Effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fomitopsis pinicola</Emphasis> extract on blood glucose and lipid metabolism in diabetic rats

This study was performed to investigate the effects of Fomitopsis pinicola extract on blood glucose and lipid metabolism in diabetic rats. The blood glucose concentration was similar to that of the control at 30 min, but after 60 min of glucose administration the blood glucose concentration rapidly decreased, and after 120 min was 100.7±4.0 mg/dL, representing an approximate 50% decrease compared to the control. In the case of the diabetic rats induced by streptozotocin, the concentration of blood glucose was decreased from 362.0±16.7 to 204.5±11.4 mg/dL after 20 days of administration. HDL- and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were 39.0±4.3 mg/L and 13.2±3.4 mg/dL, respectively, representing an approximate increase of 73% and approximate decrease of 76%, respectively, compared to the control. The activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine transaminase were increased. On the other hand, activities of amylase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, and glutamic pyruvic transaminase were decreased compared to that of the control. No difference was evident between test and control rats with respect to white blood cell, red blood cell, hemocyte, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet counts. These results indicate that F. pinicola extract is useful as a preventative and treatment agent for damage of liver and kidney cells.     

Performance analysis of Extended Non-Overlapping Binary Exponential Backoff algorithm over IEEE 802.15.4

This paper evaluates the effects of the Extended Non-Overlapping Binary Exponential Backoff (ENO-BEB) algorithm over IEEE 802.15.4 by building its performance models based on a 2-dimensional Markov chain. This algorithm differs from the previously proposed Non-Overlapping Binary Exponential Backoff (NO-BEB) algorithm for IEEE 802.11, where the next backoff range is fixed as the second half of the conventional exponentially enlarged range. The ENO-BEB algorithm maps the next backoff range to the last 1/2 ^j -th subrange of the conventional range where j is an integer standing for the number of consecutive channel capture failures. To measure its impacts of the degree of separation between two backoff ranges at two adjacent backoff stages, we generalize the conventional IEEE 802.15.4 Markov chain model by including the behavior of the ENO-BEB algorithm. The analytical performance model predicts that the ENO-BEB technique achieves better throughput for larger j, for example, up to 113 % and 21 % than the conventional BEB and NO-BEB algorithm, respectively when j and the total number of nodes are 3 and 60. Simulations confirm these numerical results with a 7 % difference.     

Antiyeast Potency of Heated Garlic in Relation to the Content of Allyl Alcohol Thermally Generated from Alliin

ABSTRACT:  The appearance of antiyeast activity in heated garlic extract was influenced by the temperature, heating time, and pH. The maximum antiyeast activity was attained at the temperature range between 110 and 130 °C for the heating time range of 90 and 30 min, respectively. Reduced antiyeast activity occurred above 130 °C. More potent antiyeast activity was generated when the pH of the garlic extract was adjusted to and below 4.0. The sensitivity to the antiyeast activity of heated garlic or heated alliin was quite different depending on the yeast strain. Species belonging to Zygosaccharomyces were the least sensitive, while Candida utilis and Pichia membranaefaciens were among the most sensitive. The alliin content of the garlic was in the range of 0.5% to 1.32%. When garlic extracts were heated at 121 °C for 120 min, the content of allyl alcohol generated from alliin through thermal degradation was in the range of 0.08% to 0.16%. The allyl alcohol produced upon heating was positively proportional to the content of alliin in garlic. The antiyeast potency expressed as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was negatively proportional to the content of allyl alcohol and thus to the content of alliin.