Immediate zoledronate in postmenopausal women receiving letrozole preserved BMD and is associated with improved DFS compared with letrozole alone. Clinical Trials Registration No NCT00171340.

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Although standard clinical prognostic factors predict outcome in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL), predicting the outcome of patients might be further refined using biological factors. We tested whether serum cytokines could provide prognostic information in DLBCL patients. Thirty cytokines were measured in pretreatment samples from newly diagnosed DLBCL patients using a multiplex ELISA. Sixty‐nine patients treated with R‐CHOP plus epratuzumab were used in an initial cohort and 185 patients treated with standard R‐CHOP served as a subsequent validation cohort. In the initial cohort, elevated serum interleukin‐10 [IL‐10; hazard ratio (HR) = 6.6, P = 0.022], granulocyte macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (HR = 10.8, P= 0.027) and IP‐10 (interferon‐inducible protein‐10, CXCL10; HR = 3.32, P = 0.015) were associated with event‐free survival (EFS). An identical analysis of the subsequent validation cohort confirmed that elevated serum levels of IP‐10 were strongly associated with a poor EFS (HR = 2.42, P = 0.0007); and also identified interleukin‐8 (IL‐8; HR = 3.40, P = 0.00002) and interleukin‐2 receptor (IL‐2R, CD25; HR = 2.59, P = 0.0012) as significantly associated with prognosis. The prognostic significance of elevated IP‐10 remained significant after adjustment for the International Prognostic Index (EFS − HR 1.99, P = 0.009, overall survival‐HR 1.93, P = 0.021). Elevated pretreatment serum IP‐10 levels are therefore associated with an increased likelihood of disease relapse and an inferior survival in patients with DLBCL. Am. J. Hematol. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessing carbon sink–source relationships in peatlands must be based on the understanding of processes responsible for long-term carbon accumulation patterns. In contrast with ombrogeneous bogs, however, the processes in geogeneous fens are poorly understood. Here, we present high-resolution Holocene peat accumulation and macrofossil data from a rich fen (Upper Pinto Fen (UPF)) in west-central Alberta, Canada. The ~8000-year chronology of a 397 cm peat core was controlled by 20 accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates. The paludified peatland initially consisted of diverse brown moss species and some Larix trees but was dominated by Scorpidium scorpioides from 6500 to 1300 calibrated years BP. The last 1300 years are characterized by the reappearance of Larix together with abundant woody materials and Cyperaceae, culminating in a sharp increase in Tomenthypnum nitens in the last several decades. During the Scorpidium-dominated period, the peat accumulation pattern derived from 15 14C dates and 260 bulk density measurements indicates declining mass accumulation rates over time (i.e., convex age–depth curve), in contrast with the standard bog growth model (i.e., concave curve). The analysis of the UPF data using an extended model incorporating variable peat addition rates (PAR) to the catotelm suggests a unidirectional sevenfold decrease in PAR from 191.8 to 26.0 g dry mass·m–2·year–1 during the ~5000-year "convex period". Decreasing vegetation production and (or) increasing acrotelm decomposition could have produced the convex pattern. Decreasing PAR might be owing to autogenically induced changes in local hydrology and nutrient availability, which are pronounced in the moisture-limited climate of the region and in peatlands that have a strong groundwater influence. The convex-pattern model, explicit to the height-induced long-term drying hypothesis, has important implications for building simulation models and for projecting future carbon dynamics of peatlands. Prior to recent human disturbance, the UPF site has a time-weighted mean carbon accumulation rate of 31.1 g C·m–2·year–1, ranging from 7.2 to 182.5 g C·m–2·year–1 during the last 8000 years. This large variation results from the gradual decline of long-term accumulation and short-term climate-induced accumulation "pulses". The results imply that in the absence of climatic change, peatlands with a convex accumulation pattern will reach their growth limit sooner and that their carbon sequestration capacity will decline faster than would be expected given the concave-pattern model.Key words: carbon dynamics, moisture and nutrient availability, macrofossils, peatland model, brown moss Scorpidium scorpioides.

Fast charging of batteries is currently limited, particularly at low temperatures, due to difficulties in understanding lithium plating. Accurate, online quantification of lithium plating increases safety, enables charging at speeds closer to the electrochemical limit and accelerates charge profile development. This work uses different cell cooling strategies to expose how voltage plateaus arising from cell self-heating and concentration gradients during fast charging can falsely indicate plating, contrary to prevalent current assumptions. A solution is provided using Differential Voltage (DV) analysis, which confirms that lithium stripping is observable. However, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis are used to demonstrate the inability of the plateau technique to detect plating under certain conditions. The work highlights error in conventional plating quantification that leads to the dangerous underestimation of plated amounts. A novel method of using voltage plateau end-point gradients is proposed to extend the sensitivity of the technique, enabling measurement of lower levels of lithium stripping and plating. The results are especially relevant to automotive OEMs and engineers wishing to expand their online and offline tools for fast charging algorithm development, charge management and state-of-health diagnostics.

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A high-resolution fen peat record and 79 basal peat dates from paludified peatlands in continental western Canada provide evidence for cyclic change in moisture conditions and in peat carbon accumulation. The ash-free bulk density, a proxy for degree of peat decomposition and thus moisture conditions, shows periodicities at both millennial (from 1500 to 2190 yr, with a mean of 1785 yr) and century scales (386 yr and 667 yr). Wet periods of 200–600 yr in duration, especially at ~6900, 5500 and 4000 cal. BP, correlate with rapid peat accumulation, new peatland initiation and declines in the rate of increase of atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The wet periods in western North America are coeval with warm periods in the North Atlantic, a phasing relationship that has been documented in other published palaeorecords for the glacial period and late Holocene, probably in response to variations in solar activity. These results indicate a strong connection between climate and the global carbon cycle at the millennial scale, mediated in part by peatland dynamics. This is the first demonstration that peatland carbon sequestration rates are highly sensitive even to minor climatic fluctuations, which are too small to produce detectable changes in major species in the peatland. That global atmospheric CO2 concentrations have in the past responded to these changes in peatland dynamics implies a strong potential for peatlands to be a major player in affecting future global change.