Risk factors and renal outcomes of low bone mineral density in patients with non-dialysis chronic kidney disease.

Bone disorder is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The clinical usefulness of bone mineral density (BMD) in CKD is not well known. Our study shows that low BMD is associated with physical activity and dietary Na/K intake ratio and can predict poor renal outcome in non-dialysis CKD. PURPOSE: Despite evidence of a link between bone mineral disorders and chronic kidney disease (CKD), the clinical implications of bone mineral density (BMD) in CKD are not well established. We investigated risk factors and renal outcomes of low BMD in CKD. METHODS: We analyzed data from the KNOW-CKD. BMD measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was classified by T score: normal (T score ≥ - 1.0), osteopenia (- 1.0 > T score > - 2.5), and osteoporosis (T score ≤ - 2.5) of the lumbar spine, hip, or femoral neck. Logistic regression analysis to assess risk factors of low BMD (T score < - 1.0) and Cox proportional hazards models to estimate risk of incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD). RESULTS: Low BMD was prevalent (osteopenia 33%; osteoporosis 8%) in 2128 adults with CKD (age 54 ± 12 years; male 61%). Over a median follow-up of 4.3 years, there were 521 cases of incident ESRD. Lower BMD was associated with female sex, older age, low eGFR, low BMI, and lifestyle factors of physical activity (odds ratio (OR) = 0.62, 95% confidence interval (0.49-0.77)) and spot urine Na/K ratio (1.07 (1.00-1.15)). In adjusted Cox models, low BMD was associated with increased incident ESRD (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14 (0.92-1.41) for osteopenia; 1.43 (1.01-2.04) for osteoporosis, P for trend < 0.05) compared with the reference of normal BMD. The association between low BMD and ESRD was similar according to T score discordance classification. CONCLUSIONS: Low BMD was associated with modifiable lifestyle factors including low physical activity and high dietary Na/K intake ratio. The presence of low BMD is associated with poor renal outcomes in non-dialysis CKD.

Preservation of fruit and vegetable discards with sodium metabisulfite.

Two series of experiments were performed to investigate the aerobic preservation of fruit and vegetable discards (FVD) using sodium metabisulfite (SMB). In Exp. 1, metabisulfite was applied at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 g/kg FVD for 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 d. Metabisulfite treatment at 6 and 8 g/kg FVD was highly effective in controlling putrefaction and preserving the nutrient components for 6 and 9 d, respectively. In the pilot-scale experiment (Exp. 2), SMB was applied at 0 and 8 g/kg FVD in a 600-L bucket for 0, 6, and 9 d in an outdoor environment. The SMB treatment was highly effective in maintaining the integrity and freshness of FVD, suppressing microbial proliferation, and preserving the nutrient constituents. Under the conditions of this study, SMB effectively preserved FVD in an aerobic environment, enabling their more efficient long-term recycling through livestock feed or development of value-added products.

Propagation Dynamics Associated with Resonant Magnetic Perturbation Fields in High-Confinement Mode Plasmas inside the KSTAR Tokamak.

The propagation dynamics of resonant magnetic perturbation fields in KSTAR H-mode plasmas with injection of small edge perturbations produced by a supersonic molecular beam injection is reported for the first time. The results show that the perturbation field first excites a plasma response on the q=3 magnetic surface and then propagates inward to the q=2 surface with a radially averaged propagation velocity of resonant magnetic perturbations field equal to 32.5 m/ s. As a result, the perturbation field brakes the toroidal rotation on the q=3 surface first causing a momentum transport perturbation that propagates both inward and outward. A higher density fluctuation level is observed. The propagation velocity of the resonant magnetic perturbations field is larger than the radial propagation velocity of the perturbation in the toroidal rotation.

Responses of blood glucose, insulin, glucagon, and Fatty acids to intraruminal infusion of propionate in hanwoo.

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of intraruminal infusion of propionate on ruminal fermentation characteristics and blood hormones and metabolites in Hanwoo (Korean cattle) steers. Four Hanwoo steers (average body wt. 270 kg, 13 month of age) equipped with rumen cannula were infused into rumens with 0.0 M (Water, C), 0.5 M (37 g/L, T1), 1.0 M (74 g/L, T2) and 1.5 M (111 g/L, T3) of propionate for 1 hour per day and allotted by 4×4 Latin square design. On the 5th day of infusion, samples of rumen and blood were collected at 0, 60, 120, 180, and 300 min after intraruminal infusion of propionate. The concentrations of serum glucose and plasma glucagon were not affected (p>0.05) by intraruminal infusion of propionate. The serum insulin concentration at 60 min after infusion was significantly (p<0.05) higher in T3 than in C, while the concentration of non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) at 60 and 180 min after infusion was significantly (p<0.05) lower in the propionate treatments than in C. Hence, intraruminal infusion of propionate stimulates the secretion of insulin, and decreases serum NEFA concentration rather than the change of serum glucose concentration.

Maintenance Crude Protein Requirement of Penned Female Korean Spotted Deer (Cervus nippon).

This study was conducted to evaluate the protein requirement for maintenance of 2-year-old female Korean spotted deer. In the course of the experiment, each of three hand-reared female spotted deer was fed three diets that were iso-calorically formulated to contain low (approximately 7%), medium (12%), and high (17%) levels of crude protein (CP). Each of six trials included a 5-day transition, a 10-day preliminary, and a 7-day collection period. Dietary protein levels affected the apparent digestibility of CP (p<0.05) but not the apparent digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, or acid detergent fiber. All of the deer showed a positive CP balance on all of the diets. The maintenance CP requirement estimated by regression analysis was 4.17 g/kg metabolic body weight (W(0.75))·d. The maintenance digestible CP requirement was 1.42 g/kg W(0.75)·d. The metabolic fecal CP was 1.95 g/kg W(0.75)·d. The blood urea nitrogen of spotted deer increased (p<0.05) as the dietary protein levels increased.

Ensiling Characteristics and the In situ Nutrient Degradability of a By-product Feed-based Silage.

This study was conducted to evaluate the ensiling characteristics and the in situ degradability of a by-product feed (BF)-based silage. Before ensilation, the BF-based mixture was composed of 50% spent mushroom substrate, 21% recycled poultry bedding, 15% ryegrass straw, 10.8% rice bran, 2% molasses, 0.6% bentonite, and 0.6% microbial inoculant on a wet basis and ensiled for up to 4 weeks. The BF-based silage contained on average 39.3% moisture, 13.4% crude protein (CP), and 52.2% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 49% total digestible nutrient, and 37.8% physically effective NDF1.18 on a dry matter (DM) basis. Ensiling the BF-based silage for up to 4 weeks affected (p<0.01) the chemical composition to a small extent, increased (p<0.05) the lactic acid and NH3-N content, and decreased (p<0.05) both the total bacterial and lactic acid bacterial counts from 10(9) to 10(8) cfu/g when compared to that before ensiling. These parameters indicated that the silage was fermented and stored well during the 4-week ensiling period. Compared with rice or ryegrass straws, the BF-based silage had a higher (p<0.05) water-soluble and filterable fraction, a lower insoluble degradable DM and CP fraction (p<0.05), a lower digestible NDF (p<0.05) fraction, a higher (p<0.05) DM and CP disappearance and degradability rate, and a lower (p<0.05) NDF disappearance and degradability rate. These results indicated that cheap, good-quality BF-based roughage could be produced by ensiling SMS, RPB, rice bran, and a minimal amount of straw.

Rotational resonance of nonaxisymmetric magnetic braking in the KSTAR tokamak.

One of the important rotational resonances in nonaxisymmetric neoclassical transport has been experimentally validated in the KSTAR tokamak by applying highly nonresonant n=1 magnetic perturbations to rapidly rotating plasmas. These so-called bounce-harmonic resonances are expected to occur in the presence of magnetic braking perturbations when the toroidal rotation is fast enough to resonate with periodic parallel motions of trapped particles. The predicted and observed resonant peak along with the toroidal rotation implies that the toroidal rotation in tokamaks can be controlled naturally in favorable conditions to stability, using nonaxisymmetric magnetic perturbations.

Effect of estradiol on the expression of renal sodium transporters in rats.

BACKGROUND: Although estradiol has been thought to perform an important role in blood pressure regulation, the effects of estradiol on the expression of renal sodium transporters are not fully understood. METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 17ß-estradiol or vehicle for 10 days after ovariectomy, and after both ovariectomy and adrenalectomy to eliminate the effect of aldosterone. RESULTS: In the ovariectomized (OVX) rats, estradiol decreased the abundance of the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter (NKCC2) (31.5% of control (OVX), p < 0.01), Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC) proteins (40.5% of control (OVX), p < 0.01) and α- and γ-subunits of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) (44.7% and 11.0% of control (OVX), p < 0.01). Estradiol also reduced plasma aldosterone levels (OVX + 17ß-estradiol vs. OVX, 116.3 ± 44.4 vs. 184.2 ± 33.4 pmol/l, p < 0.05) and systolic blood pressure (OVX + 17ß-estradiol vs. OVX, 115 ± 4 vs. 132 ± 2 mmHg, p < 0.05). In rats having undergone adrenalectomy and ovariectomy, estradiol did not reduce systolic blood pressure, or the expression of sodium transporters. CONCLUSION: Estradiol decreased systolic blood pressure, plasma aldosterone levels, and the expression of renal sodium transporters. After aldosterone was eliminated, estradiol did not affect blood pressure or the expression of sodium transporters, which indicates that the effect of estradiol on the renal sodium transporters is at least partly influenced by aldosterone.

A comparison of outcomes between concurrent chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy alone in cancer of the uterine cervix: a single institutional experience.

PURPOSE: To compare failure patterns and evaluate prognostic factors related to survival rates after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or radiotherapy (RT) alone in cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1996 to December 2006, 218 patients with cervical cancer (FIGO Stage IB2 - III) treated with CCRT or RT alone as primary treatments were included, retrospectively. One-hundred eight patients were treated with CCRT and 110 with RT alone. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in failure patterns between the treatment groups, but distant metastasis was the predominant pattern in both groups. The frequent metastatic sites were supraclavicular lymph node, lung, and brain. Treatment group, diabetes, and FIGO Stage were found to be significant for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), and initial hemoglobin level for DFS. CONCLUSION: Distant metastasis is the predominant failure pattern and diabetes is one of the independent prognostic factors to survival rates in this study.

Effect of indigenous herbs on growth, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics in the late fattening period of hanwoo steers.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of indigenous herbal supplements on growth, blood metabolites and carcass characteristics in the late fattening period of Hanwoo steers. In a 6 month feeding trial, thirty Hanwoo steers (647±32 kg) were allotted to one of 5 treatment groups, control (basal diet contained lasalocid), licorice, clove, turmeric and silymarin, with six steers per pen. All groups received ad libitum concentrate and 1 kg rice straw/animal/d throughout the feeding trial. Blood samples were collected at the beginning, middle, and the end of the experiment and the steers were slaughtered at the end. Blood glucose, triglyceride, total protein, and albumin concentrations were higher in the turmeric treatment compared with other treatments. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations were highest (p<0.003 and p = 0.071, respectively) in steers treated with silymarin. Alanine aminotransferase activity was lower (p<0.06) for licorice and silymarin compared with the control group. There were no alterations in serum aspartate aminotransferase and gamma glutamyltransferase activities as a consequence of herb treatments (p = 0.203 and 0.135, respectively). Final body weight, body weight gain, average dairy gain and dry matter intake were not significantly different among treatments. Yield grade, marbling score and quality grade were higher for silymarin group than those of the control group (p<0.05). Therefore, the results suggest that silymarin can be used an effective dietary supplement as an alternative to antibiotic feed additive and a productivity enhancer, providing safe and more consumer acceptable alternative to synthetic compounds during the late fattening period of steers.

Effects of electron-cyclotron-resonance-heating-induced internal kink mode on the toroidal rotation in the KSTAR Tokamak.

It is observed that the magnitude of the toroidal rotation speed is reduced by the central electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) regardless of the direction of the toroidal rotation. The magnetohydrodynamics activities generally appear with the rotation change due to ECRH. It is shown that the internal kink mode is induced by the central ECRH and breaks the toroidal symmetry. When the magnetohydrodynamics activities are present, the toroidal plasma viscosity is not negligible. The observed effects of ECRH on the toroidal plasma rotation are explained by the neoclassical toroidal viscosity in this Letter. It is found that the neoclassical toroidal viscosity torque caused by the internal kink mode damps the toroidal rotation.

Effects of Supplementing Microbially-fermented Spent Mushroom Substrates on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Hanwoo Steers (a Field Study).

This study evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation of microbially-fermented spent mushroom substrates (MFSMS) on weight gain, carcass characteristics, and economic efficiency of Hanwoo steers. Highly cellulolytic bacteria (Enterobacter spp. and Bacillus spp.) isolated from spent mushroom substrates (SMS) stacks were inoculated (1% v/v) into the SMS, which was anaerobically fermented and fed to the steers for 12.6 months during the growing and fattening periods. Growing Hanwoo steers were assigned to the control group without supplementation of Microbially-fermented SMS (MFSMS), to a treatment group with 50% of MFSMS (1/2 of the ad libitum group), and to a treatment group with ad libitum access to SMS (the ad libitum group). All the groups were fed the formulated feed and rice straw. The voluntary intake (DM basis) of MFSMS was 1.6 kg/d during the growing period and 1.4 kg/d during the fattening period. The voluntary rice straw intake decreased by 6 to 11%, but the total voluntary DMI increased by 7 to 15% with MFSMS fed. The increased DMI with MFSMS supplementation resulted in a tendency of increased (p = 0.055) live weight gain by 8 to 12% compared with the control group. At slaughtering, the supplementation of MFSMS increased (p<0.05) the ribeye area by an average of 10 cm(2). In conclusion, feeding MFSMS improved growth performance and carcass traits of Hanwoo steers and could successfully replace a part of conventional roughage such as rice straw commonly used in Asian countries.

The effects of oral iron supplementation on the progression of anemia and renal dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease.

AIMS: Oral iron traditionally has been administered to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, there are limited data on the effect of oral iron in CKD patients. Here, we evaluate the effects of oral iron therapy on renal anemia and progression of renal disease in CKD patients. METHODS: Anemic patients with nondialytic CKD who were naive to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) were recruited for the prospective observational study. The participants were classified into oral iron or control group, and they were asked to keep their treatment status for 1 year. The primary outcomes were change in Hb and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). RESULTS: A total of 182 participants were enrolled and 138 completed a 12-month follow-up. No change in Hb level was observed during the follow-up period in the iron group, whereas a significant decrease in Hb was observed in the control group. Oral iron supplementation was effective, especially in patients with eGFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2. The changes in eGFR did not differ between the two groups. The incidences of drug-related adverse events were equivalent in two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Oral iron supplementation might attenuate the progression of anemia in nondialytic CKD patients without ESAs and not impact kidney function.

Depression and health-related quality of life in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to determine the prevalence of depression among hemodialysis (HD) patients from urban hospitals in Korea, to illustrate demographic factors and biomarkers associated with depression and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and to demonstrate association between depression and HRQOL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: For this multicenter, cross-sectional study, 160 HD patients from 3 university teaching hospitals and 3 local dialysis units in Korea were enrolled. Korean Beck's depression inventory and Korean version of Kidney Disease Quality of Life short form, version 1.3 (KDQOL-SFTM 1.3) were used to evaluate depression and quality of life, respectively. RESULTS: Depression was found in 51 out of 160 (31.9%) patients. Old age (> 60 years old), low hemoglobin level (< 10 g/dl), and low economic status were associated with depression, and old age (OR 6.138, p = 0.001) was the most important risk factor among them. Old age, female gender, presence of diabetes mellitus, high comorbidity index score (modified Charlson comorbidity index > or = 6), hypoalbuminemia (< 4.0 g/dl), and high CRP (> 0.5 mg/dl) were common factors associated with decreased HRQOL. Depression and HRQOL showed inverse linear relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate to severe depression was common in maintenance HD patients in Korea. Among factors associated with depression and decreased HRQOL, some characteristics are potentially modifiable by social and medical intervention. Further prospective studies are warranted to see whether depression and HRQOL can be improved by modifying these factors.

5,7-dihydroxy-3,4,6-trimethoxyflavone inhibits the inflammatory effects induced by Bacteroides fragilis enterotoxin via dissociating the complex of heat shock protein 90 and I kappaB alpha and I kappaB kinase-gamma in intestinal epithelial cell culture.

Enterotoxin produced by enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (BFT) has been associated with mucosal inflammation and diarrhoeal diseases. In this study, the anti-inflammatory molecular mechanism of 5,7-dihydroxy-3,4,6-trimethoxyflavone (eupatilin) was characterized in an HT-29 intestinal epithelial cell line stimulated with BFT. Pre-treatment of HT-29 cells with eupatilin decreased the production significantly of both interleukin (IL)-8 and prostaglandin E(2) induced by BFT in a dose-dependent manner. BFT-activated nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) signals in HT-29 cells and pretreatment with eupatilin suppressed NF-kappaB activation that resulted in the significant inhibition of IL-8 and cyclo-oxygenase-2 expression. BFT-induced phosphorylation of both I kappaB alpha and I kappaB kinase (IKK) signals was prevented in eupatilin-pretreated HT-29 cells. Transfection of siRNA for IKK-alpha and IKK-beta decreased the production of IL-8 and prostaglandin E(2); however, the transfection of IKK-beta siRNA showed a more significant reduction of BFT-induced I kappaB alpha phosphorylation compared with that of IKK-alpha siRNA. In addition, herbimycin A, a specific inhibitor of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), decreased the BFT-induced activation of IKK and NF-kappaB, suggesting that Hsp90 is associated with a pathway of IKK-NF-kappaB-IL-8/cyclo-oxygenase-2 gene signalling. Furthermore, eupatilin dissociated the complex between Hsp90 and IKK-gamma in BFT-stimulated HT-29 cells. These results suggest that eupatilin can suppress the NF-kappaB signalling pathway by targeting the Hsp90-IKK-gamma complex in intestinal epithelial cells and may attenuate BFT-induced inflammatory responses.

Different fates of phagocytosed particles after delivery into macrophage lysosomes.

Phagocytosis in macrophages is often studied using inert polymer microspheres. An implicit assumption in these studies is that such particles contain little or no specific information in their structure that affects their intracellular fate. We tested that assumption by examining macrophage phagosomes containing different kinds of particles and found that although all particles progressed directly to lysosomes, their subsequent fates varied. Within 15 min of phagocytosis, >90% of phagosomes containing opsonized sheep erythrocytes, poly-e-caprolactone microspheres, polystyrene microspheres (PS), or polyethylene glycol-conjugated PS merged with the lysosomal compartment. After that point, however, the characteristics of phagolysosomes changed in several ways that indicated differing degrees of continued interaction with the lysosomal compartment. Sheep erythrocyte phagolysosomes merged together and degraded their contents quickly, poly-e-caprolactone phagolysosomes showed intermediate levels of interaction, and PS phagolysosomes became isolated within the cytoplasm. PS were relatively inaccessible to an endocytic tracer, Texas red dextran, added after phagocytosis. Moreover, immunofluorescent staining for the lysosomal protease cathepsin L decreased in PS phagolysosomes to 23% by 4 h after phagocytosis, indicating degradation of the enzyme without replacement. Finally, PS surface labeled with fluorescein-labeled albumin showed a markedly reduced rate of protein degradation in phagolysosomes, when compared to rates measured for proteins in or on other particles. Thus, particle chemistry affected both the degree of postlysosomal interactions with other organelles and, consequently, the intracellular half-life of particle-associated proteins. Such properties may affect the ability of particles to deliver macromolecules into the major histocompatibility complex class I and II antigen presentation pathways.

Megsin 2093T-2180C haplotype at the 3' untranslated region is associated with poor renal survival in Korean IgA nephropathy patients.

AIMS: Megsin is a mesangial cell-predominant gene which belongs to the serpin superfamily. The expression of megsin was upregulated and coincided with mesangial proliferation and extracellular matrix expansion in IgA nephropathy (IgAN). In the present study, we evaluated the influence of the C2093T and C2180T polymorphism within the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of megsin gene and its haplotypes on the development and progression of Korean IgAN patients. METHODS: Korean IgAN patients (n = 260) with a minimal follow-up of 4 years were recruited. Healthy subjects with normal renal function, normal urinalysis and normotension (n = 315) were included as controls. The polymorphisms were determined by the 5' nuclease allelic discrimination assay, and the haplotypes were constructed using the Phase program. RESULTS: The C2093T and C2180T genotype and allele frequencies were not different significantly between IgAN patients and controls. In C2093T polymorphism, patients with CC genotype showed a better renal survival than those with CT or TT genotypes by Kaplan-Meier analysis (p = 0.027). The megsin C2093T polymorphism remained an independent risk factor for progression (Cox regression model, HR for TT genotype: 3.52, 95% CI 1.69 - 7.34; HR for CT genotype: 2.15, 95% CI 1.30 - 3.57). In C2180T polymorphism, patients with TT genotype showed a better outcome than those with CC or CT genotypes (p = 0.025). The C2180T polymorphism was also an independent risk factor for progression (HR for CC genotype: 4.05, 95% CI 1.93 - 8.51; HR for CT genotype: 2.35, 95% CI 1.40 - 3.94). The two alleles showed linkage disequilibrium in phased haplotype. The patients with 2093T-2180C haplotype showed a poor renal survival compared to those with 2093C-2180T haplotype (p = 0.028). The haplotype remained an independent risk factor for progression (HR for 2093T-2180C haplotype: 2.01, 95% CI 1.44 - 2.81). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the 2093T-2180C haplotype at the 3'UTR of megsin gene is associated with rapid disease progression in Korean IgAN patients. This is the reverse of the results from the Chinese IgAN patients. Further studies are strongly needed to elucidate the reasons of disparity.

Stemmed DNA nanostructure for the selective delivery of therapeutics.

DNA has emerged as a biocompatible biomaterial that may be considered for various applications. Here, we report tumor cell-specific aptamer-modified DNA nanostructures for the specific recognition and delivery of therapeutic chemicals to cancer cells. Protein tyrosine kinase (PTK)7-specific DNA aptamer sequences were linked to 15 consecutive guanines. The resulting aptamer-modified product, AptG15, self-assembled into a Y-shaped structure. The presence of a G-quadruplex at AptG15 was confirmed by circular dichroism and Raman spectroscopy. The utility of AptG15 as a nanocarrier of therapeutics was tested by loading the photosensitizer, methylene blue (MB), to the G-quadruplex as a model drug. The generated MB-loaded AptG15 (MB/AptG15) showed specific and enhanced uptake to CCRF-CEM cells, which overexpress PTK7, compared with Ramos cells, which lack PTK7, or CCRF-CEM cells treated with a PTK7-specific siRNA. The therapeutic activity of MB/AptG15 was tested by triggering its photodynamic effects. Upon 660 nm light irradiation, MB/AptG15 showed greater reactive oxygen species generation and anticancer activity in PTK7-overexpressing cells compared to cells treated with MB alone, those treated with AptG15, and other comparison groups. AptG15 stemmed DNA nanostructures have significant potential for the cell-type-specific delivery of therapeutics, and possibly for the molecular imaging of target cells.

Association between the clara cell secretory protein (CC16) G38A polymorphism and the progression of IgA nephropathy.

AIMS: Clara cell secretory protein (CC16) is a protein with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Moreover, both CC16 gene knockout and antisense-transgenic mouse models developed glomerulonephritis resembling IgA nephropathy (IgAN). In the present study, we evaluated the influence of the G38A polymorphism in the CC16 gene exon 1 on the development and progression of IgAN. METHODS: Korean patients with biopsy-proven IgAN (n=267) with a minimal follow-up of 4 years (mean +/- SD 103.8 +/- 52.6 months) were recruited. Healthy normal subjects (n=315) were included as controls. The G38A polymorphism was determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: GG, GA and AA genotype frequencies were 36.3, 50.2 and 13.5% in IgAN patients, respectively, and 34.3, 50.2 and 15.5% in controls (chi2 = 0.596, p = 0.742). The G allele frequency was 0.614 in IgAN patients and 0.594 in controls (chi2 = 0.429, p = 0.512). Moreover, the GG genotype frequencies were 40.4% in patients showing stable disease course and 26.6% in those with progressive disease (chi2 = 4.029, p = 0.045). Patients with the GG genotype showed a better outcome by Kaplan-Meier analysis in terms of renal survival (p = 0.043). The CC16 polymorphism remained an independent risk factor for progression after multivariate analysis (Cox regression model, HR for CC16 AA genotype: 2.34, 95% CI 1.19-4.64, p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that CC 16 gene G38A polymorphism is not associated with the development of IgAN, but that it is an important marker of progression in IgAN.

Yield survey and nutritional evaluation of garlic stalk for ruminant feed.

BACKGROUND: Very limited information exists on the ruminal degradation kinetics of nutrients in garlic stalk. The present study aimed to survey the annual yield of garlic stalk in Korea and determine its feed-nutritive value for ruminants. METHODS: In Experiment 1, garlic stalk was incubated in situ in the rumen of two Hanwoo steers (360 ± 15 kg body weight) and removed after 12, 24, or 48 h to determine the ruminal degradation kinetics of DM and NDF. Rice straw was also included for comparison. In Experiment 2, In Experiment 2, six male Corriedale sheep were randomized to two dietary treatments to determine the apparent digestibility of nutrients in garlic stalk. Diets included a control ration without garlic stalk (60% concentrate mix +40% ryegrass) or a treatment ration (70% control diet +30% garlic stalk). RESULTS: The Korean national yield of garlic stalk (sun-dried basis) in 2016 was estimated to be 31,910 tons, with the southern coastal regions producing the highest quantity. Compared with rice straw, garlic stalk had lower NDF, higher ADF, and greater effective degradabilities of DM and NDF, resulting in a greater TDN value (56.3%), which was higher than that obtained for rice straw (43.7%). CONCLUSION: These results provide basic information on the ruminal DM and NDF degradation kinetics of garlic stalk, which would be helpful for the efficient utilization of this by-product in ruminant diets.