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Background and aim: Postprandial glycaemia and lipaemia are known risk factors for atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes. Coagulation activation in the postprandial. state also contributes to acceleration of atherosclerosis. Nateglinide is effective in reducing postprandial glycaemia. Its effect on glycaemia may also be beneficial in postprandial lipaemia and coagulation. The aim of this study was to examine the potential effect of a single dose of nateglinide on postprandial triglyceridaemia, coagulation, and fibrinolysis in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods and results: Ten subjects with type 2 diabetes, treated with diet alone were recruited in a crossover randomized study. In the morning, after a 12- to 14-h fast, each subject received a standard mixed meat (total energy 783 kcal), preceded by one tablet of 120 mg nateglinide or placebo. Venous blood samples were drawn prior to meat consumption and 6 h afterwards for the measurement of plasma glucose, insulin, and C-peptide, lipids, coagulation, and fibrinolysis factors. As expected, there was a significant reduction in postprandial glycaemia after nateglinide administration compared to placebo (P < 0.001). Plasma insulin levels were significantly higher after nateglinide than after placebo (P = 0.002). Nateglinide administration resulted in a lower overall postprandial reduction of tissue-plasminogen activator than placebo (-2.9 ± 1.3 vs. -8.3 ± 3.7 ng/ml h, P = 0.003). In addition, a significant reduction of postprandial plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 was observed in comparison with the baseline values after nateglinide (P = 0.001), although the overall response was not significantly different after nateglinide and placebo (P = 0.31). Plasma concentrations of C-peptide, lipids and the remaining coagulation parameters studied were not different between nateglinide and placebo. Conclusions: Acute nateglinide administration improves postprandial glycaemia and fibrinolytic activity in patients with type 2 diabetes. This combined effect, if confirmed by a long-treatment study, might reduce cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes. © 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases

Macroscopic first- and third-order susceptibilities of ice Ih, ice II, ice IX and ice VIII are calculated using static and frequency-dependent electronic and static vibrational molecular (hyper)polarizabilities at the MP2 level. The molecular properties are in good agreement with experiment and with high-level ab initio calculations. Intermolecular electrostatic and polarization effects due to induced dipoles are taken into account using a rigorous local-field theory. The electric field due to permanent dipoles is used to calculate effective in-crystal (hyper)polarizabilities. The polarizability depends only weakly on the permanent field, but the dipole moment and the hyperpolarizabilities are strongly affected. The calculated linear susceptibility is in good agreement with available experimental data for ice Ih, and the third-order susceptibility for a third harmonic generation experiment is in reasonable agreement with experimental values for liquid water. The molecular vibrational contributions have a small effect on the susceptibilities. The electric properties of a water tetramer are calculated and used to estimate the effect of non-dipolar interactions on the susceptibilities of ice Ih, which are found to be small.

For the determination of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Cd, Hg and Pb at μg g-1 and ng g-1 levels in oils and fats by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (a.a.s.), the sample is burnt in a stream of pure oxygen in a special combustion apparatus (Trace-O-Mat). Volatile elements are condensed on a cold finger cooled with liquid nitrogen. After combustion the trace elements are dissolved off the cooled areas and from the sample holder by refluxing with 2 ml of high-purity nitric acid (65%). Recoveries were tested on reference materials by electrothermal a.a.s. and were found to be ⩾ 95%.