Preparation and Intestinal Immunostimulating Activity of Low Molecular Weight Alginate from Saccharina (Laminaria) Species in Japan

We studied the structure of alginates extracted from five commercial Saccharina (Laminaria) species including three varieties (eight samples in all) harvested in Hokkaido, Japan. The algae used were Saccharina japonica, S. japonica var. diabolica, S. japonica var. ochotensis, S. japonica var. religiosa, S. longissima, S. coriacea, S. angustata, and S. sculpera (Kjellmaniella crassiforia). These alginates have molar fractions of mannuronic acid (F_M) ranging from 0.68 to 0.76 and weight average molecular weights (M_ws) ranging from 511,000 to 616,000. Alginate samples from both S. angustata (F_M = 0.76) and S. longissima (F_M = 0.68) showed intestinal immunological activity through Peyer’s patch cells of C3H/HeJ mice. Low molecular weight S. angustata alginate (F_M = 0.75, M_w = 70,000) degraded using a wet pulverizing system showed higher activity than the native one.     

Development of an image evaluation method for skin color distribution in facial images and its application: Aging effects and seasonal changes of facial color distribution

In this article, we present an evaluation method for the skin color distribution in the face area. Unlike previous methods that extract a specific area, our method subdivides the entire face into small regions and analyzes detailed, per-frame textures. Our evaluation method for skin color distribution is based on facial feature points and includes segmentation that takes into account the facial skeleton and muscle orientation. The use of facial feature points enables a comparison at relatively equal positions on the face without depending on the shape or size of the individual's face. Our evaluation method is versatile, and as an application, we clarified age-specific features and seasonal variations of facial color distribution. As a result of applying this evaluation method to the facial images of women aged 20 to 78 years, we confirmed that the lightness of the face decreased as age increased. In particular, the decrease in lightness was remarkable in the region along the cheekbone, from the temple to the center of the cheek. Furthermore, we analyzed the seasonal changes of melanin distribution in the face area. This showed that the melanin index increased particularly in the cheekbone area in the summer when the influence of ultraviolet rays became large. Our novel methodology and the data presented in this article will be useful in various fields, such as dermatology, cosmetics, and computer vision.     

Placement of endosteal implants combined with chin bone onlay graft for dental reconstruction in patients with grafted alveolar clefts

CONTEXT: Physical activity and fitness are believed to reduce premature mortality, but whether genetic factors modify this effect is not known. OBJECTIVE: To investigate leisure physical activity and mortality with respect to familial aggregation of health habits during childhood and factors that may enable some individuals to achieve higher levels of fitness. DESIGN: Prospective twin cohort study. SETTING: Finland. SUBJECTS: In 1975, at baseline, 7925 healthy men and 7977 healthy women of the Finnish Twin Cohort aged 25 to 64 years who responded to a questionnaire on physical activity habits and known predictors of mortality. Those who reported exercising at least 6 times per month with an intensity corresponding to at least vigorous walking for a mean duration of 30 minutes were classified as conditioning exercisers, those who reported no leisure physical activity were classified as sedentary, and other subjects were classified as occasional exercisers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All-cause mortality and discordant deaths among same-sex twin pairs from 1977 through 1994. RESULTS: Among the entire cohort, 1253 subjects died. The hazard ratio for death adjusted for age and sex was 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.81) in occasional exercisers and 0.57 (95% CI, 0.45-0.74) in conditioning exercisers, compared with those who were sedentary (Pfor trend <.001). Among the twin pairs who were healthy at baseline and discordant for death (n=434), the odds ratio for death was 0.66 (95% CI, 0.46-0.94) in occasional exercisers and 0.44 (95% CI, 0.23-0.83) in conditioning exercisers compared with those who were sedentary (P for trend, .005). The beneficial effect of physical activity remained after controlling for other predictors of mortality. CONCLUSION: Leisure-time physical activity is associated with reduced mortality, even after genetic and other familial factors are taken into account.     

Shear properties of metal-free wooden load-bearing walls using plywood jointed with a combination of adhesive tape and wood dowels

In this study, the potential of wood-only (metal-free) load-bearing walls was proposed and tested based on the idea of using the same type of material throughout wherever possible while improving basic properties such as strength, sound insulation, and heat insulation. Specifically, a technique was tested of combining pressure sensitive adhesive tape and wood dowels in place of nails for load-bearing structures with panel reinforcement represented by wood-frame construction. For this paper, its strength was evaluated by conducting in-plane shear tests, which revealed that the initial rigidity and maximum load of the proposed test specimens were greater than that of specimens using nails for jointing. However, the shear load factor, which is calculated based on some strength parameters and which forms the foundation of housing strength design, was slightly lower than that of the nail-jointed specimen. This was because there was a large decline in post-collapse resistance and a lower calculated absorbed energy caused by brittleness. The early detachment of panels was also revealed as a problem in the tests.     

Preparation and evaluation of gel formulations for oral sustained delivery to dysphagic patients

Background: Oral sustained release gel formulations may provide a means of administering drugs to dysphagic and geriatric patients who have difficulties with handling and taking oral dosage forms. Aim: We have designed gel formulations for the oral administration of paracetamol with suitable rheological characteristics for ease of administration to patients with swallowing difficulties and sufficient integrity in the acidic environment of the stomach to achieve a sustained release of this drug. Method: Gels formed by gelatin, agar, gellan, pectin, and xyloglucan were assessed for suitable gel strength and in vitro and in vivo release characteristics. Results: Gellan (1.5%?w/v) and xyloglucan gels (1.5%?w/w) had acceptable gel strengths for ease of swallowing and retained their integrity in the rat stomach sufficiently well to sustain the release of paracetamol over a period of 6 hours. Comparison of 1.5%?xyloglucan gels with a commercially available preparation with identical paracetamol concentrations demonstrated improved sustained release properties of the xyloglucan gels. Conclusions: Gels formed by gellan and xyloglucan have suitable rheological and sustained release characteristics for potential use as vehicles for oral delivery of drugs to dysphagic patients.     

Oxidative Stress and Its Significant Roles in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cancer

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species have been implicated in diverse pathophysiological conditions, including inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Accumulating evidence indicates that oxidative damage to biomolecules including lipids, proteins and DNA, contributes to these diseases. Previous studies suggest roles of lipid peroxidation and oxysterols in the development of neurodegenerative diseases and inflammation-related cancer. Our recent studies identifying and characterizing carbonylated proteins reveal oxidative damage to heat shock proteins in neurodegenerative disease models and inflammation-related cancer, suggesting dysfunction in their antioxidative properties. In neurodegenerative diseases, DNA damage may not only play a role in the induction of apoptosis, but also may inhibit cellular division via telomere shortening. Immunohistochemical analyses showed co-localization of oxidative/nitrative DNA lesions and stemness markers in the cells of inflammation-related cancers. Here, we review oxidative stress and its significant roles in neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.     

Structurally Diverse Polyamines: Solid‐Phase Synthesis and Interaction with DNA

A versatile solid‐phase approach based on peptide chemistry was used to construct four classes of structurally diverse polyamines with modified backbones: linear, partially constrained, branched, and cyclic. Their effects on DNA duplex stability and structure were examined. The polyamines showed distinct activities, thus highlighting the importance of polyamine backbone structure. Interestingly, the rank order of polyamine ability for DNA compaction was different to that for their effects on circular dichroism and melting temperature, thus indicating that these polyamines have distinct effects on secondary and higher‐order structures of DNA.     

Low-temperature thermionic emission from nitrogen-doped nanocrystalline diamond films on n-type Si grown by MPCVD

Temperature-dependent emission current–voltage measurements were carried out for nitrogen (N)-doped nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films grown on n-type Si substrates by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (MP-CVD). Low threshold temperature (~ 260 °C) and low threshold electric field (~ 5 × 10^− 5 V/µm) were observed. Both the temperature dependence and the electric field dependence have shown that the obtained emission current was based on electron thermionic emission from N-doped NCD films. We have also studied the relation between nitrogen concentration and the saturation emission current. The saturation current obtained was as high as 1.4 mA at 5.6 × 10^− 3 V/µm at 670 °C when the nitrogen concentration was 2.4 × 10²⁰ cm^− 3. Low value of effective work function (1.99 eV) and relatively high value of Richardson constant (~ 70) were estimated by well fitting to Richardson–Dushman equation. The results of smaller φ and larger A′ suggest that N-doped NCD has great possibility of being a highly efficient thermionic emitter material.     

Measurements, analyses and evaluation of residential PV systems by Japanese monitoring program

This paper is about measurements, analyses and evaluation of residential PV systems in the Japanese Monitoring Program, on which JQA was subsidized by NEDO (New Energy Development and Industrial Technology Organization) that is currently proceeding [NSS R&D] from FY1997 to FY 2000.The aim of this investigation refers, through the data evaluation and analyses, to obtain knowledge required for optimizing design of PV systems, such as system performance, characteristics and regional dependency under practical operation and to develop the system evaluation technology on the design parameter method.