In this review, we summarize the energetic and physiological correlates of prey handling and ingestion in lizards and snakes. There were marked differences in the magnitude of aerobic metabolism during prey handling and ingestion between these two groups, although they show a similar pattern of variation as a function of relative prey mass. For lizards, the magnitude of aerobic metabolism durin...

Dried-bonito broth (DBB, katsuo-bushi dashi) is commonly used in Japanese cuisine, and is also used as a traditional remedy for recovery from fatigue and improvement of blood circulation. To clarify the effect of DBB on blood pressure, oxidative stress and emotional states, a randomized crossover human trial was performed. Twenty-seven elderly Japanese subjects ingested DBB or water for one mon...

The plasma glucose excursion may influence the metabolic responses after oral glucose ingestion. Although previous studies addressed the effects of hyperglycemia in conditions of hyperinsulinemia, it has not been evaluated whether the route of glucose administration (oral vs. intravenous) plays a role. Our aim was to determine the effects of moderately controlled hyperglycemia on glucose metabo...

Phagocytosis of three types of fluorescein-labeled test particles by rat alveolar macrophages (AM) were studied: spherical silica (3.2 microm), heat-killed Candida albicans (3.8 microm), and heat-killed Cryptococcus neoformans (6.1 microm) opsonized with specific IgG. These particles should attach to scavenger, mannose, and Fc receptors, respectively. Both control AM and AM pretreated for 20 h ...

BACKGROUND Button battery lodged in the esophagus carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to present cases of patients with esophageal button battery ingestion treated at our clinic and to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. METHODS Records of patients admitted to our hospital for foreign body ingestion between January 2010 and May ...

In two experiments, we examined effects of ethanol consumption in rat dams during gestation, lactation, and weaning on voluntary ethanol consumption by their adolescent young. We found that exposure to an ethanol-ingesting dam throughout gestation, lactation, and weaning enhanced voluntary ethanol consumption by 26- to 33-day-old adolescents. We systematically examined effects on adolescent eth...

Parturient females ingest placenta in most mammalian species, whereas fathers may do so in species in which both parents provide care for their offspring. To determine if the propensity to eat placenta varies with reproductive status in the biparental California mouse, we presented placenta to virgin (housed with a same-sex pairmate), expectant (pregnant with their first litter), and multiparou...

Abstract This experimental study considered the performance of a chute rim seal downstream turbine nozzle guide vanes (but without rotor blades). The setup reproduced rotationally-driven ingestion and conditions pressure-driven with vanes. maximum speed was 9000 rpm corresponding to rotational Reynolds number 3.3 × 106 flow coefficient 0.45. Measurements mean pressures in annulus disk cavity as...

The early events of macrocyst development in Dictyostelium discoideum have been investigated using a new culturing system. When cells of opposite mating-types, HM1 and NC4, are cultured together at the appropriate temperature in the dark, giant cells appear, ingest the surrounding amoebae, and develop into macrocysts. Although these giant cells have been assumed to be the products of the fusion...

In the present study we examined whether categorization difficulty regarding a food is related to its likability. For this purpose, we produced stimulus images by morphing photographs of a tomato and a strawberry. Subjects categorized these images as either a tomato or a strawberry and in separate sessions evaluated the food's eatability or the subject's willingness to eat (Experiments 1 and 2)...