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Background: Squamous cell carcinoma antigen-immunoglobulin M (SCCA-IgM) is a useful biomarker for the risk of development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis due to its progressive increase associated to HCC evolution. In patients with cirrhosis, other assays have been affected by interfering reactivities of IgM. In this study, the analytical specificity of the SCCA-IgM assay was assessed by evaluating SCCA-IgM measurement dependence on different capture phases, and by measuring the recovery of SCCA-IgM reactivity following serum fractionation., Methods: Serum samples from 82 patients with cirrhosis were analyzed. SCCA-IgM was measured using the reference test (Hepa-IC, Xeptagen, Italy) that is based on rabbit oligoclonal anti-squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) and a dedicated ELISA with a mouse monoclonal anti-SCCA as the capture antibody., Results: SCCA-IgM concentrations measured with the reference assay (median value=87 AU/mL) were higher than those measured with the mouse monoclonal test (median value=78 AU/mL). However, the differences in the SCCA-IgM distribution were not statistically significant (p>0.05). When SCCA-IgM concentrations measured with both tests were compared, a linear correlation was found (r=0.77, p<0.05). Fractionation of the most reactive sera by gel-filtration chromatography showed that total recovery of SCCA-IgM reactivity was seen only in the fractions corresponding to components with a molecular weight higher than IgM and SCCA (>2000 kDa) with both tests., Conclusions: The equivalence of both SCCA-IgM assays and the absence of reactivity not related to immune complexes support the analytical specificity of SCCA-IgM measurements. The results validate the assessment of SCCA-IgM for prognostic purposes in patients with cirrhosis.

The origin of the common blue 450 nm (2.8 eV) cathodoluminescence (CL) emission in natural and synthetic quartz has been investigated using a combination of CL microscopy and spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, and trace-element analysis by electron micro-probe analysis as well as inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The study shows that the appearance of the ~450 nm emission band can be attributed to two different defects in quartz. First, a transient luminescence can be explained by structural defects in oxygen deficient quartz. The luminescence model implies self-trapped exciton (STE) emission related to oxygen vacancies. This type of CL emission is frequent in high-purity synthetic quartz and natural quartz of hydrothermal origin. Second, in Ti-rich quartz from natural samples (e.g., quartz phenocrysts in rhyolites) and synthetic quartz of Ti-difusion experiments, an additional 450 nm (2.8 eV) emission was detected, which is stable under the electron beam. The intensity of this ~450 nm emission band correlates with the concentration of trace Ti in quartz, and substitutional Ti4+ at the Si4+ position was proved by EPR spectroscopy. In quartz crystals with elevated Ti concentrations both intrinsic and extrinsic blue CL emissions at ~450 nm can coexist, hindering a thorough characterization and quantification of the CL signal. A reliable distinction of the two diferent CL emission bands is possible by fitting the peaks of the CL spectra, and the peak width of the 450 nm emission can be used to diferentiate the STE from the Ti4+ emission. However, the definitive technique is through the observation of CL peak shape change over time at a point by collecting a time series of CL spectra in conjunction with EPR spectroscopy and trace-element analysis of the Ti concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, most previous studies based on the transit-oriented development (TOD) concept focused heavily on the three Ds (3Ds) application in TOD (e.g., urban density, design, and land use diversity). Along with the 3Ds, three other TOD dimensions of transportation characteristics, such as destination accessibility, local distance to metro station, and travel demand management (TDM), and sociodemographics, which is the seventh dimension, significantly contribute to decision-making in TOD policies. It is hard to infer the actual travel behavior of transit riders when assessing transit nodes on foot from the static land use distribution that is assigned in the master plan. The novelty of this study is that an aggregated TOD index equation is formulated that uses an expert questionnaire, which involves 31 respondents and a spatial multiple criteria analysis (SMCA) tool, to assign weights and ranks to three identified TOD criteria that strongly influence pedestrian accessibility to metro stations. This study has examined all seven dimensions of TOD along with the impact of seasonal variation on short-distance walking to transit stations in the grid-layout planned Indian city of Noida (Uttar Pradesh, India), which used a Global Positioning System (GPS)-based metro station survey questionnaire. The path walkability evaluation of typical pedestrian routes that use GPS devices identifies typical pedestrian barriers in the urban planning of Noida that dissuade pedestrian accessibility for all. Three suitable TOD criteria, such as distance to the metro station, pedestrian destination accessibility, and availability of two-wheeler parking areas near a metro station, have a statistically significant association with walking to transit nodes. The TOD policy for brownfield urban areas should look at improving pedestrian accessibility for all and revise pedestrian guidelines for Indian cities to address inequitable walking environments. The integration of urban development with the public transit system offers a promising approach to encourage higher transit ridership and discourage citizens from using their private automobiles, especially for daily short and medium trip lengths. The future growth in the transit system when reshaping urban development around metro stations cannot be achieved until pedestrian-accessible streets and sidewalks are enhanced to easily assess transit stations on foot. A portable GPS tracking device and a smart Android phone could be used along with other state-of-the-art technologies to analyze the travel behavior of transit users and the physical evaluation of the actual walkable routes taken by them to reach their nearest metro station. The free smart mobile apps allow researchers and nonresearchers, especially in developing nations, to conduct field surveys that use smart Android phones with GPS location facilities and cameras to capture live images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabric‐based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) exhibit superior output performance, flexibility, and wearability. However, the fabric structure often creates gaps that accumulate contaminants, which weaken the performance and durability of the TENGs. To address this challenge, a novel eco‐friendly superhydrophobic fabric‐based TENG (SF‐TENG) woven with superhydrophobic electroconductive bacterial cellulose fiber (SEBC fiber) is presented. To construct durable superhydrophobicity, an ingenious bio‐fabricated method is employed for the shell–core structure. SEBC fibers with bio‐fabricated shell–core structure exhibit excellent electroconductibility, mechanical property, biodegradability, and durable superhydrophobicity. SF‐TENG displays a maximum open‐circuit voltage of 266.0 V, a short‐circuit current of 5.9 µA, and an output power of 489.7 µW, and successfully powers devices such as stopwatch and calculator. Abilities of self‐cleaning and anti‐fouling guarantee the stable output performance of SF‐TENG under harsh environmental conditions such as liquids pouring. Furthermore, the intelligent clothing is designed based on SF‐TENG to detect motion signals, and it is further utilized to construct a Sports and Health Monitoring System as a deep application. In summary, this study provides a novel strategy of bio‐fabrication for the design and preparation of superhydrophobic electroconductive fiber with shell–core structure. The SF‐TENG demonstrates practicability, stability and is promising for wearable devices in harsh environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-purity quartz (HPQ) is an important material widely used in many high-tech industries. It is a product processed from pure natural quartz raw materials, so selecting suitable quartz raw material is the key to successfully processing HPQ. Hydrothermal quartz vein is one of the most likely raw materials to be purified into HPQ because of its high SiO2 content. This study focuses on the evaluation of HPQ raw material potential of the two gold-bearing quartz vein tailing resources in Chibougamau (CBG) and Tianjingshan (TJS). Petrography and the contents of impurity elements in the two vein quartz samples before and after processing were studied by optical microscope, SEM, Raman spectrometry, XRD, LA-ICP-MS, and bulk solution ICP-OES. Petrographic results reveal that major impurities in quartz are feldspar, mica, iron compounds, ankerite, rutile, silicate melt, and fluid inclusions. LA-ICP-MS analysis result shows that the SiO2 contents are between 99.953–99.971 wt.% in CBG raw quartz and 99.969–99.976 wt.% in TJS raw quartz, respectively, with very low contents of impurity elements, except for Ca. Bulk solution ICP-OES analysis demonstrates that the CBG processed quartz sand has total impurity contents of 56.8 µg·g−1, with 13.1 µg·g−1 Al and 6.6 µg·g−1 Ti, and the TJS processed quartz sand has the total impurity contents of 85.2 µg·g−1 with 29.4 µg·g−1 Al and 6.1 µg·g−1 Ti. Both the contents of Al and Ti fit with the lattice-bound criteria for HPQ. These results, for most of the impurities, are likely hosted by silicate melt, fluid, and mineral inclusions, indicating that these two hydrothermal raw vein quartz samples can be upgraded to HPQ after processing by more advanced methods. Therefore, the CBG and TJS quartz vein deposits would be considered as potential future resources for HPQ to realize efficient recovery and utilization of tailings resources and to improve mine economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal quartz samples collected from the Fujiashan and Yipanqiu quartz deposits in southeastern Hubei Province, China have been investigated by analytical combination of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, in conjunction with conventional beneficiation processing to evaluate their potential as sources of high purity quartz (HPQ) from a commercial perspective. Microscopy efforts reveal that major mineral impurities associated with quartz are K-feldspar, muscovite, iron oxides, rutile with accessory kaolinite. Bulk trace element concentrations of the processed quartz products demonstrate that the Fujiashan-II quartz vein with cumulative impurities of less than 50 μg g−1 with <30 μg g−1 Al and <10 μg g−1 Ti fits with the lattice-bound criteria for HPQ, meeting the requirement by a HPQ deposit. However, the Yipanqiu quartz deposits are not promising for HPQ production due to high fluid inclusion contents, intimate intergrowth texture with highly variable crystal size, and probably high lattice-bound element contents. The early Neoproterozoic Fujiashan quartz deposits have likely been experienced long-term retrograde metamorphism-related recrystallisation which might contribute to high-purity quartz formation. Due to a much younger crystallization age compared to the Fujiashan deposits, quartz grains in the middle Cretaceous Yipanqiu quartz vein retain high trace elements, leading to exclusion of being a HPQ deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern Qinling, China is one of the important rare metal metallogenic provinces with extensively distributed granite pegmatite dikes. The No. 5 granite pegmatite intruded into the granitic gneiss of the Qinling Group, and the major minerals are quartz (39.8%), K-feldspar (18.8%), albite (36.3%), muscovite (3.4%), and garnet (1.1%). Monazite U–Pb isotopic dating indicates that the No. 5 pegmatite from the Eastern Qinling was emplaced at ca. 420.2 ± 2.2 Ma, which confirms that high-purity quartz mineralization probably formed during the Early Devonian. In-situ laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of quartz show that quartz samples from Eastern Qinling have total trace element concentrations (Al, Ti, Sc, Li, B, Cr, Mn, and Fe) ranging from 23.2 to 52.8 ppm, slightly higher than the quartz (impurity element content from 13.4 to 25.9 ppm) of the Spruce Pine high-purity quartz deposit in western North Carolina. The No. 5 pegmatite of Eastern Qinling could be defined as one high-purity quartz deposit of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Kiggavik area (Nunavut, Canada), major fault zones along, or close to, where uranium deposits are found are often associated with occurrence of thick quartz breccia (QB) bodies. These bodies formed in an early stage (~1750 Ma) of the long-lasting tectonic history of the Archean basement, and of the Proterozoic Thelon basin. The main characteristics of the QB are addressed in this study; through field work, macro and microscopic observations, cathodoluminescence microscopy, trace elements, and oxygen isotopic signatures of the quartz forming the QB. Faults formed earlier during syn- to post-orogenic rifting (1850-1750 Ma) were subsequently reactivated, and underwent cycles of cataclasis, pervasive silicification, hydraulic brecciation, and quartz recrystallization. This was synchronous with the circulation of meteoric fluids mixing with Si-rich magmatic-derived fluids at depth, and were coeval with the emplacement of the Kivalliq igneous suite at 1750 Ma. These processes led to the emplacement of up to 30 m thick QB, which behaved as a mechanically strong, transverse hydraulic barrier that localized later fracturing, and compartmentalized/channelized vertical flow of uranium-bearing fluids after the deposition of the Thelon Basin (post 1750 Ma). The development and locations of QB control the location of uranium mineralization in the Kiggavik area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops in about 3-4% of cirrhotic patients every year. The squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) has been found elevated in liver cancer specimens by immunohistochemistry, and detected in complex with IgM (SCCA-IgM) in the serum of patients with HCC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of serological SCCA-IgM levels to predict the efficacy of HCC therapy.Materials and Methods: From April 2012 to April 2014, 131 patients with a new diagnosis of HCC were enrolled. The HCC diagnosis was made according to the EASL guidelines. The patients were staged and treated according to the BCLC Staging System: BCLC stages A and B were treated with locoregional therapy, and BCLC stage C was treated with Sorafenib. Response to therapy was evaluated according to the mRECIST criteria. Serum SCCA-IgM levels were determined by a commercially available ELISA kit at basal time (T0) and after one month of treatment (T1).Results: At baseline and one month into therapy, SCCA-IgM levels were significantly lower (p value <.05) in patients who responded to therapy compared to those who did not respond (median SCCA-IgM level [25th + 75th percentile] at T0:115.1 AU/mL [50.0 + 174.4] vs. 149.1 AU/mL [111.3 + 198.8]; median SCCA-IgM level [25th + 75th percentile] at T1: 113.4 AU/mL [50.0 + 194.2] vs. 170.6 AU/mL [111.7 + 344.2]).Conclusion: Our study suggests that the SCCA-IgM determination could be helpful in predicting the response to therapy in patients with HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A laboratory study was performed in order to identify the possible cause of death in chipmunks ( Tamias sibiricus) imported from China with respiratory disease. Severe congestion, alveolar oedema and fibrinous pleuritis were observed. Biochemical analyses identified the causative organism as Pasteurella haemolytica. An in vitro susceptibility test using various antimicrobial agents revealed sensitivity to β-lactams (ampicillin and amoxicillin) and streptomycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of defects in neutron-irradiated natural α-quartz exposed to doses from 1016 to has been studied. New E′ centers and other defects have been revealed. The intensities of hole-like defects, including a novel triplet-state center, and E′-type centers in relation to neutron fluencies and post-irradiation annealing temperature have been investigated. For the new center the primary spin Hamiltonian parameter matrices g and A (29Si) (hyperfine interaction for 29Si) as well as the radiation dose dependence and thermal stability have been determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]