Private Enforcement of Competition Law : devising the best rules and procedures for Korea in the right of experience in the US, EU and UK

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Molecular Subgroup Analysis of Clinical Outcomes in a Phase 3 Study of Gemcitabine and Oxaliplatin with or without Erlotinib in Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer

AbstractBACKGROUND: We previously reported that the addition of erlotinib to gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (GEMOX) resulted in greater antitumor activity and might be a treatment option for patients with biliary tract cancers (BTCs). Molecular subgroup analysis of treatment outcomes in patients who had specimens available for analysis was undertaken. METHODS: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), KRAS, and PIK3CA mutations were evaluated using peptide nucleic acid–locked nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction clamp reactions. Survival and response rates (RRs) were analyzed according to the mutational status. Sixty-four patients (48.1%) were available for mutational analysis in the chemotherapy alone group and 61 (45.1%) in the chemotherapy plus erlotinib group. RESULTS: 1.6% (2/116) harbored an EGFR mutation (2 patients; exon 20), 9.6% (12/121) harbored a KRAS mutation (12 patients; exon 2), and 9.6% (12/118) harbored a PIK3CA mutation (10 patients, exon 9 and 2 patients, exon 20). The addition of erlotinib to GEMOX in patients with KRAS wild-type disease (n = 109) resulted in significant improvements in overall response compared with GEMOX alone (30.2% vs 12.5%, P = .024). In 95 patients with both wild-type KRAS and PIK3CA, there was evidence of a benefit associated with the addition of erlotinib to GEMOX with respect to RR as compared with GEMOX alone (P = .04). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that KRAS mutational status might be considered a predictive biomarker for the response to erlotinib in BTCs. Additionally, the mutation status of PIK3CA may be a determinant for adding erlotinib to chemotherapy in KRAS wild-type BTCs

Nutritional compositions in roots, twigs, leaves, fruit pulp, and seeds from pawpaw (Asimina triloba [L.] Dunal) grown in Korea

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba L.) roots, twigs, leaves, fruit, and seeds were analyzed for their nutritional compositions. Seeds exhibited significantly higher levels of crude protein, lipid, fiber, and dietary fiber than those of the other parts. Sucrose in fruit was 9321.24 mg%, which was the highest among the samples. The total essential amino acid to total amino acid ratio was highest in the leaves, and the leaves contained the highest amount of potassium. The calcium content ranged between 8.15-153.41 mg%. Oleic and linoleic acids in seeds were 5905.11 and 8045.56 mg%, respectively, which were the highest among the pawpaw parts. The highest amount of linolenic acid was measured in the leaves, and β-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E were also the most abundant in the leaves. These results suggest that every part of pawpaw is a good source of an important food item. Additionally, this study provides basic data for improving the sitological value of pawpaw

Interaction of testisin with maspin and its impact on invasion and cell death resistance of cervical cancer cells

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that testisin promotes malignant transformation in cancer cells. To define the mechanism of testisin-induced carcinogenesis, we performed yeast two-hybrid analysis and identified maspin, a tumor suppressor protein, as a testisin-interacting molecule. The direct interaction and cytoplasmic co-localization of testisin with maspin was confirmed by immunoprecipitation and confocal analysis, respectively. In cervical cancer cells, maspin modulated cell death and invasion; however, these effects were inhibited by testisin in parallel experiments. Of interest, the doxorubicin resistance was dramatically reduced by testisin knockdown (P=0.016). Moreover, testisin was found to be over-expressed in cervical cancer samples as compared to matched normal cervical tissues. Thus, we postulate that testisin may promote carcinogenesis by inhibiting tumor suppressor activity of maspin.Structured summaryMINT-7712215, MINT-7712176: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) binds (MI:0407) to Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) by pull down (MI:0096)MINT-7712188: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) and Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) colocalize (MI:0403) by fluorescence microscopy (MI:0416)MINT-7712115: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) by two-hybrid (MI:0018)MINT-7712162, MINT-7712128: Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) by anti bait co-immunoprecipitation (MI:0006)MINT-7712147: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) by anti tag co-immunoprecipitation (MI:0007

A Survey of Diabetic Educators and Patients for the Revision of Korean Food Exchange Lists

BackgroundFood exchange lists are one of the main methods of nutritional education. However, Korean food exchange lists have not been revised since 1994. Therefore, we surveyed the opinions of diabetes educators and patients with diabetes regarding the need for revision of the current food exchange lists.MethodsFor two weeks beginning on 10 March 2008, a 12-item questionnaire regarding the opinion and need for revision of the current food exchange lists was e-mailed to diabetes educators nationwide. Another 15-question survey was administered to patients with diabetes in 13 hospitals located in the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions of Korea.ResultsWe obtained survey responses from 101 diabetes educators and 209 patients; 65 (64.3%) of the educators answered that the current food exchange lists should be revised. The items that needed revision were the glycemic index, addition of new foods and reaffirmation of exchange standard amounts. The patients demanded specific education about choosing appropriate foods, a balanced meal plan, proper snacks, and dining intake.ConclusionOur survey results demonstrate the need to revise the Korean food exchange lists. This process should focus on glycemic index, the addition of new foods and reconfirmation of one exchange reference unit

Cell-free synthesis of functional phospholipase A1 from Serratia sp.

Additional file 1: Figure S1 Gas chromatography analysis of sesame oil incubated with cell-free synthesized PLA1

Elevated RalA activity in the hippocampus of PI3K gamma knock-out mice lacking NMDAR-dependent long-term depression

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) play key roles in synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions in the brain. We recently found that genetic deletion of PI3K gamma, the only known member of class IB PI3Ks, results in impaired N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent long-term depression (NMDAR-LTD) in the hippocampus. The activity of RalA, a small GTP-binding protein, increases following NMDAR-LTD inducing stimuli, and this increase in RalA activity is essential for inducing NMDAR-LTD. We found that RalA activity increased significantly in PI3K gamma knockout mice. Furthermore, NMDAR-LTD-inducing stimuli did not increase RalA activity in PI3K gamma knockout mice. These results suggest that constitutively increased RalA activity occludes further increases in RalA activity during induction of LTD, causing impaired NMDAR-LTD. We propose that PI3K gamma regulates the activity of RalA, which is one of the molecular mechanisms inducing NMDAR-dependent LTD.open1