Prognostic value of pre-treatment F-18-FDG PET-CT in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radioembolization

AIM To evaluate the value of pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with HCC following liver radioembolization.METHODS We identified 34 patients with HCC who underwent an FDG PET/CT scan prior to hepatic radioembolization at our institution between 2009 and 2013. Patients wereseen in clinic one month after radioembolization and then at 2-3 mo intervals. We assessed the influence of FDG tumor uptake on outcomes including local liver control(LLC), distant liver control(DLC), time to distant metastases(DM), progression free survival(PFS) and overall survival(OS).RESULTS The majority of patients were males(n = 25, 74%), and had Child Pugh Class A(n = 31, 91%), with a median age of 68 years(46-84 years). FDG-avid disease was found in 19(56%) patients with SUVmax ranging from 3 to 20. Female patients were more likely to have an FDG-avid HCC(P = 0.02). Median follow up of patients following radioembolization was 12 months(1.2-62.8 mo). FDG-avid disease was associated with a decreased 1 year LLC, DLC, DM and PFS(P < 0.05). Using multivariate analysis, FDG avidity predicted for LLC, DLC, and PFS(all P < 0.05).CONCLUSION In this retrospective study, pre-treatment HCC FDGavidity was found to be associated with worse LLC, DLC, and PFS following radioembolization. Larger studies are needed to validate our initial findings to assess the role of F-18-FDG PET/CT scans as biomarker for patients with HCC following radioembolization.

Production of Safe Charcoal from Waste Construction Wood Treated With Citric Acid

For practical reuse of wastewater containing citric acid and the production of safe and healthy high-quality charcoal from waste construction wood, basic data regarding the influence of citric acid washing treatments on the physico- chemical property of charcoal was investigated in order to find the benefits of using citric acid for washing out impurities of the wood, owing to its chelate bonding ability with elements such as metals. Parameters obtained for evaluating the benefits were water content, volatile component content, ash content, fixed carbon content, and the heat value of the charcoal. All parameters, except ash content, throughout all carbonization temperatures were not significantly different between the charcoal of the wood treated with and without citric acid. However, the ash content showed significant differences between the charcoal treated with and without citric acid throughout all carbonization temperatures. Regarding the heat value, the highest heat value was shown on the charcoal carbonated at 600?C with the static washing treatment. Dioxins that were higher in content than the control sample were somehow detected in the ash of the charcoal with the shaking treatment. Further investigation is needed for the production of safe and healthy charcoal using waste citric acid.

A BPR-CNN Based Hand Motion Classifier Using Electric Field Sensors

In this paper,we propose a BPR-CNN(Biometric Pattern Recognition-Convolution Neural Network)classifier for hand motion classification as well as a dynamic threshold algorithm for motion signal detection and extraction by EF(Electric Field)sensors.Currently,an EF sensor or EPS(Electric Potential Sensor)system is attracting attention as a next-generationmotion sensing technology due to low computation and price,high sensitivity and recognition speed compared to other sensor systems.However,it remains as a challenging problem to accurately detect and locate the authentic motion signal frame automatically in real-time when sensing body-motions such as hand motion,due to the variance of the electric-charge state by heterogeneous surroundings and operational conditions.This hinders the further utilization of the EF sensing;thus,it is critical to design the robust and credible methodology for detecting and extracting signals derived from the motion movement in order to make use and apply the EF sensor technology to electric consumer products such as mobile devices.In this study,we propose a motion detection algorithm using a dynamic offset-threshold method to overcome uncertainty in the initial electrostatic charge state of the sensor affected by a user and the surrounding environment of the subject.This method is designed to detect hand motions and extract its genuine motion signal frame successfully with high accuracy.After setting motion frames,we normalize the signals and then apply them to our proposed BPR-CNN motion classifier to recognize their motion types.Conducted experiment and analysis show that our proposed dynamic threshold method combined with a BPR-CNN classifier can detect the hand motions and extract the actual frames effectively with 97.1%accuracy,99.25%detection rate,98.4%motion frame matching rate and 97.7%detection&extraction success rate.

Behavior of Cu, Pb, and Zn in Ash during the Endothermic Burning of Mixed Industrial Wastes

The behaviors of Cu, Pb, and Zn during the endothermic burning of heterogeneous wastes were investigated using a variety of operational parameters, i.e., the mixed waste ratio, burning temperature, and burning time, to obtain fundamental knowledge to generate an optimal burning operation and recycling strategy for bottom ash. Changing these parameters had no impact on the Cu content of the ash, whereas the Pb content depended on the burning temperature and the mixed ratio, and the Zn content was affected by all three parameters. It was found in this study that the optimal burning conditions were a temperature of 1100?C, a time of 15 minutes, and either the current waste conditions or waste conditions with double the waste plastic and wood content.

Total Recovery of Sinker Weights from Lead-Core Fishing Nets

The adverse effects of lead poisoning have long been of environmental concern. A large number of research papers have reported many routes of lead poisoning, of which lead sinkers used in fishing require urgent attention. Lead sinkers that are abandoned or scattered from individual fishing gear are notorious for environmental pollution and have been reported in many papers;moreover, lead-core “sinker rope” is used in fishery nets. This paper discusses the latter, which generally has limited public awareness. Preliminary work and field studies were conducted to develop a system for total treatment of lead from fishing nets with lead-cored sinker ropes, in order to prevent environmental pollution and conserve natural resources. Lead sinkers in fishing nets were successfully removed, yielding high-quality lead suitable for commercial purposes. Appropriate management of fishing nets is crucial for environmental protection and resource conservation.

Development of EMC-based empirical model for estimating spatial distribution of pollutant loads and its application in rural areas of Korea

An integrated approach to easily calculate pollutant loads from agricultural watersheds is suggested and verified in this research. The basic concepts of this empirical tool were based on the assumption that variations in event mean concentrations（EMCs） of pollutants from a given agricultural watershed during rainstorms were only attributable to the rainfall pattern.Fifty one sets of EMC values were obtained from nine different watersheds located in the rural areas of Korea, and these data were used to develop predictive tools for the EMCs in rainfall runoff. The results of statistical tests of these formulas show that they are fairly good in predicting actual EMC values of some parameters, and useful in terms of calculating pollutant loads for any rainfall event time span such as daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. This model was further checked in for its field applicability in a reservoir receiving stormwater after a cleanup of the sediments, covering 17 consecutive rainfall events from 1 July to 15 August in2007. Overall the predicted values matched the observed values, indicating the feasibility of this empirical tool as a simple and useful solution in evaluating timely distribution of nonpoint source pollution loads from small rural watersheds of Korea.

Removal of non-point pollutants from bridge runoff by a hydrocyclone using natural water head

A hydrocyclone using natural water head provided by bridge was operated for the treatment of stormwater runoff. The hydrocyclone was automatically controlled using electronic valve which is connected to a pressure meter. Normally the hydrocyclone was open during dry days, but it was closed after the capture of the first flush. The results indicated that the average pressure and the flow rate were directly affected by the rainfall intensity. The pressure head was more than 2 m when the rainfall intensity was above 5mm·h^-1. The percentage volume of underflow with high solids concentration decreased as the pressure and flow rate increased, but the percentage volume of overflow with almost no solids showed the opposite behavior. The total suspended solids （TSS） concentration ratio between the overflow and inflow （TSSover/TSSin） decreased as a function of the operational pressure, while the corresponding ratio of underflow to inflow （TSSunaer/TSSi,） increased. The TSS separation efficiency was evaluated based on a mass balance. It ranged from 25% to 99% with the pressure head ranging from 1.4 to 9.7 m, and it was proportional to pressure and flow rate. Normally, the efficiency was more than 50% when the pressure was higher than 2 m. The analysis of the water budget indicated that around 13% of the total runoff was captured by the hydrocyclone as a first flush, and this runoff was separated as underflow and overflow with the respective percentage volumes of 29% and 71%. The pollutants budget was also examined based on a mass balance. The results showed that the percentage of TSS, chemical oxygen demand （COD）, total nitrogen （TN）, and total phosphorus （TP） in underflow were 73%, 59%, 7.6%, and 49%, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that the hydrocyclone worked well. It separated the first flush as solids-concentrated underflow and solids-absent overflow, and effectively reduced the runoff volume needing further treatment. Finally, four types of optional post treatment design are presented and compared.

Characteristics of pollutants behavior in a stormwater constructed wetland during dry days

A stormwater wetland treating non-point source pollution （NPS） from a 64 ha agricultural watershed was monitored over a period of five months. The results indicated that pH and dissolved oxygen （DO） were increased in the wetland due highest total suspended solids to the algal growth. The （TSS） concentration was observed in the aeration pond due to the resuspension of solids, decreased in the wetland. The respective decreases in total nitrogen （TN） and total kjeldahl nitrogen （TKN） were 15.9% and 28.7% on passing through the wetland. The nitrate and ammonia were increased by 45.4% and decreased by 79.9%, respectively. These variations provided strong evidence for the existence of nitrification. The total phosphorus （TP） and phosphate had respective reductions of 52.3% and 58.2% over the wetland. The total chemical oxygen demand （TCOD） and soluble chemical oxygen demand （SCOD） were also decreased. Generally, the TN, TP and phosphate removal etticiencies were positive. These positive removal efficiencies were mainly due to microbial activities, uptake by plants, and chemical precipitation at high pH. Negative removal efficiencies can be caused by continuous rainfall activities, with short antecedent dry days （ADDs） and unstable hydraulic conditions, some other biogeochemical transformations and algal growth also being important parameters.