With 7 figures and 6 tables ABSTRACT: Garlic is widely consumed for its culinary and medical benefits. Six hundred and thirteen accessions of garlic and its relatives with diverse origin were ...evaluated for genetic diversity at eight recently novel simple sequence repeat loci in this study. A total of 113 alleles were detected, the average allelic richness was 14.1 alleles per locus. Using a heuristic approach, a core set of 95 accessions was successfully developed, which showed 100% coverage of alleles with minimum redundancy. The model-based structure analysis here revealed the presence of four subpopulations in the selected core set, which was basically consistent with clustering based on the genetic distance. The analysis of molecular variance based on this core set showed that between-population component of genetic variance is <15.6% in contrast to 84.4% for the within population component. Overall FST value was 0.1560, indicating a moderate differentiation among the four groups. These results will provide an effective aid for future allele mining, association genetics, mapping and cloning gene(s), germplasm conservation, and improvement programs.
Objectives
High salt intake results in various harmful effects on human health including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and reduced bone density. Despite this, there are very few studies in ...the literature that have investigated the association between sodium intake and osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, we aimed to explore these associations in a Korean population.
Methods
This study used cross-sectional data from adult subjects aged 50–75 years from two consecutive periods of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V–VII (2010–2011 and 2014–2016). The estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (24HUNa) was used as a surrogate marker of salt intake. In the 2010–2011 dataset, knee OA (KOA) was defined as the presence of the radiographic features of OA and knee pain. The association between KOA and salt intake was analysed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods. For the sensitivity analysis, the same procedures were conducted on subjects with self-reported OA (SR-OA) with knee pain in the 2010–2011 dataset and any site SR-OA in the 2014–2016 dataset.
Results
Subjects with KOA had significantly lower energy intake, but higher 24HUNa than those without KOA. The restricted cubic spline plots demonstrated a J-shaped distribution between 24HUNa and prevalent KOA. When 24HUNa was stratified into five groups (<2, 2–3, 3–4, 4–5 and ≥5 g/day), subjects with high sodium intake (≥5 g/day) had a higher risk of KOA (odds ratio OR = 1.64, 95% confidence interval CI 1.03–2.62) compared to the reference group (3–4 g/day) after adjusting for covariates. The sensitivity analysis based on SR-OA with knee pain showed that high sodium intake was also significantly associated with increased prevalence of OA (OR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.10–3.10) compared with the reference group. Regarding SR-OA at any site in the 2014–2016 dataset, estimated 24HUNa showed a significantly positive association with the presence of SR-OA after adjusting for potential confounders.
Conclusions
This nationwide Korean representative study showed a significant association between symptomatic KOA and high sodium intake (≥5 g/day). Avoidance of a diet high in salt might be beneficial as a non-pharmacologic therapy for OA.
Early detection of local recurrence is important to increase the chance of cure because local recurrence is the main cause of treatment failure in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. We evaluated ...the added value of voxel-based color maps of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging compared with conventional MR imaging alone for detecting local recurrence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
We retrospectively enrolled 63 consecutive patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after definitive treatment and posttreatment surveillance MR imaging studies that demonstrated focal enhancement at the primary site. Three independent readers assessed conventional MR imaging and a pair of color maps of initial and final 90-second time-signal intensity areas under the curve from dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging. The sensitivities, specificities, and accuracies of both conventional MR imaging alone and combined interpretation of conventional and dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging were assessed using the clinicopathologic diagnosis as the criterion standard. κ statistics were used to evaluate interreader agreement.
There were 28 patients with subsequently documented local recurrence and 35 with posttreatment change. Adding dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging to conventional MR imaging significantly increased the diagnostic accuracies for detecting local recurrence (48%-54% versus 87%-91%;
< .05), with excellent interreader agreement (κ = 0.8; 95% CI, 0.67-0.92 to κ = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69-0.93). By all 3 readers, the specificities were also significantly improved by adding dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging to conventional MR imaging (22%-43% versus 87%-91%;
< .001) without sacrificing the sensitivities (68%-82% versus 86%-89%;
> .05).
Adding voxel-based color maps of initial and final 90-second time-signal intensity areas under the curve from dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging to conventional MR imaging increases the diagnostic accuracy to detect local recurrence in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by improving the specificity without sacrificing the sensitivity.
Summary
Background
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) is a severe cutaneous adverse drug reaction. However, its histopathological features have not been well defined.
...Objectives
To identify the clinicohistopathological findings of DRESS, and analyse the cutaneous histopathological changes observed in DRESS compared with those observed in maculopapular exanthema (MPE).
Methods
In a retrospective study, conducted at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Taiwan) between 2001 and 2011, we compared the clinicohistopathological features of 32 patients with probable/definite DRESS (defined by the RegiSCAR scoring system) with those of 17 patients with MPE.
Results
The major pathological changes observed in patients with DRESS included dyskeratosis (97%), epidermal spongiosis (78%), interface vacuolization (91%), perivascular lymphocytic infiltration (97%) and eosinophilic infiltration (72%). Many pathological features were common to both MPE and DRESS. However, severe dyskeratosis, epidermal spongiosis and severe interface vacuolization were significantly more prominent in cases of DRESS (P < 0·05). The presence of severe dyskeratosis was significantly associated with the clinical severity of renal impairment (P = 0·01).
Conclusions
The severe dyskeratosis detected in patients with DRESS may correlate with a greater extent of systemic involvement compared with that noted in MPE. However, the histopathological changes associated with DRESS are not entirely specific.
What's already known about this topic?
Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) is characterized by severe skin rash, fever, haematological abnormalities and internal organ involvement.
What does this study add?
On histopathological examination, epidermal spongiosis, severe dyskeratosis and interface vacuolization were more commonly noted in DRESS than in maculopapular exanthema (MPE).
Severe dyskeratosis, observed in DRESS, may correlate with a greater extent of systemic involvement compared with that noted in MPE.
Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is currently not accepted as an alternative treatment to surgery in early gastric cancer (EGC) of the undifferentiated histologic type. The present retrospective ...analysis examined the correlation of various histologic factors with the presence of lymph node metastasis (LNM).
A retrospective analysis on 234 patients with poorly differentiated EGC who underwent radical gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection was undertaken. Several clinicopathologic factors were investigated to identify predictive factors for LNM: age, sex, type of operation, tumor location, tumor size, gross type, ulceration, lymphatic invasion, and depth of invasion.
Of the 234 lesions with poorly differentiated EGC, half (n = 116) already showed submucosal invasion in the resection specimen; 25.9 % of those (30/116) were limited to the upper third (SM1). Of the lesions confined to the mucosa, LNM was found in 3.4 % (4/118). With minor submucosal infiltration (SM1), the LNM rate was lower (0/30) in our patient population. Only with SM2/3 infiltration did the LNM rate sharply rise to around 30 %. The cut-off for submucosal infiltration depth was 500 microm (0/32 LNM), above which LNM rates were substantial (31.2 %; 24/77). There was limited correlation between the SM1-3 classification and actual measurement of submucosal infiltration depth. In a multivariate analysis, tumor size ( P = 0.033), depth of invasion ( P = 0.004), and lymphatic invasion ( P < 0.001) were associated with LNM.
Poorly differentiated EGC confined to the mucosa or with minimal submucosal infiltration (<or= 500 microm) could be considered for curative EMR due to the low risk of LNM. Given the limited case number of subgroups, these findings should be confirmed by more data from other centers, which should also focus on local recurrence after EMR in poorly differentiated EGC.
Psychological factors are thought to drive inter-patient variations in anaesthetic and analgesic requirements. This cross-sectional study investigated whether preoperative psychological factors can ...predict anaesthetic requirements and postoperative pain.
Before total thyroidectomy, 100 consecutive women completed the Spielberger's State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the pain sensitivity questionnaire (PSQ). Target-controlled propofol was administered for induction of anaesthesia, and sevoflurane–oxygen–air was given to maintain equal depths of anaesthesia, as determined by bispectral index (BIS) monitoring.
Patients with higher anxiety scores (state and trait) required greater amounts of propofol to reach light (BIS=85) and moderate (BIS=75) levels of sedation, but only trait anxiety was significantly associated with propofol requirements in reaching a deep level of sedation (BIS=65). The MAC-hour of sevoflurane was significantly correlated only with PSQ scores. The postoperative pain intensity was significantly correlated with both STAI and PSQ.
Preoperative anxiety and pain sensitivity are independent predictors of propofol and sevoflurane requirements in general anaesthesia. Anaesthetic and analgesic doses could be modified based on the patient's preoperative anxiety and pain sensitivity.
Metastasis is the major cause of poor prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC), and increasing evidence supports the contribution of miRNAs to cancer progression. Here, we found that high expression of ...miR-103 and miR-107 (miR-103/107) was associated with metastasis potential of CRC cell lines and poor prognosis in patients with CRC. We showed that miR-103/107 targeted the known metastasis suppressors death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) and Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) in CRC cells, resulting in increased cell motility and cell-matrix adhesion and decreased cell-cell adhesion and epithelial marker expression. miR-103/107 expression was increased in the presence of hypoxia, thereby potentiating DAPK and KLF4 downregulation and hypoxia-induced motility and invasiveness. In mouse models of CRC, miR-103/107 overexpression potentiated local invasion and liver metastasis effects, which were suppressed by reexpression of DAPK or KLF4. miR-103/107-mediated downregulation of DAPK and KLF4 also enabled the colonization of CRC cells at a metastatic site. Clinically, the signature of a miR-103/107 high, DAPK low, and KLF4 low expression profile correlated with the extent of lymph node and distant metastasis in patients with CRC and served as a prognostic marker for metastasis recurrence and poor survival. Our findings therefore indicate that miR-103/107-mediated repression of DAPK and KLF4 promotes metastasis in CRC, and this regulatory circuit may contribute in part to hypoxia-stimulated tumor metastasis. Strategies that disrupt this regulation might be developed to block CRC metastasis.
Plant homeodomain finger 2 (PHF2) has a role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression by demethylating H3K9-Me2. Several genome-wide studies have demonstrated that the chromosomal region including ...the PHF2 gene is often deleted in some cancers including colorectal cancer, and this finding encouraged us to investigate the tumor suppressive role of PHF2. As p53 is a critical tumor suppressor in colon cancer, we tested the possibility that PHF2 is an epigenetic regulator of p53. PHF2 was associated with p53, and thereby, promoted p53-driven gene expression in cancer cells under genotoxic stress. PHF2 converted the chromatin that is favorable for transcription by demethylating the repressive H3K9-Me2 mark. In an HCT116 xenograft model, PHF2 was found to be required for the anticancer effects of oxaliplatin and doxorubicin. In PHF2-deficient xenografts, p53 expression was profoundly induced by both drugs, but its downstream product p21 was not, suggesting that p53 cannot be activated in the absence of PHF2. To find clinical evidence about the role of PHF2, we analyzed the expressions of PHF2, p53 and p21 in human colon cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues from patients. PHF2 was downregulated in cancer tissues and PHF2 correlated with p21 in cancers expressing functional p53. Colon and stomach cancer tissue arrays showed a positive correlation between PHF2 and p21 expressions. Informatics analyses using the Oncomine database also supported our notion that PHF2 is downregulated in colon and stomach cancers. On the basis of these findings, we propose that PHF2 acts as a tumor suppressor in association with p53 in cancer development and ensures p53-mediated cell death in response to chemotherapy.
Objective To evaluate treatment outcomes of in situ abdominal aortic reconstruction with cryopreserved arterial allograft (CAA) for patients with abdominal aortic infection. Materials and methods A ...retrospective review of prospectively collected data was conducted of patients who underwent in situ aortic reconstruction using CAA for primary, secondary, or prosthetic infection of the abdominal aorta between May 2006 and July 2015, at a single institution. Clinical presentation, indications for treatment, procedural details, early post-operative mortality and morbidity, late death, and graft related complications during the follow up period were investigated. Patient survival and event free survival (any death or re-operation) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Twenty-five patients (male, n = 20, 80%; mean age, 70.2 ± 8.7 years) underwent in situ abdominal aortic reconstruction (48% aortic, 52% aorto-bi-iliac) with vessel size and ABO matched CAA for treatment of abdominal aortic infection caused by infected abdominal aortic aneurysm ( n = 15), aortic prosthesis infection ( n = 7), aortic reconstruction with concomitant colon resection ( n = 2), and primary suppurative aortitis ( n = 1). The median follow up was 19.1 months (range 1–73 months). There were seven post-operative deaths including two (8%) early (<30 days) and five (20%) late deaths There were three (12%) graft related complications including thrombotic occlusion of the CAA, aneurysmal dilatation, and aorto-enteric fistula. Three years after CAA implantation, patient survival was 74% and the event free survival was 58%. Conclusions It is believed that in situ abdominal aortic reconstruction with CAA is a useful option for treating primary, secondary, or prosthetic infection of the abdominal aorta.
Colon carcinogenesis represents a stepwise progression from benign polyps to invasive adenocarcinomas and distant metastasis. It is believed that these pathologic changes are contributed by aberrant ...activation or inactivation of protein-coding proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. However, recent discoveries in microRNA (miRNA) research have reshaped our understanding of the role of non-protein-coding genes in carcinogenesis. In this regard, a remarkable number of miRNAs exhibit differential expression in colon cancer tissues. These miRNAs alter cell proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis through their interactions with intracellular signaling networks. From a clinical perspective, polymorphisms within miRNA-binding sites are associated with the risk for colon cancer, whereas miRNAs isolated from feces or blood may serve as biomarkers for early diagnosis. Altered expression of miRNA or polymorphisms in miRNA-related genes have also been shown to correlate with patient survival or treatment outcome. With further insights into miRNA dysregulation in colon cancer and the advancement of RNA delivery technology, it is anticipated that novel miRNA-based therapeutics will emerge.
PDF
