Direct observation of irradiation-induced nanocavity shrinkage in Si

Nanocavities in Si substrates, formed by conventional H implantation and thermal annealing, are shown to evolve in size during subsequent Si irradiation. Both ex situ and in situ analytical techniques were used to demonstrate that the mean nanocavity diameter decreases as a function of Si irradiation dose in both the crystalline and amorphous phases. Potential mechanisms for this irradiation-induced nanocavity evolution are discussed. In the crystalline phase, the observed decrease in diameter is attributed to the gettering of interstitials. When the matrix surrounding the cavities is amorphized, cavity shrinkage may be mediated by one of two processes: nanocavities can supply vacancies into the amorphous phase and/or the amorphous phase may flow plastically into the nanocavities. Both processes yield the necessary decrease in density of the amorphous phase relative to crystalline material

Structural effect of heavy ion irradiation on GdBaCuO ceramics

The influence of twin boundaries as sinks on defects induced by 480 keV Kr ion irradiation in GdBaCuO crystals was observed in situ at 40 and 300 K. The interaction of the dislocations with the twin boundaries followed on a video recording. A crystalline to amorphous transition was observed above a total fluence of ∼ 4 - 5 x 10^12 Kr/cm2. A comparison between orthorhombic (Os) crystals and a monoclinic structure (Ms) (close to Os and whose parameters were calculated) shows that the behaviour of irradiation-induced extended defects does not depend on a small initial deformation of the orthorhombic cell. In both case, an occasional orthorhombic (or monoclinic) to tetragonal phase transition only occurs when the amorphization process has begun

Lifestyle, dietary factors and antibody levels to oral bacteria in cancer-free participants of a European cohort study

Background—Increasing evidence suggests that oral microbiota play a pivotal role in chronic diseases, in addition to the well-established role in periodontal disease. Moreover, recent studies suggest that oral bacteria may also be involved in carcinogenesis; periodontal disease has been linked several cancers. In this study, we examined whether lifestyle factors have an impact on antibody levels to oral bacteria. Methods—Data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and medical conditions were obtained at the time of blood sample collection. For the current analysis, we measured antibody levels to 25 oral bacteria in 395 cancer-free individuals using an immunoblot array. Combined total immunglobin G (IgG) levels were obtained by summing concentrations for all oral bacteria measured. Results—IgG antibody levels were substantially lower among current and former smokers (1697 and 1677 ng/mL, respectively) than never smokers (1960 ng/mL; p-trend = 0.01), but did not vary by other factors, including BMI, diabetes, physical activity, or by dietary factors, after adjusting for age, sex, education, country and smoking status. The highest levels of total IgG were found among individuals with low education (2419 ng/mL). Conclusions—Our findings on smoking are consistent with previous studies and support the notion that smokers have a compromised humoral immune response. Moreover, other major factors known to be associated with inflammatory markers, including obesity, were not associated with antibody levels to a large number of oral bacteria

Association between anthropometry and lifestyle factors and risk of B cell lymphoma: an exposome wide analysis.

To better understand the role of individual and lifestyle factors in human disease, an exposome-wide association study was performed to investigate within a single study anthropometry measures and lifestyle factors previously associated with B-cell lymphoma (BCL). Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition study, 2,402 incident BCL cases were diagnosed from 475,426 participants that were followed-up on average 14 years. Standard and penalized Cox regression models as well as principal component (PC) analysis were used to evaluate 84 exposures in relation to BCL risk. Standard and penalized Cox regression models showed a positive association between anthropometric measures and BCL and multiple myeloma/plasma cell neoplasm (MM). The penalized Cox models additionally showed the association between several exposures from categories of physical activity, smoking status, medical history, socioeconomic position, and diet and BCL and/or the subtypes. PC analyses confirmed the individual associations but also showed additional observations. The PC5 including anthropometry, was positively associated with BCL, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and MM. There was a significant positive association between consumption of sugar and confectionary (PC11) and follicular lymphoma risk, and an inverse association between fish and shellfish and Vitamin D (PC15) and DLBCL risk. The PC1 including features of the Mediterranean diet and diet with lower inflammatory score showed an inverse association with BCL risk, while the PC7, including dairy, was positively associated with BCL and DLBCL risk. Physical activity (PC10) was positively associated with DLBCL risk among women. This study provided informative insights on the etiology of BCL

Preferential amorphization and defect annihilation at nanocavities in silicon during ion irradiation

Si containing a band of nanocavities has been irradiated with Si+ ions at elevated temperatures to study interactions of irradiation-induced defects with open volume defects. For irradiation at 100 degreesC, nanocavities are shown to be preferential nucleation sites for amorphization. It is proposed that this behavior occurs to minimize the local free energy, whereby less dense amorphous Si is free to expand into the cavity open volume. Furthermore, for irradiation at 300 degreesC, cavities are very efficient sinks for Si interstitials during irradiation, leaving a region denuded of interstitial-based clusters surrounding each nanocavity. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)01552-7]

Co-benefits from sustainable dietary shifts for population and environmental health: an assessment from a large European cohort study

Funding European Commission (DG-SANCO) , the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) , MRC Early Career Fellowship (MR/M501669/1) .Background Unhealthy diets, the rise of non-communicable diseases, and the declining health of the planet are highly intertwined, where food production and consumption are major drivers of increases in greenhouse gas emissions, substantial land use, and adverse health such as cancer and mortality. To assess the potential co-benefits from shifting to more sustainable diets, we aimed to investigate the associations of dietary greenhouse gas emissions and land use with all-cause and cause-specific mortality and cancer incidence rates. Methods Using data from 443 991 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, a multicentre prospective cohort, we estimated associations between dietary contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and land use and all-cause and cause-specific mortality and incident cancers using Cox proportional hazards regression models. The main exposures were modelled as quartiles. Co-benefits, encompassing the potential effects of alternative diets on all-cause mortality and cancer and potential reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and land use, were estimated with counterfactual attributable fraction intervention models, simulating potential effects of dietary shifts based on the EAT–Lancet reference diet. Findings In the pooled analysis, there was an association between levels of dietary greenhouse gas emissions and allcause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1·13 [95% CI 1·10–1·16]) and between land use and all-cause mortality (1·18 [1·15–1·21]) when comparing the fourth quartile to the first quartile. Similar associations were observed for cause-specific mortality. Associations were also observed between all-cause cancer incidence rates and greenhouse gas emissions, when comparing the fourth quartile to the first quartile (adjusted HR 1·11 [95% CI 1·09–1·14]) and between all-cause cancer incidence rates and land use (1·13 [1·10–1·15]); however, estimates differed by cancer type. Through counterfactual attributable fraction modelling of shifts in levels of adherence to the EAT–Lancet diet, we estimated that up to 19–63% of deaths and up to 10–39% of cancers could be prevented, in a 20-year risk period, by different levels of adherence to the EAT–Lancet reference diet. Additionally, switching from lower adherence to the EAT–Lancet reference diet to higher adherence could potentially reduce food-associated greenhouse gas emissions up to 50% and land use up to 62%. Interpretation Our results indicate that shifts towards universally sustainable diets could lead to co-benefits, such as minimising diet-related greenhouse gas emissions and land use, reducing the environmental footprint, aiding in climate change mitigation, and improving population health.European Commission European Commission Joint Research CentreWorld Health OrganizationUK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Medical Research Council UK (MRC) MR/M501669/

Adherence to the mediterranean diet and lymphoma risk in the european prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition.

There is a 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 10 European countries between 1991 and 2001. Adherence to the MD was estimated through the adapted relative MD (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-HL and 395 lymphoma not otherwise specified) 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 nonsignificant inverse association between a high versus low arMED score and risk of lymphoma was observed (hazard ratio [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

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

Acrylamide and Glycidamide Hemoglobin Adducts and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Nested Case-Control Study in Nonsmoking Postmenopausal Women from the EPIC Cohort

Background: Acrylamide was classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans (group 2A)” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the fourth cause of cancer mortality in women. Five epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between EOC risk and dietary acrylamide intake assessed using food frequency questionnaires, and one nested case–control study evaluated hemoglobin adducts of acrylamide (HbAA) and its metabolite glycidamide (HbGA) and EOC risk; the results of these studies were inconsistent. Methods: A nested case–control study in nonsmoking postmenopausal women (334 cases, 417 controls) was conducted within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to estimate ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between HbAA, HbGA, HbAA+HbGA, and HbGA/HbAA and EOC and invasive serous EOC risk. Results: No overall associations were observed between biomarkers of acrylamide exposure analyzed in quintiles and EOC risk; however, positive associations were observed between some middle quintiles of HbGA and HbAA+HbGA. Elevated but nonstatistically significant ORs for serous EOC were observed for HbGA and HbAA+HbGA (ORQ5vsQ1, 1.91; 95% CI, 0.96–3.81 and ORQ5vsQ1, 1.90; 95% CI, 0.94–3.83, respectively); however, no linear dose–response trends were observed. Conclusion: This EPIC nested case–control study failed to observe a clear association between biomarkers of acrylamide exposure and the risk of EOC or invasive serous EOC. Impact: It is unlikely that dietary acrylamide exposure increases ovarian cancer risk; however, additional studies with larger sample size should be performed to exclude any possible association with EOC risk