Prevalence of incidental breast cancer and precursor lesions in autopsy studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Autopsy studies demonstrate the prevalence pool of incidental breast cancer in the population, but estimates are uncertain due to small numbers in any primary study. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of autopsy studies to estimate the prevalence of incidental breast cancer and precursors. Methods Relevant articles were identified through searching PubMed and Embase from inception up to April 2016, and backward and forward citations. We included autopsy studies of women with no history of breast pathology, which included systematic histological examination of at least one breast, and which allowed calculation of the prevalence of incidental breast cancer or precursor lesions. Data were pooled using logistic regression models with random intercepts (non-linear mixed models). Results We included 13 studies from 1948 to 2010, contributing 2363 autopsies with 99 cases of incidental cancer or precursor lesions. More thorough histological examination (≥20 histological sections) was a strong predictor of incidental in-situ cancer and atypical hyperplasia (OR = 126·8 and 21·3 respectively, p < 0·001), but not invasive cancer (OR = 1·1, p = 0·75). The estimated mean prevalence of incidental cancer or precursor lesion was 19·5% (0·85% invasive cancer + 8·9% in-situ cancer + 9·8% atypical hyperplasia). Conclusion Our systematic review in ten countries over six decades found that incidental detection of cancer in situ and breast cancer precursors is common in women not known to have breast disease during life. The large prevalence pool of undetected cancer in-situ and atypical hyperplasia in these autopsy studies suggests screening programs should be cautious about introducing more sensitive tests that may increase detection of these lesions

Prevalence of liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) in wild Red Deer (Cervus elaphus): coproantigen ELISA is a practicable alternative to faecal egg counting for surveillance in remote populations

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) are hosts of liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica); yet, prevalence is rarely quantified in wild populations. Testing fresh samples from remote regions by faecal examination (FE) can be logistically challenging; hence, we appraise frozen storage and the use of a coproantigen ELISA (cELISA) for F. hepatica surveillance. We also present cELISA surveillance data for red deer from the Highlands of Scotland. Diagnoses in faecal samples (207 frozen, 146 fresh) were compared using a cELISA and by FE. For each storage method (frozen or fresh), agreement between the two diagnostics was estimated at individual and population levels, where population prevalence was stratified into cohorts (e.g., by sampling location). To approximate sensitivity and specificity, 65 post-slaughter whole liver examinations were used as a reference. At the individual level, FE and cELISA diagnoses agreed moderately (κfrozen = 0.46; κfresh = 0.51), a likely reflection of their underlying principles. At the population level, FE and cELISA cohort prevalence correlated strongly (Pearson’s R = 0.89, p &lt; 0.0001), reflecting good agreement on relative differences between cohort prevalence. In frozen samples, prevalence by cELISA exceeded FE overall (42.8% vs. 25.8%) and in 9/12 cohorts, alluding to differences in sensitivity; though, in fresh samples, no significant difference was found. In 959 deer tested by cELISA across the Scottish Highlands, infection prevalence ranged from 9.6% to 53% by sampling location. We highlight two key advantages of cELISA over FE: i) the ability to store samples long term (frozen) without apparent loss in diagnostic power; and ii) reduced labour and the ability to process large batches. Further evaluation of cELISA sensitivity in red deer, where a range of fluke burdens can be obtained, is desirable. In the interim, the cELISA is a practicable diagnostic for F. hepatica surveillance in red deer, and its application here has revealed considerable geographic, temporal, sex and age related differences in F. hepatica prevalence in wild Scottish Highland red deer

The effects of increasing dietary levels of amino acid-supplemented soy protein concentrate and constant dietary supplementation of phosphorus on growth, composition and immune responses of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Diets with 50 (SPC50), 65 (SPC65) and 80% (SPC80) substitution of prime fish meal (FM) with soy protein concentrate (SPC) were evaluated against a commercial type control feed with 35% FM replacement with SPC. Increases in dietary SPC were combined with appropriate increases in methionine, lysine and threonine supplementation, whereas added phosphorus was constant among treatments. Diets were administered to quadruplicate groups of 29 g juvenile Atlantic salmon were exposed to constant light, for 97days. On Day 63 salmon were subjected to vaccination. Significant weight reductions in SPC65 and SPC80 compared with SPC35 salmon were observed by Day 97. Linear reductions in body cross-sectional ash, Ca/P ratios, and Ca, P, Mn and Zn were observed at Days 63 (prior vaccination) and 97 (34days post-vaccination), while Mg presented a decrease at Day 63, in salmon fed increasing dietary SPC. Significant reductions in Zn, Ca, P and Ca/P ratios persisted in SPC65 and SPC80 compared with SPC35 salmon at Day 97. Significant haematocrit reductions in SPC50, SPC65 and SPC80 salmon were observed at Days 63, 70 and 97. Enhanced plasma haemolytic activity, increased total IgM, and a rise in thrombocytes were demonstrated in SPC50 and SPC65 salmon on Day 97, while increased lysozyme activity was demonstrated for these groups on Days 63, 70 and 97. Leucocyte and lymphocyte counts revealed enhanced immunostimulation in salmon fed with increasing dietary SPC at Day 97. High SPC inclusion diets did not compromise the immune responses of salmon, while SPC50 diet also supported good growth without compromising elemental concentrations

Removal of dietary proteins and oils on salmon performance

Atlantic salmon post-smolts of an average of 940g were fed six diets including two marine-based commercial diets one with partial inclusion of vegetable proteins (VPs) and oils (VOs) (2011/12 EU standards) (MB) and a second with partial inclusion of VPs, land animal-by-product (ABP) proteins and VOs (non-EU standards) (MBABP), a fully vegetable protein (VP) diet; a fully algal and VOs (VO) diet; a fishery-free vegetable-based (VP/VO) diet; and a fishery-free diet with a mix of VPs and ABP proteins and a mix of algal and vegetable oils (MFABP). Growth was assessed at Days 104 and 175, whereas fillet proximate composition, haematology and innate immune responses were assessed upon termination. Overall, MB salmon was the best performing group for the full period in terms of feed intake and overall weight gain. MB and VP salmon exhibited the highest FCRs compared to the other groups, while VP salmon exhibited the highest condition factor (K) and VO salmon the lowestKcompared to the other groups. Fillet proximate composition did not present differences among the six groups. MB salmon demonstrated the highest plasma lysozyme activity compared to the other groups while MFABP, VP and VP/VO salmon demonstrated higher plasma anti-protease activity in contrast to MB salmon. The dietary groups did not present differences in plasma protein, total IgM or natural haemolytic activity while unaltered head kidney macrophage respiratory burst activity was also observed. Overall, diets free from marine proteins or oils and/or both were satisfactorily utilized by salmon without compromising their immune capacity, although longer adaptation periods are required

Light manipulation as a route to enhancement of antioxidant properties in red amaranth and red lettuce

We are grateful to Sarah Auld for technical support.Peer reviewe

Spectroscopy and Time Variability of Absorption Lines in the Direction of the Vela Supernova Remnant

We present high resolution (R~75,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N~100) Ca II $\lambda$3933.663 and Na I $\lambda\lambda$5889.951, 5895.924 spectra of 68 stars in the direction of the Vela supernova remnant. The spectra comprise the most complete high resolution, high S/N, optical survey of early type stars in this region of the sky. A subset of the sight lines has been observed at multiple epochs, 1993/1994 and 1996. Of the thirteen stars observed twice, seven have spectra revealing changes in the equivalent width and/or velocity structure of lines, most of which arise from remnant gas. Such time variability has been reported previously for the sight lines towards HD 72089 and HD 72997 by Danks & Sembach (1995) and for HD 72127 by Hobbs et al. (1991). We have confirmed the ongoing time variability of these spectra and present new evidence of variability in the spectra of HD 73658, HD 74455, HD 75309 and HD 75821. We have tabulated Na I and Ca II absorption line information for the sight lines in our sample to serve as a benchmark for further investigations of the dynamics and evolution of the Vela SNR.Comment: 8 pages of text, 4 tables, 16 pages of figures Accepted and to be published in ApJ

Field and laboratory validation of remote rover operations Science Team findings: The CanMars Mars Sample Return analogue mission

The CanMars Mars Sample Return Analogue Deployment (MSRAD) was a closely simulated, end-to-end Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission scenario, with instrumentation, goals, and constraints modeled on the upcoming NASA Mars 2020 rover mission; this paper reports on the post-mission validation of the exercise. The exercise utilized the CSA Mars Exploration Science Rover (MESR) rover, deployed to Utah, USA, at a Mars-analogue field site. The principal features of the field site located near Green River, Utah are Late Jurassic inverted, fluvial paleochannels, analogous to features on Mars in sites being considered for the ESA ExoMars rover mission and present within the chosen landing site for the Mars 2020 rover mission. The in-simulation (“in-sim”) mission operations team worked remotely from The University of Western Ontario, Canada. A suite of MESR-integrated and hand-held spectrometers was selected to mimic those of the Mars 2020 payload, and a Utah-based, on-site team was tasked with field operations to carry out the data collection and sampling as commanded by the in-sim team. As a validation of the in-sim mission science findings, the field team performed an independent geological assessment. This paper documents the field team's on-site geological assessment and subsequent laboratory and analytical results, then offers a comparison of mission (in-sim) and post-mission (laboratory) science results. The laboratory-based findings were largely consistent with the in-sim rover-derived data and geological interpretations, though some notable exceptions highlight the inherent difficulties in remote science. In some cases, available data was insufficient for lithologic identification given the absence of other important contextual information (e.g., textural information). This study suggests that the in-sim instruments were largely adequate for the Science Team to characterize samples; however, rover-based field work is necessarily hampered by mobility and time constraints with an obvious effect on efficiency but also precision, and to some extent, accuracy of the findings. The data show a dearth of preserved total organic carbon (TOC) – used as a proxy for ancient biosignature preservation potential – in the fluvial-lacustrine system of this field site, suggesting serious consideration with respect to the capabilities and opportunities for addressing the Mars exploration goals. We therefore suggest a thorough characterization of terrestrial sites analogous to those of Mars rover landing sites, and in-depth field studies like CanMars as important, pre-mission strategic exercises

Exploring the self-assembly and energy transfer of dynamic supramolecular iridium-porphyrin systems

EZ-C acknowledges the University of St Andrews for financial support. IDWS acknowledges support from EPSRC (EP/J009016) and the European Research Council (grant 321305). IDWS also acknowledges support from a Royal Society Wolfson research merit award. DJ acknowledges the European Research Council (grant: 278845) and the RFI Lumomat for financial support.We present the first examples of dynamic supramolecular systems composed of cyclometalated Ir(III) complexes of the form of [Ir(C^N)2(N^N)]PF6 (where C^N is mesppy = 2-phenyl-4-mesitylpyridinato and dFmesppy = 2-(4,6-difluorophenyl)-4-mesitylpyridinato and N^N is 4,4':2',2'':4'',4'''-quaterpyridine, qpy) and zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP), assembled through non-covalent interactions between the distal pyridine moieties of the qpy ligand located on the iridium complex and the zinc of the ZnTPP. The assemblies have been comprehensively characterized by a series of analytical techniques (1H NMR titration experiments, 2D COSY and HETCOR NMR spectra and low temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy) and the crystal structures have been elucidated by X-ray diffraction. The optoelectronic properties of the assemblies and the electronic interaction between the iridium and porphyrin chromophoric units have been explored with detailed photophysical measurements, supported by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations.PostprintPeer reviewe

High-Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of the Solid−Solution Zintl Phase Eu_(11)Cd_6Sb_(12−x)As_x (x < 3)

Zintl phases are compounds that have shown promise for thermoelectric applications. The title solid–solution Zintl compounds were prepared from the elements as single crystals using a tin flux for compositions x = 0, 1, 2, and 3. Eu_(11)Cd_6Sb_(12–x)As_x (x < 3) crystallize isostructurally in the centrosymmetric monoclinic space group C2/m (no. 12, Z = 2) as the Sr_(11)Cd_6Sb_(12) structure type (Pearson symbol mC58). Efforts to make the As compositions for x exceeding ~3 resulted in structures other than the Sr_(11)Cd_6Sb_(12) structure type. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction indicates that As does not randomly substitute for Sb in the structure but is site specific for each composition. The amount of As determined by structural refinement was verified by electron microprobe analysis. Electronic structures and energies calculated for various model structures of Eu_(11)Cd_6Sb_(10)As_2 (x = 2) indicated that the preferred As substitution pattern involves a mixture of three of the six pnicogen sites in the asymmetric unit. In addition, As substitution at the Pn4 site opens an energy gap at the Fermi level, whereas substitution at the other five pnicogen sites remains semimetallic with a pseudo gap. Thermoelectric properties of these compounds were measured on hot-pressed, fully densified pellets. Samples show exceptionally low lattice thermal conductivities from room temperature to 775 K: 0.78–0.49 W/mK for x = 0; 0.72–0.53 W/mK for x = 1; and 0.70–0.56 W/mK for x = 2. Eu_(11)Cd_6Sb_(12) shows a high p-type Seebeck coefficient (from +118 to 153 μ V/K) but also high electrical resistivity (6.8 to 12.8 mΩ·cm). The value of zT reaches 0.23 at 774 K. The properties of Eu_(11)Cd_6Sb_(12–x)As_x are interpreted in discussion with the As site substitution