Objective. Congenital heart disease (CHDs) in Taiwan cause twice as many children die each year comparing with childhood cancers. Prevalent CHDs are ventricular septal defects (VSDs) which accounted for ~40% Taiwanese population averagely. Studies on heart development-related genes on the human genome will provide valuable information for early diagnosis/prevention in eugenics and the development of therapeutic strategies. Methods. A total of 239 CHD families from Kaohsiung Veteran General Hospital, including 713 individuals with 245 affected, participated in this study. Among these CHDs families, 83 were diagnosed as VSDs, accounted for 34.7% of all CHDs. We initiated using a semi-quantitative fluorescent PCR method applying ten highly polymorphic markers that located within 22q11, genotyping analysis for deletion or loss of heterozygosity. In those cases that are identified as chromosome 22q11-independent VSDs, cardiac development-related candidate genes TBX5, CSX and JAG1 analyses were performed by Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphisms (SSCPs) and Temporal Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (TTGE) analyses to identify whether any genomic mutation/deletion exists. Results. So far, there are twenty-five VSD affected individuals have been identified as loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at loci D22S264, D22S303, D22S420, D22S427,D22S941, D22S944, D22S1638 and D22S1648. Candidate gene approaches will therefore be carried out within chromosome 22q11 subregion in these individuals. Conclusions. The frequency of CHD necessitating intervention in patients referred for cardiovascular evaluation after diagnosis of a chromosome 22q11 deletion. Routine screening for CHDs, including VSD and other imaging studied to identify the any microdeletion(s) or LOH.

The way in which the myocardium responds to its mechanical environment must be understood in order to develop reasonable treatments for congestive heart failure. The first step toward this understanding is to characterize and quantify the cardiac microstructure in healthy and diseased hearts. Myocardium has a laminar architecture made up of myolaminae, which are sheets of myocytes surrounded by a collagen weave. By enhancing the contrast between the myocytes and the surrounding collagen, the myocardium can be investigated and its laminar structure can be quantified. Many of the techniques that have been used to view the microstructure of the heart require the use of toxic or caustic chemicals for fixation or staining. An efficient imaging method that uses polarization microscopy and enhances the contrast between the collagen and myocytes while minimizing the use of harmful chemicals was developed in this research. Collagen is birefringent; therefore its visibility should be enhanced through polarization microscopy and image processing. The sheet angles were viewed directly by cutting slices of a rat septum perpendicular to the fiber angle. Images of different polarization combinations were taken and a region of interest was selected on the sample. Image processing techniques were used to reduce the intensity variation on the images and account for the variable gain of the camera. The contrast between the collagen and myocytes was enhanced by comparing adjusted images to the background and looking at a single image this comparison produced. Although the contrast was enhanced, the embedding media reduced the collagen signal and the enhancement was not as striking as expected.

Dissertation (Ph.D.).--University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at San Antonio, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 84 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-69).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 250 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 240-250).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, School of Education. / Also on film. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Laurie Grubbs, Florida State University, School of Nursing. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Biology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-133). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR38842

Thesis--University of Pittsburgh. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-94).

Thesis--University of Wisconsin-Madison. / Photocopy of typescript. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1977. -- 21 cm. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-185).