BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Understanding the mechanism of chewing and swallowing food is important when creating a proper diet for older adults. This study investigated whether texture-modified model foods can reduce the difference in chewing and swallowing parameters between healthy community-living young and older adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In total, 35 older and 20 young adults (mean age: 75 and 25 years, respectively), matched for sex and number of teeth, were recruited and their unstimulated salivation and tongue pressure were measured. Simultaneous assessment of chewing and swallowing characteristics was conducted using surface electromyography and a videofluoroscopic swallowing study while the participants ingested 8 g of model food with one to four levels of hardness. RESULTS: The average tongue pressure and salivation among older adults were 61% and 49.7%, respectively, of the corresponding values observed in young adults. The older adult group used significantly (P < 0.05) increased muscle force with more chewing cycles (P < 0.05) than the young adult group, which was maintained even when consuming foods with the lowest hardness, although without chewing. However, the age effect on oral processing time existed only for the hardest foods. Swallowing difficulties among older adults were demonstrated by the significant increase in vallecula aggregation time. The total food intake duration was significantly (P < 0.05) longer in older adults than in young adults, regardless of food hardness. CONCLUSIONS There were measurable differences in the process of chewing and swallowing food between young and older adults, which can be improved with food hardness control. Adjusting food hardness may help food intake in healthy older adults.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate transplanted porcine pancreatic islets in the kidney capsules of diabetic mice using a clinically approved superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and a 1.5T MR scanner. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Various numbers of porcine pancreatic islets labeled with Resovist, a carboxydextran-coated SPIO, were transplanted into the kidney capsules of normal mice and imaged with a 3D FIESTA sequence using a 1.5T clinical MR scanner. Labeled (n = 3) and unlabeled (n = 2) islets were transplanted into the kidney capsules of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Blood glucose levels and MR signal intensities were monitored for 30 days post-transplantation. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in viability or insulin secretion between labeled and unlabeled islets. A strong correlation (r2 > 0.94) was evident between the number of transplanted islets and T2 relaxation times quantified by MRI. Transplantation with labeled or unlabeled islets helped restore normal sustained glucose levels in diabetic mice, and nephrectomies induced the recurrence of diabetes. The MR signal intensity of labeled pancreatic islets decreased by 80% over 30 days. CONCLUSION: The transplantation of SPIO-labeled porcine islets into the kidney capsule of diabetic mice allows to restore normal glucose levels, and these islets can be visualized and quantified using a 1.5T clinical MR scanner.
Animals ; Contrast Media/pharmacology ; Dextrans/pharmacology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/*therapy ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; *Islets of Langerhans Transplantation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Magnetite Nanoparticles ; Mice ; Microscopy, Electron ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Swine

Chrysin is a 5,7-dihydroxyflavone and was recently shown to potently inhibit enterovirus 71 (EV71) by suppressing viral 3C protease (3Cpro) activity. In the current study, we investigated whether chrysin also shows antiviral activity against coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), which belongs to the same genus (Enterovirus) as EV71, and assessed its ability to prevent the resulting acute pancreatitis and myocarditis. We found that chrysin showed antiviral activity against CVB3 at 10 muM, but exhibited mild cellular cytotoxicity at 50 muM, prompting us to synthesize derivatives of chrysin to increase the antiviral activity and reduce its cytotoxicity. Among four 4-substituted benzyl derivatives derived from C(5) benzyl-protected derivatives 7, 9-11 had significant antiviral activity and showed the most potent activity against CVB3 with low cytotoxicity in Vero cells. Intraperitoneal injection of CVB3 in BALB/c mice with 1x106 TCID50 (50% tissue culture infective dose) of CVB3 induced acute pancreatitis with ablation of acinar cells and increased serum CXCL1 levels, whereas the daily administration of 9 for 5 days significantly alleviated the pancreatic inflammation and reduced the elevation in serum CXCL1 levels. Collectively, we assessed the anti-CVB3 activities of chrysin and its derivatives, and found that among 4-substituted benzyl derivatives, 9 exhibited the highest activity against CVB3 in vivo, and protected mice from CVB3-induced pancreatic damage, simultaneously lowering serum CXCL1 levels.
Acinar Cells ; Animals ; Enterovirus ; Inflammation ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Mice ; Myocarditis ; Pancreatitis ; Vero Cells

The natural flavonoid macakurzin C (1) exhibited adiponectin biosynthesis-inducing activity during adipogenesis in human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and its molecular mechanism was directly associated with a pan-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) modulator affecting all three PPAR subtypes α, γ, and δ. In this study, increases in adiponectin biosynthesisinducing activity by macakurzin C derivatives (2–7) were studied. The most potent adiponectin biosynthesis-inducing compound 6, macakurzin C 3,5-dimethylether, was elucidated as a dual PPARα/γ modulator. Compound 6 may exhibit the most potent activity because of the antagonistic relationship between PPARδ and PPARγ. Docking studies revealed that the O-methylation of macakurzin C to generate compound 6 significantly disrupted PPARδ binding. Compound 6 has therapeutic potential in hypoadiponectinemia-related metabolic diseases.