Rice Production in Sri Lanka

Crop Production/Industries,

Apoptosis in human liver carcinoma caused by gold nanoparticles in combination with carvedilol is mediated via modulation of MAPK/Akt/mTOR pathway and EGFR/FAAD proteins

Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas

The receptor AT1 appears to be important for the maintenance of bone mass and AT2 receptor function in periodontal bone loss appears to be regulated by AT1 receptor

A large number of experimental studies has demonstrated that angiotensin II (Ang II) is involved in key events of the inflammatory process. This study aimed to evaluate the role of Ang II type 1 (AT1) and Ang II type 2 (AT2) receptors on periodontitis. Methods: Experimental periodontitis was induced by placing a 5.0 nylon thread ligature around the second upper left molar of AT1 mice, no-ligature or ligature (AT1-NL and AT1-L), AT2 (AT2-NL or AT2-L) and wild type (WT-NL or L). Alveolar bone loss was scanned using Micro-CT. Cytokines, peptides and enzymes were analyzed from gingival tissues by Elisa and RT-PCR. Results: The blockade of AT1 receptor resulted in bone loss, even in healthy animals. Ang II receptor blockades did not prevent linear bone loss. Ang II and Ang 1-7 levels were significantly increased in the AT2-L (p < 0.01) group compared to AT2-NL and AT1-L. The genic expression of the Mas receptor was significantly increased in WT-L and AT2-L compared to (WT-NL and AT2-NL, respectively) and in AT1-L. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the receptor AT1 appears to be important for the maintenance of bone mass. AT2 receptor molecular function in periodontitis appears to be regulated by AT1

Prevalence of smoking among adult males in Colombo District, Sri Lanka

The study aimed to estimate prevalence of smoking among adult males in the district of Colombo Methods: A community based cross-sectional study drew a representative sample of males aged 20-59 years (n=1200) the district and the information on smoking was gathered using an interviewer-administered questionnaire designed based on the classification by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention of United States. Results: Prevalence of ever smoking among adult males in Colombo district was 54.1% (95% CI 51.0-57.2). Prevalence of current smokers was 36.5% (95% CI 33.8%-39.3%) while prevalence of former smokers was 17.6% (95% CI 15.3%- 19.9%) Prevalence of ever smoking was higher among &gt;40 years old (p&lt;0.0001), with lower educational qualifications (p&lt;0.01), married (p=0.002) and not having children (p&lt;0.0001). Among current and former smokers, 98.0% (612/624) were consuming cigarettes while 9.9% (62/624) were bidi smokers. The current daily smokers smoked a significantly lesser number of mean cigarettes per day (7.7, SD=6.6) compared to former daily smokers (mean cigarettes per day 12.92, SD=15.5). Among current smokers 60.3% (n=254) had attempted to quit smoking at least once in their life with an average of 3.2 quit attempts. Conclusion: The prevalence of ever and current tobacco smoking among adult males in Colombo district was high. Smokers were more likely to beelders, less educated, married and without children and authorities should be advocated on focused efforts to prevent smoking among them. High rate of failed quit attempts indicate poor support which needs to be brought to the attention of the authorities