Portable stove use is associated with lower lung cancer mortality risk in lifetime smoky coal users

Domestic fuel combustion from cooking and heating, to which about 3 billion people worldwide are exposed, is associated with increased lung cancer risk. Lung cancer incidence in Xuanwei is the highest in China, and the attributable risk of lung cancer from unvented smoky coal burning is greater than 90%. To evaluate any lung cancer mortality reduction after changing from unvented stoves to portable stoves, we used lifetime smoky coal users in a retrospective cohort of all farmers born during 1917–1951 and residing in Xuanwei in 1976. Of the 42 422 enrolled farmers, 4054 lifetime smoky coal users changed to portable stoves, 4364 did not change, and 1074 died of lung cancer. Lung cancer morality associated with stove change was assessed by product-limit survival curves and multivariate Cox regression models. Both men (P<0.0001) and women (P<0.0001) who changed to portable stoves had a significantly increased probability of survival compared with those who did not change. Portable stoves were associated with decreased risk of lung cancer mortality in male participants (hazard ratio (HR)=0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.46–0.82) and female participants (HR=0.41, 95% CI=0.29–0.57). Portable stove use is associated with reduced lung cancer mortality risk, highlighting a cost-effective intervention that could substantially benefit health in developing countries.

JP-8 jet fuel exposure potentiates tumor development in two experimental model systems

The US Air Force has implemented the widespread use of JP-8 jet fuel in its operations, although a thorough understanding of its potential effects upon exposed personnel is unclear. Previous work has reported that JP-8 exposure is immunosuppressive. Exposure of mice to JP-8 for 1 h/day resulted in immediate secretion of two immunosuppressive agents; namely, interleukin-10 (IL-10) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Thus, it was of interest to determine if jet fuel exposure might promote tumor growth and metastasis. The syngeneic B16 tumor model was used for these studies. Animals were injected intravenously with tumor cells, and lung colonies were enumerated. Animals were also examined for metastatic spread of the tumor. Mice were either exposed to 1000 mg/m3 JP-8 (1 h/ day) for 7 days before tumor injection or were exposed to JP-8 at the time of tumor injection. All animals were killed 17 days after tumor injection. In the present study, JP8 exposure potentiated the growth and metastases of B16 tumors in an animal model. Exposure of mice to JP-8 for 1 h/day before tumor induction resulted in an approximately 8.7-fold increase in tumors, whereas those mice exposed to JP8 at the time of tumor induction had a 5.6-fold increase in tumor numbers. Thus, low concentration JP-8 jet fuel exposures have significant immune suppressive effects on the immune system that can result in increased tumor formation and metastases. We have now extended the observations to an experimental subcutaneous tumor model. JP8 exposure at the time of tumor induction in this model did not affect the growth of the tumor. However, JP8-exposed, tumor-bearing animals died at an accelerated rate as compared with air-exposed, tumor-bearing mice.

Suppression pattern of neutral pions at high transverse momentum in Au + Au collisions at sqrt[sNN]=200 GeV and constraints on medium transport coefficients

For Au + Au collisions at 200 GeV, we measure neutral pion production with good statistics for transverse momentum, pT, up to 20 GeV/c. A fivefold suppression is found, which is essentially constant for 5 < pT < 20 GeV/c. Experimental uncertainties are small enough to constrain any model-dependent parametrization for the transport coefficient of the medium, e.g., q in the parton quenching model. The spectral shape is similar for all collision classes, and the suppression does not saturate in Au + Au collisions.

Improved photoluminescence efficiency of patterned quantum dots incorporating a dots-in-the-well structure

InAs quantum dots embedded in InGaAs quantum well (DWELL: dots-in-the-well) structures grown on nanopatterned GaAs pyramids and planar GaAs(001) surface are comparatively investigated. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements demonstrate that the DWELL structure grown on the GaAs pyramids exhibits a broad quantum well PL band (full width at half-maximum ∼ 90 meV) and a higher quantum dot emission efficiency than the DWELL structure grown on the planar GaAs(001) substrate. These properties are attributed to the InGaAs quantum well with distributed thickness profile on the faceted GaAs pyramids, which introduces a tapered energy band structure and enhances carrier capture into the quantum dots.

Onset of pi(0) suppression studied in Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt S NN=22.4, 62.4, and 200 GeV

Neutral pion transverse momentum (p(T)) spectra at midrapidity (|y| less than or approximately 0.35) were measured in Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=22.4, 62.4, and 200 GeV. Relative to pi_(0) yields in p+p collisions scaled by the number of inelastic nucleon-nucleon collisions (N(coll) the pi_(0) yields for p(T) more than or approximately 2 GeV/c in central Cu+Cu collisions are suppressed at 62.4 and 200 GeV whereas an enhancement is observed at 22.4 GeV. A comparison with a jet-quenching model suggests that final state parton energy loss dominates in central Cu+Cu collisions at 62.4 and 200 GeV, while the enhancement at 22.4 GeV is consistent with nuclear modifications in the initial state alone.

J/psi production in sqrt s_NN=200 GeV Cu+Cu collisions

Yields for J/psi production in Cu+Cu collisions at sqrt s_NN=200 GeV have been measured over the rapidity range |y|<2.2 and compared with results in p+p and Au+Au collisions at the same energy. The Cu+Cu data offer greatly improved precision over existing Au+Au data for J/psi production in collisions with small to intermediate numbers of participants, in the range where the quark-gluon plasma transition threshold is predicted to lie. Cold nuclear matter estimates based on ad hoc fits to d+Au data describe the Cu+Cu data up to N_part approximately 50, corresponding to a Bjorken energy density of at least 1.5 GeV/fm(3).

Particle-species dependent modification of jet-induced correlations in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV

Measurements in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV of jet correlations for a trigger hadron at intermediate transverse momentum (p_{T,trig}) with associated mesons or baryons at lower p_{T,assoc} indicate strong modification of the away-side jet. The ratio of jet-associated baryons to mesons increases with centrality and p_{T,assoc}. For the most central collisions, the ratio is similar to that for inclusive measurements. This trend is incompatible with in-vacuum fragmentation but could be due to jetlike contributions from correlated soft partons, which recombine upon hadronization.

Effects of in utero JP-8 jet fuel exposure on the immune systems of pregnant and newborn mice

The US Air Force has implemented the widespread use of JP-8 jet fuel in its operations, although a thorough understanding of its potential effects upon exposed personnel is unclear. Previous work has reported that JP-8 exposure is immunosuppressive. In the present study, the effects of in-utero JP-8 jet fuel exposure in mice were examined to ascertain any potential effects of jet fuel exposure on female personnel and their offspring. Exposure by the aerosol route (at 1000 mg/m3 for 1 h/day; similar to exposures incurred by flight line personnel) commencing during the first (d7 to birth) or last (d15 to birth) trimester of pregnancy was analyzed. It was observed that even 6-8 weeks after the last jet fuel exposure that the immune system of the dams (mother of newborn mice) was affected (in accordance with previous reports on normal mice). That is, thymus organ weights and viable cell numbers were decreased, and immune function was depressed. A decrease in viable male offspring was found, notably more pronounced when exposure started during the first trimester of pregnancy. Regardless of when jet fuel exposure started, all newborn mice (at 6-8 weeks after birth) reported significant immunosuppression. That is, newborn pups displayed decreased immune organ weights, decreased viable immune cell numbers and suppressed immune function. When the data were analyzed in relation to the respective mothers of the pups the data were more pronounced. Although all jet fuel-exposed pups were immunosuppressed as compared with control pups, male offspring were more affected by jet fuel exposure than female pups. Furthermore, the immune function of the newborn mice was directly correlated to the immune function of their respective mothers. That is, mothers showing the lowest immune function after JP-8 exposure gave birth to pups displaying the greatest effects of jet fuel exposure on immune function. Mothers who showed the highest levels of immune function after in-utero JP-8 exposure gave birth to pups displaying levels of immune function similar to controls animals that had the lowest levels of immune function. These data indicated that a genetic component might be involved in determining immune responses after jet fuel exposure. Overall, the data showed that in-utero JP-8 jet fuel exposure had long-term detrimental effects on newborn mice, particularly on the viability and immune competence of male offspring.

Early initiation of tacrolimus or cyclophosphamide therapy for idiopathic membranous nephropathy with severe proteinuria

BACKGROUND

Early initiation of therapy is warranted for patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) who have severe proteinuria. Therapy with tacrolimus (TAC) or intravenous cyclophosphamide (CYC) may be an option in treating such patients.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included patients with IMN whose daily proteinuria was greater than 6.0 g with 3-6 months observation of nonimmunosuppressive therapy. One cohort received prednisone combined with oral TAC (target trough blood level of 4-8 ng/mL) for 24 weeks. The other cohort received prednisone combined with intravenous CYC (750 mg/m2 body surface) every 2 weeks for the first 8 weeks and then once per 4 weeks for the next 16 weeks.

RESULTS

Thirty patients met criteria for enrollment, and 25 patients completed therapy. The results of the 24-week therapeutic period were complete remission (CR) 4 patients (30.8%) on CYC and 8 patients (66.7%) on TAC; partial remission (PR) 7 patients (53.8%) on CYC and 3 patients (25%) on TAC; no response 2 patients (15.4%) on CYC and 1 patient (8.3%) on TAC. The percentages of remission (either PR or CR) by 4 and 8 weeks were significantly higher in TAC group than in CYC group (p<or=0.05). The probability of CR was significantly higher in the TAC group than in the CYC group (p=0.018, by log-rank test).

CONCLUSION

Earlier initiation of therapy with TAC or intravenous CYC (combined steroid) for 24 weeks was useful for Chinese adults with IMN in inducing remission of severe proteinuria, and quicker remission was seen in TAC therapy.

Zirconia toughened alumina ceramic foams for potential bone graft applications: fabrication, bioactivation, and cellular responses

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) has been regarded as the next generation orthopedic graft material due to its excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Porous ZTA ceramics with good interconnectivity can potentially be used as bone grafts for load-bearing applications. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) interconnected porous ZTA ceramics were fabricated using a direct foaming method with egg white protein as binder and foaming agent. The results showed that the porous ZTA ceramics possessed a bimodal pore size distribution. Their mechanical properties were comparable to those of cancellous bone. Due to the bio-inertness of alumina and zirconia ceramics, surface bioactivation of the ZTA foams was carried out in order to improve their bioactivity. A simple NaOH soaking method was employed to change the surface chemistry of ZTA through hydroxylation. Treated samples were tested by conducting osteoblast-like cell culture in vitro. Improvement on cells response was observed and the strength of porous ZTA has not been deteriorated after the NaOH treatment. The porous 'bioactivated' ZTA ceramics produced here could be potentially used as non-degradable bone grafts for load-bearing applications.

Source breakup dynamics in Au + Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV via three-dimensional two-pion source imaging

A three-dimensional correlation function obtained from midrapidity, low p(T), pion pairs in central Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s(NN)]=200 GeV is studied. The extracted model-independent source function indicates a long range tail in the directions of the pion pair transverse momentum (out) and the beam (long). A proper breakup time tau(0) ~ 9 fm/c and a mean proper emission duration Delta tau ~ 2 fm/c, leading to sizable emission time differences ({|Delta t(LCM)|} approximately 12 fm/c), are required to allow models to be successfully matched to these tails. The model comparisons also suggest an outside-in "burning" of the emission source reminiscent of many hydrodynamical models.

Comparison of nutritional quality between Chinese indica rice with sck and cry1Ac genes and its nontransgenic counterpart

Nutritional assessment of transgenic crops used for human food and animal feed is an important aspect of safety evaluations. An insect-resistant rice (IRR) was generated by the stable insertion of sck, a modified cowpea trypsin inhibitor gene, and cry1Ac, encoding a crystal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of a common variety of Chinese indica rice. The composition of the brown and milled rice grain from the resulted IRR line designated Liangyou Kefeng No. 6 was compared with that of the parental rice cultivar Liangyou 2186. Nutrients, including the proximates, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins, were measured. The antinutritive components such as phytic acid, lectin, and trypsin inhibitors were also examined. The data demonstrated that the nutritional quality of both the brown and milled rice grains from the transgenic line was substantially equivalent to that of the nontransgenic counterpart, and measured amounts of nutritional components fell within the range of values reported for other commercial lines.

Dynamic progression of an intraperitoneal xenograft model of human ovarian cancer and its potential for preclinical trials

This study was conducted to establish a feasible intraperitoneal xenograft model in nude mice which mimicked the dynamic progression of human ovarian cancer and to explore its potential for preclinical trials. A human ovarian tumor line SKOV3 was originally injected s.c. to develop tumors; then the tumors were harvested and minced into small particles for i.p. inoculation in three groups of nude mice which would be monitored consecutively. The intraperitoneal carcinomatosis and relevant organs were collected for histopathological dynamic comparison and CA125 immunohistochemical staining 7, 21 and 49 days after inoculation. An additional experiment with cisplatin sensitivity test was performed and tumor tissues were observed for apoptosis-Hoechst assay. The intraperitoneal carcinomatosis had a rapid progression which resulted in extensive dissemination on the peritoneal surfaces and invasion into abdominal lymph nodes, livers, pancreas and spleen. Tumor tissues revealed similar morphological features of primary tumor from which SKOV3 derived and part of in vivo tumor mass was positive for CA125. Cisplatin could significantly inhibit the intraperitoneal carcinomatosis growth. This model may provide a valuable platform to study the biological properties of ovarian cancer as well as to test new therapeutic strategies in preclinical trials.