Growth of national healthcare spending is a problem confronting national governments of all industrially advanced countries. Healthcare spending in the U.S. reached 13.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2003, compared to only 8% in Japan. In the U.S., health insurance is voluntary, with 15% of the population uninsured. In Japan, health insurance is mandatory and virtually universal, with growth in national health costs about half the rate of growth in the U.S.
U.S. healthcare costs are projected to reach 18.4% of GDP 2013. The predicted growth in health care costs is expected to cause strain on the federal budget and a growing inability of employers and employees to pay for private insurance.
Different national policies are the reason for different national health care costs in the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. has higher healthcare prices for salaries, equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals as compared to Japan. Higher prices, higher service intensity and volume during hospitalization create higher total cost in the U.S. Price controls in Japan kept medical inflation low at 0.46%/yr from 1980-2000.
Market-pricing mechanisms in the U.S. have proven ineffective in controlling national healthcare costs, while Japan’s national fee and price control policies have kept national costs among the lowest within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. To guide insurance coverage policy, neurosurgery and other highly technical specialties should better define the comparative health benefit of high price technical services by prospective outcome studies.

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Hypertension is common and in the majority of cases its cause remains unknown. Recent interest has focused on the role of macrophages (M Φ) in blood pressure (BP) regulation. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is the most potent endogenous vasoconstrictor mediating its effects through two receptors - the endothelin-A receptor (ET_A) and endothelin-B (ET_B) receptor. The ET _B receptor has a specific role in ET-1 clearance. We investigated the role of the M Φ ET_B receptor in a model of angiotensin II (Ang II)-mediated end-organ damage.

MΦ ET_B receptor deficient mice (LysMET_B^-/-) and controls were exposed to Ang II infusion for 6 weeks under a high salt diet. We assessed BP via telemetry, cardiac structure and function and endothelial function by Doppler ultrasound, end-organ injury and plasma and urine ET-1.

At baseline, components of BP did not differ between groups and increased similarly with Ang II. Whereas after 6 weeks of Ang II LysMET_B^-/- and controls had similar left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac insufficiency, endothelial function was better in LysMET_B^-/- at both baseline and after Ang II (% dilation of basilar artery in response to CO₂, LysMET_B^-/- vs. controls: baseline: 20 vs.11%, p<0.01; at 6 weeks: 11 vs.0%, p<0.01). Baseline renal function and proteinuria did not differ between groups. After Ang II, LysMET_B^-/-showed similar renal function compared to controls but less proteinuria (urine albumin:creat, mg/mmol: 208 ± 10 vs. 530 ± 25, p<0.01), glomerulosclerosis (34 ± 2 vs. 61 ± 4%, p<0.001), and fewer renal MΦ compared to controls (F4/80 staining per high power field, LysMET_B^-/- vs. controls: 1.1 ± 0.7 vs.3.2 ± 0.5%, p=0.02), although similar levels of CD3⁺ T cells. Plasma ET-1 was no different at baseline but increased more in LysMET_B^-/- with Ang II (LysMET_B^-/- vs. controls after 6 weeks Ang II: 3.7 ± 0.7 vs.1.4 ± 0.2 pg/ml, p=0.03). Urine ET-1 was similar baseline and 6 weeks.

Deletion of the MΦ ET_BR is associated with a blunting of the effects of systemic Ang II infusion as reflected by less endothelial dysfunction, reduced inflammation and end-organ damage. The mechanisms for these effects are the focus of ongoing research.

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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common, affecting 6-11% of the population in the developed world. Hypertension is an independent risk factor for CKD progression, and is a frequent finding in patients with CKD. Its prevalence increases as CKD progresses, with over 75% of patients with a glomerular filtration rate <30ml/min having a blood pressure (BP) >140/90mmHg. Despite treatment with multiple antihypertensive agents the majority of CKD patients fail to reach target BP. Recent studies have supported lower BP targets in select groups of patients with CKD as well as avoiding use of dual renin-angiotensin system blockade in all of these patients. Here, we shall review the optimal method of BP assessment in CKD as well as recent insights into its optimal management.

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Cell lines from four Baccharis plant species have been grown in cell suspensions and tested, by two different bioassays, for their sensitivities toward the macrocyclic trichothecenes roridins A and E and baccharinoid B4. The two Brazilian species which were shown to contain macrocyclic trichothecenes were considerably less sensitive to these toxins than were the non-trichothecene-containing North American Baccharis species.

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The objective of this study was to determine the effect of differently processed mucuna (Mucuna pruriens var utilis) and kidney (Phaseolus vulgaris) on the performance, nutrient utilization and weight of internal organs of broiler chickens. The legumes were processed by three different methods viz. aqueous heating, toasting and dehulling. A total of 315 as hatched day old broiler chicks (Anak strain) were used for the experiment. There were seven dietary treatment groups of 45 birds each and three replicates of 15 birds each. Processed mucuna and kidney meals were used to replace 50% protein supplied by soybean meal in the control diet. Data for average daily feed intake (ADFI) revealed no differences for the effect of processing methods. However, average daily gain (ADG) was influenced by dietary treatments (P<0.05). ADG in birds fed either aqueous heated kidney (AHKB) or mucuna meals (AHMM) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than those fed toasted and dehulled meals. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) followed the same trend as ADG. Apparent protein digestibility (APD) was affected by different processing techniques. Minimum APD was observed in birds fed either dehulled kidney (DKB) or dehulled mucuna meal (DMM). Apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AME_n) was not affected by the dietary treatments (P<0.05). The relative weights of the pancreas were significantly (p<0.05) increased in fed dehulled meal while weights of the liver were significantly (p<0.05) reduced in the same group of birds. The structural alterations were attributed to high concentration of residual trypsin inhibitors in dehulled meals. In conclusion, AHKB and AHMM can be used to replace 50% protein supplied by soybean meal in broiler starter and finisher diets without any adverse effect on the performance and the intestinal organs.

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This experiment was conducted to examine the nutritive qualities of faba protein.
The coefficient of in vitro digestibility was determined by the two methods using pepsin and trypsin. Digestibility of faba protein by pepsin was similar to that of casein, but it was significantly higher than that of broad protein. However, its digestibility by trypsin was lower than that of casein and significantly higher than that of broad protein.
Trypsin inhibitor activity of faba protein was not so strong as that of soy .
As compared to the provisional amino acids pattern reported by FAO/WHO in 1973, faba protein was found to be poor in S-containing amino acids, which were the first limiting amino acid. The amino acid score and the egg score of faba protein were 37 and 36, respectively.
Protein efficiency ratio (PER) of faba meal group was 1.04±0.26, similar to that of broad meal group (1.45±0.12). By adding Met to faba meal, PER was raised to 2.88±0.27, close to the values of casein group (3.06±0.16) and of soy meal group (2.21±0.09). Biological value of faba meal group was found to be 72.0±3.4.
The coefficient of apparent digestibility of faba meal group was 83.9±4.3%. It resembles to the value of broad meal group (82.9±1.3%), and was significantly lower than that of casein (96.4±0.5%).

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The primary cause of the adverse effects of feeding of raw winged seeds in rats was investigated. In experiment 1, rats were fed on either a raw winged diet or a steamed winged diet for 10 days. Body weight gain of rats fed on 30% raw winged diet was significantly lower than that of rats fed on 30% steamed winged diet. The adverse effect of the feeding of 30% raw winged diet on growth was accompanied by disorders of the gastrointestinal tract including a significant reduction in intestinal sucrase activity, not being improved with feeding of the diet supplemented with methionine. In experiment 2, rats fasted for 2 days were refed on a 10% casein.diet, a 30% raw winged diet or a 30% steamed winged diet, in which most of the carbohyd-rate component was sucrose, for 4 days. Although body weight gain and food consumption in rats refed on these winged diets were lower than those in rats refed on 10% casein diet, the effects of feeding of the raw winged diet on body weight gain and food consumption were extremely deleterious as compared with those of feeding of the steamed winged diet. Significant reductions in hydrolase activities localized in the brush border membrane of the small intestine were found in rats refed on the raw winged diet prior to the occurrence of apparent disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. These findings suggest that the primary cause of the adverse effects of raw winged seed feeding is disorders in the small intestine caused by lectin or similar substances in raw winged seeds.

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Macrocyclic trichothecene roridin E, produced in culture or in plant host tissue by a strain of Myrothecium roridum pathogenic to muskmelon (Cucumis melo L), and roridin A and myrotoxin A+B, trichothecenes from M. roridum strains nonpathogenic to muskmelon were investigated for their role in pathogenicity of M. roridum. Roridin E did not affect the growth of the pathogen in vitro but significantly increased sporulation and lesion diameter on inoculated muskmelon leaves whereas roridin A and myrotoxin A+B did not affect sporulation and lesion size. All trichothecenes induced phytotoxic reactions in muskmelon and increased electrolyte leakage from muskmelon leaf tissue. Muskmelon cultivar rankings with respect to the phytotoxic responses and level of electrolyte leakage induced by roridin E were similar to cultivar rankings after inoculation with M. roridum. Roridin A and myrotoxin A+B did not elecit cultivar-specific responses.
Characteristic lesions caused by the pathogen were similar to lesions caused by roridin E. These results suggest that roridin E is involved in the establishment of pathogenicity by M. roridum in muskmelon tissue.

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The components of gene effects for protein content were studied following a six parameter model of Hayman and three parameter model of Jinks and Jones, using the means of the six basic populations (P₁, P₂, F₁, F₂, BC₁P₁ and BC₁P₂) from four crosses derived from four diverse genotypes of long . The scaling tests indicated the presence of non-allelic interactions for pod protein and seed protein in two crosses. Additive effects are more important than dominance effects for pod protein. The interaction effects contributed more than the main genetic component for seed protein. Among the digenic epistatic interactions, dominance × dominance (1) contributed the most followed by additive × additive (i) and additive × dorninance (h) effects. Pedigree, bulk or single seed descent methods are suggested for developing elite populations. Duplicate epistasis was noticed for the two interacting crosses.

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For clarifying the phylogenetic diversity of fifteen species of the subgenus Ceratotropis, including seven wild and three cultivated Vigna species collected from Myanmar, sequence variations in three trnT-F non-coding regions of the chloroplast genome were analyzed. The Myanmar materials were clustered into two well differentiated groups, the azuki group and the mung group. Six Myanmar species were clustered into the azuki group, and four species into the mung group. The azuki group consisted of three subclades: angularis-nepalensis subclade, minima subclade and riukiuensis-nakashimae-umbellata-hirtella-exilis subclade. No clear lineage differentiation was found among the three races of V. angularis and V. nepalensis. An accession from Myanmar, which showed similar morphological features to those of wild azuki , shared a 51-bp deletion with V. angularis and V. nepalensis. Three V. minima accessions showed a distinct clade. V. riukiuensis showed a nested relationship with V. nakashimae sistered to V. hirtella, V. umbellata and V. exilis. The mung group consisted of five radiated subclades. In the mung group, V. trinervia from Myanmar was clustered with V. reflexo-pilosa, and wild mung accessions with their cultivated accessions. A high level of substitution, indel and microsatellite variations in the trnT-F sequences indicated that mung (V. radiata) and black gram (V. mungo) are phylogenetically well differentiated in the mung group. Myanmar is considered to be an area overlapping two major groups of the subgenus Ceratotropis.

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Background: Azuki is sometimes a nutritional alternative for those with soybean allergy. Although soybean and peanut are relatively common food allergens, azuki allergy has not previously been reported.
Case Report: A 3-year-old male was referred for investigation of suspected azuki allergy. He developed urticarial lesions within 30 min after eating an azuki product (manju, a sort of Japanese sweet), with a similar episode reported 1 year prior. The total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) level was 677 IU/ml, with elevated specific IgE antibodies (ImmunoCAP) to soybean, peanut, kidney , and pea. Azuki specific IgE antibodies are not available, currently. The wheals produced by skin prick test (SPT) were boiled azuki without sugar 5 mm, yohkan (a typical Japanese sweet) 8 mm, sweetened azuki paste 7 mm, and soybean 4 mm. Double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) with azuki without sugar induced urticaria after 60 min, which resolved after oral antihistamine administration. He did not develop symptoms after ingestion of control.
Conclusions: This is the first reported case of immediate-type azuki allergy, diagnosed by SPT and DBPCFC. Further study such as immunoblotting is needed to elucidate the specific allergenic antigen.

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In the synthesis of amylose-type polysaccharide from glucose l-phosphate by the action of phosphorylase, it requires the collaboration of the pre-existing polysaccharide-usually designated as primer or activator-for the priming of the reaction. There have been reported, however, two exceptions in this generel requirement of added primer; one is purified phosphorylase from lima reported by Green and Stumpf (5), and the other is the one from sweet potato reported by Inoue and Onodera (12). I have previously reported (9) that the purified sweet potato phosphorylase actually requires added primer in the synthesis of starch.
Now, the lima phosphorylase was purified by the method of Green and Stumpf by the extraction of powdered lirha beans with water, the heat treatment, and the repeated ammonium sulfate fractionations and dialyses. The purest enzyme preparation (LB. B₈) thus far obtained has a specific activity of 0.62, which is indicative of much inferior purity when compared with 2.5-3.0 of purifed potato enzyme. Nevertheless, this preparation requires added primer in the synthesis of starch from glucose-l-phosphate, as seen in a typical experiment represented in Fig. 1. A plot of S υ versus S according to an equation S/υ=(Ks/V)+(S/V) gives a straight line, from the intercept and slope of which the dissociation constant. between enzyme and primer was celculated to be approximately 30mg. Lintner's soluble starch per 100ml. (cf. Fig. 2), which is comparable to the values found previously for potato and crystalline muscle phosphorylases. This purest preparation still contains a trace of polysaccharide, which can serve as a primer source of purified potato enzyme, and the priming activity of which is disappeared on treatment with β-amylase (cf. Fig. 3) The amount of polysaccharide contained in this preparation was not determined, but the error in the estimation of the Ks value is very small, for it is clear from the figures that the amount of polysaccharide is far less than 2mg. soluble starch per ml. enzyme preparation, which corresponds, to an error of approximately 5%.
It can be said from the above experiment that lima phosphorylase also requires added primer in the synthesis of starch. Thus, the general mechanism of action of phosphorylases can now be written, without exception, according to Cori, et al. (1), as follows.
Terminal glucose units+glucose-l-phosphate_??_maltosidic chain units+inorganic phosphate.

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We examined biomass dry matter and nutrient uptake of live plant parts, leaf area index, and litter of winged (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) and velvet (Mucuna pruriens) 12, 18, 24 and 30 weeks after sowing (WAS). The two plants had similar leaf and stem+petiole biomasses. At 30 WAS winged had a significantly lower pod yield than velvet . Between 18 and 30 WAS, winged produced less litter than velvet due to differences in growth stages. The total mulch of live parts and litter of winged and velvet completely covered the ground by 18 and 12 WAS, respectively. Compared to velvet , the leaf and stem+petiole of winged had a significantly higher N concentration; significantly higher N uptake at 24 and 30 WAS; significantly lower C/N ratio; and significantly higher P, K and Mg concentrations. In winged , P uptake was significantly higher in the leaf at 30 WAS and in the stem+petiole at all harvesting times. The total biomass of the leaf, stem+petiole and litter of winged was 317–561 g DM m^-2, and their N content was 12.3–17.7 g m^-2. The total biomass of live parts and litter of winged might be sufficient to suppress weeds and increase soil N. Winged is an appropriate legume cover crop and green manure due to its longer growing period and superior ground-covering ability and high N input.

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The effect of soaking in domestic processing, on the nutritive value of the common (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.) cv IAC-Carioca, was studied. Five treatments were carried out with experimental diets, and offered to male, recently weaned Wistar rats. The protein sources were, respectively, control diet (casein) (CC), casein plus the soluble solids found in the soaking water (CSS), freeze dried cooked without soaking (BNS), freeze dried cooked with the non-absorbed soaking water (BSW), freeze dried cooked without the non-absorbed soaking water (BSNW), and an aproteic diet (AP) for corrective purposes. The anti-nutritional factors (phytates and tannins), were determined in the differently processed beans and in the soaking water. The following values for the reduction of phytates were obtained: BNS (20.9%), BSNW (60.8%) and BSW (53.0%), and the tannins were reduced by: BNS (86.6%), BSNW (88.7%) and BSW (89.0%). No significant differences were observed between the various treatments using the common as protein source, with respect to the net protein ratio (NPR). With respect to the digestibility corrected by non-protein diet, values varying between 94.1% and 94.6% for casein, and between 57.5% and 61.4% for the common , were observed, the treatment BNS being more digestible. It was concluded that soaking did not interfere with the NPR of the experimental diets containing the common as protein source, nor did it reduce the tannin content. However soaking was capable of reducing the phytate levels in the common . On the other hand, soaking was unable to increase the protein digestibility of the common , since the treatment BNS showed the highest value for digestibility.

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The distribution of thiamine in the seed of several kinds of was studied by the histochemical method and chemical assay. In the case of broad , Azuki , sasage and kidney , thiamine concentration in embryo was heavier than in cotyledon. But in the case of peanuts and soybean, thiamine concentration in cotyledon was rather heavier than in embryo. On the other hand, in the case of pea, thiamine concentration in embryo was almost the same as in cotyledon. Summing up the above, seven kinds of could be classified into three groups.

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　White kneaded sweet

paste is made mainly from white adzuki (Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi), white tebo (var. of Phaseolus vulgaris), and butter (Phaseolus lunatus L.). We compared and considered the gelatinization properties of the three starches and the characteristics of white paste and white kneaded sweet paste made from these three kinds of beans. The average starch particle size of white adzuki was significantly larger than those of white tebo and butter . Starch gelatinization start, peak, and end temperatures were highest in butter , followed by white tebo white adzuki beans in that order; white adzuki beans were easy to gelatinize even at relatively low temperatures. White adzuki paste was yellowish white, white tebo paste was white, and butter paste was bright. Lightness and whiteness decreased significantly by processing any paste into kneaded sweet paste. The hardness of white adzuki kneaded sweet paste was significantly higher than those of white tebo kneaded sweet paste and butter kneaded sweet paste. The adhesiveness of white adzuki kneaded sweet paste was significantly higher than that of white tebo kneaded sweet paste. White adzuki kneaded sweet paste was hard and weakly sticky, white tebo kneaded sweet paste had high whiteness and low stickiness, and butter kneaded sweet paste was white, weakly scented, and smooth with high brightness and small paste particles. In a sensory evaluation, white adzuki kneaded sweet paste was hard and weakly sticky, white tebo kneaded sweet paste had high whiteness and low stickiness, butter kneaded sweet paste was very bright, had small paste particles, and was weakly scented and smooth.

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