Objective To study effects of oligo-peptide I-C-F-6 in carapax trionycis on rats with liver fibrosis induced by CCl4;To discuss its anti-liver fibrosis effects and possible mechanisms. Methods Forty-eight SD male rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, bifendate group, and oligo-peptide I-C-F-6 group, 12 in each group.CCl4 was injected intraperitoneally to build rat liver fibrosis model.Oligo-peptide I-C-F-6 group and bifendate group were given subcutaneous injection of oligo-peptide I-C-F-6 (0.12μg/g) or bifendate (0.12μg/g). At the same time, normal control group and model group were giventhe same volume of saline for seven weeks. The levels ofALT, AST,MDA, SOD, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-α were tested.The histomorphology changes were observed under optical microscopeby HE, and the expressions of transforming growth TGF-β1 were determined by immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with model group, serum levels of ALT and AST were reduced evidently in oligo-peptide I-C-F-6 group. Hepatic content of MDA, IL-4 and TNF-α decreased, while SOD activity and IL-10 were found significantly increased. Liver fibrosis was ameliorated significantly. Hepatic expressions of TGF-β1 were weakly positive.Conclusion Oligo-peptide I-C-F-6 can ameliorate hepatocyte damage of model rats, thus it has anti-oxidative and anti-liver fibrosis effects on liver fibrosis in rats.

The objectives of this study were to: (a) examine the overall operating conditions of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the operational management attributes on the target based on IPA (importance performance analysis)(c) analyze the present status of donating management, and (d) suggest a direction based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of food banks in each part. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by a proportionate stratified random sampling method. A total of 60 government-dominant food banks and 25 non-governmental food banks were analyzed. The main results of this study were as follows: According to the Importance-Performance Analysis of operational management, "assistance for operating funds" and "deployment of experience staff" were placed at "Focus Here". There was a great shortage of experienced staff with food bank-specific knowledge. The average number of the government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program employees was 0.29 and 0.30 respectively, while the ratios of employees with other jobs were 0.96 and 0.83 respectively. Shortages of refrigeration facilities were an area that needs to be addressed. While 51.6% of donated food required cold storage, only 45% of government-dominant and 60% of non-governmental food bank programs had refrigeration facilities. Most of food bank operators (96.3%) were required to visit the donators' locations to pick up the donated foods. And the foods were distributed to the people in need, especially to the livelihood protectee.
Refrigeration

The purpose of this study was to examine the donators' characteristics and donative foods of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank program, to understand the problems and benefits of food bank program, and to find the solutions to activate food bank program. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 food bank operators and 3 donators were selected from each food bank for the survey from April 2002 to May 2002. 118 sheets (32.8%) from government-dominant food bank and 53 sheets (20.1%) from non-governmental food bank were collected. The main results of this study were as follows: The largest donators to either government-dominant or non-governmental food bank programs were bakery and confectionery companies 31.4% and 45.3% respectively. The majority of donated foods were "goods in stock" (55.6%) and frequency of donation were largely on a daily basis (27.1% for government-dominant and 22.6% for non-governmental). Some of the donators who had more donative food did not donate, and the reasons were closeness to expiration date of food (67.3%), lack of legal protection in the event of food poisoning (54.5%), and poor public image of food related accidents (52.3%).
Foodborne Diseases

BACKGROUND: The prognostic utility of cardiac biomarkers, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) and soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2), in non-cardiac surgery is not well-defined. We evaluated hs-cTnI and sST2 as predictors of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) following major non-cardiac surgery. METHODS: hs-cTnI and sST2 concentrations were measured in 175 SICU patients immediately following surgery and for three days postoperatively. The results were analyzed in relation to 30-day MACE and were compared with the revised Goldman cardiac risk index (RCRI) score. RESULTS: Overall, 30-day MACE was observed in 16 (9.1%) patients. hs-cTnI and sST2 concentrations differed significantly between the two groups with and without 30-day MACE (P < 0.05). The maximum concentration of sST2 was an independent predictor of 30-day MACE (odds ratio=1.016, P=0.008). The optimal cut-off values of hs-cTnI and sST2 for predicting 30-day MACE were 53.0 ng/L and 182.5 ng/mL, respectively. A combination of hs-cTnI and sST2 predicted 30-day MACE better than the RCRI score. Moreover, 30-day MACE was observed more frequently with increasing numbers of above-optimal cut-off hs-cTnI and sST2 values (P < 0.0001). Reclassification analyses indicated that the addition of biomarkers to RCRI scores improved the prediction of 30-day MACE. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the utility of hs-cTnI and sST2 in predicting 30-day MACE following non-cardiac surgery. Cardiac biomarkers would provide enhanced risk stratification in addition to clinical RCRI scores for patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery.
Biomarkers ; Critical Care* ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Troponin I* ; Troponin*

Objectives: This study examined the dietary characteristics and needs for community kitchens among young adults of single-person households in Seoul according to the cooking attitude. Methods: During April 2018, an online survey was conducted on young adults of singleperson households in their 20s and 30s residing in Seoul. The respondents were classified into the more positive cooking attitude group (More Positive Group; n=152, mean=4.11) and the less positive cooking attitude group (Less Positive Group; n=190, mean=3.03) based on the mean score (3.51) of the 4-item 5-point Likert scales measuring the cooking attitude. The responses of the two groups were compared. Results: Approximately 90% of the More Positive Group had the cooking ability to prepare ordinary meals or more advanced cooking skills, whereas only 61% of the Less Positive Group had such skills. Approximately a half of the More Positive Group cooked at home three times a week or more; only 30% of the Less Positive Group did so, and more than 30% of the group seldom cooked. The More Positive Group had higher mean scores in the levels of satisfaction with dietary life and care for food safety and nutrition than the Less Positive Group. Approximately 30% of all the respondents expressed their needs for community kitchens. The most frequently answered reason for such needs was “being able to have a meal with others”. Conclusions The young adults of single-person households with a more positive cooking attitude possessed a higher cooking ability, cooked more often, and cared more about food safety and nutrition than those with a less positive cooking attitude. There were moderate needs for community kitchens among young adults of single-person households living in Seoul. Therefore, societal efforts to improve their cooking attitude would be meaningful for improving their quality of dietary life. Cooking lessons or social dining programs based on community kitchens could be an option.

Traditional genetic counseling has focused on the target gene and its natural progress with respect to disease risk. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) can produce information on several genetic variants simultaneously, with different functions and consequences for each. Accordingly, determining the status of the patient or consultant and interpreting sequencing results from many genes can largely increase the complexity of genetic counseling. Moreover, the current environment of big data that can be readily shared via the internet and a ubiquitous network provides many different avenues for which a consultant must handle the traditional principle of genetic counseling in different ways. Thus, further consideration and rethinking of genetic counseling principles are necessary in the era of NGS. In this review, we discuss several aspects of genetic counseling that one can encounter when faced with NGS data.
Consultants ; Genetic Counseling* ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Internet

The objectives of this study were to (a) examine the users' characteristics of both government-dominant and non-governmental food bank programs, (b) understand the supporting quality of the food bank program, and (c) analyse the effectiveness of the programs from the users' perspectives. The random samples of 120 food bank operators were selected by proportionate stratified random sampling method and from each food bank, 3 users were selected for the survey. A total of 205 users were participated in this survey. The main results of this study were as follows; Average profile of food bank users were 58 year old, female, livelihood protectee (56.6%). Food assistance frequency were mostly once a week (34.1%), and everyday (22.4%). The survey also showed that non-governmental food banks delivered the food directly to the 42.7% of users, otherwise the users of government-dominant ones went to the food bank to receive the foods. Most of the donated foods were cooked food (50.0%), and the users also wanted to receive that kinds of food. Saving food expenses (55.6%) and overcoming hunger (16.6%) were found as the effectiveness to the users.
Female ; Food Assistance ; Humans ; Hunger ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND: Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) has emerged as a novel biomarker for heart failure, and serum sST2 concentrations could be increased in inflammatory diseases. We explored whether sST2 is related to cardiac dysfunction/failure and has a prognostic role in patients with suspected sepsis. METHODS: In a total of 397 patients with suspected sepsis, sST2 concentrations were measured by using the Presage ST2 Assay (Critical Diagnostics, USA). sST2 concentrations were analyzed according to procalcitonin (PCT) concentrations, cardiovascular subscores of the sepsis-related organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: sST2 concentrations were increased significantly according to the five groups of PCT concentrations and cardiovascular subscores of the SOFA score (P<0.000001 and P=0.036, respectively). In-hospital mortality was significantly higher among patients with sST2 concentrations above 35 ng/mL (P=0.0213) and among patients with increased concentrations of both sST2 and PCT (P=0.0028). CONCLUSIONS: sST2 seems to be related to both cardiac dysfunction/failure and severity in sepsis. Measurement of sST2 and PCT in combination would be useful for risk stratification and prognosis prediction in patients with suspected sepsis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers/blood ; Calcitonin/blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Interleukin-1 Receptor-Like 1 Protein/*blood ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Sepsis/*diagnosis/mortality/pathology ; Young Adult

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is usually a reversible clinical and radiological entity associated with typical features on brain MR or CT imaging. However, the not-so-uncommon atypical radiological presentations of the condition are also present and they may go unrecognised as they are confused with other conditions. Here, we report a very rare case of atypical, unilateral PRES in a 49-year-old uremic, post-transplant female patient who presented with seizures. Initial MRI showed high-grade occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) and lesions suggestive of subacute infarction in the ipsilateral frontotemporoparietal lobe. Patient symptoms had resolved a day after the onset without any specific treatment but early follow-up CT findings suggested hemorrhagic transformation. Follow-up MRI performed 2 years later showed complete disappearence of the lesions and persisting MCA occlusion.
Acute Kidney Injury/complications ; Brain/radiography ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery/diagnosis/radiography ; Lung Transplantation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome/complications/*diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (sST2) has emerged as a biomarker of cardiac stretch or remodeling, and has demonstrated a role in acutely decompensated heart failure. However, its role in sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction is still unknown. We explored whether sST2 serum concentration reflects either systolic or diastolic dysfunction as measured by Doppler echocardiography. In a total of 127 patients with sepsis, correlations between sST2 and blood pressure, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, LV diastolic filling (ratio of early transmitral flow velocity to early diastolic mitral annulus velocity), and resting pulmonary arterial pressure were evaluated. Correlations between sST2 and other sepsis biomarkers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] and procalcitonin) were also examined. sST2 showed a moderate correlation with mean arterial pressure (r=-0.3499) but no correlation with LV ejection fraction, diastolic filling, or resting pulmonary hypertension. It showed moderate correlations with hs-CRP and procalcitonin (r=0.2608 and r=0.3829, respectively). sST2 might have a role as a biomarker of shock or inflammation, but it cannot reflect echocardiographic findings of LV ejection fraction or diastolic filling in sepsis.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Biomarkers/blood ; Blood Pressure/physiology ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis ; Calcitonin/blood ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Female ; Humans ; Interleukin-1 Receptor-Like 1 Protein/*blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sepsis/diagnostic imaging/metabolism/*physiopathology ; Ventricular Function, Left/physiology