In this letter, InGaN-based solar cells with a p-InGaN/i-InGaN/n-GaN double-heterojunction structure were fabricated and characterized. Two kinds of sapphire substrates i.e., a conventional sapphire ...substrate (CSS) and a patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) were used for epitaxial growth. Both the solar cells grown on the CSS and the PSS demonstrated a high open-circuit voltage of 2.05 and 2.08 V, respectively. However, the short-circuit current of the solar cells grown on the PSS showed an improvement of 27.6% compared with that of the cells grown on the CSS. Such observation could be attributed to low edge-dislocation density and the increase in the light-absorption path by the scattering of interface incident light between the substrate and the epitaxial layer for the solar cell grown on the PSS.
Blended thin films were thermal-annealed at various temperatures (T A ) to serve as active layers in polymeric solar cells. The films were composed of ...polyN-9'-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4',7'-di-2-thienyl-2',1',3'-benzothiadiazole) (PCDTBT) and 6,6-phenyl-C 71 -butyric acid methyl ester and their microstructural features were examined through joint spectroscopy and microscopy. After they were thermal-annealed at a T A below but close to the glass transition temperature of PCDTBT, their various properties improved, including absorbance, molecular ordering, coherence length of PCDTBT, homogeneity of PCDTBT chain conformations, and two-phase pathways. Efficient charge transport and suppressed charge recombination occurred in the modified thin films, resulting in an enhancement of the power conversion efficiency of the corresponding devices.
Cancers are a worldwide concern;oral,esophageal and gastrointestinal cancers represent important causes of cancer-related mortality and contribute to a signif icant burden of human health.The DNA ...repair systems are the genome caretakers,playing a critical role in the initiation and progression of cancers.However,the association between the genomic variations of DNA repair genes and cancer susceptibility is not well understood.This review focuses on the polymorphic genotypes of the non-homologous end-joining DNA repair system,highlighting the role of two genes of this pathway,XRCC5 and XRCC6,in the susceptibility to digestive system cancers and discussing their potential contributions to personalized medicine.
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression is upregulated in various diseases, including lung cancer. However, the role of MMP-9 genotype in lung cancer susceptibility remains uncertain. This ...study aimed to clarify the contribution of MMP-9 promoter rs3918242 genotypes to the risk of lung cancer in Taiwan.
The MMP-9 rs3918242 genotypes of 358 lung cancer patients and 716 healthy controls were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methodology.
Individuals carrying the variant CT or TT genotype of MMP-9 rs3918242 did not demonstrate an increased risk of lung cancer compared to wild-type CC carriers odds ratio (OR)=1.11 and 1.85, 95% confidence interval (95%CI)=0.82-1.48 and 0.91-3.76; p=0.5541 and 0.1280, respectively. Moreover, individuals carrying the T allele did not show a higher lung cancer risk compared to those with the C allele (OR=1.21, 95%CI=0.95-1.54, p=0.1444). However, a significant association was observed between the MMP-9 rs3918242 TT genotype and lung cancer risk among non-smokers (OR=5.48, 95%CI=1.31-22.89, p=0.0181).
The presence of the TT genotype for MMP-9 rs3918242 may indicate an elevated risk of lung cancer among non-smokers.
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is responsible for modifying extracellular components and plays a crucial role in the metastatic behavior of cancer. This study aimed at examining the role of MMP-9 ...rs3918242 genotypes on colorectal cancer (CRC) risk.
A total of 362 CRC patients and 362 healthy subjects in Taiwan, were examined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methodology.
The MMP-9 rs3918242 TT genotype carriers had a slightly increased risk of CRC compared to CC carriers (p=0.1642, OR=1.88, 95% CI=0.84-4.16). Patients of CT/TT genotypes were on significantly higher risk of metastasis (p=0.0027) than those of CC genotype. No obvious association was found between MMP-9 genotype and CRC risk among ever-smokers, non-smokers, non-alcohol drinkers or alcohol drinkers. No significant correlation was observed between MMP-9 genotypic distributions with age, gender, tumor size or location.
MMP-9 rs3918242 genotypes may interact with BMI to serve as a predictor for higher CRC risk, and independently as a predictor for metastasis.
Interleukin-18 (
) is a multi-functional immuno-mediator in the development and progression of many types of infectious and inflammatory diseases. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of
...genotypes to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Taiwan via the genotyping of
-656 (A/C), -607 (A/C), and -137 (G/C). Moreover, we analyzed their interactions with smoking, alcohol drinking, hypertension, and diabetes status. The results showed an association of the AC and CC genotypes of
-607 with a significant decrease in the risk of RCC compared with the AA genotype (odds ratio (OR) = 0.44 and 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.27⁻0.72 and 0.18⁻0.66,
= 0.0008 and 0.0010, respectively). Furthermore, a significantly lower frequency of the C allele at -607 was observed in the RCC group (35.3% vs. 49.8%; OR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.35⁻0.71,
= 0.0003). However,
-656 and -137 did not exhibit a likewise differential distribution of these genotypes between the control and case groups. Stratifying the population according to smoking, alcohol drinking, hypertension, and diabetes status revealed a different distribution of
-607 genotypes among non-smokers, non-drinkers, and patients without diabetes, but not among smokers, drinkers, or patients with diabetes. These findings suggest that
-607 genotypes may play a role in the etiology and progression of RCC in Taiwan and may serve as a useful biomarker for early detection.
BACKGROUND/AIMThe expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is elevated in various renal diseases, including renal cell carcinoma. However, the role of MMP9 genotype in this context remains ...unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between MMP9 promoter rs3918242 genotypes and the risk of renal cell carcinoma.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe MMP9 rs3918242 genotypes of 118 patients with renal cell carcinoma and 590 healthy subjects were determined using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method.RESULTSThe results indicated that individuals carrying the CT or TT genotype of MMP9 rs3918242 did not exhibit an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma compared to wild-type CC carriers (odds ratio=1.20 and 2.68, 95% confidence interval=0.75-1.92 and 0.89-8.03; p=0.5270 and 0.1420, respectively). However, individuals with the CT and TT genotypes had a higher prevalence of renal cell carcinoma than those with the CC genotype when they also had hypertension (p=0.0010), diabetes (p=0.0010), or a family history of cancer (p<0.00001). No correlation was observed between MMP9 rs3918242 genotypic distribution and age (60 years or younger vs. older than 60 years) or sex (both p>0.05). Additionally, no correlation was found between MMP9 rs3918242 genotype and the risk of renal cell carcinoma in individuals with smoking or alcohol consumption habits.CONCLUSIONCarrying the T allele for MMP9 rs3918242 may predict a higher risk of renal cell carcinoma among individuals diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, or with a family history of cancer.
Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is rarely eradicated by current antiviral nucleos(t)ide analogues. We found that alpha2,6-biantennary sialoglycans of HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) bound human ...SIGLEC-3 (CD33) by IP and ELISA, and the binding affinity between SIGLEC-3 and alpha2,6-biantennary sialoglycans was determined by biolayer interferometry (equilibrium dissociation constant KD: 1.95 * 10.sup.-10 + or - 0.21 * 10.sup.-10 M). Moreover, HBV activated SIGLEC-3 on myeloid cells and induced immunosuppression by stimulating immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif phosphorylation and SHP-1/-2 recruitment via alpha2,6-biantennary sialoglycans on HBsAg. An antagonistic anti-SIGLEC-3 mAb reversed this effect and enhanced cytokine production in response to TLR-7 agonist GS-9620 in PBMCs from CHB patients. Moreover, anti-SIGLEC-3 mAb alone was able to upregulate the expression of molecules involved in antigen presentation, such as CD80, CD86, CD40, MHC-I, MHC-II, and PD-L1 in CD14.sup.+ cells. Furthermore, SIGLEC-3 SNP rs12459419 C, which expressed a higher amount of SIGLEC-3, was associated with increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in CHB patients (HR: 1.256, 95% CI: 1.027-1.535, P = 0.0266). Thus, blockade of SIGLEC-3 is a promising strategy to reactivate host immunity to HBV and lower the incidence of HCC in the CHB patient population.
Background: The DNA repair gene xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD), an important caretaker of the overall genome stability,
is thought to play a major role in the development of human malignancy. ...Polymorphic variants of XPD, at codon 312 (rs1799793),
751 (rs13181) and promoter-114 (rs3810366), were chosen to be studied for their association with bladder cancer susceptibility
in a central Taiwanese population. Patients and Methods: In this hospital-based case-control study, bladder cancer patients
(308) and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (308) were recruited and their genotypes were analyzed by a polymerase
chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results: A significant difference in the
frequency of the XPD codon 312 genotype, but not the XPD codon 751 or promoter-114 genotypes, was found between the bladder
cancer and control groups. Those who had G/A or A/A at XPD codon 312 showed a 1.85-fold (95% confidence interval=1.34-2.56)
increased risk of bladder cancer compared to those with G/G. As for XPD codon 312 and promoter-114, there was no difference
in distribution between the bladder cancer and control groups. Conclusion: The heterozygous and homozygous A allele of the
XPD codon 312 may be responsible for bladder carcinogenesis and useful in the early detection and prediction of bladder cancer.
Background/Aim: Metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) has been previously found to be up-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens and cells, favoring epithelial–mesenchymal transition. However, ...the contribution of MMP-7 genotypes to HCC has not been revealed to date. The study aimed to evaluate the contribution of MMP-7 promoter A-181G (rs11568818) and C-153T (rs11568819) genotypes on the risk of HCC in Taiwan, where HCC incidence is extremely high compared to worldwide data. Materials and Methods: In this case–control study, MMP-7 genotypes and their association with cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking habits were determined in 298 HCC patients and 889 healthy subjects by a typical polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methodology. Results: Ever smokers and alcohol drinkers were represented with higher percentages in the case group compared to the control group. MMP-7 rs11568818 genotypes were not found differentially distributed in case and control groups (p for trend=0.5246). People of the analyzed cohort of the present study were all of CC genotypes at their rs11568819 polymorphic sites, without any CT or TT genotypes. As for gene–lifestyle interactions, people with variant genotypes at MMP-7 rs11568818 had the same odds for HCC development compared to the wild-type AA genotype, no matter whether the subjects belonged to the smoker, non-smoker alcohol drinker, or non-drinker groups. Conclusion: MMP-7 variant genotypes did not present any significance towards being a marker for HCC risk in Taiwanese.
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