Chemical characteristics of saponins from Paris fargesii var. brevipetala and cytotoxic activity of its main ingredient, paris saponin H.

More attention was paid to the anti-tumor activity of Rhizoma Paridis (RP) recently, of which the wild resource was decreased significantly. This study was aimed to elucidate the chemical characteristics of Paris fargesii var. brevipetala (PFB) that may be administrated as alternate resource of legal RP.

Vitamin or mineral supplement intake and the risk of head and neck cancer: pooled analysis in the INHANCE consortium.

To investigate the potential role of vitamin or mineral supplementation on the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC), we analyzed individual-level pooled data from 12 case-control studies (7,002 HNC cases and 8,383 controls) participating in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium. There were a total of 2,028 oral cavity cancer, 2,465 pharyngeal cancer, 874 unspecified oral/pharynx cancer, 1,329 laryngeal cancer and 306 overlapping HNC cases. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for self reported ever use of any vitamins, multivitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and calcium, beta-carotene, iron, selenium and zinc supplements were assessed.

History of diabetes and risk of head and neck cancer: a pooled analysis from the international head and neck cancer epidemiology consortium.

Background: A history of diabetes is associated with an increased risk of several types of cancers. Whether diabetes is a risk factor for head and neck cancer (HNC) has received little attention.

Methods: We pooled data from 12 case-control studies including 6,448 cases and 13,747 controls, and estimated OR and 95% CI for the associations between diabetes and HNC, adjusted for age, education level, sex, race/ethnicity, study center, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and body mass index.

Diurnal temperature range as a novel risk factor for sudden infant death.

Objective: To assess the relationship between diurnal temperature range (DTR) and sudden infant death (SID) between 2001 and 2004 in Shanghai, China.

Methods: We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover analysis to estimate the percent increase of SID associated with changes in DTR after adjustment for daily weather conditions (temperature and relative humidity) and outdoor air pollution.

Results: DTR was significantly associated with daily SID.

Diet and the risk of head and neck cancer: a pooled analysis in the INHANCE consortium.

We investigated the association between diet and head and neck cancer (HNC) risk using data from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium. The INHANCE pooled data included 22 case-control studies with 14,520 cases and 22,737 controls. Center-specific quartiles among the controls were used for food groups, and frequencies per week were used for single food items.

Tumor and salivary matrix metalloproteinase levels are strong diagnostic markers of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) cause degradation of the extracellular matrix and basement membranes, and thus may play a key role in cancer development.

Methods: In our search for biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), we compared primary OSCC, oral dysplasia and control subjects with respect to: (i) expression of MMP1, MMP3, MMP10, and MMP12 in oral epithelial tissue using Affymetrix U133 2.0 Plus GeneChip arrays, followed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) for MMP1, and (ii) determination of MMP1 and MMP3 concentrations in saliva.

Genetic variation in the sex hormone metabolic pathway and endometriosis risk: an evaluation of candidate genes.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between common genetic variation in genes involved in the biosynthesis and signaling of estrogen and progesterone and endometriosis risk.

Design: Genetic polymorphism analysis.

Setting: Population-based case-control study conducted in Group Health Cooperative enrollees in western Washington.

Long-term use of continuous-combined estrogen-progestin hormone therapy and risk of endometrial cancer.

The daily administered dose of progestin in continuous-combined estrogen-progestin therapy is provided to counteract the proliferative effect of estrogen on the postmenopausal endometrium. However, there remains some uncertainty as to whether use of such a combined regimen, over the long term, is associated with an altered risk of endometrial cancer. We pooled data from four population-based case-control studies of endometrial cancer in western Washington State.

Reversible pore-structure evolution in hollow silica nanocapsules: large pores for siRNA delivery and nanoparticle collecting.

The effective modulation of pore sizes for nanoporous silica nanoparticles still remains a great challenge not satisfactorily solved. In this paper, the pore sizes in the shell of hollow silica nanocapsules are well-tuned by a reversible Si-O bond breakage and reformation process under mildly alkaline conditions (e.g.

Polymorphisms in nucleotide excision repair genes and endometrial cancer risk.

Background: Exposure to estrogens increases the risk of endometrial cancer. Certain estrogen metabolites can form bulky DNA adducts, which are removed via nucleotide excision repair (NER), and the ability to carry out this repair might be related to endometrial cancer risk.

Methods: We examined 64 tag and functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the NER genes ERCC1, ERCC2 (XPD), ERCC3 (XPB), ERCC4 (XPF), ERCC5 (XPG), LIG1, XPA, and XPC in a population-based case-control study in Washington state, with 783 endometrial cancer cases and 795 controls.

An examination of male and female odds ratios by BMI, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx in pooled data from 15 case-control studies.

Background: Greater tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption and lower body mass index (BMI) increase odds ratios (OR) for oral cavity, oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal, and laryngeal cancers; however, there are no comprehensive sex-specific comparisons of ORs for these factors.

Methods: We analyzed 2,441 oral cavity (925 women and 1,516 men), 2,297 oropharynx (564 women and 1,733 men), 508 hypopharynx (96 women and 412 men), and 1,740 larynx (237 women and 1,503 men) cases from the INHANCE consortium of 15 head and neck cancer case-control studies. Controls numbered from 7,604 to 13,829 subjects, depending on analysis.

Fruit and vegetable intakes in relation to plasma nutrient concentrations in women in Shanghai, China.

Objective: To evaluate the validity of fruit and vegetable intakes as it relates to plasma carotenoid and vitamin C concentrations in Chinese women, using three classification schemes.

Design: Intakes were calculated using an interviewer-administered FFQ. Fruits and vegetables, botanical groups and high-nutrient groups were evaluated.

Pregnancy history and risk of endometrial cancer.

Background: Epidemiologic studies are consistent in finding that women who have had at least one birth are less likely to develop endometrial cancer. Less clear is whether timing of pregnancies during reproductive life influences risk, and the degree to which incomplete pregnancies are associated with a reduced risk.

Methods: We evaluated pregnancy history in relation to endometrial cancer risk using data from a series of 4 population-based endometrial cancer case-control studies of women 45-74 years of age (1712 cases and 2134 controls) during 1985-2005 in western Washington State.

Diagnostic value of pro-gastrin-releasing peptide for small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

Background: Lung cancer, of which 15%-20% is small cell lung cancer, is the leading cause of cancer mortality and shows a high incidence worldwide. While pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) has been reported as a predictive diagnostic factor, it has not been widely accepted because of inconsistent conclusions. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate ProGRP as the diagnostic standard for small cell lung cancer.

A second independent locus within DMRT1 is associated with testicular germ cell tumor susceptibility.

Susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) has a significant heritable component, and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified association with variants in several genes, including KITLG, SPRY4, BAK1, TERT, DMRT1 and ATF7IP. In our GWAS, we genotyped 349 TGCT cases and 919 controls and replicated top hits in an independent set of 439 cases and 960 controls in an attempt to find novel TGCT susceptibility loci. We identified a second marker (rs7040024) in the doublesex and mab-3-related transcription factor 1 (DMRT1) gene that is independent of the previously described risk allele (rs755383) at this locus.

Fabrication of porous scaffolds with a controllable microstructure and mechanical properties by porogen fusion technique.

Macroporous scaffolds with controllable pore structure and mechanical properties were fabricated by a porogen fusion technique. Biodegradable material poly (d, l-lactide) (PDLLA) was used as the scaffold matrix. The effects of porogen size, PDLLA concentration and hydroxyapatite (HA) content on the scaffold morphology, porosity and mechanical properties were investigated.

Inhibition of COX-2 expression by endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol is mediated via PPAR-γ.

Background And Purpose: Endocannabinoids have both anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties against harmful stimuli. We previously demonstrated that the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) protects hippocampal neurons by limiting the inflammatory response via a CB(1) receptor-dependent MAPK/NF-κB signalling pathway. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether PPARγ, an important nuclear receptor, mediates 2-AG-induced inhibition of NF-κB phosphorylation and COX-2 expression, and COX-2-enhanced miniature spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs).

The G to A polymorphism at -597 of the interleukin-6 gene is extremely rare in southern Han Chinese.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine involved in different physiologic and pathophysiologic processes including essential hypertension (EH). Associations of the IL-6 promoter region polymorphisms with circulating level of IL-6 have been reported in various studies. We detected the IL-6-597G/A polymorphism in 246 EH patients and 194 healthy controls from Jiangsu area (south of China).

Interleukin-6 -634C>G polymorphism in hypertensive patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy.

There is an accumulating body of evidence indicating that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine secreted by many cells of the immune system, cardiovascular components and adipose tissue, and functions as a mediator of inflammatory response with both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties. Circulating levels of IL-6 differ greatly between individuals due to both genetic and environmental factors.

A genome-wide association study of upper aerodigestive tract cancers conducted within the INHANCE consortium.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successful in identifying common genetic variation involved in susceptibility to etiologically complex disease. We conducted a GWAS to identify common genetic variation involved in susceptibility to upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) cancers. Genome-wide genotyping was carried out using the Illumina HumanHap300 beadchips in 2,091 UADT cancer cases and 3,513 controls from two large European multi-centre UADT cancer studies, as well as 4,821 generic controls.

Hydrodynamic behaviors in fermentative hydrogen bioreactors by pressure fluctuation analysis.

Three bioreactor configurations were employed in these investigations, which consisted of working volumes of 10, 1.2 and 1.2L.

Characterization of fetal cardiac structure and function detected by echocardiography in women with normal pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: To assess fetal cardiac structure and function in normal pregnancy and in the presence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) using echocardiography measurements.

Material And Methods: We studied fetal cardiac structure and function in 169 uncomplicated singleton pregnancies and in 92 complicated by GDM. Maternal glycemic control was deemed adequate in 75 women and inadequate in 17.

The obesity-associated polymorphisms FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 and endometrial cancer risk in non-Hispanic white women.

Overweight and obesity are strongly associated with endometrial cancer. Several independent genome-wide association studies recently identified two common polymorphisms, FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313, that are linked to increased body weight and obesity. We examined the association of FTO rs9939609 and MC4R rs17782313 with endometrial cancer risk in a pooled analysis of nine case-control studies within the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium (E2C2).