Enhancement or Suppression of ACE Inhibitory Activity by a Mixture of Tea and Foods for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) That Are Marketed as “Support for Normal Blood Pressure”

The ACE inhibitory activities of mixtures of FOSHUs (Healthya, Goma-Mugicha, Lapis Support and Ameal) were examined in order to identify any antihypertensive interactions. Among combinations of Healthya with other samples that contain active peptides, only that with Ameal was found to have no inhibitory activity. Enhanced activity was observed in 2 other mixtures. The activity of a mixture of tea polyphenols and the whey component extracted from an Ameal solution was significantly decreased, thus demonstrating that whey protein lowered the ACE inhibitory activity of Healthya. Although oral administration of tea polyphenols alone significantly decreased SBP in SHR at 2 and 4 hr, combined administration with Ameal failed to decrease SBP at the same time points. In conclusion, the simultaneous intake of tea and FOSHUs that contain active peptides might affect daily self-antihypertensive management via enhancement or suppression of ACE inhibitory activity

ベトナムベンチェ省におけるSVCA活動に参加して

The author participated in a volunteer program from August 2 to August 9,2015, sponsored by the Support of Vietnam Children Association (SVCA), a nongovernmental organization(NGO). The SVCA was established 25 years ago, when Akemi Bando launched support activities in cooperation with her friends in the wake of her visit to Vietnam, where she found children in Vietnam in a very miserable situation, with poor educational opportunities and lacking medical and welfare services. The SVCA\u27s activities, which were started in the Kansai region, have been continued to the present day and have spread nationwide. SVCA-registered members can be found in various parts of Japan. The purpose of this visit was to provide cooperation in staff training at the Disabled Children\u27s Development Support Center, which was just established at the request of the Ben Tre Province. The SVCA\u27s activities during this visit are presented in this paper to give a brief outline of the visit

Evidence for migration of metamorphosing larvae of Anguilla japonica in the Kuroshio

Two sampling surveys of the R/V Tansei Maru were conducted in the Kuroshio region south of Kyushu Island of Japan and to the south in the western North Pacific, to study the distribution patterns of the larval stages of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica as they approach their recruitment areas in East Asia. Nine fully-grown premetamorphic leptocephali (49.5-58.3mm TL) were collected during November 1996 to the east of Taiwan. During November and December 2000, nine early stage glass eels (51.3-57.0mm TL, pigmentation stage II-IV) that were still in the late metamorphosis stages were collected in the Kuroshio. These findings suggest that metamorphosing Japanese eel leptocephali that recruit to the northern part of their species range migrate in the Kuroshio. They may detrain from the Kuroshio at the pigmentation stage IV-VA and begin their coastal migration

マウスリンパ組織におけるレプチンレセプターの発現

The mammalian thymus involutes with age. Both the decrease of lymphocyte-accumulated region and the replacement by fat tissue begin at puberty and continue throughout life. In the mouse thymus, though no typical fat cells are found at birth, fat cells appeared at the latest 3 weeks old preceding to the atrophy of cortical and medullary regions. Physiological functions of fat cells proliferated and differentiated in the thymus after birth are unknown. As fat cells appeared in the 3-week-old mouse thymus have shown to express leptin mRNA, we examined whether leptin receptor type b (OBRL) is expressed or not in the thymus and, in comparison, in the secondary lymphoid tissues, spleen, mesenteric lymph node and Peyer' s patch. OBRL mRNA was detected in both thymus and all secondary lymphoid tissues examined by RTPCR method. Furthermore, OBRL mRNA was also detected in the isolated cells with mouse-lymphocyte separation medium from both thymus and spleen free cells washed out in saline from dissected tissues. It is suggested that fat cells differenciated as early as 3 weeks old in the thymus produce leptin and affect other thymus cells, lymphocytes probably, through OBRL. It remains to be clarified whether the leptin-OBRL interaction influences age involution in the thymus

ニュージーランドのプレイセンターを訪れて

A playcenter is a child-rearing support system for children between birth and preschool age and their parents. The parents of children who attend are voluntarily involved in playcenter operation to provide places where children can interact through play. This child-rearing support system originated in New Zealand, and playcenters are now established throughout Japan. In Hokkaido,the city of Eniwa operates playcenters incorporating the support system. The author became interested in this system after visiting the Eniwa Playcenter in 2012, and in April 2014 also had the chance to visit playcenters in New Zealand. The history and current status of playcenters in New Zealand are reported here

糖尿病患者の在宅ケア向上をめざしたTCDS育成の試み

The Tokushima City Medical Association has cultivated the talented persons of nursing care profession by both the education of diabetes and the instruction of medical treatments to secure the quality of home care for increasing diabetic patients. They are certified to be the Tokushima City Certified Diabetes Supporter（TCDS）. In Tokushima Prefecture, the rate of aging and the certification rate of care need are ranked high in Japan, and the medical measures should be provided for the aged diabetic patients utilizing team nursing care as well as team medical care, because many of these patients are obliged to receive home medical care owing to the introduction of community-based integrated care systems. Tokushima Prefecture kept the worst of age-adjusted diabetes mortality and also the worst of crude diabetes mortality in recent years. Therefore, the program for the TCDS was arranged by the staffs composed of board certified fellows of the Japan Diabetes Society, certified diabetes physicians of Tokushima, and Tokushima local certified diabetes educators （Tokushima LCDEs）. The program includes the lectures of diabetes and medical treatments, the practical training, and the group work by the World Café system collaborated with the medical staffs across many different fields, using the dramatic skit presented by the medical doctors and the LCDE staffs after narrating the scenario for the blood glucose control of diabetic patients to be treated. The persons who have completed the training course are certified as the TCDS by The Tokushima City Medical Association. The workshop is held twice a year and the certification is renewed every three years without examination. In conclusion, it is suggested that the development of TCDS leads to the improvement of the ability of nursing care staffs to support diabetic treatments and the advancement of the quality of home medical care for the aged diabetic patients

ラジオシティホウ ニオケル ゼロ3カクケイ オモチイタ メッシュブンカツ

This paper proposes an effective method for generating a mesh for the radiosity calculation. The proposed method introduces "the zero triangle" -an imaginary triangle with an area of zero-to circumvent the creation of the T-vertices. The method also restricts the element shape to the triangle. These greatly simplify the meshing process, which results in reducing the processing time. The quality of images rendered by the proposed method is comparable to the one by the adaptive meshing algorithm

言語障害を伴う脳性麻痺者の長期予後に関する研究 (2) : 言語機能と障害認識の面から

第一報(鈴木他2012)で、脳性麻痺者の長期予後について筆者(鈴木)の専門領域である言語障害に焦点をあてて明らかにした。併せて、彼ら自身の障害認識の過程や現況についても明らかにした。しかし、前回の面接調査では、対象が8名と限定されており、知的能力が高く、身体的な障害も比較的軽度・中度であること、また、家庭的にも恵まれている人達に傾いているため、対象者数を増加し、検討することとした。そこで、今回新たに、筆者が、主として幼少期から現在まで継続して指導し、かつ何らかの手段で意見を述べることのできる成人脳性麻痺者10名(男4名、女6名)に対し、前回と同じく、1. 現在の言語障害の状況について把握すること 2. 自己の言語や運動機能障害をどう理解し受容しているか、3. 療育の経過、4. 家族・学校などの生活、学習、交友関係上の困難と対処方法などについて調査した。今回の調査では、第一報の結果とは大きな差異はなかったものの、年齢層が前回よりも高いためか、生活環境や社会経験の制約による会話内容の未成熟さが目立った。また、現時点では、言語障害や運動機能障害を受容しているものの、思春期前後に何らの運動機能の退行や精神症状などを体験している者が一定数いたことが明らかになった