Heme iron from meat and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis and a review of the mechanisms involved

Red meat and processed meat intake is associated with a risk of colorectal cancer, a major cause of death in affluent countries. Epidemiological and experimental evidence supports the hypothesis that heme iron present in meat promotes colorectal cancer. This meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies of colon cancer reporting heme intake included 566,607 individuals and 4,734 cases of colon cancer. The summary relative risk of colon cancer was 1.18 [95%C.I.: 1.06-1.32] for subjects in the highest category of heme iron intake compared with those in the lowest category. Epidemiological data thus show a suggestive association between dietary heme and risk of colon cancer. The analysis of experimental studies in rats with chemically-induced colon cancer showed that dietary hemoglobin and red meat consistently promote aberrant crypt foci, a putative pre-cancer lesion. The mechanism is not known, but heme iron has a catalytic effect on (i) the endogenous formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds and (ii) the formation of cytotoxic and genotoxic aldehydes by lipoperoxidation. A review of evidence supporting these hypotheses suggests that both pathways are involved in heme iron toxicit

Low field vortex matter in YBCO: an atomic beam magnetic resonance study

We report measurements of the low field structure of the magnetic vortex lattice in an untwinned YBCO single-crystal platelet. Measurements were carried out using a novel atomic beam magnetic resonance (ABMR) technique. For a 10.7 G field applied parallel to the c-axis of the sample, we find a triangular lattice with orientational order extending across the entire sample. We find the triangular lattice to be weakly distorted by the a-b anisotropy of the material and measure a distortion factor, f = 1.16. Model-experiment comparisons determine a penetration depth, lambda_ab = 140 (+-20) nm. The paper includes the first detailed description of the ABMR technique. We discuss both technical details of the experiment and the modeling used to interpret the measurements.Comment: 44 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B Revision includes Postscript wrapped figures + minor typo

The Frequency Dependent Conductivity of Electron Glasses

Results of DC and frequency dependent conductivity in the quantum limit, i.e. hw > kT, for a broad range of dopant concentrations in nominally uncompensated, crystalline phosphorous doped silicon and amorphous niobium-silicon alloys are reported. These materials fall under the general category of disordered insulating systems, which are referred to as electron glasses. Using microwave resonant cavities and quasi-optical millimeter wave spectroscopy we are able to study the frequency dependent response on the insulating side of the metal-insulator transition. We identify a quantum critical regime, a Fermi glass regime and a Coulomb glass regime. Our phenomenological results lead to a phase diagram description, or taxonomy, of the electrodynamic response of electron glass systems

Seventy-five years of breeding dry bean of the western USA

A periodic comparison of cultivars is essential to assess selection gains, determine deficiencies, define objectives, and set breeding priorities. Our objective was to assess the progress, or lack thereof, achieved in improving yield, plant type, maturity, and resistance to major bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases of dry bean of the western USA from 1918 to 1998. Twenty-five great northern, pink, pinto, and red cultivars were evaluated for seed yield at three locations in Idaho and for anthracnose, Bean common mosaic virus, Bean common mosaic necrosis virus, common and halo bacterial blights, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia root rots, Fusarium wilt, and white mold in Colorado, Idaho, and Washington between 1999 and 2006. Yield ranged between 2904 kg ha-1 for pinto 'UI 111' to 3921 kg ha- 1 for 'Bill Z', which represents a 35% gain in 54 yr. Yield gain in great northern was 587 kg ha-1 , pink 136 kg ha-1 , and red 687 kg ha- 1 . Stability indices ranged from 0.57 for 'Kodiak' to 1.86 for 'UI 3'. Maturity ranged from 90 d for 'UI 320' to 97 d for 'Frontier'. Seed weight ranged from 28 g for 'Viva' to 41 g for UI 320. An acceptable degree of resistance to Rhizoctonia root rot was achieved in most cultivars. All cultivars were susceptible to anthracnose, common bacterial blight, and white mold, and all except 'Chase' to halo blight. Only 'Matterhorn', 'Weihing', and Kodiak combined an upright Type II growth habit with resistance to BCMV and rust. An integrated breeding strategy should be explored for simultaneous improvement of multiple traits in future cultivars

Full reduction of large finite random Ising systems by RSRG

We describe how to evaluate approximately various physical interesting quantities in random Ising systems by direct renormalization of a finite system. The renormalization procedure is used to reduce the number of degrees of freedom to a number that is small enough, enabling direct summing over the surviving spins. This procedure can be used to obtain averages of functions of the surviving spins. We show how to evaluate averages that involve spins that do not survive the renormalization procedure. We show, for the random field Ising model, how to obtain the "connected" 2-spin correlation function and the "disconnected" 2-spin correlation function. Consequently, we show how to obtain the average susceptibility and the average energy. For an Ising system with random bonds and random fields we show how to obtain the average specific heat. We conclude by presenting our numerical results for the average susceptibility and the "connected" 2-spin correlation function along one of the principal axes. (We believe this to be the first time, where the full three dimensional correlation is calculated and not just parameters like Nu or Eta.) The results for the average susceptibility are used to extract the critical temperature and critical exponents of the 3D random field Ising system.Comment: 30 pages, 17 figure

Aperiodicity in one-way Markov cycles and repeat times of large earthquakes in faults

A common use of Markov Chains is the simulation of the seismic cycle in a fault, i.e. as a renewal model for the repetition of its characteristic earthquakes. This representation is consistent with Reid's elastic rebound theory. Here it is proved that in {\it any} one-way Markov cycle, the aperiodicity of the corresponding distribution of cycle lengths is always lower than one. This fact concurs with observations of large earthquakes in faults all over the world

Infrastructure for Detector Research and Development towards the International Linear Collider

The EUDET-project was launched to create an infrastructure for developing and testing new and advanced detector technologies to be used at a future linear collider. The aim was to make possible experimentation and analysis of data for institutes, which otherwise could not be realized due to lack of resources. The infrastructure comprised an analysis and software network, and instrumentation infrastructures for tracking detectors as well as for calorimetry.Comment: 54 pages, 48 picture