米粉マフィンの性状に及ぼすトレハロースの影響

The effects of trehalose was studied on the properties of rice flour muffins where 5 to 15% of trehalose (flour basis) was added and sugar was adjusted to give the same sweetness. The volume of muffins tended to increase as trehalose level increased. Trehalose lowerd water activity and improved storage property. Hardness of muffins increased during storage but T-10 muffin was softer than other rice flour muffins after 96hr of storage. Evaluating muffins by pair test, the taste of T-10 was significantly prefered to that of T-0

マフィンの性状に及ぼす糖の影響

The effects of sugars were studied on the properties of muffins where 5 to 15% of sugar was replaced with trehalose to give the same sweetness. The volume of muffins tended to increase as trehalose level increased. Water activity in the crumb decreased during 96 hr of muffin storage. Trehalose lowered water activity and improved storage property. Hardness of muffins increased during storage but T-33 muffin was softer than T-0 after 96 hr of storage at 5℃. Enthalpy for melting amylopectin crystallites in the crumb of T-33 was significantly less than T-0. So it is supposed to be one of the reasons why T-33 muffin was softer after sotrage. Evaluating muffins by sensory test, it was possible to add trehalose up to 33% (flour basis)

Nutritional Management in a 101-Year-Old Woman with Physical Inactivity and General Weakness: A Case Report

Japan has the world’s highest life longevity, and centenarian patients are no longer rare. However, sufficient information related to centenarians is not available. Herein, we report the case of a 101-year-old centenarian woman who recovered from extreme inactivity and general weakness, mainly through nutritional management at home, to understand instances of nutritional management in centenarians. The patient developed lethargy, with a rapid decline in activity levels and food intake. She was diagnosed with senility by a primary doctor. We concluded that she had no problems with feeding and swallowing and predicted that her motivation to eat had decreased. We planned an intervention that lasted three months. To reduce the risk of aspiration, we paid attention to her posture while eating. To stimulate her appetite, we increased the variety and color of food items. To consider both the texture of food and safety, we changed the form of foods from paste (IDDSI Level 4)-like to solid food of regular size as much as possible. We recommended that the patient consume her favorite sweet between meals to enjoy eating. Two and half months after the initial intervention, the patient’s inactivity and general weakness improved dramatically, which was recognized by her willingness to eat, laugh loudly, and hum, although she could not speak clearly. The patient finally was able to have dinner with her family

Nutritional Management in a 101-Year-Old Woman with Physical Inactivity and General Weakness: A Case Report

Japan has the world’s highest life longevity, and centenarian patients are no longer rare. However, sufficient information related to centenarians is not available. Herein, we report the case of a 101-year-old centenarian woman who recovered from extreme inactivity and general weakness, mainly through nutritional management at home, to understand instances of nutritional management in centenarians. The patient developed lethargy, with a rapid decline in activity levels and food intake. She was diagnosed with senility by a primary doctor. We concluded that she had no problems with feeding and swallowing and predicted that her motivation to eat had decreased. We planned an intervention that lasted three months. To reduce the risk of aspiration, we paid attention to her posture while eating. To stimulate her appetite, we increased the variety and color of food items. To consider both the texture of food and safety, we changed the form of foods from paste (IDDSI Level 4)-like to solid food of regular size as much as possible. We recommended that the patient consume her favorite sweet between meals to enjoy eating. Two and half months after the initial intervention, the patient’s inactivity and general weakness improved dramatically, which was recognized by her willingness to eat, laugh loudly, and hum, although she could not speak clearly. The patient finally was able to have dinner with her family

Investigation of morphological changes for the discrimination of nucleated red blood cells and other leukocytes in Sysmex XN hematology analyzer scattergrams using transmission electron microscopy

Background: The WNR channel of the XN-Series automated hematology analyzer (Sysmex) counts white blood cells (WBCs) and simultaneously performs a differential counting of basophils and nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs). The detection process involves exposing the cells to WNR-specific reagents containing an acidic detergent and a fluorescent dye and measuring the intensity of the forward scattered light (FSC) and side fluorescence light (SFL). Method: We treated isolated peripheral WBCs and NRBCs with specific reagents and assessed the morphological changes in NRBCs and each leukocyte type using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: The results from a flow cytometer (FCM) showed that, after exposure to the reagents, basophils appeared on the highest FSC and SFL areas compared to other leukocytes on the WNR scattergram. Owing to the hemolysis of reticulocytes and erythrocytes, NRBCs that survived the reagent treatment could be distinguished by their lower intensity than those of the other leukocytes on the WNR scattergram. We investigated the significance of the relationship between the TEM and FCM results after the reagent treatment. Conclusion: We confirmed that the WNR channel differentiates the blood cells on the WNR scattergram based on differences in the amount of residual cytoplasm and nucleic acids. Keywords: Automated hematology analyzer, Flow cytometry, Transmission electron microscopy, Leukocytes, NRBCs, Scatter light intensity, Fluorescent intensit

Effect of thalidomide on endotoxin-induced decreases in activity and expression of hepatic cytochrome P450 3A2

金沢大学附属病院薬剤部Thalidomide has been reported to inhibit the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) that are involved in the down-regulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) induced by endotoxin. In the present study, we investigated the effects of thalidomide on endotoxin-induced decreases in the activity and expression of hepatic CYP3A2 in rats. Thalidomide (50 mg/kg) was administered orally 22 h and 2 h before intraperitoneal injection of endotoxin (1 mg/kg). Twenty-four hours after the injection of endotoxin, antipyrine clearance experiments were conducted, in which the rats were sacrificed and protein levels of hepatic CYP3A2 were measured. There were no significant differences in the histopathological changes in the liver between the endotoxin-treated and endotoxin plus thalidomide-treated rats. Thalidomide had no effect on the systemic clearance of antipyrine, which is a proper indicator for hepatic CYP3A2 activity, whereas it enhanced endotoxin-induced decrease in the systemic clearance of antipyrine. Western blot analysis revealed that thalidomide had no effect on the protein levels of hepatic CYP3A2, whereas it enhanced the down-regulation of hepatic CYP3A2 by endotoxin. However, there were no significant differences in the concentrations of TNF-α and NO in plasma between the endotoxin-treated and endotoxin plus thalidomide-treated rats. The present findings suggest that thalidomide enhances endotoxin-induced decreases in the activity and expression of hepatic CYP3A2. © 2008 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan