Using grand canonical Monte‐Carlo simulations, the adsorption capacities and isosteric heats of hydrogen on activated carbons, graphite nanofibers, and bundles of carbon nanotubes are estimated for identical thermodynamic states. These computations allow a systematic, meaningful, and unbiased comparison of the adsorption properties of hydrogen in such porous materials. The comparison shows that the hydrogen storage capacity can be optimized, but only to a limited extent, in adjusting the material pore sizes and functionalizing a part of the adsorption sites. Therefore, at room temperature and up to 70.0 MPa, for the three models of carbonaceous adsorbents, the hydrogen maximal excess adsorption is of the order of 2% of the adsorbent mass. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009

Plant foods and associated nutrients may impact prostate cancer (PC) risk and survival. Therefore, we compared dietary intake, mainly plant food groups among 382 controls and 478 PC cases (373 incident and 105 prevalent cases). Caucasian controls had significantly higher daily servings of vegetables (3.4 vs. 2.5, P= 0.002) and fruits and/or fruit juices (1.6 vs. 1.3, P = 0.02) compared to African American controls. In Caucasians, incident cases reported lower intake of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, alpha -carotene, beta -carotene, cryptoxanthin, folate, genistein, daidzein, and fruits and/or fruit juice than controls and/or prevalent cases. In African Americans, incident cases had lower intake of alpha -carotene compared to controls and prevalent cases. Reduced PC risk was associated with the highest tertile of cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.35-0.75), fiber (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.35-0.89), vitamin C (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.41-0.88), and fruits and/or fruit juices (OR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.31-0.68), with significant linear trends. Increased risk of PC was associated with the highest tertile of protein (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.05-3.79) and daily servings of grains (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.23-3.22) with significant linear trends. In summary, we demonstrate racial/ethnic differences in dietary intake of plant foods. The significantly higher consumption of protective dietary constituents among prevalent cases compared to incident cases suggests that PC survivors may be amenable to dietary change.

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in males in the United States, accounting for an estimated 186,320 new cases in 2008. There are striking racial or ethnic differences in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States, with Black males 1.6 times more likely to be diagnosed and 2.4 times more likely to die with prostate cancer than Whites. Stage at diagnosis is a key prognostic factor for prostate cancer survival, with African-Americans generally diagnosed at a more advanced stage. To identify factors that explain the race-stage disparity in prostate cancer, we conducted a population-based casecase study of 251 African-American (46%) and White (54%) prostate cancer cases diagnosed in Connecticut between January 1987 and October 1990. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify potential explanatory factors, including clinical, sociodemographic, medical care, insurance, digital rectal examination screening history, and lifestyle factors. Cox proportional hazards models assessed the impact of study variables on race differences in long-term survival. Modifiable factors such as screening practice and sociodemographic factors accounted for >60% of the race difference in prostate cancer stage at diagnosis. Histologic grade (Gleason score) accounted for comparatively less. Survival analyses confirmed the importance of tumor characteristics, education, and insurance in explaining observed race differences in survival. Although cases were identified before the widespread use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, the results should also be relevant to countries that have large underserved populations and/or disparities in access to medical care and cancer screening. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(10):2825 -34)

Cancer is the second leading cause of death among Hispanics. Most of the cancer statistics available both at the state and national levels report cancer statistics for all Hispanics as an aggregate group. The goal of this paper is to provide a population-based overview of cancer mortality among Hispanics (Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics) in Florida from 1990 to 2000 and to explore the demographic diversity of this growing ethnic group. The study population consisted of Hispanics and White non-Hispanics who died from cancer. Cancer mortality rates and proportion of cancer deaths by type and age at death for the selected racial/ ethnic groups were calculated. Our findings indicate that the cancer death rates of the Hispanic subgroups compared favorably with those of White non-Hispanics and that cancer rates often presented for all Hispanics mask important differences between the different ethnic subgroups that fall under the Hispanic umbrella.

A lower education or a manual occupation was associated with higher frailty risk in older women. These associations were partly explained by lower alcohol consumption, higher sedentariness, and higher obesity and chronic disease rates in women with lower SES.

. Abstract PurposeCancer affects a growing proportion of US workers. Factors contributing to whether they continue or return to work after cancer diagnosis include: age, physical and mental health, health insurance, education, and cancer site.The purpose of this study was to assess the complex relationships between health indicators and employment status for adult cancer survivors. MethodsWe analyzed pooled data from the 1997-2012 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Our sample included adults with a self-reported physician diagnosis of cancer (n = 24,810) and adults with no cancer history (n = 382,837). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we evaluated the relationship between sociodemographic factors, cancer site, and physical and mental health indicators on the overall health and employment status among adults with a cancer history. ResultsThe overall model for cancer survivors fit the data well (χ 2 (374) = 3654.7, P < 0.001 (please make it 0.001 for all p values NOT .00l); comparative fit index = 0.98; root mean square error of approximation = 0.04). Although black cancer survivors were less likely to report good-to-excellent health, along with Hispanic survivors, they were more likely to continue to work after diagnosis compared with their white counterparts. Health insurance status and educational level were strongly and positively associated with health status and current employment. Age and time since diagnosis were not significantly associated with health status or employment, but there were significant differences by cancer site. ConclusionsA proportion of cancer survivors may continue to work because of employment-based health insurance despite reporting poor health and significant physical and mental health limitations. Acute and long-term health and social elsevier_AEP_7850

Prevalence of BD in Spain is moderately high. Prevention interventions should consider that the majority of binge drinkers are young men with regular moderate consumption and no AAD traits.

BACKGROUND Despite mounting evidence that breast tumors in African‐American (AA) women are more aggressive compared with breast tumors in white (W) women, little is known regarding racial/ethnic differences in genetic alterations that may be of prognostic importance. METHODS In this population‐based cohort of 322 AA women (45%) and W women (55%) who were diagnosed with breast carcinoma between 1987–1989, the authors evaluated available archived tumor tissue (n = 247 samples) for racial differences in selected genetic alterations and other prognostic indicators. Tumor characteristics were assessed by immunohistochemistry and/or expert review. RESULTS Alterations in p53 were significantly more common in AA women compared with W women (odds ratio, 4.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.77–9.01) and remained statistically significant in models that were adjusted for disease stage at diagnosis, according to American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) criteria, and for other prognostic indicators. No racial difference with regard to HER‐2/neu status was observed, but alterations in c‐met were more common in AA women once the model was adjusted for negative confounders (not significant). Among other tumor characteristics, significant findings included later AJCC stage and higher histologic and nuclear grade tumors in AA women. In addition, the burden of aggressive tumor characteristics was greater in AA women because they were more likely to be at high risk on multiple factors (e.g., both high histologic grade and high nuclear grade [P = 0.03] and negative status for both estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors [P = 0.01]). CONCLUSIONS Data from this population‐based cohort confirmed that breast tumors in AA women most likely are more aggressive compared with breast tumors in W women and offer new evidence for possible racial/ethnic differences with regard to p53 alterations. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.