Association of p53 Codon 72 Polymorphism with Risk of Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Taiwan

Backgroundp53 polymorphism at codon 72 is a known risk marker for various malignancies, but it has not been studied in hypopharyngeal cancer. This study investigated the genotype distribution of p53 codon 72 polymorphism in hypopharyngeal cancer patients and non-cancer controls matched for age, gender, alcohol consumption and smoking habit.MethodsGenomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood cells of 53 patients with hypopharyngeal cancer and 53 non-cancer controls. Codon 72 polymorphism of p53 was identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.ResultsPatients with hypopharyngeal cancer had higher frequencies of Pro/Pro (26.4% vs. 13.2%) and Pro/Arg (51.0% vs. 45.3%) but lower frequencies of Arg/Arg (22.6% vs. 45.1%) compared to controls. Compared to Arg/Arg genotypes, Pro/Pro genotypes had a relative risk of hypopharyngeal cancer of 3.667 (95% confidence interval, 1.16-11.56; p = 0.03). As a group, patients with Pro/Pro or Arg/Pro who were carriers of the Pro allele had a higher relative risk of hypopharyngeal cancer compared to Arg homozygous carriers (odds ratio, 2.415; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-5.64; p = 0.04).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that p53 codon 72 Pro homozygosity is associated with a higher risk of developing hypopharyngeal cancer

Smoking, Alcohol, and Betel Quid and Oral Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study

We aimed to investigate the association between smoking, alcoholic consumption, and betel quid chewing with oral cancer in a prospective manner. All male patients age ≥18 years who visited our clinic received an oral mucosa inspection. Basic data including personal habits were also obtained. A multivariate logistic regression model was utilized to determine relevant risk factors for developing oral cavity cancer. A total of 10,657 participants were enrolled in this study. Abnormal findings were found in 514 participants (4.8%). Three hundred forty-four participants received biopsy, and 230 patients were proven to have oral cancer. The results of multivariate logistic regression found that those who smoked, consumed alcohol, and chewed betel quid on a regular basis were most likely to develop cancer (odds ratio: 46.87, 95% confidence interval: 31.84–69.00). Therefore, habitual cigarette smokers, alcohol consumers, and betel quid chewers have a higher risk of contracting oral cancer and should receive oral screening regularly so potential oral cancer can be detected as early as possible

Modification of existing water turbine system for application at local river

This thesis is about doing analysis and investigations on river flow rate in Malaysian River which focusing at Sungai Pahang. Through this analysis and investigation could obtain the potential of running a Water Turbine System (WTS). The main problem statement is on location limitation to obtain peak flow rate of river to running water turbine systems which is depending on depth and width of the river and also from the velocity of sectional area of river. Other than that, choosing most suitable water turbine system is also one of main criteria to be taken in this research. Water Turbine are one of clean renewable energy sources which holding high percentage of energy resource provider among renewable energy. The analysis and investigation are constrained from data of river volume flow rate which shows there are peaks values of volume flow rate in Pahang River. This thesis will carry on with modeling a WTS that can be recommended to construct in Pahang River. The analysis on flow rate of Pahang River are done by calculating potential Power (W) that could produced based on volume flow rate data that obtain from Department of Irrigation and Drainage of Malaysia. Since water turbine could provide electricity power without affecting pollution to the environment. Water turbines systems also are cheapest resource to be obtain. Final modeling of water turbine system is completed by using SolidWorks

Traditional Chinese Medicine ZHENG Identification Provides a Novel Stratification Approach in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis

Background. We aimed to apply the ZHENG identification to provide an easy and useful tool to stratify the patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) through exploring the correlation between the quantified scores of AR symptoms and the TCM ZHENGs. Methods. A total of 114 AR patients were enrolled in this observational study. All participants received the examinations of anterior rhinoscopy and acoustic rhinometry. Their blood samples were collected for measurement of total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), blood eosinophil count (Eos), and serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). They also received two questionnaire to assess the severity scores of AR symptoms and quantified TCM ZHENG scores. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine explanatory factors for the score of AR manifestations. Results. IgE and ECP level, duration of AR, the 2 derived TCMZHENG scores of “Yin-Xu − Yang-Xu”, and “Qi-Xu + Blood-Xu” were 5 explanatory variables to predict the severity scores of AR symptoms. The patients who had higher scores of “Yin-Xu − Yang-Xu” or “Qi-Xu + Blood-Xu” tended to manifest as “sneezer and runner” or “blockers,” respectively. Conclusions. The TCM ZHENG scores correlated with the severity scores of AR symptoms and provided an easy and useful tool to stratify the AR patients

Inhibited Endogenous H2S Generation and Excessive Autophagy in Hippocampus Contribute to Sleep Deprivation-Induced Cognitive Impairment

Background and Aim: Sleep deprivation (SD) causes deficit of cognition, but the mechanisms remain to be fully established. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays an important role in the formation of cognition, while excessive and prolonged autophagy in hippocampus triggers cognitive disorder. In this work, we proposed that disturbances in hippocampal endogenous H2S generation and autophagy might be involved in SD-induced cognitive impairment.Methods: After treatment of adult male wistar rats with 72-h SD, the Y-maze test, object location test (OLT), novel object recognition test (NORT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test were performed to determine the cognitive function. The autophagosome formation was observed with electron microscope. Generation of endogenous H2S in the hippocampus of rats was detected using unisense H2S microsensor method. The expressions of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS), 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST), beclin-1, light chain LC3 II/LC3 I, and p62 in the hippocampus were assessed by western blotting.Results: The Y-maze, OLT, NORT, and MWM test demonstrated that SD-exposed rats exhibited cognitive dysfunction. SD triggered the elevation of hippocampal autophagy as evidenced by enhancement of autophagosome, up-regulations of beclin-1 and LC3 II/LC3 I, and down-regulation of p62. Meanwhile, the generation of endogenous H2S and the expressions of CBS and 3-MST (H2S producing enzyme) in the hippocampus of SD-treated rats were reduced.Conclusion: These results suggested that inhibition of endogenous H2S generation and excessiveness of autophagy in hippocampus are involved in SD-induced cognitive impairment

Moire superlattice effects in graphene/boron-nitride van der Waals heterostructures

Van der Waals heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride feature a moir\'e superlattice for graphene's Dirac electrons. Here, we review the effects generated by this superlattice, including a specific miniband structure featuring gaps and secondary Dirac points, and a fractal spectrum of magnetic minibands known as Hofstadter's butterfly.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death 2018.

Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field