Search

Sitagliptin has been suggested as a treatment option for older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, no randomized controlled trial has been performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sitagliptin treatment in older Japanese patients with T2D. The STREAM study was a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. T2D outpatients aged 65–80 years with moderately controlled glycemic levels (HbA1c 7.4–10.4%) under lifestyle interventions without or with oral anti-diabetic drugs excluding DPP4 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists were recruited (n = 176). The participants were randomized into sitagliptin group (n = 88) who received sitagliptin as an initial or an additive anti-diabetic drug and control group (n = 88) who did not. The treatment goal was HbA1c level < 7.4%. Efficacy and safety during 12-month treatment period were investigated. The mean (± SD) ages were 70.6 ± 3.9 and 71.9 ± 4.4 years old in sitagliptin and control groups, respectively. According to a mixed-effects model analysis, average changes from baseline over the treatment period in fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c, and glycated albumin (GA) were − 27.2 mg/dL, − 0.61%, and − 2.39%, respectively, in sitagliptin group, and 0.50 mg/dL, − 0.29%, and − 0.93%, respectively, in control group. The reductions in FPG, HbA1c, and GA were significantly greater in sitagliptin group (P < 0.0001, P < 0.01, and P < 0.0001, respectively). There were no differences in the incidence of adverse effects, except for cystatin C elevation and platelet count reduction in sitagliptin group. Sitagliptin treatment effectively improved the glycemic profile without any serious adverse effects in older T2D patients. Trial registration number: UMIN000010376. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The H( d, γ)He capture reaction and the H( d, p)H and H( d, n)He transfer reactions at very low energies are studied in an extended microscopic cluster model with a realistic nucleon-nucleon force. Our results show that the tensor force in realistic interactions plays an essential and indispensable role to reproduce the very low-energy astrophysical S factor of these reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor suppressor Fbxw7 (also known as Sel-10, hCdc4, hAgo, or Fbw7) is an F-box protein that functions as the substrate-recognition subunit of an SCF ubiquitin ligase complex and targets a group of oncoproteins for degradation. We now show that Fbxw7 regulates the proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes by mediating the degradation of c-Myc and Notch proteins. Fbxw7-deficient keratinocytes showed an increased proliferative capacity that was dependent on the accumulation of c-Myc but not on that of Notch. Fbxw7 deficiency also resulted in the premature differentiation of keratinocytes in a manner dependent on both c-Myc and Notch. Although Fbxw7-deficient keratinocytes proliferated excessively in vitro, loss of Fbxw7 did not predispose keratinocytes to the formation of squamous cell carcinoma in vivo induced by the expression of oncogenic Ras, possibly because the stem cell population of keratinocytes becomes exhausted as a result of enhanced Notch activity. Indeed, suppression of Notch signaling by additional ablation of RBP-J in Fbxw7-deficient keratinocytes conferred a more aggressive tumorigenic capacity. Collectively, these results indicate that Fbxw7 controls the proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes, and that it exerts both inhibitory and stimulatory actions in skin carcinogenesis by counteracting the proliferation-promoting effect of c-Myc and the tumor-suppressive effect of Notch, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean cyst nematode ( Heterodera glycines; SCN) is becoming a serious problem in azuki bean ( Vigna angularis var. angularis) production in Hokkaido, Japan. To find sources of resistance to SCN, we screened wild relatives of azuki bean and calculated 'female indices' (FIs) of 342 accessions from 8 Vigna species that are cross-compatible with azuki bean. Twenty-three accessions belonging to V. hirtella, V. minima, V. nakashimae, V. riukiuensis, and V. tenuicaulis were resistant to the most prevalent SCN race, race 3, but most of them were only moderately resistant or susceptible to race 5. Four promising accessions ( V. minima JP205886, JP205891, and JP210806, and V. nakashimae JP107879) showed a high level of resistance to all SCN races found in Japan (1, 3, and 5) and race 2 (an experimentally derived race from race 5). Since the SCN-resistant soybean cultivars released in Japan are not resistant to races 2 and 5, these wild Vigna accessions may have resistance mechanisms different from that of soybean. Continuous culture of race 3 on promising accessions showed that it might be difficult to overcome the resistance of these accessions. The resistance sources found in this study will be useful in controlling SCN through the breeding of SCN-resistant azuki bean cultivars. This study also showed the effectiveness of using wild genetic resources for identifying novel resistance sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elastic-scattering phase shifts for four-nucleon systems are studied in an ab-initio type cluster model in order to clarify the role of the tensor force and to investigate cluster distortions in low energy d+ d and t+ p scattering. In the present method, the description of the cluster wave function is extended from (0 s) harmonic-oscillator shell model to a few-body model with a realistic interaction, in which the wave functions of the subsystems are determined with the Stochastic Variational Method. In order to calculate the matrix elements of the four-body system, we have developed a Triple Global Vector Representation method for the correlated Gaussian basis functions. To compare effects of the cluster distortion with realistic and effective interactions, we employ the AV8′ potential + a three nucleon force as a realistic interaction and the Minnesota potential as an effective interaction. Especially for S, the calculated phase shifts show that the t+ p and h+ n channels are strongly coupled to the d+ d channel for the case of the realistic interaction. On the contrary, the coupling of these channels plays a relatively minor role for the case of the effective interaction. This difference between both potentials originates from the tensor term in the realistic interaction. Furthermore, the tensor interaction makes the energy splitting of the negative parity states of He consistent with experiments. No such splitting is however reproduced with the effective interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has dealt with direct contact heat and mass transfer characteristics of air bubbles in a hot water layer. The experiments were carried out by bubbling air in the hot water layer under some experimental conditions of air flow rate, inlet air temperature and humidity as a dispersion fluid, and hot water temperature and hot water layer depth as a continuous fluid. Heat transfer and evaporation of water vapor from hot water to air bubbles occurred during air bubbles ascending into the hot water. Air bubble flow patterns were classified into three regions of independent air bubble flow, transition and air bubble combination growth. Non-dimensional correlation equations of direct contact heat and mass transfer between air bubbles and hot water were derived by some non- dimensional parameters for three regions of bubble flow pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1-amino analog of MPTP, 1(N)-amino-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, was synthesized and the oxidation was examined using human synaptosomal mitochondria as sources of type A and B monoamine oxidase. An oxidation product, 1-amino-4-phenylpyridinium ion, was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorometric detection. The amino analog was a substrate of both type A and B monoamine oxidase and the oxidation depended linearly on the enzyme amount and the reaction time with an optimal pH around 7.5. After the systemic injection of the amino analog in C57/black mice for one week, 1-amino-4-phenylpyridinium ion was detected in the brain. 1(N)-Amino-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine was proved to be cytotoxic to pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, and it may be a new neurotoxin bioactivated through the oxidation by type A and B monoamine oxidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Il Nuovo Cimento: A is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Natural occurrence of fumonisins B (FB) and B (FB), a promoter for hepato-carcinogenesis, was investigated in corn and corn - based products sampled in Japan, Nepal, and China by high - performance liquid chromatographic method. From the 9 imported corn kernel and 6 gluten feed samples, FB was detected in 8 corn (0.6 ∼ 4.1μg/g) and all gluten feed (0.3 ∼ 2.4μg/g) samples, while FB was found in the same corn (0.3 ∼ 10μg/g) and 3 gluten feed (0.8 ∼ 8.5μg/g) samples. ELISA analysis also revealed the contamination of aflatoxin B in 2 corn and all gluten feed samples along with fumonisins. Of 17 corn grit samples, 14 and 5 samples were contaminated with fumonisin B and B, with maximum levels of 2.6 and 2.8μg/g, respectively. As for corn-based foodstuffs marketed in Japan, no significant contamination of fumonisins was observed. Among 24 corn kernel samples in Nepal, 12 and 7 samples were positive for FB and FB, and averaged to 0.6 and 1.6μg/g, respectively. One sample showed the highest fumonisin contents as 4.6 and 5.5μg/g, respectively. In corn samples harvested at Shanghai and Beijing, China, FB and FB were detected in various concentrations. Mycological survey has also revealed the presence of a fumonisin - producing fungus in a crop field of Japan. These findings have for the first time demonstrated high levels of contamination of fumonisins in corn and corn - based products in Asian countries. Natural co - occurrence of fumonisins and aflatoxin B was also detected in raw materials for mixed feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The B-C system with an arbitrary conformal weight by Friedan, Martinec and Shenker is formulated by using the Beltrami parametrization. The holomorphic factorization will be manifest. We quantize the system in the BRST formalism. It will be shown by an explicit calculation that the Slavnov-Taylor identity is afflicted by the holomorphic anomaly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Physik is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We define σ-models on quaternionic manifolds and discuss aspects of their geometry and quantization, in particular the question of anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1) For evaluating pancreatic diseases with Wohlgemuth's method of amylase determination, the significant values lie only above 64 unit, and in the low units (2-8) there is no significance suggesting pancreatic abnormalities. 2) Serial determination on urinary amylase excretion is recommended for diagnosing of chronic pancreatic disorders. 3) It is suggested that urinary amylase is more closely related to pancreatic states than serum amylase from the observations of amylase isozyme pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]