The effects of mushroom fibers on serum cholesterol and hepatic low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor mRNA in rats were investigated. Rats were fed a cholesterol-free diet with 50 g/kg cellulose powder (CP), 50 glkg maitake (Grifo/a frondosa) fiber (MAF), 50 glkg shiitake (Lentinus edodes) fiber (SF), or 50 g/kg e,. _ldtake (F/ammulina ve/utipes) fiber (EF) for 4 weeks. There were no significant differences in the body weight, food intake, liver weight, cecum weight, and cecum pH among the groups. Cecal acetic acid, butyric acid, and total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations in the SF and EF groups were significantly higher than those in the other groups. The serum total cholesterol concentration in the CP group was significantly higher than that in the MAF and EF groups. The very LDL (VLDL) + Intermediate-density lipoprotein (IOl) + lOl-cholesterol concentration in the CP group was significantly higher than that in the MAF, SF, and EF groups, whereas the high-density lipoprotein (HOl)-cholesterol concentration in the EF group was significantly lower than that in the other groups at the end of the 4-week feeding period. The hepatic LDL receptor mRNA level in the EF group was significantly higher than that in the CP group. The fecal cholesterol excretion in the MAF, SF, and EF groups was significantly higher than that In the CP group. The results of this study demonstrate that MAF and EF lowered the serum total cholesterol level by enhancement of fecal cholesterol excretion, and in particular, by enhancement of hepatic LDL receptor mRNA In EF group.

No abstract

Plasma cholesterol concentration is reduced by feeding some dietary fibers and mushroom fruit body, but the mechanism is not fully understood. We examined the effects of mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) fiber and sugar beet fiber on serum cholesterol and hepatic LDL receptor mRNA in rats. Rats were fed a cholesterol-free diet with 50 g/kg cellulose powder (CP), 50 g/kg mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) fiber (MSF) or 50 g/kg sugar beet fiber (BF) for 4 wk. There were no significant differences in the body weight, food intake and cecum weight among the groups. The relative liver weight in the CP group was significantly greater than that in the MSF and BF groups. The cecal pH in the CP and MSF groups was significantly higher than that in the BF group. Cecal acetic acid, butyric acid and total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations in the BF group were significantly higher than those in the other groups. The serum total cholesterol, VLDL + intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) + LDL cholesterol concentrations in the CP group were significantly greater than those in the MSF and BF groups. The HDL cholesterol concentration in the MSF group was significantly lower than that in the CP group. The hepatic LDL receptor mRNA level in the MSF and BF groups was significantly higher than that in the CP group. The results of this study demonstrate that mushroom fiber and sugar beet fiber lowered the serum total cholesterol level by enhancement of the hepatic LDL receptor mRNA.

Two virtual screening strategies, "query by bagging" (QBag) and "query by bagging with descriptor-sampling" (QBagDS), based on active learning were devised. The QBag strategy generates multiple structure-activity relationship rules by bagging and selects compounds to improve the rules. To find many structurally diverse hits, the QBagDS strategy generates rules by bagging with descriptor sampling. They can also use prior knowledge about hits to improve the efficiency at the beginning of screening. We performed simulation experiments and clustering analysis for several G-protein coupled receptors and showed that the QBag and QBagDS strategies outperform the conventional similarity-based strategy and that using both descriptor sampling and prior knowledge are effective for finding many hits. We applied the bagging with descriptor sampling strategy to novel hit finding, and 4 of the 10 selected compounds showed high inhibition.

No abstract

For a better understanding of absorption, distribution, excretion, and metabolism of trichloroethylene the time-course of blood concentration of the vapour and urinary excretion of its metabolites was examined using a pharmacokinetic model. After a single experimental exposure in which four men inhaled 100 parts per million (ppm) of trichloroethylene for four hours an elimination curve showed three exponential components, that is, x = 1 005e-16.71t + 0.449e-1. 710t + 0.255e-0.2027t, where x is the blood concentration in mg/l and t the time in hours from 0 to 10. The overall rate constant for the disappearance of trichloroethylene was found to agree with the theoretical one, estimated by means of a mathematical model for the blood concentration data. A D.O-XD plot, developed from a mathematical model for urinary excretion, could also give a good estimate of rate constants for the transfer of trichloroethylene in the body. The rate constant thus estimated from urinary excretion was consistent with data on the blood concentration.As industrial exposure to trichloroethylene vapour is liable to vary, air analysis does not necessarily give a real indication of the true exposure. A quantitative index of a worker's exposure can be estimated according to the amount of trichloroethylene being absorbed in his body (Roach, 1966;Elkins, 1967). Monitoring trichloroethylene levels in blood or expired air and measuring urinary metabolites of trichloroethylene are currently the most common techniques for determining the body burden of the vapour (Ahlmark and Forssman, 1951;Stewart et al., 1962Stewart et al., ,1970Stewart et al., ,1974Morgan et al., 1970;Nomiyama, 1971 chronic exposure, which is a common situation in a work place (Sato and Nakajima, 1977).In the current study a mathematical model was developed to simulate the processes of absorption, distribution, excretion, and metabolism of trichloroethylene, the rate constants for each process being estimated from the time-course data of the vapour concentration in blood and the urinary excretion of its metabolites. Experiments SOLUBILITY OF TRICHLOROETHYLENE IN TISSUES OF RATSThe blood/air and tissue/blood partition coefficients were determined according to the method of Sato et al. (1974) with minor modifications. Tissue excised from a freshly killed rat was stripped of capsular and vascular connective tissues and weighed. The tissue was then homogenised with a known volume of 0-9 % saline. Five vials of equal size, each 16-5 ml on average and containing 1 ml of the tissue homogenates, were used as test vessels. 0-1 ml of a trichloroethylene solution in saline containing 10 ,ll/l was put into the vials on which rubber and aluminium-foil stoppers were placed as quickly as

No abstract

SMI permitted the detailed delineation of the vascular architecture in chronic liver disease. SMI appears to be a reliable tool for noninvasively detecting significant fibrosis or cirrhosis in HCV patients.