Occupational Factors Associated with Changes in the Body Mass Index of Korean Male Manual Workers

OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to analyze and compare the occupational factors that could influence changes in body mass index (BMI) in male manual workers stratified into short-term and long-term work experience groups. METHODS: The subjects were 299 male manual workers (sampled systematically) from 27 workplaces, who had undergone travelling medical examinations at a university hospital between March 28 and May 10, 2013, and had also undergone medical examinations at the same hospital in 2012. Their general and occupational characteristics were investigated through a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The BMI at each point in time was calculated based on the anthropometric results of the medical examinations. Multiple regression analyses were conducted on outcomes of the BMI change and predictors composed of the general and occupational characteristics, with the subjects stratified into groups with 5 years or less (short-term) versus more than 5 years (long-term) of work experience at the present post. RESULTS: In the short-term work experience group, the BMI increases of 3-shift workers and groups reporting disagreement with feeling “insufficient job control” and “lack of reward” at work, two of the subscales of job stress, were significantly higher than those of daytime workers and high-stress groups, respectively. In the long-term work experience group, However, although the BMI increase for 3-shift workers was also significantly higher than that of daytime workers, none of the job stress factors were significantly associated with a BMI increase, whereas the social factors of education and marital status were significant, and some lifestyle factors (such as smoking and regular exercise) were also significant. CONCLUSION: This study showed that, except for 3-shift work, the factors associated with BMI increase could differ depending on the length of job experience. Consequently, different strategies may be needed for workers with short-term versus long-term job experience when designing interventions for preventing their obesity

Case report: Lymphocytic-plasmacytic and eosinophilic enterocolitis presented with marked eosinophilia and basophilia in a cat

Inflammatory bowel disease is a common condition in cats, characterized by recurring gastrointestinal signs with histologic evidence of intestinal inflammation. A 9-month-old neutered male Sphynx cat was presented with a 5-week history of vomiting and hematochezia. Conservative patient management with a therapeutic gastrointestinal formula, antibiotics, and antiemetics resulted in a positive response to treatment, with relapse of signs when the medications were discontinued. A new finding of marked eosinophilia and basophilia was identified 3 months after the initial presentation. Colonoscopy revealed cecal erosions and a surgical biopsy with histopathology confirmed a diagnosis of lymphocytic-plasmacytic and eosinophilic enterocolitis. For this diagnosis, the patient was treated with prednisolone, tylosin, and metronidazole. Antibiotics were gradually tapered as the cat showed clinical improvement. The patient showed resolution of the gastrointestinal signs, and the numbers of eosinophils and basophils returned within the reference range 8 weeks after the treatment began. Basophilia and eosinophilia has been reported in conjunction with feline T-cell lymphoma. However, marked basophilia accompanying eosinophilia is extremely rare in cats with inflammatory bowel disease. We herein provide clinical details, including ultrasonography, endoscopy, histopathology, and disease course of feline lymphocytic-plasmacytic and eosinophilic enterocolitis with marked basophilia and eosinophilia. This case highlights the importance of considering enteritis as potential diagnoses when eosinophilia and basophilia are concurrently observed in cats

Value recognition and eating patterns of Kimchi in female middle school students and their mothers

This study analyzed Kimchi eating culture in 178 households with female middle school children located in Incheon and Seosan areas, investigated the Kimchi eating patterns of female middle school students, and also analyzed the differences in value recognition for Kimchi between mothers and their female middle school students. Results showed that 23.0% of subject households answered eat Kimchi at every meal and the main reason for eating Kimchi in most households was good for taste. Most households made their own Kimchi, and only 12.3% of households bought Kimchi. Subject households preferred hot and spicy taste (34.8%) and pleasing taste (20.2%), and 44.4% of middle school children answered as eating Kimchi at every meal, and the source for information on Kimchi was home in 51.6% and mass media in 33.7%, suggesting the lack of school education. Both mothers and their female middle school students placed high value on Kimchi for its nutritional aspect and on Kimchi from the market for its convenience. Mothers showed significantly higher value (p<0.05) on the storage aspect of Kimchi compared to their middle school students, and female middle school students showed significantly higher value (p<0.05) on the value recognition for Kimchi as an international food compared to their mothers. Also, the value for hot pepper powder was high among other additional ingredients, and both mothers and middle school students had high values for Kimchi stew among other food dishes using Kimchi, and middle school students showed higher values (p<0.001) on foreign dishes using Kimchi such as Kimchi pizza and Kimchi spaghetti compared to the mothers group. Therefore, based on these results, the development of educational programs on Kimchi is needed not only at home but also at schools, by re-emphasizing the importance of value recognition for KImchi in our food culture

Development And Application Of A Shallow Water Flow Model HDM-2D

In this study, an unsteady 2D depth-averaged flow model, HDM-2D was developed by employing the finite element algorithm. The shallow water equations were weighted by SU/PG test function of which the shape is deformed by the current direction to introduce balancing diffusion only in the flow direction. The nonlinearity of the discretized momentum equations was linearized by Newton-Raphson method. Triangular or rectangular element with C0 interpolation function can be mixed together in the construction of geometry and the linear set of equations was solved by frontal method. The HDM-2D features (1) the incorporation of secondary current effect by dispersion stresses; (2) the reproduction of convection-dominated or supercritical flow by SU/PG scheme; (3) the adjustment of the internal wall velocity by Navier-slip condition; (4) the imposition of skewed inflow velocity profiles by beta function; (5) the provision of eddy viscosity by constant, parabolic, and Smagorinsky turbulence models; (6) the inclusion of bottom shear stress by either quadratic Manning’s law or bed friction factor; and (7) the representation of wetting and drying by flux blocking method, which can be extended into inundation analysis model. To increase the applicability and user convenience, the HDM-2D was coupled to a 2D advection-dispersion model, CTM-2D to consider the flow and the transport phenomenon. The flow and transport models were combined into a software suite RAMS (River Analysis and Modeling System) to interface the solvers with the pre- and post-processor. Therefore, RAMS supports the mesh generation, the model control, the result view, and the exportation to SMS geometry or Tecplot data files. Several applications of HDM-2D in RAMS environment have shown that the HDM-2D gives accurate prediction of the flow characteristics in a variety of free surface problems and expected to be served as a useful tool for practical design

In vitro antioxidant and anti-adipogenic effects of slendesta, standard potato extracts containing 5% protease inhibitor II

Background: The objective of the present study is to observe the anti-adipogenic effects of Slendesta (SLD), a standard potato protein extracts containing 5% potato protease inhibitor II (PI2) on the 3T3-L1 preadipocytes which are able to differentiate into mature adipocytes and accumulate lipids, as an obesity model with cytotoxicity and antioxidant effects.Materials and Methods: The cytotoxicity of SLD was observed against 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line by MTT assay, and also antiadipogenic effects were observed through lipid accumulation assay during 3T3-L1 differentiation as comparing with N-Acetyl-Lcysteine (NAC). In addition, antioxidant effects of SLD were detected by free radical scavenging capacity and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity as comparing with ascorbic acid.Results: The SLD showed obvious cytotoxicity against 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte cell line at higher concentrations, from 1.5 mg/ml for 72 h treatment, and the cytotoxic IC50 of SLD after 24, 48 and 72 h treatment times were detected as 10.11 ± 0.67, 5.71 ± 0.37 and 5.34 ± 0.21 mg/ml, respectively. The SLD also concentration-dependently inhibited the lipid accumulations formatted during 3T3-L1 cell differentiations. The adipogenic specific genes including PPARγ, C/EBPα, C/EBPβ and leptin were found to be reduced in SLD and NAC-treated cells compared to control cells. Furthermore, the SLD effectively showed DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 161.98 ± 64.65 μg/ml) and SOD-like effects (IC50 = 284.54 ± 54.47 μg/ml), and the cellular ROS was significantly inhibited in the SLD-treated cells compared to control cells.Conclusion: The results suggest that SLD effectively inhibit the differentiations of 3T3-L1 preadipose cell probably through antioxidant activities and direct cytotoxicity in case of higher concentration, along with satiety effects mediated by increases of circulating cholecystokinin. These findings are considered as direct evidences that SLD may serve as a predictable functional ingredient for obesity as an alternative therapy.Key words: Slendesta, potato protease inhibitor II, 3T3-L1 cell, cytotoxicity, anti-adipogenic effects, antioxidant effects

Adaptor Protein 2 (Ap-2) Complex is Essential for Functional Axogenesis in Hippocampal Neurons

The complexity and diversity of a neural network requires regulated elongation and branching of axons, as well as the formation of synapses between neurons. In the present study we explore the role of AP-2, a key endocytic adaptor protein complex, in the development of rat hippocampal neurons. We found that the loss of AP-2 during the early stage of development resulted in impaired axon extension and failed maturation of the axon initial segment (AIS). Normally the AIS performs two tasks in concert, stabilizing neural polarity and generating action potentials. In AP-2 silenced axons polarity is established, however there is a failure to establish action potential firing. Consequently, this impairs activity-driven Ca2+ influx and exocytosis at nerve terminals. In contrast, removal of AP-2 from older neurons does not impair axonal growth or signaling and synaptic function. Our data reveal that AP-2 has important roles in functional axogenesis by proper extension of axon as well as the formation of AIS during the early step of neurodevelopment

Neuroblastoma in a 3-year-old boy presenting with pain in the bilateral hip and abdomen

A 3-year-old boy presented to our emergency department with a 3-week history of pain in the bilateral hip and abdomen that had persisted through antibiotic therapy based on diagnosis of acute osteomyelitis. At presentation, he had fever, anemia, and increased concentration of lactate dehydrogenase. After the identification of a left adrenal mass indicating neuroblastoma on computed tomography scan, he was admitted to the hospital by a pediatric oncologist. Subsequently, positron emission tomography and bone scintigraphy showed disseminated metastasis to the bone and bone marrow, and neuroblastoma was pathologically confirmed. This case highlights the importance of differential diagnosis of non-traumatic hip pain in toddlers considering the protean manifestations of neuroblastoma

Subchronic oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles has resulted in their extensive application in health, electronic, consumer, medicinal, pesticide, and home products; however, silver nanoparticles remain a controversial area of research with respect to their toxicity in biological and ecological systems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study tested the oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles (56 nm) over a period of 13 weeks (90 days) in F344 rats following Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline 408 and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Five-week-old rats, weighing about 99 g for the males and 92 g for the females, were divided into four 4 groups (10 rats in each group): vehicle control, low-dose (30 mg/kg), middle-dose (125 mg/kg), and high-dose (500 mg/kg). After 90 days of exposure, clinical chemistry, hematology, histopathology, and silver distribution were studied. There was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the body weight of male rats after 4 weeks of exposure, although there were no significant changes in food or water consumption during the study period. Significant dose-dependent changes were found in alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol for the male and female rats, indicating that exposure to more than 125 mg/kg of silver nanoparticles may result in slight liver damage. Histopathologic examination revealed a higher incidence of bile-duct hyperplasia, with or without necrosis, fibrosis, and/or pigmentation, in treated animals. There was also a dose-dependent accumulation of silver in all tissues examined. A gender-related difference in the accumulation of silver was noted in the kidneys, with a twofold increase in female kidneys compared to male kidneys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The target organ for the silver nanoparticles was found to be the liver in both the male and female rats. A NOAEL (no observable adverse effect level) of 30 mg/kg and LOAEL (lowest observable adverse effect level) of 125 mg/kg are suggested from the present study.</p

Acute Symptoms after a Community Hydrogen Fluoride Spill

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics, and clinical signs and symptoms of patients who visited a general hospital because of the release of chemically hazardous hydrogen fluoride that occurred on September 27, 2012 in Gumi City, Korea. METHODS: The medical records at 1 general hospital 9 km from the accident site were reviewed using a standardized survey format. There were 1,890 non-hospitalized and 12 hospitalized patients exposed to hydrogen fluoride between September 27 and October 13 2012. RESULTS: Among the 12 hospitalized patients, 11 were discharged within 1 week and the other was hospitalized for 10 days. The chief complaints were respiratory symptoms such as hemoptysis and shortness of breath, gastrointestinal symptoms, neurologic symptoms, sore throat, and lip burn. The number of non-hospitalized patients exhibited a bimodal distribution, peaking on the first and twelfth days after the accident. Their chief complaints were sore throat (24.1%), headache (19.1%), cough (13.1%), and eye irritation (9.2%); some patients were asymptomatic (6.2%). Patients who visited the hospital within 3 days (early patients) of the spill more often had shortness of breath (27.0%) and nausea (6.3%) as the chief complaints than patients who visited after 3 days (late patients) (3.5% and 2.6%, respectively). However, cough and rhinorrhea were more common in the late patients (14.0% and 3.3%, respectively) than in the early patients (5.0% and 0.0%, respectively). Patients who were closer to the accident site more often had shortness of breath and sputum as the chief complaints than patients who were farther away. The mean serum calcium concentration was 9.37 mg/dL (range: 8.4–11.0 mg/dL); none of the patients had a decreased serum calcium level. Among 48 pulmonary function test results, 4 showed decreased lung function. None of the patients had abnormal urine fluoride levels on the eighth day after exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients hospitalized due to chemical hazard release of hydrogen fluoride had acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurologic health problems. Non-hospitalized patients have acute symptoms mainly related to upper respiratory irritation