The effect of ethanol ingestion on thiamine metabolism was studies both in man and rats, and in the latter, the effect on the central nervous system was also studied morphologically. Fifty alcoholics who had consumed 120 g of ethanol daily for more than ten years were selected including 7 with delirium tremens. None of them had either Wernicke's encephalopathy or peripheral neuritis. More than half of them had blood thiamine levels within the normal range. With the determination of the hemolysate transketolase (TK) activity and thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) effect, however, thiamine deficiency was detected in more than half of them and was seen more frequently in the cases with liver damage. All patients with delirium tremens except one had both liver damage and thiamine deficiency. In the animal experiments, when 36% of the daily total calorie of the thiamine-deficient diet was given as ethanol for 35 days, the thiamine content of the liver and brain was not decreased as much as in the rat which received the same but non-ethanol diet. Although the TK activity of the liver was low, TPP effect was also decreased. It seemed that ethanol had a sparing action on the thiamine deprivation, but impaired the TK activity of the liver through involvement of factors other than thiamine deficiency. Bilateral diapedesis and status spongiosus of the neuropile were seem in the lateral vestibular nucleus of the rat fed on thiamine-deficient and non-ethanol diet. This typical lesion for thiamine deficiency was not seen when ethanol was added. Instead, degenerative changes in both Purkinje cells and Bergmann glia were remarkable. The changes were much more severe when the rats were fed for a longer period of time (75 days) with a minimal amount of thiamine added to the diet. When the rats were fed on ethanol and thiamine-replete diet for a longer period of time (135 days), there were most remarkable changes in astroglia in the striatum. It is suggested that the thiamine deficiency could augment the cerebellar lesions induced by ethanol administration, while ethanol administration could decelerate the appearance of the lesions in the vestibular nuclei induced by thiamine deficiency.

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Serum and urinary distributions of following oral and parenteral administration of leucovorin (3-15mg) were examined in normal adult volunteers microbiologically using Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus faecalis and Pediococcus cerevisiae as test organisms. By the parenteral route, nearly one-third of the folate in the serum and urine was in the form of folinic acid and the remainder as 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid. Almost all the folate in serum and urine was in the form of 5methyltetrahydrofolic acid after oral administration. Peak serum folate was observed 3hr after oral administration, later than that seen after parenteral administration (30min). Elevation of serum folate was achieved by the increase of the methyl form of folate following repeated administration of leucovorin orally and parenterally. As the form of folate actually rescuing normal cells in a high-dose methotrexate regimen was thought to be methyl, use of the oral route as a principal means of administration of leucovorin in a rescue program was looked into.

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The effect of DL-α-tocopherol on the differentiation of the mouse myeloid leukemia cell line (M1) was investigated using fluorometry. The reliability of the fluorometric determination was verified by the mutual overlapping of the curves of disappearance of the radioactivity recovered as α-tocopherol and the loss of its fluorescence. α-Tocopherol solubilized into the culture medium was relatively stable (t_1/2=147-168hr). Incorporation of α-tocopherol into M 1 cells was time and dosedependent. Proliferation of M 1 cells was never inhibited, but was slightly enhanced by treatment with α-tocopherol. α-Tocopherol caused a twofold increase in acid-phosphatase activity and slightly inhibited both the spontaneous and dexamethasone-induced differentiation with respect to adhesion on glass and cell surface-rosette formation. α-Tocopherol also induced morphological change, making the shape of M 1 cells rounder.

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Annual changes in the concentrations of B₁, biotin and B₁₂ were investigated at the designated stations in the north basin (main basin) and south basin of Lake Biwa. Sampling was carried out twice a week in spring and monthly in the other seasons throughout one year in the south basin, and in the same way for three years in the main basin from April of 1978 to December of 1980. The concentrations of B₁, biotin and B₁₂ in water of the main basin over three years ranged from 106.6 to 4.1 ng/liter, from 4.17 to 0.14ng/liter and from 5.78 to 0.19ng/liter, respectively. On the other hand, those in the south basin ranged from 268.7 to 9.7ng/liter, from 11.50 to 0.12ng/liter and from 6.06 to 0.20 ng/liter, respectively. The concentrations of these vitamins in the south basin of the lake were twice as high as those in the main basin. The concentrations of these three kinds of vitamins in water remarkably changed seasonally in both the north and south basins of the lake throughout the investigation period and were generally high in September and October at every station in the main basin, except for B₁ and biotin in the south basin of the lake.

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Transport of [³H]pyridoxine was studied with membrane vesicles prepared from brush border of guinea pig jejunum, in which pyridoxal kinase was not detected. The imposition of an Na⁺ gradient across the membrane did not affect pyridoxine transport. The equilibrium level of pyridoxine uptake decreased with increasing osmolarity of the medium, which indicates that pyridoxine is transported into the membrane vesicles. The initial rate of pyridoxine uptake increased linearly with increasing pyridoxine concentration throughout the range of 0.18μM to 7.4μM both in the presence and absence of an Na⁺ gradient. 4'Deoxypyridoxine and unlabeled pyridoxine, added in excessive amounts, did not inhibit pyridoxine transport into the membrane vesicles. These results substantiate the notion that pyridoxine passes through the brush border membrane by simple diffusion.

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A nutritional survey was held in August, 1978, at Kalugaluvi (altitude: 1, 500m) near Lufa, which is 60km from Goroka, in the Eastern Highland Province of Papua New Guinea. Anthropometric measurements were carried out on 55 males and 37 females aged from 7 to 64 years. Whereas the physiques of the children looked as good as those of Japanese of a comparable age, the adult men were shorter than Japanese males, but body weight and chest girth were similar. The skinfold thickness was less than that of the Japanese. From the data collected, it was shown that the physique of the Highlanders was more muscular than that of the Japanese.
The food intakes and energy balances of 18 healthy men (20-40 years old) were measured over 2 or 3 consecutive days. The average consumption of sweet potatoes, the staple food, was 956±305g per day. The average consumption of taro and yam was 93±124g/day and 36±99g/day, respectively. Various green leaves, sugar canes, corn, bananas and other foods (i.e., rice and tinned fish) purchased from trade stores were sometimes eaten. The mean daily energy intake was 2, 390±540 kcal, which was about the same as the daily energy expenditure. The daily protein intake was 35.2±10.7g. These results are probably exceptionally high, because the survey was unfortunately held during the yearly festival season of the village when the people often ate fatty pork.
Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the growth of children and the physique of adults are normal in spite of the extremely low intake of protein.

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The amount of voluntary exercise during pregnancy and lactation and its effect on the lactational performance in mice were investigated. Female mice were housed in exercise cages with treadwheels during periods of growth, pregnancy and lactation and the amounts of exercise were measured. It was observed that growing female mice exercised voluntarily at a level of approximately 5, 000 rotations (diameter of treadwheel; 13.5cm) per day during the 4-week growth period. After conception, the amount of exercise gradually decreased and in late pregnancy running activity decreased markedly. Throughout the lactational period dams exercised lightly. As indices of lactational performance, the body weights of pups nursed in litters of 8, milk yield and cellular development of abdominal-inguinal mammary glands were examined. There were no significant differences in the final body weights of pups, milk yield per day or development of mammary glands between exercise and non-exercise groups.

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Male germ-free (GF) and conventional (CV) mice were fed on steam-sterilized (autoclaved for 30 min at 121°C) and gamma irradiation-sterilized (5 Mrad with ⁶⁰Co) diets for a one-week adjustment period from 4 weeks of age. During the subsequent week, the amounts of feed eaten were determined, and the feces and urine were collected daily. The effects of the mode of diet sterilization and intestinal microflora on the feed consumption, body weight gain, feed efficiency (body weight gain/feed consumption), feed N efficiency (body weight gain/feed N consumption), and the excretion, absorption and retention of N, Ca, Mg and P and the bone deposits of these minerals were investigated.
1) The method of sterilization of the diet did not appreciably influence these parameters, except for the apparent digestibility of N and ratio of N retention. Compared to autoclaved diet-fed mice, irradiated diet-fed mice showed a higher apparent digestibility of N and lower ratio of N retention.
2) Feed consumption in both GF and CV mice showed no major differences. Body weight gain, feed efficiency and feed N efficiency were higher in GF mice than in CV mice.
3) GF conditions increased the apparent digestibility of N, Ca, Mg and P. Lower total excretion of N, Ca and P in the feces and urine, a higher retention of Ca and P, and higher ratios of retention of N and these minerals were observed in GF mice.
4) The results in GF mice indicated a higher weight of moisture and fatfree bone and a higher Ca, Mg and P concentration in the bones (femurs and tibias with fibulas) with respect to the body weight minus the weight of the digesta.

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Healthy young rats were fed on fat-free diets, 85% of the energy of which derived from glucose and 15% from amino acids. The composition of the intravenous infusates was adequate to maintain body weight during a 6-day experimental period. Mucosal wet and dry weight, and mucosal protein content were highest when the diet was given orally, intermediate when given intravenously, and lowest when fasting. The DNA content of mucosa was significantly lower following intravenous feeding or fasting than after oral feeding, and there was no significant difference between intravenous feeding and fasting. The composition of mucosal protein following intravenous feeding differed from that following oral feeding or fasting. The migration of jejunum epithelial cells was prolonged following intravenous feeding compared with that after oral feeding. The values of plasma albumin and glucose concentration showed no differences between the intravenous and oral feeding groups. In contrast, intravenous feeding greatly lowered the total plasma cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol/LDL-cholestrol ratio. LDLcholesterol levels were not changed.

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The effect of milk intake on the glucose tolerance capacity, lipogenesis, ATP citrate lyase and acetyl CoA carboxylase activities in rat adipose tissues during the suckling period was studied. The glucose tolerance capacity in the suckling rats was far lower than that in rats at the age of 5 weeks. However, glucose tolerance capacity in the suckling animals of 4-membered litters at the age of 2 weeks was higher than that in control animals of 8-12 membered litters at the same age. Lipid synthesis, fatty acid synthesis and ATP citrate lyase activity in subcutaneous adipose tissues of animals of 4-membered litters in the suckling period were higher than those of control animals. It was observed that ATP citrate lyase activity in adipose tissues during the suckling period was increased by glucose injection alone. These results suggest that the development of the glucose tolerance capacity and the lipogenesis in adipose tissues during the suckling period were influenced by nutritional status as well as chronological age.

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The changes in the complement systems and comlement hemolytic activities through classical and alternative pathways, and the individual components, C1, C4, C2 and C3 were demonstrated in the course of vitamin C deficiency in guinea pigs.
During the course of vitamin C deficiency during the first week after the start of the experiment, all components except Cl slightly decreased, gradually increasing in the following weeks. This indicates that this period is important in the formation of an immune defence system in the host. At the time the symptoms of vitamin C deficiency appeared, Cl, C2 and CH50 started to decrease. C3 increased when vitamin C deficiency became severe and showed a completely different pattern from those of the other components.
The lowered Cl will be due to a collagen-like region in the characteristic of Cl q subcomponent, since insufficient vitamin C state produces impaired collagen formation.
The activity of the alternative pathway did not produce any change in this course, even in the severe stage. This indicates that the increase in C3 will contribute to maintaining the level of the alternative pathway and maintaining the body defence system in the vitamin C-deficient state, and that the complement system will be supported through the alternative pathway.

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Effects of low-fat (1% corn oil) diets containing an isonitrogenous level (3.2%) of either casein, soybean protein isolate or three soybean globulin fractions (total, 11S and 7S globulins) on plasma and liver lipids and on the excretion of fecal neutral sterols were examined in rats. When diets free of cholesterol were fed, the concentration of plasma cholesterol was significantly lower in all groups of rats given different soybean proteins than in the animals given casein. 11S globulin tended to produce a lower level of plasma cholesterol as compared with the 7S counterpart. Although the net decrease due to feeding plant proteins in high density lipoprotein cholesterol was to some extent greater than that of very low and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, the percentage of the former to total cholesterol remained in the normal range. The concentration of liver cholesterol appeared to be lower in rats given soybean proteins. Rats fed soybean globulins, as compared with the animals fed casein, tended to excrete larger amounts of neutral sterol into the feces. These soybean-effects disappeared when cholesterol and cholic acid were added to diets. The results indicated that the antihypercholesterolemic effect of soybean protein was attributable to protein per se, and not to the carbohydrate components which were associated with the protein preparation.

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