Approach to novel functional foods for stress control : 2. Microarray assessment of exercise in healthy volunteers

DNA microarray was used to measure stress response by exercise inperipheral blood leukocytes. Aerobic exercise did not alter mRNA pattern or urinary secretion of 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Strenuous exercise increased urinary secretion of 8-OHdG and altered mRNA pattern in microarray. These results suggest that moderate exercise, i. e. aerobic exercise, did not show any change in 8-OHdG, an oxidative stress marker, or mRNA expression in the leukocytes, which might reflect whole body neurohormanal changes. In addition, strenuous exercise produced quite different expression pattern from those of psychological stress

Spall fracture of metallic circular plates, vessel endplates and conical frustums driven by direct explosive loads

Dynamic fracture experiments are conducted for circular plates, vessel endplates andconical frustums of A2017-7075 aluminum alloys and 304 stainless steel, using a testing apparatus developed applying wire-row explosion technique to initiation, where tensile stress waves are generated producing spall in the specimens by the direct incidence of plane detonation waves of the explosive PETN. A VISAR system is adopted to observe the free-surface velocity histories of the specimens. The signals for basic circular plate specimens indicate the characteristics of the failure for tested materials, effects of explosive thickness variations and the configuration of specimens. Hydro codes are satisfactorily applied to simulate the experimental signal data and observed damage phenomena of recovered specimens. Next, an explosive-filled cylindrical vessel with an endplate at the one end is initiated at the other end surface and expanded by axially propagating explosive detonation to fracture. Both the VISAR signals and numerical simulation indicate a pullback signal of spallation atthe endplate. Finally conic frustums are also loaded by plane detonation, showing different type of spall failure due to the additional reflected waves from the slopping side surfaces

Evaluation Method of Emulsion Using Chemical Oxygen Demand

The “gas–liquid two-phases mixed flow” mechanism that fine bubble generation uses rapidly swirling water, which shear gas and making small bubbles in water. Based on this mechanism, sending liquid such as oil into the swirling water instead of gas and it able to be emulsified. At present, evaluation methods for emulsions are using particle size distribution and dispersion stability. However, the emulsion with bad separation behavior has a problem to catch only some dispersed oil particles and use them as a whole evaluation. In this study we examined emulsion evaluated by chemical oxygen demand (COD) to express numerical evaluation including the oil particles that cannot be dispersed. Using three emulsions of only one oil, an anionic and a nonionic emulsifier were mixed and added to the oil, an anionic and another kind of the nonionic emulsifier were mixed and added to the oil. It was confirmed that COD decreased and type of only one oil was the most evaporate. These results lead to the conclusion that the performance of the emulsion could be expressed numerically, including the oil particles which could not be dispersed. We also directly analyzed evaporate components and compared them with COD results

Analgesic effects of indomethacin spray on drug-induced oral mucositis pain in patients with cancer: A single-arm cross-sectional study

Aims: Symptomatic treatment is insufficient for chemotherapy- or targeted therapy-induced oral mucositis (OM) pain, and benzydamine mouthwash is not commercially available in Japan. We evaluated the analgesic effects of an in-hospital preparation of 0.25% indomethacin spray (IMS) on anticancer drug-induced OM pain. Methods: This single-arm prospective trial enrolled 20 patients (median age 62.0 years) with OM and numerical rating scale scores of >= 5 who were undergoing chemotherapy or targeted therapy in our hospital. Pain scores were recorded using a visual analog scale (VAS) before and 30 min after IMS administration. Pain relief (PR) scores were recorded at 15, 30, and 60 min after IMS administration; total PR after 60 min (TOTPAR(60)) was calculated, and the mean PR score after 3 days (PR3days) was determined. Results: The median (interquartile range) OM grade of the participants was 2.0 (2.0-2.3). The VAS score decreased significantly at 30 min after IMS administration (p = .001). The median (interquartile range) TOTPAR(60) and PR3days were 6.0 (3.8-7.3) and 2.0 (2.0-3.0), respectively. Conclusions: IMS helped improve patients' quality of life. The risk of systemic adverse effects was low because of the low dose administered. IMS effectively relieved anticancer drug-induced OM pain and may be useful for immediate self-medication

A case of anastomotic stenosis of the small intestine caused by cholesterol crystal embolism

Abstract Background Cholesterol crystal embolism (CCE) is caused by small crystals of cholesterol dispersed from atherosclerotic plaques of the aorta. There is an increasing interest in CCE because of the increased use of endovascular treatments. Here, we report a rare case of intestinal stenosis caused by CCE after functional end-to-end anastomosis (FEEA). To our knowledge, this is the first report of CCE causing such an anastomotic stenosis. Case presentation A 77-year-old male patient underwent laparoscopy-assisted low anterior resection and protective ileostomy for rectal carcinoid tumor. He was admitted to our hospital with ileus 1 year after stoma closure. Eosinophils and creatine kinase level were slightly elevated. Computed tomography revealed a stricture with thickened intestinal wall just distal to the anastomosis site of the ileostomy. The wall of the descending aorta appeared shaggy due to thrombosis. The patient underwent laparoscopic small-bowel resection because ileus reoccurred after any oral intake. Histopathological findings of the resected specimen showed fibrotic changes distal to the anastomosis site, and needle-shaped cholesterol embolus was observed in the submucosal layer. Thus, the stenosis was considered to be caused by CCE. Conclusion This appears to be the first published report of stenosis due to CCE at such an anastomotic site. Intestinal CCE is difficult to diagnose preoperatively and is associated with poor prognosis. If eosinophilia is present or shaggy aorta is observed, CCE should be suspected to make correct diagnosis and prevent recurrence of CCE