An association between the physical activity level and skeletal muscle mass index in female university students with a past exercise habituation.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and physical activity among female university students who had exercise habituation in junior and high school.

Methods: The body composition of 120 Japanese female students was measured using the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method, and their physical activity level (PAL) was measured using a factorial method. Based on the 'Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese' (DRIs-J), according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, PAL (24-h energy consumption/basal metabolic rate) classifications were defined as low-PAL (PAL < 1.

Immediate after-effects of shapes of clothing worn on tandem gait performance.

Purpose: This study investigated the immediate after-effects of clothing shape on tandem gait performance.

Methods: Nineteen healthy men (21.8 ± 1.

Effects of Malted Rice Amazake on Constipation Symptoms and Gut Microbiota in Children and Adults with Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities: A Pilot Study.

Constipation is a frequent complication in patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID). The aim of this study was to investigate changes in constipation symptoms and gut microbiota associated with the intake of malted rice amazake, a fermented food in Japan, in patients with SMID. Ten patients consumed the test food for six weeks, and their physical condition, dietary and medication status, and constipation assessment scale (CAS) were investigated.

Users' adaptations to the proportional speed control of a motorised walker.

Purpose: Speed control is commonly used to regulate the forces applied by motorised walkers (MW) and there are often situations where the speed targeted deviates from the preferred walking speed of its users, such as when encouraging higher walking speeds and due to safety consideration. This study investigates the effects of different MW's target speeds on the selected walking speeds, force applied, perceived exertion, and gait of MW users during steady-state walking.

Materials And Methods: The spatiotemporal gait parameters and perceived exertion of twenty young healthy participants were measured as they walked at a comfortable, self-selected speed using a MW as it was controlled to target forward speeds of 0.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of nursing students in Japan: protocol for a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading globally with a high risk of mortality. It is also significantly affecting mental health. For nursing students, the impact of COVID-19 on mental health is predicted to be significant; however, sufficient data have not been obtained.

Characterization and Identification of Bioactive Polyphenols in the Roxb. Pericarp Extract.

In this study, we present the isolation and characterization of the structure of six gallotannins (-), three ellagitannins (-), a neolignan glucoside (), and three related polyphenolic compounds (gallic acid, and ) from Roxb. pericarp extract (TBE). Among the isolates, the structure of compound possessing a previously unclear absolute configuration was unambiguously determined through nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism analyses.

The relationship among factors of organizational justice, organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and ease of work among Japanese nurses.

Aim: This work is aimed to create a strategy to improve the nurses' working environment.

Background: As the working-age population is expected to decline in Japan, the maintenance of the nurse workforce is important. In order to create a strategy to improve the nurses' working environment, we studied the relationship among factors of organizational justice (procedural, distributive, and interactional justices), organizational citizenship behavior, job satisfaction, and ease of work.

Impaired perception of illusory contours and cortical hypometabolism in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Neuroimaging evidence suggests that areas of the higher-order visual cortex, including the lateral occipital complex (LOC), are engaged in the perception of illusory contours; however, these findings remain unsubstantiated by human lesion data. Therefore, we assessed the presentation time necessary to perceive two types of illusory contours formed by Kanizsa figures or aligned line ends in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Additionally, we used F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to measure regional cerebral glucose metabolism in PD patients.

Antiallergic Activity of 6-Deoxy-2--methyl-6-(-hexadecanoyl)amino-l-ascorbic Acid.

Allergy is an excessive immune response to a specific antigen. Type I allergies, such as hay fever and food allergies, have increased significantly in recent years and have become a worldwide problem. We previously reported that an ascorbic acid derivative having palmitoyl and glucosyl groups, 2--α-d-glucopyranosyl-6--hexadecanoyl-l-ascorbic acid (6-sPalm-AA-2G), showed inhibitory effects on degranulation in vitro and on the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction in mice.

Diosgenin suppresses COX-2 and mPGES-1 via GR and improves LPS-induced liver injury in mouse.

Using a wild yam (Dioscorea japonica), we previously found novel anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects via the downregulation of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase (mPGES)-1. One of the substances in wild yam is a steroidal saponin, diosgenin. We demonstrated that diosgenin suppressed COX-2 in human non-small-cell lung carcinoma A549 cells via nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) translocation and the effects were reversed by a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, RU486.

Divergent Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase Isoenzyme Expression in the Central Nervous System.

The endogenous methylated derivative of ʟ-arginine, N,N-dimethyl-ʟ-arginine (asymmetric dimethylarginine, ADMA), an independent risk factor in many diseases, inhibits the activity of nitric oxide synthases and, consequently, modulates the availability of nitric oxide. While most studies on the biological role of ADMA have focused on endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases modulation and its contribution to cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal diseases, a role in regulating neuronal nitric oxide synthases and pathologies of the central nervous system is less understood. The two isoforms of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), DDAH1 and DDAH2, are thought to be the main enzymes responsible for ADMA catabolism.

2-O-Octadecylascorbic acid represses RhoGDIβ expression and ameliorates DNA damage-induced abnormal spindle orientations.

The appropriate regulation of spindle orientation maintains proper tissue homeostasis and avoids aberrant tissue repair or regeneration. Spindle misorientation due to imbalance or improper functioning leads to a loss of tissue integrity and aberrant growth, such as tissue loss or overgrowth. Pharmacological manipulation to prevent spindle misorientation will enable a better understanding of how spindle orientation is involved in physiological and pathological conditions and will provide therapeutic possibilities to treat patients associated with abnormal tissue function caused by spindle misorientation.

Inhibitory effects of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in black soybean hull extract on RBL-2H3 cells degranulation and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in mice.

Black soybean hull extract (BSHE) exhibits a variety of biological activities. However, little is known about the effects of BSHE on immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated type I allergic reactions. The anti-allergic effect of BSHE was assessed with the degranulation assay using rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells and the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction in mice.

ALOX12 mutation in a family with dominantly inherited bleeding diathesis.

The arachidonic acid (AA) cascade plays a significant role in platelet aggregation. AA released from membrane phospholipids is metabolized by cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway to thromboxane A (TXA) or by 12S-lipoxygenase (ALOX12) to 12-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HPETE). In contrast to a well-known role of the COX pathway in platelet aggregation, the role of ALOX12 is not well understood.

Effects of light-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise on objectively measured sleep parameters among community-dwelling older people.

Objectives: Although exercise improves sleep parameters in older people, most studies have been designed for people with insomnia or sleep complaints. Little is known of the effects of exercise among older people without sleep problems. We investigated the effects of 3-month light-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise intervention on objectively measured sleep quantity and quality among community-dwelling older people.

Effects of long-term taurine supplementation on age-related changes in skeletal muscle function of Sprague-Dawley rats.

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a free amino acid found abundantly in mammalian tissues. Increasing evidence suggests that taurine plays a role in the maintenance of skeletal muscle function and increase of exercise capacity. Most energy drinks contain this amino acid; however, there is insufficient research on the effects of long-term, low-dose supplementation of taurine.

Andropause symptoms and sickness absence in Japanese male workers: a prospective study.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the association between andropause symptoms and sickness absence in Japanese male workers over 2 years.

Methods: A baseline survey asking about andropause symptoms, along with blood sampling for testosterone level, was conducted in June 2009. A total of 418 men (mean age = 52.

Event-Triggered Adaptive Fault Tolerant Control for a Class of Uncertain Nonlinear Systems.

This paper considers an adaptive fault-tolerant control problem for a class of uncertain strict feedback nonlinear systems, in which the actuator has an unknown drift fault and the loss of effectiveness fault. Based on the event-triggered theory, the adaptive backstepping technique, and Lyapunov theory, a novel fault-tolerant control strategy is presented. It is shown that an appropriate comprise between the control performance and the sensor data real-time transmission consumption is made, and the fault-tolerant tracking control problem of the strict feedback nonlinear system with uncertain and unknown control direction is solved.

Role of heme oxygenase-1 in human placenta on iron supply to fetus.

Introduction: To date, details on how iron is supplied from the mother to the fetus through the placenta have remained unclear. Recently, increasing evidence has shown that heme oxygenase (HO)-1, which is an inducible isoform of the rate-limiting enzyme in the heme degradation pathway, may be involved in the effective reutilization of iron. In this study, we examined the distribution and gene expression of HO-1 in the villous tissue of human placenta at various periods of pregnancy.

Acetic acid stimulates G-protein-coupled receptor GPR43 and induces intracellular calcium influx in L6 myotube cells.

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced endogenously in the gut by bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber have been studied as nutrients that act as signaling molecules to activate G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) such as GPR41 and GPR43. GPR43 functioning involves the suppression of lipid accumulation and maintaining body energy homeostasis, and is activated by acetic acid or propionic acid. Previously, we reported that the orally administered acetic acid improves lipid metabolism in liver and skeletal muscles and suppresses obesity, thus improving glucose tolerance.

A single amino acid substitution converts a histidine decarboxylase to an imidazole acetaldehyde synthase.

Histidine decarboxylase (HDC; EC 4.1.1.