Pediatric Synovial Osteochondromatosis of the Knee with Leg Length Discrepancy: A Case Report.

Introduction: Synovial chondromatosis (SC) is very rare among children. We are aware of no reports of patients with SC accompanied by leg length discrepancy (LLD). Case Report: We describe a case of synovial osteochondromatosis of a 7-year-old boy complicated by LLD. We performed epiphysiodesis of the distal femur and arthroscopic resection of loose bodies and total synovectomy. Three years after surgery, LLD had been corrected and there was no sign of recurrence. Conclusion: Physicians should be aware of synovial osteochondromatosis complicated by LLD in childhood and take radiographs of the whole length of lower legs when this condition is suspected.

Revascularization of a Necrotic Femoral Head in Severely Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis With a Modified Dunn Procedure: A Case Report.

Avascular necrosis, a serious slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) complication, is difficult to treat. We report a rare case of revascularization of the necrotic femoral head in a 12-year-old male patient with a severe SCFE (posterior tilting angle, 87°). We performed the modified Dunn procedure (MDP), followed by long-term unloading therapy. Blood flow to the epiphysis had partially resumed 2.3 years postoperatively. At the final 4.5-year follow-up, blood flow had been restored, leading to epiphyseal closure without significant femoral head deformity or hip pain. The patient could walk unassisted, with a flexion range of 120°. These findings support the use of the MDP with long-term unloading therapy as a potential treatment option for severe SCFE.

Knockout of Brca1-interacting factor Ola1 in female mice induces tumors with estrogen suppressible centrosome amplification.

Obg-like ATPase 1 (OLA1) is a binding protein of Breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1), germline pathogenic variants of which cause hereditary breast cancer. Cancer-associated variants of BRCA1 and OLA1 are deficient in the regulation of centrosome number. Although OLA1 might function as a tumor suppressor, the relevance of OLA1 deficiency to carcinogenesis is unclear. Here, we generated Ola1 knockout mice. Aged female Ola1+/- mice developed lymphoproliferative diseases, including malignant lymphoma. The lymphoma tissues had low expression of Ola1 and an increase in the number of cells with centrosome amplification. Interestingly, the proportion of cells with centrosome amplification in normal spleen from Ola1+/- mice was higher in male mice than in female mice. In human cells, estrogen stimulation attenuated centrosome amplification induced by OLA1 knockdown. Previous reports indicate that prominent centrosome amplification causes cell death but does not promote tumorigenesis. Thus, in the current study, the mild centrosome amplification observed under estrogen stimulation in Ola1+/- female mice is likely more tumorigenic than the prominent centrosome amplification observed in Ola1+/- male mice. Our findings provide a possible sex-dependent mechanism of the tumor suppressor function of OLA1.

Recurrent nocturnal hypoglycemic hemiplegia: a case report and review of the literature.

A 67-year-old man with type 1 diabetes, Cronkhite-Canada syndrome, and membranous nephropathy who received insulin therapy was admitted to our hospital with right hemiplegia and dysarthria. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion with a high diffusion-weighted imaging signal and low apparent diffusion coefficient signal in the posterior limb of the left internal capsule. He was hypoglycemic with a blood glucose level of 56 mg/dL (3.1 mmol/L). Following glucose administration, the patient's symptoms resolved within several hours. The patient experienced similar transient hypoglycemic hemiplegia at midnight, three times within 10 days. In a literature review of 170 cases of hypoglycemic hemiplegia, 26 cases of recurrent hemiplegia were investigated. Recurrent hypoglycemic hemiplegia occurs more frequently on the right side than on the left side, and most recurrences occur within approximately a week, almost exclusively at midnight and in the early morning. We speculate that hypoglycemia-associated autonomic failure may be involved in the nocturnal recurrence of episodes. In our patient, depleted endogenous insulin secretion and lipodystrophy at the injection site, may have acted as additional factors, leading to severe hypoglycemia despite the absence of apparent autonomic neuropathy. Clinically, it is important to recognize hypoglycemia as a cause of hemiplegia to avoid unnecessary intervention and to maintain an appropriate blood glucose level at midnight and early in the morning to prevent recurrent hypoglycemic hemiplegia.

Dyssegmental dysplasia Rolland-Desbuquois type is caused by pathogenic variants in HSPG2 - a founder haplotype shared in five patients.

Dyssegmental dysplasia (DD) is a severe skeletal dysplasia comprised of two subtypes: lethal Silverman-Handmaker type (DDSH) and nonlethal Rolland-Desbuquois type (DDRD). DDSH is caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in HSPG2 encoding perlecan, whereas the genetic cause of DDRD remains undetermined. Schwartz-Jampel syndrome (SJS) is also caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in HSPG2 and is an allelic disorder of DDSH. In SJS and DDSH, 44 and 8 pathogenic variants have been reported in HSPG2, respectively. Here, we report that five patients with DDRD carried four pathogenic variants in HSPG2: c.9970 G > A (p.G3324R), c.559 C > T (p.R187X), c7006 + 1 G > A, and c.11562 + 2 T > G. Two patients were homozygous for p.G3324R, and three patients were heterozygous for p.G3324R. Haplotype analysis revealed a founder haplotype spanning 85,973 bp shared in the five patients. SJS, DDRD, and DDSH are allelic disorders with pathogenic variants in HSPG2.

Online revision process in clause-boundary garden-path sentences.

A long-standing question in sentence processing research concerns the online parsing process in clause-boundary garden-path sentences, such as After Mary dressed John bathed. In this sentence, "John" must be parsed as the matrix subject DP but can be locally analysed as the object of the embedded verb. There is considerable evidence that the parser misanalyses these garden-path sentences. However, the controversy lies in whether the parser revises them during the online parsing process. The present study investigated this revision process through two self-paced reading experiments utilising grammatical constraints on reflexives and subject or object relative clauses embedded within the locally ambiguous DP. The results provided evidence of revision when a subject relative clause was embedded but not when an object relative clause was embedded. These findings suggest that the parser assigns grammatical structures that correspond to input strings during the revision of clause-boundary ambiguities but that object relative clauses affect the online revision process.

Genetic divergences and hybridization within the Sebastes inermis complex.

The Sebastes inermis complex includes three sympatric species (Sebastes cheni, viz Sebastes inermis, and Sebastes ventricosus) with clear ecomorphological differences, albeit incomplete reproductive isolation. The presence of putative morphological hybrids (PMH) with plausibly higher fitness than the parent species indicates the need to confirm whether hybridization occurs within the complex. In this sense, we assessed the dynamics of genetic divergence and hybridization within the species complex using a panel of 10 microsatellite loci, and sequences of the mitochondrial control region (D-loop) and the intron-free rhodopsin (RH1) gene. The analyses revealed the presence of three distinct genetic clusters, large genetic distances using D-loop sequences, and distinctive mutations within the RH1 gene. These results are consistent with the descriptions of the three species. Two microsatellite loci had signatures of divergent selection, indicating that they are linked to genomic regions that are crucial for speciation. Furthermore, nonsynonymous mutations within the RH1 gene detected in S. cheni and "Kumano" (a PMH) suggest dissimilar adaptations related to visual perception in dim-light environments. The presence of individuals with admixed ancestry between two species confirmed hybridization. The presence of nonsynonymous mutations within the RH1 gene and the admixed ancestry of the "Kumano" morphotype highlight the potential role of hybridization in generating novelties within the species complex. We discuss possible outcomes of hybridization within the species complex, considering hybrid fitness and assortative mating. Overall, our findings indicate that the genetic divergence of each species is maintained in the presence of hybridization, as expected in a scenario of speciation-with-gene-flow.

Gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor antagonism suppresses intramuscular adipose tissue accumulation and ameliorates sarcopenia.

BACKGROUND: Intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) formation derived from muscle fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) has been recognized as a pathological feature of sarcopenia. This study aimed to explore whether genetic and pharmacological gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptor antagonism suppresses IMAT accumulation and ameliorates sarcopenia in mice. METHODS: Whole body composition, grip strength, skeletal muscle weight, tibialis anterior (TA) muscle fibre cross-sectional area (CSA) and TA muscle IMAT area were measured in young and aged male C57BL/6 strain GIP receptor (Gipr)-knockout (Gipr-/- ) and wild-type (Gipr+/+ ) mice. FAPs isolated from lower limb muscles of 12-week-old Gipr+/+ mice were cultured with GIP, and their differentiation into mature adipocytes was examined. Furthermore, TA muscle IMAT area and fibre CSA were measured in untreated Gipr-/- mice and GIP receptor antagonist-treated Gipr+/+ mice after glycerol injection into the TA muscles. RESULTS: Body composition analysis revealed that 104-week-old Gipr-/- mice had a greater proportion of lean tissue mass (73.7 ± 1.2% vs. 66.5 ± 2.7%, P < 0.05 vs. 104-week-old Gipr+/+ mice) and less adipose tissue mass (13.1 ± 1.3% vs. 19.4 ± 2.6%, P < 0.05 vs. 104-week-old Gipr+/+ mice). Eighty-four-week-old Gipr-/- mice exhibited increases in grip strength (P < 0.05), weights of TA (P < 0.05), soleus (P < 0.01), gastrocnemius (P < 0.05) and quadriceps femoris (P < 0.01) muscles, and average TA muscle fibre CSA (P < 0.05) along with a reduction in TA muscle IMAT area assessed by the number of perilipin-positive cells (P < 0.0001) compared with 84-week-old Gipr+/+ mice. Oil Red O staining analysis revealed 1.6- and 1.7-fold increased adipogenesis in muscle FAPs cultured with 10 and 100 nM of GIP (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001 vs. 0 nM of GIP, respectively). Furthermore, both untreated Gipr-/- mice and GIP receptor antagonist-treated Gipr+/+ mice for 14 days after glycerol injection into the TA muscles at 12 weeks of age showed reduced TA muscle IMAT area (1.39 ± 0.38% and 2.65 ± 0.36% vs. 6.54 ± 1.30%, P < 0.001 and P < 0.01 vs. untreated Gipr+/+ mice, respectively) and increased average TA muscle fibre CSA (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05 vs. untreated Gipr+/+ mice, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: GIP promotes the differentiation of muscle FAPs into adipocytes and its receptor antagonism suppresses IMAT accumulation and promotes muscle regeneration. Pharmacological GIP receptor antagonism may serve as a novel therapeutic approach for sarcopenia.

Redescription and molecular characterization of Mothocya parvostis Bruce, 1986 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae) parasitic on Japanese halfbeak, Hyporhamphus sajori (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) (Hemiramphidae) with Mothocya sajori Bruce, 1986 placed into synonymy.

Two species of Mothocya have previously been recorded from Hyporhamphus sajori: M. parvostis Bruce, 1986 and M. sajori Bruce, 1986. Mothocya parvostis is re-described based on the ovigerous female type and additional materials collected from the host from in and around the type locality. Morphological re-examination of fresh specimens and the type materials together with genetic data show that the M. sajori and M. parvostis are the same species, differing primarily in size, therefore we have placed Mothocya sajori Bruce, 1986 into a junior synonym of Mothocya parvostis Bruce, 1986. Mothocya parvostis is characterized by the following combinations of characters: 1) body slightly to moderately twisted to one side; 2) pereonite 7 posterior margin moderately to deeply recessed; 3) uropodal rami extending to pleotelson posterior margin; and 4) uropod rami bluntly rounded, exopod 1.5 times as long as peduncle. The differences of four morphological features for M. parvostis and M. sajori was quantified. Furthermore, a total of 635 isopods infesting H. sajori were collected from all over Japan to conduct quantitative morphological and molecular sequence analyses (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA). Although the four quantitative features did not overlap between the two species in type specimens, all quantitative morphological values of newly collected specimens in this study did not display a bimodal distribution. In addition, our molecular analyses found only a single clade for our newly collected specimens in neighbor-joining tree.

Efficacy and Safety of 6-Month High Dietary Protein Intake in Hospitalized Adults Aged 75 or Older at Nutritional Risk: An Exploratory, Randomized, Controlled Study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of increased dietary protein in daily-life settings in Japan for 6 months on the activities of daily living (ADL) in adults aged 75 or older at nutritional risk. The study was an open-label, exploratory, randomized controlled trial conducted at seven hospitals in Japan. The study participants were adults aged 75 or older who were hospitalized for treatable cancer, pneumonia, fractures, and/or urinary-tract infection at nutritional risk. The primary outcome was change in grip strength, skeletal muscle, and ADL indices (Barthel index, Lawton score). One hundred sixty-nine patients were randomly assigned to the intensive care (IC) or standard care (SC) group; the protein intake goals (g/kgw/day) were 1.5 for IC and 1.0 for SC. There was a significant improvement in grip strength only in the IC group (1.1 kg: 95% CI 0.1 to 2.1) (p = 0.02). While the skeletal muscle index and ADL indices were not significantly improved in either group, the improvement ratio tended to be greater in the IC group. There was no decrease in renal function in either group. Thus, intervention of increased dietary protein in daily-life settings for 6 months in adults aged 75 or older with treatable cancer, pneumonia, fractures, and/or urinary-tract infection and at nutritional risk may be effective in ameliorating loss of muscle strength.

Molecular and Morphological Characterizations of the Fish Parasitic Isopod Mothocya parvostis (Crustacea: Cymothoidae) Parasitizing Optional Intermediate Hosts: Juveniles of the Cobaltcap Silverside Hypoatherina tsurugae and Yellowfin Seabream Acanthopagrus latus.

Mothocya parvostis (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) is a parasitic crustacean that infests the opercular cavities of fishes. Its main final host is the Japanese halfbeak, Hyporhamphus sajori. However, M. parvostis also infests the black sea bream, Acanthopagrus schelgelii, as an optional intermediate host. Understanding the use of optional intermediate hosts is important for understanding the life history of Cymothoidae, and further information should be obtained. In this study, we aim to investigate the life cycle of M. parvostis. We collected and examined 20 mancae and 144 juveniles of M. parvostis from 129 cobaltcap silversides, Hypoatherina tsurugae, and 494 yellowfin seabreams, Acanthopagrus latus. Molecular analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene and 16S rRNA genes revealed that cymothoid mancae and juveniles from the two fish species were identified to be M. parvostis. All M. parvostis on H. tsurugae and A. latus might be mancae or juveniles, with no adult parasites; thus, H. tsurugae and A. latus juveniles were optional intermediate hosts of M. parvostis. In the results of morphological description, M. parvostis juveniles infesting the final host H. sajori lacked swimming setae, while juveniles parasitizing the two optional intermediate hosts had them. Mothocya parvostis mancae infested juveniles of both species just after metamorphosis, grew with the host. As the fish grows further, the parasite detached from the fish. The parasitic status of M. parvostis in the three optional intermediate hosts indicated that M. parvostis likely reproduced from June to December, and different optional intermediate hosts were used depending on the time of year in Hiroshima Bay. Therefore, a parasitic strategy involving optional intermediate hosts might increase the infestation success of M. parvostis to H. sajori.

Relationships among Postprandial Plasma Active GLP-1 and GIP Excursions, Skeletal Muscle Mass, and Body Fat Mass in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Treated with Either Miglitol, Sitagliptin, or Their Combination: A Secondary Analysis of the MASTER Study.

BACKGROUND: We previously conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial "the MASTER study" and demonstrated that alpha-glucosidase inhibitor miglitol and a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin modified postprandial plasma excursions of active glucagon-like peptide-1 (aGLP-1) and active gastric inhibitory polypeptide (aGIP), and miglitol treatment decreased body fat mass in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the details regarding the relationships among postprandial plasma aGLP-1 and aGIP excursions, skeletal muscle mass, and body fat mass are unclear. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of the relationships among skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), total body fat mass index (TBFMI), and the incremental area under the curves (iAUC) of plasma aGLP-1 and aGIP excursions following mixed meal ingestion at baseline and after 24-week add-on treatment with either miglitol alone, sitagliptin alone, or their combination in T2D patients. RESULTS: SMI was not changed after the 24-week treatment with miglitol and/or sitagliptin. TBFMI was reduced and the rates of aGIP-iAUC change were lowered in the two groups treated with miglitol, although their correlations did not reach statistical significance. We observed a positive correlation between the rates of aGIP-iAUC and TBFMI changes and a negative correlation between the rates of TBFMI and SMI changes in T2D patients treated with sitagliptin alone whose rates of aGIP-iAUC change were elevated. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, although T2D patients treated with miglitol and/or sitagliptin did not show altered SMI after 24-week treatment, the current study suggests that there are possible interrelationships among postprandial plasma aGIP excursion modified by sitagliptin, skeletal muscle mass, and body fat mass.

Predictive structure building in language comprehension: a large sample study on incremental licensing and parallelism.

In online language comprehension, the parser incrementally builds hierarchical syntactic structures. The predictive nature of this structure-building process has been the subject of extensive debate. A previous study observed that when a wh-phrase indicates parallelism between the upcoming wh-clause and a preceding clause (e.g., John told some stories, but we couldn't remember which stories…), the parser predictively constructs the wh-clause. This observation demonstrates predictive structure building. However, the study also suggests that the parser does not make a prediction when the wh-phrase indicates that parallelism does not hold (e.g., John told some stories … with which stories…), a potential limit to the prediction of syntactic structures. Crucially, these findings are controversial because the study did not observe processing difficulty when disambiguating input indicated that the predicted continuation was inconsistent with the globally grammatical structure (garden-path effects). The controversial results may be due to a lack of statistical power. Therefore, the present study conducted a large-scale replication study (324 participants and 24 sets of materials). The results revealed that the parser predicts the clausal structure, irrespective of the type of wh-phrase. There was also evidence of garden-path effects, supporting the finding that the parser makes a prediction. These observations suggest that the prediction algorithm inherent in the human parser is more powerful than assumed by the previous study and that the parser attempts to construct globally grammatical structures during revision.

Zwitterionic Diphenylphosphinyl Amidate as a Powerful Photoinduced Hydrogen-Atom-Transfer Catalyst for C-H Alkylation of Simple Alkanes.

The chemical and physical properties of amides change substantially when the electron-withdrawing groups attached to the nitrogen are varied. Herein, we report the superior performance of N-diphenylphosphinyl 1,2,3-triazolium amidate as a photoinduced hydrogen-atom transfer catalyst compared to its N-benzoyl analog. A binary catalyst system of the phosphinyl amidate and an Ir-based photocatalyst enables the alkylation of unbiased C-H bonds.

Quatrefoil light traps for free-swimming stages of cymothoid parasitic isopods and seasonal variation in their species compositions in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan.

Cymothoid parasitic isopods infest a wide range of fish of different taxa living in marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. Most research on the reproductive season of Cymothoidae has been done by collecting or monitoring host fish afflicted with cymothoid parasites. However, collecting ecological data on cymothoid species that infest non-commercial or endangered fishes is complex and challenging. We used a quatrefoil light trap to investigate the seasonal change in species composition of cymothoid free-swimming stages in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. We also collected preliminary data for efficient light-trap sampling and showed its effectiveness in cymothoid-related research. From October 2020 to December 2021, 613 cymothoid free-swimming stages were sampled monthly. All obtained individuals were identified as Mothocya parvostis (596), Ceratothoa verrucosa (12), and Ceratothoa carinata (5) by DNA barcoding using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S rRNA gene sequences. Based on the number of M. parvostis mancae collected each month, M. parvostis was anticipated to reproduce from June to December, with two reproduction peaks each year, and C. verrucosa and C. carinata were expected to reproduce in June, July, and September, and September and October, respectively. In addition, free-swimming juveniles were captured, presumably after they had left their optional intermediate hosts. Furthermore, the most effective time to harvest cymothoids with light traps may be during high tide on the night of the new moon. This study serves as a methodological framework for future research on cymothoids using light traps.

Dual inhibition of SGLT2 and DPP-4 promotes natriuresis and improves glomerular hemodynamic abnormalities in KK/Ta-Ins2Akita mice with progressive diabetic kidney disease.

Natriuresis is closely linked to glomerular hemodynamics in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and is known to be influenced by inhibition of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4). In the present study, we investigated whether dual inhibition of SGLT2 and DPP-4 exerts an additive effect on promoting natriuresis and how it ameliorates glomerular hemodynamic abnormalities via the natriuretic effect in DKD. Eight-week-old male KK/Ta-Ins2Akita (KK/Ta-Akita) mice which develop progressive DKD were orally once-daily given either SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin (30 mg/kg) alone, DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin (5 mg/kg) alone or a combination of empagliflozin (30 mg/kg) plus linagliptin (5 mg/kg) for 6 weeks. In vehicle-treated control KK/Ta-Akita mouse group, markedly enhanced glomerular albumin filtration and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were observed. These renal alterations were dramatically attenuated in KK/Ta-Akita mouse group treated with a combination of empagliflozin plus linagliptin. Notably, the combination therapy provided greater reduction in glomerular albumin filtration and GFR along with higher urinary excretion of sodium and a potential afferent arteriolar vasoconstrictor adenosine than the empagliflozin monotherapy. Significant reduction in urinary excretion levels of a potential afferent arteriolar vasodilator prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) relative to the baseline values was observed after the combination therapy but not the monotherapy. These results suggest that dual inhibition of SGLT2 and DPP-4 highly promotes a distal tubular sodium delivery and thereby contributes to the appropriate modulation of preglomerular arteriolar tone and intraglomerular pressure via an increase in adenosine release and a reduction in PGE2 secretion from macula densa in DKD.

Cases of fulminant type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus whose HbA1c levels were unmeasurable due to increased labile HbA1c.

Although the measurement of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is routinely used to estimate average blood glucose levels, it may not be accurately measured for various reasons, such as alteration of red blood cell lifespan and the existence of hemoglobin variants; including hemoglobin F (HbF). Here, we report cases of fulminant type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in which HbA1c levels were unmeasurable because of increased labile HbA1c levels. Case 1 involved a 73-year-old man with fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus, who was brought to our hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis. The patient's blood glucose level was 994 mg/dL, and HbA1c was unmeasurable, which turned out to be 6.2% on the next day when the blood glucose level was normalized. Case 2 involved a 72-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus, whose blood glucose level was 767 mg/dL, and HbA1c was unmeasurable, which turned out to be 17.9% the following day. In both cases, the chromatograms showed that the HbA1c peaks overlapped with large labile HbA1c peaks, which decreased the next day. It is important to keep in mind that HbA1c levels may not be accurately measured in cases of extreme hyperglycemia because of an increase in labile HbA1c, regardless of the absolute HbA1c level.

Spawning time of black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegelii, related to underwater photoperiodism in oyster farms.

The embryonic development times, spawning timing and hatching rates of the black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegelii were examined to investigate the potential effect of seawater temperature, tides and photoperiod on the reproductive rhythm of this species in Hiroshima Bay, Japan. Low temperatures decreased hatching rates and extended the hatching time, and the minimum temperature threshold for hatching was 15°C. Back-calculated spawning times indicated that the peak of spawning occurred just before sunset and the reduction in diurnal light intensity around the oyster rafts acted as a trigger for spawning. In contrast, no correlation was found between spawning rhythms and tidal cycle. The results highlight the important role of oyster farms in the reproductive cycle and population dynamics of A. schlegelii in Hiroshima Bay, the main spawning ground for this species in Japan. The study findings provide insights for the sustainable management of this important sparid species.

A Pilot Study to Assess Glucose, Insulin, and Incretin Responses Following Novel High Resistant Starch Rice Ingestion in Healthy Men.

INTRODUCTION: A newly developed resistant starch (RS) rice line with double mutation of starch synthase IIIa and branching enzyme IIb (ss3a/be2b) exhibits a tenfold greater percentage RS value than the wild-type rice line. Currently, the effects of cooked rice with such high RS content on secretion and action of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) are unclear. Therefore, we conducted a pilot study to assess postprandial responses of GLP-1 and GIP along with glucose and insulin and also gastric emptying after ingestion of the high-RS cooked rice with ss3a/be2b in healthy subjects. METHODS: In a non-randomized crossover design, five healthy men ingested two test foods, control (low-RS) and high-RS cooked rice, with at least 1-week washout period between testing days. Plasma glucose, serum insulin, plasma total GLP-1, plasma total GIP, and also gastric emptying rate were measured after ingestion of each test food, and the incremental area under the curves (iAUC) was calculated for each biochemical parameter using the values from 0 to 180 min after ingestion. RESULTS: The high-RS cooked rice ingestion tended to reduce iAUC-glucose (p = 0.06) and significantly reduced iAUC-insulin (p < 0.01) and iAUC-GLP-1 (p < 0.05) but not iAUC-GIP (p = 0.21) relative to control cooked rice ingestion. In addition, the high-RS cooked rice ingestion did not affect gastric emptying. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that the suppressive effects of the high-RS cooked rice ingestion on postprandial responses of glucose and insulin may be provided through attenuation in GLP-1 secretion along with its low digestibility into glucose. We suggest that the high-RS rice with ss3a/be2b may serve as a better carbohydrate source and also as a novel functional food for dietary interventions to improve postprandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia without both enhancing GLP-1 secretion and affecting gastric emptying in patients with diabetes.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Acanthopagrus pacificus (Perciformes, Sparidae) from Iriomotejima Island, Okinawa, Japan.

The Pacific seabream, Acanthopagrus pacificus, is a commercially valuable resource for fisheries around the West Pacific Ocean countries. Although the phylogenetic position of the A. pacificus within the genus Acanthopagrus changes by the differences in the target gene regions or fish sampling locations, the genetic information of the species is quite limited. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of A. pacificus from Iriomotejima Island, Okinawa, Japan was determined. The sequence is 16,640 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), 22 tRNA genes, and one control region. A reconstructed phylogenetic tree showed that A. pacificus has the furthest relationship to other Acanthopagrus species in the genus.