Actinidia arguta, also called as kiwiberry or hardy kiwifruit, is one of the major varieties of kiwi plants. It is small in size and has no hairs on the surface, which making it easy to be consumed. In addition, it can be cultivated in Asia, due to its cold resistance. We have been interested in the beneficial effects of the fruits of A. arguta and investigated the constituents and biological activities. A new triterpenoid, argutinic acid, along with three triterpenoids and three megastigmines were isolated from the fruits of A. arguta. The structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis including NMR, MS, UV and IR. Among the isolated compounds, two triterpenes, argutinic acid (1) and usrolic acid (4) showed α-glucosidase inhibitory activities.

Objective: Little has been explored about a reflection towards self-image in schizophrenia, though it can be related to heterogeneous symptoms of the illness. We identified the neural basis of ambivalence towards ideal self-image in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls underwent functional MRI while the self-image reflection tasks of determining whether to agree with sentences describing their actual or ideal self-image that contained one of the adjective pairs with opposite valence. The interaction between the group and ideal ambivalence score was examined, and group differences in functional connectivity related to ambivalence towards ideal self-image were further studied. Results: The interaction of group-by-ideal ambivalence score was shown in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, where activities were positively correlated with the level of ideal self-image ambivalence in patients, but not in controls. Task-related decrease in functional connectivity was shown between the orbitofrontal cortex and cerebellum in patients. Conclusion The process of reflecting on ambivalent ideal self-image in schizophrenia may be related to aberrant prefrontal activity and connectivity. Abnormality in the prefrontal regions that take part in cognitive conflict monitoring and value judgment may underlie the pathophysiology of increased ambivalence towards ideal self-image.

We report 17 patients with human granulocytic anaplasmosis between January 2015 and September 2018 at two tertiary university hospitals in Korea. Monthly incidence peaked in May and June. Among these patients, we identified three who were co-infected with scrub typhus, and one patient with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.
Anaplasmosis ; Animals ; Coinfection ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Scrub Typhus

The usage of wild ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has been limited due to short supply and high price. Therefore, sufficient production as well as efficient extraction of mountain ginseng are required for the development as products. In this study, wild ginseng adventitious root cultures were prepared for efficient production with advantages of fast growth and stable production. Treatment of methyl jasmonate (MJ) to wild ginseng adventitious root cultures increased the extraction yield and antioxidative activity. Further investigation on effect of extraction conditions suggested the importance of ethanol concentration on antioxidative activity and extraction yield of MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root cultures. Optimized extraction condition of MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root cultures for maximum extraction yield and antioxidative activity was determined using response surface methodology with three-level-three-factor Box-Behnken design (BBD). Extraction of 1 g MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root culture with 30 ml of 9% ethanol at 30 ℃ produced 310.2 mg extract with 71.0% antioxidative activity at 100 µg/ml. Taken together, MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root culture is valuable source for wild ginseng usage and optimized extraction condition can be used for the development of functional products or folk remedies.
Ethanol ; Medicine, Traditional ; Panax

OBJECTIVES: Ambivalence of self-image is considered to be important in patients with schizophrenia since impairment of self-referential processing and increment in ambivalence are illness-related symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate quantitative and qualitative properties of ambivalence of self-image in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Twenty patients with schizophrenia and 20 normal controls performed a set of 'self-image reflection task' and then the level of ambivalence towards actual and ideal self-image were numerically scored. Ambivalence scores were compared between groups and correlation analyses with psychometric scales were done in each group. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia had higher level of ambivalence towards both actual and ideal self-image (p<0.001). Normal controls showed significant correlations with the scales representing level of self-concept clarity (r=-0.480, p=0.033), depression (r=0.479, p=0.033), and self-esteem (r=-0.555, p=0.011 ; R=-0.600, p=0.005) while the patients did not. CONCLUSION: Ambivalence towards one's self-image is more intense in patients with schizophrenia. This symptom may be considered to exist as an independent symptom in schizophrenia.
Depression ; Humans ; Psychometrics ; Schizophrenia* ; Weights and Measures

PURPOSE: This research was done to identify the hospital arrival rate and factors related to prehospital delay in arriving at an emergency medical center within the golden time after symptom onset in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: Data used in the research was from the National Emergency Department Information System of the National Emergency Medical Center which reported that in 2014, 9,611 patients went to emergency medical centers for acute myocardial infarction. Prehospital time is the time from onset to arrival at an emergency medical center and is analyzed by subdividing arrival and delay based on golden time of 2 hour. RESULTS: After onset of acute myocardial infarction, arrival rate to emergency medical centers within the golden time was 44.0%(4,233), and factors related to prehospital delay were gender, age, region of residence, symptoms, path to hospital visit, and method of transportation. CONCLUSION: Results of this study show that in 2014 more than half of AMI patients arrive at emergency medical centers after the golden time for proper treatment of AMI. In order to reduce prehospital delay, new policy that reflects factors influencing prehospital delay should be developed. Especially, public campaigns and education to provide information on AMI initial symptoms and to enhance utilizing EMS to get to the emergency medical center driectly should be implemented for patients and/or caregivers.
Caregivers ; Education ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Methods ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Transportation

Green tea, the leaves of Camellia sinsneis (Theaceae), is generally acknowledged as the most consumed beverage with multiple pharmacological functions including antioxidant activity. This study was performed to analyze the effect of extraction conditions of green tea on its antioxidant effects using DPPH assay. Three extraction factors such as extraction solvent (EtOH, 0 – 100%), extraction time (3 – 15 min) and extraction temperature (10 – 70℃) were analyzed and optimized extraction condition for antioxidant activity of green tea extract (GTE) was determined using response surface methodology with three-level-three-factor Box-Behnken design (BBD). Regression analysis showed a good fit of data and the optimal conditions of extraction were found to be 57.7% EtOH, 15 min and 70℃. Under this condition, antioxidant activity of experimental data was 88.4% which was almost fit to the ideal value of 88.6%. As epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is known for the major ingredient for antioxidant activity of green tea, we investigated the effect of EGCG on antioxidant activity of GTE. EGCG showed antioxidant activity with the IC50 value of 4.2 µg/ml and a positive correlation was observed between EGCG content and the antioxidant activity of GTE with R2 = 0.7134. Interestingly, however, GTE with 50 – 70% antioxidant activity contain less than 1.0 µg/ml of EGCG, which is much lower than IC50 value of EGCG. Therefore, we suppose that EGCG together with other constituents contribute to antioxidant activity of GTE. Taken together, these results suggest that green tea is more beneficial than EGCG alone for antioxidant ability and optimal extraction condition of green tea will be useful for the development of food and pharmaceutical applications.
Antioxidants ; Beverages ; Camellia ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Tea*

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Korean adults according to body mass index (BMI) and to analyze the association with cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2011. A total of 3,370 patients with T2DM were divided into categories according to BMI. We conducted a comparison of the T2DM patient population composition by BMI category between different countries. We investigated the prevalence of awareness, treatment, and target control of T2DM according to BMI. RESULTS: Patients with T2DM had a higher BMI, and were more likely to have a history of CVD than healthy controls. For Korean adults with T2DM, 8% had BMI > or =30 kg/m2. By contrast, the population of patients with T2DM and BMI > or =30 kg/m2 was 72% in patients in the USA and 56% in the UK. The rate of recognition, treatment, and control has worsened in parallel with increasing BMI. Even in patients with BMI 25 to 29.9 kg/m2, the prevalence of CVD or high risk factors for CVD was significantly higher than in patients with BMI 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m2 (odds ratio, 2.07). CONCLUSION: Korean patients with T2DM had lower BMI than those in Western countries. Higher BMI was associated with lower awareness, treatment, and control of diabetes, and a positive association was observed between CVD or high risk factors for CVD and BMI, even for patients who were overweight but not obese.
Adult ; Body Mass Index* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Humans ; Korea* ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Overweight ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

Femoral artery pseudoaneurysm, a very uncommon disease, is usually reported trauma, iatrogenic vascular intervention, and nail fixation in the treatment of fracture. The femoral artery is a major vessel for blood supply to the lower extremities. If the femoral artery is injured, the patient will experience cardiovascular collapse and hypovolemic shock due to massive hemorrhage. We report on the case of a 49-year-old male patient who had been diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), who was admitted to our hospital with progressive swelling of the right thigh without any trauma history. A computed tomographic scan with arterial enhancement showed a large pseudoaneurysm of the right femoral artery, which was then treated successfully with great saphenous vein graft surgery.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False* ; Femoral Artery* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rupture* ; Saphenous Vein ; Shock ; Thigh ; Transplants

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Combination single-pill therapy can improve cost-effectiveness in a typical medical therapy. However, there is a little evidence about the efficacy and tolerability of combination single-pill antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stents (DES). METHODS: From June to November 2012, in total, 142 patients who met the following criteria were enrolled: at least 18 years old; successful PCI with DES at least 3 months earlier; and regular medication of aspirin and clopidogrel with no side effects. After VerifyNow P2Y12 and aspirin assays, the combination single pill of aspirin and clopidogrel was given and laboratory tests were repeated 6 weeks later. RESULTS: At baseline, the incidence of aspirin resistance, defined as aspirin reaction unit (ARU) > or = 550, was 9.2%, that of clopidogrel resistance, defined as P2Y12 reaction unit (PRU) > or = 230, was 46.5%, and that of percent inhibition of PRU < 20% was 32.4%. At follow-up, the incidence of resistance by ARU value was 7.0%, 50.0% by PRU value, and 35.9% by percentage inhibition of PRU, respectively. The mean values of ARU (431.5 +/- 63.6 vs. 439.8 +/- 55.2; p = 0.216) and PRU (227.5 +/- 71.4 vs. 223.3 +/- 76.0; p = 0.350) were not significantly different before versus after antiplatelet-combination single-pill therapy. Five adverse events (3.5%) were observed during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Combination single-pill antiplatelet therapy, which may reduce daily pill burden for patients after PCI with DES, demonstrated similar efficacy to separate dual-pill antiplatelet therapy.
Aged ; Antiplatyhelmintic Agents/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Aspirin/*administration & dosage/adverse effects ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Resistance ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Intention to Treat Analysis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Ischemia/blood/diagnosis/*therapy ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/adverse effects/*instrumentation ; Platelet Function Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Tablets ; Ticlopidine/administration & dosage/adverse effects/*analogs & derivatives ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome