BACKGROUND The Mariana Islands, including Guam and Saipan, are home to many ethnic subpopulations of Micronesia. Oral cancer incidence rates vary among subpopulations, and areca (betel) nut chewing, a habit with carcinogenic risks, is common. Our objectives were to conduct a screening program to detect oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) in betel nut chewers, measure their betel nut che...

The AP2/ERF transcription factors play crucial roles in plant growth, development and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. A total of 119 AP2/ERF genes (JcAP2/ERFs) have been identified in the physic nut genome; they include 16 AP2, 4 RAV, 1 Soloist, and 98 ERF genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that physic nut AP2 genes could be divided into 3 subgroups, while ERF genes could be class...

BACKGROUND To assess and compare the salivary flow rate (SFR) and salivary pH among areca nut chewers, oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) patients and apparently healthy individuals. METHODS A comparative study was conducted to assess and compare the SFR and pH among 135 outpatients (45 areca nut chewers + 45 OSMF + 45 control) at The Oxford Dental College and Research Hospital, Bangalore, India....

We study the space-times of non-extremal intersecting p-brane configurations in M-theory, where one of the components in the intersection is a " NUT, " i.e. a configuration of the Taub-NUT type. Such a Taub-NUT configuration corresponds, upon compactification to D = 4, to a Gross-Perry-Sorkin (GPS) monopole. We show that in the decoupling limit of the CFT/AdS correspondence, the 4-dimensional t...

BACKGROUND food allergy is highly prevalent in our environment, especially among atopic patients. Pinus pinea is common in our region and its fruit, the pine nut, is allergologically important. Several cases have been reported in the literature that demonstrate the existence of common antigenic bands between pine nut and almond. In this study we try to assess this finding and the possible exist...

Background. This study investigated the association between betel nut chewing and subclinical ischemic heart disease (IHD) in Taiwanese type 2 diabetic patients. Methods. A total of 394 male patients aging ≥45 years and without previous heart disease were studied. Among them 349 had no habit of chewing betel nut and 45 possessed the habit for ≥5 years. Subclinical IHD was diagnosed by a Minneso...

Changes in aerobic plate count (APC) and Escherichia coli/coliform count (ECC) of inshell walnuts and walnut kernels were evaluated during commercial harvest and postharvest handling. APC and ECC for inshell walnuts collected from the tree were 6 and 4 log CFU/nut, respectively; counts increased by 1 log during harvest and hulling and decreased by 1 log during drying. Application of up to 200 p...

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), one of the most deadliest malignancies in the world, is caused primarily by areca nut chewing in Southeast Asia. The mechanisms by which areca nut participates in OSCC tumorigenesis are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of low dose long-term arecoline (10 μg/mL, 90-days), a major areca nut alkaloid, on enhancement cancer stemnes...

Pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch] trees developed necrotic areas in the leaves late in the growing season. July samples indicated that leaf P (0.114% DW) and K (0.62% DW) were low, but other elements were within accepted sufficiency ranges. Relationships between leaf P and K concentrations with nut quality and return bloom were determined. Trees were rated for leaf necrosis 1 Octob...

Oral cancer is the 6th most frequent cancer in Taiwan. The habit of areca nut chewing is the main etiological factor of oral cancer. To shed light on molecular basis of areca nut associated oral carcinogenesis, we established two oral cell sublines chronically treated with areca nut extract (ANE) at IC70 dose for 2 months. Affymatrix microarray was used in transcriptome profiling between parent...