No abstract available.
Epidermal Cyst* ; Melanins*

BACKGROUND: The restriction of wrist motion results in limited hand function, and the evaluation of the range of wrist motion is related to the evaluation of wrist function. To analyze and compare the wrist motion during four selected tasks, we developed a new desktop motion analysis system using the motion controller for a home video game console. METHODS: Eighteen healthy, right-handed subjects performed 15 trials of selective tasks (dart throwing, hammering, circumduction, and winding thread on a reel) with both wrists. The signals of light-emitting diode markers attached to the hand and forearm were detected by the optic receptor in the motion controller. We compared the results between both wrists and between motions with similar motion paths. RESULTS: The parameters (range of motion, offset, coupling, and orientations of the oblique plane) for wrist motion were not significantly different between both wrists, except for radioulnar deviation for hammering and the orientation for thread winding. In each wrist, the ranges for hammering were larger than those for dart throwing. The offsets and the orientations of the oblique plane were not significantly different between circumduction and thread winding. CONCLUSIONS: The results for the parameters of dart throwing, hammering, and circumduction of our motion analysis system using the motion controller were considerably similar to those of the previous studies with three-dimensional reconstruction with computed tomography, electrogoniometer, and motion capture system. Therefore, our system may be a cost-effective and simple method for wrist motion analysis.
Forearm ; Hand ; Methods ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Video Games* ; Wind ; Wrist*

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study investigates correlations between circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) and obesity-related parameters among young women (aged 20–30 years old) in Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We analyzed TaqMan low density arrays (TLDAs) of circulating miRNAs in 9 lean (body mass index [BMI] < 25 kg/m2) and 15 obese (BMI > 25 kg/m2) women. We also performed gene ontology (GO) analyses of the biological functions of predicted miRNA target genes, and clustered the results using the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery. RESULTS: The TLDA cards contain 754 human miRNAs; of these, the levels of 8 circulating miRNAs significantly declined (> 2-fold) in obese subjects compared with those in lean subjects, including miR-1227, miR-144-5p, miR-192, miR-320, miR-320b, miR-484, miR-324- 3p, and miR-378. Among them, miR-484 and miR-378 displayed the most significant inverse correlations with BMI (miR-484, r = −0.5484, P = 0.0056; miR-378, r = −0.5538, P = 0.0050) and visceral fat content (miR-484, r = −0.6141, P = 0.0014; miR-378, r = −0.6090, P = 0.0017). GO analysis indicated that genes targeted by miR-484 and miR-378 had major roles in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. CONCLUSION Our result showed the differentially expressed circulating miRNAs in obese subjects compared to lean subjects. Although the mechanistic study to reveal the causal role of miRNAs remains, these miRNAs may be novel biomarkers for obesity.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: In Oriental medicine, certain foods may be beneficial or detrimental based on an individual's constitution; however, the scientific basis for this theory is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of body constitution, based on the Sasang type of Korean traditional medical classification system, on the bioavailability of soy isoflavones of Cheonggukjang, a quick-fermented soybean paste.SUBJECTS/METHODS: A pilot study was conducted on 48 healthy Korean men to evaluate the bioavailability of isoflavone after ingestion of food based on constitution types classified by the Sasang typology. The participants were classified into the Taeeumin (TE; n = 15), Soyangin (SY; n = 15), and Soeumin (SE; n = 18) groups. Each participant ingested 50 g of Cheonggukjang per 60 kg body weight. Thereafter, blood was collected, and the soy isoflavone metabolites were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Ntrikinetic analysis of individual isoflavone-derived metabolites was performed.RESULTS: Our nutrikinetic analysis identified 21 metabolites derived from isoflavones in the blood samples from 48 healthy Korean men (age range, 21-29 years). Significant differences were observed in the time to maximum concentration (T(max)) and elimination half-life (t(1/2)) for nine metabolites among the three groups. The T(max) and t(1/2) of the nine metabolites were higher in the SE group than in the other groups. Moreover, the absorption rates, as determined by the area under the plasma-level curve (AUC) values of intact isoflavone, were 5.3 and 9.4 times higher in the TE group than in the SY and SE groups, respectively. Additionally, the highest AUC values for phase I and II metabolites were observed in the TE group.CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that isoflavone bioavailability, following Cheonggukjang insgestion, is high in individuals with the TE constitution, and relatively lower in those with the SE and SY constitutions.

PURPOSE: Enolase is a cytoplasmic enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 2-phosphoglycerate to phosphoenolpyruvate in the glycolytic pathway. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the overexpression of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) can serve as a prognostic factor in patients with gastric cancer (GC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: To assess its prognostic value in GC, NSE expression was measured by immunohistochemistry in a clinically annotated tissue microarray comprising of 327 human GC specimens. Cytoplasmic NSE expression was scored from 0 to 4, reflecting the percentage of NSE-positive cells. RESULTS: In terms of histology as per the World Health Organization criteria (P=0.340), there were no differences between the NSE overexpression (NSE-OE) and NSE underexpression (NSE-UE) groups. The NSE-OE group showed a significantly lower rate of advanced GC (P<0.010), lymph node metastasis (P=0.010), advanced stage group (P<0.010), cancer-related death (P<0.010), and cancer recurrence (P<0.010). Additionally, a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the NSE-OE group had longer cumulative survival times than the NSE-UE group (log-rank test, P<0.010). However, there were no significant differences in the serum levels of NSE expression in patients with GC and healthy volunteers (P=0.280). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with NSE overexpressing GC tissues showed better prognostic results, implying that NSE could be a candidate biomarker of GC.
Cytoplasm ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Phosphoenolpyruvate ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase* ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; World Health Organization