Search

BackgroundYamakagashi venom is a prothrombin activator, leading to disseminated intravascular coagulation. We report a fatal case of severe coagulopathy from head trauma assumed to be caused by a yamakagashi bite.Case presentationAn 80-year-old man fell and developed systemic tonic–clonic convulsions. Head computed tomography revealed brain contusion and acute subdural hematoma. Physical examination revealed two bite marks with persistent bleeding on the right lower leg. The patient stated that he had been bitten by some creature 3 days prior, but the bite was left untreated. Laboratory tests showed fibrinogen levels below the detection limit. Although eighteen units of fresh frozen plasma were administered for coagulopathy, fibrinogen levels did not improve. He died about 18 h after a head injury.ConclusionIn this case of a yamakagashi bite with active bleeding due to trauma, early administration of yamakagashi antivenom should be considered to control coagulopathy.

We previously evaluated the antioxidative effects of astaxanthin intake in the aqueous humor by measuring reactive oxygen species-related parameters, including O(2)(•−) scavenging activity, H(2)O(2) level, and total hydroperoxides level. In this study, we analyzed the antioxidative effects of astaxanthin in relation to age in 16 males and 19 females (average age 71.3 and 70.6, respectively) who underwent bilateral cataract surgery on one side before and the other side after astaxanthin intake (6 mg/day for 2 weeks). None of the parameters correlated with age before astaxanthin intake, but only total hydroperoxides level was significantly correlated after the astaxanthin intake (r = 0.4, p

Astaxanthin (ASTX) is an antioxidant agent. Recently, its use has been focused on the prevention of diabetes and atherosclerosis. We examined the effects of astaxanthin supplementation for 12 weeks on glucose metabolism, glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles and anthropometric indices in healthy volunteers including subjects with prediabetes with a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Methods: We enrolled 53 subjects who met our inclusion criteria and administered them with 12 mg astaxanthin or a placebo once daily for 12 weeks. Subsequently, their HbA1c levels, lipid profiles and biochemical parameters were determined. The participants also underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), vascular endothelial function test and measurement of the visceral fat area. Results: After astaxanthin supplementation for 12 weeks, glucose levels after 120 min in a 75 g OGTT significantly decreased compared to those before supplementation. Furthermore, the levels of HbA1c (5.64 ± 0.33 vs. 5.57 ± 0.39%, p < 0.05), apo E (4.43 ± 1.29 vs. 4.13 ± 1.24 mg/dL, p < 0.05) and malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (87.3 ± 28.6 vs. 76.3 ± 24.6 U/L, p < 0.05) were also reduced, whereas total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein-C (HDL-C) levels were unaltered. The Matuda index, which is one of the parameters of insulin resistance, was improved in the ASTX group compared to that before supplementation. Conclusions: our results suggest that ASTX may have preventive effects against diabetes and atherosclerosis and may be a novel complementary treatment option for the prevention of diabetes in healthy volunteers, including subjects with prediabetes, without adverse effects.

We explored the effect of astaxanthin on vascular endothelial growth factor in the aqueous humor, by measuring vascular endothelial growth factor levels and oxidation-related parameters, including O2 (•-) scavenging activity, H2O2 level, and total hydroperoxide level in the aqueous humor, obtained from 35 patients before and after astaxanthin administration. We evaluated the relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor and the oxidation-related parameters as well as the patient's diabetic status, age, and sex. Vascular endothelial growth factor levels did not change significantly but O2 (•-) scavenging activity and total hydroperoxide level significantly (p

Astaxanthin (ASTX) is a xanthophyll carotenoid produced by Haemococcus pluvialis, and is found in microalgae, plankton, krill and other seafood. ASTX has strong antioxidant activity, which is an attractive nutraceutical for further investigation in diabetes, lipid profile, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease where antioxidant cellular protection may be of clinical benefit. We already reported the effects of astaxanthin (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study) on glucose metabolism and lipid profile in 44 healthy volunteers in the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Clinical Nutrition 2017. Here we report the effects of ASTX on glucose metabolism in 29 subjects whose HbA1c was from 5.6 % to 6.4 % at baseline. Data of 75g OGTT and HbA1c in 29 subjects (16 in ASTX group and 13 in Placebo group) were analyzed. After ASTX (12mg/day) supplementation for 12 weeks, the glucose level at 30 min by 75g OGTT was significantly decreased compared to before. The level of HbA1c was also significantly decreased compared to before. Furthermore, we assessed indices of insulin resistance derived from OGTT. Both Matsuda index and hepatic insulin resistance were improved after ASTX (12mg/day) supplementation, although muscle insulin sensitivity index was unchanged. Our results suggest that ASTX might have beneficial effects on the prevention of diabetes in subjects whose HbA1c was from 5.6 % to 6.4 %, including subjects with prediabetes. Disclosure M. Urakaze: Research Support; Self; Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.. C. Kobashi: None. Y. Satou: None. M. Takagi: None. K. Shigeta: None. M. Toshima: Research Support; Self; Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. J. Takahashi: Employee; Self; Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. M. Nishida: Other Relationship; Self; Fuji Chemical Industry Co., Ltd..

Astaxanthin (ASX), an oxygenated carotenoid (xanthophyll), has previously been shown to exert ameliorative effects on obesity and insulin resistance, but the underlying mechanisms were not clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated whether ASX serves as a novel selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ modulator. Analyses of PPARγ binding by CoA-BAP assays revealed that ASX bound to PPARγ in a dose-dependent manner. However, ASX was unable to activate transcription in PPARγ reporter assays, although it antagonized transcriptional activation by the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone (RGZ). When the molecular interactions between PPARγ and three coactivators were examined, ASX increased the interactions of PPARγ with transcriptional intermediary factor 2 (TIF2) and steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1), but not cAMP responsive element-binding protein (CREB)-binding protein (CBP). In addition, ASX effectively blocked the increase in CBP recruitment to PPARγ mediated by RGZ. ASX alone did not stimulate 3T3-L1 cell differentiation, although it antagonized 3T3-L1 cell differentiation and lipid accumulation induced by RGZ, similar to the PPARγ antagonist GW9662. When the effects of cotreatment of 3T3-L1 cells with ASX and RGZ were determined based on the mRNA levels of PPARγ target genes, ASX effectively reduced the mRNA levels of aP2 and lipoprotein lipase, but not CD36. Intriguingly, ASX was capable of inducing PPARγ target genes such as liver X receptor, CD36 and ABCA1 in thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages. Collectively, the present findings indicate that ASX is a novel selective PPARγ modulator that acts as an antagonist or agonist depending on the cell context.

健常人 15 名が 12 週間の長期にわたり連日ヘマトコッカス藻抽出物（アスタキサンチン 9 mg 含有）を摂取したときの安全性について検討した．摂取前，4 週後，8 週後，12 週後に，医師による診察を含む理学的検査，血液学的検査，血液生化学的検査および尿検査を行ったところ，臨床上問題となるような変動は生じなかった．以上より，ヘマトコッカス藻抽出物（アスタキサンチン 9 mg 含有）を 12 週間に渡り摂取しても安全性において問題ないと考えられた．

In this study, the effect of dietary antioxidants, such as astaxanthin and Flavangenol®, and a combination of both, in counteracting oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetes was investigated. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were divided into four groups: control, astaxanthin, Flavangenol, and combined astaxanthin and Flavangenol (mix group). Each group other than the control group was fed with an astaxanthin diet (0.1 g/kg), Flavangenol diet (2.0 g/kg), or an astaxanthin (0.1 g/kg)-Flavangenol (2.0 g/kg) mixture diet, respectively. After 12 weeks of feeding, the results showed that the lipid peroxide levels of plasma and lens and the plasma triglyceride (TG) level in the mix group were significantly decreased by 44%, 20%, and 20%, respectively, compared with the control group. In the mix group, lipid peroxidation was also significantly reduced by 70% in the liver and 20% in the kidney compared with the control group. Furthermore, the level of urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in the mix group was significantly lower, 36%, than the control group. The α-tocopherol concentrations in the plasma, liver, and kidney in the astaxanthin and mix groups were significantly higher, 3-9 times, than in the control group. The degree of cataract formation in the Flavangenol and mix groups tended to be lower than the control group. These results indicate that the combination of astaxanthin with Flvangenol has an improved protective effect on oxidative stress associated with streptozotocin-induced diabetes than either agent used alone. Thus, this combination may be beneficial in preventing the progression of diabetic complications.

アスタキサンチンは，広く天然に存在する赤色のカロテノイドの一種であり，一重項酸素消去および抗脂質過酸化活性などの優れた抗酸化作用を有する．近年さまざまな生理活性が報告されるようになり，健康食品および化粧品素材として普及しつつ，予防医学の領域においても注目されている．本稿では，アスタキサンチンの由来，他のカロテノイドとの比較，化学的特長に触れつつ，抗脂質過酸化活性，抗炎症，血流改善，メタボリックシンドローム改善，眼精疲労改善，ピロリ菌抑制，脂質代謝改善，筋肉疲労改善，美肌効果，男性不妊症改善などの機能性，さらに体内動態および安全性についての細胞，動物試験，および臨床試験などの結果を取り上げ，補完代替医療素材としての可能性を紹介する．

Effects of astaxanthin (AX) derived from H. pluvialis on human blood rheology were investigated in 20 adult men with a single-blind method. The experimental group was 57.5 +/- 9.8 years of age and the placebo group was 50.8 +/- 13.1 years of age. A blood rheology test that measures whole blood transit time was conducted using heparinized blood of the volunteers by a MC-FAN apparatus (microchannel array flow analyzer). After administration of AX 6 mg/day for 10 days, the values of the experimental group were decreased from 52.8 +/- 4.9 s to 47.6 +/- 4.2 s (p

A dissertação analisa três contos de João Antônio Meninão do Caixote, Malagueta, Perus e Bacanaço e Visita , ambientados em salões de jogo de sinuca na cidade de São Paulo. Esses contos foram publicados no livro de estreia do autor, Malagueta, Perus e Bacanaço, em 1963, e apresentam narrativas com personagens que vivem do jogo, utilizando toda sorte de artimanhas no universo da malandragem. Baseando-se em alguns fundamentos da semiótica das paixões, inscrita dentro da chamada Escola de Paris, de linha greimasiana, a análise investiga os estados de alma que resultam das transformações que ocorrem ao longo das narrativas. Como suporte de fundamentação teórica, utiliza principalmente os conceitos desenvolvidos por A. J. Greimas e J. Fontanille, Diana Pessoa de Barros, José Luiz Fiorin, Elizabeth Harkot-de-la-Taille e Claude Zilberberg. O estudo se inicia com a apresentação dos fundamentos teóricos da semiótica das paixões e segue com a análise dos três contos, com o exame do modo como as instaurações dos sentimentos de orgulho e seus correlatos e de avidez e seus correlatos acompanham as transformações de estados dos sujeitos das narrativas. A análise se completa com a aplicação dos conceitos de missividade e fluxo discursivo, de Zilberberg, e com o questionamento dos confrontos entre os universos da norma social e da malandragem que permeiam os objetos de estudo. This dissertation analyzes three short stories by João Antônio Meninão do Caixote, Malagueta, Perus e Bacanaço and Visita , within the context of a snooker hall in the city of São Paulo, in Brazil. These short stories were included in the authors first publication, Malagueta, Perus e Bacanaço, in 1963, and present narratives with characters that make their living from the game, employing all the luck of the hustle within the universe of deceit, of trickery. Based on a selection of Greimas fundamentals on the semiotics of passion, ingrained in the so-called School of Paris, the analysis investigates the states of the soul stemming from the transformations that arise throughout the narratives. To sustain the theoretical foundations, it uses, mainly, the concepts developed by A. J. Greimas and J. Fontanille, Diana Pessoa de Barros, José Luiz Fiorin, Elizabeth Harkot-de-la-Taille and Claude Zilberberg. The study begins by presenting the theoretical fundamentals of the semiotics of passion, followed by the analysis of the three short stories. Such analysis examines the way in which the feeling of pride and its spin-offs come about, as well as the way in which those of desire and its spin-offs accompany the transformations of each subjects state within the narratives. The examination is finalized by applying Zilberbergs concepts of tensivity and the flow of discourse, and by questioning the confrontation between the universe of social conventions and that of deceit, which permeates the objects of this study.

We studied the cooperative interaction between α-tocopherol, tocotrienols and astaxanthin, incorporated in soybean phosphatidylcholine (PC) multilamellar vesicles (MLV) against 2,2′-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), 2,2′-azobis (2,4-dimethyl-valeronitrile) (AMVN), or 1,3-morpholinosydnonimine hydrochloride (SIN-1) induced lipid peroxidation. Tocotrienols spared α-tocopherol consumption in hydrophilic or lipophylic radicals initiated oxidation. The combination of tocotrienols and astaxanthin had the greatest protective effect on α-tocopherol consumption in MLV, oxidized by the hydrophilic radical initiator. α-Tocopherol and tocotrienols protected astaxanthin against AAPH-, AMVN-, and SIN-1-induced oxidations. In the three oxidations α-tocotrienol was consumed first, followed by α-tocopherol and the tocotrienols in the sequence: β > γ > δ. Astaxanthin was consumed as fast as γ-tocotrienol in AAPH oxidation, as fast as α-tocopherol in AMVN oxidation, and before δ-tocotrienol in SIN-1 oxidation. In conclusion, α-tocopherol, tocotrienols, and astaxanthin cooperated in protecting against MLV lipid peroxidation. α-Tocotrienol was the most effective antioxidant among them. Astaxanthin was as effective as the chain-breaking antioxidants against lipid peroxidation.

Complete fusion of light radioactive nuclei is predicted to be hindered at near-barrier energies. This feature is investigated in the case of the least bound stable nuclei. Evaporation residues resulting from the {sup 6,7}Li+{sup 9}Be and {sup 6,7}Li+{sup 12}C fusion reactions have been measured in order to study common features in reactions involving light weakly bound nuclei. The experimental excitation functions revealed that the fusion cross section is significantly smaller than the total reaction cross section and also smaller than the fusion cross section expected from the available systematics. A clear correlation between the fusion probability and nucleon (cluster) separation energy has been established.The results suggest that the breakup process has a strong influence on the hindrance of the fusion cross section. {copyright} {ital 1996} {ital The American Physical Society}

We evaluated the antioxidative effects of astaxanthin through the changes in superoxide scavenging activity, levels of hydrogen peroxide and total hydroperoxides in human aqueous humor. The study subjects were 35 patients who underwent bilateral cataract surgery on one side before and the other side after intake of astaxanthin (6 mg/day for 2 weeks). Their aqueous humor was taken during the surgery and subjected to measurements of the three parameters. After astaxanthin intake, the superoxide scavenging activity was significantly (p

The E6 grand unified theory is an attractive candidate intermediate theory between the standard model and string theory. However, only one E6 grand unified model with three generations and at least one adjoint Higgs field has been derived from string theory in the literature, and this model is phenomenologically unsatisfactory. Recently, in arXiv:1012.1690, we have constructed two new such E6 grand unified models in heterotic asymmetric orbifolds. Although our new models themselves cannot resolve the unsatisfactory point in the previous model, our discovery raises hopes that one can construct many other such models in this framework and find better models. Here, by giving partition functions explicitly, we explain the details of our construction. Utilizing the lattice engineering technique and the diagonal embedding method, we can construct models systematically. We hope that these techniques and the details of our construction will lead to more phenomenologically desirable models., Comment: 42 pages, 2 figures, v2: text rearranged, version to appear in JHEP

The first accelerating structures of the Sao Paulo microtron accelerator presently deliver a continuous‐wave 1.9 MeV electron beam, which can be used in atomic physics studies. An energy‐analyzed beam line with focalization magnets, irradiation chamber, movable target system and Faraday cup was built. Here, we will describe the preliminary results of two experiments. In the first one, upper limits on K‐shell ionization cross sections of Pd and Au atoms by electron impact were obtained. To this end, thin targets of these elements were irradiated with the beam impinging at 45° while the emitted Kα x‐rays were recorded with an HPGe x‐ray detector positioned at 90° with respect to the beam direction. The other experiment was the measurement of the bremsstrahlung energy spectra produced by the aforementioned targets in the same geometrical configuration but using an HPGe γ‐ray detector instead. The latter experiment enabled the determination of the electron‐beam energy as 1.909(5) MeV.

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of astaxanthin in combination with other antioxidants against oxidative damage in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi (ODS) rats. Diabetic-ODS rats were divided into five groups: control, astaxanthin, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, and tocotrienol. Each of the four experimental groups was administered a diet containing astaxanthin (0.1 g/kg), in combination with ascorbic acid (3.0 g/kg), alpha-tocopherol (0.1 g/kg), or tocotrienol (0.1 g/kg) for 20 wk. The effects of astaxanthin with other antioxidants on lipid peroxidation, urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) excretion, serum creatinine (Cr) level, creatinine clearance (Ccr), and urinary protein content were assessed. The serum lipid peroxide levels and chemiluminescent (CL) intensity in the liver of the alpha-tocopherol and tocotrienol groups were significantly reduced in comparison to that of the control group. In the alpha-tocopherol group, urinary 8-OHdG excretion, serum Cr level, Ccr, urinary albumin excretion, and urinary protein concentration were significantly decreased as compared with those in the control group. Additionally, the CL intensity in the kidney of the alpha-tocopherol group was significantly lower, but that of the ascorbic acid group was significantly higher than that in the control group. These results indicate that dietary astaxanthin in combination with alpha-tocopherol has an inhibitory effect on oxidative stress. On the other hand, our study suggests that excessive ascorbic acid intake increases lipid peroxidation in diabetic rats.

We construct three‐family SU(5) and SO(10) GUT‐like models, based on an orbifold in the E8×E8 heterotic string theory [28]. We recently classified orbifolds on the E6 root lattice. Interestingly, we found that some of the twisted sectors from the Z3×Z3 orbifold on the E6 root lattice have just three fixed tori respectively, and it leads to three degenerate massless states. These models also include strongly coupled sectors in the low energy and messenger states charged with both hidden and visible sectors. We present the massless spectra of the models, and consider their interactions.

Many andesitic intrusions are exposed along the Median Tectonic Line (MTL) in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. Three dikes along the MTL and one intrusion occurring close to it were dated by the K-Ar method to estimate when the fault movement ceased. The dikes and intrusion are not deformed by the movement. The results give 15.1 to 15.4 Ma excluding severely altered one. The MTL in northwestern Shikoku region has not been active since about 15 Ma. Although a similar attenuation of active movement of the MTL during middle Miocene has been reported, the fault movement has continued in the other areas of southwestern Japan as demonstrated by Active Fault Research Group (1980). This may suggest that block displacement has been dominant since middle Miocene in the studied area. The age of the samples also indicates that the volcanic activity of Seto-uchi region started 15 Ma in northwestern Shikoku.

We classify N=1 orbifolds on the E_6 root lattice and investigate explicit model constructions on the Z_3xZ_3 orbifold in heterotic string theory. Interestingly some of the twisted sectors from the Z_3xZ_3 orbifold on the E_6 root lattice have just three fixed tori respectively, and generate three degenerate massless states. We also found three point functions with flavor mixing terms. We assume only non-standard gauge embeddings and find that they lead to three-family SU(5) and SO(10) GUT-like models. These models also include strongly coupled sectors in the low energy and messenger states charged with both hidden and visible sectors., 20 pages, 1 figures; v3: Classification for orbifolds on the E_6 lattice is added, typos corrected, published version

We investigate Type II orientifolds on non-factorizable torus with and without its oribifolding. We explicitly calculate the Ramond-Ramond tadpole from string one-loop amplitudes, and confirm that the consistent number of orientifold planes is directly derived from the Lefschetz fixed point theorem. We furthermore classify orientifolds on non-factorizable Z_N x Z_M orbifolds, and construct new supersymmetric Type IIA orientifold models on them., Comment: 42 pages, 3 figures, v2: typos corrected, references added, version to appear in Nucl. Phys. B

The present study was designed to determine the effect of astaxanthin on endurance capacity in male mice aged 4 weeks. Mice were given orally either vehicle or astaxanthin (1.2, 6, or 30 mg/kg body weight) by stomach intubation for 5 weeks. The astaxanthin group showed a significant increase in swimming time to exhaustion as compared to the control group. Blood lactate concentration in the astaxanthin groups was significantly lower than in the control group. In the control group, plasma non-esterfied fatty acid (NEFA) and plasma glucose were decreased by swimming exercise, but in the astaxanthin group, NEFA and plasma glucose were significantly higher than in the control group. Astaxanthin treatment also significantly decreased fat accumulation. These results suggest that improvement in swimming endurance by the administration of astaxanthin is caused by an increase in utilization of fatty acids as an energy source.

We have demonstrated that astaxanthin reduces glomerular oxidative stress as well as inhibits the increase in urinary albumin in diabetic db/db mice. The aim of the present study was to determine the gene expression patterns in the glomerular cells of the diabetic mouse kidney, and to investigate the effects of astaxanthin on the expression of these genes using a high-density DNA microarray. The diet administered to the astaxanthin-supplementation group was prepared by mixing a control powder with astaxanthin at a concentration of 0.02%. Glomerular cells were obtained from the kidneys of mice by laser capture microdissection. Preparation of cRNA and target hybridization were performed according to the Affymetrix GeneChip eukaryotic small sample target labeling assay protocol. The gene expression profile was evaluated by the mouse expression set 430A GeneChip. Array data analysis was carried out using Affymetrix GeneChip operating and Ingenuity Pathway analysis software. Comparison between diabetic db/db and non-diabetic db/m mice revealed that 779 probes (3.1%) were significantly affected, i.e. 550 probes were up-regulated, and 229 probes were down-regulated, both at levels of >/=1.5-fold in the diabetic mice. Ingenuity signal analysis of 550 up-regulated probes revealed the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation pathway as the most significantly affected caronical pathway. The affected genes were associated with complexes I, III, and IV located on the mitochondrial inner membrane, and the expression levels of these genes were decreased in mice treated with astaxanthin as compared to the levels in the control mice. In addition, the expression of many genes associated with oxidative stress, collagen synthesis, and transforming growth factor-beta signaling was enhanced in the diabetic mice, and this enhancement was slightly inhibited in the astaxanthin-treated mice. In conclusion, this genome-wide nutrigenomics approach provided insight into genes and putative genetic pathways that are thought to be affected by stimulation by high-glucose concentrations. In addition, the present approach may help us gain a better understanding of the genes and pathways involved in the anti-diabetic mechanism of astaxanthin.

We study flavor structure and the coupling selection rule in intersecting D-brane configurations. We formulate the selection rule for Yukawa couplings and its extensions to generic n-point couplings. We investigate the possible flavor structure, which can appear from intersecting D-brane configuration, and it is found that their couplings are determined by discrete abelian symmetry. Our studies on the flavor structure and the coupling selection rule show that the minimal matter content of the supersymmetric standard model would have difficulty to derive realistic Yukawa matrices from stringy 3-point couplings at the tree-level. However, extended models have a richer structure, leading to non-trivial mass matrices., Comment: 28 pages, latex, 5 figures

Oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia possibly causes the dysfunction of pancreatic beta-cells and various forms of tissue damage in patients with diabetes mellitus. Astaxanthin, a carotenoid of marine microalgae, is reported as a strong anti-oxidant inhibiting lipid peroxidation and scavenging reactive oxygen species. The aim of the present study was to examine whether astaxanthin can elicit beneficial effects on the progressive destruction of pancreatic beta-cells in db/db mice--a well-known obese model of type 2 diabetes. We used diabetic C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice and db/m for the control. Astaxanthin treatment was started at 6 weeks of age and its effects were evaluated at 10, 14, and 18 weeks of age by non-fasting blood glucose levels, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test including insulin secretion, and beta-cell histology. The non-fasting blood glucose level in db/db mice was significantly higher than that of db/m mice, and the higher level of blood glucose in db/db mice was significantly decreased after treatment with astaxanthin. The ability of islet cells to secrete insulin, as determined by the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test, was preserved in the astaxanthin-treated group. Histology of the pancreas revealed no significant differences in the beta-cell mass between astaxanthin-treated and -untreated db/db mice. In conclusion, these results indicate that astaxanthin can exert beneficial effects in diabetes, with preservation of beta-cell function. This finding suggests that anti-oxidants may be potentially useful for reducing glucose toxicity.

Oxidative stress is implicated as an important mechanism by which diabetes causes nephropathy. Astaxanthin, which is found as a common pigment in algae, fish, and birds, is a carotenoid with significant potential for antioxidative activity. In this study, we examined whether chronic administration of astaxanthin could prevent the progression of diabetic nephropathy induced by oxidative stress in mice. We used female db/db mice, a rodent model of type 2 diabetes, and their non-diabetic db/m littermates. The mice were divided into three groups as follows: non-diabetic db/m, diabetic db/db, and diabetic db/db treated with astaxanthin. Blood glucose level, body weight, urinary albumin, and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were measured during the experiments. Histological and 8-OHdG immunohistochemical studies were performed for 12 weeks from the beginning of treatment. After 12 weeks of treatment, the astaxanthin-treated group showed a lower level of blood glucose compared with the non-treated db/db group; however, both groups had a significantly high level compared with the db/m mice. The relative mesangial area calculated by the mesangial area/total glomerular area ratio was significantly ameliorated in the astaxanthin-treated group compared with the non-treated db/db group. The increases in urinary albumin and 8-OHdG at 12 weeks of treatment were significantly inhibited by chronic treatment with astaxanthin. The 8-OHdG immunoreactive cells in glomeruli of non-treated db/db mice were more numerous than in the astaxanthin-treated db/db mice. In this study, treatment with astaxanthin ameliorated the progression and acceleration of diabetic nephropathy in the rodent model of type 2 diabetes. The results suggested that the antioxidative activity of astaxanthin reduced the oxidative stress on the kidneys and prevented renal cell damage. In conclusion, administration of astaxanthin might be a novel approach for the prevention of diabetes nephropathy.

The Japan Securities Finance Co. was founded in 1950 as an institution specialising in securities finance. It was licensed in 1956 as a securities finance company according to the Securities and Exchange Law. It then began lending operations directed at securities companies, individuals and corporations with emphasis on loan transactions.

We provide a new class of Z_N x Z_M heterotic orbifolds on non-factorisable tori, whose boundary conditions are defined by Lie lattices. Generally, point groups of these orbifolds are generated by Weyl reflections and outer automorphisms of the lattices. We classify abelian orbifolds with and without discrete torsion. Then we find that some of these models have smaller Euler numbers than those of models on factorisable tori T^2 x T^2 x T^2. There is a possibility that these orbifolds provide smaller generation numbers of N=1 chiral matter fields than factorisable models., Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures; v2: a few errors on tables are corrected, typos corrected, version to appear in JHEP

We classify compactification lattices for supersymmetric 2 × 2 orbifolds. These lattices include factorisable as well as non-factorisable six-tori. Different models lead to different numbers of fixed points/tori. A lower bound on the number of fixed tori per twisted sector is given by four, whereas an upper bound consists of 16 fixed tori per twisted sector. Thus, these models have a variety of generation numbers. For example, in the standard embedding, the smallest number of net generations among these classes of models is equal to six, while the largest number is 48. Conditions for allowed Wilson lines and Yukawa couplings are derived.

Considerable interest has been devoted to fusion reactions between light heavy ions specially between weakly bound ones, due to the anomalous decrease of the fusion cross sections when compared to the total reaction cross section in the energy region around the barrier [1–4].

Using immunoelectron microscopic techniques, whether or not host neuronal elements newly form synaptic contact with the grafted dopamine (DA) neurons in the caudate nucleus of the rat with unilateral lesion in the nigrostriatal DA pathway was examined. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was used as a marker for DA-containing structures. Motor imbalances after the lesion and before or after the transplantation were assessed by the amount of circlings after the injection of Met-amphetamine. In animals which recovered well from motor imbalance, non-immunoreactive axon terminals made synaptic contact with grafted TH-positive cell bodies and their dendrites. Since the incidence of these synapses was quite low in poorly recovered animals, the formation of a new neuronal circuit may be one of the important bases for behavior recovery.

Electroantennograms were recorded from the grape borerXylotrechus pyrrhoderus in response to serial dilutions of male sex pheromone components, (2S,3S)-octanediol and (2S)-hydroxy-3-octanone, and to 100 μg of their optical isomers and host plant substances. Female antennae always responded more strongly than male antennae. Antennae of both sexes were highly sensitive to (2S)-hydroxy-3-octanone. F/M ratio (female to male EAG value) was greater for male sex pheromone components, especially (2S,3S)-octanediol, and their optical isomers than plant substances. Antennal sensitivity to optical isomers (2R,3R-octanediol and 2S,3R-octanediol) was lower than true pheromone components.

Effect of juvenile hormone activity of juvenile hormone I and several juvenile hormone mimics (JHM) were investigated on cell growth and macromolecular synthesis of an established insect cell line derived from mosquito (Culex molestus) ovary. The ceil growth in medium with 10−4 m methoprene (ZR-515) or 10−4 m farnesol was perfectly inhibited. The cell shape changed into slender or fibloblast like shape. These compounds inhibited also DNA, RNA and protein syntheses. RNA synthesis was most effectively inhibited than others. Methoprene is a stronger inhibitor of RNA and protein syntheses than puromycin or actinomycin D. The cells incubated in medium with methoprene for one day recovered the cell growth 2 weeks after the methoprene treatment and then the cell shape also recovered. RNA synthesis inhibited by methoprene was also recovered 90 min after the methoprene treatment. DNA, RNA and protein syntheses in the cells treated with juvenile hormone were immediately inhibited but the inhibition was reversible.

The correlation between the growth of transplanted cells and behavior recovery in rats with lesions in the unilateral nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) pathway was investigated. Grafted cells in the lateral or third ventricle grew better than those in the caudate parenchyma. Immunocytochemical staining of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) revealed that axons or dendrites of TH-like immunoreactive (TH-LI) cells transplanted periventricularly extended and ramified better than those of cells implanted in the central parenchyma of the caudate nucleus. The extent of ramification was well correlated with the recovery of behavioral imbalance. Data suggest that the growth and ramification of transplanted TH-LI cells are the most critical factors affecting behavior recovery, and this growth depends on the transplantation sites.