10,654 research outputs found
Fertility preservation in ovarian tumours
A considerable number of patients with a cancer diagnosis are of childbearing age and have not satisfied their desire for a family. Despite ovarian cancer (OC) usually occurring in older patients, 3%–14% are diagnosed at a fertile age with the overall 5-year survival rate being 91.2% in women ≤44 years of age when it is found at 1A–B stage. In this scenario, testing the safety and the efficacy of fertility sparing strategies in OC patients is very important overall in terms of quality of life. Unfortunately, the lack of randomised trials to validate conservative approaches does not guarantee the safety of fertility preservation strategies. However, evidence-based data from descriptive series suggest that in selected cases, the preservation of the uterus and at least one part of the ovary does not lead to a high risk of relapse. This conservative surgery helps to maintain organ function, giving patients of childbearing age the possibility to preserve their fertility. We hereby analysed the main evidence from the international literature on this topic in order to highlight the selected criteria for conservative management of OC patients, including healthy BRCA mutations carriers
Reflectance of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) for Xenon Scintillation Light
Gaseous and liquid xenon particle detectors are being used in a number of
applications including dark matter search and neutrino-less double beta decay
experiments. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is often used in these detectors
both as electrical insulator and as a light reflector to improve the efficiency
of detection of scintillation photons. However, xenon emits in the vacuum
ultraviolet wavelength region (175 nm) where the reflecting properties of PTFE
are not sufficiently known.
In this work we report on measurements of PTFE reflectance, including its
angular distribution, for the xenon scintillation light. Various samples of
PTFE, manufactured by different processes (extruded, expanded, skived and
pressed) have been studied. The data were interpreted with a physical model
comprising both specular and diffuse reflections. The reflectance obtained for
these samples ranges from about 47% to 66% for VUV light. Fluoropolymers,
namely ETFE, FEP and PFA were also measured
One-dimensional and non-isothermal model for a passive DMFC
Passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are promising energy sources for portable electronic devices. Different from DMFCs with active fuel feeding systems, passive DMFCs with nearly stagnant fuel and air tend to bear comparatively less power densities. A steady state, one-dimensional, multi-component and thermal model is described and applied to simulate the operation of a passive direct methanol fuel cell. The model takes into consideration the thermal and mass transfer effects, along with the electrochemical reactions occurring in the passive DMFC. The model can be used to predict the methanol, oxygen and water concentration profiles in the anode, cathode and membrane as well as to estimate the methanol and water crossover and the temperature profile across the cell. Polarization curves are numerically simulated and successfully compared with experiments for different methanol feed concentrations. The model predicts with accuracy the influence of the methanol feed concentration on the cell performance and the correct trends of the current density and methanol feed concentration, on methanol and water crossover. The model is rapidly implemented and is therefore suitable for inclusion in real-time system level DMFC calculations. Due to its simplicity the model can be used to help seek for possibilities of optimizing the cell performance of a passive DMFC by studying impacts from variations of the design parameters such as membrane thickness, catalyst loading, diffusion layers type and thicknesses
Water management in direct methanol fuel cells
Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) are a promising power source for micro and portable applications due to their high energy density and inherent simplicity of operation with methanol as the liquid fuel. Present state-of-the-art optimised operating conditions are elevated cell temperatures to improve the anode reaction, high air stoichiometries to prevent cathode flooding and dilute methanol solutions to mitigate methanol crossover. These very dilute fuel solutions require the presence of a high amount of water leading to a reduction of the energy density of the system. More concentrated methanol solutions would be preferable in order to achieve energy densities needed for portable power applications. However, the possibility of using highly concentrated methanol solutions at the anode is limited by the significant water loss from the anode to cathode occurring in the DMFC due to electro-osmotic drag and molecular diffusion through the membrane. So, low crossover of both methanol and water through a polymer membrane in a DMFC is essential for using high concentration methanol in portable power applications. In this work, the results of a simulation study using a previous developed model for DMFCÅ› are presented. Particular attention is paid to the water distribution across the cell. The influence of different parameters (such as methanol concentration, membrane thickness and gas diffusion media) over the water transport and on the cell performance is studied. The model used to predict the water transport was validated with recent published data
Gaussian superpositions in scalar-tensor quantum cosmological models
A free scalar field minimally coupled to gravity model is quantized and the
Wheeler-DeWitt equation in minisuperspace is solved analytically, exhibiting
positive and negative frequency modes. The analysis is performed for positive,
negative and zero values of the curvature of the spatial section. Gaussian
superpositions of the modes are constructed, and the quantum bohmian
trajectories are determined in the framework of the Bohm-de Broglie
interpretation of quantum cosmology. Oscillating universes appear in all cases,
but with a characteristic scale of the order of the Planck scale. Bouncing
regular solutions emerge for the flat curvature case. They contract classically
from infinity until a minimum size, where quantum effects become important
acting as repulsive forces avoiding the singularity and creating an
inflationary phase, expanding afterwards to an infinite size, approaching the
classical expansion as long as the scale factor increases. These are
non-singular solutions which are viable models to describe the early Universe.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 3 Postscript figures, uses graficx.st
Was the GLE on May 17, 2012 linked with the M5.1-class flare the first in the 24th solar cycle?
On May 17, 2012 an M5.1-class flare exploded from the sun. An O-type coronal
mass ejection (CME) was also associated with this flare. There was an instant
increase in proton flux with peak at MeV, leading to S2 solar
radiation storm level. In about 20 minutes after the X-ray emission, the solar
particles reached the Earth.It was the source of the first (since December
2006) ground level enhancement (GLE) of the current solar cycle 24. The GLE was
detected by neutron monitors (NM) and other ground based detectors. Here we
present an observation by the Tupi muon telescopes (Niteroi, Brazil, , , 3 m above sea level) of the enhancement of muons at ground
level associated with this M5.1-class solar flare. The Tupi telescopes
registered a muon excess over background in the 5-min binning time
profile. The Tupi signal is studied in correlation with data obtained by
space-borne detectors (GOES, ACE), ground based neutron monitors (Oulu) and air
shower detectors (the IceTop surface component of the IceCube neutrino
observatory). We also report the observation of the muon signal possibly
associated with the CME/sheath striking the Earth magnetosphere on May 20,
2012. We show that the observed temporal correlation of the muon excess
observed by the Tupi muon telescopes with solar transient events suggests a
real physical connection between them. Our observation indicates that
combination of two factors, the low energy threshold of the Tupi muon
telescopes and the location of the Tupi experiment in the South Atlantic
Anomaly region, can be favorable in the study and detection of the solar
transient events. Our experiment provides new data complementary to other
techniques (space and ground based) in the study of solar physics.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
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