PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop a Korean version of Night Eating Questionnaire (KNEQ) and test its psychometric properties and evaluate items according to item response theory. METHODS: The 14-item NEQ as a measure of severity of the night eating syndrome was translated into Korean, and then this KNEQ was evaluated. A total of 1171 participants aged 20 to 50 completed the KNEQ on the Internet. To test reliability and validity, Cronbach's alpha, correlation, simple regression, and factor analysis were used. Each item was analyzed according to Rasch-Andrich rating scale model and item difficulty, discrimination, infit/outfit, and point measure correlation were evaluated. RESULTS: Construct validity was evident. Cronbach's alpha was .78. The items of evening hyperphagia and nocturnal ingestion showed high ability in discriminating people with night eating syndrome, while items of morning anorexia and mood/sleep provided relatively little information. The results of item analysis showed that item2 and item7 needed to be revised to improve the reliability of KNEQ. CONCLUSION: KNEQ is an appropriate instrument to measure severity of night eating syndrome with good validity and reliability. However, further studies are needed to find cut-off scores to screen persons with night eating syndrome.
Adult ; Anorexia/etiology ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Feeding and Eating Disorders/*psychology ; Humans ; Internet ; Middle Aged ; *Program Evaluation ; *Psychometrics ; Republic of Korea ; Self Report ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Translating ; Young Adult

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of drug use & the health-related habits(alcohol drinking, smoking and exercise) on the nutritional status of elderly. subjects were 362 free-living elderly aged over 65(male 131, female 231) in Chungbuk area. Interviews with questionaire on drug use, health-related habits, and nutrient intakes, anthropometric measurement and biochemical blood test were carried out from August to October in 1996. Energy intakes of the males who used drug were lower than those of males who did not use any drug, while energy intakes of the females who used drug were higher than those of females who did not. In biochemical indices, LDL-cholesterol level of the males who used drug was higher than that of males who did not have drug. serum triglycerides, VLDL-cholesterol and obesity degree(BMI & TS) of the females who used drug were higher than those of females who did not have drug. Alcohol drinking, smoking and exercise habits of the elderly who used drug had little effects on the nutrient intakes while those habits had considerable effects on biochemical indices and obesity degree. Among drug users, male drinkers showed higher triglycerides & HDL-cholesterol level, and female drinkers showed higher triglycerides and lower total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol level, compared to non drinkers. Among female drug users, smokers showed lower body mass index(BMI) compared to non smokers. Males and females who had both drinking and smoking habits showed higher serum triglycerides and VLDL-cholesterol level. Especially females who had both drinking and smoking habits showed lower BMI & Tricep skinfold thickness compared to those who had netiher drinking nor smoking habits.
Aged* ; Alcohol Drinking ; Cholesterol ; Chungcheongbuk-do* ; Drinking* ; Drug Users ; Female ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Male ; Nutritional Status* ; Obesity ; Skinfold Thickness ; Smoke ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products* ; Triglycerides

The nutritional status of 362 elderly men and women in Chung-bud area was evaluated in terms of their nutrient intakes, biochemical and anthrophometric measurements by interviews with questionnaires from August to October 1996. Mean intake of all nutrients except ascorbic acid did not meet the RDA for this sample. Protein, vit A, reboflavin, calcium were the most likely to be deficient on the basis of propotions of elderly consuming less than 75% of the RDA. The subjects nutrient intake was significantly affected by gender, marital status, number of family, family composition, educational level, pocket money, and region. Men in rural areas and women over 75 in urban areas were the most vulnerable groups with nutritional deficiency. According to serum biochemical indices, mean level of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, total protein, albumin and iron belonged to normal range but mean level of HDL showed below the normal range. More elderly men and women in urban areas showed a higher percentage of abormal level of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and HDL than those in rural areas. More elderly men and women in rural areas had abnormal levels of RBC, Hematocrit and hemoglobin compared to those in urban areas. Mean height and weight of elderly men was 161.4cm and 56.2Kg, respectively and 149.1cm and 50.5kg for women. The elderly in rural areas were taller than those in urban areas but had less weight, MAC, TSF, MAMC. Mean BMI of this sample belonged to normal range. However, the elderly in rural areas had a higher rate of underweight and lower for overweight than those in urban areas. The elderly in urban areas had higher blood pressure than those in rural areas.
Aged* ; Ascorbic Acid ; Blood Pressure ; Calcium ; Cholesterol ; Female ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Iron ; Male ; Malnutrition ; Marital Status ; Nutritional Status* ; Overweight ; Reference Values ; Thinness ; Triglycerides ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Three hundred sixty-two(male 131, female 231) elderly aged over 65 in Chungbuk area were interviewed to determine the disease states and drug usage patterns. The prebalence of disease was 78% and women reported more chronic diseases(83%) than men(71%). Elderly who live with spouse and have an occupation have a lower rate of disease. Average number of diseases of the elderly was 1.8+/-1.1, and women(2.1+/-1.3) have significantly higher average number of diseases than that of men(1.4+/-0.7). Also the elderly in urban areas(2.1+/-1.4) have significantly higher number of diseases than that of the elderly in rural areas(1.6+/-0.9). Arthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular and gastric diseases were the most frequently listed chronic diseases in order for both men and women. Anemia and fracture of bone were relatively higher in women than in men. Particularly, the arthritis of the urban elderly have a rate of 1.5 times higher than that of the rural elderly. Fifty-two percent of the elderly were currently using drugs ; among drug users 71.2% used prescription drugs and 20.5% used nonprescription drugs. The average number taken per person was 2.1+/-1.4 and there was no sex or age difference. However, the elderly in rural areas (2.7+/-1.7) consumed a significantly higher number of drugs than those in urban areas(1.7+/-0.7). The average number of prescription drugs taken was 2.0+/-1.4 while the average of nonprescription drugs taken was 1.3+/-0.6. Analgesics and antihypertensive drugs were most commonly used. Vitamin and analgesics were the most frequently used self-prescribed drugs. It was noted that potential adverse drug interaction by concominant drug consumption for arthritis and antihypensive drug, abuse of digestants and antiacid without treatment of the underlying disease, and misuse of quick-acting bowel medications were problematic for the elderly. In addition drugs used for the elderly have some adverse effect on the digestive system. The types and composition of drugs used by the elderly were identified and presented. Medication compliance was poor and 13.5% reported adverse reactions such as edema, heartburn, nausea, and difficulty with eating. Seventeen percent of the elderly obtained drugs arranged by those other than medical staff. Also, even among those elderly who obtained drugs prescribed by a doctor, 69.1% of subjects had not receive instruction about potential adverse reactions. These results suggest that nutritional problems related to drug usage might exist and so dietitians, either individually or as members of health teams, need to have a better understanding of drug-nutrient interaction and closer supervision, and drug information/education service should therefore be provided to prevent or minimize adverse drug reaction in elderly users of medication.
Aged* ; Analgesics ; Anemia ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Arthritis ; Chronic Disease ; Chungcheongbuk-do ; Digestive System ; Drug Interactions ; Drug Users ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Eating ; Edema ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Agents ; Heartburn ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Medical Staff ; Medication Adherence ; Nausea ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Nutritional Status* ; Nutritionists ; Occupations ; Organization and Administration ; Prescription Drugs ; Spouses ; Stomach Diseases ; Vitamins

BACKGROUND: Withania somnifera (known as Ashwagandha) is a medicinal plant used in the ayurvedic medicines in India. Withaferin-A, a withanolide derived from the leaf extract of W. somnifera, has been reported to exhibit anti-tumor activity against various cancer cells, such as leukemia, breast cancer and colon cancer cells. METHODS: We investigated the anti-cancer effects of withaferin-A on the proliferation and migration of human colorectal cancer (HCT116) cells. And we evaluated the effects of withaferin-A on the transcriptional activity of STAT3 and the growth of HCT116 cells in xenograft mouse tumor model. RESULTS: In the present study, we found that withaferin-A inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCT116 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Treatment of HCT116 cells with withaferin-A attenuated interleukin-6-induced activation of STAT3, which has been implicated in the development and progression of colon cancer. To examine the effect of withaferin-A on HCT116 cells proliferation in vivo, we generated HCT116 cells xenograft tumors in Balb/c nude mice and treated the tumor bearing mice with or without withaferin-A intraperitoneally. Treatment with withaferin-A exhibited significant decrease in the volume and weight of tumors as compared to untreated controls. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that withaferin-A holds the potential to be developed as a small molecule inhibitor of STAT3 for the treatment of HCT116.
Animals ; Breast Neoplasms ; Colon* ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; HCT116 Cells ; Heterografts ; Humans ; India ; Leukemia ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Plants, Medicinal ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; Withania

BACKGROUND: Recent genome-wide sequencing studies have identified unexpected genetic alterations in cancer. In particular, missense mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) at arginine 132, mostly substituted into histidine (IDH1-R132H) were observed to frequently occur in glioma patients. METHODS: We have purified recombinant IDH1 and IDH1-R132H proteins and monitored their catalytic activities. In parallel experiments, we have attempted to find new selective IDH1-R132H chemical inhibitor(s) from a fragment-based chemical library. RESULTS: We have found that IDH1, but not IDH1-R132H, can catalyze the conversion of isocitrate into alpha-ketoglutarate (alpha-KG). In addition, we have observed that IDH1-R132H was more efficient than IDH1 in converting alpha-KG into (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate (R-2HG). Moreover, we have identified a new hit molecule, e.g., 2-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)isothioazol-3(2H)-one as a new selective IDH1-R132H inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: We have observed an underlying biochemical mechanism explaining how a heterozygous IDH1 mutation contributes to the generation of R-2HG and increases cellular histone H3 trimethylation levels. We have also identified a novel selective IDH1-R132H chemical hit molecule, e.g., 2-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)isothioazol-3(2H)-one, which could be used for a future lead development against IDH1-R132H.
Arginine ; Glioma ; Histidine ; Histones ; Humans ; Mutation, Missense

An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis was reported from a kindergarten on January 5, 2018 and investigation was conducted. A case was defined as a kindergartener presented with vomiting or diarrhea twice a day between January 1 and January 5, 2018. All kindergarteners were interviewed to identify the factor associated with case development. Fifteen (31.3%) children of a total of 48 were identified as cases, and four were confirmed to be Group II, Norovirus positive. In our study, based on the pattern of epidemic curve and different attack rate by classroom in a kindergarten, Norovirus was likely transmitted from human to human.

3-Deoxysappanchalcone (3-DSC) has been reported to possess anti-allergic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. In the present study, we investigated the effects of 3-DSC on the proliferation of human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HDPCs) and mouse hair growth in vivo. A real-time cell analyzer system, luciferase assay, Western blot and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed to measure the biochemical changes occurring in HDPCs in response to 3-DSC treatment. The effect of 3-DSC on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice was also examined. 3-DSC promoted the proliferation of HDPCs, similar to Tofacitinib, an inhibitor of janus-activated kinase (JAK). 3-DSC promoted phosphorylation of β-catenin and transcriptional activation of the T-cell factor. In addition, 3-DSC potentiated interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced phosphorylation and subsequent transactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3), thereby increasing the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (Cdk4), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). On the contrary, 3-DSC attenuated STAT6 mRNA expression and IL4-induced STAT6 phosphorylation in HDPCs. Finally, we observed that topical application of 3-DSC promoted the anagen phase of hair growth in C57BL/6 mice. 3-DSC stimulates hair growth possibly by inducing proliferation of follicular dermal papilla cells via modulation of WNT/β-catenin and STAT signaling.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; Hair Follicle* ; Hair* ; Humans* ; Interleukin-6 ; Luciferases ; Mice* ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; T-Lymphocytes ; Transcriptional Activation ; Transducers ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

BACKGROUND: Many inflammatory mediators, including various cytokines (e.g. interleukins and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]), inflammatory proteases, and histamine are released following mast cell activation. However, the endogenous modulators for mast cell activation and the underlying mechanism have yet to be elucidated. Endogenous cannabinoids such as palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide or AEA), were found in peripheral tissues and have been proposed to possess autacoid activity, implying that cannabinoids may downregulate mast cell activation and local inflammation. OBJECTIVE: In order to investigate the effect of cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1R) agonists on mast cell activation, AEA-derived compounds were newly synthesized and evaluated for their effect on mast cell activation. METHODS: The effects of selected compounds on FcepsilonRI-induced histamine and beta-hexosaminidase release were evaluated in a rat basophilic leukemia cell line (RBL-2H3). To further investigate the inhibitory effects of CB1R agonist in vivo, an oxazolone-induced atopic dermatitis mouse model was exploited. RESULTS: We found that CB1R inhibited the release of inflammatory mediators without causing cytotoxicity in RBL-2H3 cells and that CB1R agonists markedly and dose-dependently suppressed mast cell proliferation indicating that CB1R plays an important role in modulating antigen-dependent immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated mast cell activation. We also found that topical application of CB1R agonists suppressed the recruitment of mast cells into the skin and reduced the level of blood histamine. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that CB1R agonists down-regulate mast cell activation and may be used for relieving inflammatory symptoms mediated by mast cell activation, such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and contact dermatitis.
Animals ; Basophils ; beta-N-Acetylhexosaminidases ; Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists ; Cannabinoids ; Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Histamine ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulins ; Inflammation ; Interleukins ; Leukemia ; Mast Cells* ; Mice ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Psoriasis ; Rats ; Skin ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy is known to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. The purposes of this study were to investigate the awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid supplements along with their associated factors among non-pregnant Korean women of childbearing age. SUBJECTS/METHODS: From August 2012 to March 2013, 704 women aged 19–45 years completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding their awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid as well as questions to identify risk of inadequate folate intake. RESULTS: Approximately 67% of women reported that they had heard of folic acid, and 23.7% had knowledge of both the role of folic acid in preventing birth defects and appropriate time for taking folic acid supplements to prevent birth defects. However, only 9.4% of women took folic acid supplements at the time of the survey. Women aged 19–24 years, unmarried women, and women who had never been pregnant were less likely to be aware and knowledgeable of folic acid or take folic acid supplements. In addition, women at high risk of inadequate folate intake were less likely to take folic acid supplements. In a multivariate analysis, women aged 19–24 years, women with a high school diploma or lower education level, and unmarried women were less likely to be aware and have knowledge of folic acid. The percentage of women taking folic acid supplements was significantly higher among knowledgeable women than among unknowledgeable women. CONCLUSIONS: These results support our hypothesis that women with knowledge of folic acid are more likely to take folic acid supplements. Therefore, educational programs or campaigns to improve knowledge regarding the importance of folic acid and to promote consumption of folic acid supplements as well as folate-rich foods are needed to target young, less educated, and unmarried women.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Dietary Supplements ; Education ; Female ; Folic Acid ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neural Tube Defects ; Pregnancy ; Single Person