Highlights We assess the performance of the LUMIPULSE antigen test compared to RT-qPCR The antigen level was significantly higher in PCR-positive samples than in negative samples The antigen test determined all samples (>100 viral copies) to be positive Likewise, it determined 85% of samples (>10 viral copies) to be positive The kinetics of viral loads and antigen levels showed a similar declining trend

No abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between pre-diagnostic circulating vitamin D concentration and the subsequent risk of overall and site specific cancer in a large cohort study.DesignNested case-cohort study within the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study cohort.SettingNine public health centre areas across Japan.Participants3301 incident cases of cancer and 4044 randomly selected subcohort participants.ExposurePlasma concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D measured by enzyme immunoassay. Participants were divided into quarters based on the sex and season specific distribution of 25-hydroxyvitamin D among subcohorts. Weighted Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for overall and site specific cancer across categories of 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration, with the lowest quarter as the reference.Main outcome measureIncidence of overall or site specific cancer.ResultsPlasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was inversely associated with the risk of total cancer, with multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for the second to fourth quarters compared with the lowest quarter of 0.81 (95% confidence interval 0.70 to 0.94), 0.75 (0.65 to 0.87), and 0.78 (0.67 to 0.91), respectively (P for trend=0.001). Among the findings for cancers at specific sites, an inverse association was found for liver cancer, with corresponding hazard ratios of 0.70 (0.44 to 1.13), 0.65 (0.40 to 1.06), and 0.45 (0.26 to 0.79) (P for trend=0.006). A sensitivity analysis showed that alternately removing cases of cancer at one specific site from total cancer cases did not substantially change the overall hazard ratios.ConclusionsIn this large prospective study, higher vitamin D concentration was associated with lower risk of total cancer. These findings support the hypothesis that vitamin D has protective effects against cancers at many sites.

Photoluminescence enhancement, photoetching and photostability of CdS nanocrystals were investigated under light irradiation. Strongly photoluminescent nanocrystals were obtained when the nanocrystal was weakly photoexcited in an aqueous solution at pH = 11 in the presence of oxygen. With the support of XPS measurements, the following photoactivation mechanism is proposed: Cd(2+) ions are released from the CdS surface owing to slow photocorrosion in the presence of oxygen, and Cd-OH bond formation occurs on the CdS surface under the alkaline conditions, removing the surface trap states. The wavelength of the irradiating light and the pH of the solution were determined as key parameters for nanocrystal surface modification. For the stability measurements the nanocrystals were extracted with an ammonium salt in a non-polar solvent. The photoluminescence quantum yield for the nanocrystals in the non-polar phase reached approximately 30%. The extracted nanocrystals were remarkably stable even under UV light irradiation, and the photoluminescence intensity was maintained for several months.

Cardiac hemangioma is extremely rare. We encountered two patients with cardiac hemangioma detected by thoracic echocardiography during a medical checkup. In the first case, transthoracic echocardiography revealed a pedunculated tumor in the left ventricle. Selective left coronary angiography demonstrated that the main feeding artery of the tumor arose from the third diagonal branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery. In the second case, thoracic and transesophageal echocardiography showed an oval tumor arising from the right atrium. Both tumors were successfully resected. Histopathological examination revealed that one of the tumors was a capillary hemangioma and the other was a mixed capillary and cavernous hemangioma. After operation, both patients had an uneventful recovery without any complications.