The principles of project: Inorganic waste of chemical industry - technology foresight

"Technology foresight", specjalna procedura prognostyczna wykorzystująca różne metody analityczne, jest szeroko stosowana w krajach wysoko rozwiniętych. Konsorcjum złożone z: Oddziału Chemii Nieorganicznej "IChN" w Gliwicach Instytutu Nawozów Sztucznych, Instytutu Ochrony Środowiska i Fundacji Progress&Business uzyskało ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Rozwoju Regionalnego dotację na realizację, w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Innowacyjna Gospodarka, projektu "Odpady nieorganiczne przemysłu chemicznego - foresight technologiczny"."Technology Foresight", a special procedure for predictive using different analysis methods, is widely used in developed countries. Consortium consisting of: Institute of Fertilizers Department of Inorganic Chemistry IICh in Gliwice, Institute of Environmental Protection and Progress & Business Foundation obtained grant from the European Regional Development Fund, to carry out, within the Innovative Economy Operational Program, the project "Waste inorganic chemicals industry - technology foresight activities.

Potassium multiphosphates for food processing

The paper discusses the results of research on the preparation of food grade potassium di- and triphosphates and the application thereof as multiphosphate ingredients of functional additives for meat processing. The research on the process of potassium multiphosphate manufacture was performed with the use of equipment corresponding to that used on an industrial scale, facilitating thereby the transfer of the process conditions to a commercial level. The aim of the work was to obtain potassium di- and triphosphate products readily soluble in water and NaCl solutions, determination of optimum parameters of the manufacturing processes, and an application of the products obtained along with sodium multiphosphates in functional phosphate additives for selected meat products. The research presented here is part of an on-going project

Use of phosphogypsum in road construction

The paper presents practical utilisation in the construction of a parking lot of compositions based on waste (phosphogypsum) from the wet process of orthophosphoric acid manufacture. The results of strength tests performed after half a year and after one and a half year of parking lot operation confirmed the feasibility, established earlier in laboratory tests, of utilising phosphogypsum mixes with fly ash and stabilising binder

Use of phosphogypsum in road construction

The paper presents practical utilisation in the construction of a parking lot of compositions based on waste (phosphogypsum) from the wet process of orthophosphoric acid manufacture. The results of strength tests performed after half a year and after one and a half year of parking lot operation confirmed the feasibility, established earlier in laboratory tests, of utilising phosphogypsum mixes with fly ash and stabilising binder

Do Ultrasound Patterns and Clinical Parameters Inform the Probability of Thyroid Cancer Predicted by Molecular Testing in Nodules with Indeterminate Cytology?

Background: Molecular testing (MT) is commonly used to refine cancer probability in thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology. Whether or not ultrasound (US) patterns and clinical parameters can further inform the risk of thyroid cancer in nodules predicted to be positive or negative by MT remains unknown. The aim of this study was to test if clinical parameters, including patient age, sex, nodule size (by US), Bethesda category (III, IV, V), US pattern (American Thyroid Association [ATA] vs. American College of Radiology Thyroid Image Reporting and Data System [TI-RADS] systems), radiation exposure, or family history of thyroid cancer can modify the probability of thyroid cancer or noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) predicted by MT. Methods: We studied 257 thyroid nodules in 232 patients from 10 study centers with indeterminate fine needle aspiration cytology and informative MT results using the ThyroSeq v3 genomic classifier (TSv3). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used for data analysis. Results: The presence of cancer/NIFTP was associated with positive TSv3 results (odds ratio 61.39, p < 0.0001). On univariate regression, patient sex, age, and Bethesda category were associated with cancer/NIFTP probability (p < 0.05 for each). Although ATA (p = 0.1211) and TI-RADS (p = 0.1359) US categories demonstrated positive trends, neither was significantly associated with cancer/NIFTP probability. A multivariate regression model incorporating the four most informative non-MT covariates (sex, age, Bethesda category, and ATA US pattern; Model No. 1) yielded a C index of 0.653; R2 = 0.108. When TSv3 was added to Model number 1, the C index increased to 0.888; R2 = 0.572. However, age (p = 0.341), Bethesda category (p = 0.272), and ATA US pattern (p = 0.264) were nonsignificant, and other than TSv3 (p < 0.0001), male sex was the only non-MT parameter that potentially contributed to cancer/NIFTP risk (p = 0.095). The simplest and most efficient clinical model (No. 3) incorporated TSv3 and sex (C index = 0.889; R2 = 0.588). Conclusions: In this multicenter study of thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology and MT, neither the ATA nor TI-RADS US scoring systems further informed the risk of cancer/NIFTP beyond that predicted by TSv3. Although age and Bethesda category were associated with cancer/NIFTP probability on univariate analysis, in sequential nomograms they provided limited incremental value above the high predictive ability of TSv3. Patient sex may contribute to cancer/NIFTP risk in thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology