A new other-race effect for gaze perception

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Knocking down 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase increased oxidative stress and impeded zebrafish embryogenesis by obstructing morphogenetic movement

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Comparing factors affecting commencement and cessation of betel quid chewing behavior in Taiwanese adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Betel quid is the fourth most common used substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine. Although factors related to betel quid chewing or cessation of behaviors were reported previously, few studies simultaneously compared both behaviors in the same population. In addition, it is essential to consider time-to-event concept, since the chance of developing or stopping habit may vary over time. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk factors for commencement and cessation of betel quid chewing behaviors in a time-to-event setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A stratified multi-stage cluster sampling with selection probabilities proportional to size (PPS) was designed for Taiwanese adults with aged 18 years old and above. Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to compare and calculate the hazard rate ratios for related factors to commencement or cessation of chewing habits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Taiwan, men had a higher betel quid chewing rate (M: 20.9%, W: 1.2%), but woman chewers had a lower cessation rate (M: 27.5%, W: 12.7%). The hazard rate ratio (HRR) of having chewing habit changed from 4.22 (men vs women) univariately to 1.38 multivariablely, which indicated gender differences were confounded by other factors. In multivariable analysis, the risk factors of gender, education and ethnicity were significantly associated with both starting and cessation of betel quid chewing behavior. The factors of occupation, cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking were only associated with starting habit.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Commencement or cessation of chewing behavior involves a scenario of time, hence it is preferable to use a time-to-event approach for the comparison. The cessation rates of betel quid chewing were decreasingly associated with the daily consumption of betel quid. Hence, reducing of daily amount in betel quid cessation program may be associated with future stopping habit.</p

Resurrection of an ancestral 5S rRNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In addition to providing phylogenetic relationships, tree making procedures such as parsimony and maximum likelihood can make specific predictions of actual historical sequences. Resurrection of such sequences can be used to understand early events in evolution. In the case of RNA, the nature of parsimony is such that when applied to multiple RNA sequences it typically predicts ancestral sequences that satisfy the base pairing constraints associated with secondary structure. The case for such sequences being actual ancestors is greatly improved, if they can be shown to be biologically functional.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A unique common ancestral sequence of 28 <it>Vibrio </it>5S ribosomal RNA sequences predicted by parsimony was resurrected and found to be functional in the context of the <it>E. coli </it>cellular environment. The functionality of various point variants and intermediates that were constructed as part of the resurrection were examined in detail. When separately introduced the changes at single stranded positions and individual double variants at base-paired positions were also viable. An additional double variant was examined at a different base-paired position and it was also valid.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results show that at least in the case of the 5S rRNAs considered here, ancestors predicted by parsimony are likely to be realistic when the prediction is not overly influenced by single outliers. It is especially noteworthy that the phenotype of the predicted ancestors could be anticipated as a cumulative consequence of the phenotypes of the individual variants that comprised them. Thus, point mutation data is potentially useful in evaluating the reasonableness of ancestral sequences predicted by parsimony or other methods. The results also suggest that in the absence of significant tertiary structure constraints double variants that preserve pairing in stem regions will typically be accepted. Overall, the results suggest that it will be feasible to resurrect additional meaningful 5S rRNA ancestors as well as ancestral sequences of many different types of RNA.</p

Segmentation and intensity estimation for microarray images with saturated pixels

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Microarray image analysis processes scanned digital images of hybridized arrays to produce the input spot-level data for downstream analysis, so it can have a potentially large impact on those and subsequent analysis. Signal saturation is an optical effect that occurs when some pixel values for highly expressed genes or peptides exceed the upper detection threshold of the scanner software (2¹⁶- 1 = 65, 535 for 16-bit images). In practice, spots with a sizable number of saturated pixels are often flagged and discarded. Alternatively, the saturated values are used without adjustments for estimating spot intensities. The resulting expression data tend to be biased downwards and can distort high-level analysis that relies on these data. Hence, it is crucial to effectively correct for signal saturation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed a flexible mixture model-based segmentation and spot intensity estimation procedure that accounts for saturated pixels by incorporating a censored component in the mixture model. As demonstrated with biological data and simulation, our method extends the dynamic range of expression data beyond the saturation threshold and is effective in correcting saturation-induced bias when the lost information is not tremendous. We further illustrate the impact of image processing on downstream classification, showing that the proposed method can increase diagnostic accuracy using data from a lymphoma cancer diagnosis study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The presented method adjusts for signal saturation at the segmentation stage that identifies a pixel as part of the foreground, background or other. The cluster membership of a pixel can be altered versus treating saturated values as truly observed. Thus, the resulting spot intensity estimates may be more accurate than those obtained from existing methods that correct for saturation based on already segmented data. As a model-based segmentation method, our procedure is able to identify inner holes, fuzzy edges and blank spots that are common in microarray images. The approach is independent of microarray platform and applicable to both single- and dual-channel microarrays.</p

Psychological Disorders, Cognitive Dysfunction and Quality of Life in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients with Radiation-Induced Brain Injury

PURPOSE:To evaluate factors affecting psychology, cognitive function and quality of life (QOL) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients with radiation-induced brain injury (RI). METHODS AND MATERIALS:46 recurrence-free NPC patients with RI and 46 matched control patients without RI were recruited in our study. Subjective and objective symptoms of RI were evaluated with the LENT/SOMA systems. Psychological assessment was measured with Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was carried out in these patients for assessing their cognitive function. QOL was evaluated by means of WHOQOL BREF. RESULTS:Of the patients with RI, 39(84.8%) had depression and 40(87.0%) had anxiety. The patients with RI got higher scores both in SDS and SAS than those without RI (SDS, 63.48±8.11 vs. 58.67±7.52, p = 0.008; SAS, 67.36±10.41 vs. 60.34±9.76, p = 0.005). Score in MoCA of patients with RI was significantly lower than that of patients without RI (21.32±2.45 vs. 25.98±1.73, p<0.001). SAS was positive correlated with post-radiotherapy interval. Both SAS and SDS had a significantly positive correlation with the rank of SOMA, while MoCA had a significantly negative correlation with SOMA. Chemotherapy was a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction. In addition, patients with RI got significantly lower scores in physical health (16.50±11.05 vs. 35.02±10.43, p<0.001), psychological health (17.70±10.33 vs. 39.48±12.00, p<0.001) and social relationship (48.00±18.65 vs. 67.15±19.70, p<0.001) compared with those in patients without RI. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that anxiety and cognitive impairment were significant predictors of global QOL. CONCLUSIONS:NPC patients with RI exhibit negative emotions, impaired cognitive function and QOL. The severity of clinical symptoms of RI plays an important role in both emotions and cognitive function. Anxiety and cognitive impairment are associated with decreased QOL

Gender Difference of Alanine Aminotransferase Elevation May Be Associated with Higher Hemoglobin Levels among Male Adolescents

BACKGROUND: To explore the gender difference of ALT elevation and its association with high hemoglobin levels. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 3547 adolescents (2005 females, mean age of 16.5?.3 years) who were negative for hepatitis B surface antigen received health checkups in 2006. Body mass index (BMI), levels of hemoglobin, ALT and cholesterol were measured. ALT >42 U/L was defined as elevated ALT. Elevated ALT levels were detected in 112 of the 3547 participants (3.3%), more prevalent in males than in females (5.4% vs. 1.4%, p<0.001). Hemoglobin levels had a significant linear correlation with ALT levels in both genders. Abnormal ALT started to occur if hemoglobin >11 g/dl in females or >13.5 g/dl in males, but the cumulative cases of elevated ALT increased more quickly in males. Proportion of elevated ALT increased as either the BMI or hemoglobin level rise, more apparent in male adolescents. Logistic regression modeling showed odds ratio (95% confidence interval) were 24.7 (15.0-40.6) for BMI ≥27 kg/m(2); 5.5 (2.9-10.4) for BMI 24-27 kg/m(2); 2.7 (1.3-5.5) for Q5 (top 20th percentile) hemoglobin level; and 2.6 (1.6-4.1) for male gender. Further separately fitting the logistic models for two genders, the significance of Q5 hemoglobin level only appeared in the males. CONCLUSIONS: High hemoglobin level is a significant risk factor of ALT elevation after control hepatitis B, obesity and gender. Males have greater risk of abnormal liver function which may be associated with higher hemoglobin levels

Primary Phacoemulsification and Intraocular Lens Implantation for Acute Primary Angle-Closure

Background: To investigate the effect of primary phacoemulsification on intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with acute primary angle-closure (PAC) and coexisting cataract. Methodology: Sixteen eyes of 14 patients with acute PAC received phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation as initial management for medically uncontrolled IOP in a retrospective chart review. The effects on IOP, vision, anterior chamber depth (ACD), and number of antiglaucoma medications were evaluated. Principal Findings: The postoperative IOP was reduced in 16 eyes (100%). The mean 6 standard deviation preoperative IOP was 48.81616.83 mm Hg, which decreased postoperatively to 16.46610.67 mm Hg at 1 day, 9.4363.03 mm Hg at 1 week

Household secondhand smoke exposure of elementary schoolchildren in Southern Taiwan and factors associated with their confidence in avoiding exposure: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to household Secondhand Smoke (SHS) poses a major health threat to children after an indoor smoking ban was imposed in Taiwan. This study aimed to assess the household SHS exposure in elementary school children in southern Taiwan and the factors associated with their avoidance of SHS exposure before and after the implementation of Taiwan's new Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act in 2009.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this cross-sectional school-based study, data on household SHS exposure, avoidance of SHS and related variables was obtained from the 2008 and 2009 Control of School-aged Children Smoking Study Survey. A random sample of 52 elementary schools was included. A total of 4450 3-6 graders (aged 8-13) completed the questionnaire. Regression models analyzed factors of children's self-confidence to avoid household SHS exposure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over 50% of children were found to have lived with a family member who smoked in front of them after the new law enacted, and 35% of them were exposed to household SHS more than 4 days a week. Having a positive attitude toward smoking (β = -0.05 to -0.06) and high household SHS exposure (β = -0.34 to -0.47) were significantly associated with a lower avoidance of SHS exposure. Comparing to girls, boys had lower scores in their knowledge of tobacco hazards; and this factor was significantly related to their SHS avoidance (β = 0.13-0.14).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The intervention program should enhance school children do actively avoid exposure to SHS in home settings, and more importantly, provide tobacco hazard knowledge to male students to avoid exposure to household SHS for themselves. The results also provide further evidence that Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act should perhaps be extended to the family environment in order to protect children from the hazards of household SHS exposure.</p