Search

To obtain superior surface-active properties while minimizing environmental risks, new fluorinated surfactants (F2HX-nEO) were designed to include a hybrid multi-chain with a short fluorocarbon (–CF2CF3) and nonionic ethylene oxide. They were simply synthesized by a straightforward reaction involving the addition of ethylene oxide to a hybrid fluorine alcohol, and their surface-active properties were optimized by controlling the hydrocarbon length and number of ethylene oxide units. Therefore, the desirable values of critical micelle concentration (0.3 mmol/L) and surface tension (24.3 mN/m) were obtained in spite of containing the short fluorocarbon chain. Particularly, F2HX–nEO showed excellent wetting properties on hydrophobic surfaces and very low toxicity level, which can be used in various fields as a promising alternative to long fluoroalkyl chain surfactants.

The correlation between copy number variation (CNV) and the susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been reported for various immunity-related genes. However, the contribution of CNVs to SLE susceptibility awaits more investigation. To evaluate the copy numbers in immunity-related genes such as TNFAIP3, TNIP1, IL12B, TBX21 (T-bet), TLR7, C4A, C4B, CCL3L1, and CCL3L3, the modified real competitive polymerase chain reaction (mrcPCR) assay was employed, and the association between the copy numbers and SLE susceptibility was analyzed in 334 SLE patients and 338 controls. CCL3L3-null status was significantly associated with SLE susceptibility (OR > 18, P P = 0.0007). However, the significant association between C4B low-copy status and SLE susceptibility (OR = 1.6051, P = 0.0331) became non-significant by Bonferroni’s correction (corrected P = 0.3938). Except for these results, no other significant association between SLE susceptibility and copy number status in other genes was observed. The CCL3L3-null status may be a significant factor for SLE susceptibility.

To elucidate the epigenetic mechanisms of drug resistance, epigenetically reprogrammed H460 cancer cells (R-H460) were established by the transient introduction of reprogramming factors. Then, the R-H460 cells were induced to differentiate by the withdrawal of stem cell media for various durations, which resulted in differentiated R-H460 cells (dR-H460). Notably, dR-H460 cells differentiated for 13 days (13dR-H460 cells) formed a significantly greater number of colonies showing drug resistance to both cisplatin and paclitaxel, whereas the dR-H460 cells differentiated for 40 days (40dR-H460 cells) lost drug resistance; this suggests that 13dR-cancer cells present short-term resistance (less than a month). Similarly, increased drug resistance to both cisplatin and paclitaxel was observed in another R-cancer cell model prepared from N87 cells. The resistant phenotype of the cisplatin-resistant (CR) colonies obtained through cisplatin treatment was maintained for 2–3 months after drug treatment, suggesting that drug treatment transforms cells with short-term resistance into cells with medium-term resistance. In single-cell analyses, heterogeneity was not found to increase in 13dR-H460 cells, suggesting that cancer cells with short-term resistance, rather than heterogeneous cells, may confer epigenetically driven drug resistance in our reprogrammed cancer model. The epigenetically driven short-term and medium-term drug resistance mechanisms could provide new cancer-fighting strategies involving the control of cancer cells during epigenetic transition., Cancer chemotherapy: treatment prolongs resistance caused by DNA modification Cancer cells that are transiently resistant to drug therapies owing to changes in their gene expression patterns can become resistant for longer durations if exposed to the drug treatments. A team led by Kyeong-Man Hong and Hyonchol Jang from the National Cancer Center in Goyang, South Korea, used cellular reprogramming technologies to induce changes in the DNA markers that regulate gene expression. Working with lung and gastric cancer cell lines, the researchers found that such epigenetic alterations caused many cells to become resistant to the chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and paclitaxel. In the absence of treatment, the cells soon lost their drug resistance. In the presence of the chemotherapeutics, however, the resistance trait lasted longer, a finding that could inform best practice for how to administer cancer-fighting agents in the face of epigenetic-driven drug resistance.

Hybrid F2HX surfactants bearing a sulfate moiety and both hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon chains were prepared by the reaction of alkyl glycidyl ethers with fluoro-alcohol, and subsequent sulfation. The fluorocarbon number in F2HX was fixed at the shortest number possible (i.e., 2), while the hydrocarbon number (X) in the second chain was varied between 2, 4, 6, and 8. Their surface-active properties and emulsion stabilities were systematically estimated as a function of the X. Among them, F2H8 exhibited the optimal surfactant performance, which was comparable to previously reported surfactants and it was successfully applied in the emulsion polymerization of vinylidene fluoride.

Fluorinated surfactants, especially perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its derivatives, are frequently used in many industries. However, they are harmful to human health and the environment. While surfactants with only short fluorocarbon chains have lower toxicity, their physical properties need improvement. In this study, we synthesized novel anionic fluorinated surfactants with two short fluorocarbon chains per molecule, using the condensation reaction of fluoroalcohol and fluoroalkyl glycidyl ether in two-step reactions, which are carried out under mild conditions with easy work-up procedures and high yield (>80%). The products were structurally characterized, and their performance as surfactants were systematically analyzed. The critical micelle concentrations of the final products were found to be low (0.31–1.15 mmol/L), and their surface tension in 1% aqueous solution was within the range of 15.7–22.8 mN/m. These results suggest that despite their short fluorocarbon chains, these new surfactants are valuable alternatives to PFOA and its derivatives.

Background: Cancers with copy-gain drug-target genes are excellent candidates for targeted therapy. In order to search for new predictive marker genes, we investigated the correlation between sensitivity to targeted drugs and the copy gain of candidate target genes in NCI-60 cells. Methods: For eight candidate genes showing copy gains in NCI-60 cells identified in our previous study, sensitivity to corresponding target drugs was tested on cells showing copy gains of the candidate genes. Results: Breast cancer cells with Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK)-copy-gain showed a significantly higher sensitivity to the target inhibitor, FAK inhibitor 14 (F14). In addition, treatment of F14 or FAK-knockdown showed a specific apoptotic effect only in breast cancer cells showing FAK-copy-gain. Expression-profiling analyses on inducible FAK shRNA-transfected cells showed that FAK/AKT signaling might be important to the apoptotic effect by target inhibition. An animal experiment employing a mouse xenograft model also showed a significant growth-inhibitory effect of F14 on breast cancer cells showing FAK-copy-gain, but not on those without FAK-copy-gain. Conclusion: FAK-copy-gain may be a predictive marker for FAK inhibition therapy in breast cancer.

No one would disagree the importance of teacher knowledge in teaching and students learning. However, it might not be reasonable to connect teacher knowledge and students performance directly because of the complex nature of teaching and learning. The study investigated teaching aspect in depth, the relationship between teachers’ mathematical knowledge and beliefs. A mediation model of the relationship between mathematical knowledge and beliefs was proposed based on the previous studies and tested statistically. The study employed database of Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M 2008) because it provides appropriate data for investigating research questions of the study; it collected data of prospective teachers at the end of their teacher education program about mathematics knowledge for teaching and beliefs. In the relationship between mathematical knowledge and the belief of learning mathematics, it was found that the belief of the nature of mathematics mediates the relationship significantly. The results of the study suggests that improving mathematics content knowledge might be the starting point of teacher education program.

Understanding ratio and its related mathematical concepts are crucial in upper grade elementary school mathematics and in later learning mathematics as well as science. There might be no controversies about the importance of the ratio concept, however, there are many different ways of describing it. Among them, Beckmann and Izsak’s (2015) recent study of ratio provides insights for viewing ratio concept. This paper investigated how do textbooks of South Korea, Japan, and Singapore view the concept of ratio. English version of Japanese and Singaporean mathematics textbooks were collected and Korean mathematics textbook was translated into English. Textbook analysis was conducted in macro level and micro level. The textbook analysis shows each country introduces ratio differently and emphasizes different aspects. Implications for South Korean mathematics textbook were discussed at the end of the paper.

Actinomyces meyeri is a Gram positive, strict anaerobic bacterium, which was first described by Meyer in 1911. Primary actinomycotic osteomyelitis is rare and primarily affects the cervicofacial region, including mandible. We present an unusual case of osteomyelitis of a long bone combined with myoabscess due to A. meyeri. A 70-year-old man was admitted for pain and pus discharge of the right elbow. Twenty-five days before admission, he had hit his elbow against a table. MRI of the elbow showed a partial tear of the distal triceps tendon and myositis. He underwent open debridement and partial bone resection for the osteomyelitis of the olecranon. Biopsy showed no sulfur granules, but acute and chronic osteomyelitis. The excised tissue grew A. meyeri and Peptoniphilus asaccharolyticus. Intravenous ceftriaxone was administered and switched to oral amoxicillin. Infection of the extremities of actinomycosis often poses diagnostic difficulties, but it should not be neglected even when the characteristic pathologic findings are not present.

RHS는 안면신경 무릎신경절에 수두대상포진바이러스(varicellar zoster virus)가 감염되어 있다가 얼굴과 귀에 분지되어 있는 감각 분지로 재활성화되어 발생한다. 전형적인 3가지 증상인 얼굴마비, 귀 통증, 외이도와 귓바퀴의 소수포성 발진이 나타나면 RHS라고 진단한다. 본 증례는 사람면역결핍바이러스 환자에서 RHS 진단과 치료의 국내 첫 보고이다. 40세 남자가 우측 귀 통증과 귀가 멍멍한 느낌을 주소로 내원하였다. 입원 직후 우측 얼굴의 말초 신경마비, 이루, 두통, 혀의 우측 운동 장애가 나타났으며 우측 외이도와 귓바퀴에 소수포성 발진이 관찰되었다. 입원 10일째 청력저하를 호소하였으며 고막 천공이 관찰되었다. 말초혈액 검사에서 사람면역결핍바이러스(HIV) 항체가 양성으로 도출되었고 확진 검사 양성이 확인되었다. CD4 T cell은 281/μL였다. 치료는 valacyclovir와 steroid를 투여하고 highly active antiretroviral therapy를 시행하였으며 안면마비를 포함한 증상은 치료 후호전되었으나 청력저하는 호전이 없었다.

Infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis (WOPN) is dangerous complication of acute pancreatitis. Open necrosectomy and post-operative irrigation of necrotic cavity have been conventional treatment for infected pancreatic necrosis, however, recently minimally invasive techniques such as endoscopic necrosectomy has been regarded as preferred treatment method for infected WOPN. Endoscopic necrosectomy provides a targeted approach with a reduction in the systemic inflammatory response and avoidance of wound complications. Non alcohol related Wernicke encephalopathy is rare disease caused by thiamine deficiency due to intravenous feeding, and presented an encephalopathy, oculomotor dysfunction, gait ataxia. We report herein a case of Wernicke encephalopathy after successful endoscopic necrosectomy for infected WOPN. Korean J Pancreatobiliary 2016;21(1):34-39

Vegetable oils are used for insulating oil, but the oils can be readily decomposed by moisture and heat to fatty acids and other oxidation compounds. To solve these problems, oils containing two ester groups and one ether group were synthesized by using alkyl glycidyl ethers and alkanoyl chloride. The yields of the products were in the range of 90–95%. The pour point, viscosity, thermal stability, and biodegradability of the products were tested as well. Pour point of the vegetable oil derivatives is low, and the biodegradability of the products is 85% or even higher.

In this study, cationic surfactants were synthesized to improve solubility in water by adding ethylene oxide as a hydrophilic group to the intermediates of di-hydroxyl cationic surfactant molecules. The structure of resulting product was elucidated by 1 H NMR, FT-IR and HR/MS. The CMCs of BA-2-MA and BA-5-MA surfactants were found to be 9.01 × 10 −4 and 4.92 × 10 −3 mol/L respectively and the surface tensions at their CMC conditions were 28.64 and 32.22 mN/m respectively. The interfacial tensions measured between 1 wt% surfactant solution and n -decane were found to be in the same order of magnitude as those exhibited between micellar solutions and nonpolar oils.

Jeju water is the groundwater of Jeju Island, a volcanic island located in Republic of Korea. We investigated whether Jeju water improved glycemic control in patients with diabetes. This was a 12-week single-center, double-blind, randomized, and controlled trial. The subjects daily drank a liter of one of three kinds of water: two Jeju waters (S1 and S2) and Seoul tap water (SS). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients in the per-protocol (PP) population achieving glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)<7.0% at week 12. In total, 196 patients were randomized and analyzed in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population (66 consuming S1, 63 consuming S2, and 67 consuming SS); 146 patients were considered in the PP population. There were no significant differences in the primary outcomes of the groups consuming S1, S2, or SS. However, the percentage of patients achieving HbA1c<8% was significantly higher in the S2 group than in the SS group. In the ITT population, the 12-week HbA1c and fructosamine levels were lower in the S1 group than in the SS group and the 4-, 8-, and 12-week fructosamine levels were lower in the S2 group than in the SS group. Although we failed to achieve the primary outcome, it is possible that the Jeju waters improve glycemic control compared with the Seoul tap water in diabetic patients.

In this study, cationic surfactants having mono-, di-, and tri-amminium groups were synthesized by the condensation reaction of alkyl glycidyl ether and alkyl amine followed by the quarternization with dimethyl sulfate. The structure of the product was elucidated by 1H NMR and FT-IR. The minimum surface tension achieved using C12-BHDM surfactant was around 28.88 mN/m, which suggests that C12-BHDM can be used to reduce the surface tension of primarily aqueous formulations and to act as emulsifiers. Dynamic surface tension measurement using a maximum bubble pressure tensiometer indicated that much longer time was required to reach an equilibrium value presumably due to the low mobility rate of a surfactant molecule with high molecular weight. The interfacial tensions measured between 1 wt.% surfactant solution and n-decane were found to be in the same order of magnitude as those exhibited between micellar solutions and nonpolar hydrocarbon oils. It has been observed that the results for foam stability measurement are consistent with those of CMC and contact angle. That is, the percentage of foam volume decrease has been observed to increase with an increase in number of ammonium and hydroxyl groups.

Fossil fuel reserves are limited and global warming is emerging as a serious problem. To solve these problems, efforts to develop alternative energy sources are underway. In recent years the chemical industry based on the environmentally sound and sustainable biomass has been developing. Algae is regarded as important raw material of biomass. Polysaccharides such as cellulose and galactan obtained from the biomass can be converted to simple mono-saccharides by acid hydrolysis reactions. The formed monosaccharides are analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by using liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and gas chromatography. By using acids to hydrolyze polysaccharides, monosaccharides can be formed as the structure of close form and/or open form. In this study, analysis methods of monosaccharides formed by acid saccharification are investigated to distinguish between close form and open form.

Novel cationic surfactants having two hydrophobic groups and two quaternary ammonium ions which are in the middle of alkyl group were prepared by two-step reactions. Three kinds of N,N -bis-(3- n -alkoxy-2-hydroxypropyl)- N,N -dimethyl-1,3-propylenediamine were prepared quantitatively as the intermediate by the condensation reaction between alkyl glycidyl ether and 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamine under mild conditions without solvent and catalyst. The intermediates were quaternized with dimethyl sulfate. The structures of the products were characterized by 1 H NMR, FAB/MS and FT-IR. The interfacial properties of the synthesized cationic surfactants were measured such as critical micelle concentration, surface tension, interfacial tension, contact angle and foam stability.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Brassica rapa species constitute one of the major sources of food. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects and the underlying molecular mechanism of arvelexin, isolated from B. rapa, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and on a model of septic shock induced by LPS.

Lim J-Y, Jang S-N, Park W-B, Oh MK, Kang EK, Paik N-J. Association between exercise and fear of falling in community-dwelling elderly Koreans: results of a cross-sectional public opinion survey. Objective To investigate the association between habitual exercise and fear of falling in an older Korean population. Design Cross-sectional study conducted in a population-based sample of an urban city. Setting Urban city in South Korea. Participants Randomly sampled older Korean people (N=828; aged ≥65y) living in a typical urban city located in South Korea. Intervention Standardized telephone interview. Main Outcome Measures Data on exercise habits, history of falls during the previous year, and fear of falling were obtained using a random digit dialing telephone survey method. Multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between exercise habits and the fear of falling. Results The incidence of falls in the study cohort was 13%, and the prevalence of the fear of falling was 67.4% (47.6% in men and 80.8% in women). About 30% of those that expressed a fear of falling stated that this was the cause of their limited activity. Older men and women who exercised regularly showed a similar level of fear of falling, but they were less likely to experience fear-related activity restriction than nonexercisers. Conclusions A regular exercise habit was found to be inversely associated with fear-related activity restriction regardless of fall experience among older Korean men and women.

Although eupafolin, a flavone found in Artemisia princeps Pampanini, has been shown to inhibit the growth of several human cancer cells, its mode of action is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the pro-apoptotic activities of eupafolin in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. It was found that eupafolin induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, as evidenced by DNA fragmentation and the accumulation of positive cells for annexin V. In addition, eupafolin triggered the activations of caspases-3, -6, -7, -8, and -9 and the cleavages of their substrates, such as, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and lamin A/C. Furthermore, treatment with eupafolin resulted in a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi(m)), increased the release of cytochrome c to the cytosol, and altered the expression levels of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins. Interestingly, caspase-8, an initiator caspase, was activated after the loss of DeltaPsi(m) and the activations of caspases-3 and -9. Moreover, treatment with z-DEVD-fmk (a specific caspase-3 inhibitor) and the overexpression of Bcl-2 prevented eupafolin-stimulated caspase-8 activation. Altogether, these results suggest that the eupafolin-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells is mediated by caspase-dependent pathways, involving caspases-3, -9, and -8, which are initiated by the Bcl-2-dependent loss of DeltaPsi(m).

Chromium hydroxide green [Cr(2)O(OH)(4)] and chromium oxide green (Cr(2)O(3)) are colouring agents for use in cosmetic products. These colourants may contain chromium (VI), which cause skin allergies through percutaneous adsorption on the skin. Eye shadow is a representative cosmetic product in which significant colourants are used. We analysed the chromium (VI) in the eye shadows by ion chromatography and post column derivatization. We optimize conditions of chromium (VI) analysis in eye shadows. During the pretreatment procedure, there are no exchange of chromium (III) to chromium (VI). This method has a limit of quantification for chromium (VI) of 1.0 microg l(-1), recovery rate of 100 +/- 3% and analysis time less than 10 min. This result is 300 times more sensitive than the high-performance liquid chromatography method. We applied the optimized method to analyse 22 eye shadows and 6 colouring agents. 2 out of 22 of the products contained more than 5 mg l(-1). In our previous work, 5 mg l(-1) of Cr represented a threshold level. There was much more Cr(VI) in the colouring agents. The Cr(VI) in one of the colouring agents was 97.6 mg l(-1).

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) plays a critical role in adipocytes differentiation and insulin sensitivity and is also related to regulation of inflammation and cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to investigate the PPAR-gamma agonist-induced apoptosis and effects of PPAR-gamma agonist on Fas-mediated apoptosis in a human colon cancer cell line.Cell survival and apoptosis of HT-29 cells were measured by trypan blue exclusion method and FACScan after treatment with 15d-PGJ2, ciglitazone and IgM anti-Fas antibody (CH11), respectively or simultaneously. Also, activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8 was analyzed to assess the effects of PPAR-gamma and Fas on apoptosis signaling pathways.CH11 induced apoptosis of HT-29 cells. 15d-PGJ2 or ciglitazone alone did not induce apoptosis, but combined stimulation with CH11 synergistically induced apoptosis. Also, 15d-PGJ2 alone did not activate caspase-3, but CH11 and 15d-PGJ2 synergistically activated caspase-3. CH11 activated procaspase-8, but 15d-PGJ2 did not.PPAR-gamma was not an enough condition to induce apoptosis of HT-29 cells. Apoptosis was induced by high dose Fas, and was enhanced with PPAR-gamma agonist. PPAR-gamma agonist seems to enhance Fas-mediated apoptosis by affecting the way between caspase-8 and caspase-3. Further research is needed to use PPAR-gamma agonists as chemopreventive and therapeutic agent for colon cancer and to find the pathways of PPAR-gamma on apoptotic cascade of colon cancer cells.