Preliminary Design of Reactive Distillation Columns

A procedure that combines feasibility analysis, synthesis and design of reactive distillation columns is introduced. The main interest of this methodology lies on a progressive introduction of the process complexity. From minimal information concerning the physicochemical properties of the system, three steps lead to the design of the unit and the specification of its operating conditions. Most of the methodology exploits and enriches approaches found in the literature. Each step is described and our contribution is underlined. Its application is currently limited to equilibrium reactive systems where degree of freedom is equal to 2 or less than 2. This methodology which provides a reliable initialization point for the optimization of the process has been applied with success to different synthesis. The production of methyl-tert-butyl-ether (MTBE) and methyl acetate are presented as examples

The Study of Cell Dynamics with a Novel Phase Referenced Low Coherence Interferometer with sub-wavelength and sub-hertz Sensitivity

We report the use of a highly sensitive phase based motion measurement technique to study the correlation of cellular metabolic rate with cellular motions. The technique is based on a modified Michelson interferometer with a composite laser beam of 1550 nm low coherence light and 775 nm CW light. In this system, motional artifacts from vibrations in the interferometer are completely eliminated. We demonstrate that the system is sensitive to motions as small as 3.6 nm and velocities as small as 1 nm/s. Using the system, we show that the cellular motions are strongly dependent on the ambient temperature. We observe that the dependency does not conform to Brownian motion predictions but instead appears to correlate with the optical ambient temperature that the cells have evolved to operate in

Tissue- and Liquid-Based Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine

Worldwide, prostate cancer (PC) is the second-most-frequently diagnosed male cancer and the fifth-most-common cause of all cancer-related deaths. Suspicion of PC in a patient is largely based upon clinical signs and the use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Although PSA levels have been criticised for a lack of specificity, leading to PC over-diagnosis, it is still the most commonly used biomarker in PC management. Unfortunately, PC is extremely heterogeneous, and it can be difficult to stratify patients whose tumours are unlikely to progress from those that are aggressive and require treatment intensification. Although PC-specific biomarker research has previously focused on disease diagnosis, there is an unmet clinical need for novel prognostic, predictive and treatment response biomarkers that can be used to provide a precision medicine approach to PC management. In particular, the identification of biomarkers at the time of screening/diagnosis that can provide an indication of disease aggressiveness is perhaps the greatest current unmet clinical need in PC management. Largely through advances in genomic and proteomic techniques, exciting pre-clinical and clinical research is continuing to identify potential tissue, blood and urine-based PC-specific biomarkers that may in the future supplement or replace current standard practices. In this review, we describe how PC-specific biomarker research is progressing, including the evolution of PSA-based tests and those novel assays that have gained clinical approval. We also describe alternative diagnostic biomarkers to PSA, in addition to biomarkers that can predict PC aggressiveness and biomarkers that can predict response to certain therapies. We believe that novel biomarker research has the potential to make significant improvements to the clinical management of this disease in the near future

The Prostate Health Index (PHI) Density: Are There Advantages Over PHI or Over the Prostate-Specific Antigen Density?

Background and aims: Overdiagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) should be minimized. We wanted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the prostate health index density (PHID) and compare it with that of the prostate health index (PHI) alone and of the prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD). Materials and methods: 232 men scheduled for a prostate biopsy (prostate-specific antigen level: 2-10 µg/L), were enrolled. PHI, PHID and PSAD were evaluated considering PCa and clinically significant PCa (csPCa) as the outcomes. Results: For PCa, the area under the curve (AUC) was higher for PHID (0.823) than for PHI (0.779) and PSAD (0.776). For csPCa, the AUC was also higher for PHID (0.851) but closer to that of PSAD (0.819) and PHI (0.813). For equal sensitivities (90%) for PCa, PHID and PSAD offered the highest specificities (37%), missing the same number of cancers (n = 11). Considering csPCa, PHI and PHID had similar specificities. PSAD reached the highest specificity (50.0%), sparing 32.8% of biopsies, while missing 9 cases of csPCa. Conclusions: PHID has a better diagnostic performance than PHI for overall PCa detection, but very close to the PSAD performance. Considering csPCa, PHI and PHID perform almost equally, but PSAD has a better diagnostic performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predicting the metastatic potential of prostate cancer, 1992

Little progress has been made in assessing the metastatic potential of prostate cancer. In this investigation, attempts were made to assess metastatic potential of anaplastic tumor-1 (AT-1), Mat-Lu (ML), and Mat-LyLu (MLL) cells of the Dunning System. To accomplish this, we applied -Bioquant biometric parameters, i.e. area, shape factor, and cell motility. Also, Bovine Aortic Endothelial Cell Monolayer Adhesion (BAEC) and Fibronectin Adhesion assays were performed to distinguish metastatic cells from nonmetastatic cells. The data investigation revealed that metastatic potential could be accurately indicated via area and shape factor in some cases. Cell motility and tumor cell adhesion to fibronectin-coated plates did correlate with metastatic potential. Dunning tumor adhesion to BAEC monolayers and chemotactic response to fibronectin correlated inversely to metastatic potential. This investigation demonstrated that the study of tumor cell motility and adhesion to fibronectin could play a positive role in developing a prognostic indicator of prostate cancer metastasis

Free Prostate-specific Antigen Forms and Kallikrein-related Peptidase 2: Tools for Prostate Cancer Diagnostics

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a marker that is commonly used in estimating prostate cancer risk. Prostate cancer is usually a slowly progressing disease, which might not cause any symptoms whatsoever. Nevertheless, some cases of cancer are aggressive and need to be treated before they become life-threatening. However, the blood PSA concentration may rise also in benign prostate diseases and using a single total PSA (tPSA) measurement to guide the decision on further examinations leads to many unnecessary biopsies, over-detection, and overtreatment of indolent cancers which would not require treatment. Therefore, there is a need for markers that would better separate cancer from benign disorders, and would also predict cancer aggressiveness. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether intact and nicked forms of free PSA (fPSA-I and fPSA-N) or human kallikrein-related peptidase 2 (hK2) could serve as new tools in estimating prostate cancer risk. First, the immunoassays for fPSA-I and free and total hK2 were optimized so that they would be less prone to assay interference caused by interfering factors present in some blood samples. The optimized assays were shown to work well and were used to study the marker concentrations in the clinical sample panels. The marker levels were measured from preoperative blood samples of prostate cancer patients scheduled for radical prostatectomy. The association of the markers with the cancer stage and grade was studied. It was found that among all tested markers and their combinations especially the ratio of fPSA-N to tPSA and ratio of free PSA (fPSA) to tPSA were associated with both cancer stage and grade. They might be useful in predicting the cancer aggressiveness, but further follow-up studies are necessary to fully evaluate the significance of the markers in this clinical setting. The markers tPSA, fPSA, fPSA-I and hK2 were combined in a statistical model which was previously shown to be able to reduce unnecessary biopsies when applied to large screening cohorts of men with elevated tPSA. The discriminative accuracy of this model was compared to models based on established clinical predictors in reference to biopsy outcome. The kallikrein model and the calculated fPSA-N concentrations (fPSA minus fPSA-I) correlated with the prostate volume and the model, when compared to the clinical models, predicted prostate cancer in biopsy equally well. Hence, the measurement of kallikreins in a blood sample could be used to replace the volume measurement which is time-consuming, needs instrumentation and skilled personnel and is an uncomfortable procedure. Overall, the model could simplify the estimation of prostate cancer risk. Finally, as the fPSA-N seems to be an interesting new marker, a direct immunoassay for measuring fPSA-N concentrations was developed. The analytical performance was acceptable, but the rather complicated assay protocol needs to be improved until it can be used for measuring large sample panels.Siirretty Doriast

Complete Duplication of Collecting System in a Horseshoe Kidney Presenting with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Report of an Exceedingly Rare Congenital Anomaly and Review of Literature

We report the fifth case in the English literature of a horseshoe kidney with a complete ureteral duplication. Our case is unique in that the previous four cases occurred in the presence of a ureterocele, whereas our patient lacked this anomaly. Further, our patient was managed conservatively, whereas the previous four patients were managed with surgery

Management of Biochemical Recurrence after Primary Localized Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Clinically localized prostate cancer is typically managed by well established therapies like radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, and external beam radiation therapy. While many patients can be cured with definitive local therapy, some will have biochemical recurrence (BCR) of disease detected by a rising serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Management of these patients is nuanced and controversial. The natural history indicates that a majority of patients with BCR will not die from prostate cancer but from other causes. Despite this, a vast majority of patients with BCR are empirically treated with non-curable systemic androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), with its myriad of real and potential side effects. In this review article, we examined the very definition of BCR after definitive local therapy, the current status of imaging studies in its evaluation, the need for additional therapies, and the factors involved in the decision making in the choice of additional therapies. This review aims to help clinicians with the management of patients with BCR. The assessment of prognostic factors including absolute PSA level, time to recurrence, PSA kinetics, multivariable nomograms, imaging, and biopsy of the prostatic bed may help stratify the patients into localized or systemic recurrence. Patients with low-risk of systemic disease may be cured by a salvage local therapy, while those with higher risk of systemic disease may be offered the option of ADT or a clinical trial. An algorithm incorporating these factors is presented

Comparison between the Holmium Laser (Made in Iran) and Pneumatic Lithotripsy in Patients Suffering from Upper Ureteral Stone between 1-2cm

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to compare holmium laser (LL) with pneumatic lithoclast (PL) in patients with upper ureteral stones and their ability to destruct the stones and making the patient stone free. We also compare the duration of these procedures and their complications, such as urosepsis, perforation, and pushing the stone backward.METHODS: This has been a clinical randomized trail study in 26 patients with upper ureteral stone more than 1 cm. Patients were divided into 2 randomized groups, each treated with one of the following approaches: pneumatic lithoclast(14 patients), or holmium laser(12 patients). The goal of lithotripsy was to break the stone into particles less than 3 mm. IVP (Intravenous Pyelogram) was performed 4 weeks after.RESULTS: The immediate stone free rate was 100% in LL group and 42.9% in PL group (P=0.001). Stone pushing back was 0% in LL group and 57.1% in PL group. Complications such as a perforation, or urosepsis, or bleeding were not seen in any of these groups. Fever more than 38º C was observed in 1.8% in LL, and 3.8% in PL group (p=0.56). After 4 weeks no complication was seen in IVP.CONCLUSION: According to our experience, for upper ureteral stones larger than 1 cm, lithotripsy with holmium laser is preferred approach with high success rate and low complication.