Inflammatory potential of the diet and risk of colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

Pro-inflammatory diets are associated with risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), however inconsistencies exist in subsite- and sex-specific associations. The relationship between CRC and combined lifestyle-related factors that contribute towards a low-grade inflammatory profile has not yet been explored. We examined the association between the dietary inflammatory potential and an inflammatory profile and CRC risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. This cohort included 476,160 participants followed-up of 14 years and 5,991 incident CRC cases (3,897 colon and 2,094 rectal tumours). Dietary inflammatory potential was estimated using an Inflammatory Score of the Diet (ISD). An Inflammatory Profile Score (IPS) was constructed, incorporating the ISD, physical activity level and abdominal obesity. The associations between the ISD and CRC and IPS and CRC were assessed using multivariable regression models. More pro- inflammatory diets were related to a higher CRC risk, particularly for colon cancer; Hazar Ratio (HR) for highest versus lowest ISD quartile was 1.15 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-1.27) for CRC, 1.24 (95% CI 1.09-1.41) for colon cancer and 0.99 (95% CI 0.83-1.17) for rectal cancer. Associations were more pronounced in men and not significant in women. The IPS was associated with CRC risk, particularly colon cancer among men; HRs for the highest versus lowest IPS were 1.62 (95% CI 1.31- 2.01) for colon cancer overall and 2.11 (95% CI 1.50-2.97) for colon cancer in men. This study shows that more pro-inflammatory diets and a more inflammatory profile are associated with higher risk of CRC, principally colon cancer and in men. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

MicroMotility: State of the art, recent accomplishments and perspectives on the mathematical modeling of bio-motility at microscopic scales

Mathematical modeling and quantitative study of biological motility (in particular, of motility at microscopic scales) is producing new biophysical insight and is offering opportunities for new discoveries at the level of both fundamental science and technology. These range from the explanation of how complex behavior at the level of a single organism emerges from body architecture, to the understanding of collective phenomena in groups of organisms and tissues, and of how these forms of swarm intelligence can be controlled and harnessed in engineering applications, to the elucidation of processes of fundamental biological relevance at the cellular and sub-cellular level. In this paper, some of the most exciting new developments in the fields of locomotion of unicellular organisms, of soft adhesive locomotion across scales, of the study of pore translocation properties of knotted DNA, of the development of synthetic active solid sheets, of the mechanics of the unjamming transition in dense cell collectives, of the mechanics of cell sheet folding in volvocalean algae, and of the self-propulsion of topological defects in active matter are discussed. For each of these topics, we provide a brief state of the art, an example of recent achievements, and some directions for future research

Circulating vitamin D in relation to cancer incidence and survival of the head and neck and oesophagus in the EPIC cohort

Experimental and epidemiological data suggest that vitamin D play a role in pathogenesis and progression of cancer, but prospective data on head and neck cancer (HNC) and oesophagus cancer are limited. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study recruited 385,747 participants with blood samples between 1992 and 2000. This analysis includes 497 case-control pairs of the head and neck and oesophagus, as well as 443 additional controls. Circulating 25(OH)D3 were measured in pre-diagnostic samples and evaluated in relation to HNC and oesophagus cancer risk and post-diagnosis all-cause mortality. After controlling for risk factors, a doubling of 25(OH)D3 was associated with 30% lower odds of HNC (OR 0.70, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.56-0.88, Ptrend = 0.001). Subsequent analyses by anatomical sub-site indicated clear inverse associations with risk of larynx and hypopharynx cancer combined (OR 0.55, 95CI% 0.39-0.78) and oral cavity cancer (OR 0.60, 95CI% 0.42-0.87). Low 25(OH)D3 concentrations were also associated with higher risk of death from any cause among HNC cases. No clear association was seen with risk or survival for oesophageal cancer. Study participants with elevated circulating concentrations of 25(OH)D3 had decreased risk of HNC, as well as improved survival following diagnosis

Chaotic Time Series for Copper’s Price Forecast

Part 4: Business Intelligence and AnalyticsInternational audienceWe investigated the potential of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), ANN to forecasts in chaotic series of the price of copper; based on different combinations of structure and possibilities of knowledge in big discovery data. Two neural network models were built to predict the price of copper of the London Metal Exchange (LME) with lots of 100 to 1000 data. We used the Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN) algorithm and Cascade Forward Neural Network (CFNN) combining training, transfer and performance implemented functions in MatLab. The main findings support the use of the ANN in financial forecasts in series of copper prices. The copper price’s forecast using different batches size of data can be improved by changing the number of neurons, functions of transfer, and functions of performance s. In addition, a negative correlation of −0.79 was found in performance indicators using RMS and IA

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and lymphoma risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

There is growing evidence of the protective role of the Mediterranean diet (MD) on cancer. However, no prospective study has yet investigated its influence on lymphoma. We evaluated the association between adherence to the MD and risk of lymphoma and its subtypes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. The analysis included 476,160 participants, recruited from ten European countries between 1991 and 2001. Adherence to the MD was estimated through an adapted relative Mediterranean diet (arMED) score excluding alcohol. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used while adjusting for potential confounders. During an average follow‐up of 13.9 years, 3,136 lymphomas (135 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), 2,606 non‐Hodgkin lymphoma and 395 lymphoma NOS) were identified. Overall, a 1‐unit increase in the arMED score was associated with a 2% lower risk of lymphoma (95% CI: 0.97; 1.00, p‐trend=0.03) while a statistically non‐significant inverse association between a high versus low arMED score and risk of lymphoma was observed (HR: 0.91 (95% CI 0.80; 1.03), p‐trend=0.12). Analyses by lymphoma subtype did not reveal any statistically significant associations. Albeit with small numbers of cases (N= 135), a suggestive inverse association was found for HL (HR 1‐unit increase= 0.93 (95% CI: 0.86; 1.01), p‐trend=0.07). However, the study may have lacked statistical power to detect small effect sizes for lymphoma subtype. Our findings suggest that an increasing arMED score was inversely related to the risk of overall lymphoma in EPIC, but not by subtypes. Further large prospective studies are warranted to confirm these findings

Variability of fish consumption within the 10 European countries participating in the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study

Objective: To describe and compare the consumption of total fish (marine foods) and the fish sub-groups - white fish, fatty fish, very fatty fish, fish products and crustacea, in participants from the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of dietary intake using a computerised standardised 24-hour recall interview. Crude means, means and standard errors adjusted by age, season and day of the week were calculated, stratified by centre and gender. Setting: Twenty-seven redefined centres in the 10 European countries participating in the EPIC study. Subjects: In total, 35 955 subjects (13 031 men and 22 924 women), aged 35-74 years, selected from the main EPIC cohort. Results: A six- to sevenfold variation in total fish consumption exists in women and men, between the lowest consumption in Germany and the highest in Spain. Overall, white fish represented 49% and 45% of the intake of total fish in women and men, respectively, with the greatest consumption in centres in Spain and Greece and the least in the German and Dutch centres. Consumption of fatty fish reflected that of total fish. However, the greatest intake of very fatty fish was in the coastal areas of northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) and in Germany. Consumption of fish products was greater in northern than in southern Europe, with white fish products predominating in centres in France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and Norway. Intake of roe and roe products was low. The highest consumption of crustacea was found in the French, Spanish and Italian centres. The number of fish types consumed was greater in southern than in northern Europe. The greatest variability in consumption by day of the week was found in the countries with the lowest fish intake. Conclusions: Throughout Europe, substantial geographic variation exists in total fish intake, fish sub-groups and the number of types consumed. Day-to-day variability in consumption is also high