University of Graz

About: University of Graz is a education organization based out in Graz, Steiermark, Austria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Quantum chromodynamics. The organization has 17934 authors who have published 37489 publications receiving 1110980 citations. The organization is also known as: Carolo Franciscea Graecensis & Karl Franzens Universität.

Alterations in Gut Microbiome Composition and Barrier Function Are Associated with Reproductive and Metabolic Defects in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Pilot Study.

Abstract: Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common female endocrinopathy of unclear origin characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-/anovulation, and ovarian cysts. Women with PCOS frequently display overweight, insulin resistance, and systemic low-grade inflammation. We hypothesized that endotoxemia resulting from a leaky gut is associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, fat accumulation, and hyperandrogenemia in PCOS. In this pilot study, we compared the stool microbiome, gut permeability, and inflammatory status of women with PCOS and healthy controls. Methods 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed on stool samples from 24 PCOS patients and 19 healthy controls. Data processing and microbiome analysis were conducted in mothur and QIIME using different relative abundance cut-offs. Gut barrier integrity, endotoxemia, and inflammatory status were evaluated using serum and stool markers and associations with reproductive, metabolic, and anthropometric parameters were investigated. Results The stool microbiome of PCOS patients showed a lower diversity and an altered phylogenetic composition compared to controls. We did not observe significant differences in any taxa with a relative abundance>1%. When looking at rare taxa, the relative abundance of bacteria from the phylum Tenericutes, the order ML615J-28 (phylum Tenericutes) and the family S24-7 (phylum Bacteroidetes) was significantly lower and associated with reproductive parameters in PCOS patients. Patients showed alterations in some, but not all markers of gut barrier function and endotoxemia. Conclusion Patients with PCOS have a lower diversity and an altered phylogenetic profile in their stool microbiome, which is associated with clinical parameters. Gut barrier dysfunction and endotoxemia were not driving factors in this patient cohort, but may contribute to the clinical phenotype in certain PCOS patients.

How much nicotine kills a human? Tracing back the generally accepted lethal dose to dubious self-experiments in the nineteenth century

Abstract: The human toxicity of nicotine has become increasingly relevant in the past couple of years through marketing of new nicotine-containing products, such as smokeless tobacco and liquids for electronic nicotine delivery systems (electronic cigarettes) that are freely available in most countries. Standard textbooks, databases, and safety sheets consistently state that the lethal dose for adults is 60 mg or less (30–60 mg), leading to safety warnings that ingestion of five cigarettes or 10 ml of a dilute nicotine-containing solution could kill an adult. The 60-mg dose would correspond to an oral LD50 of around 0.8 mg/kg, a dose that is considerably smaller than the values determined for laboratory animals, which are ranging from 3.3 (mice) to more than 50 mg/kg (rats) (Hayes 1982).