Nano Boron Oxide and Zinc Oxide Doped Lignin Containing Cellulose Nanocrystals Improve the Thermal, Mechanical and Flammability Properties of High-Density Poly(ethylene).

The widely used high-density polyethylene (HDPE) polymer has inadequate mechanical and thermal properties for structural applications. To overcome this challenge, nano zinc oxide (ZnO) and nano boron oxide (B2O3) doped lignin-containing cellulose nanocrystals (L-CNC) were blended in the polymer matrix. The working hypothesis is that lignin will prevent CNC aggregation, and metal oxides will reduce the flammability of polymers by modifying their degradation pathways. This research prepared and incorporated safe, effective, and eco-friendly hybrid systems of nano ZnO/L-CNC and nano B2O3/L-CNC into the HDPE matrix to improve their physio-mechanical and fire-retardant properties. The composites were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, thermo-gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, horizontal burning test, and microcalorimetry test. The results demonstrated a substantial increase in mechanical properties and a reduction in flammability. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed some agglomeration and irregular distribution of the inorganic oxides.

Sarcoidosis or cancer? That is the question.

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. Sarcoid like granuloma may develop concurrently or following cancer. Detection of granuloma in mediastinal lymph nodes biopsy in patient with pulmonary nodules may be a concern for undiagnosed lung cancer. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a diagnostic modality of choice for the lung lesions. We discussed A 71-year-old man with history of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), who presented with a lung nodule and mediastinal lymphadenopathies. The nodule was 9.9 mm when detected and his endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial fine needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) of lymph nodes in station 7 & 4R showed normal lymph node structure. Two years later, his surveillance chest CT scan indicated an increase in the size of the nodule to 15 mm, and PET/CT showed Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) avid nodule & mediastinal Lymph nodes. He complained of Shortness of breath after 2-3 climbs of stairs, without any history of cough or fever. He quit cigarette smoking recently and smoked 50 pack years before. He underwent another set of EBUS and was referred for sarcoidosis treatment due to finding non-necrotizing granuloma in 4L and 11L lymph nodes. The patient also underwent another biopsy of the nodule concerning the possibility of cancer sarcoid syndrome. A poorly differentiated lung adenocarcinoma positive for GATA3, positive for P63 and CK7, TTF-1 was reported. Concurrent lung cancer and granulomatous reaction in mediastinal lymph nodes are being reported more often. Recent studies have shown a better survival of patients with diagnosis of cancer and granulomatous findings of sarcoidosis. Performing lung biopsy from any nodular lesion in a patient with sarcoidosis is essential for the differential diagnosis and early therapeutic measures.

Presence of concurrent sarcoid-like granulomas indicates better survival in cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: An increased risk of sarcoidosis and sarcoid-like reactions in subjects with a history of malignancy has been suggested. We assessed the incidence and clinical characteristics of cancer patients with biopsies containing sarcoid-like granulomas on cancer metastasis and patient survival. METHODS: This is a retrospective, multicentre, observational study involving endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration and a melanoma patient dataset at the University of Miami, USA, and a sarcoidosis patient database at Chiba University, Japan. Subjects with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer and who subsequently developed granulomas in different organs were enrolled. The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03844698). RESULTS: 133 patients met the study's criteria. The most common primary cancer sites were the skin (22.5%), breast (20.3%) and lymph node (12.8%). 24 (18%) patients developed sarcoid-like granulomas within 1 year of cancer diagnosis, 54 (40.6%) between 1 and 5 years and 49 (36.8%) after 5 years. Imaging showed possible sarcoid-like granulomas in lymph nodes in 51 cases (38.3%) and lung tissue and mediastinal lymph nodes in 73 cases (54.9%); some parenchymal reticular opacity and fibrosis was found in 5 (3.7%) and significant parenchymal fibrosis in 2 (1.5%) subjects. According to logistic regression analysis, the frequency of metastatic cancer was significantly lower in patients with sarcoid-like granulomas than in controls. Moreover, multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis showed a significant survival advantage in those with sarcoid-like granuloma. CONCLUSION: Sarcoid-like granulomas are uncommon pathology findings in cancer patients. There is a significant association between the presence of granulomas and reduced metastasis and increased survival. Further study is warranted to understand the protective mechanism involved.

Anti-inflammatory effects of α-MSH through p-CREB expression in sarcoidosis like granuloma model.

Lung inflammation due to sarcoidosis is characterized by a complex cascade of immunopathologic events, including leukocyte recruitment and granuloma formation. α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) is a melanocortin signaling peptide with anti-inflammatory properties. We aimed to evaluate the effects of α-MSH in a novel in vitro sarcoidosis model. An in vitro sarcoidosis-like granuloma model was developed by challenging peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from patients with confirmed treatment-naïve sarcoidosis with microparticles generated from Mycobacterium abscessus cell walls. Unchallenged PBMCsand developed granulomas were treated daily with 10 µM α-MSH or saline as control. Cytokine concentrations in supernatants of culture and in cell extracts were measured using Illumina multiplex Elisa and western blot, respectively. Gene expression was analyzed using RNA-Seq and RT-PCR. Protein secretion and gene expression of IL-7, IL-7R, IFN-γ, MC1R, NF-κB, phosphorylated NF-κB (p-NF-κB), MARCO, and p-CREB were measured with western blot and RNAseq. A significant increase in IL-7, IL-7R, and IFN-γ protein expression was found in developed granulomas comparing to microparticle unchallenged PBMCs. IL-7, IL-7R, and IFN-γ protein expression was significantly reduced in developed granulomas after exposure to α-MSH compared with saline treated granulomas. Compared with microparticle unchallenged PBMCs, total NF-κB and p-NF-κB were significantly increased in developed granulomas, while expression of p-CREB was not changed. Treatment with α-MSH promoted a significantly higher concentration of p-CREB in granulomas. The anti-inflammatory effects of α-MSH were blocked by specific p-CREB inhibition. α-MSH has anti-inflammatory properties in this in vitro granuloma model, which is an effect mediated by induction of phosphorylation of CREB.

Diagnosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial disease in the era of surveillance chest CT scans.

The radiologic surveillance of smokers with low-dose CT scan has led to a significant surge of radiologic incidental findings, including the detection of early stages of pulmonary infections including nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). This causes a state of overdiagnosis and potential overtreatment of NTM lung disease. Here we propose a new approach to NTM pulmonary disease in the era of increased CT scanning.

Microwave Moisture Sensing of Seedcotton: Part 1: Seedcotton Microwave Material Properties.

Moisture content at harvest is a key parameter that impacts quality and how well the cotton crop can be stored without degrading before processing. It is also a key parameter of interest for harvest time field trials as it can directly influence the quality of the harvested crop as well as skew the results of in-field yield and quality assessments. Microwave sensing of moisture has several unique advantages over lower frequency sensing approaches. The first is that microwaves are insensitive to variations in conductivity, due to presence of salts or minerals. The second advantage is that microwaves can peer deep inside large bulk packaging to assess the internal moisture content without performing a destructive tear down of the package. To help facilitate the development of a microwave moisture sensor for seedcotton; research was performed to determine the basic microwave properties of seedcotton. The research was performed on 110 kg micro-modules, which are of direct interest to research teams for use in ongoing field-based research projects. It should also prove useful for the enhancement of existing and future yield monitor designs. Experimental data was gathered on the basic relations between microwave material properties and seedcotton over the range from 1.0 GHz to 2.5 GHz and is reported on herein. This research is part one of a two-part series that reports on the fundamental microwave properties of seedcotton as moisture and density vary naturally during the course of typical harvesting operations; part two will utilize this data to formulate a prediction algorithm to form the basis for a prototype microwave moisture sensor.

Soil moisture sensing via swept frequency based microwave sensors.

There is a need for low-cost, high-accuracy measurement of water content in various materials. This study assesses the performance of a new microwave swept frequency domain instrument (SFI) that has promise to provide a low-cost, high-accuracy alternative to the traditional and more expensive time domain reflectometry (TDR). The technique obtains permittivity measurements of soils in the frequency domain utilizing a through transmission configuration, transmissometry, which provides a frequency domain transmissometry measurement (FDT). The measurement is comparable to time domain transmissometry (TDT) with the added advantage of also being able to separately quantify the real and imaginary portions of the complex permittivity so that the measured bulk permittivity is more accurate that the measurement TDR provides where the apparent permittivity is impacted by the signal loss, which can be significant in heavier soils. The experimental SFI was compared with a high-end 12 GHz TDR/TDT system across a range of soils at varying soil water contents and densities. As propagation delay is the fundamental measurement of interest to the well-established TDR or TDT technique; the first set of tests utilized precision propagation delay lines to test the accuracy of the SFI instrument's ability to resolve propagation delays across the expected range of delays that a soil probe would present when subjected to the expected range of soil types and soil moisture typical to an agronomic cropping system. The results of the precision-delay line testing suggests the instrument is capable of predicting propagation delays with a RMSE of +/-105 ps across the range of delays ranging from 0 to 12,000 ps with a coefficient of determination of r(2) = 0.998. The second phase of tests noted the rich history of TDR for prediction of soil moisture and leveraged this history by utilizing TDT measured with a high-end Hewlett Packard TDR/TDT instrument to directly benchmark the SFI instrument over a range of soil types, at varying levels of moisture. This testing protocol was developed to provide the best possible comparison between SFI to TDT than would otherwise be possible by using soil moisture as the bench mark, due to variations in soil density between soil water content levels which are known to impact the calibration between TDR's estimate of soil water content from the measured propagation delay which is converted to an apparent permittivity measurement. This experimental decision, to compare propagation delay of TDT to FDT, effectively removes the errors due to variations in packing density from the evaluation and provides a direct comparison between the SFI instrument and the time domain technique of TDT. The tests utilized three soils (a sand, an Acuff loam and an Olton clay-loam) that were packed to varying bulk densities and prepared to provide a range of water contents and electrical conductivities by which to compare the performance of the SFI technology to TDT measurements of propagation delay. For each sample tested, the SFI instrument and the TDT both performed the measurements on the exact same probe, thereby both instruments were measuring the exact same soil/soil-probe response to ensure the most accurate means to compare the SFI instrument to a high-end TDT instrument. Test results provided an estimated instrumental accuracy for the SFI of +/-0.98% of full scale, RMSE basis, for the precision delay lines and +/-1.32% when the SFI was evaluated on loam and clay loam soils, in comparison to TDT as the bench-mark. Results from both experiments provide evidence that the low-cost SFI approach is a viable alternative to conventional TDR/TDT for high accuracy applications.

Fringe capacitance correction for a coaxial soil cell.

Accurate measurement of moisture content is a prime requirement in hydrological, geophysical and biogeochemical research as well as for material characterization and process control. Within these areas, accurate measurements of the surface area and bound water content is becoming increasingly important for providing answers to many fundamental questions ranging from characterization of cotton fiber maturity, to accurate characterization of soil water content in soil water conservation research to bio-plant water utilization to chemical reactions and diffusions of ionic species across membranes in cells as well as in the dense suspensions that occur in surface films. One promising technique to address the increasing demands for higher accuracy water content measurements is utilization of electrical permittivity characterization of materials. This technique has enjoyed a strong following in the soil-science and geological community through measurements of apparent permittivity via time-domain-reflectometry (TDR) as well in many process control applications. Recent research however, is indicating a need to increase the accuracy beyond that available from traditional TDR. The most logical pathway then becomes a transition from TDR based measurements to network analyzer measurements of absolute permittivity that will remove the adverse effects that high surface area soils and conductivity impart onto the measurements of apparent permittivity in traditional TDR applications.This research examines an observed experimental error for the coaxial probe, from which the modern TDR probe originated, which is hypothesized to be due to fringe capacitance. The research provides an experimental and theoretical basis for the cause of the error and provides a technique by which to correct the system to remove this source of error. To test this theory, a Poisson model of a coaxial cell was formulated to calculate the effective theoretical extra length caused by the fringe capacitance which is then used to correct the experimental results such that experimental measurements utilizing differing coaxial cell diameters and probe lengths, upon correction with the Poisson model derived correction factor, all produce the same results thereby lending support and for an augmented measurement technique for measurement of absolute permittivity.

Accurate permittivity measurements for microwave imaging via ultra-wideband removal of spurious reflectors.

The use of microwave imaging is becoming more prevalent for detection of interior hidden defects in manufactured and packaged materials. In applications for detection of hidden moisture, microwave tomography can be used to image the material and then perform an inverse calculation to derive an estimate of the variability of the hidden material, such internal moisture, thereby alerting personnel to damaging levels of the hidden moisture before material degradation occurs. One impediment to this type of imaging occurs with nearby objects create strong reflections that create destructive and constructive interference, at the receiver, as the material is conveyed past the imaging antenna array. In an effort to remove the influence of the reflectors, such as metal bale ties, research was conducted to develop an algorithm for removal of the influence of the local proximity reflectors from the microwave images. This research effort produced a technique, based upon the use of ultra-wideband signals, for the removal of spurious reflections created by local proximity reflectors. This improvement enables accurate microwave measurements of moisture in such products as cotton bales, as well as other physical properties such as density or material composition. The proposed algorithm was shown to reduce errors by a 4:1 ratio and is an enabling technology for imaging applications in the presence of metal bale ties.

Immunologic therapies for gastrointestinal cancers.

The treatment of solid tumors has shown a dramatic change in recent years. This revolution has come from an improved understanding of the mechanisms of tumor growth and the relationship of cancers to their microenvironments. As part of this revolution, we have had a dramatic increase in our understanding of the immune system and the role it could play in the management of cancers. This article reviews the current data supporting the use of cancer immunologic therapies for gastrointestinal tract cancers. The scope is focused on the variety of approaches that have been used, citing the clinical data that have been obtained and reviewing future trials.