Administration of docosahexaenoic acid influences behavior and plasma catecholamine levels at times of psychological stress

The purpose of the present research was to clarify the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake on behavior and plasma catecholamines (CA). In Study 1, 42 students took either DHA-rich oil capsules containing 1.5–1.8 g DHA/d or control oil capsules containing 97% soybean oil plus 3% of another fish oil for 3 mon in a double-blind fashion. They took a psychological test (PF Study) at the start and end of the study. This study started at the end of summer vacation and ended just before the final exams. In the control group, external aggression (aggression against others) in PF Study was significantly increased at the end of the study as compared with that measured at the start (+8.9%), whereas it was not significantly changed in the DHA group (?1.0%). In a similar double-blind study (Study 2), we measured external aggression under nonstressful conditions. External aggression slightly decreased in the control group, whereas there were no significant changes in the DHA group. In Study 3 with 14 students, plasma CA were measured at the start and end of capsule administration period of 2 mon. Subjects were under continuous stress of the final exams that lasted throughout the whole study period. The ratio of plasma epinephrine to norepinephrine concentrations was significantly increased in the DHA group (78%), whereas it stayed at the same level in the control group. In Study 4, mice were fed either DHA-deficient diet or -sufficient diet for 4 wk, and their rearing frequency (an anxiety index) was measured. In the DHA-sufficient group, the rearing frequency was significantly less than in the other group. These effects of DHA intake may be applied to people in an attempt to ameliorate stress-related diseases.     

Real‐time histological imaging of kidneys stained with food dyes using multiphoton microscopy

We have developed a real‐time imaging technique for diagnosis of kidney diseases which is composed of two steps, staining renal cells safely with food dyes and optical sectioning of living renal tissue to obtain histological images by multiphoton microscopy (MPM). Here, we demonstrated that the MPM imaging with food dyes, including erythrosine and indigo carmine, could be used as fluorescent agents to visualize renal functions and structures such as glomerular bloodstreams, glomerular filtration, and morphology of glomeruli and renal tubules. We also showed that the kidneys of IgA nephropathy model‐mice stained with the food dyes presented histopathological characteristics different from those observed in normal kidneys. The use of the food dyes enhances the quality of tissue images obtained by MPM and offers the potential to contribute to a clinical real‐time diagnosis of kidney diseases. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:847–858, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Conjugated fatty acids in food and their health benefits

Conjugated fatty acids (CFAs) are a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of polyunsaturated fatty acids with conjugated double bonds. Reports indicate that CFAs have potent beneficial effects, including antitumor, antiobese, antiatherogenic and antidiabetic activities. The molecules have also been shown to prevent the onset of hypertension. Recent reports suggest that each CFA isomer has different functions, for example the 10trans,12cis isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has anticarcinogenic, antiobese and antidiabetic effects, whereas the 9cis,11trans-CLA isomer exerts an anticancer effect. Although it would be interesting to know the effects of CFAs on humans, there are only few reports concerning the anticancer and antiobese effects of CLA in humans. More detailed evaluations of the physiological bioactivities of CFA isomers on lifestyle-related diseases in humans and animals will be of great interest in future studies.     

Expression of E-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and gamma-catenin in bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and conventional pulmonary adenocarcinoma: an immunohistochemical study

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) has features distinct from those of conventional pulmonary adenocarcinoma (CPA) in terms of its characteristic growth pattern along alveolar walls and intrapulmonary metastasis via the aerogenous route. We speculated, therefore, that BAC might differ from CPA in its capacity for cell-to-cell or cell-to-basement membrane adhesion. E-cadherin (E-CD), one of the most important elements of epithelial integrity molecules, is related to tumor metastasis in various organs. Differences of E-CD and associated catenin expressions between BAC and CPA, however, have not been elucidated. We examined the expression of E-CD and alpha-, beta- and gamma-catenin immunohistochemically in 18 BACs (9 mucinous, 7 nonmucinous, and 2 sclerosing) in comparison with CPAs, all of which were well-differentiated adenocarcinomas. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between the expression of these cell adhesion molecules and the presence of intrapulmonary metastasis, histologic subtypes, and cell proliferation activity. Clinicopathologically, we observed intrapulmonary metastases in 4 of the 18 BACs and none of the CPAs. In 14 of the 18 BACs, more than one-half of the tumor cells expressed E-CD, and the E-CD expression level was significantly higher in the BACs than in the CPAs. In addition, all of the BACs exhibited preserved membranous staining for E-CD, whereas in 5 of the 14 CPAs, the expression pattern was disorganized cytoplasmic staining; the difference was statistically significant. The Ki-67 labeling index was significantly lower in the BACs than in the CPAs. There were no appreciable differences in E-CD expression among the BAC subtypes. E-CD expression was significantly lower in the BACs with intrapulmonary metastasis than in the BACs without intrapulmonary metastasis. These findings indicated to us that BAC was distinct from CPA in terms of proliferation activity and expression of certain adhesion molecules and that E-CD downregulation was associated with a tendency toward intrapulmonary metastasis.     

Protein phosphatase mRNA expression in Purkinje cells of staggerer and reeler mutant mice

Orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) with bicaval and pulmonary venous anastomoses avoids the large atrial anastomoses of the standard biatrial technique. To determine whether the bicaval technique improves atrial performance, we used Doppler echocardiography to study 13 patients with bicaval OHT, 15 with biatrial OHT, and 8 normal subjects. All were in sinus rhythm and free of rejection. Left atrial size, transmitral (M) and late diastolic (A) mitral flow velocity integrals were measured. Atrial transport (A/M, %) and atrial ejection force (kilodynes, calculated from peak A-wave velocity and mitral orifice area) were assessed. Left atrial dimensions in the bicaval (4.3 +/- 0.5 cm) and biatrial groups (4.9 +/- 0.9 cm) were larger than in controls (3.3 +/- 0.8 cm, p < 0.05). Left atrial transport (37% +/- 12% and 35% +/- 12%) and ejection force (14.1 +/- 6.9 kdyne and 10.2 +/- 7.8 kdyne) were similar in the bicaval group and controls (p not significant) but were significantly lower in the biatrial group (20% +/- 19% and 3.6 +/- 4.0 kdynes, p < 0.05). The bicaval and pulmonary venous technique of OHT produces more physiologic atrial function compared with the biatrial technique as evidenced by greater atrial ejection force and more normal atrial transport.     

Development of extruded ethylene propylene rubber insulated superconducting cable

A superconducting power cable is one of the promising ways of underground transmission of huge electric power in the future. The authors have long proposed the idea of the extruded polymer insulation for superconducting cables. The prominent features of the design are to exploit the excellent electrical properties of polymer in the cryogenic temperatures and to separate the helium coolant from the electrical insulation. Although the extruded cross-linked polyethylene cable has proved ability at the liquid nitrogen temperature, the cable insulation cracked due to mechanical stress during cooling to the liquid helium temperature. To overcome this problem, ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) was selected as a new insulating material considering the good results of mechanical and electrical tests of EPR samples at cryogenic temperatures. An extruded EPR insulated superconducting cable 15 m in length was fabricated and a cooling test down to the liquid helium temperature and a voltage test at the liquid helium temperature were carried out with fair success. This is a breakthrough in terms of the electrical insulation design of cryogenic cables.