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- Bruzzi, M, et al.
(author)
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Radiation-hard semiconductor detectors for SuperLHC
- 2005
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In: Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research. Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5087 .- 0168-9002. ; 541:1-2, s. 189-201
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An option of increasing the luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN to 1035 cm-2 s-1 has been envisaged to extend the physics reach of the machine. An efficient tracking down to a few centimetres from the interaction point will be required to exploit the physics potential of the upgraded LHC. As a consequence, the semiconductor detectors close to the interaction region will receive severe doses of fast hadron irradiation and the inner tracker detectors will need to survive fast hadron fluences of up to above 1016cm-2. The CERN-RD50 project "Development of Radiation Hard Semiconductor Devices for Very High Luminosity Colliders" has been established in 2002 to explore detector materials and technologies that will allow to operate devices up to, or beyond, this limit. The strategies followed by RD50 to enhance the radiation tolerance include the development of new or defect engineered detector materials (SiC, GaN, Czochralski and epitaxial silicon, oxygen enriched Float Zone silicon), the improvement of present detector designs and the understanding of the microscopic defects causing the degradation of the irradiated detectors. The latest advancements within the RD50 collaboration on radiation hard semiconductor detectors will be reviewed and discussed in this work.
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- Bernatsky, S, et al.
(author)
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An International Cohort Study of Cancer in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- 2005
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In: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 52:5, s. 1481-1490
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. There is increasing evidence in support of an association between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and malignancy, but in earlier studies the association could not be quantified precisely. The present study was undertaken to ascertain the incidence of cancer in SLE patients, compared with that in the general population. Methods. We assembled a multisite (23 centers) international cohort of patients diagnosed as having SLE. Patients at each center were linked to regional tumor registries to determine cancer occurrence. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated as the ratio of observed to expected cancers. Cancers expected were determined by multiplying person-years in the cohort by the geographically matched age, sex, and calendar year-specific cancer rates, and summing over all person-years. Results. The 9,547 patients from 23 centers were observed for a total of 76,948 patient-years, with an average followup of 8 years. Within the observation interval, 431 cancers occurred. The data confirmed an increased risk of cancer among patients with SLE. For all cancers combined, the SIR estimate was 1.15 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.05-1.27), for all hematologic malignancies, it was 2.75 (95% CI 2.13-3.49), and for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it was 3.64 (95% CI 2.63-4.93). The data also suggested an increased risk of lung cancer (SIR 1.37; 95% CI 1.05-1.76), and hepatobiliary cancer (SIR 2.60; 95% CI 1.25, 4.78). Conclusion. These results support the notion of an association between SLE and cancer and more precisely define the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in SLE. It is not yet known whether this association is mediated by genetic factors or exogenous exposures.
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- Cox, Angela, et al.
(author)
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A common coding variant in CASP8 is associated with breast cancer risk
- 2007
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 39:3, s. 352-358
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) has been established to conduct combined case-control analyses with augmented statistical power to try to confirm putative genetic associations with breast cancer. We genotyped nine SNPs for which there was some prior evidence of an association with breast cancer: CASP8 D302H (rs1045485), IGFBP3 -202 C --> A (rs2854744), SOD2 V16A (rs1799725), TGFB1 L10P (rs1982073), ATM S49C (rs1800054), ADH1B 3' UTR A --> G (rs1042026), CDKN1A S31R (rs1801270), ICAM5 V301I (rs1056538) and NUMA1 A794G (rs3750913). We included data from 9-15 studies, comprising 11,391-18,290 cases and 14,753-22,670 controls. We found evidence of an association with breast cancer for CASP8 D302H (with odds ratios (OR) of 0.89 (95% confidence interval (c.i.): 0.85-0.94) and 0.74 (95% c.i.: 0.62-0.87) for heterozygotes and rare homozygotes, respectively, compared with common homozygotes; P(trend) = 1.1 x 10(-7)) and weaker evidence for TGFB1 L10P (OR = 1.07 (95% c.i.: 1.02-1.13) and 1.16 (95% c.i.: 1.08-1.25), respectively; P(trend) = 2.8 x 10(-5)). These results demonstrate that common breast cancer susceptibility alleles with small effects on risk can be identified, given sufficiently powerful studies.
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- Bernatsky, S., et al.
(author)
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Mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2006
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In: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 54:8, s. 2550-2557
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. To examine mortality rates in the largest systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort ever assembled. Methods. Our sample was a multisite international SLE cohort (23 centers, 9,547 patients). Deaths were ascertained by vital statistics registry linkage. Standardized mortality ratio (SMR; ratio of deaths observed to deaths expected) estimates were calculated for-all deaths and by cause. The effects of sex, age, SLE duration, race, and calendar-year periods were determined. Results. The overall SMR was 2.4 (95% confidence interval 2.3-2.5). Particularly high mortality was seen for circulatory disease, infections, renal disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and lung cancer. The highest SMR estimates were seen in patient groups characterized by female sex, younger age, SLE duration < 1 year, or black/African American race. There was a dramatic decrease in total SMR estimates across calendar-year periods, which was demonstrable for specific causes including death due to infections and death due to renal disorders. However, the SMR due to circulatory diseases tended to increase slightly from the 1970s to the year 2001. Conclusion. Our data from a very large multicenter international cohort emphasize what has been demonstrated previously in smaller samples. These results highlight the increased mortality rate in SLE patients compared with the general population, and they suggest particular risk associated with female sex, younger age, shorter SLE duration, and black/African American race. The risk for certain types of deaths, primarily related to lupus activity (such as renal disease), has decreased over time, while the risk for deaths due to circulatory disease does not appear to have diminished.
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- Bin, J., et al.
(author)
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Lung cancer in systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2007
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In: Lung Cancer. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-8332 .- 0169-5002. ; 56:3, s. 303-306
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Evidence points to a link between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and an increased risk of lung cancer. Our objective was to provide a brief report of the lung cancer cases from an SLE cohort, with respect to demographics, histology, and exposures to smoking and immunosuppressive medications. Methods: Data were obtained from a multi-site international cohort study of over 9500 SLE patients from 23 centres. Cancer cases were ascertained through linkage with regional tumor registries. Results: We analyzed information on histology subtype for 30 lung cancer cases that had occurred across five countries. Most (75%) of these 30 cases were female, with a median age of 61 (range 27-91) years. In eight cases, the histological type was not specified. In the remainder, the most common histological type reported was adenocarcinoma (N = 8; two of the adenocarcinomas were bronchoalveolar carcinoma) followed by small cell carcinoma (N = 6), and squamous cell carcinoma (N = 6) with one case each of large cell carcinoma and carcinoid tumor. Most (71%) of the lung cancer cases were smokers; only the minority (20%) had been previously exposed to immunosuppressive agents. Conclusions: The histological distribution of the lung cancers from the SLE sample appeared similar to that of lung cancer patients in the general population, though the possibility of a higher proportion of more uncommon tumors (such as bronchoalveolar and carcinoid) cannot be excluded. A large proportion of the cancer cases were smokers, which is also not surprising. However, only a minority appeared to have been exposed to immunosuppressive agents. A large case-cohort study currently in progress should help shed light on the relative importance of these exposures in lung cancer risk for SLE patients. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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- Jakariya, Md., et al.
(author)
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Sustainable safe water options in Bangladesh : experiences from the Arsenic Project at Matlab (AsMat)
- 2005
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In: Natural Arsenic in Groundwater. - LEIDEN : A A BALKEMA PUBLISHERS. - 041536700X ; , s. 319-330
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The presence of elevated levels of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater of Bangladesh, has severely impaired the decade long effort of providing safe water to nearly 98% of its population and putting an estimated 3 5 million people-nearly one fourth of the total population at risk. In order to address this problem, a project titled "Arsenic in tubewell (TW) water and health consequences in Matlab Upazila of Chandpur district (AsMat)" is being implemented jointly by ICDDR,B and BRAC. During this study. all the TWs in Matlab have been assigned unique identification numbers, with marked GPS coordinates, depth, and age. It is estimated that nearly 65% of the about 13,000 TWs in Matlab have As concentrations above the Bangladesh drinking water standard (50 mu g/L). In order to minimize arsenic exposure, a work to provide various alternate safe drinking water options to the exposed population has been initiated. As of March 2004, about 1047 different alternate safe water options, such as Pond Sand Filter (PSF), Rainwater Harvester (RWH) and different filters to remove arsenic as well as pathogenic bacteria, were distributed among the targeted exposed population in Matlab. To ensure sustainable use, the provided options were assessed based on community acceptability, technical viability, and financial viability.
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