Determinants of compliance in a cluster randomised controlled trial on screening of breast and cervix cancer in Mumbai, India. 1. Compliance to screening.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of screening by low-cost technology in down-staging and reducing mortality due to breast and cervix cancer.

Methods: The present trial is a community-based, cluster randomised controlled cohort study on screening for breast and cervix cancers (clinical breast examination and visual inspection of the cervix after application of 4% acetic acid). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses are conducted to identify the predictors of participation in screening.

Pooled analysis of the accuracy of five cervical cancer screening tests assessed in eleven studies in Africa and India.

Cervical cancer is the main cancer among women in sub-Saharan Africa, India and other parts of the developing world. Evaluation of screening performance of effective, feasible and affordable early detection and management methods is a public health priority. Five screening methods, naked eye visual inspection of the cervix uteri after application of diluted acetic acid (VIA), or Lugol's iodine (VILI) or with a magnifying device (VIAM), the Pap smear and human papillomavirus testing with the high-risk probe of the Hybrid Capture-2 assay (HC2), were evaluated in 11 studies in India and Africa.

Role of IL-10 in immune suppression in cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in the women worldwide and the most frequent in developing countries, including India. Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major etiological factor in cervical cancer patients. Host factors are also critical in regulating tumor growth and cytokines that modulate immunologic control may be of particular importance.

Folding and assembly of proteorhodopsin.

Proteorhodopsins (PRs), the recently discovered light-driven proton pumps, play a major role in supplying energy for microbial organisms of oceans. In contrast to PR, rhodopsins found in Archaea and Eukarya are structurally well characterized. Using single-molecule microscopy and spectroscopy, we observed the oligomeric assembly of native PR molecules and detected their folding in the membrane.

Cystic fibrosis in India.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) was considered to be non-existent in Indian subcontinent. Reports in last one decade have suggested that cystic fibrosis occurs in India but its precise magnitude is not known. Studies on migrant Indian population in United States and United Kingdom estimate frequency of CF as 1:10,000 to 1:40,000.

Characterisation of Schiff base and chromophore in green proteorhodopsin by solid-state NMR.

The proteorhodopsin family consists of hundreds of homologous retinal containing membrane proteins found in bacteria in the photic zone of the oceans. They are colour tuned to their environment and act as light-driven proton pumps with a potential energetic and regulatory function. Precise structural details are still unknown.

Proteorhodopsin: characterisation of 2D crystals by electron microscopy and solid state NMR.

Proteorhodopsin (PR) a recent addition to retinal type 1 protein family, is a bacterial homologue of archaeal bacteriorhodopsin. It was found to high abundance in gamma-proteobacteria in the photic zone of the oceans and has been shown to act as a photoactive proton pump. It is therefore involved in the utilisation of light energy for energy production within the cell.

Assessing the gain in diagnostic performance when two visual inspection methods are combined for cervical cancer prevention.

Objectives: The objectives of this study was to establish whether combined screening with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and Lugol's iodine (VILI) improves detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2-3 (CIN 2-3) lesions and cancer beyond chance, compared with screening with VIA alone or VILI alone; and to estimate the extra number of false-positive (FP) results per additional disease case found with the combined test, and to estimate the additional costs involved.

Setting: Ten cross-sectional studies in Burkina Faso, Congo, Guinea, India, Mali and Niger, between 1999 and 2003.

Methods: Using a common protocol, health workers screened 56,147 women aged 25-65 years with VIA and VILI.

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte function in type-2 diabetes mellitus patients and its correlation with glycaemic control.

Infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. Chronic hyperglycaemia impairs host defense mechanism such as cell mediated immunity, polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) function, antibody formation etc. PMNL serves as bodies first line of defense against various infections.

Characterisation of mutations and genotype-phenotype correlation in cystic fibrosis: experience from India.

Background: Very little is known about the genetics of cystic fibrosis (CF) from the Indian subcontinent. The aims of the study were to identify the mutations and study the relation of genotype with phenotype in Indian children with CF.

Methods: A total of 100 patients with CF were screened for mutations in the CFTR gene.

Determinants of womens participation in cervical cancer screening trial, Maharashtra, India.

Objective: To determine the factors associated with participation in cervical cancer screening and follow-up treatment in the context of a randomized controlled trial. The trial was initiated to evaluate the efficacy and cost effectiveness of visual inspection with acetic acid, cytological screening and testing for human papillomavirus in reducing the incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer in Maharashtra, India.

Methods: Between October 1999 and November 2003 women aged 30-59 years were randomized to receive one of the three tests or to a control group.

High-energy X-ray optics with silicon saw-tooth refractive lenses.

Silicon saw-tooth refractive lenses have been in successful use for vertical focusing and collimation of high-energy X-rays (50-100 keV) at the 1-ID undulator beamline of the Advanced Photon Source. In addition to presenting an effectively parabolic thickness profile, as required for aberration-free refractive optics, these devices allow high transmission and continuous tunability in photon energy and focal length. Furthermore, the use of a single-crystal material (i.

Polyamorphism in a metallic glass.

A metal, or an alloy, can often exist in more than one crystal structure. The face-centred-cubic and body-centred-cubic forms of iron (or steel) are a familiar example of such polymorphism. When metallic materials are made in the amorphous form, is a parallel 'polyamorphism' possible? So far, polyamorphic phase transitions in the glassy state have been observed only in glasses involving directional and open (such as tetrahedral) coordination environments.

Cervical and oral cancer screening in India.

Incidence of both cervical and oral cancer are high in India. Although there are no organized cervical or oral screening programmes in the country, a number of research projects are ongoing or recently completed. In cervical screening, a number of studies of visual inspection with various aids and studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing are in progress.

Diagnosing and managing cystic fibrosis in the developing world.

Cystic fibrosis (CF), earlier believed to be non existent in non Caucasians, is now a pan ethnic disease, having being reported from various regions of the world over last one decade. Apart from limited resources, the major problems in diagnosis and management of CF in developing countries include: lack of awareness among pediatricians, absence of facilities for diagnosis (sweat chloride estimation and genetic studies), lack of trained manpower for care of specific problems, and non availability of appropriate drugs. Care of children with CF may not be a priority for governments in countries where childhood mortality rates are high, predominantly due to acute infections.

Simultaneous primary total hip arthroplasty and contralateral revision hip arthroplasty: role for use of femoral head autograft.

We report the outcome of revision hip arthroplasty for patients with acetabular bone loss in whom the femoral head retrieved from arthritic contralateral hip during the same anesthesia was used as autograft for acetabular reconstruction. Thirty-two hips in 16 patients with a mean age of 63.8 years (range, 43-79 years) were followed for an average of 3.

Formation and subdivision of deformation structures during plastic deformation.

During plastic deformation of metals and alloys, dislocations arrange in ordered patterns. How and when these self-organization processes take place have remained elusive, because in situ observations have not been feasible. We present an x-ray diffraction method that provided data on the dynamics of individual, deeply embedded dislocation structures.

Experimental characterization of APS undulator A at high photon energies (50-200 keV).

The considerable intensity of Advanced Photon Source (APS) undulator A as a source of high-energy X-rays permits the performance of numerous types of experiments that require such photon energies. Measured and calculated properties, in the 50-200 keV range, of the X-ray beam from undulator A, installed in sector 1 of the APS, are presented. The flux spectra observed at various gaps agree well with calculations that incorporate the actual magnetic field within the device and the emittance and energy spread of the stored positrons.

Carrier frequency of F508del mutation of cystic fibrosis in Indian population.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is considered to be very rare in Indian subcontinent. Based on reports of CF in migrants from Indian subcontinent to United Kingdom and United States of America, the prevalence of CF is estimated to be between 1/10,000 and 1/40,000 in this ethnic group. The present study was done to estimate the carrier frequency of F508del mutation among neonates using cord blood samples to reflect the prevalence of CF in the study population.

Quantitative high-pressure pair distribution function analysis.

The collection of scattering data at high pressure and temperature is now relatively straightforward thanks to developments at high-brightness synchrotron radiation facilities. Reliable data from powders, that are suitable for structure determination and Rietveld refinement, are routinely collected up to about 30 GPa in either a large-volume high-pressure apparatus or diamond anvil cell. In those cases where the total elastic scattering is of interest, as it is in the case of nano-crystalline and glassy materials, technical developments, including the use of focused high-energy X-rays (>80 keV), are advantageous.

Screening for cervical cancer in India: How much will it cost? A trial based analysis of the cost per case detected.

The cost and cost effectiveness of screening previously unscreened women by VIA, cytology or HPV testing was investigated within a large cluster randomised trial involving 131,178 women in rural India. All resources involved in implementation, training, management, recruitment, screening and diagnosis were identified and costed. We estimated the total costs and detection rates for each cluster and used these data to calculate an average cluster cost and detection rate for each screening approach.

Teacher tobacco use and tobacco use prevention in two regions in India: qualitative research findings.

Background: This paper uses qualitative data to explore differences in tobacco use patterns and tobacco use prevention efforts among teachers in two Indian states with high versus low prevalence of tobacco use.

Methods: We conducted a series of 12 focus groups with teachers in 12 schools in Maharashtra and Bihar following a standardized script, and analyzed data using standard qualitative methods.

Results: Teachers in Bihar reported higher levels of tobacco use and stronger social norms promoting tobacco use compared to those in Maharashtra; nonetheless, teachers in both states reported strong social prescriptions about teachers' not using tobacco.

Teacher tobacco use and tobacco use prevention in two regions in India: results of the Global School Personnel Survey.

Background: This paper compares tobacco use patterns and tobacco use prevention efforts among teachers in two Indian states with high versus low prevalence of tobacco use.

Methods: Data from the Global School Personnel Survey compared tobacco use patterns and tobacco use prevention activities among teachers from the Indian states of Maharashtra (N = 954) and Bihar (N = 524).

Results: 78% of teachers in Bihar and 31% from Maharashtra were current tobacco users.