Versatile Psychophysiological Potencies of Essential Oils, when Seen as a Function of Behavioral Task Assigned to the Participants after Inhalation

To elucidate the psychophysiological effect of inhaling essential oils, in this paper, we sought to assess the following 12 essential oils: basil, bergamot, cardamom, cinnamon, juniper, lemon, orange, palmarosa, peppermint, sandalwood, spearmint, and ylang ylang. As these being target odors, we focused on the verbal (semantic) and non-verbal (skin temperature) endpoints of the stimuli. In our experimental design, we managed to assign different behavioral tasks to the participants. The Uchida-Kraepelin test was used as a mental arithmetic task and listening to environmental (natural) sounds as an auditory task. In the verbal study, for an example, we conducted the sensory test twice, once before and once after the task. As a measure of the perceived odor quality in participants after inhalation of a given aroma, we employed a sensory evaluation spectrum. It is a bar graph in which the mean of the difference in score between pre- and post-task inquiry (post minus pre) was plotted against the impression descriptors. Taking into account of the obtained skin temperature changes between pre- and post-task inhalations, the subtle nuances between verbal and non-verbal expressions seen as a function of the two behavioral tasks assigned to the participant suggested that essential oils may have versatile psychophysiological potencies by the nature

Relationship between Aortic Compliance and Impact of Cerebral Blood Flow Fluctuation to Dynamic Orthostatic Challenge in Endurance Athletes

Aorta effectively buffers cardiac pulsatile fluctuation generated from the left ventricular (LV) which could be a mechanical force to high blood flow and low-resistance end-organs such as the brain. A dynamic orthostatic challenge may evoke substantial cardiac pulsatile fluctuation via the transient increases in venous return and stroke volume (SV). Particularly, this response may be greater in endurance-trained athletes (ET) who exhibit LV eccentric remodeling. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of aortic compliance to the response of cerebral blood flow fluctuation to dynamic orthostatic challenge in ET and age-matched sedentary (SED) young healthy men. ET (n = 10) and SED (n = 10) underwent lower body negative pressure (LBNP) (−30 mmHg for 4 min) stimulation and release the pressure that initiates a rapid regain of limited venous return and consequent increase in SV. The recovery responses of central and middle cerebral arterial (MCA) hemodynamics from the release of LBNP (~15 s) were evaluated. SV (via Modeflow method) and pulsatile and systolic MCA (via transcranial Doppler) normalized by mean MCA velocity (MCAv) significantly increased after the cessation of LBNP in both groups. ET exhibited the higher ratio of SV to aortic pulse pressure (SV/AoPP), an index of aortic compliance, at the baseline compared with SED (P < 0.01). Following the LBNP release, SV was significantly increased in SED by 14 ± 7% (mean ± SD) and more in ET by 30 ± 15%; nevertheless, normalized pulsatile, systolic, and diastolic MCAv remained constant in both groups. These results might be attributed to the concomitant with the increase in aortic compliance assessed by SV/AoPP. Importantly, the increase in SV/AoPP following the LBNP release was greater in ET than in SED (P < 0.01), and significantly correlated with the baseline SV/AoPP (r = 0.636, P < 0.01). These results suggest that the aortic compliance in the endurance athletes is able to accommodate the additional SV and buffer the potential increase in pulsatility at end-organs such as the brain

Impact of Short-Term Training Camp on Aortic Blood Pressure in Collegiate Endurance Runners

To investigate the influence of short-term vigorous endurance training on aortic blood pressure (BP), pulse wave analysis was performed in 36 highly trained elite collegiate endurance runners before and after a 7-day intense training camp. Subjects participated three training sessions per day, which mainly consisted of long distance running and sprint training to reach the daily target distance of 26 km. After the camp, they were divided into two groups based on whether the target training was achieved. Aortic systolic BP, pulse pressure, and tension-time index (TTI, a surrogate index of the myocardial oxygen demand) were significantly elevated after the camp in the accomplished group but not in the unaccomplished group, whereas the brachial BP remained unchanged in both groups. The average daily training distance was significantly correlated with the changes in aortic systolic BP (r = 0.608, p = 0.0002), pulse pressure (r = 0.415, p = 0.016), and TTI (r = 0.438, p = 0.011). These results suggest that aortic BP is affected by a short-term vigorous training camp even in highly trained elite endurance athletes presumably due to a greater training volume compared to usual

Evaluation of the Pichia pastoris expression system for the production of GPCRs for structural analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Various protein expression systems, such as <it>Escherichia coli </it>(<it>E. coli</it>), <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>(<it>S. cerevisiae</it>), <it>Pichia pastoris </it>(<it>P. pastoris</it>), insect cells and mammalian cell lines, have been developed for the synthesis of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for structural studies. Recently, the crystal structures of four recombinant human GPCRs, namely β₂adrenergic receptor, adenosine A_2areceptor, CXCR4 and dopamine D3 receptor, were successfully determined using an insect cell expression system. GPCRs expressed in insect cells are believed to undergo mammalian-like posttranscriptional modifications and have similar functional properties than in mammals. Crystal structures of GPCRs have not yet been solved using yeast expression systems. In the present study, <it>P. pastoris </it>and insect cell expression systems for the human muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M2 subtype (CHRM2) were developed and the quantity and quality of CHRM2 synthesized by both expression systems were compared for the application in structural studies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ideal conditions for the expression of CHRM2 in <it>P. pastoris </it>were 60 hr at 20°C in a buffer of pH 7.0. The specific activity of the expressed CHRM2 was 28.9 pmol/mg of membrane protein as determined by binding assays using [³H]-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB). Although the specific activity of the protein produced by <it>P. pastoris </it>was lower than that of Sf9 insect cells, CHRM2 yield in <it>P. pastoris </it>was 2-fold higher than in Sf9 insect cells because <it>P. pastoris </it>was cultured at high cell density. The dissociation constant (Kd) for QNB in <it>P. pastoris </it>was 101.14 ± 15.07 pM, which was similar to that in Sf9 insect cells (86.23 ± 8.57 pM). There were no differences in the binding affinity of CHRM2 for QNB between <it>P. pastoris </it>and Sf9 insect cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Compared to insect cells, <it>P. pastoris </it>is easier to handle, can be grown at lower cost, and can be expressed quicker at a large scale. Yeast, <it>P. pastoris</it>, and insect cells are all effective expression systems for GPCRs. The results of the present study strongly suggested that protein expression in <it>P. pastoris </it>can be applied to the structural and biochemical studies of GPCRs.</p

Effects of Mild Orthostatic Stimulation on Cerebral Pulsatile Hemodynamics

The augmented cerebral hemodynamic pulsatility could lead to the elevated risk of cerebrovascular disease. To determine the impact of an acute orthostatic challenge on a pulsatile component of cerebral hemodynamics, mild lower body negative pressure (LBNP, -30 mmHg) was applied to 29 men. Middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCAv) was measured by transcranial Doppler technique. Stroke volume (SV) was estimated by the Modelflow method with adjustment by the Doppler ultrasound-measured SV at rest. SV, peak and pulsatile MCAv, and pulsatility index were significantly lower during the LBNP stimulation than those at the baseline (e.g., supine resting) (P &lt; 0.05 for all), whereas mean arterial pressure and mean MCAv remained unchanged. The change in SV with the LBNP stimulation significantly correlated with corresponding changes in peak and pulsatile MCAv (r = 0.617, P &lt; 0.001; r = 0.413, P = 0.026, respectively). These results suggest that pulsatile components of cerebrovascular hemodynamics are dampened during the transient period of orthostatic challenge (as simulated using LBNP) when compared to supine rest, and which is partly due to the modified SV

Automatic characterization and segmentation of human skin using three-dimensional optical coherence tomography

A set of fully automated algorithms that is specialized for analyzing a three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (OCT) volume of human skin is reported. The algorithm set first determines the skin surface of the OCT volume, and a depth-oriented algorithm provides the mean epidermal thickness, distribution map of the epidermis, and a segmented volume of the epidermis. Subsequently, an en face shadowgram is produced by an algorithm to visualize the infundibula in the skin with high contrast. The population and occupation ratio of the infundibula are provided by a histogram-based thresholding algorithm and a distance mapping algorithm. En face OCT slices at constant depths from the sample surface are extracted, and the histogram-based thresholding algorithm is again applied to these slices, yielding a three-dimensional segmented volume of the infundibula. The dermal attenuation coefficient is also calculated from the OCT volume in order to evaluate the skin texture. The algorithm set examines swept-source OCT volumes of the skins of several volunteers, and the results show the high stability, portability and reproducibility of the algorithm.This paper was published in Optics Express and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-14-5-1862. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law

地域づくりにおける地域リーダー養成のあり方をめぐって : タイNGOの若者スタッフの事例から

近年の「地域づくり」「まちづくり」においては住民参加型の重要性が指摘され、住民主導による「地域づくり」「まちづくり」が求められている時代になっているといえるが、その担い手の養成、とくに活動の中心となる地域リーダーの養成のあり方についてはこれからの課題といえるであろう。本稿では、地域づくりにおける人づくりの必要性と地域づくりの担い手としての役割、および身につけるべき能力について検討するとともに、タイのNGOのスタッフである若者の事例から地域リーダー養成のあり方についての考察を行った