Fracture incidence after 3 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the fracture incidence and bone mineral density (BMD) evolution in a large cohort of post-menopausal women with breast cancer after 3 years of aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal study in real-life setting. Each woman had an extensive medical assessment, a biological evaluation, a BMD measurement, and systematic spinal X-rays at baseline and after 3 years of AI therapy. Women with osteoporosis at baseline (T-score < -2.5 and/or non-traumatic fracture history) were treated by oral weekly bisphosphonates. RESULTS: Among 497 women (mean age 63.8 ± 9.6 years) included in this study, 389 had a bone evaluation both at baseline and after 3 years of AI therapy: 267 women (mean age 61.2 ± 8.6) with no osteoporosis at baseline and 122 women (mean age 67.2 ± 9.1) with osteoporosis at baseline justifying a weekly oral bisphosphonate treatment. Women without bisphosphonates had a significant decrease in spine BMD (-3.5%, P < 0.01), neck BMD (-2.0%, P < 0.01), and total hip BMD (-2.1%, P < 0.01) over the 3 years but only 15 of them (5.6%) presented an incident vertebral or non-vertebral fracture. In osteoporotic women treated with bisphosphonates, spine and hip BMD were maintained at 3 years but 12 of them (9.8%) had an incident fracture. These fractured women were significantly older (74.1 ± 9.8 versus 66.5 ± 8.8) but also presented BMD loss during treatment suggesting poor adherence to bisphosphonate treatment. CONCLUSION: This real-life study confirmed that AIs induced moderate bone loss and low fracture incidence in post-menopausal women without initial osteoporosis. In women with baseline osteoporosis and AI therapy, oral bisphosphonates maintain BMD but were associated with a persistent fracture risk, particularly in older women

. A trophic latitudinal gradient revealed in anchovy and sardine from the Western Mediterranean Sea using a multi-proxy approach

This work combines state-of-the-art methods (DNA metabarcoding) with classic approaches (visual stomach content characterization and stable isotope analyses of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C)) to investigate the trophic ecology of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) at high taxonomic and spatial resolution in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Gut contents observed are in accordance with the dietary plasticity generally described for anchovy and sardine, suggesting a diet related to the opportunistic ingestion of available prey in a certain area and/or time. Genetic tools also showed modest inter-specific differences regarding ingested species. However, inter-specific and intra-specific differences in ingested prey frequencies and prey biomass reflected a latitudinal signal that could indicate a more effective predation on large prey like krill by anchovy versus sardine, as well as a generalized higher large prey ingestion by both species southwards. In fact, both species presented lower δ15N in the northernmost area. This latitudinal gradient indicates changes in the trophic ecology of anchovy and sardine that coincide with previously described better biological conditions for fish in the southern part of the study area as well as higher landings of both species in recent years.En prensa2,92

High prevalence of vertebral fractures in women with breast cancer starting aromatase inhibitor therapy

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe bone status in a large cohort of postmenopausal women with nonmetastatic breast cancer, at the initiation of aromatase inhibitor therapy.Patients and methods: A prospective, transversal and clinical study was conducted. Each woman had an extensive medical history, a biological evaluation, a bone mineral density (BMD) measurement and spinal X-rays. Results: Four hundred and ninety-seven women aged 63.8 ± 9.6 years were included in this study. Eighty-five percent of these women had a 25-OH vitamin D concentration <75 nmol/l. One hundred and fifty-six women (31.4%) had a T-score < −2 at one of the three site measurements. Ninety-five women (19.1%) had a history of nonvertebral fracture with a total of 120 fractures. Spine X-rays evaluation revealed that 20% of the women had at least one vertebral fracture. The presence of vertebral fracture was associated with nonvertebral fracture history [odds ratio (OR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–2.4] and with spine BMD (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.7). The prevalence of vertebral fracture reached 62.9% in women with age above 70 years and femoral T-score < −2.5. Conclusion: Before starting aromatase inhibitor therapy for breast cancer, a large proportion of women had a vitamin D insufficiency and vertebral fractures

X-ray Conversion Efficiency of high-Z hohlraum wall materials for indirect drive ignition

We measure the conversion efficiency of 351 nm laser light to soft x-rays (0.1-5 keV) for Au, U and high Z mixtures 'cocktails' used for hohlraum wall materials in indirect drive ICF. We use spherical targets in a direct drive geometry, flattop laser pulses and laser smoothing with phase plates to achieve constant and uniform laser intensities of 10{sup 14} and 10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2} over the target surface that are relevant for the future ignition experiments on NIF. The absolute time and spectrally-resolved radiation flux is measured with a multichannel soft x-ray power diagnostic. The conversion efficiency is then calculated by dividing the measured x-ray power by the incident laser power from which the measured laser backscattering losses is subtracted. After {approx}0.5 ns, the time resolved x-ray conversion efficiency reaches a slowly increasing plateau of 95% at 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2} laser intensity and of 80% at 10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2}. The M-band flux (2-5 keV) is negligible at 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2} reaching {approx}1% of the total x-ray flux for all target materials. In contrast, the M-band flux is significant and depends on the target material at 10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2} laser intensity, reaching values between 10% of the total flux for U and 27% for Au. Our LASNEX simulations show good agreement in conversion efficiency and radiated spectra with data when using XSN atomic physics model and a flux limiter of 0.15, but they underestimate the generated M-band flux

The Mediterranean fishery management: A call for shifting the current paradigm from duplication to synergy

Independence of science and best available science are fundamental pillars of the UN-FAO code of conduct for responsible fisheries and are also applied to the European Union (EU) Common Fishery Policy (CFP), with the overarching objective being the sustainable exploitation of the fisheries resources. CFP is developed by DG MARE, the department of the European Commission responsible for EU policy on maritime affairs and fisheries, which has the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) as consultant body. In the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (FAO-GFCM), with its own Scientific Advisory Committee on Fisheries (GFCM-SAC), plays a critical role in fisheries governance, having the authority to adopt binding recommendations for fisheries conservation and management. During the last years, advice on the status of the main stocks in the Mediterranean and Black Sea has been provided both by GFCM-SAC and EU-STECF, often without a clear coordination and a lack of shared rules and practices. This has led in the past to: i) duplications of the advice on the status of the stocks thus adding confusion in the management process and, ii) a continuous managers’ interference in the scientific process by DG MARE officials hindering its transparency and independence. Thus, it is imperative that this stalemate is rapidly resolved and that the free role of science in Mediterranean fisheries assessment and management is urgently restored to assure the sustainable exploitation of Mediterranean marine resources in the future.En prens

Thomson scattering from laser plasmas

Thomson scattering has recently been introduced as a fundamental diagnostic of plasma conditions and basic physical processes in dense, inertial confinement fusion plasmas. Experiments at the Nova laser facility [E. M. Campbell et al., Laser Part. Beams 9, 209 (1991)] have demonstrated accurate temporally and spatially resolved characterization of densities, electron temperatures, and average ionization levels by simultaneously observing Thomson scattered light from ion acoustic and electron plasma (Langmuir) fluctuations. In addition, observations of fast and slow ion acous- tic waves in two-ion species plasmas have also allowed an independent measurement of the ion temperature. These results have motivated the application of Thomson scattering in closed-geometry inertial confinement fusion hohlraums to benchmark integrated radiation-hydrodynamic modeling of fusion plasmas. For this purpose a high energy 4{omega} probe laser was implemented recently allowing ultraviolet Thomson scattering at various locations in high-density gas-filled hohlraum plasmas. In partic- ular, the observation of steep electron temperature gradients indicates that electron thermal transport is inhibited in these gas-filled hohlraums. Hydrodynamic calcula- tions which include an exact treatment of large-scale magnetic fields are in agreement with these findings. Moreover, the Thomson scattering data clearly indicate axial stagnation in these hohlraums by showing a fast rise of the ion temperature. Its timing is in good agreement with calculations indicating that the stagnating plasma will not deteriorate the implosion of the fusion capsules in ignition experiments

Experiments for the Validation of Debris and Shrapnel Calculations

The debris and shrapnel generated by laser targets are important factors in the operation of a large laser facility such as NIF, LMJ, and Orion. Past experience has shown that it is possible for such target debris to render diagnostics inoperable and also to penetrate or damage optical protection (debris) shields. We are developing the tools to allow evaluation of target configurations in order to better mitigate the generation and impact of debris, including development of dedicated modeling codes. In order to validate these predictive simulations, we briefly describe a series of experiments aimed at determining the amount of debris and/or shrapnel produced in controlled situations. We use glass and aerogel to capture generated debris/shrapnel. The experimental targets include hohlraums (halfraums) and thin foils in a variety of geometries. Post-shot analysis includes scanning electron microscopy and x-ray tomography. We show the results of some of these experiments and discuss modeling efforts

Large-Scale Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Mediterranean Cephalopod Diversity

Species diversity is widely recognized as an important trait of ecosystems’ functioning and resilience. Understanding the causes of diversity patterns and their interaction with the environmental conditions is essential in order to effectively assess and preserve existing diversity. While diversity patterns of most recurrent groups such as fish are commonly studied, other important taxa such as cephalopods have received less attention. In this work we present spatio-temporal trends of cephalopod diversity across the entire Mediterranean Sea during the last 19 years, analysing data from the annual bottom trawl survey MEDITS conducted by 5 different Mediterranean countries using standardized gears and sampling protocols. The influence of local and regional environmental variability in different Mediterranean regions is analysed applying generalized additive models, using species richness and the Shannon Wiener index as diversity descriptors. While the western basin showed a high diversity, our analyses do not support a steady eastward decrease of diversity as proposed in some previous studies. Instead, high Shannon diversity was also found in the Adriatic and Aegean Seas, and high species richness in the eastern Ionian Sea. Overall diversity did not show any consistent trend over the last two decades. Except in the Adriatic Sea, diversity showed a hump-shaped trend with depth in all regions, being highest between 200–400 m depth. Our results indicate that high Chlorophyll a concentrations and warmer temperatures seem to enhance species diversity, and the influence of these parameters is stronger for richness than for Shannon diversityVersión del editor4,411