A pilot study to evaluate the effect of Taeumjowi-tang on obesity in Korean adults: study protocol for a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity, which is described as excessive or abnormal body fat, increases the risk of diet-related diseases. In Korea and around the world, the prevalence of obesity has grown annually from 1998 to 2008. This growth has continued despite various therapeutic efforts. The discovery of new and alternative treatments for obesity should be considered an important priority. Taeumjowi-tang (TJ001), a traditional Korean medicinal extract consisting of eight herbs, is a widely used herbal remedy for obesity in Korea. However, the efficacy and safety of TJ001 have not been fully investigated in a clinical trial. The purpose of this pilot study is to estimate obesity-related parameters and to assess the efficacy and safety of TJ001.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our study is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre clinical trial of Taeumjowi-tang (TJ001). For this study, we will recruit obese Korean patients of both sexes, ages 18 to 65 years, from four university hospitals. A total of 104 subjects will be recruited. The participants will receive either 7 g of TJ001 or a placebo three times daily for 12 weeks. The primary end point will be the rate of subjects who lose at least 5% of their baseline body weight. The secondary end points will be changes in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist/hip circumference ratio, lipid profiles, body fat composition, blood pressure, fasting glucose concentration, C-reactive protein and questionnaires related to the quality of life. The outcomes will be measured every 4 weeks. The study period will be 12 weeks and will include a total of five visits with each subject (at screening and at 0, 4, 8 and 12 weeks).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of our study will inform various estimates of TJ001 and will serve as the basis for a larger-scale trial. This study will assess the efficacy and safety of TJ001 as an alternative herbal remedy for obesity.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials <a href="http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN87153759">ISRCTN87153759</a></p

Acoustic monitoring in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, using hydrophone of the Ocean Bottom Seismometer

Although a number of active source seismic experiments have been conducted over the last few decades to investigate the crustal structure in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, long-term observation to monitor underwater tectonic activities and changes in the cryospheric environment still remains challenging due to existence of sea ice in the study region. Korea Polar Research Institute has accomplished successful deployment of ocean bottom seismome-ters (OBS) in the Ross Sea collaborating with Alfred Wegener Institute during the period of 2011-2012 and 2014 by Korean icebreaker RV Araon. The OBS system manufactured by K.U.M. contains a hydrophone sensor that allow us to monitor underwater acoustics generated by tectonic and ice-related events. We present spectrograms of the continuous hydroacoustic data and various types of signals, e.g. seismic T-waves, iceequakes, and tremors. There are periodic and harmonic tremors that might be related with tidal modulation, and the seasonal variation of the background noise seems to be related with sea ice concentration

Advanced glycation end-products produced systemically and by macrophages: A common contributor to inflammation and degenerative diseases

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their receptor have been implicated in the progressions of many intractable diseases, such as diabetes and atherosclerosis, and are also critical for pathologic changes in chronic degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer&apos;s disease, Parkinson&apos;s disease, and alcoholic brain damage. Recently activated macrophages were found to be a source of AGEs, and the most abundant form of AGEs, AGE-albumin excreted by macrophages has been implicated in these diseases and to act through common pathways. AGEs inhibition has been shown to prevent the pathogenesis of AGEs-related diseases in human, and therapeutic advances have resulted in several agents that prevent their adverse effects. Recently, anti-inflammatory molecules that inhibit AGEs have been shown to be good candidates for ameliorating diabetic complications as well as degenerative diseases. This review was undertaken to present, discuss, and clarify current understanding regarding AGEs formation in associationwithmacrophages, different diseases, therapeutic and diagnostic strategy and links with RAGE inhibition. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).120201sciescopu

Amphibian Seismological Studies in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

The Antarctic Ross Sea is one of the key regions for polar research activities. Research stations from several countries located at the coast are the base for inland expeditions. Even in the southern austral summer, the Ross Sea is party covered with drifting ice fields; this requires an icebreaker for all marine explorations. Therefore, large geophysical surveys in the Ross Sea are difficult. But the area is of special interest for seismologists: The Terror Rift in the western Ross Sea is a prominent neotectonic structure of the West Antarctic Rift System (WARS). It is located near the coast in the Victoria Land Basin and extends parallel to the Transantarctic Mountains. The rifting processes and the accompanying active onshore volcanism lead to increased seismicity in the region. The annual waxing and waning of the sea-ice and the dynamics of the large Ross Ice Shelf and nearby glaciers generate additional seismic signals. Investigation on seismological activities associated with the WARS and the cryogenic signals simultaneously would give us an unprecedented opportunity to have a better understanding of the Evolution of the WARS (EWARS) and the rapid change in the cryospheric environment nearby. The Korean Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and the Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI) have conducted a pilot study off the Korean Jang Bogo research station in the Terra Nova Bay by developing a collaborative research program (EWARS) since 2011 to explore seismicity and seismic noise in this region. Four broadband ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) from the German DEPAS pool were deployed in January 2012 with the Korean research icebreaker RV Araon. Three instruments could successfully be recovered after 13 months, the fourth OBS was not accessible due to local sea-ice coverage. We have successfully completed a second recovery operation It was retrieved one year late in January 2014. All stations recorded data of good quality, one station stopped after 8 months due to a recorder error. The OBS recovered in 2014 recorded more than 17 months of data until the batteries were discharged. In this contribution, we present data and first results from various seismological measurements, including temporal variation of seismic ambient noise studies, receiver functions, local seismicity, and ambient noise/noise correlation functions through examining the OBS data incorporating with the onshore seismic observation data