• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.114-120
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• 2018

Purpose: Routine screening for toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus (TORCH) in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and small for gestational age (SGA) neonates has become a common practice. However, the incidence of TORCH varies across countries, and the cost of TORCH testing may be disadvantageous compared to disease-specific screening. To evaluate the efficacy of TORCH screening, the medical charts of IUGR or SGA neonates born in a single institution in Bucheon, Korea from 2011 to 2015 were reviewed. Methods: The clinical data of the 126 IUGR or SGA neonates were gathered, including gestational age, Apgar scores, neonatal sonographic findings, chromosome study, morbidities, developmental follow-up, and growth catch-up. Maternal factors including underlying maternal disease and fetal sonography were collected, and placental findings were recorded when available. TORCH screening was done using serum IgM, CMV urine culture, quantification of CMV DNA with real-time polymerase chain reaction, and rapid plasma reagin qualitative test for syphilis. Tests were repeated only for those with positive results. Results: Of the 119 TORCH screenings, only one was positive for toxoplasmosis IgM. This result was deemed false positive due to negative IgM on repeated testing and the absence of clinical symptoms. Conclusion: Considering the incidence and risk of TORCH in Korea, the financial burden of TORCH screening, and the single positive TORCH finding in our study, we suggest disease-specific screening based on maternal history and the clinical symptoms of the neonate. Regarding CMV, which may present asymptomatically, universal screening may be appropriate upon cost-benefit analysis.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 1993

This study was carried out to estimate the relationship between dietary intake, blood level, and urinary excretion of minerals and blood pressure in 30 healthy adults living in rural area of Korea(12 males and 18 females). Analysis for the nutritional status of the subjects were performed by 3-day dietary intake record, duplicated diet collection, 24-hour urine collection, and venous blood sampling before measuring blood pressure. The mean blood pressure of subjects was 117.50/80.83mmHg in males and 110.00/73.89mmHg in females. The mean daily intakes of Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn estimated for 3 days were 199.97mEq, 49.56mEq, 452.50mg, 725.57mg, 240.40mg, 12.48mg, 3.41mg, 8.28mg, respectively. The serum concentration of Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn were 139.83mEq/dl, 4.06mEq/dl, 8.86mg/dl, 3.28mg/dl, 2.13mg/dl, 0.12mg/dl, 0.12mg/dl, 0.14mg/dl, respectively. The 24-hour urinary excretions of Na, K, Ca, p, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn estimated for 169.60mEq, 39.37mEq, 80.40mg, 398.97mg, 64.77mg, 0.21mg, 0.07mg, 0.29mg, respectively. No significant correlation was found between dietary intake, serum concentration, and urinary excretion of minerals and blood pressure. But, the serum Ca/Mg ratio showed negative correlation with the systolic and diastolic blood pressure at the level of significance of 5%. The study verifies the need for more systematic studies on interrelationship among minerals and mineral requirements in normotensive and hypertensive subjects.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.419-427
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• 2007

This study explored the effects of dietary calcium level and Hijikia fusiforme supplementation on bone indices and serum lipid levels using 36 female Sprague-Dawley rats as a model. Rats received low Ca diet for 3 weeks after ovariectomy. The rats were then divided into six dietary groups and fed low (0.1% Ca), normal (0.5% Ca) and high (1.5% Ca) Ca diets (CaL, CaN, CaH) and low, normal, high Ca diets with Hijikia fusiforme supplementation (CaLH, CaNH, CaHH) for 3 weeks. After each experimental periods, 24 hour urine and/or blood samples, left and right femurs were collected for analysis. Serum Ca concentration showed no significant difference by dietary Ca levels and Hijikia fusiforme supplementation. Alkaline phosphatase activity was significantly higher in normal and high Ca group compared to low Ca group. Serum total cholesterol, triglyceride and total lipid were not significantly different among groups. HDL-cholesterol showed no significant difference by Hijikia fusiforme supplementation. However, the normal and high Ca groups showed significantly higher HDL-cholesterol compared to the low Ca group. Urinary hydroxyproline and hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio were not significantly different among groups. The wet weight of the femur was significantly higher in low Ca group compared to normal or high Ca group. The dry weight, wet weight/body weight, length and breaking force of the femur were not significantly different among groups. Ash contents/wet weight of the femur was significantly increased as dietary Ca levels up and significantly higher in Hijikia fusiforme supplementation groups. The Ca content of the femur were significantly higher in the normal and high Ca groups than the low Ca group. However, there was no significant difference in Ca content by Hijikia fusiforme supplementation.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9927-9931
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• 2014

The objectives of this study were to examine serum periplakin expression in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder and in normal controls, and to examine relationships with clinicopathological findings. Detection of serum periplakin was performed in 50 patients and 30 normal controls with anti-periplakin antibodies using the automatic dot blot system, and a micro-dot blot array with a 256 solid-pin system. Levels in patients with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder were significantly lower than those in normal controls (0.31 and 5.68, respectively; p<0.0001). The area under the receiver-operator curve level for urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder was 0.845. The sensitivity and specificity, using a cut-off point of 4.045, were 83.7% and 73.3%, respectively. In addition, serum periplakin levels were significantly higher in patients with muscle-invasive cancer than in those with nonmuscle-invasive cancer (P = 0.03). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, none of the clinicopathological factors was associated with an increased risk for progression and cancer-specific survival. Examination of the serum periplakin level may play a role as a non-invasive diagnostic modality to aid urine cytology and cystoscopy.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2004

ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) is composed of exhaled mainstream smoke (MS) from the smoker, sidestream smoke (SS) emitted from the smoldering tobacco between puffs and contaminants that diffuse through the cigarette paper and mouth between puffs. These emissions contain both vapor phase and particulate contaminants. ETS is a complex mix of over 4,000 compounds. This mix contains many known or suspected human carcinogens and other toxic agents. More of these toxic compounds are found in SS than in MS. Workplace exposure to ETS can result in significant smoke intake, and passive smoke exposure may be related to impair respiratory function and an increase risk of lung cancer in nonsmokers. For nonsmokers sharing a work environment with cigarette smokers, the workplace must be considered hazardous independently of any specific industrial toxic exposure. The risk is particularly important when a high percentage of the workers smoke or where smokers and nonsmokers work in poorly ventilated areas. Nicotine is converted in the body to cotinine; cotinine therefore can be used as an indirect measure of a person's recent exposure to tobacco smoke. Levels of nicotine in hair and levels of cotinine in body fluids (saliva and urine) have been shown to increase with increasing environmental nicotine levels and with self-reported ETS exposure. The measurement of nicotine or cotinine in hair may be more appropriate for longer-term exposure to tobacco. The purpose of this study is to comparing airborne nicotine levels and hair cotinine level in restaurant workers. Concentration of airborne nicotine and hair nicotine (and cotinine) is closely related to exposed frequency of sidestream smoke in the workplace. Nicotine in hair is a better predictor of airborne nicotine than hair cotinine. Hair nicotine can be a useful tool to assess ETS exposure interventions. It may have limiting levels of ETS exposure by placing regulatory restrictions on smoking in workplaces and in public spaces.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.213-222
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• 2012

While much has been learned about the mechanisms of metastatic spread of cancer to bone, there has been little headway in establishing guidelines for monitoring the alteration in bone quality and estimating fracture risk. The aims of this study are, therefore, 1) to evaluate bone quality induced by metastatic bone tumor by analyzing the characteristics on bone microarchitecture and degree of bone mineralization and 2) analyze fracture risk increased secondary to the bone quality changes by metastatic bone tumor through calculating mechanical rigidities based on in-vivo micro CT images. For this study, eighteen female SD rats (12 weeks old, approximate 250 g) were randomly allocated in Sham and Tumor groups. W256 (Walker carcinosarcoma 256 malignant breast cancer cell) was inoculated in the right femur (intraosseous injection) in Tumor group, while 0.9% NaCl (saline solution) was injected in Sham group. The right hind limbs of all rats were scanned by in-vivo micro-CT to acquire structural parameters and degree of bone mineralization at 0 week, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks after surgery. At the same time, urine was collected by metabolic cages for a biochemical marker test in order to evaluate bone resorption. Then, bone metastasis had been directly identified by positron emission tomography. Finally, axial, bending and torsional rigidities had been calculated based on in-vivo micro CT images for predict fracture risk. The results of this study showed that metastatic bone tumor might induce significant decrease in bone quality and increase of fracture risk. This study may be helpful to monitoring a degree of bone metastasis and predicting fracture risk due to metastatic bone tumor. In addition, this noninvasive diagnostic methodology may be utilized for evaluating other bone metabolic diseases such as osteoporosis.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.490-500
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate fluid intake and hydration status in association with cognitive function among 230 adolescents (10-14 years of age) in Petaling Perdana, Selangor, Malaysia. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Urine color was used to measure hydration status, while fluid intake was assessed using the 15-item beverage intake questionnaire. Cognitive function was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition. RESULTS: More than half of the adolescents were mildly or moderately dehydrated (59.6%) and only one-third (33.0%) were well hydrated. Among the daily fluid types, intakes of soft drinks (r = -0.180; P = 0.006), sweetened tea (r = -0.184; P = 0.005) and total sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) (r = -0.199; P = 0.002) were negatively correlated with cognitive function. In terms of hydration status, cognitive function score was significantly higher (F-ratio = 4.102; P = 0.018) among hydrated adolescents (100.38 ± 12.01) than in dehydrated (92.00 ± 13.63) counterparts. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, showed that soft drinks (β = -0.009; P < 0.05) and sweetened tea (β = -0.019; P < 0.05) negatively predicted cognitive function (ΔR² = 0.044). When further control for sources of fluid, hydration status (β = -2.839; P < 0.05) was shown to negatively predict cognitive function (ΔR² = 0.021). The above variables contributed 20.1% of the variance in cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the links between fluid intake (soft drinks, sweetened tea, total SSBs) and hydration status with cognitive function in adolescents. Interventions aimed at decreasing the consumption of SSBs and increasing hydration status through healthy fluid choices, such as water, could improve cognitive performance in adolescents.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.31-37
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• 1975

The effect of dietary restriction was obserbed in Albino rats. Dietary restriction was at 2 levels: 10%, 20%, 30 males and same number of females of Albino rats, aged $30{\sim}40$ days were devided into following 6 groups, 5 rats each. 1 group; rice standard group 2 group; 10% restriction of rice standard 3 group; 20% restriction of rice standard 4 group; 65% rice+35% chinese cabbage group 5 group; 10% restriction of 65% rice+35% chinese cabbage 6 group; 20% restriction of 65% rice+35% chinese cabbage The rats were kept in individual cage and given 6 different diet for 7 weeks. The results of this study were elucidated as follow. 1. Final body weight was not obserbed any significant differences between non-restriction group and 10% restriction group, but 20% restriction group revealed the decrease of body weight. 2. According to dietary restriction, final organ weight was almost decreased in the restriction group of rice+chinese cabbage, and in rice standard group, there were no significants differences between none-restriction group and 10% restriction group, but organ weight was sharply decreased such as Liver, Heart, Kidney, Adrenal, Spleen in 20% restriction group. Sex organ weight of female was increased but weight of male was decreased in 20% restriction group of rice standard group. 3. The result of biochemical analysis such as nitrogen retention, serum cholesterol, glucose of urine, feces, and serum, and lipid of feces and liver, was not revealed any significant diffences, but in 20% restriction group, urinary glucose and serum glucose levels were somewhat decreased, and liver nitrogen level was increased. 4. Therefore there is no effect on albino rats by 10% restricted diet. It can be concluded that it is possible to restrict the diet within 10%.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.287-292
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• 2009

Over the a few decades, the incidences of obesity and associated metabolic syndrome diseases have been increased dramatically and resulted in a global health crisis. Recent findings suggest endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as an obesogen, because they disrupt normal development and homeostatic controls over adipogenesis and energy balance in obesity. Furthermore, risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality is elevated among those who were obese during childhood. Thus, we focused on etiology of obesity in children and performed biological monitoring of bisphenol A (BPA), which is a broadly exposed EDC in environment. Study subjects were age and sex-matched obese and normal children in Seoul (N=52; age, $8.67{\pm}1.46$ years). Exposure levels of BPA were analyzed with HPLC/FLD as a conjugated form in urine. As results, ranges of urinary BPA were 0~54.38 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine (median, 4.57 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine). Levels of urinary BPA were 1.7 fold higher in the obese children than those in the controls (medians of obese and control children, 7.31 and 4.25 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine, respectively, p=0.22). In the near future, enlarge scaled studies should be performed to confirm the risk of BPA for obesity.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.120-128
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• 2017

Acute flank pain from urolithiasis is the most common condition in people visiting emergency rooms. This study is to evaluate the usefulness of color Doppler in detecting ureteral stones in patients without hydronephrosis. We performed ultrasonography and retrospective analysis on 161 patients who were suspected of urinary stones through plain radiography of the kidney, ureter, and bladder examination or urine tests that showed positive signs of hematuria. In ultrasonography, a total of 154 (95.6%) cases from the 161 patients were diagnosed with ureteral stones. In color Doppler, ureteral stones with twinkling artifact (TA) in the absence of hydronephrosis was shown in 18 (85.7%) cases of the 21 patients(p<0.001). The use of color Doppler has a high diagnostic efficacy for the detection of indistinguishable stones, non-dilatational ureteral stones, and middle ureter stones.