Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor of upper digestive diseases. Findings on alcohol's effect on these diseases are inconsistent and with the exception of its association with esophageal cancer, little is known about betel quid chewing. This study investigated the association between use of these three substances and upper digestive diseases. We collected data from 9,275 patients receiving upper endoscopies between April 2008 and December 2013. Polynomial regressions were used to analyze the association between risk factors and diseases of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum. Meta-analysis for use of these substances and esophageal diseases was also performed. Participants who simultaneously consumed cigarettes, alcohol and betel quid had a 17.28-fold risk of esophageal cancer (95% CI = 7.59-39.33), 2.99-fold risk of Barrette's esophagus (95% CI = 2.40-4.39), 1.60-fold risk of grade A-B erosive esophagitis (95% CI = 1.29-2.00), 2.00-fold risk of gastric ulcer (95% CI = 1.52-2.63), 2.12-fold risk of duodenitis (95% CI = 1.55-2.89) and 1.29-fold risk of duodenal ulcer (95% CI = 1.01-1.65). Concurrent consumption of more substances was associated with significantly higher risk of developing these diseases. Meta-analysis also revealed use of the three substances came with a high risk of esophageal diseases. In conclusions, cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and betel quid chewing were associated with upper digestive tract diseases.

These results indicate that patients with pre-malignant oral lesions need long-term follow up.

This paper describes the access to, and the content, characteristics, and potential applications of the tropical cyclone (TC) database that is maintained and actively developed by the China Meteorological Administration, with the aim of facilitating its use in scientific research and operational services. This database records data relating to all TCs that have passed through the western North Pacific (WNP) and South China Sea (SCS) since 1949. TC data collection has expanded over recent decades via continuous TC monitoring using remote sensing and specialized field detection techniques, allowing collation of a multi-source TC database for the WNP and SCS that covers a long period, with wide coverage and many observational elements. This database now comprises a wide variety of information related to TCs, such as historical or real-time locations (i.e., best track and landfall), intensity, dynamic and thermal structures, wind strengths, precipitation amounts, and frequency. This database will support ongoing research into the processes and patterns associated with TC climatic activity and TC forecasting.

ObjectiveThe aim of this retrospective analysis was to determine the age, gender, frequency and distribution of trauma-associated hard tissue and soft tissue lesions of the oral and maxillofacial region in a population from southern Taiwan.Patients and MethodsApproximately 10% of the 27,995 biopsy records of patients with history of trauma resulting in lesions who were treated at our institution between 1991 and 2006 were examined for this study.ResultsIn the included records, there were 2,762 soft tissue and 26 hard tissue lesions. Mucocele was the most frequent trauma-associated soft tissue lesion (955 cases). The youngest patients were those who presented with mucocele (mean age = 27.3 years), while the oldest patients were those with peripheral giant cell granuloma (58 years). The lower lip was the most frequent site of occurrence of mucocele (676, 64.5%) and was also the predominant site of occurrence of all soft tissue lesions (815, 29.5%), followed by the buccal mucosa (654, 23.4%) and the tongue (392, 14.2%). Trauma-associated hard tissue lesions included only osteoradionecrosis (24 cases) and traumatic bone cysts (2 cases).ConclusionAs little data of this nature have been reported from populations of Asian developing countries, the findings of this retrospective analysis is valuable for epidemiological documentation of type of traumatic oral lesions as well as for informing the professionals and the layman about the importance of this category of oral lesions.

TBX3 is a transcription factor of the T-box gene family. Mutations in the TBX3 gene can cause hypoplastic or absent mammary glands. Previous studies have shown that TBX3 might be associated with breast cancer. Here, we show that TBX3 is overexpressed in malignant cells of primary breast cancer tissues by immunohistochemistry. TBX3 interacts with histone deacetylases (HDAC) 1, 2, 3, and 5. TBX3 interacts with HDAC1, 2, and 3 via two distinct binding sites. However, deletion of the repression domain (amino acids 566-624) of TBX3 completely abolishes its interaction with HDAC5. Endogenous TBX3 and HDACs interaction and colocalization are found in a breast cancer cell line by coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence, respectively. The functional significance of the interaction between TBX3 and HDAC is also tested in a p14 ARF -luciferase reporter system. Results indicate that TBX3 represses expression of p14 ARF tumor suppressor and that a HDAC inhibitor is able to reverse the TBX3 repressive function in a dosage-dependant manner. This study suggests that TBX3 may function by recruiting HDACs to the T-box binding site in the promoter region. TBX3 repression to its targets is dependent on HDAC activity. TBX3 may serve as a biomarker for breast cancer and have significant applications in both breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. [Cancer Res 2008;68(3):693-9]