Atmospheric Deposition of Organochlorine Pesticides and Industrial Compounds to Seasonal Surface Snow at Four Glacier Sites on Svalbard, 2013-2014.

Winter snow from four glacial sites on Svalbard was analyzed for atmospheric deposition of 36 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 7 industrial compounds (OCICs) by GC-high-resolution MS. Thirteen of the OCPs and all OCICs were detected at all sites. Sampling sites are 230 km apart from west to east, but are at varying elevations, ranging from 700 to 1202 m a.

Prospective and longitudinal evaluations of telomere length of circulating DNA as a risk predictor of hepatocellular carcinoma in HBV patients.

Prospective and longitudinal epidemiological evidence is needed to assess the association between telomere length and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In 323 cancer-free Korean-American HBV patients with 1-year exclusion window (followed for >1 year and did not develop HCC within 1 year), we measured the relative telomere length (RTL) in baseline serum DNAs and conducted extensive prospective and longitudinal analyses to assess RTL-HCC relationship. We found that long baseline RTL conferred an increased HCC risk compared to short RTL [hazard ratio (HR) = 4.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Tree Bark near Former Manufacturing and Incineration Facilities in Sauget, Illinois, United States.

We collected 27 tree bark samples near Sauget, IL, where 373 000 mt of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) was produced between 1936 and 1977 and 10 245 mt was incinerated from 1971 to 1977. Our goal was observe PCB distribution and apparent movement to residential sites, where 24 of 27 samples were collected. Only one of several waste sites was accessible for sampling.

Cell-free circulating mitochondrial DNA content and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic HBV infection.

Recent studies have demonstrated a potential link between circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content and cancers. However, there is no study evaluating the association between circulating mtDNA as a non-invasive marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. We conducted a nested case-control study to determine circulating mtDNA content in serum samples from 116 HBV-related HCC cases and 232 frequency-matched cancer-free HBV controls, and evaluate the retrospective association between mtDNA content and HCC risk using logistic regression and their temporal relationship using a mixed effects model.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with top quarks and decaying into [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector.

A search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a top-quark pair, [Formula: see text], is presented. The analysis uses 20.3 fb of collision data at [Formula: see text], collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during 2012.

Constraints on the off-shell Higgs boson signal strength in the high-mass and final states with the ATLAS detector.

Measurements of the and final states in the mass range above the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] thresholds provide a unique opportunity to measure the off-shell coupling strength of the Higgs boson. This paper presents constraints on the off-shell Higgs boson event yields normalised to the Standard Model prediction (signal strength) in the [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] final states. The result is based on collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.

Search for invisible particles produced in association with single-top-quarks in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector.

A search for the production of single-top-quarks in association with missing energy is performed in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS experiment at the large hadron collider using data collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of [Formula: see text] fb[Formula: see text]. In this search, the [Formula: see text] boson from the top quark is required to decay into an electron or a muon and a neutrino. No deviation from the standard model prediction is observed, and upper limits are set on the production cross-section for resonant and non-resonant production of an invisible exotic state in association with a right-handed top quark.

Circulating mitochondrial DNA content associated with the risk of liver cirrhosis: a nested case-control study.

Background And Aims: Accumulating evidence has indicated that variations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content may affect the susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, no study has been conducted to evaluate the association of circulating mtDNA content and the risk of liver cirrhosis, a leading cause of HCC.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study including 136 cirrhotic hepatitis B virus (HBV) cases and 136 frequency-matched non-cirrhotic HBV controls.

Optimizing of the basophil activation test: Comparison of different basophil identification markers.

Background: Flowcytometric identification of basophils is a prerequisite for measuring activation of basophils with IgE-dependent or IgE-independent stimuli. Aim of this study was to compare different marker combinations in a simultaneous multicolor flowcytometric measurement.

Methods: Ten patients with a grass pollen allergy and three controls were included in the study.

Optimizing of the basophil activation test: Comparison of different basophil identification markers.

Background Flowcytometric identification of basophils is a prerequisite for measuring activation of basophils with IgE-dependent or IgE-independent stimuli. Aim of this study was to compare different marker combinations in a simultaneous multicolor flowcytometric measurement. Methods Ten patients with a grass pollen allergy and 3 controls were included in the study.

Aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index as a prospective predictor of hepatocellular carcinoma risk in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Background And Aim: APRI (aspartate aminotransferase [AST] to platelet ratio index) is widely used to assess fibrosis and cirrhosis risk, especially in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients. Few studies have evaluated APRI and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk. Prospective evidence is needed to assess whether APRI predicts HCC risk in HBV patients.

A long-term study of the effects of antiviral therapy on survival of patients with HBV-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following local tumor ablation.

The ultimate goal of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Earlier we reported favorable effects of antiviral therapy on survival of HCC patients following curative tumor ablation (Int J Cancer online 14 April 2010; doi: 10.1002/ijc.

Measurement of distributions sensitive to the underlying event in inclusive Z-boson production in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector.

A measurement of charged-particle distributions sensitive to the properties of the underlying event is presented for an inclusive sample of events containing a [Formula: see text]-boson, decaying to an electron or muon pair. The measurement is based on data collected using the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV with an integrated luminosity of [Formula: see text] fb[Formula: see text]. Distributions of the charged particle multiplicity and of the charged particle transverse momentum are measured in regions of azimuthal angle defined with respect to the [Formula: see text]-boson direction.

A measurement of the ratio of the production cross sections for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] bosons in association with jets with the ATLAS detector.

The ratio of the production cross sections for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] bosons in association with jets has been measured in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on the entire 2011 dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of [Formula: see text]. Inclusive and differential cross-section ratios for massive vector bosons decaying to electrons and muons are measured in association with jets with transverse momentum [Formula: see text] and jet rapidity [Formula: see text].

Search for contact interactions and large extra dimensions in the dilepton channel using proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

A search is conducted for non-resonant new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states, originating from either contact interactions or large extra spatial dimensions. The LHC 2012 proton-proton collision dataset recorded by the ATLAS detector is used, corresponding to 20 fb[Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] = 8 TeV. The dilepton invariant mass spectrum is a discriminating variable in both searches, with the contact interaction search additionally utilizing the dilepton forward-backward asymmetry.

Measurement of flow harmonics with multi-particle cumulants in Pb+Pb collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector.

ATLAS measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy in lead-lead collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV are shown using a dataset of approximately 7 [Formula: see text]b[Formula: see text] collected at the LHC in 2010. The measurements are performed for charged particles with transverse momenta [Formula: see text] GeV and in the pseudorapidity range [Formula: see text]. The anisotropy is characterized by the Fourier coefficients, [Formula: see text], of the charged-particle azimuthal angle distribution for [Formula: see text]-4.

Measurement of the muon reconstruction performance of the ATLAS detector using 2011 and 2012 LHC proton-proton collision data.

This paper presents the performance of the ATLAS muon reconstruction during the LHC run with [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text]-8 TeV in 2011-2012, focusing mainly on data collected in 2012. Measurements of the reconstruction efficiency and of the momentum scale and resolution, based on large reference samples of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decays, are presented and compared to Monte Carlo simulations. Corrections to the simulation, to be used in physics analysis, are provided.

Measurements of jet vetoes and azimuthal decorrelations in dijet events produced in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector.

Additional jet activity in dijet events is measured using [Formula: see text] collisions at ATLAS at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text], for jets reconstructed using the [Formula: see text] algorithm with radius parameter [Formula: see text]. This is done using variables such as the fraction of dijet events without an additional jet in the rapidity interval bounded by the dijet subsystem and correlations between the azimuthal angles of the dijet s. They are presented, both with and without a veto on additional jet activity in the rapidity interval, as a function of the scalar average of the transverse momenta of the dijet s and of the rapidity interval size.

Comprehensive analysis of common serum liver enzymes as prospective predictors of hepatocellular carcinoma in HBV patients.

Background: Serum liver enzymes are frequently tested in clinics to aid disease diagnosis. Large observational studies indicated that these enzymes might predict cancer risk and mortality. However, no prospective study has reported on their relationships with the risk of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

High-nitrogen-based pyrotechnics: development of perchlorate-free green-light illuminants for military and civilian applications.

The development of perchlorate-free hand-held signal illuminants for the US Army's M195 green star parachute is described. Compared with the perchlorate-containing control, the optimized perchlorate-free illuminants were less sensitive toward various ignition stimuli while offering comparable burn times and visible-light outputs. The results were also important from the perspective of civilian fireworks because the development of perchlorate-free illuminants remains an important objective of the commercial fireworks industry.

Telomere length in circulating serum DNA as a novel non-invasive biomarker for cirrhosis: a nested case-control analysis.

Background & Aims: Previous studies have indicated that telomere length is associated with altered risk of various tumours including hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the association between telomere length and the risk of cirrhosis has not been reported.

Methods: In this nested case-control study, we used real-time quantitative PCR to determine the relative telomere length (RTL) in serum DNA samples from 100 HBV-related cirrhosis cases and 100 frequency-matched HBV controls, and evaluated the associations between RTL and cirrhosis risk by logistic regression analyses.

Relative telomere length: a novel non-invasive biomarker for the risk of non-cirrhotic hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.

Background And Aims: Telomere length has emerged as a promising risk predictor of various cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the majority of studies in this area measured telomere length in hepatocytes and one in lymphocytes with conflicting results. Moreover, no studies have been reported on using circulating DNA telomere length as a non-invasive HCC biomarker.

Predictive value of alpha-fetoprotein in the long-term risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis B virus infection--results from a clinic-based longitudinal cohort.

Background: Although serum level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has long been used to complement imaging tests in the screening and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), whether it can be used as a predictive marker of long-term risk for developing HCC in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) has not been extensively evaluated and thus remains controversial.

Methods: We retrospectively conducted a clinic-based longitudinal cohort study including 617 Korean American patients with HBV who had been followed for up to 22 years (median follow-up time, 6.2 years) to evaluate the association between baseline serum AFP level and the long-term risk of HCC.