• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.4747-4753
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• 2016

Background: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in Indonesia has been reported to be exceedingly low. The purpose of our study was to confirm whether this is the case in Northern Jakarta using a sensitive 13C-urea breath test (UBT), and to examine any associations with lifestyle/environment factors and potential routes of transmission. Methods: We recruited a total of 196 subjects from a low-income community in Northern Jakarta, Indonesia, data from 193 who completed a questionnaire about their lifestyle/environment and had UBT being included as the final. Odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for sex and age with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a logistic regression model. Results: The overall H. pylori infection rate was 15.0% (95%CI, 10.3-20.9), with variation among Javanese (9.1%, total=77), Buginese (40.0%, 35), Betawi (9.1%, 33), Sundanese (3.7%, 27), and Batak (40.0%, 5). On multivariate analysis, the ORs for intake of soybean milk, cucumber more than once a week, infrequent hand washing practice before meals, and alcohol consumption were 0.10 (95%CI: 0.01-0.97), 6.61 (95%CI: 1.87-23.3), 4.10 (95%CI: 1.15-14.6), and 61.9 (95%CI: 1.67-2300.8), respectively. Rates for Buginese (OR=7.84; 95%CI: 1.82-33.8) and Batak (OR=20.1; 95%CI: 1.90-213.2) were significantly higher than for Javanese. Conclusions: The H. pylori infection rate in this study was relatively low, in line with previous studies. Regarding ethnicity factors, Buginese and Batak reported eating food using fingers more frequently than Javanese, Betawi, and Sundanese. Our study indicated that person-person transmission is possible in this low prevalence area. The low infection rates for H. pylori among Javanese, Betawi, and Sundanese ethnics could be partly due to their sanitary practices.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5243-5251
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• 2015

Background: To assess women's awareness from diverse sections of society in Delhi regarding various aspects of breast cancer (BC) - perceptions, signs and symptoms, risk factors, prevention, screening and treatment. Materials and Methods: Community-level survey was undertaken in association with the Indian Cancer Society (ICS), Delhi during May 2013-March 2014. Women attending BC awareness workshops by ICS were given self-administered questionnaires before the workshop in the local language to assess BC literacy. Information provided by 2017 women was converted into awareness scores (aware=1) for analysis using SPSS. Awareness scores were dichotomized with median score=19 as cut off, create more aware and less aware categories. Bivariate and multivariate analysis provided P-values, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Broadly, 53.4% women were aware about various aspects of BC. Notably, 49.1% women believed that BC was incurable and 73.9% women believed pain to be an initial BC symptom. Only 34.9% women performed breast self-examination (BSE) and 6.9% women had undergone clinical breast-examination/mammography. 40.5% women had higher awareness (awareness score > median score of 19), which was associated with education [graduates (OR=2.31; 95%CI=1.78, 3.16), post-graduates (OR=7.06; 95%CI=4.14, 12.05) compared to ${\leq}$ high school] and socio-economic status (SES) [low-middle (OR=4.20; 95%CI=2.72, 6.49), middle (OR=6.00; 95%CI=3.82, 9.42) and upper (OR=6.97; 95%CI=4.10, 11.84) compared to low SES]. Conclusions: BC awareness of women in Delhi was suboptimal and was associated with low SES and education. Awareness must be drastically increased via community outreach and use of media as a first step in the fight against BC.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.357-364
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• 1996

Stereochemistries of acetoxy 1,3-oxathiolane 1 were determined by two methods. First, the structures of $\alpha$ isomer 7 and $\beta$ isomer 9 were confirmed by the difference of their conversion rates to dihydrooxathiin 2 under acid catalysis. When the acetoxy leaving group is located in trans relationship to sulfur, a isomer in which carboxanilide is less hindered sterically against the 1,3-oxathiolane ring is $\beta$ isomer 7, and the other isomer of which the reaction rate is slower than 7 is $\beta$ isomer 9. Second, in the deuterium reactions of diastereomeric sulfoxides, the isomers of which methine hydrogen is substituted to deuterium were cis isomers 15 and 17, and another isomers of which methyl hydrogen is substituted to deuterium were trans isomers 16 and 18. Substitution of either methine or methyl hydrogen to deuterium resulted from stereospecific ring opening followed by recyclization by [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 1998

To study the oxygen tolerance mechanism of bifidobacteria, we have studied the growth of cells, the activities of the enzymes which were related with oxygen, such as catalase, superoxide dismutase(SOD), NADH oxidase, and NADH peroxidase, and cellular fatty acid compositions of Bifidobacterium adolescentis and B. longum under anaerobic and aerated (microaerobic and aerobic) conditions. B. longum grew relatively well under the microaerobic conditions, whereas the growth of B. adolescentis was inhibited under the same aerated conditions. B. adolescentis had extremely low level of NADH oxidative enzymes while B. longum had the relatively high level of NADH oxidative enzymes, whose activities were dramatically increased from 3.7 to 11.4 times by microaerobic condition but not in B. adolescentis. The activity of SOD was unexpectedly high in B. adolescentis compared with in B. longum under anaerobic and aerated conditions. The activities of catalase were not detected in all samples tested in this study. We also found that normal $C_{l6:0}$ and $C_{18:1}$ were the major fatty acids in B. adolescentis and B. longum under anaerobic and aerated conditions. 2.2-14.1% $C_{l9:0}$ cyclo fatty acid was detected only in B. longum and the fatty acid was increased by the addition of the aeration. The $C_{l9:0}$ cyclic fatty acid was identified as a cis 9, 10-methylene octadecanoic acid, which was different from lactobacillic acid in the cyclized site. 6.6%-24.6% of dimethyl acetals (DMA) which came from plasmalogen were observed in the B. adolescentis and B. longum grown under anaerobic condition, and the components were notably decreased in the cells grown under the aerated conditions. It is believed that NADH oxidative enzymes play an important role to detoxify oxygen metabolites of Bifidobacteriurn spp. under anaerobic and microaerobic conditions. Independently from oxidative enzymes, it seems that oxygen stress may induce the change of the level of cellular fatty acids showing an increase of $C_{l9:0}$ cyclo in B. longum and a decrease of $C_{l8:1}$ of plasmalogen in B. longum and B. adolescentis to adapt in environment.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.237-245
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• 2002

Purpose : This study was conducted to evaluate the treatment results, prognostic factors, and complication rates after high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy in patients with uterine cervix cancer who were treated with curative aim. Materials and Methods : Of 269 cervix cancer patients treated at the department of radiation oncology, Samsung Medical Center from September 1994 to July 1998, the 106 who were treated with radical radio-therapy were analyzed. The median age was 61 years (range 22 to 89). All patients except 4 with carcinoma in situ (CIS) were given external beam radiotherapy (range $30.6\~50.4\;Gy$ to whole pelvis) and HDR brachytherapy. The common regimens of HDR brachytherapy were a total dose of $24\~28\;Gy$ with $6\~7$ fractions to point A at two fractions per week. The median overall treatment time was 55 days (range 44 to 104) in patients given both external beam radiotherapy and HDR brachytherapy. Results : Early responses of radiotherapy were evaluated by gynecologic examination and follow-up MRI 1 month after radiotherapy. Treatment responses were complete remission in 72 patients, partial response in 33 and no response in 1. The overall survival (OS) rate of all patients was $82\%,\;and\;73\%$, and the disease free survival (DFS) rate was $72\%,\;and\;69\%$, at 3, and 5 years, respectively. The pelvic control rate (PCR) was $79\%$ at both 3 and 5 years. According to the FIGO stage,3 and 5 year OS were $100\%\;and\;50\%$ in CIS/IA, $100\%\;and\;100%$ in IB, $83\%\;and\;69\%$ in IIA, $87\%\;and\;80\%$ in IIB, and $62\%\;and\;62\%$ in III, respectively. The 3 year OS in 4 patients with stage IVA was $100\%$. Three-year DFS were $80\%$ in CIS/IA, $88\%$ in IB, $100\%$ in IIA, $64\%$ in IIB, $58\%$ in III, and $75\%$ in IVA. Three-year PCR were $100\%$ in CIS/IA, $94\%$ in IB, $100\%$ in IIA, $84\%$ in IIB, $69\%$ in III, and $50\%$ in IVA. By univariate analysis, FIGO stage and treatment response were significant factors for OS. The significant factors for DFS were age, FIGO stage, treatment response and overall treatment time (OTT). For pelvic control rate, treatment response and OTT were significant factors. By multivariate analysis, FIGO stage had a borderline significance for OS (p=0.0825) and treatment response had a borderline significance for DFS (0=0.0872). A total of 14 patients $(13\%)$ experienced rectal bleeding, which occurred from 3 to 44 months (median, 13 months) after the completion of radiotherapy. Conclusion : HDR brachytherapy protocol of Samsung Medical Center combined with properly optimal external beam pelvic irradiation is a safe and effective treatment for patients with uterine cervix cancer. The authors found that OTT of less than 55 days had a positive impact on pelvic control and survival rate.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.71-80
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• 1978

In an attempt to elucidate the fate of 3,4-DCA and TCAB in various French soils, uniformly $^{14}C-ring-labeled$ 3,4-DCA and TCAB mere utilized and the following results obtained. 1) The rate of breakdown of $^{14}C-3,4-DCA$ into $^{14}CO_2$ was relatively higher in the early stage than that in the later stage. In 6 months of incubation in alkaline soil (pH 7.9), the rate was as high as 6.5% at dose 1 (1.5 ppm) and as low as 1.92% at dose 2(94 ppm), whereas in organic acid soil (pH 5.5) the rate was 4.91% at dose 1 and 4.24% at dose 2, respectively, without making any great difference between the two levels. 2) At dose 1, 47.70% of the initial radioactivity of $^{14}C-3,4-DCA$ was bound to soil in organic acid soil and 29.49% bound in alkaline soil, whereas at dose 2, 38.40% in organic acid soil and 20.30% in alkaline soil, respectively. 3) The amount of formation of $^{14}C-TCAB$ from $^{14}C-3,4-DCA$ seems to depend largely on the concentration of 3,4-DCA applied rather than on soil types. At dose 2, the amount was 50% of the total radioactivity extracted in organic acid soil and 30% in alkaline soil, corresponding to 1.8% and 1.4% of the initial radioactivity applied to soil, respectively. Cis-TCAB also seemed to be formed at dose 2 in both soils. Meanwhile, at dose 1, even though $^{14}C-TCAB$ was detected in trace on tlc and glc in both soils, the amount does not exceed 2 to 3% of the radioactivity extracted, corresponding to 0.05 to 0.1% of the initial radioactivity. 4) The rate of breakdown of $^{14}C-TCAB$ into $^{14}CO_2$ ranged from 0.05 to 0.20% in all the four soils. Most of the applied $^{14}C-TCAB$ remained intact after 3 months, not producing any detectable metabolites. 5) The fact that much more $^{14}C-TCAB$ was adsorbed to alkaline soil than to the other soils strongly indicates that in alkaline condition trans-isomer was converted tocisisomer which has the higher adsorption affinity than the former.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3719-3724
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• 2013

Background: RASSF1A has been reported to be a candidate tumor suppressor in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the association between RASSF1A promoter methylation and NSCLC remains unclear, particularly in regarding links to clinicopathologic features. Methods: Eligible studies were identified through searching PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Studies were pooled and odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Funnel plots were also performed to evaluate publication bias. Results: Nineteen studies involving 2,063 cases of NSCLC and 1,184 controls were included in this meta-analysis. A significant association was observed between RASSF1A methylation and NSCLC in the complete data set (OR = 19.42, 95% CI: 14.04-26.85, P < 0.001). Pooling the control tissue subgroups (heterogeneous/autologous) gave pooled ORs of 32.4 (95% CI, 12.4-84.5) and 17.7 (95% CI, 12.5-25.0) respectively. Racial subgroup (Caucasian/Asian) analysis gave pooled ORs of 26.6 (95% CI, 10.9-64.9) and 20.9 (95% CI, 14.4-30.4) respectively. The OR for RASSF1A methylation in poorly-differentiated vs. moderately/well-differentiated NSCLC tissues was 1.88 (95% CI, 1.32-2.68, P<0.001), whereas there were no significant differences in RASSF1A methylation in relation to gender, pathology, TNM stage and smoking behavior among NSCLC cases. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests a significant association between RASSF1A methylation and NSCLC, confirming the role of RASSF1A as a tumor suppressor gene. Large-scale and well-designed case-control studies are needed to validate the associations identified in the present meta-analysis.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.414-422
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• 2018

Objective: Dietary nutrients may play a significant role in depressive disorders. However, sufficient evidences in epidemiological studies are limited. We investigated the cross-sectional association between dietary nutrients and the prevalence of depressive disorder in Korean adults using representative Korean data. Methods: Participants were 2,938 adults aged 19 ~ 64 years from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) conducted in 2014. Dietary intakes were assessed using 24-h recall method. Depressive disorder was assessed using Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9, self-depression test) as applied in 2014 KNHANES only. We defined depressive disorder as having a PHQ-9 score of ${\geq}10$, which was characterized as moderate depression and more. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the adjusted odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) of depressive disorder. Results: Among the 2,938 subjects, 170 were identified as having depressive disorder. The multivariate-adjusted regression analysis demonstrated that the risk of depression was significantly associated with riboflavin (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.24-0.85, p for trend = 0.018), thiamin (OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.23-0.99, p for trend = 0.045), and vitamin C (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.34-0.95, p for trend = 0.025) in the highest versus lowest tertiles of intake. Conclusion: The high consumption of riboflavin, thiamin, and vitamin C was associated with the low prevalence of depressive disorder in Korean adults.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.914-919
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• 1998

Optically pure $C_2-Symmetric$ pyrrolidine amides (8) were synthesized from readily available 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-D-mannitol (1). Cyclization of dimesylated hexitol (4) with benzyl amine gave an inseparable mixture of $C_2-Symmetric$ pyrrolidine amine derivative (5) as a major product, concurring with its cis isomer (6) as a minor product. The pyrrolidine amines (5,6) were converted to separable pyrrolidine amides (8,9) via free amine (7). Optical purity of desired $C_2-Symmetric$ pyrrolidine amide (8a) was determined with its Mosher derivatives (13,14) by their $^1H$ and $^{19}F$ NMR spectra.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.739-747
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• 2018

The low solubility and high-cost recovery of Propionibacterium acnes polyunsaturated fatty acid isomerase (PAI) are key problems in the bioproduction of high value-added conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). To improve the solubility of recombinant PAI, six chaperone proteins were coexpressed with PAI. Introduction of GroELS proteins dramatically improved the PAI solubility from 29% to 97%, with increased activity by 57.8%. Combined expression of DnaKJ-GrpE and GroELS proteins increased the activity by 11.9%. In contrast, coexpression of DnaKJ-GrpE proteins significantly reduced the activity by 57.4%. Plasmids pTf16 harboring the tig gene and pG-Tf2 containing the tig and groEL-groES genes had no visible impact on PAI expression. The lytic protein E was then introduced into the recombinant Escherichia coli to develop a cell autolysis system. A 35% activity of total intracellular PAI was released from the cytoplasm by suspending the lysed cells in distilled water. The PAI recovery was further improved to 81% by optimizing the release conditions. The lipase from Rhizopus oryzae was also expressed in E. coli, with an extracellular activity of 110.9 U/ml. By using the free PAI and lipase as catalysts, a joint system was established for producing CLA from sunflower oil. Under the optimized conditions, the maximum titer of t-10,c-12-CLA reached 9.4 g/l. This work provides an effective and low-cost strategy to improve the solubility and recovery of the recombinant intracellular PAI for further large-scale production of CLA.