapping and its related issues (chapters 2 and 3). In chapter 2 the equivalent mineral end-members were successfully derived from the ASTER image data (Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer satellite data). In the chapter 3 the pH was estimated on the basis of mineral and image spectroscopy. The Multi Range Spectral Feature Fitting (MRSFF) technique was utilized for mineral mapping and the multiple regression model using the fit images, the results of MRSFF, as inputs was constructed to estimate the surface pH and statistical significant accuracy was attained. In the second thematic part (chapters 4-6) Image Spectroscopy is applied into monitoring of vegetation stress. A new statistical method was developed to assess the physiological status of macroscopically undamaged foliage of Norway...

Génératrice depuis le VIe siècle de notre ère de crises épidémiques récurrentes en Occident, la peste a profondémentmarqué l’histoire des sociétés européennes, tant sur le plan biologique que culturel, économique et politique. Sil’histoire des épidémies qu’elle a engendrées est aujourd’hui relativement bien connue, un certain nombre de questionssur ses caractéristiques épidémiologiques passées demeurent pour partie irrésolues. En particulier, le caractère sélectifou non de la mortalité par peste à l’égard de l’âge, du sexe et de l’état de santé préexistant des individus faitactuellement débat. À partir d’une approche anthropobiologique, le présent travail se propose de contribuer à cettediscussion. Il livre les résultats de l’étude d’un corpus de 1090 squelettes provenant, d’une part, de quatre sitesd’inhumation de pestiférés de la fin du Moyen Âge et du début de l’époque moderne et, d’autre part, de deuxcimetières paroissiaux médiévaux utilisés hors contexte épidémique. Cette étude révèle en premier lieu l’existenced’une signature démographique commune aux séries en lien avec la peste. Leur composition par âge et par sexe,distincte de celle caractérisant la mortalité naturelle, est au contraire en adéquation avec la structure théorique d’unepopulation vivante préindustrielle. L’examen de divers indicateurs de stress suggèrent par ailleurs que les victimes dela peste jouissaient, à la veille de leur décès, d’un meilleur état de santé que les individus morts en temps normal. Lesrésultats obtenus concourent à démontrer que les facteurs causals de ces lésions squelettiques, d’accoutuméresponsables d’une diminution des chances de survie, n’eurent au contraire qu’une influence mineure, si ce n’est nulle,sur le risque de mourir de l’infection à Yersinia pestis. Ce travail livre in fine un faisceau d’arguments convergents quitendent à prouver que les épidémies de peste anciennes furent à l’origine d’une mortalité non sélective, la maladiefrappant indistinctement les individus des deux sexes, de tous âges et de toutes conditions sanitaires. / From the 6th century onwards, plague caused recurring mortality crises in the Western world. Such epidemics hadprofound biological, cultural, economic and political impacts on European societies. Some aspects of the history ofplague epidemics are currently well known, but many questions remain unanswered, such as the preciseepidemiological pattern of the disease in ancient times. It is unclear whether plague killed people indiscriminately orwhether this disease was selective with respect to age, sex and health. This research contributes to this debate.It consists of an anthropological and paleopathological study of skeletal remains of 1090 individuals, including plaguevictims from four medieval and post-medieval burial grounds, and individuals from two parochial cemeteries in useduring periods of normal mortality. Results from the four plague-related assemblages reveal a peculiar demographicsignature. Age and sex distribution differs clearly from what is expected in non-epidemic periods, when it is shown tocorrespond closely to the demographic structure of the living population. Moreover, the study of various non-specificskeletal stress markers shows that plague victims were in a better health before they passed away than people who diedin non-epidemic periods. The results demonstrate that individuals who suffered stress and disease had a reducedchance of survival in non-epidemic periods, whereas they were not at a higher risk to die during plague epidemics.This study provides evidence that plague was not selective, and that it killed regardless of sex, age, and pre-existing health.