Objectives: This study was performed to determine the effects of decreasing ambient temperature on peripheral blood flow and body temperature of males and females in a thermal neutral zone for references to the thermal standard of office workers. Methods: Peripheral blood flows of the hand and feet, and body temperatures and so on of male and female subjects were measured in a climatic chamber. Air temperature was maintained at 28.5°C at the beginning. After this, air temperature was decreased linearly to 21.0°C over a period of 60 minutes. Finally, air temperature was maintained at 21.0°C. Results: Blood flows and skin temperatures of male and female subjects became similar or showed no significant difference at beginning and the end of the experiment. Skin blood flow of the hand and skin temperatures of the hand and fingers decreased, and these values in females were lower than in males, when air temperature was decreased linearly in a thermal neutral zone. However, there were no remarkable differences between males and females in sublingual and mean skin temperatures during the experiment. Conclusion: Minimum air temperature at the thermal standard for offices in Japan is 17°C, which may be too low to be comfortable or neutral. Even in a neutral thermal condition, it is better that office workers are provided some protection such as a blanket or clothing, to protect peripheral body parts from cooling in winter, as there are individual differences in physiological thermal reactions.
Temperature ; Carbon ion ; seconds ; Integumentary system ; Hand

The purpose of this study was to determine daily steps corresponding to the reference value for the quantity of Physical Activity and Exercise for Health Promotion 2006 (23 METs·h/wk) considering non-locomotive activities. Two hundred and thirty one men and 224 women wore a tri-axial accelerometer for two weeks. We analyzed the data in each age group (young (less than 40 years), middle-aged (40 to 59 years), and elderly (60 years or more) groups), also. There were significant relationships between daily steps and locomotive activity (r = 0.762 to 0.820, p < 0.001) and total (locomotive and non-locomotive) physical activity (r = 0.706 to 0.824, p < 0.001) with intensity of 3 METs or more in all groups. The daily steps corresponding to 23 METs·h/wk, calculated using regression lines between the daily steps and total physical activities with intensity of 3 METs or more in men and women were 6,534 steps/d and 6,119 steps/d. On the other hand, the daily steps corresponding to 23 METs·h/wk, calculated using regression lines between the daily steps and locomotive activities with intensity of 3 METs or more in men and women were 7,888 steps/d and 8,584 steps/d. These results suggest that non-locomotive activity should also be taken into consideration in the case of assessment of a daily physical activity.

While the session-RPE (rating of perceived exertion) method can quantify training volume in athletes, this method is not able to evaluate energy expenditure (EE) during a training session. We developed an RPE-based activity record for assessing EE during athletic training, and we compared its results to those obtained using the flex-heart rate (flex-HR) method. The EE of nine female collegiate endurance runners was assessed by the RPE-based activity record and flex-HR methods during eight days in the normal training season. Subjects were asked to record their RPE in the record at 5-minute intervals, and to wear a HR monitor during training. All subjects also participated in an incremental treadmill exercise test, which was used to determine their RPE-EE and HR-EE regression equations. Although the RPE-based activity record significantly overestimated EE (RPE-activity record, 572 kcal/session; flex-HR method, 499 kcal/session; p = 0.031), it had high validity relative to the flex-HR method (intra-class correlation coefficient, 0.891; 95% confidence interval, 0.845–0.923) and there were no systematic errors in EE estimation between the two methods. Therefore, the RPE-based activity record can be used to assess EE during training in female runners. However, RPE-based activity record might overestimate EE for athletes who have more intermittent activities during training than endurance runners, because RPE takes more time for returning to the resting level than HR when the intensity of activity declines. Further research is needed to verify the validity of the RPE-based activity record for assessing EE during other sporting activities or measurement conditions, and to identify the factors affecting the degree of estimation error associated with this method.

OBJECTIVESThis study was performed to determine the effects of decreasing ambient temperature on peripheral blood flow and body temperature of males and females in a thermal neutral zone for references to the thermal standard of office workers.

METHODSPeripheral blood flows of the hand and feet, and body temperatures and so on of male and female subjects were measured in a climatic chamber. Air temperature was maintained at 28.5°C at the beginning. After this, air temperature was decreased linearly to 21.0°C over a period of 60 minutes. Finally, air temperature was maintained at 21.0°C.

RESULTSBlood flows and skin temperatures of male and female subjects became similar or showed no significant difference at beginning and the end of the experiment. Skin blood flow of the hand and skin temperatures of the hand and fingers decreased, and these values in females were lower than in males, when air temperature was decreased linearly in a thermal neutral zone. However, there were no remarkable differences between males and females in sublingual and mean skin temperatures during the experiment.

CONCLUSIONMinimum air temperature at the thermal standard for offices in Japan is 17°C, which may be too low to be comfortable or neutral. Even in a neutral thermal condition, it is better that office workers are provided some protection such as a blanket or clothing, to protect peripheral body parts from cooling in winter, as there are individual differences in physiological thermal reactions.

OBJECTIVEThe aims of this study were to determine the effects of heavy metals such as manganese on nicotinamideN-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.1) (NNMT) activity and to consider the possibility of involvement of NNMT activation in the pathogenesis of heavy metal induced Parkinson's disease.

METHODSNNMT activity in supernatants separated from brain, liver and kidney homogenates of 5 elderly male Wistar rats by centrifugation were measured by high performance liquid chromatography system with fluorescence. NNMT activity under the conditon of 0.5 or 5.0 mM Mn(2+), Fe(2+), Cu(2+) or Cd(2+) was compared with control (no metal ion existence).

RESULTSNNMT activities in rat brain, liver and kidneys were significantly decreased by Cu(2+), and those in the liver and kidneys were significantly decreased by Cd(2+). Mn(2+) reduced NNMT activity only in the liver. Fe(2+) had no effect on NNMT activity.

CONCLUSIONSNo metal increased NNMT activity in this study, contrary to our hypothesis. Further study is needed to clarify the reason why the effects of Mn(2+) and Fe(2+) which have a high relevance to Parkinson's disease on NNMT activity differ from those of Cu(2+) and Cd(2+).

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for energy are derived from total energy expenditure (TEE) measured using the doubly labelled water (DLW) method. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of DRI for predicting the energy requirements of elementary school-age children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The present study involved 25 elementary school-age children aged between 9 and 11 years. TEE was assessed by the DLW method, and the results were compared with the TEE predicted by the DRI equations in order to evaluate accuracy. RESULTS: The subjects' TEE measured by the DLW method was 1,925.2 ± 380.9 kcal/day in boys and 1,930.0 ± 279.4 kcal/day in girls, whereas resting energy expenditure was 1,220.2 ± 176.9 kcal/day in boys and 1,245.9 ± 171.3 kcal/day for girls. The physical activity level was 1.58 ± 0.20 in boys and 1.55 ± 0.13 in girls. The mean bias between the predicted and measured TEE was 12.6% in boys and −1.6% in girls, and the percentage of accurate predictions was 28.6% and 63.6%, respectively. In boys, the equation resulted in underprediction of TEE among the subjects having low TEE values, whereas there was overprediction among subjects having high TEE values as shown by the Bland-Altman plot. On the contrary, this proportional bias was not observed in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that the DRI equation for energy could result in the overestimation of energy requirements in elementary school-age boys. In the case of girls, the equations could be accurate at the group level. However, the DRI appears to be invalid for individual girls, as more than one third of girls had their TEE inaccurately predicted. We recommend more studies for confirmation of these results.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Child* ; Energy Metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Methods ; Motor Activity ; Nutritional Requirements ; Recommended Dietary Allowances* ; Water