The influence of season and air temperature on water intake by food groups in a sample of free-living Japanese adults.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To examine the influence of season and climate (air temperature and humidity) on water intake by the food group in a sample of free-living Japanese adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Four-nonconsecutive-day, semi-weighed dietary records were collected from each of the four seasons in a single 12-month period (16 days in total). The influence of season and climate on individual water intake by the food group was analyzed using a mixed linear model. Participants were 242 healthy adults (121 women aged 30-69 years and 121 men aged 30-76 years) from four areas in Japan. RESULTS: For women and men together, the mean total water intake was 2230 g/day (highest in summer: 2331 g/day; lowest in winter: 2134 g/day). Fifty-one percent of water was derived from foods and the rest from beverages. In a mixed linear model adjusted for sex, age and body mass index, intake of water from foods decreased by 3.1 g/day and that from beverages increased by 8.4 g/day, with an increase in the mean outdoor air temperature on the survey day of 1 °C (both P < 0.0001). The influence of humidity was nonsignificant. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to previous findings in Western countries, half of water intake in Japanese adults was derived from foods. Water intake from beverages was positively associated with air temperature, whereas that from foods was inversely associated with air temperature.

Elevated interleukin-4 and interleukin-6 in rats sensitized with toluene diisocyanate.

In order to investigate the cytokine profile in toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced occupational asthma, we conducted a quantification of cytokine production in a murine model of respiratory hyperreactivity to TDI. Wistar rats were sensitized with intranasal application of 10% TDI and provoked with 5% TDI to induce airway hypersensitivity. The blood leucocytes were counted, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed and the cellular responses in BAL fluid were analysed. Lung histological examination was performed to investigate the inflammatory status in the airway. The production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6 and IFN-gamma in serum, BAL fluid and spleen cell were determined with ELISA kits. The cellular results demonstrated that neutrophils and eosinophils in blood were significantly increased and the total cells and each different cell, in particular eosinophils in BAL fluid were markedly increased in TDI sensitized rats. Histological analysis showed that a respiratory inflammation represented by prominent infiltration of eosinophils in central and peripheral airways was present in TDI-sensitized rats. The cytokine assays revealed that in TDI-sensitized rats, IL-4 was predominately secreted in serum, and IL-4 and IL-6 rather than IL-2 and IFN-gamma were predominately secreted in BAL fluid and in spleen cell. These findings suggested that IL-4 and IL-6 are preferentially produced and may have an important role in occupational asthma induced by TDI.

Risk factors for cigarette smoking among high school students in Okinawa, Japan.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between risk factors and smoking status among high school students in Okinawa, Japan. We also examined if there is a dose-response relation between the number of risk factors and smoking status. Self-reported questionnaires including smoking status and potential risk factors were conducted using a sample of 1,029 students of a public senior high school in Okinawa. The percentage of smokers was 40.0% for males and 10.6% for females, and it was significantly higher for males than females. As a result of multivariate analysis, we identified four significant risk factors; peer smoking, attitude of peer toward subject smoking, intention to smoke at the age 20, and alcohol drinking. The number of these risk factors was linearly associated with increased percentage of smokers, and a linear trend was significant for both gender students. Additionally, magnitude of risk for smoking among females became considerably great compared with those of males as the number of risk factors increased. In conclusion, this study was the first study in Japan to indicate a significant dose-response relationship between the number of risk factors and smoking status among high school students. We also found that females with many risk factors had extremely increased vulnerability to smoking compared to male counterpart. These findings may be useful to identify high-risk students who need more intensive smoking prevention programs and to develop the content of effective interventions.

Effect of dietary vitamin E supplementation on murine nasal allergy.

BACKGROUND: Although many studies have reported the effects of dietary vitamin E on the immune response, none so far has assessed its role in nasal allergy. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice were randomized into two groups and fed a 20% casein diet (control group, 50 mg vitamin E/kg diet) or this diet supplemented with 535 mg vitamin E/kg diet (vitamin E group, 585 mg vitamin E/kg diet) for 4 weeks. During the fifth week, the mice in each group were divided into two subgroups to form a total of four treatment groups: group A (control), group B [control + toluene diisocyanate (TDI) sensitization], group C (vitamin E supplementation), and group D (vitamin E supplementation + TDI sensitization). Groups B and D were treated with two courses of intranasal application of 5% TDI in ethyl acetate, whereas groups A and C were treated with ethyl acetate alone. A week after second sensitization all groups were provoked by applying 2.5% of TDI in the vehicle and nasal allergic responses were observed for 10 minutes. Splenic lymphoproliferation, splenic cell cytokines, and the total serum IgE were measured. RESULTS: Members of group D had lower (P < 0.01) scores of nasal response and sneezed less frequently (P < 0.01) than those of group B. Similarly, splenic lymphoproliferation and production of IL-4 and IL-5 as well as the total serum IgE levels were lower (P < 0.01) in group D than in group B. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that higher doses of vitamin E supplementation may suppress nasal allergic responses.

Metabolic hydroxylation of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline in humans.

We characterized the metabolites of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (MTBC) in human urine by gas chromatography-negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-NICIMS) and developed an analytical method using GC-NICIMS for their quantitative determination. When tetradeuterated MTBC was orally administered to a human subject, two peaks of the deuterated metabolites appeared on mass fragmentograms of the urine samples after administration. They were identified as tetradeuterated 6-hydroxy-MTBC (6-OH-MTBC) and 7-hydroxy-MTBC (7-OH-MTBC), indicating that MTBC was metabolically hydroxylated in humans. The proposed GC-NICIMS method could sensitively and selectively determine urinary 6-OH-MTBC and 7-OH-MTBC without interference from their artifactual formation during analysis. Its application to urine analysis has revealed that MTBC is excreted in human urine predominantly as the two hydroxylated metabolites, in which 6-OH-MTBC is present in both free and conjugated forms, whereas the 7-OH-MTBC of a conjugated form is much more than the 7-OH-MTBC of a free form.

Determination of tetrahydro-beta-carbolines in rat brain by gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry without interference from artifactual formation.

This paper describes a quantitative method for neuroactive alkaloids, 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (MTBC) and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (TBC), in rat brain by gas chromatography-negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (GC-NICIMS). After addition of tetradeuterated MTBC and TBC (internal standards), the samples were subjected to deproteinization, reaction with fluorescamine, solvent extractions, trifluoroacetylation and GC-NICIMS analysis. In contrast to the other previous methods, the artifactual formation during analysis did not interfere with the determination of MTBC and TBC because their precursor tryptamine was removed as a fluorescamine derivative from the analytical system at the first step of pretreatment. MTBC and TBC were specifically and reliably determined in the range of pg-ng/sample. Application of the proposed method has revealed that the MTBC and TBC contents in rat brain significantly increase after intraperitoneal administration of MTBC and TBC, indicating their ability to easily cross the blood-brain barrier.

Urinary excretion of the enantiomers of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline in unequal abundance implies enzymatic metabolism in man.

1-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline, a condensation product of tryptamine and acetaldehyde, is one of the neuropharmacologically active alkaloids in mammals. Its enantiomers excreted in human urine were independently analyzed by gas chromatography-negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Mass fragmentograms of the racemic 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline offered two peaks with (S)-(-)- and (R)-(+)-configurations which were eluted in this retention order. When the racemic tetradeuterated 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline was orally administered to a human subject, the urinary tetradeuterated enantiomers were found to be of unequal abundance. The deuterated (R)-(+)-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline was predominantly excreted in human urine about 3-times over the deuterated (S)-(-)-one. The stereoselective difference in the urinary excretion of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline administered exogenously implies that it is enzymatically metabolized, but not that its biosynthesis is associated with an enzymatic reaction.

Quantitation of urinary 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed to quantify 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (TBC) and 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (MTBC) in human urine. Urine samples with added internal standard were subjected to a reaction with fluorescamine and solvent extractions to remove the precursor tryptamine, which readily condenses with aldehydes in samples and reagents. Such a pretreatment completely suppressed the artifactual formation of TBC and MTBC during analytical procedures. The purified original tetrahydro-beta-carbolines and the internal standard were separated by reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography with fluorescent detection. Their simultaneous separation was automatically completed in a short time (< 12 min). Both TBC and MTBC were quantified at ng/mL concentrations. The quantitative results revealed a wide variation in urinary levels of TBC and MTBC, possibly indicating that their considerable amounts excreted in the urine originate from dietary sources.

Effect of alcohol on blood levels of branched-chain alpha-keto acids in male Wistar rats.

The effect of oral alcohol administration on branched-chain alpha-keto acids was studied in Wistar rats. Rats were divided into alcohol loading groups 1 (ethanol single daily dose: 2.5 g/kg body wt for 14 days) and 2 (ethanol dose: 5 g/kg body wt), and a pair-fed control group (isocaloric glucose and food equal to the amount taken by group 1 the previous day). Branched-chain alpha-keto acids, other alpha-keto acids and amino acids were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results showed a significant body weight increase in the alcohol loading groups. Concentrations of branched-chain amino acids and keto acids were significantly increased in the alcohol-treated groups. The blood levels of methionine, threonine, alanine and glutamic acid were also increased by alcohol administration. Blood levels of taurine and ornithine, however, showed a significant decrease in the alcohol-treated groups. These results show that alcohol increases the blood levels of branched-chain keto acids and branched-chain amino acids.

Highly sensitive method for the determination of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline using combined capillary gas chromatography and negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

A sensitive method was developed for the determination of deuterated and non-deuterated 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline by combined capillary gas chromatography and negative-ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. 1-Methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline was converted into a trifluoroacetyl derivative after pretreatment with fluorescamine and extraction with ethyl acetate. The derivative was separated by capillary gas chromatography and determined by selected-ion monitoring. In the determination, [3,3,4,4-2H4]-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline was used as an internal standard. The method developed in this work was used for the determination of deuterated and non-deuterated 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline in human urine samples collected before and after administration of [3,3-2H2]-L-tryptophan.

Present health situation in Tanzania.

This article discusses the present health situation in Tanzania, however, health system before independence, the colonial health system, has been the foundation on which the present health services in Tanzania are built upon. The population growth in Tanzania is high (3.2% in 1986), and projected to be 3.7% by the year 2,000. This high growth explains why it is difficult to achieve health objectives on the long term basis. Compounded to this is the economical crisis in the country. Child population in Tanzania account for about 47% of the total population in 1986. Maternal and Child Health Care services (MCHC) are discussed, with much emphasis on the child health care problems, and different programmes involved in improving child health care in the country. Problems of poor environmental sanitation are discussed including possible solutions for Tanzania. Tanzania, in this article, is urged to strengthen the existing health services in terms of staff, drugs, other supplies and equipment in order to give adequate health care to its people. Tanzania should also balance the distribution of resources between urban and rural so as to comply with the objective of the national health policy of comprehensive basic health services equitably to all within the limited available resources and to be able to reach the ultimate goal of health for all the people in the country by the year 2,000.

[Effect of Ca level on 65Zn absorption at the ligated duodenal loop of rat].

Effect of calcium concentration on Zn absorption was studied in rats. Administration of Zn solution with calcium through gastric tracts depressed markedly the levels of Zn in serum taken from portal vein. Dependency on calcium concentrations of the absorption and distribution of Ca in the body was determined using in situ administration of Zn into ligated duodenal loop of rats. Administration of Zn with high calcium solution decreased significantly the levels of Zn in serum and all the tissues compared with the administration with low and medium calcium solutions. A considerable disease in the level of Zn was observed in the liver and kidney compared with the rats administered with medium and low calcium solutions.

[Toxicological evaluation of an in vitro culture of mouse embryos; effect of non-carcinogenic mutagens for the development of embryos].

Short term drug toxicities were investigated using cultures of mouse embryos in the early stage of development. These embryos were collected at the two- or eight-cell stage. They were exposed to bleomycin (B1) or 6-mercaptopurine (MP) for 24 hr, thereafter, they were grown in BMOC-3 medium without these agents until the blastocyst stage. Total culturing period was 72 hr for the two-cell embryos and 48 hr for the eight-cell embryos. At the end of the culture periods, the number of cells, mitotic index and frequencies of sister chromatid exchange in these embryos after these exposures were unaltered. However, the death rate of embryos was elevated by the exposure to either B1 or MP. These agents are regarded as non-carcinogenic mutagens; therefore, it is suggested that these compounds are lethal to the embryos through an induction of mutation.

[In vitro culture of mouse embryos for toxicological evaluation. (3): Effect of carcinogens on development of the embryos].

Mouse embryos were collected at the 2 cell or 8 cell stage. The embryos of each stage were exposed to 1 pM-10 nM 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO) or 1 nM-10 microM N-methyl-nitro-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) for 24 hr, and cultured to develop to blastocysts within clean medium. Since after exposure to 4-NQO, the appearance of early blastocysts and blastocysts were increased in exposure groups compared with controls, the growth to the 8 cell stage embryo (8-E) appeared to be late in development. Frequency of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and mitotic index were increased with doses in the blastocysts (2-B) which derived from 2-E. There was little change in the SCE and mitotic index for blastocysts (8-B) which derived from the 8 cell stage embryo (8-E). Cessation of development in the 2 cell stage embryo (2-E) appeared in the 10 microM group during the period of exposure to MNNG. Development to the 8-E stage appeared to be slightly late in the other exposed groups. Thereafter at 48 hr after the initiation of culture, the exposed groups appeared to be more advanced in development than the controls. After this period, developmental rates to blastocysts were increased in the 10-100 nM groups. It appeared that the development of these groups was more advanced. In 2-B after exposure to MNNG, cell counts were dose-responsively increased in the 1 and 10 nM groups. The mitotic index in the 1 to 100 nM groups was higher than the controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for screening disorders of aromatic acid metabolism using a multi-detection system.

This paper describes the use of a high-performance liquid chromatograph equipped with an ultraviolet multi-detection system for the analysis of aromatic acids to help establish a high-risk screening system for disorders of organic acid metabolism. The peak height ratios of about seventy metabolically important aromatic acids have been compiled using the multi-detection system. It may be possible to identify aromatic acids by comparing retention time and peak height ratios. The method was very effective for the diagnosis of disorders of aromatic acid metabolism.

Sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of catecholamines in rat brain using a laser fluorimetric detection system.

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of catecholamines in rat brains has been developed using a fluorescence detector equipped with a continuous wave laser as an excitation light source. A new pre-purification and derivatization method was established and confirmed to be useful for the determination of catecholamines in biological samples. This pre-treatment method was simple, reproducible and specific. About 1 mg of the rat brain tissue was enough to determine catecholamines levels. The levels of dopamine and norepinephrine in rat brain were 0.40 and 0.87 ng, respectively, which agree with the findings of other workers.