Publications by authors named "C Usui"
Background & Aims: In recent times, the complexity of food styles and meal content has increased, leading to significant variations in macronutrient composition between meals. This phenomenon has coincided with a rise in obesity rates. We aimed to determine whether a large variation in macronutrient composition between meals results in reduced fat oxidation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAging is the greatest risk factor for numerous diseases and mortality, and establishing geroprotective interventions targeting aging is required. Previous studies have suggested that healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, are associated with delayed biological aging; however, these associations depend on nationality and sex. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between dietary patterns identified through principal component analysis and biological aging in older men of Japan, one of the countries with the longest life expectancies.
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- This study aimed to understand how genetic factors (using polygenic risk scores) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) influence cardiometabolic risk factors in Japanese adults aged 40 and older.
- It found that individuals with high CRF showed a reduced genetic risk for high triglyceride levels and obesity, meaning they can counterbalance their genetic predispositions.
- However, the interaction was not significant for other cardiometabolic traits, indicating that while high fitness levels can help with triglycerides and obesity, they might not impact other genetic risks in the same way.*
Article Synopsis
- Astrocytes play a vital role in clearing glutamate from synapses, but the specific functioning of their transporters around synapses is not fully understood.
- Research shows that the Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM) in Purkinje cells is crucial for proper synapse formation and function in the cerebellum, with defects observed in Dscam-mutant mice.
- This study highlights the importance of the interaction between synaptic proteins and astrocytic transporters, indicating that DSCAM is essential for motor learning, although it doesn’t affect gross motor coordination.
This study used two types of analyses and statistical calculations on powdered samples of Polygala root (PR) and Senega root (SR): (1) determination of saponin content by an independently developed quantitative analysis of tenuifolin content using a flow reactor, and (2) near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) using crude drug powders as direct samples for metabolic profiling. Furthermore, a prediction model for tenuifolin content was developed and validated using multivariate analysis based on the results of (1) and (2). The goal of this study was to develop a rapid analytical method utilizing the saponin content and explore the possibility of quality control through a wide-area survey of crude drugs using NIR spectroscopy.
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