Incidence of Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Multiple Myeloma in Czech Uranium Miners: A Case–Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: Uranium miners are chronically exposed to low levels of radon and its progeny. We investigated whether radon exposure is associated with increased incidence of leukemia, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma in this population. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective case–cohort study in 23,043 uranium miners and identified a total of 177 incident cases of leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Detailed information on occupational radon exposure was obtained for the cases and a randomly selected subcohort of 2,393 subjects. We used the proportional hazards model with power relative risk (RR) function to estimate and test the effects of cumulative radon exposures on incidence rates. RESULTS: Incidence of all leukemia combined and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) alone was positively associated with cumulative radon exposure. The RR comparing high radon exposure [110 working level months (WLM); 80th percentile] to low radon exposure (3 WLM; 20th percentile) was 1.75 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10–2.78; p = 0.014] for all leukemia combined and 1.98 (95% CI, 1.10–3.59; p = 0.016) for CLL. Myeloid leukemia and Hodgkin lymphoma were also associated with radon, but RRs were not statistically significant. There was no apparent association of radon with either non-Hodgkin lymphoma or multiple myeloma. Exposure to radon and its progeny was associated with an increased risk of developing leukemia in underground uranium miners. CLL, not previously believed to be radiogenic, was linked to radon exposure

Social comparisons and organizational support : implications for commitment and retention

Organizational support theory (OST) suggests that employees develop a general perception of the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support – POS), and respond to that support through attitudes and behaviors that are beneficial toward the organization. Although OST emphasizes both social exchange and self-enhancement processes, most accounts of POS’s effects are rooted in social exchange. For example, POS’s linkages with commitment and retention have been explained as an exchange of support for positive attitudes and continued employment. This research sheds light on self-enhancement’s less-understood role in fostering these reactions by demonstrating the influence of social comparison effects. Drawing on a sample of 342 employees nested in 82 work-units of a US hospitality company, our analysis demonstrates that favorable POS comparisons with peers in one’s work-unit are positively associated with commitment and retention, whereas unfavorable comparisons are negatively related. Results also show that comparisons taking place in less-supported work-units have stronger impact than comparisons made in those with better support. Our findings extend OST by revealing the importance of social comparisons in engendering responses to organizational support, and in so doing potentially explicate the differential ways social exchange and self-enhancement operate with regard to POS

Optical angular momentum: Multipole transitions and photonics

The premise that multipolar decay should produce photons uniquely imprinted with a measurably corresponding angular momentum is shown in general to be untrue. To assume a one-to-one correlation between the transition multipoles involved in source decay and detector excitation is to impose a generally unsupportable one-to-one correlation between the multipolar form of emission transition and a multipolar character for the detected field. It is specifically proven impossible to determine without ambiguity, by use of any conventional detector, and for any photon emitted through the nondipolar decay of an atomic excited state, a unique multipolar character for the transition associated with its generation. Consistent with the angular quantum uncertainty principle, removal of a detector from the immediate vicinity of the source produces a decreasing angular uncertainty in photon propagation direction, reflected in an increasing range of integer values for the measured angular momentum. In such a context it follows that when the decay of an electronic excited state occurs by an electric quadrupolar transition, for example, any assumption that the radiation so produced is conveyed in the form of “quadrupole photons” is experimentally unverifiable. The results of the general proof based on irreducible tensor analysis invite experimental verification, and they signify certain limitations on quantum optical data transmission

Cancer risk and parental pesticide application in children of Agricultural Health Study participants.

Parental exposure to pesticides may contribute to childhood cancer risk. Through the Agricultural Health Study, a prospective study of pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina, we examined childhood cancer risk and associations with parental pesticide application. Identifying information for 17,357 children of Iowa pesticide applicators was provided by parents via questionnaires (1993-1997) and matched against the Iowa Cancer Registry. Fifty incident childhood cancers were identified (1975-1998). Risk of all childhood cancers combined was increased [standardized incidence ratio (SIR) = 1.36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-1.79]. Risk of all lymphomas combined was also increased (SIR = 2.18; 95% CI, 1.13-4.19), as was risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma (SIR = 2.56; 95% CI, 1.06-6.14). We used logistic regression to explore associations between self-reported parental pesticide application practices and childhood cancer risk. No association was detected between frequency of parental pesticide application and childhood cancer risk. An increased risk of cancer was detected among children whose fathers did not use chemically resistant gloves [odds ratio (OR) = 1.98; 95% CI, 1.05-3.76] compared with children whose fathers used gloves. Of 16 specific pesticides used by fathers prenatally, ORs were increased for aldrin (OR = 2.66), dichlorvos (OR = 2.06), and ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate (OR = 1.91). However, these results were based on small numbers and not supported by prior biologic evidence. Identification of excess lymphoma risk suggests that farm exposures including pesticides may play a role in the etiology of childhood lymphoma

Hydroxyl as a Tracer of H2 in the Envelope of MBM40

We observed 51 positions in the OH 1667 MHz main line transitions in the translucent, high latitude cloud MBM40. We detected OH emission in 8 out of 8 positions in the molecular core of the cloud and 24 out of 43 in the surrounding, lower extinction envelope and periphery of the cloud. Using a linear relationship between the integrated OH line intensity and E(B-V), we estimate the mass in the core, the envelope, and the periphery of the cloud to be 4, 8, and 5 solar masses. As much as a third of the total cloud mass may be found in the in the periphery (E(B-V) $<$ 0.12 mag) and about a half in the envelope (0.12 $\le$ E(B-V) $\le$ 0.17 mag). If these results are applicable to other translucent clouds the OH 1667 MHz line is an excellent tracer of gas in very low extinction regions and high-sensitivity mapping of the envelopes of molecular clouds may reveal the presence of significant quantities of molecular mass.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, and 5 table

Perturbation theory and the two-level approximation:A corollary and critique

This analysis addresses the use of a two-level approximation to simplify expressions derived from perturbation theory. It is shown that the limitations of validity for the emergent results are more stringent than is commonly understood, being equivalent in effect to the adoption of a more extensive approximation - one that significantly undermines the perturbative origin of those expressions. Effectively truncating the completeness relation, a series of interconnected operator relations comes into play, some with physically untenable consequences. A new theorem on the expectation values of operator functions highlights additional constraints upon any molecule modelled as a two-level system. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Energy depletion and opportunistic microbial colonisation in white syndrome lesions from corals across the Indo-Pacific

Corals are dependent upon lipids as energy reserves to mount a metabolic response to biotic and abiotic challenges. This study profiled lipids, fatty acids, and microbial communities of healthy and white syndrome (WS) diseased colonies of Acropora hyacinthus sampled from reefs in Western Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, and Palmyra Atoll. Total lipid levels varied significantly among locations, though a consistent stepwise decrease from healthy tissues from healthy colonies (HH) to healthy tissue on WS-diseased colonies (HD; i.e. preceding the lesion boundary) to diseased tissue on diseased colonies (DD; i.e. lesion front) was observed, demonstrating a reduction in energy reserves. Lipids in HH tissues were comprised of high energy lipid classes, while HD and DD tissues contained greater proportions of structural lipids. Bacterial profiling through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and histology showed no bacterial taxa linked to WS causation. However, the relative abundance of Rhodobacteraceae-affiliated sequences increased in DD tissues, suggesting opportunistic proliferation of these taxa. While the cause of WS remains inconclusive, this study demonstrates that the lipid profiles of HD tissues was more similar to DD tissues than to HH tissues, reflecting a colony-wide systemic effect and provides insight into the metabolic immune response of WS-infected Indo-Pacific corals

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer consensus statement on immunotherapy for the treatment of prostate carcinoma.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. In recent years, several new agents, including cancer immunotherapies, have been approved or are currently being investigated in late-stage clinical trials for the management of advanced prostate cancer. Therefore, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) convened a multidisciplinary panel, including physicians, nurses, and patient advocates, to develop consensus recommendations for the clinical application of immunotherapy for prostate cancer patients. To do so, a systematic literature search was performed to identify high-impact papers from 2006 until 2014 and was further supplemented with literature provided by the panel. Results from the consensus panel voting and discussion as well as the literature review were used to rate supporting evidence and generate recommendations for the use of immunotherapy in prostate cancer patients. Sipuleucel-T, an autologous dendritic cell vaccine, is the first and currently only immunotherapeutic agent approved for the clinical management of metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The consensus panel utilized this model to discuss immunotherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer, issues related to patient selection, monitoring of patients during and post treatment, and sequence/combination with other anti-cancer treatments. Potential immunotherapies emerging from late-stage clinical trials are also discussed. As immunotherapy evolves as a therapeutic option for the treatment of prostate cancer, these recommendations will be updated accordingly