Cultural perspectives and current consumption changes of cooked rice in Korean diet

Cooked rice is a staple food for Koreans which provides more than 60% of daily required energy. In 1960's, Koreans ate 600 g-800 g of cooked rice per meal and the energy obtained from cooked rice was almost more than 80% of the daily intake of energy. However, as the economy of Korea improved, the major industry has been shifted from agriculture to various manufacturing industries and the export of those products has been increased thus increasing the national income but decreasing the farming population and thus rice consumption have been decreased. It has been said that the decreased rice consumption is caused solely by decreased farming population but it can also be said that the decreased farming population is caused by decreased rice consumption

Tolfenamic Acid Induces Apoptosis and Growth Inhibition in Head and Neck Cancer: Involvement of NAG-1 Expression

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-activated gene-1 (NAG-1) is induced by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and possesses proapoptotic and antitumorigenic activities. Although tolfenamic acid (TA) induces apoptosis in head and neck cancer cells, the relationship between NAG-1 and TA has not been determined. This study investigated the induction of apoptosis in head and neck cancer cells treated by TA and the role of NAG-1 expression in this induction. TA reduced head and neck cancer cell viability in a dose-dependent manner and induced apoptosis. The induced apoptosis was coincident with the expression of NAG-1. Overexpression of NAG-1 enhanced the apoptotic effect of TA, whereas suppression of NAG-1 expression by small interfering RNA attenuated TA-induced apoptosis. TA significantly inhibited tumor formation as assessed by xenograft models, and this result accompanied the induction of apoptotic cells and NAG-1 expression in tumor tissue samples. Taken together, these results demonstrate that TA induces apoptosis via NAG-1 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, providing an additional mechanistic explanation for the apoptotic activity of TA

Identification of differentially expressed genes using an annealing control primer system in stage III serous ovarian carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Most patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed with advanced stage disease (<it>i.e</it>., stage III-IV), which is associated with a poor prognosis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in stage III serous ovarian carcinoma compared to normal tissue were screened by a new differential display method, the annealing control primer (ACP) system. The potential targets for markers that could be used for diagnosis and prognosis, for stage III serous ovarian cancer, were found by cluster and survival analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The ACP-based reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) technique was used to identify DEGs in patients with stage III serous ovarian carcinoma. The DEGs identified by the ACP system were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Cluster analysis was performed on the basis of the expression profile produced by quantitative real-time PCR and survival analysis was carried out by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards multivariate model; the results of gene expression were compared between chemo-resistant and chemo-sensitive groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 114 DEGs were identified by the ACP-based RT PCR technique among patients with stage III serous ovarian carcinoma. The DEGs associated with an apoptosis inhibitory process tended to be up-regulated clones while the DEGs associated with immune response tended to be down-regulated clones. Cluster analysis of the gene expression profile obtained by quantitative real-time PCR revealed two contrasting groups of DEGs. That is, a group of genes including: <it>SSBP1</it>, <it>IFI6 DDT</it>, <it>IFI27</it>, <it>C11orf92</it>, <it>NFKBIA</it>, <it>TNXB</it>, <it>NEAT1 </it>and <it>TFG </it>were up-regulated while another group of genes consisting of: <it>LAMB2</it>, <it>XRCC6</it>, <it>MEF2C</it>, <it>RBM5</it>, <it>FOXP1</it>, <it>NUDCP2</it>, <it>LGALS3</it>, <it>TMEM185A</it>, and <it>C1S </it>were down-regulated in most patients. Survival analysis revealed that the up-regulated genes such as <it>DDAH2, RNase K and TCEAL2 </it>might be associated with a poor prognosis. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients with chemo-resistance was predicted to be very poor when genes such as <it>RNase K, FOXP1</it>, <it>LAMB2 </it>and <it>MRVI1 </it>were up-regulated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The DEGs in patients with stage III serous ovarian cancer were successfully and reliably identified by the ACP-based RT PCR technique. The DEGs identified in this study might help predict the prognosis of patients with stage III serous ovarian cancer as well as suggest targets for the development of new treatment regimens.</p

Вихретоковый анизотропный термоэлектрический первичный преобразователь лучистого потока

Представлена оригинальная конструкция первичного преобразователя лучистого потока, который может служить основой для создания приемника неселективного излучения с повышенной чувствительностью

ApoE Receptor 2 Regulates Synapse and Dendritic Spine Formation

Apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoEr2) is a postsynaptic protein involved in long-term potentiation (LTP), learning, and memory through unknown mechanisms. We examined the biological effects of ApoEr2 on synapse and dendritic spine formation-processes critical for learning and memory.In a heterologous co-culture synapse assay, overexpression of ApoEr2 in COS7 cells significantly increased colocalization with synaptophysin in primary hippocampal neurons, suggesting that ApoEr2 promotes interaction with presynaptic structures. In primary neuronal cultures, overexpression of ApoEr2 increased dendritic spine density. Consistent with our in vitro findings, ApoEr2 knockout mice had decreased dendritic spine density in cortical layers II/III at 1 month of age. We also tested whether the interaction between ApoEr2 and its cytoplasmic adaptor proteins, specifically X11α and PSD-95, affected synapse and dendritic spine formation. X11α decreased cell surface levels of ApoEr2 along with synapse and dendritic spine density. In contrast, PSD-95 increased cell surface levels of ApoEr2 as well as synapse and dendritic spine density.These results suggest that ApoEr2 plays important roles in structure and function of CNS synapses and dendritic spines, and that these roles are modulated by cytoplasmic adaptor proteins X11α and PSD-95

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (P interaction  = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications