A genome-wide association study of a coronary artery disease risk variant.

Although over 30 common genetic susceptibility loci have been identified to be independently associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) risk through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genetic risk variants reported to date explain only a small fraction of heritability. To identify novel susceptibility variants for CAD and confirm those previously identified in European population, GWAS and a replication study were performed in the Koreans and Japanese. In the discovery stage, we genotyped 2123 cases and 3591 controls with 521 786 SNPs using the Affymetrix SNP Array 6.

Factors associated with the effectiveness of plasma exchange for the treatment of NMO-IgG-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

To identify factors associated with plasma exchange response in neuromyelitis optica (NMO) spectrum disorders, the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of 31 NMO-IgG-positive patients receiving plasma exchange for steroid-resistant exacerbations were analyzed. Functional improvement was observed in 65% of the patients. A lower baseline Expanded Disability Status Scale score was associated with favorable response (p = 0.

Minimally invasive sinus augmentation using ultrasonic piezoelectric vibration and hydraulic pressure: a multicenter retrospective study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success rate of implants and vertical bone gain of edentulous posterior maxilla using ultrasonic piezoelectric vibration and hydraulic pressure, namely the hydrodynamic piezoelectric internal sinus elevation (HPISE) technique through a crestal approach.

Materials And Methods: A total of 250 maxillary sinuses were augmented using HPISE and 353 implants (averaging 11.8 mm in length and 4.

The academic health center in complex humanitarian emergencies: lessons learned from the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. The event disrupted infrastructure and was marked by extreme morbidity and mortality.

Incoming resident interest in global health: occasional travel versus a future career abroad?

Background: While there is growing interest among residents in participating in international health experiences, it is unclear whether this interest will translate into intentions to pursue a global health career. We aimed to describe overall interest in and career intentions toward global health among interns.

Methods: We administered an anonymous survey to incoming interns in all specializations during graduate medical education orientation at 3 teaching hospitals affiliated with 2 Midwestern US medical schools in June 2009.

Epimediphine, a novel alkaloid from Epimedium koreanum inhibits acetylcholinesterase.

A novel aporphine alkaloid was isolated from the leaves of Epimedium koreanum Nakai during activity-guided fractionation in search of compounds with an anticholinesterase activity. The structure of the new compound was assigned as 1,10-methoxy-7-hydroxy-aporphine (1), which we have named epimediphine. Unambiguous (1)H-NMR and (13)C-NMR data for epimediphine are described.

Economic and environmental evaluation model for selecting the optimum design of green roof systems in elementary schools.

Green-roof systems offer various benefits to man and nature, such as establishing ecological environments, improving landscape and air quality, and offering pleasant living environments. This study aimed to develop an optimal-scenario selection model that considers both the economic and the environmental effect in applying GRSs to educational facilities. The following process was carried out: (i) 15 GRSs scenarios were established by combining three soil and five plant types and (ii) the results of the life cycle CO(2) analyses with the GRSs scenarios were converted to an economic value using certified emission reductions (CERs) carbon credits.

A novel mouse model of atopic dermatitis with epicutaneous allergen sensitization and the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory skin disease, and the pathogenesis is not completely understood. Although there are some mouse models of AD, it is not easy to establish model to represent the natural AD development in human. In this study, we developed an AD model based on outside-inside theory and investigated the effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (Lcr35), which have known as an immune modulator in allergic diseases.

Clinical and neuroimaging characteristics in neurodegenerative overlap syndrome.

Neurodegenerative overlap syndrome has been considered as a wide spectrum of motor neuron disease (MND), parkinsonism, or dementia. Specially, clinically overt parkinsonism occurs more often than expected in patients with motor neuron disease (MND), and diverse clinical manifestations of concurrent parkinsonism have been reported. We aimed to clarify clinical and functional imaging characteristics in patients with combined MND and parkinsonism.

Enantioselective construction of quaternary N-heterocycles by palladium-catalysed decarboxylative allylic alkylation of lactams.

The enantioselective synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles (N-heterocycles) represents a substantial chemical research effort and resonates across numerous disciplines, including the total synthesis of natural products and medicinal chemistry. In this Article, we describe the highly enantioselective palladium-catalysed decarboxylative allylic alkylation of readily available lactams to form 3,3-disubstituted pyrrolidinones, piperidinones, caprolactams and structurally related lactams. Given the prevalence of quaternary N-heterocycles in biologically active alkaloids and pharmaceutical agents, we envisage that our method will provide a synthetic entry into the de novo asymmetric synthesis of such structures.

Reactive hemophagocytic syndrome in adult Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study and literature review.

Objective: To determine the characteristics of hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) in adult Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 1033 adult patients with SLE for a recent 14-year period and identified 15 patients who had developed HPS. Forty-two age- and sex-matched patients with SLE admitted for other manifestations were included as disease controls.

A case of leukoencephalopathy associated with adalimumab-treated rheumatoid arthritis and a review of literature.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitor is recently being widely used to treat autoimmune diseases, but some noticeable adverse events were reported and neurological events have especially been described. It is mandatory to compare these cases for finding the risk factors, the duration of the neurological events, their processes and their outcomes. We present here the case of leukoencephalopathy secondary to adalimumab, which is a tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) inhibitor.

Bone regeneration in the maxillary sinus using an autologous fibrin-rich block with concentrated growth factors alone.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictability of new bone formation in the maxillary sinus using an autologous fibrin-rich blocks with concentrated growth factors (CGFs) alone as an alternative to graft material.

Materials And Methods: A total of sixty-one sinus grafts were consecutively performed using the lateral window approach. After making replaceable bony window, the sinus membrane was elevated to make a new compartment.

Reliability of quadruplicated serological parameters in the korean genome and epidemiology study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether clinical test values from different laboratories in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) can be integrated through a statistical adjustment algorithm with appropriate intra- and inter-laboratory reliability.

Methods: External quality control data were obtained from the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine and quadruplicated standardized serological samples (N=3,200) were manufactured in order to check the intra- and inter-laboratory reliability for aspartic acid transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, uric acid (UA), fasting blood sugar (FBS), cholesterol, and triglyceride (TG). As an index of inter- and intra-rater reliability, Pearson's correlation coefficient, intraclass correlation coefficients and kappa statistics were estimated.

Reliability and data integration of duplicated test results using two bioelectrical impedence analysis machines in the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.

Objectives: The Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES), a multicenter-based multi-cohort study, has collected information on body composition using two different bioelectrical impedence analysis (BIA) machines. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of whether the test values measured from different BIA machines can be integrated through statistical adjustment algorithm under excellent inter-rater reliability.

Methods: We selected two centers to measure inter-rater reliability of the two BIA machines.

The protective effect of ENA Actimineral resource A on CCl4-induced liver injury in rats.

ENA Actimineral Resource A (ENA-A) is alkaline water that is composed of refined edible cuttlefish bone and two different species of seaweed, Phymatolithon calcareum and Lithothamnion corallioides. In the present study, ENA-A was investigated as an antioxidant to protect against CCl(4)-induced oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in rats. Liver injury was induced by either subacute or chronic CCl(4) administration, and the rats had free access to tap water mixed with 0% (control group) or 10% (v/v) ENA-A for 5 or 8 weeks.

Protease-activated receptor-2 mediates the expression of inflammatory cytokines, antimicrobial peptides, and matrix metalloproteinases in keratinocytes in response to Propionibacterium acnes.

Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) has been known to produce various exogenous proteases, however, their role in acne pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Proteases elicit cellular responses, at least in part, via proteinase-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2), which is known to mediate inflammation and immune response.

Chicago medical response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti: translating academic collaboration into direct humanitarian response.

On January 12, 2010, a major earthquake in Haiti resulted in approximately 212 000 deaths, 300 000 injuries, and more than 1.2 million internally displaced people, making it the most devastating disaster in Haiti's recorded history. Six academic medical centers from the city of Chicago established an interinstitutional collaborative initiative, the Chicago Medical Response, in partnership with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Haiti that provided a sustainable response, sending medical teams to Haiti on a weekly basis for several months.

Vitamin C deficiency attenuates liver fibrosis by way of up-regulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma expression in senescence marker protein 30 knockout mice.

Unlabelled: Senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30), an important aging marker molecule that is highly expressed in the liver, has been known to protect hepatocytes from apoptosis by the synthesis of vitamin C. To explore the function of SMP30 in liver fibrosis, the effect of SMP30 deficiency on liver fibrosis was investigated in SMP30 knockout (KO) mice. Moreover, the in vivo results were further confirmed by way of hepatic stellate cell (HSC) isolation.

An interrupted Ugi reaction enables the preparation of substituted indoxyls and aminoindoles.

In a variation of the classical Ugi reaction, an acid promoted reaction between imines and isocyanides forms both 3-aminoindoles and substituted indoxyls. A recently reported triflyl phosphoramide is shown to be critical to obtain high yields under mild conditions.

Highly diastereoselective Prins-type cyclisation of cyclopropylvinylic aldehydes mediated by TiCl4.

A novel intramolecular Prins type cyclisation of cyclopropylvinylic aldehydes promoted by TiCl(4) under mild reaction conditions to form cis-cyclic products in high yields has been accomplished.

Structure-activity relationships of simplified resiniferatoxin analogues with potent VR1 agonism elucidates an active conformation of RTX for VR1 binding.

We previously described a series of N-(3-acyloxy-2-benzylpropyl) homovanillate and N'-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl) thiourea derivatives that were potent VR1 agonists with high-affinities and excellent analgesic profiles. The design of these simplified RTX analogues was based on our RTX-derived pharmacophore model which incorporates the 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl (A-region), C(20)-ester (B-region), orthophenyl (C1-region) and C(3)-keto (C2-region) groups of RTX. For the purpose of optimizing the spatial arrangement of the four principal pharmacophores on the lead agonists (1-4), we have modified the distances in the parent C-region, 3-acyloxy-2-benzylpropyl groups, by lengthening or shortening one carbon to vary the distances between the pharmacophores.

Oral administration of Agaricus blazei (H1 strain) inhibited tumor growth in a sarcoma 180 inoculation model.

Agaricus blazei (H1 strain) was tested for its anticancer activity using a sarcoma 180 (S180) inoculation model and the changing patterns of splenocyte subsets were examined. Its hot-water extract was administered orally to ICR and KSN nude mice that were inoculated with S180. The growth of S180 was significantly inhibited in A.

Internal chirality transfer in the reaction of substituted cyclic (S,O)-ketene ortho esters with aldehydes catalysed by Lewis acid.

Internal chirality transfer of 1a and 1b with aldehydes in the presence of Lewis acid catalyst resulted in high diastereoselectivities in the construction of a highly functionalised acyclic system.