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The newly developed 2D/3D method operating over the unstructured mesh geometry is introduced. Implemented in the NuDEAL code, the method alternates the planar method of characterization (MOC) and the diffusion-based hybrid finite element (HFEM), with planar MOC solving the 2D decoupled fine mesh and HFEM providing 3D coarse mesh flux distributions based on the MOC solution. The consistency between the planar MOC and the diffusion HFEM is made with the devised consistency factors operating on volumetric and surface flux distributions. Furthermore, the consistent HFEM is fully accelerated using GPUs, which results in a 50-speedup in the red-black sweep compared to the runtime of the single CPU core. As a result, the accelerated HFEM takes less than 30 seconds to solve the multigroup benchmark problem, which is 20 times faster with a single gaming GPU than with a single CPU core.

Abstract The Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts [RAGE] is an evolutionarily recent member of the immunoglobulin super-family, encoded in the Class III region of the major histocompatability complex. RAGE is highly expressed only in the lung at readily measurable levels but increases quickly at sites of inflammation, largely on inflammatory and epithelial cells. It is found either as a membrane-bound or soluble protein that is markedly upregulated by stress in epithelial cells, thereby regulating their metabolism and enhancing their central barrier functionality. Activation and upregulation of RAGE by its ligands leads to enhanced survival. Perpetual signaling through RAGE-induced survival pathways in the setting of limited nutrients or oxygenation results in enhanced autophagy, diminished apoptosis, and (with ATP depletion) necrosis. This results in chronic inflammation and in many instances is the setting in which epithelial malignancies arise. RAGE and its isoforms sit in a pivotal role, regulating metabolism, inflammation, and epithelial survival in the setting of stress. Understanding the molecular structure and function of it and its ligands in the setting of inflammation is critically important in understanding the role of this receptor in tumor biology.

Abstract Background There have been many attempts to develop new materials with stability and high affinity towards immunoglobulins. Some of glycolipids such as gangliosides exhibit a high affinity toward immunoglobulins. However, it is considerably difficult to develop these glycolipids into the practical separation ligand due to their limited amounts. We thus focused our attention on the feasible use of "mannosylerythritol lipid A", a yeast glycolipid biosurfactant, as an alternative ligand for immunoglobulins, and undertook the investigation on the binding between mannosylerythritol lipid A (MEL-A) and human immunoglobulin G (HIgG). Results In ELISA assay, MEL-A showed nearly the same binding affinity towards HIgG as that of bovine ganglioside GM1. Fab of human IgG was considered to play a more important role than Fc in the binding of HIgG by MEL-A. The bound amount of HIgG increased depending on the attached amount of MEL-A onto poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (polyHEMA) beads, whereas the amount of human serum albumin slightly decreased. Binding-amount and -selectivity of HIgG towards MEL-A were influenced by salt species, salt concentration and pH in the buffer solution. The composite of MEL-A and polyHEMA, exhibited a significant binding constant of 1.43 × 106 (M-1) for HIgG, which is approximately 4-fold greater than that of protein A reported. Conclusions MEL-A shows high binding-affinity towards HIgG, and this is considered to be due to "multivalent effect" based on the binding molar ratio. This is the first report on the binding of a natural human antibody towards a yeast glycolipid.

Gastric ulcers are often exacerbated by factors such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and inflammation, and they have a substantial impact on a significant portion of the population. Notably, indomethacin is recognized as a prominent contributor to ulcers. This study investigated this potential method, with normalization to the anti-inflammatory and antiulcer properties of deep-sea water (DSW)-derived mineral water, using an indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer model in rats. The study involved four groups ( n = 6 rats/group): normal control group (CON), indomethacin-only group (IND), indomethacin with trace mineral water group (TM), and indomethacin with high magnesium low sodium water group (HMLS). For three weeks, the CON and IND groups consumed tap water, while the TM and HMLS groups had access to mineral water. Gastric ulcers were induced on the final day using indomethacin, for all groups except the CON group. The results demonstrated that HMLS intake significantly improved gastric mucosal damage, preserved mucin stability, and increased gastric thickness, indicating its potential to prevent and alleviate indomethacin-induced gastric ulcers. Furthermore, HMLS consumption led to the upregulation of key genes associated with inflammation and a reduction in inflammatory cytokines. These findings suggest that DSW-derived mineral water, and particularly its high Mg 2+ content, may offer promising health benefits including anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer properties.

Here, we report the construction of a Clostridium acetobutylicum strain ATCC 824 (pCD07239) by heterologous expression of carbonyl branch genes (CD630_0723∼CD630_0729) from Clostridium difficile, aimed at installing a heterologous Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP). As part of this effort, in order to validate the methyl branch of the WLP in the C. acetobutylicum, we performed 13 C-tracing analysis on knockdown mutants of four genes responsible for the formation of 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-methyl-THF) from formate: CA_C3201, CA_C2310, CA_C2083, and CA_C0291. While C. acetobutylicum 824 (pCD07239) could not grow autotrophically, in heterotrophic fermentation, it began producing butanol at the early growth phase (OD 600 of 0.80; 0.162 g/L butanol). In contrast, solvent production in the parent strain did not begin until the early stationary phase (OD 600 of 7.40). This study offers valuable insights for future research on biobutanol production during the early growth phase., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have competing financial interests as the work described in this paper is covered by patents filed and is of commercial interest., (Copyright © 2023 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rationale: Discogenic low back pain often persists despite medication and medical intervention. In this study, intradiscal pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) was performed in a patient with discogenic low back pain who did not respond to oral medication, posterior medial branch block, epidural steroid injection, and percutaneous epidural adhesiolysis., Patient Concerns: A 28-year-old woman visited a pain clinic complaining of low back pain that was scored 8 out of 10 on a numerical rating scale. Her pain was present in any position throughout the day and worsened in the sitting position., Diagnoses: Magnetic resonance imaging showed L5-S1 internal discal disruption. Based on the medical history, physical examination, and magnetic resonance imaging, we determined that her pain originated from the L5-S1 disc., Interventions: We performed an intradiscal PRF on the affected disc under C-arm fluoroscopy guidance. PRF was performed at 5 Hz, 20-ms pulse width, and 70 V for 15 minutes while ensuring that the electrode tip temperature was maintained below 42°C., Outcomes: Immediately after the procedure, the patient's pain subsided. At the 1-month follow-up visit, the patient reported complete relief of her low back pain. The Oswestry disability index, which indicates the degree of disability, improved significantly. She also reported that she could sit for long periods because the pain was reduced. No adverse effects from the procedure were found., Lessons: Applying intradiscal PRF seems an effective and safe technique for treating discogenic low back pain., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interests to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

ATPase, a key enzyme involved in energy metabolism, has not yet been well studied in Clostridium acetobutylicum . Here, we knocked down the atpG gene encoding the ATPase gamma subunit in C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 using a mobile group II intron system and analyzed the physiological characteristics of the atpG gene knockdown mutant, 824-2866KD. Properties investigated included cell growth, glucose consumption, production of major metabolites, and extracellular pH. Interestingly, in 2-L batch fermentations, 824-2866KD showed no significant difference in metabolite biosynthesis or cell growth compared with the parent ATCC 824. However, the pH value in 824-2866KD cultures at the late stage of the solventogenic phase was abnormally high (pH 6.12), compared with that obtained routinely in the culture of ATCC 824 (pH 5.74). This phenomenon was also observed in batch cultures of another C. acetobutylicum , BEKW-2866KD, an atpG -knockdown and pta-buk double-knockout mutant. The findings reported in this study suggested that ATPase is relatively minor than acid-forming pathway in ATP metabolism in C. acetobutylicum., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Jang, Seong, Kwon, Lee, Im, Lee, Yoon and Lee.)

This study evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of ginger-cinnamon mixture using an animal model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced intestinal inflammation. The mice were administered either distilled water or ginger extract (GE), cinnamon subcritical water extract (CSWE), low GE + CSWE (GCL), and high GE + CSWE (GCH) for 21 days and drinking water containing 5% DSS for the final 7 days to induce intestinal inflammation. We assessed the change of body weight, disease activity index (DAI), histopathological scores, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, and mRNA levels. Compared with the DSS group, the GCH group showed increased body weight, inhibited intestinal shortening, and decreased DAI and histopathological score of intestinal inflammation, which was similar to that for the control group. It inhibited MPO activity as well as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α mRNA levels. Therefore, the ginger-cinnamon complex helps to improve intestine inflammation, which is beneficial for gut health., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no conflict of interest., (© The Korean Society of Food Science and Technology 2021.)

Poly(d-lactate-co-glycolate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) [poly(d-LA-co-GA-co-4HB)] and poly(d-lactate-co-glycolate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate-co-d-2-hydroxybutyrate) [poly(d-LA-co-GA-co-4HB-co-d-2HB)] are of interest for their potential applications as new biomedical polymers. Here we report their enhanced production by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. To examine the polymer properties, poly(d-LA-co-GA-co-4HB) polymers having various monomer compositions (3.4-41.0mol% of 4HB) were produced by culturing the engineered E. coli strain expressing xylBC from Caulobacter crescentus, evolved phaC1 from Pseudomonas sp. MBEL 6-19 (phaC1437), and evolved pct from Clostridium propionicum (pct540) in a medium supplemented with sodium 4HB at various concentrations. To produce these polymers without 4HB feeding, the 4HB biosynthetic pathway was additionally constructed by expressing Clostridium kluyveri sucD and 4hbD. The engineered E. coli expressing xylBC, phaC1437, pct540, sucD, and 4hbD successfully produced poly(d-LA-co-GA-co-4HB-co-d-2HB) and poly(d-LA-co-GA-co-4HB) from glucose and xylose. Through modulating the expression levels of the heterologous genes and performing fed-batch cultures, the polymer content and titer could be increased to 65.76wt% and 6.19g/L, respectively, while the monomer fractions in the polymers could be altered as desired. The polymers produced, in particular, the 4HB-rich polymers showed viscous and sticky properties suggesting that they might be used as medical adhesives., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Purpose: In previous studies, there were debates on the association between handgrip strength (HGS) and prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Since body weight is associated with both HGS and prevalence of metabolic syndrome, whether HGS is corrected with body weight (relative HGS) or not (absolute HGS) can directly influence outcome of the study. Therefore, this study analyzed the relationship between HGS and prevalence of metabolic syndrome using both relative and absolute HGS. Methods: A total of 1009 Korean adults (488 men and 521 women) were analyzed. Participants were categorized into three groups according to HGS levels. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of metabolic syndrome associated with both relative and absolute HGS. Results: Lower absolute HGS was associated with lower prevalence of having abnormal blood pressure (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.37-0.97) and glucose levels (OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.34-0.88) in men. However, no association was found between absolute HGS and prevalence of metabolic syndrome. However, a significant inverse association was found between relative HGS and prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Compared with participants in the highest tertile, those in the lowest tertile of relative HGS had 2.52 times (95% CI: 1.43-4.46) and 5.01 times (95% CI: 1.66-15.08) higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in men and women, respectively. Conclusion: Lower relative HGS but not absolute HGS was associated with higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Our study showed that there are evident discrepancies in the association between HGS and prevalence of metabolic syndrome whether HGS is corrected by body weight or not.

Background: We investigated the independent and combined impact of obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on components and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults., Methods: This study included 1695 adults (500 males and 1,195 females), who took part in a regular health check-up at the community-based health promotion center. Participants were divided according to degree of adiposity and the presence of NAFLD. The components and prevalence of metabolic syndrome were compared., Results: Fasting glucose was significantly higher in nonobese participants with NAFLD compared to obese participants without NAFLD. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of NAFLD was associated with 3.63 times increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (95% CI: 1.21-10.86) while obesity without NAFLD was associated with 3.84 times increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (95% CI: 1.57-9.36) in male. In female, the presence of NAFLD was associated with 5.56 times higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (95% CI: 2.53-12.23) while obesity without NAFLD had 3.46 times increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome (95% CI: 1.64-7.33)., Conclusions: NAFLD is associated with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, independent of adiposity. In females, NAFLD may be a more important factor than obesity for risk of metabolic syndrome., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Oligonol is a low molecular weight form of polyphenol polymers derived from lychee fruits. Several studies suggest that Oligonol has an anti-obesity effect. Since obesity is tightly associated with insulin resistance, we investigated a possible remission effect of Oligonol on lipid accumulation and insulin resistance in human hepatic HepG2 cells., Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with palmitate for 24 h to induce cellular hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance. The cells were then treated with Oligonol at subtoxic concentrations and examined for lipid metabolism, cytokine production, and insulin signaling using quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis., Results: Oligonol treatment reversed the palmitate-induced intracellular lipid accumulation, down regulated the expression of lipogenic genes, and up-regulated genes for fatty acid degradation. Oligonol restored insulin sensitivity, as was determined by the phosphorylation states of IRS-1. Oligonol also inhibited STAT3-SOCS3 signaling and increased AMPK phosphorylation in HepG2 cells., Conclusion: Oligonol treatment improved palmitate-induced cellular steatosis and insulin resistance in HepG2 cells with concomitant reduction of inflammatory cytokines and decrease in STAT3-SOCS3 and AMPK-mTOR pathways. Oligonol may have beneficial effects in lipid metabolism and insulin resistance in the liver.

The fermentation carried out by the solvent-producing bacterium, Clostridium acetobutylicum, is characterized by two distinct phases: acidogenic and solventogenic phases. Understanding the cellular physiological changes occurring during the phase transition in clostridial fermentation is important for the enhanced production of solvents. To identify protein changes upon entry to stationary phase where solvents are typically produced, we herein analyzed the proteomic profiles of the parental wild type C. acetobutylicum strains, ATCC 824, the non-solventogenic strain, M5 that has lost the solventogenic megaplasmid pSOL1, and the synthetic simplified alcohol forming strain, M5 (pIMP1E1AB) expressing plasmid-based CoA-transferase (CtfAB) and aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhE1). A total of 68 protein spots, corresponding to 56 unique proteins, were unambiguously identified as being differentially present after the phase transitions in the three C. acetobutylicum strains. In addition to changes in proteins known to be involved in solventogenesis (AdhE1 and CtfB), we identified significant alterations in enzymes involved in sugar transport and metabolism, fermentative pathway, heat shock proteins, translation, and amino acid biosynthesis upon entry into the stationary phase. Of these, four increased proteins (AdhE1, CAC0233, CtfB and phosphocarrier protein HPr) and six decreased proteins (butyrate kinase, ferredoxin:pyruvate oxidoreductase, phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase, adenylosuccinate synthase, pyruvate kinase and valyl-tRNA synthetase) showed similar patterns in the two strains capable of butanol formation. Interestingly, significant changes of several proteins by post-translational modifications were observed in the solventogenic phase. The proteomic data from this study will improve our understanding on how cell physiology is affected through protein levels patterns in clostridia.

Background: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), measured by a simple step test, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Korean adults, in a cross sectional design., Methods: A total of 1,007 Korean adults (488 men and 519 women) who underwent routine health checkups were recruited. CRF was measured by Tecumseh step test. The National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III guideline was used to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. A logistic regression was performed to reveal possible associations., Results: The results of the study showed that a lower level of CRF was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in men, but not in women. On the other hand, higher BMI was associated with a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in both men and women. However, BMI was not associated with fasting glucose nor hemoglobinA1c in men. When the combined impact of BMI and CRF on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was analyzed, a significantly increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found in both men (odds ratio [OR]: 18.8, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 5.0-70.5) and women (OR: 8.1, 95% CI: 2.8-23.9) who had high BMI and low cardiorespiratory fitness. On the other hand, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was only increased 7.9 times (95% CI: 2.0-31.2) in men and 5.4 times (95% CI: 1.9-15.9) in women who had high level of CRF and high BMI., Conclusion: In conclusion, the current study demonstrated the low CRF and obesity was a predictor for metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Background: Recently, osteocalcin (OC), an osteoblast-derived hormone, has been suggested as a new link between obesity and insulin resistance in humans. However, few studies regarding the relationship between OC and obesity in Asian children have been published. We investigated the association of OC with adiposity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean children., Methods: Two hundred and nine (100 boys, 109 girls) children (age: 9.78 ± 1.05 years, body mass index (BMI): 22.27 ± 5.34 kg/m(2)) participated in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric parameters, insulin resistance, lipid profiles, total OC, and an inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein (CRP), were measured. MetS phenotype was also determined., Results: Serum total OC levels were significantly lower in overweight or obese children (76.96 ± 27.08 ng/ml vs. 66.91 ± 21.39 ng/ml, p = 0.020) and it was negatively associated with body fat after controlling for age, gender and BMI. Serum total OC concentrations were significantly lower in participants with central obesity or at least two components of MetS driven by waist circumference than they were in those with none. Stepwise linear regression results also showed that serum total OC was partially explained by age, gender, waist-to-hip ratio, and fasting glucose., Conclusions: This study supported a negative association between serum total OC and adiposity in children. OC may be associated with childhood central obesity; however, further research using more accurate measurements is needed to identify the association between these variables., (© 2014 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity . Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A typical characteristic of the butyric acid-producing Clostridium is coproduction of both butyric and acetic acids. Increasing the butyric acid selectivity important for economical butyric acid production has been rather difficult in clostridia due to their complex metabolic pathways. In this work, Clostridium acetobutylicum was metabolically engineered for highly selective butyric acid production. For this purpose, the second butyrate kinase of C. acetobutylicum encoded by the bukII gene instead of butyrate kinase I encoded by the buk gene was employed. Furthermore, metabolic pathways were engineered to further enhance the NADH-driving force. Batch fermentation of the metabolically engineered C. acetobutylicum strain HCBEKW (pta(-), buk(-), ctfB(-) and adhE1(-)) at pH 6.0 resulted in the production of 32.5g/L of butyric acid with a butyric-to-acetic acid ratio (BA/AA ratio) of 31.3g/g from 83.3g/L of glucose. By further knocking out the hydA gene (encoding hydrogenase) in the HCBEKW strain, the butyric acid titer was not further improved in batch fermentation. However, the BA/AA ratio (28.5g/g) obtained with the HYCBEKW strain (pta(-), buk(-), ctfB(-), adhE1(-) and hydA(-)) was 1.6 times higher than that (18.2g/g) obtained with the HCBEKW strain at pH 5.0, while no improvement was observed at pH 6.0. These results suggested that the buk gene knockout was essential to get a high butyric acid selectivity to acetic acid in C. acetobutylicum., (Copyright © 2014 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims. Visceral obesity is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases and it is important to identify the underlying mechanisms. There is growing evidence that mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with metabolic disturbances related to visceral obesity. In addition, maintaining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number is important for preserving mitochondrial function. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between mtDNA copy number and visceral fat in healthy young adults. Methods. A total of 94 healthy young subjects were studied. Biomarkers of metabolic risk factors were assessed along with body composition by computed tomography. mtDNA copy number was measured in peripheral leukocytes using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. Results. The mtDNA copy number correlated with BMI (r = -0.22, P = 0.04), waist circumference (r = -0.23, P = 0.03), visceral fat area (r = -0.28, P = -0.01), HDL-cholesterol levels (r = 0.25, P = 0.02), and hs-CRP (r = 0.32, P = 0.02) after adjusting for age and sex. Both stepwise and nonstepwise multiple regression analyses confirmed that visceral fat area was independently associated with mtDNA copy number (β = -0.33, P < 0.01, β = 0.32, and P = 0.03, resp.). Conclusions. An independent association between mtDNA content and visceral adiposity was identified. These data suggest that mtDNA copy number is a potential predictive marker for metabolic disturbances. Further studies are required to understand the causality and clinical significance of our findings.

To investigate the effects of Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC) supplementation and the mechanism action of AHCC in patients with alcohol-induced mildly elevated liver enzyme levels, participants were randomly allocated to the placebo, 1 g AHCC, or 3 g AHCC group and took the supplement for 12 wk. Subjects visited the hospital for clinical and biochemical measurements, for examination of adverse events, to return unused supplements, and to obtain their next supplements. Biochemical tests including liver enzymes, a questionnaire survey, and anthropometric measurements were collected at baseline and every 4 wk thereafter. Adherence and adverse events were evaluated. After 12 wk of supplementation, the percentage change in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level was significantly different between the placebo (4.02±59.07%) and both AHCC groups (1 g AHCC: 223.89±20.59%, 3 g AHCC: 224.09±30.73%) (p=0.04). Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (p<0.05) and interleukin-1β (p<0.01) were significantly lower, while those of adiponectin were higher in both AHCC groups than in the placebo group (p<0.01). AHCC supplementation for 12 wk may improve the levels of liver enzymes and circulating pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with alcohol-induced liver enzyme elevation with mildly elevated liver enzyme levels.

Polyphenols have recently become an important focus of study in obesity research. Oligonol is an oligomerized polyphenol, typically comprised of catechin-type polyphenols from a variety of fruits, which has been found to exhibit better bioavailability and bioreactivity than natural polyphenol compounds. Here, we demonstrated that Oligonol inhibits 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation by reducing adipogenic gene expression. During adipogenesis, Oligonol downregulated the mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins α (C/EBPα), and δ (C/EBPδ) in a dose-dependent manner and the expression of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis. The antiadipogenic effect of Oligonol appears to originate from its ability to inhibit the Akt and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway by diminishing the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K), a downstream target of mTOR and forkhead box protein O1 (Foxo1). These results suggest that Oligonol may be a potent regulator of obesity by repressing major adipogenic genes through inhibition of the Akt signaling pathway, which induces the inhibition of lipid accumulation, ultimately inhibiting adipogenesis.

Clostridium acetobutylicum has been considered as an attractive platform host for biorefinery due to its metabolic diversity. Considering its capability to overproduce butanol through butyrate, it was thought that butyric acid can also be efficiently produced by this bacterium through metabolic engineering. The pta-ctfB-deficient C. acetobutylicum CEKW, in which genes encoding phosphotransacetylase and CoA-transferase were knocked out, was assessed for its potential as a butyric acid producer in fermentations with four controlled pH values at 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and 6.4. Butyric acid could be best produced by fermentation of the CEKW at pH 6.0, resulting in the highest titer of 26.6 g/l, which is 6.4 times higher than that obtained with the wild type. However, due to the remaining solventogenic ability of the CEKW, 3.6 g/l solvents were also produced. Thus, the CEKW was further engineered by knocking out the adhE1-encoding aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase to prevent solvent production. Batch fermentation of the resulting C. acetobutylicum HCEKW at pH 6.0 showed increased butyric acid production to 30.8 g/l with a ratio of butyric-to-acetic acid (BA/AA) of 6.6 g/g and a productivity of 0.72 g/l/h from 86.9 g/l glucose, while negligible solvent (0.8 g/l ethanol only) was produced. The butyric acid titer, BA/AA ratio, and productivity obtained in this study were the highest values reported for C. acetobutylicum, and the BA/AA ratio and productivity were also comparable to those of native butyric acid producer Clostridium tyrobutyricum. These results suggested that the simultaneous deletion of the pta-ctfB-adhE1 in C. acetobutylicum resulted in metabolic switch from biphasic to acidogenic fermentation, which enhanced butyric acid production.

Objective: Menopause is known to compound cardiometabolic disease risk factors, and a deeper understanding of the mechanism of this effect is needed. Recently, the osteoblast-derived protein osteocalcin was found to function as a regulator of glucose and fat metabolism. However, there is a lack of studies comparing the extent of association between osteocalcin and glucose metabolism in postmenopausal versus premenopausal women., Methods: To examine the relationship between serum osteocalcin and glucose metabolism in premenopausal versus postmenopausal women, we identified well-balanced pairs of premenopausal and postmenopausal women matched on propensity score. The interactions between serum osteocalcin levels and menopause status on fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the associations of these parameters with serum osteocalcin levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women were statistically analyzed., Results: Among the 61 matched pairs of premenopausal and postmenopausal women, significant interactions of menopause status and serum osteocalcin levels were observed for fasting insulin (P = 0.031) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.019). Furthermore, after logarithmical transformation for each variable, significant relationships between serum osteocalcin levels and fasting insulin (r = -0.307, P = 0.016) and HOMA-IR (r = -0.298, P = 0.019) were found in postmenopausal women, but no significant correlation was seen in premenopausal women (r = 0.002, P = 0.989 and r = 0.062, P = 0.633, respectively)., Conclusions: Our study shows that the association between serum osteocalcin and insulin resistance varies according to menopause status, and that serum osteocalcin is associated with insulin resistance in postmenopausal women but not in premenopausal women. As postmenopausal women have a higher prevalence of obesity and other cardiac risk factors, the potential endocrine actions of osteocalcin may serve as a marker of metabolism in menopause status. Further studies are needed to define the precise nature of the relationship between osteocalcin and insulin resistance in postmenopausal women.

Butanol is considered as a superior biofuel, which is conventionally produced by clostridial acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Among ABE, only butanol and ethanol can be used as fuel alternatives. Coproduction of acetone thus causes lower yield of fuel alcohols. Thus, this study aimed at developing an improved Clostridium acetobutylicum strain possessing enhanced fuel alcohol production capability. For this, we previously developed a hyper ABE producing BKM19 strain was further engineered to convert acetone into isopropanol. The BKM19 strain was transformed with the plasmid pIPA100 containing the sadh (primary/secondary alcohol dehydrogenase) and hydG (putative electron transfer protein) genes from the Clostridium beijerinckii NRRL B593 cloned under the control of the thiolase promoter. The resulting BKM19 (pIPA100) strain produced 27.9 g/l isopropanol-butanol-ethanol (IBE) as a fuel alcohols with negligible amount of acetone (0.4 g/l) from 97.8 g/l glucose in lab-scale (2 l) batch fermentation. Thus, this metabolically engineered strain was able to produce 99% of total solvent produced as fuel alcohols. The scalability and stability of BKM19 (pIPA100) were evaluated at 200 l pilot-scale fermentation, which showed that the fuel alcohol yield could be improved to 0.37 g/g as compared to 0.29 g/g obtained at lab-scale fermentation, while attaining a similar titer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest titer of IBE achieved and the first report on the large scale fermentation of C. acetobutylicum for IBE production., (© 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.)

Background: Chemerin is a recently discovered adipocytokine, associated with adiposity and insulin sensitivity. The current study investigated the effects of lifestyle intervention on circulating chemerin level and its association with insulin resistance and adiponectin in human., Methods: Forty male and 20 female obese adults (mean age: 29.7±5.7 y, mean BMI: 29.3±4.5 kg/m(2)) completed an 8-week lifestyle intervention program, which consisted of a home-based diet and exercise program. Anthropometric measurements and biomarkers were assessed at the baseline and at the end of the study., Results: Eight weeks of lifestyle intervention reduced body weight, visceral fat and subcutaneous fat by 3.8%, 15.3% and 11.5%, respectively. The lifestyle intervention further reduced fasting insulin (10.9±6.6 vs. 7.6±5.3 μU/ml, p<0.001) and homeostasis assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (2.3±1.5 vs. 1.6±1.2, p<0.001), chemerin (103.3±20.7 vs. 96.5±19.5 ng/ml, p<0.001) and hs-CRP levels (1.3±1.8 vs. 0.2±0.2 mg/dl, p<0.001) while it increased fasting pentraxin (PTX) 3 (0.6±0.7 vs. 0.7±0.4 ng/ml, p=0.049) level. The Δ chemerin levels correlated with Δ insulin (r=0.349, p=0.024) and HOMA-IR (r=0.333, p=0.36) even after adjusting for age and gender., Conclusion: The lifestyle intervention reduced circulating chemerin levels independent of visceral fat mass and adiponectin. Chemerin levels are associated with insulin resistance at the baseline and after the lifestyle intervention., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-month therapeutic lifestyle modification (TLM) program on chemokines related to oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and arterial stiffness in subjects with metabolic syndrome (MetS)., Methods: The authors performed a randomized controlled trial, assigning 52 women (mean age 62.7 ± 9.0 years) with MetS to a TLM intervention group (n = 31) or a control group (n = 21). The authors provided the TLM intervention group with health screening, exercise, low-calorie diet, and health education and counseling for 6 months and instructed the control group to maintain their usual lifestyle behaviors. Outcome variables included levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL), adiponectin, leptin, resistin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), CD40L, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP-4), endothelin-1, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. The authors used generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses to estimate the effects of the TLM program., Results: After the 6-month TLM program, hs-CRP levels decreased significantly, and MCP-1 levels increased at a significantly slower rate in the TLM group than they did in the control group (all p < .05)., Conclusion: These results indicate that a TLM program could be effective for improving patient inflammatory states and may also be effective in preventing cardiovascular complications in subjects with MetS.

Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) is activated during calorie restriction and appears to be related to energy balance through glucose or lipid metabolism and insulin signaling. These findings suggest that SIRT1 may play a role in the pathophysiology of visceral obesity. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between SIRT1 gene expression in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and abdominal visceral adiposity as measured by computed tomography. We recruited 43 men and women without history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease Biomarkers of metabolic disease and body composition by computed tomography were assessed. SIRT1 gene expression was determined using isolated PBMCs. SIRT1 expression levels negatively correlated with body mass index, waist circumference, abdominal visceral fat area, and homeostasis model of assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and positively correlated with adiponectin levels. Results of step-wise multiple regression analysis revealed that abdominal visceral fat area and HOMA-IR were independently associated with SIRT1 expression. The significant association between abdominal visceral fat accumulation and SIRT1 gene expression in PBMCs suggests that SIRT1 may be a new therapeutic target for the prevention of disease related to obesity, especially visceral obesity.

Butanol is an important industrial solvent and advanced biofuel that can be produced by biphasic fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum. It has been known that acetate and butyrate first formed during the acidogenic phase are reassimilated to form acetone-butanol-ethanol (cold channel). Butanol can also be formed directly from acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) through butyryl-CoA (hot channel). However, little is known about the relative contributions of the two butanol-forming pathways. Here we report that the direct butanol-forming pathway is a better channel to optimize for butanol production through metabolic flux and mass balance analyses. Butanol production through the hot channel was maximized by simultaneous disruption of the pta and buk genes, encoding phosphotransacetylase and butyrate kinase, while the adhE1(D485G) gene, encoding a mutated aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase, was overexpressed. The ratio of butanol produced through the hot channel to that produced through the cold channel increased from 2.0 in the wild type to 18.8 in the engineered BEKW(pPthlAAD(**)) strain. By reinforcing the direct butanol-forming flux in C. acetobutylicum, 18.9 g/liter of butanol was produced, with a yield of 0.71 mol butanol/mol glucose by batch fermentation, levels which are 160% and 245% higher than those obtained with the wild type. By fed-batch culture of this engineered strain with in situ recovery, 585.3 g of butanol was produced from 1,861.9 g of glucose, with the yield of 0.76 mol butanol/mol glucose and productivity of 1.32 g/liter/h. Studies of two butanol-forming routes and their effects on butanol production in C. acetobutylicum described here will serve as a basis for further metabolic engineering of clostridia aimed toward developing a superior butanol producer. IMPORTANCE Renewable biofuel is one of the answers to solving the energy crisis and climate change problems. Butanol produced naturally by clostridia has superior liquid fuel characteristics and thus has the potential to replace gasoline. Due to the lack of efficient genetic manipulation tools, however, strain improvement has been rather slow. Furthermore, complex metabolic characteristics of acidogenesis followed by solventogenesis in this strain have hampered development of engineered clostridia having highly efficient and selective butanol production capability. Here we report for the first time the results of systems metabolic engineering studies of two butanol-forming routes and their relative importances in butanol production. Based on these findings, a metabolically engineered Clostridium acetobutylicum strain capable of producing butanol to a high titer with high yield and selectivity could be developed by reinforcing the direct butanol-forming flux.

Background: The role of pentraxin-3 (PTX3) in the development of insulin resistance is still not clear. We aimed to test 1) whether circulating PTX3 levels are associated with insulin resistance and 2) whether changes in PTX3 levels after the physical activity are associated with changes in insulin resistance., Methods: Fifty-seven overweight or obese children (39 boys, 18 girls; age: 12.04±0.82y, BMI: 26.5±1.2 kg/m²) participated in the study. All participants were housed together and their amount of physical activity (1823.5±1.34 kcal/day) and food intake (1882±68.8 kcal/day) were tightly controlled., Results: Circulating PTX3 levels at baseline were negatively associated with fasting insulin (r=-.336, p=0.012) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (r=-.334, p=0.014) even after adjustment for BMI and Tanner stage. The degree of change in PTX3 levels notably associated with changes in fasting insulin (r=-.280, p=0.035) and HOMA-IR (r=-.281, p=.034) in response to the physical activity intervention. Subgroup analysis further indicates that HOMA-IR was improved more in subjects whose PTX3 levels were increased compared with subjects who PTX3 levels were decreased (HOMA-IR delta: -2.33±1.3 vs -1.46±0.70, p=0.004)., Conclusion: PTX3 is negatively associated with insulin resistance and associated with changes in insulin resistance induced by physical activity in overweight and obese children., (Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: Chemerin, a recently discovered adipocytokine, may be linked to obesity and obesity-associated metabolic complications. However, the relationship between visceral fat accumulation and chemerin is still unknown. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between serum chemerin levels and body composition as measured by computed tomography (CT)., Patients: We recruited 173 men and women without histories of diabetes or cardiovascular disease., Measurements: Biomarkers of metabolic risk factors and body composition by computed tomography were assessed. Serum chemerin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay., Results: Chemerin levels correlated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, abdominal visceral fat area, blood pressure, fasting insulin, homoeostasis model of assessment-insulin resistance, total cholesterol, triglyceride, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase. By stepwise multiple regression analysis, abdominal visceral fat area, blood pressure and total cholesterol levels independently affected chemerin levels., Conclusions: Abdominal visceral fat accumulation, blood pressure and lipid profile were significantly associated with serum chemerin levels. Our findings suggest that chemerin may be a mediator that links visceral obesity to cardiovascular risk factors., (© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Background: Ferritin is known to be associated with insulin resistance (IR) and oxidative stress; however, recent studies have shown that there is an association between ferritin and anti-oxidative status. To date, the biphasic response of ferritin to oxidative stress has not been fully evaluated. Thus, we investigated the association between ferritin and IR and anti-oxidative status in obese and non-obese women., Methods: We evaluated the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and total anti-oxidant status (TAS) in a total of 111 healthy women between the ages of 32 and 68 years., Results: In all of the study subjects, ferritin levels were positively correlated with age (r = 0.38, P < 0.001), body mass index (r = 0.24, P = 0.01), TAS (r = 0.38, P < 0.001) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.20, P = 0.04). In the subgroup analysis, ferritin levels were correlated with age (r = 0.39, P < 0.001) and TAS (r = 0.43, P < 0.001) in the non-obese group and with insulin (r = 0.50, P = 0.02) and HOMA-IR (r = 0.52, P = 0.01) levels in the obese group. On stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, ferritin was found to be independently associated with TAS (B = 177.16, P < 0.0001) in the non-obese group and independently associated with HOMA-IR (B = 30.36, P = 0.01) in the obese group., Conclusion: Our findings suggest ferritin is associated with IR in obese women and with anti-oxidative status in non-obese women. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the precise role of ferritin in obesity.

Clostridium acetobutylicum naturally produces acetone as well as butanol and ethanol. Since acetone cannot be used as a biofuel, its production needs to be minimized or suppressed by cell or bioreactor engineering. Thus, there have been attempts to disrupt or inactivate the acetone formation pathway. Here we present another approach, namely, converting acetone to isopropanol by metabolic engineering. Since isopropanol can be used as a fuel additive, the mixture of isopropanol, butanol, and ethanol (IBE) produced by engineered C. acetobutylicum can be directly used as a biofuel. IBE production is achieved by the expression of a primary/secondary alcohol dehydrogenase gene from Clostridium beijerinckii NRRL B-593 (i.e., adh(B-593)) in C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. To increase the total alcohol titer, a synthetic acetone operon (act operon; adc-ctfA-ctfB) was constructed and expressed to increase the flux toward isopropanol formation. When this engineering strategy was applied to the PJC4BK strain lacking in the buk gene (encoding butyrate kinase), a significantly higher titer and yield of IBE could be achieved. The resulting PJC4BK(pIPA3-Cm2) strain produced 20.4 g/liter of total alcohol. Fermentation could be prolonged by in situ removal of solvents by gas stripping, and 35.6 g/liter of the IBE mixture could be produced in 45 h.

Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are considered chronic inflammatory states. Chemerin, a novel adipokine, may play an important role in linking MetS and inflammation. We investigated the association of chemerin with inflammatory markers and with characteristics of MetS in apparently healthy overweight and obese adults. We studied 92 adults; 59 men and 33 women whose average body mass index (BMI) was 28.15 ± 5.08 kg/m(2). Anthropometric parameters, insulin resistance indices, lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers including high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), pentraxin 3 (PTX3), adiponectin, and chemerin were measured. Controlling for age, gender, and BMI, serum chemerin level was positively correlated with body fat and serum triglyceride, and negatively correlated with adiponectin and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL- C), and was not correlated with altered hsCRP or PTX3 levels. Among the low, moderate and high chemerin groups, high chemerin individuals are more likely to have lower HDL-C. Conversely, individuals in the low adiponectin group are more likely to have lower HDL-C and show more MetS phenotypic traits than moderate and high adiponectin subjects. To determine the relationships of chemerin and adiponectin to MetS and its components, participants were stratified into four groups based on their chemerin and adiponectin levels (high chemerin/high adiponectin, high chemerin/low adiponectin, low chemerin/high adiponectin, or low chemerin/low adiponectin). Participants who were in the high chemerin/low adiponectin group more likely to have dyslipidemia and MetS (OR: 5.79, 95% CI:1.00-33.70) compared to the other three group. Our findings suggest that chemerin and adiponectin may reciprocally participate in the development of MetS.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with higher incidences of cardiovascular events and with increased mortality from coronary heart disease. There is increasing evidence that MetS presents as a proinflammatory and prothrombotic state., Objectives: The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationships among adiponectin (a marker for adipocytokines), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP, a marker for inflammation), and brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity (ba-PWV, a marker for arterial stiffness) in MetS and to identify predictors of ba-PWV, which indicates subclinical atherosclerosis., Methods: The present study is a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of data collected as part of a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial that tested the effectiveness of a therapeutic lifestyle modification for Korean women with MetS (N = 52). We used the definition for MetS suggested by the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III., Results: Adiponectin was negatively correlated with hs-CRP (r = -0.316, P = .027) and ba-PWV (r = -0.284, P = .048), and hs-CRP was positively correlated with ba-PWV (r = 0.341, P = .016). Women with high hs-CRP and low adiponectin levels also had greater ba-PWV levels (P = .041). Levels of hs-CRP were independently associated with ba-PWV after adjusting for age, body mass index, and number of MetS components, whereas no independent association was identified for adiponectin., Conclusion: Levels of hs-CRP may provide important prognostic information in terms of future cardiovascular risk in women with MetS.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance and various metabolic diseases; and recently, elevated oxidative stress has been detected in PCOS. Mitochondria are highly susceptible to oxidative damage; and disordered mitochondrial function at the cellular level can impact whole-body metabolic homeostasis, leading to the hypothesis that abnormalities in markers of mitochondrial metabolism are related to PCOS. We compared mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in women with and without PCOS and investigated the independent relationship between mtDNA copy number and PCOS after adjustment for metabolic parameters. Fifty women with PCOS and 60 age- and body mass index-matched healthy women were studied. Mitochondrial DNA copy numbers as well as metabolic parameters and indices of insulin resistance were assessed. Mitochondrial DNA copy numbers were significantly lower in women with PCOS (P < .01). In the PCOS group, mtDNA copy number was negatively correlated with indices of insulin resistance, waist circumference, and triglyceride levels and positively correlated with sex hormone-binding globulin levels. In multiple logistic regression, the corresponding odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for PCOS by log-transformed mtDNA copy number and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance were 0.15 (0.04-0.56) and 4.26 (1.43-12.68), respectively, after adjustment for age, body mass index, and other metabolic factors. We report decreased mtDNA copy numbers in PCOS patients in relation to controls independently of insulin resistance or other metabolic factors. The pathophysiological and clinical significance of this finding requires further investigation., (Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although therapeutic lifestyle modification (TLM) effectively improves the values of diagnostic biomarkers of metabolic syndrome, less is known about its effects on inflammatory chemokines and insulin resistance (IR) in patients with this syndrome. Objectives. To examine the effects of a short-term TLM program on inflammatory chemokines (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [MCP-1], retinol binding protein-4 [RBP-4]) and IR in subjects with metabolic syndrome., Method: Twenty-nine women (aged 66.5 ± 9.5 years) with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to the TLM intervention group (n = 16) or control group (n = 13). The TLM intervention group was provided with 4 weeks of health screening, education, exercise, diet, and counseling. Participants in the control group were instructed to maintain their usual lifestyle behavior. Outcome variables measured included MCP-1, RBP-4, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). An intention-to-treat strategy was not followed, and the final number of subjects in the analysis was 22 (14 in the TLM group and 8 in the control group)., Results: After a 4-week TLM program, MCP-1, fasting insulin, and HOMA were significantly decreased in the TLM group compared to those in the control group (all p < .05)., Conclusions: We conclude that a short-term TLM program could be effective for improving inflammatory state and IR, which are significant preceding biomarkers for cardiovascular complications in subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Background: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a serological marker of malignant tumors, demonstrates a modest increase under nonmalignant conditions and the pro-inflammatory features of CEA suggest that CEA may be related to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome., Methods: A total of 7075 female Korean non-smokers who underwent health check-ups were analyzed in the present study. The interquartile cutoff values for serum CEA concentrations were 0.39, 0.84, and 1.40 ng/ml., Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased significantly with the increasing CEA quartiles, and the age-adjusted mean CEA concentration increased consistently with each additional component of metabolic syndrome. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, alcohol intake, exercise, body mass index, total cholesterol, WBC count, and hsCRP showed that the third and fourth CEA quartiles were associated with metabolic syndrome with odds ratios of 1.29 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.63 P<0.001) and 1.39 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.66, P<0.001), respectively., Conclusion: In female Korean non-smokers, serum CEA was independently associated with metabolic syndrome. The pathophysiologic and clinical significance of these findings requires further investigation., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Growing evidence suggests a link between body composition and serum osteocalcin. Here we examined such an association between serum osteocalcin and body composition in Korean obese men., Methods: Eighty-six men, aged 20 to 76 years, who visited the obesity clinic at the Division of Family Medicine, Severance hospital, Seoul, Korea were recruited for this study. Abdominal fat computed tomography (CT) scans were performed to measure the visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA)., Results: Serum osteocalcin levels were negatively correlated with age, VFA, and VFA/SFA ratio. In addition, serum osteocalcin levels were significantly decreased in obese and overweight subjects with visceral obesity (12.7±3.2) compared to those without visceral obesity (18.6±4.9). Multiple regression analysis showed that serum osteocalcin levels were associated with VFA in obese and overweight men after adjustment for age, insulin resistance, current smoking, alcohol consumption and adiposity indices., Conclusion: Osteocalcin was inversely related to visceral obesity in Korean obese and overweight men. These results suggest cross-talk between bone and adipose tissue., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The traditional belief that obesity is protective against osteoporosis has been questioned. Recent epidemiologic studies show that body fat itself may be a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone fractures. Accumulating evidence suggests that metabolic syndrome and the individual components of metabolic syndrome such as hypertension, increased triglycerides, and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol are also risk factors for low bone mineral density. Using a cross sectional study design, we evaluated the associations between obesity or metabolic syndrome and bone mineral density (BMD) or vertebral fracture., Materials and Methods: A total of 907 postmenopausal healthy female subjects, aged 60-79 years, were recruited from woman hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. BMD, vetebral fracture, bone markers, and body composition including body weight, body mass index (BMI), percentage body fat, and waist circumference were measured., Results: After adjusting for age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, total calcium intake, and total energy intake, waist circumference was negatively related to BMD of all sites (lumbar BMD p = 0.037, all sites of femur BMD p < 0.001) whereas body weight was still positively related to BMD of all sites (p < 0.001). Percentage body fat and waist circumference were much higher in the fracture group than the non-fracture group (p = 0.0383, 0.082 respectively). Serum glucose levels were positively correlated to lumbar BMD (p = 0.016), femoral neck BMD (p = 0.0335), and femoral trochanter BMD (p = 0.0082). Serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) was positively related to femoral trochanter BMD (p = 0.0366) and was lower in the control group than the fracture group (p = 0.011)., Conclusion: In contrast to the effect favorable body weight on bone mineral density, high percentage body fat and waist circumference are related to low BMD and a vertebral fracture. Some components of metabolic syndrome were related to BMD and a vertebral fracture.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between serum hepatic markers and the metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women., Methods: This study involved 1229 postmenopausal women aged 44-85 years, who visited the Center for Health Promotion for a health check-up. We excluded subjects from the analysis if they had a daily alcohol consumption of more than 1.5 drinks (alcohol consumption ≥20 g/day) or had chronic viral hepatitis. We also excluded subjects who had abnormal hepatic function, as defined by serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) >100 IU/L, serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) >100 IU/L, or serum total bilirubin concentrations >2 mg/dL., Results: Serum ALT and GGT concentrations increased in proportion to the number of elements of the metabolic syndrome (p<0.01). However, total bilirubin concentrations decreased (p=0.01). After adjusting for age, body mass index, and the presence of fatty liver in the patients with metabolic syndrome, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) were 1.38 (0.89-2.15) for log (ALT), 1.69 (1.30-2.20) for log (GGT), and 0.53 (0.33-0.86) for log (total bilirubin)., Conclusions: We found that an increase in GGT and a decrease in total bilirubin was associated with metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. Hepatic enzymes could be proposed as simple clinical metabolic markers that identify the metabolic syndrome.

Objective: The biological role and activity of visfatin, an adipokine mainly produced by visceral fat, has not been fully elucidated. The observed relationships between visfatin and metabolisyndrome are inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the relationship between visfatin and metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women., Methods: The present study included a sample of 110 postmenopausal Korean women. Subjects with cardiovascular disease or uncontrolled diabetes were excluded from the study sample. Body weight, height, blood pressure (BP), and waist and hip circumference were measured, and biochemical tests were performed., Results: The mean serum visfatin level (mean+/-SD) of subjects with metabolic syndrome was 2.74+/-1.70 ng/ml. This was significantly higher than the mean level of subjects without metabolic syndrome (p<0.01). As the number of components of metabolic syndrome increased, the concentration of serum visfatin also increased (p<0.01). Visfatin concentration was positively correlated with age (r=0.209, p<0.05), waist circumference (r=0.261, p<0.01), systolic BP (r=0.255, p<0.01), diastolic BP (r=0.252, p<0.01), fasting glucose level (r=0.278, p<0.01), fasting insulin level (r=0.313, p<0.01), HOMA-IR (r=0.345, p<0.01), total cholesterol level (r=0.213, p<0.05), triglyceride level (r=0.368, p<0.01), WBC count (r=0.352, p<0.01), and homocysteine level (r=0.196, p<0.05). Using a multiple logistic regression analysis, visfatin was found to be an independent factor associated with metabolic syndrome after an adjustment for confounding variables including age, body mass index (BMI), and HOMA-IR., Conclusions: Serum visfatin was associated with metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women. This suggests that visfatin may act as the underlying pathophysiological trigger for metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Although therapeutic lifestyle modification (TLM) has been recommended as a cornerstone treatment of metabolic syndrome (MetS), little is known about the biobehavioral effects of a TLM program for patients in a community. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-month TLM program on MetS risk factors and health-related qualities of life (HRQOL) among middle-aged and older women in a community in Korea. Fifty-two women (mean age, 62.7 +/- 9.0 years) with MetS were recruited from 3 community health centers and were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 31) or control (n = 21) groups. The patients in the intervention group participated in supervised TLM sessions for 6 months. The TLM program included health monitoring, counseling, health education, exercise, and dieting. Metabolic risk factors and HRQOL were measured at baseline, during the study (month 3), at completion (month 6), and post completion (month 12) of the TLM program. Compared with the control group, the TLM group showed significantly greater reductions in body weight (P < .001) and waist circumference (P < .001); these effects were sustained for 6 months after intervention. With regard to HRQOL, the TLM group showed greater improvements in physical function (P = .017), general health (P < .001), vitality (P = .008), and mental health (P = .027). These improvements, however, were not sustained after the intervention. The results indicate that a nurse-led systematic TLM program may be an effective strategy for managing middle-aged and older women with MetS at a community level.