Serum lipid peroxide levels were investigated in normal mice and Ehrlich's ascites tumor-bearing mice after feeding on an excessive amount of α-linolenic acid, iron (II), and vitamins C and E. The serum lipid peroxide levels in the tumor-bearing mice were higher than those in the normal mice regardless of the diet fed. Increased lipid peroxide levels were observed in both the normal mice and tumor-bearing mice when the diet was supplemented with α-linolenic acid. Furthermore, the elevation of lipid peroxide levels was more apparent in the tumor-bearing mice given the diet supplemented with iron (II). Therefore, iron (II) seems to have accelerated the biological production of lipid peroxides, especially in the tumor-bearing mice. In contrast, a decrease in the lipid peroxide levels was found in the normal and tumor-bearing mice given the combination of α-linolenic acid, iron (II), and vitamins C and E. The inhibitory effect of these vitamins on lipid peroxidation was more apparent in the tumor-bearing mice than in the normal mice.

View full abstract

A sensory test of the perceived fragrance of essential oils in relation to the type of work is described. The perception of fragrance was described by 13 contrasting pairs of adjectives. Scores were recorded after inhaling a fragrance before and after each type of work, and the statisticalsignificance of the change of score for the 13 impression descriptors was examined by Student's t-testfor mental work, physical work and hearing environmental sounds. The change in perception of a fragrance in relation to the type of work was then evaluated by a sign test in terms of the number of items regarded as significant by the t-test of the impression descriptors.
The essential oils examined in this study were those of lavender, rosemary, linalool, peppermint, marjoram, cardamom, sandalwood, basil and lime, and it was found that the inhalation of an essential oil caused a different subjective perception of the fragrance depending on the type of work; for example, inhalation of basil after mental work produced a much more favorable impression than that before work, in contrast to the cases for linalool, peppermint and lime with mental work, which each produced an unfavorable impression when compared to that before work. Among these samples, linalool produced the most interesting results in the sensory test and by portable forehead surface electroencephalography (IBVA-EEG). Based on the IBVA-EEG measurements, linalool inhalation after hearing environmental sounds not only resulted in a much more favorable impression in the sensory test, but was also accompanied by a greater decrease in beta waves after work in comparison with that before work; this is in contrast to the case of mental work, for instance, which resulted in a tendency for agitation accompanied by an increase in beta waves.

View full abstract

The biological and physiological characteristics of non-dialyzable extracts of various cereals were investigated. The non-dialyzable extract of Japanese millet had an inhibitory effect on the hyaluronidase activity. The extract of wheat also showed strong scavenging activity of superoxides and antioxidative activity. The evtracts of rye and wheat slightly stimulated the proliferation of cultured animal cell lines such as human-human hybridoma HF10B4 and human macrophage-like cell U-M at a low dosage, while the extracts of the other cereals suppressed the growth of these cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. The extracts of wheat and rye enhanced IgM production in the HF10B4 cell line, while the extract of barley slightly promoted the production IL-1β in U-M cells. These results suggust that some functional substances exist in these cereals which would be biophylatically useful for homeostatis of the human body.

View full abstract

In this study, a dummy of the lower half of the human body was developed to replace the human body for the measurement of clothing pressure. We investigated the validity of the results obtained using the body dummy by comparing the values of predicted clothing pressure with those of actually measured clothing pressure using four pairs of panty hose which had different pressure levels.
As a result, the values of measured pressure on our dummy were very close to the theoretically predicted ones on the elastic surface (B1) on the thigh and the calf. In addition, the values of the measured pressure on the elastic surface (B1) of the dummy were very close to those of the human body on the thigh, the calf and the ankle, respectively. We have concluded that the elastic surface (B1) of the dummy is useful for measuring clothing pressure.

View full abstract

Five healthy young and elderly female volunteers slept from 23 : 00 to 7 : 00 in a climate chamber that was controlled at 13°C 60% RH followed by the heating of the lower extremities for 30 min. The heart rate, skin temperature (Tsk), body movement and bed climate were measured continuously through the night. A subjective sensational evaluation and a subjective sleep evaluation were conducted before and after the recording sessions. During heating, the finger Tsk was significantly higher in the elderly while the chest, leg and mean Tsk were higher in the young. During sleep, a significant difference in Tsk was observed only in the chest, and it was lower in the elderly. No significant difference was observed in heart rate and bed climate. The subjective sleep evaluation was good both in the young and in the elderly. These results indicate the possibility that the healthy elderly whose sleep is followed by the heating of the lower extremities can maintain subjective sleep evaluation, Tsk (except for the chest), and bed climate at the same level as the young.

View full abstract

The absorption by food of aluminium from packaging materials was determined by measuring the dissolution of aluminium and the free aluminium ion. Total aluminium was determined by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the aluminium ion, by chromazurol-S absorptiometry. In the case of beer that had been canned for 5 months, a larger amount of aluminium had been absorbed than by beer canned for 2 months, although the ionization ratio was almost the same at 30-40%. Preservation of the canned beer for longer resulted in the aluminium dissolution being increased and the free aluminium ions also being increased by 10%. Aluminium foil treated with several kinds of solution resulted in its greatest dissolution in the order of acetic acid, citric acid, sodium chloride and distilled water. The ionization ratio (free aluminium ions/aluminium content × 100) was highest in acetic acid at 60%, and then in distilled water at 45%, while no aluminium ions were dissolved in the citric acid solution.

View full abstract