• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.187-202
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The exposure to sucrose in rats has mimic abnormalities attributed to metabolic syndrome (MetS). The effects of honey bee and "free" glucose and fructose, have not been explored in this context. The aim was to expose Wistar rodents to sucrose solution (SS), honey solution (HS) and fructose/glucose solution (GFS) at 30% to assess their effects. SUBJECTS/METHODS: HS (n = 10), SS (n = 10) and GFS (n = 10) groups were formed. Solutions were ad libitum along 14-weeks. RESULTS: Between solutions consumptions, honey was significantly 42% higher (P = 0.000), while similar consumption was observed among GFS and SS. The feeding pattern of HS consumption was irregular along experiment; while the food intake pattern showed the similar trend among groups along time. Non statistical differences were obtained in any biochemical and anthropometric measure, however, a higher concentration of leptin (721 ± 507 pg/mL), lower concentration of total cholesterol (TC; 48.87 ± 2.41 mg/100 mL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL; 16.47 ± 6.55 mg/100 mL) and triglycerides (82.37 ± 32.77 mg/100 mL) was obtained in SS group. For anthropometric values, HS showed less total adipose tissue (AT; average 26 vs. 31-33 g) and adiposity index (average 6.11 vs. 7.6). Due to sugar-sweetened beverages consumption increases the risk for the development of chronic diseases; correlations between fluid intake and anthropometric and biochemical parameters were assessed. A moderate correlation was obtained in groups with the weight of total AT and solution intake; for the weight gain in GFS group and for triglycerides in HS and GFS. The highest hepatic tissue damage was observed in SS group with multiple intracytoplasmic vacuoles, atypia changes, moderate pleomorphism and hepatocellular necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of the significantly higher consumption of HS, biochemical, anthropometrical and histological effects were not remarkably different in comparision to other sweeteners.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.921-930
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• 2022

Objective: To identify epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in lung adenocarcinoma based on ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT radiomics and clinical features and to distinguish EGFR exon 19 deletion (19 del) and exon 21 L858R missense (21 L858R) mutations using FDG PET/CT radiomics. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 179 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. They were randomly assigned to training (n = 125) and testing (n = 54) cohorts in a 7:3 ratio. A total of 2632 radiomics features were extracted from the tumor region of interest from the PET (1316) and CT (1316) images. Six PET/CT radiomics features that remained after the feature selection step were used to calculate the radiomics model score (rad-score). Subsequently, a combined clinical and radiomics model was constructed based on sex, smoking history, tumor diameter, and rad-score. The performance of the combined model in identifying EGFR mutations was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Furthermore, in a subsample of 99 patients, a PET/CT radiomics model for distinguishing 19 del and 21 L858R EGFR mutational subtypes was established, and its performance was evaluated. Results: The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) and accuracy of the combined clinical and PET/CT radiomics models were 0.882 and 81.6%, respectively, in the training cohort and 0.837 and 74.1%, respectively, in the testing cohort. The AUROC and accuracy of the radiomics model for distinguishing between 19 del and 21 L858R EGFR mutational subtypes were 0.708 and 66.7%, respectively, in the training cohort and 0.652 and 56.7%, respectively, in the testing cohort. Conclusion: The combined clinical and PET/CT radiomics model could identify the EGFR mutational status in lung adenocarcinoma with moderate accuracy. However, distinguishing between EGFR 19 del and 21 L858R mutational subtypes was more challenging using PET/CT radiomics.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.4863-4865
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• 2016

Background: Prostatic adenocarcinoma by Prosate cancer (PCa) is the most prevalent cancer and the second cause of cancer-related death among men in the Western world. Human papilloma virus (HPV) may be considered as a preventable risk factor. In this study, we assessed the frequencies of HPV infection in prostatic adenocarcinoma and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) cases in Northeast Mexico. Materials and Methods: A total of 87 paraffin-embedded blocks (from 25 and 62 patients with definite diagnoses of BPH and adenocarcinoma, respectively) were selected and subjected to INNOLiPA HPV Genotyping to detect 28 high- and low-risk HPV types. The rates of infection were compared in the two studied groups. Results: INNOLiPA HPV demonstrated great sensitivity for HPV detection on paraffin-embedded tissue. Global prevalence was 14.9% (13/87). HPV infection was positive in 19.4% (12/62) of patients with adenocarcinoma and 4.0% (1/25) of patients with BPH. HPV-11, which is considered to be low risk, was more prevalent. Interestingly, one patient with BPH and six with prostate cancer showed examples considered to be high risk (HPV-18, -51, -52, and -66). Conclusion: A higher rate of HPV infection among Mexican patients with prostatic carcinoma than among those with BPH was observed. HPV infections may thus contribute to the risk of prostate cancer. Further studies are required to elucidate any roles of HPV infection in prostate disease in Mexico and the effect of prevention and treatment of HPV infection on prostatic adenocarcinoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4339-4345
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• 2013

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of BRCA1 (MIM: 113705) founder mutations in familial breast cancer (BC) patients with high risks in Iran. BRCA1 is among the cancer susceptibility genes best known for high penetrance mutations. BRCA1 genotyping is now used to determine patient counseling, management decisions, and prognosis of this syndrome. Materials and Method: Thirty nine patients with clinical BC and 29 high risk healthy women, related to the patients, participated in the study. DNA from blood samples was extracted and analyzed by PCR and SSCP methods in order to find 185delAG and 5382insC founder mutations. In addition, a 251bp fragment of BRCA1's exon 11 was amplified and analyzed for determination of new mutations. Results: The data indicated the presence of 185delAG and 5382insC founder mutations in both groups studied. Two out of 39 BC patients (5.1%) and one out of 29 relatives (3.4%) were suspected to be carriers of 185delAG mutations. However, we found only one patient (2.6%) to be a carrier of a 5382insC mutation. Also, 2 women (5.1%) of the patient group and 3 n (10.3%) of relatives group were identified as carriers of unclarified mutations in the 251bp fragment of the BRCA1 gene. The carriers of BRCA1 founder mutations have a high lifetime risk of breast cancer. Conclusions: Therefore, these data are useful in counseling of individuals with a significant family history of breast cancer.

• Lettere Italiane
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• no.30
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• pp.205-229
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• 2010

L'italiano ha diverse forme di pronomi clitici che vengono distinti in genere, numero e persona a seconda del nome di partenza. Quando appare un pronome clitico, l'ordine delle parole nella frase cambia: dal tipo normale SVO si passa al tipo SOV come in coreano. I pronomi clitici hanno una caratteristica molto diversa rispetto sia a piena NP sia ad una NP debole, e non sono compatibili con questi NP all'interno della frase, il che significa che i pronomi clitici si muovono in posizione superficiale lasciando la loro posizione originale dopo il verbo. Osservando questo fenomeno (movimento clitico da [DP, VP] a [spec, AgrOP]) e analizzando in questa sede solo il caso del pronome diretto si è cercato di evidenziare le regole precise di tale movimento determinato da "Case licensing" e "feature checking." Seguendo e accettando pienamente la precedente analisi di Belletti(1999), in cui vengono proposte due vie di procedimento del movimento dentro il AgrOP (una è [spec, AgrOP]; l'altra, [Agro, AgrOP], propongo qui l'esistenza di un ordine preciso in tale movimento: nel caso in cui un pronome diretto prenda una via di [spec, AgrOP], 'V' si muove prima fino ad arrivare alla [Agro, AgrSP], poi, 'pro' prosegue la sua strada fino alla [pro, AgrSP], e alla fine, il pronome diretto sale fino alla [spec, TP] per formare la costruzione proclitica; nel caso in cui un pronome diretto prenda invece l'altra via di [Agro, AgrOP], 'pro' sale prima fino alla [spec, AgrSP] tramite il movimento 'spec to spec', successivamente il 'pronome diretto' si muove verso la [Agro, AgrSP], e infine 'V' si sposta verso la [Agro, AgrSP] per formare la costruzione enclitica.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.519-522
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• 2006

Purpose : Alagille syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder with developmental abnormalities affecting the liver, heart, eyes, vertebrae, and craniofacial region. The Jagged1(JAG1) gene, which encodes a ligand of Notch, has been found mutated in Alagille syndrome. The aim of the study was to investigate the mutation analysis of JAG1 gene in Korean patients with Alagille syndrome. Methods : Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes of 6 patients. The 26 exons of JAG1 gene were amplified and PCR products were directly sequenced. Results : Two novel frameshift mutations were found. 118delC in exon 2 was found in a patient who developed hepatocellular carcinoma at 4 years of age. 999-1000delTG was identified in exon 7. Conclusion : Mutations identified in this study are expected to give rise to truncated proteins.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.294-304
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• 2020

The sacroiliac joints connect the base of the sacrum to the ilium. When inflamed, they are suspected to cause low back pain. Inflammation of the sacroiliac joints is called sacroiliitis. The severity of the pain varies and depends on the degree of inflammation. Sacroiliitis is a hallmark of seronegative spondyloarthropathies. The presence or absence of chronic sacroiliitis is an important clue in the diagnosis of low back pain. This article aims to provide a concise overview of the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of sacroiliitis to aid clinicians in the assessment and management of sacroiliitis. For this narrative review, we evaluated articles in English published before August 2019 in PubMed. Then, we selected articles related to the painful manifestations of the sacroiliac joint. From the retrieved articles, we found that chronic sacroiliitis may be caused by various forms of spondyloarthritis, such as ankylosing spondyloarthritis. Sacroiliitis can also be associated with inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, gout, tuberculosis, brucellosis, and osteoarthritis, indicating common underlying etiological factors. The pathophysiology of sacroiliitis is complex and may involve internal, environmental, immunological, and genetic factors. Finally, genetic factors may also play a central role in progression of the disease. Knowing the genetic pre-disposition for sacroiliitis can be useful for diagnosis and for formulating treatment regimens, and may lead to a substantial reduction in disease severity and duration and to improved patient performance.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.68-76
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• 2007

Due to the increasing interest in SNPs and mutational hot spots for disease traits, it is becoming more important to define and understand the relationship between SNPs and their flanking sequences. To study the effects of flanking sequences on SNPs, statistical approaches are necessary to assess bias in SNP data. In this study we mainly applied Markov chains for SNP sequences, particularly those located in intronic regions, and for analysis of in-del data. All of the pertaining sequences showed a significant tendency to generate particular SNP types. Most sequences flanking SNPs had lower complexities than average sequences, and some of them were associated with microsatellites. Moreover, many Alu repeats were found in the flanking sequences. We observed an elevated frequency of single-base-pair repeat-like sequences, mirror repeats, and palindromes in the SNP flanking sequence data. Alu repeats are hypothesized to be associated with C-to-T transition mutations or A-to-I RNA editing. In particular, the in-del data revealed an association between particular changes such as palindromes or mirror repeats. Results indicate that the mechanism of induction of in-del transitions is probably very different from that which is responsible for other SNPs. From a statistical perspective, frequent DNA lesions in some regions probably have effects on the occurrence of SNPs.

• Communications of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.977-988
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• 2022

The Padovan sequence is the third-order linear recurrence (𝓟_n)_n≥0 defined by 𝓟_n = 𝓟_n-2 + 𝓟_n-3 for all n ≥ 3 with initial conditions 𝓟₀ = 0 and 𝓟₁ = 𝓟₂ = 1. In this paper, we investigate a generalization of the Padovan sequence called the k-generalized Padovan sequence which is generated by a linear recurrence sequence of order k ≥ 3. We present recurrence relations, the generalized Binet formula and different arithmetic properties for the above family of sequences.

• Lettere Italiane
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• no.37
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• pp.177-209
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• 2012

La Sicilia è una terra, difficile da governare perché è difficile da capire nella natura dei suoi abitanti, contraditoria ed estrema. In questa ricerca si cerca di comprendere la Sicilia, i suoi problemi e i problemii meridionali attraverso maggiormente 『Sicila come metafora』 di Leonardo Sciascia. La Sicilia, come sfondo, ci viene presentata nell' opera sciasciana, in un palcosenico sul quale le virtù del popolo siciliano si pervertono e tutte le loro qualità divengono radice di opposti effetti. Prima di iniziare di capirne va cercato la sua storia: senza considerare la storia non si puo e non si deve riflettere le situazioni attuali nè i problemi. Si può affermare che l'insicurezza è la componente primaria della storia siciliana, la quale regola e condiziona il proprio modo di essere, la visione di vita e dell'ambiente. È interessante studiare la propria storia di Sicilia e si fa cominciare a capirne gradualmente: uno degli elementi della realtà siciliana che ricorre spesso è la mafia, e anche il costume, le donne. Sciascia citta nel 『Il cavaliere e la morte』 che la sicurezza del potere si fonda sull'insicurezza dei cittadini. È talmente assurdo da capire ma questa è la Sicilia. Raggiungendo una definizione della natura dei siciliani con i testi di Sciascia, si potrebbe reppresentare la sicilianità o sicilitudine. Sapendo cos'è e come è la sicilianità capire la Sicilia significa per un siciliano capire se stesso. E poi si puo riflettere meglio dei problemi storici e attuali dell'Italia del Sud, di mafia, dei costumi e delle vittime in quella societa cio'è delle donne. Così il termine sicilianità caratterizza quell'insieme dei caratteri attribuiti all'uomo di Sicilia, tipici cioè del siciliano, definiti anche sicilitudine. E nel scritto Sciascia affermò che la Sicilia è in una situazione molto complicata e disperata. Ora si potrebbe capirlo anche chi sta fuori di quel luogo cosi si potrebbe cercare anche di rimettere in ordine delle cose e di risolverne finalmente.