Enhanced Characterization of the Smell of Death by Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS)

Soon after death, the decay process of mammalian soft tissues begins and leads to the release of cadaveric volatile compounds in the surrounding environment. The study of postmortem decomposition products is an emerging field of study in forensic science. However, a better knowledge of the smell of death and its volatile constituents may have many applications in forensic sciences. Domestic pigs are the most widely used human body analogues in forensic experiments, mainly due to ethical restrictions. Indeed, decomposition trials on human corpses are restricted in many countries worldwide. This article reports on the use of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS) for thanatochemistry applications. A total of 832 VOCs released by a decaying pig carcass in terrestrial ecosystem, i.e. a forest biotope, were identified by GCxGC-TOFMS. These postmortem compounds belong to many kinds of chemical class, mainly oxygen compounds (alcohols, acids, ketones, aldehydes, esters), sulfur and nitrogen compounds, aromatic compounds such as phenolic molecules and hydrocarbons. The use of GCxGC-TOFMS in study of postmortem volatile compounds instead of conventional GC-MS was successful

Intratumoral budding is preoperative biopsies predicts local and distant metastasis in colorectal cancer patients

Objective: In 2011, the term “intratumoral budding, ITB” was used to describe the presence of tumor buds within the main tumor body and was correlated to worse clinical outcome in colorectal cancer patients. Here, we further elucidate the potential clinical role of ITB in pre-operative biopsies using pan-cytokeratin stained tissues and a quantitative scoring system. Method: 139 pre-operative biopsies from patients with colorectal cancer underwent immunohistochemistry for pancytokeratin (AE1/AE3). ITB were counted in the area of densest budding (40×) and classified as high-grade when >10 buds/HPF were observed based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: High-grade ITB occurred in 26.6 % of cases and was associated with right-sided tumor location (p=0.0356), more advanced pT (p=0.0198) and pN (p<0.0001) classifications, distant metastasis (p=0.0164), higher tumor grade (p=0.0037) and lymphatic invasion (p=0.0445). The specificity and positive predictive value for lymph node metastasis was 86.7 % and 75.6 %, respectively. Disease-free survival was significantly worse in patients with high-grade ITB (5-year survival=25 %) in comparison to patients with low-grade ITB (5-year survival=55 %) (p=0.0157). Conclusion: The assessment of ITB in pre-operative biopsies is predictive of local and distant metastasis in corresponding resections and should be considered in daily management of colorectal cancer patients

Making Water Cultures Globally Mobile: How Knowledge Travels Between The Netherlands and India Through Water Sensitive Urban Design

The Netherlands has initiated a process of ‘policy boosterism’ that attempts to make Dutch urban water culture and its associated imaginary of water sensitivity fit for global export. This strategic shift depends on the collaboration of a mosaic of actors, private and non-private to promote knowledge sharing between countries. As this new dynamic emerges, urban design becomes strategic to create future visions for cities towards more sustainable relationships with water. One such vision stems from Water Sensitive Urban Design, an approach that borrows from ecological urbanism with the objective to restore water ecologies in cities. This article looks at how urban design knowledge from the Netherlands provides concepts to describe, evaluate and promote urban water as an enabler of sustainability globally. It also investigates how networks of actors from the Netherlands interact to make imaginations about Water Sensitive Cities globally mobile. This entails the packaging of a mobile water culture that, ultimately, can re-shape power relations. Considering that cities rely on privileged accesses to global networks to disseminate ideas, port cities are potential sites for ‘policy boosterism’. The port city of Rotterdam, for instance, is the model city in the concerted effort to promote Dutch urban water expertise (Goh, 2020) and, in the context of Indo-Dutch partnerships, a port city was chosen for an urban design initiative: Water as Leverage in Chennai. The project acts as mechanisms through which imaginations of urban water is packaged from the Netherlands for global export. Interestingly, the principal way in which this translation happens is through the creation of an imaginary/vision/framework of water sensitivity that is appealing and meets broad societal goals. In this context, design becomes a powerful tool through which these broad visions are made ‘fit for purpose’ and influence – or not – local ideas of urban landscapes.Urban DesignSpatial Planning and Strateg