Two new susceptibility loci for Kawasaki disease identified through genome-wide association analysis.

To find new candidate loci predisposing individuals to Kawasaki disease, an acute vasculitis that affects children, we conducted a genome-wide association study in 622 individuals with Kawasaki disease (cases) and 1,107 controls in a Han Chinese population residing in Taiwan, with replication in an independent Han Chinese sample of 261 cases and 550 controls. We report two new loci, one at BLK (encoding B-lymphoid tyrosine kinase) and one at CD40, that are associated with Kawasaki disease at genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Our findings may lead to a better understanding of the role of immune activation and inflammation in Kawasaki disease pathogenesis.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 1-arylsulfonyl-5-(N-hydroxyacrylamide)indoles as potent histone deacetylase inhibitors with antitumor activity in vivo.

A series of 1-arylsulfonyl-5-(N-hydroxyacrylamide)indoles has been identified as a new class of histone deacetylase inhibitors. Compounds 8, 11, 12, 13, and 14 demonstrated stronger antiproliferative activities than 1 (SAHA) with GI(50) values ranging from 0.36 to 1.

[Association between SNPs in SOD1 and noise-induced hearing loss in Chinese Han population].

Objective: To observe the association between SNPs in SOD1 (rs1041740, rs2070424, rs10432782 and rs4998557) and noise-induced hearing loss in Chinese Han population.

Methods: A case-control study was used to study the effects of environmental risk factors on the susceptibility to noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) in 201 sensitive workers and 202 resistant workers. A questionnaire was designed to carry out an investigation, and an occupational health survey was used to identify the occupational risk factors.

[The experimental study of suppressing silicosis fibrosis].

Objective: To compare the difference of effects on SiO(2)-induced alveolitis and early fibrosis between bone marrow-derived mesenchymal-like stem cells (BM-MSCs) and BM-MSCs transfected by pcDNA3.1-HGF and to explore the mechanism of this effects.

Methods: The Primary BM-MSCs from Wistar male young rats were cultured and labeled by 4, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI).

[The comparative study of quartz dust and bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats].

Objective: To compare the pulmonary alveolitis and the early fibrosis of pulmonary fibrosis induced by quartz dust and bleomycin in rats, and investigate their mechanism.

Methods: The female rats were divided into three groups: control group exposed to normal saline by the trachea; SiO2 group exposed to SiO2 by the trachea; BLM group exposed to BLM A5 by the trachea. Each half of the animals were sacrificed on the 7th and 14th day after exposure.

Adaptive sparse representation for source localization with gain/phase errors.

Sparse representation (SR) algorithms can be implemented for high-resolution direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. Additionally, SR can effectively separate the coherent signal sources because the spectrum estimation is based on the optimization technique, such as the L(1) norm minimization, but not on subspace orthogonality. However, in the actual source localization scenario, an unknown gain/phase error between the array sensors is inevitable.

Elevated cytokinin content in ipt transgenic creeping bentgrass promotes drought tolerance through regulating metabolite accumulation.

Increased endogenous plant cytokinin (CK) content through transformation with an adenine isopentyl transferase (ipt) gene has been associated with improved plant drought tolerance. The objective of this study is to determine metabolic changes associated with elevated CK production in ipt transgenic creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) with improved drought tolerance.

[Effect of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase signalling pathway during the proliferation process of HL-60 cells exposed to benzoquinone].

Objective: To explore the effects of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Serine-threonine kinase (PI3K/Akt) signal pathway on the proliferation of HL-60 cells exposed to benzoquinone (BQ).

Methods: HL60 cells were divided into 3 groups: control group (treated with PBS), BQ group (treated with 3 micromol/L BQ) and LY294002 plus BQ group (treated with 20 micromol/L LY294002 plus 3 micromol/L BQ). The cell proliferation was measured with alamar blue dye assay.

Automatic segmentation of meningioma from non-contrasted brain MRI integrating fuzzy clustering and region growing.

Background: In recent years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become important in brain tumor diagnosis. Using this modality, physicians can locate specific pathologies by analyzing differences in tissue character presented in different types of MR images.This paper uses an algorithm integrating fuzzy-c-mean (FCM) and region growing techniques for automated tumor image segmentation from patients with menigioma.

Thunderclap headache triggered by micturition: responsive to nimodipine.

Primary thunderclap headache (TCH) is a rare condition, of which the onset can be triggered by coughing, exercise, and sexual activity. Micturition is a recognized trigger of secondary TCH with pheochromocytoma in bladder, but not of primary TCH. We describe a patient with an apparent primary TCH, which repeatedly occurred immediately after micturition until she achieved a therapeutic dosage of nimodipine.

[Effects of SOD2 and its C47T mutation on oxidative injury in cochlea hair cell].

Objective: To study the effect of SOD2 and its C47T mutation on oxidative injury in cochlea hair cells.

Methods: HEI-OC1 cells were transfected with the SOD2 of Ala16 and Vla16. Cells' proliferation ability was determined by MTT assay.

[A cross-sectional study on the industrial noise over-limit status in Guangzhou factories].

Objective: To investigate the industrial noise over-limit status of the worksites in Guangzhou factories, so as to promote the prevention and control of occupational noise hazards.

Methods: 211 factories in Guangzhou were monitored and investigated. The analysis and assessment were developed for the properties and size of the factories, the districts of the factories being located, the industries of the factories being classified and the date of monitoring.

Identification of novel susceptibility Loci for kawasaki disease in a Han chinese population by a genome-wide association study.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis syndrome that primarily affects infants and young children. Its etiology is unknown; however, epidemiological findings suggest that genetic predisposition underlies disease susceptibility. Taiwan has the third-highest incidence of KD in the world, after Japan and Korea.

[Effect of reactive oxygen species during the leukemogenic process associated with exposure to benzene].

Objective: To study the effect of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the leukemogenic process associated with exposure to benzene.

Methods: HL-60 was treated with 3 micromol/L benzoquinone (BQ). Generation of ROS in cells was measured by DCFH-DA method.

[Association of cooking oil fumes exposure and oxidative DNA damage among occupational exposed populations].

Background: Previous investigations indicate that cooks are exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from cooking oil fumes (COF). However, Emission of PAH and their carcinogenic potencies from cooking oil fumes sources have not been investigated among cooks.

Aims: To investigate the urinary excretion of a marker for oxidative DNA damage, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), in different groups of cooks and different exposure groups, and to study the association between 8-OHdG and 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), a biological marker for PAH exposure.

Differential metabolic responses of perennial grass Cynodon transvaalensis×Cynodon dactylon (C₄) and Poa Pratensis (C₃) to heat stress.

Differential metabolic responses to heat stress may be associated with variations in heat tolerance between cool-season (C₃) and warm-season (C₄) perennial grass species. The main objective of this study was to identify metabolites associated with differential heat tolerance between C₄ bermudagrass and C₃ Kentucky bluegrass by performing metabolite profile analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Plants of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa Pratensis'Midnight') and hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon transvaalensis x Cynodon dactylon'Tifdwarf') were grown under optimum temperature conditions (20/15 °C for Kentucky bluegrass and 30/25 °C for bermudagrass) or heat stress (35/30 °C for Kentucky bluegrass and 45/40 °C for bermudagrass).

The liver tissue bank and clinical database in China.

To develop a standardized and well-rounded material available for hepatology research, the National Liver Tissue Bank (NLTB) Project began in 2008 in China to make well-characterized and optimally preserved liver tumor tissue and clinical database. From Dec 2008 to Jun 2010, over 3000 individuals have been enrolled as liver tumor donors to the NLTB, including 2317 cases of newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and about 1000 cases of diagnosed benign or malignant liver tumors. The clinical database and sample store can be managed easily and correctly with the data management platform used.

SOD2 V16A SNP in the mitochondrial targeting sequence is associated with noise induced hearing loss in Chinese workers.

Objective: To investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Mn-superoxide dismutase gene (SOD2) underlie the susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

Methods: Audiometric data from 2400 Chinese Han workers who exposed to occupational noise were analyzed. DNA samples were collected from the 10% most susceptible and the 10% most resistant individuals, and five SNPs (SOD2 rs2842980, rs5746136, rs2758331, rs4880 and rs5746092) were genotyped by Taqman SNP Genotyping Kits.

[Association of regulatory region of HLA-DPB1 with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in southern Chinese Hans].

Objective: To clarify the association between regulatory region of HLA-DPB1 (3'UTR) with Naso pharyngeal carcinoma in Guangdong Province Hans.

Method: The allelic types of HLA-DPB1-3'UTR were detected by sequence specific primer (SSP) in 104 patients with NPC and 105 control individuals from Guangdong Province Hans.

Result: The frequencies of allelic types B/B, haplotype B were higher in patients with NPC than those of the control individuals.