• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.7
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• pp.1036-1042
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• 2013

The aim of the present study is to elucidate the anti-obesity effects of Doenjang with and without salt in C57BL/6J mice. For the analysis, a total of forty mice were randomly divided into four groups: normal diet group (ND), high-fat diet group (HD), high-fat diet supplemented with 20% Doenjang group (DJ), high-fat diet supplemented with 20% unsalted Doenjang group (NS). During the study period, food intake and body weight were measured daily and weekly, respectively. The animals were sacrificed after 12 weeks. Body weight gain, epididymal fat pad weight and serum triglyceride levels of DJ group were found to be significantly lower than those of the HD and NS groups. Serum total-cholesterol levels of DJ and NS groups were significantly lower as compared to the HD group. There were significant decreases in plasma insulin and leptin levels in DJ group compared with the HD and NS groups. We did not observe any significant changes in the expression of hepatic lipogenic-related gene $PPAR{\gamma}$ among the HD, DJ and NS groups. However, ACC expression was found to be significantly decreased in DJ group. Lipolysis-related gene ($PPAR{\alpha}$ and CPT-1) expression was significantly higher in the DJ group as compared to HD and NS groups. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that Doenjang supplementation lowers body weight gain and improves obesity-related parameters.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 1995

Background: We had undergone this study to investigate clinical progress of this disease and to decide the role of aggressive diagnostic approaches, the efficacy of treatments and prognoses. Methods: A retrospective study was done on 113 patients who had been diagnosed to metastatic adenocarcinoma of pleura by pleural fluid cytology(106 cases) or pleural needle biopsy(22 cases), at Presbyterian Medical Center, from Jan. 1990 to Dec. 1994. Results: 1) The patients were composed of 59 males(52.2%) and 54 females(47.8%), and the mean age distribution was $57.4{\pm}12.1$ years. 2) The site of origin was lung cancer 46.9%(53/113), stomach cancer 20.4%(23/113), breast cancer 11.5%(13/113), and unknown primary site 6.2%(7/113 cases), as a whole. In male, lung cancer was 55.9%(33/59), stomach cancer was 28.8%(17/59), and in female, lung cancer was 37%(20/54), breast cancer was 24.1%(13/54) of cases. 3) The cardinal symptoms were dyspnea(69%), cough(61%), chest pain(50%), weight loss(50%), anorexia(49%), sputum(43%), malaise(30%). 4) The pleural fluid findings were exudative in 94.4%(102/108), serosanguinous or bloody in 36~53%, unilateral involvement in 74.3%(84/113) of cases, and lymphocyte predominance($71{\pm}27%$) in differential count of WBC. 5) CEA levels in pleural fluid or plasma were over 10ng/ml in 60.6%(40/66), and ADA levels in pleural fluid were under 40U/L in 95%(57/60) of cases. 6) The patients were managed by various methods, but the efficacy of treatment was uncertain. 7) The mean survival time was $12.7{\pm}13.5$ weeks. Conclusion: It seems to be no effective treatment methods yet and the prognosis was very poor in this disease, so the objectives of diagnostic approaches and treatment methods should be directed to early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of curable disease. And we must make our best endeavors to lengthen the survival time and improve the quality of patients' life.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.105-110
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• 2008

Purpose: Preecalmpsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder that reflects widespread endothelial dysfunction resulting from increases of adhesion molecule expression. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is involved in the pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for preeclampsia, and ICAM-1 plasma levels and/or function is genetically influenced. Therefore, we evaluated the distribution of ICAM-1 gene K469E polymorphism in pregnant Korean women with preeclampsia and evaluated the association between this polymorphism and preeclampsia. Methods: The K469E polymorphism was analyzed in peripheral blood samples from 197 preeclamptic pregnancies and 193 normotensive pregnancies by a SNapShot kit and an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic analyzer. Results: Genotypic and allelic frequencies of ICAM-1 gene polymorphism (K469E) did not differ between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. The distributions of the KK, KE, and EE genotypes were 40.6%, 43.7%, and 15.7%, respectively, in preeclamptic pregnancies and 38.9%, 45.1%, and 16.1%, respectively, in normotensive pregnancies. The frequencies of K and E alleles were 0.62 and 0.38, respectively, in preeclamptic pregnancies and 0.61 and 0.39, respectively, in normotensive pregnancies. By multiple logistic regression analysis, there was no increased risk of preeclampsia in subjects with ICAM-1 KE (OR, 1.08; P=0.74) or EE (OR, 1.07; P=0.88) genotypes. Conclusion: This study suggests that the ICAM-1 gene K469E polymorphism does not associate with an increased risk of preeclampsia in pregnant Korean women.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.1075-1082
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• 2002

Purpose : Obesity is known to be associated with hypertension, dyslipidemia, and fatty liver and is thought to be associated with increased levels of free fatty acids. One of the strategies for decreasing free fatty acid levels is stimulation of hepatic lipid oxidation with L-carnitine. Carnitine is an essential cofactor for transport of long-chain fatty acid into mitochondria for oxidation. This study was designed to evaluate the changes of serum fatty acids and carnitine levels after exogenous injection of L-carnitine. Methods : Sprague Dawley rats were divided into two groups. Group A was control. Group B was given intraperitoneal injection with L-carnitine(200 mg/kg) daily for two weeks. Serum lipid (total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol) and fatty acid levels were analyzed on the first day of the first and second weeks after injection of L-carnitine. Total, free, and acyl carnitine levels also were performed by a enzymatic cycling techniques at the same day intervals. Results : There was no significant difference between the two groups in total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol levels before and after the administration of L-carnitine. But triglyceride levels were significantly decreased at the first week in group B compared with group A. Among free fatty acids, linoleic acid showed significant decrement(A group : $131.3{\pm}31.3mg/dL$ vs B group : $90.0{\pm}7.0mg/dL$) at the first week. Total, free, and acyl carnitine levels showed significant increments at all days intervals, but only free carnitine showed significant increments according to cumulative doses of carnitine. Conclusion : Plasma linoleic acid, a long-chain fatty acid, showed significant decrement after administration of L-carnitine in the first week. This may suggest that L-carnitine can be used as an antilipidemic agent for obese patients. A prospective study will investigate obese children in the future.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2009

Purpose: To assess the value of first-trimester pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), nuchal translucency (NT) and second-trimester alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), unconjugated estriol (uE3), and inhibin-A in predicting pregnancy complications other than fetal aneuploidy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study in 3,121 singleton pregnancies with integrated testing was performed at Kangnam CHA hospital between January 2005 and December 2006. Baseline characteristics, pregnancy outcomes, and serum marker levels were obtained by review of the medical records. We analyzed the data to identify associations between the integrated screening markers and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS program. Results: In preterm labor and preeclampsia, high AFP, hCG, and inhibin-A levels and low PAPP-A and NT levels were found to be significantly correlated (P<0.05). Elevated second-trimester inhibin-A levels were associated with preeclampsia (odds ratio 2.843), low birth weight (odds ratio 1.446), and preterm labor (odds ratio 1.287), and while decreased first-trimester PAPP-A levels were associated with preeclampsia (odds ratio 0.51) and preterm labor (odds ratio 0.75). Conclusion: First- and second-trimester maternal serum markers screening can be used for predicting high-risk pregnancies.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.136-142
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• 2000

Purpose : Although there are a lot of the reports about the persistence of anti HBs titer of plasma derives HBV vaccine, it is difficult to find the follow up studies of the recombinant HBV vaccine. We performed this study to compare the persistence of anti HBs titer by vaccination schedule and the seronegative rate of 5 years later according to Anti HBs titer after basic immunization in neonatal period by recombinant HBV vaccination. Methods : This study was performed on 420 neonates at Pusan Moon Hwa Hospital from April to December 1993, followed up for 5 years after basic immunization by recombinant HBV vaccine. The anti HBs titer test was done by radioimmunoassay(RIAAUSAB, Abbott laboratories). The positive anti HBs level that would protect against HBV infection was defined as a level equal to or greater than 10mIU/mL. Results : In this study the seronegative rate after 5 years was 5% in 2 month schedule group, 25.5% in 6 month schedule group(P>0.05). In 2 month schedule group the seronegative rate was 20% when anti HBs titer is lower than 200mIU/mL, 0% when more than 200mIU/mL(P>0.05). In 6 month schedule group the seronegative rate was 66.7% when anti HBs titer was lower than 200mIU/mL, 40% when 200~499.9mIU/mL, 23.9% when 500~999.9mIU/mL, 22.5% when more than 1000mIU/mL. Conclusion : In this study the seronegative rate after 5 years of recombinant HBV vaccination was 5~25.5%. The persistence of anti HBs titer was statistically irrelevant to schedule. The seronegative rate after 5 years was statistically irrelevant to anti HBs titer after basic immunization.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2010

Purpose : We aimed to evaluate predictive parameters for non-response to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) before IVIG use using two controls. Methods : We evaluated 229 consecutive KD patients who were treated with 2 g/kg of IVIG at a single center. Those who had persistent fever >24 hours after IVIG infusion made up the 23 IVIG non-responders; the first control included a total 206 defervesced cases and the second control included 46 cases that were matched for age and pre-treatment fever duration to non-responders. Results : Demographic and clinical characteristics were similar in IVIG non-responders and responders at presentation. As for laboratory findings, the neutrophil differential, CRP, AST, ALT, and LDH were higher, and lymphocyte differential, total protein, albumin, platelet count, and total cholesterol were significantly lower in IVIG non-responders compared to responders by univariate analysis in both study designs. However in multivariate analysis, non-responders showed a significantly higher neutrophil differential (cutoff value, >77%, sensitivity 68.4% and specificity 79.5%) and lower cholesterol (<124 mg/dL, sensitivity 79% and specificity 70.5%). Whereas plasma albumin (<3.6 g/dL, sensitivity 73.7% and specificity 60%) was the sole laboratory parameter of non-responders in the second study design. Conclusion : Severity of inflammation in KD was reflected by higher or lower laboratory values at presentation. Because the multivariate analysis for these indices may be influenced by some confounding factors, including the numbers of patients of different ages and fever duration, other assessment modalities are needed for KD patients with the greatest risk of coronary artery lesions.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.283-293
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• 2006

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary activated charcoal mixed with wood vinegar (AC) on broiler performance and antibiotics residue in eggs. In experiment 1, a total of low hundred fifty, 1-day-old male broile. chicks (Ross) were divided into 6 groups, consisting 3 replicates of 25 birds each, and 134 one of the six experimental diets: devoid of AC and antibiotics (negative control), devoid of AC with 0.1% antibiotics (positive control), devoid of antibiotics with 1% AC, with 0.1% antibiotics and 1% AC, devoid of antibiotics with 2% AC, with 0.1% antibiotics and 2% AC, for 5 wks. Feed consumption and body weights were measured weekly. At the end of the experiment, eight birds from each group were selected and sacrificed. The relative weight of organs and characteristics of breast muscle were investigated. There were no significant differences in feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion rate among the treatments. There were also no significant differences in the relative weight of breast meat, leg and liver. The abdominal fat tended to be decreased by the dietary AC. Significant differences were shown (P<0.05) in meat redness (a) and yellowness (b) among the treatments. However, the sensual characteristics of breast muscle was not affected by the dietary treatments. There were significant differences in total microbes, Coli forms and lactic acid bacteria (P<0.05) among the treatments. In experiment 2, a total of ninety, 40-wk-old Hy-line Brown laying hens were divided into 3 groups, consisting 3 replicates of 10 birds each and fed medicated control diet devoid of AC or diets containing 1% AC and 2% AC for 2 wks. The residue of antibiotics in Plasma and egg Yolk were significantly decreased (P<0.05) in 2% AC group compared to that of control. This study suggest that dietary AC may improve the external quality of edible meat and reduced antibiotics residue in chicken eggs without affecting laying performance.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.180-189
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• 2004

Although the outcome of cancer patients after cytotoxic chemotherapy is related diverse mechanisms, multidrug resistance (MDR) for chemotherapeutic drugs due to cellular P-glycoprotein (Pgp) or multidrug-resistance associated protein (MRP) is most important factor in the chemotherapy failure to cancer. A large number of pharmacologic compounds, including verapamil, quinidine, tamoxifen, cyclosporin A and quinolone derivatives have been reported to overcome MDR. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) are available for the detection of Pgp and MRP-mediated transporter. $^{99m}Tc$-MIBI and other $^{99m}Tc$-radiopharmaceuticals are substrates for Pgp and MRP, and have been used in clinical studies for tumor imaging, and to visualize blockade of PgP-mediated transport after modulation of Pgp pump. Colchicine, verapamil and daunorubicin labeled with $^{11}C$ have been evaluated for the quantification of Pgp-mediated transport with PET in vivo and reported to be feasible substrates with which to image Pgp function in tumors. Leukotrienes are specific substrates for MRP and $N-[^{11}C]acetyl-leukotriene$ E4 provides an opportunity to study MRP function non-invasively in vivo. SPECT and PET pharmaceuticals have successfully used to evaluate pharmacologic effects of MDR modulators. Imaging of MDR and reversal of MDR with bioluminescence in a living animal is also evaluated for future clinical trial. We have described recent advances in molecular imaging of MDR and reviewed recent publications regarding feasibility of SPECT and PET imaging to study the functionality of MDR transporters in vivo.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.392-403
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• 2008

Four ruminally fistulated Hanwoo steers were used to determine the effects of level and degradability of dietary protein on ruminal fermentation, blood metabolites and concentration of soluble non-ammonia nitrogen (SNAN) in ruminal (RD) and omasal digesta (OD). Experiments were conducted in a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design with a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors were protein supplements with two ruminal crude protein (CP) degradabilities, corn gluten meal (CGM) that was low in degradability (rumen-degraded protein (RDP), 23.4% CP) or soybean meal (SBM) that was high in degradability (RDP, 62.1% CP), and two feeding levels of CP (12.2 or 15.9% dry matter). Ruminal fermentation rates and plasma metabolite concentrations were determined from the RD collected at 2-h intervals and from the blood taken by jugular puncture, respectively. The SNAN fractions (free amino acid, peptide and soluble protein) in RD and OD collected at 2-h intervals were assessed by ninhydrin assay. Mean ruminal ammonia concentrations were 40.5, 74.8, 103.4 and 127.0 mg/L for low CGM, high CGM, low SBM and high SBM, respectively, with statistically significant differences (p<0.01 for CP level and p<0.001 for CP degradability). Blood urea nitrogen concentrations were increased by high CP level (p<0.001) but unaffected by CP degradability. There was a significant (p<0.05) interaction between level and degradability of CP on blood albumin concentrations. Albumin was decreased to a greater extent by increasing degradability of low CP diets (0.26 g/dl) compared with high CP diets (0.02 g/dl). Concentrations of each SNAN fraction in RD (p<0.01) and OD (p<0.05) for high CP diets were higher than those for low CP diets, except for peptides but concentrations of the sum of peptide and free amino acid in RD and OD were significantly higher (p<0.05) for high CP diets than for low CP diets. Soybean meal diets increased free amino acid and peptide concentrations in both RD (p<0.01) and OD (p<0.05) compared to CGM diets. High level and greater degradability of CP increased (p<0.001) mean concentrations of total SNAN in RD and OD. These results suggest that RDP contents, increased by higher level and degradability of dietary protein, may increase release of free amino acids, peptides and soluble proteins in the rumen and omasum from ruminal degradation and solubilization of dietary proteins. Because SNAN in OD indicates the terminal product of ruminal metabolism, increasing CP level and degradability appears to increase the amount of intestine-available nitrogen in the liquid phase.