• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 1997

Nephrolithiasis is the most common disorder of the urinary tract in hospitalized patients, more frequently increased in 30~50 years of age, more common in males than in females, prior right stone to left side, and than upper ureteral stone is found in cultural country, while lower ureteral stone is increased in uncultural country. Stone components are classified as calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, magnesium ammonium phosphate, uric acid, cystine, and their mixed stone, respectively. According to the pathophysiology of urinary stones, supersaturation/crystalization of inorganic salt concentration in urine, organic matrix, inhibitor deficiency, and epitaxy theory could be based on the stone formation. Not only hypercalciuria, hyperparathyroidism, hyperoxaluria, hyperuricosuria, and cystinuria, but also renal tubular acidosis, hypervitaminosis D, and peptic ulcer, are significantly associated with nephrolithiasis. In this study upper ureteral stone component were analyzed with chemical analysis, infrared spectrum, and image analyzer from K43 patient wit erosive gastritis. As the results, mixed stone of calcium oxalate dihydrate and calcium phosphate apatite was identified, the values of clinical test in blood and urine maintained normal revels. The relapsing urinary stone from K43 have no correlation between factors for stone formation reported early, also have no evidence for risk from erosive gastritis.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.1130-1142
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• 2023

Objective: Cow urine possesses several bioactive properties but the responsible components behind these bioactivities are still far from identified. In our study, we tried to identify the possible components behind the antimicrobial activity of cow urine by exploring the peptidome and metabolome. Methods: We extracted peptides from the urine of Sahiwal cows belonging to three different physiological states viz heifer, lactation, and pregnant, each group consisting of 10 different animals. The peptides were extracted using the solid phase extraction technique followed by further extraction using ethyl acetate. The antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract was evaluated against different pathogenic strains like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae. The safety of urinary aqueous extract was evaluated by hemolysis and cytotoxicity assay on the BuMEC cell line. The urinary peptides were further fractionated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify the fraction(s) containing the antimicrobial activity. The HPLC fractions and ethyl acetate extract were analyzed using nLC-MS/MS for the identification of the peptides and metabolites. Results: A total of three fractions were identified with antimicrobial activity, and nLC-MS/MS analysis of fractions resulted in the identification of 511 sequences. While 46 compounds were identified in the metabolite profiling of organic extract. The urinary aqueous extract showed significant activity against E. coli as compared to S. aureus and S. agalactiae and was relatively safe against mammalian cells. Conclusion: The antimicrobial activity of cow urine is a consequence of the feeding habit. The metabolites of plant origin with several bioactivities are eliminated through urine and are responsible for their antimicrobial nature. Secondly, the plethora of peptides generated from the activity of endogenous proteases on protein shed from different parts of tissues also find their way to urine. Some of these sequences possess antimicrobial activity due to their amino acid composition.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.2021-2026
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• 2009

Toluene, xylene and styrene are volatile organic solvents that are commonly used in mixtures in many industries. Because these solvents are metabolized and then excreted in urine, their urinary metabolites are thought to be biomarkers of occupational exposure to these solvents. Therefore, a simple, rapid, and yet reliable analytical method for determining the metabolites is required for accurate biological monitoring. In the present study, a simple and rapid HPLC-UV method was developed for the simultaneous determination of eight major metabolites of toluene, xylene and styrene: hippuric acid (HA), mandelic acid (MA), o-, m- and p-methylhippuric acids (o-, m- and p-MHAs), and o-, m- and p-cresols. A monolithic column was employed as the stationary phase and several conditions, including flow rate, composition of mobile phase and column temperature, were variables for the optimization of the chromatographic resolution. All eight metabolites were successfully resolved within 5 minutes in 10% aqueous ethanol containing 0.3% acetic acid and 1.6% $\beta$-cyclodextrin, using a flow rate gradient of 1.0 - 5.0 mL/min at 25 ${^{\circ}C}$. The performance of this method was validated by linearity, intra- and inter-day accuracy, and precision. The linearity was observed with correlation coefficients of 0.9998 for HA, 0.9999 for MA, 0.9989 for o-MHA, 0.9998 for m-MHA, 0.9991 for p-MHA, 0.9997 for o-cresol, 0.9998 for m-cresol, and 0.9986 for p-cresol. The intra- and inter-day precision of the method were less than 5.89% (CV) and the accuracy ranged from 92.95 to 106.62%. The validity was further confirmed by analysis of reference samples that were prepared by the inter-laboratory quality assurance program of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA, Seoul, Korea). All measured concentrations of the analytes agreed with the certified values.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.252-261
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• 2006

Four experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of organic or inorganic acid supplementation on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts of weanling pigs. In growth trial (Exp I), a total of 100 crossbred pigs ({$Landrace{\times}Yorkshire$}${\times}$Duroc), weaned at $23{\pm}2$ days of age and $7.25{\pm}0.10kg$ average initial body weight (BW), were allotted to 5 treatments by body weight and sex in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Three different organic acids (fumaric [FUA], formic [FOA] or lactic acid [LAA]) and one inorganic acid (hydrochloric acid [SHA]) were supplemented to each treatment diet. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 4 pigs per pen. During 0-3 wk, average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed efficiency (G/F ratio) were not significantly different among treatments. However, pigs fed LAA or SHA diet showed improved ADG by 15 or 13% respectively and 12% greater ADFI in both treatments compared to CON diets. Moreover, compared to organic acid treatments, better ADG (p = 0.07) and ADFI (p = 0.09) were observed in SHA diet compared to pigs that were fed the diet containing organic acids (FUA, FOA or LAA). However, during 4-5 wk, no differences in ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were observed among treatments. Overall, ADG, ADFI and G/F ratio were not affected by acidifier supplementation. Although it showed no significant difference, pigs fed LAA or SHA diets showed numerically higher ADG and ADFI than pigs fed other treatments. In metabolic trial (Exp II), 15 pigs were used to evaluate the effect of acidifier supplementation on nutrient digestibility. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) was not improved by acidifier supplementation. Although the amount of fecal-N excretion was not different among treatments, that of urinary-N excretion was reduced in acidsupplemented treatments compared to CON group (p = 0.12). Subsequently, N retention was improved in acid-supplemented groups (p = 0.17). In anatomical trial (Exp III), the pH and $Cl^-$ concentrations of digesta in gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. No detrimental effect of intestinal and lingual (taste bud) morphology was observed by acidifier supplementation particularly in inorganic acid treatment. In white blood cell assay (Exp IV), 45 pigs were used for measuring white blood cell (WBC) counts. In all pigs after LPS injection, WBC counts had slightly declined at 2 h and kept elevating at 8 h, then returned to baseline by 24 h after injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, overall WBC counts were not affected by acidifier supplementation. In conclusion, there was no difference between organic and inorganic acidifier supplementation in weanling pigs' diet, however inorganic acidifier might have a beneficial effect on growth performance and N utilization with lower supplementation levels. Furthermore, inorganic acidifier had no negative effect on intestinal measurements and white blood cell counts in weanling pigs. These results suggested that inorganic acidifier might be a good alternative to organic acidifiers in weanling pigs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.3 s.47
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• pp.557-567
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• 1994

This study was conducted to examine the effect of chronic low dose organic solvent exposures in the industries towards then neurobehavioral functions of workers. Subjective symptoms on neurobehavioral function as well as a visual reaction time test (Flicker test) were administered to 94 exposed and 162 unexposed workers in a oil refinery and some other auto-repair shops. The results obtained were as follows : 1. Symptom complaints were higher and Flicker test values were lower in exposed workers than in unexposed workers. 2. Flicker valus were Inversely correlated with urinary Hippuric acid concentration in exposed workers(r=-0.26, p<0.05). 3. Flicker valus were inversely co..elated with Subjective symptom score(r=-0.15, p<0.05). Low Flicker value were also related with some subjetive symptoms such as 'Dimmed vision', 'Nightmare', 'Weakness on extrimity' in workers as a whole. While symptoms of 'Dimmed vision ', 'Nightmare' only observed among exposed workers.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2004

3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase (MCC) is a biotin-dependent enzyme involved in leucine metabolism. We describe a patient with MCC deficiency who manifested with Reye syndrome-like illness with status epilepticus, metabolic acidosis, hypoglycemia, hyperammonemia, elevated liver enzymes and neurologic impairments after the viral gastroenteritis and then, has suffered from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Urinary organic acid analysis revealed increased excretion of 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid and 3-methylcrotonylglycine. This patient was managed with leucine restriction diet and supplementation of biotin and carnitine but was not so effective. He has suffered from neurologic sequelae such as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, motor and cognitive impairement.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.26 no.1 s.41
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• pp.147-164
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• 1993

A study has been conducted on developing questionnaires to serve as on site diagnostic tools for the early detection of neuropsychiatric impairment among workers chronically exposed to low-level organic solvents. Two drafts of tentative questionnaires have been developed as follows; several question items were selected from questionnaires which were administered to workers exposed to organic solvents in previous studios and were grouped into each symptom category based on the presence of its association using Guttman scaling method, then these selected items were reviewed by neuropsychiatry specialists. The final draft of the questionnaire (total symptom score=36) was developed by selecting 33 question items which had more than a 0.88 Guttman coefficient of reproducibility in each symptom category from a pilot study in which these tentative questionnaires were administered to workers manufacturing soles. Three plants using organic solvents and one plant never using organic solvents as a control group were selected to test the reliability and validity of the developed questionnaires. The major organic solvent in the workplace environment detected by a personal air sampler and GC/MSD nab toluene. The concentration of toluene in air from the department using organic solvent was statistically different from that of the department never using organic solvent. The concentration of toluene from almost all of the workplace did not exceed the allowable level. There was no statistically significant difference between the concentration of urinary hippuric acid from the workers of the department using organic solvent and that of the department never using it. Total symptom score of the plant never using organic solvents was 9.8 and those of the three plants using organic solvents were 15.6, 14.7, and 13,7 respectively. In order to evaluate the validity of the questionnaires, the workers from two different departments of the plant in which usage of organic solvents are totally dofferemt were compared. The total symptom score was 17.8 for workers of the department using organic solvent and 13.5 for the department never using organic solvent and scores of each symptom group between exposure and non-exposure group also showed statistically significant difference. The finding that total symptom score of the exposure group increased as the duration of employment increased indirectly suggests the usefulness of the developed questionnaire to assess the health effects of chronic exposure to organic solvents. The correlation coefficient, which was calculated to evaluate the test-retest reliability, was 0.581 (p=0.001). The coefficient of Crohnbach which reflects the internal consistency of the questionnaire was 0.91. In conclusion, the reliabilty of the questionnaire was well maintained over the time lapse between the two administrations of the questionnaire and despite the seasonal difference.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.71-85
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to evaluate concentrations of organic solvent mixtures in air of rotogravure printing workplaces. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic solvents contained in the gravure inks used at rotogravure factories had been done. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The gravure inks mainly consist of toluene, methyl ethyl ketone(MEK), and ethyl acetate(EA), and traces of isopropyl alcohol(IPA), xylene, 2-butanol, cyclohexane, cellosolve etc were also contained in them. 2. Thinner used as a diluent consist of toluene, MEK, and EA. 3. Geometric mean concentration of toluene in ambient air were 23.81 ppm at gravure printing of packing material, 42.10 ppm at gravure printing of wallpaper, 16.95 ppm at gravure printing of plastic bottle for beverage and 4.31 ppm at gravure printing of plywood printing or floor covering. Concentrations of toluene in ambient air showed statistically significant difference between types of printing. 4. Concentrations of MEK in ambient air were 12.43 ppm at gravure printing of packing material, 5.47 ppm at gravure printing of wallpaper, 16.78 ppm at gravure printing of plastic bottle for beverage and 16.44 ppm at gravure printing of plywood printing or floor covering. MEK concentrations in ambient air showed no significant difference. 5. Conentrations of EA were 14.30 ppm at gravure printing of packing material, 1.92 ppm at gravure printing of wallpaper and 21.12 ppm at gravure printing of plywood printing or floor covering. EA concentrations in ambient air shown significant difference. 6. Percentage of the workplaces where the ambient air concentration of organic solvent mixtures exceeded the Korean Permissble Exposure Level(KPEL) amounted to 18.03%. 7. Toluene concentrations in ambient air of rotogravure printing workplaces ranged from 0.69 to 156.02 ppm and urinary hippuric acid excretion ranged from 0.10 to $1.32g/{\ell}$.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.365-374
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• 2011

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate whether long-term, low-level exposure to monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs) induced insulin resistance. Methods: The subjects were 110 male workers who were occupationally exposed to styrene, toluene, and xylene. One hundred and ten age-matched male workers who had never been occupationally exposed to organic solvents were selected as a control group. Cytokines, which have played a key role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, and oxidative stress indices were measured. Assessment of exposure to MAHs was performed by measuring their ambient levels and their urinary metabolites in exposed workers, and the resulting parameters between the exposed group and non-exposed control groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in general characteristics and anthropometric parameters between the two groups; however, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance levels were significantly higher in the exposed group. Phenylglyoxylic acid levels showed significant association with tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, total oxidative status, and oxidative stress index via multiple linear regression analysis. Further, there was a negative correlation between methylhippuric acid levels and total anti-oxidative capacity, and there was a significant relationship between MAHs exposure and fasting glucose levels, as found by multiple logistic regression analysis (odds ratio = 3.95, 95% confidence interval = 1.074-14.530). Conclusion: This study indicated that MAHs increase fasting glucose level and insulin resistance. Furthermore, these results suggested that absorbing the organic solvent itself and active metabolic intermediates can increase oxidative stress and cytokine levels, resulting in the changes in glucose metabolism and the induction of insulin resistance.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.161-170
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• 1997

This is an effort to confirm changes biological monitoring according to changes in levels of exposure to styrene for industrial workers. This study was conducted on 108 workers, including male of 64 and female 44 who were working at factories of FRP, dipping, and coating. An improved passive monitor method(organic vapor monitor; OVM) was employed to determine levels of exposure. The biological monitoring include blood styrene concentration, urinary mandelic acid(MA), and urinary phenylglyoxylic acid(PGA). Biological monitoring were made through the Collection of blood and urine. The mean value of exposure to styrene was 21.0ppm, which is measured by organic vapor monitor, one of improved passive monitors. The highest exposure level was observed among workers in boat factories, laminating procedure workers, processing workers, respectively(p<0.01). For exposure level, 11% of subjects under study showed over 50ppm which is time weighted average(TWA). The correlation coefficient between biological specimens and the exposure level was 0.62 for blood styrene concentration, 0.58 for MA corrected by creatinine, and 0.70 for PGA corrected by creatinine, respectively(p<0.01). The regression analyses found exposure level relative importance in explaining variance in biological monitoring. In additional to that, gender was a significant factor in explaining variance of MA and MA+PGA. Almost half of variance(49%) in blood styrene concentration was explained by predictors, including exposure level, age, gender, duration, and drinking volume during the last week(p<0.01). The very high correlation(higher than 0.95 was found when a comparison was made among three types of corrected methods, including uncorrected specific gravity and creatinine. In conclusion, these findings suggest OVM to represent levels of exposure to styrene for industrial workers. A discussion was made on possible use of specific gravity sample for biological monitoring. Exposure level may be predicted on MA, PGA in urine, which could be applied to represent biological monitoring.