Impact of Physical Stress on Salivary Buffering Capacity

Background: Saliva has many properties and the buffering capacity is important for the neutralization of oral fluids. It is unclear whether stressful conditions directly affect salivary buffering capacity, and we investigated the impact of physical stress on salivary buffering capacity. Methods: Twelve participants were subjected to the physical stress of jogging and running. The salivary buffering capacity and flow rate of the participants were measured before and after exposure to stressful conditions. Salivary α-amylase activity was measured as a quantitative index of stress. Results: No change in buffering capacity was detected among each time point during the whole course under physically stressful conditions. Next, we examined the change in buffering capacity after jogging compared to baseline. Six participants showed an increase in buffering capacity (Group A), while the other six participants showed a decrease or no change (Group B) after jogging. Group B showed a decrease in flow rate and increases in α-amylase activity and protein level after jogging, whereas Group A showed no changes in these properties. Conclusions: The results suggest that salivary buffering capacity changes following exposure to physically stressful conditions, and that the changes are dependent on the stress susceptibility of individuals

Substitution of Formal and Informal Home Care Service Use and Nursing Home Service Use: Health Outcomes, Decision-making Preferences, and Implications for a Public Health Policy

Objectives: The purposes of this study are: (1) to empirically identify decision-making preferences of long-term health-care use, especially informal and formal home care (FHC) service use; (2) to evaluate outcomes vs. costs based on substitutability of informal and FHC service use; and (3) to investigate health outcome disparity based on substitutability. Methodology and data: The methods of ordinary least squares, a logit model, and a bivariate probit model are used by controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, and physical/mental health factors to investigate outcomes and costs based substitutability of informal and formal health-care use. The data come from the 2013 Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), which is designed by Keizai-Sangyo Kenkyu-jo, Hitotsubashi University, and the University of Tokyo. The JSTAR is a globally comparable data survey of the elderly. Results: There exists a complement relationship between the informal home care (IHC) and community-based FHC services, and the elasticity\u27s ranges from 0.18 to 0.22. These are reasonable results, which show that unobservable factors are positively related to IHC and community-based FHC, but negatively related to nursing home (NH) services based on our bivariate probit model. Regarding health-care outcome efficiency issue, the IHC is the best one among three types of elderly care: IHC, community-based FHC, and NH services. Health improvement/outcome of elderly with the IHC is heavier concentrated on IHC services than the elderly care services by community-based FHC and NH care services. Conclusion: Policy makers need to address a diversity of health outcomes and efficiency of services based on providing services to elderly through resource allocation to the different types of long-term care. A provision of partial or full compensation for elderly care at home is recommendable and a viable option to improve their quality of lives

Test of the Conserved Vector Current Hypothesis by beta-ray Angular Distribution Measurement in the Mass-8 System

The beta-ray angular correlations for the spin alignments of 8Li and 8B have been observed in order to test the conserved vector current (CVC) hypothesis. The alignment correlation terms were combined with the known beta-alpha-angular correlation terms to determine all the matrix elements contributing to the correlation terms. The weak magnetism term, 7.5\pm0.2, deduced from the beta-ray correlation terms was consistent with the CVC prediction 7.3\pm0.2, deduced from the analog-gamma-decay measurement based on the CVC hypothesis. However, there was no consistent CVC prediction for the second-forbidden term associated with the weak vector current. The experimental value for the second-forbidden term was 1.0 \pm 0.3, while the CVC prediction was 0.1 \pm 0.4 or 2.1 \pm 0.5.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Anisotropic magnetic properties of CeAg2_2Ge2_2 single crystal

In order to investigate the anisotropic magnetic properties of CeAg$_2$Ge$_2$, we have successfully grown the single crystals, for the first time, by high temperature solution growth (flux) method. We have performed a detailed study of the grown single crystals by measuring their electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat and magnetoresistance. A clear anisotropy and an antiferromagnetic transition at $T_{\rm N}$ = 4.6 K have been observed in the magnetic properties. The magnetic entropy reaches $R$ ln 4 at 20 K indicating that the ground state and the first excited state are very closely spaced (a quasi-quartet state). From the specific heat measurements and crystalline electric field (CEF) analysis of the magnetic susceptibility, we have found the level splitting energies as 5 K and 130 K. The magnetization measurements reveal that the a-axis is the easy axis of magnetization and the saturation moment is $\mu_{\rm s}$ = 1.6 $\mu_{\rm B}$/Ce, corroborating the previous neutron diffraction measurements on a polycrystalline sample.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.