Associations between body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BF%), and health risks differ between Asian and European populations. BMI is commonly used to diagnose obesity; however, its accuracy in detecting adiposity in Koreans is unknown. The present cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the accuracy of BMI in determining BF%-defined obesity in 6,017 subjects (age 20-69 yr, 43.6% men) from the 2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We assessed the diagnostic performance of BMI using the Western Pacific Regional Office of World Health Organization reference standard for BF%-defined obesity by sex and age and identified the optimal BMI cut-off for BF%-defined obesity using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. BMI-defined obesity (≥25 kg/m2) was observed in 38.7% of men and 28.1% of women, with a high specificity (89%, men; 84%, women) but poor sensitivity (56%, men; 72% women) for BF%-defined obesity (25.2%, men; 31.1%, women). The optimal BMI cut-off (24.2 kg/m2) had 78% sensitivity and 71% specificity. BMI demonstrated limited diagnostic accuracy for adiposity in Korea. There was a -1.3 kg/m2 difference in optimal BMI cut-offs between Korea and America, smaller than the 5-unit difference between the Western Pacific Regional Office and global World Health Organization obesity criteria.Graphical Abstract

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The anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic effects of higenamine, a benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid of the roots of Aconitum japonicum (Ranunculaceae), were investigated. The degree of platelet aggregation was measured with platelet rich plasma (PRP). An acute thrombotic condition was induced in mice by the injection of the mixture of collagen and epinephrine. The thrombus formation was induced inside the arterio-venous shunt tube installed between an abdominal aorta and the renal vein of rats. Higenamine showed inhibitory activities to both human and rat platelet aggregation induced by ADP, collagen and epinephrine. It was more inhibitory to epinephrine induced aggregation (IC(50); 19 and 7.2 microM to human and rat platelets respectively) than ADP- or collagen-induced aggregation. The anti-thrombotic effects of higenamine were also observed in both mouse acute thrombosis model and rat arterio-venous shunt (AV-shunt) models. The oral administration of higenamine (50 or 100 mg/kg) increased the recovery rates from the acute thrombotic challenge in mice and lowered the weight of thrombus formed inside the AV-shunt tube in rats.

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BackgroundThe horse (Equus ferus caballus) is one of the earliest domesticated species and has played an important role in the development of human societies over the past 5,000 years. In this study, we characterized the genome of the Marwari horse, a rare breed with unique phenotypic characteristics, including inwardly turned ear tips. It is thought to have originated from the crossbreeding of local Indian ponies with Arabian horses beginning in the 12th century.ResultsWe generated 101 Gb (~30 × coverage) of whole genome sequences from a Marwari horse using the Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencer. The sequences were mapped to the horse reference genome at a mapping rate of ~98% and with ~95% of the genome having at least 10 × coverage. A total of 5.9 million single nucleotide variations, 0.6 million small insertions or deletions, and 2,569 copy number variation blocks were identified. We confirmed a strong Arabian and Mongolian component in the Marwari genome. Novel variants from the Marwari sequences were annotated, and were found to be enriched in olfactory functions. Additionally, we suggest a potential functional genetic variant in the TSHZ1 gene (p.Ala344>Val) associated with the inward-turning ear tip shape of the Marwari horses.ConclusionsHere, we present an analysis of the Marwari horse genome. This is the first genomic data for an Asian breed, and is an invaluable resource for future studies of genetic variation associated with phenotypes and diseases in horses.

The freeze-dried powder of Lumbricus rubellus earthworm was administered orally to rats and its fibrinolytic and antithrombotic effects were investigated. The fibrinolytic activity of plasma was determined by measuring the plasmin activity of the euglobulin fraction and was increased to two-folds of the control at a dose of 0.5 g/kg/day and five times with 1 g/kg/day after 4-day administration. The antithrombotic effect was studied in an arterio-venous shunt model of rats. The thrombus weight decreased significantly from 43.2 mg to 32.4 mg at a dose of 0.5 g/kg/day after 8-day treatment. The level of fibrinogen/fibrin degradation product (FDP) in serum was elevated in a dose-dependent manner during the treatment period. On the 8th day after administration, the FDP value was increased to 7.7 micrograms/ml compared with the control value of 3.3 micrograms/ml. These results support that earthworm powder is valuable for the prevention and/or treatment of thrombotic conditions.