To prevent "life style-related diseases", it is necessary to evaluate not only the factors directly related to sleep but also the relationship between sleep and other life style-related factors (such as smoking, alcohol drinking, food habits, and exercise routines). There have b e e n n o e x t e n si v e st ud i e s c o n d u c t e d o n t h e s e relationships. A survey was conducted on 2,000 employees of a large plant over a 6-year period to provide data that would allow one to analyze correlation between hours of sleep and other life style factors, such as smoking, alcohol drinking, dietary habit, and exercise. It focused on a serial evaluation, with special reference to the correlation between sleep and smoking and drinking habits, exercise, and food habits. In relation to smoking or an alcohol drinking habit, no significant correlation was found between those who did not get enough sleep and those who got adequate sleep. For the dietary habits, the group with insufficient hours of sleep was related to a less than satisfactory frequency of meal taking, irregularity of eating, snacking habits, excessive seasoning of food, and consumption of insufficient quantities of vegetables. Conversely, it was recognized that those who have satisfactory food habits are more likely to enjoy an appropriate amount of sleep. Those who fail to get sufficient sleep engage in food habits that are more likely to cause life style-related diseases. J Physiol A n t h r o p o l 2 1 ( 2 ) : 1 1 5 -1 2 0 , 2 0 0 2 h t t p : / / www.jstage.jst.go.jp/en/

Polyamines are known to play important roles in the proliferation and differentiation of many types of cells. Although considerable amounts of polyamines are synthesized and stored in the testes, their roles remain unknown. Ornithine decarboxylase antizymes (OAZs) control the intracellular concentration of polyamines in a feedback manner. OAZ1 and OAZ2 are expressed ubiquitously, whereas OAZ-t/OAZ3 is expressed specifically in germline cells during spermiogenesis. OAZ-t reportedly binds to ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and inactivates ODC activity. In a prior study, polyamines were capable of inducing a frameshift at the frameshift sequence of OAZ-t mRNA, resulting in the translation of OAZ-t. To investigate the physiological role of OAZ-t, we generated OAZ-t–disrupted mutant mice. Homozygous OAZ-t mutant males were infertile, although the polyamine concentrations of epididymides and testes were normal in these mice, and females were fertile. Sperm were successfully recovered from the epididymides of the mutant mice, but the heads and tails of the sperm cells were easily separated in culture medium during incubation. Results indicated that OAZ-t is essential for the formation of a rigid junction between the head and tail during spermatogenesis. The detached tails and heads were alive, and most of the headless tails showed straight forward movement. Although the tailless sperm failed to acrosome-react, the heads were capable of fertilizing eggs via intracytoplasmic sperm injection. OAZ-t likely plays a key role in haploid germ cell differentiation via the local concentration of polyamines.

Shape-memory alloys (SMAs), which display shape recovery upon heating, as well as superelasticity, offer many technological advantages in various applications. Those distinctive behaviors have been observed in many polycrystalline alloy systems such as nickel titantium (TiNi)-, copper-, iron-, nickel-, cobalt-, and Ti-based alloys but not in lightweight alloys such as magnesium (Mg) and aluminum alloys. Here we present a Mg SMA showing superelasticity of 4.4% at -150°C and shape recovery upon heating. The shape-memory properties are caused by reversible martensitic transformation. This Mg alloy includes lightweight scandium, and its density is about 2 grams per cubic centimeter, which is one-third less than that of practical TiNi SMAs. This finding raises the potential for development and application of lightweight SMAs across a number of industries.

Background: Studies on the diversity of carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins) are important in glycobiology. Results: A lectin having a novel primary structure was isolated from a mussel and found to have a globotriose-dependent cytotoxicity on Burkitt lymphoma cells. Conclusion: A new primary structure quite distinct from known lectin is described. Significance: Discovery of similar lectin structures from vertebrates will lead to progress in medical sciences.

The pyrolysis of rice husk is carried out in a fluidized-bed reactor at atmospheric pressure. The effects of pyrolysis parameters, i.e., gas atmosphere and catalyst, on the carbon conversion of rice husk and composition of bio-oils are studied. The experiments with catalysts under a hydrogen atmosphere to produce bio-oils with a much lower oxygen content compared to those under a nitrogen atmosphere are performed. The results show that the oxygen content of bio-oils is markedly reduced because the oxygenated hydrocarbons are hydrocracked, resulting in the formation of H2O, CO, and CO2, when catalysts are introduced under a nitrogen atmosphere and decreases even more under a hydrogen gas atmosphere (hydropyrolysis). The oxygen content of bio-oil under a hydrogen atmosphere decreases from over 31.1% without a catalyst to 25.91, 20.51, 26.51, and 10.1% with Ni/Al2O3, Ni/LY, dolomite, and CoMo/Al2O3, respectively. The use of CoMo/Al2O3 and Ni/LY catalysts under a hydrogen atmosphere shows high activity to decrease the oxygen content, which leads to a higher heating value and more aromatic hydrocarbons. These experiments indicate that catalytic hydropyrolysis is suitable for producing bio-oils with a lower molecular weight and high aromatic hydrocarbons, which are possible to use as a potential liquid fuel and chemical feedstock.