OBJECTIVES: The present subacute study was designed to evaluate the effect of coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ10) in the 28 days aroclor 1254 exposure induced oxidative stress in mice brain. METHODS: Biochemical estimations of brain lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetyl cholinesterase (AChE), and histopathological investigations of brain tissue were carried out. RESULTS: Oral exposure of aroclor 1254 (5 mg/kg) led to significant decrease in levels of GSH, and activities of SOD, CAT, GPx, and AChE, and increase in LPO. These aberrations were restored by CoQ10 (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection [IP]). This protection offered was comparable to that of L-deprenyl (1 mg/kg, IP) which served as a reference standard. CONCLUSIONS: Aroclor 1254 exposure hampers the activities of various antioxidant enzymes and induces oxidative stress in the brains of Swiss albino mice. Supplementation of CoQ10 abrogates these deleterious effects of aroclor 1254. CoQ10 also apparently enhanced acetyl cholinesterase activity which reflects its influence on the cholinergic system.
Animals ; Aroclors* ; Brain* ; Catalase ; Cats ; Chlorodiphenyl (54% Chlorine)* ; Cholinesterases ; Glutathione ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Methods ; Mice* ; Oxidative Stress ; Selegiline ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Ubiquinone

OBJECTIVES: Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a highly conserved molecular chaperone important in the maturation of a broad spectrum of protein. In this study, an HSP90 gene was isolated from Asian paddle crab, Charybdis japonica, as a bio-indicator to monitor the marine ecosystem. METHODS: This work reports the responses of C. japonica HSP90 mRNA expression to cellular stress by endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as bisphenol A (BPA) and 4-nonylphenol (NP) using real-time. reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The deduced amino acid sequence of HSP90 from C. japonica shared a high degree of homology with their homologues in other species. In a phylogenetic analysis, C. japonica HSP90 is evolutionally related with an ortholog of the other crustacean species. The expression of HSP90 gene was almost distributed in all the examined tissues of the C. japonica crab but expression levels varied among the different body parts of the crabs. We examined HSP90 mRNA expression pattern in C. japonica crabs exposed to EDCs for various exposure times. The expression of HSP90 transcripts was significantly increased in C. japonica crabs exposed to BPA and NP at different concentrations for 12, 24, 48 and 96 hours. The mRNA expression of HSP90 gene was significantly induced in a concentration- and time-dependent manner after BPA or NP exposures for 96 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, expression analysis of Asian paddle crab HSP90 gene provided useful molecular information about crab responses in stress conditions and potential ways to monitor the EDCs stressors in marine environments.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Ecosystem ; Endocrine Disruptors ; Gene Expression* ; Heat-Shock Proteins* ; Human Body ; Humans ; Molecular Chaperones ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; RNA, Messenger

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to determine the depositional characteristics of several tree barks, including Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), Pine (Pinus densiflora), Platanus (Platanus), and Metasequoia (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). These were used as passive air sampler (PAS) of atmospheric polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). METHODS: Tree barks were sampled from the same site. PBDEs were analyzed by highresolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometer, and the lipid content was measured using the gravimetric method by n-hexane extraction. RESULTS: Gingko contained the highest lipid content (7.82 mg/g dry), whereas pine (4.85 mg/g dry), Platanus (3.61 mg/g dry), and Metasequoia (0.97 mg/g dry) had relatively lower content. The highest total PBDEs concentration was observed in Metasequoia (83,159.0 pg/g dry), followed by Ginkgo (53,538.4 pg/g dry), Pine (20,266.4 pg/g dry), and Platanus (12,572.0 pg/g dry). There were poor correlations between lipid content and total PBDE concentrations in tree barks (R2=0.1011, p =0.682). Among the PBDE congeners, BDE 206, 207 and 209 were highly brominated PBDEs that are sorbed to particulates in ambient air, which accounted for 90.5% (84.3-95.6%) of the concentration and were therefore identified as the main PBDE congener. The concentrations of particulate PBDEs deposited on tree barks were dependent on morphological characteristics such as surface area or roughness of barks. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, when using the tree barks as the PAS of the atmospheric PBDEs, samples belonging to same tree species should be collected to reduce errors and to obtain reliable data.
Ginkgo biloba ; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers* ; Plant Bark* ; Trees

OBJECTIVES: Effects of nanoparticles including zinc oxide nanoparticles, titanium oxide nanoparticles, and their mixtures on skin corrosion and irritation were investigated by using in vitro 3D human skin models (KeraSkin(TM)) and the results were compared to those of an in vivo animal test. METHODS: Skin models were incubated with nanoparticles for a definite time period and cell viability was measured by the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2.5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method. Skin corrosion and irritation were identified by the decreased viability based on the pre-determined threshold. RESULTS: Cell viability after exposure to nanomaterial was not decreased to the pre-determined threshold level, which was 15% after 60 minutes exposure in corrosion test and 50% after 45 minutes exposure in the irritation test. IL-1alpha release and histopathological findings support the results of cell viability test. In vivo test using rabbits also showed non-corrosive and non-irritant results. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide the evidence that zinc oxide nanoparticles, titanium oxide nanoparticles and their mixture are 'non corrosive' and 'non-irritant' to the human skin by a globally harmonized classification system. In vivo test using animals can be replaced by an alternative in vitro test.
Animals ; Cell Survival ; Classification ; Corrosion* ; Humans ; Nanoparticles* ; Nanostructures ; Rabbits ; Skin* ; Titanium ; Zinc Oxide

OBJECTIVES: Hospitalized patients are vulnerable to sleep disturbances because of environmental stresses including noise. While most previous studies on hospital noise and sleep have been performed for medical machines in intensive care units, there is a limited data for patients hospitalized in medical wardrooms. The purpose of present study was to measure noise level of medical wardrooms, identify patient-perceived sources of noise, and to examine the association between noise levels and sleep disturbances in hospitalized patients. METHODS: Noise dosimeters were used to measure noise level in 29 inpatient wardrooms at a university hospital. Sleep pattern and disturbance were assessed in 103 hospitalized patients, using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean equivalent continuous noise level for 24 hours was 63.5 decibel A (dBA), which was far higher than 30 dBA recommended by the World Health Organization for hospital wardrooms. Other patients sharing a room were perceived as the most common source of noise by the patients, which was usually preventable. Of the patients in the study, 86% had bad sleep as assessed by the PSQI. The sleep disturbance was significantly correlated with increasing noise levels in a dose response manner. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic organizational interventions are needed to keep wardrooms private and quiet to reduce sleep disturbance.
Humans ; Inpatients ; Intensive Care Units ; Noise* ; World Health Organization ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to systematically characterize the denaturation and the renaturation of double stranded DNA (dsDNA), which is suitable for DNA hybridization. METHODS: A series of physical and chemical denaturation methods were implemented on well-defined 86-bp dsDNA fragment. The degree of each denaturation was measured and the most suitable denaturation method was determined. DNA renaturation tendency was also investigated for the suggested denaturation method. RESULTS: Heating, beads mill, and sonication bath did not show any denaturation for 30 minutes. However probe sonication fully denatured DNA in 5 minutes. 1 mol/L sodium hydroxide (alkaline treatment) and 60% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) treatment fully denatured DNA in 2-5 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: Among all the physical methods applied, the direct probe sonication was the most effective way to denature the DNA fragments. Among chemical methods, 60% DMSO was the most adequate denaturation method since it does not cause full renaturation during DNA hybridization.
Baths ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; DNA* ; Heating ; Hot Temperature ; Nucleic Acid Denaturation ; Sodium Hydroxide ; Sonication

OBJECTIVES: An ecofriendly alternative to chemical pesticides is bio-pesticides, which are derived from natural sources. The interest in bio-pesticides is based on the disadvantages associated with chemical pesticides. METHODS: We conducted acute toxicity assessments of camphor, a major component of bio-pesticides, by using Daphnia magna (D. magna) as well as assessed the morphological abnormalities that occurred in Danio rerio (D. rerio) embryos. RESULTS: The median effective concentration of camphor on D. magna after 48 hours was 395.0 muM, and the median lethal concentration on D. rerio embryos after 96 hours was 838.6 muM. The no observed effect concentration and predicted no effect concentration of camphor on D. magna, which was more sensitive than D. rerio, were calculated as 55.2 muM and 3.95 muM, respectively. Morphological abnormalities in D. rerio embryos exposed to camphor increased over time. Coagulation, delayed hatching, yolk sac edema, pericardial edema, and pigmentation of embryos mainly appeared between 24 and 48 hours. Further, symptoms of scoliosis and head edema occurred after 72 hours. In addition, bent tails, ocular defects and collapsed symptoms of fertilized embryonic tissue were observed after 96 hours. CONCLUSIONS: The camphor toxicity results suggest that continuous observations on the ecosystem are necessary to monitor toxicity in areas where biological pesticides containing camphor are sprayed.
Camphor* ; Daphnia* ; Ecosystem ; Edema ; Embryonic Structures ; Head ; Pesticides ; Pigmentation ; Scoliosis ; Yolk Sac ; Zebrafish*

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) contain elemental carbon, organic compounds including Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, and other trace compounds. Diesel exhaust is complex mixture of thousands of chemicals. Over forty air contaminants are recognized as toxicants, such as carcinogens. Most diesel exhaust particles have aerodynamic diameters falling within a range of 0.1 to 0.25 microm. DEP was classified as a definite human carcinogen (group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer at 2012 based on recently sufficient epidemiological evidence for lung cancer. Significant decreases in DEP and other diesel exhaust constituents will not be evident immediately, and outworn diesel car having longer mileage still threatens health of people in spite of recent remarkable development in diesel engine technology. Policy change in South Korea, such as introduction of diesel taxi, may raise health risk of air pollution in metropolitan area with these limitations of diesel engine. To protect people against DEP in South Korea, progressive strategies are needed, including disallowance of diesel taxi, more strict regulation of diesel engine emission, obligatory diesel particulate filter attachment in outworn diesel car, and close monitoring about health effects of DEP.
Air Pollution ; Carbon ; Carcinogens ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons ; International Agencies ; Korea ; Lung Neoplasms ; Metals ; Vehicle Emissions

OBJECTIVES: Cigarette smoking had been recorded as the main cause of impaired endothelium- dependent vasodilation in smokers by reducing nitric oxide (NO), a production of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). However, the mechanism of NO impairment via eNOS activity is unclear until now. In this study, cell passage is suggested to be a relevant factor to eNOS expression under cigarette smoking stress. METHODS: Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) were chosen as the research subject with passages ranking from 6 to 9 (6P to 9P). After exposure of cigarette smoking extract (CSE) solution, MTT assay and Western blot method were performed to check the cell viability as well as eNOS protein concentration. In these experiments, four concentrations of CSE at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4% were selected for treatment. RESULTS: Our results showed that cells almost died at 4% of CSE. Besides, eNOS protein mass had a linear decrease under the increase of CSE concentration. In addition, the effect of CSE on eNOS expression was dissimilar between different passages. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated that CSE had effect on both cell viability and eNOS expression. Besides, a reduction in protein mass was matched with the decrease of cell viability due to CSE tress. Last but not least, the response of eNOS protein to different concentration of CSE at different passages was disparate, making the hypothesis about cell passage related inhibition of eNOS caused by CSE solution.
Blotting, Western ; Cell Aging* ; Cell Survival ; Endothelial Cells* ; Humans ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; Nitric Oxide Synthase* ; Research Subjects ; Smoking* ; Vasodilation

OBJECTIVES: South Korea's air quality standards are insufficient in terms of establishing a procedure for their management. The current system lacks a proper decision-making process and prior evidence is not considered. The purpose of this study is to propose a measure for establishing atmospheric environmental standards in South Korea that will take into consideration the health of its residents. METHODS: In this paper, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of the US was examined in order to suggest ways, which consider health effects, to establish air quality standards in South Korea. Up-to-date research on the health effects of air pollution was then reviewed, and tools were proposed to utilize the key results. This was done in an effort to ensure the reliability of the standards with regard to public health. RESULTS: This study showed that scientific research on the health effects of air pollution and the methodology used in the research have contributed significantly to establishing air quality standards. However, as the standards are legally binding, the procedure should take into account the effects on other sectors. Realistically speaking, it is impossible to establish standards that protect an entire population from air pollution. Instead, it is necessary to find a balance between what should be done and what can be done. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, establishing air quality standards should be done as part of an evidence-based policy that identifies the health effects of air pollution and takes into consideration political, economic, and social contexts.
Air Pollution* ; Korea ; Public Health