Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing cancer mortality. However, these studies have not been undertaken in countries where ...the incidence of granulomatous disease is high. The First Brazilian Lung Cancer Screening Trial (BRELT1) has completed initial accrual and is now in the follow-up phase. We present results from the initial prevalence round of screening.
The inclusion criteria were the same as those for the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST). Pulmonary nodules larger than 4 mm were considered positive and required evaluation by a multidisciplinary team. Indeterminate nodules were evaluated with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) or biopsy when indicated. Statistical analysis was performed with Fisher's exact test to compare our positive findings with those of the NLST.
From January 2013 to July 2014, 790 participants were enrolled. Positive LDCT scans were reported in 312 (39.4%) participants, with a total of 552 nodules larger than 4 mm. The comparison between positive findings in the NLST (7,191 of 26,722 cases) and those in the BRELT1 (312 of 790 cases) showed a significant difference (p < 0.001). The positive predictive value was lower in BRELT1 than in the NLST (3.2% versus 3.8%, respectively). Follow-up imaging was indicated in 278 of 312 (89.1%) participants; 35 procedures were performed in 25 participants. In 15 cases, benign lesions were diagnosed. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was diagnosed in 10 patients (prevalence of 1.3%). In 8 patients (stage IA/IB disease), treatment was by resection only, in 1 patient neoadjuvant chemotherapy was used (stage IIIA), and in 1 patient advanced disease was diagnosed (stage IV).
Using NSLT criteria, a larger number of patients had positive scans (nodules), compared with previous lung cancer screening studies. However, the number of participants requiring surgical biopsy procedures and who were ultimately identified as having cancer was similar to other reports. This supports the role of screening in patient populations with a high incidence of granulomatous inflammation.
The coupling of excitons with atomic vibrations plays a pivotal role on the nonequilibrium optical properties of layered semiconductors. However, how exciton-phonon coupling manifests in the time and ...energy domains is still an open debate between experiment and theory. By means of time-resolved broadband optical reflectivity combined with ab initio calculations of a bismuth tri-iodide single crystal, we set the spectral fingerprints for the optical detection of exciton-phonon coupling in layered semiconductors. Our joint experimental and theoretical effort allows us to unravel the impact of exciton-phonon coupling by microscopically relating the photoinduced coherent energy modulation of the excitonic resonance to coherent optical phonons. This enables us to track the extent of the photoinduced atomic displacement in real space. Our findings represent a step forward on the road to coherent manipulation of the excitonic properties on ultrafast timescales.
This paper aims to present the results of a series of several Brazilian institutions that have been carrying out lung cancer screening (LCS).
This is a retrospective, cohort study, with follow-up of ...individuals of both sexes, with a heavy smoking history, who participated in LCS programs between December 2013 and January 2021 in six Brazilian institutions located in the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Bahia.
Three thousand four hundred seventy individuals were included, of which 59.8% were male (n = 2,074) and 50.6% were current smokers (n = 1,758), with 60.7 years (standard deviation 8.8 years). Lung-RADS 4 was observed in 233 (6.7%) patients. Biopsy was indicated by minimally invasive methods in 122 patients (3.5%). Two patients who demonstrated false-negative biopsies and lung cancer were diagnosed in follow-up. Diagnosis of lung cancer was observed in 74 patients (prevalence rate of 2.1%), with 52 (70.3%) in stage I or II. Granulomatous disease was found in 20 patients. There were no statistical differences in the incidence of lung cancer, biopsies, granulomatous disease, and Lung-RADS 4 nodules between public and private patients.
There are still many challenges and obstacles in the implementation of LCS in developing countries; however, our multi-institutional data were possible to obtain satisfactory results in these scenarios and to achieve similar results to the main international studies. Granulomatous diseases did not increase the number of lung biopsies. The authors hope that it could stimulate the creation of organized screening programs in regions still endemic for tuberculosis and other granulomatous diseases.
An optical limiting sensor working in the infrared (IR) was developed to address the need for eye and sensor protection against laser threats. Metallic and dielectric photonic resonators (thin-film ...multilayers) incorporating phase-change-materials, such as vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) were simulated and experimentally realized, with optimization of the deposition procedure by RF magnetron sputtering at low temperature. For the first time, the silver is placed between the substrate and the VO 2 , thus improving the device limiting performances. By maximizing the difference of transmittance between the '' on '' and the '' off '' states at the standard light wavelength for telecom applications (1550 nm), we calculated optimum thickness for VO 2 and silver films. The deposited thin films were characterized by SEM and Raman spectroscopy, and VO 2 transition temperature was investigated by measuring resistance changes. As a proof of concept of the device working principle, we calculated transmittance drop of 70% when the sensor is exposed to a laser pulse excitation (20 ps, 500 MW/cm 2 ). Our results pave the way for multilayer with optical limiting properties.
Unveiling the physics that governs the intertwining between the nanoscale self-organization and the dynamics of insulator-to-metal transitions (IMTs) is key for controlling on demand the ultrafast ...switching in strongly correlated materials and nanodevices. A paradigmatic case is the IMT in V2O3, for which the mechanism that leads to the nucleation and growth of metallic nanodroplets out of the supposedly homogeneous Mott insulating phase is still a mystery. Here, we combine x-ray photoemission electron microscopy and ultrafast nonequilibrium optical spectroscopy to investigate the early-stage dynamics of isolated metallic nanodroplets across the IMT in V2O3 thin films. Our experiments show that the low-temperature monoclinic antiferromagnetic insulating phase is characterized by the spontaneous formation of striped polydomains, with different lattice distortions. The insulating domain boundaries accommodate the birth of metallic nanodroplets, whose nonequilibrium expansion can be triggered by the photoinduced change of the 3d-orbital occupation. We address the relation between the spontaneous nanotexture of the Mott insulating phase in V2O3 and the timescale of the metallic seeds growth. We speculate that the photoinduced metallic growth can proceed along a nonthermal pathway in which the monoclinic lattice symmetry of the insulating phase is partially retained.
Ulnar-mammary syndrome is a rare pleiotropic disorder affecting limb, apocrine gland, tooth and genital development. We demonstrate that mutations in human TBX3, a member of the T-box gene family, ...cause ulnar-mammary syndrome in two families. Each mutation (a single nucleotide deletion and a splice-site mutation) is predicted to cause haploinsufficiency of TBX3, implying that critical levels of this transcription factor are required for morphogenesis of several organs. Limb abnormalities of ulnar-mammary syndrome involve posterior elements. Mutations in TBX5, a related and linked gene, cause anterior limb abnormalities in Holt-Oram syndrome. We suggest that during the evolution of TBX3 and TBX5 from a common ancestral gene, each has acquired specific yet complementary roles in patterning the mammalian upper limb.
Mono and bisubstituted bis(ethynyl)biphenyl Pt(II) complexes, i.e.
trans-(RCC)Pt(PPh
3)
2(CC
p-C
6H
4
p-C
6H
4CCH), R=
p-NO
2C
6H
4 (
3b), (η
5-C
5H
5)Fe(η
5-C
5H
4) (
3c), and
...trans-(RCC)Pt(PPh
3)
2(CC
p-C
6H
4
p-C
6H
4CC)Pt(PPh
3)
2(CCR), R=C
6H
5 (
4a)
,
p-NO
2C
6H
4 (
4b), (η
5-C
5H
5)Fe(η
5-C
5H
4) (
4c), have been synthesized by the dehydrohalogenation reaction from the appropriate Pt monochloro acetylides
trans-(RCC)Pt(PPh
3)
2Cl, R=C
6H
5 (
1a), R=
p-NO
2C
6H
4 (
1b), R=(η
5-C
5H
4)Fe(η
5-C
5H
5) (
1c) and HCC
p-C
6H
5
p-C
6H
5CCH, (4,4′-bis-ethynylbiphenyl), (DEBP) (
2). In order to make possible a direct evaluation of the role of Pt centers on the properties of these highly ethynylated complexes, the corresponding species without Pt were prepared, i.e. C
6H
5CCCCC
6H
4C
6H
4CCCCC
6H
5, (4,4′-(bis-phenylethynyl)-diethynylbiphenyl) (
7), and (η
5-C
5H
5)Fe(η
5-C
5H
4)(CCCCC
6H
4C
6H
4CCCC)(η
5-C
5H
4)Fe(η
5-C
5H
5), (4,4′-(bis-ferrocenylethynyl)-diethynylbiphenyl) (
8). Preparation of the latter compounds was only achieved by the use of the palladium catalyzed Stille coupling reaction, since the dehydrohalogenation route afforded only homocoupled and polymeric products. The electron-donor or electron-withdrawing ligands coordinated to Pt were chosen for the purpose of tuning the optical properties of the complexes through the different charge distribution along the π-electron conjugation. Characteristic spectroscopic features (UV–vis, FT-IR and NMR) of these complexes are discussed.
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