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DNA methylation‐based age estimators (DNAm ageing clocks) are currently one of the most promising biomarkers for predicting biological age. However, the relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), measured directly by expiratory gas analysis, and DNAm ageing clocks are largely unknown. We investigated the relationships between CRF and the age‐adjusted value from the residuals of the regression of DNAm ageing clock to chronological age (DNAmAgeAcceleration: DNAmAgeAccel) and attempted to determine the relative contribution of CRF to DNAmAgeAccel in the presence of other lifestyle factors. DNA samples from 144 Japanese men aged 65–72 years were used to appraise first‐ (i.e., DNAmHorvath and DNAmHannum) and second‐ (i.e., DNAmPhenoAge, DNAmGrimAge, and DNAmFitAge) generation DNAm ageing clocks. Various surveys and measurements were conducted, including physical fitness, body composition, blood biochemical parameters, nutrient intake, smoking, alcohol consumption, disease status, sleep status, and chronotype. Both oxygen uptake at ventilatory threshold (VO2/kg at VT) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2/kg at Peak) showed a significant negative correlation with GrimAgeAccel, even after adjustments for chronological age and smoking and drinking status. Notably, VO2/kg at VT and VO2/kg at Peak above the reference value were also associated with delayed GrimAgeAccel. Multiple regression analysis showed that calf circumference, serum triglyceride, carbohydrate intake, and smoking status, rather than CRF, contributed more to GrimAgeAccel and FitAgeAccel. In conclusion, although the contribution of CRF to GrimAgeAccel and FitAgeAccel is relatively low compared to lifestyle‐related factors such as smoking, the results suggest that the maintenance of CRF is associated with delayed biological ageing in older men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alachlor is a chloroacetanilide herbicide used to control annual grasses in grazing system and has been observed along with its metabolites in animal foodstuffs. Its residue violations in animal foodstuffs are increasing significantly and therefore, useful and efficient assay is required. In this study, a rapid, useful, routine, and sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for simultaneously determining and confirming alachlor and its metabolites (2‐chloro‐N‐(2,6‐diethylphenyl) acetamide, 2,6‐diethylaniline, and 2‐ethyl‐6‐(1‐hydroxyethyl) aniline) in beef muscle, liver, milk, and egg samples was examined. The proposed method uses a simple extraction with methanol followed by dispersive and solid‐phase extraction cleanup. Observably, absolute calibration curves were linear from the limit of quantification to 100 ng/mL (r2 > 0.999). The recovery values fortified at 0.02 and 0.2 μg/g ranged from 70.4 to 107.6% with a relative standard deviation ≤ 7.1%. Alachlor and its metabolites in applied samples from Japanese markets were undetected using developed method. We examined the useful and efficient method and sample preparation scheme for actual and rational process of alachlor's residue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Asian countries, sesame seed oil unsaponified matter is used as a natural food additive due to its associated antioxidant effects. We determined and purified the primary lignans sesamin and sesamolin in sesame seed oil unsaponified matter using reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and tandem mass spectrometry and high-speed countercurrent chromatography. Calibration curves showed good correlation coefficients ( r2 > 0.999, range 0.08 and/or 0.15 to 5 μg/mL) with a limit of detection (at 290 nm) of 0.02 μg/mL for sesamin and 0.04 μg/mL for sesamolin. Sesame seed oil unsaponified matter contained 2.82% sesamin and 2.54% sesamolin, respectively. Direct qualitative analysis of sesamin and sesamolin was achieved using quadrupole mass spectrometry with positive-mode electrospray ionization. Pure (>99%) sesamin and sesamolin standards were obtained using high-speed countercurrent chromatographic purification (hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water; 7:3:7:3). An effective method for determining and purifying sesamin and sesamolin from sesame seed oil unsaponified matter was developed by combining these separation techniques for standardized food additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gardenia yellow is globally the most valuable spice and food color. It is generally a mixture of water-soluble carotenoid glycosyl esters which consist of crocetin bis(gentiobiosyl) ester as the main component. Crocetin is a natural carotenoid dicarboxylic acid that may be a candidate drug for pharmaceutical development, however, it is either present in trace amounts or is absent in natural gardenia yellow products. We here propose that crocetin produced by alkaline hydrolysis can be used to qualitatively evaluate gardenia yellow products using an ultra high performance liquid chromatographic assay. A useful and efficient isolation technique for isolating high-purity crocetin from gardenia yellow using high-speed countercurrent chromatography is described. High-speed countercurrent chromatographic fractionation followed by an ultra high performance liquid chromatographic assay showed that trans-crocetin is easily converted to about 15% cis-crocetin (85% trans-crocetin). Crocetin in gardenia yellow was quantitatively evaluated. Our approach is based on the hydrolysis process for converting crocetin glycosyl esters to crocetin before evaluation and isolation using the ultra high performance liquid chromatographic and high-speed countercurrent chromatographic methods. The combination of hydrolysis and chromatographic methods allows evaluation of the purity and quantity of crocetin in gardenia yellow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to determine basic colorants such as pararosaniline ( PA), auramine O ( AO), and rhodamine B ( RB) in various processed foods was developed. Linearity of the calibration curves ranged from 0.05 to 50 μg/mL for PA and 0.05-100 μg/mL for AO and RB. The detection and quantification limits ( LOD and LOQ) of the basic colorants, which were evaluated as signal-to-noise ratios of 3 for LOD and 10 for LOQ, ranged from 0.0125 to 0.05 and 0.025 to 0.125 μg/g, respectively. The recoveries and relative standard deviations of three basic colorants in six processed foods, namely, chili sauce, curry paste, gochujang (hot pepper paste), tandoori chicken (roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and spices), powder soup, and shrimp powder ranged from 70.2% to 102.8% and 0.8% to 8.0%, respectively. The intraday precision of the recovery test ranged from 1.7% to 4.5%, whereas the interday precision ranged from 3.7% to 7.7%. The reported method has been successfully applied to basic colorant determination in various processed foods such as fat-based food matrices (curry paste and tandoori chicken), chili products (gochujang and chili sauce), and protein-based products (shrimp powder and powder soup). Thin layer chromatography and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry methods for the determination of basic colorants in processed foods were also developed for rapid analysis and identification, respectively. These methods are very useful for monitoring unauthorized basic colorants in inspection centers or quarantine laboratories in many countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymes produced by microorganisms and plants are used as food additives to aid the processing of foods. Identification of the origin of these enzyme products is important for their proper use. Proteinase digestion of α-amylase products, followed by high performance liquid chromatography ( HPLC) analysis, was applied to α-amylase from the mold Aspergillus species, the bacteria Bacillus species, and the actinomycetes Saccharomonospora species. Eighteen commercial products of α-amylase were digested with trypsin and endoproteinase Lys-C and HPLC analyzed. For some proteinase/sample combinations, the area of the intact α-amylase peak decreased and new peaks were detected after digestion. The presence and retention times of the novel peaks were used to group the products. The results from this method, called the proteinase digestion- HPLC method, allowed the classification of the α-amylase products into 10 groups, whereas the results from sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis allowed their classification into seven groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ester-type gum bases, which are used worldwide as food additives, mainly consist of wax esters composed of long-chain fatty acids and long-chain fatty alcohols. There are many varieties of ester-type gum bases, and thus a useful method for their discrimination is needed in order to establish official specifications and manage their quality control. Herein is reported a rapid and simple method for the analysis of different ester-type gum bases used as food additives by high-temperature gas chromatography/mass spectrometry ( GC/ MS). With this method, the constituent wax esters in ester-type gum bases can be detected without hydrolysis and derivatization. The method was applied to the determination of 10 types of gum bases, including beeswax, carnauba wax, lanolin, and jojoba wax, and it was demonstrated that the gum bases derived from identical origins have specific and characteristic total ion chromatogram ( TIC) patterns and ester compositions. Food additive gum bases were thus distinguished from one another based on their TIC patterns and then more clearly discriminated using simultaneous monitoring of the fragment ions corresponding to the fatty acid moieties of the individual molecular species of the wax esters. This direct high-temperature GC/ MS method was shown to be very useful for the rapid and simple discrimination of varieties of ester-type gum bases used as food additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary aluminum (Al) intake by young children, children, youths, and adults in Japan was estimated using the market basket method. The Al content of food category (I-VII) samples for each age group was determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry ( ICP- AES). The Al content in processed foods and unprocessed foods ranged from 0.40 to 21.7 mg/kg and from 0.32 to 0.54 mg/kg, respectively. For processed foods in all age groups, the Al content in food category VI samples, sugar and confections/savories, was the highest, followed by those in category II, cereals. The daily dietary Al intake from processed foods was much larger than that from unprocessed foods. The mean weekly percentages of the provisional tolerable weekly intake ( PTWI, established by the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives in 2011) from processed foods for all age groups are 43.1, 22.4, 17.6 and 15.1%, respectively. Only the highest consumer Al exposure value (> P95) of the young children group exceeded the PTWI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residual levels of 14 volatile substances, including 1,3-butadiene, acrylonitrile, benzene, ethylbenzene, and styrene, in 30 kitchen utensils made from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin ( ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene resin ( AS) such as slicers, picks, cups, and lunch boxes in Japan were simultaneously determined using headspace gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy ( HS- GC/ MS). The maximum residual levels in the ABS and AS samples were found to be 2000 and 2800 μg/g of styrene, respectively. The residual levels of 1,3-butadiene ranged from 0.06 to 1.7 μg/g in ABS, and three of 15 ABS samples exceeded the regulatory limit for this compound as established by the European Union ( EU). The residual levels of acrylonitrile ranged from 0.15 to 20 μg/g in ABS and from 19 to 180 μg/g in AS. The levels of this substance in seven ABS and six AS samples exceeded the limit set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA). Furthermore, the levels of acrylonitrile in three AS samples exceeded the voluntary standard established by Japanese industries. These results clearly indicate that the residual levels of some volatile compounds are still high in ABS and AS kitchen utensils and further observations are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the University of Texas M. D. Anderson proton therapy system (PTC-H) including the accelerator, beam transport, and treatment delivery systems, the functionality and clinical parameters for passive scattering and pencil beam scanning treatment modes, and the results of acceptance tests. Methods: The PTC-H has a synchrotron (70–250 MeV) and four treatment rooms. An overall control system manages the treatment, physics, and service modes of operation. An independent safety system ensures the safety of patients, staff, and equipment. Three treatment rooms have isocentric gantries and one room has two fixed horizontal beamlines, which include a large-field treatment nozzle, used primarily for prostate treatments, and a small-field treatment nozzle for ocular treatments. Two gantry treatment rooms and the fixed-beam treatment room have passive scattering nozzles. The third gantry has a pencil beam scanning nozzle for the delivery of intensity modulated proton treatments (IMPT) and single field uniform dose (SFUD) treatments. The PTC-H also has an experimental room with a fixed horizontal beamline and a passive scattering nozzle. The equipment described above was provided by Hitachi, Ltd. Treatment planning is performed using the Eclipse system from Varian Medical Systems and data management is handled by the MOSAIQ system from IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc. The large-field passive scattering nozzles use double scattering systems in which the first scatterers are physically integrated with the range modulation wheels. The proton beam is gated on the rotating range modulation wheels at gating angles designed to produce spread-out-Bragg peaks ranging in size from 2 to 16 g/cm2. Field sizes of up to 25×25 cm2 can be achieved with the double scattering system. The IMPT delivery technique is discrete spot scanning, which has a maximum field size of 30×30 cm2. Depth scanning is achieved by changing the energy extracted from the synchrotron (energy can be changed pulse to pulse). The PTC-H is fully integrated with DICOM-RT ION interfaces for imaging, treatment planning, data management, and treatment control functions. Results: The proton therapy system passed all acceptance tests for both passive scattering and pencil beam scanning. Treatments with passive scattering began in May 2006 and treatments with the scanning system began in May 2008. The PTC-H was the first commercial system to demonstrate capabilities for IMPT treatments and the first in the United States to treat using SFUD techniques. The facility has been in clinical operation since May 2006 with up-time of approximately 98%. Conclusions: As with most projects for which a considerable amount of new technology is developed and which have duration spanning several years, at project completion it was determined that several upgrades would improve the overall system performance. Some possible upgrades are discussed. Overall, the system has been very robust, accurate, reproducible, and reliable. The authors found the pencil beam scanning system to be particularly satisfactory; prostate treatments can be delivered on the scanning nozzle in less time than is required on the passive scattering nozzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The incidence of type I allergic disorders has been increasing worldwide, particularly, the hypersensitivity to food. We first showed that apple condensed tannin (ACT) intake would inhibit the development of the oral sensitization and that the inhibition could correlate with the rise in the population of TCRγδ-T cells in the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) using W/WV mice and B10A mice which were ovalbumin (OVA)-orally sensitized. Serum OVA-specific immunoglobulin E and immunoglobulin G1 titers in the OVA-orally sensitized W/WV and B10A mice ad libitium fed ACT were extremely inhibited compared to those of the control. The ACT intakes of OVA-sensitized W/WV and B10A mice inhibited the immediate reduction of the body temperature or the rise in serum histamine induced by active systemic anaphylaxis. The proportions of the TCRγδ-T cells in the IEL of the OVA-orally sensitized W/WV and B10A mice ad libitium fed ACT were significantly greater than that in the controls. Furthermore, ACT feeding by itself could induce the rise in the percentage of the TCRγδ-T cells among the IEL of the W/WV and B10A mice. This suggests that the ACT intake may prevent the development of food allergies and this effect could be correlated with the rise in the percentage of TCRγδ-T cells among the IEL. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The following describes the quantitative determining method for phosphatidylcholine (PC) using the HPLC-RI system which we have developed. It uses Lichromsorb, Si 60 (10 μm), 4.6 mm × 250 mm as the column and a mobile phase consisting of n-hexane/isopropanol/water =1:4:1. In this report, we compared data from selected high-purity (60-100 wt%) samples using the HPLC-RI, HPLC-UV and conventional TLC-P methods. Under the conditions we described, the HPLC-UV method was somewhat affected by fatty acid compositions. As a result, there were some inconsistencies in the measured values. However, the HPLC-RI method we propose was applicable to PC from both egg yolk and soybeans. In addition, the HPLC-RI method produced data which correlated well with data from the TLC-P method, and this data was highly accurate and exhibited satisfac-tory reproductibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Patients who had undergone partial resection of the stomach for peptic ulcer or gastric cancer are at a high risk for development of gastric stump carcinoma. It has been postulated that bile reflux plays an important role in gastric stump cancer and chemical gastritis. However, the effect of Helicobacter pylori (HP) must be examined in the gastric stump HP gastritis. Both gastritis have malignant potential. Aim The purpose of this study is to conjecture the influence of HP and bile reflux in the gastric stump mucosa. Material and Method A retrospective study was designed to explore the histological findings and HP infection. Then we compared the patients who had gastric stump carcinoma (Group 1:17 patients, mean age: 66.9 + 11.9 years, post operative duration: 16.7 ± 12.0 years)with those who had no malignancy on their gastric stump (group 2: 14 patients who were followed up more than 5 years after distal partial reaction with Birrloth I Reconstruction, mean age: 61.4 ± 13.4 years, post-oprative duration: 8.5 ± 5.7 years). For histological comparison, non-cancerous mucosa in the remnant stomach from group 1 were collected from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded preserved tissues. These tissues were excised carefully from non-cancerous areas. In Group 2, two endoscopic biopsy specimens were taken from the gastric stump mucosa at a 3 cm distance from the anastomisis, greater curvature. Tissues were stained by the Giemsa staining for the presence of HP and for histological gastritis by Hematoxilin-Eosin stain. Except Gastritis Cystica Polyposa (GCP), all of the histological findings as following were scored: i antrophy of fundic gland ii inflammatory infiltration iii atypia of gland iv pseudopyloric gland metaplasia v tortuous gland vi dilation of gland vii. neutrophilic infiltration. Result Presence of The HP positive rate of group 1 was 82.4%. And in group 2, the positive rate was 14.3%. A statistical difference was found between the two groups (p=0.0006). Histological findings The score for i atrophy of fundic gland, ii inflammatory infiltration and vii intestinal metaplasia were higher in group 1 than in Group 2(p=0.0097, p=0.0052, p=0.0075). In seven tissues subject from Group 1, GCP were detected but not in Group 2 Conclusion These result shows that HP may play an important role in the gastric stump cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]