To enhance our understanding of GA metabolism in rice (Oryza sativa), we intensively screened and identified 29 candidate genes encoding the following GA metabolic enzymes using all available rice DNA databases: ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase (CPS), ent-kaurene synthase (KS), ent-kaurene oxidase (KO), ent-kaurenoic acid oxidase (KAO), GA 20-oxidase (GA20ox), GA 3-oxidase (GA3ox), and GA 2-oxidase (GA2ox). In contrast to the Arabidopsis genome, multiple CPS-like, KS-like, and KO-like genes were identified in the rice genome, most of which are contiguously arranged. We also identified 18 GA-deficient rice mutants at six different loci from rice mutant collections. Based on the mutant and expression analyses, we demonstrated that the enzymes catalyzing the early steps in the GA biosynthetic pathway (i.e. CPS, KS, KO, and KAO) are mainly encoded by single genes, while those for later steps (i.e. GA20ox, GA3ox, and GA2ox) are encoded by gene families. The remaining CPSlike, KS-like, and KO-like genes were likely to be involved in the biosynthesis of diterpene phytoalexins rather than GAs because the expression of two CPS-like and three KS-like genes (OsCPS2, OsCPS4, OsKS4, OsKS7, and OsKS8) were increased by UV irradiation, and four of these genes (OsCPS2, OsCPS4, OsKS4, and OsKS7) were also induced by an elicitor treatment.

AimEarly prediction of prognosis after out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains difficult. High blood lactate or low pH levels may be associated with poor prognosis in OHCA patients, but these associations remain controversial. We compared blood lactate and pH levels in OHCA patients transferred to our hospital to measure their prognostic performance.MethodsWe investigated the associations between blood lactate and pH levels on admission and neurological outcomes in 372 OHCA patients who had a return of spontaneous circulation.ResultsOf the 372 OHCA patients, 31 had a favorable neurological outcome. Blood lactate levels were lower in patients with a favorable outcome than in those with an unfavorable outcome, but this difference did not reach statistical significance (82 ± 49 vs. 96 ± 41 mg/dL). However, pH levels were significantly higher in patients with a favorable outcome than in those with an unfavorable outcome (7.26 ± 0.16 vs. 6.93 ± 0.19, P < 0.001). The relative cumulative frequency distribution curve analysis showed the optimal cut‐off points of lactate and pH to be approximately 80 mg/dL and 7.05, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity to predict a favorable outcome were 61% and 64% for lactate <80 mg/dL and 84% and 80% for pH >7.05, respectively. Areas under receiver–operating characteristic curves were significantly larger for pH than for lactate levels (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, pH >7.05 was an independent predictor for a favorable outcome.ConclusionAfter OHCA, patients with a favorable outcome had lower lactate and higher pH levels than those with an unfavorable outcome, but pH level was a much better predictor for neurological outcome than lactate levels.

p27, a cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor, regulates progression from G1 to S phase. There have been a few clinical reports of low p27 expression associated with poor survival among patients with cancer. However, there have been no reports of such an association in cases of head and neck cancer. The authors investigated whether p27 expression in patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma was associated with their prognosis. Ninety‐four patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma were analyzed. The authors performed p27 immunohistochemistry on all patients and Western blot analysis on 19 available patients. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis that included gender, history of smoking and alcohol usage, presence of multiple primary cancers, stage, histologic grade and p27 status was used to identify the multivariate predictive value of prognostic factors. Twenty‐six patients had high p27 expression (≥50% tumor cell nuclei positive), and 68 patients had low p27 expression (<50%) by immunohistochemistry. In those with low p27 expression, N(+) and advanced T (T3 or T4) were significantly higher than in those with high p27 expression (P=0.02 and 0.04). The 5‐year survival rate in the low p27 group was 44%, whereas that in the high p27 group was 68%, indicating a significant difference (P=0.04). p27 expression was inferred from Western blot analysis, and an arbitrary quantity (<1, 1–5, or ≥5) from the ratio of tumor to normal tissue density was used to characterize patients, resulting in 8 (42%), 3 (16%) and 8 (42%) patients in the low (<1 fold), intermediate (1–5 fold), and high (≥5 fold) groups, respectively. Results of immunohistochemical analysis for p27 were significantly correlated with those of Western blot analysis (P=0.02). Multivariate analysis revealed that low intensity of p27 expression and advanced stage (Stage III or IV) were predictors of reduced survival (P=0.02 and 0.001). Low p27 expression was associated with increasing lymph node metastasis and stage of tumor and resulted in a poor prognosis for patients with oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma. p27 is apparently a significant predictor of survival. Henk Tideman