[Family functioning and quality of life of the family care-giver in cancer patients].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship among quality of life, family coherence, family hardiness, and family resources of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient.

Method: Data was collected by questionnaires from 137 families with a cancer patient at a General Hospital and Government Cancer Hospital. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression.

Follicle-stimulating hormone receptor gene polymorphism and ovarian responses to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF-ET.

This study was performed to investigate the association between FSH receptor (FSHR) gene polymorphism at position 680 and the outcomes of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in Korean women. Two hundred and sixty-three patients under 40 years of age who underwent IVF-ET procedures were included in this study. Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, or a previous history of ovarian surgery were excluded.

A protective role for heme oxygenase-1 in INS-1 cells and rat islets that are exposed to high glucose conditions.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been described as an inducible protein that is capable of cytoprotection via radical scavenging and the prevention of apoptosis. Chronic exposure to hyperglycemia can lead to cellular dysfunction that may become irreversible over time, and this process has been termed glucose toxicity. Yet little is known about the relation between glucose toxicity and HO-1 in the islets.

Low-temperature adsorption of hydrogen on nanoporous aluminophosphates: effect of pore size.

Several nanoporous aluminophosphates (AlPOs) have been used to analyze the effect of pore diameter on the hydrogen adsorption characteristics. The heat of adsorption and adsorption capacity per unit micropore volume increase with decreasing pore size. AlPOs with smaller micropores favorably adsorb hydrogen at relatively low pressures.

Deterministic and statistical methods for reconstructing multidimensional NMR spectra.

Reconstruction of an image from a set of projections is a well-established science, successfully exploited in X-ray tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. This principle has been adapted to generate multidimensional NMR spectra, with the key difference that, instead of continuous density functions, high-resolution NMR spectra comprise discrete features, relatively sparsely distributed in space. For this reason, a reliable reconstruction can be made from a small number of projections.

Crystal structure of a metal ion-bound IS200 transposase.

IS200 transposases, present in many bacteria and Archaea, appear to be distinct from other groups of transposases. To provide a structural basis for understanding the action of IS200 transposases, we have determined the crystal structure of the SSO1474 protein from Sulfolobus solfataricus, a member of the IS200 family, in both Mn(2+)-bound and Mn(2+)-free forms. Its monomer fold is distinct from other classes of structurally characterized transposases.

Adult-derived stem cells and their potential for use in tissue repair and molecular medicine.

This report reviews three categories of precursor cells present within adults. The first category of precursor cell, the epiblast-like stem cell, has the potential of forming cells from all three embryonic germ layer lineages, e.g.

Autocrine vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 growth pathway represents a cyclooxygenase-2-independent target for the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor NS-398 in colon cancer cells.

Objectives: Coexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) has been reported in tumor cells, suggesting the presence of an autocrine VEGF/VEGFR-2 growth pathway in solid tumors. Thus, we hypothesize that the presence of this autocrine pathway in colon cancer cells may be a COX-2-independent target of COX-2 inhibitors and a mechanism behind the antitumor effects of these agents.

Methods: COX-2-positive (Caco2, HT-29) and COX-2-negative colon cancer cells (DLD-1, Hct-15) were used.

Karyotypic analysis of adult pluripotent stem cells.

Three categories of precursor cells have been identified in postnatal mammals: tissue-committed progenitor cells, germ layer lineage-committed stem cells and lineage-uncommitted pluripotent stem cells. Progenitor cells are the immediate precursors of differentiated tissues. Germ layer lineage stem cells can be induced to form multiple cell types belonging to their respective ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal embryological lineages.

Dynamics of supercoiled and linear pBluescript II SK(+) Phagemids probed with a long-lifetime metal-ligand complex.

We extended the measurable time scale of DNA dynamics to microsecond using [Ru(phen)(2)(dppz)](2+)(phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, dppz=dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine)(RuPD) , which displays a mean lifetime near 500 ns. To evaluate the usefulness of this luminophore (RuPD) for probing nucleic acid dynamics, its intensity and anisotropy decays when intercalated into supercoiled and linear pBluescript (pBS) II SK(+) phagemids were examined using frequency-domain fluorometry with a blue light-emitting diode (LED) as the modulated light source. The mean lifetime for the supercoiled phagemids ( = 489.

Increased expression of focal adhesion kinase in thyroid cancer: immunohistochemical study.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a tyrosine kinase that is found in cellular structures called focal adhesions. FAK appears to be a key element in signal transduction pathways involved in cell adhesion and locomotion. FAK is overexpressed in various tumors, including tumors derived from regions of the head and neck, colon, breast, prostate, and liver.

Immunohistochemical expression of COX-2 in thyroid nodules.

Background: Recent evidence indicates that elevated COX-2 expression is associated with the carcinogenesis of numerous neoplasms. In this study, we investigated COX-2 expression in various thyroid specimens in order to elucidate its physiological role in pathologic conditions, and to evaluate the efficiency of COX-2 protein expression as a molecular marker of malignancy in the thyroid gland.

Methods: COX-2 expression was studied immunohistochemically in 19 papillary carcinomas, 8 follicular carcinomas, 14 follicular adenomas, 2 Hürthle cell carcinomas, 4 Hürthle cell adenomas, 8 nodular hyperplasias, 3 Graves' diseases, 3 Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 2 medullary carcinomas, 1 anaplastic carcinoma, and 20 normal thyroid tissues.

Buccal mucosal ulcer healing effect of rhEGF/Eudispert hv hydrogel.

We have studied the effect of rhEGF on the buccal mucosal ulcer healing. rhEGF was rapidly degraded upon incubation with the hamster buccal mucosal homogenates; The degradation of rhEGF was significantly inhibited by sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Eudispert hv hydrogel and Polycarbophil 974P hydrogel were prepared for rhEGF delivery and their mucoadhesiveness was measured by the Instron method.

Purification and characterization of a 28-kDa major protein from ginseng root.

A major protein was isolated from ginseng root (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) using a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration chromatography, ion-exchange FPLC, and fast performance liquid chromatofocusing.

Clinical Significance of Peripheral Blood CEA mRNA Expression in Gastric Cancer Patients Underwent Curative Resection.

Purpose: Recent advances in molecular technology have made it possible to detect small numbers of circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood or bone marrow. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is an oncofetal antigen that is expressed in epithelial tumor cells. CEA mRNA may be a reliable marker for the detection of tumor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with epithelial cancer.

Genomic typing of hepatitis C viruses from Korean patients: implications of genome variation in the E2/NS1 region.

Comparative nucleotide sequence studies of a 2.4-kb cDNA fragment (nt -49 to 2361) of Korean-type hepatitis C virus (HCV) were carried out. The nt sequences of the Korean HCV isolates have stronger sequence homologies with type II HCV (Japanese HCV-BK) than with types I (HCV-1) or III (HCV-6).