Disparities in Cause-Specific Cancer Survival by Census Tract Poverty Level in Idaho, U.S.

Objective. This population-based study compared cause-specific cancer survival by socioeconomic status using methods to more accurately assign cancer deaths to primary site. Methods. The current study analyzed Idaho data used in the Accuracy of Cancer Mortality Statistics Based on Death Certificates (ACM) study supplemented with additional information to measure cause-specific cancer survival by census tract poverty level. Results. The distribution of cases by primary site group differed significantly by poverty level (chi-square = 265.3, 100 df, p In the life table analyses, for 8 of 24 primary site groups investigated, and all sites combined, there was a significant gradient relating higher poverty with poorer survival. For all sites combined, the absolute difference in 5-year cause-specific survival rate was 13.6% between the lowest and highest poverty levels. Conclusions. This study shows striking disparities in cause-specific cancer survival related to the poverty level of the area a person resides in at the time of diagnosis

Estrés y muerte celular programada en leguminosas: efectos de la expresión de supresores de muerte celular

Tesis para obtener el grado de Doctor en Ciencias Biológicas, de la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, en 2012En leguminosas, condiciones de estrés aceleran el proceso de senescencia e inducen muerte celular, comprometiendo la asimilación del carbono, la fijación biológica del nitrógeno y en consecuencia el crecimiento y la productividad. La hipótesis inicialmente planteada fue que la expresión de supresores de muerte de origen animal retardan los procesos de senescencia y muerte del sistema planta-simbionte bajo condiciones de estrés. Debido a que no se logró obtener plantas enteras transformadas, se optimizó la generación de plantas compuestas con raíces en cabellera transgénicas. Curiosamente, las raíces de soja transgénicas con expresión de Ced-9, proteína anti-apoptótica de Caenorhabditis elegans que no presenta homólogos identificados en el reino vegetal, tuvieron disminuida su capacidad de nodulación; resultado que nos condujo a replantear nuestros objetivos iniciales. La proteína CED-9 conservó sus funciones en plantas de soja sometidas a condiciones de estrés, inhibiendo procesos de muerte celular, lo que sugiere un nivel de funcionalidad similar entre los componentes que forman parte de los mecanismos de muerte celular programada en plantas y animales. No obstante, aún no se han determinado los mecanismos por los que estas proteínas ejercen sus efectos en las plantas. En este sentido, hemos observado la capacidad de CED-9 de controlar la homeostasis iónica y de regular el proceso de autofagia, explicando, al menos en parte, la función conservada de los anti-apoptóticos de animales en plantas de soja y sus efectos sobre la nodulación y procesos de muerte celular. Asimismo, con el objetivo de evaluar la participación de autofagia en los procesos mencionados, se utilizaron herramientas farmacológicas y de genómica funcional. Estas aproximaciones demostraron la implicancia de autofagia en los mecanismos de sobrevida y en la simbiosis soja-Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Finalmente, se propone que la capacidad de CED-9 de regular autofagia en soja se debe a su potencial interacción con el dominio putativo BH3 de la proteína GmATG6/BEC-1, regulador maestro de dicho proceso. Estudios futuros serán realizados para comprobar esta hipótesis.In legumes, stress conditions accelerate the senescence process and induce cell death, compromising the carbon assimilation, biological nitrogen fixation, and consequently growth and productivity. The initial hypothesis was that the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins from animals, which have no homologues identified in plants, delays senescence and death processes of the plant-symbiont system in legumes under stress conditions. The generation of composite plants with transgenic hairy roots was optimized due to it was not possible to obtain whole plants transformed. Interestingly, transgenic soybean roots expressing the anti-apoptotic protein CED-9 from Caenorhabditis elegans had diminished nodulation capacity. This result led us to reconsider our initial objectives. CED-9 protein retained its functions in soybean plants under stress conditions, inhibiting cell death processes, suggesting similar functionality level between the components of the mechanisms of programmed cell death in plants and animals. However, the mechanisms by which these proteins exert their effects on plants are not yet determined. In this sense, we have observed the ability of CED-9 to control ionic homeostasis and regulate the process of autophagy, explaining, at least in part, the conserved function of the anti-apoptotic in soybean plants and its effect on nodulation and cell death processes. Furthermore, pharmacological tools and functional genomics were used in order to evaluate the involvement of autophagy in the above processes. These approaches demonstrated the implication of autophagy in survival mechanisms and in the soybean-Bradyrhizobium japonicum symbiosis. Finally, it is proposed that CED-9 regulates autophagy in soybean due to its potential interaction with the putative BH3 domain in GmATG6/BEC-1 protein, master regulator of this process. Future studies will be conducted to test this hypothesis.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Robert, German. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina

Comments on Jacobson’s “entanglement equilibrium and the Einstein equation”

Using holographic calculations, we examine a key assumption made in Jacobson’s recent argument for deriving Einstein’s equations from vacuum entanglement entropy. Our results involving relevant operators with low conformal dimensions seem to conflict with Jacobson’s assumption. However, we discuss ways to circumvent this problem.Fil: Casini, Horacio German. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Galante, Damián A.. Western University; Canadá. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; CanadáFil: Myers, Robert C.. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; Canad

Magnetotransport of Functional Oxide Heterostructures Affected by Spin-Orbit Coupling: A Tale of Two-Dimensional Systems

Oxide heterostructures allow for detailed studies of 2D electronic transport phenomena. Herein, different facets of magnetotransport in selected spin-orbit-coupled systems are analyzed and characterized by their single-band and multiband behavior, respectively. Experimentally, temperature- and magnetic field-dependent measurements in the single-band system BaPbO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ reveal strong interplay of weak antilocalization (WAL) and electron-electron interaction (EEI). Within a scheme which treats both, WAL and EEI, on an equal footing a strong contribution of EEI at low temperatures is found which suggests the emergence of a strongly correlated ground state. Furthermore, now considering multiband effects as they appear, e.g., in the model system LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$, theoretical investigations predict a huge impact of filling on the topological Hall effect in systems with intermingled bands. Already weak band coupling produces striking deviations from the well-known Hall conductivity that are explainable in a fully quantum mechanical treatment which builds upon the hybridization of intersecting Hofstadter bands.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures; R.B. and E.L. contributed equally to this wor

Activation and Cleavage of the N-O Bond in Dinuclear Mixed-Metal Nitrosyl Systems and Comparative Analysis of Carbon Monoxide, Dinitrogen, and Nitric Oxide Activation

The activation and scission of the N–O bond in nitric oxide using dinuclear mixed-metal species, comprising transition elements with d3 and d2 configurations and trisamide ligand systems, have been investigated by means of density functional calculations. The [Cr(III)–V(III)] system is analyzed in detail and, for comparative purposes, the [Mo(III)–Nb(III)], [W(III)–Ta(III)], and (mixed-row) [Mo(III)–V(III)] systems are also considered. The overall reaction and individual intermediate steps are favourable for all systems, including the case where first row (Cr and V) metals are exclusively involved, a result that has not been observed for the related dinitrogen and carbon monoxide systems. In contrast to the cleavage of dinitrogen by three-coordinate Mo amide complexes where the dinuclear intermediate possesses a linear [Mo–NN–Mo] core, the [M–NO–M′] core must undergo significant bending in order to stabilize the dinuclear species sufficiently for the reaction to proceed beyond the formation of the nitrosyl encounter complex. A comparative bonding analysis of nitric oxide, dinitrogen and carbon monoxide activation is also presented. The overall results indicate that the π interactions are the dominant factor in the bonding across the [M–L1L2–M′] (L1L2 = N–O, N–N, C–O) moiety and, consequently, the activation of the L1–L2 bond. These trends arise from the fact that the energy gaps between the π orbitals on the metal and small molecule fragments are much more favourable than for the corresponding σ orbitals. The π energy gaps decrease in the order [NO \u3c N2 \u3c CO] and consequently, for each individual π orbital interaction, the back donation between the metal and small molecule increases in the order [CO \u3c N2 \u3c NO]. These results are in accord with previous findings suggesting that optimization of the π interactions plays a central role in increasing the ability of these transition metal systems to activate and cleave small molecule bonds

Possible health risks from contaminated foods in hospital kitchens can be minimised through suitable measures

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) have jointly developed measures and practical recommendations aimed at preventing the possible spread of pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria via hospital kitchens. These measures and recommendations take into account all potentially relevant sources and transmission pathways. Measures that offer protection against contamination of food with pathogenic bacteria also prevent contamination with resistant bacteria