Cadherins: The Superfamily Critically Involved in Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer, one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among females, is regulated in part by diverse classes of adhesion molecules one of which is known as cadherins. Located at adherens junctions, the members of this superfamily are responsible for upholding proper cell-cell adhesion. Cadherins possess diverse structures and functions and any alteration in their structures or functions causes impeding of normal mammary cells development and maintenance, thus leading to breast malignancy.

Modeling crater formation in femtosecond-pulse laser damage from basic principles.

We present the first fundamental simulation method for the determination of crater morphology due to femtosecond-pulse laser damage. To this end we have adapted the particle-in-cell (PIC) method commonly used in plasma physics for use in the study of laser damage and developed the first implementation of a pair potential for PIC codes. We find that the PIC method is a complementary approach to modeling laser damage, bridging the gap between fully ab-initio molecular dynamics approaches and empirical models.

Laser induced periodic surface structure formation in germanium by strong field mid IR laser solid interaction at oblique incidence.

Laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS or ripples) were generated on single crystal germanium after irradiation with multiple 3 µm femtosecond laser pulses at a 45° angle of incidence. High and low spatial frequency LIPSS (HSFL and LSFL, respectively) were observed for both s- and p-polarized light. The measured LSFL period for p-polarized light was consistent with the currently established LIPSS origination model of coupling between surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) and the incident laser pulses.

Time-resolved measurement of single pulse femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structure formation induced by a pre-fabricated surface groove.

Time-resolved diffraction microscopy technique has been used to observe the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) from the interaction of a single femtosecond laser pulse (pump) with a nano-scale groove mechanically formed on a single-crystal Cu substrate. The interaction dynamics (0-1200 ps) was captured by diffracting a time-delayed, frequency-doubled pulse (probe) from nascent LIPSS formation induced by the pump with an infinity-conjugate microscopy setup. The LIPSS ripples are observed to form asynchronously, with the first one forming after 50 ps and others forming sequentially outward from the groove edge at larger time delays.

Is there any association between parental education and child mortality? A study in a rural area of Bangladesh.

Objectives: To assess the association between parental education and under-five mortality, using the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) data from rural Bangladesh. It also investigated whether the association of parental education with under-five mortality had changed over time.

Study Design: This study was nested in the IMCI cluster randomized controlled trial.

Ten-year legacy effects of baseline blood pressure 'treatment naivety' in the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study.

Objectives: Current blood pressure (BP) management guidelines recommend that treatment thresholds for BP be based on absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk rather than on elevated BP levels alone. Clinicians are concerned that delayed pharmacotherapy in individuals with high BP, but low CVD risk, may increase long-term CVD events. To investigate this, we examined differences in CVD events within the Second Australian National BP study (ANBP2) for those previously on pharmacotherapy and those who were not, as well as fatal events in the 6-year post-trial period.

Effect of extended morning fasting upon ad libitum lunch intake and associated metabolic and hormonal responses in obese adults.

Background/objectives: Breakfast omission is positively associated with obesity and increased risk of disease. However, little is known about the acute effects of extended morning fasting upon subsequent energy intake and associated metabolic/regulatory factors in obese adults.

Subjects/methods: In a randomised cross-over design, 24 obese men (n=8) and women (n=16) extended their overnight fast by omitting breakfast consumption or ingesting a typical carbohydrate-rich breakfast of 2183±393 kJ (521±94 kcal), before an ad libitum pasta lunch 3 h later.

Carbohydrate-rich breakfast attenuates glycaemic, insulinaemic and ghrelin response to ad libitum lunch relative to morning fasting in lean adults.

Breakfast omission is associated with obesity and CVD/diabetes, but the acute effects of extended morning fasting upon subsequent energy intake and metabolic/hormonal responses have received less attention. In a randomised cross-over design, thirty-five lean men (n 14) and women (n 21) extended their overnight fast or ingested a typical carbohydrate-rich breakfast in quantities relative to RMR (i.e.

Rate of change in renal function and mortality in elderly treated hypertensive patients.

Background And Objectives: Evidence relating the rate of change in renal function, measured as eGFR, after antihypertensive treatment in elderly patients to clinical outcome is sparse. This study characterized the rate of change in eGFR after commencement of antihypertensive treatment in an elderly population, the factors associated with eGFR rate change, and the rate's association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Data from the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study were used, where 6083 hypertensive participants aged ≥65 years were enrolled during 1995-1997 and followed for a median of 4.

Defining species-specific immunodominant B cell epitopes for molecular serology of Chlamydia species.

Urgently needed species-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of antibodies against Chlamydia spp. have been elusive due to high cross-reactivity of chlamydial antigens. To identify Chlamydia species-specific B cell epitopes for such assays, we ranked the potential epitopes of immunodominant chlamydial proteins that are polymorphic among all Chlamydia species.

Cost-utility of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-based treatment compared with thiazide diuretic-based treatment for hypertension in elderly Australians considering diabetes as comorbidity.

The objective of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)-based treatment compared with thiazide diuretic-based treatment for hypertension in elderly Australians considering diabetes as an outcome along with cardiovascular outcomes from the Australian government's perspective.We used a cost-utility analysis to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Data on cardiovascular events and new onset of diabetes were used from the Second Australian National Blood Pressure Study, a randomized clinical trial comparing diuretic-based (hydrochlorothiazide) versus ACEI-based (enalapril) treatment in 6083 elderly (age ≥65 years) hypertensive patients over a median 4.

Gemcitabine interacts with carbonate apatite with concomitant reduction in particle diameter and enhancement of cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells.

Substantial amount of research has been done in recent decades for the development of nanoparticle systems to selectively deliver drugs to cancer cells for concurrently enhancing and reducing anti-cancer and off-target effects, respectively. pH-sensitive carbonate apatite (CA) was originally developed for efficient and targeted delivery of DNA, siRNA and proteins to various cancer cell lines. Recently, the CA particles were employed to deliver anti-cancer drugs, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and methotrexate to cancer cells.

Application of remote sensors in mapping rice area and forecasting its production: a review.

Rice is one of the staple foods for more than three billion people worldwide. Rice paddies accounted for approximately 11.5% of the World's arable land area during 2012.

A novel femtosecond-gated, high-resolution, frequency-shifted shearing interferometry technique for probing pre-plasma expansion in ultra-intense laser experiments.

Ultra-intense laser-matter interaction experiments (>10(18) W/cm(2)) with dense targets are highly sensitive to the effect of laser "noise" (in the form of pre-pulses) preceding the main ultra-intense pulse. These system-dependent pre-pulses in the nanosecond and/or picosecond regimes are often intense enough to modify the target significantly by ionizing and forming a plasma layer in front of the target before the arrival of the main pulse. Time resolved interferometry offers a robust way to characterize the expanding plasma during this period.

Prediction of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality at 10 years in the hypertensive aged population.

Background: We have previously developed a score for predicting cardiovascular events in the intermediate term in an elderly hypertensive population. In this study, we aimed to extend this work to predict 10-year cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the hypertensive aged population.

Methods: Ten-year follow-up data of 5,378 hypertensive participants in the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study who were aged 65-84 years at baseline (1995-2001) and without prior cardiovascular events were analyzed.

Natural peste des petits ruminants virus infection in Black Bengal goats: virological, pathological and immunohistochemical investigation.

Background: Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), also known as Goat Plague, occurs in goats, sheep and related species. It is caused by a morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. In Bangladesh PPR is endemic and it causes serious economic losses.

Targeting oncogenes and tumor suppressors genes to mitigate chemoresistance.

Malfunctions in membrane transporters or disruptions in signaling cascades induce resistance to chemotherapy in cancer cells resulting in treatment failure. To adjust the genetic alterations leading to these cellular protective measures, dissection and verification of the contributing routes would be required. In justification of knockdown of the key genes, RNA interference provides a reliable probing tool, enabling exploration of phenotypic manifestation of targeted genes.

Dried fluid spots for peste des petits ruminants virus load evaluation allowing for non-invasive diagnosis and genotyping.

Background: Active surveillance of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) should ease prevention and control of this disease widely present across Africa, Middle East, central and southern Asia. PPR is now present in Turkey at the gateway to the European Union. In Bangladesh, the diagnosis and genotyping of PPR virus (PPRV) may be hampered by inadequate infrastructures and by lack of proper clinical material, which is often not preserved under cold chain up to laboratories.

Genetic characterization of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus from live migratory birds in Bangladesh.

Since the first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) subtype H5N1 in Bangladesh in 2007, the virus has been circulating among domestic poultry causing severe economic losses. To investigate the presence of HPAIV H5N1 in migratory birds and their potential role in virus spread, 205 pools of fecal samples from live migratory birds were analyzed. Here, the first virus isolation and genome characterization of two HPAIV H5N1 isolates from migratory birds (A/migratory bird/Bangladesh/P18/2010 and A/migratory bird/Bangladesh/P29/2010)are described.

Comparison of predictive performance of renal function estimation equations for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in an elderly hypertensive population.

Background: The Modifications of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) are 2 equations commonly used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The predictive performance offered by these equations, particularly in relation to clinical outcomes in elderly hypertensive patients, is not clear.

Methods: The Second Australian National Blood Pressure Study cohort was used to investigate the predictive performance of these 2 equations for long-term outcomes (median 10.

Gene delivery potential of biofunctional carbonate apatite nanoparticles in lungs.

Existing nonviral gene delivery systems to lungs are inefficient and associated with dose limiting toxicity in mammalian cells. Therefore, carbonate apatite (CO3Ap) nanoparticles were examined as an alternative strategy for effective gene delivery to the lungs. This study aimed to (1) assess the gene delivery efficiency of CO3Ap in vitro and in mouse lungs, (2) evaluate the cytotoxicity effect of CO3Ap/pDNA in vitro, and (3) characterize the CO3Ap/pDNA complex formulations.

Intracellular delivery of potential therapeutic genes: prospects in cancer gene therapy.

Conventional therapies for malignant cancer such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are associated with poor survival rates owing to the development of cellular resistance to cancer drugs and the lack of targetability, resulting in unwanted adverse effects on healthy cells and necessitating the lowering of therapeutic dose with consequential lower efficacy of the treatment. Gene therapy employing different types of viral and non-viral carriers to transport gene(s) of interest and facilitating production of the desirable therapeutic protein(s) has tremendous prospects in cancer treatments due to the high-level of specificity in therapeutic action of the expressed protein(s) with diminished off-target effects, although cancer cell-specific delivery of transgene(s) still poses some challenges to be addressed. Depending on the potential therapeutic target genes, cancer gene therapy could be categorized into tumor suppressor gene replacement therapy, immune gene therapy and enzyme- or prodrug-based therapy.

The causal role of breakfast in energy balance and health: a randomized controlled trial in lean adults.

Background: Popular beliefs that breakfast is the most important meal of the day are grounded in cross-sectional observations that link breakfast to health, the causal nature of which remains to be explored under real-life conditions.

Objective: The aim was to conduct a randomized controlled trial examining causal links between breakfast habits and all components of energy balance in free-living humans.

Design: The Bath Breakfast Project is a randomized controlled trial with repeated-measures at baseline and follow-up in a cohort in southwest England aged 21-60 y with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-derived fat mass indexes ≤11 kg/m² in women (n = 21) and ≤7.

Molecular evolution of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in Bangladesh between 2007 and 2012.

In Bangladesh, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus subtype H5N1 was first detected in February 2007. Since then the virus has become entrenched in poultry farms of Bangladesh. There have so far been seven human cases of H5N1 HPAI infection in Bangladesh with one death.

Systolic blood pressure variability is an important predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in elderly hypertensive patients.

Objectives: In hypertensive persons aged 60 years or below, visit-to-visit SBP variability is directly associated with cardiovascular events, especially stroke. It is unclear whether such a relationship exists for older persons. We investigated whether there is a relationship between visit-to-visit SBP variability and cardiovascular events in an elderly population, and identified the factors associated with increased SBP variability.