Earticle

Leptin has been investigated as a candidate gene for fat characteristics in beef cattle. Previously, we have reported 57 sequence variants discovered in Korean cattle (Bos Taurus coreanae). In this study, we examined the association between polymorphisms of leptin and carcass traits (cold carcass weight (CWT) and marbling score (Marb)) in Korean cattle. Among 57 polymorphisms, 11 common polymorphic sites were genotyped in our beef cattle (n = 437). Statistical analysis revealed that one single nucleotide polymorphism in coding exon (c.+411T>C (A137A)) showed a significant association with the yield trait, CWT. The C-bearing genotypes (CC or CT) of c.+411T>C (A137A) showed the higher CWT (p = 0.006). c.+150C>G (S50S) also showed a significant association with the quality trait, Marb (p = 0.01). Our findings suggest that polymorphisms in leptin might be one of the important genetic factors that influence carcass yield and quality in beef cattle, especially in CWT and Marb.

Green compressive strength, permeability, deformation, flowability, compactability and green hardness values at room temperature are dependable on the grain distribution and grain shape. The results obtained under constant moisture (4% for sand) and bentonite (8% for sand) were as follows; 1. With decreasing grain size, surface area of sand grain was increased. 2. With decreasing grain size, coefficient of angularity was increased. 3. As surface area increased from $8926.43cm^2$ to $21211.16cm^2$ , green compressive strength was increased from $210.93\;g/cm^2$ to $449.98\;g/cm^2$, hardness was increased from 76.7 to 82.3, but permeability was decreased from $411.7\;{\frac{\;cc\;{\cdot}\;cm\;}{atm\;{\cdot}\;cm^2\;{\cdot}\;min.}}$ to $113.7\;{\frac{\;cc\;{\cdot}\;mm\;}{atm\;{\cdot}\;cm^2\;{\cdot}\;min.}}$ 4. As surface area increased from $8926.43\;cm^2$ to $21211.16\;cm^2$, flowability was decreased from 82.3% to 80.8%, deformation was decreased from $67.1\;cm\;{\times}\;10^{-3}$ to $54.6\;cm\;{\times}\;10^{-3}$, but compactability was increased from 44.8% to 54.3%. 5. Room temperature properties of molding sand were affected by variation of surface area.

Background: Genetic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of human cancer. A recent genome wide association study (GWAS) identified an association between the rs2294008 polymorphism of the prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) gene and bladder cancer risk in Caucasians. The aim of this study was to determine whether the rs2294008 polymorphism is similarly associated with bladder cancer susceptibility in a Korean population. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case-control study of 411 bladder cancer patients and 1,700 controls. Results: The frequencies of the CC, CT, and TT genotypes of the rs2294008 polymorphism were 16.9, 54.0, and 28.8% in bladder cancer patients and 24.4, 48.1, and 27.5% in controls, respectively. We found that the combined CT/TT genotypes were associated with a significantly increased risk of bladder cancer (OR CT/TT =1.58, 95% CI= 1.15-2.17), compared with the CC genotype. Smoking habits, tumor grade and tumor stage did not modify the association between rs2294008 and the risk of bladder cancer. Conclusions: Our study showed that the rs2294008 polymorphism in the PSCA gene is associated with the risk of bladder cancer in a Korean population, providing evidence that it may contribute to bladder carcinogenesis regardless of ethnicity.

Background: Many studies have reported associations of the X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3) Thr241Met polymorphism with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, but the results remained controversial. Hence, we performed the present meta-analysis with different inheritance models. Materials and Methods: We searched the PubMed and Google scholar databases for studies relating to associations between XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism and risk of CRC. 16 studies with 5,193 cases and 6,645 controls were finally included into the meta-analysis. Results: We found that the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism was associated with increased CRC risk only under a dominant genetic model (CC+CT vs. TT: OR 0.575, 95%CI 0.498-1.665, p<0.001, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.00$, $I^2=83%$). There was a significant association between XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism and CRC risk in Caucasian in the overall 8 studies under only in the heterozygote genetic model (CT vs. TT: OR=0.929, 95%CI =0.806-1.070, P=0.308, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.002$, $I^2=57%$). Four studies evaluated the XRCC3 Thr241Met polymorphism and CRC risk in Asians. Two genetic models of the XRCC3 polymorphism were significantly correlated with increasing risk in Asians (dominant model: CC+CT vs. TT: OR= 0.609, 95%CI=411-0.902, P=0.013, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.54$, $I^2=0.00%$; Allele model: C vs. T: OR=0.708, 95 %=CI 0.605-0.829, p=0.000, $P_{heterogeneity}=0.000$, $I^2=92%$). The sensitivity analysis suggested stability of this meta-analysis and no publication bias was detected. Conclusions: In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that XRCC3 Thr241Met shows an increased CRC risk, particularly in Asians rather than Caucasians.