Comparison of the Key Enzymes of Hyphomicrobium sp. 53-49 under Various Growth Conditions: Aerobic,Denitrifying and Autotrophic

For Hyphomicrobium 53-49 capable of growing under various conditions, aerobic methanol, anaerobic methanol (with denitrification), autotrophic (H₂-O₂-CO₂), aerobic ethanol and aerobic acetate, investigation and comparison of the specific activities of the following enzymes were performed: alcohol dehydrogenase (NAD-ethanol linked and NAD-methanol linked), primary alcohol dehydrogenase, formaldehyde dehydrogenase (NAD-GSH linked and DCPIP linked), formate dehydrogenase, serine hydroxymethyl transferase, hydroxypyruvate reductase, isocitrate lyase (icl), malate lyase, malate dehydrogenase, ribulosebisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase, phos-phoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase (ADP linked), PEP carboxylase (phosphorylating), pyruvate carboxylase (NADH linked and NADPH linked) and α-ketoglutarate carboxylase (NADH linked and NADPH linked). On the basis of the data obtained, it was concluded that during growth on methanol, aerobically and anaerobically, the icl+ serine pathway operated, while during autotrophic growth on H₂-O₂-CO₂, CO₂ was incorporated through the RuBP pathway and others, and during growth on ethanol or acetate, neither the serine pathway nor the RuBP pathway operated. The organism changed its metabolism through the regulation of the metabolic enzymes according to the growth conditions.     

Minor Constituents of Japanese Ho-Leaf Oil

The main component of Japanese Ho-leaf oil has been shown to be (?)-linalool (80~90%), and the following twenty minor constituents newly have been identified; methyl vinyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, mesityl oxide, β-pinene, myrcene, (+)-limonene, cis- and trans-ocimene, n-hexanol, cis-3-hexenol, cis- and trans-linalool oxide, (?)-1-terpinen-4-ol, (+)-cis and (+)-trans-2,6,6-trimethyl-2-vinyl-5-hydroxytetrahydropyran, citronellol, nerol, (+)-β-selinene, (+)-tagetonol and (?)-trans-hotrienol. (+)-Tagetonol and (?)-trans-hotrienol have been demonstrated to be (+)-3,7-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-1-octen-5-one (III) and (3R)-(?)-trans-3,7-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-1,5,7-octatriene (IX), respectively.     

Ketogenic essential amino acids replacement diet ameliorated hepatosteatosis with altering autophagy-associated molecules

Ketogenic amino acid (KAA) replacement diet has been shown to cure hepatic steatosis, a serious liver disease associated with diverse metabolic defects. In this study, we investigated the effects of KAA replacement diet on nutrition sensing signaling pathway and analyzed whether induction of hepatic autophagy was involved. Mice are fed with high fat diet (HFD) or KAA replacement in high-fat diet (30% fat in food; HFD)-fed (HFD^KAAR) and sacrificed at 8, 12, 16 weeks after initiation of experimental food. Hepatic autophagy was analyzed in protein expression of several autophagy-associated molecules and in light chain-3 green fluorescent protein (LC-3 GFP) transgenic mice. HFD^KAAR showed increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation and enhanced liver kinase B1 (LKB1) expression compared to control HFD-fed mice. The KAA-HFD-induced activation of AMPK was associated with an increased protein expression of sirtuin 1 (Sirt1), decreased forkhead box protein O3a (Foxo3a) level, and suppression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation compared with the HFD-fed mice. The intervention study revealed that a KAA-replacement diet also ameliorated all the established metabolic and autophagy defects in the HFD-fed mice, suggesting that a KAA-replacement diet can be used therapeutically in established diseases. These results indicate that KAA replacement in food could be a novel strategy to combat hepatic steatosis and metabolic abnormalities likely involvement of an induction of autophagy.     

A clinical study of the efficacy of a single session of individual exercise for depressive patients,assessed by the change in saliva free cortisol level

Background

The efficacy of physical exercise as an augmentation to pharmacotherapy with antidepressants for depressive patients has been documented. However, to clarify the effectiveness of exercise in the treatment of depression, it is necessary to distinguish the effect of the exercise itself from the effect of group dynamics. Furthermore, an objective measurement for estimation of the effect is needed. Previous reports adopted a series of group exercises as the exercise intervention and mainly psychometric instruments for the measurement of effectiveness. Therefore, this clinical study was done to examine the effectiveness of a single session of individual exercise on depressive symptoms by assessing the change in saliva free cortisol level, which reflects hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis function that is disturbed in depressive patients.

Method

Eighteen medicated patients, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for major depressive disorder, were examined for the change in saliva free cortisol levels and the change in subjective depressive symptoms before and after pedaling a bicycle ergometer for fifteen minutes. Within a month after the exercise session, participants conducted a non-exercise control session, which was sitting quietly at the same time of day as the exercise session.

Results

Depressed patients who participated in this study were in remission or in mild depressive state. However, they suffered chronic depression and had disturbed quality of life. The saliva free cortisol level and subjective depressive symptoms significantly decreased after the exercise session. Moreover, the changes in these variables were significantly, positively correlated. On the other hand, although the subjective depressive symptoms improved in the control session, the saliva free cortisol level did not change.

Conclusion

For the first time in depressive patients, we were able to show a decrease in the saliva free cortisol level due to physical exercise, accompanied by the improvement of subjective depressive symptoms. This identified a possible influence of exercise on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in depression.These results suggest the utility of assessing the effect of physical exercise by saliva free cortisol level in depressive patients who suffer from bio-psycho-social disability.

     

Oxygen uptake,heart rate,perceived exertion,and integrated electromyogram of the lower and upper extremities during level and Nordic walking on a treadmill

The purpose of this study was to characterize responses in oxygen uptake ( V·O2), heart rate (HR), perceived exertion (OMNI scale) and integrated electromyogram (iEMG) readings during incremental Nordic walking (NW) and level walking (LW) on a treadmill. Ten healthy adults (four men, six women), who regularly engaged in physical activity in their daily lives, were enrolled in the study. All subjects were familiar with NW. Each subject began walking at 60 m/min for 3 minutes, with incremental increases of 10 m/min every 2 minutes up to 120 m/min V·O2 , V·E and HR were measured every 30 seconds, and the OMNI scale was used during the final 15 seconds of each exercise. EMG readings were recorded from the triceps brachii, vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior muscles. V·O2 was significantly higher during NW than during LW, with the exception of the speed of 70 m/min (P < 0.01). V·E and HR were higher during NW than LW at all walking speeds (P < 0.05 to 0.001). OMNI scale of the upper extremities was significantly higher during NW than during LW at all speeds (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the iEMG reading for the VL was lower during NW than during LW at all walking speeds, while the iEMG reading for the BF and GA muscles were significantly lower during NW than LW at some speeds. These data suggest that the use of poles in NW attenuates muscle activity in the lower extremities during the stance and push-off phases, and decreases that of the lower extremities and increase energy expenditure of the upper body and respiratory system at certain walking speeds.     

Validity of ultrasound muscle thickness measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass in healthy Japanese middle-aged and older individuals

Background

The skeletal muscle mass of the lower limb plays a role in its mobility during daily life. From the perspective of physical resources, leg muscle mass dominantly decreases after the end of the fifth decade. Therefore, an accurate estimate of the muscle mass is important for the middle-aged and older population. The present study aimed to clarify the validity of ultrasound muscle thickness (MT) measurements for predicting leg skeletal muscle mass (SM) in the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.

Findings

MTs at four sites of the lower limb and the bone-free lean tissue mass (LTM) of the right leg were determined using brightness-mode ultrasonography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), respectively, in 44 women and 33 men, 52- to 78-years old. LTM was used as a representative variable of leg skeletal muscle mass. In the model-development group (30 women and 22 men), regression analysis produced an equation with R² and standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 0.958 and 0.3 kg, respectively: LTM (kg) = 0.01464 × (MT_SUM×L) (cm²) - 2.767, where MT_SUM is the sum of the product of MTs at four sites, and L is length of segment where MT is determined. The estimated LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg) did not significantly differ from the measured LTM (7.0 ± 1.7 kg), without a significant systematic error on a Bland-Altman plot. The application of this equation for the cross-validation group (14 women and 11 men) did not yield a significant difference between the measured (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) or estimated (7.2 ± 1.6 kg) LTM and systematic error.

Conclusion

The developed prediction equation may be useful for estimating the lean tissue mass of the lower extremity for the healthy Japanese middle-aged and older population.     

Membrane dynamics in mammalian embryogenesis: Implication in signal regulation

Eukaryotes have evolved an array of membrane compartments constituting secretory and endocytic pathways that allow the flow of materials. Both pathways perform important regulatory roles. The secretory pathway is essential for the production of extracellular, secreted signal molecules, but its function is not restricted to a mere route connecting intra‐ and extracellular compartments. Post‐translational modifications also play an integral function in the secretory pathway and are implicated in developmental regulation. The endocytic pathway serves as a platform for relaying signals from the extracellular stimuli to intracellular mediators, and then ultimately inducing signal termination. Here, we discuss recent studies showing that dysfunction in membrane dynamics causes patterning defects in embryogenesis and tissue morphogenesis in mammals. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:33–44, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Relative Biological Effectiveness of HZE Particles for Chromosomal Exchanges and Other Surrogate Cancer Risk Endpoints

The biological effects of high charge and energy (HZE) particle exposures are of interest in space radiation protection of astronauts and cosmonauts, and estimating secondary cancer risks for patients undergoing Hadron therapy for primary cancers. The large number of particles types and energies that makeup primary or secondary radiation in HZE particle exposures precludes tumor induction studies in animal models for all but a few particle types and energies, thus leading to the use of surrogate endpoints to investigate the details of the radiation quality dependence of relative biological effectiveness (RBE) factors. In this report we make detailed RBE predictions of the charge number and energy dependence of RBE’s using a parametric track structure model to represent experimental results for the low dose response for chromosomal exchanges in normal human lymphocyte and fibroblast cells with comparison to published data for neoplastic transformation and gene mutation. RBE’s are evaluated against acute doses of γ-rays for doses near 1 Gy. Models that assume linear or non-targeted effects at low dose are considered. Modest values of RBE (<10) are found for simple exchanges using a linear dose response model, however in the non-targeted effects model for fibroblast cells large RBE values (>10) are predicted at low doses <0.1 Gy. The radiation quality dependence of RBE’s against the effects of acute doses γ-rays found for neoplastic transformation and gene mutation studies are similar to those found for simple exchanges if a linear response is assumed at low HZE particle doses. Comparisons of the resulting model parameters to those used in the NASA radiation quality factor function are discussed.