Serum thyroglobulin is used as part of the early postoperative assessment of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) since there is a clear relationship between an increased risk of recurrence and ...persistent disease after initial treatment and high postoperative stimulated thyroglobulin (ps-Tg) values. Thus, although ps-Tg above 10-30 ng/mL is considered an independent predictor of worse prognosis, the value that is associated with distant metastases is not defined. Thus, this was our objective. We selected 655 DTC patients from a nuclear medicine department database (Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericordia de Sao Paulo, Brazil). All patients had received total thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy and had ps-Tg values higher than 10 ng/mL with negative anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. Then, we selected patients who presented post-therapy whole-body scan with pulmonary and/or bone uptake but with no mediastinum or cervical uptake. Patients with negative findings on functional imaging or any doubt on lung/bone uptake were submitted to additional exams to exclude another non-thyroid tumor. Of the 655 patients, 14.3% had pulmonary and 4.4% bone metastases. There was a significant difference in ps-Tg levels between patients with and without metastases (P< 0.001). The cutoff value of ps-Tg was 117.5 ng/mL (sensitivity: 70.2%; specificity: 71.7%) for those with lung metastasis, and 150.5 ng/mL (sensitivity: 79.3%; specificity: 85%) for those with bone metastasis. The cutoff value for patients with eitherpulmonary or bone metastasis was 117.5 ng/mL (sensitivity: 70.2%; specificity: 83.7%). Our findings demonstrated that ps-Tg could predict distant metastasis in DTC patients. We identified a cutoff of 117.5 ng/mL with a high negative predictive value of 93.7%. Key words: Thyroid cancer; Stimulated thyroglobulin; Cutoff point; High risk; Distant metastasis
A numerical and experimental study was conducted, with the purpose of inferring the influence of the CO2 concentration (xCO2) for different equivalence ratios (ϕ) on CH4/CO2/air (biogas) flames ...chemiluminescence. A thorough analysis on the signals of OH∗, CH∗, C2∗ and CO2∗ was performed. Typical biogas compositions were tested under laminar atmospheric flame conditions, within the unburned equivalence ratio of 0.9 and 1.14 with CO2 concentrations up to 40% in the blend. Experimental measurements of chemiluminescence were done using spectroscopy in the UV–visible region of the spectra. Simulations were performed with the GRI-Mech 3.0 mechanism without accounting for the nitrogen chemistry, extended with a chemiluminescence kinetics of OH∗, CH∗, C2∗ and CO2∗, in a burner-stabilized frame in CANTERA. Experimental measurements and numerical simulations are compared and generally are in good agreement. It was verified that CO2 dilution leads to a regular decrease in the emission intensities of OH∗, CH∗, C2∗ and CO2∗. Relations between chemiluminescence intensity ratios and xCO2 and ϕ were found. It was shown that OH∗/CO2∗ and C2∗/CO2∗ have the potential predict xCO2 in CH4/CO2/air flames. Moreover, it was verified that OH∗/CH∗, OH∗/C2∗ and CH∗/C2∗ are well suited to infer ϕ for the blends tested. It was verified that xCO2 does not cause relevant changes in the chemiluminescence ratios when inferring ϕ.
Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/polybenzimidazole (SPEEK/PBI) blends were made with different quantities of metal organic (Zr-BDC) synthesized by microwave-assisted solvothermal method. These ...composite membranes had their synthesis and characterization explored to verify their application as novel proton exchange membranes (PEM). The Zr-BDC influence on the composite membranes was evaluated through the morphology analysis and thermal and chemical stability investigation. Thermal and swelling analysis evidenced stability of the blends provided by the Zr-BDC presence, and also it improved their proton conductivity. The incorporation of 12.5 wt% Zr-BDC in SPEEK/PBI blends resulted in high proton conductivity in two different PBI concentrations analyzed at 80 °C. This behavior evidences that in the SPEEK/PBI/Zr-BDC system the breaking and forming process of hydrogen bonds may have some positive effects in the increment of the proton conductivity. The data suggest that the SPEEK/PBI (20 wt%)/Zr-BDC (12.5 wt%) membrane is a suitable candidate for use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.
In this work, a new device developed to measure the transverse diffusion of electrons in gases is described. In this device, electrons are generated in a semitransparent cesium iodide (CsI) ...photocathode, exposed to xenon VUV light from a pulsed Xe lamp. Electrons are allowed to drift a fixed distance, which can be varied between 3.5 and 60 mm, and the charge is collected in a multistrip anode electrode. In the present work, we report the results obtained in xenon and in methane under reduced electric fields of 0.92 and 1.53 Td, for drift distances between 3.5 and 11.5 mm. The electron characteristic energy associated with the transverse diffusion, as measured with this new device, is 5.75 ± 0.45 eV and 7.15 ± 0.63 eV at 0.92 and 1.53 Td, respectively, for xenon and 0.065 ± 0.005 eV and 0.097 ± 0.008 eV at 0.92 and 1.53 Td, respectively, for methane, which are in good agreement with results from the literature.
In recent years, phenotypic screening has assumed a leading role in drug discovery efforts. However, development of new drugs from bioactive compounds obtained in screening campaigns requires ...identification of the cellular targets responsible for their biological activities. A new energetics-based method for target identification is presented: pulse proteolysis and precipitation for target identification (PePTID). In this method, proteins incubated with or without a ligand and submitted to a brief proteolytic pulse are directly analyzed and compared using a label-free semiquantitative mass spectrometry strategy, dispensing the SDS-PAGE readout and greatly improving the throughput. As a proof-of-concept, we applied the PePTID method to identify ATP-binding proteins in Mycobacterium smegmatis, a model system for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis.
Multi-material structures make it possible to obtain effective solutions to engineering problems by combining the benefits of different materials to meet the requirements of different working ...conditions. The aim of this multifunctional 420 stainless steel-copper structure is to create a hybrid solution in which copper acts as heat-transfer enhancer (through cooling channels) while maintaining the required mechanical properties of the steel matrix. This work focuses on a combined engineering process consisting of CNC machining through holes on a 420 stainless steel surface substrate and subsequent filling with copper by hot pressing. The influence of the copper filling on the physical, chemical, microstructural, mechanical, and thermal properties of this multi-material solution was analysed. The machined area (5% of the total surface area) consisted of nine holes with a diameter of approximately 1 mm. The multi-material samples showed high densification, homogeneous microstructures, and a well-defined and sharp interface between the two materials. The microhardness values measured for the 420 stainless steel and copper were 759 and 57 HV, respectively, and the thermal conductivity of the multi-material was ≅ 59% higher than the 420 stainless steel (39.74 and 16.40 W/m K, respectively).
In this work, the results of density, viscosity, and surface tension measurements for ethanol are presented. Ethanol with stated mass fraction purity greater than 0.998 was further purified using ...molecular sieves. Density was measured within the temperature and pressure ranges, respectively,
T
=
(278.15 to 353.15)
K and
p
=
(0.1 to 35)
MPa by means of a vibrating tube densimeter, model DMA 512P from Anton Paar with an estimated uncertainty of ±0.5
kg
·
m
−3. The experimental (
p,
ρ,
T) results have been correlated by Tait equation. From this equation the isobaric expansivity, the isothermal compressibility, and the thermal pressure coefficient have been calculated. Viscosity was measured over the range
T
=
(273.15 to 346.15)
K using an Ubbelohde viscometer with a Schott–Geräte automatic measuring unit (Model AVS-470) with the associated uncertainty of ±0.001
mPa
·
s. The measured values were combined with selected values from the literature covering the range
T
=
(223
K to 503)
K, and the VTF model has been fitted to all the data. The surface tension of the liquid was measured using a tensiometer KSV Sigma 70 with a Du-Noüy ring for the range of
T
=
(274.77 to 318.99)
K with an uncertainty of ±0.01
mN
·
m
−1. Using these data and critically assessed data of other authors compiled from the literature, a form of the IAPWS equation was used to correlate the surface tension within the temperature range 223
K up to the critical temperature.
This study was aimed at spray drying hydrolysed casein using gum Arabic as the carrier agent, in order to decrease the bitter taste. Three formulations with differing proportions of hydrolysed ...casein: gum Arabic (10:90, 20:80 and 30:70) were prepared and characterized. They were evaluated for their moisture content, water activity, hygroscopicity, dispersibility in water and in oil, particle size and distribution, particle morphology, thermal behaviour (DSC) and bitter taste by a trained sensory panel using a paired-comparison test (free samples vs. spray dried samples). The proportion of hydrolysed casein did not affect the morphology of the microspheres. The spray drying process increased product stability and modified the dissolution time, but had no effect on the ability of the material to dissolve in either water or oil. The sensory tests showed that the spray drying process using gum Arabic as the carrier was efficient in attenuating or masking the bitter taste of the hydrolysed casein.
We studied the catalytic and antimicrobial properties of hierarchical architecture of WO
3
.Ag synthesized at 100, 150, and 200 °C by a very simple and reliable hydrothermal technique. The ...investigation carried out by XRD showed the amorphous nature of sample grown at 100 °C, while those at 150 and 200 °C crystalline nature of 3D WO
3
.Ag was confirmed. From FESEM and HRTEM results, it was evident that the silver nanoparticles grew in a 3D WO
3
.Ag host matrix. The average diameter of Ag nanoparticles by HRTEM was around 5–15 nm. Photocatalytic activities of as-prepared samples were evaluated by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Samples prepared at 150 and 200 °C showed higher activity in comparison to sample prepared at 100 °C. This can be mainly attributed to the suppression of traps states and electron/hole pairs recombination as highlighted by the photoluminescence results. The as-synthetized samples showed promising antimicrobial features against various bacterial strains. The 100 °C WO
3
.Ag nanospheres exhibited the highest antibacterial activity, with very low minimum inibitory concentration (MIC) values (4.0–8.0 μg/ml) when compared with 150 and 200 °C samples.
Highlights
Effects of hydrothermal temperature on properties of WO
3
.Ag have been investigated.
The WO
3
.Ag heterostructure is useful for catalysis and antimicrobial activities.
A high degradation of 99% in 16 min is achieved under 467-nm LED light irradiation.
WO
3
.Ag heterostructures showed low minimum inhibitory concentration values.
Results indicated that WO
3
.Ag antibacterial properties were effectively affected by shape and size.
The primary scintillation signal in gaseous detectors can be used to obtain the initial interaction time of a detected event, but existing results in the literature for its yield in gaseous xenon are ...scarce and there is not a good agreement between them. In this work, a standard Gas Proportional Scintillation Counter (GPSC) was used to measure the absolute primary scintillation yield of gaseous xenon at 800 Torr for 5.9 keV X-rays, in order to try to clarify its value. The experimental determination was carried out using the ratio between the primary and secondary scintillation signals. The detection efficiencies of both signals were determined by Monte Carlo simulation results were used to correct the measured ratios. A primary scintillation yield of 73.4 ± 8.8 photons by 5.9 keV X-ray was obtained, from which a wp-value, i.e, the average energy necessary to produce a primary scintillation photon in xenon, of 80 ± 12 eV was obtained.
Also, in the same conditions, the primary scintillation was studied in Xenon-Trimethylamine (TMA – (CH3)3N), mixtures with TMA fraction between 0.1% and 1.0%. The primary scintillation signal was only observable at the lowest TMA fraction in the mixture (0.1%). For higher fractions, the primary scintillation signal was not observable, indicating that these may not be suitable mixtures for experiments that use the primary scintillation signal.
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