Cometary charge exchange diagnostics in UV and X‐ray

Since the initial discovery of cometary charge exchange emission, more than 20 comets have been observed with a variety of X‐ray and UV observatories. This observational sample offers a broad variety of comets, solar wind environments and observational conditions. It clearly demonstrates that solar wind charge exchange emission provides a wealth of diagnostics, which are visible as spatial, temporal, and spectral emission features. We review the possibilities and limitations of each of those in this contribution (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91138/1/335_ftp.pd

Tunable local polariton modes in semiconductors

We study the local states within the polariton bandgap that arise due to deep defect centers with strong electron-phonon coupling. Electron transitions involving deep levels may result in alteration of local elastic constants. In this case, substantial reversible transformations of the impurity polariton density of states occur, which include the appearance/disappearance of the polariton impurity band, its shift and/or the modification of its shape. These changes can be induced by thermo- and photo-excitation of the localized electron states or by trapping of injected charge carriers. We develop a simple model, which is applied to the $O_P$ center in $GaP$. Further possible experimental realizations of the effect are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

The VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS). Measuring non-linear galaxy bias at z ~ 0.8

Aims. We use the first release of the VImos Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey of galaxies (VIPERS) of 3c50 000 objects to measure the biasing relation between galaxies and mass in the redshift range z = [0.5,1.1]. Methods. We estimate the 1-point distribution function [PDF] of VIPERS galaxies from counts in cells and, assuming a model for the mass PDF, we infer their mean bias relation. The reconstruction of the bias relation is performed through a novel method that accounts for Poisson noise, redshift distortions, inhomogeneous sky coverage. and other selection effects. With this procedure we constrain galaxy bias and its deviations from linearity down to scales as small as 4 h-1 Mpc and out to z = 1.1. Results. We detect small (up to 2%) but statistically significant (up to 3\u3c3) deviations from linear bias. The mean biasing function is close to linear in regions above the mean density. The mean slope of the biasing relation is a proxy to the linear bias parameter. This slope increases with luminosity, which is in agreement with results of previous analyses. We detect a strong bias evolution only for z> 0.9, which is in agreement with some, but not all, previous studies. We also detect a significant increase of the bias with the scale, from 4 to 8 h-1 Mpc, now seen for the first time out to z = 1. The amplitude of non-linearity depends on redshift, luminosity, and scale, but no clear trend is detected. Owing to the large cosmic volume probed by VIPERS, we find that the mismatch between the previous estimates of bias at z 3c 1 from zCOSMOS and VVDS-Deep galaxy samples is fully accounted for by cosmic variance. Conclusions. The results of our work confirm the importance of going beyond the over-simplistic linear bias hypothesis showing that non-linearities can be accurately measured through the applications of the appropriate statistical tools to existing datasets like VIPERS. \ua9 ESO, 2016

International pooled study on diet and bladder cancer: the bladder cancer, epidemiology and nutritional determinants (BLEND) study: Design and baseline characteristics

Background: In 2012, more than 400,000 urinary bladder cancer cases occurred worldwide, making it the 7th most common type of cancer. Although many previous studies focused on the relationship between diet and bladder cancer, the evidence related to specific food items or nutrients that could be involved in the development of bladder cancer remains inconclusive. Dietary components can either be, or be activated into, potential carcinogens through metabolism, or act to prevent carcinogen damage. Methods/design: The BLadder cancer, Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants (BLEND) study was set up with the purpose of collecting individual patient data from observational studies on diet and bladder cancer. In total, data from 11,261 bladder cancer cases and 675,532 non-cases from 18 case-control and 6 cohort studies from all over the world were included with the aim to investigate the association between individual food items, nutrients and dietary patterns and risk of developing bladder cancer. Discussion: The substantial number of cases included in this study will enable us to provide evidence with large statistical power, for dietary recommendations on the prevention of bladder cancer

UBVRI Light curves of 44 Type Ia supernovae

We present UBVRI photometry of 44 Type la supernovae (SNe la) observed from 1997 to 2001 as part of a continuing monitoring campaign at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The data set comprises 2190 observations and is the largest homogeneously observed and reduced sample of SNe la to date, nearly doubling the number of well-observed, nearby SNe la with published multicolor CCD light curves. The large sample of [U-band photometry is a unique addition, with important connections to SNe la observed at high redshift. The decline rate of SN la U-band light curves correlates well with the decline rate in other bands, as does the U - B color at maximum light. However, the U-band peak magnitudes show an increased dispersion relative to other bands even after accounting for extinction and decline rate, amounting to an additional ∼40% intrinsic scatter compared to the B band

Observational and genetic associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and cancer: a UK Biobank and international consortia study

Background The association of fitness with cancer risk is not clear. Methods We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of lung, colorectal, endometrial, breast, and prostate cancer in a subset of UK Biobank participants who completed a submaximal fitness test in 2009-12 (N = 72,572). We also investigated relationships using two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR), odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using the inverse-variance weighted method. Results After a median of 11 years of follow-up, 4290 cancers of interest were diagnosed. A 3.5 ml O2⋅min−1⋅kg−1 total-body mass increase in fitness (equivalent to 1 metabolic equivalent of task (MET), approximately 0.5 standard deviation (SD)) was associated with lower risks of endometrial (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.73–0.89), colorectal (0.94, 0.90–0.99), and breast cancer (0.96, 0.92–0.99). In MR analyses, a 0.5 SD increase in genetically predicted O2⋅min−1⋅kg−1 fat-free mass was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.86–0.98). After adjusting for adiposity, both the observational and genetic associations were attenuated. Discussion Higher fitness levels may reduce risks of endometrial, colorectal, and breast cancer, though relationships with adiposity are complex and may mediate these relationships. Increasing fitness, including via changes in body composition, may be an effective strategy for cancer prevention

Breast cancer risk factors and survival by tumor subtype: pooled analyses from the breast cancer association consortium

Background: It is not known whether modifiable lifestyle factors that predict survival after invasive breast cancer differ by subtype.Methods: We analyzed data for 121,435 women diagnosed with breast cancer from 67 studies in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium with 16,890 deaths (8,554 breast cancer specific) over 10 years. Cox regression was used to estimate associations between risk factors and 10-year all-cause mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality overall, by estrogen receptor (ER) status, and by intrinsic-like subtype.Results: There was no evidence of heterogeneous associations between risk factors and mortality by subtype (P-adj > 0.30). The strongest associations were between all-cause mortality and BMI >= 30 versus 18.5-25 kg/m(2) [HR (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19 (1.06-1.34)]; current versus never smoking [1.37 (1.27-1.47)], high versus low physical activity [0.43 (0.21-0.86)], age >= 30 years versus 0-= 10 years since last full-term birth [1.31 (1.11-1.55)]; ever versus never use of oral contraceptives [0.91 (0.87-0.96)]; ever versus never use of menopausal hormone therapy, including current estrogen-progestin therapy [0.61 (0.54-0.69)]. Similar associations with breast cancer mortality were weaker; for example, 1.11 (1.02-1.21) for current versus never smoking.Conclusions: We confirm associations between modifiable lifestyle factors and 10-year all-cause mortality. There was no strong evidence that associations differed by ER status or intrinsic-like subtype.Impact: Given the large dataset and lack of evidence that associations between modifiable risk factors and 10-year mortality differed by subtype, these associations could be cautiously used in prognostication models to inform patient-centered care.Surgical oncolog

Physical activity, sedentary time and breast cancer risk: a Mendelian randomisation study

Objectives: Physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are associated with higher breast cancer risk in observational studies, but ascribing causality is difficult. Mendelian randomisation (MR) assesses causality by simulating randomised trial groups using genotype. We assessed whether lifelong physical activity or sedentary time, assessed using genotype, may be causally associated with breast cancer risk overall, pre/post-menopause, and by case-groups defined by tumour characteristics. Methods: We performed two-sample inverse-variance-weighted MR using individual-level Breast Cancer Association Consortium case-control data from 130 957 European-ancestry women (69 838 invasive cases), and published UK Biobank data (n=91 105–377 234). Genetic instruments were single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated in UK Biobank with wrist-worn accelerometer-measured overall physical activity (nsnps=5) or sedentary time (nsnps=6), or accelerometer-measured (nsnps=1) or self-reported (nsnps=5) vigorous physical activity. Results: Greater genetically-predicted overall activity was associated with lower breast cancer overall risk (OR=0.59; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 0.83 per-standard deviation (SD;~8 milligravities acceleration)) and for most case-groups. Genetically-predicted vigorous activity was associated with lower risk of pre/perimenopausal breast cancer (OR=0.62; 95% CI 0.45 to 0.87,≥3 vs. 0 self-reported days/week), with consistent estimates for most case-groups. Greater genetically-predicted sedentary time was associated with higher hormone-receptor-negative tumour risk (OR=1.77; 95% CI 1.07 to 2.92 per-SD (~7% time spent sedentary)), with elevated estimates for most case-groups. Results were robust to sensitivity analyses examining pleiotropy (including weighted-median-MR, MR-Egger). Conclusion: Our study provides strong evidence that greater overall physical activity, greater vigorous activity, and lower sedentary time are likely to reduce breast cancer risk. More widespread adoption of active lifestyles may reduce the burden from the most common cancer in women

Identification of nine new susceptibility loci for endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer of the female reproductive tract in developed countries. Through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we have previously identified eight risk loci for endometrial cancer. Here, we present an expanded meta-analysis of 12,906 endometrial cancer cases and 108,979 controls (including new genotype data for 5624 cases) and identify nine novel genome-wide significant loci, including a locus on 12q24.12 previously identified by meta-GWAS of endometrial and colorectal cancer. At five loci, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analyses identify candidate causal genes; risk alleles at two of these loci associate with decreased expression of genes, which encode negative regulators of oncogenic signal transduction proteins (SH2B3 (12q24.12) and NF1 (17q11.2)). In summary, this study has doubled the number of known endometrial cancer risk loci and revealed candidate causal genes for future study

A genome-wide gene-environment interaction study of breast cancer risk for women of European ancestry

Background Genome-wide studies of gene–environment interactions (G×E) may identify variants associated with disease risk in conjunction with lifestyle/environmental exposures. We conducted a genome-wide G×E analysis of ~ 7.6 million common variants and seven lifestyle/environmental risk factors for breast cancer risk overall and for estrogen receptor positive (ER +) breast cancer. Methods Analyses were conducted using 72,285 breast cancer cases and 80,354 controls of European ancestry from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Gene–environment interactions were evaluated using standard unconditional logistic regression models and likelihood ratio tests for breast cancer risk overall and for ER + breast cancer. Bayesian False Discovery Probability was employed to assess the noteworthiness of each SNP-risk factor pairs. Results Assuming a 1 × 10–5 prior probability of a true association for each SNP-risk factor pairs and a Bayesian False Discovery Probability < 15%, we identified two independent SNP-risk factor pairs: rs80018847(9p13)-LINGO2 and adult height in association with overall breast cancer risk (ORint = 0.94, 95% CI 0.92–0.96), and rs4770552(13q12)-SPATA13 and age at menarche for ER + breast cancer risk (ORint = 0.91, 95% CI 0.88–0.94). Conclusions Overall, the contribution of G×E interactions to the heritability of breast cancer is very small. At the population level, multiplicative G×E interactions do not make an important contribution to risk prediction in breast cancer