• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.112-122
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• 1996

This study was designed to provide data useful for the efficiency of dietitians' nutrition care by evaluating medical staffs' perception of nutrition in a hospital. The datas were collected through a questionnaire survey conducted upon 874 medical staffs at 50 general hospitals , each one with more than 100 beds, in Seoul and Pusan. A logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influential factors of medical staffs' perception about nutrition among the selected variables. As a result, most medical staffs(96.9%) had positive perceptions about the importance of nutrition as a medical therapy. However, more than half of the respondents(69.1%) said that the dietary department plays the auxilliary role of producing patients' meals according to diet prescriptions. 271% of the medical staffs perceived that the dietary department as contributor to patient's health care through involvement in medical nutrition therapy, while 4% of the medical staffs misunderstood the dietary department as part of the hospital administration. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that factors related to hospital size and dietitian manpower( Total No. of beds, No. of beds per dietitian) have more influence upon medical staffs' perception about nutrition than their personal and occupational characteristics(P (0.001). In case where medical staffs' perceptions were more positive, the efficiency of dietitians performing nutrition care was higher. Results of this study suggests optimal dietetics staffing as a way to increase the efficiency of nutrition care in a hospital.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.183-189
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• 2015

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel) is used to flavor food, in cosmetics, as an antioxidant, and to treat microbial, diabetic and common inflammation. No study to date, however, has assessed the anti-inflammatory effects of fennel in experimental models of inflammation. The aims of this study were to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of fennel in model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury. Mice were randomly assigned to seven groups (n=7~10). In five groups, the mice were intraperitoneally injected with 1% Tween 80-saline (vehicle), fennel (125, 250, $500{\mu}l/kg$), or dexamethasone (1 mg/kg), followed 1 h later by intratracheal instillation of LPS (1.5 mg/kg). In two groups, the mice were intraperitoneally injected with vehicle or fennel ($250{\mu}l/kg$), followed 1 h later by intratracheal instillation of sterile saline. Mice were sacrificed 4 h later, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissues were obtained. Fennel significantly and dose-dependently reduced LDH activity and immune cell numbers in LPS treated mice. In addition fennel effectively suppressed the LPS-induced increases in the production of the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, with $500{\mu}l/kg$ fennel showing maximal reduction. Fennel also significantly and dose-dependently reduced the activity of the proinflammatory mediator matrix metalloproteinase 9 and the immune modulator nitric oxide (NO). Assessments of the involvement of the MAPK signaling pathway showed that fennel significantly decreased the LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK. Fennel effectively blocked the inflammatory processes induced by LPS, by regulating pro-inflammatory cytokine production, transcription factors, and NO.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to investigate the absorption properties of ketoprofen. The in-situ perfusion model has advantages over in vitro models as it provides intact lymphatic and blood flow circulation. The absorption properties of six different concentrations of ketoprofen have been studied in single pass in-situ rat intestine model. $^{14}C-PEG$ 4000 was used as a permeability marker and the possibility of an energy dependent contribution to ketoprofen absorption was also Investigated using the metabolic inhibitor sodium azide. Three different concentrations of sodium azide were studied to examine its effect on absorption of ketoprofen from the rat intestine. The findings of this study suggest that mono-carboxylic type drugs like ketoprofen cause permeability changes in the intestine. This is shown by the increase in absorption of $^{14}C-PEG$ 4000 as the concentration of ketoprofen is increased. However, the trend for ketoprofen permeability is to decrease over the concentration ranges. It was observed that the Papp values for ketoprofen with sodium azide shows a trend towards reduction in the amount of ketoprofen absorbed from the rat intestine which was significantly different (p<0.05) from that of ketoprofen with sodium azide 3.0mM. This indicates that sodium azide has an affect on the absorption of ketoprofen. The pH of all the perfusion solutions was altered to ${\sim}pH\;6.7$ by the buffering capacity of the small intestine secretions. The results suggest that mechanisms other than passive diffusion may be involved in ketoprofen absorption. This would be consistent with the involvement of active transport or saturatable processes in the absorption of drugs containing monocarboxylic acid group, as has been previously suggested from in vitro data.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2002

We have previously demonstrated that phytoestrogens isolated from safflower seeds significantly attenuated bone loss in ovariectomized rats, and directly stimulated proliferation and differentiation of cultured osteoblastic cells. In an attempt to elucidate underlying cellular mechanisms, in the present study we investigated effects of $17{\beta}-estradiol\;(E_2)$ and phytoestrogens such as matairesinol and acacetin, a type of lignan and flavonoid, respectively, on activation of mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinases, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1) and ERK2, in cultured osteoblastic ROS 17/2.8 cells. Western blot analysis with anti-MAP kinase antibody showed that a wide range concentrations $(10^{-14}\;to\;10^{-6}\;M)\;of\;E_2$ as well as both phytoestrogens induced rapid and transient activation of ERK1/2 through phosphorylation within minutes. Maximum activation of MAP kinases by $E_2$ and phytoestrogens were observed at 10 and 15 min, respectively. $E_2-induced$ phosphorylation of ERK1/2 returned to the control level at 30 min, whereas phytoestrogen-induced phosphorylation was maintained at high level until 30 min. PD-98059, a highly selective inhibitor of MAP kinase, prevented phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in the cells treated either with $E_2$ or phytoestrogens. To examine a possible involvement of estrogen receptor in the activation process of MAP kinase, Western blot analysis was performed in the presence and absence of the estrogen receptor antagonists, ICI 182,780 and tamoxifen. These antagonists blocked MAP kinase phosphorylation induced not only by $E_2,$ but also by the phytoestrogens. To the best our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that phytoestrogens such as flavonoid and lignan extracted from safflower seeds produce a rapid activation of MAP kinase, at least partially via membrane estrogen receptor of the cultured osteoblastic cells.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.16
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• pp.6745-6748
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• 2014

Background: Nowadays, molecular biomarkers have critical roles for cancer diagnosis and prognosis in clinical laboratories. Human papillomaviruses are the main agents for etiology of cervical carcinoma. The present survey was conducted to evaluate the genes methylation in cervical cancer and precancerous lesions involvement with HPV genotypes. Materials and Methods: C13orf18 and C10rf166 (MULl or Mulan) DNA methylation as potential biomarkers and risk factors was investigated in 112 liquid based cytology and Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded tissue specimens in Iranian females with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and dysplasia. Results: In this survey, HPV18 (61.6%) and HPV16 (42.9%) proved to be the most common HPV genotypes identified by In-House Multiplex Real Time PCR. There were no significant relationship between HPV positivity and the methylated DNA genes mentioned above (p>0.05). Conclusions: Our MethyLight data demonstrated that these genes could not be considered as specific, sensitive and suitable prognostic biomarkers in cervical dysplasia related HPV. It is suggested that further studies with more patients should be done on candidate methylated markers in different countries in order to plan for cervical cancer prevention.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.361-365
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• 2012

Anti-tumor activity of the proteins from Gecko (GP) on cervical cancer cells, and its signaling mechanisms were assessed by viable cell counting, propidium iodide (PI) staining, and Western blot analysis. GP induced the cell death of HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner while it did not affect the viability of normal cells. Western blot analysis showed that GP decreased the activation of Akt, and co-administration of GP and Akt inhibitors synergistically exerted anti-tumor activities on HeLa cells, suggesting the involvement of PI3-kinase/Akt pathway in GP-induced cell death of the cancer cells. Indeed, the cytotoxic effect of GP against HeLa cells was inhibited by overexpression of constituvely active form of Akt in HeLa cells. The candidates of the functional proteins in GP were analyzed by Mass-spectrum. Taken together, our results suggest that GP elicits anti-tumor activity against HeLa cells by inhibition of PI3-kinase/Akt pathway.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2014

Objective: Currently, rivaroxaban is widely used clinically for thromboprophylaxis after surgery. However, there are concerns on effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban for its proper use. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban in orthopaedic patients after total hip replacement surgery in a large medical centre after the preferred formulary was switched from enoxaparin to rivaroxaban. Methods: The study was conducted on the patients who underwent hip arthroplasty surgery at the department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, South Korea. Electronic medical records were retrospectively reviewed to identify patients treated with rivaroxaban following total hip replacement between February 2011 and March 2012. Evaluation criteria included indications for use, dose, initiation and duration of therapy, drug interactions, adverse reactions, and status of health care reimbursement. The patients who were on enoxaparin were also reviewed as a reference. Results: We identified 57 patients who received rivaroxaban and 50 who received enoxaparin. All patients were prescribed the drugs for Korean Food and Drug Administration-approved indications. No thromboembolic or bleeding events were observed in either group. However, only 5.3% of rivaroxaban- treated patients had an appropriate length of prophylaxis and only 3.5% began rivaroxaban treatment at the recommended time. Surprisingly, 47.4% of rivaroxaban-treated patients received rivaroxaban despite being ineligible for reimbursement benefits. Conclusion: Rivaroxaban was generally well tolerated clinically. However, the duration of treatment, the time of initiation and patient eligibility for reimbursement require improvements, emphasising the need for education which indicates the area of pharmacists' involvement.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.239-252
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• 2014

This study aimed to identify the influence of a nutrition teacher's servant leadership on cooks' empowerment and organizational commitment in school organization. For this purpose, this study selected 288 cooks working in elementary, middle and high schools located in Daegu city, and conducted a survey toward them. The collected data were analyzed with the frequency analysis, the reliability verification, the correlation test, and the multi-regression analysis. As the results testing the hypotheses, the following 3 hypotheses were chosen as valid ones. First hypothesis: A nutrition teacher's servant leadership will positively(+) influence on cooks' empowerment. Second hypothesis: A nutrition teacher's servant leadership will positively(+) influence on cooks' organizational commitment. Third hypothesis: A cook's servant empowerment will positively(+) influence on his/her organizational commitment. Therefore, nutrition teachers should exercise their servant leadership so that cooks can be responsible for the quality of school meals and perform their work on the basis of autonomy and creativity. In order to perform the role of a servant leader, nutrition teachers will need to continually get various educational, training programs for enhancing their servant leadership.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2015-2020
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• 2012

Oleanolic acid (OA) is a naturally occurring triterpenoid in food materials and is a component of the leaves and roots of Olea europaea, Viscum album L., Aralia chinensis L. and more than 120 other plant species. There are several reports validating its antitumor activity against different cancer cells apart from its hepatoprotective activity. However, antitumor activity against skin cancer has not beed studied well thus far. Hence the present study of effects of OA against HaCaT (immortalized keratinocyte) cells - a cell-based epithelial model system for toxicity/ethnopharmacology-based studies - was conducted. Radical scavenging activity ($DPPH{\cdot}$) and FRAP were determined spectrophotometrically. Proliferation was assessed by XTT assay at 24, 48 and 72 hrs with exposure to various concentrations (12.5-200 ${\mu}M$) of OA. Apoptotic induction potential of OA was demonstrated using a cellular DNA fragmentation ELISA method. Morphological studies were also carried out to elucidate its antitumor potential. The results revealed that OA induces apoptosis by altering cellular morphology as well as DNA integrity in HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner, with comparatively low cytotoxicity. The moderate toxicity observed in HaCaT cells, with induction of apoptosis, possibly suggests greater involvement of programmed-cell death-mediated mechanisms. We conclude that OA has relatively low toxicity and has the potential to induce apoptosis in HaCaT cells and hence provides a substantial and sound scientific basis for further validation studies.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2016

Here in this study, we investigated the lifespan-extending effect and underlying mechanism of methanolic extract of Moringa olelifa leaves (MML) using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model system. To define the longevity properties of MML we conducted lifespan assay and MML showed significant increase in lifespan under normal culture condition. In addition, MML elevated stress tolerance of C. elegans to endure against thermal, oxidative and osmotic stress conditions. Our data also revealed that increased activities of antioxidant enzymes and expressions of stress resistance proteins were attributed to MML-mediated enhanced stress resistance. We further investigated the involvement of MML on the aging-related factors such as growth, food intake, fertility, and motility. Interestingly, MML significantly reduced growth and egg-laying, suggesting these factors were closely linked with MML-mediated longevity. We also observed the movement of aged worms to estimate the effects of MML on the health span. Herein, MML efficiently elevated motility of aged worms, indicating MML may affect health span as well as lifespan. Our genetic analysis using knockout mutants showed that lifespan-extension activity of MML was interconnected with several genes such as skn-1, sir-2.1, daf-2, age-1 and daf-16. Based on these results, we could conclude that MML prolongs the lifespan of worms via activation of SKN-1 and SIR-2.1 and inhibition of insulin/IGF pathway, followed by DAF-16 activation.