Association of Vitamin D3 Level with Breast Cancer Risk and Prognosis in African-American and Hispanic Women.

Background: This study investigated the association of vitamin D3 levels with breast cancer risk and progression in African-Americans and Hispanics. Methods: A total of 237 African-American (Cases = 119, Control = 118) and 423 Hispanic women (Cases = 124, Control = 299) were recruited in the study. Blood samples were collected at the time of breast cancer screening and prior to cancer treatment for 4 weeks on average for the cases. The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D3) was measured at a Quest-Diagnostics facility. Results: The results showed that 69.2% of African-Americans and 37.8% of Hispanics had 25(OH)D3 levels below 20 ng/mL. The 25(OH)D3 level below 20 ng/mL was significantly associated with breast cancer in both African-Americans (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.3-4.8) and Hispanics (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-3.0). However, the predicted probabilities of breast cancer in African-Americans were significantly higher than in Hispanics (p < 0.001). The 25(OH)D3 below 20 ng/mL was significantly associated with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) in African-Americans (OR = 5.4, p = 0.02, 95% CI = 1.4-15), but not in Hispanics in our cohort of participants. Levels of 25(OH)D3 below 26 ng/mL predicts a decrease in disease-free survival, but it was not an independent predictor. Conclusions: Our data shows an association between 25(OH)D3 levels and the risk of breast cancer. Further studies on the relationship between 25(OH)D3 level and breast cancer risk are warranted

Effects of drip irrigation on the yield of strawberry plants grown under arable conditions

ArticleThe study investigated the effects of drip irrigation on the yield of ‘Honeoye’ strawberry plants for commercial purposes grown under arable conditions throughout the harvest season. The plants were irrigated at irregular intervals depending on natural precipitation. Crop yields and fruit parameters (diameter, length, individual weight, count per plant) were compared on several harvest dates. Statistical analysis has shown that irrigation has a significant impact on yield and fruit parameters. The irrigated plants yielded more strawberries, which also had a larger diameter, length, and individual weight

Hot stars observed by XMM-Newton I. The catalog and the properties of OB stars

Aims : Following the advent of increasingly sensitive X-ray observatories, deep observations of early-type stars became possible. However, the results for only a few objects or clusters have until now been reported and there has been no large survey comparable to that based upon the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS). Methods : A limited survey of X-ray sources, consisting of all public XMM observations (2XMMi) and slew survey data (XMMSL1), is now available. The X-ray counterparts to hot, massive stars have been searched for in these catalogs. Results : About 300 OB stars were detected with XMM. Half of them were bright enough for a spectral analysis to be possible, and we make available the detailed spectral properties that were derived. The X-ray spectra of O stars are represented well by low (<1keV) temperature components and seem to indicate that an absorption column is present in addition to the interstellar contribution. The X-ray fluxes are well correlated with the bolometric fluxes, with a scatter comparable to that of the RASS studies and thus larger than found previously with XMM for some individual clusters. These results contrast with those of B stars that exhibit a large scatter in the L_X-L_BOL relation, no additional absorption being found, and the fits indicate a plasma at higher temperatures. Variability (either within one exposure or between multiple exposures) was also investigated whenever possible: short-term variations are far more rare than long-term ones (the former affects a few percent of the sample, while the latter concerns between one third and two thirds of the sources). Conclusions : This paper presents the results of the first high-sensitivity investigation of the overall high-energy properties of a sizable sample of hot stars.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by A&

Association between diabetes, diabetes treatment and risk of developing endometrial cancer.

BackgroundA growing body of evidence suggests that diabetes is a risk factor for endometrial cancer incidence. However, most of these studies used case-control study designs and did not adjust for obesity, an established risk factor for endometrial cancer. In addition, few epidemiological studies have examined the association between diabetes treatment and endometrial cancer risk. The objective of this study was to assess the relationships among diabetes, diabetes treatment and endometrial cancer risk in postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).MethodsA total of 88 107 postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years who were free of cancer and had no hysterectomy at baseline were followed until date of endometrial cancer diagnosis, death, hysterectomy or loss to follow-up, whichever came first. Endometrial cancers were confirmed by central medical record and pathology report review. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval (CI)) for diagnosis of diabetes and metformin treatment as risk factors for endometrial cancer.ResultsOver a mean of 11 years of follow-up, 1241 endometrial cancers developed. In the primary analysis that focused on prevalent diabetes at enrolment, compared with women without diabetes, women with self-reported diabetes, and the subset of women with treated diabetes, had significantly higher risk of endometrial cancer without adjusting for BMI (HR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.13-1.85 for diabetes, HR=1.57, 95% CI: 1.19-2.07 for treated diabetes). However after adjusting for BMI, the associations between diabetes, diabetes treatment, diabetes duration and the risk of endometrial cancer became non-significant. Elevated risk was noted when considering combining diabetes diagnosed at baseline and during follow-up as time-dependent exposure (HR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.08-1.59) even after adjusting for BMI. No significant association was observed between metformin use and endometrial cancer risk.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the relationship observed in previous research between diabetes and endometrial cancer incidence may be largely confounded by body weight, although some modest independent elevated risk remains

Soaring with Eagles: The Life and Legacy of Janina Lewandowska, the Only Female POW Killed in the Katyń Forest Massacre

In March of 1940, Joseph Stalin ordered the execution of approximately five thousand Polish prisoners of war, setting off a chain of events leading to the Katyń Massacre. Buried in seven mass graves, these soldiers’ bodies remained undisturbed until German forces unearthed them several years later. Even more shocking to the Polish nation than this discovery was the revelation that one of the victims was a female military officer: Second Lieutenant in the Polish Air Force, Janina Lewandowska. Indeed, the presence of her body was at the center of a fifty-year cover-up. Exploring the life of Janina Lewandowska offers more than an expanded biography for a Polish woman, it allows for an in-depth examination of these components in Polish society during the interwar period. Studies of women’s involvement in the early stages of the war, specifically their contributions to the September 1939 Polish defense, are virtually nonexistent. An examination of Janina Lewandowska’s life contributes to filling this gap, revealing some boundaries women faced entering the military service before respected Polish generals, such as Wladyslaw Anders, sanctioned it. In risking her life and social standing, Lewandowska reinterpreted the traditional ideal of the Matka Polka, choosing to serve her country militarily. Though she adopted some of these maternal approaches when nurturing Polish patriotism while in the Kozielsk camp, she preempted this aspect of her identity with the decision to pursue military service before motherhood. She may not be representative of all women who made similar decisions, but her life makes a unique contribution to understanding social expectations of women as one of the first Polish women to involve herself in active service during World War II. Internalization of traditional feminine responsibilities and a strong sense of national pride led Janina Lewandowska to serve her country as a member of the Polish Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War. Although her capture by Soviet forces in late September of 1939 put an end to active military service, it did not stop the young officer from serving her country through other means. In the graves at Katyń, one finds the body of a female fighter pilot, as well as the story of a growing nation seeking to define itself, one woman’s devotion to both her faith and fellow soldiers, and the supersession of country over the self

Association between body condition and production parameters of dairy cows in the experiment with use of BCS camera

Dairy production effectiveness in the farm depends on many technical, technological and biological factors. State of the dairy cow condition constitutes one of the most important element in the assessment of dairy herd and production indices. Including access to modern technical solution to assess body condition of dairy cows, i.e. BCS camera, some results of observation in the herd with 362 cows were collected to find any relationship between BCS index and milk yield per cow including 5 lactation groups and cows differed in age as well as four seasons. Basing on data collected in the period of 11 months it was found that cows with the BCS index lower than 2.9 showed the highest daily milk production. Increase in BCS index was associated with decrease in amount of produced milk per day. The statistical analysis showed significant effect of lactation period, age of animals and season on BCS results in the considered dairy cow production cycle