Value of late gadolinium enhancement by magnetic resonance in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis: characteristic findings and clinical utility

73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society 2009年03月 Osak

Value of late gadolinium enhancement by magnetic resonance in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis: characteristic findings and clinical utility

73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society 2009年03月 Osak

Idaten Is a New Cold-Inducible Transposon of Volvox carteri That Can Be Used for Tagging Developmentally Important Genes

A cold-inducible transposon called Jordan has previously been used to tag and recover genes controlling key aspects of Volvox development, including the process called inversion. In a search for additional genes, we isolated 17 new inversionless mutants from cultures grown at 24° (the temperature that activates Jordan transposition). These mutants were stable at 32°, but generated revertants at 24°. DNA blots revealed that one mutant had a transposon unrelated to Jordan inserted in invA (“inversionless A”). This new transposon, which we named Idaten, has terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) beginning with CCCTA, and upon insertion it creates a 3-bp target-site duplication. It appears to belong to the CACTA superfamily of class II DNA transposons, which includes En/Spm. No significant open reading frames were in the Idaten sequence, but we retrieved another element with Idaten-type TIRs encoding a protein similar to the En/Spm transposase as a candidate for an Idaten-specific transposase. We found that in five of the new inversionless strains we could not find any Jordan insertions causing the phenotype to possess insertions of an Idaten family member in a single locus (invC). This clearly indicates that Idaten is a potentially powerful alternative to Jordan for tagging developmentally important genes in Volvox

Homecare protective and risk factors for early childhood caries in Japan

Abstract Background Early childhood caries (ECC) affects children across Japan and throughout the world. Thus, it is important to identify dietary and dental care habits that either promote oral health or cause ECC. The objective of this study was to identify protective and risk factors associated with ECC in Japan. Methods In a typical rural Japanese community, we selected children born between 2004 and 2008 who had received checkups at their community health center including oral examinations conducted by dentists. We obtained data from children’s records and from a questionnaire filled out by parents. We enrolled only children who at their checkup for 18-month-olds had no caries, and we obtained data about them at their checkup for 3-year-olds. We classified children as either having caries (treated or untreated) or being caries-free. We conducted bivariate analyses using data on child/family demographic characteristics, child’s dietary habits, and child/parental oral health habits. We also conducted logistic regression analysis to control for variables and identify predictors of the presence/absence of caries. Results Five hundred sixty six children (278 boys, 288 girls) were enrolled and followed. After 2 years, 173 children (30.6%) presented with caries. Logistic regression analysis predicting caries at follow-up identified the interaction term “bottlefed overnight and brushed irregularly” at 18 months of age as a highly significant predictor of developing caries—adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 14.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–199.71. Two variables measured at follow-up were also significant predictors: having low levels of dental plaque (AOR 2.41, 95% CI 1.34–4.35) and having a mother who had untreated caries (AOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.09–3.12). Conclusion Public health efforts should encourage parents to eliminate bottle feeding overnight and promote brushing twice daily as children’s teeth begin to erupt. Greater efforts should be made to teach parents and daytime caregivers how to brush effectively to remove all plaque. Health professionals should pay close attention to mothers’ oral health status. Mothers with caries should receive prompt treatment and be assisted in developing better dietary and oral health habits that will benefit themselves and their children. Policies and programs should focus more on family oral health rather than just child oral health