The place of general system theory in biological problems

Bertalanffy's "General System Theory" is a recent attempt to produce a theory which has relevance to the totality of human knowledge. The lack of success in such an endeavour is due to the paradox encountered therein. An analogous paradox, is encountered when viewing the photograph on page A. As one views the photograph, two forms express themselves, (a) 'faces’ are realised at the expense of the vase, (b) the 'vase' is realised at the expense of the 'faces'. Such 'faces'/'vase’ situations (opposing systems, opposing logics) are encountered within all basic concepts. This paradox is investigated by study of more general literature relating to time, probability and information and by way of symbolic logic with its process of conceptual transformation from induction to deduction. The results of some experiments, on the phenomena of form are presented and are applied to biology through a consideration of the concept of evolution. It is concluded that evolution is a composite of two parts;

Long-term all-sites cancer mortality time trends in Ohio, USA, 1970–2001: differences by race, gender and age

BACKGROUND: There were significant changes in cancer mortality in the USA over the last several decades, in the whole country and in particular states. However, no in depth analysis has been published so far, dealing with changes in mortality time trends in the state of Ohio. Since the state of Ohio belongs to the states of relatively high level of all-sites mortality in both males and females, it is of interest to analyze recent changes in mortality rates, as well as to compare them with the situation in the rest of the USA. The main aim of this study was to analyze, describe and interpret all-sites cancer mortality time trends in the population of the State of Ohio. METHODS: Cancer mortality data by age, sex, race and year for the period 1970–2001 were obtained from the Surveillance Research Program of the National Cancer Institute SEER*Stat software. A joinpoint regression methodology was used to provide estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) and to detect points in time where significant changes in the trends occurred. RESULTS: In both, males and females mortality rates were higher in blacks compared with whites. The difference was bigger in males (39.9%) than in women (23.3%). Mortality rates in Ohio are generally higher than average USA rates – an overall difference was 7.5% in men in 1997–2001, and 6.1% in women. All-sites mortality trends in Ohio and in the whole USA are similar. However, in general, mortality rates in Ohio remained elevated compared with the USA rates throughout the entire analyzed period. The exceptions are the rates in young and middle-aged African Americans. CONCLUSION: Although direction of time trends in Ohio are similar in Ohio and the whole US, Ohio still have cancer mortality rates higher than the US average. In addition, there is a significant discrepancy between white and black population of Ohio in all-sites mortality level, with disadvantage for Blacks. To diminish disparities in cancer mortality between African Americans and white inhabitants of Ohio efforts should be focused on increasing knowledge of black people regarding healthy lifestyle and behavioral risk factors, but also on diminishing socioeconomic differences, and last but not least, on better access to medical care

Investigation of occupational and environmental causes of respiratory cancers (ICARE): a multicenter, population-based case-control study in France

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Occupational causes of respiratory cancers need to be further investigated: the role of occupational exposures in the aetiology of head and neck cancers remains largely unknown, and there are still substantial uncertainties for a number of suspected lung carcinogens. The main objective of the study is to examine occupational risk factors for lung and head and neck cancers.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>ICARE is a multi-center, population-based case-control study, which included a group of 2926 lung cancer cases, a group of 2415 head and neck cancer cases, and a common control group of 3555 subjects. Incident cases were identified in collaboration with cancer registries, in 10 geographical areas. The control group was a random sample of the population of these areas, with a distribution by sex and age comparable to that of the cases, and a distribution by socioeconomic status comparable to that of the population. Subjects were interviewed face to face, using a standardized questionnaire collecting particularly information on tobacco and alcohol consumption, residential history and a detailed description of occupational history. Biological samples were also collected from study subjects. The main occupational exposures of interest are asbestos, man-made mineral fibers, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chromium and nickel compounds, arsenic, wood dust, textile dust, solvents, strong acids, cutting fluids, silica, diesel fumes, welding fumes. The complete list of exposures of interest includes more than 60 substances. Occupational exposure assessment will use several complementary methods: case-by-case evaluation of exposure by experts; development and use of algorithms to assess exposure from the questionnaires; application of job-exposure matrices.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The large number of subjects should allow to uncover exposures associated with moderate increase in risks, and to evaluate risks associated with infrequent or widely dispersed exposures. It will be possible to study joint effects of exposure to different occupational risk factors, to examine the interactions between occupational exposures, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and genetic risk factors, and to estimate the proportion of respiratory cancers attributable to occupational exposures in France. In addition, information on many non-occupational risk factors is available, and the study will provide an excellent framework for numerous studies in various fields.</p

The population-based oncological health care study OVIS – recruitment of the patients and analysis of the non-participants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ageing of the population is expected to bring an enormous growth in demand for oncological health care. In order to anticipate and respond to future trends, cancer care needs to be critically evaluated. The present study explores the possibility of conducting representative and population-based research on cancer care on the basis of data drawn from the Cancer Registry.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based state-wide cohort study (OVIS) has been carried out in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. All patients with malignant melanoma, breast, or prostate cancer were identified in the Cancer Registry. Epidemiological data were obtained for all the patients and screened for study eligibility. A postal questionnaire requesting information on diagnosis, therapy, QoL and aftercare was sent to eligible patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 11,489 persons diagnosed with the cancer types of interest in the period from January 2002 to July 2004 were registered in the Cancer Registry. Of the 5,354 (47%) patients who gave consent for research, 4,285 (80% of consenters) completed the questionnaire. In terms of relevant epidemiological variables, participants with melanoma were not found to be different from non-participants with the same diagnosis. However, participants with breast or prostate cancer were slightly younger and had smaller tumours than patients who did not participate in our study.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Population-based cancer registry data proved to be an invaluable resource for both patient recruitment and non-participant analysis. It can help improve our understanding of the strength and nature of differences between participants and non-respondents. Despite minor differences observed in breast and prostate cancer, the OVIS-sample seems to represent the source population adequately.</p

3D Finite Element Modelling of Cutting Forces in Drilling Fibre Metal Laminates and Experimental Hole Quality Analysis

Machining Glass fibre aluminium reinforced epoxy (GLARE) is cumbersome due to distinctively different mechanical and thermal properties of its constituents, which makes it challenging to achieve damage-free holes with the acceptable surface quality. The proposed work focuses on the study of the machinability of thin (~2.5 mm) GLARE laminate. Drilling trials were conducted to analyse the effect of feed rate and spindle speed on the cutting forces and hole quality. The resulting hole quality metrics (surface roughness, hole size, circularity error, burr formation and delamination) were assessed using surface profilometry and optical scanning techniques. A three dimensional (3D) finite-element (FE) model of drilling GLARE laminate was also developed using ABAQUS/Explicit to help understand the mechanism of drilling GLARE. The homogenised ply-level response of GLARE laminate was considered in the FE model to predict cutting forces in the drilling process

A 50% higher prevalence of life-shortening chronic conditions among cancer patients with low socioeconomic status

Background: Comorbidity and socioeconomic status (SES) may be related among cancer patients. Method : Population-based cancer registry study among 72 153 patients diagnosed during 1997-2006. Results : Low SES patients had 50% higher risk of serious comorbidity than those with high SES. Prevalence was increased for each cancer site. Low SES cancer patients had significantly higher risk of also having cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, tuberculosis, dementia, and gastrointestinal disease. One-year survival was significantly worse in lowest vs highest SES, partly explained by comorbidity. Conclusion : This illustrates the enormous heterogeneity of cancer patients and stresses the need for optimal treatment of cancer patients with a variety of concomitant chronic conditions

Assessment of coronary atherosclerosis by IVUS and IVUS-based imaging modalities: progression and regression studies, tissue composition and beyond

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and disability in the developed world, predominantly affecting the adult population. In the early 1990s coronary heart disease (CHD) was established as affecting one in two men and one in three women by the age of forty. Despite the dramatic progress in the field of cardiovascular medicine in terms of diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, modest improvements have only been achieved when the reduction of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity indices are assessed. To better understand coronary atherosclerosis, new imaging modalities have been introduced. These novel imaging modalities have been used in two ways: (1) for the characterization of plaque types; (2) for the assessment of the progression and regression of tissue types. These two aspects will be discussed in this review

Study of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 in breast carcinomas and their association with metastasis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have garnered an extraordinary amount of interest in cancer research due to their role in tumor progression. By activating the production of several biological factors, TLRs induce type I interferons and other cytokines, which drive an inflammatory response and activate the adaptive immune system. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and clinical relevance of TLR3, 4 and 9 in breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression levels of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 were analyzed on tumors from 74 patients with breast cancer. The analysis was performed by immunohistochemistry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Samples of carcinomas with recurrence exhibited a significant increase in the mRNA levels of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9. Tumors showed high expression of TLRs expression levels by cancer cells, especially TLR4 and 9. Nevertheless, a significant percentage of tumors also showed TLR4 expression by mononuclear inflammatory cells (21.6%) and TLR9 expression by fibroblast-like cells (57.5%). Tumors with high TLR3 expression by tumor cell or with high TLR4 expression by mononuclear inflammatory cells were significantly associated with higher probability of metastasis. However, tumours with high TLR9 expression by fibroblast-like cells were associated with low probability of metastasis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The expression levels of TLR3, TLR4 and TLR9 have clinical interest as indicators of tumor aggressiveness in breast cancer. TLRs may represent therapeutic targets in breast cancer.</p

Cancer mortality in the USA, 1997–2001, by state, gender and race – Age-adjusted mortality rates (World Standard Population)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Long-term all-sites cancer mortality time trends in Ohio, USA, 1970–2001: differences by race, gender and age"</p><p>BMC Cancer 2005;5():136-136.</p><p>Published online 20 Oct 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1277822.</p><p>Copyright © 2005 Tyczynski and Berkel; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.</p

Cancer mortality time trends, all sites, Ohio vs USA, 1970–2001, by race – Age-adjusted mortality rates (World Standard Population)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Long-term all-sites cancer mortality time trends in Ohio, USA, 1970–2001: differences by race, gender and age"</p><p>BMC Cancer 2005;5():136-136.</p><p>Published online 20 Oct 2005</p><p>PMCID:PMC1277822.</p><p>Copyright © 2005 Tyczynski and Berkel; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.</p