Factors affecting the mesothelioma detection rate within national and international epidemiological studies: insights from Scottish linked cancer registry-mortality data

ICD-9 code 163 (malignant neoplasm of pleura) listed as underlying cause of death detected only 40% of Scottish mesothelioma cases (all body sites) from the cancer registry in 1981–1999. This is lower than both the previously published 55% figure, derived from UK mesothelioma register data 1986–1991, which is based on any mention of mesothelioma on death certificates, cross-referenced to cancer registry data, and the 44% figure derived from Scottish mortality data 1981–1999, which captured any mention of mesothelioma on the death certificate. Detection from cancer registry data increased to 75% under ICD-10 in Scotland, confirming earlier predictions of the benefit of ICD-10's more specific mesothelioma codes. Including the accidental poisoning codes E866.4 (ICD-9) and X49 (ICD-10), covering poisoning by ‘unspecified' and ‘other' causes, which appear to have been used as coding surrogates for mesothelioma when asbestos exposure was explicitly mentioned in deaths suggestive of a mesothelioma, and which are recorded as the underlying cause of death in 4–7% of mesotheliomas, may improve the mesothelioma detection rate in future epidemiological studies

Variations in 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) late heart mediastinal ratios in chronic heart failure: a need for standardisation and validation

BACKGROUND: There is lack of validation and standardisation of acquisition parameters for myocardial (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG). This lack of standardisation hampers large scale implementation of (123)I-MIBG parameters in the evaluation of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS: In a retrospective multi-centre study (123)I-MIBG planar scintigrams obtained on 290 CHF patients (82% male; 58% dilated cardiomyopathy; New York Heart Association [NYHA classification] > I) were reanalysed to determine the late heart-to-mediastinum ratio (H/M). RESULTS: There was a large variation in acquisition parameters. Multivariate forward stepwise regression showed that a significant proportion (31%, p < 0.001) of the variation in late H/M could be explained by a model containing patient-related variables and acquisition parameters. Left ventricular ejection fraction (p < 0.001), type of collimation (p < 0.001), acquisition duration (p = 0.001), NYHA class (p = 0.028) and age (p = 0.034) were independent predictors of late H/M. CONCLUSIONS: Acquisitions parameters are independent contributors to the variation of semi-quantitative measurements of cardiac (123)I-MIBG uptake. Improved standardisation of cardiac (123)I-MIBG imaging parameters would contribute to increased clinical applicability for this procedur

Testing new physics with the electron g-2

We argue that the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron (a_e) can be used to probe new physics. We show that the present bound on new-physics contributions to a_e is 8*10^-13, but the sensitivity can be improved by about an order of magnitude with new measurements of a_e and more refined determinations of alpha in atomic-physics experiments. Tests on new-physics effects in a_e can play a crucial role in the interpretation of the observed discrepancy in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon (a_mu). In a large class of models, new contributions to magnetic moments scale with the square of lepton masses and thus the anomaly in a_mu suggests a new-physics effect in a_e of (0.7 +- 0.2)*10^-13. We also present examples of new-physics theories in which this scaling is violated and larger effects in a_e are expected. In such models the value of a_e is correlated with specific predictions for processes with violation of lepton number or lepton universality, and with the electric dipole moment of the electron.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures. Minor changes and references adde

Reproductive factors and breast cancer risk according to joint estrogen and progesterone receptor status: a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

INTRODUCTION: Although reproductive factors have been known for decades to be associated with breast cancer risk, it is unclear to what extent these associations differ by estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER/PR) status. This report presents the first meta-analysis of results from epidemiological studies that have investigated parity, age at first birth, breastfeeding, and age at menarche in relation to ER(+)PR(+ )and ER(-)PR(- )cancer risk. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We calculated summary relative risks (RRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a fixed effects model. RESULTS: Each birth reduced the risk of ER(+)PR(+ )cancer by 11% (RR per birth = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.84–0.94), and women who were in the highest age at first birth category had, on average, 27% higher risk of ER(+)PR(+ )cancer compared with women who were in the youngest age at first birth category (RR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.07–1.50). Neither parity nor age at first birth was associated with the risk of ER(-)PR(- )cancer (RR per birth = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.94–1.05; RR of oldest versus youngest age at first birth category = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.85–1.20). Breastfeeding and late age at menarche decreased the risk of both receptor subtypes of breast cancer. The protective effect of late age at menarche was statistically significantly greater for ER(+)PR(+ )than ER(-)PR(- )cancer (RR = 0.72 for ER(+)PR(+ )cancer; RR = 0.84 for ER(-)PR(- )cancer, p for homogeneity = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that breastfeeding (and age at menarche) may act through different hormonal mechanisms than do parity and age at first birth

Search for CP violation in D+→ϕπ+ and D+s→K0Sπ+ decays

A search for CP violation in D + → ϕπ + decays is performed using data collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV. The CP -violating asymmetry is measured to be (−0.04 ± 0.14 ± 0.14)% for candidates with K − K + mass within 20 MeV/c 2 of the ϕ meson mass. A search for a CP -violating asymmetry that varies across the ϕ mass region of the D + → K − K + π + Dalitz plot is also performed, and no evidence for CP violation is found. In addition, the CP asymmetry in the D+s→K0Sπ+ decay is measured to be (0.61 ± 0.83 ± 0.14)%

Study of Bc+B_c^+ decays to the K+K−π+K^+K^-\pi^+ final state and evidence for the decay Bc+→χc0π+B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}\pi^+

A study of $B_c^+\to K^+K^-\pi^+$ decays is performed for the first time using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8$ TeV. Evidence for the decay $B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}(\to K^+K^-)\pi^+$ is reported with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations, resulting in the measurement of $\frac{\sigma(B_c^+)}{\sigma(B^+)}\times\mathcal{B}(B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}\pi^+)$ to be $(9.8^{+3.4}_{-3.0}(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.8(\mathrm{syst}))\times 10^{-6}$. Here $\mathcal{B}$ denotes a branching fraction while $\sigma(B_c^+)$ and $\sigma(B^+)$ are the production cross-sections for $B_c^+$ and $B^+$ mesons. An indication of $\bar b c$ weak annihilation is found for the region $m(K^-\pi^+)<1.834\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V\!/}c^2$, with a significance of 2.4 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-022.html, link to supplemental material inserted in the reference

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Cloning and Characterization of Genes Involved in Nostoxanthin Biosynthesis of Sphingomonas elodea ATCC 31461

Most Sphingomonas species synthesize the yellow carotenoid nostoxanthin. However, the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway of these species remains unclear. In this study, we cloned and characterized a carotenoid biosynthesis gene cluster containing four carotenogenic genes (crtG, crtY, crtI and crtB) and a β-carotene hydroxylase gene (crtZ) located outside the cluster, from the gellan-gum producing bacterium Sphingomonas elodea ATCC 31461. Each of these genes was inactivated, and the biochemical function of each gene was confirmed based on chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of the intermediates accumulated in the knockout mutants. Moreover, the crtG gene encoding the 2,2′-β-hydroxylase and the crtZ gene encoding the β-carotene hydroxylase, both responsible for hydroxylation of β-carotene, were confirmed by complementation studies using Escherichia coli producing different carotenoids. Expression of crtG in zeaxanthin and β-carotene accumulating E. coli cells resulted in the formation of nostoxanthin and 2,2′-dihydroxy-β-carotene, respectively. Based on these results, a biochemical pathway for synthesis of nostoxanthin in S. elodea ATCC 31461 is proposed