The profiling and analysis of gene expression in human periodontal ligament tissue and fibroblasts.

Objectives: The periodontal ligament (PDL) is an important component of periodontium to support dental structure in the alveolar socket. Regeneration of PDL tissue is an effective treatment option for periodontal disease and the profiling of genes involved in this process will be informative. Therefore, our study aims to accurately delineate the profiling of gene expression for PDL tissue regeneration.

Familial diffuse pulmonary ossification: A possible genetic disorder.

Diffuse pulmonary ossification (DPO) is an uncommon disease that is characterized by the widespread formation of ectopic bone in the lungs. Herein, we describe two familial cases of DPO. The patients were a 47-year-old woman and her 76-year-old father.

Extent of pleural effusion on chest radiograph is associated with failure of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine whether pleural effusion (PE) is associated with a failure of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective study. Seventy-three patients with acute respiratory failure given HFNC therapy between January 2012 and December 2014 were reviewed.

Effects of ezetimibe on atherogenic lipoproteins and glucose metabolism in patients with diabetes and glucose intolerance.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of ezetimibe on atherogenic lipoproteins and glucose metabolism in patients with diabetes and glucose intolerance.

Methods: Seventy-six patients with diabetes and glucose intolerance were enrolled in this study. At baseline and 12 weeks after treatment with ezetimibe 10mg/day, we measured the levels of lipid and glucose parameters.

Effects of ezetimibe on glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes: A 12-week, open-label, uncontrolled, pilot study.

Background: A potential effect of ezetimibe, a novel cholesterol-absorption inhibitor, on insulin resistance has been reported in an animal model.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ezetimibe on glucose metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Between March and June 2008, outpatients with T2DM who were being treated at Yokohama Sakae Kyosai Hospital, Yokohama, Japan, were enrolled in this pilot study if they had not achieved the target lipid levels recommended by the Japan Atherosclerosis Society Guidelines despite diet and exercise or a statin therapy for ≥3 months.

Predictive value of serum cystatin C, β2-microglobulin, and urinary liver-type fatty acid-binding protein on the development of contrast-induced nephropathy.

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is associated with prolonged hospitalization and adverse clinical outcomes. Useful predictors of CIN are necessary to minimize the risk of developing CIN. The purpose of this study was to identify the useful predictors of CIN.

Effects of ezetimibe on remnant-like particle cholesterol, lipoprotein (a), and oxidized low-density lipoprotein in patients with dyslipidemia.

Aim: Ezetimibe is a novel cholesterol absorption inhibitor that reduces the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (C). The effects of ezetimibe on remnant-like particle (RLP)-C, lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)], and oxidized LDL (Ox-LDL) levels have not been examined.

Methods: Fifty patients with dyslipidemia were treated with 10 mg/day of ezetimibe.

Impact of catheter down-sizing and power injector use on the amount of contrast medium delivered.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of catheter down-sizing and power injector use on the amount of contrast medium delivered during diagnostic coronary angiography (CAG). We retrospectively studied 735 patients undergoing diagnostic CAG. Patients were divided into four groups according to catheter size [4 French (Fr) or 5 Fr] and the method of contrast injection (manual or power injection).

Contrast medium volume to estimated glomerular filtration rate ratio as a predictor of contrast-induced nephropathy developing after elective percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) has been recognized as a serious complication of diagnostic coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and has been associated with prolonged hospitalization and adverse clinical outcomes. A key step to minimize the risk for developing CIN is to identify patients at risk for CIN.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively investigated clinical factors associated with the development of CIN in 60 stable angina patients who had undergone elective PCI.

Small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is a useful marker of metabolic syndrome in patients with coronary artery disease.

Aim: An evaluation of the relation between small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sd-LDL-C) levels measured by the heparin-magnesium precipitation method and metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: We have prospectively measured sd-LDL-C levels by the heparin-magnesium precipitation method in 112 Japanese patients (male/female=80/32) with coronary artery disease (CAD) who received percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Patients were diagnosed with MetS according to modified Japanese criteria.

The nucleotide sequence determination of catalases of three medically important yeasts using newly designed degenerated primers.

We have developed degenerated primers for the isolation of several fungal species catalases, based on the known catalase genes of several yeast species. Using a combination of degenerated primers and the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, we were able to obtain PCR products from Candida dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, and C.

Recurrent isolation of an uncommon yeast, Candida pararugosa, from a sarcoma patient.

A yeast was repeatedly isolated from the saliva of a sarcoma patient. A relatively uncommon species, Candida maris, was identified based on the API 20C profile. The yeast species most frequently obtained from the patient's mother and from clinic staff was Candida albicans.

Disruption of the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans catalase gene decreases survival in mouse-model infection and elevates susceptibility to higher temperature and to detergents.

Catalase-deficient strains of the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans were constructed using the URA-blaster method. The disruptant was viable and grew normally in an ordinary culture condition, but became extremely sensitive to treatment with hydrogen peroxide. No catalase activity was observed in a catalase (CCT)-gene-disrupted strain, 1F5-4-1, suggesting that there were no other catalase or catalase-like enzymes in this yeast.

Identification of a single nuclear localization signal in the C-terminal domain of an Aspergillus DNA topoisomerase II.

DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) is a major nuclear protein that plays an important role in DNA metabolism. We have isolated the gene for topo II ( TOP2) from the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed that topo II consists of 1,587 amino acids and has a calculated molecular weight of 180 kDa; the protein expressed in Escherichia coli has an estimated molecular weight of 185 kDa.

The expression of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans catalase gene in response to hydrogen peroxide.

The catalase gene of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans was cloned and its expression was examined. Activity of the catalase was detected when cells which were in the early logarithmic stage were treated with hydrogen peroxide. Additionally, activity was detected without any treatment to cells in the late logarithmic and stationary phases.

Cloning and characterization of the gene encoding Aspergillus nidulans DNA topoisomerase II.

We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of a 5544bp genomic DNA fragment from Aspergillus nidulans that encodes DNA topoisomerase II (topo II). It contains a single open reading frame of 4740bp that codes for 1579 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 178kDa; when expressed in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae the molecular weight was 180kDa. The gene (TOP2) is divided into three exons.

Repetitive sequences (RPSs) in the chromosomes of Candida albicans are sandwiched between two novel stretches, HOK and RB2, common to each chromosome.

A novel sequence designated HOK, which is next to the RPS, a repetitive sequence specific to Candida albicans, was cloned and sequenced. HOK hybridized with all of the chromosomes on which the RPSs were located, but did not hybridize with chromosome 3, which does not harbour any RPSs. Sequence determination revealed that a portion of HOK has significant homology with the B and C1 fragments of Ca3, which is used as a molecular epidemiological probe.

Electrophoretic karyotypes of isolates of Candida albicans from hospitalized patients.

Electrophoretic karyotypes, namely, the patterns of chromosome-sized DNAs that have been separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, have been reported to vary among different strains of Candida albicans, and can be useful for the delineation of strains. A previous study showed that almost all the electrophoretic karyotypes of isolates of C. albicans collected from the vagina of outpatients were distinguishable from one another.

Electrophoretic karyotypes of Candida yeasts recurrently isolated from single patients.

Candida strains were isolated repeatedly from single patients during recurrent episodes of Candida infection in a hospital, and their electrophoretic karyotypes were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using CHEF system. When only C. albicans (in 6 patients) or C.