Anti-obesity effects of Yerba Mate (Ilex Paraguariensis): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Dietary assessment parameters of the Yerba Mate and placebo groups measured at 0, 6 and 12 weeks. (DOC 37.5 kb

Extraskeletal chondroma of the fallopian tube.

Extraskeletal chondroma can occur in the hands, feet, head and neck. This tumor usually presents as a small solitary nodule. The histogenesis of the tumor is controversial, but some have suggested a metaplastic origin. Chondroma of the fallopian tube is very rare. There is only one report in English literature. The origin of this tumor can be subcoelomic mesenchyme of the tubal serosa or mesenchyme of the myosalpinx. We describe a case of chondroma arising from the serosal surface of the fallopian tube with a review of literature. A 30-yr-old woman visited hospital due to left adnexal mass. On operating finding, 2 x 3 cm sized nodular mass was noted on the left tubal serosal area. The excised mass showed multilobulated appearance covered with thin fibrous membrane. The cut surface was solid, grayish yellow, and myxoid with a focal gelatinous area. The microscopic finding showed islands and elongated lobules of mature benign cartilage without cytologic atypia

Network analysis of welfare politics in Korea: Focusing on social insurance legislation in the 18th National Assembly

This paper focuses on action and actor beyond the welfare attitudes. This study aims to analyze the network pattern of joint submission among assemblymen in order to specify the dynamics of welfare policy making process. Research method is SNA (social network analysis). Data come from legislation information system in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. 11 legislations, 23 joint broader groups and 118 members of the National Assembly relation with five social insurance (the National Pension Act, the National Health Insurance Act, the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, the Employment Insurance Act, Act on Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly) of former part of eighteenth assembly (2008-2010) are network analysis objects. The main findings are as follows. First, the network of the members of National Assembly is a dense network form. Second, Sim Jae-Chul who has three times elections and is president of the Policy Board of the Hannara party has the highest degree centrality and prestige centrality. Lee Kyung-Jae who has four times elections in Hannara party has the highest closeness centrality and Chun Hye-Suk who has only one election in Democratic party has the highest between-ness centrality. Conservative party has taken the lead in the legislation in relationship with five social insurance more than liberal party. And progressive parties have not showed an active role. Third, main actors attributes is affiliated in conservative party and in Committee on Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting, and Communications, unaffiliated in Health and Welfare Committee and Environment and Labor Committee which have responsibilities passing a bill about five social insurance, and have more three times elections experience

Pharmacokinetic Comparison of 2 Fixed-Dose Combination Tablets of Amlodipine and Valsartan in Healthy Male Korean Volunteers: A Randomized, Open-Label, 2-Period, Single-Dose, Crossover Study

AbstractBackgroundAmlodipine and valsartan have different mechanisms of action, and it is known that the combination therapy with the 2 drugs increases treatment effects compared with the monotherapy with each drug. A fixed-dose combination (FDC) drug is a formulation including fixed amounts of active drug ingredients combined in a single dosage form that is expected to improve medication compliance.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetic profiles of single administration of a newly developed FDC tablet containing amlodipine orotate 10 mg and valsartan 160 mg (test formulation) with the conventional FDC tablet of amlodipine besylate 10 mg and valsartan 160 mg (reference formulation) in healthy male Korean volunteers.MethodsThis was a randomized, open-label, single-dose, 2-way crossover study. Eligible subjects were between the ages of 20 and 50 years and within 20% of their ideal weight. Each subject received a single dose of the reference and the test formulations, with a 14-day washout period between formulations. Blood samples were collected up to 144 hours after the dose, and pharmacokinetic parameters were determined for amlodipine and valsartan. Adverse events were evaluated based on subject interviews and physical examinations.ResultsForty-eight of the 50 enrolled subjects completed the study. For both amlodipine and valsartan, the primary pharmacokinetic parameters were included in the range for assumed bioequivalence, yielding 90% CI ratios of 0.9277 to 0.9903 for AUC0–last and 0.9357 to 1.0068 for Cmax in amlodipine, and 0.9784 to 1.1817 for AUC0–last and 0.9738 to 1.2145 for Cmax in valsartan. Dizziness was the most frequently noted adverse event, occurring in 4 subjects with the test formulation, followed by oropharyngeal pain occurring in 1 subject with the test formulation and 3 subjects with the reference formulation. All other adverse events occurred in <3 subjects.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the pharmacokinetics of the newly developed FDC tablet of amlodipine and valsartan did not differ significantly from the conventional FDC tablet in these healthy Korean male subjects. Both formulations were well tolerated, with no serious adverse events observed. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01823913

Notch signaling is required for maintaining stem-cell features of neuroprogenitor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies have provided important findings about the roles of Notch signaling in neural development. Unfortunately, however, most of these studies have investigated the neural stem cells (NSCs) of mice or other laboratory animals rather than humans, mainly owing to the difficulties associated with obtaining human brain samples. It prompted us to focus on neuroectodermal spheres (NESs) which are derived from human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and densely inhabited by NSCs. We here investigated the role of Notch signaling with the hESC-derived NESs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From hESCs, we derived NESs, the <it>in-vitro </it>version of brain-derived neurospheres. NES formation was confirmed by increased levels of various NSC marker genes and the emergence of rosette structures in which neuroprogenitors are known to reside. We found that Notch signaling, which maintains stem cell characteristics of <it>in-vivo</it>-derived neuroprogenitors, is active in these hESC-derived NESs, similar to their <it>in-vivo </it>counterpart. Expression levels of Notch signaling molecules such as NICD, DLLs, JAG1, HES1 and HES5 were increased in the NESs. Inhibition of the Notch signaling by a γ-secretase inhibitor reduced rosette structures, expression levels of NSC marker genes and proliferation potential in the NESs, and, if combined with withdrawal of growth factors, triggered differentiation toward neurons.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that the hESC-derived NESs, which share biochemical features with brain-derived neurospheres, maintain stem cell characteristics mainly through Notch signaling, which suggests that the hESC-derived NESs could be an <it>in-vitro </it>model for <it>in-vivo </it>neurogenesis.</p

Upregulation of smpd3 via BMP2 stimulation and Runx2.

Deletion of smpd3 induces osteogenesis and dentinogenesis imperfecta in mice. smpd3 is highly elevated in the parietal bones of developing mouse calvaria, but not in sutural mesenchymes. Here, we examine the mechanism of smpd3 regulation, which involves BMP2 stimulation of Runx2. smpd3 mRNA expression increased in response to BMP2 treatment and Runx2 transfection in C2C12 cells. The Runx2-responsive element (RRE) encoded within the -562 to -557 region is important for activation of the smpd3 promoter by Runx2. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that Runx2 binds strongly to the -355 to -350 RRE and less strongly to the -562 to -557 site. Thus, the smpd3 promoter is activated by BMP2 and is directly regulated by the Runx2 transcription factor. This novel description of smpd3 regulation will aid further studies of bone development and osteogenesis. [BMB reports 2009; 42(2): 86-90

Characterization of diverse natural variants of CYP102A1 found within a species of Bacillus megaterium

An extreme diversity of substrates and catalytic reactions of cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes is considered to be the consequence of evolutionary adaptation driven by different metabolic or environmental demands. Here we report the presence of numerous natural variants of P450 BM3 (CYP102A1) within a species of Bacillus megaterium. Extensive amino acid substitutions (up to 5% of the total 1049 amino acid residues) were identified from the variants. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that this P450 gene evolve more rapidly than the rRNA gene locus. It was found that key catalytic residues in the substrate channel and active site are retained. Although there were no apparent variations in hydroxylation activity towards myristic acid (C14) and palmitic acid (C16), the hydroxylation rates of lauric acid (C12) by the variants varied in the range of >25-fold. Interestingly, catalytic activities of the variants are promiscuous towards non-natural substrates including human P450 substrates. It can be suggested that CYP102A1 variants can acquire new catalytic activities through site-specific mutations distal to the active site

The Effects of Acupuncture Stimulation for Brain Activation and Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy: Functional MRI Study

We attempted to investigate whether acupuncture stimulation at HT7 can have an effect on brain activation patterns and alcohol abstinence self-efficacy. Thirty-four right-handed healthy subjects were recruited for this study. They were randomly assigned into two groups: the HT7 (Shenmen) group and the LI5 (Yangxi) group. Acupuncture stimulation was performed using a block paradigm during fMRI scanning. Additionally, the Korean version of Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (AASES) was used to determine the effect of acupuncture stimulation on self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use. According to the result of fMRI group analysis, the activation induced by HT7 stimulation was found on the bilateral postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, claustrum, insula, and anterior lobe of the cerebellum, as well as on the left posterior lobe of the cerebellum (p<0.001, uncorrected). According to the AASES analysis, the interaction effect for gender and treatment was marginally significant (F(1,30)=4.152, p=0.050). For female group, the simple main effect of treatment was significant (F(1,11)=8.040, p=0.016), indicating that the mean change score was higher in the HT7 stimulation than in the LI5 stimulation. Therefore, our study has provided evidence to support that HT7 stimulation has a positive therapeutic effect on the alcohol-related diseases

Protective Role of Psoralea corylifolia

The accumulation of oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction is an important factor that contributes to aging. The Psoralea corylifolia seeds (PCS), commonly known as “Boh-Gol-Zhee” in Korea, have been used traditionally as a medicinal remedy. We investigated whether an extract of PCS has protective effects on oxidative stress and mitochondrial function in hepatocytes. The PCS extract showed an antisenescence effect on human diploid fibroblasts as evidenced by a decreased expression of p16INK4a mRNA and senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining. PCS extract treatment reduced H2O2-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in HepG2 cells, inhibited ROS production in hepatocytes of aged mice, and increased superoxide dismutase activity. In H2O2-treated HepG2 cells, PCS extract treatment recovered ATP production. PCS extract treatment recovered the oxygen consumption rate and inhibited reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by oxidative stress, suggesting improvement of mitochondrial function. In addition, PCS extract treatment recovered peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 mRNA and protein expression, and inhibited mitochondrial genome damage. Treatment with the major component of PCS extract, bakuchiol, also recovered mitochondrial dysfunction. On the basis of these results, we conclude that PCS extract inhibits ROS production and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by oxidative stress in hepatocytes