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AbstractThis paper introduces the political economy triangle (PET) concept of government spending, special interest groups (SIGs) influence, and income inequality, empirically confirming its existence and unveiling its nature while directly addressing key shortcomings of most prior research on the determinants of such inequality. Using static and dynamic panel techniques and data from the US states, it reports several new results: (i) the findings of previous studies regarding the roles of government spending and interest groups, including labor unions, in income distribution are confirmed, however, their estimated inequality effects grossly underestimate those obtained when endogeneity issues are accounted for explicitly; (ii) a dynamic tripartite relationship between the variables of the PET exists; (iii) government spending and SIGs' influence, including union strength, beyond their direct effects on inequality, have a separate positive impact through their interactions; (iv) the effectiveness of government spending in reducing inequality diminishes as the level of SIGs' influence and union strength increase in the short and long run, (v) the aggregate inequality‐increasing effect of SIGs is strengthened and the inequality‐reducing effects of unions weakened as the spending rises, in the short run and long run. Finally, the broad implications of these findings are discussed.

An increasing number of global migrants are refugees, who have fled religious, racial, ethnic or other political persecution. As these refugee populations have grown, governmental and nonprofit organizations have emerged to help the resettlement experience. The reality of the American experience for the newly resettled refugee does not always match the expectations of what the country has to offer, and these organizations do not always take into consideration the past history of the refugee. This study explores the dialectical tensions/conflicts faced by Ethiopian Somali refugees in communicating with the organizations designed to make their resettlement successful. The methodology used includes phenomenology techniques which expose the assumptions, feelings, and subjectivities of the author and participants. At the same time, United States and United Nation policies are reviewed within the context of the experiences and stories of resettled refugees. In addition, this dissertation explores the construction of ethnic identity in the first generation of Ethiopian Somali refugee now living in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, with the aim of showing the intricacy of global events (civil wars in the homeland and war on terror in the host society) and local contexts (meaning-making occurring during the interviews). In-depth interviews conducted with ten men were treated as a series of stories in order to emphasize the importance of personal meaning-making. With awareness that "multiple identities" can denote various subjectivities, the thesis proposed research that theorizes about the constant shift of identities, the interplay between ascribed and performed ethnicity, as well as the role of societal and historical adjustment that influence the actors of these identities. The Ethiopian Somali refugees participated in semistructured interviews about their experiences with adaptation and integration in America. Four dialectical tensions/conflicts emerged from participants' stories about their communication in their life experiences: (a) persecution and discrimination; (b) trauma in the journey of fleeing their homeland; (c) multiple identities in the refugee camps; and d) integration and adjustment in American society.

This study seeks to identify the conservation program of marine resources and fisheries in the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries of Situbondo, how do the effectiveness, and how do the government policies on conservation of marine resources and fisheries in Situbondo. With a descriptive-qualitative approach, the results of this study indi­cate that the local government through the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries has a major role on preservation of marine resources and fisheries, espe­cially in some big proponent of marine fisheries in Situbondo. The role of government at least can be seen in the form of regulations, policies and implementation of programs were implemen­ted. The role of Government of Situbondo implemented policies Minis­try of Marine and Fisheries through programs of conservation of marine and fisheris in Situbondo.

Melatonin (MEL) appears to have a regulatory role in vascular tone through enhancing endothelial-derived relaxing factors (EDRFs) and modulation of calcium (Ca2+) influx in both vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and vascular endothelial cells (VECs). While, such effects on angiotensin 1-7 (Ang 1-7) vasoreactivity in the vascular endothelial dysfunction (VED) remained unclear. Therefore, the current study investigates the vasculoprotective action of MEL on Ang 1-7 dose response curve (DRC) via Ca2+ channels and EDRFs in streptozotocin (STZ)–induced diabetes mellitus (DM) in male albino rats' isolated aorta. The present study included four experiments. Experiment I, included measurement of tunical intima-media thickness and the histological examination in non-DM, STZ-induced DM and STZ-induced DM treated with MEL. Experiment II included the measurement of the isometric tension using Ang 1-7 DRC with or without NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a nitric oxide (NO) inhibitor in the studied groups. Experiment III included the measurement of the isometric tension using Ang 1-7 DRC with or without indomethacin (IND), a non-selective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor in the studied groups. Experiment IV included the measurement of the isometric tension using Ang 1-7 DRC with or without nifedipine (NIF), a voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ channels blocker in the studied groups. The present study found that, MEL demonstrated protective effects against vascular stress through multiple mechanisms. These actions collectively contributed to the maintenance of vascular health, preservation of endothelial function, and prevention of vascular diseases. Also it modulated vascular response to Ang 1-7 by either antioxidant properties or Ca2+ vasomotion.

Diabetes is associated with endothelial dysfunction, which impairs blood vesselscapacity to maintain vascular tone. Apelin is an adipocyte-produced relaxing factor that has endothelium-dependent and nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasorelaxant effects. The current study investigated how streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type one diabetes modulates the mechanisms involved in aortic vascular response to apelin, focusing on the role of potassium channels and endothelial derived relaxing factors (EDRF). In this study, precontracted rat thoracic aortic segments were pre-incubated with the NO inhibitor, cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor and potassium channels blockers including: non-selective calcium-activated potassium channel, big conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (BKca), intermediate conductance calcium activated potassium channels (IKca), delayed inward rectifier potassium channels (Kir), adenosine triphosphates-sensitive potassium channels (KATP) and voltage sensitive potassium channels (Kv) blockers, then cumulative concentrations of apelin were applied to each group in both non-diabetic and diabetic conditions. The statistical analysis between diabetic and non-diabetic groups revealed that endothelial impairment induced by diabetes in rat thoracic aorta remarkably attenuated the vascular responses to apelin. An important new finding in this study was that almost all potassium channels blockers noticeably P<0.001 increased apelin efficacy with relatively no changes in the peptide potency. However, in diabetic aortic segments, the non-selective Kca, BKca blockers, NO inhibitor and COX inhibitor reversed vascular responses to apelin, but Kir, KATP and Kv blockers significantly reduced vascular responses to apelin in comparison to control rats. It is worth noting that diabetes did not only alter the peptide potency in these experimental groups but also significantly increased the maximum responses when Kca and BKca blockers preincubated. In conclusion, our findings shed light on the mechanisms behind diabetes-induced aortic artery hypo-reactivity to apelin which involve the inhibition of endothelial NO synthase activities and decreased contribution of Kca, BKca, IKca, Kv, Kir and KATP channels.

Urotensin-II (UII), a pluripotent vasoactive cyclic peptide, exhibits the progression of cardiovascular diseases and the glucose metabolic disorder of insulin resistance. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is entirely associated with insulin resistance. This study aimed to demonstrate the association of UII with insulin resistance in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. A total of 73 male and female subjects aged 40-60 years were recruited in this case-control study. They included 35 non- diabetic subjects with a body mass index of (BMI) ≤ 25 and 38 patients with Diabetes Mellitus and BMI ≥ 25. UII levels were assessed beside other vasoactive and clinical parameters. The results revealed that patients with T2DM had elevated UII and Endothelin-I (ET-I) levels, along with positive correlations with the insulin-resistance marker of Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), blood pressure (BP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C), and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Results from stepwise multiple regressions indicated that UII correlated positively with the increases in the levels of serum cholesterol, ET-I, urea, ADMA, and FBG. This study concludes that the increase in UII level has a positive relation with insulin-resistance and the increase in ET-I level. However, UII could inhibit glucose-induced insulin secretion and, hence, can be utilized as a marker for T2DM and its complications through inflammatory microangiopathy.

Background: Orexin-A is an orexigenic hormone that plays an important role in the metabolism of blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance (IR). The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is related to the abnormality in insulin and IR. However, no sufficient studies to date have clearly shown the association of orexin-A with biochemical parameters related to T2DM.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the relation of orexin-A with IR and how they associate with physiological changes in T2DM patients. Understanding this relation will offer some pharmacological tools to reduce some complications in diabetes.
Materials and Methods: A total of 41 T2DM and 43 non-DM subjects, aged between 40-60 years with body mass index (BMI) ≤25 kg/m2, participated in the present study.
Fasting serum orexin-A, IR, fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), lipid profile, liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST)), nitric oxide (NO), and malondialdehyde (MDA) parameters were evaluated. Orexin-A was evaluated by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For statistical analysis, GraphPad Prism 7.0 and SPSS version 24.0 programs were used.
Results: Orexin-A was positively correlated with blood pressure, FBG, HbA1c, insulin, and IR but inversely related to insulin sensitivity (IS), leptin, and gender. Stepwise multiple regression presented HOMA-IR, diastolic blood pressure, and very-low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol as predictors for orexin-A. The area under control value showed orexin-A, FBG, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, IS, ALT, AST, NO and MDA as biomarkers for T2DM disease.
Conclusion: Orexin-A has a predictive ability to diagnose T2DM, as it is significantly associated with hyperglycemia, IR, and IS.