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Y Y Chao

Publications and source records attributed to Y Y Chao.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Familial risk of asthma among adolescents and their relatives in Taiwan.

Although family studies have established that asthma has a hereditary basis, little evidence has been presented about the family risk of simple asthma (AS or nonatopic asthma) and asthma with other atopic diseases (AWAD or atopic asthma) after adjusting for potential risk factors. In this study, data were collected on demographic variables and a wide range of known risk factors for asthma. Study participants were asthmatic adolescents and controls, and their relatives. The role of a familial history of asthma and atopic diseases in predicting asthma risk among asthmatic adolescents and their relatives was evaluated in a population-based family study conducted in southern Taiwan. Asthma risk factor data were collected through telephone interviews with students' parents for 207 asthmatic adolescents 11-16 years of age, their 1600 relatives, and 207 nonasthmatic adolescents in the control group and their 1638 relatives. The results show (after adjusting potential confounders) that a family history of asthma is highly associated with asthma in adolescents. Having two or more family members with asthma was associated with a 3.4-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-12.0) increased risk of asthma among adolescents. Logistic regression was used to assess the effects of having an asthmatic relative and the effect of atopic diseases among relatives of cases. Having a family history of asthma and other atopic conditions, such as rhinitis and atopic dermatitis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.64, 95% CI = 2.29-5.74 and AOR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.53-2.46, respectively), was found to be a significant predictor of asthma in children. Along with a history of allergic rhinitis or atopic dermatitis, familial risks of asthma occurring in adolescents with and without other atopic diseases will be analyzed separately. A critical finding was the significant difference in a risk of asthma and atopic diseases among the relatives of asthma cases with atopic diseases and controls. However, for relatives of asthma cases without atopic diseases compared to control probands, AORs were highly significant for family history of asthma, but not for the family history of atopic diseases. These findings suggest that both forms of asthma may be hereditary, but there are differences in their modes of inheritance. Atopic status itself did not predispose a child to AS. A concomitant inheritance of a predisposition to asthma and atopic condition for AWAD cases was suggested.

Adolescent↗

Association between indoor and outdoor air pollution and adolescent asthma from 1995 to 1996 in Taiwan.

The study aim was to estimate the contribution of indoor and outdoor air pollution to the 1-year prevalence of adolescent asthma after personal susceptibility and other potential risk factors were taken into account. A large-scaled cross-sectional study was conducted among 165,173 high school students aged 11 to 16 years in the different communities of Kaohsiung and Pintong in Taiwan, from October 1995 to June 1996. Each student and his/her parents participating in the study completed a video and a written International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire about symptoms of wheezing and allergies, passive smoking, and demographic variables. After adjustment for potential confounders, adolescents exposed to cigarette smoking (odds ratio = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.17-1.42) and environmental tobacco smoke (odds ratio = 1.08, 95% CI, 1.05-1.12) were found to suffer from asthma at an increased frequency. We observed a statistically significant association between outdoor air pollution and asthma, after controlling for potential confound variables. Total suspended particulate, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and airborne dust particles all displayed an independent association with asthma, respectively. There were no selection biases in this community-based study, which provides evidence that passive smoking and long-term, high average outdoor air pollution are independent risk factors of asthma.

Adolescent↗

1H NMR and ESR studies of oxidized cytochrome c551 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Near neutral pH, Fe(III) cytochrome c551 exhibits an ESR absorption due primarily to a single species with g values of 3.24, 2.06, and 1.48. These g values are somewhat different from those of horse heart cytochrome c and can be interpreted by the generalizations of Brautigan et al. [(1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 574] to be due to Fe binding by the imidazole anion of histidine rather than by neutral imidazole. The NMR spectrum of Fe(III) cytochrome c551 exhibits a number of hyperfine-shifted peaks whose pattern shows similarities to but many differences from that of horse heart cytochrome c. Variation in shifts of some of the peaks in the pH range 5--9 is ascribed to ionization of a somewhat buried propionic acid side chain (pK = 5.8) and to ionization of the N-terminal NH3+ group (pK = 7.7). At alkaline pH greater than 9.4, as shown by a variety of optical and ESR spectral changes, the Met-61 S ligand is replaced by other ligands.

Cytochromes↗

Manganese(II) as a paramagnetic probe of the tertiary structure of transfer RNA.

The effect of manganese on both the low field (10--15 ppm) and the high field (o--3 ppm) NMR spectra of unfractionated tRNA and yeast tRNAPhe has been investigated. Trace amounts of Mn2+ cause selective broadening of resonances which are assigned to specific tertiary interactions. The order in which resonances broaden is the same as the order in which they are stabilized by the addition of magnesium, namely s4U8 - A14, U33 and A58 - T54. From this we conclude that three of the strong binding sites probably are the same for both Mn2+ and Mg2+, and that these sites are located close to the tertiary interactions which are stabilized by the strongly bound metals. The broadening data, taken in conjunction with published X-ray data on yeast tRNAPhe, permit us to suggest some plausible locations for the strong binding sites.

Binding Sites↗

Spin-label studies of tropomyosin.

Studies are reported on nitroxide spin-labeled tropomyosin. The labels attach to sulfhydryl groups and to amino groups. The amino spins are highly mobile, the sulfhydryl much less so. Spin count studies show an average of approximately 0.5 labeled sulfhydryl/tropomyosin molecule and only approximately 0.15 labeled amino group/molecule. The spectra are used tostudy the denaturation of tropomyosin by guanidine hydrochloride. The information obtained reveals the course of denaturation at sites near the sulfhydryl group. It is found that these sites are more susceptible to guanidine than the bulk of the molecule; denaturation at the sulfhydryl sites is complete by 1.5 M guanidine, whereas optical studies indicate the molecule as a whole is not completely denatured until the concentration reaches 3.5 M. Spectra are also shown of tropomyosin fibers oriented variously with respect to the applied magnetic field. Strong orientation effects are seen and these indicate that the sulfhydryl-attached spins (but not the amino-attached spins) have a definite orientation in the fiber. Interpretation of the spectra reveals that the normal to the nitroxide plane is inclined to the fiber axis at an angle of 50 degrees. Circular dichroism studies in the tyrosine region also reveal drastic changes with guanidine denaturation, confirming the idea that denaturation produces pronounced increase in mobility at the beta carbon (as in the sulfhydryl casey). A strong negative band existing only in helical tropomyosin at pH's where the tyrosines are uncharged appears to be due to interaction of tyrosines with the helical backbone, whereas the appearance of a strong positive CD band at 250 nm at high pH (approximately11) seems to be ascribable to interaction between the charged phenolic groups and the dissymmetric backbone alpha-carbon atom.

Animals↗