• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.725-731
• /
• 2002

This experiment was performed to understand the changes in plasma leptin in association with plasma IGF-1, body weight and ADG from early growing to late finishing stages of Holstein steers. Blood collection was performed by arterial vein puncture at selected monthly ages of 1 (54 kg), 2.6 (103 kg), 7.2 (205 kg), 13.5 (314 kg), 16.9 (414 kg), 22.2 (550 kg), 24.9 (626 kg) and 27.4 months (695 kg). The blood was analyzed for leptin using the multi-species leptin RIA with recombinant bovine leptin (rbleptin) as standard, plasma IGF-1 was also measured using RIA. Against the standard rbleptin, the multi-species Leptin RIA system's sensitivity, cross reactivity, slope and recovery of 41.0 ng/ml rbleptin in plasma were 4.9 ng/ml, 11.22%, -1.396 and 97.8%, respectively. Plasma leptin measured were more than 5.0 ng/ml, which enable multi-species RIA system to investigate plasma leptin in normal growing steers. Body weight resulted to a highly significant second-degree polynomial relationship with plasma leptin (q=0.54, p<0.0001) and plasma IGF-1 (q=0.44, p<0.0001) from 1 to 27.4 monthly ages. However, the second-degree polynomial curve of plasma leptin and IGF-1 differs showing a concave and convex curvilinear relationship, respectively. ADG was not significantly associated to plasma leptin (r=0.06, p>0.05) and plasma IGF=1 (r=0.06, p>0.05) from 1 to 27.4 monthly ages. Low coefficient, but significant associated increase of plasma leptin and IGF-1 (r=0.12, p<0.008) from 1 to 27.4 months was observed. The uncoordinated increases of plasma IGF-1 at growing and plasma leptin at fattening period, may indicate (1) indirect involvement of endogenous IGF-1 on leptin secretion, and (2) IGF-1 level may signify lean and bone accretion while plasma leptin may mirror body fatness across the monthly ages of Holstein steers.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.192-200
• /
• 2001

The event-based agricultural non-point source(AGNPS) pollution model was applied to estimate the loads of nitrogen and phosphorus in a stream draining small agricultural watersheds. Calibration and verification of the model were performed using observed data collected from rainfall events in the Imgo watersheds during 1997-1998. Parameter calibrations were made for the runoff curve number. The peak flow volumes in the watersheds were well reproduced by the modified model. Average deviation between observed and simulated values was 10%, and this match was confirmed by the coefficient of efficiency value of 0.97. The deviations tended to increase as the peak flows increased. The simulated total N concentrations in the stream water were fairly close to the measured values, and the coefficient of efficiency in the estimation was 0.93. However, there were relatively large variations between calculated and observed values of total P concentration, and the coefficient of efficiency in the estimation was 0.74. Any inaccuracies that arise in estimating runoff flow and nutrient loading can not be explained exactly and further adjustment and refinements may be needed for application of AGNPS in agricultural watersheds. With this restrictions in mind, it can be concluded that AGNPS can provide realistic estimates of nonpoint source nutrient yields.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.57 no.5
• /
• pp.18.1-18.8
• /
• 2015

Background: Quantitative real time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is one of the most important techniques for gene-expression analysis in molecular based studies. Selecting a proper internal control gene for normalizing data is a crucial step in gene expression analysis via this method. The expression levels of reference genes should be remained constant among cells in different tissues. However, it seems that the location of cells in different tissues might influence their expression. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has any effect on expression level of three common reference genes (GAPDH, ${\beta}$-actin and ${\beta}2$-microglobulin) in equine marrow- and adipose-derived undifferentiated MSCs and consequently their reliability for comparative qRT-PCR. Materials and methods: Adipose tissue (AT) and bone marrow (BM) samples were harvested from 3 mares. MSCs were isolated and cultured until passage 3 (P3). Total RNA of P3 cells was extracted for cDNA synthesis. The generated cDNAs were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The PCR reactions were ended with a melting curve analysis to verify the specificity of amplicon. Results: The expression levels of GAPDH were significantly different between AT- and BM-derived MSCs (p < 0.05). Differences in expression level of ${\beta}$-actin (P < 0.001) and B2M (P < 0.006.) between MSCs derived from AT and BM were substantially higher than GAPDH. In addition, the fold change in expression levels of GAPDH, ${\beta}$-actin and B2M in AT-derived MSCs compared to BM-derived MSCs were 2.38, 6.76 and 7.76, respectively. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that GAPDH and especially ${\beta}$-actin and B2M express in different levels in equine AT- and BM-derived MSCs. Thus they cannot be considered as reliable reference genes for comparative quantitative gene expression analysis in MSCs derived from equine bone marrow and adipose tissue.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.244-251
• /
• 2023

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been widely used in patients with cardiorespiratory failure. The serum albumin level is an important prognostic marker in critically ill patients. We evaluated the efficacy of using pre-ECMO serum albumin levels to predict 30-day mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) who underwent venoarterial (VA) ECMO. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 114 adult patients who underwent VA-ECMO between March 2021 and September 2022. The patients were divided into survivors and non-survivors. Clinical data before and during ECMO were compared. Results: Patients' mean age was 67.8±13.6 years, and 36 (31.6%) were female. The proportion of survival to discharge was 48.6% (n=56). Cox regression analysis showed that the pre-ECMO albumin level independently predicted 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.11-0.59; p=0.002). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of albumin levels (pre-ECMO) was 0.73 (standard error [SE], 0.05; 95% CI, 0.63-0.81; p<0.001; cut-off value=3.4 g/dL). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the cumulative 30-day mortality was significantly higher in patients with a pre-ECMO albumin level ≤3.4 g/dL than in those with a level >3.4 g/dL (68.9% vs. 23.8%, p<0.001). As the adjusted amount of albumin infused increased, the possibility of 30-day mortality also increased (coefficient=0.140; SE, 0.037; p<0.001). Conclusion: Hypoalbuminemia during ECMO was associated with higher mortality, even with higher amounts of albumin replacement, in patients with CS who underwent VA-ECMO. Further studies are needed to predict the timing of albumin replacement during ECMO.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.9 no.1_2
• /
• pp.43-53
• /
• 1982

여성의 난소기능은 뇨중 Oestrone-3-glucuronide를 간편한 solid-phase 의 화학발광성 면역학적 측정법 (Chemiluminescence Imrnunoassay(CIA) 에 의하여 그 기능이 탐지될 수 있다. Oestrone-3-g1ucuronyl-6-bovine serum albumine에 대한 antiserum의 IgG fraction은 polystyrene 실험관벽에 흡착시켰으며, 항원으로서는 est r one-3- gl ucuronyI-6-aminoethyl-ethyl-isoluminol 을 항원 (antigen) 에 labeI 시킨 것이다. 시험 대상물인 뇨는 매일아침뇨(early morning urine) 을 희석 (1:1000 V/V)한 후 100mcl 를 취하여 이를 각기 이중분석액으로 택하였다. 시험관 내에서 결합반응 (1 hour at $4^{\circ}C)이 일어난 후에는 시험관내의 액체를 전부 흡입 폐기시켰으며, 항체반응이 일어난 후 ( antibody-bound fraction )에는 완충액 (400mcl)으로 한번 세척시켰다. 그후 염화수산화물(2N , 200mcl)을 가지고 $22^{\circ}C$에 60 분간 방치 혼합케 한 후 효소(microperoxidase) 와 과산화수소를 가하면서 산화작용에서 발생되는 발광양을 10초동안 측정하여 그 결과를 분석하였다. 위에 기술한 분석방법을 평가하면 다음과 같은 결론을 얻었다. Calibration curve sensitivity$3.12{\pm}0.75$ PG/tube ($mean{\pm}SD$)였고, lntra-assay precision(CV%) 9.52 (20 replicates;$38.4{\pm}3.66$nmol/1) 와 8.81 (15 replicates; $102.4{\pm}8.82$nmol/1)였다. Inter-assay precision(CV%) 은 11.9 (mean of 4 pools-7.03, 23.16, 52.11 과 117.53 nmol/1)로 2개월 동안에 걸쳐 시행되었고, 평균 비이어스(mean bias)는 -0.78 로 28에서 448 nmol 범위로서 매일아침 "뇨"의 차이분(different aliquots)은 좋은 결과를 얻었다. 건강한 여성으로부터 채취된 뇨중 Oestrone-3-glucuronide 의 농도(nmol/1)를 보면 월경주기의 여포기와 배난기 및 황체기에 있어서 각기 $40.2{\pm}9.9$ , $102.3{\pm}39.4$와 $84.3{\pm}13.3$nmol/1였다. 이와같은 결과는 동일한 검사뇨를 방사면역학적 방법(RIA)으로 측정 (6 menstrual cycle)한 결과와 유사한 측정치를 얻으므로서 간편하고 진보된 좋은 방법중의 하나라고 사료되는바이다.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.52-59
• /
• 2007

We investigated the effects of the addition of Mn and $AB_5$ type alloy on the electrochemical characteristics of Ti-Cr-V BCC type alloys as anode materials for Ni-MH battery. The activation behavior and discharge capacity of the BCC type alloys were significantly improved by ball-milling with the $LmNi_{4.1}Al_{0.25}Mn_{0.3}Co_{0.65}$ alloy, because the $AB_5$ type alloy acted as hydrogen path on the surface of the BCC type alloy. Among the Mn substituted alloys($Mn=0.03%{\sim}0.08%$), the $Ti_{0.32}Cr_{0.38}Mn_{0.05}V_{0.25}$ alloy ball-milled with $AB_5$ type alloy exhibited the greatest discharge capacity of $336\;mAh{\cdot}g^{-1}$. In addition, Mn substituted alloys exhibited the lower plateau pressure in P-C- T curve, the better hydrogen storage capacity and faster surface activation compared with the alloy without Mn.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.212-228
• /
• 2001

This is a cross-sectional descriptive correlation study that aimed to understand the relationship between the level of sexual contacts during the dates and psycho-social factors in teenage girls who have or had boyfriends. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between sexual contacts and self-esteem and self- assertiveness. The subjects of the study were 6,130 teenage girls who have or had boyfriends. They were selected convienently 12,733 teenage girls from 254 secondary schools located in 7 large cities and 9 provinces in Korea. A structured questionaire was used it included items one general characteristics, the levels of sexual contacts, self-esteem and self-assertiveness. Seven levels of sexual contacts were rated they were holding a hand, putting arms around each other's shoulders, kiss, french kiss, touching breast, petting genitalia, and sexual intercourse during the dates. Self-esteem and self-assertiveness were measured by the "Self-esteem scale" of Rogenberg (1971) and the questionaires developed by S. B. Chang et al(2000), respectively. The self-reported questionaires were collected from October 2, to October 28, 2000 and analyzed by using SPSS 10.0 Program. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, reliability, One-way ANOVA with Duncan method & Scheffe method. The results of the analysis were as follows. 1.An average Percentage of the respondents who have (46.1%) or had (53.9%) boyfriends was 48.1% (n=6,130) and the most common sexual contact during the dates was french kiss (26.7%, n=1,634). While 7.5%(458) of respondents had a sexual intercourse, 13.7%(842) of respondents didn't have any sexual contact during the dates. 2. Distribution of starting point of the first sexual contact demonstrates that 1,950 respondents (31.8%) held partner's hand at the first date and 1,367 respondents (22.3%) put arms around each other's shoulders at the 2nd or 3rd date. Sexual contacts such as kiss, french kiss, touching breast, petting genitalia, or sexual intercourse were experienced mostly at the later than the 10th date. However, surprisingly large number(1.7%) of respondents had genital contact and sexual intercourses at the first date. 3. The means of self-esteem and self-assertiveness socres of the respondents who have or had boyfriends are 27.43$({\pm}4.03)$ and 17.96$({\pm}2.55)$, respectively. The range of scores for self esteem was 10-40, 40 with most self esteem. The range of scores for self assertiveness was 7-21, 21 with most self assertiveness. 4. As sexual contacts proceeded, the means of self-esteem and self-assertiveness values decreased. In detail, the respondents having no or light sexual contacts (kiss, putting arms around each other's shoulder, holding a hand) had similar self-esteem values($p{\leq}0.05$). However, ones having relatively intensive sexual contacts (french kiss, touching breast) showed significantly lower self-esteem values($p{\leq}0.05$). Same trend has been obtained for self-assertiveness value. 5. The higher values of self-esteem and self-assertiveness values the respondents had, the later they started the moderate sexual contact (kiss, french kiss) during the dates. Interestingly, among the respondents having intensive sexual contacts (petting genitalia, sexual intercourse) during the dates, those who experienced the such contacts at the first date or later than 10th date have higher self-esteem and self-assertiveness values than one experienced the such contacts during the 2nd$\sim$9th dates, giving U-shape curve. 6. There was a significant relationship between self-esteem and self-assertiveness in girls who have or had boyfriends($P{\leq}.001$). In conclusion, the research shows that self-esteem and self-assertiveness values are significantly related with the sexual contacts of the teenage girls who have or had boyfriends. These results strongly suggest that proper sex education program for teenage girls should contain the program on improving the self-esteem and self-assertiveness. We believe that sex education program is the one of the best ways to prevent the unwanted sexual contacts and pregnancy of teenage girls.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.1193-1198
• /
• 2003

An increase in frequency of administration of exogenous growth hormone (GH) or GH-releasing hormone was reported to be a model to increase blood circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and to improve growth performance in animals. We have investigated the effect of twice daily administration of GH-releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2) on growth performance, GH responsiveness and plasma insulin-like growth factor IGF-1 in swine. We administered to eight swine, 3 control and 5 treatment, a twice daily s.c. injections of GHRP-2 ($30{\mu}g/kg\;BW$) for a period of 10 days. Every day blood samples immediately taken before injections of GHRP-2 or saline, at 08:00 h and 16:00 h, were measured for IGF-1 concentrations. Blood samples for GH assay were collected every 20 min on days 1, 6 and 10, from 1 hour before and 3 h after GHRP-2 or saline injections at 08:00 h. GH peak concentrations and GH area under curve (GH AUC) on day 1, 6 and 10 in treatment group of swine were higher than those in control swine (p<0.05). Twice daily administration of GHRP-2 caused a significantly attenuation (p<0.05) of GH peak concentrations ($80.25{\pm}13.87$, $39.73{\pm}5.72$ and $27.57{\pm}6.06ng/ml$ for day 1, 6 and 10, respectively) and GH AUCs ($3,536.15{\pm}738.35$, $1,310.31{\pm}203.55$ and $934.37{\pm}208.99ng/ml$ for day 1, 6 and 10, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in GH peak concentration and GH AUC between day 6 and 10. Plasma IGF-1 concentration levels were higher in treatment than control group of swine (p<0.05) after 3 days of the treatment, and the levels reached a plateau from day 3 to 10 of experiment. Growth performance did not alter by GHRP-2 administration, even though a numerical increase of body weight gain and feed efficiency was observed. These results indicate that twice daily administration of GHRP-2 for 10 days in swine did not significantly influence on growth performance, caused an overall attenuation of GH response, and that elevation of plasma GH concentrations caused by GHRP-2 administration increased plasma IGF-1 concentrations, even though an attenuation of GH response was observed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.143-150
• /
• 2022

Background: The effectiveness of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest is being established, and serum lactate is well known as a biomarker of end-organ perfusion. We evaluated the efficacy of pre-ECMO lactate for predicting 6-month survival in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing ECMO. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 148 patients who underwent veno-arterial (VA) ECMO for ACS between January 2015 and June 2020. These patients were divided into survivors and non-survivors based on 6-month survival. All clinical data before and during ECMO were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Patients' mean age was 66.0±10.5 years, and 116 (78.4%) were men. The total survival rate was 45.9% (n=68). Cox regression analysis showed that the pre-ECMO lactate level was an independent predictor of 6-month mortality (hazard ratio, 1.210; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.064-1.376; p=0.004). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of pre-ECMO lactate was 0.64 (95% CI, 0.56-0.72; p=0.002; cut-off value=9.8 mmol/L). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the cumulative survival rate at 6 months was significantly higher among patients with a pre-ECMO lactate level of 9.8 mmol/L or less than among those with a level exceeding 9.8 mmol/L (57.3% vs. 31.8%, p=0.0008). Conclusion: A pre-ECMO lactate of 9.8 mmol/L or less may predict a favorable outcome at 6 months in ACS patients undergoing VA-ECMO. Further research aiming to improve the accuracy of predictions of reversibility in patients with high pre-ECMO lactate levels is essential.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.27-34
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Many recent studies have reported on the feasibility and usefulness of laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) for treating early gastric cancer. On the other hand, there has been few reports about laparoscopy assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) because upper located gastric cancer is relatively rare and the surgical technique is more difficult than that for LADG, We now present our procedure and results of performing LATG for the gastric cancer located in the upper or middle portion of the stomach. Materials and Methods: From Jan 2005 to Sep 2007, 96 patients underwent LATG by four surgeons at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Among them, 48 consecutive patients who were operated on by asingle surgeon were analyzed with respect to the clinicopathological features, the surgical results and the postoperative courses with using the prospectively collected laparoscopy surgery data. Results: There was no conversion to open surgery during LATG. For all the reconstructions, Roux-en Y esophago-jejunostomy and D1+beta lymphadenectomy were the standard procedures. The mean operation time was $212{\pm}67$ minutes. The mean total number of retrieved lymph nodes was $28.9{\pm}10.54$ (range: $12{\sim}64$) and all the patients had a clear proximal resection margin in their final pathologic reports. The mean time to passing gas, first oral feeding and discharge from the hospital was 2.98, 3.67 and 7.08 days, respectively. There were 5 surgical complications and 2 non-surgical complications for 5 (10.4%) patients, and there was no mortality. None of the patients needed operation because of complications and they recovered with conservative treatments. The mean operation time remained constant after 20 cases and so a learning curve was present. The morbidity rate was not different between the two periods, but the postoperative course was significantly better after the learning curve. Analysis of the factors contributing to the postoperative morbidity, with using logistic regression analysis, showed that the 8MI is the only contributing factor forpostoperative complications (P=0.029, HR=2.513, 95% CI=1.097-5.755). Conclusions: LATG with regional lymph node dissection for upper and middle early gastric cancer is considered to be a safe, feasible method that showed an excellent postoperative course and acceptable morbidity. BMI should be considered in the patient selection at the beginning period because of the impact of the BMI on the postoperative morbidity.