Predictor Analysis in Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules: A Single Center Experience

PURPOSE: To confirm the efficacy of ultrasound (US) guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules, we evaluated as primary outcome the technical efficacy and clinical success in a single center dataset. The secondary outcome was to find a correlation between nodules’ pre-treatment features and volume reduction rate (VRR) ≥75% at 12 months after RFA and during follow-up period. METHODS: This retrospective study included 119 consecutive patients (99 females, 20 males, 51.5 ± 14.4 years) with benign thyroid nodules treated in our hospital between October 2014 and December 2018 with a mean follow-up of 26.8 months (range 3–48). Clinical and US features before and after RFA were evaluated by a US examination at 1, 3, 6, 12 months and annually thereafter up to 48 months. RESULTS: The median pre-treatment volume was 22.4 ml; after RFA we observed a statistically significant volume reduction from the first month (11.7 ml) to the last follow-up (p 22.4 ml (HR 0.54, p 0.036) were found to be independent positive and negative predictors of VRR ≥75% respectively. One-month post RFA VRR ≥50% represented the best positive predictor of technical success. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the efficacy of RFA in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules. In particular we show that by selecting macrocystic nodules smaller than 22.4 ml better long-term response can be achieved, which is predicted by an early shrinkage of the nodule

Microtomography developments on the ANATOMIX beamline at Synchrotron SOLEIL

The new ANATOMIX beamline at Synchrotron SOLEIL is dedicated to hard X-ray full-field tomography techniques. Operating in a range of photon energies from approximately 5 to 50 keV, it offers both parallel-beam projection microtomography and nanotomography using a zone-plate transmission X-ray microscope and thus covers a range of spatial resolution from 20 nm to 20 $\mu$m, expressed in terms of useful pixel size. Here we describe the microtomography instrumentation and its performance.Comment: Paper submitted for publication in the Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on X-Ray Microscopy (XRM 2020), 19--24 July 2020, Taipei, Taiwan, edited by D.-H. Wei and C.-M. Cheng and H.-W. Shiu and T.-H. Chuang, AIP Conf. Pro

Magnetic moments of short-lived nuclei with part-per-million accuracy: Towards novel applications of β\beta-detected NMR in physics, chemistry and biology

We determine for the first time the magnetic dipole moment of a short-lived nucleus with part-per-million (ppm) accuracy. To achieve this two orders of magnitude improvement over previous studies, we implement a number of innovations into our $\beta$-detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ($\beta$-NMR) setup at ISOLDE/CERN. Using liquid samples as hosts we obtain narrow, sub-kHz linewidth, resonances, while a simultaneous in-situ $^1$H NMR measurement allows us to calibrate and stabilize the magnetic field to ppm precision, thus eliminating the need for additional $\beta$-NMR reference measurements. Furthermore, we use ab initio calculations of NMR shielding constants to improve the accuracy of the reference magnetic moment, thus removing a large systematic error. We demonstrate the potential of this combined approach with the 1.1 s half-life radioactive nucleus $^{26}$Na, which is relevant for biochemical studies. Our technique can be readily extended to other isotopic chains, providing accurate magnetic moments for many short-lived nuclei. Furthermore, we discuss how our approach can open the path towards a wide range of applications of the ultra-sensitive $\beta$-NMR in physics, chemistry, and biology.Comment: re-submitte

Reversal of competitive dominance between invasive and native freshwater crayfish species under near-future elevated water temperature

Biological invasions are a major cause of biodiversity loss and, coupled with climate change, will likely have detrimental impacts for native species and the functioning of ecosystems. To mitigate such impacts, it is important to elucidate the behavioural mechanisms underpinning interactions between invasive and native species. Here we examined how competitive interactions between invasive and native species are modified under conditions of near-future elevated water temperature using freshwater crayfish as a model system. Contest experiments between the native Euastacus spinifer and invasive Cherax destructor revealed that the competitive advantage of E. spinifer at current maximum temperatures (22 °C) was reversed at elevated near-future temperatures (26 °C), after controlling for relative body size. In addition, the native crayfish spent twice as long motionless at 26 °C than C. destructor, consistent with physiological challenges underpinning this competitive reversal. Most alarmingly, E. spinifer experienced significant mortality after fighting C. destructor, particularly at 26 °C. Mortality usually ensued two days post-contest even when E. spinifer had won. Mortality was rare when fighting conspecifics. Together, these results suggest that while E. spinifer is more likely to win contests under current conditions, it could suffer considerable impacts if climate change and the spread of invasive C. destructor continue unabated

THE DETERMINATION OF THE INTENSITTIES OF RAMAN LINES

Author Institution: The Sun Oil CompanyAttention is called to the desirability of obtaining intensity data for Raman lines which would permit quantitative comparisons between laboratories using different apparatus. A simple method for obtaining such data is possible by using the $459 cm^{-1}$ line of $CCl_{4}$ as a reference and by eliminating the spectrometer and detector properties by calibrating with the radiation from an incandescent lamp, standardized as Illuminant A by the National Bureau of Standards

Tomato proteome changes following soil application of Pseudomonas spp.

Two commercial biological products Proradix®Agro (Pseudomonas sp.) and Salavida (P. trivialis) were assayed on young tomato plants under Phytophthora infestans challenge, under greenhouse conditions. The products were water suspended following producer’s instruction and applied to the soil 6 days before the foliar inoculation with P. infestans. Late blight symptoms were observed 4 days after pathogen inoculation. Untreated plants appeared more infected than treated plants, but no statistically significant difference was found between treatments and controls or between the two products. However the application of each product led to a visible plant growth enhancement. A comparative study was carried out in order to highlight proteome differences among treated/untreated and inoculated/non inoculated plants. Total proteins were extracted from leaves collected 48h after pathogen inoculation and analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The bioproduct application followed by the pathogen inoculation led to up/down-regulation of some protein spots which were different from those affected by the pathogen only. Mass-spectrometry analysis will be carried out in order to clarify if the observed modifications concern the activation of defence mechanisms or the observed plant growth promotion