The purposes of this study were to : (a) analyze the portion size & plate waste of normal & soft diets provided by dietetic departments in hospital, (b) investigate the factors affecting plate waste, and (c) determine the nutritional & monetary value of plate waste. A questionnaire for food preference and sensory evaluation was developed and a survey was carried out for the 46 normal diet and 56 soft diet patients in Sanggye Paik hospital in Seoul. Serving size and plate waste were weighed by the electric scale, and CAN-Pro program was used to evaluate the nutrition value. The data were analyzed using the SAS package program for descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. The average plate waste rate for normal diet and soft diet were 30.3% and 49.6%. More plate waste amount occurred on female patients' diet than male patients' diets regardless of the kind of diet. The plate waste percentage of male patients were higher than those of female on normal diet. On soft diet, patients who hospitalized in surgery or pediatrics department were higher than in other wards. Plate waste of normal diet and amount were correlated positively, but wastage and preference were correlated negatively Negative correlation was between taste and plate waste, and between temperature and plate waste, too. On the other hand, plate waste caused the deficiency of some nutrients such as Ca, Fe, Vit. B2 and a great monetary loss.
Diet* ; Female ; Food Preferences ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Nutritive Value ; Pediatrics ; Portion Size ; Seoul ; Serving Size ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study was purposed to investigate the effect of onion or beet on plasma and liver lipids, erythrocyte Na efflux channels and platelet aggregation in simvastatin (SIM) treated hypercholesterolemic rats. Forty Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups and fed 0.5% cholesterol based diets containing 2 mg/kg BW simvastatin or simvastatin with 5% onion or beet powder. Plasma total cholesterol was significantly increased in SIM group compared with the control (p<0.01), and the elevated plasma total cholesterol of SIM group was significantly decreased in SIM-onion and SIM-beet groups (p<0.05). HDL-cholesterol in SIM-beet group was significantly increased compared with other groups (p<0.05). Platelet aggregation in both the maximum and initial slope was significantly decreased in SIM group compared with SIM-onion group (p<0.05). Na-K ATPase was significantly decreased in SIM group compared with the control, SIM-onion and SIM-beet groups (p<0.05). Na passive leak was significantly increased in all groups treated with SIM compared with the control (p<0.05). The total Na efflux was decreased in SIM group and increased in SIM-onion group and the difference between these two groups was significant (p<0.05). There was no difference in intracellular Na among groups. In present study, simvastatin, a HMG CoA reductase inhibitor at dose of 2mg/kg BW/day rather increased plasma total cholesterol in rats, inferring that the action mechanism of simvastatin on cholesterol metabolism differ between rat and human. Onion and beet play favorable roles in cardiovascular system by restoring the reduced Na efflux through Na-K ATPase and Na-K cotransport in SIM treated rats.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Animals ; Beta vulgaris ; Blood Platelets ; Cardiovascular System ; Cholesterol ; Diet ; Erythrocytes ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases ; Liver ; Onions ; Plasma ; Platelet Aggregation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Simvastatin

Background: Female-pattern hair loss (FPHL) is a common hair loss disorder in women. The various treatments include topical minoxidil and 17α-estradiol, as well as oral anti-androgens. However, the clinical efficacy of 5α -reductase inhibitors remains controversial. Objective: We evaluated the clinical utility of dutasteride in FPHL patients and how dutasteride promotes hair growth. Methods: We evaluated hair follicle density and thickness before and after oral dutasteride treatment in 24 patients with FPHL. We measured β-catenin activity in primary cultures of human dermal papilla cells (DPCs) using the TOP Flash reporter assay and Western blotting. The expression levels of genes promoting hair growth were quantitatively assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). Results: The mean vertex hair density increased significantly from 67±14 to 76±13/cm2 (p=0.001) and the mean occipital hair density increased from 89±11 to 94±13/cm2 (p=0.012) after dutasteride treatment. However, the mean hair thickness did not increase. When DPCs were treated with dutasteride, TOP Flash activity increased in a dose-dependent manner, and the protein level of non-phosphorylated (active) β-catenin also increased. The mRNA level of vascular endothelial growth factor increased, but the mRNA levels of the keratinocyte growth factor, insulin growth factor-1, and Noggin were not affected by dutasteride. Conclusion This study shows a novel mechanism of dutasteride in promoting hair growth and provides support for the possible clinical application of 5α-reductase inhibitors for the treatment of FPHL.

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) play an important role in tumor invasion, angiogenesis and inflammatory tissue destruction. Increased expression of MMP was observed in benign tissue hyperplasia and in atherosclerotic lesions. Invasive cancer cells utilize MMP to degrade the extracellular matrix and vascular basement membrane during metastasis, where MMP-2 has been implicated in the development and dissemination of malignancies. The present study attempted to examine the antiangiogenic activity of the medicinal herbs of Aspergillus usamii var. shirousamii-transformed Angelicae Gigantis Radix and Zizyphus jujube (tAgR and tZj) with respect to MMP-2 production and endothelial motility in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)- or VEGF-exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Nontoxic tAgR and tZj substantially suppressed PMA-induced MMP-2 secretion. In addition, 25 microg/mL tAgR and tZj prevented vascular endothelial growth factor-stimulated endothelial cell transmigration and tube formation. The results reveal that tAgR and tZj dampened endothelial MMP-2 production leading to endothelial transmigration and tube formation. tAgR and tZj-mediated inhibition of endothelial MMP may boost a therapeutic efficacy during vascular angiogenesis.
Angelica ; Aspergillus ; Basement Membrane ; Endothelial Cells ; Extracellular Matrix ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Hyperplasia ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Phorbols ; Plants, Medicinal ; Transendothelial and Transepithelial Migration ; Ziziphus