A comparative study of high-field diamagnetic fluctuations in deoxygenated YBa2Cu3O(7-x) and polycrystalline (Bi-Pb)2Sr2Ca3O(10)

We studied three single crystals of YBa2Cu3O{7-x} with Tc= 62.5, 52, and 41 K, and a textured specimen of (Bi-Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 with Tc=108 K, for H//c axis. The reversible data were interpreted in terms of 2D lowest-Landau-level fluctuation theory. The data were fit well by the 2D LLL expression for magnetization obtained by Tesanovic etal., producing reasonable values of kappa but larger values of dHc2/dT. Universality was studied by obtaining a simultaneous scaling of Y123 data and Bi2223. An expression for the 2D x-axis LLL scaling factor used to obtain the simultaneous scaling was extracted from theory, and compared with the experimental values. The comparison between the values of the x-axis produced a deviation of 40% which suggests that the hypothesis of universality of the 2D-LLL fluctuations is not supported by the studied samples. We finaly observe that Y123 magnetization data for temperatures above $T_c$ obbey a universal scaling obtained for the diamagnetic fluctuation magnetization from a theory considering non-local field effects. The same scaling was not obbeyed by the corresponding magnetization calculated from the two-dimensional lowest-Landau-level theory.Comment: 7 pages 5 figures, accept in Journ. Low Temp. Phy

Association between dietary inflammatory potential and breast cancer incidence and death: results from the Women\u27s Health Initiative

BACKGROUND: Diet modulates inflammation and inflammatory markers have been associated with cancer outcomes. In the Women\u27s Health Initiative, we investigated associations between a dietary inflammatory index (DII) and invasive breast cancer incidence and death. METHODS: The DII was calculated from a baseline food frequency questionnaire in 122 788 postmenopausal women, enrolled from 1993 to 1998 with no prior cancer, and followed until 29 August 2014. With median follow-up of 16.02 years, there were 7495 breast cancer cases and 667 breast cancer deaths. We used Cox regression to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) by DII quintiles (Q) for incidence of overall breast cancer, breast cancer subtypes, and deaths from breast cancer. The lowest quintile (representing the most anti-inflammatory diet) was the reference. RESULTS: The DII was not associated with incidence of overall breast cancer (HRQ5vsQ1, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.91-1.07; Ptrend=0.83 for overall breast cancer). In a full cohort analysis, a higher risk of death from breast cancer was associated with consumption of more pro-inflammatory diets at baseline, after controlling for multiple potential confounders (HRQ5vsQ1, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.01-1.76; Ptrend=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Future studies are needed to examine the inflammatory potential of post-diagnosis diet given the suggestion from the current study that dietary inflammatory potential before diagnosis is related to breast cancer death

DNA methylation-based estimator of telomere length

Telomere length (TL) is associated with several aging-related diseases. Here, we present a DNA methylation estimator of TL (DNAmTL) based on 140 CpGs. Leukocyte DNAmTL is applicable across the entire age spectrum and is more strongly associated with age than measured leukocyte TL (LTL) (r ~-0.75 for DNAmTL versus r ~ -0.35 for LTL). Leukocyte DNAmTL outperforms LTL in predicting: i) time-to-death (p=2.5E-20), ii) time-to-coronary heart disease (p=6.6E-5), iii) time-to-congestive heart failure (p=3.5E-6), and iv) association with smoking history (p=1.21E-17). These associations are further validated in large scale methylation data (n=10k samples) from the Framingham Heart Study, Women's Health Initiative, Jackson Heart Study, InChianti, Lothian Birth Cohorts, Twins UK, and Bogalusa Heart Study. Leukocyte DNAmTL is also associated with measures of physical fitness/functioning (p=0.029), age-at-menopause (p=0.039), dietary variables (omega 3, fish, vegetable intake), educational attainment (p=3.3E-8) and income (p=3.1E-5). Experiments in cultured somatic cells show that DNAmTL dynamics reflect in part cell replication rather than TL per se. DNAmTL is not only an epigenetic biomarker of replicative history of cells, but a useful marker of age-related pathologies that are associated with it

Neighborhood segregation and cancer prevention guideline adherence in US Hispanic/Latino adults: Results from the HCHS/SOL

Background Adherence to the American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines for cancer prevention is associated with a lower risk of cancer and mortality. The role of neighborhood segregation on adherence to the guidelines among Hispanic/Latino adults is relatively unexplored. Materials and methods The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is a community-based prospective cohort of 16,462 Hispanic/Latino adults, ages 18-74 years enrolled in 2008-2011 from the Bronx, Chicago, Miami and San Diego. Dimensions of neighborhood segregation were measured using 2010 United States’ census tracts:—evenness (the physical separation of a group), exposure (the propensity for contact between groups), and their joint effect (hypersegregation). ACS guideline adherence levels – low, moderate, high – were created from accelerometry-measured physical activity, dietary intake, alcohol intake, and body mass index. Weighted multinominal logistic regressions estimated relative risk ratios (RRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for guideline adherence levels and its components. Results Hispanic/Latino adults were classified as low (13.7%), moderate (58.8%) or highly (27.5%) adherent to ACS guidelines. We found no evidence of an association between segregation and overall guideline adherence. Exposure segregation associated with lower likelihood of moderate adherence to alcohol recommendations (RRRmoderate vs. low:0.86, 95%CI:0.75-0.98) but higher likelihood for diet recommendations (RRRmoderate vs. low:1.07, 95%CI:1.01-1.14). Evenness segregation associated with lower likelihood of high adherence to the physical activity recommendations (RRRhigh vs. low:0.73, 95%CI:0.57-0.94). Hypersegregation was associated with individual guideline components. Conclusion We found evidence of a cross-sectional relationship between neighborhood segregation and ACS cancer prevention guideline components, but not with overall ACS guideline adherence

Residential proximity to major roadways and incident hypertension in post-menopausal women

Living near major roadways has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, presumably from exposure to elevated levels of traffic-related air and/or noise pollution. This association may potentially be mediated through increased risk of incident hypertension, but results from prior studies are equivocal. Using Cox proportional hazards models we examined residential proximity to major roadways and incident hypertension among 38,360 participants of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Clinical Trial cohorts free of hypertension at enrollment and followed for a median of 7.9 years. Adjusting for participant demographics and lifestyle, trial participation, and markers of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status, the hazard ratios for incident hypertension were 1.13 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.28), 1.03 (0.95, 1.11), 1.05 (0.99, 1.11), and 1.05 (1.00, 1.10) for participants living ≤50, >50-200, >200-400, and >400-1000 m versus >1000 m from the nearest major roadway, respectively (ptrend=0.013). This association varied substantially by WHI study region with hazard ratios for women living ≤50m from a major roadway of 1.61 (1.18, 2.20) in the West, 1.51 (1.22, 1.87) in the Northeast, 0.89 (0.70, 1.14) in the South, and 0.94 (0.75, 1.19) in the Midwest. In this large, national cohort of post-menopausal women, residential proximity to major roadways was associated with incident hypertension in selected regions of the U.S. If causal, these results suggest residential proximity to major roadways, as a marker for air, noise and other traffic-related pollution, may be a risk factor for hypertension

GWAS of epigenetic aging rates in blood reveals a critical role for TERT.

DNA methylation age is an accurate biomarker of chronological age and predicts lifespan, but its underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this genome-wide association study of 9907 individuals, we find gene variants mapping to five loci associated with intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (IEAA) and gene variants in three loci associated with extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (EEAA). Mendelian randomization analysis suggests causal influences of menarche and menopause on IEAA and lipoproteins on IEAA and EEAA. Variants associated with longer leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) paradoxically confer higher IEAA (P < 2.7 × 10-11). Causal modeling indicates TERT-specific and independent effects on LTL and IEAA. Experimental hTERT-expression in primary human fibroblasts engenders a linear increase in DNA methylation age with cell population doubling number. Together, these findings indicate a critical role for hTERT in regulating the epigenetic clock, in addition to its established role of compensating for cell replication-dependent telomere shortening

3D XY and lowest Landau level fluctuations in deoxygenated YBCO thin films

Conductivity measurements reflect vortex solid melting in YBCO films. Field-independent glass exponents nu_g=1.9 and z_g=4.0 describe the transition T_g(H) for 0<H<26 T. At low fields, 3D XY exponents nu_{XY}=0.63 and z_{XY}=1.25 are also observed, with z_{XY} smaller than expected. These compete with glass scaling according to multicritical theory. A predicted power-law form of T_g(H) is observed for 0.5T_c<T_g<T_c. For T_g<0.5T_c, 3D XY scaling fails, but a lowest Landau level analysis becomes possible, obtaining T_{c2}(H) with positive curvature.Comment: 4 pages, 5 .eps figures, To be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Epigenetic clock analysis of diet, exercise, education, and lifestyle factors

Behavioral and lifestyle factors have been shown to relate to a number of health-related outcomes, yet there is a need for studies that examine their relationship to molecular aging rates. Toward this end, we use recent epigenetic biomarkers of age that have previously been shown to predict all-cause mortality, chronic conditions and age-related functional decline. We analyze cross-sectional data from 4,173 postmenopausal female participants from the Women's Health Initiative, as well as 402 male and female participants from the Italian cohort study, Invecchiare nel Chianti

Airborne particulate matter and mitochondrial damage: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oxidative stress generation is a primary mechanism mediating the effects of Particulate Matter (PM) on human health. Although mitochondria are both the major intracellular source and target of oxidative stress, the effect of PM on mitochondria has never been evaluated in exposed individuals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 63 male healthy steel workers from Brescia, Italy, studied between April and May 2006, we evaluated whether exposure to PM was associated with increased mitochondrial DNA copy number (MtDNAcn), an established marker of mitochondria damage and malfunctioning. Relative MtDNAcn (RMtDNAcn) was determined by real-time PCR in blood DNA obtained on the 1^st(time 1) and 4^thday (time 2) of the same work week. Individual exposures to PM₁₀, PM₁, coarse particles (PM₁₀-PM₁) and airborne metal components of PM₁₀(chromium, lead, arsenic, nickel, manganese) were estimated based on measurements in the 11 work areas and time spent by the study subjects in each area.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RMtDNAcn was higher on the 4^thday (mean = 1.31; 95%CI = 1.22 to 1.40) than on the 1^stday of the work week (mean = 1.09; 95%CI = 1.00 to 1.17). PM exposure was positively associated with RMtDNAcn on either the 4^th(PM₁₀: β = 0.06, 95%CI = -0.06 to 0.17; PM₁: β = 0.08, 95%CI = -0.08 to 0.23; coarse: β = 0.06, 95%CI = -0.06 to 0.17) or the 1^stday (PM₁₀: β = 0.18, 95%CI = 0.09 to 0.26; PM₁: β = 0.23, 95%CI = 0.11 to 0.35; coarse: β = 0.17, 95%CI = 0.09 to 0.26). Metal concentrations were not associated with RMtDNAcn.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PM exposure is associated with damaged mitochondria, as reflected in increased MtDNAcn. Damaged mitochondria may intensify oxidative-stress production and effects.</p