Correlation between Electronic Shell Structure and Inertness of Cu toward O Adsorption at n = 15, 21, 41, and 49.

The inertness of metal clusters in air is important for their application to novel materials and catalysts. The adsorption reactivity of copper clusters with O has been discussed in connection with the electronic structure of clusters because of its importance in electron transfer from the cluster to O. Mass spectrometry was used to observe the reaction of Cu + O ( n = 13-60) in the gas phase.

Arachidonic acid-enriched triacylglycerol improves cognitive function in elderly with low serum levels of arachidonic acid.

Arachidonic acid (ARA) is an n-6 PUFA and is thought to have an important role in various physiological and psychological functions. Recently, supplementation with ARA-enriched TAG was shown to improve age-related decreases in cognitive function in healthy elderly men. To investigate the influence of baseline serum ARA status on cognitive function and its improvement, we analyzed cognitive function stratified by serum ARA level.

Arachidonic acid supplementation decreases P300 latency and increases P300 amplitude of event-related potentials in healthy elderly men.

In the present study, we examined the effects of arachidonic acid (ARA) on age-related event-related potential (ERP) changes in 25 healthy elderly men. This study was performed using a double-blind crossover design. The subjects were administered 600 mg/day of ARA-enriched triglyceride (SUNTGA40S; containing 240 mg ARA) in capsules or the same amount of olive oil in capsules as an inactive placebo for 1 month.

Effects of dietary arachidonic acid supplementation on age-related changes in endothelium-dependent vascular responses.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of dietary supplementation of arachidonic acid (ARA) on age-related changes in endothelium-dependent vascular responses. Young male Fisher-344 rats (2-mo-old) and aged rats of the same strain (22-mo-old) were randomly separated into a control diet group (young control, YC; old control, OC) and an ARA-containing diet group (young ARA, YA; old ARA, OA). After a 2-mo feeding period, vascular responses were evaluated using both endothelium-intact and -denuded aortic rings.

Arachidonic acid improves aged rats' spatial cognition.

To examine the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) on age-related cognitive deficits, F-344 rats were administered with an AA-supplemented powder diet from 79 weeks of age (OA group). For comparison, we also used an age-matched control group of animals (OC group) that were fed with a non AA-supplemented powder diet. When the subjects reached 87 weeks old, they were trained for Morris water maze place and cue tasks.

Synaptic plasticity preserved with arachidonic acid diet in aged rats.

We examined whether synaptic plasticity was preserved in aged rats administered an arachidonic acid (AA) containing diet. Young male Fischer-344 rats (2 mo of age), and two groups of aged rats of the same strain (2 y of age) who consumed either a control diet or an AA ethyl ester-containing diet for at least 3 mo were used. In the Morris water maze task, aged rats on the AA diet had tendency to show better performance than aged rats on the control diet.

Novel antioxidative metabolites in rat liver with ingested sesamin.

Sesamin, a major lignan in sesame oil, is known to have many biological activities, especially protective effects against oxidative damage in the liver. As sesamin itself has no antioxidative properties in vitro, to elucidate the mechanism of its antioxidative effects, the reaction products of sesamin in rat liver homogenate were analyzed. The methylenedioxyphenyl moiety in the structure of sesamin was shown to be changed into a dihydrophenyl (catechol) moiety.