Soy sauce is a traditional seasoning produced through the fermentation of soybeans and wheat using microbes. In this study, the microbial communities involved in the soy sauce manufacturing process ...were analyzed by PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The bacterial DGGE profile indicated that the bacterial microbes in the koji were Weissella cibaria (Weissella confusa, Weissella kimchii, Weissella salipiscis, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus iners, or Streptococcus thermophilus), Staphylococcus gallinarum (or Staphylococcus xylosus), and Staphylococcus kloosii. In addition to these bacteria, Tetragenococcus halophilus was also detected in the mash during lactic acid fermentation. The fungal DGGE profile indicated that the fungal microbes in the koji were not only Aspergillus oryzae but also several yeasts. In the mash, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii appeared in the early fermentation stage, Candida etchellsii (or Candida nodaensis) and Candida versatilis were detected at the middle fermentation stage, and Candida etchellsii was detected at the mature fermentation stage. These results suggest that the microbial communities present during the soy sauce manufacturing process change drastically throughout its production. This is the first report to reveal the microbial communities involved in the soy sauce manufacturing process using a culture-independent method.
► Soy sauce is a traditional seasoning. ► The microbial composition dynamics during the fermentation process was investigated. ► The microbial communities change drastically throughout its production. ► We report the transition of microbial communities during the fermentation process.
The impact of tofogliflozin, a sodium‐glucose co‐transporter‐2 inhibitor, on peripheral glucose uptake in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was investigated using the ...hyperinsulinaemic‐euglycaemic clamp method in a single‐arm, open‐label study. The following variables were compared between before and after tofogliflozin administration for 12 weeks in 16 patients with T2DM who were receiving dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor treatment: body weight (BW); blood pressure; glucose metabolism; liver function; lipid profile; and body composition. Peripheral glucose uptake (M value and M/I ratio) was examined by the hyperinsulinaemic‐euglycaemic clamp method. After 12 weeks, there was a significant decrease (P < .001) in glycated haemoglobin, BW, body fat mass and lean body mass. Peripheral glucose uptake, which indicates insulin sensitivity, increased significantly (M value by 0.90 and M/I ratio by 0.49; both P < .05). The change in the M value after 12 weeks of tofogliflozin therapy was correlated with the change in body fat mass (P < .05). Tofogliflozin significantly improved insulin sensitivity and peripheral glucose uptake in patients with T2DM. These improvements were significantly correlated with reduction in body fat mass.
Type 2 diabetes is associated with sarcopenia. Resistance training and appropriate nutritional therapy are reported to be effective for muscle strength and mass. This study aimed to evaluate the ...effect of resistance training using elastic bands at home combined with a leucine-rich amino acid supplement on muscle strength, physical function, and muscle mass in elderly type 2 diabetes. We conducted a 48-week prospective single-center randomized controlled trial in 60 patients who were randomly allocated to one of three groups: control (C), resistance exercise (R), and resistance exercise plus supplement (RL). R and RL groups performed daily bodyweight resistance training with elastic bands exercises at home, and the RL group also took 6 g of a leucine-rich amino acid supplement daily. Knee extension strength (muscle strength), grip strength, usual gait speed (physical function), muscle mass, and cognitive function were assessed at 0 and 48 weeks. Although the change in knee extension strength from baseline was significantly increased by 6.4 Nm (95% CI 1.0, 11.7) in the RL group (p = 0.036), no significant difference was observed among the three groups (p = 0.090). Physical function, muscle mass, and cognitive function also had no changes during the study period among the three groups. No additive effect of a leucine-rich amino acid supplement on muscle strength or mass was observed. Although a post hoc analysis comparing with or without resistance training (C group vs. R + RL group) found that knee extension strength was significantly increased (p = 0.028), and cognitive decline was less (p = 0.046) than in the C group.
Objective: It is well known that sleep apnoea and primary aldosteronism are related. However, it is unclear whether aldosterone excess contributes to the severity of sleep apnoea. We investigated ...factors correlated with sleep apnoea in patients with primary aldosteronism: the endocrine system, including aldosterone, cardiac function, renal function, and blood pressure. Design and method: We performed a 3% oxygen saturation index with a pulse oximeter in 50 patients (54% male, 49 ± 7.3 years) diagnosed with primary aldosteronism scheduled for adrenal vein sampling in 2017-2020. 3% oxygen saturation index results were classified as mild (less than 5), moderate (5-15), or severe(15 and above) sleep apnoea. In addition, we compared aldosterone (radioimmunoassay), renin activity, aldosterone/renin activity, brain natriuretic peptide, estimated glomerular filtration rate and blood pressure at the initial visit in the severe group and other groups. Results: The severe group did not have higher aldosterone than the mild (192.7 ± 114.7 vs 238.9 ± 128.8 pg/mL, P=0.640) and moderate (192.7 ± 114.7 vs 187.5 ± 85.5 pg/mL, P=0.995) groups, and the same results were obtained for renin activity and aldosterone/renin activity. In other parameters, estimated glomerular filtration rate was not significantly different between groups, but systolic blood pressure at the initial visit in the severe group was significantly higher than in the mild (175.3±25.7 vs 144.8±18.7 mmHg, P=0.003) and moderate (175.3±25.7 vs 143.0±18.5 mmHg, P=0.003) groups. Similarly, brain natriuretic peptide in the severe group was significantly higher than in the mild (53.5±90.0 vs 12.7±8.3 pg/mL, P=0.020) and moderate (53.5±90.0 vs 10.7±11.2, P=0.014) groups. Conclusions: Our results showed that aldosterone excess did not contribute to the severity of sleep apnoea. However, severe sleep apnoea was significantly associated with elevated systolic blood pressure and brain natriuretic peptide.
This study set out to investigate the effect of gel migration through micro-pores and cracks on concrete expansion caused by alkali–silica reaction (ASR). First, sensitivity analyses with permeation ...of produced silica gel were conducted by using a computational scheme of multi-scale poro-mechanics. Then, silica gel movements were found to substantially affect the ASR expansion of concrete with the possibility of its scale effect being rooted in the drugging force when the silica gel is in motion. With accelerated ASR tests of mortar, the predicted scale effects were experimentally verified and the permeation of gel was inversely identified in terms of multi-scale mechanics. Here, the effect of alkali ion leaching on the scale-dependency was also discussed in view of chemo-physics as well as mechanics of produced gel migration. The measured characteristic scale-dependency in the experiment can be also simulated by nonlinear analysis of smeared cracks coupled with gel generation, migration and alkali ion leaching.
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignancy. CA19-9 is a well-known marker for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, but the serum CA19-9 level is reported to be elevated in patients with poorly ...controlled diabetes. This study evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off value of serum CA19-9 for detection of pancreatic cancer in patients with diabetes. A case-control study of 236 patients was performed. The case group was selected from diabetic patients with pancreatic cancer, while one control was selected for each case from among diabetic patients without pancreatic cancer during the same period. The case group (n = 118) and the control group (n = 118) were matched for age, sex, and pancreatic cancer risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to determine the serum CA19-9 level that predicted pancreatic cancer. Then the sensitivity and specificity of CA19-9 were calculated for the threshold value. There were no significant differences of age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol intake, and HbA1c between the case and control groups. According to ROC analysis, a serum CA19-9 level of 75 U/mL had the maximum sensitivity and specificity for separating diabetic patients with or without pancreatic cancer. Using this cut-off value, the sensitivity and specificity of CA19-9 for pancreatic cancer was 69.5% and 98.2%, respectively, while the area under the ROC curve was 0.875 95%CI: 0.826–0.924. We propose that a serum CA19-9 level of 75 U/mL should be used as the cut-off value when screening patients with diabetes for pancreatic cancer.
This study assessed the association of muscle mass with insulin resistance, evaluated from the insulin sensitivity index (ISI), in Japanese patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). ...Consecutive patients with GDM (n = 96) admitted to St. Marianna University Hospital between October 2015 and March 2018 for initial education and glycemic control were enrolled in a prospective observational study. Insulin resistance was evaluated by measuring the ISI and body composition was assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis. The subjects were aged 34.4 ± 4.8 years (mean ± SD) and their body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy was 22.3 ± 4.0 kg/m2. Fifty-three patients (55.2%) had a history of diabetes in first-degree relatives. The ISI was 7.2 ± 3.3, appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) was 17.0 ± 2.1 kg, and fat mass (FM) was 18.8 ± 8.2 kg. The ASM/FM ratio was 1.02 ± 0.34. There was a positive correlation between FM and ASM (r = 0.734, p < 0.001). To adjust for confounders when evaluating the association of ASM with ISI, multivariate analysis was conducted using age, family history of diabetes, and BMI as variables. In this analysis, the ASM/FM ratio showed a significant positive correlation with ISI (β = 0.303, p = 0.020). These findings suggest that inadequate ASM/FM ratio is important for the development of insulin resistance in Japanese patients with GDM. Excessive emphasis on dieting rather than health might increase the risk of GDM by reducing the muscle mass below the level that maintains normal glucose metabolism.
Channel initiation is a major mechanism of landform evolution, and channel heads are the points where channelization occurs. In mountainous or hilly landscapes, the channel initiation often occurs by ...shallow landslides. Although topographic observation has revealed climatic or lithological controls in thresholds for channel initiation, few studies have reported the migration of channel heads caused by storm events with shallow landslides. The temporal variation in channel-head location before and after storm events was investigated in two granitic mountainous areas of Hiroshima and Hofu cities, western Japan. High-magnitude low-frequency storm events caused shallow landslides and debris flows in 2014 for the Hiroshima area and in 2009 for the Hofu area. Digital elevation models (DEMs) with a resolution of 1 m based on airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging) are available for both pre- and post-event conditions. The location of pre-event channel heads was morphologically estimated from an interpretation of pre-event DEMs. The location of post-event channel heads was confirmed in the field. The analysis showed a number of channel heads were migrated upstream or initiated in hollows due to shallow landslides during the storm events. While relationship between source-area size and local slope were statistically not significant for pre-event channel heads, post-event channel heads with landslides showed significant inverse area-slope correlations for both Hiroshima and Hofu areas. On the basis of a cyclic model of soil recovery and landsliding in a geomorphic hollow, channel heads with larger size of source areas have higher potential for landslides. This hypothesis is tested in the two areas. For the Hiroshima area, probability of shallow landslides was high in the channel heads with larger pre-event sizes of source area. This agrees with a conceptual model for the migration of channel heads, in which the size of the source area increases with time after the last landslide event. In contrast, the pre-event sizes of source areas were not related to the landslide occurrence for the Hofu area. The result implies that the local conditions control the spatio-temporal pattern of channel-head migration.
•The temporal variation of channel-head locations was investigated in granitic mountainous areas where shallow landslides occurred.•Almost half of the pre-event channel heads were migrated upstream, and new channel heads were initiated by storm events.•Possibility of shallow landslides was high in the channel heads with larger sizes of source area for one of the two study areas.
To estimate the remaining life of existing RC bridge decks damaged by alkali silica reaction (ASR), multi-scale numeri-cal analysis with chemo-hygral model is integrated with visual inspection data ...at site. First, the applicability of the poro-mechanical models for ASR expansion in the multi-scale frame are examined with the experiments of the real scale RC slabs and the model is validated to bring about fair prediction of the 3D anisotropic expansion and the fatigue life of the slabs. Second, visually inspected cracks on bottom surfaces of RC decks are converted to space-averaged strains, and the magnitude of ASR is estimated from the vertical deformation, based on which the internal pre-stress and the damage fields are re-produced by numerical predictor-corrector cycles, and the remaining life of ASR damaged RC bridge decks is fairly estimated. By conducting sensitivity analyses in terms of ASR-gel volumes and cracks, allowable error range of site inspection data is clarified to meet the requirement of asset management.
Edema occurs in various disorders. One of those is remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema, a rare syndrome whose pathophysiology is not clearly understood. We report herein a ...case of refractory edema diagnosed as remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema.
A 82-year-old Asian male was admitted to the Department of General Internal Medicine with a 2-month history of symmetrical swelling of both hands. Despite treatment with loop diuretic furosemide 40 mg daily, his condition did not respond to the medication and his quality of life deteriorated. An examination of the joints showed tenderness suggestive of synovitis with restricted movements in bilateral proximal interphalangeal joint. Laboratory findings revealed hyperglycemia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate 118 mm/hour, and elevated C-reactive protein 6.58 mg/dL. Plain radiographs of both hands showed soft tissue swelling, changes consistent with osteoarthritis, and no erosions. The diagnosis of bilateral remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema was made. Treatment with prednisolone 15 mg daily was instituted.
Although remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema is rare, it should be remembered as a disease that causes edema in the elderly.
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