Search

The mitochondrial protein apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) plays a pivotal role in poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1)-mediated cell death (parthanatos), during which it is released from the mitochondria and translocates to the nucleus. We show that AIF is a high-affinity poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR)-binding protein and that PAR binding to AIF is required for parthanatos both in vitro and in vivo. AIF bound PAR at a site distinct from AIF's DNA binding site, and this interaction triggered AIF release from the cytosolic side of the mitochondrial outer membrane. Mutation of the PAR binding site in AIF did not affect its NADH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) oxidase activity, its ability to bind FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) or DNA, or its ability to induce nuclear condensation. However, this AIF mutant was not released from mitochondria and did not translocate to the nucleus or mediate cell death after PARP-1 activation. These results suggest a mechanism for PARP-1 to initiate AIF-mediated cell death and indicate that AIF's bioenergetic cell survival-promoting functions are separate from its effects as a mitochondrially derived death effector. Interference with the PAR-AIF interaction or PAR signaling may provide notable opportunities for preventing cell death after activation of PARP-1.

Objectives: Low-level cadmium exposure, resulting in, for example, urinary cadmium <2.0 μg/g creatinine, is widespread; recent data suggest nephrotoxicity even at these low levels. Few studies have examined the impact of low-level cadmium exposure in workers who are occupationally exposed to other nephrotoxicants such as lead., Methods: We evaluated associations of urine cadmium, a measure of cumulative dose, with four glomerular filtration measures and N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) in lead workers. Recent and cumulative lead doses were assessed via blood and tibia lead, respectively., Results: In 712 lead workers, mean (SD) blood and tibia lead values, urine cadmium values and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation were 23.1 (14.1) μg/dl, 26.6 (28.9) μg Pb/g bone mineral, 1.15 (0.66) μg/g creatinine and 97.4 (19.2) ml/min/1.73 m(2), respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, urine creatinine, smoking, alcohol, education, annual income, diastolic blood pressure, current or former lead worker job status, new or returning study participant, and blood and tibia lead, higher ln-urine cadmium was associated with higher calculated creatinine clearance, eGFR (β = 8.7 ml/min/1.73 m(2); 95% CI 5.4 to 12.1) and ln-NAG but lower serum creatinine., Conclusions: Potential explanations for these results include a normal physiological response in which urine cadmium levels reflect renal filtration, the impact of adjustment for urine dilution with creatinine in models of kidney outcomes, and cadmium-related hyperfiltration.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of gallic acid (GA) (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid), a polyhydroxyphenolic compound, isolated from Rhus chinensis, on the human monocytic lymphoma cell line U937. In vitro experiments showed that treating U937 cells with various amounts of GA inhibited cell viability and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. In order to understand the mechanism by which GA induces apoptosis, we examined the gene expression of p53, nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), and inhibitor of NF-κB (I-κB) after treating the cells with GA and found that expression levels of the genes for p53 and NF-κB increased and that for I-κB decreased. The results obtained from western blotting with U937 cells showed up-regulation of NF-κB protein and down-regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and I-κB protein. These results demonstrate that GA efficiently induces apoptosis in U937 cells and that GA is a potential chemotherapeutic agent against lymphoma.

A synthetic bovine trypsinogen (sbTrypsinogen) was synthesized on the basis of rice-optimized codon usage via an overlap PCR strategy, prior to being expressed under the control of the sucrose starvation-inducible rice α-amylase 3D (RAmy3D) promoter. Secretion of trypsin into the culture medium was achieved by using the existing signal peptide. The plant expression vector was introduced into rice calli (Oryza sativa L. cv. Dongjin), mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The integration of the sbTrypsinogen gene into the chromosome of the transgenic rice callus was verified via genomic DNA PCR amplification, and sbTrypsin expression in transgenic rice suspension cells was confirmed via Northern blot analysis. Western blot analysis detected glycosylated proteins in the culture medium, having masses from 24 to 26 kDa, following induction by sugar starvation. Proteolytic activity of the rice-derived trypsin was confirmed by gelatin zymogram, and was similar to that of the commercial bovine-produced trypsin. The yields of sbTrypsin that accumulated in the transgenic rice cell suspension medium were 15 mg/L at 5 days after sugar starvation., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Propofol is used as an induction and maintenance agent for general anesthesia but it can cause adverse reactions like hyperlipidemia, growth of microorganisms, and pulmonary embolisms. Microemulsion propofol was developed to avoid these side effects but incidence and severity of pain on injection is higher than with lipid emulsion propofol. We aimed to compare the effects of sufentanil in analgesic doses for reducing the injection pain of microemulsion propofol., Methods: The candidates included eighty patients, 19-60 years old and ASA I-II. They were randomly classified into four groups and pretreated with normal saline, sufentanil 0.1 µg/kg, 0.2 µg/kg or 0.3 µg/kg before injection of microemulsion propofol. Five minutes after receiving pretreatment drug, 2 mg/kg of microemulsion propofol was injected and VAS was recorded., Results: There were no significant differences in the incidence of injection pain among the groups. Severity of injection pain was significantly lower in the sufentanil 0.3 µg/kg group than normal saline and sufentanil 0.1 µg/kg group. Significant differences in blood pressure and heart rate were observed in sufentanil groups only after endotracheal intubation. One patient each in sufentanil 0.1 µg/kg and 0.3 µg/kg group experienced mild cough, one from sufentanil 0.3 µg/kg group experienced dizziness and another showed signs of hypoxia. One patient each in normal saline and sufentanil 0.1 µg/kg group showed clinical symptoms of phlebitis in the injection area., Conclusions: Pretreatment with sufentanil 0.3 µg/kg reduced the severity of microemulsion propofol injection pain without increasing arterial blood pressure and heart rate after endotracheal intubation.

Objectives: To assess the extent of exposure to lead, cadmium, and mercury in the Korean general adult population using a representative sample., Methods: We studied blood concentrations of three heavy metals in a representative sample of 1,997 Koreans as part of the Third Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES III) performed in 2005., Results: The geometric means of the blood lead, cadmium, and mercury concentrations were 2.61 μg/dL, 1.53 μg/L, and 4.15 μg/L, respectively [95% confidence intervals (CIs), 2.50-2.71, 1.48-1.58, and 3.94-4.36, respectively]. Women had significantly lower blood lead and mercury concentrations in adjusted and unadjusted analyses but no difference between genders was observed in blood cadmium analysis. The geometric means of blood lead and mercury levels were higher in subjects older than 40 years than in those younger than 40 years. Smoking status only affected the blood lead concentration, with this being higher in smokers than in nonsmokers. Blood cadmium levels did not differ with demographic and lifestyle variables after covariate adjustment. Blood mercury concentrations were higher in those who consumed alcohol and also increased with the frequency of fish consumption., Conclusions: This biomonitoring study of blood heavy metals in the Korean general population as part of KNHANES III provides important reference data stratified by demographic and lifestyle factors that will be useful for the ongoing surveillance of environmental exposure of the Korean general population to heavy metals.

We compared the blood lead and other lead biomarkers between migrant and native workers with a focus on the impact of the legal employment permit system that was effective from 2003, which required employers to provide mandatory annual health examinations for migrant workers on lead biomarkers in 1997 and 2005. The mean blood lead level of migrant workers was 59.5 ± 19.4 μg/dl, yielding 47% of lead poisoning cases, which was significantly higher than that of native workers (36.8 ± 14.5 μg/dl; 11% of lead poisoning cases) in 1997 before enactment of the act. The overall mean blood ZPP levels and ALAU of migrant workers were significantly higher than those of native workers. In 2005, after new migrant worker regulations were instituted, the mean value of above lead biomarkers workers was still significantly higher than that of native workers, but the magnitude of the differences was smaller compared with the difference in 1997. We confirmed that the 2003 regulations played an important role in improving the health of migrant workers in the lead industry in terms of their blood lead levels and other lead biomarkers.

Surgical procedures necessitating the prolonged use of the lithotomy position can be associated with neuromuscular dysfunction. Compartment syndrome of the lower leg is a grave complication which, if unrecognized, can lead to either permanent neuromuscular dysfunction or limb loss. We report a case of compartment syndrome of lower leg that occurred in male patient aged 20 years after 380 minutes arthroscopic surgery in the lithotomy position.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the association between the blood total mercury concentration and fish consumption in the Korean general adult population using a representative sample., Methods: We studied the blood mercury concentration in a representative sample of 1,749 Koreans who were included in the Third Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (KNHANES III) performed in 2005, and compared it with the frequency of fish consumption collected during the nutrition survey of KNHANES III., Results: The geometric means of the blood mercury levels in female subjects (n=890), male subjects (n=859), and all participants (n=1,749) representing adult Koreans aged > or =20 years were 3.70 microg/L [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.46-3.94 microg/L], 4.70 microg/L (95% CI, 4.38-5.02 microg/L), and 4.15 microg/L (95% CI, 3.93-4.38 microg/L), respectively. The geometric mean of the blood mercury level was significantly higher in the high-fish-consumption group (4.38 microg/L; more than once a week) than in the low-consumption group (3.71 microg/L: less than once a week), but the intergroup difference of 18% was less than that in Western countries. Among the nine listed individual types of fish and shellfish, there was a general trend for the blood mercury level to increase with the consumption frequency of squid, clam, salted seafood, and mackerel. The proportion of Korean women aged 20-49 years having blood mercury levels of at least 5.8 microg/L was 27.7% (150/542) in our study., Conclusions: The blood mercury level in a representative sample of the Korean adult population was found to be associated with fish consumption in both men and women. However, a high consumption of fish increased the blood mercury level by only 18%., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: In our previous study, the neuropeptide Y (NPY) C-399T promoter polymorphism (rs16147C>T) was identified as a risk factor for ischemic stroke in Koreans. In this study, we investigated whether age and sex modify the genetic effect of C-399T on susceptibility to ischemic stroke., Methods: A total of 1,350 subjects (802 ischemic stroke patients, 548 healthy controls) were genotyped for C-399T using a primer extension method. The results were statistically analyzed for the genetic association of C-399T with ischemic stroke and clinical parameters., Results: The TT genotype for C-399T was observed at a significantly lower frequency in stroke patients relative to control (CC+CT vs. TT, odds ratio [OR]=0.578, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]=0.360-0.927, P<0.05). This trend was also observed in female (OR=0.495, 95% CI=0.240-1.022) and older subjects (y>60, OR=0.556, 95% CI=0.304-1.018) with borderline statistical significance (P=0.0571 and P=0.0574, respectively). However, C-399T allele frequency was not different between controls and stroke patients in any groups. The C-399T polymorphism was found to be associated with body mass index and levels of some blood lipids., Conclusions: The C-399T NPY promoter polymorphism should be considered a genetic risk factor for ischemic stroke in the older adult and female Korean populations., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although cholinergic mechanisms have been widely implicated in learning and memory processes, few studies have investigated the specific contribution of hippocampal cholinergic transmission during trace fear conditioning, a form of associative learning involving a temporal gap between two stimuli. Microinfusions of scopolamine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, into the dorsal hippocampus (DH) produced dose-dependent impairment in the acquisition and expression of a conditioned response (CR) following trace fear conditioning with a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) and a footshock unconditioned stimulus (US) in rats. The same infusions, however, had no effect on delay conditioning, general activity, pain sensitivity or attentional modulation. Moreover, scopolamine infusions attenuated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in the amygdala, indicating that cholinergic signals in the DH are important for trace fear conditioning. Taken together, the current study provides evidence that cholinergic neurotransmission in the DH is essential for the cellular processing of CS-US association in the amygdala when the two stimuli are temporally disconnected., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The present study analyzed the polymorphisms of DNA repair genes and their impact on the response to chemotherapy and survival of patients with colorectal cancer., Patients and Methods: A total of 94 patients with recurrent or metastatic colorectal cancer treated with oxaliplatin-based combination chemotherapy were enrolled in the present study. The single nucleotide polymorphisms of 16 DNA repair genes were determined using a PCR-RFLP assay., Results: During the median follow-up duration of 15.9 (2.1-53.0) months, 67 (71.3%) progressions and 29 (30.9%) deaths were observed. Among the 60 patients assessable for response, response to the oxaliplatin-based regimens was found in 27 (45%) patients (9 CR and 18 PR). In a logistic regression analysis adjusted to age, sex, primary site, disease status, and regimen, the POLR2C rs4937 and MSH2 rs3732183 polymorphisms were statistically associated with the response to the oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy. A multivariate survival analysis showed that the TT genotype of the MGMT (rs1625649) -535G>T polymorphism was found to correlate with a worse progression-free survival (PFS) than the combined GG + GT genotypes (HR = 3.137; 95% CI = 1.423-6.914; P = 0.005), which was also observed among the 60 evaluable patients (HR = 2.653; 95% CI = 1.101-6.392; P = 0.030) For the clinical parameters, curative resection was the most significant prognostic factor in a Cox model for PFS and overall survival (HR = 0.229 and 0.205; P < 0.001 and 0.001, respectively)., Conclusion: The MGMT -535G>T polymorphism (rs1625649) was found to be correlated with PFS in patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy.

Injection inoculation protocols for fruit body formation of Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris) were investigated to improve the incidence of infection in the silkworm species Bombyx mori (B. mori). Injection, with suspensions of C. militaris hyphal bodies into living silkworm pupae, was used to test for fruit body production. Use of Daeseungjam rather than Baegokjam or Keumokjam varieties of B. mori is thought to be suitable for infection by C. militaris. From mounting, nine-day-old to 11-day-old pupae showed the best incidence of infection with a 100 µL injection volume. Silkworm pupae injected with a hyphal suspension concentration of more than 2 × 10(5) colony-forming unit (cfu) recorded a greater than 96% incidence of infection. Also, fruit bodies of C. militaris were induced and produced at a light intensity between 500 and 1,000 lx.

We used field surveys and statistical models to investigate habitat associations of the endangered gold-spotted pond frog (Rana chosenica). The characteristics of its habitat are of great importance for effective conservation for this declining species in western South Korea. We evaluated a priori models that incorporated biotic and abiotic variables at the pond and landscape scales. The best-ranked model predicts that gold-spotted pond frogs will be more abundant at sites with fewer introduced American bullfrogs (Rana [= Lithobates] catesbeianus) and greater coverage of shallow, vegetated water. Our study leads us to conclude that limiting the spread and abundance of bullfrogs has the potential to aid conservation of the gold-spotted pond frog in our region.

Objectives: To examine the prophylactic antibiotic use in reducing surgical site infection., Methods: This was a retrospective study for patients aged 18 years and older who underwent gastrectomy, cholecystectomy, colectomy, cesarean section and hysterectomy. The data source was quality assessment data of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service gathered from medical records of 302 national hospitals. Prophylactic antibiotic use was defined as: timely antibiotic administration or inappropriate antibiotic selection. We performed hierarchical logistic regression to examine the association between prophylactic antibiotic use and surgical site infection with adjustment for covariates., Results: The study population consisted of 16, 348 patients (1,588 gastrectomies, 2,327 cholecystectomies, 1,384 colectomies, 3,977 hysterectomies and 7,072 cesarean sections) and surgical site infection was identified in 351 (2.1%) patients. The rates of timely antibiotic administration and inappropriate antibiotic selection varied according to procedures. Cholecystectomy patients who received timely prophylactic antibiotic had a significantly reduced risk of surgical site infection compared with those who did not receive a timely prophylactic antibiotics (OR 0.64, 95% CI=0.50-0.83), but no significant reduction was observed for other procedures. When inappropriate prophylactic antibiotics were given, the risk of surgical site infection significantly increased: 8.26-fold (95% CI=4.34-15.7) for gastrectomy, 4.73-fold (95% CI=2.09-10.7) for colectomy, 2.34-fold (95% CI=1.14-4.80) for cesarean section, 4.03-fold (95% CI=1.93-8.42) for hysterectomy., Conclusions: This study examines the association among timely antibiotic administration, inappropriate antibiotic selection and surgical site infection. Patients who received timely and appropriate antibiotics had a decreased risk of surgical site infection. Efforts to improve the timing of antibiotic administration and use of appropriate antibiotic are needed to lower the risk of surgical site infection.

Terminal differentiation of skin keratinocytes is a vertically directed multi-step process that is tightly controlled by the sequential expression of a variety of genes. To examine the gene expression profile in calcium-induced keratinocyte differentiation, we constructed a normalized cDNA library using mRNA isolated from these calcium-treated keratinocytes. After sequencing about 10,000 clones, we were able to obtain 4,104 independent genes. They consisted of 3,699 annotated genes and 405 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Some were the genes involved in constituting epidermal structures and others were unknown genes that are probably associated with keratinocytes. In particular, we were able to identify genes located at the chromosome 1q21, the locus for the epidermal differentiation complex, and 19q13.1, another probable locus for epidermal differentiation-related gene clusters. One EST located at the chromosome 19q13.1 showed increased expression by calcium treatment, suggesting a novel candidate gene relevant to keratinocyte differentiation. These results demonstrate the complexity of the transcriptional profile of keratinocytes, providing important clues on which to base further investigations of the molecular events underlying keratinocyte differentiation.

Three compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the methanolic extract of the leaves of Catalpa ovata (Bignoniaceae) through repeated column chromatography. We investigated the effects of these compounds on T cell-mediated responses for tumor surveillance and proliferation in U937, HL60, and Molt-4 leukemia cells. Compounds 1-3 inhibited proliferation of those cells in a dose-dependent manner. Compound 3 showed mild effect in Molt-4 cell cytotoxicity. Compound 3 enhanced gene expressions of p53 and IL-4, but decreased IL-2 and IFN-Gamma genes in Molt-4 cell. Our findings indicate that compound 3 may enhance T cell-mediated immune responses and anticancer properties.

Background and Objectives: Obesity is a chronic disease that requires good eating habits and an active life style. Obesity may start in childhood and continue until adulthood. Severely obese children have complications such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and atherosclerosis. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of exercise programs on anthropometric, metabolic, and cardiovascular parameters in obese children., Subjects and Methods: Fifty four obese children were included. Anthropometric data such as blood pressures, body mass index (BMI) and obesity index (OI) were measured. Blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), high sensitive-CRP (hs-CRP), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV) and ankle brachial index (ABI) were measured. Physical fitness measurements were done. Obese children were divided into three groups: an aerobic exercise group (n=16), a combined exercise group (n=20), and a control group (n=18). Obese children exercised in each program for 10 weeks while those in the control group maintained their former lifestyle. After 10 weeks, anthropometric data and cardiovascular parameters were compared with the data obtained before the exercise program., Results: LDL-C, waist circumference, and systolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the aerobic exercise group compared to the control group (p<0.05). Waist circumference and systolic blood pressure decreased significantly in the combined exercise group compared to controls (p<0.05). Physical fitness level increased significantly after the exercise programs (p<0.05 vs. control). PWV did not show a significant change after exercise., Conclusion: A short-term exercise program can play an important role in decreasing BMI, blood pressure, waist circumference, LDL-C and in improving physical fitness. Future investigations are now necessary to clarify the effectiveness of exercise on various parameters.

Background: Probiotics have been suggested to be useful in children with atopic eczema-dermatitis syndrome (AEDS)., Objective: To assess the clinical effect of Lactobacillus sakei supplementation in children with AEDS., Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, children aged 2 to 10 years with AEDS with a minimum SCORing of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) score of 25 were randomized to receive either daily L sakei KCTC 10755BP or daily placebo supplementation for 12 weeks. Changes in SCORAD scores and serum chemokine levels from baseline were evaluated., Results: Eighty-eight children were enrolled, and 45 were allocated to probiotic treatment. Seventy-five children completed the study, with 4 dropouts in the probiotic group and 9 in the placebo group. At week 12, SCORAD total scores adjusted by pretreatment values were lower after probiotic treatment than after placebo treatment (P = .01). There was a 31% (13.1-point) improvement in mean disease activity with probiotic use compared with a 13% (5.2-point) improvement with placebo use (P = .008). Significant differences in favor of probiotic treatment were also observed in proportions of patients achieving improvement of at least 30% and 50%. Compared with placebo, probiotic administration was associated with lower pretreatment-adjusted serum levels of CCL17 and CCL27 (P =.03 for both), which were significantly correlated with SCORAD total score (r = 0.59 and 0.63, respectively; P < .001)., Conclusions: Supplementation of L sakei in children with AEDS was associated with a substantial clinical improvement and a significant decrease in chemokine levels, reflecting the severity of AEDS.

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a sexual rights awareness scale for female adults and to further examine the differences after educational sessions for sexual rights awareness with female adults., Methods: Convenient sampling was employed to recruit 152 participants. A self administered questionnaire was developed to explore adult females' understanding of sexual rights awareness. In the next phase, education was provided over 3 consecutive sessions to 28 female university students. Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were performed in order to test validity and reliability of the educational sessions. The Wilcoxon rank test was used to identify the differences between pretesting of sexual rights awareness knowledge and post testing after educational sessions was provided., Results: After conducting factor analysis, 5 factors explained 63.3% of the total variance, namely: I) sexuality education, II) prejudice & biasaberration, III) sexual satisfaction, IV) safe & equal sexuality, and V) sexual autonomy. A Cronbach's alpha of 17 items was 0.80. After the education sessions, there was a significant increase in sexual rights awareness., Conclusion: The Sexual rights awareness questionnaire is acceptable as a tool for measuring the level of education in studies. Future research should aim at conducting comparison studies of sexual rights awareness between sexes and cultural differences with larger populations which will further help to develop and to strengthen the rigor with in methodologies.

A 10-year-old intact male Yorkshire Terrier was referred for investigation of a large raised and nonpainful corneal lesion oculus dexter. Clinical examination revealed a pale, translucent corneal mass, which occupied half of the corneal surface and measured 11 mm x 11 mm x 13 mm. The mass was removed by superficial keratectomy and equine amniotic membrane (AM) was transplanted into the large corneal defect to cover the wound and provide tectonic support for the remaining cornea. The mass was histologically confirmed as a corneal epithelial inclusion cyst. There was no evidence of recurrence or complication at the surgical site 100 days postoperatively. Corneal epithelial inclusion cysts are uncommon in dogs. Although superficial keratectomy is the recommended treatment for corneal inclusion cyst, the combination of superficial keratectomy and AM transplantation had to be considered as an alternative for repair of large corneal defects. This is the first case report of the combined application of AM and superficial keratectomy to successfully treat a corneal inclusion cyst in a dog.

Genome sequencing of the pig is being accelerated because of its importance as an evolutionary and biomedical model animal as well as a major livestock animal. However, information on expressed porcine genes is insufficient to allow annotation and use of the genomic information. A series of expressed sequence tags of 5' ends of five full-length enriched cDNA libraries (SUSFLECKs) were functionally characterized. SUSFLECKs were constructed from porcine abdominal fat, induced fat cells, loin muscle, liver, and pituitary gland, and were composed of non-normalized and normalized libraries. A total of 55,658 ESTs that were sequenced once from the 5' ends of clones were produced and assembled into 17,684 unique sequences with 7,736 contigs and 9,948 singletons. In Gene Ontology analysis, two significant biological process leaf nodes were found: gluconeogenesis and translation elongation. In functional domain analysis based on the Pfam database, the beta transducin repeat domain of WD40 protein was the most frequently occurring domain. Twelve genes, including SLC25A6, EEF1G, EEF1A1, COX1, ACTA1, SLA, and ANXA2, were significantly more abundant in fat tissues than in loin muscle, liver, and pituitary gland in the SUSFLECKs. These characteristics of SUSFLECKs determined by EST analysis can provide important insight to discover the functional pathways in gene networks and to expand our understanding of energy metabolism in the pig.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, clinically characterized by impaired motor function. Since the etiology of PD is diverse and complex, many researchers have created PD-related research resources. However, resources for brain and PD studies are still lacking. Therefore, we have constructed a database of PD-related gene and genetic variations using the substantia nigra (SN) in PD and normal tissues. In addition, we integrated PD-related information from several resources., Results: We collected the 6,130 SN expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) from brain SN normal tissues and PD patients SN tissues using full-cDNA library and normalized cDNA library construction methods from our previous study. The SN ESTs were clustered in 2,951 unigene clusters and assigned in 2,678 genes. We then found up-regulated 57 genes and down-regulated 48 genes by comparing normal and PD SN ESTs frequencies with over 0.9 cut-off probability of differential expression based on the Audic and Claverie method. In addition, we integrated disease-related information from public resources. To examine the characteristics of these PD-related genes, we analyzed alternative splicing events, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers located in the gene regions, repeat elements, gene regulation elements, and pathways and protein-protein interaction networks., Conclusion: We constructed the PDbase database to capture the PD-related gene, genetic variation, and functional elements. This database contains 2,698 PD-related genes through ESTs discovered from human normal and PD patients SN tissues, and through integrating several public resources. PDbase provides the mitochondrion proteins, microRNA gene regulation elements, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers within PD-related gene structures, repeat elements, and pathways and networks with protein-protein interaction information. The PDbase information can aid in understanding the causation of PD. It is available at http://bioportal.kobic.re.kr/PDbase/. Supplementary data is available at http://bioportal.kobic.re.kr/PDbase/suppl.jsp.

Hypoxia and hypoxia-related genes are important factors in articular chondrocytes during cartilage homeostasis and osteoarthritis. We have investigated the various apoptotic factors that show significance in synovial fluid obtained from normal and experimental osteoarthritic animal models and have evaluated the effect of hypoxia on articular chondrocyte apoptosis induced by these apoptotic factors. Mature beagle dogs underwent surgical transections of ligaments and medial meniscectomies to explore the underlying mechanisms of osteoarthritis. Cartilage and synovial fluid obtained from normal animals and those with osteoarthritis were evaluated via proteasome inhibition, tumour necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) protein expression, mitochondrial transmembrane potential and levels of reactive oxygen species. Canine chondrocytes were exposed to the proteasome inhibitor N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-Norleu-al and treated with recombinant TRAIL protein under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, measuring chondrocyte cell viability, proteasome activity and levels of apoptotic factors. TRAIL protein expression and ubiquitinated proteins were increased significantly, but the proteasome activity in the synovial fluid of osteoarthritic joints relative to that in normal joints was not. Primary cultured articular chondrocytes cotreated with the proteasome inhibitor and TRAIL progressed to severe apoptosis under normoxic conditions, but the sensitization caused by the combined treatment was suppressed by exposure to hypoxia. Caspase-8 activation, c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation, the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and the generation of reactive oxygen species involved in cell death regulation were significantly inhibited under hypoxic conditions. These findings suggest that proteasome inhibition and TRAIL may be possible mechanisms in cartilage degradation and joint-related diseases. Furthermore, the maintenance of hypoxic conditions or therapy with hypoxia-related genes in the joint may be successful for the treatment of joint-related diseases, including osteoarthritis.

Although terminal differentiation of intestinal epithelium is essential for the efficient digestion and absorption of nutrients, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying this process. Recent studies have shown that Elf3 (E74-like factor 3), a member of the ETS transcription factor family, has an essential role in the terminal differentiation of absorptive enterocytes and mucus-secreting goblet cells. Here, we demonstrated that Crif1 (CR6-interacting factor 1) functions as transcriptional coactivator of Elf3 in intestinal epithelium differentiation. The intestinal epithelium-specific Crif1-deficient mice died soon after birth and displayed severe alterations of tissue architecture in the small intestine, including poor microvillus formation and abnormal differentiation of absorptive enterocytes. Strikingly, these phenotypes are largely similar to that of Elf3-deficient mice, suggesting that Elf3 signaling in the intestinal epithelium depends on the Crif1 expression. We dissected this relationship further and found that Crif1 indeed interacted with Elf3 through its ETS DNA binding domain and enhanced the transcriptional activity of Elf3 by regulating the DNA binding activity. Knockdown of Crif1 by RNA interference conversely attenuated the transcriptional activity of Elf3. Consistently, the expression level of Tgf-betaRII (transforming growth factor beta type II receptor), a critical target gene of Elf3, was dramatically reduced in the Crif1-deficient mice. Our results reveal that Crif1 is a novel and essential transcriptional coactivator of Elf3 for the terminal differentiation of absorptive enterocytes.

Evaluation of the genetic diversity among populations is an essential prerequisite for the preservation of endangered species. Thousands of new accessions are introduced into germplasm institutes each year, thereby necessitating assessment of their molecular diversity before elimination of the redundant genotypes. Of the protocols that facilitate the assessment of molecular diversity, SSRPs (simple sequence repeat polymorphisms) or microsatellite variation is the preferred system since it detects a large number of DNA polymorphisms with relatively simple technical complexity. The paucity of information on DNA sequences has limited their widespread utilization in the assessment of genetic diversity of minor or neglected crop species. However, recent advancements in DNA sequencing and PCR technologies in conjunction with sophisticated computer software have facilitated the development of SSRP markers in minor crops. This review examines the development and molecular nature of SSR markers, and their utilization in many aspects of plant genetics and ecology.

A novel protocol for the synthesis of biocompatible and degradation controlled poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) grafted hyaluronic acid (HA-PLGA) was successfully developed for periodontal barrier applications. HA was chemically modified with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) in the mixed solvent of water and ethanol, which resulted in a high degree of HA modification up to 85 mol.%. The stability of HA-ADH to enzymatic degradation by hyaluronidase increased with ADH content in HA-ADH. When the ADH content in HA-ADH was higher than 80 mol.%, HA-ADH became soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide and could be grafted to the activated PLGA with N,N'-dicyclohexyl carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide. The resulting HA-PLGA was used for the preparation of biphasic periodontal barrier membranes in chloroform. According to in vitro hydrolytic degradation tests in phosphate buffered saline, HA-PLGA/PLGA blend film with a weight ratio of 1/2 degraded relatively slowly compared to PLGA film and HA coated PLGA film. Four different samples of a control, OSSIX(TM) membrane, PLGA film, and HA-PLGA/PLGA film were assessed as periodontal barrier membranes for the calvarial critical size bone defects in SD rats. Histological and histomorphometric analyses revealed that HA-PLGA/PLGA film resulted in the most effective bone regeneration compared to other samples with a regenerated bone area of 63.1% covering the bone defect area.

Objectives: The common sequence variants of neuropeptide Y (NPY) were known to be associated with some kinds of diseases including stroke. This study investigated the association of NPY promoter polymorphism, C-399T, with ischemic stroke and its underlying mechanism using in vitro systems., Design and Methods: Study subjects consisted of 444 ischemic stroke patients and 326 controls without stroke. C-399T genotyping was conducted by a primer extension-based method. Plasma NPY was quantified with an enzyme immunoassay, and transcription characteristics were investigated by a reporter gene assay and an enzyme mobility shift assay., Results: A significantly lower frequency of TT genotype was observed in a stroke group (OR[95% CI], 0.399[0.187-0.854], p=0.0180). The C-399T polymorphism affected the transcription efficiency of NPY gene and its genotypes were related to the changes in plasma NPY levels., Conclusion: This study suggests that NPY promoter polymorphism, C-399T, should be considered a genetic risk factor for ischemic stroke.

The numbers of SSR markers and their utilization have not been determined and investigated as extensively in Fagopyrum species as compared to other crop species. The current report presents 136 new SSR markers in Fagopyrum esculentum ssp. esculentum and their application to related species in the genus Fagopyrum. Of the 136 SSRs, 10 polymorphic SSR markers were utilized in a genetic diversity analysis of a common buckwheat population consisting of 41 accessions of diverse origin. The study showed observed (H(O)) and expected (H(E)) heterozygosities ranging from 0.071 to 0.924 (mean = 0.53) and from 0.073 to 0.902 (mean = 0.412), respectively. Forty-one of the 136 SSRs amplified sequences in other Fagopyrum species, including the cymosum and urophyllum groups. The phylogenetic relationships revealed using the SSRs was consistent with results obtained using other marker systems, with one exception. The sequence and diversity information obtained using these new SSRs and their cross-transferability to related Fagopyrum species will increase our understanding of genetic structures and species relationships within the Fagopyrum genus.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of antihistamine therapy for withdrawal movements caused by rocuronium injection. One hundred seventy one ASA I-II adults undergoing elective surgery were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Patients in the control group (Group C) were premedicated with 2 mL normal saline, and those in the antihistamine group (Group A) were pre-medicated with 2 mL (45.5 mg) pheniramine maleate. After the administration of thiopental sodium 5 mg/kg, rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg was injected. Withdrawal movements were assessed using a four-grade scale. The administration of antihistamine reveals lower grade of withdrawal movement after rocuronium injection.

Background: Demand of anesthesia for patients with cerebral palsy is more increasing. But there is still lacking in clinical research regarding how BIS and entropy reflect well on sedative and hypnotic state in patients with cerebral palsy., Methods: Fifteen patients with cerebral palsy (Group CP) and fifteen patients without cerebral palsy (Group NL) scheduled for elective orthopedic surgery were included in the study. Induction of anesthesia was done by having the patient inhale 1 vol% sevoflurane and 100% oxygen using a total fresh gas flow of 8 L/min. Simultaneously BIS, state entropy (SE), response entropy (RE), end-tidal sevoflurane concentration were recorded every 15 seconds till there was no self respiration. When end-tidal sevoflurane concentration had not risen any more for 30 seconds, we increased inhaled sevoflurane concentration in 1 vol% increments. End point of recording was when self respiration was lost or the time sevoflurane concentration reached 8 vol%., Results: No significant differences in RE, SE, BIS at baseline and end point were found between the two groups. No significant difference in the time reach end point was found between the two groups. BIS, SE and RE correlated with end-tidal sevoflurane concentration in the two groups., Conclusions: The authors found no significant difference in the entropy values between patients with CP and normal patients. Also, the entropy values could be interpreted like BIS in patients with CP. And BIS showed a stronger correlation with end tidal sevoflurane concentrations than entropy.

Two thousand sixty-eight multi-purpose expression clones for the 326 candidate genes related to gastric or liver cancers were constructed using the Gateway system. These clones can be expressed as His, Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) or Enhanced version of the green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion proteins in E. coli, insect cells or mammalian cells. For the 246 E. coli expression clones, the GST fusion proteins had greater expression efficiency and solubility than the His fusion proteins. Approximately 20% of the expressed proteins had unexpected molecular weights. A detailed sequence analysis of these clones revealed frameshift mutations resulting from insertion, deletion or substitution of nucleotides. The results indicate that these changes in the candidate genes may affect the occurrence of gastric or liver cancers. In addition, when 105 proteins, which were expressed in E. coli at very low or undetectable levels, were expressed in insect cells, 76% of the proteins were expressed very well and most were soluble. We also found that most of the 30 proteins prepared using EGFP mammalian expression clones were localized to cellular compartments expected by Gene ontology (GO) and this localization was unaffected if the EGFP-fusion was at the N-terminal or C-terminal region of the protein. Antibody production and subcellular localization analysis of the candidate genes as well as a screen of genes involved in carcinogenesis pathways are currently in progress using these expression clones. These studies provide a valuable resource for developing a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis in both gastric and liver cancer and would be very helpful in diagnosis and therapeutic predictions.

How do causal cycles affect judgments of conceptual centrality? Generally, a feature is central to a concept to the extent that other features in the concept depend on it, thereby rendering it immutable from the concept (Sloman, Love, & Ahn, 1998). Previous research on conceptual centrality has focused primarily on features involved in four major types of dependency structures: simple cause-effect relations, causal chains, common-cause structures, and common-effect structures. Causal cycles are a fifth type of dependency structure commonly reported in people's real-life concepts, yet to date, they have been relatively ignored in research on conceptual centrality. The results of six experiments suggest that previously held assumptions about the conceptual representation of cycles are incorrect. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of theory-based concepts.

Pulmonary artery hypertension is a common cardiovascular complication in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Inhaled iloprost is used as a therapeutic option in pulmonary hypertension, especially in adults. There have been but a few reports on the use of iloprost for neonates and infants. We report the case of a 5 month-old-male infant who received neonatal intensive care for 4 months due to respiratory distress syndrome and prematurity, during which he developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Echocardiography showed severe pulmonary hypertension. The initial treatment included respiratory support with high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV); however, his clinical condition did not improve. Inhaled iloprost with sildenafil, an oral phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, was thus used. With the administration of iloprost and sildenafil, his condition improved and he was weaned from oxygen. Our clinical experience suggests that iloprost is a promising therapy for pulmonary hypertension, especially when inhaled nitric oxide is unavailable.

Reticulons (RTNs) are a group of integral membrane proteins that have no homology to other known apoptosis-related domains. Herein, we found that RTN3 overexpressing Caki cells were sensitive to TRAIL-mediated apoptosis. RTN3-induced down-regulation of c-FLIP was recovered by pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD to basal levels in TRAIL-treated cells. The forced expression of c-FLIP attenuated the TRAIL-mediated apoptosis in RTN3 over-expressing cells. In addition, RTN3 over-expression provoked the enhanced protein levels in DR4 and DR5 as well as levels in DR5 surface protein but slight increase in DR4 surface protein. RTN3-mediated enhancement of TRAIL-induced apoptosis was markedly blocked by the DR5/Fc chimera or DR5 siRNA, indicating that the sensitization by RTN3 was mainly mediated through interactions of TRAIL with its receptors, DR5. Over-expression of RTN3 also enhanced TNF-alpha and Fas-mediated apoptosis. Taken together, over-expression of RTN3 might increase DR5 surface protein and concomitantly more activate caspase pathways, which cause the c-FLIP cleavage and enhancement of TRAIL-mediated apoptosis.

Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) is highly expressed in osteoclasts and chondroclasts. The present study investigated changes in TRAP activity after chondrocyte death and cartilage damage, and also evaluated the possible use of TRAP as a diagnostic factor in a model of osteoarthritis. We induced experimental osteoarthritis in beagle dogs and separated chondrocytes from articular cartilage using an enzyme probe. Chondrocyte death was induced by proteasome inhibition and TRAIL treatment, and levels of lactate dehydrogenase, reactive oxygen species (ROS), caspase activation and TRAP activity were measured in the chondrocytes and synovial fluid. Proteasome inhibition and TRAIL treatment significantly enhanced chondrocyte death via caspase-8 activation and ROS generation in the primary cultured canine chondrocytes. TRAP activity was highly increased in damaged chondrocytes, but was decreased by blocking chondrocyte death using caspase inhibition or an ROS scavenger. In the synovial fluid of osteoarthritic dogs, TRAP activity as well as caspase activation and ROS levels were higher than those in the normal joint. Our study demonstrated that TRAP is activated by apoptosis and oxidative stress in primary cultured chondrocytes and osteoarthritic joints and also suggests that TRAP may be used as a diagnostic biomarker for detection of cartilage-related diseases, including osteoarthritis.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) resistance of many cancers. We evaluated the role of peroxiredoxin (Prx) I in TRAIL resistance governed by coupling of nicotinamide adenosine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (Nox)-derived ROS signaling with the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/caspase-signaling cascade in liver cancer cells. Upregulated Prx I expression was found in neoplastic regions of human patient liver, and Prx I knockdown resulted in accelerated TRAIL-induced cell death in SK-Hep-1 human hepatoma cells. The TRAIL cytotoxicity by Prx I knockdown was dependent on activation of caspase-8/3 cascades, which was ablated by addition of inhibitors for p38 MAPK, ROS or Nox, suggesting the association with Nox-driven redox signaling. Furthermore, we found that Nox4 was constitutively expressed in both SK-Hep-1 cells and tumor regions of patient livers, knockdown of Nox4 expression could alleviate ROS generation and TRAIL-mediated cytotoxicity. In accordance with previous findings, increased activation of both p38 MAPK and caspase cascades by Prx I knockdown was inhibited by either Nox4 knockdown or SB203580 addition. Collectively, these data suggest that Prx I functions to block propagation of Nox-derived ROS signaling to the p38 MAPK/caspase/cell death cascade during TRAIL treatment and also provides a molecular mechanism by which Prx I contributes to TRAIL resistance in liver cancers.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) is critical for poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1)-dependent cell death (parthanatos). The molecular mechanism of mitochondrial AIF release to the nucleus remains obscure, although a possible role of calpain I has been suggested. Here we show that calpain is not required for mitochondrial AIF release in parthanatos. Although calpain I cleaved recombinant AIF in a cell-free system in intact cells under conditions where endogenous calpain was activated by either NMDA or N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) administration, AIF was not cleaved, and it was released from mitochondria to the nucleus in its 62-kDa uncleaved form. Moreover, NMDA administration under conditions that failed to activate calpain still robustly induced AIF nuclear translocation. Inhibition of calpain with calpastatin or genetic knockout of the regulatory subunit of calpain failed to prevent NMDA- or MNNG-induced AIF nuclear translocation and subsequent cell death, respectively, which was markedly prevented by the PARP-1 inhibitor, 3,4-dihydro-5-[4-(1-piperidinyl)butoxyl]-1(2H)-iso-quinolinone. Our study clearly shows that calpain activation is not required for AIF release during parthanatos, suggesting that other mechanisms rather than calpain are involved in mitochondrial AIF release in parthanatos.

Objectives: Paraoxonase I (PON1) was known as a risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases. This study assessed the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PON1 5'-regulatory region with ischemic stroke and serum PON1 activity., Design and Methods: Study subjects consisted of 418 healthy controls and 86 ischemic stroke patients with small vessel occlusion. SNPs were identified by DNA sequencing and a primer extension-based method., Results: Among 10 identified SNPs, only -1434GG genotype was observed with a lower frequency in patients on borderline statistical significance (OR(95% CI), 0.297(0.083-1.060), p=0.0615). However, haplotype analysis in a dominant model revealed that ht2 was observed with a significantly lower frequency in patients (OR(95% CI), 0.390(0.153-0.991), p=0.0477). Both C(-1434)G mutation and ht2 distribution were associated with serum PON1 activity., Conclusion: Our results suggest that haplotypes observed in the PON1 5'-regulatory region should be considered as risk factors for ischemic stroke.

Objectives: Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is rare, rapidly progressive, potentially life-threatening disease, and it usually occurs in immunocompromised patients. We present our clinical experience with 12 cases and we attempt to identify the prognostic features and proper treatment protocols., Patients and Methods: All the cases of mucormycosis were proven by histology or culture. The prognosis was analyzed according to the predisposing factors, including underlying disease, extent of disease and surgical intervention., Result: The overall mortality rate in our series was 33.3%. 7 of the 10 operated patients recovered, while 1 of the 2 non-operated patients expired. The associated conditions included diabetes mellitus (n=9) and hematological disease (n=3). A poor prognosis was primarily related with uncontrolled underlying disease. Other associated prognostic factors were the extent of disease including orbital or intracranial extension. Surgical debridement is essential for a good prognosis, but timely intervention and complete aggressive debridement are not always needed in all patients. The patient who had slowly progressive disease also survived after conventional medical management and limited surgical debridement, including orbital preservation., Conclusion: Control of the underlying predisposing illness along with prompt parenteral administration of amphotericin B and aggressive surgical debridement remain the essential treatments even today. Contrary to this, as described in this study, for the patients with slowly progressive disease, the aggressive surgical debridement is spared, and a successful result may be obtained with the conventional management, including medical treatment and timely limited surgical intervention.

MUG1 is a MULE transposon-related domesticated gene in plants. We assessed the sequence diversity, neutrality, expression, and phylogenetics of the MUG1 gene among Oryza ssp. We found MUG1 expression in all tissues analyzed, with different levels in O. sativa. There were 408 variation sites in the 3886 bp of MUG1 locus. The nucleotide diversity of the MUG1 was higher than functionally known genes in rice. The nucleotide diversity (pi) in the domains was lower than the average nucleotide diversity in whole coding region. The pi values in nonsynonymous sites were lower than those of synonymous sites. Tajima D and Fu and Li D* values were mostly negative values, suggesting purifying selection in MUG1 sequences of Oryza ssp. Genome-specific variation and phylogenetic analyses show a general grouping of MUG1 sequences congruent with Oryza ssp. biogeography; however, our MUG1 phylogenetic results, in combination with separate B and D genome studies, might suggest an early divergence of the Oryza ssp. by continental drift of Gondwanaland. O. longistaminata MUG1 divergence from other AA diploids suggests that it might not be a direct ancestor of the African rice species.

Accumulation of expanded polyglutamine proteins is considered to be a major pathogenic biomarker of Huntington disease. We isolated SCAMP5 as a novel regulator of cellular accumulation of expanded polyglutamine track protein using cell-based aggregation assays. Ectopic expression of SCAMP5 augments the formation of ubiquitin-positive and detergent-resistant aggregates of mutant huntingtin (mtHTT). Expression of SCAMP5 is markedly increased in the striatum of Huntington disease patients and is induced in cultured striatal neurons by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress or by mtHTT. The increase of SCAMP5 impairs endocytosis, which in turn enhances mtHTT aggregation. On the contrary, down-regulation of SCAMP5 alleviates ER stress-induced mtHTT aggregation and endocytosis inhibition. Moreover, stereotactic injection into the striatum and intraperitoneal injection of tunicamycin significantly increase mtHTT aggregation in the striatum of R6/2 mice and in the cortex of N171-82Q mice, respectively. Taken together, these results suggest that exposure to ER stress increases SCAMP5 in the striatum, which positively regulates mtHTT aggregation via the endocytosis pathway.

Gastric cancer ranks second among the most common causes of cancer deaths worldwide. Recent studies reported target molecules that are candidates for new therapeutic interventions; however, their molecular mechanism has not been clearly defined. In this study, we found that ZNF312b plays a role in tumor progression and metastasis in gastric cancer via transcriptional activation of the K-ras oncogene. ZNF312b seems to be specifically overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. The overexpression of ZNF312b induces cancer-like phenotypes, including accelerated proliferation and increased tumor masses in nude mice, which are completely reversed by its knockdown in gastric cancer cell lines, implying direct involvement in gastric tumor progression. From analyses using deletion mutants of ZNF312b and K-ras promoter-driven luciferase reporters, we found that it translocates into the nucleus via the proline-rich domain of its COOH terminus to activate transcription of the K-ras gene, resulting in an enhancement of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway that governs cell proliferation. Taken together, these results suggest that ZNF312b contributes to the promotion of gastric cancer by triggering K-ras oncogene expression. The current study is the first to report that ZNF312b, a novel transcription factor, was associated with tumorigenicity of gastric cancer. This might be a valuable target that could provide new insight into the development of new therapeutic modalities for patients with gastric cancer.

Objective: This article examined, using theories from cognitive science, the clinical utility of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of Personality, an assessment and classification system under consideration for integration into the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders. Specifically, the authors sought to test whether FFM descriptors are specific enough to allow practicing clinicians to capture core features of personality disorders., Method: In two studies, a large nationwide sample of clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers (N=187 and N=191) were presented case profiles based on symptom formats from either the DSM-IV and/or FFM. Ratings for six aspects of clinical utility for DSM-IV and FFM profiles were obtained and participants provided DSM-IV diagnoses. Prototypic cases (only one personality disorder) and comorbid cases were tested in separate studies., Results: Participants rated the DSM-IV as more clinically useful than the FFM on five out of six clinical utility questions. Despite demonstrating considerable background knowledge of DSM-IV diagnoses, participants had difficulty identifying correct diagnoses from FFM profiles., Conclusion: The FFM descriptors may be more ambiguous than the criteria of the DSM-IV and the FFM may therefore be less able to convey important clinical details than the DSM-IV. The findings flag challenges to clinical utility for dimensional-trait systems such as the FFM.

The PI 386148 triticale from Russia is among the highest resistant line to the Russian wheat aphid (RWA) (Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko)). This triticale line was used as the male parent in crosses with Lamar wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The F1 plants were backcrossed to Lamar wheat. The progenies were tested for RWA biotype 1 reaction for at least eight backcross and selfing generations. Five lines from these selections were identified for their resistance to the RWA and their seeds were increased for agronomic and other characterizations. Molecular and cytological analyses of these lines were performed using genomic in situ hybridization and rye chromosome-specific microsatellites markers. Three lines were cytologically stable and carried a pair of rye (Secale strictum (C. Presl) C. Presl) chromosomes as disomic addition lines of 1R. One line was unstable and showed a moderate level of mixoploidy with monosomic additions of 1R. Duplication of rye chromosome 1R was also identified. No wheat-rye chromosome interchange was detected, suggesting little homology between S. strictum and T. aestivum chromosomes. Specific microsatellite primers were used to identify the rye chromosomes present in each line. One rye chromosome, 1R, from the donor species contains genes for RWA resistance. Grain yield and test weight of three of the lines were similar to some adapted released wheat varieties under stress conditions.

Statement of Problem: A few of studies which compared and continuously measured the stability of various surface treated implants in the same individual had been performed., Purpose: We aim to find the clinical significance of surface treatments by observing the differences in the stabilization stages of implant stability., Material and Methods: Eight different surface topographies of dental implants were especially designed for the present study. Machined surface implants were used as a control group. 4 nano-treated surface implants (20 nm TiO(2) coating surface, heat-treated 80 nm TiO(2) coating surface, CaP coating surface, heat treated CaP coating surface) and 3 micro-treated surface implants [resorbable blast media (RBM) surface, sandblast and acid-etched (SAE) surface, anodized RBM surface] were used as experiment groups. All 24 implants were placed in 3 adult dogs. Periotest® & ISQ values measured for 8 weeks and all animals were sacrificed at 8 weeks after surgery. Then the histological analyses were done., Results: In PTV, all implants were stabilized except 1 failed implants. In ISQ values, The lowest stability was observed at different times for each individual. The ISQ values were showed increased tendency after 5 weeks in every groups. After 4 to 5 weeks, the values were stabilized. There was no statistical correlation between the ISQ values and PTV. In the histological findings, the bone formation was observed to be adequate in general and no differences among the 8 surface treated implants., Conclusions: In this study, the difference in the stability of the implants was determined not by the differences in the surface treatment but by the individual specificity.

Measurements of people's causal and explanatory models are frequently key dependent variables in investigations of concepts and categories, lay theories, and health behaviors. A variety of challenges are inherent in the pen-and-paper and narrative methods commonly used to measure such causal models. We have attempted to alleviate these difficulties by developing a software tool, ConceptBuilder, for automating the process and ensuring accurate coding and quantification of the data. In this article, we present ConceptBuilder, a multiple-use tool for data gathering, data entry, and diagram display. We describe the program's controls, report the results of a usability test of the program, and discuss some technical aspects of the program. We also describe ConceptAnalysis, a companion program for generating data matrices and analyses, and ConceptViewer, a program for viewing the data exactly as drawn.

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are transcription factors that activate the transcription of target genes involved in crucial aspects of cancer development. This study investigated the expression of HIFs and their contribution to the regulation of target genes related to angiogenesis and glucose metabolism in gastric cancer. The data showed that HIFs were over-expressed in gastric cancer and that activation of the target genes was observed mainly in the early stages. Moreover, the results of the present study revealed that only HIF-1alpha, but not HIF-2alpha dimerizes with HIF-1beta and then regulates expression of target genes in response to hypoxia. The results of the present study demonstrate that HIF-1alpha and HIF-1beta enhances expression of VEGF and glucose metabolism-related genes in response to hypoxia in gastric cancer. These data offer important information regarding HIF pathways in the development of gastric cancer.

In this study, a new sampling method called headspace mulberry paper bag micro solid phase extraction (HS-MPB-mu-SPE) combined to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been applied for the analysis of volatile aromas of liquid essential oils from Bulgarian rose and Provence lavender. The technique uses an adsorbent (Tenax TA) contained in a mulberry paper bag, minimal amount of organic solvent. Linearities for the six-points calibration curves were excellent. LOD values were in the rage from 0.38 ng mL(-1) to 0.77 ng mL(-1). Overall, precision and recovery were generally good. Phenethyl alcohol and citronellol were the main components in the essential oil from Bulgarian rose. Linalyl acetate and linalool were the most abundant components in the essential oils from true lavender or lavandin. Additionally, the relative extraction efficiencies of proposed method have been compared with HS-SPME. The overall extraction efficiency was evaluated by the relative concentration factors (CF) of the several characteristic components. CF values by HS-MPB-mu-SPE were lower than those by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The HS-MPB-mu-SPE method is very simple to use, inexpensive, rapid, requires small sample amounts and solvent consumption. In addition, this method allowed combining of extraction, enrichment, and clean-up in a single step. HS-MPB-mu-SPE and GC/MS is a promising technique for the characterization of volatile aroma compounds from liquid essential oils.