White blood cell count and risk of incident lung cancer in the UK Biobank

Background The contribution of measurable immunological/inflammatory parameters to lung cancer development remains unclear, particularly among never-smokers. We investigated the relationship between total and differential white blood cell (WBC) counts and incident lung cancer risk overall and among subgroups defined by smoking status and sex in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods We evaluated 424,407 adults aged 37-73 years from the UK Biobank. Questionnaires, physical measurements, and blood were administered/collected at baseline in 2006-2010. Complete blood cell counts were measured using standard methods. Lung cancer diagnoses and histological classifications were obtained from cancer registries. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of incident lung cancer in relation to quartiles (Q) of total WBC and subtype-specific counts, with Q1 as the reference. Results There were 1,493 incident cases diagnosed over an average 7-year follow-up. Overall, the highest quartile of total WBC count was significantly associated with elevated lung cancer risk (HRQ4=1.67, 95% CI:1.41-1.98). Among women, increased risks were found in current-smokers (ncases/n=244/19,464, HRQ4=2.15, 95% CI:1.46-3.16), former-smokers (ncases/n=280/69,198, HRQ4=1.75, 95% CI:1.24-2.47), and never-smokers without environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ncases/n=108/111,294, HRQ4=1.93, 95% CI:1.11-3.35). Among men, stronger associations were identified in current-smokers (ncases/n=329/22,934, HRQ4=2.95, 95% CI:2.04-4.26) and former-smokers (ncases/n= 358/71,616, HRQ4=2.38, 95% CI:1.74-3.27) but not in never-smokers. Findings were similar for lung adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma and were driven primarily by elevated neutrophil fractions. Conclusions Elevated WBCs could potentially be one of many important markers for increased lung cancer risk, especially among never-smoking women and ever-smoking men

Yes, No, Maybe : Loyalty and Betrayal Reconsidered: The Tule Lake Pilgrimage

This project aims to explain how the contemporary Tule Lake Committee commemorates and honors the Japanese Americans who found themselves incarcerated at the Tule Lake Segregation Center in northern California after \u27failing\u27 the loyalty questionnaire administered to them by the War Relocation Authority during World War II. The Tule Lake Committee holds biennial pilgrimages which have become increasingly popular in the last decade. A \u27thick description\u27 of the 2010 pilgrimage and an analysis of the pilgrimage themes shows how the Tule Lake Committee honors the experience of Japanese Americans whose history was written out of the collective memory in the post war years. This reinsertion of dissent into the collective memory of the wartime experience of Japanese Americans by the Tule Lake Committee highlights the importance of analyzing history from all perspectives

3D registration of depth data of porous surface coatings based on 3D phase correlation and the trimmed ICP algorithm

A critical factor of endoprostheses is the quality of the tribological pairing. The objective of this research project is to manufacture stochastically porous aluminum oxide surface coatings with high wear resistance and an active friction minimization. There are many experimental and computational techniques from mercury porosimetry to imaging methods for studying porous materials, however, the characterization of disordered pore networks is still a great challenge. To meet this challenge it is striven to gain a three dimensional high resolution reconstruction of the surface. In this work, the reconstruction is approached by repeatedly milling down the surface by a fixed decrement while measuring each layer using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The so acquired depth data of the successive layers is then registered pairwise. Within this work a direct registration approach is deployed and implemented in two steps, a coarse and a fine alignment. The coarse alignment of the depth data is limited to a translational shift which occurs in horizontal direction due to placing the sample in turns under the CLSM and the milling machine and in vertical direction due to the milling process itself. The shift is determined by an approach utilizing 3D phase correlation. The fine alignment is implemented by the Trimmed Iterative Closest Point algorithm, matching the most likely common pixels roughly specified by an estimated overlap rate. With the presented two-step approach a proper 3D registration of the successive depth data of the layer is obtained. © COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

A simple method of purifying authigenic 10Be from sediments for AMS-analysis

The cosmogenic radionuclide 10Be is used for a variety of applications, its analysis however requires laborious purification methods. We developed a simple purification protocol for Be from sediment samples that works without strongly hazardous chemicals or time consuming and expensive ion exchange columns. The combination of hydroxide precipitations and precipitation in NaHCO3 was compared to an established protocol of hydroxide precipitations and ion exchange columns. The new method has a slightly lower Be-yield and purity of the resulting samples. However, this does not have a significant influence on performance during AMS-measurement where both methods performed equally well. The avoidance of column chromatography reduces sample preparation costs and space requirements in the lab allowing for more samples to be prepared simultaneously

3D reconstruction and characterization of the porous microstructure of Al2O3-coatings based on surface data

The functionalities and properties of components strongly correlate to the used material’s structure and the microstructure of the surface. Therefore, by characterizing the structure of a material or surface information is indirectly gained on its properties. In this work porous aluminum oxide surface coatings for the usage of tribological pairings are investigated. The tribological behavior of a component is influenced by the surface structure. Further, in porous material the fluid flow strongly dependents on morphological and topological parameters like the pore size and shape and the pore connectivity. To gain meaningful information on the coatings properties, we present a new approach to obtain 3D measurement data of porous structures and reconstructing the porous material. This is implemented in an alternating process of milling the surface and measuring the surface data. Based on the surface height data and a registration process the three dimensional porous structure of the material is reconstructe

Automated chamber technique for gaseous flux measurements: evaluation of a photoacoustic infrared spectrometer-trace gas analyzer

Experiments were made in order to evaluate the accuracy and sensitivity of a photoacoustic infrared trace gas analyzer (TGA) in conjunction with an automatic opening and closing chamber system developed for near-continuous (2 min intervals) soil gaseous flux measurements. Humidity interference tests on N2O, CH4, and CO2 concentrations measured by the TGA were carried out, and the results showed a linear interference, with correction factors of 3 x 10(-5)x, 1.9 x 10(-3)x and 4.4x 10(-3)x(x = H2O vapor ppm), respectively. CO2 interference on N2O and CH4 signals were also linear, with average correction factors of 2.8 x 10(-4)x and 6 x 10(-5)x(x = CO2 ppm), respectively. Laboratory intercomparisons between the TGA and GC measurements of N2O and CH4 standards showed good agreement (R-2 > 0.993), indicating the accuracy of the TGA for measurement of these gases at concentrations up to 100 and 40 ppm N2O and CH4, respectively. The relatively rapid measurement time for up to five gases simultaneously in 2 min, linearity, and ease of operation of the TGA represent major advantages compared to gas chromatography (GC). The automated chamber system provides a continuous measurement of fluxes with minimum disturbance to the soil environment enclosed by the chamber and provides the means, for example, of quantifying diurnal variability. In situ measurements of N2O-N and CH4-C fluxes with a sensitivity <10 g ha(-1) d(-1) (11.6 ng m(-2) s(-1)), as well as of CO, and water vapor (H2O), can be measured by the TGA when used with the automated system, and fluxes at background levels (i.e., from unfertilized soils) can be determined

The Association Between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in the UK Biobank

PURPOSE: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has a rising global prevalence. However, the understanding of its impact on mortality remains inconsistent so we explored the association between IBD and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. METHODS: This study included 502,369 participants from the UK Biobank, a large, population-based, prospective cohort study with mortality data through 2022. IBD was defined by baseline self-report or from primary care or hospital admission data. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality in multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: A total of 5799 (1.2%) participants had a history of IBD at baseline. After a median follow-up of 13.7 years, 44,499 deaths occurred. Having IBD was associated with an increased risk of death from all causes (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.07-1.24) and cancer (HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.05-1.30), particularly colorectal cancer (CRC) (HR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.17-2.09). We observed elevated breast cancer mortality rates for individuals with Crohn\u27s disease, and increased CRC mortality rates for individuals with ulcerative colitis. In stratified analyses of IBD and all-cause mortality, mortality risk differed by individuals\u27 duration of IBD, age at IBD diagnosis, body mass index (BMI) (PHeterogeneity = 0.03) and smoking status (PHeterogeneity = 0.01). Positive associations between IBD and all-cause mortality were detected in individuals diagnosed with IBD for 10 years or longer, those diagnosed before the age of 50, all BMI subgroups except obese individuals, and in never or current, but not former smokers. CONCLUSIONS: We found that having IBD was associated with increased risks of mortality from all causes, all cancers, and CRC. This underscores the importance of enhanced patient management strategies and targeted prevention efforts in individuals with IBD