Trends of oral cavity, oropharyngeal and laryngeal cancer incidence in Scotland (1975 - 2012) - a socioeconomic perspective

Aim: To examine current incidence trends (1975–2012) of oral cavity (OCC), oropharyngeal (OPC) and laryngeal cancer in Scotland by socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: We included all diagnosed cases of OCC (C00.3-C00.9, C02-C06 excluding C2.4), OPC (C01, C2.4, C09-C10, C14) and laryngeal cancer (C32) on the Scottish Cancer Registry (1975–2012) and annual midterm population estimates by age, sex, geographic region and SES indices (Carstairs 1991 and Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2009). Age-standardized incidence rates were computed and adjusted Poisson regression rate-ratios (RR) compared subsites by age, sex, region, SES and year of diagnosis. Results: We found 28,217 individuals (19,755 males and 8462 females) diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC) over the study period. Between 1975 and 2012, relative to the least deprived areas, those living in the most deprived areas exhibited the highest RR (>double) of OCC, OPC and laryngeal cancer, and an almost dose-like response was observed between SES and HNC incidence. Between 2001 and 2012, this socioeconomic inequality tended to increase over time for OPC and laryngeal cancer but remained relatively unchanged for OCC. Incidence rates increased markedly for OPC, decreased for laryngeal cancer and remained stable for OCC, particularly in the last decade. Males exhibited significantly higher RRs compared to females, and the peak age of incidence of OPC was slightly lower than the other subsites. Conclusion: Contrary to reports that OPC exhibits an inverse socioeconomic profile, Scotland country-level data show that those from the most deprived areas consistently have the highest rates of head and neck cancers

Precision and uncertainties in mass scale predictions in SUSY SO(10) with SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_{B-L} x SU(3)_C intermediate breaking

In a class of SUSY SO(10) with $SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_{B-L} x SU(3)_C$ $(g_{2L}\neq g_{2R})$ intermediate gauge symmetry, we observe that the prediction on the unification mass $(M_U)$ is unaffected by Planck-scale-induced gravitational and intermediate-scale-threshold effects, although the intermediate scale $(M_I)$ itself is subject to such corrections. In particular, without invoking the presence of additional lighter scalar degrees of freedom but including plausible and reasonable threshold effects, we find that interesting solutions for neutrino physics corresponding to $M_I\simeq 10^{10}-10^{13}$ GeV and $M_U\simeq (5-6) x 10^{17}$ GeV are permitted in the minimal models. Possibilities of low-mass right-handed gauge bosons corresponding to $M_I\simeq 1-10$ TeV consistent with the CERN-LEP data are pointed out in a number of models when threshold effects are included using effective mass parameters.Comment: 12 pages including 7 tables (Typos corrected as per the published version

Behaviour of Cyclically Loaded Model Piles in Soft Clay

Instability studies on offshore piles has been carried out to a very limited extent. Cyclic loading resulting from wave action is a very common phenomenon for such piles. Continuous cycling {both vertical and lateral) presumably leads to substantial degradation in pile-soil response, the ultimate result of which could be disastrous. Over the last decade and a half, some work has been done to study the pile-soil interaction behaviour under repeated cyclic loading. This paper aims to highlight and discuss the salient features and the important observations of extensive model tests on piles subjected to vertical cyclic load. The degradation of pile-soil behaviour with different parameters have been studied, rationally analysed and a set of definite conclusions drawn therefrom

Effects of different ACE inhibitor combinations on albuminuria: results of the GUARD study

Clinical practice guidelines recommend blockers of the renin-angiotensin system alone or in combination with other agents to reduce blood pressure and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes. Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, however, may lower blood pressure but not albuminuria in these patients. Here we tested the hypothesis that combining an ACE inhibitor with either a thiazide diuretic or a calcium channel blocker will cause similar reductions in blood pressure and albuminuria in hypertensive type 2 diabetics. We conducted a double blind randomized controlled trial on 332 hypertensive, albuminuric type 2 diabetic patients treated with benazepril with either amlodipine or hydrochlorothiazide for 1 year. The trial employed a non-inferiority design. Both combinations significantly reduced the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio and sitting blood pressure of the entire cohort. The percentage of patients progressing to overt proteinuria was similar for both groups. When we examined patients who had only microalbuminuria and hypertension we found that a larger percentage of the diuretic and ACE inhibitor normalized their albuminuria. We conclude that initial treatment using benzaepril with a diuretic resulted in a greater reduction in albuminuria compared to the group of ACE inhibitor and calcium channel blocker. In contrast, blood pressure reduction, particularly the diastolic component, favored the combination with amilodipine. The dissociation between reductions in blood pressure and albuminuria may be related to factors other than blood pressure

Data on a Laves phase intermetallic matrix composite in situ toughened by ductile precipitates

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “Laves phase intermetallic matrix composite in situ toughened by ductile precipitates” (Knowles et al.) [1]. The composite comprised a Fe2(Mo, Ti) matrix with bcc (Mo, Ti) precipitated laths produced in situ by an aging heat treatment, which was shown to confer a toughening effect (Knowles et al.) [1]. Here, details are given on a focused ion beam (FIB) slice and view experiment performed on the composite so as to determine that the 3D morphology of the bcc (Mo, Ti) precipitates were laths rather than needles. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (S(TEM)) micrographs of the microstructure as well as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) maps are presented that identify the elemental partitioning between the C14 Laves matrix and the bcc laths, with Mo rejected from the matrix into laths. A TEM selected area diffraction pattern (SADP) and key is provided that was used to validate the orientation relation between the matrix and laths identified in (Knowles et al.) [1] along with details of the transformation matrix determined

Reference performance test Methodology for degradation assessment of lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) is an emerging battery technology receiving a growing amount of attention due to its potentially high gravimetric energy density, safety, and low production cost. However, there are still some obstacles preventing its swift commercialization. Li-S batteries are driven by different electrochemical processes than commonly used Lithium-ion batteries, which often results in very different behavior. Therefore, the testing and modeling of these systems have to be adjusted to reflect their unique behavior and to prevent possible bias. A methodology for a Reference Performance Test (RPT) for the Li-S batteries is proposed in this study to point out Li-S battery features and provide guidance to users how to deal with them and possible results into standardization. The proposed test methodology is demonstrated for 3.4 Ah Li-S cells aged under different conditions

Cohort profile: a national, population-based cohort of children born after assisted conception in the UK (1992–2009): methodology and birthweight analysis

PURPOSE: To generate a large cohort of children born after assisted reproductive technology (ART) in the UK between 1992 and 2009, their naturally conceived siblings (NCS) and matched naturally conceived population (NCP) controls and linking this with health outcome data to allow exploration of the effects of ART. The effects of fresh and frozen embryo transfer on birth weight (BW) were analysed to test the validity of the cohort. PARTICIPANTS: Children recorded on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) register as being born after ART between 1992 and 2009, their NCS and matched NCP controls linked to Office for National Statistics birth registration dataset (HFEA-ONS cohort). This cohort was further linked to the UK Hospital Episode Statistics database to allow monitoring of the child's post-natal health outcomes up to 2015 (HFEA-ONS-HES subcohort). FINDINGS TO DATE: The HFEA-ONS cohort consisted of 75 348 children born after non-donor ART carried out in the UK between 1 April 1992 and 31 July 2009 and successfully linked to birth registration records, 14 763 NCS and 164 823 matched NCP controls. The HFEA-ONS-HES subcohort included 63 877 ART, 11 343 NCS and 127 544 matched NCP controls further linked to health outcome data. The exemplar analysis showed that children born after fresh embryo transfers were lighter (BW difference: -131 g, 95% CI: -140 to -123) and those born after frozen embryo transfers were heavier (BW difference: 35 g, 95% CI: 19 to 52) than the NCP controls. The within-sibling analyses were directionally consistent with the population control analyses, but attenuated markedly for the fresh versus natural conception (BW difference: -54 g; 95% CI: -72 to -36) and increased markedly for the frozen versus natural conception (BW difference: 152 g; 95% CI: 113 to 190) analyses. FUTURE PLANS: To use this cohort to explore the relationship between ART conception and short-term and long-term health outcomes in offspring

Switching the stereochemical outcome of 6-endo-trig cyclizations; Synthesis of 2,6-Cis-6-substituted 4-oxopipecolic acids

A base-mediated 6-endo-trig cyclization of readily accessible enone-derived α-amino acids has been developed for the direct synthesis of novel 2,6-cis-6- substituted-4-oxo-L-pipecolic acids. A range of aliphatic and aryl side chains were tolerated by this mild procedure to give the target compounds in good overall yields. Molecular modeling of the 6-endo-trig cyclization allowed some insight as to how these compounds were formed, with the enolate intermediate generated via an equilibrium process, followed by irreversible tautomerization/neutralization providing the driving force for product formation. Stereoselective reduction and deprotection of the resulting 2,6-cis-6-substituted 4-oxo-L-pipecolic acids to the corresponding 4-hydroxy-L-pipecolic acids was also performed

Development of an Innovative Mobile Phone-Based Newborn Care Training Application

Mobile infrastructure in low - and middle-income countries (LMIC) has shown immense potential to reach the unreachable. Healthcare providers (HCP) are one such group who are at the frontline of the fight against infant mortality in LMICs. Mortality among newborn infants (birth to 28 days) now accounts for around 45% of all under 5-years child mortality. Birth asphyxia is one of the three leading causes of newborn death; neonatal resuscitation training, among health care providers, reduces mortality from birth asphyxia. We have developed a mobile phone-based training app, called mobile Helping Babies Survive (mHBS), to support the training of health care providers on neonatal resuscitation. mHBS is integrated with the District Health Information System (DHIS2) platform, which is used in over 60 countries around the world. The mHBS/DHIS2 training app is a part of an application suite which includes another DHIS2-linked data collection app, mHBS tracker. The mHBS training application has the potential to scale-up integration with other neonatal training apps. Ultimately, the mHBS training suite will provide new insights into healthcare worker education along with the necessary tools for effective care of newborn babies