身体活動量評価の特徴と有用性

総説Review articles　本論文の目的は，身体活動量の評価方法に関する知見を整理し，各評価方法の特徴および有用性について検討することであった．身体活動量の評価方法は，高い妥当性・信頼性が検証されている二重標識水法をgold standard として，現在までにエネルギー消費量測定法や加速度計法などの方法の検証が行われてきた．エネルギー消費量測定法は，二重標識水法と同様に高い妥当性・信頼性が得られる代わりに，整った設備や長時間の拘束を要するため，疫学調査やフィールド調査としては不向きであった．加速度計法は，対象者の負担が少なく，長期の測定が可能であり，妥当性・信頼性のあるデータの測定が可能であるが，著明な身体疾患を有する対象者や四肢末端の細部の動きに関しては測定が困難な場合も懸念された．身体活動量の評価方法を選択する場合には，対象者の年齢層や身体的特徴，あるいは身体活動量の評価の目的を考慮する必要があると考えられた．　The purpose of this review article was to organize the knowledge on the evaluation methods of physical activity, and to examine the features and usefulness of each method. For the evaluation of physical activity, methods such as measurement of energy expenditure and use of the accelerometer have been verified to date, with the doubly labeled water method as the gold standard, which has been verified to have high validity and reliability. The measurement of energy expenditure is deemed unsuitable for epidemiological and field surveys because it requires well-equipped laboratories and long-term restraint in contrast to obtaining high validity and reliability measurements like the doubly labeled water method. The accelerometer method is less burdensome to the subject, enables long-term measurement, and allows measurement of data validity and reliability; however, there is concern that it may be difficult to measure the movement of the subject with remarkable physical disorder or the details of the extremities of the limbs. When choosing the evaluation method of physical activity, it seems necessary to consider the age group and physical characteristics of the subject, as well as the purpose of the evaluation

Isolation of Lactobacillaceae bacteria from feces of ostrich (Struthio camelus)

The ostrich (Struthio camelus) is an herbivorous bird with a long and developed hindgut. In the hindgut, there is a dense and highly diverse population of anaerobic bacteria, and active fermentation produces high concentrations of short-chain fatty acids. Bacteria in the hindgut of the ostrich are considered vital for both their nutritional contribution and health benefits, such as benefits to the immune and defense system of the host. We attempted to isolate Lactobacillaceae, which might be involved in improving immune function and in inhibiting pathogens. The number of colonies from ostrich feces observed on LBS agar medium was 3.64×103 per gram of feces. Three strains of Lactobacillaceae were isolated from the feces. Nearly the entire length of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene of these isolates was sequenced, and a homology search showed high identity with L. brevis (identity＝99.93%), L. coryniformis (98.39%), and L. paracasei (100.0%). These isolates may be deemed potential probiotics for the ostrich