Caffeic acid inhibits the formation of 1-hydroxyethyl radical in the reaction mixture of rat liver microsomes with ethanol partly through its metal chelating activity

Effect of caffeic acid on the formation of 1-hydroxyethyl radicals via the microsomal ethanol-oxidizing system pathway was examined. The electron spin resonance spin trapping showed that 1-hydroxyethyl radicals form in the control reaction mixture which contained 0.17 M ethanol, 1 mg protein/ml rat river microsomes, 0.1 M α-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone, 5 mM nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and 30 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). When the electron spin resonance spectra of the control reaction mixtures with caffeic acid were measured, caffeic acid inhibited the formation of 1-hydroxyethyl radicals in a concentration dependent manner. Gallic acid, dopamine, l-dopa, chlorogenic acid and catechin also inhibited the formation of 1-hydroxyethyl radicals. Above results indicated that the catechol moiety is essential to the inhibitory effect. Caffeic acid seems to chelate of iron ion at the catechol moiety. Indeed, the inhibitory effect by caffeic acid was greatly diminished in the presence of desferrioxamine, a potent iron chelator which removes iron ion in the Fe (III)-caffeic acid complex. Since Fe (III)-desferrioxamine complex is active for the 1-hydroxyethyl radicals formation, caffeic acid inhibits the formation of 1-hydroxyethyl radicals in the reaction mixture partly through its metal chelating activity

Impact of eggplant consumption on urine cotinine examination results

Background and Objective: A urinary cotinine test is performed to assess the smoking status. Cotinine is a nicotinic metabolite. However, foodstuffs from the plant family Solanaceae, such as eggplant, contain trace amounts of nicotine, which may have affected the cotinine test results. This study investigated the impact of eggplant consumption on urine cotinine concentration tests. Methods: Six young women who were healthy and non-smokers consumed meals devoid of Solanaceous ingredients for three days before consuming 300 grams of eggplant. After eating eggplants, the participants did not consume Solanaceous food throughout the study. During the study, participants’ urine cotinine concentrations were sampled periodically using a urine nicotine and cotinine test kit. Results: Four participants’ urine tested positive for cotinine, whereas that of two participants tested negative. The time when a positive result was recorded after consuming eggplants varied among the individuals. Participants’ urine cotinine concentrations differed as well. Conclusions: Urine cotinine concentrations may increase after consuming Solanaceous foods, even in non-smokers. When assessing the smoking status, the influence of Solanaceous foods should be considered when measuring urine cotinine levels

The Effectiveness of Training Programs on the Fidelity of Neuropsychological Tests

Background: There will probably be an exponential increase in the number of seniors suffering from dementia, as aging is the greatest risk factor for this disease. Therefore, neuropsychological tests to assessing dementia are likely to play an increasingly important role for medical services in Japan. This study developed and evaluated the usefulness of a training program on neuropsychological tests aimed at promoting the understanding of testers with regard to the cognitive functions and communication required in the neuropsychological testing process. Methods: The subjects of this study comprised 20 individuals engaged in administrating neuropsychological tests at the Japan-Multidomain Intervention Trial for Prevention of Dementia in Older Adults with Diabetes. A four-hour training session was held. The first part of the training program focused on “cognitive functions and communication;” the second addressed “neuropsychological tests.” As the main evaluation criteria, a fidelity checklist was created with 14 items designed to measure success or failure with regard to important and easily mistakable aspects of implementing each neuropsychological test. They were conducted three times: before, immediately after, and six months after the training. Results: The main effect of time was significant for the “fidelity” score. The effect size was large at η2 = 0.69. A simple main effect test using the Bonferroni method revealed significant differences between the pre-training and post-training values and between the pre-training and six-month point values. However, no significant differences were found in self-efficacy scores before, immediately after, and six months after the training. Conclusion: This outcome indicates that the fidelity of the subjects to neuropsychological tests increased as a result of the training program, and that this improvement was maintained through the six-month period following the program. Moreover, the large effect size suggests that the training program may be effective in facilitating the mastery of neuropsychological tests in testers

CT Assessment of Subtypes of Pulmonary Emphysema in Females

We performed a retrospective study examining the prevalence and subtypes of pulmonary emphysema (PE) identified by computed tomography (CT) in females. We reviewed the records of 1,687 female subjects who had undergone CT. They were divided into the following 2 age groups:group A (＜50 years) and group B (>_50 years). PE was diagnosed by the presence of low-attenuation areas using visual assessment (grades 0-3) on CT images. Two subtypes of PE were observed:centrilobular emphysema (CLE) and paraseptal emphysema (PSE). PE was divided into the following 3 categories:I (CLE or CLE-predominant);II (CLE and PSE of equal extent);and III (PSE or PSE-predominant). PE was found in 64 of 274 smokers (23.3%) and 54 of 1,413 non-smokers (3.8%). In smoking subjects, when grades 1 and 2 were grouped together as mild PE, the mean age for CT grade 3 (severe PE) was significantly higher than that for mild PE. In group A, category III predominated, whereas category I was more prevalent in group B, in both smoking and non-smoking subjects. A high incidence of PE was found in smoking subjects as compared with non-smoking subjects. PSE predominated in younger subjects, whereas CLE predominated in older subjects

Heat Capacity of Pd-Si, Ni-Si-B and Zr-Based Metallic Glasses

The specific heat of metallic glasses containing Si and B (Ni_Si_B_ and Pd_Si_) and Zr-based metallic glasses(Zr_Al_Cu_Ni_Co_, Zr_Al_Cu_ and Zr_Cu_) was measured in the temperature range 77-800 K using an a.c. calorimeter. Several exothermic and endothermic processes were observed correspondingly to the transformation sequences for complete crystallization of all the glasses. The structural relaxation process appears with a decrease in heat capacity. For Ni-Si-B and Pd-Si glasses an abrupt increase in the specific heat is observed at the glass transition temperature T_g. For Zr-based glasses, however, a monotonous increase in the specific heat is observed just below T_g. Then the specific heat makes a peak and decrease abruptly with increasing temperature. The height of the peak increases with heating rate

Pharmacokinetics of Chiral Dendrimer-Triamine-Coordinated Gd-MRI Contrast Agents Evaluated by in Vivo MRI and Estimated by in Vitro QCM

Recently, we developed novel chiral dendrimer-triamine-coordinated Gd-MRI contrast agents (Gd-MRI CAs), which showed longitudinal relaxivity (r1) values about four times higher than that of clinically used Gd-DTPA (Magnevist®, Bayer). In our continuing study of pharmacokinetic differences derived from both the chirality and generation of Gd-MRI CAs, we found that the ability of chiral dendrimer Gd-MRI CAs to circulate within the body can be directly evaluated by in vitro MRI (7 T). In this study, the association constants (Ka) of chiral dendrimer Gd-MRI CAs to bovine serum albumin (BSA), measured and calculated with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) in vitro, were found to be an extremely easy means for evaluating the body-circulation ability of chiral dendrimer Gd-MRI CAs. The Ka values of S-isomeric dendrimer Gd-MRI CAs were generally greater than those of R-isomeric dendrimer Gd-MRI CAs, which is consistent with the results of our previous MRI study in vivo

看護技術における洗髪時の体位が対象の心身に及ぼす影響に関する文献検討

To shed light on previous research trends and future challenges regarding the effect of body position during hair washing on the mental and physical state of the subject, we conducted a literature review on “body position during hair washing” and “the effect on the mental and physical state of the subject of hair washing based on the body position during that process.” Using an online repository of major medical journals (Igaku Chuo Zasshi—WEB), we performed a search for “hair washing” and “body position or posture” without specifying a date range. When we excluded conference proceedings, meeting minutes, reviews, and commentaries and focused on papers describing the mental and physical effects on the subject of hair washing, we found 24 relevant papers. The results of our analysis revealed the following: 1) half of the research subjects were in a healthy group and half were in a disease group, with the most common conditions of those in the latter group being heart disease, threatened premature delivery/miscarriage, and anemia; 2) the body position used the most during hair washing was the supine position; 3) measurement variables were related to objective and subjective aspects, with the most common objective variables being pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, and the electromyogram, whereas the most common subjective variables were suffering, exhilaration,and fatigue; and 4) in patient subject groups, subjective factors, objective factors, and adjustments in the hair washing position according to the patientʼs illness or condition were used to investigate the physical and mental effects on the patient.Based on the trends in prior studies, it is hoped that in the future, there will be an increase in the amount of clinical data and further investigations toward generalization.洗髪の体位が対象者の心身に及ぼす影響について、これまでの研究結果と今後の課題を明らかにすることを目的とし、「洗髪の体位」と「その体位で洗髪をした際、洗髪を受ける対象者の心身に及ぼす影響」に関する文献検討を行った。医学中央雑誌WEB 版を用いて発行年の制限は行わず、「洗髪」、「体位or 姿勢」でキーワード検索を行い、会議録、議事録、総説、解説を除き、洗髪を受ける対象者の心身への影響を扱った文献に絞ったところ、24 件が該当した。結果、1）研究対象者は、健康群と疾患群、半数ずつであり、疾患群としては、心疾患、切迫流早産、貧血の割合が多かった、2）洗髪体位として、仰臥位を選択している研究が多かった、3）測定項目は客観的指標と主観的指標があり、客観的指標では脈拍、心拍数、血圧、筋電図が、主観的指標では苦痛、爽快感、疲労感の割合が多かった、4）研究内容では、疾患群において対象の疾患や状態に合わせた洗髪の体位や主観的・客観的指標から、患者の心身への影響を検討していた。今後、これら先行研究における検討結果を踏まえ、さらに、実際に洗髪援助が必要な者を対象として臨床などにおいてデータ数を増やし一般化に向け検討を行うことが必要であると考えられた。論