Introduction: Peptide Tyrosine-Tyrosine (PYY) is a 36-amino acid peptide hormone released post-prandially from the endocrine cells in the intestinal tract to suppress pancreatic secretions and eventually reduce appetite. The R72T variant in the PYY gene (rs1058046) has been associated with increased susceptibility to obesity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the association of this variant with obesity and its related anthropometric measurements among the Kampar Health Clinic cohort, Malaysia. Methodology: A total of 197 (78 males, 119 females; 98 non-obese, 99 obese) subjects were recruited by convenience sampling and anthropometric measurements were taken. Genotyping was performed using StuI Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), revealing 61 RR, 94 RT and 42 TT subjects. Results: Most of the obese subjects had the RT genotype (50.5%), while only 18.2% were TT. PYY R72T genotypes and alleles had no association with obesity (p=0.535; 0.074, respectively), gender (p=0.767; p=0.100, respectively) but were associated with ethnicity (p=0.003; p=0.002, respectively). Among the 13 anthropometric measurements taken, significant difference was only found in Waist Circumference (WC) and Visceral Fat Level (VFL) among the alleles, suggesting that subjects with T allele will have an increment of 1.82 cm in WC and 1.32% in VFL. Conclusion: The R72T variant in PYY gene was not associated with obesity and most of its related anthropometric measurements. This suggests that other genes and/or environmental factors like dietary habits and lifestyle factors may be the contributors of obesity.

After alkaine hydrolysis, the body wall of Slicliopus varicyatus was fractionally pre-cipitatecd with alcohol, then oxidatively decoloured and purified with KAc, the elcctrophorelically pure polysaccharides SVI and SVIIwere obtained. The results of ultracentrifugal analysis showed that the sedimentation coefficients were S20w 3. 09 for SVI and S20w 2. 12 for SVII. The metachromatic reaction with reddish black I showed the metachromatic peaks of SVI and SVII were shifted to 514nm and 507nm, respectively. The molecule of SVI is composed of aminogalactose, glucuronic acid, fucose and sulfate (1:1. 21:1. 29:4. 62) and that of SVII is composed of fucose and sulfate (1.0. 99). And our results of Stichopus japonicus acidic mucopolysaccharide ultracentrifugation therefore suggests that the sedimentation coefficients is S20w 2. 12. The metachromatic reaction with reddish black I showed the metachromatic peak is 515nm. The molecule of Sjamp is also composed of aminogalactose, glucuronic acid, fucose and sulfate ( 1:1. 1:1. 20:4. 87)

Objectives To study the relationship between TCM syndromes and adiponectin (APN) level, carotid atherosclerosis plaque of hypertension complicated with carotid atherosclerosis, and provide evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods One hundred patients of hypertension complicated with carotid atherosclerosis were divided into phlegm syndrome group, stasis syndrome group, and intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome group, and compared with 30 healthy people as control. Carotid atherosclerosis plaque was detected with GE LOGIQ500 color ultrasound system. ELISA was used to determine the serum APN. Results APN of the intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome group was obviously lower than other groups, and there were obvious differences among them. There were more plaques in the intermingled phlegm and blood stasis syndrome group. A negative correlationship was showed between carotid artery intima media thickness (IMT) and APN of hypertension complicated with carotid atherosclerosis. Conclusion There is correlation between TCM syndrome and APN level, carotid atherosclerosis plaque of hypertension complicated with carotid atherosclerosis. The anomalous change of APN and plaque formation of the patients can be preliminarily estimated with the syndrome of TCM.

Objective To establish an experimental model for the study of α-particle-induced bystander effect of DNA damage and investigate the characteristics of bystander DNA double-strand break (DSB).Methods The red fluorescence fusion protein of HsBrkl-RFP was used to mark the cytoplasm of one cell line to distinguish the irradiated target cells (HFS-RFP) and the non-irradiated bystander cells (HFS) in the co-culture cellular model.After α-particle irradiation,cellular DSB and its repair kinetics were analyzed by the immunofluorescence staining of γH2AX and laser confocal microscope observation.Results A bystander studying model was established by co-culturing human HFS-RFP cells with its partner HSF cells.After 0.1 Gy or 0.2 Gy α-particle irradiation,the similar kinetics of γH2AX foci production and abatement were observed in both irradiated HFS-RFP cells and non-irradiated bystander HFS cells,in which the highest level of γH2AX foci was detected at 1 h post-irradiation.The second peak of γH2AX foci formation appeared at 8 h post-irradiation,which possibly indicates the occurrence of secondary DSB.However,the production of secondary DSB in the bystander cells was weaker than that in the irradiated cells.Conclusions The cell co-culture model can be used for bystander effect investigation.Bystander DSB can be effectively induce by irradiation and the secondary breakage of DNA DSB in the bystander cells may relative to the consequential biochemical processing of clustered DNA damage.

The molecular basis of variable phenotypes in P-thalassaemia patients with identical genotypes has been associated with co-inheritance of alpha-thalassaemia and persistence of HbF production in adult life. The Xmn I restriction site at -158 position of the Ggamma-gene is associated with increased expression of the Ggamma-globin gene and higher production of HbF This study aims to determine the frequency of the digammaferent genotypes of the Ggamma Xmn I polymorphism in P-thalassaemia patients in two ethnic groups in Malaysia. Molecular characterisation and frequency of the Ggamma Xmn I polymorphism were studied in fifty-eight Chinese and forty-nine beta-thalassaemia Malay patients by Xmn I digestion after DNA amplification of a 650 bp sequence. The in-house developed technique did not require further purification or concentration of amplified DNA before restriction enzyme digestion. The cheaper Seakem LE agarose was used instead of Nusieve agarose and distinct well separated bands were observed. Genotyping showed that the most frequent genotype observed in the Malaysian Chinese was homozygosity for the absence of the Xmn I site (-/-) (89.7%). In the Malays, heterozygosity of the Xmn I site (+/-) was most common (63.3%). Homozygosity for the Xmn I site (+/+) was absent in the Chinese, but was confirmed in 8.2% of the Malays. The ratio of the (+) allele (presence of the Xmn I site) to the (-) allele (absence of the Xmn I site)) was higher in the Malays (0.66) compared to the Chinese (0.05). The (+/-) and (+/+) genotypes are more commonly observed in the Malays than the Chinese in Malaysia.
Chinese People ; Thalassemia ; With frequency ; Malaysia ; seconds

Numerous interpolation-based methods have been described for reducing metal artifacts in CT images, but due to the limit of the interpolation methods, interpolation alone often fails to meet the clinical demands. In this paper, we describe the use of quartic polynomial interpolation in reconstruction of the images of the metal implant followed by linear interpolation to eliminate the streaks. The two interpolation methods are combined according to their given weights to achieve good results.
Algorithms ; Artifacts ; Dental Prosthesis ; Humans ; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods

This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of assisted hatching (AH) performed in couples with advanced maternal age.We searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in electronic databases,including MEDLINE,EMBASE and CENTRAL (from inception to January 2018);in addition,we hand-searched the reference lists of included studies and similar reviews.We included RCTs comparing AH versus no treatment (control).The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3 software.The search retrieved 943 records and 8 RCTs were included,comprising 870 cycles (n=440 for AH,and n=430 for control).There was no significant difference in the rates of live birth (RR 0.88,95％ CI 0.65 to 1.18,3 RCTs,n=427,I2=0％),clinical pregnancy (RR 1.00,95％ CI 0.83 to 1.19,8 RCTs,n=870,I2=22％),implantation (RR 1.07,95％ CI 0.83 to 1.39,4 RCTs,n=1359,I2=0％),miscarriage (RR 1.13,95％ CI 0.66 to 1.94,2 RCTs,n=116,I2=0％) and multiple pregnancy (RR 0.89,95％ CI 0.31 to 2.52,1 RCT,n=97,I2=not applicable) between the treatment group and control group.No reasonable conclusions could be drawn regarding reproductive outcomes after AH in patients with advanced maternal age due to the small sample pooled in meta-analyses.Studies of high methodological quality and with adequate power are necessary to further investigate the value of AH in assisted conception of those patients.

Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mucopolysaccharidosis IV ; genetics ; Mutation ; N-Acetylgalactosamine-4-Sulfatase ; genetics

Objective To assess the results of paediatric liver transplantation in our institution. Methods From September 1993 to November 1996, 10 living-related liver transplants (LRLT) and 3 reduced-size liver transplants (RSLT) were performed on 12 children at our hospital. The medical records of the patients were reviewed. All patients suffered from end-stage liver disease resulting from biliary atresia with failed Kasai's operations. Their ages at initial transplantation ranged from 8 months to 11 years. Excluding the 2 older children aged 7.5 and 11 years, the remaining patients were aged 10.5 months on the average and weighed 6 to 9.5 kg (mean: 6.8 kg) at the time of initial transplantation.Results All living donors were discharged on postoperative day 4 to 8 and resumed their previous normal activities. All recipients were alive with normal liver function and growing after a follow-up period of 3-40 months (mean: 21 months). The patient survival rate was 100%. One patient with RSLT had hepatitis of undetermined aetiology and underwent retransplant with a graft from her mother. The graft survival rate was 92%. Postoperative complications included: postoperative bleeding (n=3), hepatic vein stenosis (n=l), biliary-enteric anastomotic stenosis (n=3), intestinal perforation (n=l) and portal vein thrombosis (n=l). They were all treated promptly. In all patients, the hepatic artery (diameter ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 mm) anastomosis was achieved by microvascular technique. There was no hepatic artery thrombosis in our patients. Conclusion With technical refinements, early detection and prompt treatment of complications, and advances in immunotherapy, excellent results can be achieved in paediatric liver transplantation.

AIMTo investigate the effects of Angelica sinensis on the expression of Flt-1, Flk-1 mRNA after the ischemic brain injury in rats.

METHODSWistar rats randomly divided into two groups: group A rats underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 hours by suture, group B rats underwent MCAO for 2 hours meanwhile received treatment with Angelica sinensis (5g/kg). At 1 st d, 3 rd d and 7 th d after reperfusion, 36 rats( n = 18 in each group) were assessed by neurological scale and brain tissue was taken to assess the lesion ration with 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. The other rats (n = 3 at different time points in each group) were decapitated at 3 h, 6 h, 12 h , 1 st d, 3 rd d, 7 th d after reperfusion. Quantitative reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique was used to examine the gene expression of Flt-1, Flk-1.

RESULTSThe neurologic deficit score of rats in group B decreased significantly compared with group A at the same time point (P < 0.05). The infarct volume of group A was significant greater than group B at the same time point after reperfusion (P < 0.01). The results of RT-PCR revealed that the gene expression of Flt-1, Flk-1 in the two groups increased from 3 h after reperfusion and reached its peak at the time of 3 rd d after reperfusion, then declined gradually. The gene expression of Flt-1, Flk-1 in the group B was significantly increased than group A at the same time point (P < 0.01). The gene expression of Flk-1 was positive correlated with Flt-1 in two groups (r = 0.957).

CONCLUSIONThe increasing amount of Flt-1, Flk-1 expression was enhanced by Angelica sinensis following transient interruption of cerebral blood flow in rats.

Angelica sinensis ; Animals ; Brain Ischemia ; metabolism ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 ; metabolism