399 research outputs found
Dietary Intake and Serum Levels of Iron in Relation to Oxidative Stress in Breast Cancer Patients
Iron may induce oxidative stress via production of reactive oxygen species, facilitating mammary carcinogenesis. This study investigated the role of iron in relation to oxidative stress as a potential risk factor in the development of breast cancer (BC). BC patients (n = 121) and healthy age-matched controls (n = 149) were entered into the study. Iron and antioxidant vitamins intakes were estimated using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Thirty one subjects from each group provided blood samples for measurement of serum iron, plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP). Total and non-heme iron intake of BC patients were lower than those of the controls. However, the serum iron level was significantly higher in BC patients. Plasma MDA levels were also significantly higher in BC patients whereas no significant difference in FRAP values were observed between the two groups. Log-transformed serum iron concentration showed no significant correlation with MDA or FRAP. These results suggest that serum iron overload may be a breast cancer risk factor possibly due to increased oxidative stress
The Dendritic magnetic avalanches in carbon-free MgB thin films with and without a deposited Au layer
From the magneto optics images (MOI), the dendritic magnetic avalanche is
known to appear dominantly for thin films of the newly discovered MgB. To
clarify the origin of this phenomenon, we studied in detail the MOI of
carbon-free MgB thin films with and without a deposited gold layer. The MOI
indicated carbon contamination was not the main source of the avalanche. The
MOI clearly showed that the deposition of metallic gold deposition on top of a
MgB thin film improved its thermal stability and suppressed the sudden
appearance of the dendritic flux avalanche. This is consistent with the
previous observation of flux noise in the magnetization.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figeure
Flux Dendrites of Opposite Polarity in Superconducting MgB rings observed with magneto-optical imaging
Magneto-optical imaging was used to observe flux dendrites with opposite
polarities simultaneously penetrate superconducting, ring-shaped MgB films.
By applying a perpendicular magnetic field, branching dendritic structures
nucleate at the outer edge and abruptly propagate deep into the rings. When
these structures reach close to the inner edge, where flux with opposite
polarity has penetrated the superconductor, they occasionally trigger anti-flux
dendrites. These anti-dendrites do not branch, but instead trace the triggering
dendrite in the backward direction. Two trigger mechanisms, a non-local
magnetic and a local thermal, are considered as possible explanations for this
unexpected behaviour. Increasing the applied field further, the rings are
perforated by dendrites which carry flux to the center hole. Repeated
perforations lead to a reversed field profile and new features of dendrite
activity when the applied field is subsequently reduced.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev.
Onset of dendritic flux avalanches in superconducting films
We report a detailed comparison of experimental data and theoretical
predictions for the dendritic flux instability, believed to be a generic
behavior of type-II superconducting films. It is shown that a thermo-magnetic
model published very recently [Phys. Rev. B 73, 014512 (2006)] gives an
excellent quantitative description of key features like the instability onset
(first dendrite appearance) magnetic field, and how the onset field depends on
both temperature and sample size. The measurements were made using
magneto-optical imaging on a series of different strip-shaped samples of MgB2.
Excellent agreement is also obtained by reanalyzing data previously published
for Nb.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal attainment rates in high-risk patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus in Korea: a retrospective cohort study
Background
Real-world evidence of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal attainment rates for Asian patients is deficient. The objective of this study was to assess the status of dyslipidemia management, especially in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) including stroke and acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort study of 514,866 subjects from the National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort database in Korea. Participants were followed up from 2002 to 2015. Subjects with a high-risk of CVD prior to LDL-C measurement and subjects who were newly-diagnosed for high-risk of CVD following LDL-C measurement were defined as known high-risk patients (n = 224,837) and newly defined high-risk patients (n = 127,559), respectively. Data were analyzed by disease status: stroke, ACS, coronary heart disease (CHD), peripheral artery disease (PAD), diabetes mellitus (DM) and atherosclerotic artery disease (AAD).
Results
Overall, less than 50% of patients in each disease category achieved LDL-C goals (LDL-C < 70 mg/dL in patients with stroke, ACS, CHD and PAD; and LDL-C < 100 mg/dL in patients with DM and AAD). Statin use was observed in relatively low proportions of subjects (21.5% [known high-risk], 34.4% [newly defined high-risk]). LDL-C goal attainment from 2009 to 2015 steadily increased but the goal-achiever proportion of newly defined high-risk patients with ACS remained reasonably constant (38.7% in 2009; 38.1% in 2015).
Conclusions
LDL-C goal attainment rates in high-risk patients with CVD and DM in Korea demonstrate unmet medical needs. Proactive management is necessary to bridge the gap between the recommendations of clinical guidelines and actual clinical practice.This study was supported by a research grant from Amgen, Inc
Enhancement of carbamazepine removal rate using Tetradesmus obliquus KNUA061 and NaOCl and utilization of the resulting biomass
Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are discharged into receiving water bodies mainly from sewage treatment plants. Due to the inefficient removal in conventional wastewater treatment facilities, PPCPs have become a major concern to aquatic ecosystems, water quality, and public health worldwide since they cause harmful effects on aquatic life and human even at low doses. Among the PPCPs, carbamazepine (CBZ) is one of the most commonly prescribed anticonvulsant drugs and consumed more than 1,000 tons per year. Due to its structural complexity, CBZ is known as recalcitrant compound highly stable during wastewater treatment. Consequently, it has become one of the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals in waste water, surface water, and even drinking water. In this study, Korean indigenous microalgae strains were tested as eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions for CBZ removal. Based on the preliminary biological CBZ degradation tests, Tetradesmus obliquus KNUA061 demonstrating the best CBZ removal rate was selected for further experiments. In order to increase strain KNUA061's CBZ removal efficiency, NaOCl, which is widely accepted in the water purification process, was used as an additional stimulus to induce stress conditions. At around 20 μg L−1 CBZ, addition of 1.0 mg NaOCl resulted in approximately 20% of removal rate increase without suppressing cells growth. Roughly 90% of CBZ remained its original form and the composition of the transformed secondary metabolites was less than 10% during the biodegradation process by the microalga. Based on the results of the antioxidant enzyme activities, degree of lipid oxidation, and amino acid contents, it was concluded that the redox-defence system in microalgal cells may have been activated by the NaOCl treatment. Biomass analysis results showed that higher heating value (HHV) of strain KNUA061 biomass was higher than those of lignocellulosic energy crops suggesting that it could be utilized as a possible renewable energy source. Even though its biodiesel properties were slightly below the international standards due to the high PUFA contents, the biodiesel produced from T. obliquus KNUA061 could be used as a blending resource for transportation fuels. It was also determined that the microalgal biomass has acceptable feasibility as a sustainable dietary supplement feedstock due to its high essential amino acid contents
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