Methods for determination of degree of reaction of slag in blended cement pastes

To measure the degree of reaction of slag in blended pastes, five methods were studied. Selective dissolution and differential scanning calorimetry are shown to be unreliable, SEM-BSE-IA-mapping is time consuming, but does provide good results with a reasonable degree of precision. The difference in cumulative calorimetry and chemical shrinkage curves of slag blends in comparison to blends with inert filler shows potential to isolate the reaction of the slag. These methods have the advantage of being continuous, techniques with good precision, but the absolute heat of hydration, or contribution to chemical shrinkage of any particular slag is not known. Calibration of the calorimetry technique with SEM-BSE-IA-mapping seems to be a promising method to understand and quantify the degree of reaction of slag.     

Influence of self heating and Li2SO4 addition on the microstructural development of calcium aluminate cement

Hydrated Calcium Aluminate Cement (CAC) is known to have a complex microstructure involving different phase assemblages strongly dependant on the temperature. This work presents an experimental approach to study the microstructure of CAC pastes from the first minute of hydration with controlled time-temperature histories up to several months of curing. The self heating usually occurring in the CAC concrete is considered and its influence on the growth and assemblage of the hydration products and subsequent space filling is shown. Quantification of the degree of CA hydration by BSE image analysis is used to understand the evolution of phases throughout the hydration process. Lithium sulphate is commonly used to control the setting time of CAC based materials. It is shown that this promotes the formation of more stable hydrates, but slightly reduces the extent of CA hydration.     

Thirty-three Years of Regulating Fire Protection at Commercial U.S. Nuclear Power Plants: Dousing the Flames of Controversy**

This article focuses on what have been, and may continue to be, the more controversial aspects of fires at commercial nuclear power plants regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Examining what has transpired in fire protection regulation since the 1975 fire at Browns Ferry Unit 1, which first focused attention on the potential hazard of fire at commercial nuclear power plants, we offer a personal perspective as to whether or not the “the flames of controversy” have been “doused.” We show that significant progress has been made while speculating whether these “flames” may ever truly be extinguished, or only kept under control. No core damage accident has ever occurred at a commercial nuclear power plant due to fire.

P-selectin, E-selectin, and CD40L over time in chronic hemodialysis patients

The aim of this study was to measure P-selectin, E-selectin, and CD-4L levels over time in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. Thirty stable patients with end-stage renal failure undergoing chronic HD were included in the study. Blood samples were obtained before HD for measurement of P-selectin, E-selectin, and CD-40L. Measurements were performed at month 0 (T0), 3 (T2), 8 (T3), and 13 (T4). The levels of P-selectin, E-selectin, and CD40L were also analyzed according to the occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to CVD-related mortality. The levels of CD40L and P-selectin changed significantly over time, decreasing at month 3 and 6 and returning at the T0 levels at month 13. Conversely, E-selectin levels did not. The levels of CD40L, P-selectin and E-selectin over time did not differ significantly between patients with age ≤ 65 or > 65 years, between patients with or without CVD, or between patients who died or who survived during the follow-up. In end-stage renal failure patients undergoing chronic HD, CD40L and P-selectin, but not E-selectin, showed a transient decrease over time, and the serum levels of these molecules were not associated with CVD or with CVD-related mortality.     

Microscale investigations of Ni uptake by cement using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron-based techniques

Cement is used to condition waste materials and for the construction and backfilling of repositories for low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste. In this study, Ni uptake by hardened cement paste has been investigated with the aim of improving our understanding of the immobilization process of Ni(ll) in cement on the microscale. Information on the cement microstructure, Ni distribution, Ni concentration, and speciation of the Ni phases formed in the cement system and their association with specific cement minerals has been gained by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) and micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy (micro-XAS). The Ni-doped samples were prepared at a water/cement ratio of 0.4 using a sulfate-resisting Portland cement and were hydrated for 30 days. The metal loadings of the system were varied from 50 up to 5000 mg/kg. SEM investigations show that for all metal loadings the Ni phases form rims around inner-calcium silicate hydrates, suggesting a direct association with this cement phase. The micro-XAS measurements further reveal that a mixture of Ni phases form at Ni-enriched regions. Data analysis indicates that Ni(ll) is predominantly immobilized in a layered double hydroxide-type phase (Ni-Al LDH) and only to a minor extent precipitates as Ni-hydroxides (alpha-Ni(OH)2 and beta-Ni(OH)2). At 50 mg/kg Ni loading, however, the p-XAS measurements suggest the presence of an additional Ni species. In the latter system Ni-Al LDH is found in Ni-rich regions, whereas at Ni-poor regions an unknown species is formed.     

Convergence for a family of discrete advection–reaction operators

We define a family of discrete Advection–reaction operators, denoted by $A_{a\lambda }$, which associate to a given scalar sequence $s=\left\{s_n\right\}$ the sequence given by $A_{a\lambda }\left(s\right)\equiv \left\{b_n\right\}$, where $b_n=a_{n?2}{s}_{n?1}+{\lambda }_n{s}_n$ for $n=1,2,\dots$. For $A_{a\lambda }$ we explicitly find their iterates and study their convergence properties. Finally, we show the relationship between the family of discrete operators with the continuous one dimensional advection–reaction equation.     

Identification of differentially expressed proteins in papillary thyroid carcinomas with V600E mutation of BRAF

BRAF, a serine/threonine kinase of the RAF family, is a downstream transducer of the RAS-regulated MAPK pathway. V600E mutation of BRAF protein is the most common genetic alteration occurring in papillary thyroid carcinomas and is prognostic of poor clinicopathological outcomes. Protein expression in the subclass of PTC bearing the BRAF(V600E) mutation was investigated by using 2-DE and MS/MS techniques and compared to that of matched normal thyroid tissues from seven patients. 2-D gel image analysis revealed that the expression of eight polypeptide spots, corresponding to five proteins, were significantly underexpressed in PTC bearing BRAF(V600E) mutation whereas 25 polypeptides, representing 19 distinct proteins, were significantly upregulated in tumour tissue, as compared to normal thyroid. Among the differentially expressed polypeptides, mitochondrial proteins, ROS-scavenger enzymes, apoptosis-related proteins as well as proteins involved in tumour cell proliferation were identified. Although dissimilarities between the present results and those previously reported can be ascribed to the use of different 2-DE techniques, the possibility that BRAF(V600E) mutation is responsible for changes in protein expression distinct from those induced by other oncogenes cannot be ruled out.     

A 3 × 3 digitally programmable CNN chip

In this paper a VLSI implementation of a 3 × 3 cell digitally programmable cellular neural networks (CNN) with discrete templates is presented. This chip is the first successfully tested, multichip-oriented CNN chip. In fact, this chip has been designed to be easily interconnected to others to carry out very large CNN arrays. This feature has been verified in a two-chip prototype board. The fully programmable capability covers most of the available one-neighbourhood fixed templates.     

Molecular Profiling and Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Mucosal Melanoma: A Comprehensive Review

Mucosal melanoma is a rare and aggressive subtype of melanoma. Unlike its cutaneous counterpart, mucosal melanoma has only gained limited benefit from novel treatment approaches due to the lack of actionable driver mutations and poor response to immunotherapy. Over the last years, whole-genome and exome sequencing techniques have led to increased knowledge on the molecular landscape of mucosal melanoma. Molecular studies have underlined noteworthy findings with potential therapeutic implications, including the presence of KIT mutations, which are potential targets of tyrosine kinase inhibitors currently in use in the clinic (imatinib), but also SF3B1 mutation, CDK4 amplifications, and CDKN2A gene deletions, which are presently under investigation in clinical trials. Recent results from a pooled analysis of patients with mucosal melanoma treated with immunotherapy have suggested that the combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors might improve survival outcomes in this subset of patients, as compared with single-agent immunotherapy. However, these results are not confirmed across different studies, and combo-immunotherapy correlates with a higher rate of adverse events. In this review, we describe the clinical, biological, and genetic features of mucosal melanoma. We also provide an update on the results of approved systemic treatment in this setting and overview the therapeutic strategies currently under investigation in clinical trials.