Background: We have previously shown that irregular lifestyle of young Japanese female students are significantly related to their desire to be thinner. In the present study, we examined the nutritional knowledge and food habits of Chinese university students and compared them with those of other Asian populations.

Background: Abnormal body weight, dietary concerns, and unhealthy weight loss behaviors are increasingly being observed in young females in Japan. Our previous research has shown that the irregular lifestyles of female Japanese and Chinese students are significantly related to their desire to be thinner. In the present study, we compare the food habits and body shape preferences of female university students in South Korea and Japan to explore body shape perceptions in those populations.

Dietary free l-glutamate has been known for a century to improve taste and palatability. Recent evidence suggests that this effect is mediated through specific l-glutamate receptors located on the taste buds. However, l-glutamate receptors are also present elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, such as the stomach. Here, l-glutamate exerts physiologic actions beneficial to gut function by stimulating l-glutamate receptors linked to the gastric vagus nerve. In addition, dietary l-glutamate also appears to be an important energy substrate for gut tissue. Can such l-glutamate effects on taste and gut function be clinically useful? Elderly people often develop health problems related to their nutritional status that can be linked to insufficient energy and nutrient intake. A number of studies have examined the potential usefulness of l-glutamate, added to food in the form of monosodium glutamate (MSG), in promoting better nutrition in the elderly and in patients with poor nutrition. Some positive effects have been observed. This article reviews the physiologic roles of dietary l-glutamate in relation to alimentation and examines the evidence linking the utility of MSG supplementation to the improvement of nutrition in elderly and hospitalized patients.

Background The Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) for computed tomography (CT) is preoperatively used to evaluate therapeutic effects. However, it does not reflect the pathological treatment response (PTR) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The Positron Emission Tomography Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (PERCIST) for positron emission tomography (PET)/CT is effective in other cancers. This study aimed to confirm the usefulness of PERCIST and the prognostic utility of PET/CT for PDAC. Methods Forty‐two consecutive patients with PDAC who underwent neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) and pancreatectomy at our institution between 2014 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. We evaluated the treatment response and prognostic significance of PET/CT parameters and other clinicopathological factors. Results Twenty‐two patients who underwent PET/CT both before and after NAT with the same protocol were included. RECIST revealed stable disease and partial response in 20 and 2 cases, respectively. PERCIST revealed stable metabolic disease, partial metabolic response, and complete metabolic response in 8, 9, and 5 cases, respectively. The PTR was G3, G2, and G1 in 8, 12, and 2 cases, respectively. For comparing the concordance rates between PTR and each parameter, PERCIST (72.7% [16/22]) was significantly superior to RECIST (36.4% [8/22]) (P = .017). The area under the curve survival values of PET/CT parameters were 0.777 for metabolic tumor volume (MTV), 0.500 for maximum standardized uptake value, 0.554 for peak standardized uptake value corrected for lean body mass, and 0.634 for total lesion glycolysis. A 50% cut‐off value for the MTV reduction rate yielded the largest difference in survival between responders and nonresponders. On multivariate analysis, MTV reduction rates < 50% were independent predictors for relapse‐free survival (hazard ratio [HR], 3.92; P = .044) and overall survival (HR, 14.08; P = .023). Conclusions PERCIST was more accurate in determining NAT’s therapeutic effects for PDAC than RECIST. MTV reduction rates were independent prognostic factors for PDAC.

Recently, it has been clarified that glutamate (Glu) can stimulate the umami taste as well as the visceral sensation to help the gastric protein digestion. Our survey suggests the possibility that the amount of free Glu in hospital foods is lower than that in ordinary foods. In the present study, monosodium glutamate (MSG) was supplemented to meals for 11 elderly inpatients during 2 months, and the fortification effects on their nutritional status, general condition, and quality of life (QOL) were investigated. The degree of recognition was improved, and peripheral lymphocytes were increased, even when there was no change in nutritional intake or protein nutritional status. Based on these results, we concluded that appropriate utilization of Glu for nutritional care of the elderly people would be useful for improving QOL.

Dietary free-glutamate (Glu) improves taste and palatability. In our previous study, we found that Glu intake by hospitalized elderly was low and supplementation of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) to their staple diet improved their behavior. To confirm such findings, we conducted a double-blind and placebo-controlled trial in hospitalized elderly. The study consisted of a 1-month lead-in period, a 3-month intervention period, and a 1-month follow-up period. In the intervention group, 0.5% (w/w) MSG was added to every staple diet, 150 g of rice gruel (the MSG group). Fourteen subjects in the MSG group (average age 83.0 +/- 8.9 years) and 15 in the control group (average age 84.3 +/- 9.6 years) completed the study. The subjects of both groups took most of the given foods based on the energy requirement of each subject's metabolic rate, body weight, and activity. In the last week of each period, nurses assessed the dementia score and daily performance of both groups. The daily performance was improved by dietary MSG. Behavior during mealtime was video-recorded for 5 min in the lead-in period and after 3 months in the intervention period. Significant improvement in the mealtime behavior was observed only in the MSG group. Furthermore, although serum albumin itself did not increase, the ratio of reduced-form albumin to total albumin increased only in the MSG group. In conclusion, supplementation of 0.5% MSG to rice gruel three times a day for 3 months improved behaviors and the nutritional status of hospitalized elderly.

The relationship between eating speed and the thermic effect of food (TEF) remains unclear. We investigated the difference in the TEF when meals containing the same amount of energy were eaten in 5 min (fast eating) or 15 min (regular eating). Subjects were nine non-obese young women. Following a 350 kcal (1464 kJ) meal, energy expenditure and autonomic nervous system activity were measured. The frequency of mastication was also calculated. The TEF for the 15-min period after the start of eating with fast eating was significantly lower than with regular eating (p < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio and TEF at 5-min intervals up to 20 min after the start of eating and between total mastication frequency and TEF during ingestion. Fast eating may reduce the TEF, potentially because a decrease in mastication frequency decreases sympathetic nervous system activity.

This study aimed to assess food safety in a Vietnamese hospital kitchen with reference to a Japanese hospital, where hygiene management is well implemented. Microbial inspections, including general viable bacteria count, coliform, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) counts were conducted on 10 cookware items, facility equipment, and 14 cooked foods at the two hospital kitchens in Vietnam and Japan. The mean general viable bacteria counts found on cookware and equipment in the Vietnamese hospital kitchen were significantly higher than those in the Japanese kitchen. Furthermore, the frequencies of both general viable bacteria at more than 100 CFU/10 cm 2 and coliform/E. coli-positive were significantly higher in the Vietnamese kitchen than in the Japanese kitchen. Coliform bacteria and E. coli were detected in cooked foods in the Vietnamese, but not in the Japanese, hospital kitchen. In light of these results, some key points are suggested to improve the microbial safety status of hospital kitchens in Vietnam.