Physiological Functionality and Enzyme Activity of Biomass from Pichia anomala Grown on Ginseng-Steaming Effluent

A novel biomass was prepared from Pichia anomala KCCM 11473, which grew well in ginseng-steaming effluent (GSE), and its physiological functionalities and enzyme activities were determined. When the strain was cultured in the GSE (pH 6.0) at 30degrees C for 48 h, 1.6 mg of biomass per ml-cultures was produced. The cell-free extract of the biomass showed high antihypertensive angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activity of 72.0% and anticholesteromia HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity of 46.5%. The cell-free extract also showed 13.0 U per ml and 8.5 U per ml of neutral protease activity and alkaline protease, respectively.

Screening and Optimal Extraction of a New Antidementia beta-Secretase Inhibitor-Containing Mushroom

To produce a potent antidementia beta-secretase inhibitor from a mushroom, the beta-secretase inhibitory activities of various mushroom extracts were determined. Methanol extracts of Lentinula edodes exhibited the highest inhibitory activity (40.1%). The inhibitor was maximally extracted when a fruiting body of L. edodes was treated with 50% methanol at 40degrees C for 24 h.

Basal and Down-regulated Serum LH Levels as a Prognostic Indicator of Ovarian Response to Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: The effect of basal day 3 luteinizing hormone (LH) and pituitary desensitized day 3 LH level on ovarian response to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation were investigated. METHODS: From January 1999 to December 2001, 445 cycles for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) were allocated to this study. Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) was performed using long protocol of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa). All patients included in this study had blood samples drawn on cycle day 3 prior to COH and cycle day 3 after pituitary desensitization with GnRHa for measurement of FSH and LH. Infertile women were younger than 43 years old, and had normal menstrual cycle, normal day 3 FSH and LH level (<10 mIU/ml), infertility factor caused by tubal factor, mild endometriosis, unexplained infertility or mild male subfertility. The result of COH and IVF-ET were compared between low LH group and high LH group according to the level of basal LH (3 mIU/ml) and down-regulated LH (1 mIU/ml). RESULTS: The low LH groups were significantly higher FSH:LH ratio, higher dose of exogenous gonadotropin for pituitary desensitization, longer duration of gonadotropin administration. The peak estradiol, number of oocytes retrieved, number of MII oocyte, mean cumulative embryo score (MCES) were significantly lower in the low LH group than the high LH group. There were not significantly differentiation in the duration of pituitary desensitization, fertilization rate and the number of transferred embryos. The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was not correlated with the value of basal LH concentration, but correlated with the value of down-regulated LH concentration. CONCLUSION: The lower LH activity (basal LH <3 mIU/ml, down-regulated LH <1 mIU/ml) is significantly associated with reduced ovarian response in controlled ovarian hyperstimulation after desensitization with GnRHa. These results suggest that down-regulated LH level 1 mIU/ml may be a useful predictor of the clinical pregnancy rate per cycle after controlled ovarian hyperstimulation.

Life Event Stress and Coping Strategies in Patients with Alopecia Areata and Androgenetic Alopecia / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial stress and stressful events in life have been reported to be closely related to the onset and acute exacerbation of some dermatologic disorders, such as alopecia areata, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis. However, the nature of the association between stress and dermatologic disorders remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine the relation of stress and the onset and exacerbation of dermatologic disorders. Furthermore we studied whether the coping strategies to stress are related to dermatologic disorders. METHOD: We examined 30 patients with alopecia areata, 30 patients with androgenetic alopecia who visited Dept. of Dermatology, Chung-Ang University Hospital and a control group of 30 who visited our clinic at the same time for tinea pedis and onychomycosis, which are supposed not to be related to stress. For the evaluation of stress we used questionares of 'Scale of Life Events' and 'Multidimensional Coping Scale'. RESULT: 1) The score of life event stress in the alopecia areata group was significantly higher than that of the normal control group. The score of life event stress in androgenetic alopecia was higher than that of the normal control group with no statistical significance. 2) In the aspect of coping strategies, the alopecia areata group was significantly higher than the normal control group at the passive withdrawal and fatalism, while in the normal control group, emotional pacification, positive comparison and religious seeking tended to be higher than the alopecia areata group. In the androgenetic alopecia group, no significant pathologic coping strategies were found compared with the control. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the psychosocial stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia. But to clarify the exact role of stress, further studies about biological parameters of physiologic changes to stress are needed in the future.