Gene Variants Predispose Individuals to Tetralogy of Fallot.

Unlabelled: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart malformation. While a few susceptibility genes for TOF have been identified, research on the genetic basis of TOF is limited. The () gene encodes the macrophage-stimulating protein receptor with tyrosine phosphatase activity that is involved in immune defense.

Measurement of Five Emotions Defined by Traditional Chinese Medicine With a Focus on Preventing Mild Cognitive Impairment.

This study aimed to develop a novel Measurement of the Five Emotions (MFE) based on traditional Chinese medicine for assessing cognitive impairment in elderly individuals. Surveys were collected from 184 participants, over 65 years of age, who were residents of Kyoto City, Japan. The surveys included the Measurement of the Five Emotions (MFE) and the Dementia Assessment Sheet for the Community-based Integrated Care System (DASC-21).

3D Technique-Based Nonsurgical Correction of Deformational Congenital Auricular Deformities.

Introduction: Congenital auricular deformity (CAD) is a common postpartum deformity, and nonsurgical correction of CAD has been recognized as a safe and effective approach. Three-dimensional (3D) technique has been used in surgical reconstruction of unilateral microtia; however, 3D technique used in nonsurgical correction for deformational CAD has not been reported.

Methods: In this study, 12 CAD patients aged from 0.

Review of Application and Innovation of Geotextiles in Geotechnical Engineering.

Most geotextiles consist of polymers of polyolefin, polyester or polyamide family, which involve environmental problems related to soil pollution. Geotextiles can be used for at least one of the following functions: Separation, reinforcement, filtration, drainage, stabilization, barrier, and erosion protection. Due to the characteristics of high strength, low cost, and easy to use, geotextiles are widely used in geotechnical engineering such as soft foundation reinforcement, slope protection, and drainage system.

Development of a Survival Prognostic Model for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death, and >80% of lung cancer diagnoses are non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, when using current staging and prognostic indices, the prognosis can vary significantly. In the present study, we calculated a prognostic index for predicting overall survival (OS) in NSCLC patients.

Successful Treatment of Chronic Lower Extremity Ulcers with Allogeneic Platelet-Rich Plasma and Artificial Dermis: A Case Report.

Hydroxyurea is an oral medication associated with painful, nonhealing ulcers, for which there is no effective treatment but permanent discontinuation of hydroxyurea. The authors present a case of leg ulcers that likely occurred as a result of hydroxyurea use in a patient with essential thrombocythemia. Topical treatment with allogeneic platelet-rich plasma and artificial dermis completely healed the leg ulcers without hydroxyurea cessation.

Age-related and gender-stratified differences in the association between high triglyceride and risk of hyperuricemia.

Background: Elevated serum uric acid is commonly associated with high triglyceride. However, the relation of triglyceride and hyperuricemia in different gender and age groups is currently not well understood. This study aimed to evaluate age- and gender-related association of high triglyceride with hyperuricemia in a subgroup of Chinese population.

Pre-treatment hemoglobin levels are an independent prognostic factor in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

To date, few studies have reported the prognostic value of pre-treatment hemoglobin levels in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the present study, 416 patients with NSCLC were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis demonstrated that patients with normal pre-treatment hemoglobin (NPHb) levels had a greater chance of surviving for longer period, than did patients with low pre-treatment hemoglobin (LPHb) levels (HR, 2.

Pretreatment Hemoglobin Level Is an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Background/aim: Few studies have reported the prognostic value of pretreatment hemoglobin levels in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LA). In the present study, we retrospectively reviewed 306 LA patients for their prognosis associated with the pretreatment hemoglobin levels.

Methods: Person-years and case fatality rate (CFR) were calculated from May 2010 to June 2017.

Cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in the Japanese: a population-based cohort study in Japan.

The effects of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking on the incidence of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer (OCPC) in the Asian population have been poorly understood. To assess the effects of cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, and facial flushing response on incidence of OCPC, a total of 95 525 middle-aged and older eligible individuals were followed in a large-scale population-based cohort study in Japan from 1990 to 2010. In this study, the person-years of observation were 698 006 in men and 846 813 in women, and a total of 222 cases (men=160, women=62) of OCPC were newly diagnosed during the study period.

Rejoining kinetics of bleomycin-induced DNA single-strand breaks in agarose-bound human blood cells.

The rejoining kinetics of individual DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) are difficult to measure, in biomonitoring studies, because SSB rejoining is rapid and hard to control. We have detected early (0, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 30 min) events in SSB rejoining in human leukocytes, with the alkaline comet assay, at a low concentration of bleomycin (BLM; 0.5 μg/ml).

5‑FU resistance abrogates the amplified cytotoxic effects induced by inhibiting checkpoint kinase 1 in p53‑mutated colon cancer cells.

The emergence of chemoresistance is a major limitation of current cancer therapies, and checkpoint kinase (Chk1) 1 positively correlates with resistance to chemo‑ or radio‑therapy. Cancer cells lacking p53 pathways are completely dependent on the S and G2/M checkpoints via Chk1; therefore, Chk1 inhibition enhances the cytotoxicity of DNA‑damaging agents only in p53‑deficient cells. However, little is known about the synergistic effect of Chk1 inhibition with 5‑FU, the most frequently used antimetabolite, in chemoresistant colorectal cells.

Effect of gene polymorphisms and ethanol consumption on micronucleus frequency in human reticulocytes: a preliminary study.

Objective: Results from previous studies suggest that alcohol consumption can be genotoxic on peripheral lymphocytes. The aim of our study was to examine the association of alcohol consumption and its genotoxic effect on hematopoietic stem cells in vivo.

Methods: We investigated 156 healthy Japanese males in a cross-sectional study.

Effects of alcohol-drinking behaviour and ADH1B and ALDH2 polymorphisms on basal DNA damage in human mononuclear cells as determined by the comet assay.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of alcohol drinking and ADH1B and ALDH2 polymorphisms on basal DNA damage (measured by the alkaline comet assay) of mononuclear cells in 122 healthy Japanese workers. Our results showed that drinking frequency had a significant impact on the tail moment (TM) value, with the highest TM value observed in habitual drinkers. The presence of the ADH1B*2 or ALDH2*2 allele was associated with increased DNA damage in older habitual drinkers.

Effects of cigarette smoking, XRCC1 genetic polymorphisms, and age on basal DNA damage in human blood mononuclear cells.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of smoking, polymorphisms of XRCC1 codons 194 and 399, and age on levels of basal DNA damage (as measured by an alkaline comet assay) on mononuclear cells in 122 healthy Japanese workers. In the whole group of 122 individuals, the tail moment (TM) values of current smokers (P < 0.001) or former smokers (P = 0.

Is habitual alcohol drinking associated with reduced electrophoretic DNA migration in peripheral blood leukocytes from ALDH2-deficient male Japanese?

Alcohol drinking-derived acetaldehyde is believed to cross-link DNA and induce sister chromatid exchanges in peripheral blood lymphocytes. However, little population data are available to illustrate effects of alcohol-derived acetaldehyde on DNA migration as assayed by the comet assay in peripheral lymphocytes. In the present study, we investigated lifestyle behaviours, including alcohol consumption, in 150 Japanese males by questionnaire, determined their aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) family genotypes by polymerase chain reaction and measured the DNA migration in peripheral blood leukocytes by the alkaline comet assay.

Effects of the XRCC1 gene-environment interactions on DNA damage in healthy Japanese workers.

X-ray repair crosscomplementing group 1 (XRCC1) has a central role in base excision repair (BER) and single-strand break repair (SSBR). XRCC1 gene polymorphisms (codons 194, 280, and 399) have been identified, and in some cases have been reported to contribute to variations in DNA repair capacity and susceptibility to cancer. To further characterize the effects of XRCC1 gene polymorphisms and their possible interactions with environmental factors on individual levels of DNA damage, we investigated the XRCC1 genotypes of 222 healthy Japanese workers and analyzed data with respect to smoking, drinking habits, age, and health practice index (HPI).

Exposure level to cigarette tar or nicotine is associated with leukocyte DNA damage in male Japanese smokers.

We investigated the number of cigarettes smoked daily, years of smoking, cigarette pack-years, levels of daily exposure to cigarette tar (LECT, mg/day) or nicotine (LECN, mg/day) in 53 male Japanese smokers using a questionnaire and measured each participant's baseline leukocyte DNA damage using the alkaline comet assay. The results showed that the baseline value of peripheral leukocyte DNA strand breaks was significantly associated with LECT (P < 0.05), LECN (P < 0.

Differential DNA damage induced by H2O2 and bleomycin in subpopulations of human white blood cells.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the differential sensitivities of various subpopulations of human white blood cells after exposure to H2O2 (an oxidant agent) and bleomycin (a radiomimetic glycopeptide), in vitro, using single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE). Human peripheral blood was fractionated into mononuclear cells, which were further separated into monocytes, CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells, B-cells and natural killer cells (NK cells). The separated fractions were exposed to different doses of H2O2 and bleomycin, and then used to measure levels of induced and basal DNA damage.

Healthy lifestyles are associated with higher levels of perforin, granulysin and granzymes A/B-expressing cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes.

Objective: It is well documented that natural killer (NK) cells provide host defense against tumors and viruses. We previously showed that lifestyle affects human NK and LAK activities. In order to explore the underlying mechanism, we investigated the effect of lifestyle on intracellular perforin, granulysin, and granzymes A/B in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL).

Health practices and leukocyte DNA damage in Japanese hard-metal workers.

Objectives: To investigate associations between total lifestyles and levels of leukocyte DNA damage in healthy Japanese workers.

Methods: Eight health practices were investigated in 118 Japanese hard-metal workers by questionnaire in Osaka, Japan, in July 2004. Peripheral leukocyte DNA damage levels, as expressed by comet parameters, were determined using an alkaline comet assay.

Molecular analysis of the O-antigen gene cluster of Escherichia coli O86:B7 and characterization of the chain length determinant gene (wzz).

Escherichia coli O86:B7 has long been used as a model bacterial strain to study the generation of natural blood group antibody in humans, and it has been shown to possess high human blood B activity. The O-antigen structure of O86:B7 was solved recently in our laboratory. Comparison with the published structure of O86:H2 showed that both O86 subtypes shared the same O unit, yet each of the O antigens is polymerized from a different terminal sugar in a different glycosidic linkage.

Dual function of (--)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in healthy human lymphocytes.

(-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a catechin polyphenol component, is the main ingredient of green tea extract. Recently, increasing attention has been given to its anti-oxidant effects. However, several studies reported the oxidative effects of EGCG, suggesting that EGCG had a dual function of anti-oxidant and pro-oxidant potentials.

Micronuclei in EM9 cells expressing polymorphic forms of human XRCC1.

X-ray repair cross-complementing gene 1 (XRCC1) is involved in base excision repair (BER) through interaction with other BER enzymes, and polymorphisms in XRCC1 appear to increase the risk of various cancers. We evaluated how three XRCC1 polymorphisms, Arg194Trp, Arg280His and Arg399Gln, affect the extent of DNA damage and repair using the micronucleus assay. XRCC1 cDNAs containing the wild-type sequence and the three polymorphisms were overexpressed in EM9 cells, which lack the full sequence needed to perform XRCC1 functions.

Escherichia coli O86 O-antigen biosynthetic gene cluster and stepwise enzymatic synthesis of human blood group B antigen tetrasaccharide.

Previous study showed that some Gram-negative bacteria possess human blood group activity. Among them, Escherichia coli O86 has high blood group B activity and weak blood group A activity. This is due to the cell surface O-antigen structure, which resembles that of human blood group B antigen.