Effectiveness of early detection on breast cancer mortality reduction in Catalonia (Spain)

Background: At present, it is complicated to use screening trials to determine the optimal age intervals and periodicities of breast cancer early detection. Mathematical models are an alternative that has been widely used. The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of different breast cancer early detection strategies in Catalonia (Spain), in terms of breast cancer mortality reduction (MR) and years of life gained (YLG), using the stochastic models developed by Lee and Zelen (LZ). Methods: We used the LZ model to estimate the cumulative probability of death for a cohort exposed to different screening strategies after T years of follow-up. We also obtained the cumulative probability of death for a cohort with no screening. These probabilities were used to estimate the possible breast cancer MR and YLG by age, period and cohort of birth. The inputs of the model were: incidence of, mortality from and survival after breast cancer, mortality from other causes, distribution of breast cancer stages at diagnosis and sensitivity of mammography. The outputs were relative breast cancer MR and YLG. Results: Relative breast cancer MR varied from 20% for biennial exams in the 50 to 69 age interval to 30% for annual exams in the 40 to 74 age interval. When strategies differ in periodicity but not in the age interval of exams, biennial screening achieved almost 80% of the annual screening MR. In contrast to MR, the effect on YLG of extending screening from 69 to 74 years of age was smaller than the effect of extending the screening from 50 to 45 or 40 years. Conclusion: In this study we have obtained a measure of the effect of breast cancer screening in terms of mortality and years of life gained. The Lee and Zelen mathematical models have been very useful for assessing the impact of different modalities of early detection on MR and YLG in Catalonia (Spain).

Reduction of oxidative cellular damage by overexpression of the thioredoxin TRX2 gene improves yield and quality of wine yeast dry active biomass

Background: Wine Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, adapted to anaerobic must fermentations, suffer oxidative stress when they are grown under aerobic conditions for biomass propagation in the industrial process of active dry yeast production. Oxidative metabolism of sugars favors high biomass yields but also causes increased oxidation damage of cell components. The overexpression of the TRX2 gene, coding for a thioredoxin, enhances oxidative stress resistance in a wine yeast strain model. The thioredoxin and also the glutathione/glutaredoxin system constitute the most important defense against oxidation. Trx2p is also involved in the regulation of Yap1p-driven transcriptional response against some reactive oxygen species. Results: Laboratory scale simulations of the industrial active dry biomass production process demonstrate that TRX2 overexpression increases the wine yeast final biomass yield and also its fermentative capacity both after the batch and fed-batch phases. Microvinifications carried out with the modified strain show a fast start phenotype derived from its enhanced fermentative capacity and also increased content of beneficial aroma compounds. The modified strain displays an increased transcriptional response of Yap1p regulated genes and other oxidative stress related genes. Activities of antioxidant enzymes like Sod1p, Sod2p and catalase are also enhanced. Consequently, diminished oxidation of lipids and proteins is observed in the modified strain, which can explain the improved performance of the thioredoxin overexpressing strain. Conclusions: We report several beneficial effects of overexpressing the thioredoxin gene TRX2 in a wine yeast strain. We show that this strain presents an enhanced redox defense. Increased yield of biomass production process in TRX2 overexpressing strain can be of special interest for several industrial applications.

Reduction of conjugated dienoic carboxylic acids and esters with sodium dithionite

Reduction of 2,4-alkadienoic acids and esters with sodium dithionite was carried out in aqueous solution or under PTC conditions to give, almost exclusively, Z:E isomeric mixtures of the corresponding 3-alkenoic acids and esters, respectively, in good yields.

Predictive Factors for Intraocular Pressure Reduction after Phacoemulsification in Swiss Patients.

Background: Phacoemulsification is known to induce postoperative intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction, the degree of which varies according to glaucoma subtype and race. The authors set out to investigate the effect of cataract surgery on IOP, in a Swiss Caucasian population, and identify ocular predictive factors. Patients and Methods: 234 consecutive cases of 188 patients undergoing phacoemulsification between January 2011 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed and data collected. Exclusion criteria included acute angle closure, malignant glaucoma and pre-existing or subsequent glaucoma surgery. Pre- and post-operative visual acuity, IOP, gonioscopic findings, glaucoma medications, and laser treatments were recorded for eligible eyes. All eyes received the same postoperative regimen. Using multivariate analysis the predictive power of preoperative IOP, iridocorneal angle width, axial length on IOP reduction following phacoemulsification at months 3, 6 and 12 postoperatively were assessed. Eyes with narrow angles were compared against those with open angles. Results: 172 eyes of 121 patients met the inclusion criteria; mean age was 70.3 years (SD ± 10.7 years), with 77 males. Preoperatively median IOP was 16 mmHg (range 9-32 mmHg), mean number of glaucoma medications was 1.2 (SD ± 1.1), median visual acuity was 0.28 LogMAR (range 0-2.3LogMar). At 3 months post-operatively mean IOP decreased to 14 mmHg (p < 0.01) and remained statistically significantly reduced until 12 months, mean number of glaucoma medications was reduced to 1.0 and mean Snellen visual acuity increased to 0.8. Multivariate analysis revealed that pre-operative IOP and iridocorneal angle width (at 3 months) were significant predictive indicators of IOP reduction. At 12 months, IOP reduction was similar between open and narrow angle groups and total IOP reduction was no longer statistically significant. No intraoperative complications were recorded. Conclusions: Intraocular pressure reduction following phacoemulsification was greatest during the very early post-operative period, particularly in narrow angle patients. By one year, angle size was no longer predictive of IOP lowering, however pre-operative IOP and number of anti-glaucoma medications remained correlated with total IOP reduction.

Contribution of early detection and adjuvant treatments to breast cancer mortality reduction in Catalonia, Spain

Background: Reductions in breast cancer (BC) mortality in Western countries have been attributed to the use of screening mammography and adjuvant treatments. The goal of this work was to analyze the contributions of both interventions to the decrease in BC mortality between 1975 and 2008 in Catalonia. Methodology/Principal Findings: A stochastic model was used to quantify the contribution of each intervention. Age standardized BC mortality rates for calendar years 1975-2008 were estimated in four hypothetical scenarios: 1) Only screening, 2) Only adjuvant treatment, 3) Both interventions, and 4) No intervention. For the 30-69 age group, observed Catalan BC mortality rates per 100,000 women-year rose from 29.4 in 1975 to 38.3 in 1993, and afterwards continuously decreased to 23.2 in 2008. If neither of the two interventions had been used, in 2008 the estimated BC mortality would have been 43.5, which, compared to the observed BC mortality rate, indicates a 46.7% reduction. In 2008 the reduction attributable to screening was 20.4%, to adjuvant treatments was 15.8% and to both interventions 34.1%. Conclusions/Significance: Screening and adjuvant treatments similarly contributed to reducing BC mortality in Catalonia. Mathematical models have been useful to assess the impact of interventions addressed to reduce BC mortality that occurred over nearly the same periods.

Short communication. Potential to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions by tillage reduction in dryland soils of Spain

Spain is one of the countries with the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the EU-27. Consequently, mitigation strategies need to be reported and quantified to accomplish the goals and requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. In this study, a first estimation of the carbon (C) mitigation potential of tillage reduction in Mediterranean rainfed Spain is presented. Results from eight studies carried out in Spain under rainfed agriculture to investigate the effects of no-tillage (NT) and reduced tillage (RT) compared with conventional tillage (CT) on soil organic carbon (SOC) were used. For current land surface under conservation tillage, NT and RT are sequestering 0.14 and 0.08 Tg C yr-1, respectively. Those rates represent 1.1% and 0.6% of the total CO2 emissions generated from agricultural activities in Spain during 2006. Alternatively, in a hypothetical scenario where all the arable dryland was under either NT or RT management, SOC sequestration would be 2.18 and 0.72 Tg C yr-1 representing 17.4% and 5.8% of the total 2006 CO2 equivalent emissions generated from the agricultural sector in Spain. This is a significant estimate that would help to achieve GHG emissions targets for the current commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

Paper Surface Image Processing for Roughness Quality Measurement

Diplomityössä on käsitelty paperin pinnankarkeuden mittausta, joka on keskeisimpiä ongelmia paperimateriaalien tutkimuksessa. Paperiteollisuudessa käytettävät mittausmenetelmät sisältävät monia haittapuolia kuten esimerkiksi epätarkkuus ja yhteensopimattomuus sileiden papereiden mittauksissa, sekä suuret vaatimukset laboratorio-olosuhteille ja menetelmien hitaus. Työssä on tutkittu optiseen sirontaan perustuvia menetelmiä pinnankarkeuden määrittämisessä. Konenäköä ja kuvan-käsittelytekniikoita tutkittiin karkeilla paperipinnoilla. Tutkimuksessa käytetyt algoritmit on tehty Matlab® ohjelmalle. Saadut tulokset osoittavat mahdollisuuden pinnankarkeuden mittaamiseen kuvauksen avulla. Parhaimman tuloksen perinteisen ja kuvausmenetelmän välillä antoi fraktaaliulottuvuuteen perustuva menetelmä.