Atomic‐Scale Observation of the Metal‐Promoter Interaction in Rh‐Based Syngas Upgrading Catalysts

The direct conversion of syngas to ethanol is a cornerstone reaction in evolving technologies of CO2 utilization and hydrogen storage, which is typically performed using promoted Rh catalysts. A rational catalyst development requires a detailed structural understanding of the activated catalyst and in particular, the specific roles that promoters play in driving the chemoselectivity of this process. Herein, we report for the first time a comprehensive and comparative atomic‐scale study of metal‐promoter interaction in silica‐supported Rh, Rh‐Mn and Rh‐Mn‐Fe catalysts by aberration‐corrected transmission electron microscopy (AC‐TEM). We uncover that while the catalytic reaction leads to the formation of a Rh carbide phase in the Rh‐Mn/SiO2 catalyst, the addition of Fe results in the formation of bimetallic Rh‐Fe alloys. The latter further improves the selectivity and prevents the carbide formation. In all promoted catalysts, the Mn is present as oxide decorating the metal particles. Based on the atomic insight presented in this work, structural and electronic modifications induced by promoters are revealed and a basis for refined theoretical models is provided

Platinum Group Metal-Doped Tungsten Phosphates for Selective C-H Activation of Lower Alkanes

Platinum group metal (PGM)-based catalysts are known to be highly active in the total combustion of lower hydrocarbons. However, through an alternative catalyst design reported in this paper by isolating PGM-based active sites in a tungsten phosphate matrix, we present a class of catalysts for selective oxidation of n-butane, propane, and propylene that do not contain Mo or V as redox-active elements. Two different catalyst concepts have been pursued. Concept A: isolating Ru-based active sites in a tungsten phosphate matrix coming upon as ReO3-type structure. Concept B: dilution of PGM-based active sites through the synthesis of X-ray amorphous Ru tungsten phosphates supported on SiO2. Using a high-throughput screening approach, model catalysts over a wide compositional range were evaluated for C3 and C4 partial oxidation. Bulk crystalline and supported XRD amorphous phases with similar Ru/W/P compositions showed comparable performance. Hence, for these materials, composition is more crucial than the degree of crystallinity. Further studies for optimization on second-generation supported systems revealed even better results. High selectivity for n-butane oxidation to maleic anhydride and propane oxidation to an acrolein/acrylic acid has been achieved

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor: impact of 18F-FDG PET induced treatment strategy in a patient with long-term outcome

The desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is an uncommon and highly aggressive cancer. The role of 18F-FDG PET in management of DSRCT is little reported. We report a case of metastasized abdominal DSRCT detected in a 43-year old patient whose diagnostic and therapeutic approaches were influenced by 18F-FDG PET-CT. The patient is still alive ten years after diagnosis. 18F-FDG PET-CT seems to be a useful method for assessing therapeutic efficiency and detecting early recurrences even in rare malignancies such as DSRCT

Joint EANM/SNMMI/ANZSNM practice guidelines/procedure standards on recommended use of [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging during immunomodulatory treatments in patients with solid tumors version 1.0

PURPOSE: The goal of this guideline/procedure standard is to assist nuclear medicine physicians, other nuclear medicine professionals, oncologists or other medical specialists for recommended use of [ METHODS: In a cooperative effort between the EANM, the SNMMI and the ANZSNM, clinical indications, recommended imaging procedures and reporting standards have been agreed upon and summarized in this joint guideline/procedure standard. CONCLUSIONS: The field of immuno-oncology is rapidly evolving, and this guideline/procedure standard should not be seen as definitive, but rather as a guidance document standardizing the use and interpretation of [ PREAMBLE: The European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) is a professional non-profit medical association founded in 1985 to facilitate worldwide communication among individuals pursuing clinical and academic excellence in nuclear medicine. The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and professional organization founded in 1954 to promote science, technology and practical application of nuclear medicine. The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine (ANZSNM), founded in 1969, represents the major professional society fostering the technical and professional development of nuclear medicine practice across Australia and New Zealand. It promotes excellence in the nuclear medicine profession through education, research and a commitment to the highest professional standards. EANM, SNMMI and ANZSNM members are physicians, technologists, physicists and scientists specialized in the research and clinical practice of nuclear medicine. All three societies will periodically put forth new standards/guidelines for nuclear medicine practice to help advance the science of nuclear medicine and improve service to patients. Existing standards/guidelines will be reviewed for revision or renewal, as appropriate, on their fifth anniversary or sooner, if indicated. Each standard/guideline, representing a policy statement by the EANM/SNMMI/ANZSNM, has undergone a thorough consensus process, entailing extensive review. These societies recognize that the safe and effective use of diagnostic nuclear medicine imaging requires particular training and skills, as described in each document. These standards/guidelines are educational tools designed to assist practitioners in providing appropriate and effective nuclear medicine care for patients. These guidelines are consensus documents based on current knowledge. They are not intended to be inflexible rules or requirements of practice, nor should they be used to establish a legal standard of care. For these reasons and those set forth below, the EANM, SNMMI and ANZSNM caution against the use of these standards/guidelines in litigation in which the clinical decisions of a practitioner are called into question. The ultimate judgment regarding the propriety of any specific procedure or course of action must be made by medical professionals considering the unique circumstances of each case. Thus, there is no implication that an action differing from what is laid out in the guidelines/procedure standards, standing alone, is below standard of care. To the contrary, a conscientious practitioner may responsibly adopt a course of action different from that set forth in the standards/guidelines when, in the reasonable judgment of the practitioner, such course of action is indicated by the condition of the patient, limitations of available resources or advances in knowledge or technology subsequent to publication of the guidelines/procedure standards. The practice of medicine involves not only the science, but also the art of dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, alleviation and treatment of disease. The variety and complexity of human conditions make it impossible for general guidelines to consistently allow for an accurate diagnosis to be reached or a particular treatment response to be predicted. Therefore, it should be recognized that adherence to these standards/ guidelines will not ensure a successful outcome. All that should be expected is that practitioners follow a reasonable course of action, based on their level of training, current knowledge, clinical practice guidelines, available resources and the needs/context of the patient being treated. The sole purpose of these guidelines is to assist practitioners in achieving this objective. The present guideline/procedure standard was developed collaboratively by the EANM, the SNMMI and the ANZSNM, with the support of international experts in the field. They summarize also the views of the Oncology and Theranostics and the Inflammation and Infection Committees of the EANM, as well as the procedure standards committee of the SNMMI, and reflect recommendations for which the EANM and SNMMI cannot be held responsible. The recommendations should be taken into the context of good practice of nuclear medicine and do not substitute for national and international legal or regulatory provisions

Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: Descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes

Purpose The purpose of the study is to review the MRI findings in a cohort of athletes who sustained acute traumatic avulsions of the adductor longus fibrocartilaginous entheses, and to investigate related injuries namely the pyramidalis- anterior pubic ligament - adductor longus complex (PLAC). Associated muscle and soft tissue injuries were also assessed. Methods The MRIs were reviewed for a partial or complete avulsion of the adductor longus fibrocartilage, as well as continuity or separation of the adductor longus from the pyramidalis. The presence of a concurrent partial pectineus tear was noted. Demographic data was analysed. Linear and logistic regression was used to examine associations between injuries. Results The mean age was 32.5 (SD 10.9). The pyramidalis was absent in 3 of 145 patients. 85 of 145 athletes were professional and 52 competed in the football Premier League. 132 had complete avulsions and 13 partial. The adductor longus was in continuity with pyramidalis in 55 athletes, partially separated in seven and completely in 81 athletes. 48 athletes with a PLAC injury had a partial pectineus avulsion. Six types of PLAC injuries patterns were identified. Associated rectus abdominis injuries were rare and only occurred in five patients (3.5%). Conclusion The proximal adductor longus forms part of the PLAC and is rarely an isolated injury. The term PLAC injury is more appropriate term. MRI imaging should assess all the anatomical components of the PLAC post-injury, allowing recognition of the differentpatterns of injury

A phase II study evaluating neo-/adjuvant EIA chemotherapy, surgical resection and radiotherapy in high-risk soft tissue sarcoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The role of chemotherapy in high-risk soft tissue sarcoma is controversial. Though many patients undergo initial curative resection, distant metastasis is a frequent event, resulting in 5-year overall survival rates of only 50-60%. Neo-adjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy (CTX) has been applied to achieve pre-operative cytoreduction, assess chemosensitivity, and to eliminate occult metastasis. Here we report on the results of our non-randomized phase II study on neo-adjuvant treatment for high-risk STS.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Patients with potentially curative high-risk STS (size ≥ 5 cm, deep/extracompartimental localization, tumor grades II-III [FNCLCC]) were included. The protocol comprised 4 cycles of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (EIA, etoposide 125 mg/m²iv days 1 and 4, ifosfamide 1500 mg/m²iv days 1 - 4, doxorubicin 50 mg/m²day 1, pegfilgrastim 6 mg sc day 5), definitive surgery with intra-operative radiotherapy, adjuvant radiotherapy and 4 adjuvant cycles of EIA.</p> <p>Result</p> <p>Between 06/2005 and 03/2010 a total of 50 subjects (male = 33, female = 17, median age 50.1 years) were enrolled. Median follow-up was 30.5 months. The majority of primary tumors were located in the extremities or trunk (92%), 6% originated in the abdomen/retroperitoneum. Response by RECIST criteria to neo-adjuvant CTX was 6% CR (n = 3), 24% PR (n = 12), 62% SD (n = 31) and 8% PD (n = 4). Local recurrence occurred in 3 subjects (6%). Distant metastasis was observed in 12 patients (24%). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) at 2 years was 83% and 68%, respectively. Multivariate analysis failed to prove influence of resection status or grade of histological necrosis on OS or DFS. Severe toxicities included neutropenic fever (4/50), cardiac toxicity (2/50), and CNS toxicity (4/50) leading to CTX dose reductions in 4 subjects. No cases of secondary leukemias were observed so far.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The current protocol is feasible for achieving local control rates, as well as OS and DFS comparable to previously published data on neo-/adjuvant chemotherapy in this setting. However, the definitive role of chemotherapy remains unclear in the absence of large, randomized trials. Therefore, the current regimen can only be recommended within a clinical study, and a possibly increased risk of secondary leukemias has to be taken into account.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01382030">NCT01382030</a>, EudraCT 2004-002501-72</p

Circulating vitamin D concentration and risk of seven cancers: Mendelian randomisation study

Objective To determine if circulating concentrations of vitamin D are causally associated with risk of cancer.Design Mendelian randomisation study.Setting Large genetic epidemiology networks (the Genetic Associations and Mechanisms in Oncology (GAME-ON), the Genetic and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium (GECCO), and the Prostate Cancer Association Group to Investigate Cancer Associated Alterations in the Genome (PRACTICAL) consortiums, and the MR-Base platform).Participants 70 563 cases of cancer (22 898 prostate cancer, 15 748 breast cancer, 12 537 lung cancer, 11 488 colorectal cancer, 4369 ovarian cancer, 1896 pancreatic cancer, and 1627 neuroblastoma) and 84 418 controls.Exposures Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs2282679, rs10741657, rs12785878 and rs6013897) associated with vitamin D were used to define a multi-polymorphism score for circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations.Main outcomes measures The primary outcomes were the risk of incident colorectal, breast, prostate, ovarian, lung, and pancreatic cancer and neuroblastoma, which was evaluated with an inverse variance weighted average of the associations with specific polymorphisms and a likelihood based approach. Secondary outcomes based on cancer subtypes by sex, anatomic location, stage, and histology were also examined.Results There was little evidence that the multi-polymorphism score of 25(OH)D was associated with risk of any of the seven cancers or their subtypes. Specifically, the odds ratios per 25 nmol/L increase in genetically determined 25(OH)D concentrations were 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.76 to 1.10) for colorectal cancer, 1.05 (0.89 to 1.24) for breast cancer, 0.89 (0.77 to 1.02) for prostate cancer, and 1.03 (0.87 to 1.23) for lung cancer. The results were consistent with the two different analytical approaches, and the study was powered to detect relative effect sizes of moderate magnitude (for example, 1.20-1.50 per 25 nmol/L decrease in 25(OH)D for most primary cancer outcomes. The Mendelian randomisation assumptions did not seem to be violated.Conclusions There is little evidence for a linear causal association between circulating vitamin D concentration and risk of various types of cancer, though the existence of causal clinically relevant effects of low magnitude cannot be ruled out. These results, in combination with previous literature, provide evidence that population-wide screening for vitamin D deficiency and subsequent widespread vitamin D supplementation should not currently be recommended as a strategy for primary cancer prevention