Complication and hysteresis of the self-sustaining motion of a molecular-machine assembly caused by the directionality of the applied light energy

Living organisms show self-sustained motion, make behavioural decisions in response to their environment, and replicate themselves in a genetic manner. Recently, nanometre-sized molecular machines have been assembled to realise macroscopic systems that exhibit self-sustaining dynamics. However, it is unclear how such systems can acquire the ability to make decisions in response to their environment. We have previously reported that the behaviour of a light-driven self-oscillating crystal becomes complicated when the driving light is polarised. Here, we reveal by incorporating a theoretical analysis that the apparent complexity is due to the orientation of the crystal relative to the incident light. An additional reason for this complexity is that the components remember the polarity of the preceding light input. Our results provide a new concept, i.e., collaboration between a motor molecule to achieve self-sustaining motion and a responsive machine for storing information to realise self-governed dynamics in a multimolecular architecture

Improvement of Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance or Diabetes by Long-Term Administration of a Palatinose-Based Liquid Formula as a Part of Breakfast

A palatinose-based liquid formula (palatinose-formula), suppresses postprandial plasma glucose and insulin levels in healthy men. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of long-term palatinose-formula ingestion on glucose metabolism in patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes. Two patients with IGT and 7 patients with type 2 diabetes participated in the palatinose-formula and dextrin-based liquid formula (dextrin-formula) loading test and long-term palatinose-formula administration study. After a 3-month control period, palatinose-formula (1046 kJ) was ingested daily by patients as a part of breakfast for 5 months. In the loading test, palatinose-formula suppressed postprandial plasma glucose and insulin levels and areas under the curve compared with those after dextrin-formula ingestion. In the long-term study, glycated hemoglobin levels (after 3 months and 5 months of treatment) and serum 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine levels (after 5 months of treatment) were markedly decreased comparing with those at baseline. Intake of 1046 kJ palatinose-formula as a part of breakfast over a long-term period may be effective for improvement of glucose metabolism in patients with IGT or type 2 diabetes

Antibiotic-dependent instability of homeostatic plasticity for growth and environmental load

Reducing antibiotic usage in livestock animals has become an urgent issue worldwide to prevent antimicrobial resistance. Here, abuse of chlortetracycline (CTC), a versatile antibacterial agent, on the performance, blood components, fecal microbiota, and organic acid concentration in calves was investigated. Japanese Black calves were fed milk replacer containing CTC at 10 g/kg (CON) or 0 g/kg (EXP). Growth performance was not affected by CTC administration. However, CTC administration altered the correlation between fecal organic acids and bacterial genera. Machine learning methods such as association analysis, linear discriminant analysis, and energy landscape analysis revealed that CTC administration affected according to certain rules the population of various types of fecal bacteria. It is particularly interesting that the population of several methane-producing bacteria was high in the CON, and that of Lachnospiraceae, a butyrate-producing bacteria, was high in the EXP at 60 d of age. Furthermore, statistical causal inference based on machine learning data estimated that CTC treatment affects the entire intestinal environment, inhibiting butyrate production for growth and biological defense, which may be attributed to methanogens in feces. Thus, these observations highlight the multiple harmful impacts of antibiotics on intestinal health and the potential production of greenhouse gas in the calves

高リン食投与がラットの腎臓カルシウム,マグネシウム量及び腎機能に及ぼす影響

We studied the alteration of kidney function with increased kidney contents of calcium and magnesium in rats fed a high-phosphorus diet. Five-week-old male SD rats were used. The rats were fed a diet with either a control (0.3%) or a high (1.5%) level of phosphorus for 21 days. Body weight gain and food intake were depressed, and kidney calcium and magnesium concentrations increased in rats fed a 1.5% phosphorus diet. The concentrations of magnesium and phosphorus in plasma decreased in rats fed a 1.5% phosphorus diet, but the concentration of calcium was not changed. As indicators of kidney function, plasma urea nitrogen concentration was higher and plasma uric acid concentration was lower than those of rats fed a control diet. TEARS in the kidney tissue of a high phosphorus diet rats was lower than that of rats fed a control diet. DHA was significantly low in fed a high phosphorus diet. These facts with high calcium and magnesium contents in kidney may have relation to reduction of kidney function

馬鈴薯澱粉から調製したリン酸化オリゴ糖のラットのカルシウム吸収に及ぼす影響

Previously, we observed the inhibitory effect of phosphorylated oligosaccharides (PO) from potato-starch on the formation of calcium phosphate precipitate. PO were composed of PO-1 fraction and PO-2 fraction. The former was maltooligosaccharide bound to one phosphate molecule, the latter was maltooligosaccharide bound to at least more than two phosphate molecules. PO-2 had the stronger inhibitory effect. In the present study, we investigated the effect of PO-2 feeding on calcium utilization in rats. Five-week-old rats were fed calcium diet (0.52% of calcium) containing 5% PO-2 for two weeks. Apparent calcium absorption ratio and apparent retention ratio during periods (day 3～6, day 10～14) were significantly lower in rats fed the PO-2 diet than in the control diet. Results of the test on breaking-force and calcium-content of the femurs were not different between two groups. Whole cecal weight was significantly elevated in rats fed the PO-2 diet and the amounts of short chain fatty acid in the cecum content were significantly increased. Cecal pH was not changed. We could not observed the relationship of the stronger inhibitory effect of phosphorylated oligosaccharide PO-2 to utilization of calcium