• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.94-99
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• 2014

The present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antimycobacterial effects of hop plant, Humulus japonicus. Methanol extract of H. japonicus (MeOH extract) showed strong direct bactericidal effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro. Furthermore, the MeOH extract significantly inhibited M. tuberculosis growth in human macrophages. When five fractions obtained from MeOH extract were examined using the same methods, the hexane and ethyl acetate fractions showed bactericidal effects against M. tuberculosis in vitro, whereas the butanol and water fractions inhibited M. tuberculosis growth in macrophages. Because H. japonicus extract exhibited antimycobacterial activity against both free M. tuberculosis in culture medium and intracellular M. tuberculosis in human macrophages, this plant might be a good candidate for development of a new anti-tuberculosis drug.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.312-320
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• 1992

Radiotherapeutically, nasopharyngeal cancer is an important disease in korea. Because of its blind anatomic location, early detection is relatively uncommon. Clinically, most of cases are locally advanced and nodal involvement are common. Recently better understanding of nature of the disease and improvement of radio-therapy technique permit better treatment results, including locoregional control and survival rate, and minimal normal tissue damages comparing with previously published data. We analyzed 31 patients of pathologically proven and previously untreated naso-pharyngeal carcinoma with different treatment techniques, retrospectively. Minimal and maximal follow up period of the survuor is 6 months and 68 months, respectively. Thirteen patients with squamous cell carcinoma are included in this analysis. The median age is 49 years(range from 20 to 64 years). Twenty two patients are stage III. Eleven patients are treated with radiotherapy alone and 20 are treated with comblined modalities treatment. The degree of responses after radiotherapy are categorized by 3-classes, i.e. complete response, partial response. In spite of simioarities of complete response rate and 1-year survival rate between two different treatment techniques, those patients with undifferentiated carcinoma appear to benefit from the adjuvant chemotherapy. In addition, systemic failure is more prominant in radiotherapy alone group than in combined modalities treatment group. These results suggest that adjuvant therapy in the radiotherapeutic management of nasopharyngeal cancers needs additional research according to histologic types and future extensive clinical trials.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.1496-1502
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• 2007

The roles of melatonin in the control of deiodinase (MD) activity in cashmere goat skin and associated cashmere fibre growth were investigated. Eighteen half-sib Chinese Inner Mongolia cashmere wethers were allocated randomly to two groups (n = 9/group). One group was implanted subcutaneously with melatonin (2 mg/kg BW) at three 2-monthly intervals while the other group served as a control. All goats were maintained under natural photoperiodic conditions and were grazed on natural pasture. The plasma melatonin concentration showed a significant difference (p<0.01) between the implant group (M) and the control group (C) but plasma $T_4$ (or $T_3$) showed no significant difference (p>0.05). The monodeiodinase type II (MDII) activity in skin tended to increase gradually from the summer solstice to November. During July and August, the activity of MDII for the M group was higher (p<0.05) than that of the C group; also during this period, there was a significant positive correlation between MDII activity of skin and cashmere fibre growth rate. The monodeiodinase type III (MDIII) activity and the ratio of MDIII and MDII tended to decrease from the summer solstice to November. The ratio of MDIII and MDII for the M group was lower (p<0.05) than that of the C group in July and August. The cashmere fibre growth rate of the M group was significantly greater than that of the C group in July (p<0.01), August (p<0.001) and September (p<0.05). The cashmere fibre diameter and guard hair and body weight were not influenced (p>0.05) by melatonin implantation. The results demonstrate that melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of skin MD activity. Simultaneously, the cashmere fibre elongation stimulated by melatonin may result from enhanced MDII activity during a period of two months after melatonin treatment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1487-1494
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• 2009

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays well-defined roles in eliciting immune responses and combating infectious diseases. The major histocompatibility complex of cattle is referred to as BoLA (Bovine Lymphocyte Antigen). This genetic system is among the most polymorphic. In the present study, polymorphism of the BoLA- DRB3.2 locus in three Bos indicus breeds viz., Sahiwal, Rathi and Hariana was studied by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism technique using the enzymes RsaI, Bst Y1 and Hae III. Both Sahiwal and Rathi are good Indian dairy breeds and survive under tough tropical conditions, while Hariana is a prominent dual-purpose breed reared both as a dairy animal and for bullock production. A total of 30 different BoLADRB3.2 alleles were observed to be present in the 3 Bos indicus breeds. Certain alleles were common amongst the three breeds while there were others that were unique to each breed. Allelic distribution amongst the three breeds showed that each breed had a unique allelic distribution pattern that was different from each other and also different from the earlier breeds studied so far for the existence of allelic variation at this locus. A dendogram was constructed based on the frequencies of the BoLA-DRB3 alleles using the UPGMA method. The Rathi and Hariana animals were genetically the most apart. The Hariana animals clustered on a different branch from the other two breeds viz. the Rathi and the Sahiwal. The smallest genetic distances for the DRB3 alleles were those between Sahiwal and Rathi (0.5461) while genetic distance between Hariana and Sahiwal was 0.6123. A comparison of the allelic frequencies of the BoLADRB3.2 locus in these 3 breeds viz. Sahiwal, Hariana and Rathi with the allelic frequencies present in the previously characterized Bos indicus Kankrej breed, which is a dual purpose breed reared both as a draught and a dairy animal, showed that the Bos indicus Sahiwal and Rathi breeds clustered into one group while the Hariana and Kankrej breeds formed another group. The Rathi and Sahiwal showed the least genetic distance of 0.5461 amongst the breeds whereas the Rathi and Kankrej, with a Nei''s genetic distance of 1.1622, were genetically the most distant apart.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.681-698
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• 2020

The paper addresses contribution to the modeling and optimization of major machinability parameters (cutting force, surface roughness, and tool wear) in finish dry hard turning (FDHT) for machinability evaluation of hardened AISI grade die steel D₃ with PVD-TiN coated (Al₂O₃-TiCN) mixed ceramic tool insert. The turning trials are performed based on Taguchi's L₁₈ orthogonal array design of experiments for the development of regression model as well as adequate model prediction by considering tool approach angle, nose radius, cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut as major machining parameters. The models or correlations are developed by employing multiple regression analysis (MRA). In addition, statistical technique (response surface methodology) followed by computational approaches (genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization) have been employed for multiple response optimization. Thereafter, the effectiveness of proposed three (RSM, GA, PSO) optimization techniques are evaluated by confirmation test and subsequently the best optimization results have been used for estimation of energy consumption which includes savings of carbon footprint towards green machining and for tool life estimation followed by cost analysis to justify the economic feasibility of PVD-TiN coated Al₂O₃+TiCN mixed ceramic tool in FDHT operation. Finally, estimation of energy savings, economic analysis, and sustainability assessment are performed by employing carbon footprint analysis, Gilbert approach, and Pugh matrix, respectively. Novelty aspects, the present work: (i) contributes to practical industrial application of finish hard turning for the shaft and die makers to select the optimum cutting conditions in a range of hardness of 45-60 HRC, (ii) demonstrates the replacement of expensive, time-consuming conventional cylindrical grinding process and proposes the alternative of costlier CBN tool by utilizing ceramic tool in hard turning processes considering technological, economical and ecological aspects, which are helpful and efficient from industrial point of view, (iii) provides environment friendliness, cleaner production for machining of hardened steels, (iv) helps to improve the desirable machinability characteristics, and (v) serves as a knowledge for the development of a common language for sustainable manufacturing in both research field and industrial practice.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.294-304
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• 2020

Objective: The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the absorbent (a mixture of activated carbon and hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate) on growth performance, blood profiles and hepatic genes expression in broilers fed diets naturally contaminated with aflatoxin. Methods: A total of 1,200 one-day-old male chicks were randomly assigned to 6 treatments with 10 replicate cages per treatment. The dietary treatments were as follows: i) control (basal diets); ii) 50% contaminated corn; iii) 100% contaminated corn; iv) control+1% adsorbent; v) 50% contaminated corn+1% absorbent; vi) 100% contaminated corn+1% absorbent. Results: During d 1 to 21, feeding contaminated diets reduced (p<0.05) body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), and average daily feed intake (ADFI), but increased (p<0.05) feed-to-gain ratio (F/G). The absorbent supplementation increased (p<0.05) BW, ADG, and ADFI. There were interactions (p<0.05) in BW, ADG, and ADFI between contaminated corn and absorbent. Overall, birds fed 100% contaminated diets had lower (p<0.05) final BW and ADG, but higher (p<0.05) F/G compared to those fed control diets. The absorbent addition increased (p<0.05) serum albumin concentration on d 14 and 28 and total protein (TP) level on d 28, decreased (p<0.05) alanine transaminase activity on d 14 and activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase on d 28. Feeding contaminated diets reduced (p<0.05) hepatic TP content on d 28 and 42. The contaminated diets upregulated (p<0.05) expression of interleukin-6, catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), but downregulated (p<0.05) glutathione S-transferase (GST) expression in liver. The absorbent supplementation increased (p<0.05) interleukin-1β, CAT, SOD, cytochrome P450 1A1 and GST expression in liver. There were interactions (p<0.05) in the expression of hepatic CAT, SOD, and GST between contaminated corn and absorbent. Conclusion: The results suggest that the naturally aflatoxin-contaminated corn depressed growth performance, while the adsorbent could partially attenuate the adverse effects of aflatoxin on growth performance, blood profiles and hepatic genes expression in broilers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.807-813
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• 2016

Triple-negative breast cancers constitute about 15% of all cases, but despite their higher response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the tumors are very aggressive and associated with a poor prognosis as well as a higher risk of early recurrence. This study was retrospectively performed on 101 patients with stage II and III invasive breast cancer who received 6-8 cycles of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Out of the total, 23 were in the triple negative breast cancer subgroup. Nuclear Ki-67 expression in both the large cohort group (n=101) and triple negative breast cancer subgroup (n=23) and its relation to the pathological response were evaluated. The purpose of the study was to identify the predictive value of nuclear protein Ki-67 expression among patients with invasive breast cancers, involving the triple negative breast cancer subgroup, treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in correlation to the rate of pathological complete response. The proliferation marker Ki-67 expression was highest in the triple negative breast cancer subgroup. No appreciable difference in the rate of Ki-67 expression in triple negative breast cancer subgroup using either a cutoff of 14% or 35%. Triple negative breast cancer subgroup showed lower rates of pathological complete response. Achievement of pathological complete response was significantly correlated with smaller tumor size and higher Ki-67 expression. The majority of triple negative breast cancer cases achieved pathological partial response. The study concluded that Ki-67 is a useful tool to predict chemosensitivity in the setting of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for invasive breast cancer but not for the triple negative breast cancer subgroup.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.111-132
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• 2001

Depression in the medically ill is a common clinical problem that primary physicians and psychiatric consultants encounter. Treatment of such patients begins with a careful evaluation of the patient's medical and psychiatric conditions. The assessment of depression in the medical patients requires a multidimensional approach. Psychological instruments are also used as a method of assessment in these patients. First of all, what the therapists have to do is to find and remove organic causes. Psychosoical treatment includes dealing with the patient's resistance and despondency relevant to physical diseases. For biological treatment, it is important to select appropriate antidepressants. Therapists should be familiar with the side effects of the antidepressants as well as the patient's primary depressive symptoms, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the available agents. In addition, special attention should be paid to the potential for drug-illness and drug-drug interactions. Tricyclic antidepressants can be still effectively used for patients with pain disorder, although a variety of new antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), bupropion and venlafaxine could have more benefits in depression of the medically ill. However, electroconvulsive therapy can be recommended for refractory cases of depression in patients with medical illness.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.239-248
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• 2016

Background: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence of chronic persistent post-surgical pain (CPPP) and the role of signal transduction genes in patients undergoing staging laparotomy for carcinoma ovary. Methods: The present observational study was undertaken following institutional ethical committee approval and informed consent from all the participants. A total 21 patients of ASA grade I to III with age 20-70 years, scheduled for elective staging laparotomy for carcinoma ovary were included. Patients were excluded if had other causes of pain, cognitive dysfunction or chronic neurological disorders. Statistical analysis of pool data was done using SPSS version-17. For various scales like GPE, PDQ, NPSI, the visual analogue scale (VAS), global perceived effect (GPE), the pain DETECT questionnaire (PDQ), and neuropathic pain symptoms inventory (NPSI), one factor repaeted measure ANOVA applied with simple contrast with baseline as on post-operative day 1 (considered as reference and compared with subsequent time-interval), and the P values were adjusted according to "Bonferroni adjustments". In patients with CPPP, the ${\Delta}ct$ values of mRNA expressions of genes at the end of postoperative day 90 were compared with the baseline control values by one factor repeated ANOVA. P value < 0.005 significant. Results: The present study demonstrates 38.1% (8 out of 21 patients) incidence of CPPP. The functional status and quality of life as were observed to be significantly diminished in all patients with chronic pain. An up-regulation in the mRNA expression of signal transduction and a positive correlation was noted between the mRNA expression of signal transduction genes and VAS score in all patients with CPPP at the end of postoperative day 90. Conclusions: The reported incidence of CPPP in patients with carcinoma ovary was 38.1%. An up-regulation and positive correlation between mRNA expression of signal transduction genes and VAS score depicts its potential role in the pathogenesis of CPPP.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.292-302
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• 2011

Adipocytokines (adiponectin, leptin and resistin) are known to play a major role in development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and intervention program is effective in reducing CVD risk factors. However, intervention program to improve the CVD risk factors including adipocytokines has been less studied. This study investigated the effects of 12-weeks worksite intervention program on cardiovascular risk factors, adipocytokines and nutrients intakes in industrial workers. 157 industrial male workers (32 metabolic syndrome (MS) subjects, 125 healthy subjects using age-matched stratified random sampling) received 5 face-to-face counseling based on their health profiles. Anthropometry, biochemical parameters and nutrients intakes were measured. The diagnosis of MS was adapted from modified NCEP-ATP III criteria (2001) and Asia-Pacific definition criteria (2000) for waist circumference (WC). After the intervention program, WC, BMI, SBP, insulin, leptin and intakes of total energy and fiber were significantly decreased (p < 0.05), while adiponectin was significantly increased (p < 0.05) in MS subjects. The WC, BMI, SBP, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL-cholesterol, HbA1c, leptin and intakes of total energy, protein and fat were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) and adiponectin was significantly increased (p < 0.05) in normal subjects. Multiple linear regression revealed that adiponectin was positively correlated with HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.01). Leptin was positively correlated with WC (p < 0.01), and resistin was positively correlated with HbA1c (p < 0.05) and intakes of total energy (p < 0.05), and negatively correlated with HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.05). The results of the 12 weeks intervention showed a positive impact on adipocytokines and nutrients intakes of industrial workers to reduce cardiovascular risk factors. Further research is needed to verify a tailored long-term worksite intervention program including adipocytokines as a protective factor for the CVD.