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•Smart paints for cool building facades have been produced.•Infrared-reflecting pigments achieve great improvement of Total Solar Reflectance.•Higher is the TSR of the paint, lower is ...the overheating of the irradiated paint.•Cool paints provide concrete solutions for energy efficiency in buildings.
The main idea of the research is to formulate exterior building paints as smart coatings with high IR-reflectance to decrease the use of energy for cooling buildings. A vantage coming from this strategy is to broaden the range of colors of the urban aesthetic request to the dark ones, overtaking the current white-cool solutions. Starting from the evidence that black color is the most critical case for the light absorption, the study was focused on black pigments, considering its use for realizing both black paints and different shades of grey paints. Five different black colorants produced in laboratory have been mixed with commercial paints and have been compared to the standard black colorant usually used for building paints. The calculated Total Solar Reflectance (TSR) values prove the increase of the solar reflectance from 5%, in case of standard black, to values over 30% for some reflective blacks. Likewise, reflective grey offers higher TSR values than standard grey at same light shade; while, at same TSR value, reflective grey has darker color shade than standard grey. Thermal measurements and thermographic images confirm that, when TSR is higher, the surface temperature on the back of painted support is lower.
Background: MET amplification has been detected in ∼20% of non-small-cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations progressing after an initial response to ...tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. Patients and methods: We analyzed MET gene copy number using FISH in two related NSCLC cell lines, one sensitive (HCC827) and one resistant (HCC827 GR6) to gefitinib therapy and in two different NSCLC patient populations: 24 never smokers or EGFR FISH-positive patients treated with gefitinib (ONCOBELL cohort) and 182 surgically resected NSCLC not exposed to anti-EGFR agents. Results: HCC827 GR6-resistant cell line displayed MET amplification, with a mean MET copy number >12, while sensitive HCC827 cell line had a mean MET copy number of 4. In the ONCOBELL cohort, no patient had gene amplification and MET gene copy number was not associated with outcome to gefitinib therapy. Among the surgically resected patients, MET was amplified in 12 cases (7.3%) and only four (2.4%) had a higher MET copy number than the resistant HCC827 GR6 cell line. Conclusions: MET gene amplification is a rare event in patients with advanced NSCLC. The development of anti-MET therapeutic strategies should be focused on patients with acquired EGFR-TKI resistance.
We report on the optical efficiency enhancement of luminescent solar concentrators based on a push–pull fluorophore realized using high dielectric contrast polymer distributed Bragg reflectors as ...back mirrors. The Bragg stacks are obtained by alternating layers of cellulose acetate and thin films of a new stable and solution processable hydrated titania–poly(vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite (HyTiPVA) with a refractive index greater than 1.9 over a broad spectral range. The results obtained with these systems are compared with enhancements provided by standard Bragg reflectors made of commercial polymers. We demonstrate that the application of the Bragg stacks with photonic band-gap tuned to the low energy side of the dye emission spectrum induces a 10% enhancement of optical efficiency. This enhancement is the result of a photon recycling mechanism and is retained even in a scaled-up device where the Bragg mirrors are used in a mosaic configuration.
Abstract Aims The aim of this observational study was the evaluation of toxicity, local control and overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) oligometastatic patients who had undergone ...stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) for lung metastatic lesions. Materials and methods SABR was carried out in oligometastatic patients with controlled primary tumour (adequate pulmonary function). We adopted the following dose prescriptions according to the site and the maximum diameter of the lung lesions: 60 Gy in three fractions for peripheral lesions with diameter ≤2 cm, 48 Gy in four fractions for peripheral lesions between 2 and 5 cm and 60 Gy in eight fractions for central lesions. A radiological response was defined according to RECIST criteria. Toxicity was recorded according to the Common Toxicity Criteria version 4.0. Results Between October 2010 and December 2014, 60 NSCLC patients with 90 lung lesions in total were treated at our institution. A radiological response was obtained in most patients. No pulmonary toxicity grade 4, chest pain or rib fracture occurred. The median follow-up from diagnosis was 28 months (range 5.4–104.5 months). The local control at 2 years was 88.9%. Overall survival at 1 and 2 years was 94.5 and 74.6%, respectively. Conclusion SABR is well tolerated with a good radiological response and toxicity profile. Discussion within a multidisciplinary team is crucial to identify the oligometastatic patients who would probably benefit from ablative local therapy.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic role of insulin-like growth factor receptor 1 (IGF1R) expression in surgically resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
This ...retrospective study was conducted in 369 stage I–II–IIIA, surgically resected, NSCLC patients. Patients exposed to anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents were excluded. IGF1R expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tissue microarray sections.
A positive IGF1R expression (score≥100) was observed in 282 cases (76.4%) and was significantly associated with squamous cell histology (P=0.04) and with grade III differentiation (P=0.02). No difference in survival was observed between the positive and negative group when score 100 was used as cut-off for discriminating a positive versus a negative IGF1R result (52 versus 48 months, P=0.99) or when median value of IGF1R expression was used (45 versus 55 months, P=0.36). No difference in survival was observed between IGF1R-positive and -negative patients in a subgroup of stage I–II adenocarcinoma (n=137) with known EGFR mutation and copy number status.
IGF1R expression does not represent a prognostic factor in resected NSCLC patients. Patients with squamous cell carcinoma overexpress IGF1R more frequently than patients with nonsquamous histology, justifying the different sensitivity to anti-IGF1R agents observed in clinical trials.
Improving the interest of high-school students towards chemistry (and science in general) is one of the goals of the Italian Ministry of Education. To this aim, we designed a context-based activity ...that actively involved students in six different laboratory experiences interconnected by a case study of the murder of Miss Scarlet, from the famous game Clue. Key points of the activity were: the interest aroused by the subject of crime scene investigation; the direct involvement of the students in all stages of the work (from the realization of the experiments to the resolution of the case); the use of a multidisciplinary approach for addressing a complex scientific problem; the work in chemical laboratories with modern instrumentation; the team work and the supervision by young tutors. To verify the hypothesis that such a multidisciplinary activity could foster the interest for the discipline, an evaluation was performed using a self-report questionnaire designed to assess changes in the situational interest raised by the internship. It was found that the activity significantly increased interest and attitude toward chemistry, mainly for students with lower scores in pleasure for the study of chemistry, self-efficacy and self-concept in chemistry.
The Italian Association of Medical Oncology recommendations on thymic epithelial tumors, which have been drawn up for the first time in 2020 through an evidence-based approach, report indications on ...all the main aspects of clinical management of this group of rare diseases, from diagnosis and staging, to new available systemic treatments, such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies. A summary of key recommendations is presented here and complete recommendations are reported as Supplementary Materials, available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmoop.2021.100188.
•Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).•Multidisciplinary management of patients with TETs.•Rare cancers.•Updated recommendations.
This paper describes the synthesis, functionalization, and multitechnique analysis of magnetic nanoparticles. The synthetic method involves the covering of a magnetite nucleus by a silica layer and ...the further functionalization with different fluorophores via a cross-linker molecule. All synthetic intermediates were analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy and AC magnetic susceptibility. For one of the considered molecules, a further investigation with STEM, EDXS, and DLS has been conducted in order to validate the proposed magnetic results. The comparison between the two techniques is used to ensure a complete characterization of the product confirming the success of the synthesis. By comparing the magnetic and the fluorescence measurements, we also demonstrate the effectiveness of AC susceptibility as a robust and versatile technique to follow the synthesis of complex magnetic nanostructures regardless of the nature of the functionalization.
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•We prepared chitosan-protected Au/Ag nanocages having extinction maxima at 716nm.•We functionalized them with a thiol-terminated fluorescent moiety.•We analyzed them by visible ...fluorescence and near infrared SERS spectroscopy.•We made theoretical simulations to compare with experimental data.
We obtained chitosan-protected Au/Ag nanocages (NCs), i.e., hollow and porous metallic nanoparticles, by galvanic replacement reaction. Subsequently, we functionalized the NCs with a fluorescent derivative of 4-methoxy-1,8-naphtalimide (NAFTA6). The plasmonic properties of these structures, which exhibit an extinction maximum in the 700–800nm range, allowed their use as SERS active substrates for excitation at 785nm and an efficient identification of the vibrational bands of NAFTA6, in spite of the low ligand concentration (<10−5M). Furthermore, NAFTA6 could also be identified from its fluorescence emission. The proposed functionalization with fluorescent compounds opens the way to the application of metal NCs using double-wavelength detection. Namely, Raman spectroscopy in the near infrared and fluorescence emission in the visible region, with considerable potential especially for in vivo medical applications, as the plasmonic band is centered in the visible light region where biological fluids and tissues are transparent.
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