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Food design is often done based on a trial-and-error basis,using structure properties as an indicator of product quality.Although this has led to many good p roducts in the market, this‘cook and look’ approach could benefit from insights into dynamic processes as they occur during food formation, storage, and digestion. Currently microfluidic devices are being developed to allow these types of observations, and here we show the latest examples in the field of emulsions and foams, including effects that occur during digestion. We expect that these techniques will supply a stepping stone to thorough understanding at various length and timescales that are all instrumental in designing high-quality food products, and ultimately creating foods with health benefits.

The Phase-I trigger readout electronics upgrade of the ATLAS Liquid Argon calorimeters enhances the physics reach of the experiment during the upcoming operation at increasing Large Hadron Collider luminosities. The new system, installed during the second Large Hadron Collider Long Shutdown, increases the trigger readout granularity by up to a factor of ten as well as its precision and range. Consequently, the background rejection at trigger level is improved through enhanced filtering algorithms utilizing the additional information for topological discrimination of electromagnetic and hadronic shower shapes. This paper presents the final designs of the new electronic elements, their custom electronic devices, the procedures used to validate their proper functioning, and the performance achieved during the commissioning of this system., Comment: 56 pages, 41 figures, 6 tables

Background and Purpose. There are increasing evidences that show that the prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is closely related to the inflammatory response. In the inflammation caused by AIS, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) will increase and is associated with prognosis in these patients; few studies have looked at the relationship between CRP and large artery atherosclerosis- (LAA-) type AIS. We aim to investigate the role of CRP in predicting the functional outcome of LAA-type AIS patients. Methods. We prospectively included 200 patients with LAA-type AIS and tested their CRP levels on admission. We followed these patients consecutively. The primary outcome was an adverse event, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 2-6 at months 3, 6, and 12 after discharge. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between CRP and the functional outcome of LAA stroke. Results. We divided 200 patients into 3 groups evenly based on CRP level. After adjustment for gender, age, smoking history, drinking history, history of hyperlipidemia, history of diabetes, lipid levels, and blood glucose levels, logistic regression showed that the incidence of LAA-type AIS poor outcome was positively associated with CRP level at admission, whether it was 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months after discharge, respectively (OR: 2.574, 95% CI: 1.213-5.463; OR: 2.806, 95% CI: 1.298-6.065; OR: 2.492, 95% CI: 1.167-5.321. In the highest tertile vs. the lowest tertile as a reference), and both were statistically different. Conclusions. High CRP level predicts poor functional outcome in LAA-type AIS patients, which provides a strong basis for clinicians to make treatment decisions for these patients.

In the present work, a novel medium carbon martensitic stainless steel (MCMSS) with an excellent combination of strength, ductility, and impact toughness was designed on the basis of quenching-tempering and partitioning (Q–T&P) technology. Q–T&P is an identical heat treatment with a standard quenching and tempering (Q–T) process but has the same role with quenching and partitioning (Q&P) on microstructure control, i.e., promoting carbon-rich retained austenite via inhibiting carbide precipitation. Results show that, without compromise on strength, the total elongation and room temperature impact toughness, i.e., 9.6 pct and 90 J cm−2, of the proposed alloy (23Cr13MnSi) increase by 14 and 110 pct, respectively, as compared to those of the commercial AISI 420. The significant improvement of ductility and impact toughness in the proposed alloy is mainly a result of the gradual transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) effects, which are caused by carbon-rich retained austenite with heterogeneous stability and carbide-free martensite formed in the Q–T&P process, QC 20211221

Background and Purpose. There are increasing evidences that show that the prognosis of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is closely related to the inflammatory response. In the inflammation caused by AIS, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) will increase and is associated with prognosis in these patients; few studies have looked at the relationship between CRP and large artery atherosclerosis- (LAA-) type AIS. We aim to investigate the role of CRP in predicting the functional outcome of LAA-type AIS patients. Methods. We prospectively included 200 patients with LAA-type AIS and tested their CRP levels on admission. We followed these patients consecutively. The primary outcome was an adverse event, defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 2-6 at months 3, 6, and 12 after discharge. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between CRP and the functional outcome of LAA stroke. Results. We divided 200 patients into 3 groups evenly based on CRP level. After adjustment for gender, age, smoking history, drinking history, history of hyperlipidemia, history of diabetes, lipid levels, and blood glucose levels, logistic regression showed that the incidence of LAA-type AIS poor outcome was positively associated with CRP level at admission, whether it was 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months after discharge, respectively (OR: 2.574, 95% CI: 1.213-5.463; OR: 2.806, 95% CI: 1.298-6.065; OR: 2.492, 95% CI: 1.167-5.321. In the highest tertile vs. the lowest tertile as a reference), and both were statistically different. Conclusions. High CRP level predicts poor functional outcome in LAA-type AIS patients, which provides a strong basis for clinicians to make treatment decisions for these patients.

The Quad transimpedance and limiting amplifier (QTIA) is a 4-channel array optical receiver ASIC, developed using a 65 nm CMOS process. It is configurable between the bit rate of 2.56 Gbps and 10 Gbps per channel. QTIA offers careful matching to both GaAs and InGaAs photodiodes. At this R&D stage, each channel has a different biasing scheme to the photodiode for optimal coupling. A charge pump is implemented in one channel to provide a higher reverse bias voltage, which is especially important to mitigate radiation effects on the photodiodes. The circuit functions of QTIA successfully passed the lab tests with GaAs photodiodes., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in JINST (TWEPP2021)

High dietary salt (NaCl) intake is a global health concern which leads to various chronic diseases; hence, the reduction of salt content in foods has been a high demand in the food industry. Inhomogeneous salt distribution is a promising strategy for salt reduction. This study investigated the effect of inhomogeneous salt distribution using salt edible coating on the physiochemical and sensory attributes of beef frankfurter sausages. Results demonstrated that this method significantly reduced the salt content in frankfurter sausages by 60–81% without affecting the consumers’ perception of saltiness intensity. Among the coated samples, 7.5% and 10% salt coating samples showed the best performance on the product quality. However, the problems associated with high cooking loss and hard texture of the salt‐coated sausages need to be further addressed. This research has potentially developed a new method for manufacture of salt‐reduced food.

An optical link system is being developed for the ATLAS Liquid Argon Calorimeter Phase-II upgrade. The optical link system is responsible for transmit the data of over 182 thousand detector channels from 1524 Front-End Boards (FEBs) through 26 optical fibers per FEB over 150 meters to the counting room and brings clocks, bunch crossing reset signals and slow control/monitoring signals back to the FEBs. The optical link system is based on the Low-Power GigaBit Transceivers (lpGBTs) and the Versatile optical Transceiver (VTRx+) modules, which both are being developed for the High-Luminosity LHC upgrade. An evaluation board is designed and the major functions of the optical link system are being evaluated. The design of the optical link system and the evaluation of major functions are presented in the paper., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures

© 2018 Metal-organic frameworks and its derivates have attracted much attention for energy storage application. In this work, three-dimensional bimetallic metal-organic frameworks with novel hierarchical bundle-like micro/nanostructure were synthesized at room temperature for the first time. After initial carbonization and subsequent selenization, hierarchical porous Ni-Co-Se nanoparticles embedded in 3D carbon network with a high surface area that obviously inherited the original morphology of the bimetallic metal organic frameworks. The resulting materials demonstrated superior performance as the anode in lithium ion batteries (LIBs): they provide high reversible Li-storage capacity, excellent cyclability (2061 mA h/g after 300 cycles) and high rate performance (493 mA h/g at 8 A/g). The features of Ni-Co-Se@C electrode include the synergistic effect of two metal selenides species for Li-storage, well-designed hierarchical porous bundle-like structure, steady carbon network and as-formed size-reduced particles after initial cycle process. These features not only enhanced the electronic properties and alleviated the volume variation of metal selenides during the repeated cycles, but also produced more active sites for lithium storage and a shorter lithium diffusion pathway to expedite the fast charge transfer and preserve a stable SEI layer, resulting in outstanding lithium storage performance. In addition, the pseudocapacitive behaviour contributes much to the high energy storage of lithium ions. These results uncover a facile methodology for the design of well-organized MOFs and transition metal dichalcogenides with 3D hierarchical structures.

© 2018 Metal-organic frameworks and its derivates have attracted much attention for energy storage application. In this work, three-dimensional bimetallic metal-organic frameworks with novel hierarchical bundle-like micro/nanostructure were synthesized at room temperature for the first time. After initial carbonization and subsequent selenization, hierarchical porous Ni-Co-Se nanoparticles embedded in 3D carbon network with a high surface area that obviously inherited the original morphology of the bimetallic metal organic frameworks. The resulting materials demonstrated superior performance as the anode in lithium ion batteries (LIBs): they provide high reversible Li-storage capacity, excellent cyclability (2061 mA h/g after 300 cycles) and high rate performance (493 mA h/g at 8 A/g). The features of Ni-Co-Se@C electrode include the synergistic effect of two metal selenides species for Li-storage, well-designed hierarchical porous bundle-like structure, steady carbon network and as-formed size-reduced particles after initial cycle process. These features not only enhanced the electronic properties and alleviated the volume variation of metal selenides during the repeated cycles, but also produced more active sites for lithium storage and a shorter lithium diffusion pathway to expedite the fast charge transfer and preserve a stable SEI layer, resulting in outstanding lithium storage performance. In addition, the pseudocapacitive behaviour contributes much to the high energy storage of lithium ions. These results uncover a facile methodology for the design of well-organized MOFs and transition metal dichalcogenides with 3D hierarchical structures.

A sulfur cycle-based bioprocess for co-treatment of wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) wastes with freshwater sewage has been developed. In this process the removal of organic carbon is mainly associated with biological sulfate or sulfite reduction. Thiosulfate is a major intermediate during biological sulfate/sulfite reduction, and its reduction to sulfide is the rate-limiting step. In this study, the impacts of saline sulfite (the ionized form: HSO3- + SO32-) and free sulfurous acid (FSA, the unionized form: H2SO3) sourced from WGFD wastes on the biological thiosulfate reduction (BTR) activities were thoroughly investigated. The BTR activity and sulfate/sulfite-reducing bacteria (SRB) populations in the thiosulfate-reducing up-flow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor decreased when the FSA was added to the UASB influent. Batch experiment results confirmed that FSA, instead of saline sulfite, was the true inhibitor of BTR. And BTR activities dropped by 50% as the FSA concentrations were increased from 8.0 × 10-8 to 2.0 × 10-4 mg H2SO3-S/L. From an engineering perspective, the findings of this study provide some hints on how to ensure effective thiosulfate accumulation in biological sulfate/sulfite reduction for the subsequent denitrification/denitritation. Such manipulation would result in higher nitrogen removal rates in this co-treatment process of WFGD wastes with municipal sewage.

The Qiangtang terrane of Tibet is a critical region for tectonic reconstruction of Asia. Our knowledge about tectonic history prior to India-Asia collision is limited as most studies focused on post-collisional history of the region. Here, we report our new geochronologic data from 3 localities of volcanic rocks in northern Qiangtang and summarize paleomagnetic results from these volcanics and relevant sedimentary rocks. 40Ar/39Ar dating by step-heating shows that the volcanic rocks and a subvolcanic granite in Wudaoliang area are coeval with the basaltic rocks in Kaixingling region to the south, revealing that volcanism in this province of Qiangtang began at least 210 Ma ago. Whether these melts are the product of collision between the Qiangtang and Kunlun blocks or intracontinental rifting remains a topic of active research. Our new 40Ar/39Ar age for a basalt flow at Tuotuo He region indicate the lava flow erupted around ca. 135 Ma, signifying they may relate to Lhasa-Qiangtang convergence in Late Jurassic/earliest Cretaceous time. Our paleomagnetic data from these dated rocks suggest that the Qiangtang terrane did not occupy its current position in terms of paleolatitude in both Triassic and Jurassic times, and suggest significant separation between Qiangtang and surrounding Asian blocks during Triassic through Late Jurassic.

Recent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed

Contains fulltext : 172618.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed smoking cessation. It is unclear whether smoking cessation confers the same benefits in terms of lung cancer risk reduction for those who possess CHRNA5 risk variants versus those who do not. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined the association between smoking cessation and lung cancer risk in 15 studies of individuals with European ancestry who possessed varying rs16969968 genotypes (N=12,690 ever smokers, including 6988 cases of lung cancer and 5702 controls) in the International Lung Cancer Consortium. RESULTS: Smoking cessation (former vs. current smokers) was associated with a lower likelihood of lung cancer (OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.30-0.75, p=0.0015). Among lung cancer patients, smoking cessation was associated with a 7-year delay in median age of lung cancer diagnosis (HR=0.68, 95%CI=0.61-0.77, p=4.9 *10-10). The CHRNA5 rs16969968 risk genotype (AA) was associated with increased risk and earlier diagnosis for lung cancer, but the beneficial effects of smoking cessation were very similar in those with and without the risk genotype. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that quitting smoking is highly beneficial in reducing lung cancer risks for smokers regardless of their CHRNA5 rs16969968 genetic risk status. Smokers with high-risk CHRNA5 genotypes, on average, can largely eliminate their elevated genetic risk for lung cancer by quitting smoking- cutting their risk of lung cancer in half and delaying its onset by 7years for those who develop it. These results: 1) underscore the potential value of smoking cessation for all smokers, 2) suggest that CHRNA5 rs16969968 genotype affects lung cancer diagnosis through its effects on smoking, and 3) have potential value for framing preventive interventions for those who smoke.

Contains fulltext : 167216.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), BACKGROUND: An effective malaria transmission-blocking vaccine may play an important role in malaria elimination efforts, and a robust biological assay is essential for its development. The standard membrane-feeding assay (SMFA) for Plasmodium falciparum infection of mosquitoes is considered a "gold standard" assay to measure transmission-blocking activity of test antibodies, and has been utilized widely in both non-clinical and clinical studies. While several studies have discussed the inherent variability of SMFA within a study group, there has been no assessment of inter-laboratory variation. Therefore, there is currently no assurance that SMFA results are comparable between different studies. METHODS: Mouse anti-Pfs25 monoclonal antibody (mAb, 4B7 mAb), rat anti-Pfs48/45 mAb (85RF45.1 mAb) and a human polyclonal antibody (pAb) collected from a malaria-exposed adult were tested at the same concentrations (6-94 mug/mL for 4B7, 1.2-31.3 mug/mL for 85RF45.1 and 23-630 mug/mL for human pAb) in two laboratories following their own standardized SMFA protocols. The mAbs and pAb, previously shown to have strong inhibition activities in the SMFA, were tested at three or four concentrations in two or three independent assays in each laboratory, and percent inhibition in mean oocyst intensity relative to a control in the same feed was determined in each feeding experiment. RESULTS: Both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies dose-dependently reduced oocyst intensity in all experiments performed at the two test sites. In both laboratories, the inter-assay variability in percent inhibition in oocyst intensity decreased at higher levels of inhibition, regardless of which antibody was tested. At antibody concentrations that led to a >80 % reduction in oocyst numbers, the inter-laboratory variations were in the same range compared with the inter-assay variation observed within a single laboratory, and the differences in best estimates from multiple feeds between the two laboratori

Recent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed

Contains fulltext : 172618.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed smoking cessation. It is unclear whether smoking cessation confers the same benefits in terms of lung cancer risk reduction for those who possess CHRNA5 risk variants versus those who do not. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined the association between smoking cessation and lung cancer risk in 15 studies of individuals with European ancestry who possessed varying rs16969968 genotypes (N=12,690 ever smokers, including 6988 cases of lung cancer and 5702 controls) in the International Lung Cancer Consortium. RESULTS: Smoking cessation (former vs. current smokers) was associated with a lower likelihood of lung cancer (OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.30-0.75, p=0.0015). Among lung cancer patients, smoking cessation was associated with a 7-year delay in median age of lung cancer diagnosis (HR=0.68, 95%CI=0.61-0.77, p=4.9 *10-10). The CHRNA5 rs16969968 risk genotype (AA) was associated with increased risk and earlier diagnosis for lung cancer, but the beneficial effects of smoking cessation were very similar in those with and without the risk genotype. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that quitting smoking is highly beneficial in reducing lung cancer risks for smokers regardless of their CHRNA5 rs16969968 genetic risk status. Smokers with high-risk CHRNA5 genotypes, on average, can largely eliminate their elevated genetic risk for lung cancer by quitting smoking- cutting their risk of lung cancer in half and delaying its onset by 7years for those who develop it. These results: 1) underscore the potential value of smoking cessation for all smokers, 2) suggest that CHRNA5 rs16969968 genotype affects lung cancer diagnosis through its effects on smoking, and 3) have potential value for framing preventive interventions for those who smoke.

Contains fulltext : 167216.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), BACKGROUND: An effective malaria transmission-blocking vaccine may play an important role in malaria elimination efforts, and a robust biological assay is essential for its development. The standard membrane-feeding assay (SMFA) for Plasmodium falciparum infection of mosquitoes is considered a "gold standard" assay to measure transmission-blocking activity of test antibodies, and has been utilized widely in both non-clinical and clinical studies. While several studies have discussed the inherent variability of SMFA within a study group, there has been no assessment of inter-laboratory variation. Therefore, there is currently no assurance that SMFA results are comparable between different studies. METHODS: Mouse anti-Pfs25 monoclonal antibody (mAb, 4B7 mAb), rat anti-Pfs48/45 mAb (85RF45.1 mAb) and a human polyclonal antibody (pAb) collected from a malaria-exposed adult were tested at the same concentrations (6-94 mug/mL for 4B7, 1.2-31.3 mug/mL for 85RF45.1 and 23-630 mug/mL for human pAb) in two laboratories following their own standardized SMFA protocols. The mAbs and pAb, previously shown to have strong inhibition activities in the SMFA, were tested at three or four concentrations in two or three independent assays in each laboratory, and percent inhibition in mean oocyst intensity relative to a control in the same feed was determined in each feeding experiment. RESULTS: Both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies dose-dependently reduced oocyst intensity in all experiments performed at the two test sites. In both laboratories, the inter-assay variability in percent inhibition in oocyst intensity decreased at higher levels of inhibition, regardless of which antibody was tested. At antibody concentrations that led to a >80 % reduction in oocyst numbers, the inter-laboratory variations were in the same range compared with the inter-assay variation observed within a single laboratory, and the differences in best estimates from multiple feeds between the two laboratori

Contains fulltext : 172618.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access), BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show that individuals with high risk variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25 are likely to develop lung cancer earlier than those with low-risk genotypes. The same high-risk genetic variants also predict nicotine dependence and delayed smoking cessation. It is unclear whether smoking cessation confers the same benefits in terms of lung cancer risk reduction for those who possess CHRNA5 risk variants versus those who do not. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined the association between smoking cessation and lung cancer risk in 15 studies of individuals with European ancestry who possessed varying rs16969968 genotypes (N=12,690 ever smokers, including 6988 cases of lung cancer and 5702 controls) in the International Lung Cancer Consortium. RESULTS: Smoking cessation (former vs. current smokers) was associated with a lower likelihood of lung cancer (OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.30-0.75, p=0.0015). Among lung cancer patients, smoking cessation was associated with a 7-year delay in median age of lung cancer diagnosis (HR=0.68, 95%CI=0.61-0.77, p=4.9 *10-10). The CHRNA5 rs16969968 risk genotype (AA) was associated with increased risk and earlier diagnosis for lung cancer, but the beneficial effects of smoking cessation were very similar in those with and without the risk genotype. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that quitting smoking is highly beneficial in reducing lung cancer risks for smokers regardless of their CHRNA5 rs16969968 genetic risk status. Smokers with high-risk CHRNA5 genotypes, on average, can largely eliminate their elevated genetic risk for lung cancer by quitting smoking- cutting their risk of lung cancer in half and delaying its onset by 7years for those who develop it. These results: 1) underscore the potential value of smoking cessation for all smokers, 2) suggest that CHRNA5 rs16969968 genotype affects lung cancer diagnosis through its effects on smoking, and 3) have potential value for framing preventive interventions for those who smoke.

Item does not contain fulltext, BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show strong evidence of associations among genetic variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25, smoking quantity, and lung cancer. This meta-analysis tests whether the CHRNA5 variant rs16969968 predicts age of smoking cessation and age of lung cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined associations between rs16969968, age of quitting smoking, and age of lung cancer diagnosis in 24 studies of European ancestry (n = 29 072). In each dataset, we used Cox regression models to evaluate the association between rs16969968 and the two primary phenotypes (age of smoking cessation among ever smokers and age of lung cancer diagnosis among lung cancer case patients) and the secondary phenotype of smoking duration. Heterogeneity across studies was assessed with the Cochran Q test. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The rs16969968 allele (A) was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking cessation (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91 to 0.98, P = .0042), and the AA genotype was associated with a four-year delay in median age of quitting compared with the GG genotype. Among smokers with lung cancer diagnoses, the rs16969968 genotype (AA) was associated with a four-year earlier median age of diagnosis compared with the low-risk genotype (GG) (HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.12, P = 1.1*10(-5)). CONCLUSION: These data support the clinical significance of the CHRNA5 variant rs16969968. It predicts delayed smoking cessation and an earlier age of lung cancer diagnosis in this meta-analysis. Given the existing evidence that this CHRNA5 variant predicts favorable response to cessation pharmacotherapy, these findings underscore the potential clinical and public health importance of rs16969968 in CHRNA5 in relation to smoking cessation success and lung cancer risk.

Item does not contain fulltext, BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show strong evidence of associations among genetic variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25, smoking quantity, and lung cancer. This meta-analysis tests whether the CHRNA5 variant rs16969968 predicts age of smoking cessation and age of lung cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined associations between rs16969968, age of quitting smoking, and age of lung cancer diagnosis in 24 studies of European ancestry (n = 29 072). In each dataset, we used Cox regression models to evaluate the association between rs16969968 and the two primary phenotypes (age of smoking cessation among ever smokers and age of lung cancer diagnosis among lung cancer case patients) and the secondary phenotype of smoking duration. Heterogeneity across studies was assessed with the Cochran Q test. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The rs16969968 allele (A) was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking cessation (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91 to 0.98, P = .0042), and the AA genotype was associated with a four-year delay in median age of quitting compared with the GG genotype. Among smokers with lung cancer diagnoses, the rs16969968 genotype (AA) was associated with a four-year earlier median age of diagnosis compared with the low-risk genotype (GG) (HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.12, P = 1.1*10(-5)). CONCLUSION: These data support the clinical significance of the CHRNA5 variant rs16969968. It predicts delayed smoking cessation and an earlier age of lung cancer diagnosis in this meta-analysis. Given the existing evidence that this CHRNA5 variant predicts favorable response to cessation pharmacotherapy, these findings underscore the potential clinical and public health importance of rs16969968 in CHRNA5 in relation to smoking cessation success and lung cancer risk.

Item does not contain fulltext, BACKGROUND: Recent meta-analyses show strong evidence of associations among genetic variants in CHRNA5 on chromosome 15q25, smoking quantity, and lung cancer. This meta-analysis tests whether the CHRNA5 variant rs16969968 predicts age of smoking cessation and age of lung cancer diagnosis. METHODS: Meta-analyses examined associations between rs16969968, age of quitting smoking, and age of lung cancer diagnosis in 24 studies of European ancestry (n = 29 072). In each dataset, we used Cox regression models to evaluate the association between rs16969968 and the two primary phenotypes (age of smoking cessation among ever smokers and age of lung cancer diagnosis among lung cancer case patients) and the secondary phenotype of smoking duration. Heterogeneity across studies was assessed with the Cochran Q test. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The rs16969968 allele (A) was associated with a lower likelihood of smoking cessation (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91 to 0.98, P = .0042), and the AA genotype was associated with a four-year delay in median age of quitting compared with the GG genotype. Among smokers with lung cancer diagnoses, the rs16969968 genotype (AA) was associated with a four-year earlier median age of diagnosis compared with the low-risk genotype (GG) (HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.12, P = 1.1*10(-5)). CONCLUSION: These data support the clinical significance of the CHRNA5 variant rs16969968. It predicts delayed smoking cessation and an earlier age of lung cancer diagnosis in this meta-analysis. Given the existing evidence that this CHRNA5 variant predicts favorable response to cessation pharmacotherapy, these findings underscore the potential clinical and public health importance of rs16969968 in CHRNA5 in relation to smoking cessation success and lung cancer risk.

Research on the spherical torus (or spherical tokamak) (ST) is being pursued to explore the scientific benefits of modifying the field line structue fro that in more moderate aspect ratio devices. The ST experiments are being conducted in various US research facilities. The area of power and particle handling is expected to be challenging because of the higher power density expected in the ST relative to that in conventional aspect-ratio tokamaks.

Research on the spherical torus (or spherical tokamak) (ST) is being pursued to explore the scientific benefits of modifying the field line structue fro that in more moderate aspect ratio devices. The ST experiments are being conducted in various US research facilities. The area of power and particle handling is expected to be challenging because of the higher power density expected in the ST relative to that in conventional aspect-ratio tokamaks.