Factors responsible for glucose intolerance in Japanese subjects with impaired fasting glucose.

Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) represents risk of development of diabetes (DM) and its complications. We investigated insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in 403 IFG subjects divided into three levels of 2-hour postchallenge glucose (2-h PG) to clarify the factors responsible in the development of glucose intolerance in Japanese IFG. Nearly 60% of the subjects at annual medical check-up with FPG of 6.1-7.0 mmol/l at the first screening were diagnosed by 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT; FPG <7.0 mmol/l and 7.8 mmol/l <2-h PG <11.1 mmol/l) or DM (isolated postchallenge hyperglycemia (IPH); FPG <7.0 mmol/l and 11.1 mmol/l <2-h PG level). The primary factor in the decreased glucose tolerance was a decrease in early-phase insulin, with some contribution of increasing insulin resistance. In addition, IFG/IGT and IFG/IPH subjects showed a compensatory increase in basal insulin secretion sufficient to keep FPG levels within the non-diabetic range. IFG is composed of three different categories in basal, early-phase insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity.

Mental fatigue-induced decrease in levels of several plasma amino acids.

To investigate the relation between plasma amino acid levels and mental fatigue, we measured the plasma concentrations of 20 amino acids in 9 healthy volunteers before and after a fatigue-inducing mental task session for 8 hr. As fatigue-inducing mental tasks, the subjects performed an advanced trail making test, a Japanese KANA pick up test, and a mirror drawing test. As a control, 8-hr relaxation session was performed in the same subjects at an interval of 4 weeks. Immediately after the fatigue session, the plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids, tyrosine, cysteine, methionine, lysine, and arginine were below those after a relaxation session. The values for other blood parameters including total protein, albumin, glucose, and total cholesterol did not show any differences between the 2 sessions. These results indicate that mental fatigue may be characterized by a decrease in the plasma level of these amino acids.

Study on the vibrational energy relaxation of p-nitroaniline, N,N-dimethyl-p-nitroaniline, and azulene by the transient grating method.

The vibrational energy dissipation processes of the electronic ground states of p-nitroaniline and N,N-dimethyl-p-nitroaniline have been studied by transient grating spectroscopy with subpicosecond laser pulses. The rise time of the acoustic signal produced by the energy dissipation process of the hot ground state molecule was monitored. The acoustic signal was analyzed by an equation including the acoustic damping. The solvent temperature rise times in various solvents have been determined. The acoustic signals of azulene in previous papers [Y. Kimura et al., J. Chem. Phys. 123, 054512 (2005); 123, 054513 (2005)] were also reanalyzed using this equation. The temperature rise times in all cases are longer than the vibrational energy relaxation times of the solutes determined by the transient absorption measurements. The difference is discussed in terms of the energy transfer pathways from the solute to the solvent. We concluded that both the hydrogen bonding between the solute and the solvent and the lower frequency modes of the solutes play important roles in determining the energy transfer pathway from the solute to the solvent.

Clinical effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus strain L-92 on perennial allergic rhinitis: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Studies in animals have suggested that lactic acid bacteria alleviate allergic diseases, however, little information is available on their clinical effect on allergy in humans. Thus, we examined the efficacy of orally administered Lactobacillus acidophilus strain L-92 (L-92) on perennial allergic rhinitis. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 49 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis were randomized to receive either 100 mL of heat-treated fermented milk containing L-92 (n = 25) or acidified milk without lactic acid bacteria (placebo; n = 24) for 8 wk. The severity of symptoms was evaluated based on the changes in the scores of clinical symptoms. Oral administration of milk fermented with L-92 resulted in a statistically significant improvement of nasal symptom-medication scores. Ocular symptom-medication scores of patients in the L-92 intervention group tended to improve compared with those in the placebo group. In addition, clear decreases of the scores of swelling and color of the nasal mucosa were observed in the L-92 intervention group at 6 and 8 wk after the start of ingestion of fermented milk. There were no significant differences in serum antihouse dust mite immunoglobulin E levels nor in T helper type 1/T helper type 2 ratio between the 2 groups. These results suggest that oral administration of L-92 can alleviate the symptoms of perennial allergic rhinitis, however, statistically significant changes were not shown in blood parameters.

Objective determination of fatigue development following sun exposure using Advanced Trail Making Test.

Sun exposure during leisure activity evokes fatigue. We employed the Advanced Trail Making Test (ATMT), a recently developed objective method of evaluating brain function performance used to measure mental fatigue, for objective determination of fatigue development caused by solar exposure to the human body. First, a survey of consumer awareness was performed, and fatigue development from solar exposure was generally recognized in both summer and spring. In the field test, 15 males (26-41 years old) received sun exposure equivalent to 100 kJ m(-2) of ultraviolet radiation three to four times each day for 3 days, during which the subjects wore a short sleeve shirt and a short pant, and covered their head with a towel. A significant increase in scores for subjective sense of fatigue was observed in the evening of all 3 days following sun exposure and on the fourth day, which had no exposure, as well as in the morning of the third and fourth days, as compared with those periods during the control week, which did not have experimental solar exposure. ATMT showed a significant increase in average value in the evening of the first and second days following sun exposure, as well as in the morning of the third and fourth days. In addition, increases in body temperature and heart rate were observed during the exposure periods. The results of multiple regression analysis of subjective feelings showed that fatigue caused by solar exposure was qualitatively different from that in the control week. These results suggest that brain function performance declined following solar exposure as did fatigue development. ATMT results may be useful for quantitative and objective evaluation of mental fatigue caused by sun exposure, along with development of sun care products for the prevention of solar-caused fatigue.

Comparison of eye-movement patterns in schizophrenic and normal adults during examination of facial affect displays.

Patients with schizophrenia are known to have deficits in facial affect recognition. Subjects were 25 schizophrenic patients and 25 normal subjects who were shown pairs of slides of laughing faces and asked to compare the intensity of laughter in the two slides. Eye movements were recorded using an infrared scleral reflection technique. Normal subjects efficiently compared the same facial features in the two slides, examining the eyes and mouth, important areas for recognizing laughter, for a longer time than other regions of the face. Schizophrenic patients spent less time ex amining the eyes and mouth and often examined other regions of the face or areas other than the face. Similar results were obtained for the number of fixation points. That schizophrenic patients may have employed an inefficient strategy with few effective eye movements in facial comparison and recognition may help to explain the deficits in facial recognition observed in schizophrenic patients.

Diminished facial expression despite the existence of pleasant emotional experience in schizophrenia.

In order to investigate the relationship between pleasant emotional experience and facial expression (i.e., laughter), mood before and after watching comic film clips, self-rated pleasant emotional experience for each film clip and electromyographic activities of facial muscles involved in laughter while watching film clips were measured for 25 patients with schizophrenia and 20 normal controls. Patients with schizophrenia who showed a significant correlation between self-rated emotional experience and major zygomatic activity were equivalent to normal controls in self-rated emotional experience and in mood after film clips; they had a significant increase in mood scores related with pleasure. Although these patients were thought to have sufficient pleasant emotional experience, they showed significantly low major zygomatic activity as compared to normal controls. It is suggested that these patients have a disturbance in the process of emotional expression rather than emotional experience.