This study aimed to clarify the effects of carbohydrate mouth rinse on exercise performance. We examined the effect of mouth rinse on fatigability. Thirty healthy male college students completed three trials with non mouth rinse (CON), mouth rinse intervention of 6% glucose (GMR), and artificial sweetener (PLA). Handgrip exercise was performed as a fatigue task. The subjects performed a 10-seconds maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) followed by a 40% MVC rhythmic grasping movement for 14 per minutes, followed by a 4-seconds rest. This set of exercises was performed for a total of ten sets. Mouth rinse was performed from the 5th set to the 10th set. The subjects were divided into three groups: L, M, and S, according to the degree of decrease in MVC due to fatigue in CON. The effect was evaluated using the rate of change in MVC after the mouth rinse. The evaluation was performed for each trail and group. In the L group, mouth rinse significantly improved the rate of change of MVC compared with the other trials (GMR vs. CON: P = 0.002; PLA vs. CON: P = 0.042). A significant trend was observed in the M (GMR vs. CON: P = 0.062), but not in the S. In conclusion, the effects of mouth rinse differed depending on fatigability in isometric hand grip performance, with mouth rinse inhibiting the decrease of motor fatigue. In addition, it was suggested that the sweetness of carbohydrates may have an effect on mouth rinse.
The main research question addressed in this paper is the following: What are the consequences of the purge of the communists and their sympathizers for the development of postwar Japanese society during the Allied Occupation (known as the Red Purge)? According to conventional wisdom, the Red Purge was an illegal and unfair suppression regarding the freedom of speech and a threat to the very survival of democracy in Japan. Surveying previous works on the Red Purge demonstrates that not a single work discusses any constructive aspect of the Red Purge. Criticizing this trend in the historiography, Thomas French correctly pointed out that these previous works tended to neglect or undervalue violent and aggressive behaviors of the Japanese Communist Party and its militant policy after mid-1949. This paper goes a little further, trying to find, if any, constructive aspects of the Red Purge. My hypothesis is that the Red Purge had many destructive and biased measures, but it was paradoxically a necessary evil to help establish a law-abiding Japanese society. The architects of the Red Purge, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, the Japanese government, and corporate executives, were careful not to violate the constitution or labor laws when they executed the Red Purge. They established an important precedent that they had to act in accordance with the constitution and laws. In a paradoxical way, going through the Red Purge actually made Japan a law-abiding country in the long run. This paper tests the validity of this hypothesis.
Background Since dyslipidemia has been shown to be an independent risk factor for the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)-lowering therapy can be potentially associated with inhibition of CKD progression. The ASsessment of clinical Usefulness in CKD patients with Atorvastatin (ASUCA) trial was designed to determine whether atorvastatin has protective effects on renal function in patients with dyslipidemia and CKD. Methods We decided to carry out a prospective multi-center, open-labeled, randomized trial to compare the reno-protective effects between diet therapy alone and atorvastatin plus diet therapy in patients with dyslipidemia (LDL-C ≥ 140 mg/dL if not treated or LDL-C ≥ 100 mg/dL if treated with lipid-lowering drugs in subjects taking dyslipidemia-treating agents other than statins) and CKD [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ]. The primary endpoint is the change in eGFR (mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) as calculated by the modified MDRD equation for Japanese after 2 years of treatment. Results Enrollment began in April 2009 and was completed in March 2011. A total of 334 patients (213 male and 121 female) were randomly assigned to either diet therapy alone or atorvastatin plus diet therapy and included in an intent-to-treat population. In the atorvastatin and control groups, the mean ages were 63.2 and 63.1 years, mean eGFRs were 55.9 and 54.0 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , and median urinary albumin/creatinine ratios were 24.9 and 29.1 mg/g, respectively. Conclusions This study distinguishes itself from similar studies by increasing statistical accuracy derived from its significantly larger sample size and longitudinal magnitude. The results of this study will help to determine whether atorvastatin has reno-protective effects in patients with dyslipidemia and CKD.
Two α-glucosidases, which hydrolyzed 4-nitrophenyl (4NP)-α-D-glucopyranoside, were purified and characterized from Bifidobacterium longum subsp.longum JCM 7052 grown on gum arabic.These enzymes, named BlAglA1 and BlAglA2, had apparent molecular masses of 72.0 and 72.8 kDa estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and 70.1 and 92.7 kDa by PAGE without SDS, respectively.The amino acid sequences analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS were found in the genomes of several strains of B. longum subsp.longum.BlAglA1 and BlAglA2 showed hydrolyzing activities toward isomaltose, trehalose, palatinose, isomaltotriose and panose, but did not toward sucrose, maltose, amylose, amylopectin, and oyster glycogen, indicating that each enzyme belongs to oligo-1,6glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.10).Both enzymes showed optimal activities with 4NP-α-D-glucopyranoside at pH 5.5-6.0 and at 45-50°C.Values of Km and Vmax for 4NP-α-D-glucopyranoside, trehalose, palatinose, panose, isomaltose, and isomaltotriose were also determined.The two oligo-1,6-glucosidases were shown to have transglycosylation activities to synthesize oligosaccharides from trehalose, palatinose, isomaltose, panose, and isomaltotriose to their selves.Both enzymes also catalyzed transglucosylation from palatinose to ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, and 1-hexanol.
