BackgroundFinding ways to improve the cervical cancer screening rates among young women has been seen as a critical national health problem in many countries, including Japan. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a free-coupon program for cervical cancer screening conducted by a local government under financial support from the Japanese national government.MethodsThe personal cervical cancer screening information was analyzed for all female residents of Toyonaka City, including any past screening history and clinical results since the year 2009, when a free-coupon program for screening was started. These results were compared to results from 2008, prior to implementation of the free-coupon screening program.ResultsThe screening rates of women eligible for the free-coupon peaked dramatically compared to women of similar age who paid for their screening; however, the rates for the ineligible-age population also increased significantly in parallel to those in the free-coupon program, possibly by indirect peer and publicity effects. In women aged 20 to 25 years, the consecutive screening rate after a free-coupon screening was significantly lower than for those women who received a regular residential screening. After a free-coupon screening, the rate for participating in consecutive screenings depended significantly on the institution where the participant received her first screening test.ConclusionsThese results suggest that, for a generation of young women 20–25 years of age, a free-coupon program for cervical cancer screening was effective in increasing the first-time participation rate for screening; however, the increase in first-time participation did not lead to the expected increase in consecutive screenings.
ABSTRACT. Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) inactivates catecholamines and catechol-containing drugs such as L-DOPA. The common genetic polymorphism Val158Met in the human COMT gene is suspected to be associated with "persistence" or risk for schizophrenia. In this study, we attempted to identify the canine COMT gene fragment and to find a similar polymorphism and to reveal its genetic distribution among five representative canine breeds. We found that the amplified gene consisted of 663 bp nucleotides and was 84% homologous with the human COMT gene. The single nucleotide polymorphisms, guanine adenine substitution, were observed at the 39th, 216th and 482nd nucleotides. From the genotyping of the 216th polymorphism among 266 dogs by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method with restriction enzyme EagI, and that of the 482nd polymorphism with restriction enzyme SfcI, we found inter-breed variations of genotypes as well as of allelic frequencies for both of these polymorphic region s. These results suggest that the identified polymorphisms will be useful tools in elucidating the genetic background of canine behavioral traits. KEY WORDS: amino acid substitution, breed difference, canine, catechol O-methyltransferase gene, restriction fragment length polymorphism.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 66(2): 183-187, 2004 The dog (Canis familiaris) has a long and close association with humans, and as a result of selected breeding for various purposes such as hunting and working, there are numerous canine breeds. Dogs vary not only in shape and size but also in behavioral characteristics according to breed. Hart and Hart conducted a survey in which they compared behavioral characteristics among breeds and found that breeds used as guard dogs were strongly characterized by the behavioral traits of territorial defense and watchdog barking, whereas household dogs showed little aggressiveness and were highly responsive to obedience training [7].In recent years research into the genetic basis of temperament in human beings has drawn a great deal of attention. The genetic polymorphism of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) was reported to be related to the temperament of "novelty-seeking," and that of the promoter region of serotonin transporter was reported to be related to "harm-avoidance" in human studies [2,5,12]. Extrapolating the DRD4 results in order to investigate the same topic in dogs, researchers found, in accordance with specific behavioral traits, a breed difference in the genomic polymorphism of the domain that is similar to that studied in humans [9,15,16].Catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) inactivates catecholamines and catechol-containing drugs such as L-DOPA. The common genetic polymorphism Val158Met in the human COMT gene is suspected to be associated with "persistence" or risk for schizophrenia in human studies [3]. In order to determine whether there is a similar polymorphism in dogs that is related to canine behavioral traits, we identified the canine COMT gene and analyzed its gene...
ABSTRACT. Dopamine and noradrenaline are catecholamine neurotransmitters that are produced by biosynthetic enzymes such as tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine β -hydroxylase (DBH). As a first step to elucidate the genetic background of canine behavioral traits, we selected these genes as targets and sequenced these canine genes, and found that both were highly homologous with those of human beings. Then brain cDNAs derived from ten unrelated Beagles were used to search for polymorphisms in these genes. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (C97T, G168A, G180A and C264T), one of which (C97T) will cause amino acid substitution in the TH gene, and two SNPs (C789A and A1819G), both of which will cause amino acid substitutions in the DBH gene were identified. The allelic frequencies among five dog breeds (47 Golden Retrievers, 41 Labrador Retrievers, 40 Malteses, 26 Miniature Schnauzers, and 39 Shibas) were examined and found to have significant variation between them with regards to all these SNPs, except for C97T in the TH gene and A1819G in the DBH gene. The polymorphisms of C97T and A1819G were found only in the Shiba. The present results suggest that the polymorphisms of the genes encoding catecholamine biosynthetic enzymes may become important markers for examining the genetic background of behavioral characteristics in dogs. KEY WORDS: breed difference, DBH, dog, polymorphism, TH.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 67(9): 861-867, 2005 Since a genetic polymorphism related to the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) was postulated to be related to the "novelty seeking" behavior [2, 9], numerous genetic markers for such behavioral traits have been researched in the human psychiatric field [1,5,6,17,23,30]. Most of these markers are on genes coding for neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, neurotropic factors or transcription factors, as well as their receptors, synthetic enzymes and metabolic enzymes. Such research is based on the fundamental concept that one's personality is formed from the activity and/or turnover of such components of the hypothalamo-limbic system. Although this system is thought to be conserved in mammals, few polymorphic markers that could be responsible for the behavioral traits or temperament in the other mammals have been listed up. This situation is no exception in case of dogs even though we can now access various canine genome resources for linkage analysis, i.e. the 1 Mb resolution radiation hybrid map of the canine genome [10], the map of 4249 genetic markers featuring one marker every 900kb [3]. Therefore we have tried to search genetic markers that would be related to the behavioral traits in dogs and so far found some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in neurotransmitter-related genes [12,19,20].In this study tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine β -hydroxylase (DBH) genes were selected for their possible relation to canine behavioral traits. We sequenced these genes, and searched for genetic polymorphisms in these genes. The TH and DBH are biosynthetic enzymes for the synthesis of catecholam...
The purpose of this study was to attempt to find related variables of the canine genome with behavioural traits of dogs maintained and tested in a guide dog facility which provided a relatively uniform environment. The study involved 81 Labrador Retrievers that were being trained as guide dogs. Each dog was taken on walk-out sessions in which the trainer weekly recorded observations that were related to behavioural traits. The records were subjected to key-word analysis of 14 behaviour-related words. A factor analysis on the appearance rate of the 14 key words or phrases resulted in the extraction of six factors that accounted for 67.4% of the variance. Factor 1, referred to as aggressiveness, was significantly related to the success or failure of the dog in qualifying as a guide dog, and was also related to the variable of litter identification. Factor 2, referred to as distraction, was related to the variable of trainer. Factor 3, activity level, was related to the variable of sex, and was significantly related to the polymorphisms of c.471T>C in the solute carrier family 1 (neuronal/epithelial high affinity glutamate transporter) member 2 gene and c.216G>A in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene. The involvement of polymorphisms c.471T>C and c.216G>A in behavioural patterns related to activity level is similar to comparable genetic studies in other mammalian species. These results contribute to a greater understanding of the role of these genes in behaviour.
ABSTRACT. Polymorphisms of human genes encoding 5-hydroxytriptamine (serotonin) receptors (5-HTRs) are thought to be associated with psychiatric disorders and behavioral traits. In the present study, we searched for corresponding polymorphisms in the dog and compared allelic frequencies for the canine 5-HTR1B, 5-HTR2A, and 5-HTR2C genes among five canine breeds. The canine genes consisted of the following: 5-HTR1B, 1170 bp; 5-HTR2A, 1413 bp; and 5-HTR2C, 1377 bp. All of these genes were highly homologous with the human genes. We found six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5-HTR1B gene (G57A, A157C, G246A, C660G, T955C, and G1146C). Genotyping of the respective SNPs revealed that there were inter-breed variations in the genotypes and allelic fre quencies for four out of the six identified SNPs, suggesting that further analyses of the polymorphisms of the 5-HTR1B gene would be useful in order to gain an understanding of the genetic background underlying the diversified behavioral traits among canine species. KEY WORDS: behavior, breed difference, canine, 5-hydroxytriptamine receptor, polymorphism.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 66(8): 965-972, 2004 A number of studies have been recently conducted, particularly in the field of psychiatry, in the attempt to gain a better understanding of the genetic background of the human temperament [25]. However, as social, cultural, and environmental factors exert such profound effects on the development of human brain functions and on the personality in general, it remains extremely difficult to determine the causal relationships between genes and behavior. Companion animals such as dogs, which have a much simpler social system than human beings, but whose rich individuality can nonetheless be described objectively, have been considered as an advantageous object for this type of research that investigates the genetic components of behavioral traits. We therefore undertook an analysis of the genetic background of the canine temperament in order to create a list of polymorphic regions that might serve as possible candidates for influencing the canine temperament; in this context, we have thus far reported the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cathechol o-methyltransferase gene [17].Serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine: 5-HT) is an important monoaminergic neurotransmitter, and it is thought to play a considerable role in psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse; the polymorphisms of certain 5-HT receptor genes are suspected to be involved in these disorders. Among the 5-HT receptors, the 5-HT 1B receptor (5-HTR1B) is assumed to be associated with antisocial alcoholism [14] and antisocial substance dependencies in humans [13]. In rodents, 5-HTR1B knockout mice have been shown to display more reactive and less anxious behaviors than their wild-type counterparts [34], and they have also been shown to exhibit enhanced aggressive behavior [26]. As regards the 5-HT 2A receptor (5-HTR2A), even a silent mutation of T102C has been indicated as exerting ...
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