• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.330-336
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• 2005

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of bisphenol A (BPA), an estrogen-like environmental endocrine disrupter, on the placental function and reproduction in rats. The mRNA levels of the placental prolactin-growth hormone(PRL-GH) gene family, placental trophoblast cell frequency and reproductive data were analyzed. Methods : The pregnancies of F344 Fisher rats ($160g{\pm}20g$) were detected by the presence of the copulatory plug or sperm in the vaginal smear, which marked Day 0 of pregnancy. Pregnant rats were divided into three groups. The control group was intraperitoneally injected with a sesame oil vehicle. The two remaining groups were injected with 50 or 500 mg/kg B.W/day of BPA, resuspended in sesame oil, on either days 7 to 11 or 16 to 20 of pregnancy, with the rats sacrificed on either day 11 or 20, respectively. The mRNA levels of PRL-GH and Pit-1a and b isotype genes were analyzed by Northern blot hybridization and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The hormone concentrations were analyzed by radioimmunoassay, and the frequency of the placental trophoblast cells observed by a histochemical study. Reproductive data, such as the placental weight and litter size, were surveyed on day 20. The fetal weight was surveyed for 4 weeks after birth. A statistical analysis was carried out using the SAS program (version 8.1). Results : The mRNA levels of the PRL-GH gene family, such as placental lactogen I, Iv and II, prolactin like protein A, C and Cv, and decidual prolactin-related protein were significantly reduced due to BPA exposure. The mRNA levels of the Pit-1a and b isotype genes, which induce the expression of the PRL-GH gene family in the rat placenta, were also reduced due to BPA exposure. The PL-Iv and PL-II concentrations were reduced in the BPA exposed group. During the middle to last stage of pregnancy (Days 11-20), a high dose of BPA exposure reduced the frequency of spongiotrophoblast cells, which are responsible for the secretion of the PRL-GH hormones. Reproductive data, such as the placental and fetal weights and the litter size, were reduced, but that of the pregnancy period was extended in the BPA exposed compared to the control group. Conclusions : BPA disrupts the placental functions in rats, which leads to reproductive disorders.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

Telomeres consisting of (TTAGGG)n tandem repeat DNA sequences and associated proteins are essential for chromosome stability and related with cell senescence, apoptosis and cancer. The telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein which act as a template for the synthesis of telomeric DNA. This study was carried out to identify the distribution of telomeres on mouse chromosomes and also to analyze the amount of telomeres and telomerase activity of mouse embryos at early embryonic stages. Germ cells and early embryos from 1 cell to blastocyst stage were analyzed. The amount of telomeres was analyzed by quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization technique(Q-FISH) using a human telomeric DNA probe, and telomerase activity was measured by telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay(TRAP). In results, the telomeres on mouse chromosomes were distributed at the ends of all autosomes and sex chromosomes. Although the quantity of telomeres varied among chromosomes, most of chromosomes had higher amount in q-arm telomeres than in p-arm telomeres. The results of Q-FISH indicated that the relative amount of telomeres of mouse embryos in each embryonic stage was approximately the same except the higher amount in blastocysts. Using TRAP assay on mouse embryos, telomerase activity was detected in all preimplantation stages from mature oocytes to blastocysts. Especially the telomerase activity was significantly increased at the morula and blastocyst stage. In conclusion, there may be a close association between the amount of telomeres and telomerase activity in early embryonic stages, and analysis of telomere quantity and telomerase activity on early development will be helpful for the investigation of embryogenesis and embryonic cell differentiation in mice.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 1998

This retrospective study was designed to evaluate the prognostic value and histologic correlation of sonography in childhood nephrotic syndrome. Sixty-nine patients with proteinuria over 2g per day at the time of presentation who were treated at the Korea University Hospital were included in this review. They were 1 to 15 years old(mean age, 7.8 years) with 49 males and 20 females. In each patient an ultrasound examination was done using SPA 1000(Diasonics, C.A., U.S.A.) on admission. Tissue specimens were obtained from 46 patients. The paraffin-embedded specimens were reviewed with special reference to interstitial edema, interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, global sclerosis or inflammatory cell infiltrates. Biopsy proven renal disease were minimal change disease(n=20), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis(n=7), membranous glomerulonephritis(n=2), membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis(n=1), $Henoch-Sch\"{o}nlein$ purpura nephritis(n=6), IgA nephropathy(n=5), poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis(n=2), systemic lupus erythematosus(n=1) and Alport syndrome(n=2). There was a significant relationship between increased cortical echogenicity and global sclerosis or tubular atrophy(P<0.05). But no significant relationship was found between increased cortical echogenicity and interstitial fibrosis, interstitial edema, or inflammatory cell infiltration. In biopsy-proven primary nephrotic syndrome(n=30), no significant relationship was found between the increased conical echogenicity and the interstitial edema, interstitial fibrosis, global sclerosis, tubular atrophy or inflammatory cell infiltration. But there was a significant relationship between increased cortical echogenicity and resistance to corticosteroid (P<0.05). These results suggest that increased cortical echogenicity may be due to tubular atrophy or global sclerosis in patients with proteinuria and may be an effective indicator of resistance to corticosteroid in primary nephrotic syndrome.(J Korean Soc of Pediatr Nephrol 2:26-33, 1998)

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.387-398
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• 1996

The objective of this study was to clarify whether there are any differences between normal and over-weight middle-aged(40∼59yrs)women in their perceived weight, health status, health conception and health behavior choices. The sample consisted of 39 normal weight and 55 over-weight (11％ above on the Body Index Scale) women who live in Juan, Inchon. The Participants were randomly selected in each weight group considering socio-demographic factors. The findings from this study are summarized below. 1) Among the 55 overweight middle-aged women, 16 were above 20％ on the Body Index Scale and 14 were above 30％. Twenty-five(45.5％) of the overweight group and 12(30.8％) of the normal weight group had one disease, and there were 12(21.8％) in the overweight group and 8(20.5％) in the normal weight group where one of the family members had a disease, but these differences were not statistically significant. The average monthly family income for the overweight group was ￦l,880,000 compared to ￦2,140, 000 for the normal weight group, but this difference was also not significant. The age range for the whole group was between 40 and 59(mean＝46.8 for total, 48.6 for overweight and 45.7 for normal weight group). Again no significant difference found. Occupations were housemaker 53(56.4％), private business(13.8％), salarywoman(9.6％), and teacher (2.1％). Thirty housemaker(54.5％) from the overweight group and 23(59％) from the normal group did not constitute a statistically significant different. For the educational status, 34(61.8％) of the overweight women and 33(84.6％)of the normal weight group finished high school or more educational courses, but there was no significant statistical difference. Eleven(20.0％) of the overweight women and 5(12. 8％) of the normal weight group were single, but again no significant statistical difference was found. 2) A test for difference in health characteristics between two weight groups indicated that two groups do not show statistical differences in their perceived health status, health conception or health behavior choice. That is, the overweight group, also perceive their health status as good as the normal group, and regard ‘Health’ as a state that enables them to carry out social roles and functions rather than as the traditional concept of health as no disease or no symptoms. Moreover. the overweight group selected their health behaviors not for the prevention of diseases or maintenance of health but for promotion of health. To determine if no statistical difference might be related to the overweight group's failure of perceive themselves as overweight, the perceived and objective overweight status were compared by the chi-square analysis, and no difference was found（X/sup²＝49.37, df＝1, p＝.000）. However, 7(17.9％) of the normal group perceived themselves as being overweighted and 7(12.7％) of the overweight group thought they were of normal weight. Even though the overweight group employed in this study perceived themselves as being overweight, they regarded themselves as healthy as those in the normal weight group. It was shown that there was no statistical difference between two groups in health conception, and that they chose health behaviors to promote health status. 3) Perceived health conception was shown to be significantly related to health behavior choice （r＝ .28, p＝.006 for whole group : r＝.33, p＝.014 for overweight group : and r＝.12. p＝.463 for normal group） .There was an indication that the more complicated the perceived health conception was, the more the trend of health behavior choice to promote health. This was especially true for the overweight group. But, the perceived health status did not related to health behavior choice statistically（r＝.13, p＝.202）, and it was thought that reasons for selecting health behaviors were not related to their health status. That is, the overweight group perceive themselves as healthy as the normal weight group or thought that overweight itself does not incur any risk on their health. Data from two groups were combined and analyzed with multiple regression methodology, because the relationship pattern of the two groups was similar. The analysis showed that health behavior has a significant relationship with age and the perceived health conception（r/sup²＝.1517, p=.05, F＝8.133）. It means they come to health behavior along with their health conception and their age rather than their weights, perceived weight, health status or other social characteristics. This study was intended to understand how overweight middle-aged women perceive ‘weight’ and ‘health’, and how they meet their health related needs in comparison with normal weight middle-aged women. Other factors related to the health behavior in overweight middle-aged woman need to be determined through further descriptive studies outlined in the following recommendations. a) Reseach with the study area expanded. b) Reseach with grouping more detailed : much more overweight and underweight group c) Reseach on restricted relationship between overweight and age or profession. d) Reseach on what overweight middle-aged women do to reduce their weight and what factors motivate them to do it

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.239-248
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to analyze risk factors for nosocomial pneumonia in patients admitted to NS ICU, and to provide a basic data to decrease respiratory nosocomial infection rate engendered from medical environments in NS ICU. The study site was the NS ICU at a university hospital located in Seoul, Korea. The subjects were 31 patients diagnosed with nosocomial pneumonia, who were selected from the initial list of 300 potential subjects who had been a) admitted between September 1999 and January 2000, and September 2000 and January 2001, b) resided at the NS ICU over 72 hours. The diagnostic standard of nosocomial pneumonia was based on the nosocomial infection guides of C university hospital. The data were analyzed using frequencies and logistic regression analysis. The sputums obtained from the subjects were cultivated and causal viruses were separated. The results were as follows: 1. The nosocomial pneumonia rate was $10.3\%$. There were 7 types of causal viruses separated from the sputum. and the most prevalent type of virus was MRSA as $62.2\%$. 2. The factors significantly influencing the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia included age, the residential duration at the NS ICU, GCS scores, diabetes mellitus, insertion of tracheal tube and its duration, tracheostomy and its length of insertion, the use of artificial ventilator and the length of its use, and the insertion of naso-gastic tube. The most significant risk factor among these was the insertion of tracheal tube (odds ratio=18.684. $95\%$ CI=6.849-50.974), followed by the use of tracheostomy (odds ratio=15.419, $95\%$ CI=6.615-35.942), the insertion of naso-gastric tube (odds ratio=14.875, $95\%$ CI=6.396-34.595), and the use of artificial ventilator (odds ratio=13.000. $95\%$ CI=5.633­30.001). 3. Regarding the use of the mechanical aids, the insertion of tracheal tube resulted in 12.968 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate, and the use of artificial ventilator lead 6.714 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate. One point increase of the GCS score resulted in the 1.210 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate. For patients who had tracheal tube, tracheostomy, and artificial ventilator, one day increase of their residential duration at NS ICU lead 1.073 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate. 4. In terms of duration of the mechanical aid usage, one day increase in the use of artificial ventilator engendered 1.080 times increase in the nosocomial pneumonia rate. One day increase of the residential duration at the NS ICU lead 1.604 times increase in the nosocomial pneumonia rate. As one point of the GCS score increased, 0.876 times decrease of the nosocomial pneumonia rate was reported. These study findings show that the risk factors significantly influencing the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia include the use of tracheal tube, tracheostomy, naso-gastic tube, and artificial ventilator. It is recommended that nurses working at NS ICU should pay more attention to the patients with these factors as the risky group for the nosocomial pneumonia, and thus make more active efforts to provide nosocomial pneumonia prevention strategies for them. In further studies patients admitted to the different types of ICUs such as internal medicine or surgery unit ICU will be also included, and more wide investigation of nosocomial pneumonia risk factors will be conducted through one-year longitudinal follow up.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.565-571
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the regional differences in anthropometric measurement, dietary behavior and nutrient intake among the nation-wide college students participating in a nutritional education program via internet. The subjects were 1614 college students (male: 752, female: 862) and divided into 4 regional groups. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self administered questionnaire, and the data were collected via internet or by mail. The nutrient intake data collected from food record were analyzed by the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis Program. Data were analyzed by SPSS 10.0 program. Average age of male and female college students were 23.6 years and 21.0 years, respectively. Most of the male and female college students had poor eating habits, such as unbalanced meals and skipping meals. In particular, more than 60% of the male college students in Chungcheong and Gyeongsang areas had irregularity of meal time. Female students in Seoul and Incheon areas showed significantly higher consumption frequency of yellow and green leafy vegetables compared to Chungcheong and Gyeongsang areas. Female students in Seoul, Incheon and Chungcheong areas showed significantly higher consumption frequency of milk and milk products compared to Gyeongsang area. Calorie, vitamin A, calcium and iron intakes of the male students and calorie, vitamin A, vitamin $B_2$, niacin and calcium intakes of female students were lower than the Korean RDA. Female students in Incheon area showed significantly higher vitamin C and iron intakes compared to the other areas. These results provide a nation-wide information on dietary behavior and nutrient intake among Korean college students.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 2009

To select optimal shade material in paddy soil, growth characteristics and ginsenoside contents were investigated in new cultivar, 'Cheonpoong' of three-year-old ginseng cultured under three kinds of shade materials such as three-layered blue and one-layered black PE (polyethylene) net (TBPN), blue PE sheet (BPSS), and aluminium-coated PE sheet (APSS). The order of light transmission ratio and air temperature by shade materials were BPSS > APSS > TBSB among three shade materials. Average soil water tension in PDC and IDC was 64 mbar (absolute soil moisture, 25%) and 123 mbar (absolute soil moisture, 17%), respectively, and soil water tension in IDC was changed more distinctly than that of PDC by season and shade materials. Yield in PDC was distinctly decreased more than that in IDC because of the increase of discolored-leaf and rusted-root ratio. BPSS and TBPN among three shade materials were the most effective on the increase of yield in PDC and IDC, respectively. Ratio of rusty-colored root showed not significant difference by drainage class and shade materials. Contents of panaxatriol ginsenoside (Rg1, Re and Rf) were decreased in PDC, while it of panaxadiol ginsenoside (Rb1, Rc and Rd) were increased in IDC. Total ginsenoside contents of IDC was distinctly higher than that of PDC, and BPSS showed the highest contents among three shade materials regardless of poorly and imperfectly drainage class.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.359-365
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• 2013

Chrysanthemum is one of the most popular ornamental plants worldwide. Recently, lots of new and novel chrysanthemum varieties have been developed using mutagenesis. However, there was no study for comparison of tissue culture condition among the mutant varieties derived from one original variety, until now. This study was conducted to compare the efficient regeneration condition of the two chrysanthemum mutant varieties, 'ARTI-purple' and 'ARTI-queen'. Two different flower parts (disk and ray florets) at the unopened and early blooming stages were used for comparison of regeneration condition on MS medium supplemented with combinations of three growth regulators (BA, NAA, and IAA). The highest regeneration rate was identified on the NAA and BA combination when the disk florets at unopened blooming stage are used. The best optimum combinations of growth regulators were identified as NAA $1.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and BA $0.5mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ at 'ARTI-purple', which displayed 47.9% regeneration. However, regeneration of 'ARTI-queen' was the highest as 25.6% at NAA $2.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ and BA $1.0mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$. There results indicate that there is a difference for the optimum regeneration condition between the mutant varieties derived from one original variety. These results will be useful for construction of efficient regeneration system of diverse chrysanthemum mutants developed by mutation breeding.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1151-1156
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• 2014

Traditional medicinal plants are widely used to treat many diseases, such as inflammation, infections, and even cancer. Ulmus macrocarpa Hance, a Chinese elm species, is distributed in Korea, China, and Japan. The stem bark is widely employed in Korean traditional medicine to treat dermatitis, mastitis, and edema. The aim of this study was to investigate whether water extract of U. macrocarpa Hance bark (Ulmus cortex) has a immune-modulating function in a mouse model. Three different concentrations (30 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 300 mg/kg) of Ulmus cortex water extract (UCWE) were orally administered to mice for 14 days, and their immune responses were analyzed. Cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, and IFN-${\gamma}$, increased in the blood of UCWE-fed groups when compared with a control group. In contrast, the IL-4 level did not change in any of the UCWE-fed groups Cell-mediated cytotoxicity was also assayed using lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK). LAK showed greater cytotoxicity in the UCWE-fed groups than LAK in the control group. Internal organ indices, such as liver, kidney, spleen, and thymus, were similar in all the groups, including the control group, indicating that UCWE may have been nontoxic in the experimental animals. These data suggest that UCWE has an immune-modulating function in a mouse model.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.202-206
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• 2014

In this study, the bacteriological survey was examined on ice creams at manufacturing factories in Korea during the summer season of 2011. The nineteen selected among 166 samples by preliminary test were collected from 11 different manufacturing factories in four major manufacturers in May 2011. Samples from ice milk, ice creams, sherbets, and non milk fat ice creams were tested for the total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, and five food borne pathogens, respectively. The results showed that the coliforms including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens, and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected on all the ice creams. The total aerobic bacteria of the packed samples examined ranged between $2.5{\times}10^3$ and $5.5{\times}10^5cfu/g$. One ice cream, two sherbets, and four ice milk samples exceeded the acceptable limits of total aerobic bacteria according to the Korean standards for ice cream ($1.0{\times}10^5cfu/g$) and others ($5.0{\times}10^4cfu/g$). The levels of these microorganisms from ice creams were higher in three original equipment manufacturers than seven self-manufacturers. Three of ten ice creams (30.0%), three of six ice milks (50.0%), and one of two sherbets (50%) exceeded the acceptable limits of total aerobic bacteria, respectively. The personnel hygiene procedures with chocolate and vanilla chip addition from the manufacturing process were the main sources of the microbial contamination of stick-bar type ice creams when being produced in a factory. Improvement of the hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) system should be introduced into the ice cream factory to improve the microbial quality of the ice cream products in Korea.