Characterization of the dynamics of fat cell turnover in different bovine adipose tissue depots.

In many but not all high producing cows, the energy requirements for milk yield and maintenance exceed energy intake by voluntary feed intake during early lactation. Prioritizing milk secretion, body reserves mainly from adipose tissue are mobilized and imply an increased risk for metabolic diseases. Reducing the energy output via milk by decreasing the milk fat content through feed supplements containing conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) may attenuate the negative energy balance during this period.

Antibody avidity in humoral immune responses in Bangladeshi children and adults following administration of an oral killed cholera vaccine.

Antibody avidity for antigens following disease or vaccination increases with affinity maturation and somatic hypermutation. In this study, we followed children and adults in Bangladesh for 1 year following oral cholera vaccination and measured the avidity of antibodies to the T cell-dependent antigen cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) and the T cell-independent antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in comparison with responses in other immunological measurements. Children produced CTB-specific IgG and IgA antibodies of high avidity following vaccination, which persisted for several months; the magnitudes of responses were comparable to those seen in adult vaccinees.

Serological cross-reaction between O-antigens of Shigella dysenteriae type 4 and an environmental Escherichia albertii isolate.

An environmental freshwater bacterial isolate, DM104, appearing as Shigella-like colonies on selective agar plates was found to show strong and specific serological cross-reactivity with Shigella dysenteriae type 4. Biochemical identification according to the analytical profile index, molecular serotyping by restriction of the amplified O-antigen gene cluster (rfb-RFLP), together with phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and multi-locus sequence analysis, identified the isolate as Escherichia albertii. rfb-RFLP of DM104, revealed a profile different from that of S.

Screening for chronic kidney diseases among an adult population.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is now one of the major health problems all over the world and its early screening is vital to prevent the development of end-stage renal failure. This study was designed to evaluate the proportion of urban adults suffering from CKD as well as to have a preliminary idea about the determinants of this disorder. The screening program for CKD was arranged in a public place in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, and involved 634 adult participants (>18 years of age) selected on first-come first-served basis.

Is serum zinc level associated with prediabetes and diabetes?: a cross-sectional study from Bangladesh.

Aims: To determine serum zinc level and other relevant biological markers in normal, prediabetic and diabetic individuals and their association with Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA) parameters.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March and December 2009. Any patient aged ≥ 30 years attending the medicine outpatient department of a medical university hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh and who had a blood glucose level ordered by a physician was eligible to participate.

Dairy consumption is associated with decreased insulin resistance among the Japanese.

Beneficial effects of dairy consumption in preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome have been suggested, but the association between dairy intake and insulin resistance (IR) is not clear. To test the hypothesis that higher dairy consumption is associated with lower insulin resistance, the authors investigated the association between dairy intake (taking fat content into consideration) and markers of IR in a Japanese working population. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009 among 496 subjects aged 20-68 years who participated in a health survey during a periodic checkup.

Metabolic syndrome among pre- and post-menopausal rural women in Bangladesh: result from a population-based study.

Background: Prevalence of non-communicable diseases are a challenging problems among menopausal women specially in a least developed country like Bangladesh, where majority of women suffering from at least one chronic diseases after menopausal age. So, the main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and related risk factors in Bangladeshi pre- and post-menopausal women living in the rural setting.

Methods: This study is based on a community based cross-sectional survey among 1802 rural women aged ≥15 years.

Awareness regarding the importance of calcium and vitamin D among the undergraduate pharmacy students in Bangladesh.

Background: Calcium and vitamin D are two important micronutrients required for maintaining proper bone health. Previous works intended to determine the status of these micronutrients in local population have reported that the people in Bangladesh are at high risk of calcium insufficiency and hypovitaminosis D related health complications. Lack of awareness and insufficient knowledge of the essentiality of these two nutrients are assumed to cause this problem in Bangladesh.

Antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanolic extract of Piper betle leaves.

Objective: The present study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory activities of the methanolic extract of Piper betle leaves (MPBL).

Materials And Methods: MPBL was evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced hind paw edema model. Analgesic activity of MPBL was evaluated by hot plate, writhing, and formalin tests.

Dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome in a Japanese working population.

Background: Metabolic syndrome has become a major public health concern, but the role of diet in the etiology of this syndrome is not well understood. This study investigated the association between major dietary patterns and prevalence of metabolic syndrome in a Japanese working population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 460 municipal employees (284 men and 176 women), aged 21-67 years, who participated in a health survey at the time of periodic checkup.

Lower ratio of high-molecular-weight adiponectin level to total may be associated with coronary high-risk plaque.

Background: Although high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin is believed to protect against atherosclerosis, the association between HMW adiponectin and the composition of coronary plaques is unknown. We evaluated whether the HMW to total adiponectin ratio was associated with the presence of coronary plaque and its composition using multi-slice computed tomography coronary angiography (MSCTCA).

Methods: Serum total and HMW adiponectin levels were measured in 53 consecutive patients (age, 71) with >50% coronary artery stenosis detected by MSCTCA.

Prevalence and distribution of different diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli virulotypes in major water bodies in Bangladesh.

Escherichia coli, a prominent waterborne pathogen, causes a variety of gastrointestinal and extraintestinal infections that depend on virulence determinants. To monitor natural aquatic systems for virulence-associated genes of E. coli, multiplex PCR was used in a survey covering 46 major natural water bodies in Bangladesh.

Disruption of components of vascular endothelial growth factor angiogenic signalling system in metabolic syndrome. Findings from a study conducted in rural Bangladeshi women.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with impaired angiogenesis, a process that is chiefly regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) upon binding to its specific receptors, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2. The purpose of the present study was to assess trends or patterns in plasma levels of VEGF and its soluble receptors in subjects with (MetS) or without (non-MetS) MetS; and further examine their association with clinical or metabolic parameters using a subpopulation of South Asian country. A total of 1,802 rural Bangladeshi women aged ≥15 years were studied using a population-based cross-sectional survey.

Coronary artery CT low-density plaque area and its ratio to the whole area of a non-calcified plaque at the culprit lesion in patients with unstable and stable coronary artery disease.

Intravascular ultrasound studies have shown that patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP) more frequently had soft plaques in the culprit coronary arteries than patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP). We evaluated coronary plaque characteristics of culprit lesions in patients with UAP by 64-slice computed tomographic coronary angiography (64-slice CTCA). 64-slice CTCA (Aquilion 64, Toshiba Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan) was performed in 30 patients (UAP = 14, SAP = 16) before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Effectiveness of involving the private medical sector in the National TB Control Programme in Bangladesh: evidence from mixed methods.

Objectives: In Bangladesh, private healthcare is common and popular, regardless of income or area of residence, making the private sector an important player in health service provision. Although the private sector offers a good range of health services, tuberculosis (TB) care in the private sector is poor. We conducted research in Dhaka, between 2004 and 2008, to develop and evaluate a public-private partnership (PPP) model to involve private medical practitioners (PMPs) within the National TB Control Programme (NTP)'s activities.

Association between hypertension and chronic arsenic exposure in drinking water: a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh.

Chronic arsenic exposure and its association with hypertension in adults are inconclusive and this cross-sectional study investigated the association. The study was conducted between January and July 2009 among 1,004 participants from 1,682 eligible women and men aged ≥30 years living in rural Bangladesh who had continuously consumed arsenic-contaminated drinking water for at least 6 months. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg (systolic hypertension) and diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg (diastolic hypertension).

Effects of third trimester counseling on pregnancy weight gain, birthweight, and breastfeeding among urban poor women in Bangladesh.

Background: Maternal malnutrition and poor gestational weight gain are the most important causes of low birth weight and high rates of newborn mortality.

Objective: To assess the effects of nutrition counseling in the third trimester of pregnancy on maternal weight gain, birth weight of newborn, and breastfeeding practices.

Methods: This was a longitudinal experimental study with nutrition intervention for a period of 3 months.

Association of age at menarche with metabolic syndrome and its components in rural Bangladeshi women.

Background: Early age at menarche is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome in both China and the West. However, little is known about the impact of age at menarche and metabolic syndrome in South Asian women, including those from low-income country, where age at menarche is also falling. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether age at menarche is inversely associated with metabolic syndrome in Bangladeshi women, who are mostly poor and have limited access to and or poor health care facilities.

Tuberculosis in the workplace: developing partnerships with the garment industries in Bangladesh.

Objectives: To implement and evaluate a public-private partnership model involving garment factories to reduce the tuberculosis (TB) burden in this workforce.

Design: We used operational research to develop and evaluate a mechanism for effective and sustainable TB control in workplaces in three areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Strategies, protocols, guides and tools were developed with stakeholders.

Serum ferritin is associated with markers of insulin resistance in Japanese men but not in women.

Objective: Several epidemiological studies have reported that high concentrations of circulating ferritin, a marker of iron stores, are related to insulin resistance (IR); however, questions remain regarding inconsistent data between Asian men and women and the inadequate consideration of potential confounding effects on the relationship between ferritin and IR. Our aim was to examine the relationship between serum ferritin concentrations and IR markers in the Japanese population.

Materials/methods: We analyzed data (n=493) from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009 among a Japanese working population aged 20-68years.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and markers of insulin resistance in a Japanese working population.

Background/objectives: The association between vitamin D status and insulin resistance (IR) has been less studied among Asians, and it remains elusive whether calcium could modify such an association. We examined the association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations with IR markers and the potential effect modification by calcium intake among a Japanese population.

Subjects/methods: The authors analyzed data (n=494) from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2009 among a Japanese working population aged 20-68 years.

High levels of stearic acid, palmitoleic acid, and dihomo-γ-linolenic acid and low levels of linoleic acid in serum cholesterol ester are associated with high insulin resistance.

The association of fatty acid composition with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has been reported in Western populations, but there is limited evidence of this association among the Japanese, whose populace consume large amounts of fish. To test the hypothesis that high palmitic, palmitoleic, and dihomo-γ-linolenic acids and low levels of linoleic and n-3 fatty acids are associated with higher insulin resistance among the Japanese, the authors investigated the relationship between serum fatty acid composition and serum C-peptide concentrations in 437 Japanese employees aged 21 to 67 years who participated in a workplace health examination. Serum cholesterol ester and phospholipid fatty acid compositions were measured by gas-liquid chromatography.

Antinociceptive, antidiarrheal, and neuropharmacological activities of Barringtonia acutangula.

Context: Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn. (Lecythidaceae) has been used in folk medicine in the treatment of arthralgia, chest pain, dysmenorrhea, inflammation, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, and also in psychological disorders.

Antinociceptive activity of methanol extract of flowers of Impatiens balsamina.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Impatiens balsamina Linn. (Balsaminaceae), an annual herb locally called "Dopati", is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant in Bangladesh. Flowers of the plant are used in folk medicine to treat lumbago, neuralgia, burns and scalds.