Double sampling of a faecal immunochemical test is not superior to single sampling for detection of colorectal neoplasia: a colonoscopy controlled prospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A single sampled faecal immunochemical test (FIT) has moderate sensitivity for colorectal cancer and advanced adenomas. Repeated FIT sampling could improve test sensitivity. The aim of the present study is to determine whether any of three different strategies of double FIT sampling has a better combination of sensitivity and specificity than single FIT sampling.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Test performance of single FIT sampling in subjects scheduled for colonoscopy was compared to double FIT sampling intra-individually. Test positivity of double FIT sampling was evaluated in three different ways: 1) "one of two FITs+" when at least one out of two measurements exceeded the cut-off value, 2) "two of two FITs+" when both measurements exceeded the cut-off value, 3) "mean of two FITs+" when the geometric mean of two FITs exceeded the cut-off value. Receiver operator curves were calculated and sensitivity of single and the three strategies of double FIT sampling were compared at a fixed level of specificity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 124 of 1096 subjects, screen relevant neoplasia (SRN) were found (i.e. early stage CRC or advanced adenomas). At any cut-off, "two of two FITs+" resulted in the lowest and "one of two FITs+" in the highest sensitivity for SRN (range 35-44% and 42%-54% respectively). ROC's of double FIT sampling were similar to single FIT sampling. At specificities of 85/90/95%, sensitivity of any double FIT sampling strategy did not differ significantly from single FIT (p-values 0.07-1).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>At any cut off, "one of two FITs+" is the most sensitive double FIT sampling strategy. However, at a given specificity level, sensitivity of any double FIT sampling strategy for SRN is comparable to single FIT sampling at a different cut-off value. None of the double FIT strategies has a superior combination of sensitivity and specificity over single FIT.</p

Recruitment of regulatory T cells is correlated with hypoxia-induced CXCR4 expression, and is associated with poor prognosis in basal-like breast cancers

Introduction: Basal-like breast cancers behave more aggressively despite the presence of a dense lymphoid infiltrate. We hypothesised that immune suppression in this subtype may be due to T regulatory cells (Treg) recruitment driven by hypoxia-induced up-regulation of CXCR4 in Treg.Methods: Immunoperoxidase staining for FOXP3 and CXCL12 was performed on tissue microarrays from 491 breast cancers. The hypoxia-associated marker carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9) and double FOXP3/CXCR4 staining were performed on sections from a subset of these cancers including 10 basal-like and 11 luminal cancers matched for tumour grade.Results: High Treg infiltration correlated with tumour CXCL12 positivity (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.94, P = 0.004) and basal phenotype (OR 3.14, 95% CI 1.08 to 9.17, P = 0.004) in univariate and multivariate analyses. CXCL12 positivity correlated with improved survival (P = 0.005), whereas high Treg correlated with shorter survival for all breast cancers (P = 0.001), luminal cancers (P &lt; 0.001) and basal-like cancers (P = 0.040) that were confirmed in a multivariate analysis (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.53, P = 0.042). In patients treated with hormone therapy, high Treg were associated with a shorter survival in a multivariate analysis (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.15, P = 0.040). There was a tendency for luminal cancers to show CXCL12 expression (102/138, 74%) compared to basal-like cancers (16/27, 59%), which verged on statistical significance (P = 0.050). Up-regulation of CXCR4 in Treg correlated with the basal-like phenotype (P = 0.029) and tumour hypoxia, as indicated by CA9 expression (P = 0.049).Conclusions: Our data show that in the setting of hypoxia and CXCR4 up-regulation in Treg, CXCL12 expression may have the negative consequence of enhancing Treg recruitment and suppressing the anti-tumour immune response. © 2011 Yan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Influencia de la densidad de plantación sobre el comportamiento del olivo ‘Arbequina’

The hedgerow orchard type is being increasingly used with the olive although not much information is still available about its suitability to this species. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of planting density (312, 416, 625 and 1,250 trees ha-1) on vigour and productive characteristics of ‘Arbequina’ olive trees planted in 2003. Significant linear regressions have been observed between planting density and tree width, trunk cross section area and canopy volume. Increasing planting density showed positive linear correlation (R2=0.63) with canopy volume per hectare. There was a negative correlation between planting density and production per tree in the five first crops, but it was positive with production per hectare both in olive and olive oil production with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.16 to 0.43 and from 0.28 to 0.46, respectively. A significant linear regression (R2= 0.31 and 0.48) was found between planting density and fruit size on two of the studied cropping years. Our results have not allowed establishing any relationship between planting density and fruit oil content. Finally, the studied densities did not affect the oil fatty acid composition. The production increase observed at the highest tried density is linked to the increase in canopy volume per hectare, but these results should be checked at later stages of tree development, as this study covers only until the fifth harvested crop.El cultivo en seto está siendo cada vez más usado en olivo aunque todavía no hay demasiada información acerca de su idoneidad para esta especie. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto de la densidad de plantación (312, 416, 625 y 1.250 árboles ha-1) sobre las características de vigor y productivas de árboles de ‘Arbequina’ plantados en 2003. Se han observado regresiones significativas entre la densidad de plantación y la anchura del árbol, el área de su sección de tronco y su volumen de copa. La densidad de plantación ha mostrado una relación lineal positiva (R2= 0,63) con el volumen de copa por hectárea. Hubo una correlación negativa entre la densidad de plantación y la producción por árbol de los cinco primeros años, pero fue positiva con la producción por hectárea, tanto de aceituna como de aceite, con coeficientes de determinación que variaron entre 0,16 y 0,43 y entre 0,28 y 0,46, respectivamente. Se encontró una regresión significativa (R2= 0,31 y 0,48) entre la densidad de plantación y el tamaño de los frutos en dos de las cosechas estudiadas. Nuestros resultados no han permitido establecer ninguna relación entre la densidad de plantación y el contenido en aceite del fruto. Finalmente, las densidades de plantación empleadas no afectaron a la composición acídica del aceite. El aumento de producción observado a las mayores densidades de plantación está asociado al incremento de volumen de copa por hectárea, pero estos resultados deben ser confirmados con árboles de mayor desarrollo, puesto que este estudio solo llega hasta la quinta cosecha recolectada

Adaptación de cultivares de olivo a plantaciones de alta densidad

A new olive orchard type, based on high-density planting, was introduced in Tunisia in 2000 by some investors, using mainly ‘Arbequina’, the most utilized cultivar up to that time in Spain and in some other countries. Limited cultivar choice is in fact considered one of the main inconvenients for using high planting densities in olive. Therefore, a comparative trial was set up in 2003 to evaluate the suitability of four olive cultivars (‘Arbosana’, ‘Arbequina i-18’, ‘Chemlali’ and ‘Chetoui’) to a planting density of 1250 trees ha–1. The results showed that the local cultivars ‘Chemlali’ and ‘Chetoui’ were more vigorous than ‘Arbosana’. However, ‘Arbosana’ and ‘Arbequina i-18’ presented the highest fruit yield in comparison to the local ones. Furthermore, ‘Arbosana’ showed the highest accumulated fruit yield after the first five harvests and the highest crop efficiency (0.56-1.52 kg m–3 of tree canopy). Also, ‘Arbosana’ and ‘Arbequina i-18’ presented the lowest alternate bearing indexes (0.38 and 0.44, respectively) during that period of time. Significant differences among cultivars for oil content and fatty acid composition were observed. The oleic acid content was high in ‘Arbosana’ and ‘Chetoui’ (69.4-66.7%) and intermediate to low in ‘Arbequina-i18’ and ‘Chemlali’ (64.9-56.1%). The high vigour and low production of the studied Tunisian cultivars show that it is not advisable to use them in high-density orchards. ‘Arbosana’ was the most adapted cultivar to this new planting density system in this trial.Un nuevo tipo de olivar, en alta densidad, fue introducido en T&uacute;nez en el a&ntilde;o 2000. El cultivar est&aacute;ndar en estas plantaciones fue &lsquo;Arbequina&rsquo;, el m&aacute;s utilizado hasta ese momento en Espa&ntilde;a y otros pa&iacute;ses. Una de las principales limitaciones para el uso de altas densidades de cultivo en olivo es la escasa disponibilidad de cultivares de bajo vigor. Por ello, se estableci&oacute; un ensayo en 2003 para evaluar la adaptaci&oacute;n de cuatro cultivares (&lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo;, &lsquo;Arbequina i-18&rsquo;, &lsquo;Chemlali&rsquo; y &lsquo;Chetoui&rsquo;) a una densidad de plantaci&oacute;n de 1250 &aacute;rboles ha&ndash;1. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron que los cultivares tunecinos &lsquo;Chemlali&rsquo; y &lsquo;Chetoui&rsquo; son m&aacute;s vigorosos que &lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo;. Sin embargo, &lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo; y &lsquo;Arbequina i-18&rsquo; presentaron la mayor producci&oacute;n de aceitunas en comparaci&oacute;n con los tunecinos. &lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo; mostr&oacute; la mayor producci&oacute;n acumulada de aceitunas despu&eacute;s de las primeras cinco cosechas y la mayor eficiencia productiva (0,56-1,52 kg m&ndash;3 de copa). Adem&aacute;s, &lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo; y &lsquo;Arbequina i-18&rsquo; presentaron los menores &iacute;ndices de alternancia (0,38 and 0,44, respectivamente) durante ese per&iacute;odo de tiempo. Se observaron tambi&eacute;n diferencias significativas entre los cultivares estudiados con respeto al contenido y la composici&oacute;n ac&iacute;dica de aceite. El contenido en &aacute;cido oleico fue alto en &lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo; y &lsquo;Chetoui&rsquo; (69,4-66,7%) e intermedio-bajo en &lsquo;Arbequina i-18&rsquo; y &lsquo;Chemlali&rsquo; (64,9-56,1%). El alto vigor y baja producci&oacute;n de los cultivares tunecinos estudiados muestran que no es recomendable utilizarlos en plantaciones de alta densidad. &lsquo;Arbosana&rsquo; ha sido el cultivar mejor adaptado a la densidad de plantaci&oacute;n utilizada en este ensayo

Mechanical and fire tests on thermal breaks attached to concrete supports

International audienceThis paper deals with the mechanical and fire behaviour of simple solutions of thermal breaks for external steel structures (balconies, passageways, solar panels …) attached on a concrete facade with external thermal insulation. The proposed solutions are composed of a PVC or plywood layer implemented between an extended end-plate connection and the concrete support (lintel, floor slab, concrete wall). A total of 12 monotonic mechanical tests have been performed on steel-to-concrete connections using intermediate insulation layers (PVC or plywood) in order to investigate the rotational stiffness, plastic/ultimate bending moments, the rotation capacity as well as the failure mode. Two types of fastening were used; bolted embedded end-plates and post-installed mechanical/chemical fasteners. In order to evaluate the influence of the studied solutions of thermal breaks on the behaviour of a balcony under fire, two external flame experimental tests were carried out on realistic balconies attached to a concrete support. These fire tests demonstrated that the implementation of the proposed thermal breaks between end-plates and the support does not affect the stability of the balconies subjected to fire. © 202

Olive cultivars suitability for high-density orchards

A new olive orchard type, based on high-density planting, was introduced in Tunisia in 2000 by some investors, using mainly �Arbequina�, the most utilized cultivar up to that time in Spain and in some other countries. Limited cultivar choice is in fact considered one of the main inconvenients for using high planting densities in olive. Therefore, a comparative trial was set up in 2003 to evaluate the suitability of four olive cultivars (�Arbosana�, �Arbequina i-18�, �Chemlali� and �Chetoui�) to a planting density of 1250 trees ha�1. The results showed that the local cultivars �Chemlali� and �Chetoui� were more vigorous than �Arbosana�. However, �Arbosana� and �Arbequina i-18� presented the highest fruit yield in comparison to the local ones. Furthermore, �Arbosana� showed the highest accumulated fruit yield after the first five harvests and the highest crop efficiency (0.56-1.52 kg m�3 of tree canopy). Also, �Arbosana� and �Arbequina i-18� presented the lowest alternate bearing indexes (0.38 and 0.44, respectively) during that period of time. Significant differences among cultivars for oil content and fatty acid composition were observed. The oleic acid content was high in �Arbosana� and �Chetoui� (69.4-66.7%) and intermediate to low in �Arbequina-i18� and �Chemlali� (64.9-56.1%). The high vigour and low production of the studied Tunisian cultivars show that it is not advisable to use them in high-density orchards. �Arbosana� was the most adapted cultivar to this new planting density system in this trial

The possibility of using inflorescence analysis to evaluate the nutritional status of olive trees

1 .pdf (2 Tabls.) copia del Póster original presentado por los autores. Se acompaña de 1 .pdf copia del resumen oficial.The main objective of this work was to evaluate if inflorescence analysis can be considered as an alternative to foliar diagnosis in determining the nutritional status of olive orchards. Olive leaves from cv. Arbequina, planted under high density planting system in two different sites (Tunisia and Spain), were sampled at 5 developmental stages (inflorescence emergence, fruit set, pit hardening, fruit development and fruit maturity) during two years, 2006 and 2007.This study was supported by AECI-MAE projects A/3005/05 and A/5 199/06.Peer reviewe

Planting density affects vigour and production of �Arbequina� olive

The hedgerow orchard type is being increasingly used with the olive although not much information is still available about its suitability to this species. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of planting density (312, 416, 625 and 1,250 trees ha-1) on vigour and productive characteristics of �Arbequina� olive trees planted in 2003. Significant linear regressions have been observed between planting density and tree width, trunk cross section area and canopy volume. Increasing planting density showed positive linear correlation (R2=0.63) with canopy volume per hectare. There was a negative correlation between planting density and production per tree in the five first crops, but it was positive with production per hectare both in olive and olive oil production with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.16 to 0.43 and from 0.28 to 0.46, respectively. A significant linear regression (R2= 0.31 and 0.48) was found between planting density and fruit size on two of the studied cropping years. Our results have not allowed establishing any relationship between planting density and fruit oil content. Finally, the studied densities did not affect the oil fatty acid composition. The production increase observed at the highest tried density is linked to the increase in canopy volume per hectare, but these results should be checked at later stages of tree development, as this study covers only until the fifth harvested crop