Laxative effects of partially defatted flaxseed meal on normal and experimental constipated mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Constipation is a very common health problem in the world. Intake of sufficient amount of dietary fibers is a cornerstone in the prevention and treatment of constipation. As a traditional medicine, flaxseed has been used to treat constipation for centuries, but the controlled trials are rare. The purpose of the present study was to assess that whether partially defatted flaxseed meal (PDFM) has the potential role to facilitate fecal output in normal and experimental constipated mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After supplemented with 2.5%, 5% and 10% (w/w) PDFM (L-, M- and H -PDFM) for 14 days, the constipation models of mice were induced by atropine-diphenoxylate. The small intestinal transit rates, start time of defecation, amount of defecation and wet weight of feces were researched in normal and constipation model mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>M- and H-PDFM significantly increase small intestinal transit rates in constipation model mice. All dose of PDFM markedly shortened the start time of defecation and M- and H-PDFM significantly increase stool frequency and weight in both normal and constipation model mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PDFM may be a useful laxative to facilitate fecal output in normal and constipation conditions.</p

Measurement of differential cross sections for Σ⁺p elastic scattering in the momentum range 0.44–0.80 GeV/c

クォーク間の「芯」をとらえた --物質が安定して存在できる理由の理解に貢献--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-09-05.We performed a novel Σ⁺+p scattering experiment at the J-PARC Hadron Experimental Facility. Approximately 2400 Σ⁺+p elastic scattering events were identified from 4.9 × 10⁷ tagged Σ⁺+ particles in the Σ⁺+ momentum range 0.44-0.80 GeV/c. The differential cross sections of the Σ⁺+p elastic scattering were derived with much better precision than in previous experiments. The obtained differential cross sections were approximately 2 mb/sr or less, which were not as large as those predicted by the fss2 and FSS models based on the quark cluster model in the short-range region. By performing phase-shift analyses for the obtained differential cross sections, we experimentally derived the phase shifts of the ³S₁ and ¹P₁ channels for the first time. The phase shift of the ³S₁ channel, where a large repulsive core was predicted owing to the Pauli effect between quarks, was evaluated as 20° < |δ₃S₁| < 35°. If the sign of δ₃S₁ is assumed to be negative, the interaction in this channel is moderately repulsive, as the Nijmegen extended-sort-core models predicted

Selection of the appropriate method for the assessment of insulin resistance

Insulin resistance is one of the major aggravating factors for metabolic syndrome. There are many methods available for estimation of insulin resistance which range from complex techniques down to simple indices. For all methods of assessing insulin resistance it is essential that their validity and reliability is established before using them as investigations. The reference techniques of hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp and its alternative the frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test are the most reliable methods available for estimating insulin resistance. However, many simple methods, from which indices can be derived, have been assessed and validated e.g. homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI). Given the increasing number of simple indices of IR it may be difficult for clinicians and researchers to select the most appropriate index for their studies. This review therefore provides guidelines and advices which must be considered before proceeding with a study

Measures of frailty in population-based studies: An overview

Although research productivity in the field of frailty has risen exponentially in recent years, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the measurement of this syndrome. This overview offers three services: first, we provide a comprehensive catalogue of current frailty measures; second, we evaluate their reliability and validity; third, we report on their popularity of use

Smoking history and emphysema in asthma&ndash;COPD overlap

Kazuyoshi Kurashima,1 Yotaro Takaku,1 Chie Ohta,1 Noboru Takayanagi,1 Tsutomu Yanagisawa,1 Tetsu Kanauchi,2 Osamu Takahashi3 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, 2Department of Radiology, Saitama Cardiovascular and Respiratory Center, Kumagaya, 3Center for Clinical Epidemiology, St Luke&rsquo;s International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan Background: Emphysema is a distinct feature for classifying COPD, and smoking history (&ge;10 pack-years) is one of several newly proposed criteria for asthma&ndash;COPD overlap (ACO). We studied whether or not a smoking history (&ge;10 pack-years) and emphysema are useful markers for classifying ACO and differentiating it from asthma with chronic airflow obstruction (CAO). Methods: We retrospectively studied the mortalities and frequencies of exacerbation in 256&nbsp;consecutive patients with ACO (161 with emphysema and 95 without emphysema) who had &ge;10&nbsp;pack-years smoking history, 64 asthma patients with CAO but less of a smoking history (&lt;10 pack-years) and 537 consecutive patients with COPD (452 with emphysema and 85&nbsp;without emphysema) from 2000 to 2016. In the patients with emergent admission, the causes were classified into COPD exacerbation, asthma attack, and others. Results: No asthma patients with CAO had emphysema according to computed tomography findings. The prognoses were significantly better in patients with asthma and CAO than in those with ACO and COPD and better in those with ACO than in those with COPD. In both ACO and COPD patients, the prognoses were better in patients without emphysema than in those with it (P=0.027 and P=0.023, respectively). The frequencies of emergent admission were higher in COPD patients than in ACO patients, and higher in patients with emphysema than in patients without emphysema. ACO/emphysema (+) patients experienced more frequent admission due to COPD exacerbation (P&lt;0.001), while ACO/emphysema (-) patients experienced more frequent admission due to asthma attack (P=0.014). Conclusion: A smoking history (&ge;10 pack-years) was found to be a useful marker for differentiating ACO and asthma with CAO, and emphysema was a useful marker for classifying ACO. These markers are useful for predicting the overall survival and frequency of exacerbation. Keywords: asthma, COPD, emphysema, exacerbation, ACO, prognosi