Abstract: A pharmaceutical composition that includes a carbamoyloxy arylalkanoyl arylpiperazine compound SERUM CHOLESTEROL and effectively prevents or treats diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic vascular complications, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, or inflammation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for preparing a soybean paste including: flaking or crushing raw soybeans, immersing the resulting flaked or crushed soybeans in water, followed by cooking and cooling, homogeneously mixing the soybeans with koji bacteria and a bean or grain powder, followed by fermenting and drying, and mixing the meju with table salt and distilled water and aging the resulting mixture. In accordance with the method, the soybeans are flaked or crushed to advantageously reduce hydrating and cooking periods of soybeans, form cracks on the soybean surfaces and increase surface areas, and allow beneficial microorganisms to easily use nutrients contained in soybeans, thus increase enzyme production, considerably reduce fermentation period of meju and aging period of soybean paste, obtain manufacturing soybean pastes with superior quality and improve production efficiency.

Abstract: A method is provided for preparing an instant embryo bud-retaining white rice product. The rice is polished like white rice using a low-speed, uniform pressure method to keep embryo buds and is rich in nutrients and has white rice's flavor. Its lipid oxidation is similar to that of white rice. The immersion time period of the embryo bud-retaining white rice is controlled so as not to generate sticky materials after the immersion, thus allowing effective sterilization of the rice. Therefore, the instant embryo bud-retaining white rice can be stored at room temperature for 6 months or longer.

Abstract: A bioreactor for sampling the headspace above cells includes a glass reactor vessel having an interior space and a plurality of valves operatively coupled to the interior space of the glass reactor vessel. The bioreactor includes a sample holder configured to reside in the interior space. The interior space includes a charge of air with a known composition of volatile organic gases and, in some instances, doped with carbon dioxide. The sample holder may hold cells, bacteria, or viruses. The headspace may be sampled after incubation to determine the VOC content or content of specific VOC constituents. Examples include acetaldehyde and hexanaldehyde.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to characterize NO gas exchange dynamics in human lungs comprising the steps of: (1) performing a series of breath hold maneuvers of progressively increasingly breath hold times, each breath hold maneuver comprising a) inhaling a gas, b) holding a breath for a selected time duration, and c) exhaling at a flow rate which is uncontrolled but which is effective to ensure evacuation of the airway space and (2) measuring airway NO parameters during consecutive breath hold maneuvers. As a result disease states of the lungs are diagnosed using the measured airway NO parameters.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to characterize NO gas exchange dynamics in human lungs, including performing a plurality of breathing maneuvers of substantially constant flow rates within a predetermined range, measuring data relating to at least one of an NO concentration and an NO elimination rate as a function of exhaled volume or exhalation flow rate, applying a lung model to the measured data, and obtaining at least one parameter indicative of disease states of the lung based on the lung model and the measured data, wherein the lung model, when applied in the predetermined range, predicts a substantially linear relationship between the NO elimination rate and the exhalation flow rate.

Abstract: An apparatus and method to characterize NO gas exchange dynamics in human lungs comprising the steps of: (1) performing a series of breath hold maneuvers of progressively increasingly breath hold times, each breath hold maneuver comprising a) inhaling a gas, b) holding a breath for a selected time duration, and c) exhaling at a flow rate which is uncontrolled but which is effective to ensure evacuation of the airway space and (2) measuring airway NO parameters during consecutive breath hold maneuvers. As a result disease states of the lungs are diagnosed using the measured airway NO parameters.