Liver metastases from unknown primary site: demonstration on MR images

To demonstrate the MR imaging features of liver metastases in patients with the clinical and histologic diagnosis of tumors of unknown primary tumors, a retrospective 7-year study was performed that included a total of 14 consecutive patients (7 men and 7 women; age range, 39-82 years; mean age, 60.6 years) with liver metastases from unknown primary site who had undergone MR imaging. The following lesion features were evaluated: a) number, b) diameter, c) signal intensity on T1 and T(2)-weighted images, and d) pattern of enhancement on immediate, 45 s and 90 s post gadolinium images. Lesions were classified as hypovascular, hypervascular and nearly isovascular relative to liver parenchyma as shown on immediate post gadolinium images. Patients were separated into four major groups, related to the histologic diagnosis of the lesions: (I) poorly differentiated neoplasms; (II) well-differentiated and moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma; (III) squamous cell carcinoma; (IV) combined poorly differentiated carcinoma and poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. MRI findings were correlated with histologic information obtained by chart review and confirmed by retrospective histopathology review. All patients had the histologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma: 8 patients belonged to group II (1 patient with the subtype well-differentiated and 7 patients with the subtype moderately differentiated) and 6 patients to group IV. Eleven patients (79%) presented with multiple lesions distributed throughout both hepatic lobes; 3 patients exhibited solitary lesions. All solitary metastases possessed a diameter equal or larger than 5 cm. Patients with multiple metastases demonstrated a wide range of diameter, ranging from less than 1.5 cm to more than 5 cm. Regarding lesion vascularity, 4 of 13 of the patients had hypovascular metastases and 9 of 13 of the patients had hypervascular lesions. One patient demonstrated both types of lesions. Five of six patients with the histopathologic diagnosis of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma demonstrated hypervascular metastases. Solitary metastases were most often hypovascular (2 of 3); however no correlation with the histologic subtype was possible. Liver metastases from unknown primary site are often multiple and often hypervascular. Poorly differentiated tumors are the most common histologic type. Metastases are not uncommonly hypovascular, and these are often solitary.     

Antibody-based methods for surfactant screening

This brief overview summarises the immunoassay-based results obtained in the course of two years of the European INCO-Copernicus project BIOTOOLS. The project is aimed at simplifying the procedures for detection of surface active compounds (SAC) using, among others, antibody-based methods, i.e., microtiter plate-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), polarisation fluoro immunoassays (PFIA), and enzyme flow injection immunoassays (FIIA). Thirty-three rabbits were immunised with five different sulphophenyl moieties and three p-hydroxyphenyl moieties conjugated to protein immunogens to produce analytical antibodies against linear alkylbenzene sulphonates (LAS) and nonylphenol (NP). Although most of the antibodies exhibited binding reaction in indirect ELISA, only a few showed the required assay sensitivity. The best antibodies for LAS exhibited a 50% binding inhibition at IC50 19.8 microg L(-1) in indirect ELISA. Similar inhibition was observed for direct ELISA using peroxidase tracers. Antibodies against NP allowed the establishment of an indirect assay operating in the mg L(-1) range. A rapid and simple protocol for the screening of NP and LAS using homogeneous PFIA is described. The assay time for 10 samples was 7 minutes, thus allowing fast detection of the selected SAC at the mg L(-1) level. A generic competitive FIIA system, using a protein G column for separation of free and antibody-bound beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) tracer, was developed for the screening of LAS, NP, and nonylphenol decaethoxylate (NPEO10). The FIIA had a sample throughput (STP) of 5-10 samples per hour, with limits of detection (LOD) for LAS, NP, and NPEO10 of 19.5, 52, and 2.4 microg L(-1), respectively. The developed FIIAs were applied to spiked rain and surface water.     

Thermodiffusive characteristics of some adhesive,film-forming materials and the component solvents

The TG curves obtained for various temperatures and evaporation times allowed establishment of the thermodiffusive characterics of the solvents frequently used in adhesive and film-forming materials. Determinations were carried out in air with a flow rate of 51/h, on pure solvents, on mixtures with solvent ratios corresponding to those in the final products, and on the final products. The temperature range of the study was 17–35°, the evaporation period for most cases at each temperature being 25 minutes. The method leads to the evaporation rates of such solvents with an average standard deviation of 4 per cent.     

Statistical Characterization of the Phytochemical Characteristics of Edible Mushroom Extracts

The antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and total flavonoid content of 10 edible mushrooms species, including cultivated (Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus bisporus white and brown) and wild (P. ostreatus, Macrolepiota procera, Cantharellus cibarius, Russula vesca, Russula alutacea, Boletus edulis and Agaricus campestris), were determined. The extraction was performed using water and 50% water–ethanol and the caps and stipe were investigated separately. Water was the most appropriate solvent for phenolic compounds regardless of the sample. In contrast, the presence of ethanol in the solvent increased the extraction of flavonoids for cultivated P. ostreatus (caps and stipe), and wild R. alutacea, R. vesca, A. campestris, P. ostreatus (only caps) and C. cibarius, M. procera (only stipe). Significant differences between the antioxidant activities of the samples were registered in relationship with the different solvents. The antioxidant activity of water extract of dried A. bisporus brown (cultivated) showed the strongest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals-scavenging assay (88.64%), while the B. edulis hydroalcoholic extract contained 74.93%. A detailed investigation into the functional group of phenolics and other organic compounds responsible with the antioxidant activity has been performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The infrared spectra showed that the solvent-type directly influences the extraction process and, hence, the antioxidant activity. The present study contributes to information concerning mushrooms as sources of biologically active compounds. To investigate the correlations between phytochemical characteristics (i.e., phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant activity) closely related to nature of solvents, the statistical analysis was performed.     

Spectrophotometric study of the reaction of Hg(II) with cadion A and cadion 2B

The reaction between Hg(II) and Cadion A and Cadion 2B has been studied. Methods are suggested for the determination of Hg(II) in the 0.1-4 ppm range with Cadion A and in the 0.2-8 ppm range with Cadion 2B. Of the 49 ions studied only Hg(I), Sn(II), Br(-), I(-), MnO(-)(4), EDTA, SCN(-), CN(-) and S(2-) interfere. The combination ratios and instability constants of the Hg-Cadion complexes were determined. The structural formulae of the complexes were deduced from the infrared spectra and elemental and thermogravimetric analyses.     

Models for capacitated lot-sizing problem with backlogging,setup carryover and crossover

Setup operations are significant in some production environments. It is mandatory that their production plans consider some features, as setup state conservation across periods through setup carryover and crossover. The modelling of setup crossover allows more flexible decisions and is essential for problems with long setup times. This paper proposes two models for the capacitated lot-sizing problem with backlogging and setup carryover and crossover. The first is in line with other models from the literature, whereas the second considers a disaggregated setup variable, which tracks the starting and completion times of the setup operation. This innovative approach permits a more compact formulation. Computational results show that the proposed models have outperformed other state-of-the-art formulation.     

Stability and convergence of the spectral Lagrange-Galerkin method for mixed periodic/non-periodic convection-dominated diffusion problems

We present a convergence analysis of the spectral Lagrange-Galerkinmethod for mixed periodic/non-periodic convection-diffusionproblems. The scheme is unconditionally stable, independentof the diffusion coefficient, even in the case when numericalquadrature is used. The theoretical predictions are illustratedby a series of numerical experiments. For the periodic case,our results present a significant improvement on those givenby Süli & Ware (1991) SIAM J. Numer.Anal.28, 423-445).