The degree of saponification, which is a dissolution characteristic of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), is used to blend PVA to prepare a hydrogel microneedle (MN) patch. The MN patch was manufactured with an adjustable disassembly time using a molding process, and it was confirmed to have morphological stability and excellent needle formation. The permeability of the gelatin sheet, which is analogous to the skin elasticity coefficient of a real human, was confirmed. The penetration ratio had a very high value of 100% and sufficient physical properties to penetrate the skin. In the disassembly experiment, the MN patch was produced with ratios of lower:higher saponification of 6:4 (PVA6), 7:3 (PVA7), 8:2 (PVA8), 9:1 (PVA9), and 10:0 (PVA10). Degradation did not occur for PVA6 and PVA7 but occurred for PVA8, PVA9, and PVA10. A cytotoxicity test to investigate its suitability for use in the human body confirmed the cell viability of 80% or more and nontoxic properties. Therefore, sufficient cell viability was confirmed when compared to the existing products.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of nutrition counseling program and related factors on weight control for obese university students. Subjects were 24 students with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or above. The program was conducted from September 16th to November 18th, 2015. Change of body composition, blood index and nutrient intake were observed in subjects before and after the program. The average age of the subjects was 23.2 years old and the percentage of male and female was 66.7% and 33.0%, respectively. There were tendencies of decrease in weight, amount of body fat, BMI, and body fat percentage. The blood test showed that values of all biochemical parameters were in the normal range before and after the program. When the change of the nutrient intake was examined and compared with the Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs), there was a tendency of decreased intake in most of the nutrients including protein. However, the nutrient quality index showed increasing tendency, which implies that the intake of micronutrients was getting balances simultaneously with the decrease of calorie intake.

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Objectives: This study investigated the health and nutritional status of the elderly according to the number of chronic diseases, using data obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013~2015. Methods: Data from a total of 2,310 individuals, aged 65 years and over, were used for the analysis. The elders were divided into 0 (n=375), 1 (n=673), 2 (n=637) and 3 or more (n=625) groups, by considering the number of chronic diseases. Results: Compared to other groups, the elderly subjects who were living with their spouse had the highest ratio in group 0 (P < 0.05), whereas subjects without economic activities had highest ratio in 3 or more group (P < 0.05). The EQ-5D index of subjects in the 0 group (0.90 ± 0.01) was higher than that in the 3 or more group (0.86 ± 0.01) (P < 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, the energy intake of subjects was determined to be lowest in the 3 or more group (P < 0.05). Protein (P < 0.05) and riboflavin (P < 0.05) intakes of the 3 or more group were also lower than other groups. Conclusions: This study indicates that multimorbidity of the elderly is associated with their health and nutritional status. The nutrients intake of the elderly, especially energy, protein and riboflavin, tended to be lowest in the 3 or more group. Further research is required to elucidate the risk factors related to presence of multimorbidity in the elderly.