The association of daily physical activity and birth outcome: a population-based cohort study

The potential relationship between daily physical activity and pregnancy outcome remains unclear because of the wide variation in study designs and physical activity assessment measures. We sought to prospectively quantify the potential effects of the various domains of physical activity on selected birth outcomes in a large unselected population. The sample consisted of 11,759 singleton pregnancies from the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children, United Kingdom. Information on daily physical activity was collected by postal questionnaire for self-report measures. Main outcome measures were birth weight, gestational age at delivery, preterm birth and survival. After controlling for confounders, a sedentary lifestyle and paid work during the second trimester of pregnancy were found to be associated with a lower birth weight, while ‘bending and stooping’ and ‘working night shifts’ were associated with a higher birth weight. There was no association between physical exertion and duration of gestation or survival. Repetitive boring tasks during the first trimester was weakly associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (<37 weeks) (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, 95% CI 1.04–1.50). ‘Bending and stooping’ during the third trimester was associated with a reduced risk of preterm birth (adjusted OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.63–0.84). Demanding physical activities do not have a harmful effect on the selected birth outcomes while a sedentary lifestyle is associated with a lower birth weight. In the absence of either medical or obstetric complications, pregnant women may safely continue their normal daily physical activities should they wish to do so

Fundamental studies on helical-type seawater MHD generation system

A new MHD generator based on electromotive force using seawater, the helical-type seawater MHD generator, is designed, constructed and tested. The constructed generator contains a helical insulation wall made of polyvinyl chloride 140 mm long and 100 mm in diameter, anode rod made of SUS316 1350 mm long and 10 mm in diameter, cathode pipe made of SUS316 260 mm long and 100 mm in diameter, and a 7 T solenoid-type superconducting magnet 300 mm long and 150 mm cold bore. In the experiment, electromotive force and generator output are measured in terms of average velocity (0-5.6 m/s) and magnetic field (0-7 T) using artificial seawater (3.4 % NaCl aqueous solution). As results of the experiment, it is found that the electromotive force increases proportionally to average velocity and magnetic field, and that the generator output increases quadratically to average velocity and magnetic field over certain points. These results are discussed in comparison with the results of the theory

Molecular Cytogenetic Analysis of Prostatic Adenocarcinomas from Screening Studies : Early Cancers May Contain Aggressive Genetic Features

No objective parameters have been found so far that can predict the biological behavior of early stages of prostatic cancer, which are encountered frequently nowadays due to surveillance and screening programs. We have applied comparative genomic hybridization to routinely processed, paraffin-embedded radical prostatectomy specimens derived from patients who participated in the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. We defined a panel consisting of 36 early cancer specimens: 13 small (total tumor volume (T(v)) < 0.5 ml) carcinomas and 23 intermediate (T(v) between 0.5–1.0 ml) tumors. These samples were compared with a set of 16 locally advanced, large (T(v) > 2.0 ml) tumor samples, not derived from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. Chromosome arms that frequently (ie, ≥15%) showed loss in the small tumors included 13q (31%), 6q (23%), and Y (15%), whereas frequent (ie, ≥15%) gain was seen of 20q (15%). In the intermediate cancers, loss was detected of 8p (35%), 16q (30%), 5q (26%), Y (22%), 6q, and 18q (both 17%). No consistent gains were found in this group. In the large tumors, loss was seen of 13q (69%), 8p (50%), 5q, 6q (both 31%), and Y (15%). Gains were observed of 8q (37%), 3q (25%), 7p, 7q, 9q, and Xq (all 19%). Comparison of these early, localized tumors with large adenocarcinomas showed a significant increase in the number of aberrant chromosomes per case (R(s) = 0.36, P = 0.009). The same was true for the number of lost or gained chromosomes per case (R(s) = 0.27, P = 0.05; R(s) = 0.48, respectively; P < 0.001). Interestingly, chromosomal alterations that were found in previous studies to be potential biomarkers for tumor aggressiveness, ie, gain of 7pq and/or 8q, were already distinguished in the small and intermediate cancers. In conclusion, our data show that chromosomal losses, more specifically of 6q and 13q, are early events in prostatic tumorigenesis, whereas chromosomal gains, especially of 8q, appear to be late events in prostatic tumor development. Finally, early localized tumors, as detected by screening programs, harbor cancers with aggressive genetic characteristics

Expression of the Androgen-Regulated Fusion Gene TMPRSS2-ERG Does Not Predict Response to Endocrine Treatment in Hormone-Naive, Node-Positive Prostate Cancer

Background: Fusion of the androgen-regulated gene transmembrane protease, serine 2, TMPRSS2, to the v-ets erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homolog (avian), ERG, of the erythroblast transformation-specific (ETS) family is the most common genetic alteration in prostate cancer (PCa). Objective: To determine whether expression of androgen-regulated TMPRSS2-ERG predicts response to endocrine treatment in hormone-naive, node-positive PCa. Design, setting, and participants: Eighty-five patients with histologically confirmed, node-positive PCa who were without treatment at the moment of lymph node dissection were analysed. RNA was isolated from the paraffin-embedded lymph node metastases and complementary DNA (cDNA) was made. The quality of cDNA was tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the expression of the housekeeping gene hydroxymethylbilane synthase, HMBS (formerly PBGD). TMPRSS2-ERG expression was analysed by PCR using a forward primer in TMPRSS2 exon 1 and a reverse primer in ERG exon 4. Measurements: The primary end point was time from start of endocrine therapy to the occurrence of three consecutive rises in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) that were at least 2 wk apart and resulted in two 50% increases over the PSA nadir. Secondary end points were time to PSA nadir after start of endocrine treatment and cancer-specific and overall survival. Results and limitations: TMPRSS2-ERG was expressed in 59% of the 71 patients who could be analysed. Median duration of response to endocrine therapy was 20.9 mo versus 24.1 mo for gene fusion-positive versus gene fusion-negative patients (95% confidence intervals: 18.6-23.1 vs 18.9-29.4, p = 0.70). Furthermore, no significant differences were seen between the two groups for the secondary end points. Conclusions: Expression of TMPRSS2-ERG is frequent in lymph node metastases of patients with untreated PCa; however, expression of this androgen-regulated fusion gene did not correspond with duration of response to endocrine therapy. Our results suggest that expression of TMPRSS2-ERG is not a candidate marker to select for metastatic PCa patients who will benefit more from endocrine treatment. (C) European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved