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An Asian Perspective on China: Hamashita Takeshi's Study on the Tribute System and its Implications
No full text濱下武志的朝貢體系研究既認可中國朝貢體系的重要性，又將朝貢體系的意義，從亞洲區域經濟的發展史當中??解，但主要是在亞洲的框架下消弭?中國的國族性。濱下武志對亞洲的?解首先在於?認同歐洲勢?「侵入」亞洲，此點即為對於「衝擊── 反應」?的反思，歐洲??並沒有滲入亞洲內部，而是透過由華僑、印僑等已經構築完成的貿?網絡從而擴張其勢?，因此歐洲在亞洲內部根據其擅長的?融、貿?面向中並沒有創造新的環境，而僅是?用原有的秩序而已。本文的目的在透過對濱下的研究，將亞洲做為中國研究方法的知?基礎與內涵，加以?明。An “Asian” approach, together with the concept of “all under-heaven”, has become popular in Asian Sinology. Hamashita Takeshi, one of the best writers on Asianism, develops a research agenda for regional study, using the Chinese Tributary Trade System as a metaphor. He dissolves the image of nation-states into a complex networking among Asian regions. This “Asian” approach is believed useful in epistemologically resisting Euro-centrism as well as China-centrism. The paper introduces Hamashita's research and discusses its implications for China studies
IL17a and IL21 combined with surgical status predict the outcome of ovarian cancer patients
No full textAside from tumor cells, ovarian cancer-related ascites contains the immune components. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a combination of clinical and immunological parameters can predict survival in patients with ovarian cancer. Ascites specimens and medical records from 144 ovarian cancer patients at our hospital were used as the derivation group to select target clinical and immunological factors to generate a risk-scoring system to predict patient survival. Eighty-two cases from another hospital were used as the validation group to evaluate this system. The surgical status and expression levels of interleukin 17a (IL17a) and IL21 in ascites were selected for the risk-scoring system in the derivation group. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves of the overall score for disease-free survival (DFS) of the ovarian cancer patients were 0.84 in the derivation group, 0.85 in the validation group, and 0.84 for all the patients. The AUROC curves of the overall score for overall survival (OS) of cases were 0.78 in the derivation group, 0.76 in the validation group, and 0.76 for all the studied patients. Good correlations between overall risk score and survival of the ovarian cancer patients were demonstrated by sub-grouping all participants into four groups (P for trend < 0.001 for DFS and OS). Therefore, acombination of clinical and immunological parameters can provide a practical scoring system to predict the survival of patients with ovarian carcinoma. IL17a and IL21 can potentially be used as prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers
Arecoline Alters Taste Bud Cell Morphology, Reduces Body Weight, and Induces Behavioral Preference Changes in Gustatory Discrimination in C57BL/6 Mice
No full textArecoline, a major alkaloid in areca nuts, is involved in the pathogenesis of oral diseases. Mammalian taste buds are the structural unit for detecting taste stimuli in the oral cavity. The effects of arecoline on taste bud morphology are poorly understood. Arecoline was injected intraperitoneally (IP) into C57BL/6 mice twice daily for 1-4 weeks. After arecoline treatment, the vallate papillae were processed for electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry analysis of taste receptor proteins (T1R2, T1R3, T1R1, and T2R) and taste associated proteins (alpha-gustducin, PLC beta 2, and SNAP25). Body weight, food intake and water consumption were recorded. A 2-bottle preference test was also performed. The results demonstrated that 1) arecoline treatment didn't change the number and size of the taste buds or taste bud cells, 2) electron microscopy revealed the change of organelles and the accumulation of autophagosomes in type II cells, 3) immunohistochemistry demonstrated a decrease of taste receptor T1R2- and T1R3-expressing cells, 4) the body weight and food intake were markedly reduced, and 5) the sweet preference behavior was reduced. We concluded that the long-term injection of arecoline alters the morphology of type II taste bud cells, retards the growth of mice, and affects discrimination competencies for sweet tastants
Quality of life in polyneuropathy: association with biomarkers of small fiber impairment
No full textBackground: Polyneuropathy presumably lowers quality of life (QoL). However, there is a lack of systematic studies that assess QoL changes and biomarkers of polyneuropathy as determinants of QoL. We aimed to investigate the relationship between every specific aspect of QoL and the clinical parameters used to assess the impairment of motor, sensory (large and small fibers), and autonomic nerves in polyneuropathy.
Methods: Polyneuropathy patients were recruited from September 2013 to March 2014; QoL was assessed using (1) the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQoL), (2) the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, and (3) the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form. Neuropathy examinations included nerve conduction studies, autonomic function tests, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density assessment of skin biopsies.
Results: There were 61 polyneuropathy patients (male/female = 38/23, mean age 58.14 +/- 12.95 years). Patients had a lower QoL than age-and gender-matched controls in the physical and psychological domains of the WHOQoL. Among the biomarkers for different nerve fiber categories, only the small fiber neuropathy assessments were significantly related to all domains of the WHOQoL. In contrast, the parameters of the large fiber neuropathy were independent of QoL. Patients with abnormal temperature thresholds and a lower IENF density had lower WHOQoL scores compared to patients with normal thresholds and IENF densities. Warm threshold of the foot in QST was linearly correlated with all domains of the WHOQoL.
Conclusions: QoL scores were reduced in polyneuropathy, and biomarkers of small fiber neuropathy, i.e., warm threshold and IENF density were discriminating predictors of QoL
SNP rs10248565 in HDAC9 as a novel genomic aberration biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma in non-smoking women
No full textBackground: Numerous efforts have been made to elucidate the etiology and improve the treatment of lung cancer, but the overall five-year survival rate is still only 15%. Although cigarette smoking is the primary risk factor for lung cancer, only 7% of female lung cancer patients in Taiwan have a history of smoking. Since cancer results from progressive accumulation of genetic aberrations, genomic rearrangements may be early events in carcinogenesis.
Results: In order to identify biomarkers of early-stage adenocarcinoma, the genome-wide DNA aberrations of 60 pairs of lung adenocarcinoma and adjacent normal lung tissue in non-smoking women were examined using Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP 6.0 arrays. Common copy number variation (CNV) regions were identified by >= 30% of patients with copy number beyond 2 +/- 0.5 of copy numbers for each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and at least 100 continuous SNP variant loci. SNPs associated with lung adenocarcinoma were identified by McNemar's test. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) SNPs were identified in >= 18% of patients with LOH in the locus. Aberration of SNP rs10248565 at HDAC9 in chromosome 7p21.1 was identified from concurrent analyses of CNVs, SNPs, and LOH.
Conclusion: The results elucidate the genetic etiology of lung adenocarcinoma by demonstrating that SNP rs10248565 may be a potential biomarker of cancer susceptibility
Flow- and voltage-dependent blocking effect of ethosuximide on the inward rectifier K+ (Kir2.1) channel
No full textAbsence seizures are manifestations of abnormal thalamocortical oscillations characterized by spike-and-wave complexes in EEG. Ethosuximide (ETX) is one of the principal medications against absence seizures. We investigate the effect of ETX on the Kir2.1 channel, a prototypical inward rectifier K+ channel possibly playing an important role in the setting of neuronal membrane potential. We demonstrate that the outward currents of Kir2.1 channels are significantly inhibited by intracellular ETX. We further show that the movement of neutral molecule ETX in the Kir2.1 channel is accompanied by similar to 1.2 K+, giving rise to the vivid voltage dependence of ETX unbinding rate. Moreover, the apparent affinity (K (d) ) of ETX in the channels are decreased by single-point mutations involving M183, E224, and S165, and especially by double mutations involving T141/S165, which always also disrupt the flux-coupling feature of ETX block. Molecular dynamics simulation demonstrates narrowing of the pore at similar to D172 by binding of ETX to S165 or T141. ETX block of the Kir2.1 channels may cause a modest but critical depolarization of the relevant neurons, decreasing available T-type Ca2+ channels and consequently lessening pathological thalamocortical burst discharges
Estradiol enhances the acquisition of lithium chloride-induced conditioned taste aversion in castrated male rats
No full textThe present study examined the effects of short-term treatment with ovarian hormones on the acquisition of conditioned taste aversion (CTA). Adult male rats were castrated and randomly divided into LiCl- and saline-treated groups. Nineteen days after castration, all of the animals were subjected to 23.5-h daily water deprivation for seven successive days (day 1 to day 7). On the conditioning day (day 8), the rats received either a 4 ml/kg of 0.15 M LiCl or the same dose of saline injection immediately after administration of a 2 % sucrose solution during the 30-min water session. Starting from day 6, rats in both groups received one of the following treatments: daily subcutaneous injection of (1) estradiol alone (30 mu g/kg; estradiol benzoate (E) group), (2) estradiol plus progesterone (500 mu g; E + progesterone (P) group), or (3) olive oil. From day 9 to day 11, all of the rats were given daily two-bottle preference tests during the 30-min fluid session. The estradiol and estradiol plus progesterone treatments in the LiCl groups resulted in significantly lower preference scores for the sucrose solution compared with the olive oil treatment groups, but no difference in preference score was seen between these two groups. These results indicate that both the estradiol and estradiol plus progesterone treatments in the LiCl groups enhanced the acquisition of CTA learning and suggest that estradiol affects the acquisition of CTA mediated by an activational effect in male rats, whereas progesterone treatment does not influence the effects of estradiol on the acquisition of CTA
