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A Study on Nursing Service of Chronic Diseases by the First Step and Third Step Medical Treatment (1차 및 3차 진료기관 이용 만성질환자의 간호서비스에 관한 연구)

  • Cho Chong Sook
    • Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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    • v.10 no.2
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    • pp.103-118
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    • 1996
  • It is to be growing up the interest of community health affairs through visiting nursing care. The health medical treatment of Korea has been changed largely on the period. The juvenile population has decreased. This means that is has took the population consensus of advanced national organization to be increased by the old age. The transition of disease has changed from the contagious disease importance to the chronicity disease omportance because the domestic district population has experienced the sudden urbanization circumstance district population has experienced the sudden urbanization circumstance to be growing up $70\%$ of the whole population. When the nursing service has common function to be delivering from all direction to home, this study is getting the great important phase velocity in order to manage the kernel questional adult chronicity disease of health medical institution at the present age. (1) community over system or with people particularity (2) the first of third step medical treatments. The variety of medical treatments organization has quantity of the delivery manpower and specially between consumers and rdlated person. A qualitative difference is showed at the purpose to be seizing. That research related person is use at district health center in Seoul, by foundation on nurse registration book of H collage hospital and public health registration book. According the chronicity disease. age. and sex. nature agree-able standard 54 people took the content analysis on nurse registration book of total 108 people. The results of the study were as follows: 1. General background factors are houses or kind of medical facilities and number of patients in family. The first medical treatment is more patients than third medical treatment organization. The first medical treatment of economic environment os appering to be worse. 2. The chronicity disease frequency have been different speciality according to medical treatment organization. On case of the first medical treatment. Diabetes and High Blood Pressure were good but Cerebrum Vascular Accident(CVA) showed many for bed case. In addition. the number of family is comparative large exception of CVA on according for moving condition and health more than the first medical treatment. However. family condition. whole family percentage is decreasing preferably through the potential resource is increasing by the number of and the construction of family. The ability of real resource is considered to be low. 3. The average percentage of nurse service has appered to be differed two groups by the first step medical treatment(33.72 times) and third step medical treatment(45.70 times). However, the difference (the first step medical treatment and third step medical treatment) is to be limited to issue the medicine at the service. The condition of nurse care was the indirect nursing care. Supportiong area was to be related to volunteer service and administration support. 4. The various nursing care average percentage of the chronicity disease was increased by orders of Diabetes. High Blood Pressure. and CVA in examination result and the medical treatment. The indirect nursing care was also same. At third step medical treatment, orders of chronicity disease were same. The case of other area on service conditions were increased by order of Diabetes. High Blood Pressure, and CVA. However. it is never appearing the difference at bottleneck affairs nursing care. 5. When the visiting nursing care demand particularly. the average percentage of nursing care from the first step medical treatment that the time under a person is many more than the time over two people. However, there was no difference in statistic. Third step medical treatment is $49.81\%$ at the time under a person. The average nursing care service is appeared by more many when the visiting nursing care demand is a few by 12.83 at the time over two people. 6. By visiting nursing care percentage to be frequency that nursing care averaghe percentage and inter-relation are large. The related factor of the first medical treatment is 0.96. However, the related factor of third medical treatment has shown the decreased 0.49 for the condition of relation more than that. Therefore. the nursing care average percentage is related to the visiting times of a nurse. This result is be showing the obvious fact that the first step medical treatment is few more than third step medical treatment.

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Experimental Studies on Uterine Catecholamines (Catecholamines에 관(關)하여 -제5편(第五編) : 자궁(子宮) catecholamines에 관한 실험적(實驗的) 연구(硏究)-)

  • Lee, Woo-Choo
    • The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.37-60
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    • 1983
  • The uterus receives adrenergic terminals from the mesenteric ganglia and considerably large amount of catecholamines have been shown to be contained in this organ. On the other hand, the activities of epinephrine, norepinephrine or adrenergic nerve on uterine motility is so complicated that many controversial results have been reporter. Recently, a large number of reports concerning the changes of uterine catecholamines content have appeared, but little is known about the role of uterine catecholamines in their activities on uterine motility. The present experiments were undertaken to determine the significance of the intrinsic uterine catecholamines in the physiology of uterus. Female albino rabbits weighing approximately 2 kg were employed in this experiment. uterine strip3 were prepared and suspended in a constant temperature $bath(38^{\circ}C)$ containing 100 ml of Locke's solution aerated with 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide. Spontaneous motility was recorded on a smoked drum with an isotonic lever. The catecholamines concentration of the uterus was determined according to the Procedure described of Shore and Olin (1958). Human uterus obtained from patients was also used to determine the catecholam ines content of myometrium. Followings are summarized results. 1) On the non-pregnant rabbit uterine strips, epinephrine and norepinephrine significantly elevated the tonus and stimulated the spontaneous motility. Pretreatment with dichloroisoproterenol(DCI), an adrenergic beta-receptor blocker, enhanced the stimulatory activity of epinephrine or norepinephrine. On the other hand, pretreatment with dibenamine, an adrenergic alpha-receptor blocker, rendered the uterine muscle to exhibit inhibition after the administration of epinephrine or norepinephrine. Following the treatment with both DCI and dibenamine, epinephrine or norepinephrine produced no appreciable effects on the spontaneous motility of the uterus. These results suggest there exist both alpha and beta-adrenergic receptors in the uterine muscle and the response to epinephrine of the former is predominant over that of latter in the non-pregnant uterus of rabbits. The total catecholamines concentration of the non-pregnant uterus was $351\;m{\mu}g/g$ and the fractional concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine were $125\;m{\mu}g/g(35.7%)$ and $226\;m{\mu}g/g$ respectively. It is interesting to note that the catecholamines content of uterus was characterized by a high fractional corcentration of epinephrine relative to norepinephrine. 2) On the pregnant rabbit uterine strips, the effects of epinephrine and norepinephrine varied according to the period of pregnancy. The response to epinephrine of adrenergic beta receptor of uterus increased during pregnancy, and the effect of catecholamine was inhibitory in the early pregnancy but became stimulatory as the pregnancy progressed. This stimulating action on the uterine motility was found to occur through the action of norepinephrine. The uterine catecholamines concentration was markedly reduced during pregnancy. The catecholamines concentration was started to decrease in the early pregnancy, reached the lowest level in the mid-pregnancy and then started to increaae again in the late pregnancy when the total catecholamines content became the highest level of all. This increase of catefholamines in late pregnancy was chiefly due to the increase of norepinephrine. These results suggest that the uterine motility may be related to the catecholamines content, especially norepinephrine content in the uterus. 3) Bilateral oophorectomy of rabbits results in a marked shrink of the uterus in size. The spontaneous motility of the uterine segment of these animals was very weak and irregular. Norepinephrine produced inhibitory effect, whereas epinephrine was stimulatory or inhibitory effect on the uterine segment. The total catecholamines tontent in whole uterus was markedly reduced. The injection of estrogen into the oophorectornized rabbit increased the weight of uterus to approximately three times of that of oophorectornized animal. The apontaneous motility and the response to epinephrine and norepinephrine of the uterine segment were greatly enhanced. Both epinephrine and norepinephrine produced a marked stimulatory effects of the uterine motility. The uterine content of catecholamines, particularly epinephrine, was markedly increased. The injection of progesterone into the oophorectornized rabbit increaeed the weight of uterus to approximately 2.5 times of that of eophorectornized animal. The spontaneous motility of the uterine segment was weak and irregular. Epinephrine produced stimulatory effect at high concentrations but norepinephrine always prcdnced inhibitory effect on the uterine segment. The uterine content of catecholamines, particularly of norepinephrine, was markedly reduced. These results suggested that ovarian hormones play an important role not only on the growth and spontaneous norepinephrine of uterus but also on the catecholamines content and responee to epinephrine and norepinephrine of the uterus. 4) The intraperitoneal injection of reserpine(3 mg/kg) into the non-pregnant, pregnant and oophorectornieed rabbits markedly decreased the uterine content of catecholamines, particularly of the norepinephrine. The stimulatory response to epinephrine and. norepinephrine of the uterine segment of these reserpinized ratbits was markedly reduced whereas the inhibitory response to these catecholamines was enhanced. This finding further support the close relationship between the uterine catecholamines content and uterine response to epineptrire and norepinephrine. 5) In the human uterus, the concentration of epinephrine was actrally greater than that of norepinephrine and it was significantly greater during the proliferative phase of the menstrtal cycle. In the human pregnant uterus, the concentrations of toth epinephrine and ncrefinephrine were markedly reduced and showed about 45 percent rednction after 6-8 weeks of ectopic Pregnancy. At full term ana during labor, the concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine at placental sites were less than those found in the non-pregnant group. Of interest was the finding that the norepinephrine concentration of uterus from toxemic patients was two and half times higher than that of lower uterine segment of the nontoxemic pregnant individuals. Also the epinephrine concentraticn was slightly increaeed.

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Ethnography of Caring Experience for the Senile Dementia (노인성 치매 환자의 돌봄경험에 대한 문화기술지)

  • 김귀분;이경희
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.28 no.4
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    • pp.1047-1059
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    • 1998
  • Senile Dementia is one of the dispositional mental disorder which has been known to the world since Hippocratic age. It has become a wide-spread social problem all over the world because of chronic disease processes and the demands of dependent care for several years as well as improbability of treatment of it at the causal level. Essentially, life styles of the older generation differ from those of the younger generation. While the fomer is used to the patriarchal system and the spirit of filial piet and respect, the latter is pragmatized and individualized under the effects of the Western material civilization. These differences between the two generations cause conflict between family members. In particular, the pain and conflict of care-givers who take care of a totally dependent dementia patient not only is inciting to the collapse of the family union, but is expanding into a serious social problem. According to this practical difficulty, this study has tried to compare dementia care-givers' experiences inter-culturally and to help set up more proper nursing interventions, describing and explaining them through ethnographies by participant observation and in-depth interviews that enable seeing them in a more close, honest and certain way. It also tries to provide a theoetical model of nusing care for dementia patients which is proper to Korean culture. This study is composed of 12 participants (4 males, 8 females) whose ages range from 37-71 years. The relations of patients are 5 spouses(3 husbands, 2 wives), 4 daughters-in-law, 2 daughters, and 1 son-in-law. The following are the care-givers' meaning of experiences that results of the study shows. The first is "psychological conflict". It contains the minds of getting angry, reproaching, being driven to dispair, blaming oneself, giving up lives, and being afraid, hopeless, and resigned. The second is "physical, social and psychological pressure" . At this stage, care-givers are shown to be under stress of both body and soul for the lack of freedom and tiredness. They also feel constraint because they hardly cope with the care and live through others' eyes. The third is "isolation". It makes the relationship of patient care-giver to be estranged, without understanding each other. They, also, experience indifference such as being upset and left alone. The forth is "acceptance" They gradually have compassion, bear up and then adapt themselves to the circumstances they are in. The fifth is "love". Now they learn to reward the other with love. It is also shown that this stage contains the process of winning others' recognition. The final is "hope". In this stage they really want situations to go smoothly and hope everything will be O.K. These consequences enable us to summarize the principles of cue experience such as, in the early stage, negative response such as physical·psychological confusion, pain and conflict are primary. Then the stage of acceptance emerges. It is an initial positive response phase when care-givers may admit their situations. As time passes by a positive response stage emerges. At last they have love and hope. Three stages we noted above : however, there are never consistent situations. Rather it gradually comes into the stage of acceptance, repeating continuous conflict, pressure and isolation. If any interest and understanding of families or the support of surrounding society lack, it will again be converted to negative responses sooner or later. Otherwise, positive responses like hope and love can be encouraged if the family and the surroundings give active aids and understanding. After all, the principles of dementia care experiences neither stay at any stage, nor develop from negative stages to positive stages steadily. They are cycling systems in which negative responses and positive responses are constantly being converted. I would like to suggest the following based on the above conclusions : First, the systematic and planned education of dementia should be performed in order to enhance public relations. Second, a special medical treatment center which deals with dementia, under government's charge, should be managed. Third, the various studies approaching dementia care experiences result in the development of more reasonable and useful nursing guidelines.

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Analysis of Genetics Problem-Solving Processes of High School Students with Different Learning Approaches (학습접근방식에 따른 고등학생들의 유전 문제 해결 과정 분석)

  • Lee, Shinyoung;Byun, Taejin
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.40 no.4
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    • pp.385-398
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    • 2020
  • This study aims to examine genetics problem-solving processes of high school students with different learning approaches. Two second graders in high school participated in a task that required solving the complicated pedigree problem. The participants had similar academic achievements in life science but one had a deep learning approach while the other had a surface learning approach. In order to analyze in depth the students' problem-solving processes, each student's problem-solving process was video-recorded, and each student conducted a think-aloud interview after solving the problem. Although students showed similar errors at the first trial in solving the problem, they showed different problem-solving process at the last trial. Student A who had a deep learning approach voluntarily solved the problem three times and demonstrated correct conceptual framing to the three constraints using rule-based reasoning in the last trial. Student A monitored the consistency between the data and her own pedigree, and reflected the problem-solving process in the check phase of the last trial in solving the problem. Student A's problem-solving process in the third trial resembled a successful problem-solving algorithm. However, student B who had a surface learning approach, involuntarily repeated solving the problem twice, and focused and used only part of the data due to her goal-oriented attitude to solve the problem in seeking for answers. Student B showed incorrect conceptual framing by memory-bank or arbitrary reasoning, and maintained her incorrect conceptual framing to the constraints in two problem-solving processes. These findings can help in understanding the problem-solving processes of students who have different learning approaches, allowing teachers to better support students with difficulties in accessing genetics problems.

Perceptions of Caregivers and Medical Staff toward DNR and AD (Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)와 Advance Directives (AD)에 대한 환자 보호자와 의료인의 인식)

  • Lee, Sun Ra;Shin, Dong-Soo;Choi, Yong-Jun
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.66-74
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    • 2014
  • Purpose: This study is aimed to investigate perceptions of caregivers and medical staff toward do not resuscitate (DNR) and advance directives (AD). Methods: Participants were 141 caregivers and 272 medical staff members from five general hospitals. A questionnaire used for the study consisted of 20 items: 14 about DNR perceptions, three about AD, one each for age, gender and employment. Results: Both medical staff and caregivers strongly recognized the need for DNR and AD, and the level of recognition was higher with medical staff than caregivers (DNR ${\chi}^2=44.56$, P=0.001; AD ${\chi}^2=16.23$, P=0.001). The main reason for the recognition was to alleviate sufferings of patients in the terminal phase. In most cases, DNR and AD were filled out when patients with terminal conditions were admitted, and patients made the decisions by consulting with their guardians. Medical staff better recognized the need and for growing demand for guidelines for the DNR and AD decision making process than caregivers (${\chi}^2=7.41$, P=0.0025). Conclusion: This study showed that patients highly rely on their caregivers when making decisions for DNR and AD. Thus, it is important that patients and caregivers are provided with objective information about the decisions. Since participants' strong support for DNR and AD was mainly aimed at alleviating patients' suffering, further study is needed in the association with hospice care. Medical staff also needs to understand the different views held by caregivers and fully consider the disparity when informing patients/caregivers to make the DNR and AD decisions.

USLE/RUSLE Factors for National Scale Soil Loss Estimation Based on the Digital Detailed Soil Map (수치 정밀토양에 기초한 전국 토양유실량의 평가를 위한 USLE/RUSLE 인자의 산정)

  • Jung, Kang-Ho;Kim, Won-Tae;Hur, Seung-Oh;Ha, Sang-Keon;Jung, Pil-Kyun;Jung, Yeong-Sang
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.199-206
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    • 2004
  • Factors of universal soil loss equation, USLE, and its revised version, RUSLE for Korean soils were reevaluated to estimate the national scale of soil loss based on digital soil maps. Rainfall erosivity factor, R, of 158 locations of cities and counties were spacially interpolated by the inverse distance weight method. Soil erodibility factor, K, of 1321 soil phases of 390 soil series were calculated using the data of soil survey and agri-environmental quality monitoring. Topographic factor, LS, was estimated using soil map of 1:25,000 scale with soil phase and land use type. Cover management factor, C, of major crops and support practice factor, P, were summarized by analyzing the data of lysimeter and field experiments for 27 years (1975-2001) in the National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology. R factor varied between 2322 and 6408 MJ mm $ha^{-1}$ $yr^{-1}$ $hr^{-1}$ and the average value was 4276 MJ mm $ha^{-1}$ $yr^{-1}$ $hr^{-1}$. The average K value was evaluated as 0.027 MT hr $MJ^{-1}$ $mm^{-1}$. The highest K factor was found in paddy rice fields, 0.034 MT hr $MJ^{-1}$ $mm^{-1}$, and K factors in upland fields, grassland, and forest were 0.026, 0.019, and 0.020 MT hr $MJ^{-1}$ $mm^{-1}$, respectively. C factors of upland crops ranged from 0.06 to 0.45 and that of grassland was 0.003. P factor varied between 0.01 and 0.85.

Dietary behaviors of female marriage immigrants residing in Gwangju, Korea (광주지역에 거주하는 결혼이주 여성의 식생활 조사)

  • Yang, Eun Ju
    • Journal of Nutrition and Health
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    • v.49 no.3
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    • pp.179-188
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    • 2016
  • Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed to document the dietary behaviors, dietary changes, and health status of female marriage immigrants residing in Gwangju, Korea. Methods: The survey included 92 female immigrants attending Korean language class at a multi-cultural family support center. General characteristics, health status, anthropometric data, dietary behaviors, and dietary changes were collected. Results: Mean age of subjects was 31.3 years, and home countries of subjects were Vietnam (50.0%), China (26.0%), Philippines (12.0%), and others (12.0%). Frequently reported chronic diseases were digestive diseases (13.2%), anemia (12.1%), and neuropsychiatry disorder (8.9%). Seventeen percent of the subjects was obese ($BMI{\geq}25kg/m^2$). Dietary score by Mini Dietary Assessment was 3.45 out of 5 points. Dietary scores for dairy foods, meat/fish/egg/bean intake, meal regularity, and food variety were low, and those for fried foods and high fat meat intake were also low. Thirty-three percent of subjects answered that they have changed their diet and increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables after immigration. Length of residence in Korea was positively associated with BMI and waist circumference. Length of residence tends to be positively associated with dietary changes and obesity as well as inversely associated with disease prevalence. Conclusion: The study shows that length of residence is inversely related to disease prevalence. However, this association is thought to be due to the relatively short period of residence in Korea and thus the transitional phase to adapting to dietary practices. As the length of residence increases, disease patterns related to obesity are subject to change. Healthy dietary behaviors and adaptation to dietary practices in Korea in female marriage immigrants will not only benefit individuals but also their families and social structure. Therefore, varied, long-term, and target-specific studies on female marriage immigrants are highly needed.

Continuous Wet Oxidation of TCE over Supported Metal Oxide Catalysts (금속산화물 담지촉매상에서 연속 습식 TCE 분해반응)

  • Kim, Moon Hyeon;Choo, Kwang-Ho
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.43 no.2
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    • pp.206-214
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    • 2005
  • Heterogeneously-catalyzed oxidation of aqueous phase trichloroethylene (TCE) over supported metal oxides has been conducted to establish an approach to eliminate ppm levels of organic compounds in water. A continuous flow reactor system was designed to effect predominant reaction parameters in determining catalytic activity of the catalysts for wet TCE decomposition as a model reaction. 5 wt.% $CoO_x/TiO_2$ catalyst exhibited a transient period in activity vs. on-stream time behavior, suggesting that the surface structure of the $CoO_x$ might be altered with on-stream hours; regardless, it is probable to be the most promising catalyst. Not only could the bare support be inactive for the wet decomposition reaction at $36^{\circ}C$, but no TCE removal also occurred by the process of adsorption on $TiO_2$ surface. The catalytic activity was independent of all particle sizes used, thereby representing no mass transfer limitation in intraparticle diffusion. Very low TCE conversion appeared for $TiO_2$-supported $NiO_x$ and $CrO_x$ catalysts. Wet oxidation performance of supported Cu and Fe catalysts, obtained through an incipient wetness and ion exchange technique, was dependent primarily on the kinds of the metal oxides, in addition to the acidic solid supports and the preparation routes. 5 wt.% $FeO_x/TiO_2$ catalyst gave no activity in the oxidation reaction at $36^{\circ}C$, while 1.2 wt.% Fe-MFI was active for the wet decomposition depending on time on-stream. The noticeable difference in activity of the both catalysts suggests that the Fe oxidation states involved to catalytic redox cycle during the course of reaction play a significant role in catalyzing the wet decomposition as well as in maintaining the time on-stream activity. Based on the results of different $CoO_x$ loadings and reaction temperatures for the decomposition reaction at $36^{\circ}C$ with $CoO_x/TiO_2$, the catalyst possessed an optimal $CoO_x$ amount at which higher reaction temperatures facilitated the catalytic TCE conversion. Small amounts of the active ingredient could be dissolved by acidic leaching but such a process gave no appreciable activity loss of the $CoO_x$ catalyst.

Processed Panax ginseng, sun ginseng, inhibits the differentiation and proliferation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and fat accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans

  • Lee, Hyejin;Kim, Jinhee;Park, Jun Yeon;Kang, Ki Sung;Park, Joeng Hill;Hwang, Gwi Seo
    • Journal of Ginseng Research
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    • v.41 no.3
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    • pp.257-267
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    • 2017
  • Background: Heat-processed ginseng, sun ginseng (SG), has been reported to have improved therapeutic properties compared with raw forms, such as increased antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antihyperglycemic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the antiobesity effects of SG through the suppression of cell differentiation and proliferation of mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells and the lipid accumulation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Methods: To investigate the effect of SG on adipocyte differentiation, levels of stained intracellular lipid droplets were quantified by measuring the oil red O signal in the lipid extracts of cells on differentiation Day 7. To study the effect of SG on fat accumulation in C. elegans, L4 stage worms were cultured on an Escherichia coli OP50 diet supplemented with $10{\mu}g/mL$ of SG, followed by Nile red staining. To determine the effect of SG on gene expression of lipid and glucose metabolism-regulation molecules, messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of genes were analyzed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. In addition, the phosphorylation of Akt was examined by Western blotting. Results: SG suppressed the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells stimulated by a mixture of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin (MDI), and inhibited the proliferation of adipocytes during differentiation. Treatment of C. elegans with SG showed reductions in lipid accumulation by Nile red staining, thus directly demonstrating an antiobesity effect for SG. Furthermore, SG treatment down-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor subtype ${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha ($C/EBP{\alpha}$) and decreased the mRNA level of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c in MDI-treated adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. In differentiated 3T3-L1 cells, mRNA expression levels of lipid metabolism-regulating factors, such as amplifying mouse fatty acid-binding protein 2, leptin, lipoprotein lipase, fatty acid transporter protein 1, fatty acid synthase, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, were increased, whereas that of the lipolytic enzyme carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 was decreased. Our data demonstrate that SG inversely regulated the expression of these genes in differentiated adipocytes. SG induced increases in the mRNA expression of glycolytic enzymes such as glucokinase and pyruvate kinase, and a decrease in the mRNA level of the glycogenic enzyme phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase. In addition, mRNA levels of the glucose transporters GLUT1, GLUT4, and insulin receptor substrate-1 were elevated by MDI stimulation, whereas SG dose-dependently inhibited the expression of these genes in differentiated adipocytes. SG also inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473) at an early phase of MDI stimulation. Intracellular nitric oxide (NO) production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase mRNA levels were markedly decreased by MDI stimulation and recovered by SG treatment of adipocytes. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SG effectively inhibits adipocyte proliferation and differentiation through the downregulation of $PPAR{\gamma}$ and $C/EBP{\alpha}$, by suppressing Akt (Ser473) phosphorylation and enhancing NO production. These results provide strong evidence to support the development of SG for antiobesity treatment.

Perfluoropolymer Membranes of Tetrafluoroethylene and 2,2,4Trifluofo- 5Trifluorometoxy- 1,3Dioxole.

  • Arcella, V.;Colaianna, P.;Brinati, G.;Gordano, A.;Clarizia, G.;Tocci, E.;Drioli, E.
    • Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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    • 1999.07a
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    • pp.39-42
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    • 1999
  • Perfluoropolymers represent the ultimate resistance to hostile chemical environments and high service temperature, attributed to the presence of fluorine in the polymer backbone, i.e. to the high bond energy of C-F and C-C bonds of fluorocarbons. Copolymers of Tetrafluoroethylene (TEE) and 2, 2, 4Trifluoro-5Trifluorometoxy- 1, 3Dioxole (TTD), commercially known as HYFLON AD, are amorphous perfluoropolymers with glass transition temperature (Tg)higher than room temperature, showing a thermal decomposition temperature exceeding 40$0^{\circ}C$. These polymer systems are highly soluble in fluorinated solvents, with low solution viscosities. This property allows the preparation of self-supported and composite membranes with desired membrane thickness. Symmetric and asymmetric perfluoropolymer membranes, made with HYFLON AD, have been prepared and evaluated. Porous and not porous symmetric membranes have been obtained by solvent evaporation with various processing conditions. Asymmetric membranes have been prepared by th wet phase inversion method. Measure of contact angle to distilled water have been carried out. Figure 1 compares experimental results with those of other commercial membranes. Contact angles of about 120$^{\circ}$for our amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes demonstrate that they posses a high hydrophobic character. Measure of contact angles to hexandecane have been also carried out to evaluate the organophobic character. Rsults are reported in Figure 2. The observed strong organophobicity leads to excellent fouling resistance and inertness. Porous membranes with pore size between 30 and 80 nanometers have shown no permeation to water at pressures as high as 10 bars. However high permeation to gases, such as O2, N2 and CO2, and no selectivities were observed. Considering the porous structure of the membrane, this behavior was expected. In consideration of the above properties, possible useful uses in th field of gas- liquid separations are envisaged for these membranes. A particularly promising application is in the field of membrane contactors, equipments in which membranes are used to improve mass transfer coefficients in respect to traditional extraction and absorption processes. Gas permeation properties have been evaluated for asymmetric membranes and composite symmetric ones. Experimental permselectivity values, obtained at different pressure differences, to various single gases are reported in Tab. 1, 2 and 3. Experimental data have been compared with literature data obtained with membranes made with different amorphous perfluoropolymer systems, such as copolymers of Perfluoro2, 2dimethyl dioxole (PDD) and Tetrafluorethylene, commercialized by the Du Pont Company with the trade name of Teflon AF. An interesting linear relationship between permeability and the glass transition temperature of the polymer constituting the membrane has been observed. Results are descussed in terms of polymer chain structure, which affects the presence of voids at molecular scale and their size distribution. Molecular Dyanmics studies are in progress in order to support the understanding of these results. A modified Theodoru- Suter method provided by the Amorphous Cell module of InsightII/Discover was used to determine the chain packing. A completely amorphous polymer box of about 3.5 nm was considered. Last but not least the use of amorphous perfluoropolymer membranes appears to be ideal when separation processes have to be performed in hostile environments, i.e. high temperatures and aggressive non-aqueous media, such as chemicals and solvents. In these cases Hyflon AD membranes can exploit the outstanding resistance of perfluoropolymers.

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