A SELEX study of the DNA-binding specificity of archaeal FFRPs: 2. FL4 (pot1613368).

The DNA-binding specificity of a transcription factor, the FFRP FL4 (pot1613368) from Pyrococcus sp. OT3, was studied. Using SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential environment) experiments, from a set of fragments, ∼150 bps, of the genomic DNA of P.

Green tea consumption and cognitive function: a cross-sectional study from the Tsurugaya Project 1.

Background: Although considerable experimental and animal evidence shows that green tea may possess potent activities of neuroprotection, neurorescue, and amyloid precursor protein processing that may lead to cognitive enhancement, no human data are available.

Objective: The objective was to examine the association between green tea consumption and cognitive function in humans.

Design: We analyzed cross-sectional data from a community-based Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) conducted in 2002.

Randomized phase II trial comparing nitroglycerin plus vinorelbine and cisplatin with vinorelbine and cisplatin alone in previously untreated stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and safety of nitroglycerin plus vinorelbine and cisplatin in patients with previously untreated stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as the experimental arm for the next phase III trial.

Patients And Methods: One hundred twenty patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC were randomly assigned to vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 and cisplatin 80 mg/m2 on day 1, with transdermally applied nitroglycerin (25 mg/patient daily for 5 days; arm A) or with placebo patch (arm B) every 3 weeks for a maximum of four cycles in a double-blind and controlled trial. Primary efficacy end points were the best confirmed response rate and time to disease progression (TTP).

Peripheral clock gene expression in CS mice with bimodal locomotor rhythms.

CS mice show unique properties of circadian rhythms: unstable free-running periods and distinct bimodal rhythms (similar to rhythm splitting, but hereafter referred to as bimodal rhythms) under constant darkness. In the present study, we compared clock-related gene expression (mPer1, mBmal1 and Dbp) in the SCN and peripheral tissues (liver, adrenal gland and heart) between CS and C57BL/6J mice. In spite of normal robust oscillation in the SCN of both mice, behavioral rhythms and peripheral rhythms of clock-related genes were significantly different between these mice.

T(3) implantation mimics photoperiodically reduced encasement of nerve terminals by glial processes in the median eminence of Japanese quail.

Photoperiodically generated triiodothyronin (T(3)) in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) has critical roles in the photoperiodic response of the gonads in Japanese quail. In a previous study, we demonstrated seasonal morphological changes in the neuro-glial interaction between gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) nerve terminals and glial endfeet in the median eminence (ME). However, a direct relationship between photoperiodically generated T(3) and seasonal neuro-glial plasticity in the ME remained unclear.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor promotes tumor angiogenesis via increasing circulating endothelial progenitor cells and Gr1+CD11b+ cells in cancer animal models.

Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is used for cancer patients with myelosuppression induced by chemotherapy. G-CSF has been reported to progress tumor growth and angiogenesis, but the precise mechanism of tumor angiogenesis activated by G-CSF has not been fully clarified. N-terminal-mutated recombinant human G-CSF administration increased WBCs and neutrophils in peripheral blood and reduced bone marrow stromal cell-derived factor-1 in mice, indicating its biological relevance.

Possible involvement of organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 in the photoperiodic response of gonads in birds.

The photoperiodic response of the gonads requires T3, which is generated photoperiodically from T4 by type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase in the hypothalamus. Although thyroid hormones were long thought to traverse the plasma membrane by passive diffusion due to their lipophilic nature, it is now known that several organic anion transporting polypeptides (Oatp) transport thyroid hormones into target cells. In this study, we have used database searches to isolate DNA sequences encoding members of the chicken Oatp family and constructed a molecular phylogenetic tree.

Transcriptional coactivator MBF1s from Arabidopsis predominantly localize in nucleolus.

Multiprotein bridging factor 1 (MBF1) is a transcriptional coactivator. It has been reported that MBF1 changed its subcellular localization from cytoplasm into nuclei with a transcriptional activator for activation of a target gene expression in animals. We found that Arabidopsis MBF1s (AtMBF1s) predominantly localize in nucleolus.

Estrogen differentially regulates expression of Per1 and Per2 genes between central and peripheral clocks and between reproductive and nonreproductive tissues in female rats.

Although it has long been established that estrogen alters circadian rhythms in behavior, physiology, and reproductive functions in mammals, the molecular mechanism for these effects remains unknown. To explore the possibility that estrogen affects circadian rhythms by changing the expression of clock-related genes, we investigated the effects of chronic treatment with 17beta-estradiol (E2) on the expression of Per1 and Per2 genes in the brain (suprachiasmatic nucleus and cerebral cortex) and periphery (liver, kidney, and uterus) of ovariectomized rats by means of in situ hybridization and northern blotting. In the brain, E2 treatment advanced the peak of Per2 mRNA expression in the SCN; however, it failed to affect the rhythm of Per2 mRNA expression in the CX and Per1 mRNA expression in both the SCN and the CX.

[Contralateral cervical lymph node metastasis in piriform sinus carcinoma].

Objective: To evaluate relative factors affecting contralateral cervical lymph node metastasis in piriform sinus carcinoma.

Methods: Ninety-six cases of piriform sinus carcinoma with no preoperative treatments were selected. The contralateral cervical lymph node metastasis and relative factors were analyzed during operation or postoperative follow-up.

Long-day suppressed expression of type 2 deiodinase gene in the mediobasal hypothalamus of the Saanen goat, a short-day breeder: implication for seasonal window of thyroid hormone action on reproductive neuroendocrine axis.

In most animals that live in temperate regions, reproduction is under photoperiodic control. In long-day breeders such as Japanese quail and Djungarian hamsters, type 2 deiodinase (Dio2) plays an important role in the mediobasal hypothalamus, catalyzing the conversion of prohormone T4 to bioactive T3 to regulate the photoperiodic response of the gonads. However, the molecular basis for seasonal reproduction in short-day breeders remains unclear.

Functional reconstruction with free flaps following ablation of oropharyngeal cancer.

With the development of various reconstructive procedures, most patients who have undergone ablative surgery for oropharyngeal cancer have obtained satisfactory functional results and good quality of life. However, many questions remain concerning methods of obtaining optimal postoperative oral and pharyngeal functions, especially after glossectomy. This review focuses on reconstructive methods after partial glossectomy, hemiglossectomy, and subtotal or total glossectomy and discusses current problems and the possibility of sensory and dynamic reconstruction.

A comparison of the effects of unfractionated heparin, dalteparin and danaparoid on vascular endothelial growth factor-induced tumour angiogenesis and heparanase activity.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is the most common complication of solid tumours. In this study, the effectiveness of three polysaccharide anticoagulants (PSAs), at therapeutic doses, at inhibiting solid tumour growth was investigated. Mice with tumour xenografts were subcutaneously injected with either unfractionated heparin (UFH; 200 units kg(-1) day(-1)), dalteparin (75 units kg(-1) day(-1)) or danaparoid (50 units kg(-1) day(-1)).

Cognitive decline in patients with long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy.

Cognitive and psycho-physiological condition in patients with long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy (DOT) remains uncertain. A cross sectional analysis was performed to investigate the age-related changes in cognitive and psycho-physiologic functions in patients with chronic respiratory failure receiving long-term DOT. Two expert practitioners visited the patient's home and examined them for analysis of cognitive function, emotional status, physical activity and degree of dyspneic sensation.

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor induces vascular endothelial growth factor production in skeletal muscle and promotes tumor angiogenesis.

Although M-CSF has been used for myelosuppression due to chemotherapy in patients with solid tumors, the effect of exogenous M-CSF on tumor angiogenesis has not been studied. In this study we showed that M-CSF has the ability to accelerate solid tumor growth by enhancing angiogenesis with a novel mechanism. M-CSF accelerated intratumoral vessel density in tumors inoculated into mice, although it did not accelerate the proliferation of malignant cells and cultured endothelial cells in vitro.

C-reactive protein and peripheral artery disease among Japanese elderly: the Tsurugaya Project.

We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between ankle brachial index and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including C-reactive protein (CRP), among Japanese elderly, a topic which has had little prior epidemiologic study. Our study population comprised 946 subjects aged at least 70 years in whom both CRP and ankle brachial index were measured. The participants were classified into a low (ankle brachial index<0.

Suppressive effects of red wine polyphenols on voltage-gated ion channels in dorsal root ganglionic neuronal cells.

Polyphenols are ubiquitous plant metabolites with multiple pharmacological properties. Using whole-cell patch-clamp current recording techniques, we studied the effects of polypnenols extracted from red wine (purity > 90% from Cabernet Sauvignon grape wine) on the activities of voltage-operated Na+-, K+-, and Ca2+-channel currents in mouse dorsal root ganglionic neuronal cells. The polyphenols suppressed all of the channel activities with half-effective concentrations of about 2.

Capsaicin troche for swallowing dysfunction in older people.

Objectives: To determine whether oral capsaicin troche supplementation with every meal upregulates the impairment of upper respiratory protective reflexes such as the swallowing reflex and the cough reflex.

Design: Randomized, controlled study with recruitment through nursing homes.

Setting: Sendai, Japan, from September 2002 through December 2003.

Correlation between concordance of tracers, order of harvest, and presence of metastases in sentinel lymph nodes with breast cancer.

Background: There are various methods for the detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer by using a combined method with blue dye and radioisotope (RI) tracers. The purpose of the study was to reveal any correlation between concordance of the tracers and the order of harvest with the presence of metastases in SLNs.

Methods: The outcomes were reviewed in 408 cases with stage 0 to II breast cancer; the combined method was used in which blue dye and RI were injected subcutaneously around the tumor.

Increased arterial carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Rationale: Exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) and arterial blood carboxyhemoglobin concentrations (Hb-CO) increase in inflammatory pulmonary diseases.

Objectives: To study whether arterial Hb-CO is useful to monitor disease activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had stopped smoking.

Methods: We measured arterial Hb-CO, arteriovenous Hb-CO differences, and FEV1 in 58 patients with COPD and 61 ex-smoking control subjects.