Jangheung Mushroom Industry Research

The aim of the study was to determine factors predicting lymph node metastasis in patients with T1 or T2 colon cancer. A total of 906 patients with T1 or T2 colon cancer who underwent colon resection with regional lymphadenectomy in a tertiary hospital, from January 2008 to December 2013, were analyzed. The prognostic factors for LN metastasis and the risk factors for survival were analyzed. There were 728 patients (80.4%) without lymph node metastasis (LN-negative group) and 178 patients (19.6%) with lymph node metastasis (LN-positive group). Tumor invasion depth (P < 0.001), lymphatic invasion (P < 0.001), and perineural invasion (P = 0.008) were significantly different between the two groups. During the median follow-up period of 69 months, the 5-year disease-free survival rate was 98.6% for the LN-negative group and 92.8% for the LN-positive group (P ≤ 0.001). In multivariate analysis, influencing factors associated with disease-free survival rate were LN metastasis (P = 0.001) and perineural invasion (P = 0.040). Female, depth of tumor invasion (P = 0.001), and lymphatic invasion (P < 0.001) were significant independent predictive factors for lymph node metastasis in multivariate analysis. Positive LN status predicted poor disease-free survival in patients with early cancer. This suggests that depth of tumor invasion ≥ sm2 and the presence of lymphatic invasion in early colon cancer provide useful information to determine which patients would benefit from radical surgery.

To examine the association between occupational class and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in Korean workers. We used a nationally representative sample of Koreans (n = 2591) aged 19 to 65 years from the 2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The concentration of hsCRP (mg/L) was assessed by a high sensitivity immunoturbidimetric assay. Current occupation was categorized as: white-collar (managers/professionals), pink-collar (clerks/service/sales), blue-collar (craft/equipment/machine-assembling, agricultural/forestry/fishery, and elementary-level labor), or unemployed. Cross-sectional linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic/work-related/health conditions and behaviors. Compared with blue-collar workers, white-collar workers showed significantly higher levels of hsCRP (β = 0.16, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.30) after adjusting for all covariates, whereby the pattern was more pronounced among professionals. However, the association was not significant for unemployed and pink-collar workers. Findings suggest that Korean white-collar workers, particularly professionals, have elevated levels of inflammation.

Thuja orientalis is widespread in limestone zone of Korea. It is an aromatic and medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicine and aromatheraphy. No comparative data are available on the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of essential oil from wild and planted T. orientalis. The aim of this study is to investigate the comparison of chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oils. The essential oils of the leaves from wild and planted T. orientalis were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The analysis of the essential oils from wild and planted T. orientalis leaves revealed the presence of artemisia triene (1771.45 mg/l, 1930.44 mg/l), trans-isolimonene (1716.31 mg/l, 753.10 mg/l), terpinolene (506.16 mg/l, 679.60 mg/l), isopulegol (478.76 mg/l, 355.64 mg/l), caryophyllene (462.71 mg/l, 568.43 mg/l), sabinene (405.44 mg/l, 395.34 mg/l) and myrcene (316.09 mg/l, 406.74 mg/l) as major constituents. The antibacterial assay revealed that the two kinds of essential oil showed activity. Results obtained in this study revealed that there is some quantitative differences of the chemical composition and antibacterial activity were noted between wild and planted T. orientalis.

Within a large integrated health care system that includes local, regional, and national medical centers and offices, quality and patient safety teams, and research institutes, more than 58 000 nurses are employed, with the vast majority providing point-of-care service to patients and members. A small but increasingly important number of nurses are involved in quality improvement and research teams to improve patient care. Within this environment, a number of developments point to a growing need for nursing leadership in systems-level and delivery science policies and research. This article describes a partnership between clinical operations leaders and researchers (nurse scientists) to determine and utilize evidence-based practices to meet a system goal. The first objective of this article is to describe the barriers and potential solutions in combining practice, quality improvement, and research efforts across regions within a large integrated health care system. The second objective is to describe the uniqueness and importance of nurse leaders across interdisciplinary teams to simultaneously pursue research, quality improvement, and operational goals for the organization.

Saposhnikovia divaricata, Peucedanum japonicum, and Glehnia littoralis of the family Umbelliferae, have long been used as traditional herbal medicine in Asian countries. This study is the first to compare and analyze the relationship between antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, and total polyphenol content of Saposhnikovia divaricata, Peucedanum japonicum, and Glehnia littoralis. The four fractions of hydro-methanol extract of these 3 plants were evaluated using the disc diffusion method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration against 5 different bacterial strains. The ethyl acetate fraction was the most effective against the bacterial strains investigated. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl free radical scavenging activity was evaluated to measure antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity of the ether and ethyl acetate fractions was in the order of Saposhnikovia divaricata>Peucedanum japonicum>Glehnia littoralis. The total polyphenol content of Saposhnikovia divaricata was greater than that of Peucedanum japonicum and Glehnia littoralis. Even though the 3 plants belong to the same family and are used for similar medical purposes, their antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity, and total polyphenol content was different. This study would help researchers to uncover the critical aspects of the activities possessed by plants.

In this study, we investigated the variation in free sugars, organic acids, antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory effect of Solanum nigrum Linne fruits according to harvest time. Four kinds of free sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose) were detected in S. nigrum fruit, and the free sugar contents varied significantly with harvest time. Organic acid content of S. nigrum fruit showed the highest in malic acid and acetic acid, and the highest content of total organic acids was found in S. nigrum fruit harvested on October 18th and October 25th. For the total polyphenol content, S. nigrum fruit harvested on October 18th was the highest. The strongest DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity was showed in S. nigrum fruit harvested on October 11th and October 18th. The anti-inflammatory activity and antioxidant effects were the highest in the ethanol extract from S. nigrum fruit collected on October 18th and October 11th. Thus, it seems the best to harvest of S. nigrum fruit harvested on October 11th and October 18th.

We discovered recently in vitro and in vivo antithrombotic and cytotoxicity effects of ferulic acid. The cytotoxicity assays showed that ferulic acid (∼300μg/mL) did not cause any significant toxicity on three cell lines, platelets, leukocytes, and erythrocytes. In vitro assays showed inhibitory effects of ferulic acid on thrombin (THR)- or collagen/epinephrine-stimulated platelet activation by inhibiting platelet aggregation, and decreasing clot retraction activity. The in vitro effect of ferulic acid on THR-stimulated platelet activation was proved by the decrease in the secretion of serotonin from the platelets. The anticoagulant effects of ferulic acid were confirmed by the prolongation of the intrinsic or/and extrinsic pathways and the delay of recalcification time in plasma coagulation. Ferulic acid had antithrombotic effect in acute thromboembolism model in vivo, and decreased the expression of αIIb β3 /FIB and phosphorylation of AKT in THR-stimulated platelet activation in vivo, and their antithrombotic efficacies hold promise for therapeutic targeting in our ongoing studies.

The present study evaluates the in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo antithrombotic and anticoagulant effect of two flavonoids: quercetin and quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucoside (isoquercetin). The present results have shown that quercetin and isoquercetin inhibit the enzymatic activity of thrombin and FXa and suppress fibrin clot formation and blood clotting. The prolongation effect of quercetin and isoquercetin against epinephrine and collagen-induced platelet activation may have been caused by intervention in intracellular signaling pathways including coagulation cascade and aggregation response on platelets and blood. The in vivo and ex vivo anticoagulant efficacy of quercetin and isoquercetin was evaluated in thrombin-induced acute thromboembolism model and in ICR mice. Our findings showed that in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects of quercetin were slightly higher than that of quercetin glucoside, whereas in vitro and ex vivo anticoagulant effects of quercetin were weaker than that of quercetin glucoside because of their structural characteristics.

This study investigated the anti-amnesic effect of fermented Ganoderma lucidum water extracts (GW) on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in rats. GW were fermented by the lactic acid bacterium Bifidobacterium bifidum (FGWB), followed by Lactobacillus sakei LI033 (FGWBL). To induce amnesia, scopolamine (1 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected into rats 30 min before the behavioral tests. Step-through latencies of rats treated with primary fermented extracts (300 mg/kg, FGWB) and secondary fermented extracts (300 mg/kg, FGWBL) were significantly longer than those of rats treated with GW (300 mg/kg) in the retention trial of the multiple trial passive avoidance test. In the Morris water maze task, FGWBL significantly shortened escape latencies in training trials. Furthermore, swimming times within the target zone during the probe trial with FGWBL were significantly higher than the GW and FGWB treatments. In addition, acetylcholinesterase activities were lower in the brains of scopolamine-treated rats treated with FGWBL. These results suggest that FGWBL could be useful to enhance learning memory and cognitive function via cholinergic dysfunction.