Minimal effective dose on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety evaluation of dressing containing plant sterol in Japanese subjects

We examined the minimal effective dose on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety of dressing containing plant sterol in humans. EXP.1: Sixty-eight healthy Japanese males (total cholesterol (TC) > or = 170 mg/dL) were randomly divided into four groups, and were given 0, 400, 800 or 1200 mg/day of plant sterol in 15 g dressing for 4 weeks followed by the washout period of 4 weeks. Although there were no significant differences in serum TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations among all groups after feeding plant sterol for 4 weeks, in 36 subjects with TC > or = 220 mg/dL, serum LDL-C concentration tended to reduce when received 800 or 1200 mg of plant sterol, and the difference between 0 and 1200 mg groups was statistically significant. The difference between 0 and 800 mg groups was near significant (p=0.053). Intake of 400 mg of plant sterol did not change serum LDL-C concentration. EXP.2: Twenty-one healthy Japanese subjects (TC > or = 180 mg/dL, 10 men, 11 women) were given 2400 mg/day of plant sterol in 45 g dressing for 4 weeks. Clinical data were all remained normal. These results indicated that minimal effective dose of the plant sterol on serum cholesterol concentration in healthy male subjects is around 800 mg/day, and intake of 2400 mg/day of plant sterol is regarded to be safe.     

Luminescence study of europium(III) tris(β-diketonato)/phosphonate complexes in chloroform

The extraction of Eu(III) with β-diketone, HA, and monodentate or bidentate Lewis bases, B, into chloroform and the luminescence properties of the extracted species were studied. Pivaloyltrifluoroacetone, Hpta, and 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, Htta, were used as the β-diketones. The Lewis bases, B, were tetraethyl methylene diphosphonate, POPO, which was bidentate, and diethyl benzylphosphonate, PhPO which was monodentate. Based on the extraction data, the stability constants, log β of the first complexes between tris(β-diketonato)Eu(III) and the phosphonate, EuA3B, were determined to be 6.0 for the POPO complex and 3.40 for the PhPO complex. The Eu(III) luminescence intensity in the EuA3POPO was larger than EuA3 where A was either pta or tta at similar concentrations of Eu(III), while that in Eu(pta)3PhPO was stronger than EuA3; however, in Eu(tta)3PhPO, it was weaker than Eu(tta)3. The POPO functions as a sensitizer, and the PhPO functions as a quencher for the tta chelate and as a sensitizer for the pta chelate. From the lifetime and quantum yield, φ, of the Eu(III) luminescence in the complexes as well as the observation of the extractability of Eu(III) with the Hpta and the phosphonates and of the luminescence spectra of the complexes, it was confirmed that the extraction of Eu(III) was remarkably enhanced with a β-diketonate and a strong Lewis base, and also the ternary complex that was formed as the extracted species, showed luminescence enhancement. This phenomenon may be due the formation of a strong bond between the Eu(III) and the strong Lewis base leading to more hydrophobicity in the extracted species and also to more effective energy transfer from the Lewis base to the Eu(III). It was not significant whether the donor atoms were N or O.     

A self-stabilizing distributed algorithm for the bounded lattice domination problems under the distance-2 model

The domination problem is one of the fundamental graph problems, and there are many variations. In this article, we propose a new problem called the minus -domination problem where , and are integers such that , , and . The problem is to assign a value from for each vertex in a graph such that the local summation of values is greater than or equal to . We also propose a framework named the bounded lattice domination for a class of domination problems, including the minus -domination problem. Then, we present a self-stabilizing distributed algorithm under the distance-2 model for the bounded lattice domination. Here, self-stabilization is a class of fault-tolerant distributed algorithms that tolerate transient faults. The time complexity for convergence is $$, where $$ is the number of processes in a network if the cardinality of the domain of process values is finite and constant. Otherwise, the time complexity for convergence is $$.     

Plant Growth Inhibition By <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cis</Emphasis>-Cinnamoyl Glucosides and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cis</Emphasis>-Cinnamic Acid

Spiraea thunbergii Sieb. contains 1-O-cis-cinnamoyl--_d-glucopyranose (CG) and 6-O-(4-hydroxy-2-methylene-butyroyl)-1-O-cis-cinnamoyl--_d-glucopyranose (BCG) as major plant growth inhibiting constituents. In the present study, we determined the inhibitory activity of CG and BCG on root elongation of germinated seedlings of lettuce (Lactuca sativa), pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), red clover (Trifolium pratense), timothy (Phleum pratense), and bok choy (Brassica rapa var chinensis) in comparison with that of two well-known growth inhibitors, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and (+)-2-cis-4-trans-abscisic acid (cis-ABA), as well as two related chemicals of CG and BCG, cis-cinnamic acid (cis-CA) and trans-cinnamic acid (trans-CA). The EC₅₀ values for CG and BCG on lettuce were roughly one-half to one-quarter of the value for cis-ABA. cis-Cinnamic acid, which is a component of CG and BCG, possessed almost the same inhibitory activity of CG and BCG, suggesting that the essential chemical structure responsible for the inhibitory activity of CG and BCG is cis-CA. The cis-stereochemistry of the methylene moiety is apparently needed for high inhibitory activity, as trans-CA had an EC₅₀ value roughly 100 times that of CG, BCG, and cis-CA. Growth inhibition by CG, BCG, and cis-CA was influenced by the nature of the soil in the growing medium: alluvial soil preserved the bioactivity, whereas volcanic ash and calcareous soils inhibited bioactivity. These findings indicate a potential role of cis-CA and its glucosides as allelochemicals for use as plant growth regulators in agricultural fields.     

TLR2 Deficiency Exacerbates Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-Like Skin Inflammation through Decrease in Regulatory T Cells and Impaired IL-10 Production

Emerging evidence has demonstrated that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are associated with autoimmune diseases. In this study, we investigated the role of TLR2 in psoriasis using imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis. Although TLR2 signaling is known to play a critical role in the induction of proinflammatory cytokines by immune cells, such as dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages, and monocytes, TLR2 deficiency unexpectedly exacerbated psoriasiform skin inflammation. Importantly, messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of Foxp-3 and IL-10 in the lesional skin were significantly decreased in TLR2 KO mice compared with wild-type mice. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis of the lymph nodes revealed that the frequency of regulatory T cells (Tregs) among CD4-positive cells was decreased. Notably, stimulation with Pam3CSK4 (TLR2/1 ligand) or Pam2CSK4 (TLR2/6 ligand) increased IL-10 production from Tregs and DCs and the proliferation of Tregs. Finally, adoptive transfer of Tregs from wild-type mice reduced imiquimod-induced skin inflammation in TLR2 KO mice. Taken together, our results suggest that TLR2 signaling directly enhances Treg proliferation and IL-10 production by Tregs and DCs, suppressing imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation. Enhancement of TLR2 signaling may be a new therapeutic strategy for psoriasis.     

In Vitro Cytological Responses against Laser Photobiomodulation for Periodontal Regeneration

Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by periodontal bacteria. Recently, periodontal phototherapy, treatment using various types of lasers, has attracted attention. Photobiomodulation, the biological effect of low-power laser irradiation, has been widely studied. Although many types of lasers are applied in periodontal phototherapy, molecular biological effects of laser irradiation on cells in periodontal tissues are unclear. Here, we have summarized the molecular biological effects of diode, Nd:YAG, Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, and CO₂ lasers irradiation on cells in periodontal tissues. Photobiomodulation by laser irradiation enhanced cell proliferation and calcification in osteoblasts with altering gene expression. Positive effects were observed in fibroblasts on the proliferation, migration, and secretion of chemokines/cytokines. Laser irradiation suppressed gene expression related to inflammation in osteoblasts, fibroblasts, human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs), and endothelial cells. Furthermore, recent studies have revealed that laser irradiation affects cell differentiation in hPDLCs and stem cells. Additionally, some studies have also investigated the effects of laser irradiation on endothelial cells, cementoblasts, epithelial cells, osteoclasts, and osteocytes. The appropriate irradiation power was different for each laser apparatus and targeted cells. Thus, through this review, we tried to shed light on basic research that would ultimately lead to clinical application of periodontal phototherapy in the future.     

Tocopherol distribution and oxidative stability of oils prepared from the hypocotyl of soybeans roasted in a microwave oven

Whole soybeans (Glycin max L.) were roasted by exposure to microwaves at a frequency of 2,450 MHz, and their hypocotyls were separated from other tissues (seed coat and cotyledons). The quality characteristics and composition in the hypocotyl oils were studied in relation to their tocopherol distributions and were evaluated as compared to an unroasted oil sample. Only minor increases (P<0.05) in chemical and physical changes of the oils, such as carbonyl value, anisidine value and color development, occurred with increased roasting time. Significant decreases (P<0.05) were observed in the amounts of phospholipids in the oils after microwave roasting. Nevertheless, compared to the original level, more than 80% tocopherols still remained after 20 min of roasting. These results suggest that the exposure of soybeans to microwaves for 6 to 8 min caused no significant loss or changes in the content of tocopherols and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the hypocotyls. Therefore, a domestic microwave oven would be useful as a simple and quick means for preparing hypocotyl oil of good quality.