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Sedentary lifestyle predisposes to endothelial dysfunction, increased arterial stiffness and cardiovascular diseases, all of which can be positively modified by regular physical exercise training. A decrease in physical activity during winter months coincides with higher rates of cardiovascular events. In order to identify winter sports suitable to overcome this seasonal exercise deficit and thus contribute to cardiovascular health, it was the aim of this study to compare immediate effects of cross-country skiing (XCS) and alpine skiing (AS) on arterial stiffness as an alternative to indoor cycling (IC). After baseline assessment, eighteen healthy subjects performed one session of XCS, AS, and IC in randomized order. Pulse wave analysis was conducted (Mobil-o-Graph®) before and 10-min after exercise. Parameters of arterial stiffness and wave reflection were reduced after XCS and IC, but not after AS: central systolic blood pressure (IC: -8.0 5.4 mmHg; p < 0.001), amplitude of the backward pressure wave (IC: -1.4 2.7 mmHg; p < 0.05), reflection coefficient (XCS: -6.0 7.8%; IC: -5.7 8.1%; both p < 0.1), and pulse wave velocity (IC by -0.19 0.27 m/s; p < 0.01). Higher exercise intensities correlated with greater reductions of arterial stiffness (all p < 0.05). Single sessions of XCS, IC but not AS led to comparable improvement in arterial stiffness, which was even more pronounced during higher exercise intensities. With regard to arterial stiffness, IC and XCS emerge as more effective to counteract the winter exercise deficit and thus the deleterious cardiovascular effects of a sedentary lifestyle. (VLID)5397873

Sedentary lifestyle is a major modifiable risk factor for many chronic diseases. Global guidelines recommend for maintaining health in adults, at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity of physical activity throughout the week, but compliance is insufficient and health problems arise. One obvious way to overcome this is to integrate physical activity into the daily routine for example by active commuting to work. Scientific evidence, however, is scarce and therefore we set out to perform this systematic review of the available literature to improve understanding of the efficiency of active commuting initiatives on health. Literature searches were performed in PubMed and Cochrane database. Altogether, 37 studies were screened. Thereof, eight publications were reviewed, which included 555 participants. The mean study duration of the reviewed research was 36 26 (872) weeks. Overall, active commuting in previously untrained subjects of both sexes significantly improved exercise capacity, maximal power, blood pressure, lipid parameters including cholesterol, highdensity lipoprotein, and waist circumference. Improvement was independent of the type of active commuting. Despite relatively few studies that were previously performed, this review revealed that active commuting has health beneficial effects comparable to those of moderate exercise training. (VLID)5405715

Micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that control gene expression by translational inhibition. They have been identified to play a role in a multitude of physiological and pathophysiological cellular processes amongst others in the heart. Due to their ability to be released into the blood as well as their stability in body fluids, they appear suitable as biomarkers. This review discusses the role of selected miRNA that currently emerge as biomarkers for coronary artery disease, their potential to discriminate between different diseases, as well as how they might be used as predictive tools for cardiac events or disease outcome. Furthermore, we propose procedural steps of miRNA analysis, to allow better comparison between studies in the future. (VLID)3865496

Da die Resistenzbildung der Plasmodien gegen die vorhandenen Arzneimittel in der Malariabehandlung große Probleme bereitet, wurde in dieser Diplomarbeit versucht, eine neue Leitstruktur zur Bekämpfung dieser Erreger zu finden. Ausgehend von einem Glykosid, das in der ethnomedizinisch verwendeten Pflanze Jacaranda glabra vorkommt, wurde versucht ein -glykosidiertes Derivat des Jacaranongrundkörpers darzustellen. Weiters wurde ein -glykosidisch verknüpftes Jacaranonderivat synthetisiert, um in weiterer Folge den Zusammenhang zwischen Wirkung und Verknüpfung in Position 1 abzuklären. This diploma thesis deals with the search for a new pharmaceutical lead in antimalarial therapy, as the plasmodia rapidly develop resistance against commonly used antimalarial drugs. On this account, the attention was focused on finding an active derivative from a glycoside occuring in the ethnomedically used plant Jacaranda glabra. Therefore, an - and a -glycoside derivative of the Jacaranon-basic structure were synthesized, in order to investigate the effect of the link up in position 1 on the action of the substance. eingereicht von Barbara Mayr Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers Zsfassungen in dt. und engl. Sprache Graz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2015 (VLID)4831871