[en] The preparation of thin film specimen and XRF method for uranium is described in this paper. The application of uranium M lines in XRF has advantage over correspanding L lines. The former has higher resolution, higher sensitivitys than the latter. Moreover the former has much lower background and higher ratio of peak to background. The detection limit (Cr target, PE crystal, 100 sec. conuting time) is 0.01 ppm

[en] Experimental investigation of thermodynamic behavior and mechanical properties of bulk Zr/Hf-based amorphous alloys revealed that crystallization and glass transition temperatures, hardness and modulus increased with increasing Hf content. It is postulated that the observed strengthening might result from the microstructural changes with addition of Hf in place of Zr

[en] Objective: to summarize and analyze the imaging features of pulmonary inflammation occurring after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in order to improve the understanding of this disease. Methods: Imaging findings of 25 HCC patients with pulmonary inflammation which occurred after TACE were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Of the 25 patients, 24 developed definite pulmonary abnormalities after TACE. The imaging findings could be classified into four patterns. (1) Pulmonary segmental atelectasis, which was seen in 14 cases. In 10 cases the atelectasis was accompanied by hydrothorax. (2) Hypostatic inflammation, which was found in four cases and was manifested as thickened and disordered lung markings at unilateral or bilateral lower lung fields. (3) Localized pulmonary infiltration shadow, which was seen in 4 cases. (4) Diffuse infiltration of the lung field, which was seen in two cases and was characterized by multiple infiltration shadows in both lung fields. Conclusion: Pulmonary inflammation can occur in some patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma after TACE. The main imaging manifestation is the segmental atelectasis of the right lower lobe, which is associated with hydrothorax in most cases. Typical infiltration shadow can he seen in some patients. Severe pneumonia may present as diffuse infiltration lesions scattering in both lungs. (authors)

[en] Objective: To study effects of S-adenosy-methionine (SAMe) for acute hepatic functional damage after transcatheter chemoembolization in the treatment of primary large HCC. Methods: The clinical data of 51 cases of liver neoplasm after TACE from May 2003 to October 2005 were analyzed retrospectively, including SAMe 1000 mg intravenous drip after TACE daily of the treatment group and diammonium glycyrrhizinate 30 ml intravenous drip after TACE daily of the control group. The two groups were separately assessed the hepatic function on 1st day preoperatively and the 2nd, 4th d and 8th day, postoperatively, and together with the hamilton depression rating scale for derpression (HRSD)and the clinical general impression estimation for the evaluation of the clinical efficiency. Results: All the hepatic functional labels changed markedly after TACE with ALT, AST, TBIL and DBIL rising to a certain extent on the 2nd day postoperatively (P<0.05). The labels began to decrease on the 4th day. There were no significant statistical differences of ALT, AST, TBIL and DBIL between 1st day preoperatively and 8th day postoperatively in the treatment group (P>0.05). There were significant differences of the labels during the same period in the control group (P< 0.05). γ-GT changed irregularly in the two groups. There were also no significant differences of TP and A between 1st d preoperatively and 8th d, postoperatively in the two groups. In the treatment group, 15 patients (60%) showed relief of chief complaints of fatigue, hypodynamia, anxiety, insomnia. The total scores of HRSD also decreased revealing the better cooperation of the patients with treatment. Conclusions: SAMe provides hepatic functional protection for large primary HCC patients after TACE especially for the satisfactory short-term efficiency in acute liver damage with simultaneous anti-depression and enhancing TACE effects, and promoting life quality. (authors)

[en] In this paper, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (CDs) had been synthesized directly by one-step ultrasonic treatment under mild conditions. During the functionalization process, Octa-aminopropyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane hydrochloride salt (OA-POSS) was used as stabilizing and passivation agent, which lead to self-assembling of CDs in aqueous medium solution. OA-POSS was obtained via hydrolytic condensation of γ-aminopropyl triethoxy silane (APTES). The average size of CDs prepared was approximately 3.3 nm with distribution between 2.5 nm and 4.5 nm. The prepared organic-inorganic hybrid carbon dots have several characteristics such as photoluminescence emission wavelength, efficient cellular uptake, and good biocompatibility. The results indicate that OA-POSS can maintain the fluorescence properties of the carbon dots effectively, and reduced cytotoxicity provides the possibility for biomedical applications. More than 89% of the Hela cells were viable when incubated with 2 mg ml⁻¹ or lesser organic-inorganic hybrid carbon dots. Thus, it provides a potential for multicolor imaging with HeLa cells. (paper)

[en] The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of multidetector CT angiography (CTA) in depicting bronchial and non-bronchial systemic arteries in patients with haemoptysis and to assess whether this modality helps determine the feasibility of angiographic embolisation. Fifty-two patients with haemoptysis between January 2010 and July 2011 underwent both preoperative multidetector CTA and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) imaging. Diagnostic performance of CTA in depicting arteries causing haemoptysis was assessed on a per-patient and a per-artery basis. The feasibility of the endovascular treatment evaluated by CTA was analysed. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for those analyses were determined. Fifty patients were included in the artery-presence-number analysis. In the per-patient analysis, neither CTA (P=0.25) nor DSA (P=1.00) showed statistical difference in the detection of arteries causing haemoptysis. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 94%, 100%, 100%, and 40%, respectively, for the presence of pathologic arteries evaluated by CTA, and 98%, 100%, 100%, and 67%, respectively, for DSA. On the per-artery basis, CTA correctly identified 97% (107/110). Fifty-two patients were included in the feasibility analysis. The performance of CTA in predicting the feasibility of angiographic embolisation was not statistically different from the treatment performed (P=1.00). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 96%, 80%, 98% and 67%, respectively, for CTA. Multidetector CTA is an accurate imaging method in depicting the presence and number of arteries causing haemoptysis. This modality is also useful for determining the feasibility of angiographic embolisation for haemoptysis.

[en] A simple and cost-effective route to fabricating gold-coated glass nano-stings’ arrays is presented for highly efficient surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) chips via reactive ion etching of the glass slide covered with polystyrene (PS) colloidal monolayer and sputtering deposition of gold on it. The as-fabricated SERS chips consist of the nearly-hemispherical particles with submicron-size, which are hexagonally arranged into the ordered arrays. There are many short and long Au-coated glass nano-stings standing vertically on the hemispherical particles, showing high density tips (up to 7.0 × 10³ μm⁻²). The formation of such gold-coated glass hierarchically structured array is attributed to the geometry of PS colloidal monolayer and the nanoscale roughness of glass slide’s surface. Further, it has been demonstrated that such gold-coated glass array chip is highly SERS-active and can be utilized to detect trace organophosphorous toxicant with the limit below ppt level and good reproducibility in measurements. The intensity of the Raman peak shows the linear relation, in logarithmic scale, with the organophosphorous concentration from ppt to ppm level, exhibiting the possibility of quantitative detection in a large concentration range. This work has demonstrated the cost-effective method to fabricate the high performance SERS chips for trace detection of toxic molecules. (paper)

[en] Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of bronchial artery embolization (BAE) by using permanent embolic material a-benzene acid ester (TH glue) in treating refractory massive hemoptysis. Methods: During the period from Jan. 2009 to May 2012 a total of forty-two patients with refractory massive hemoptysis who had failed to respond to medical management received BAE. The causative diseases included bronchiectasis (n = 30), bronchogenic carcinoma (n = 3), bronchiectasis associated with tuberculosis (n = 6) and bronchial lesion of unknown reason (n = 3). Embolization with TH glue was performed in all patients. All patients were followed up for more than 12 months. Results: BAE was successfully accomplished in all patients. Immediate cessation of hemoptysis was obtained in all patients, with a success rate of 100%. Postoperative recurrence within 3 months was seen in one case, within 3-12 months in 3 cases and over 12 months in 4 cases. No serious complications occurred, and the mean postoperative hospitalization time of the patients was 9 days. Conclusion: For refractory massive hemoptysis, BAE with TH glue is a safe and effective treatment with lower recurrence rate. (authors)

[en] Rapid, ultrasensitive and reliable detection of mercury ions (Hg²⁺) by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is of importance, but is restricted by the extremely low Raman cross section of the Hg²⁺. Here, we report a facile methodology that can realize such detection based on the organometallic Cu(CH₄N₂S)Cl · 0.5H₂O nanobelts and SERS. In the assay, Hg²⁺ react with the nanobelts coated on a SERS active gold nanoparticle (NP) film to form ultrafine HgS NPs in situ. Subsequently, solid HgS is SERS determined to mirror the presence of Hg²⁺. Importantly, such detection is rapid and ultrasensitive. Within 10 min, limit of detection (LoD) of ppt level can be realized. The high detection efficiency is attributed to the superhydrophilicity, rich micropores and ultrathin nature of the organometallic nanobelts besides the strong SERS effect of Au NP film. In addition, this detection is highly resistant to various metal ions (Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Bi³⁺, Cr³⁺, Na⁺, Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺, etc) and is highly reliable in actual water (lake and tap water). Finally, influences of some substrate parameters and detection conditions on the test results are revealed. The optimal thickness of the gold NP film is about 80 nm, and the optimal wavelength of excitation light is about 633 nm. A small amount of Cu(CH₄N₂S)Cl · 0.5H₂O nanobelts or a large volume of Hg²⁺ contaminated solution contributes to low LoDs. We believe that this work provides a rapid and sensitive detection for Hg²⁺. (paper)

[en] In this study, poly(hexafluorobutyl methacrylate) (PHFBMA) was prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Then, a diblock copolymer of poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-poly(hexafluorobutyl methacrylate) was synthesized by ATRP using PHFBMA as a macroinitiator and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as a monomer. The structures and composition of the diblock copolymer were verified via infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). An amphiphilic diblock copolymer was used to construct a porous membrane using breath figures. The surface morphology of the film was observed by polarized light and field scanning electron microscopy. The hydrophobicity of the porous film was tested using contact angle and dynamic contact angle measuring instruments. With this hydrophobic porous membrane, perfluoropolyether oil was infused for surface modification. The data obtained indicated that the anti-icing and antibacterial properties of the hydrophobic porous membrane improved well after the infusion of the perfluoropolyether oil. (paper)