Fifty-five male runners aged between 30 to 80 years were examined to determine the relative roles of various cardiovascular parameters which may account for the decrease in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) with aging. All subjects had similar body fat composition and trained for a similar mileage each week. The parameters tested were VO2max, maximal heart rate (HRmax), cardiac output (Q), and arteriovenous difference in oxygen concentration (Ca-Cv)O2 during graded, maximal treadmill running. Average body fat and training mileage were roughly 12% and 50 km.week-1, respectively. The average 10-km run-time slowed significantly by 6.0%.decade-1 [( 10-km run-time (min) = 0.323 x age (years) + 24.4] (n = 49, r = 0.692, p less than 0.001]. A strong correlation was found between age and VO2max [( VO2max (ml.kg-1.min-1) = -0.439 x age + 76.5] (n = 55, r = -0.768, p less than 0.001]. Thus, VO2max decreased by 6.9%.decade-1 along with reductions of HRmax (3.2%.decade-1, p less than 0.001) and Q (5.8%.decade-1, p less than 0.001), while no significant change with age was observed in estimated (Ca-Cv)O2. It was concluded that the decline of VO2max with aging in runners was mainly explained by the central factors (represented by the decline of HR and Q in this study), rather than by the peripheral factor (represented by (Ca-Cv)O2).

The composition of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) changes during inflammation; however, potential changes of HDL function during inflammation and the effects of acute phase proteins that are either on the HDL particles or in the serum have not been clarified. The concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A protein (apoSAA) isoforms, lipids and apolipoproteins, and the activities of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and paraoxonase (PON) were measured before and after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in 12 patients with cholecystolithiasis to clarify the function of acute-phase HDL and the relationship between acute-phase proteins and HDL functions. Both acute-phase apoSAA (A-apoSAA) and CRP increased, reached their maximum levels 3-6 days after the operation, and then returned to preoperative levels after 2 weeks. In contrast, apolipoproteins and LCAT decreased reciprocally, reached their minimum levels 3-6 days after the operation, and returned to preoperative levels after 2 weeks. However, PON decreased 3-6 days after the operation, and remained low even after 2 weeks. At the nadir the mean activities of LCAT and PON were 56 and 76% of the preoperative levels, respectively. HDL-cholesterol or constitutive apoSAA did not change significantly. LCAT has been reported to be involved in reverse-cholesterol transport and PON to be preventive for lipid peroxidation of low-density lipoprotein in vitro. Thus, during the acute phase of inflammation, HDL may be altered to an atherogenic state due to a decrease in LCAT and PON activities. Therefore, this longitudinal analysis was carried out to determine whether HDL function is modified in a single episode of inflammation and thus may contribute to the occurrence of atherosclerotic disease in patients with chronic or recurrent acute inflammation.

Barley contains approximately 10% dietary fiber and is easily cooked with rice, the dominant cereal in Japan, to increase the intake of dietary fiber. This research involved three experiments to examine the influence of barley on blood lipids in human subjects. All subjects received a boiled barley-rice (50/50 w/w mix) supplement two times per day in place of rice for 2 or 4 weeks. In the normolipemic subjects, serum lipids were unaffected by the ingestion of barley for 4 weeks. In twenty hypercholesterolemic men aged 41 +/- 5 years, the ingestion of barley was associated with a significant fall in serum total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, phospholipids and LDL and VLDL-lipoproteins. In seven mildly hypercholesterolemic women aged 56 +/- 7 years, a significant improvement of serum lipid profiles was observed. The present study suggests the possibility that the ingestion of barley-rice could lower serum lipids in hypercholesterolemic subjects.

Background Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the possible pleiotropic effects of SGLT2 (sodium–glucose cotransporter 2) inhibitors in clinical cardiovascular diseases. Atrial electrical and structural remodeling is important as an atrial fibrillation (AF) substrate. Methods and Results The present study assessed the effect of canagliflozin (CAN), an SGLT2 inhibitor, on atrial remodeling in a canine AF model. The study included 12 beagle dogs, with 10 receiving continuous rapid atrial pacing and 2 acting as the nonpacing group. The 10 dogs that received continuous rapid atrial pacing for 3 weeks were subdivided as follows: pacing control group (n=5) and pacing+CAN (3 mg/kg per day) group (n=5). The atrial effective refractory period, conduction velocity, and AF inducibility were evaluated weekly through atrial epicardial wires. After the protocol, atrial tissues were sampled for histological examination. The degree of reactive oxygen species expression was evaluated by dihydroethidium staining. The atrial effective refractory period reduction was smaller ( P =0.06) and the degree of conduction velocity decrease was smaller in the pacing+CAN group compared with the pacing control group ( P =0.009). The AF inducibility gradually increased in the pacing control group, but such an increase was suppressed in the pacing+CAN group ( P =0.011). The pacing control group exhibited interstitial fibrosis and enhanced oxidative stress, which were suppressed in the pacing+CAN group. Conclusions CAN and possibly other SGLT2 inhibitors might be useful for preventing AF and suppressing the promotion of atrial remodeling as an AF substrate.

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for the diagnosis of brief episodes of arrhythmia, including paroxysmal AF, which are recorded as atrial high-rate episodes (AHREs), particularly in patients without ECGdocumented AF. 6 Using this technique, new-onset atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT)/AF can be diagnosed earlier in patients with CIEDs than in patients without CIEDs. AHREs detected using CIEDs are reportedly associated with an increased risk of stroke and systemic embolism, even in patients without any evidence of AF. 7 Furthermore, AHREs lasting longer (>5.5 h during a 30-day period) are associated with a double risk of embolic events. 8,9 Although Healey et al reported no association between subclinical AF and hospitalization for HF, 9 more recent studies have indicated that AHREs detected using CIEDs are associated with an increased risk of worsening HF. 10,11 Therefore, the correlation between AHREs detected using CIEDs and A trial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac tachyarrhythmia that is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure (HF), and death. The presence of AF is reportedly associated with an increased risk of HF, regardless of its clinical pattern. 1,2 Changes in clinical AF (i.e., progression to permanent/persistent AF from paroxysmal AF, prolongation of AF duration, and/or increase in the left atrial size, etc.) are clinical predictors of HF. 1-5 However, clinically detecting AF in the early phase is not always easy, particularly in cases of asymptomatic AF. Although repeat ECG recording or 24-h ambulatory ECG monitoring are considered useful in detecting AF in the early phase, their sensitivities as detection tools are totally limited. 4 Continuous rhythm monitoring using cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has recently been attempted

A compact narrow-linewidth semiconductor laser is demonstrated by hybridly integrating an optical filter constructed from Si waveguides with a single-mode semiconductor laser, whose spectral linewidth is narrowed through optical negative feedback. We design the optimum structure of a reflective ring filter for an optical negative feedback laser, and a narrow spectral linewidth of 160 kHz is realized by the hybridly integrated laser source whose effective device length is less than 1.5 mm.

The effects of the combination of a murine monoclonal antibody (MAb) (20,26,29). Past studies have supported the possibility that MAb specific for the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 0 side chain of P. aeruginosa, which has serotype-specific opsonic activity, is a possible candidate for the treatment of P. aeruginosa pneumonia (5,16,19,30). Although a previous investigator (18) indicated that neutropenia adversely affects the therapeutic efficacy of antibody in pseudomonal pneumonia, hyperimmune intravenous immunoglobulin used in conjunction with tobramycin was shown to be efficacious against this disease in neutropenic animals. More recently, Collins and colleagues (2) showed a beneficial effect of combination therapy with a murine immunoglobulin Gl (IgGl) LPSreactive MAb and oral ciprofloxacin in a leukopenic rat model of systemic pseudomonal infection. Therefore, combination therapy with LPS-specific MAbs and antimicrobial agents appears to be an important strategy for treating P. aeruginosa pneumonia in neutropenic patients.It has been demonstrated that several quinolone derivatives are useful in the treatment of P. aeruginosa pneumonia in normal and neutropenic guinea pigs (4, 9, 27). Sparfloxacin (AT-4140) is a newly developed quinolone for oral use that has broad and potent antibacterial activity (14). This compound is characterized by its excellent tissue penetration and long half-life in plasma and tissues (13). Furthermore, sparfloxacin is bactericidal for P. aeruginosa at a * Corresponding author. concentration near the MIC and can be used prophylactically for fatal P. aeruginosa pneumonia in mice (10, 14).Our study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of an LPS-specific IgG3 MAb in conjunction with a suboptimal dose of oral sparfloxacin in a neutropenic mouse model of P. aeruginosa pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODSReagents. Cyclophosphamide (Endoxan) was provided by Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan. Sparfloxacin was provided in powder form by Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan. Prior to use, sparfloxacin was suspended in 0.5% tragacanth gum (Nacalai Tesque, Inc., Tokyo, Japan) for oral administration.Bacteria and LPS.