• BMB Reports
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.209-216
• /
• 2015

Stress is now recognized as a universal premorbid factor associated with many risk factors of various chronic diseases. Acute stress may induce an individual's adaptive response to environmental demands. However, chronic, excessive stress causes cumulative negative impacts on health outcomes through "allostatic load". Thus, monitoring the quantified levels of long-term stress mediators would provide a timely opportunity for prevention or earlier intervention of stressrelated chronic illnesses. Although either acute or chronic stress could be quantified through measurement of changes in physiological parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of various metabolic hormones, it is still elusive to interpret whether the changes in circulating levels of stress mediators such as cortisol can reflect the acute, chronic, or diurnal variations. Both serum and salivary cortisol levels reveal acute changes at a single point in time, but the overall long-term systemic cortisol exposure is difficult to evaluate due to circadian variations and its protein-binding capacity. Scalp hair has a fairy predictable growth rate of approximately 1 cm/month, and the most 1 cm segment approximates the last month's cortisol production as the mean value. The analysis of cortisol in hair is a highly promising technique for the retrospective assessment of chronic stress. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(4): 209-216]

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
• /
• 2003.09a
• /
• pp.74-74
• /
• 2003

Purpose: To investigate whether there are significant changes in regional brain metabolism in patients with Parkinson's disease after thalamotomy using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (lH MRS). Methods: Fifteen patients with Parkinson's disease of mean age 56.5 years (7 males and 8 females; mean age, 56.5 years) that have treated with levodopa were included. All patients with tremor experienced amelioration of their symptoms on the side contralateral to the thalamotomy. As a single-voxel technique, 1H MR spectra were obtained from the volume of interested regions in thalamus and primary motor cortex. Spectral parameters were: 20 ms TE, 2000 ms TR, 128 averages, 2500 Hz spectral width, and 2048 data points. Results: We found that NAA/Cho ratios showed generally low levels in thalamus in Parkinson's disease patients with clinical improvement following thalamotomy. Conclusions: 1H MRS may be a useful utility for the aid in better understanding the pathophy-siologic process in Parkinson's disease patients on the basis of the variation of NAA/Cho ratio. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by a grant of the Center for Functional and Metabolic Imaging Technology, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (02-PJ3-PG6-EV07-0002).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
• /
• 2003.09a
• /
• pp.73-73
• /
• 2003

Purpose: To determine the motor cortex dysfunction in hemiparetic patients due to deep intracerebral hematoma, authors performed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (lH MRS) for the evaluation of biochemical changes in the cortex on affected hemisphere according to axonal injury at the level of internal capsule. Methods: Ten control subjects and 14 patients with documentable hemiparesis of varying severity hemiparesis were included. All the hemiparesis was caused by deep intracerebral hematoma (putaminal and thalamic hemorrhage). In vivo 1H MRS study was performed on a 3T MRI/MRS system using STEAM sequence. As a single-voxel technique, Spectral parameters were: 20 ms TE, 2000 ms TR, 128 averages, 2500 Hz spectral width, and 2048 data points. Results: We found that the mean N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/phosphocreatine (Cr) and NAA/choline (Cho) ratios were significantly decreased in the motor cortex of the hemiparesis patients compared with control subjects. Conclusions: 1H MRS examinations of the motor cortex might help to differentiate distinct clinical entities of hemiparesis and to monitor pharmacological effects in therapeutic trials, providing a quantitative biological marker for motor neuron dysfunction. Acknowledgement: This study was supported by a grant of the Center for Functional and Metabolic Imaging Technology, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea. (02-PJ3-PG6-EV07-000).

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.233-238
• /
• 2008

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication during pregnancy and one of the main causes of adverse fetal-maternal outcomes. However, the pathogenesis of GDM has not been clearly stated. Adiponectin, an adipose tissue-derived plasma protein, is involved in regulation of insulin resistance and glucose hemostasis, and thus is a key modulator of insulin action and glucose metabolism. In this study, we investigated to compare serum adiponectin levels in pregnant women with diabetes, pregnant women who are without diabetes, and non-pregnant women, and to evaluate relationship between serum adiponectin. levels and metabolic parameters. Forty-one pregnant women with diabetes, fifty-nine pregnant women without diabetes and forty non-pregnancy women were recruited. Adiponectin levels were significantly lower in pregnant women with diabetes when compared to non-pregnant women and pregnant women without diabetes. Pregnant women without diabetes at second trimester had lower adiponectin levels compared to non-pregnant women. Adiponectin was negatively correlated with BMI, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, and triglyceride. In conclusion, this study confirmed that the decreased level of adiponectin precedes the onset of abnormal glucose level during pregnancy and also normal pregnant women had lower adiponectin levels compared to non-pregnant women. This knowledge may help to identify strategies for lowering the occurrence of GDM in women who are at high risk of developing the disorder.

• Nutritional Sciences
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.184-189
• /
• 2002

The effects of dietary Int levels on lipid metabolism under fixed P/S (1.3) and n-6/n-3 (5.1) fatty acid ratios were examined in rats using palm oil, soybean oil and perilla oil. These ratios correspond to the recommended composition of dietary fat for humans. The range of dietary fat levels was 5-20% by weight (11.8-39.3% of total energy). The levels of dietary fat did not influence the concentrations of serum and liver cholesterol, whereas the level of triglycerides was gradually elevated with increasing levels of dietary fat, especially in the liver. The fatty acid composition of tissue phosphatidylcholine seemed to vary with the different levels of fat. The ratio of linoleic acid to arachidonic acid was increased more significantly in the heart than in the liver. In adipose tissue total lipids, the percentages of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids decreased, whereas the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acid increased, with increasing dietary Int levels. In addition, though the level of aortic prostacyclin was not uniformly affected by increasing dietary fat levels, thromboxane A2 production by platelets tended to increase with higher levels of dietary fat, suggesting an increased risk of thrombosis in this situation. Thus, even though dietary fat may have desirable compositions of fatty acids, these excessive consumption can produce unfavorable metabolic responses.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.124-129
• /
• 1996

Oral application of dimethyl sulfoxide in different concentration (1, 3 and 5 percent) to silkworm, Bomyx mori at the fourth and the fifth instar has significantly increased the commercial characters such as larval and silkgland weights, female and male cocoon weights, their shell weights and egg production. However, larval duration, cocooning and hatching percentages did not showed any significant change, as compared with that of the corresponding parameters of the carrier control. Similarly the glycogen and protein contents of the fat body and trehalose and protein contents of the haemolymph were significantly increased in 1 and 3 percent, whereas the increase of them in 5 percent concentration did not take place significantly, except haemolymph trehalose where it was found to be significant, as compared with that of carrier control.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.118-123
• /
• 1996

Dietary supplementation of folic acid to silkworm larvae in different concentration (100, 200 and 300 ${\mu}$g/ml) to the 4th and the 5th instar resulted in a significant increase in economic parameters, such as female and male cocoon weights, shell weights, egg productivity and egg hatching percentage. However, larval duration was significantly decreased, as compared with that of carrier control. The increase in the glycogen and protein contents of the fat body was not significant, whereas the increase in trehalose content of haemolymph in all the treated groups and protein content of fat body and haemolymph in 100 ${\mu}$g/ml treated groups were significant. However, the haemolymph protein was significantly decreased in 300${\mu}$g/ml treated group.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.215-226
• /
• 2002

Acute or repeated physical exercise affects a large number of physiological parameters including hemodynamics, respiration, pH, temperature, gastrointestinal function and biotransformation, which determine the pharmacokinetics of drugs and chemicals. The rate and the amount of a chemical reaching the active site are altered by physical exercise, which results in significant changes in pharmacolosical/toxicological activity of the chemical. This aspect of physical exercise has vast implication in therapeutics and in safety evaluation, particularly for chemicals that have a low margin of safety. However there appears to be a wide inter- and intraindividual variation in the effects of physical exercise depend-ing on the duration, intensity and type of exercise, and also on the properties of each chemical. It is suggested that more studies need to be done to determine which factor(s) plays a major role in the disposition of chemicals in human/animals performing physical exercise. Certain chemicals induce severe toxicity due to metabolic conversion to reactive intermediate metabolites. it is suggested that repeated exercise may enhance the free radical scavenging system by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes. This area of research remain to be explored to elucidate the interaction of exercise and chemical on the antioxidant system.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.795-801
• /
• 2005

Eighteen Suffolk wether lambs (BW = 24 kg) were chronically exposed to temperatures of cold (2$^{\circ}C$) or warm (22$^{\circ}C$). The experimental design consisted of a 2${\times}$3 factorial with a single crossover of environment treatment. The sheep were closely shorn and were housed in individual metabolic crates in controlled environment rooms. Sheep consumed pelleted diets ad libitum, which consisted of mainly barley grain and brome grass, and diets contained 7, 11 or 14% crude protein (CP). Animals were catheterized via one jugular vein with a PVC catheter and received a single injection of 60-65 Ci of $^{14}$C]urea. Plasma urea-N (PUN), urinary urea (UU), and carbon specific radioactivity were measured. Urea metabolism was not affected by environment. Percent urea recycling and urea space clearance were highest (p<0.05) on the low nitrogen diet. Urea pool was increased (p<0.10) for the 14% CP diet. Both UU and PUN concentration were positively related (p<0.01) with diet CP content. Therefore, dietary CP content significantly influenced urea metabolism, however, cold exposure did not alter those parameters.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 2004.09a
• /
• pp.312-316
• /
• 2004

Single-well tracer tests, especially push pull tracer tests, are more effective to estimate hydraulic parameters and microbial metabolic activities in terms of duration and cost compared to multi-well tracer tests. However, there are some drawbacks in accuracy, complicated data analysis and uniqueness. These shortages are thought to be derived from the applied conditions which affect mass recovery curve and breakthrough curve. Factors such as extraction rate, resting period, hydraulic conductivity and hydraulic gradient are considered as the major factors determining the mass recovery rate and shape of the breakthrough curve. The results of the sensitivity analysis are summarized as follows: 1) the significant change in concentration of breakthrough curve is obtained when the extraction rate increases. This effect would also be much higher if the hydraulic conductivity is lower; 2) the mass recovery rate decreases with the increase of resting time, and the difference of mass recovery rates for different resting times is inversely proportional to the hydraulic conductivity; 3) the sensitivity values decrease with time. The hydraulic conductivity affects not only the early period, but the later period of the breakthrough curves; 4) The influence of the hydraulic gradient on the breakthrough curves is greater at earlier stage than at later stage. The mass recovery rate is inversely proportional to the hydraulic gradient.