Analytical modeling of glucose biosensors based on carbon nanotubes.

In recent years, carbon nanotubes have received widespread attention as promising carbon-based nanoelectronic devices. Due to their exceptional physical, chemical, and electrical properties, namely a high surface-to-volume ratio, their enhanced electron transfer properties, and their high thermal conductivity, carbon nanotubes can be used effectively as electrochemical sensors. The integration of carbon nanotubes with a functional group provides a good and solid support for the immobilization of enzymes.

Glaucoma diagnostic value of the total macular thickness and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness according to optic disc area.

Aims: This study examined the diagnostic value of the perimacular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness in the detection of glaucoma according to the optic disc area.

Methods: The participants underwent reliable standard automated perimetry tests and Cirrus optical coherence tomography. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to determine the diagnostic ability of the GCIPL, total macular thickness, retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and optic nerve head parameters.

Irregularities in glucose metabolism induced by stress and high-calorie diet can be attenuated by glycyrrhizic acid.

Stress and high-calorie diet increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) has been shown to improve hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia under various physiological conditions. This study was aimed at examining the effects of stress and GA on glucose metabolism under short- or long-term stress.

Incident chronic kidney disease and newly developed complications related to renal dysfunction in an elderly population during 5 years: a community-based elderly population cohort study.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the association between incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) and related complications, especially in elderly population. We attempted to verify the association between GFR and concurrent CKD complications and elucidate the temporal relationship between incident CKD and new CKD complications in a community-based prospective elderly cohort.

Method: We analyzed the available data from 984 participants in the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging.

Effect of jeju water on blood glucose levels in diabetic patients: a randomized controlled trial.

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.

Expression of claudin-7 and loss of claudin-18 correlate with poor prognosis in gastric cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of claudin-3, claudin-7, and claudin-18 in gastric cancer and to determine the significance of these proteins for patient outcome.

Materials And Methods: A total of 134 samples were obtained from surgically resected specimens from patients who were diagnosed with gastric carcinoma at a single institution. Paraffin tissue sections from tissue microarray blocks were examined with immunohistochemistry for the expression of claudin-3, claudin-7, and claudin-18.

Serum anion gap is predictive of mortality in an elderly population.

An elevated serum anion gap is known to be associated with hypertension, low cardiorespiratory fitness, and decreased renal function. We evaluated whether serum AG might be predictive of elderly mortality in a community-based cohort in Korea. We analyzed the available data from 862 elderly people in the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging.

Association of insulin resistance with lower glomerular filtration rate and all-cause mortality in the Korean elderly population: a community-based prospective cohort study.

Insulin resistance (IR) is a common metabolic disorder in chronic kidney disease patients. In the elderly population, it is not clear whether IR is associated with lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and mortality. Here, we analyzed the association between IR and GFR, all-cause mortality (ACM), or cardiovascular mortality (CVM) in the elderly population.

Adsorption and distribution of fluorescent solutes near the articular surface of mechanically injured cartilage.

The development of cartilage-specific imaging agents supports the improvement of tissue assessment by minimally invasive means. Techniques for highlighting cartilage surface damage in clinical images could provide for sensitive indications of posttraumatic injury and early stage osteoarthritis. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that fluorescent solutes interact with cartilage surfaces strongly enough to affect measurement of their partition coefficients within the tissue bulk.

Changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness and choroidal extravascular density by spectral domain optical coherence tomography after haemodialysis: a pilot study.

Aims: To examine the changes in the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal density using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) before and after haemodialysis (HD).

Methods: 28 eyes of 19 patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) undergoing HD were included. Ophthalmologic examinations including SD-OCT were performed 1 h before and after HD.

Decreased solute adsorption onto cracked surfaces of mechanically injured articular cartilage: towards the design of cartilage-specific functional contrast agents.

Background: Currently available methods for contrast agent-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) of articular cartilage can only detect cartilage degradation after biochemical changes have occurred within the tissue volume. Differential adsorption of solutes to damaged and intact surfaces of cartilage may be used as a potential mechanism for detection of injuries before biochemical changes in the tissue volume occur.

Methods: Adsorption of four fluorescent macromolecules to surfaces of injured and sliced cartilage explants was studied.

Evaluation of UDP-GlcN derivatives for selective labeling of 5-(hydroxymethyl)cytosine.

5-(hydroxymethyl)cytosine (5-hmC) is a newly identified oxidative product of 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) in the mammalian genome, and is believed to be an important epigenetic marker influencing a variety of biological processes. In addition to its relatively low abundance, the fluctuation of 5-hmC levels over time during cell development poses a formidable challenge for its accurate mapping and quantification. Here we describe a specific chemoenzymatic approach to 5-hmC detection in DNA samples by using new uridine 5'-diphosphoglucosamine (UDP-GlcN) probes.

Tacrolimus decreases albuminuria in patients with IgA nephropathy and normal blood pressure: a double-blind randomized controlled trial of efficacy of tacrolimus on IgA nephropathy.

Background: Treatment remains uncertain for IgA nephropathy patients with mild to moderate proteinuria, for whom anti-hypertensive medication or the RAS blocker is not applicable due to low blood pressure.

Trial Design: A double blinded randomized trial.

Methods: The anti-proteinuric effect of tacrolimus was explored for 40 biopsy-proven mild IgA nephropathies for 16 weeks.

Higher Prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase in Patients on Renal Replacement Therapy.

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance is higher in patients undergoing renal replacement therapy (RRT) than in patients who did not undergo RRT. We investigated the presence of KP (Klebsiella pneumoniae) in patients who underwent RRT. All data were collected retrospectively by accessing patient medical records from 2004 to 2011 for the culture results of all patients who were positive for KP.

Characteristics associated with the occurrence of adverse events: a retrospective medical record review using the Global Trigger Tool in a fully digitalized tertiary teaching hospital in Korea.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the performance of the Global Trigger Tool and to investigate characteristics associated with the occurrence of adverse events (AEs).

Study Design: Retrospective medical record review.

Setting: A tertiary teaching hospital, Korea.

Small increases in plasma sodium are associated with higher risk of mortality in a healthy population.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease. Salt intake has a strong influence on BP, and plasma sodium (pNa) is increased with progressive increases in salt intake. However, the associations with pNa and BP had been reported inconsistently.

Duration of acute kidney injury and mortality in critically ill patients: a retrospective observational study.

Background: The addition of relevant parameters to acute kidney injury (AKI) criteria might allow better prediction of patient mortality than AKI criteria alone. Here, we evaluated whether inclusion of AKI duration could address this issue.

Methods: AKI was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines in 2,143 critically ill patients, within 15 days of patient admission.

Bilirubin attenuates the renal tubular injury by inhibition of oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Background: Bilirubin (BIL) has been recognized as an endogenous antioxidant that shows a protective effect for cardiorenal diseases. We investigated whether administration of BIL had a protective effect on cyclosporine (CsA)-induced nephropathy (CIN), and examined the effects of BIL on the oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Methods: BIL was pretreated intraperitoneally three times for a week (60 mg/kg), and CsA was injected for 4 weeks (15 mg/kg/day, subcutaneous).

Stress and Its Effects on Glucose Metabolism and 11β-HSD Activities in Rats Fed on a Combination of High-Fat and High-Sucrose Diet with Glycyrrhizic Acid.

Chronic stress has been shown to have a strong link towards metabolic syndrome (MetS). Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) meanwhile has been shown to improve MetS symptoms caused by an unhealthy diet by inhibiting 11 β -HSD 1. This experiment aimed to determine the effects of continuous, moderate-intensity stress on rats with and without GA intake on systolic blood pressure (SBP) across a 28-day period, as well as glucose metabolism, and 11 β -HSD 1 and 2 activities at the end of the 28-day period.

Identification of DNMT1 selective antagonists using a novel scintillation proximity assay.

A novel scintillation proximity high throughput assay (SPA) to identify inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases was developed and used to screen over 180,000 compounds. The majority of the validated hits shared a quinone core and several were found to generate the reactive oxygen species, H2O2. Inhibition of the production of H2O2 by the addition of catalase blocked the ability of this group of compounds to inhibit DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity.

Solute transport across the articular surface of injured cartilage.

Solute transport through extracellular matrix (ECM) is important to physiology and contrast agent-based clinical imaging of articular cartilage. Mechanical injury is likely to have important effects on solute transport since it involves alteration of ECM structure. Therefore it is of interest to characterize effects of mechanical injury on solute transport in cartilage.

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor attenuates kidney injury in rat remnant kidney.

Background: The inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) IV shows protective effects on tissue injury of the heart, lung, and kidney. Forkhead box O (FoxO) transcriptional factors regulate cellular differentiation, growth, survival, the cell cycle, metabolism, and oxidative stress. The aims of this study were to investigate whether the DPP IV inhibitor sitagliptin could attenuate kidney injury and to evaluate the status of FoxO3a signaling in the rat remnant kidney model.

The occurrence of warfarin-related nephropathy and effects on renal and patient outcomes in korean patients.

Background: Warfarin-related nephropathy (WRN) is a recently described disease entity, in which excessive warfarinization (international normalized ratio (INR) >3.0) causes acute kidney injury. Previous reports regarding WRN included few Asian patients who might have differed from the western WRN patients in terms of genetic and environmental factors.