• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.470-475
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• 2007

Oplopanax elatus (O. elatus) is a tall deciduous shrub that has traditionally been used for σ eating a variety of ailments such as diabetes, coughling, rheumatism, gastro-intestinal disorders, and wounds. In order to examine the safety of the ethanol extracts of O. elatus, we performed a 14-day repeated-dose toxicity study with Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were treated with daily doses of the D. elatus ethanol extracts by gavage at 0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg/day for 14 consecutive days. We recorded clinical signs of toxicity, body weight, hematology, organ weights, gross and histological changes in target organs, and clinical chemistry analysis data for all rats. There were no significant changes in body and organ weights during the experimental period. The hematological analysis and clinical blood chemistry data revealed no toxic effects from the O. elatus ethanol extracts. Pathologically, neither gross abnormalities nor histopathological changes were observed between the control and treated rats of both sexes. Collectively, these data suggest that the ethanol extracts of O. elatus have a high margin of safety.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.226-234
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• 2017

Purpose: With the implementation of the Act on Life Sustaining Treatment, hospice-palliative care will be extended to non-cancer diseases including the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, there are concerns about negative perceptions and prejudice toward AIDS patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related with willingness to volunteer (WV) for patients with end-stage AIDS among hospice volunteers. Methods: Participants were 326 hospice volunteers from 19 institutions. A self-administered questionnaire was employed to investigate the participants' WV for end-stage AIDS patients, and the questions were answered using an 11-point rating scale. Demographics, volunteer activity, satisfaction with hospice volunteering, knowledge of AIDS, and attitudes towards AIDS patients (i.e., fear AIDS patients, negative attitude towards AIDS patients, personal stigmatization and stigmatizing attitude) were also investigated. A multiple regression analysis was performed to examine factors associated with WV for patients with end-stage AIDS. Results: WV for patients with end-stage AIDS was 2.82 points lower than that for cancer patients (P<0.001). The multiple regression analysis showed that the higher the level of satisfaction with hospice volunteering (P=0.002) and the lower the level of "personal stigmatization" (P<0.001), participants showed greater WV for end-stage AIDS patients. Conclusion: The level of satisfaction with hospice volunteering and "personal stigmatization" were factors associated with participants' WV for patients with end-stage AIDS.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.350-358
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• 2017

The hemolysis index (HI) is semi-quantitative marker for hemolysis. Because the characteristics of the HI vary from one commercial platform to another, no standardization or harmonization of the HI is currently available. Specimens (N=40) randomly selected from clinical patients were artificially hemolyzed in vitro. The serum of the specimens was then diluted with a 20 mg/dL difference between 0~300 mg/dL based on serum hemoglobin measured using the XE-2100 hematology automation equipment (Sysmex, Japan). Diluted serum was measured using the Hitachi-7600 biochemical automation equipment (Hitachi, Japan) to differentiate between HI and serum hemoglobin. The data showed linearity between HI and serum hemoglobin and that HI 1 contained approximately 20 mg/dL of serum hemoglobin. To determine the blood rejection threshold, the HI was divided into three groups: HI 0~1, HI 4~6, HI 9~15. After another batch of clinical specimens (N=40) was measured using a Hitachi-7600 (Hitachi, Japan), each specimen was moved forward and backward with the piston of the syringe to induce an artificial in vitro hemolysis, then measured again with a Hitachi-7600 (Hitachi, Japan). The percentage difference between the three groups was analyzed by ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. In the post-test, there were significant differences between the HI 0~1 and the HI 5~6: Glucose, creatinine, total protein, AST, direct bilirubin, uric acid, phosphorus, triglyceride, LDH, CPK, Magnesium, and potassium levels. Because many clinical tests differed significantly, the threshold for hemolysis could be appropriate for HI 5 (serum hemoglobin 100 mg/dL).

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.135-141
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• 2003

Physiological responses (cortisol, glucose, lactic acid, osmolality and hematology) of olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) to stressors associated with confinement and subsequent transport were investigated. Specimens were subjected to confinement stress for 3 h, prior to transport for 15 h. Two different size cohorts of the fish, large (839.6$\pm$162.7 g) and small (98.2$\pm$14.8 g), were used. Experimental cohorts of the fish were divided into 3 groups for blood sampling: group A, sampled at the beginning of confinement and 3 h before transport (BT, -3 h), after confinement and at the beginning of transport (BT, 0 h), 3 h after transport had begun (AT, 3 h), and after 15 h transport (AT, 15 h); group B, sampled at BT, 0 h, at AT, 3 h, and at AT, 15 h; and, group C, sampled at AT, 3 h, and at AT, 15 h. In the cohort of large fish, plasma cortisol levels of the A group were increased over time, from 4.2 ng/ml (BT,-3 h), to 92.0 ng/ml (BT, 0 h), 118.5 ng/ml (AT, 3 h) and 105.5 ng/ml (AT, 15 h). A similar pattern was evident in the B group, in which cortisol increased from 47.5 ng/ml (BT, 0 h) to 53.5 ng/ml (AT, 15 h); and, for the C group, in which cortisol increased from 43.5 ng/ml (AT, 3 h) to 71.5 ng/ml (AT, 15 h). Glucose levels of the A group also were significantly increased, from 39.5 mg/dl (BT,-3 h), to 121.0 mg/dl (BT, 0 h),298.0 mg/dl (AT, 3 h) and 260.5 mg/dl (AT, 15 h). Lactic acid levels increased markedly during transport, from less than 1 mmol/L (BT, 0 h) to 12.0 mmol/L (AT, 15 h). Plasma osmolality increased from 405.5 mOsm/kg (BT, -3 h, for group A) to values near 500 mOsM/kg subsequent to confinement and transport. In the small-size cohort, plasma cortisol, glucose, lactic acid and osmolality levels showed similar but less pronounced trends than those observed for the large-size cohort. This research provides baseline data on cortisol, glucose, lactic acid, osmolality and hematological responses to confinement and transport, which should be useful to aquaculturists working with olive flounder and to scientists studying other flatfish species.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1207-1213
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• 2016

Schisandrae fructus (SF) and Mori folium (MF) have been used as traditional medicines for thousands of years in parts of Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan. Recent researches on SF and MF have documented a wide spectrum of therapeutic properties, including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenesis effects. However, the toxicity and safety of SF and MF, and their mixture (medicinal herber mixture, MHMIX) were not confirmed. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the acute toxicity and safety of SF, MF and MHMIX. SF, MF and MHMIX were orally administered at a dose of 5,000 mg/kg in ICR mice. Animals were monitored for the mortality and changes in the body weight, clinical signs and gross observation during the 14 days after dosing, upon necropsy. We also measured parameters of organ weight, clinical chemistry, and hematology. No dead and no clinical signs were found during the experiment period after administration of a single oral dose of SF, MF and MHMIX. There were no adverse effects on clinical signs, body weight, or organ weight and no gross pathological findings in any treatment group. Therefore, LD50 value of SF, MF and MHMIX may be over 5,000 mg/kg and it may have no side toxic effect to ICR mice. The results on the single-dose toxicity of SF, MF and MHMIX indicate that it is not possible to reach oral dose levels related to death or dose levels with any harmful side effects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.490-500
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• 2017

This study was performed to evaluate repeated dose oral toxicity upon administration of the test substance 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one for 90 days and to determine NOAEL (no observed adverse effect level) and target organs in Sprague-Dawley rats. Single, 2-week repeated, and 13-week repeated oral dose toxicity studies were conducted in Sprague-Dawley rats. The dose levels of groups were 1,250, 2,500, and 5,000 mg/kg/d. All dose groups were compared with the vehicle control group. The animals were observed for clinical signs and weekly body weight. Urinalysis, hematology, and serum biochemistry analyses were conducted. Subsequently, animals were sacrificed and subjected to histopathological examination. For the result, NOAEL of ethanol extract from unripe fruit of bitter melon had an optimal dose of 5,000 mg/kg/d and acceptable daily intake up to 3,000 mg/man. There was no target organ detected. Therefore, bitter melon, which contains a variety of bioactive substances, could be widely used as a health functional food ingredient.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.131-145
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• 2003

This study was conducted to estimate the incidence and the degree of cigarette smoking and drinking among working men, and then to investigate the effects on blood pressure, various hematological indices and blood chemistry. The sample consisted of 2,287 male workers who had undertaken a general health check-up during the two-year period from January, 2000 to December, 2001. Such factors as blood pressure, blood glucose, lipid profiles, and liver function tests were determined and then analyzed with respect to the subjects smoking and/or drinking status. The major findings from this study are: 1. The drinking and smoking status have shown that 52.7% of participants were in the habit of both drinking and smoking while 11.6% were not associated with either. On the other hand 25.4% were involved only in drinking and 10.2% only in smoking. In the group smoking over 21 cigarettes per day over 30, the age group occupied the largest proportion at 20.1%. 2. Regarding the relationship between smoking and/or drinking status, and blood pressure, hematology and blood chemistry, the smoking and/or drinking group had significantly higher levels of blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, Hb & Hct, TG, LDL-C, SGOT, and ${\gamma}$-GTP, than the non-smoking and/or non-drinking group. But HDL-C was significantly lower in the smoking group and significantly higher in the drinking group than the non-smoking/non-drinking group. 3. Regarding amount smoked, a larger number of cigarettes per day was significantly associated with the higher levels of blood pressure, systolic and diatolic, TG, TC, LDL-C, Hb, Hct, and ${\gamma}$-GTP. As for the amount druck, an increasing amount of alcohol intake was associated with rising levels of blood pressure, systolic and diatolic, TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, Hb, SGOT, and ${\gamma}$-GTP. 4. Regarding the correlation among all the variables stated above, the smoking and drinking amount was shown to be in the positive correlation with blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, TG, TC, Hb, and ${\gamma}$-GTP. On the contrary, LDL-C and HDL-C was in a positive correlation only with the amount drunk amount, and Hct only with the amount smoked. 5. As with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the odds ratio of the smoking group was 2.35 and 2.58 compared to the non-smoking/drinking group. whereas it was 1.47 and 1.75 in the smoking/drinking group. Concerning serum lipids, the smoking/drinking group had 1.97 times the levels of TG in the non-smoking/non-drinking group, though the smoking group had 1.55 times the levels of HDL-C in the non-smoking/non-drinking group. As with liver function test results, the drinking group had 2.50 times and the smoking/drinking group had 4.41 times the levels of ${\gamma}$-GTP in the non-smoking/drinking group. respectively. The above results revealed that smoking and alcohol intake were effected the results of blood pressure and laboratory tests. Specifically, not only the smoking/drinking group but also those only smoking or only drinking were not as desirable as the non-smoking and non-drinking group to the results of blood pressure and laboratory tests.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.5-15
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• 2011

Although iron is an essential mineral, excess iron intake during pregnancy may increase oxidative stress in tissues. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of iron overload during pregnancy on iron status and oxidative stress in maternal rats. Ten week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were mated with male rats. Non-pregnant (control) and pregnant rats were fed diets containing normal Fe (35 mg/kg diet), high Fe (350 mg/kg diet), or excess Fe (1,050 mg/kg diet) during pregnancy. Rats were sacrificed on pregnancy day 19. No significant difference in weight gain, diet intake, or litter size was observed according to iron intake levels. Furthermore, serum iron, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were not different among the rats administered the three levels of Fe both in the control and pregnant groups. However, the iron levels were lower in pregnant rats than those in the control. The liver and spleen iron contents increased significantly in the excess Fe group. An increase in liver ferritin levels with increasing iron intake was observed. Protein carbonyl content, as a marker of oxidative stress, increased significantly in liver with increasing iron intake but not malondialdehyde. Glutathione peroxidase activity in the liver of pregnant rats fed excess iron decreased significantly. Bcl-2 protein expression in the liver declined remarkably with increasing maternal iron intake in pregnant rats. Taken together, iron overload during pregnancy had little effect on hematology. However, the deposits of iron in the liver and the decline in antioxidant enzyme activity implied increased oxidative stress in tissues of the excess Fe group. These results suggest that excess iron intake during pregnancy increases oxidative stress in maternal tissues and may also affect fetal tissues.

• Laboratory Medicine Online
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2016

Background: The cell cycle-dependent enzyme thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is known to increase during cancer cell proliferation and has been reported as a prognostic marker for various hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. This study aimed to determine the reference interval in Korean healthy controls and to evaluate the usefulness of TK1 as a biomarker for aggressive clinical behavior in B-cell lymphoma patients. Methods: We enrolled 72 previously untreated patients with B-cell lymphoma and 143 healthy controls. Serum TK1 levels were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay ($Liaison^{(R)}$, DiaSorin, USA). We established the reference intervals in healthy controls. The diagnostic performance of serum TK1 was studied using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and the correlation between the cutoff level for serum TK1 and clinical characteristics of B-cell lymphoma was evaluated. Results: The reference range (95th percentile) of serum TK1 in healthy controls was 5.4-21.8 U/L. There was a clear difference in TK1 levels between patients with B-cell lymphoma and healthy controls ($40.6{\pm}68.5$ vs. $11.8{\pm}4.4U/L$, P <0.001). The area under the curve of serum TK1 for the diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma was 0.73 (cutoff, 15.2 U/L; sensitivity, 59.7%; specificity, 83.2%). An increased TK1 level (${\geq}15.2U/L$) correlated with the advanced clinical stage (P <0.001), bone marrow involvement (P =0.013), international prognostic index score (P =0.001), lactate dehydrogenase level (P =0.001), low Hb level (<12 g/dL) (P =0.028), and lymphocyte count (P =0.023). Conclusions: The serum TK1 level could serve as a useful biomarker for aggressive clinical behavior in B-cell lymphoma patients.

• The Journal of KAIRB
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2020

Purpose: To obtain opinions from Korean Institutional Review Board (IRB) members' self-evaluation on ability to conduct fairness review of clinical trial protocol with presence of conflict of interest and from investigators and IRB members on financial conflict of interest through surveying. Methods: IRB members and researchers in 9 different hospitals were asked to answer survey questions via email. Results: Responders were 115 personnel (IRB Chair/vice 18, medical member 30, non-medical member 28, and researcher 39) from 9 centers. Compared to IRB medical members, IRB chair/vice respondents scored higher with statistically significance on 10 point scale (8.44±1.381 vs. 7.30±1.685, p=0.005) when asked to self-evaluate fairness reviewing a protocol proposed by an investigator from the same department and a protocol from the company that supports the scientific committee of responders. When reviewing a protocol proposed by a hospital director, non-medical members scored statistically significantly higher than medical-members (7.47±1.76 vs. 8.07±2.70, p=0.034). When asked about the limitation of labor fee for principal investigator on phase 3 Human clinical trials of the Investigational new drug, while the responses range was wide, 60% answered that labor cost of principal investigator should be less than 30% of total budget for clinical trials with a budget of 100 million won. 51.3% answered that there is no need to disclose the labor cost of the principal investigator in the consent form. Since every investigator can be influenced unconsciously by conflict of interest, the answer that 'responder agrees that there is need for management' was the most chosen answer (IRB member 61.8%, investigator 64.1%, multiple answers allowed). Conclusion: Considering scores on questions of fairness by IRB members were between 7.23-8.56 on scale of 0 to 10 point when IRB members were asked about reviewing a clinical trial protocol, it cannot be said with absolute certainty that there is no issue regarding fairness in the review process. Therefore, there should be more ways to safeguard fairness for these issues. There is a need that the disclosure amount of honorarium from sponsor should be lower than 100 million Korean won. Considering the results of the survey in which respondents expressed their thoughts, it is likely that more education on the concept of conflict of interest is needed.