Search

Purpose: Coffee is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Numerous epidemiological studies have reported a significant inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. Therefore, we conducted an epidemiological study to clarify the relationship between coffee consumption and adiponectin levels in Japanese males. We also evaluated whether green tea consumption affected adiponectin levels. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study. The subjects were 665 male employees in Japan. Coffee consumption was assessed, using a self-administered questionnaire, as the number of times per week and cups per day respondents drank, and subjects were grouped into four levels (non, 1-5 times/week, 1-2 cups/day and ≥3 cups/day). Results: The means of adiponectin levels were positively associated with coffee consumption. A dose-response relationship was found between coffee consumption and circulating adiponectin levels. The relationship remained significant after adjustment for potential confounding factors ( P for trend <0.05). However, green tea consumption was not significantly associated with adiponectin levels ( P for trend = 0.90). Conclusions: We not only revealed that habitual coffee consumption is associated with higher adiponectin levels in Japanese males but also found a dose-dependent association between coffee consumption and adiponectin levels. Therefore, our study suggested that coffee components might play an important role in the elevation of adiponectin level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies on the hazard assessment and epidemiological health responses to burned ash have been reported. However, there is little information on the potential toxicity of unknown chemical complexes in burned ash. For an overall evaluation of the multiple toxicities of burned ash, a DNA microarray was used in this study, as a new attempt to assess these toxicities. Using the global gene expression on yeast DNA chip to reflect the changes in mRNA levels, our study discovered a lot of evidences for the action of cell homeostasis and stress response etc., against the toxic effects on yeast cells. On the genes of 5,117 open reading frames(ORFs), as valid spots in a microarray, 997 were up-regulated, 1,259 were down-regulated and 2,861 remained unchanged. A detailed analysis of the microarray revealed the genes that were dynamically correlated to the function of the subcellular localization, energy/metabolism, various stress responses/cell homeostasis and detoxification. Significantly, the toxicities, caused by reactive oxygen species(ROS), metals and the other xenobiotics, were indicated in burned ash. Also, the possibility of mutagenicity of the burned ash was suggested on the basis of the DNA repair related genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of various organic vapours on the exo-electron glow curves for sandblasted mild steel was examined. The emission intensity of the peak which was observed at 51-66 °C in the glow curve was ranked as follows: n-butyl chloride≪ acetonitrile < benzene < methanol≅toluene≅acetone≅ethanol≅isopropyl alcohol< ethyl acetate≪ propylamines. This listing closely resembles to that of the proton attracting power of the functional groups of the organics. From this, it is supposed that the peak emission may be promoted through the formation of hydrogen bond between the functional groups and the deformed solid surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No difference was observed during in vitro development between mouse single blastomeres with and without the zona, pellucida, isolated from 2- and 4-cell stage eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the paper "The Racemization and Isomerization of the ASP-151 Residue in αA-Crystallin is Induced by Ultraviolet B Irradiation," by N. Fujii and colleagues presented at the triennial meeting of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL) in July 1996 in Orléans, France is provided.

Microgravity crystal growth experiment for the growth of In 0.11 Ga 0.89 Sb was performed at the Chinese recoverable satellite through the space program SJ-10. This experiment is aimed to understand the melt formation and growth kinetics of In x Ga 1- x Sb solid solution with higher indium composition, because their segregation coefficient was higher than the crystals with lower indium compositions. The target composition and uniformity were achieved with higher growth rate under microgravity, whereas the uniformity in composition was not achieved under normal gravity. The growth and dissolution were affected mainly by the steady state equilibrium in the melt composition because of the convection under normal gravity. The non-steady state equilibrium in the melt composition under microgravity helped to achieve a higher growth rate and compositional homogeneity at higher indium composition of In x Ga 1- x Sb solid solution., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

InGaSb ternary alloys were grown from GaSb (111)A and B faces (Ga and Sb faces) under microgravity conditions on board the International Space Station by a vertical gradient freezing method. The dissolution process of the Ga and Sb faces of GaSb and orientation-dependent growth properties of InGaSb were analysed. The dissolution of GaSb(111)B was greater than that of (111)A, which was found from the remaining undissolved seed and feed crystals. The higher dissolution of the Sb face was explained based on the number of atoms at that face, and its bonding with the next atomic layer. The growth interface shape was almost flat in both cases. The indium composition in both InGaSb samples was uniform in the radial direction and it gradually decreased along the growth direction because of segregation. The growth rate of InGaSb from GaSb (111)B was found to be higher than that of GaSb (111)A because of the higher dissolution of GaSb (111)B., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: In x Ga 1- x Sb is an important material that has tunable properties in the infrared (IR) region and is suitable for IR-device applications. Since the quality of crystals relies on growth conditions, the growth process of alloy semiconductors can be examined better under microgravity (μG) conditions where convection is suppressed., Aims: To investigate the dissolution and growth process of In x Ga 1- x Sb alloy semiconductors via a sandwiched structure of GaSb(seed)/InSb/GaSb(feed) under normal and μG conditions., Methods: In x Ga 1- x Sb crystals were grown at the International Space Station (ISS) under μG conditions, and a similar experiment was conducted under terrestrial conditions (1G) using the vertical gradient freezing (VGF) method. The grown crystals were cut along the growth direction and its growth properties were studied. The indium composition and growth rate of grown crystals were calculated., Results: The shape of the growth interface was nearly flat under μG, whereas under 1G, it was highly concave with the initial seed interface being nearly flat and having facets at the peripheries. The quality of the μG crystals was better than that of the 1G samples, as the etch pit density was low in the μG sample. The growth rate was higher under μG compared with 1G. Moreover, the growth started at the peripheries under 1G, whereas it started throughout the seed interface under μG., Conclusions: Kinetics played a dominant role under 1G. The suppressed convection under μG affected the dissolution and growth process of the In x Ga 1- x Sb alloy semiconductor., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.