Evaluation of Sensitivity and Positive Predictive Values of Cytopathologic Diagnosis of Solid Masses in Dogs

In this retrospective study, a total of 275 solid masses were examined for cytopathologic diagnosis. Twenty four percent (67/275) of these cytologic samples were followed by surgical biopsy and histopathologic diagnosis, allowing for comparisons. On average, the cutaneous and subcutaneous solid masses were recognized when the dogs were aged between 6 and 9 years old. The origins of the solid masses included connective tissue tumors 37.1% (23/62), epithelial tissue tumors 33.9% (21/62), round cell tumors 19.4% (12/62), masses of inflammatory lesions 4.8% (3/62) and lesions due to other causes 4.8% (3/62). The sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of cytopathology in the diagnosis of solid masses were 93% (62/67) and 97% (62/64), respectively. Generally, neo-plasms were over diagnosed by cytopathology as was indicated by the positive predictive value. Both the sensitivity and the PPV of cytopathology comparative to histopathology in the diagnosis of inflammatory processes were 100% (3/3). The inflammatory lesions were eventually confirmed as necrotizing myositis, necro-suppurative cystitis and endocrine inflammatory dermatopathy based on histopathology. Less than 8% (5/67) of samples were incorrectly diagnosed by cytology. The study showed high accuracy between cytological and histopathological examination of solid masses in dogs, and thus a reliable diagnostic tool in patient care.

Liquid-solid mass transfer in a rotating packed bed reactor with structured foam packing

A rotating packed bed(RPB) reactor has substantially potential for the process intensification of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. However, the scarce knowledge of the liquid–solid mass transfer in the RPB reactor is a barrier for its design and scale-up. In this work, the liquid–solid mass transfer in a RPB reactor installed with structured foam packing was experimentally studied using copper dissolution by potassium dichromate. Effects of rotational speed, liquid and gas volumetric flow rate on the liquid–solid mass transfer coefficient(kLS) have been investigated. The correlation for predicting kLSwas proposed, and the deviation between the experimental and predicted values was within±12%. The liquid–solid volumetric mass transfer coefficient(kLSaLS) ranged from 0.04–0.14 1^-1, which was approximately 5 times larger than that in the packed bed reactor. This work lays the foundation for modeling of the RPB reactor packed with structured foam packing for heterogeneous catalytic reaction.

Gamma ray multiplicity of a^(240)Pu solid sphere simulated by JMCT

Determining the mass of plutonium metal is an important research objective in the field of nuclear material accounting and control.Based on the 3D neutron and photon transport code JMCT(Jointed Monte Carlo Transport),the gamma ray multiplicity of ^(240)Pu was simulated in this study,and the average number of gamma rays leaking from ^(240)Pu solid spheres with different masses was also obtained.The simulation results show that there is a oneto-one correspondence between the average number of gamma rays and the mass of ^(240)Pu solid spheres in the range of 0.50–3.00 kg.This result provides a basis for using the average number of gamma rays to account for the mass of ^(240)Pu.

Preliminary results of acoustic radiation force impulses (ARFI) ultrasound imaging of solid suspicious breast lesions

Objective： The aim of our study was to make the qualitative and quantitative analysis to breast lesions using acoustic radiation force impulses （ARFI）, and assess the diagnostic value of ARFI for differentiation between benign and malignant solid breast masses, meanwhile evaluate the influences of ARFI with breast imaging reporting and data system （BI-RADS） of suspicious masses. Methods： Seventy-five women with 86 breast lesions underwent conventional breast ultra- sound examination. Then B-mode BI-RADS features and assessments were recorded and standard breast US supplemented by ARFI elastographic examination were repeated. The data were recorded and analyzed as following： area ratio of breast lesion, the shear-wave velocity, the ratio of the shear-wave velocity between lesions and surrounding normal tissues, and according to the elastographic data reconsidered the BI-RADS category, all the results have been correlated with pathological results and make statistical evaluations of ARFI for differentiation between benign and malignant solid breast masses. Meantime our study has correlated the adjusted BI-RADS category of suspicious breast lesions with the pathological results and made assessment. Results： Thirty-eight patients were malignant breast carcinoma （31 invasive ductal carcinoma, 5 intraductal carcinoma in situ, 2 medullary carcinoma, 2 invasive Iobular carcinoma）, 48 patients were benign breast lesions （23 fibroadenoma, 12 benign nodular hyperplasia, 5 phyllodes tumor, 6 adenosis, 2 intraductal papilloma）. Underwent conventional breast ultrasound exam, 42 cases were BI-RADS category 3, 23 cases were BI-RADS category 4. When adding elastographic data, 46 cases were BI-RADS category 3 and 20 cases were BI-RADS category 4. Compared with pathological results showed for both the specificity of BIRADS features and the area under ROC curve has risen. Virtual touch tissue imaging （VTI） and virtual touch tissue quantification （VTQ） data showed the area ratio （AR） between elastographic lesions area and B-mode lesions area, SWV （maximal shear-wave velocity of lesions）, R-SWV （shear-wave velocity ratio between lesions and surrounding normal tissues） in benign breast lesions were lower than those in malignant lesions which has statistical significance and the cut-off point were 1.1,4.65 m/s, 5.18 respectively. Conclusion： The ARFI elastography can provide the reliable qualitative and quantitative analysis about hardness of breast lesions, supply the new BI-RADS category features to suspicious breast masses and serve as an effective diagnostic tool for differentiation between benign and malignant solid masses.

Simultaneous Determination of Bisphenols and Alkylphenols in Water by Solid Phase Extraction and Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry

To establish an analytical method for determination of four bisphenols （BPA, BPB, BPF, and BPS） and two alkylphenols （4-n-OP, 4-n-NP） in water by ultra performance liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC/MS/MS）. The water samples were extracted and condensed with solid-phase extraction （SPE） using C18 cartridges and eluted by acetonitrile. Separation was carried out with Acquity BEH C8 column and detection were performed by UPLC/MS/MS. Quantification was calculated by using the internal standard BPA-d16 and 4-n-NP-d8. The linear correlation coefficients of these compounds in the range of 1.0-100.0μg/L were all over 0.999. The minimum detectable concentrations were 0.75-1.0 ng/L, and the recoveries ranged from 87.0% to 106.9%.

Prediction of Core-Annulus Solids Mass Transfer Coefficient in Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed Risers

Based on analysis of energy dissipation in the core region of gas-solid fluidized bed risers, a simplified model for determination of core-annulus solids mass transfer coefficient was developed according to turbulent diffusion mechanism of particles. The simulation results are consistent with published experimental data. Core-annulus solids mass transfer coefficient decreases with increasing particle size, particle density and solids circulation rate,but generally increases with increasing superficial gas velocity and riser diameter. In the upper dilute region of gas-solid fluidized bed risers, core-annulus solids mass transfer coefficient was found to change little with the axial coordinate in the bed.

Design of fan beam optical sensor and its application in mass flow rate measurement of pneumatically conveyed solids

The fan-beam optical sensor is made up of many semiconductor lasers and detectors fixed around the wall alternately at a cross section of pneumatically conveying pipe. When the sensor works, a scanning light source emits a 50° lamellar fan-beam through the gas-solid two phase flow, and the projection data resulting extinction effect of solid particles are detected at the same time. With the projection data, the flow rate mass can be calculated, and then the flow image can be reconstructed. In this paper, the design of the sensor including spatial arrangement of the structural parts, basic principle and measurement sensitivity distribution are introduced. The mathematical measurement model of solid mass flow rate is presented together with the testing results.

Adult pancreatoblastoma: Current concepts in pathology

Adult pancreatoblastoma is an exceptionally rare malignant tumour of the pancreas that mimics other solid cellular neoplasms of the pancreas,which may pose diagnostic difficulties.Because of its rarity,little is known about its clinical and pathologic features.This article reviews the clinical and pathologic features of pancreatoblastoma in adults including differential diagnosis,treatment,and follow-up.Although pancreatoblastoma commonly occurs in childhood,there have now been more than 70 adult pancreatoblastomas described in the literature.There is a slight male predominance.There are no symptoms unique to pancreatoblastomas and adult patients are frequently symptomatic.The most common presenting symptom is abdominal pain.Grossly,the tumours are often large and well-circumscribed.Microscopically,pancreatoblastomas are composed of neoplastic cells with predominantly acinar differentiation and characteristic squamoid nests.These tumours are positive for trypsin,chymotrypsin,lipase,and BCL10.Loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 11p is the most common molecular alteration in pancreatoblastomas.Adult pancreatoblastomas are aggressive tumours with frequent local invasion,recurrence,and distant metastasis.Treatment consists of surgical resection.Chemotherapy and radiotherapy may have a role in the treatment of recurrent,residual,unresectable,and metastatic disease.It is important to distinguish pancreatoblastomas from morphological mimics such as acinar cell carcinomas,solid pseudopapillary neoplasms,and pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms.

Role of endoscopic ultrasound in the molecular diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains one of the most deadly types of tumor. Endoscopic ultrasoundguided fine-needle aspiration(EUS-FNA) is a safe, cost-effective, and accurate technique for evaluating and staging pancreatic tumors. However, EUS-FNA may be inconclusive or doubtful in up to 20% of cases. This review underlines the clinical interest of the molecular analysis of samples obtained by EUS-FNA in assessing diagnosis or prognosis of pancreatic cancer, especially in locally advanced tumors. On EUS-FNA materials DNA, mRNA and miRNA can be extracted, amplified, quantified and subjected to methylation assay. Kras mutation assay, improves diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. When facing to clinical and radiological presentations of pseudo-tumorous chronic pancreatitis, wildtype Kras is evocative of benignity. Conversely, in front of a pancreatic mass suspected of malignancy, a mutated Kras is highly evocative of pancreatic adenocarci-noma. This strategy can reduce false-negative diagnoses, avoids the delay of making decisions and reduces loss of surgical resectability. Similar approaches are conducted using analysis of miRNA expression as well as Mucin or markers of invasion(S100P, S100A6, PLAT or PLAU). Beyond the diagnosis approach, the prediction of response to treatment can be also investigated form biomarkers expression within EUS-FNA materials.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the estimation of lamotrigine in human plasma:Application to a pharmacokinetic study

A reliable,selective and sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the quantification of lamotrigine in human plasma using lamotrigine13C3,d3 as an internal standard.Analyte and internal standard were extracted from human plasma by solid-phase extraction and detected in positive ion mode by tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization（ESI） interface.Chromatographic separation was performed on a Chromolith s SpeedROD;RP-18e column（50-4.6 mm i.d.） using acetonitrile：570.1 mM ammonium formate solution（90：10,v/v） as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.500 mL/min.The calibration curves were linear over the range of 5.02-1226.47 ng/mL with the lower limit of quantitation validated at 5.02 ng/mL.The analytes were found stable in human plasma through three freeze（-20℃）-thaw（ice-cold water bath） cycles and under storage on bench-top in ice-cold water bath for at least 6.8 h,and also in the mobile phase at 10℃ for at least 57h.The method has shown good reproducibility,as the intra-and inter-day precisions were within 3.0%,while the accuracies were within 76.0% of nominal values.The validated LC-MS/MS method was applied for the evaluation of pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence parameters of lamotrigine after an oral administration of 50mg lamotrigine tablet to thirty-two healthy adult male volunteers.

Ionic liquids in electrocatalysis

The performance of an electrocatalyst, which is needed e.g. for key energy conversion reactions such as hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction or CO2 reduction, is determined not only by the inherent structure of active sites but also by the properties of the interfacial structures at catalytic surfaces. Ionic liquids（ILs）, as a unique class of metal salts with melting point below 100 ℃, present themselves as ideal modulators for manipulations of the interfacial structures. Due to their excellent properties such as good chemical stability, high ionic conductivity, wide electrochemical windows and tunable solvent properties the performance of electrocatalysts can be substantially improved through ILs. In the current minireview, we highlight the critical role of the IL phase at the microenvironments created by the IL, the liquid electrolyte, catalytic nanoparticles and/or support materials, by detailing the promotional effect of IL in electrocatalysis as reaction media, binders, and surface modifiers. Updated exemplary applications of IL in electrocatalysis are given and moreover, the latest developments of IL modified electrocatalysts following the ＂Solid Catalyst with Ionic Liquid Layer（SCILL）＂ concept are presented.

Is there a difference between 19G core biopsy needle and 22G core biopsy needle in diagnosing the correct etiology?——A meta-analysis and systematic review

AIM To compare the accuracy of endoscopic ultra-sonography(EUS) 19 G core biopsies and 22 G core biopsies in diagnosing the correct etiology for a solid mass.METHODS Articles were searched in Medline, Pub Med, and Ovid journals. Pooling was conducted by both fixed and random effects models. RESULTS Initial search identified 4460 reference articles for 19 G and 22 G, of these 670 relevant articles were selected and reviewed. Data was extracted from 6 studies for 19G(n = 289) and 16 studies for 22G(n = 592) which met the inclusion criteria. EUS 19 G core biopsies had a pooled sensitivity of 91.6%(95%CI: 87.1-95.0) and pooled specificity of 95.9%(95%CI: 88.6-99.2), whereas EUS 22 G had a pooled sensitivity of 83.3%(95%CI: 79.7-86.6) and pooled specificity of 64.3%(95%CI: 54.7-73.1). The positive likelihood ratio of EUS 19 G core biopsies was 9.08(95%CI: 1.12-73.66) and EUS 22 G core biopsies was 1.99(95%CI: 1.09-3.66).The negative likelihood ratio of EUS 19 G core biopsies was 0.12(95%CI: 0.07-0.24) and EUS 22 G core biopsies was 0.25(95%CI: 0.14-0.41). The diagnostic odds ratio was 84.74(95%CI: 18.31-392.26) for 19 G core biopsies and 10.55(95% CI: 3.29-33.87) for 22 G needles. CONCLUSION EUS 19 G core biopsies have an excellent diagnostic value and seem to be better than EUS 22 G biopsies in detecting the correct etiology for a solid mass.

Aeration optimization through operation at low dissolved oxygen concentrations:Evaluation of oxygen mass transfer dynamics in different activated sludge systems

In wastewater treatment plants（WWTPs）using the activated sludge process,two methods are widely used to improve aeration efficiency — use of high-efficiency aeration devices and optimizing the aeration control strategy. Aeration efficiency is closely linked to sludge characteristics（such as concentrations of mixed liquor suspended solids（MLSS）and microbial communities）and operating conditions（such as air flow rate and operational dissolved oxygen（DO）concentrations）. Moreover,operational DO is closely linked to effluent quality. This study,which is in reference to WWTP discharge class A Chinese standard effluent criteria,determined the growth kinetics parameters of nitrifiers at different DO levels in small-scale tests. Results showed that the activated sludge system could meet effluent criteria when DO was as low as 0.3 mg/L,and that nitrifier communities cultivated under low DO conditions had higher oxygen affinity than those cultivated under high DO conditions,as indicated by the oxygen half-saturation constant and nitrification ability. Based on nitrifier growth kinetics and on the oxygen mass transfer dynamic model（determined using different air flow rate（Q′air）and mixed liquor volatile suspended solids（MLVSS）values）,theoretical analysis indicated limited potential for energy saving by improving aeration diffuser performance when the activated sludge system had low oxygen consumption; however,operating at low DO and low MLVSS could significantly reduce energy consumption. Finally,a control strategy coupling sludge retention time and MLVSS to minimize the DO level was discussed,which is critical to appropriate setting of the oxygen point and to the operation of low DO treatment technology.

Simulation of mass balance behavior in a large-scale circulating fluidized bed reactor

We determine using a compound model the influence of the mass of granular matter on the behavior of a supercritical circulating fluidized bed （CFB） reactor. Population balance enables a stationary-regime modeling of the mass flow of granular matter inside a CFB unit in a large-scale. The simulation includes some important dynamic processes of gas-particle flows in fluidized bed such as attrition, fragmenta- tion, elutriation, and fuel combustion. Numerical calculations with full boiler loading were performed of operational parameters such as furnace temperature, furnace pressure, feeding materials mass flows, and excess air ratio. Furthermore, three bed inventory masses were adopted as experimental variables in the simulation model of mass balance. This approach enables a sensitivity study of mass flows of granular matter inside a CFB facility. Some computational results from this population balance model obtained for a supercritical CFB reactor are presented that show consistency with the operational data for large-scale CFB units.