Mammography-based screening program: preliminary results from a first 2-year round in a Brazilian region using mobile and fixed units

RLH, TBS and ALF made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the article, the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of the data, and drafting of the article. ECM, JSCM and NB made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the study.Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide. The use of mobile mammography units to offer screening to women living in remote areas is a rational strategy to increase the number of women examined. This study aimed to evaluate results from the first 2 years of a government-organized mammography screening program implemented with a mobile unit (MU) and a fixed unit (FU) in a rural county in Brazil. The program offered breast cancer screening to women living in Barretos and the surrounding area. Methods: Based on epidemiologic data, 54 238 women, aged 40 to 69 years, were eligible for breast cancer screening. The study included women examined from April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2005. The chi-square test and Bonferroni correction analyses were used to evaluate the frequencies of tumors and the importance of clinical parameters and tumor characteristics. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Overall, 17 964 women underwent mammography. This represented 33.1% of eligible women in the area. A mean of 18.6 and 26.3 women per day were examined in the FU and MU, respectively. Seventy six patients were diagnosed with breast cancer (41 (54%) in the MU). This represented 4.2 cases of breast cancer per 1000 examinations. The number of cancers detected was significantly higher in women aged 60 to 69 years than in those aged 50 to 59 years (p < 0.001) or 40 to 49 years (p < 0.001). No difference was observed between women aged 40 to 49 years and those aged 50 to 59 years (p = 0.164). The proportion of tumors in the early (EC 0 and EC I) and advanced (CS III and CS IV) stages of development were 43.4% and 15.8%, respectively. Conclusions: Preliminary results indicate that this mammography screening program is feasible for implementation in a rural Brazilian territory and favor program continuation

Exploration de l'hydrodynamique d'un biofiltre de nitrification tertiaire en grandeur réelle

[Departement_IRSTEA]GMA [TR1_IRSTEA]21 - TECHNEAU / EPURENational audienceThe hydrodynamic behaviour of a biofilter used for nitrification of domestic effluents in tertiary treatment is explored. The plant is an industrial prototype of a horizontal suface of 144 m2. It is filled with a media whose granulometry is 3,5 mm, on a height of 4 m. The residence time distributions were obtained from lithium chloride tracer experiments. The space variability of the average residence times of the tracer measured at the surface of biofilter is very significant and is explained mainly by the geometry of system of distribution of the effluent under the biofilter, the residence times within the material bed being on the contrary homogeneous. The hydrodnamic behaviour of the biofilter is close to a plug flow with axial dispersion. The consequences of the measured heterogeneity on the quality of the treated effluent are evaluated using a model of nitrification by the biofilm.Le comportement hydrodynamique d'un biofiltre de nitrification tertiaire d'effluents domestiques est exploré. Il s'agit d'un prototype industriel d'une surface horizontale de 144 m2. Il est rempli d'un matériau dont la granulométrie est de 3,5 mm, sur une hauteur de 4 m. Les distributions des temps de séjour ont été obtenues à partir de traçages au chlorure de lithium. La variabilité spatiale des temps de séjour moyens du traceur mesurés à la surface du matériau est très importante et s'explique principalement par la géométrie de système de distribution de l'effluent sous le lit, les temps de séjour au sein du lit de matériau étant au contraire homogènes. Le comportement du lit est proche d'un réacteur piston avec dispersion axiale. Les conséquences de l'hétérogénéité mesurée sur la qualité du traitement sont évaluées à l'aide d'un modèle de nitrification par le biofilm

Comparison of four skeletal methods for the estimation of age at death on white and black adults

When analyzing human adult skeletal remains, it is often difficult to decide whether a single aging method will give a more reliable age estimation than a combination of methods. This study evaluates four macroscopic indicators for age estimation on 218 American White and Black individuals, ranging in age from 25 to 90 years of age, from the Terry collection. Individuals in the sample were selected to have a balanced race, sex, and age distribution. The following aging methods were applied to each skeleton by one experienced observer: the Suchey-Brooks (SB) pubic symphysis method, the Lovejoy auricular surface method, the monoradicular teeth Lamendin (LM) method, and the I\u15fcan (IC) method for fourth ribs. The statistical study involved the evaluation of inaccuracy and bias (based on median age) for each age indicator and the combination of methods using Principal component analysis (PCA). Analysis was performed on the entire sample, then by race, then sex, and then age group (25-40 years, 41-60 years, and >60 years). PCA was the most accurate method for both racial groups when all age groups are analyzed together. When the sample was divided into age groups, SB was the most accurate for young adults (25-40 years) and LM was the most accurate for middle adults (41-60 years). After the age of 60, all methods are highly inaccurate, although IC gives the lowest inaccuracy. As regards bias, the study highlights the tendency of all methods to overestimate the age of young individuals and to underestimate in the older age group. No single skeletal indicator of age at death is ever likely to reflect accurately the many factors that accumulate with chronological age. In fact, one must use as many dental and skeletal indicators as possible. However, in order to maximize the potential of each method, in the final evaluation one should consider mainly the method or methods that have a higher accuracy for a particular age range

Influence of mineral dust transport on the chemical composition and physical properties of the Eastern Mediterranean aerosol

Bulk aerosol samples were collected from three different coastal rural sites located around the Eastern Mediterranean, (i) Erdemli (ER), Turkey, (ii) Heraklion (HR), Crete, Greece, and (iii) Tel Shikmona (TS), Israel, during two distinct mineral dust periods (October, 2007 and April, 2008) in order to explore the temporal and geographical variability in the aerosol chemical composition. Samples were analyzed for trace elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ca, Cr, Zn, Cu, V, Ni, Cd, Pb) and water-soluble ions (Cl-, NO3-, SO42-, C2O42-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+). The dust events were categorized on the basis of Al concentrations > 1000 ng m(-3), SKIRON dust forecast model and 3-day back trajectories into three groups namely, Middle East, Mixed and Saharan desert. ER and TS were substantially affected by dust events originating from the Middle East, particularly in October, whilst HR was not influenced by dust transport from the Middle East. Higher AOT values were particularly associated with higher Al concentrations. Contrary to the highest Al concentration: 6300 ng m(-3), TS showed relatively lower Al and AOT. Al concentrations at ER were similar for October and April, whilst OMI-Al and AOT values were similar to 2 times higher in April. This might be attributed to the weak sensitivity of the TOMS instrument to absorbing aerosols near the ground and optical difference between Middle East and Saharan desert dusts. The lowest enhancement of anthropogenic aerosol species was observed at HR during dust events (nssSO(4)(2-)/nssCa(2+) similar to 0.13). These species were particularly enhanced when mineral dust arrived at sites after passing through populated and industrialized urban areas. (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Coastal hypoxia and eutrophication as key controls on benthic release and water column dynamics of iron and manganese

Continental shelves are a major source of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) to marine waters. Here, we investigate controls on benthic release of Fe and Mn and the impact on the water column in the Baltic Sea. We find high in situ benthic release rates of dissolved Fe and Mn at seasonally hypoxic sites (bottom water oxygen between 0–63 μmol L−1) receiving high inputs of organic matter. We find that benthic Fe and Mn release is sensitive to bottom water oxygen concentrations. Benthic Fe release is likely additionally controlled by Fe–sulfur redox chemistry in the surface sediment. For Mn, benthic release correlates positively with Mn oxide availability in the surface sediment. Benthic release contributes to high dissolved Fe and Mn concentrations in the water column and is amplified by repeated cycling of Fe and Mn between the sediment and overlying water through benthic release, oxidation in the water column, deposition as metal oxides, followed by reductive dissolution. Most water column Fe (∼ 80%) is present in particulate form near the seafloor. In contrast to Fe, a large percentage of the Mn remains dissolved (∼ 50%). We show that easily reducible Fe and Mn oxides are key forms of particulate Fe and Mn in suspended matter. The Baltic Sea represents a highly eutrophic, low oxygen end‐member when compared to other modern coastal systems. Our results imply that, upon continued eutrophication and deoxygenation of the coastal ocean, benthic release of dissolved Fe and Mn from continental shelves could become greater than previously thought

Iron solubility in crustal and anthropogenic aerosols: The Eastern Mediterranean as a case study

We report seawater dissolution experiments for aerosol samples simultaneously collected (October 2007) across the Levantine Basin (LB, Eastern Mediterranean Sea), a marine system influenced by seasonal atmospheric inputs. Two distinct populations exhibited contrasting kinetic profiles; those representative of strong Saharan dust events which had variable iron release profiles with a maximum solubility of 0.94 +/- 1.48% (1 s.d.) whereas those which had a relatively greater anthropogenic influence had consistent profiles (fast release, <= 2 h, of dissolved iron in seawater followed by removal) with a maximum solubility of 11.5 +/- 9.3% (1 s.d.). First estimates of atmospheric fluxes of soluble iron are presented, ranging from 8.64 +/- 10.76 mg m(-2) y(-1) for the Northern LB to 6.48 +/- 7.78 mg m(-2) y(-1) for the Southern LB. Estimates of Fe fluxes to oceanic basins are important for constraining the global iron budget, and dust dissolution kinetic profiles provide information on the mechanisms involved during the release of aerosol Fe in seawater post atmospheric deposition. Published by Elsevier B.V