Stress-Relieving Effects of Sesame Oil Aroma and Identification of the Active Components

(1) Sesame oil aroma has stress-relieving properties, but there is little information on its effective use and active ingredients. (2) Methods: ICR male mice were housed under water-immersion stress for 24 h. Then, the scent of sesame oil or a typical ingredient was inhaled to the stress groups for 30, 60, or 90 min. We investigated the effects of sesame oil aroma on mice behavior and the expression of the dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) gene, a candidate stress marker gene in the brain. (3) Results: In an elevated plus-maze test, the rate of entering into the open arm of a maze and the staying time were increased to a maximum after 60 min of inhalation, but these effects decreased 90 min after inhalation. As for the single component, anxiolytic effects were observed in the 2,5-dimethylpyrazine and 2-methoxy phenol group, but the effect was weakened in the furfuryl mercaptan group. The expression levels of DUSP1 in the hippocampus and striatum were significantly decreased in 2,5-dimethylpyrazine and 2-methoxy phenol groups. (4) Conclusions: We clarified the active ingredients and optimal concentrations of sesame oil for its sedative effect. In particular, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine and 2-methoxy phenol significantly suppressed the stress-induced changes in the expression of DUSP1, which are strong anti-stress agents. Our results suggest that these molecules may be powerful anti-stress agents.     

Error analysis for the computation of zeros of regular Coulomb wave function and its first derivative

In 1975 one of the coauthors, Ikebe, showed that the problem of computing the zeros of the regular Coulomb wave functions and their derivatives may be reformulated as the eigenvalue problem for infinite matrices. Approximation by truncation is justified but no error estimates are given there.

The class of eigenvalue problems studied there turns out to be subsumed in a more general problem studied by Ikebe et al. in 1993, where an extremely accurate asymptotic error estimate is shown.

In this paper, we apply this error formula to the former case to obtain error formulas in a closed, explicit form.

     

Tocotrienols Attenuate White Adipose Tissue Accumulation and Improve Serum Cholesterol Concentration in High-Fat Diet-Treated Mice

Tocotrienols (T3s), which are vitamin E homologs, have not only antioxidant function but also inhibitory effects on body weight gain and hepatic lipid droplet accumulation. However, the mechanisms of the anti-obesity effects of T3s are not yet understood. In this study, C57BL/6 mice were fed a high-fat diet in the presence or absence of T3s. Treatment with T3s inhibited white adipose tissue accumulation and elevation of serum cholesterol concentrations. Additionally, to clarify the relationship between obesity-induced cognitive dysfunction and the neuroprotective effect of T3s, cognitive function, brain oxidation, and protein expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is strongly involved in neuronal growth and differentiation, were measured. Although mice behaviors were improved by oral T3 intake, there were no significant differences in brain oxidation levels and BDNF expression. These results suggest that T3s attenuate obesity via inhibition of body fat and serum cholesterol increase.     

General sum rule for chiral index of coalescing ultrathin nanotubes

We investigated the coalescence of ultrathin carbon nanotubes (UTCNTs) using the tight-binding molecular dynamics simulation technique. We have found that two UTCNTs having the same or different chirality can coalesce without initially introducing atomic defects to enhance the reaction. The chiral index of the coalesced nanotube was found to be given as a vector sum of the indices of the original nanotubes, which can be explained geometrically in terms of the developments of the nanotubes. The results clearly show that the chirality can be changed through chemical reaction, which might suggest a possibility of chirality control.     

Capacity gradient anion chromatography with a borate complex as eluent

Complex formation between borate compounds and vicinal diols is well recognized. Generally, in a chemically bonded anion-exchange resin, many hydroxyl groups are introduced on the surface of the resin in order to make the resin hydrophilic. The borate as an eluting reagent also reacts to these hydroxyl groups, and this complex formation decreases the apparent ion-exchange capacity of the column by being dissociated to the anion depending on the eluent pH. In the present work a method is described for the simultaneous determination of anions based on the capacity gradient for suppressed ion chromatography. A Tosoh IC-Anion-PW column and dihydroxyphenylborane–mannitol eluent system were used. To maintain baseline stability, it was helpful to keep the borate concentration constant during a gradient of 16 to 0 mM mannitol as a modifier to prevent the complex formation with the hydroxyl on the resin. The chemical composition of the eluents and gradient profiles are discussed and the application to the analysis of the condensed phosphates with widely varying retention times as food additives in a cheese sample is presented.     

Faszination der Schneekristalle – wie ihre bezaubernden Formen entstehen

Snow crystals grown during their fall from water vapor in clouds are often witnessed with their fascinating beautiful patterns. How are these beautiful patterns created in nature? Recent theoretical and experimental advances in the understanding of the formation mechanism of snow crystals are explained on the basis of crystal growth.     

The effect of SnCl4 on the radical polymerization of N-allyl-N-phenylmethacrylamide and N-allyl-N-phenylacrylamide

The effects of SnCl₄ on the radical polymerization of N-allyl-N-phenylmethacrylamide (APM) and N-allyl-N-phenylacrylamide (APA) were investigated. The polymerizations of APM and APA with dimethyl 2,2-azobisisobutyrate (MAIB) were carried out at 50°C in benzene at various concentrations (0-1.0 mol/L) of SnCl₄. The polymerization rates showed a maximum on varying the SnCl₄ concentration, while the molecular weights of the resulting poly(APM) and poly(APA) were decreased with increasing SnCl₄ concentration. In both systems, the degree of cyclization of polymers were decreased with the SnCl₄ concentration. From the IR results, the cyclic structure of the resulting poly(APM)s was confirmed to be five-membered, whereas poly(APA)s contained not only five-membered but also six-membered rings. The ¹H-NMR examination on the interactions of APM and APA with SnCl₄ revealed that these monomers form 1:1 and 2:1 complexes with SnCl₄ with fairly large stability constants. Copolymerizations of APM (M₁) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) (M₂) were investigated at 60°C in benzene in the absence of SnCl₄. APM units were found to be incorporated exclusively as five-membered rings in the resulting copolymer. Monomer reactivity ratios were estimated to be r₁ = 0.29, r₂ = 4.88 for APM/MMA and r₁ = 0.66, r₂ = 5.39 for APM/St. The presence of equimolar (to APM) SnCl₄ was found to enhance the reactivity of APM toward poly(MMA) radical; r₁ = 0.24, r₂ = 2.56. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.