• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2015

TGF-${\beta}$ regulates pleiotropic cellular responses including cell growth, differentiation, migration, apoptosis, extracellular matrix production, and many other biological processes. Although non-Smad signaling pathways are being increasingly reported to play many roles in TGF-${\beta}$-mediated biological processes, Smads, especially receptor-regulated Smads (R-Smads), still play a central mediatory role in TGF-${\beta}$ signaling for epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Thus, the biological activities of R-Smads are tightly regulated at multiple points. Inhibitory Smad (I-Smad also called Smad7) acts as a critical endogenous negative feedback regulator of Smad-signaling pathways by inhibiting R-Smad phosphorylation and by inducing activated type I TGF-${\beta}$ receptor degradation. Roles played by Smad7 in health and disease are being increasingly reported, but the molecular mechanisms that regulate Smad7 are not well understood. In this study, we show that E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch acts as a positive regulator of TGF-${\beta}$ signaling and of subsequent EMT-related gene expression. Interestingly, the Itch-mediated positive regulation of TGF-${\beta}$ signaling was found to be dependent on Smad7 ubiquitination and its subsequent degradation. Further study revealed Itch acts as an E3 ubiquitin ligase for Smad7 polyubiquitination, and thus, that Itch is an important regulator of Smad7 activity and a positive regulator of TGF-${\beta}$ signaling and of TGF-${\beta}$-mediated biological processes. Accordingly, the study uncovers a novel regulatory mechanism whereby Smad7 is controlled by Itch.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2001

This study was conducted to examine factors with attendance in hyperlipidemia nutrition eduction program among 101 hyperlipidemic outpatients (38 males 63 females) at Samsung Medical Center We employed the Health Belief Model (HBM) as the theoretical framework The individual nutrition education and counseling program was scheduled with 4- half hour session sin 2 to 4 weeks intervals. Upon initiation of the program a trained dietitian surveyed HBM constructs and psychosocial factors. The following were included perceived susceptibility to cardiovascular disease(CVD) perceived severity to CVD percieved benefits to diet modification perceived barriers to persistence in maintaining therapy and self efficicacy and social support from family Sociodemographic data health factors stress level nutrition knowledge, and 24-hour dietary recall behavior were also surveyed All these data was analyzed according to the number of nutrition sessions attended The subjects were 55.9$\pm$9.4 year old and 24.6$\pm$kg/㎡ Sociodemographic factors were not associated with the number of nutrition sessions attended HBM constructs and psychosocial factors were significantly associated with the number of nutrition sessions attended. According to Spearman correlation coefficients. From stepwis regression analyses using HBM constructs as independent variables perceive barriers to persistence in maintaining diet therapy (negative) proved to be the strongest predictors for the number of nutrition sessions attended (partial R$^2$= 72.3%) followed by perceived severity to CVD and self efficacy (model R$^2$=76.6% The findings indicate that HBM constructs and psychosocial factors were closely associated with patient attendance It suggests that information and guidance to minimize patients perceived barriers to diet therapy might help to improve patients to scheduled appointments in nutrition education programs.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.696-702
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• 2017

Metabolic syndrome, including obesity, glucose intolerance and elevated blood pressure, is related to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have reported the anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects of purple corn extract. We investigated the efficacy of purple corn extract (PC) against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and glucose intolerance, and examined the underlying mechanisms by analyzing expression of proteins and genes involved in glucose regulation and macrophage infiltration. C57BL/6 mice were fed with normal chow diet (ND), or HFD treated with distilled water (DW, control) or PC, for 10 weeks. Although body weights were similar in the HFD-fed groups, we observed a decrease in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue (EAT) weights, and enhanced glucose tolerance test (GTT) results in the PC group, as compared with DW group. Liver showed increased Akt phosphorylation in the PC-treated mice; however, no changes were observed in the EAT, for all groups. In PC-treated mice, decreased macrophage infiltration was seen in the EAT, with a reduced expression of macrophage marker genes. Finally, proinflammatory cytokine gene expressions were decreased by PC in the EAT, and a modest trend for downregulation was observed in the liver. Hence, we conclude that PC may decrease glucose intolerance by increasing the phosphorylation of Akt and reducing the macrophage infiltration into the EAT.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.28-32
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• 2006

최근 연구결과에 의하면 심장질환을 포함한 심혈관질환은 성별에 관계없이 미국 및 전 세계적으로 질병사망의 주요 원인으로 조사되었다. 본 연구에서는 보다 효율적으로 진단하기 위해 진단의사 결정 보조시스템에 대해서 다룬다. 개발된 시스템은 혈청 내의 특정 단백질의 상대적 양을 측정할 수 있는 바이오칩인 압타머칩을 이용해 생성한 환자들의 칩 데이터를 Support Vector Machine, Neural Network, Decision Tree, Bayesian Network 등의 총 4가지 기계학습 알고리즘으로 분석하여 질환단계를 예측하고 진단을 위한 보조정보를 제공한다. 논문에서는 총 135개 샘플로 구성된 3K 압타머칩 데이터에 대해 측정된 초기 시스템의 질환단계 분류성능을 제시하고 보다 유용한 진단의사결정 보조 시스템을 구성하기 위한 요소들에 대해서 논의한다.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.625-633
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• 2009

This study was conducted to assess the distribution of coronary risk factors(CRF) and evaluate the risk profile of coronary heart disease by the clustering of the CRF in health checkup examinees. The study sample consists of 3,345 adults aged 30s-60s years(1,917 males, 1,428 females), not recognized as taking medicines for or having cardiovascular diseases, who underwent health package check-up at the health examination center of a university-affliated hospital in Daejon City. The proportion of subjects with 1, 2, 3, 4 and or more risk factors were 27.6%, 26.5%, 16.9% and 9.1%, respectively, therefore, the 80.0% of total subjects had at least one more risk factor. From these findings, this study concluded that the prevalence rates of CRF were relatively high. These data provide further evidence that the early intervention for coronary health prevention and promotion in general adult population is necessary at the population level.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate whether dietary factors, normal fat and genistein leads to beneficial improvement of lipid metabolism and oxidative stress in adult hyperlipidemic male rats. Seven wk-old male SD rats were fed high fat diet (15% fat, 1% cholesterol) for 4 wks for induction of hyperlipidemic model rat. Weight-matched rats were then assigned to four groups according to dietary fat level (7% or 15% fat) and genistein contents (0 or 320 mg/kg diet). Food intake was significantly decreased by both high fat intake and genistein supplementation compared with normal fat intake and genistein no supplementaion. But weight gain was significantly decreased by genistein supplementation in normal fat intake compared with the other groups. Total lipid, total cholesterol and triglyceride in serum and liver were significantly decreased by normal fat intake compared with high fat intake. But total cholesterol in liver was significantly increased by genistein supplementation in both high fat and normal fat intake. TBARS in serum and liver was less produced by normal fat intake compared with high fat intake but TBARS in liver was significantly increased by genistein supplementation compared with genistein no supplementation in normal fat intake. Glutathione reductase activity in erythrocytes was significantly reduced by genistein supplementation in normal fat intake compared with the other groups. Glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities in liver were significantly inhibited by normal fat intake compared with high fat intake. Catalase activity in liver was significantly increased by genistein supplementation compared with genistein no supplementation in high fat intake. Nitrite was significantly decreased by normal fat intake compared with high fat intake. These results suggest that normal fat intake has the treatment effect against risk factors related with cardiovascular disease by reducing lipid profiles, lipid peroxidation. And genistein shows action as a antioxidant replacing antioxidant enzymes but also may act as prooxidant causing the production of TBARS.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.22-28
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• 2018

Air pollution problems in Korea are gradually becoming a higher concern due to various reasons such as fine dust, causing anxiety among people with regard to their health. Although various studies have been carried out on the relationship between the influence of fine dust and a certain disease, they are mostly focusing on the analyzation that fine dust is related to specific illnesses such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and diabetes. In this paper, we utilize the public data of medical history information to extract ten medical care subjects with the highest number of monthly care in 2016, and analyze the relation of fine dust with certain medical subjects using Pearson correlation coefficient. We also subdivide and analyze the correlation between fine dust and the medical subjects according to their gender and age. Middle-aged Female group with the strongest positive correlation between fine dust and the medical subjects is analyzed with the correlation from 2011 to 2015, with its relevance coefficient extracted by regression analysis in order to predict the correlation with the medical subjects according to the fine dust concentration.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.496-502
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to investigate the association between the dietary intake of fish and shellfish, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in the middle-aged Korean female patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). SUBJECTS/METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed with 356 female patients (means age: 55.5 years), who were recruited from the Huh's Diabetes Clinic in Seoul, Korea between 2005 and 2011. The dietary intake was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and analyzed using the Computer Aided Nutritional Analysis program (CAN-Pro) version 4.0 software. RESULTS: In a multiple regression analysis after the adjustment for confounding factors such as age, BMI, duration of diagnosed T2D, alcohol consumption, fiber intake, sodium intake, and total energy intake, fish and shellfish intake of the subjects was negatively associated with triglyceride and pulse wave velocity (PWV). Omega-3 PUFAs intake was negatively associated with triglyceride, systolic blood pressures, diastolic blood pressures, and PWV. The multiple logistic regression analysis with the covariates showed a significant inverse relationship between the omega-3 PUFAs consumption and prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia [OR (95% CI) for greater than the median compared to less than the median: 0.395 (0.207-0.753)]. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the consumption of fish and shellfish, good sources of omega-3 PUFAs, may reduce the risk factors for CVD in the middle-aged female patients with T2D.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.443-451
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• 2012

We compared the effects of grapefruit seed extract (GFSE), green tea extract (GT) and their microencapsulated extract on anti-inflammatory activities in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages cell line. In order to protect the bioactive compounds in the extracts, they were microencapsulated with maltodextrin and $H_2O$. Nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression and thiobarbiturate reactive substances (TBARS) were analyzed in LPS activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The green tea extract at the range of $100-600{\mu}g/mL$ inhibited NO, PGE2 production and iNOS protein expression without cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. Grapefruit seed extract had strong inhibitory effects on NO and PGE production and iNOS protein expression at the range of $5-20{\mu}g/mL$ without cytotoxicity. Microencapsulation of green tea extract had further inhibitory effects on NO and PGE2 production and on iNOS protein expression, whereas microencapsulated GFSE did not show any further inhibitory effects on these parameters. Taken together, our results suggest that GSFE might be a promising candidate for preventing inflammation related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes, and the microencapsulation of green tea extract could improve its bioactivity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.80-84
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• 2008

Beneficial effects of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplement on age-associated chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes, have been reported. However, its mechanism of action in hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo has not been investigated in detail. We have previously shown that during hepatocellular carcinogenesis, DHEA treatment decreases formation of preneoplastic glutathione S-transferase placental form-positive foci in the liver and has antioxidant effects. Here we aimed to determine the mechanism of actions of DHEA, in comparison to vitamin E, in a chemically-induced hepatocellular carcinoma model in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were administered with control diet without a carcinogen, diets with 1.5% vitamin E, 0.5% DHEA and both of the compounds with a carcinogen for 6 weeks. The doses were previously reported to have anti-cancer effects in animals without known toxicities. With DHEA treatment, cytosolic malate dehydrogenase activities were significantly increased by ${\sim}5$ fold and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were decreased by ${\sim}25%$ compared to carcinogen treated group. Activities of Se-glutathione peroxidase in the cytotol was decreased siguificantly with DHEA treatment, confirming its antioxidative effect. However, liver microsomal cytochrome P-450 content and NADPH-dependent cytochrome P-450 reductase activities were not altered with DHEA treatment. Vitamin E treatment decreased cytosolic Se-glutathione peroxidase activities in accordance with our previous reports. However, vitamin E did not alter glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase or malate dehydrogenase activities. Our results suggest that DHEA may have decreased tumor nodule formation and reduced lipid peroxidation as previously reported, possibly by increasing the production of NADPH, a reducing equivalent for NADPH-dependent antioxidant enzymes. DHEA treatment tended to reduce glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities, which may have resulted in limited supply for de novo synthesis of DNA via inhibiting the hexose monophophaste pathway. Although both DHEA and vitamin E effectively reduced preneoplastic foci in this model, they seemed to fimction in different mechanisms. In conclusion, DHEA may be used to reduce hepatocellular carcinoma growth by targeting NADPH synthesis, cell proliferation and anti-oxidant enzyme activities during tumor growth.