Clinical Implication of EGF A61G Polymorphism in the Risk of Non Small Cell Lung Adenocarcinoma Patients: A Case Control Study

Masroor, Mirza,Amit, Jain,Javid, Jamsheed,Mir, Rashid,Prasant, Y,Imtiyaz, A,Mariyam, Z,Mohan, Anant,Ray, PC,Saxena, Alpana Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.17

Background: The epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays important roles in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) susceptibility and functional polymorphism in the EGF (+61A/G) gene has been linked to increased risk of NSCLC. This study aimed to evaluate the role of the EGF +61A/G polymorphism in risk of NSCLC adenocarcinoma (ADC) occurrence and survival in an Indian population. Materials and Methods: This casecontrol study included 100 histopathologically confirmed NSCLC (ADC) patients and 100 healthy controls. EGF (A61G) was genotyped by AS-PCR to elucidate putative associations with clinical outcomes. The association of the polymorphism with the survival of NSCLC patients was estimated by Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: It was found that EGF 61AG heterozygous and GG homozygous genotype is significantly associated with increased risk of NSCLC (ADC) occurrence compared to AA genotype, [OR 2.61 (1.31-5.18) and 3.25 (1.31-8.06), RR 1.51(1.15-2.0) and 1.72 (1.08-2.73) and RD 23.2 (6.90-39.5) and 28.53(7.0-50.1) for heterozygous AG (p=0.005) and homozygous GG (p=0.009)]. Patients homozygous for the G allele exhibited a significantly poor overall survival. The median survival time for patients with EGF 61 AA, AG, and GG genotypes was 10.5, 7.4, and 7.1 months (p=0.02), respectively. NSCLC (ADC) patients with GG + AG exhibited 7.3 months median survival compared to the AA genotype (p=0.009). Conclusions: The present study revealed that the EGF A61G genotype may be a novel independent prognostic marker to identify patients at higher risk of occurrence and an unfavourable clinical outcome.

THE INFLUENCE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN ON PURCHASE INTENTION WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO APPAREL FITTING

A. Rashid,L. Barnes 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2018 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2018 No.07

Introduction: Country of origin has long been of interest to many researchers (e.g. Phao, 1993; Kalicharan, 2014; Yunus and Rashid, 2016). In part, this is because consumers evaluated the quality of a product based on where it was manufactured, and this became an important issue with the majority of fashion product production taking place in developing countries. Consequently, country of origin as a branding tool became an important factor in the fashion industry (Lee et al., 2013). Previously, numerous studies have suggested that consumers’ perception of, and association with, country of origin are influenced by different factors, such as social, environmental and political factors and the workmanship of the country in question (e.g. Insch and McBride, 2004; Jim?nez and Mart?n, 2012; Lee et al., 2013; Mostafa, 2015). For example, Rashid and Barnes (2017) identified the influence the media industry has on the perception of a country’s image, i.e. the influence of a factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013 (Bolle, 2014). In the same vein, studies on the country of origin effect have also found the influence that the halo and summary effects have on the product evaluation. For example, if consumers were less familiar with fashion products made in Indonesia, they would naturally infer the product attributes using the general image of Indonesian-made products, and thus rate the product based on their perception of the country as a whole (see also Kotabe and Helsen, 2009). In contrast, when consumers are familiar with a country’s products (i.e. fashion designers in Paris), a summary construct model operates in which consumers develop a country’s image from its product information, which then indirectly influences product perception (Han, 1989). In other words, a product naturally receives a positive attitude because of the perception of a country’s products. Moreover, studies have also examined the impact of patriotism and ethnocentric behaviour on association with country image. More recently, authors, e.g. Rashid et al. (2016) and Barnes and Rashid (2017), have also made a contribution towards managerial perspectives and issues relating to the country of origin impact on the fashion industry. However, no research to date has examined the influence of country of origin on purchase intention with specific reference to apparel fitting. Apparel fitting: Over the past two decades, authors have shown increasing interest towards the fit of apparel (e.g. Otieno et al., 2005; Apeagyei et al., 2007; Holmlund et al., 2011). For example, Shim and Bickle (1993) examined women 55 years and older as catalogue shoppers and their differences in satisfaction with the fit of apparel purchased through catalogues and found that the satisfaction level was relatively low for the entire sample of 872 respondents. Some of the key issues identified were that garment fits did not accommodate body proportions for the older market, especially those who did not fit sizes that were tailored for petit or plus sizes. Consequently, it is evident that age is an important factor in apparel fitting. Furthermore, Alexander et al. (2007) pointed out the issue of personal judgement on how a garment looks on the body. Finally, other factors have also been raised, such as fit association with comfort, body-cathexis (feelings about one’s body) and symbolic meanings in social interactions. Adding to this, Rahman et al. (2017) has also added how consumers often evaluate the product on the basis of descriptive, inferential, informational and/or visual cues, and these can be classified as extrinsic or intrinsic cues. “Extrinsic cues” are a product’s physical structure or appearance, such as price, brand name and country of origin, whereas intrinsic cues are inherent to the physical composition of a product such as fabric, fit, colour and style. Moreover, authors have very recently also looked at apparel fitting issues in online fashion retailing (Miell et al., 2017) and technologies linked to fitting, such as 3D body scanners in a retail store (Lewis and Loker, 2016). However, the apparel fit and size association with country of origin remains an under-researched area. Research design: As this study aims to explore country of origin association from an apparel fitting perspective, a qualitative interpretivist approach is adopted (Creswell, 2007; Welch et al., 2011). This is a significant contribution to the country of origin study, as previous country of origin studies from consumer perspectives have prominently been quantitative in nature (e.g. Insch and McBride, 2004; Jim?nez and Mart?n, 2012). Participants for study will be chosen using a judgemental approach, in particular female shoppers who consider fitting an important factor when deciding on the brand from which to purchase a product. To carry out the study, the project will use face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The semi-structured interview questions derive from the country of origin literature and are influenced by theory planned behaviour model (TBP) (Azjan, 1991), taking into account both individual and social factors that may influence customer intention and attitude towards apparel fitting and its association and or perception of a country. Interviews will last between 60 and 90 minutes and will be conducted by the researchers from March 2018 to September 2018. To analyse the data, a thematic analysis approach will be utilised to develop an understanding of the meaning, as interpreted by participants. Discussion and conclusion: The data collection for this study will help address the gap regarding how consumers deem fit as one of the important factors influencing purchasing behaviour, but also their perception of how they associate a fit of a product with the country of origin of different fashion brands. The findings will make a contribution to the literature on country of origin, fashion branding and product management. The study may also introduce practical implications on how to make the service better in a fashion retail setting, where apparel fit is becoming an issue. Thus, the study may also add knowledge to the literature on service marketing.

RNA Colony Blot Hybridization Method for Enumeration of Culturable Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio mimicus Bacteria

Grim, Christopher J.,Zo, Young-Gun,Hasan, Nur A.,Ali, Afsar,Chowdhury, Wasimul B.,Islam, Atiqul,Rashid, Mohammed H.,Alam, Munirul,Morris Jr., J. Glenn,Huq, Anwar,Colwell, Rita R. American Society for Microbiology 2009 Applied and environmental microbiology Vol.75 No.17

<B>ABSTRACT</B><P>A species-specific RNA colony blot hybridization protocol was developed for enumeration of culturable <I>Vibrio cholerae</I> and <I>Vibrio mimicus</I> bacteria in environmental water samples. Bacterial colonies on selective or nonselective plates were lysed by sodium dodecyl sulfate, and the lysates were immobilized on nylon membranes. A fluorescently labeled oligonucleotide probe targeting a phylogenetic signature sequence of 16S rRNA of <I>V. cholerae</I> and <I>V. mimicus</I> was hybridized to rRNA molecules immobilized on the nylon colony lift blots. The protocol produced strong positive signals for all colonies of the 15 diverse <I>V. cholerae</I>-<I>V. mimicus</I> strains tested, indicating 100% sensitivity of the probe for the targeted species. For visible colonies of 10 nontarget species, the specificity of the probe was calculated to be 90% because of a weak positive signal produced by <I>Grimontia</I> (<I>Vibrio</I>) <I>hollisae</I>, a marine bacterium. When both the sensitivity and specificity of the assay were evaluated using lake water samples amended with a bioluminescent <I>V. cholerae</I> strain, no false-negative or false-positive results were found, indicating 100% sensitivity and specificity for culturable bacterial populations in freshwater samples when <I>G. hollisae</I> was not present. When the protocol was applied to laboratory microcosms containing <I>V. cholerae</I> attached to live copepods, copepods were found to carry approximately 10,000 to 50,000 CFU of <I>V. cholerae</I> per copepod. The protocol was also used to analyze pond water samples collected in an area of cholera endemicity in Bangladesh over a 9-month period. Water samples collected from six ponds demonstrated a peak in abundance of total culturable <I>V. cholerae</I> bacteria 1 to 2 months prior to observed increases in pathogenic <I>V. cholerae</I> and in clinical cases recorded by the area health clinic. The method provides a highly specific and sensitive tool for monitoring the dynamics of <I>V. cholerae</I> in the environment. The RNA blot hybridization protocol can also be applied to detection of other gram-negative bacteria for taxon-specific enumeration.</P>

A dynamic oppositional biogeography-based optimization approach for time-varying electrical impedance tomography

Rashid, A,Kim, S,Liu, D,Kim, K Y IOP 2016 PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT Vol.37 No.6

<P>Dynamic electrical impedance tomography-based image reconstruction using conventional algorithms such as the extended Kalman filter often exhibits inferior performance due to the presence of measurement noise, the inherent ill-posed nature of the problem and its critical dependence on the selection of the initial guess as well as the state evolution model. Moreover, many of these conventional algorithms require the calculation of a Jacobian matrix. This paper proposes a dynamic oppositional biogeography-based optimization (OBBO) technique to estimate the shape, size and location of the non-stationary region boundaries, expressed as coefficients of truncated Fourier series, inside an object domain using electrical impedance tomography. The conductivity of the object domain is assumed to be known <I>a priori</I>. Dynamic OBBO is a novel addition to the family of dynamic evolutionary algorithms. Moreover, it is the first such study on the application of dynamic evolutionary algorithms for dynamic electrical impedance tomography-based image reconstruction. The performance of the algorithm is tested through numerical simulations and experimental study and is compared with state-of-the-art gradient-based extended Kalman filter. The dynamic OBBO is shown to be far superior compared to the extended Kalman filter. It is found to be robust to measurement noise as well as the initial guess, and does not rely on <I>a priori</I> knowledge of the state evolution model.</P>

Dynamic boundary estimation of human heart within a complete cardiac cycle using electrical impedance tomography

Rashid, A,Kim, B S,Khambampati, A K,Liu, Dong,Kim, S,Kim, K Y Institute of Physics 2010 Journal of Physics: Conference Series Vol.224 No.1

<P>This paper presents an EKF based boundary estimation algorithm to estimate the shape and size of human heart ventricle during a complete cardiac cycle. First-order kinematic model is used as a state evolution model. The boundary of the heart is expressed as coefficients of truncated Fourier series and the conductivity distribution inside the thorax region is assumed to be known <I>a priori</I>. The proposed method is tested with the use of a realistic chest shape FEM mesh.</P>

Phytochemical and biological investigations of Polygonum lanatum

Sadia A Chowdhury,Mohammad H Sohrab,Mohammad R Haque,Choudhury M Hasan,Mohammad A Rashid 경희대학교 융합한의과학연구소 2008 Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine Vol.8 No.1

A total of five compounds namely, 2-methylanthracene-9, 10-dione (1), 1-hydroxy-6- methylanthracene-9,10-dione (2), β-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) and sitosterone (5) were isolated from the stem extracts of Polygonum lanatum for the first time. The structures of the isolated compounds (1-5) were established by extensive spectroscopic studies, including 2D NMR such as 1H-1H COSY, HSQC and HMBC studies. The crude extracts and purified compound (1) were screened for antimicrobial activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi by the disc diffusion method. The n-hexane and dichloromethane soluble partitionates of the methanolic extract revealed mild to moderate inhibition of growth of the test organisms. The cytotoxic potential of the extractives and compound 1 was also determined by using brine shrimp lethality bioassay, where the extractives demonstrated significant cytotoxic activities. A total of five compounds namely, 2-methylanthracene-9, 10-dione (1), 1-hydroxy-6- methylanthracene-9,10-dione (2), β-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) and sitosterone (5) were isolated from the stem extracts of Polygonum lanatum for the first time. The structures of the isolated compounds (1-5) were established by extensive spectroscopic studies, including 2D NMR such as 1H-1H COSY, HSQC and HMBC studies. The crude extracts and purified compound (1) were screened for antimicrobial activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi by the disc diffusion method. The n-hexane and dichloromethane soluble partitionates of the methanolic extract revealed mild to moderate inhibition of growth of the test organisms. The cytotoxic potential of the extractives and compound 1 was also determined by using brine shrimp lethality bioassay, where the extractives demonstrated significant cytotoxic activities.

A Single Amino-Acid Substitution in the Sodium Transporter HKT1 Associated with Plant Salt Tolerance

Ali, Akhtar,Raddatz, Natalia,Aman, Rashid,Kim, Songmi,Park, Hyeong Cheol,Jan, Masood,Baek, Dongwon,Khan, Irfan Ullah,Oh, Dong-Ha,Lee, Sang Yeol,Bressan, Ray A.,Lee, Keun Woo,Maggio, Albino,Pardo, Jose American Society of Plant Biologists 2016 Plant Physiology Vol.171 No.3

<P>A crucial prerequisite for plant growth and survival is the maintenance of potassium uptake, especially when high sodium surrounds the root zone. The Arabidopsis HIGH-AFFINITY K+ TRANSPORTER1 (HKT1), and its homologs in other salt-sensitive dicots, contributes to salinity tolerance by removing Na+ from the transpiration stream. However, TsHKT1; 2, one of three HKT1 copies in Thellungiella salsuginea, a halophytic Arabidopsis relative, acts as a K+ transporter in the presence of Na+ in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Amino-acid sequence comparisons indicated differences between TsHKT1; 2 and most other published HKT1 sequences with respect to an Asp residue (D207) in the second pore-loop domain. Two additional T. salsuginea and most other HKT1 sequences contain Asn (N) in this position. Wild-type TsHKT1; 2 and altered AtHKT1 (AtHKT1(N-D)) complemented K+-uptake deficiency of yeast cells. Mutant hkt1-1 plants complemented with both AtHKT1(N-D) and TsHKT1; 2 showed higher tolerance to salt stress than lines complemented by the wild-type AtHKT1. Electrophysiological analysis in Xenopus laevis oocytes confirmed the functional properties of these transporters and the differential selectivity for Na+ and K+ based on the N/D variance in the pore region. This change also dictated inward-rectification for Na+ transport. Thus, the introduction of Asp, replacing Asn, in HKT1-type transporters established altered cation selectivity and uptake dynamics. We describe one way, based on a single change in a crucial protein that enabled some crucifer species to acquire improved salt tolerance, which over evolutionary time may have resulted in further changes that ultimately facilitated colonization of saline habitats.</P>

Metabolite identification of AZD8055 in Sprague-Dawley rats after a single oral administration using ultra-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

Rashid, Md Mamunur,Oh, Hyun-A.,Lee, Hyunbeom,Jung, Byung Hwa Pergamon Press 2017 Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis Vol.145 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>AZD8055 is an ATP-competitive specific dual mTOR inhibitor and exhibited potent antitumor activity on several types of solid tumors. However, the metabolism of AZD8055 in the body still remains unknown. In this study, metabolite identification of AZD8055 was performed using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-IT-MS) through both <I>in vitro</I> and <I>in vivo</I> approaches using rat liver microsomes (RLMs) and rat plasma, urine and feces, respectively. A total of eight putative metabolites (five phase I and three phase II) were identified, and a tentative metabolic pathway was suggested for the first time. Considering the accurate mass and mass fragmentations of the detected metabolites, their plausible structures were suggested. Demethylation, hydroxylation, oxidation and morpholine ring opening were the major biotransformation processes for the phase-I metabolism, while phase-II metabolites were merely generated by the glucuronide conjugation reaction. The cumulative excretion of AZD8055 in urine and feces was 0.13% and 1.11% of the dose, respectively. When the semi-quantitative analysis of the metabolites was performed using UHPLC–MS/MS (ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry) to evaluate the overall trend of metabolites formation and excretion, AZD8055 was excreted more in the form of the metabolites than itself and their formation was very fast. Therefore it was presumed that biotransformation was playing a crucial role in its elimination. Ultimately, this study provides novel insights regarding the <I>in vitro</I> and <I>in vivo</I> biotransformations of AZD8055. Further investigations of metabolites of this potent anti-cancer compound could be beneficial for the antitumor drug design and development process.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Metabolites of AZD8055 have been identified and a metabolic pathway is suggested. </LI> <LI> AZD8055 absorbs rapidly and the formation of metabolites is very fast. </LI> <LI> Demethylated and glucuronide conjugated metabolites are the major metabolites. </LI> <LI> AZD8055 shows significant inhibitory properties toward CYP3A4, CYP2C9 and CYP2E1. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Down-Regulation of CYP1A1 Expression in Breast Cancer

Hafeez, S.,Ahmed, A.,Rashid, Asif Z.,Kayani, Mahmood Akhtar Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.5

Breast cancer is a major cause of death in women worldwide. Mammary tissue expressing xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes metabolically activate or detoxify potential genotoxic breast carcinogens. Deregulation of these xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes is considered to be a major contributory factor to breast cancer. The present study is focused on the expression of the xenobiotic metabolizing gene, CYP1A1, in breast cancer and its possible relationships with different risk factors. Twenty five tumors and twenty five control breast tissue samples were collected from patients undergoing planned surgery or biopsy from different hospitals. Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western-blotting were used to investigate the expression of CYP1A1 in breast cancer control and disease samples. mRNA expression of CYP1A1 was down-regulated in 40% of breast tumor samples. Down-regulation was also observed at the protein level. Significnat relations were noted with marital status and tumour grade but not histopathological type. In conclusion, CYP1A1 protein expression was markedly reduced in tumor breast tissues samples as compared to paired control tissue samples.

Intelligent Control of Mobile Robot Via Waypoints Using Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller and Quadratic Bezier Curves Algorithm

Ammar A. Aldair,Auday Al‑Mayyahi,Abdulmuttalib T. Rashid 대한전기학회 2020 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.15 No.4

This article introduces a new control methodology to intelligently drive the motion of a mobile robot via given waypoints. A nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC) is utilized to track the waypoints that are placed randomly at diferent positions in a given environment. Hence, various tracking paths can be generated based on locations of waypoints. Additionally, a Quadratic Bezier Curves algorithm has been applied for obstacle avoidance. It is combined with the NMPC via a switching mechanism. Hence, the transportation of the mobile robot will take the priority of avoiding obstructing obstacles if exist before moving forward to the next target waypoint. Single and multiple mobile robots have been simulated into several scenarios to investigate the performance of the developed control scheme.