Cardiovascular disease and hypertension are strong risk factors for choroidal neovascularization.

Purpose: To investigate the association of cardiovascular risk factors and inflammatory markers with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design: Cross-sectional case-control study. Participants: Of the 410 of the =65-year-old community sample invited to attend, 205 participated (50% response rate). Of the 215 clinic attendees who were invited to participate, 212 agreed to take part (98% response rate). A diagnosis of neovascular AMD in at least one eye was made in 193 clinic attendees and 2 of the community sample. Methods: Clinic and community participants underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination with fundus imaging, were interviewed for assessment of putative risk factors, and provided a blood sample. Analysis included levels of serum lipids, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM), vascular cellular adhesion molecule (VCAM), and C-reactive protein (CRP). All participants were classified by fundus image grading on the basis of the eye with more severe AMD features. Main Outcome Measure: Neovascular AMD. Results: There were 195 participants with choroidal neovascularization in at least one eye, 97 nonneovascular AMD participants, and 115 controls (no drusen or pigmentary irregularities in either eye). In confounder-adjusted logistic regression, a history of cardiovascular disease was strongly associated with neovascular AMD (odds ratio [OR], 7.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.78-20.41). Cigarette smoking (OR, 3.71; 95% CI, 1.25-11.06), being in the highest quartile of body mass index (OR, 3.82; 95% CI, 1.22-12.01), stage 2 hypertension (OR, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.14-8.98), and being in the highest quartile of serum cholesterol (OR, 4.66; 95% CI, 1.35-16.13) were positively associated with neovascular AMD. There was no association between AMD status and serum CRP, ICAM, or VCAM. Conclusions: Our results suggest that cardiovascular disease plays an etiological role in the development of choroidal neovascularization in a proportion of older adults and highlight the importance of control of blood pressure and cholesterol, avoidance of smoking, and maintenance of a normal body weight. © 2008 American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Comment on "Electron collisional excitation of argon-like Ni XI using the Breit-Pauli R-matrix method" [Eur. Phys. J. D 42, 235-241 (2007)] - Electron impact excitation of Ni XI

In a recent paper, Verma et al. [Eur. Phys. J. D 42, 235 (2007)] have reported results for energy levels, radiative rates, collision strengths, and effective collision strengths for transitions among the lowest 17 levels of the (1s(2)2s(2)2p(6))3s(2)3p(6), 3s(2)3p(5)3d and 3s3p(6)3d configurations of Ni XI. They adopted the CIV3 and R-matrix codes for the generation of wavefunctions and the scattering process, respectively. In this paper, through two independent calculations performed with the fully relativistic DARC (along with GRASP) and FAC codes, we demonstrate that their results are unreliable. New data are presented and their accuracy is assessed.

Absolute Calibration of Atomic Density Measurements by Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy with Two-Photon Excitation (TALIF)

The two-photon resonances of atomic hydrogen (? = 2 × 205.1 nm), atomic nitrogen (? = 2 × 206.6 nm) and atomic oxygen (? = 2 × 225.6 nm) are investigated together with two selected transitions in krypton (? = 2×204.2 nm) and xenon (? = 2×225.5 nm). The natural lifetimes of the excited states, quenching coefficients for the most important collisions partners, and the relevant ratios of the two-photon excitation cross sections are measured. These data can be applied to provide a calibration for two-photon laser-induced fluorescence measurements based on comparisons with spectrally neighbouring noble gas resonances.

The pathophysiology of HOX genes and their role in cancer

The HOM-C clustered prototype homeobox genes of Drosophila, and their counterparts, the HOX genes in humans, are highly conserved at the genomic level. These master regulators of development continue to be expressed throughout adulthood in various tissues and organs. The physiological and patho-physiological functions of this network of genes are being avidly pursued within the scientific community, but defined roles for them remain elusive. The order of expression of HOX genes within a cluster is co-ordinated during development, so that the 3' genes are expressed more anteriorly and earlier than the 5' genes. Mutations in HOXA13 and HOXD13 are associated with disorders of limb formation such as hand-foot-genital syndrome (HFGS), synpolydactyly (SPD), and brachydactyly. Haematopoietic progenitors express HOX genes in a pattern characteristic of the lineage and stage of differentiation of the cells. In leukaemia, dysregulated HOX gene expression can occur due to chromosomal translocations involving upstream regulators such as the MLL gene, or the fusion of a HOX gene to another gene such as the nucleoporin, NUP98. Recent investigations of HOX gene expression in leukaemia are providing important insights into disease classification and prediction of clinical outcome. Whereas the oncogenic potential of certain HOX genes in leukaemia has already been defined, their role in other neoplasms is currently being studied. Progress has been hampered by the experimental approach used in many studies in which the expression of small subsets of HOX genes was analysed, and complicated by the functional redundancy implicit in the HOX gene system. Attempts to elucidate the function of HOX genes in malignant transformation will be enhanced by a better understanding of their upstream regulators and downstream target genes.