Suppressive effects of whey protein hydrolysate on sucrose-induced hyperglycemia in silkworms.

Silkworms are useful for evaluating substances that suppress postprandial hyperglycemia by oral administration. In this study, orally administered whey protein hydrolysate (WPH), obtained by enzymatic treatment of whey protein, suppressed sucrose-induced hyperglycemia in silkworms in a dose-dependent manner. WPH also inhibited glucose-induced hyperglycemia in silkworms.

Alloy-composition-dependent oxygen reduction reaction activity and electrochemical stability of Pt-based bimetallic systems: a model electrocatalyst study of Pt/PtNi(111).

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and electrochemical stability of well-defined n monolayer (ML)-Pt/PtNi(111) (n = 2 and 4; x = 75, 50, and 25) model electrocatalyst surfaces were investigated in this study. The initial activity of the as-prepared two-monolayered Pt-covered PtNi(111) substrates (2ML-Pt/PtNi(111)) increased with increasing Ni composition in the PtNi(111) substrate. In particular, 2ML-Pt/PtNi(111) showed the initial activity that was 25 times higher than that of clean Pt(111) although the higher Ni composition resulted in destabilization of the catalyst upon the application of potential cycles (PCs).

Isolation of nebulin from rabbit skeletal muscle and its interaction with actin.

Nebulin is about 800 kDa filamentous protein that binds the entire thin filament of vertebrate skeletal muscle sarcomeres. Nebulin cannot be isolated from muscle except in a completely denatured form by direct solubilization of myofibrils with SDS because nebulin is hardly soluble under salt conditions. In the present study, nebulin was solubilized by a salt solution containing 1 M urea and purified by DEAE-Toyopearl column chromatography via 4 M urea elution.