Updated and new perspectives on diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of malignant pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma.

Malignant pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas are rare tumors with a poor prognosis. Malignancy is diagnosed by the development of metastases as evidenced by recurrences in sites normally devoid of chromaffin tissue. Histopathological, biochemical, molecular and genetic markers offer only information on potential risk of metastatic spread. Large size, extraadrenal location, dopamine secretion, SDHB mutations, a PASS score higher than 6, a high Ki-67 index are indexes for potential malignancy. Metastases can be present at first diagnosis or occur years after primary surgery. Measurement of plasma and/or urinary metanephrine, normetanephrine and metoxytyramine are recommended for biochemical diagnosis. Anatomical and functional imaging using different radionuclides are necessary for localization of tumor and metastases. Metastatic pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas is incurable. When possible, surgical debulking of primary tumor is recommended as well as surgical or radiosurgical removal of metastases. I-131-MIBG radiotherapy is the treatment of choice although results are limited. Chemotherapy is reserved to more advanced disease stages. Recent genetic studies have highlighted the main pathways involved in pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas pathogenesis thus suggesting the use of targeted therapy which, nevertheless, has still to be validated. Large cooperative studies on tissue specimens and clinical trials in large cohorts of patients are necessary to achieve better therapeutic tools and improve patient prognosis

Quartz Crystal Microbalances for Space: Design and Testing of a 3D Printed Quasi-Kinematic Support

Outgassing or thruster’s generated contaminants are critical for optical surfaces and optical payloads because scientific measurements and, in general, the performances can be degraded or jeopardized by uncontrolled contamination. This is a well-known issue in space technology that is demonstrated by the growing usage of quartz crystal microbalances as a solution for measuring material outgassing properties data and characterizing the on-orbit contamination environment. Operation in space requires compatibility with critical requirements, especially the mechanical and thermal environments to be faced throughout the mission. This work provides the design of a holding structure based on 3D printing technology conceived to meet the environmental characteristics of space application, and in particular, to face harsh mechanical and thermal environments. A kinematic mounting has been conceived to grant compatibility with a large temperature range, and it has been designed by finite element methods to overcome loading during the launch phases and cope with a temperature working range down to cryogenic temperatures. Qualification in such environments has been performed on a mockup by testing a prototype of the holding assembly between −110 °C and 110 °C and allowing verification of the mechanical resistance and stability of the electrical contacts for the embedded heater and sensor in that temperature range. Moreover, mechanical testing in a random environment characterized by an RMS acceleration level of 500 m/s2 and excitation frequency from 20 to 2000 Hz was successfully performed. The testing activity allowed for validation of the proposed design and opened the road to the possible implementation of the proposed design for future flight opportunities, also onboard micro or nanosatellites. Moreover, exploiting the manufacturing technology, the proposed design can implement an easy assembling and mounting of the holding system. At the same time, 3D printing provides a cost-effective solution even for small series production for ground applications, like monitoring the contaminants in thermo-vacuum chambers or clean rooms, or depositions chambers

A shape tailored gold-conductive polymer nanocomposite as a transparent electrode with extraordinary insensitivity to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

In this study, the transparent conducting polymer of poly (3,4-ethylenendioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulphonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was nanohybridized via inclusion of gold nanofillers including nanospheres (NSs) and nanorods (NRs). Such nanocomposite thin films offer not only more optimum conductivity than the pristine polymer but also excellent resistivity against volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Interestingly, such amazing properties are achieved in the diluted regimes of the nanofillers and depend on the characteristics of the interfacial region of the polymer and nanofillers, i.e. the aspect ratio of the latter component. Accordingly, a shape dependent response is made that is more desirable in case of using the Au nanorods with a much larger aspect ratio than their nanosphere counterparts. This transparent nanocomposite thin film with an optimized conductivity and very low sensitivity to organic gases is undoubtedly a promising candidate material for the touch screen panel production industry. Considering PEDOT as a known material for integrated electrodes in energy saving applications, we believe that our strategy might be an important progress in the field.Peer reviewe

The Multicultural Classroom as a Comparative Law Site: A United Kingdom Perspective

This chapter studies the impact of the recent multicultural approach to comparative legal studies on comparative law teaching, with a focus on British debates and literature. I will argue that the multicultural turn of (comparative) legal teaching, reflected for example in a greater diversity of teaching techniques, a greater emphasis on minority issues and law &… disciplines, responds to a multiplicity of motivations. Pedagogically, it is a response to the increasingly diverse backgrounds of students and their differing intellectual starting-points. Pragmatically, it is a means to boost students’ employability and intellectual versality in a job market that now values “cultural awareness skills”. Finally, conceptually, it is a tool designed to unravel the pluralistic nature of law. From these diverse drivers to the multicultural turn in (comparative) legal teaching, it is possible to identify similarities with other recent trends of globalisation and internationalisation of legal education. However, this article will submit that differences remain. Having analysed these differences, I will go on to argue and reveal that in them lie the core features of a multicultural approach to legal teaching and its intrinsic connections to comparative law, as the multicultural classroom itself becomes a comparative law site

A ternary PEDOT-TiO2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for supercapacitor applications

A ternary composite of PEDOT was prepared with TiO2 via emulsion polymerization method adjusting various weight ratios of TiO2 to PEDOT and synthesized rGO was then blended with this composite. The FTIR, UV–Vis and XRD analysis displayed characteristic features of PEDOT and TiO2. The morphology of the nano-hybrid structure was additionally investigated by SEM analysis. Pore size and surface area analysis of particles were characterized by BET method. The electrochemical analysis showed that the specific capacitance (Csp) for PEDOT-TiO2-15-rGO was 18.9 F.cm-2 at 0.1 mA g-1 current density

Rapid sedimentation, overpressure, fluid flow and slope instability at the Gulf of Mexico continental margin

Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP) Expedition 308 studied overpressure and fluid flow on the Gulf of Mexico continental slope. The scientific program examined how sedimentation, overpressure, fluid flow, and deformation are coupled in a passive continental margin setting. The expedition investigated the model of how extremely rapid deposition of finegrained mud leads to rapid build-up of pore pressure in excess of hydrostatic (overpressure), underconsolidation and continental slope instability. Expedition 308 tested this model by examining how physical properties, pressure, temperature, and pore fluid compositions vary within low-permeability mudstones that overlie a permeable, overpressured aquifer. Three sites were drilled in the Ursa Basin off the Mississippi Delta, using the research drillship R/V JOIDES RESOLUTION (Fig. 1). In the Ursa Basin rapid, late Pleistocene sedimentation was known to be present. Drilling documented severe overpressure in the mudstones overlying the aquifer. The most important achievement of IODP Expedition 308 is to have successfully recorded in situ formation pressure and temperature in an overpressured basin. This is the first time that a coherent data set of such measurements has been obtained

Ordered hierarchy versus scale invariance in sequence stratigraphy

200 x 10(6) years) are symmetrical transgressive- regressive cycles. However, the sequence record in the range of 1 x 10(4)-200 x 10(6) years, the principal domain of sequence stratigraphy, shows a rather irregular succession of sequences with variable symmetry and bounded by flooding surfaces or exposure surfaces. For these time scales, scale-invariant models are a good first approximation, particularly because the evidence for scale-invariance and randomness in the stratigraphic record is strong: Frequency spectra of sea-level change as well as rates of sedimentation and rates of accommodation change plotted against length of observation span show basic trends indistinguishable from random walk. These trends, combined with scale-invariant sequence models may be the most efficient tools for across-the-board predictions on sequences and for locating islands of order in the sequence record

Encouraging Sustainable Foreign Investment to the LDCs: Options for Support

This paper focuses on what the development partners of least developed countries (LDCs) can do to help those countries get more ‘sustainable’ foreign investment - investment that contributes to their sustainable development - and indicates some options for support that need to be further explored. It addresses the investment attraction measures that LDCs themselves can take only in as far these can be supported by development partners. Thus, the paper reviews outward investment promotion and facilitation measures that can be undertaken by foreign investors’ home countries to foster foreign investment flows into the LDCs, as well as the support that development partners can provide to LDCs’ inward promotion and facilitation activities that seek to attract foreign investment into the LDC