There are limited data on the impact of diabetes control on the risk of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.

The objective of this study was to describe a radiofrequency (RF) coil design for in vivo sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for use in small animals. Accumulating evidence has indicated the importance and potential of sodium imaging with improved magnet strength (> 7T), faster gradient, better hardware, multi-nucleus imaging methods, and optimal coil design for patient and animal studies. Thus, we developed a saddle-shaped sodium volume coil with a diameter/length of 30/30 mm. To evaluate the efficiency of this coil, bench-level measurement was performed. Unloaded Q value, loaded Q value, and ratio of these two values were estimated to be 352.8, 211.18, and 1.67, respectively. Thereafter, in vivo acquisition of sodium images was performed using normal mice (12 weeks old; n = 5) with a two-dimensional gradient echo sequence and minimized echo time to increase spatial resolution of images. Sodium signal-to-noise ratio in mouse kidneys (renal cortex, medulla, and pelvis) was measured. We successfully acquired sodium MR images of the mouse kidney with high spatial resolution (approximately 0.625 mm) through a combination of sodium-proton coils.
Animals ; Humans ; Kidney ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mice ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Sodium

OBJECTIVE: Productivity loss was compared by 3-stage of disease activity and associations between higher disease activity and high productivity loss were identified. METHODS: Data were extracted from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Patient-reported Outcomes Research, which enrolled 2,000 RA patients (>20-year) on disease-modifying-antirheumatic-drugs (DMARDs) (≥6-month) from December 2012 to June 2013. This included 1,457 RA patients with the disease activity score (DAS-28-ESR) in their medical charts. Productivity loss in time and indirect cost was estimated using The World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ). Baseline characteristics and productivity loss outcomes were compared according to DAS-28-ESR groups. RESULTS: 84.4% were females, 54.2% had low DAS-28-ESR ( < 3.2), and 38.2% and 7.6% had moderate (3.2∼5.1) and high DAS-28-ESR (>5.1). Patients with moderate to high DAS-28-ESR had higher lost productivity time (LPT) and monthly costs of LPT than those with low DAS-28-ESR (time in hours: 110.0±58.4 vs. 132.4±57.2 vs. 71.5±52.0, p < 0.0001; monthly costs of LPT in 1,000 Korean won: 1,097±607 vs. 1,302±554 vs. 741±531, p < 0.0001). Multiple regression analyses revealed significant associations with high LPT in high (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=3.87, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.18∼6.87) and moderate DAS-28-ESR (adjusted OR=1.88, 95% CI: 1.41∼2.52) compared to low DAS-28-ESR. In addition, positive associations with high monthly costs of LPT were observed in high (adjusted OR=3.45, 95% CI: 1.98∼5.99) and moderate DAS-28-ESR (adjusted OR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.43∼2.54) compared to low DAS-28-ESR. CONCLUSION: Timely therapeutic strategies should be taken into consideration given that the RA patients with moderate to high DAS-28-ESR showed strong associations with high productivity loss for effective management of RA.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Efficiency* ; Female ; Humans ; Odds Ratio ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Work Performance ; World Health Organization

Obesity, an intractable metabolic disease, currently has no medical treatment without side effects, so studies have been actively carried out to find natural compounds that have anti-obesity activity with minimum side effects. In this study, the anti-obesity effects of water extracts of seven Capsicum annuum L. varieties being Putgochu (Pca), Oyee gochu (Oca), Kwari putgochu (Kca), Green pepper (Gca), Yellow paprika (Yca), Red paprika (Rca) and Cheongyang gochu (Cca), were examined through the evaluation of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mRNA expression level in 3T3-L1 cells (mouse pre-adipocytes). After capsaicin elimination by chloroform defatting, freeze-dried powder of Cca was treated to 3T3-L1 cells and anti-obesity effects were examined by determining the LPL mRNA level using the RT-PCR method. Of the primary fractions, only proven fractions underwent secondary and tertiary refractionating to determine anti-obesity effects. From seven different Capsicum annuum L., there was a significant decrease of the LPL mRNA expression level of 50.9% in Cca treatment compared to the control group. A significant decrease of the LPL mRNA expression level was shown in primary fractions (Fr) 5 (36.2% decrease) and 6 (30.5% decrease) of the Cca water extracts. Due to the impurities checked by UPLC chromatography, Fr 5 and 6 were refractionated to determine the LPL mRNA expression level. Treatment of Fr 6-6 (35.8% decrease) and Fr 5-6 (35.3% decrease) showed a significant decrease in the LPL mRNA expression level. When analyzed using UPLC, major compounds of Fr 6-6 and Fr 5-6 were very similar. Subsequently, we refractionated Fr 6-6 and Fr 5-6 to isolate the major peak for structure elucidation. Treatment of Fr 5-6-1 (26.6% decrease) and Fr 6-6-1 (29.7% decrease) showed a significant decrease in the LPL mRNA expression level. Consequently, the fractions may have a possibility to ameliorate obesity through the decrease of the LPL mRNA expression level.
3T3-L1 Cells ; Capsaicin ; Capsicum ; Chloroform ; Chromatography ; Lipoprotein Lipase ; Lipoproteins ; Metabolic Diseases ; Obesity ; RNA, Messenger ; Water

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a premalignant condition. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between endoscopic and histological findings of IM. METHODS: The cases of IM were graded by conventional endoscopy, and biopsies were taken from the antrum and body of 1,333 subjects for histological IM diagnosis. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify the factors that affect the sensitivity of endoscopic IM diagnosis. RESULTS: The sensitivity/specificity of endoscopic IM diagnosis based on histology was 24.0%/91.9% for the antrum and 24.2%/88.0% for the body. As indicated by multivariate analysis, the presence of endoscopic atrophic gastritis (AG) (odds ratio [OR], 4.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.07 to 10.79) and the activity of mucosal inflammation (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.08 to 4.54) were associated with the sensitivity of endoscopic IM diagnosis in the antrum, while the presence of endoscopic AG (OR, 8.02; 95% CI, 4.55 to 14.15), dysplasia (OR, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.07 to 5.39), and benign gastric ulcers (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.081) were associated with the sensitivity of endoscopic IM diagnosis in the body. CONCLUSIONS: As the sensitivity of endoscopic IM diagnosis was low, a high index of suspicion for IM is necessary in the presence of atrophy, and confirmation by histology is also necessary.
Atrophy ; Biopsy ; Endoscopy ; Gastritis, Atrophic ; Inflammation ; Metaplasia ; Multivariate Analysis ; Stomach Ulcer

PURPOSE: This study compared the effect of three intraoral repair systems on the bond strength between composite resin and zirconia core. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty zirconia specimens were divided into three groups according to the repair method: Group I- CoJet(TM) Repair System (3M ESPE) [chairside silica coating with 30 microm SiO2 + silanization + adhesive]; Group II- Ceramic Repair System (Ivoclar Vivadent) [etching with 37% phosphoric acid + Zirconia primer + adhesive]; Group III- Signum Zirconia Bond (Heraus) [Signum Zirconia Bond I + Signum Zirconia Bond II]. Composite resin was polymerized on each conditioned specimen. The shear bond strength was tested using a universal testing machine, and fracture sites were examined with FE-SEM. Surface morphology and wettability after surface treatments were examined additionally. The data of bond strengths were statistically analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tamhane post hoc test (alpha=.05). RESULTS: Increased surface roughness and the highest wettability value were observed in the CoJet sand treated specimens. The specimens treated with 37% phosphoric acid and Signum Zirconia Bond I did not show any improvement of surface irregularity, and the lowest wettability value were found in 37% phosphoric acid treated specimens. There was no significant difference in the bond strengths between Group I (7.80 +/- 0.76 MPa) and III (8.98 +/- 1.39 MPa). Group II (3.21 +/- 0.78 MPa) showed a significant difference from other groups (P<.05). CONCLUSION: The use of Intraoral silica coating system and the application of Signum Zirconia Bond are effective for increasing the bond strength of composite resin to zirconia.
Ceramics ; Collodion ; Phosphoric Acids ; Polymers ; Silicon Dioxide ; Wettability ; Zirconium

The purpose of this study is to quantitate regional neurochemical profile of regional normal adult mice brain and assess regional metabolic differences by using ex vivo 1H high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H HR-MAS NMRS). The animals were matched in sex and age. The collected brain tissue included frontal cortex, temporal cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. Quantitative 1D spectra were acquired on 40 samples with the CPMG pulse sequence (8 kHz spectral window, TR/TE = 5500/2.2 ms, NEX = 128, scan time: 17 min 20 sec). The mass of brain tissue and D2O+TSP solvent were 8~14 mg and 7~13 mg. A total of 16 metabolites were quantified as follow: Acet, NAA, NAAG, tCr, Cr, tCho, Cho, GPC + PC, mIns, Lac, GABA, Glu, Gln, Tau and Ala. As a results, Acet, Cho, NAA, NAAG and mIns were showed significantly different aspects on frontal cortex, hippocampus, temporal cortex and thalamus respectively. The present study demonstrated that absolute metabolite concentrations were significantly different among four brain regions of adult mice. Our finding might be helpful to investigate brain metabolism of neuro-disease in animal model.
Adult ; Animals ; Brain ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Magic ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Mice ; Models, Animal ; Spectrum Analysis ; Thalamus

The purpose of this study was to confirm the exactitude of in vitro nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMRS) and to complement the defect of in vivo NMRS. It has been difficult to understand the metabolism of a cerebellum using in vivo NMRS owing to the generated inhomogeneity of magnetic fields (B0 and B1 field) by the complexity of the cerebellum structure. Thus, this study tried to more exactly analyze the metabolism of a canine cerebellum using the cell extraction and high resolution NMRS. In order to conduct the absolute metabolic quantification in a canine cerebellum, the spectrum of our phantom included in various brain metabolites (i.e., NAA, Cr, Cho, Ins, Lac, GABA, Glu, Gln, Tau and Ala) was obtained. The canine cerebellum tissue was extracted using the methanol-chloroform water extraction (M/C extraction) and one group was filtered and the other group was not under extract processing. Finally, NMRS of a phantom solution and two extract solution (90% D2O) was progressed using a 500MHz (11.4 T) NMR machine. Filtering a solution of the tissue extract increased the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The metabolic concentrations of a canine cerebellum were more close to rat's metabolic concentration than human's metabolic concentration. The present study demonstrates the absolute quantification technique in vitro high resolution NMRS with tissue extraction as the method to accurately measure metabolite concentration.
Brain ; Cerebellum ; Complement System Proteins ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Magnetic Fields ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Protons ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Spectrum Analysis ; Water

PURPOSE: To investigate the 3-bond and spatial connectivity of human brain metabolites by scalar coupling and dipolar nuclear Overhauser effect/enhancement (NOE) interaction through 2D- correlation spectroscopy (COSY) and 2D- NOE spectroscopy (NOESY) techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All 2D experiments were performed on Bruker Avance 500 (11.8 T) with the zshield gradient triple resonance cryoprobe at 298 K. Human brain metabolites were prepared with 10% D2O. Two-dimensional spectra with 2048 data points contains 320 free induction decay (FID) averaging. Repetition delay was 2 sec. The Top Spin 2.0 software was used for post-processing. Total 7 metabolites such as N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho), glutamine (Gln), glutamate (Glu), myo-inositol (Ins), and lactate (Lac) were included for major target metabolites. RESULTS: Symmetrical 2D-COSY and 2D-NOESY spectra were successfully acquired: COSY cross peaks were observed in the only 1.0-4.5 ppm, however, NOESY cross peaks were observed in the 1.0-4.5 ppm and 7.9 ppm. From the result of the 2-D COSY data, cross peaks between the methyl protons (CH3(3)) at 1.33 ppm and methine proton (CH(2)) at 4.11 ppm were observed in Lac. Cross peaks between the methylene protons (CH2(3,H alpha)) at 2.50ppm and methylene protons (CH2,(3,HB)) at 2.70 ppm were observed in NAA. Cross peaks between the methine proton (CH(5)) at 3.27 ppm and the methine proton (CH(4,6)) at 3.59 ppm, between the methine proton (CH(1,3)) at 3.53 ppm and methine proton (CH(4,6)) at 3.59 ppm, and between the methine proton (CH(1,3)) at 3.53 ppm and methine proton (CH(2)) at 4.05 ppm were observed in Ins. From the result of 2-D NOESY data, cross peaks between the NH proton at 8.00 ppm and methyl protons (CH3) were observed in NAA. Cross peaks between the methyl protons (CH3(3)) at 1.33 ppm and methine proton (CH(2)) at 4.11 ppm were observed in Lac. Cross peaks between the methyl protons (CH3) at 3.03 ppm and methylene protons (CH2) at 3.93 ppm were observed in Cr. Cross peaks between the methylene protons (CH2(3)) at 2.11 ppm and methylene protons (CH2(4)) at 2.35 ppm, and between the methylene protons(CH2 (3)) at 2.11 ppm and methine proton (CH(2)) at 3.76 ppm were observed in Glu. Cross peaks between the methylene protons (CH2 (3)) at 2.14 ppm and methine proton (CH(2)) at 3.79 ppm were observed in Gln. Cross peaks between the methine proton (CH(5)) at 3.27 ppm and the methine proton (CH(4,6)) at 3.59 ppm, and between the methine proton (CH(1,3)) at 3.53 ppm and methine proton (CH(2)) at 4.05 ppm were observed in Ins. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that in vitro 2D-COSY and NOESY represented the 3-bond and spatial connectivity of human brain metabolites by scalar coupling and dipolar NOE interaction. This study could aid in better understanding the interactions between human brain metabolites in vivo 2DCOSY study.
Aspartic Acid ; Brain ; Choline ; Creatine ; Glutamic Acid ; Glutamine ; Humans ; Lactic Acid ; Protons ; Spectrum Analysis

The object of this study is to measure the transit time and passage rate of capsule endoscopy (CE) in the gastrointestinal tract in medium sized beagle dogs (7~13 kg). Animals were divided into four groups: only capsule (group 1, n=10), capsule+water (group 2, n=10), mettoclopramide+capsule (group 3, n=10), metoclopramide +capsule+water (group 4, n=10). The capsule transit times through the stomach and small bowel were evaluated by radiography findings. Gastric transit time (GTT), small intestinal transit time (SITT) and complete passage rate were measured in four groups. GTT's for each group were as follows; 45+/-20 min (group 1), 117+/-35 min (group 2), 150+/-40 min (group 3), and 154+/-65 min (group 4), while SITT's were 75+/-20 min (group 1), 195+/-55 min (group 2), 70+/-15 min (group 3), and 76+/-15 min (group 4). The complete passage rates were 20% (group 1), 40% (group 2), 20% (group 3), 50% (group 4). In all groups, if CE could pass through the pylorus, it passed all small intestinal tracts within 8 hours (battery life). Administration of water helped CE to pass pylori, except in case of metoclopramide administration. These results indicate that CE could be an useful tool for examining gastrointestinal diseases in the veterinary medicine.
Animals ; Capsule Endoscopy ; Dogs ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Gastrointestinal Transit ; Metoclopramide ; Pylorus ; Stomach ; Veterinary Medicine ; Water