Cigarette smoking status has a modifying effect on the association between polymorphisms in KALRN and measures of cardiovascular risk in the diabetes heart study

Megan E. Rudock,Amanda. J. Cox,Julie T. Ziegler,Allison B. Lehtinen,Jessica J. Connelly,Barry I. Freedman,J. Jeffrey Carr,Elizabeth R. Hauser,Benjamin D. Horne,Donald W. Bowden 한국유전학회 2011 Genes & Genomics Vol.33 No.5

All manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are substantially more common in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) than in non-diabetic individuals. The current study evaluated KALRN, a gene previously linked to CVD, as a contributor to CVD in a sample enriched for T2DM. Specifically,the potential modifying effect of cigarette smoking was examined. A total of 28 SNPs in KALRN were genotyped in 1001 European Americans from 369 Diabetes Heart Study (DHS) families, as well as 762 population-based controls. The association between each SNP and both qualitative and quantitative CVD disease phenotypes was determined using generalized estimating equations and variance component models,respectively. Selected KALRN SNPs were found to be associated with both the qualitative (T2DM, CVD, metabolic syndrome)and quantitative traits (C-reactive protein and abdominal aortic calcified plaque). Interaction analysis and stratification were then used to test whether smoking modulates the genetic effects of KALRN. The strongest evidence of a modifying effect of smoking status was observed for rs9289231 and intima-media thickness (p=9.0x10^(-4)) and abdominal aortic calcified plaque (p=3.0x10^(-4)). Overall, following stratification by smoking status, the evidence of association with quantitative traits was more pronounced in smokers compared to non-smokers. The strongest association for smokers was between rs1720960 and abdominal aortic calcified plaque (p=2.6x10^(-5)), while in non-smokers there was no observed association. KALRN variants are associated with measures of CVD and T2DM in the DHS sample with smoking status observed to have a significant modifying effect on these associations.

Out-of-season timeshare exchange

Jeffrey T. Weinland 한국마케팅과학회 2016 마케팅과학연구 Vol.26 No.4

A high-season (premium) timeshare owner requesting her annual fl oating usage reservation at her home timeshare resort is seeking to reserve a time period that falls within the low season of ownership, in order to attend a family wedding. The reservation staff advises the high-season owner that the time period she requested does not correspond with the product that she purchased. The owner reports that she understands this fact and insists on being able to downgrade herself this year. A high-season (premium) timeshare owner requesting her annual floating usage reservation at her home timeshare resort is seeking to reserve a time period that falls within the low season of ownership, in order to attend a family wedding. The reservation staff advises the high-season owner that the time period she requested does not correspond with the product that she purchased. The owner reports that she understands this fact and insists on being able to downgrade herself this year.

Expectations for Sex without Birth Control among Young Men: Risk Factors from the USA National Survey of Reproductive and Contraceptive Knowledge

Brian T. Nguyen,Caroline Violette,Hong Z. Li,Jeffrey T. Jensen 대한남성과학회 2020 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.38 No.4

Purpose: Male partner engagement in family planning can influence women’s contraceptive behaviors and risk of unintended pregnancy. We identified factors associated with self-reported expectations for future contraceptive use among a nationallyrepresentative sample of young men. Materials and Methods: The National Survey of Reproductive and Contraceptive Knowledge asked unmarried, sexually active men (ages, 18–29 y), who were neither involved in nor trying for a pregnancy, about their likelihood of having sex without contraception in the following three months. Demographics, social factors, and contraceptive awareness and attitudes were examined for potential associations using weighted analyses. Results: Of 903 men surveyed, nearly 600 were sexually active and expected to have sex in the following 3 months; nearly half (43%) reported at least some likelihood (23% slightly, 7% very, 13% extreme likely) that they would have sex without any contraception. Factors independently associated with sex without contraception included: not completing high school, not being in school full-time, not receiving sex education, limited awareness of contraceptive methods, multiple sexual partners, and friends with unintended pregnancies. Conclusions: Despite not wanting a pregnancy, many young men report they will have sex without contraception. While comprehensive sex education may increase contraceptive use, interpersonal and social factors also influence men’s expected use of contraception.

Twist and Shout: A Clinical and Experimental Review of Testicular Torsion

Riyad T. Ellati,Parviz K. Kavoussi,Terry T. Turner,Jeffrey J. Lysiak 대한비뇨의학회 2009 Investigative and Clinical Urology Vol.50 No.12

Purpose: This review addresses different aspects of testicular torsion from the clinical perspective as well as the basic cellular and molecular events responsible for the post-torsion testicular changes and pathology, including tissue ischemia-reperfusion injury. Materials and Methods: A review of all published literature on testicular torsion was performed by use of two search engines. Results: Testicular torsion, or more correctly termed torsion of the spermatic cord, is a surgical emergency in order to salvage the testis. Its incidence is approximately 1 in 4,000 per annum. Testicular torsion must be treated promptly to avoid loss of the ipsilateral testis; however, even with torsion repair and gross testicular salvage, significant injury may still occur. Conclusions: The cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to ischemia- reperfusion injury are incompletely understood, and adjuncts to surgical treatment have received little attention. Understanding the cellular and molecular effects is important because 25% of males with a history of torsion may experience adult infertility. This review emphasizes current knowledge of basic science results and clinical outcomes of testicular torsion. Purpose: This review addresses different aspects of testicular torsion from the clinical perspective as well as the basic cellular and molecular events responsible for the post-torsion testicular changes and pathology, including tissue ischemia-reperfusion injury. Materials and Methods: A review of all published literature on testicular torsion was performed by use of two search engines. Results: Testicular torsion, or more correctly termed torsion of the spermatic cord, is a surgical emergency in order to salvage the testis. Its incidence is approximately 1 in 4,000 per annum. Testicular torsion must be treated promptly to avoid loss of the ipsilateral testis; however, even with torsion repair and gross testicular salvage, significant injury may still occur. Conclusions: The cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to ischemia- reperfusion injury are incompletely understood, and adjuncts to surgical treatment have received little attention. Understanding the cellular and molecular effects is important because 25% of males with a history of torsion may experience adult infertility. This review emphasizes current knowledge of basic science results and clinical outcomes of testicular torsion.

The Structure of the Catalytic Domain of a Plant Cellulose Synthase and Its Assembly into Dimers

Olek, Anna T.,Rayon, Catherine,Makowski, Lee,Kim, Hyung Rae,Ciesielski, Peter,Badger, John,Paul, Lake N.,Ghosh, Subhangi,Kihara, Daisuke,Crowley, Michael,Himmel, Michael E.,Bolin, Jeffrey T.,Carpita, American Society of Plant Biologists 2014 The Plant cell Vol.26 No.7

<P>Small-angle x-ray scattering gives a glimpse at the solution structure of the catalytic domains of plant cellulose synthase and their dimerization. Dimerization through the plant-specific sequences of the catalytic domain provides important clues for how Zn-finger domains couple these fundamental scaffold units into large, multimeric synthase complexes.</P>

Circulating HIV-Specific Interleukin-21⁺CD4⁺ T Cells Represent Peripheral Tfh Cells with Antigen-Dependent Helper Functions

Schultz, Bruce T.,Teigler, Jeffrey E.,Pissani, F.,Oster, Alexander F.,Kranias, G.,Alter, G.,Marovich, M.,Eller, Michael A.,Dittmer, U.,Robb, Merlin L.,Kim, Jerome H.,Michael, Nelson L.,Bolton, D.,Stre Cell Press 2016 Immunity Vol.44 No.1

<P>A central effort in HIV vaccine development is to generate protective broadly neutralizing antibodies, a process dependent on T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. The feasibility of using peripheral blood counterparts of lymph node Tfh cells to assess the immune response and the influence of viral and vaccine antigens on their helper functions remain obscure. We assessed circulating HIV-specific IL-21(+) CD4(+) T cells and showed transcriptional and phenotypic similarities to lymphoid Tfh cells, and hence representing peripheral Tfh (pTfh) cells. pTfh cells were functionally active and B cell helper quality differed depending on antigen specificity. Furthermore, we found higher frequency of pTfh cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cell specimens from the ALVAC+AIDSVAX (RV144) HIV vaccine trial associated with protective antibody responses compared to the non-protective DNA+Ad5 vaccine trial. Together, we identify IL-21(+) CD4(+) T cells as pTfh cells, implicating them as key populations in the generation of vaccine-evoked antibody responses.</P>

Initial Evaluation of 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) as a Renal Tracer in Healthy Human Volunteers

Malgorzata Lipowska,Jeffrey Klenc,Russell D. Folks,Andrew T. Taylor 대한핵의학회 2014 핵의학 분자영상 Vol.48 No.3

Purpose Preclinical studies in rats showed that two of99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) isomers (rac- and L-ASMA) had pharmacokineticproperties equivalent to that of 131I-OIH, theradiopharmaceutical standard for the measurement of effectiverenal plasma flow. The aim of this study was to evaluatethe pharmacokinetics of 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) isomers inhealthy human subjects. Methods Three ASMA ligands (rac-, L- and D-ASMA) werelabeled with 99mTc(CO)3 using an IsoLink kit (Covidien), andeach formed 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) tracer was co-injected with131I-OIH into healthy human subjects followed by sequentialimaging, plasma clearance measurements and timed urinecollection. Plasma protein binding, red cell uptake and percentinjected dose in the urine were determined. Urine from eachgroup of volunteers was analyzed for metabolites by HPLC. Results Image quality was excellent with all three agents. Each 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) preparation was excreted unchangedin the urine. The plasma clearance ratio(99mTc(CO)3(ASMA)/131I-OIH) was 81±3 % for D-ASMAcompared to only 20±4 % for L-ASMA and 37±7 % for rac-ASMA; the 81%clearance ratio for D-ASMA isomer is still∼30 % higher than the 99mTc-MAG3/131I-OIH clearance ratio(∼50-60 %). Red cell uptake was similar for all three tracers(6-9 %), and all tracers had a relatively rapid renal excretion;at 3 h, the 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA)/131I-OIH urine ratio was 100±3%for D-ASMA, 80±2%for L-ASMA and 88±1%for rac-ASMA. Conclusions The renal excretion characteristics of99mTc(CO)3(D-ASMA) in humans are superior to those ofthe other two 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) isomers studied, but arestill inferior to 131I-OIH, even though there was no differencein the clearance of two of 99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) isomers and131I-OIH in rats. The work described here demonstrates thes e n s i t i v i t y i n i n vivo biologi c a l behavior of99mTc(CO)3(ASMA) isomers to their subtle structuraldifferences.

A new bridge-vehicle system part II: Parametric study

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Yu, Ling,Yung, T.H.,Chan, Jeffrey H.F. Techno-Press 2003 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.15 No.1

The formulation of a new bridge-vehicle system using shell with eccentric beam elements has been introduced in a companion paper (Part I). The new system takes into account of the contribution of the twisting and pitching modes of vehicles to the bridge responses. It can also be used to study the dynamic transverse load distribution of a bridge. This paper presents a parametric study on the impact induced by one vehicle or multi-vehicle running across a bridge using the proposed model. Several parameters were considered as variables including the mass ratio, the speed parameter, the frequency ratio and the axle spacing parameter to investigate their effects on the impact factor. A total number of 189 cases were carried out in this parametric study. Within the realistic range of vehicle considered, the maximum impact factors could be 2.24, 1.78 and 1.49 for bridges with spans 10 m, 20 m and 30 m respectively.

A new bridge-vehicle system part I: Formulation and validation

Chan, Tommy H.T.,Yu, Ling,Yung, T.H.,Chan, Jeffrey H.F. Techno-Press 2003 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.15 No.1

This paper presents the formulation of a new bridge-vehicle system with validation using the field data. Both pitching and twisting modes of the vehicle are considered in the contribution of the dynamic effects in the bridge responses. A heavy vehicle was hired as a control vehicle with known axle weight, axle spacing and spring coefficients. The measured responses were generated from the control vehicle running at a particular speed at a test span at Ma Tau Wai Flyover. The measured responses were acquired using strain gauges installed beneath the girder beams of the test bridge. The simulated responses were generated using BRVEAN that is a self-developed program based on the proposed bridge-vehicle system. The validation shows that the bridge model is valid for representing the test bridge and the governing equations are valid for representing the motion of moving vehicles.

AN OVERVIEW OF STURGEON AQUACULTURE IN NORTH AMERICA

Jeffrey M. Hinshaw,Kevan L. Main,James T. Michaels 한국수산과학회 양식분과 2015 한국수산과학회 양식분과 학술대회 Vol.2015 No.5