Significant association of XRCC4 single nucleotide polymorphisms with prostate cancer susceptibility in Taiwanese males

[[abstract]]The DNA repair gene X-ray cross-complementing group 4 (XRCC4), a member of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair system, plays a major role in the repair of the double-strand breaks of the DNA sequence. This gene is critical to the maintenance of overall genome stability, and is also thought to play a key role in human carcinogenesis. In this case-control study, several novel polymorphic variants of XRCC4, including C-1622T (rs7727691), G-1394T (rs6869366), C-571T (rs2075686) and intron3 DIP (rs28360071), were investigated, and the correlation of these variants to prostate cancer susceptibility in a Taiwanese population was observed. A total of 134 prostate cancer patients were recruited along with 134 age-matched healthy controls, and the association of their selected genotypes with susceptibility to prostate cancer was determined. The G-1394T variant of XRCC4 proved, after analysis of the frequencies of each variant in the prostate cancer and control groups, to be a significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in prostate carcinogenesis. Our data clearly indicate that the heterogeneous G of G-1394T increases the risk of suceptibility to prostate cancer (P=0.0106), while no difference in distribution of XRCC4 C-1622T (rs7727691), C-571T (rs2075686) or intron3 DIP (rs28360071) between the prostate cancer and control groups was found. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the G allele of XRCC4 G-1394T may be responsible for prostate carcinogenesis, and could be useful in the early detection and prevention of the disease

Tissue-engineered constructs for urethral regeneration

AbstractThose who have urethral injury, long-distance urethral stricture, hypospadias, or epispadias need tissue for urethral repair. Tissue engineering is one of the solutions for urethroplasty. Three components essential for tissue engineering are cells, scaffolds, and bioactive factors. Several animal studies of tissue-engineered urethras have been conducted and progressed to human clinical trials by 1999. These studies have shown that the maximum distance for normal tissue regeneration in tubularized urethral replacement with unseeded matrices is 0.5cm. Although autologous tissue-engineered tabularized urethras have been successful in clinical trials, this method could be an alternative treatment for urethral reconstruction

Exploring Online Repeat Purchase Intentions: The Role of Habit

By focusing on online stores, this study investigates the repeat purchase intention of experienced online buyers. Prior research on online behavior continuance models perceived usefulness, trust, satisfaction, and perceived value as the major determinants of continued adoption or loyalty, overlooking the important role of habit. Building on previous work in other disciplines, we define habit in the context of online shopping as the extent to which buyers tend to shop online automatically because of learning. Using recent work on the continued usage of IS (IS continuance) and repeat purchase, we have developed a model suggesting that repeat purchase intention is not only a consequence of trust and switching cost, but also of habit. In particular, in our research model, we propose that online shopping habit moderate the influence of trust such that its importance in determining repeat purchase intention decreases as the online shopping behavior takes on a more habitual nature. Integrating prior research on habit, IS continuance, and repeat purchase further, we suggest how antecedents of repeat purchase intention relate to drivers of habitualization. Data collected from 462 of Yahoo!Kimo shopping center’s customers provide strong support for the research model. Results indicate that higher level of habit deflated trust’s effect on repeat purchase intention. The data also show that satisfaction and familiarity are key to habit formation and thus relevant in the context of online repeat purchase

(E)-N-{2-[1-(Benzyl­imino)eth­yl]phen­yl}benzamide

In the title compound, C22H20N2O, the molecular conformation is supported by an intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond, resulting in an almost planar [mean deviation = 0.048 (2) Å] S(6) ring. The dihedral angles between the central benzene ring and the imine- and amide-substituted aromatic rings are 76.6 (2) and 11.7 (2)°, respectively

Maximum Power Point Tracking Method Based on Modified Particle Swarm Optimization for Photovoltaic Systems

This study investigated the output characteristics of photovoltaic module arrays with partial module shading. Accordingly, we presented a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method that can effectively track the global optimum of multipeak curves. This method was based on particle swarm optimization (PSO). The concept of linear decreases in weighting was added to improve the tracking performance of the maximum power point tracker. Simulation results were used to verify that this method could successfully track maximum power points in the output characteristic curves of photovoltaic modules with multipeak values. The results also established that the performance of the modified PSO-based MPPT method was superior to that of conventional PSO methods