We have demonstrated hyper-Raman (HR) spectroscopy of N-methylacetamide (NMA) for the first time. Fundamental knowledge of amide bands in HR spectra has been obtained. HR spectra of NMA exhibit various amide bands with different intensity patterns from Raman and IR spectra. The amide III and II signals were strongly observed, suggesting the possible application of HR spectroscopy to analyze secondary structures, complementary to IR and Raman spectroscopy. The peak positions of HR amide bands sharply reflect the hydrogen-bonding environment around the molecule. The depolarization ratios of the amide II and III bands at 532 nm excitation suggest the resonance HR effect via the π–π* transition. In contrast, that of the amide I band of neat NMA indicates the contribution of high energy transitions to its signal enhancement. This work proposes that HR spectroscopy can be a powerful tool for studying the molecular structure and environment of biomolecules with peptide bonds.

Prey evolve antipredator strategies against multiple enemies in nature. We examined how a prey species adopts different predation avoidance tactics against pursuit or sit‐and‐wait predators. As prey, we used three strains of Tribolium beetles artificially selected for short (short strain) or long (long strain) duration of death feigning, and a stock culture (base population). Death feigning is known to be effective for evading a jumping spider in the case of the long strains, while the present study showed that the long‐strain beetles used freezing against a sit‐and‐wait type predator, Amphibolus venator, in this study. The short‐ strain beetles were more easily oriented toward predators. The time to predation was also shorter in the short strains compared to the long strains. The results showed that, as prey, the short strains displayed the same behavior, escaping, against both types of predators. Traditionally, death feigning has been thought to be the last resort in a series of antipredator avoidance behaviors. However, our results showed that freezing and death feigning were not parts of a series of behaviors, but independent strategies against different predators, at least for long‐strain beetles. We also examined the relationship between a predator's starvation level and its predatory behavior. In addition, the orientation behavior toward and predation rate on the prey were observed to determine how often the predatory insect attacked the beetles.

Green-plant membrane is a phytonutrient present in green leafy vegetables at high concentration. Postprandial increases in blood triglyceride levels result in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, dietary life and eating order also affect postprandial hypertriglyceridemia. In this study, the effects of once-daily intake of green-plant membrane with dietary oil on postprandial hypertriglyceridemia were investigated in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, green-plant membrane bound hydrophobic bile acids but did not inhibit pancreatic lipase activity. Following the administration, green-plant membrane with dietary oil in rats, oral fat tolerance tests, increases in serum triglycerides levels were significantly reduced. Moreover, fecal total lipid and bile acid volumes were significantly increased in rats that administered 200 mg/mL green-plant membrane. These results suggest that green-plant membrane with dietary oil inhibits dietary fat absorption via promotion of bile acid excretion in feces and the effectiveness of eating green-plant membrane, such as green leafy vegetables, with meals.

Prey evolve anti-predator strategies against multiple enemies in nature. We examined how a prey species adopts different predation avoidance tactics against pursuit or sit-and-wait predators. As prey, we used two strains of Tribolium beetles artificially selected for short or long duration of death feigning. The results showed that, as prey, the short strains displayed the same behavior, escaping, against the two types of predators. On the other hand, death feigning is known to be effective for evading a jumping spider in the case of the long strains, while the present study showed that the long strain beetles used freezing behavior against a sit-and-wait type predator A. venator in this study. The short strain beetles were more easily orientated by predators and suffered a higher rate of predation than the long strains. The time to predation was also shorter in the short strains compared to the long strains. When the predator was starved, even the long strains were preyed upon when the predator was orientated toward the prey, suggesting the starvation period, i.e., prey density, is an important factor for antipredator behavior. Traditionally, death feigning has been thought to be the last resort in a series of anti-predator avoidance behaviors. However, our results showed that freezing and death feigning were not parts of a series of behavior, but independent behaviors against different predators, at least for these beetles. The results also suggest that the differences in feeding rates between the strains could be explained by differences in activity among the strains.