Effects of synthesis parameters on the properties and photocatalytic activity of the magnetic catalyst TiO2/CoFe2O4 applied to selenium photoreduction

intake to human health. Heterogeneous photocatalysis can be successfully applied to remove selenium ions from water, but the photocatalyst recovery in the end of the process still needs improvement. The application of a magnetic photocatalyst (TiO2/CoFe2O4) in the Se(IV) photoreduction was investigated, with emphasis in the catalyst magnetic separation. The photocatalyst was synthetized via a simple sol-gel method and a central composite design was considered to evaluate the effects of titanium isopropoxide mass ratio used in the synthesis, calcination temperature and pH on Se(IV) reduction. Calcination temperature showed a strong influence in the photocatalytic activity, and the catalyst calcined at 381 ◦C presented the best performance. In the bests test, at pH 2.61, it was possible to remove >99% selenium after 2 min of exposure to radiation. Photocatalysts containing great amounts of rutile phase produced the lowest removal results. The TiO2/CoFe2O4 photocatalyst was magnetically separable, however its saturation magnetization (2.7 emu g 1) was considerably smaller than pure CoFe2O4 (84.6 emu g 1) and the photocatalyst magnetic separation from the aqueous medium was about 11 times slower in comparison to pure cobalt ferrite. The synthetized photocatalyst was able to satisfactorily photoreduce Se(IV) (96.5%) even after five cycles of photocatalysis

17 α-Ethinylestradiol degradation in continuous process by photocatalysis using Ag/Nb2O5 immobilized in biopolymer as catalyst

This study describes the application of Ag/Nb2O5 catalysts, suspension and spheres alginate immobilized for the degradation of 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2). The techniques used to characterize the photocatalysts were as follows: X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption–desorption analysis (BET), point charge zero charge (PZC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Different catalyst calcination temperatures were studied by keeping the silver metal loading at 5%. Among the operational conditions analyzed were pH, catalyst concentration, the emitting source of radiation and the inlet flow rate (in continuous operation). The results of the experiments performed initially with the catalyst in suspension revealed that the highest catalytic activity in the degradation of EE2 was the 5%Ag/Nb2O5 catalyst calcined at 973 K, which removed 77.7% of the initial pollutant concentration in 120 min of reaction. The immobilization of the catalyst in alginate spheres resulted in a degradation reduction, being able to degrade 69.2% of the initial EE2 in a batch system. In the continuous system, the immobilized catalyst obtained a total degraded of 37.3%, with a flow rate of 10 L·h−1. Catalyst reuse was promising, even dropping the removal, degrading around 27% of the initial EE2 concentration in the third cycle of use.The authors are thankful to the Brazilian agencies CNPq, CAPES and Fundação Araucária for financial support of this work, C2MMa and Brazilian Mining and Metallurgy Company – CBMM and are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER (Fundo Eropeu de Desenvolvimento Regional) under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparison of first-line chemotherapy regimens for ovarian carcinosarcoma: a single institution case series and review of the literature

Abstract Background The optimal first-line chemotherapy for ovarian carcinosarcoma has not yet been determined. We therefore sought to determine the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for patients with ovarian carcinosarcoma treated at our institution with different first-line chemotherapy regimens. Methods This single-institution, retrospective analysis included all patients with ovarian or primary peritoneal carcinosarcoma diagnosed from September 1996 to July 2017. Kaplan Meier analysis with a log-rank Mantel-Cox test was used to compare PFS and OS between treatment groups, and a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Thirty-one patients met inclusion criteria: two patients were stage IC, 5 were stage II, 21 were stage III, and 3 were stage IV. The median PFS and OS for all stages was 9.3 and 19.7 months respectively. Fifteen patients (48%) received carboplatin/paclitaxel as first therapy, 7 (23%) received ifosfamide/paclitaxel, 6 (19%) received a different regimen, and 3 (10%) did not receive chemotherapy. Patients treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel had a statistically significant longer PFS when compared to those receiving ifosfamide/paclitaxel (17.8 vs. 8.0 months, p = 0.025). OS was similar between all comparisons. Conclusions In summary, in our cohort of ovarian carcinosarcoma patients, median PFS is longer in patients treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel compared to ifosfamide/paclitaxel. Overall survival was similar for all treatment groups, potentially due to subsequent treatment crossover. Given the rarity and aggressive nature of this tumor, further study into optimal first-line chemotherapy is warranted.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142348/1/12885_2018_Article_4082.pd

Efeitos da temperatura na frigoconservação de pinhões.

O pinhão é um alimento de importância cultural, social e econômica principalmente na região sul do Brasil, sendo visto como uma alternativa para gerar renda, incentivar o plantio e a preservação do pinheiro-brasileiro. Sua comercialização e industrialização requerem definições de métodos para conservação pós-colheita, já que o período da coleta é limitado entre os meses de abril a agosto. A pós-colheita do pinhão é caracterizada pelo longo período de entressafra e breve vida de prateleira, que decorre de fatores intrínsecos (fisiologia recalcitrante; elevada umidade e atividade de água) e extrínsecos (ataques biológicos, broca-do-pinhão e fungos; e condições de armazenamento). Nesse estudo avaliou-se o efeito de diferentes temperaturas sobre a qualidade de pinhões armazenados em elevada UR (90 + 3 %) por 60 dias, e mais 3 dias de vida de prateleira. Os pinhões, em armazenamento refrigerado (AR), foram expostos às temperaturas de 20,0 ºC; 2,0 ºC; 1,0 ºC; 0,0 ºC e -0,5 ºC. Foram avaliadas a respiração, perda de massa, produção de etileno, cor e firmeza na saída da câmara fria e após 3 dias em temperatura ambiente. Tanto na saída da câmara fria como na vida de prateleira a maior taxa respiratória foi obtida a 20ºC, assim como a perda de massa e pinhões mais firmes, em decorrência da maior desidratação. Os pinhões não apresentaram produção de etileno em níveis detectáveis através de cromatografia gasosa. Em todas as amostras houve perda na coloração, entretanto, sem diferença significativa entre os tratamentos.Resumo

Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry for quantitative depth profiling of CIGS thin films

Determining elemental distributions dependent on the thickness of a sample is of utmost importance for process optimization in different fields e.g. from quality control in the steel industry to controlling doping profiles in semiconductor labs. Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry GD OES is a widely used tool for fast measurements of depth profiles. In order to be able to draw profound conclusions from GD OES profiles, one has to optimize the measurement conditions for the given application as well as to ensure the suitability of the used emission lines. Furthermore a quantification algorithm has to be implemented to convert the measured properties intensity of the emission lines versus sputtering time to more useful parameters, e.g. the molar fractions versus sample depth depth profiles . In this contribution a typical optimization procedure of the sputtering parameters is adapted to the case of polycrystalline Cu In,Ga S,Se 2 thin films, which are used as absorber layers in solar cell devices, for the first time. All emission lines used are shown to be suitable for the quantification of the depth profiles and a quantification routine based on the assumption of constant emission yield is used. The accuracy of this quantification method is demonstrated on the basis of several examples. The bandgap energy profile of the compound semiconductor, as determined by the elemental distributions, is compared to optical measurements. The depth profiles of Na the main dopant in these compounds are correlated with measurements of the open circuit voltage of the corresponding devices, and the quantification of the sample depth is validated by comparison with profilometry and X ray fluorescence measurement

The putative Tumor Suppressor VILIP-1 Counteracts Epidermal Growth Factor-Induced Epidermal-Mesenchymal Transition in Squamous Carcinoma Cells

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial step for the acquisition of invasive properties of carcinoma cells during tumor progression. Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-treatment of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells provokes changes in the expression of lineage markers, morphological changes, and a higher invasive and metastatic potential. Here we show that chronic stimulation with EGF induces EMT in skin-derived SCC cell lines along with the down-regulation of the epithelial marker E-cadherin, and of the putative tumor suppressor VILIP-1 (visinin-like protein 1). In esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and non-small cell lung carcinoma the loss of VILIP-1 correlates with clinicopathological features related to enhanced invasiveness. VILIP-1 has previously been shown to suppress tumor cell invasion via enhancing cAMP-signaling in a murine SCC model. In mouse skin SCC cell lines the VILIP-1-negative tumor cells have low cAMP levels, whereas VILIP-1-positive SCCs possess high cAMP levels, but low invasive properties. We show that in VILIP-1-negative SCCs, Snail1, a transcriptional repressor involved in EMT, is up-regulated. Snail1 expression is reduced by ectopic VILIP-1-expression in VILIP-1-negative SCC cells, and application of the general adenylyl cyclase inhibitor 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine attenuated this effect. Conversely, EGF-stimulation of VILIP-1-positive SCC cells leads to the down-regulation of VILIP-1 and the induction of Snail1 expression. The induction of Snail is inhibited by elevated cAMP levels. The role of cAMP in EMT was further highlighted by its suppressive effect on the EGF-induced enhancement of migration in VILIP-1-positive SCC cells. These findings indicate that VILIP-1 is involved in EMT of SCC by regulating the transcription factor Snail1 in a cAMP-dependent manner

Pitfalls in the diagnosis of acoustic neuroma

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71894/1/j.1365-2273.1984.tb01490.x.pd