Age-related differences in muscle activity, stride frequency and heart rate response during walking in water.

This study aimed to examine whether walking in water produces age-related differences in muscle activity, stride frequency (SF), and heart rate (HR) response. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to evaluate muscle activities in six older and six young subjects while they walked in water immersed to the level of the xiphoid process. The trials in water utilized the Flowmill which consists of a treadmill at the base of a water flume. The measurement of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of each muscle was made prior to the gait analysis. The %MVCs, which refer to the surface EMG measures, from the gastrocnemius of the older subjects were significantly lower than those of the young subjects, in every experimental condition (P<0.05). In contrast, the %MVCs from the rectus femoris (P<0.05) and the biceps femoris (P<0.001) of older subjects were significantly greater than those of young subjects in every experimental condition. Moreover, the SFs of older subjects were also significantly greater than those of young subjects (P<0.05), while the HR responses of older and young subjects were similar. In conclusion, the older subjects had increased hip musculature activity and decreased ankle plantar flexor activity while walking in water, compared with the young subjects.     

Effects of sodium depletion and orthostasis on plasma and urinary vasopressin in normal subjects

We investigated the effects of sodium depletion and orthostasis on the plasma concentration and urinary excretion of vasopressin (AVP) in eight normal female subjects. After 4 days on a sodium controlled diet (130 mEq/day), the subjects were placed on a low sodium diet (30 mEq/day) for 3 days and 120 mg of furosemide was administered orally on the first day of the low sodium regimen. Sodium depletion in the present study reduced body weight by 1.6 kg and increased hematocrit by 3.5%. A significant (p less than 0.05) increase in plasma AVP and a significant (p less than 0.05) decrease in 24-h urinary excretion of AVP were observed during sodium depletion. One-hour ambulation significantly increased plasma AVP in both control and sodium depleted phases (p less than 0.01). The percent change in plasma AVP tended to correlate with that in mean blood pressure in the control phase (r = 0.69, 0.05 less than p less than 0.1), and significantly correlated in the sodium depleted phase (r = 0.86, p less than 0.01). The present results suggest that AVP may play an important role in the maintenance of blood pressure during orthostasis in the sodium depleted state.     

Ischemic flow threshold for striatal dopamine release in rats

To determine the level of cerebral blood flow reduction which causes striatal dopamine release, extracellular dopamine and cerebral blood flow was simultaneously determined using in vivo brain dialysis and a hydrogen clearance method, respectively, in the striatum of spontaneously hypertensive rats, before and during experimental cerebral ischemia. The ischemic flow threshold for neurotransmitter dopamine release was found to be 20% of the resting value or 8–10 ml/100g/min of cerebral blood flow, being similar to those for energy and membrane failures.     

Identification of two novel amyloid A protein subsets coexisting in an individual patient of AA-amyloidosis

Amyloid A protein (AA), the major fibril protein in AA-amyloidosis, is an N-terminal cleavage product of the precursor protein, serum amyloid A (SAA). Using mass spectrometry and amino-acid sequencing, we identified and characterized two novel AA protein subsets co-deposited as amyloid fibrils in an patient having AA-amyloidosis associated with rheumatoid arthritis. One of the AA proteins corresponded to positions 2–76 (or 75) of SAA2α and the other corresponded to positions 2–76 (or 75) of known SAA1 subsets, except for position 52 or 57, where SAA1α has valine and alanine and SAA1β has alanine and valine in position 52 and 57, respectively, whereas the AA protein had alanine at the both positions. Our findings (1), demonstrate that not only one but two SAA subsets could be deposited together as an AA-amyloid in a single individual and (2), support the existence of a novel SAA1 allotype, i.e., SAA1^52,57Ala.     

Synthesis of 2-deoxy-4-O-phosphono-3-O-tetradecanoyl-2-[(3R)- and (3S)-3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanamido]-D-glucose: a diastereoisomeric pair of 4-O-phosphono-D-glucosamine derivatives (GLA-27) related to bacterial lipid A

The diastereoisomeric, 4-O-phosphono-D-glucosamine derivatives named in the title have been synthesized, starting from benzyl 2-amino-2-deoxy-4,6-O-isopropylidene-beta-D-glucopyranoside and (3RS)-3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid.     

Circadian rhythms of urinary excretions of water and electrolytes in patients receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN)

In order to determine whether the usual feeding pattern actually modifies the circadian rhythms of urinary excretion of water and electrolytes, we compared the circadian rhythm characteristics in patients receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN group) with those in patients on an ordinary hospital diet (control group). Statistically significant circadian rhythms were detected in all of the urinary variables investigated herein by using the population mean-cosinor method in both groups. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences of the mesor, the %-amplitude and the acrophase between the two groups. These results suggest that the usual feeding pattern is not a main determinant in forming the circadian rhythm characteristics of human urinary variables.     

Radiation-induced peroxidation of lipid dissolved in organic solvent and its inhibition by alpha-tocopherol and cepharanthine

Effects of cepharanthine and alpha-tocopherol on radiation-induced peroxidation of lipids dissolved in methanol(MeOH)-chloroform (CHCl3)-H2O(v/v, 2/1/0.8) were examined. alpha-Tocopherol strongly inhibited radiation-induced peroxidation of lipids dissolved in MeOH-CHCl3-H2O. However, cepharanthine exhibited a weak inhibitory action in this system. The change in the absorption spectrum of alpha-tocopherol and cepharanthine by X-irradiation was measured. The reagents were dissolved in 95% EtOH acidified with 20 mM HCl and in MeOH-CHCl3-H2O. alpha-Tocopherol exhibited the change in its absorption spectrum in both systems, and seemed to be oxidized at a high rate by free radicals. However, cepharanthine slightly exhibited the change in its spectrum in MeOH-CHCl3-H2O, but not in acidified EtOH.     

Examination of the method for measuring soil respiration in cultivated land: Effect of carbon dioxide concentration on soil respiration

An acceleration of soil respiration with decreasing CO₂ concentration was suggested in the field measurements. The result supporrs that obtained in laboratory experiments in our previous study. The CO₂ concentrations in a chamber of the alkali absorption method (the AA-method) were about 150–250 parts/10⁶ lower than that in the atmosphere (about 350 parts/10⁶), while those observed in the open-flow IRGA method (the OF-method) were nearly equal to the soil surface CO₂ levels. The AA-method at such low CO₂ levels in the chamber appears to overestimate the soil respiration. Our results showed that the rates obtained by the AA-method were about twice as large as those by the OF-method in field and laboratory measurements. This finding has important consequences with respect to the validity of the existing data obtained by the AA-method and the estimation of changes in the terrestrial carbon flow with elevated CO₂     

Tuberculous thyroiditis and miliary tuberculosis manifested postpartum in a patient with thyroid carcinoma

Right nodular goiter with diffuse miliary shadow on chest roentgenogram was found in a postpartum febrile woman. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed tuberculous granuloma and acid-fast bacilli were found by aspiration cytology of the thyroid. Although chemotherapy was effective, the thyroid nodule remained palpable and the serum thyroglobulin level remained high. Subtotal thyroidectomy revealed papillary carcinoma associated with tuberculosis and lymph nodes metastasis. This seems to be the first case report of a patient with tuberculous thyroiditis, coexisting with thyroid carcinoma, diagnosed by aspiration cytology and treated prior to surgery.     

Productivity and mineral cycling in an oak coppice forest 2. Annual net production of the forest

Annual net production was estimated in the secondary coppice forest near Tokyo, which was dominated by a deciduous oak,Quercus serrata Thunb. Lateral growth of stems and old branches was directly estimated by examining the annual rings for 35 shoots in a clear-cut quadrat of 10m×10m. Phytomasses of current organs were also weighed in the quadrat. Preharvest losses of current organs were determined by twelve 0.5 m² litter traps for fine litter and twelve 6 m² quadrats for woody litter. Branch production was also assessed indirectly by use of the stem-branch allometry and death of branches. The results of the indirect method were in sufficient agreement with the result of the direct one. Grazing loss of leaves from the canopy was estimated directly from the loss in leaf area and indirectly from the animal faeces caught by the litter traps. Net production of the canopy trees was 149 kg a⁻¹ year⁻¹, in which leaf production was 36.9 kg. Animals grazed about 14% of the leaf area by the end of the growing season. True consumption of leaves by animals was 7.6% of leaf production or 10% of leaf mass. Production of undergrowth, mainly a dwarf bamboo,Pleioblastus chino Makino, was 28 kg a⁻¹ year⁻¹, being 15% of the total stand production. Productivity of this forest was significantly higher than that of cool-temperate deciduous broadleaf forests.