Radon exposure and cancers other than lung cancer in Swedish iron miners.

Data are presented on the risks of cancers other than lung cancer in a cohort of iron miners from northern Sweden occupationally exposed to elevated levels of the radioactive gas radon. Compared with rates for the four northernmost counties of Sweden, mortality was increased for all cancers other than lung cancer (ratio of observed to expected deaths 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.41), stomach cancer (ratio of observed to expected deaths 1.45, 95% confidence interval 1.04-1.98), and rectal cancer (ratio of observed to expected deaths 1.94, 95% confidence interval 1.03-3.31). Despite these overall increases, mortality was not significantly associated with cumulative exposure to radon, either for all cancers other than lung cancer or for any site of cancer other than lung cancer individually. However, the data from this cohort on its own have limited power; and for several sites of cancer the data in this study would be consistent with a radon-related increase. Further study of cancers other than lung cancer in populations exposed to radon is required

Linking Search Space Structure, Run-Time Dynamics, and Problem Difficulty: A Step Toward Demystifying Tabu Search

Tabu search is one of the most effective heuristics for locating high-quality solutions to a diverse array of NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. Despite the widespread success of tabu search, researchers have a poor understanding of many key theoretical aspects of this algorithm, including models of the high-level run-time dynamics and identification of those search space features that influence problem difficulty. We consider these questions in the context of the job-shop scheduling problem (JSP), a domain where tabu search algorithms have been shown to be remarkably effective. Previously, we demonstrated that the mean distance between random local optima and the nearest optimal solution is highly correlated with problem difficulty for a well-known tabu search algorithm for the JSP introduced by Taillard. In this paper, we discuss various shortcomings of this measure and develop a new model of problem difficulty that corrects these deficiencies. We show that Taillards algorithm can be modeled with high fidelity as a simple variant of a straightforward random walk. The random walk model accounts for nearly all of the variability in the cost required to locate both optimal and sub-optimal solutions to random JSPs, and provides an explanation for differences in the difficulty of random versus structured JSPs. Finally, we discuss and empirically substantiate two novel predictions regarding tabu search algorithm behavior. First, the method for constructing the initial solution is highly unlikely to impact the performance of tabu search. Second, tabu tenure should be selected to be as small as possible while simultaneously avoiding search stagnation; values larger than necessary lead to significant degradations in performance

Diet, smoking and lung cancer: a case-control study of 1000 cases and 1500 controls in South-West England

We have examined the relationship between diet and lung cancer in a case–control study of 982 cases of lung cancer and 1486 population controls in south-west England in which subjects were interviewed personally about their smoking habits and their consumption of foods and supplements rich in retinol or carotene. Analyses were performed for 15 dietary variables, including intake of pre-formed retinol and carotene. There were significant associations (P< 0.01) with lung cancer risk for 13 of the variables, eight of which remained after adjustment for smoking. When the 15 variables were considered simultaneously, independent significant associations remained for 5: pre-formed retinol (increased risk), and fish liver oil, vitamin pills, carrots and tomato sauce (decreased risk). It is unlikely that all five associations represent biological effects, or that they can all be explained by residual confounding by smoking, or by biases. We conclude that there is at least one as yet unidentified factor that is causally related to lung cancer risk and of considerable importance in terms of attributable risk in this population. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Innovation as a Nonlinear Process, the Scientometric Perspective, and the Specification of an "Innovation Opportunities Explorer"

The process of innovation follows non-linear patterns across the domains of science, technology, and the economy. Novel bibliometric mapping techniques can be used to investigate and represent distinctive, but complementary perspectives on the innovation process (e.g., "demand" and "supply") as well as the interactions among these perspectives. The perspectives can be represented as "continents" of data related to varying extents over time. For example, the different branches of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in the Medline database provide sources of such perspectives (e.g., "Diseases" versus "Drugs and Chemicals"). The multiple-perspective approach enables us to reconstruct facets of the dynamics of innovation, in terms of selection mechanisms shaping localizable trajectories and/or resulting in more globalized regimes. By expanding the data with patents and scholarly publications, we demonstrate the use of this multi-perspective approach in the case of RNA Interference (RNAi). The possibility to develop an "Innovation Opportunities Explorer" is specified.Comment: Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (forthcoming in 2013

Increased angiogenic factor secretion by decidual natural killer cells from pregnancies with high uterine artery resistance alters trophoblast function.

STUDY QUESTION Are the concentrations of factors secreted by decidual natural killer (dNK) cells from pregnancies at high risk of poor spiral artery remodelling different to those secreted from pregnancies at low risk? SUMMARY ANSWER Expression levels of PLGF, sIL-2R, endostatin and angiogenin were significantly increased by dNK cells from high-risk pregnancies, and angiogenin and endostatin were found to alter trophoblast function. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY During early pregnancy, maternal uterine spiral arteries are remodelled from small diameter, low-flow, high-resistance vessels into larger diameter, higher flow vessels, with low-resistance. This change is essential for the developing fetus to obtain sufficient oxygen and nutrients. dNK cells have been implicated in this process. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION dNK cells were isolated from first trimester terminations of pregnancies (obtained with local ethical approval) screened for normal- or high-resistance index, indicative of cases least (21%) likely to have developed pre-eclampsia had the pregnancy not been terminated (n = 18 each group). Secreted factors and the effects of these on the trophoblast cell line, SGHPL-4, were assessed in vitro. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS A multiplex assay was used to assess dNK cell-secreted factors. SGHPL-4 cell functions were assessed using time-lapse microscopy, 3D invasion assays, endothelial-like tube formation ability and western blot analysis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The expression levels of PLGF (P < 0.01), sIL-2R (P < 0.01), endostatin (P < 0.05) and angiogenin (P < 0.05) were significantly increased by dNK cells from high-risk pregnancies. Endostatin significantly decreased SGHPL-4 invasion (P < 0.05), SGHPL-4 tube formation (P < 0.05) and SGHPL-4 Aktser473 phosphorylation (P < 0.05). Angiogenin significantly decreased SGHPL-4 invasion (P < 0.05), but increased SGHPL-4 tube formation (P < 0.01) and decreased SGHPL-4 Aktser473 phosphorylation (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The culture of dNK cells and protein concentrations in vitro may not fully represent the in vivo situation. Although SGHPL-4 cells are extravillous trophoblast derived, further studies would be needed to confirm the roles of angiogenin and endostatin in vivo. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The altered expression of secreted factors of dNK cells may contribute to pregnancy disorders associated with poor spiral artery remodelling. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the Wellcome Trust (project reference 091550). R.F. was a recipient of a PhD studentship from the Division of Biomedical Sciences, St. George's, University of London. The authors have no conflict of interests

Aphrati and Kato Syme: Pottery, Continuity, and Cult in Late Archaic and Classical Crete

The analysis of ceramics from Aphrati sheds valuable new light on the history of this Cretan settlement and on its relationship with a nearby rural sanctuary at Kato Syme in the Late Archaic and Classical periods. It has long been held that Aphrati was deserted from ca. 600 to 400 B.C. A pottery deposit from the domestic quarter, however, now supports occupation of the city during this period. A ceramic classification system is presented and the morphological development and absolute chronology of several key shapes at Aphrati and Kato Syme are plotted. Historical implications of the ceramic evidence are also explored

Gender differences in lung cancer risk by smoking: a multicentre case-control study in Germany and Italy

Several studies in the past have shown appreciably higher lung cancer risk estimates associated with smoking exposure among men than among women, while more recent studies in the USA report just the opposite. To evaluate this topic in a European population we conducted a case-control study of lung cancer in three German and three Italian centres. Personal interviews and standardized questionnaires were used to obtain detailed life-long smoking and occupational histories from 3723 male and 900 female cases and 4075 male and 1094 female controls. Lung cancer risk comparing ever-smokers with never-smokers was higher among men (odds ratios (OR) adjusted for age and centre = 16.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 12.8-20.3) than among women (OR = 4.2, CI 3.5-5.1). Because the smoking habits of women were different from men, we conducted more detailed analyses using comparable levels of smoking exposure. After restriction to smokers and adjustment for other smoking variables, risk estimates did not differ appreciably between genders. The analysis of duration of smoking (0-19, 20-39, 40+ years) adjusted for cigarette consumption and time since quitting smoking revealed similar risk estimates in men (OR = 1.0, 3.3 [CI 2.6-4.2], 4.1 [CI 3.1-5.6]) and women (OR = 1.0, 2.7 [CI 1.7-4.1], 3.3 [CI 1.9-5.8]). The same was true of the analysis of average or cumulative smoking consumption, and also of analyses stratified by different histological types. We conclude that for comparable exposure to tobacco smoke, the risk of lung cancer is comparable in women and men

A new initialization procedure for the distributed estimation of distribution algorithms

Estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs) are one of the most promising paradigms in today’s evolutionary computation. In this field, there has been an incipient activity in the so-called parallel estimation of distribution algorithms (pEDAs). One of these approaches is the distributed estimation of distribution algorithms (dEDAs). This paper introduces a new initialization mechanism for each of the populations of the islands based on the Voronoi cells. To analyze the results, a series of different experiments using the benchmark suite for the special session on Real-parameter Optimization of the IEEE CEC 2005 conference has been carried out. The results obtained suggest that the Voronoi initialization method considerably improves the performance obtained from a traditional uniform initialization