Applying the realized probability of dying to cancer survival

Age comparisons of survival in cancer cohorts generally utilize relative survival rates, which are based on indicators of the probability of survival for a given number of years after diagnosis. Cancer relative survival rates for the same number of years tend to decline as age at diagnosis increases. However, the same number of years of survival reflects higher relative longevity at older ages than at younger ages. The realized probability of dying (RPD) is a survival measure that expresses individual survival time after diagnosis relative to the survival distribution of an age-, race-, and sex-specific reference population, in effect weighing individual survival time more heavily as age at diagnosis increases. The purpose of this study was to apply the RPD as a survival measure in cancer epidemiology. Two cohorts of cancer patients, white males with prostate cancer and white females with breast cancer, aged 55 years and over at diagnosis, were followed for 15 years. Although older subjects survived less time after diagnosis than younger subjects, they achieved more favorable RPD values. We present survival analysis methods for analyzing the RPD in this population, an approach not previously used with this measure. The implications for use of the RPD in cancer epidemiology are discussed.     

Microwave-Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nanophase Ferrites

This paper reports the synthesis of technologically important ferrites such as ZnFe₂O₄, NiFe₂O₄, MnFe₂O₄, and CoFe₂O₄ by using novel microwave-hydrothermal processing. Nanophase ferrites with high surface areas, in the range of 72-247m²/g, have been synthesized in a matter of a few minutes at temperatures as low as 164°C. The rapid synthesis of nanophase ferrites via an acceleration of reaction rates under microwave-hydrothermal conditions is expected to lead to energy savings.     

Antagonism of microRNA function in zebrafish embryos by using locked nucleic acid enzymes (LNAzymes)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have crucial functions in many cellular processes, such as differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis; aberrant expression of miRNAs has been linked to human diseases, including cancer. Tools that allow specific and efficient knockdown of miRNAs would be of immense importance for exploring miRNA function. Zebrafish serves as an excellent vertebrate model system to understand the functions of miRNAs involved in a variety of biological processes. We designed and employed a strategy based on locked nucleic acid enzymes (LNAzymes) for in vivo knockdown of miRNA in zebrafish embryos. We demonstrate that LNAzyme can efficiently knockdown miRNAs with minimal toxicity to the zebrafish embryos.     

Sol–Gel Synthesis of Strontium Pyroniobate and Calcium Pyroniobate

Strontium and calcium pyroniobates were prepared by a sol–gel process, using strontium/calcium metal and niobium ethoxide as precursors. The formation of Sr₂Nb₂O₇ occurred at 750°C via an intermediate perovskite phase of composition close to Sr_0.82NbO₃. The crystallization of Ca₂Nb₂O₇ occurred at 600°C directly without any intermediate phases. Sintered Sr₂Nb₂O₇ and Ca₂Nb₂O₇ pellets showed a preferred grain orientation. Microstructural studies revealed an increase in grain growth and associated orientation with sintering temperature.     

Flame-retardant PVC compound for cable applications

The low-melting ternary sulfate and modified sulfate glasses based on transition metals like copper, nickel, and vanadium reduce the smoke generation during burning of the PVC compound. With increase in concentration of these glasses, the smoke-density rating values decrease without appreciably altering the oxygen index values. Although trihydrated alumina and potash alum improve flame-retarding properties, the latter cannot be used as it considerably reduces the thermal stability of the PVC compound. Formulations to meet the flame-retardant requirements of a PVC compound suitable for cable sheathing have been developed.     

Time-varying system identification using modulating functions and spline models with application to bio-processes

Time dependent parameters are frequently encountered in many real processes which need to be monitored for process modeling, control and supervision purposes. Modulating functions methods are especially suitable for this task because they use the original continuous-time differential equations and avoid differentiation of noisy signals. Among the many versions of the method available, Pearson–Lee method offers a computationally efficient alternative. In this paper, Pearson–Lee method is generalized for non-stationary continuous-time systems and the on-line version is developed. The time dependent parameters are modeled as polynomial splines inside a moving data window and recursion formulae using shifting properties of sinusoids are formulated. The simple matrix update relations considerably reduce the number of computations required when compared with repeatedly using FFT. The method is illustrated for estimating the kinetic rates and yield factors as time-varying parameters in a fermentation process. The Monod law along with temperature dependency models were used to simulate the data. The simulation study shows that it is not necessary to assume a growth model in order to estimate the kinetic rate parameters.