Testing the Dispersion of Nanoparticles in a Nanocomposite with an Ultra-Low Fill Content Using a Novel Non-Destructive Evaluation Technique

A non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique capable of testing the dispersion of nanoparticles in a nanocomposite would be of great use to the industry to check the quality of the products made and to ensure compliance with their specifications. Very few NDE techniques found in the literature can evaluate the level of dispersion of the nanoparticles in the whole nanocomposite. Here, a recently developed NDE technique based on pulsed phase thermography (PPT) in transmission mode was used to assess the particle dispersion in ultra-low, less than 0.05 wt%, Ag enriched polymeric based nanocomposite manufactured with an innovative nano-coating fragmentation technique. The phasegrams obtained with the presented technique clearly showed clusters or bundles of Ag nanoparticles when present, down to the size of 6 µm. Therefore, the new NDE approach can be applied to verify that the expected levels of dispersion are met in the production process

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer: Underlying Pathophysiology and New Therapeutic Modalities

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are major lung diseases affecting millions worldwide. Both diseases have links to cigarette smoking and exert a considerable societal burden. People suffering from COPD are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those without, and are more susceptible to poor outcomes after diagnosis and treatment. Lung cancer and COPD are closely associated, possibly sharing common traits such as an underlying genetic predisposition, epithelial and endothelial cell plasticity, dysfunctional inflammatory mechanisms including the deposition of excessive extracellular matrix, angiogenesis, susceptibility to DNA damage and cellular mutagenesis. In fact, COPD could be the driving factor for lung cancer, providing a conducive environment that propagates its evolution. In the early stages of smoking, body defences provide a combative immune/oxidative response and DNA repair mechanisms are likely to subdue these changes to a certain extent; however, in patients with COPD with lung cancer the consequences could be devastating, potentially contributing to slower postoperative recovery after lung resection and increased resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Vital to the development of new-targeted therapies is an in-depth understanding of various molecular mechanisms that are associated with both pathologies. In this comprehensive review, we provide a detailed overview of possible underlying factors that link COPD and lung cancer, and current therapeutic advances from both human and preclinical animal models that can effectively mitigate this unholy relationship

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

RESÍDUOS DE BIFENTRINA EM LARANJAS DETERMINADOS POR CROMATOGRAFIA A GÀS

Foram avaliados a ocorrência e persistência de resíduos de bifentrina para estabelecimento de limite máximo de resíduos (tolerância) e intervalo de segurança (carência) em frutas cítricas. O inseticida/acaricida foi aplicado em pulverização nas seguintes dosagens (g i.a./ha): A=0 (testemunha); C=37,5; D=50; E=75 e F=100. Analisou-se 72 amostras (três repetições de cada tratamento) colhidas no primeiro, terceiro, sétimo e décimo dias após a aplicação. Os resíduos foram extraídos com acetona, a limpeza dos extratos foi feita em coluna de florisil, sendo eluição efetuada com mistura de hexano/éter metil-t-butil. Utilizou-se cromatógrafo a gás equipado com detector de captura de elétrons para as análises quantitativas. O limite de detecção foi 0,01 mg/kg (ppm), e sua recuperação 86  ± 4%. Os resíduos de bifentrina foram  detectados  por todo o período de amostragem nos tratamentos E e F (valores máximos de 0,08 e 0,15 ppm, respectivamente), sendo reduzidos a 1/4 durante o período de colheita das amostras. Em todos os outros tratamentos os resíduos não foram detectados até o final do período (menores do que 0,01 ppm). Com base nestes resultados, entre outros, a legislação brasileira estabeleceu limite máximo de resíduos de 0,04 mg/kg (ppm) para bifentrina em citros e intervalo de segurança de sete dias após a aplicação. Na dosagem recomendada 936 g i.a./ha), os resíduos de bifentrina ficaram abaixo da tolerância estabelecida após o intervalo de segurança

Hybrid nanocomposites with ultra-low filling content by nano-coating fragmentation

In the current study, a new technique for the manufacturing of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) with ultra-low filling content (<0.05 wt%) is presented. Specifically, this method has been validated through the production of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites with Ag nanoparticles. The presented method first consisted in a metal nano-film deposition on PP pellet substrates by a physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering equipment. Subsequently, a percentage of the coated pellet was mixed to uncoated ones via an injection molding machine to produce the PNC in a single step. Different mixing percentages of coated PP pellet to the uncoated ones were studied. As a result, the fragmentation of the nano-coating of the particles occurs during mixing, due to the action of the shear forces, thus the nanoparticles are directly produced within the polymer matrix. The fabricated PNCs were evaluated with thermal, thermomechanical, and mechanical tests in order to assess property changes compared to neat PP. The preliminary visual analysis already highlights the presence of the Ag nano-filler through a chromatic change. The surface properties also undergo slight variations due to the presence of the filler, which was also confirmed by DSC and DMA analysis of the molded samples. Moreover, microscopic observations of nanocomposites showed the presence of distributed silver nanoparticles and thermographic analyses demonstrated a significant increase in the thermal diffusivity of the 0.05 wt% nanofilled sample compared to the unfilled one

Gene expression profiling of hypoxic response in different models of senescent endothelial cells

Endothelial cells senescence is a physiological process affecting vascular integrity. It can contribute to heart and arterial stiffening and remodeling, impaired angiogenesis, defective vascular repair, and with an increasing prevalence of atherosclerosis. Drugs used as antineoplastic therapies, targeting tumor as well as endothelial cells, can also trigger endothelial cells senescence. We demonstrated that a short pulse of axitinib, a specific inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors, induces cell senescence of endothelial cells. Here, we performed a high-throughput gene expression analysis to characterize the response of proliferating versus senescent endothelial cells to hypoxia, the main trigger of neo-angiogenetic phenomena in tumors. We compared the response to hypoxia of replicative senescent cells, with that of axitinib or of DNA damage-induced senescence. Overall, we enlightened common and specific responses to different senescence inducers and changes in the Senescent Associated Secretory Phenotype

Thyroid autoimmunity in patients with malignant and benign breast diseases before surgery

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of thyroperoxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and autoimmune hypothyroidism in breast cancer (BC). These studies have been performed in BC patients generally 20-30 days after mastectomy. It is known that stress may have an influence on the immune system and a relation between stressful events and the onset or worsening of autoimmune thyroid disorders has been reported by several authors. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease in patients with nodular breast disease selected for surgery before any treatment. Our hypothesis was that the high prevalence of thyroid autoimmune disorders in BC is independent of stressful events represented by surgery and/or anaesthetic procedures. METHODS: Our series included 61 consecutive women aged 52.8 +/- 10.2 yrs (mean age +/- s.d.) with nodular breast disease selected for breast surgery: 36 out of 61 of them (59%) had BC and 25 out of 61 had benign breast disease (BBD). Controls included 100 healthy age-matched women. All patients and control subjects were submitted to clinical, ultrasound thyroid evaluation and serum-free thyroxine (FT4), serum-free tri-iodothyronine (FT3), TSH, TPOAb and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb) determination. RESULTS: Mean FT3, FT4 and TSH concentration showed no differences between BC patients, BBD patients and controls. The prevalence of TPOAb in BC patients (12/36: 33.33%) was significantly higher than in BBD patients (5/25: 20%) (P < 0.01) and in controls (8/100: 8%) (P < 0.01). Similarly, the prevalence of TgAb in BC patients was 12 out of 36 (33.33%) significantly higher than that detected in BBD patients (4/25: 16%) (P < 0.01) and in controls (12/100: 12%) (P < 0.01). Of the 36 BC patients, 20 showed a diffuse hypoechogenicity of the thyroid gland to ultrasound evaluation, significantly higher than in BBD (7/25: 28%) (P = 0.03). Of the 20 BC patients who showed a hypoechogenic pattern of thyroid gland, 10 (50%) were associated with antithyroid antibodies positivity (TAb). This finding was present in two of seven BBD (28.57%) (P < 0.0001). Only two controls showed focal hypoechogenicity of the thyroid gland. Generally, 24 out of 36 (66.7%) of BC and 9 out of 25 (36%) of BBD (P = 0.02) had signs of thyroid autoimmunity consistent with the hypoechogenic pattern of thyroid gland associated or not with TAb; 2 out of 36 (5.55%) of BC and 1 out of 25 (4%) of BBD patients had autoimmune hypothyroidism and no hypothyroidism was found in controls. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm the strong relation between thyroid autoimmunity and BC. This finding is independent of stressful events represented by surgery or anaesthetic procedures. The present data call attention to the usefulness of screening for autoimmune thyroid disorders in patients with nodular breast disease selected for surgery