Prevention of colorectal cancer by combining early detection and chemoprevention

Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer-related mortality. Most colorectal cancers arise in precursor lesions over a number of years. The carcinogenetic pathway is modulated by a wide array of genetic and epigenetic factors. Two major approaches to halting carcinogenesis are chemoprevention and early detection. Chemoprevention is an attractive emerging option-advances in understanding the carcinogenetic pathways and progress in evaluating various putative agents are promising. However, several issues regarding efficacy, safety, and acceptability require answers before an ideal agent can come into widespread use. Early detection and removal of precursor lesions show promise in reducing disease burden. Although the concept has been around and has been widely advocated for several years, participation in screening remains low. The ideal test in terms of practicality, accuracy, and safety is still debated. This article reviews the recent literature related to screening and chemoprevention of colorectal cancer. Copyright © 2009 by Current Medicine Group LLC

Peering into microscale details of mountain winds

A grand challenge from the wind energy industry is to provide reliable forecasts on mountain winds several hours in advance at microscale (similar to 100 m) resolution. This requires better microscale wind-energy physics included in forecasting tools, for which field observations are imperative. While mesoscale (similar to 1 km) measurements abound, microscale processes are not monitored in practice nor do plentiful measurements exist at this scale. After a decade of preparation, a group of European and U.S. collaborators conducted a field campaign during 1 May-15 June 2017 in Vale Cobrao in central Portugal to delve into microscale processes in complex terrain. This valley is nestled within a parallel double ridge near the town of Perdigao with dominant wind climatology normal to the ridges, offering a nominally simple yet natural setting for fundamental studies. The dense instrument ensemble deployed covered a similar to 4 km x 4 km swath horizontally and similar to 10 km vertically, with measurement resolutions of tens of meters and seconds. Meteorological data were collected continuously, capturing multiscale flow interactions from synoptic to microscales, diurnal variability, thermal circulation, turbine wake and acoustics, waves, and turbulence. Particularly noteworthy are the extensiveness of the instrument array, space-time scales covered, use of leading-edge multiple-lidar technology alongside conventional tower and remote sensors, fruitful cross-Atlantic partnership, and adaptive management of the campaign. Preliminary data analysis uncovered interesting new phenomena. All data are being archived for public use