This invention relates to methods and compositions for identifying microbial DNA in the tissues or body fluid samples of patients. More particularly, the invention relates to two-step polymerase chain reaction based methods for identifying microbial DNA in the tissues or body fluid samples of patients, and compositions therefor. Microbial DNA can also be quantified using the methods described herein.

To provide a method for evaluating or selecting an agent for reducing sensory irritation, which reduces sensory irritation caused by parabens, and an agent for reducing sensory irritation, which reduces sensory irritation caused by parabens. A method for evaluating or selecting an agent for reducing sensory irritation caused by parabens, comprising the following steps (1) to (3): (1) a step of contacting cells capable of expressing CES1 with a test substance; (2) a step of measuring expression of CES1 in the cells; (3) a step of evaluating a test substance which promotes expression of CES1 as an agent for reducing sensory irritation caused by parabens based on the results measured in (2).

The invention relates generally to methods for determining the likelihood that targeted somatic mutagenesis of a nucleic acid molecule by a mutagenic agent has occurred, and the likelihood that a mutagenic agent is a cause of targeted somatic mutagenesis of a nucleic acid molecule. The invention further relates to methods for diagnosing cancer in a subject and/or determining the likelihood that a subject has or will develop cancer, and methods for treating subjects diagnosed with cancer or determined to be likely to have or to develop cancer. In further aspects, the invention relates to methods for identifying motifs in nucleic acid molecules that are recognized or targeted by mutagenic agents.

A micro-fluidic chip and its modification method and application in detection of food bacteria quality, includes the following steps: changing a functional group CH.sub.3 on the internal surface of micro-fluidic channel of micro-fluidic chip to a functional group OH through modification; Supplying amino silane reagent to the micro-fluidic channel; supplying dendritic polymer as modified by COOH to internal surface of the micro-fluidic channel after drying; grafting primer of aminated aptamer RCA on terminus 5 and hybrid from its padlock probe on dendrimer on internal surface of the micro-fluidic channel; wherein, the padlock probe is the complementary sequence of the aptamer of the target pathogenic bacteria to be tested; after that, supplying RCA reaction reagent to the micro-fluidic channel to make aptamer RCA generate long-chain aptamer in series. The present invention adopts two RCA reactions of varied functions in combination, and uses dendritic polymer to modify internal surface of the chip.

The present invention relates to an analytical process for the assessment of the genotoxic potential, also termed mutagenic or transforming activity, of an agent in respect to hematopoietic cells. The agent can be selected from natural and synthetic chemical compounds, and preferably from heterologous expression cassettes, e.g. contained in non-natural viral particles or non-natural viral nucleic acid constructs, e.g. nucleic acid constructs containing a viral element.

Described herein are compounds useful for the treatment and investigation of diseases, methods for the prediction of in vivo toxicity of compounds useful for the treatment and investigation of diseases, and methods of discovering and identifying compounds useful for the treatment and investigation of diseases that have reduced in vivo toxicity.

Disclosed is a detection method for DNA repair-related genes which respond to low-level radiation, which includes the steps of (1) breeding AKR/J mice, as a thymus cancer model, and normal ICR mice in a low-dose radiation environment; (2) collecting thymuses from the AKR/J thymus cancer mouse model and the normal ICR mice which have been bred at the step (1); (3) analyzing genes in the thymuses collected at the step (2); (4) detecting, among the genes analyzed at the step (3), a DNA repair-associated gene expressed commonly or differentially in the AKR/J thymus cancer mouse model and the normal ICR mice; and (5) amplifying the gene detected at the step (4) and measuring the expression level thereof.

A method of treating a patient with multiple drugs using adjusted phenotypes of CYP450 enzymes to assess the risk of adverse drug reactions occurring due to drug-enzyme interactions. CYP450 enzyme genotypes and phenotypes are measured in a patient. The phenotypes are scored numerically. The drugs intended for treatment are scored numerically for their ability to induce or inhibit the CYP450 enzymes. The drug scores are used to adjust the CYP450 phenotype scores relative to inducing or inhibiting the enzymes. An accurate adjusted phenotype score for a given CYP450 enzyme is converted to an accurate adjusted phenotype. Any of the intended drugs for treatment that are substrates for the given CYP450 enzyme can be evaluated for risk of an adverse drug reaction based on the adjusted phenotype. This method of rapid risk assessment provides an accurate basis for decisions regarding changes in dose, eliminating a drug, or replacing a drug.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient device for predicting a risk of occurrence of a side effect of irinotecan by analyzing a single nucleotide polymorphism in a region encoding a specific gene. The prediction of the risk of the occurrence of a side effect of irinotecan is assisted by analyzing a single nucleotide polymorphism in a region encoding the APCDD1L gene, the R3HCC1 gene, the OR5112 gene, the MKKS gene, the EDEM3 gene, or the ACOX1 gene which are present on genomic DNA in a biological sample collected from a test subject; or a single nucleotide polymorphism which is in linkage disequilibrium with or genetically linked to the single nucleotide polymorphism, and determining whether the single nucleotide polymorphism is homozygous for a variant type, heterozygous, or homozygous for a wild-type.

A novel method to predict toxicity and dose-dependent effects of an agent based on transcriptomic data analysis, by determining a predictive toxicogenomics space (PTGS) score. The PTGS score helps to predict and model the toxicity of compounds typically consisting of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and agrochemicals. The invention further comprises methods of deriving the PTGS score, as well as computer programs to calculate PTGS scores.