Diagnosing new-onset asthma in a paediatric clinical trial setting in school-age children.

Asthma is a common chronic disease in children. It is a dynamic condition-symptoms change over time, and the outcome of diagnostic tests can vary. Consequently, evaluating the onset of asthma at a single point in time, perhaps when patients are asymptomatic with limited impairment of the lung function, may result in false diagnostic conclusions.

Identifying critical features of iron phosphate particle for lithium preference.

One-dimensional (1D) olivine iron phosphate (FePO) is widely proposed for electrochemical lithium (Li) extraction from dilute water sources, however, significant variations in Li selectivity were observed for particles with different physical attributes. Understanding how particle features influence Li and sodium (Na) co-intercalation is crucial for system design and enhancing Li selectivity. Here, we investigate a series of FePO particles with various features and revealed the importance of harnessing kinetic and chemo-mechanical barrier difference between lithiation and sodiation to promote selectivity.

Reaction Layer Formation on MgO in the Presence of Humidity.

Mineralization by MgO is an attractive potential strategy for direct air capture (DAC) of CO due to its tendency to form carbonate phases upon exposure to water and CO. Hydration of MgO during this process is typically assumed to not be rate limiting, even at ambient temperatures. However, surface passivation by hydrated phases likely reduces the CO capture capacity.

Metastatic Colon Cancer - An Effective Treatment Protocol of Integrative Therapies Including Electromagnetic Field Frequencies: A Case Report.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide, with 25% of patients being diagnosed with metastatic disease, mostly in the liver, resulting in poor survival. Standard treatment of stage-IV colorectal cancer consists of primary tumour resection followed by chemotherapy.

Case Presentation: Here, we report on the treatment effectiveness using integrative therapies in a 52-year-old male with metastatic colon cancer and liver lesions to achieve stable partial remission with an overall high level of wellbeing.

Imaging of the electronic bonding of diamond at pressures up to 2 million atmospheres.

Diamond shows unprecedented hardness. Because hardness is a measure of resistance of chemical bonds in a material to external indentation, the electronic bonding nature of diamond beyond several million atmospheres is key to understanding the origin of hardness. However, probing the electronic structures of diamond at such extreme pressure has not been experimentally possible.

Y(III) Sorption at the Orthoclase (001) Surface Measured by X-ray Reflectivity.

Interactions of heavy metals with charged mineral surfaces control their mobility in the environment. Here, we investigate the adsorption of Y(III) onto the orthoclase (001) basal plane, the former as a representative of rare earth elements and an analogue of trivalent actinides and the latter as a representative of naturally abundant K-feldspar minerals. We apply in situ high-resolution X-ray reflectivity to determine the sorption capacity and molecular distribution of adsorbed Y species as a function of the Y concentration, [Y], at pH 7 and 5.

Guideline on allergen immunotherapy in IgE-mediated allergic diseases: S2K Guideline of the German Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI), Society of Pediatric Allergology and Environmental Medicine (GPA), Medical Association of German Allergologists (AeDA), Austrian Society of Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI), Swiss Society for Allergology and Immunology (SSAI), German Dermatological Society (DDG), German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (DGHNO-KHC), German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ), Society of Pediatric Pulmonology (GPP), German Respiratory Society (DGP), German Professional Association of Otolaryngologists (BVHNO), German Association of Paediatric and Adolescent Care Specialists (BVKJ), Federal Association of Pneumologists, Sleep and Respiratory Physicians (BdP), Professional Association of German Dermatologists (BVDD).

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Structure and Surface Complexation at the Calcite(104)-Water Interface.

Calcite is the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO) under ambient conditions and is ubiquitous in natural systems. It plays a major role in controlling pH in environmental settings. Electrostatic phenomena at the calcite-water interface and the surface reactivity of calcite in general have important environmental implications.

New Screening Test Improves Detection of Prostate Cancer Using Circulating Tumor Cells and Prostate-Specific Markers.

The current screening-test for prostate cancer, affecting 10% of men worldwide, has a high false negative rate and a low true positive rate. A more reliable screening test is needed. Circulating-Tumor-Cells (CTC) provide a biomarker for early carcinogenesis, cancer progression and treatment effectiveness.

Fast identification of mineral inclusions in diamond at GSECARS using synchrotron X-ray microtomography, radiography and diffraction.

Mineral inclusions in natural diamond are widely studied for the insight that they provide into the geochemistry and dynamics of the Earth's interior. A major challenge in achieving thorough yet high rates of analysis of mineral inclusions in diamond derives from the micrometre-scale of most inclusions, often requiring synchrotron radiation sources for diffraction. Centering microinclusions for diffraction with a highly focused synchrotron beam cannot be achieved optically because of the very high index of refraction of diamond.

Competitive Adsorption of ZrO Nanoparticle and Alkali Cations (Li-Cs) on Muscovite (001).

We studied the adsorption behavior of ZrO nanoparticles on a muscovite (001) surface in the presence of cations from the alkali series (Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs). The results of X-ray reflectivity, i.e.

In situ structural study of the surface complexation of lead(II) on the chemically mechanically polished hematite (11¯02) surface.

A structural study of the surface complexation of Pb(II) on the (11¯02) surface of hematite was undertaken using crystal truncation rod (CTR) X-ray diffraction measurements under in situ conditions. The sorbed Pb was found to form inner sphere (IS) complexes at two types of edge-sharing sites on the half layer termination of the hematite (11¯02) surface. The best fit model contains Pb in distorted trigonal pyramids with an average PbO bond length of 2.

Spatially Resolved Elemental Analysis, Spectroscopy and Diffraction at the GSECARS Sector at the Advanced Photon Source.

X-ray microprobes (XRM) coupled with high-brightness synchrotron X-ray facilities are powerful tools for environmental biogeochemistry research. One such instrument, the XRM at the Geo Soil Enviro Center for Advanced Radiation Sources Sector 13 at the Advanced Photon Source (APS; Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL) was recently improved as part of a canted undulator geometry upgrade of the insertion device port, effectively doubling the available undulator beam time and extending the operating energy of the branch supporting the XRM down to the sulfur K edge (2.3 keV).

Quantifying small changes in uranium oxidation states using XPS of a shallow core level.

The U 4f line is commonly used to determine uranium oxidation states with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In contrast, the XPS of the shallow core-levels of uranium are rarely recorded. Nonetheless, theory has shown that the U 5d (and 5p) multiplet structure is very sensitive to oxidation state.

Oxidative Corrosion of the UO (001) Surface by Nonclassical Diffusion.

Uranium oxide is central to every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle, from mining through fuel fabrication and use, to waste disposal and environmental cleanup. Its chemical and mechanical stability are intricately linked to the concentration of interstitial O atoms within the structure and the oxidation state of U. We have previously shown that, during corrosion of the UO (111) surface under either 1 atm of O gas or oxygenated water at room temperature, oxygen interstitials diffuse into the substrate to form a superlattice with three-layer periodicity.

Use of Computer Assistance in Lumbar Fusion Surgery: Analysis of 15 222 Patients in the ACS-NSQIP Database.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Several studies have shown that the accuracy of pedicle screw placement significantly improves with use of computer-assisted surgery (CAS). Yet few studies have compared the incidence of postoperative complications between CAS and conventional techniques.

Screening for Circulating Tumour Cells Allows Early Detection of Cancer and Monitoring of Treatment Effectiveness: An Observational Study.

Background: Circulating-Tumour-Cells (CTC) provide a blood biomarker for early carcinogenesis, cancer progression and treatment effectiveness. An increase in CTCs is associated with cancer progression, a CTC decrease with cancer containment or remission. Several technologies have been developed to identify CTC, including the validated Isolation-by-Size-of-Epithelial-Tumour (ISET, Rarecells) technology, combining blood filtration and microscopy using standard histo-pathological criteria.

Dynamic Stabilization of Metal Oxide-Water Interfaces.

The interaction of water with metal oxide surfaces plays a crucial role in the catalytic and geochemical behavior of metal oxides. In a vast majority of studies, the interfacial structure is assumed to arise from a relatively static lowest energy configuration of atoms, even at room temperature. Using hematite (α-FeO) as a model oxide, we show through a direct comparison of in situ synchrotron X-ray scattering with density functional theory-based molecular dynamics simulations that the structure of the (11̅02) termination is dynamically stabilized by picosecond water exchange.

High Pressure Single Crystal Diffraction at PX^2.

In this report we describe detailed procedures for carrying out single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments with a diamond anvil cell (DAC) at the GSECARS 13-BM-C beamline at the Advanced Photon Source. The DAC program at 13-BM-C is part of the Partnership for Extreme Xtallography (PX^2) project. BX-90 type DACs with conical-type diamond anvils and backing plates are recommended for these experiments.

A Comparison of Adsorption, Reduction, and Polymerization of the Plutonyl(VI) and Uranyl(VI) Ions from Solution onto the Muscovite Basal Plane.

X-ray scattering techniques [in situ resonant anomalous X-ray reflectivity (RAXR) and specular crystal truncation rods (CTR)] were used to compare muscovite (001) surfaces in contact with solutions containing either 0.1 mM plutonyl(VI) or 1 mM uranyl(VI) at pH = 3.2 ± 0.

UO(2) Oxidative Corrosion by Nonclassical Diffusion.

Using x-ray scattering, spectroscopy, and density-functional theory, we determine the structure of the oxidation front when a UO(2) (111) surface is exposed to oxygen at ambient conditions. In contrast to classical diffusion and previously reported bulk UO(2+x) structures, we find oxygen interstitials order into a nanoscale superlattice with three-layer periodicity and uranium in three oxidation states: IV, V, and VI. This oscillatory diffusion profile is driven by the nature of the electron transfer process, and has implications for understanding the initial stages of oxidative corrosion in materials at the atomistic level.

Structure-charge relationship - the case of hematite (001).

We present a multidisciplinary study on the hematite (001)-aqueous solution interface, in particular the relationship between surface structure (studied via surface diffraction in a humid atmosphere) and the macroscopic charging (studied via surface- and zeta-potential measurements in electrolyte solutions as a function of pH). Upon aging in water changes in the surface structure are observed, that are accompanied by drastic changes in the zeta-potential. Surprisingly the surface potential is not accordingly affected.

Gamma-linolenic acid levels correlate with clinical efficacy of evening primrose oil in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) has been related to a deficiency of delta-6-desaturase, an enzyme responsible for the conversion of linoleic acid to gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Evening primrose oil (EPO) contains high amounts of GLA. Therefore, this study investigated whether EPO supplementation results in an increase in plasma GLA and its metabolite dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) correlating with clinical improvement of AD, assessed by the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index.

Guideline on allergen-specific immunotherapy in IgE-mediated allergic diseases: S2k Guideline of the German Society for Allergology and Clinical Immunology (DGAKI), the Society for Pediatric Allergy and Environmental Medicine (GPA), the Medical Association of German Allergologists (AeDA), the Austrian Society for Allergy and Immunology (ÖGAI), the Swiss Society for Allergy and Immunology (SGAI), the German Society of Dermatology (DDG), the German Society of Oto- Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (DGHNO-KHC), the German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ), the Society for Pediatric Pneumology (GPP), the German Respiratory Society (DGP), the German Association of ENT Surgeons (BV-HNO), the Professional Federation of Paediatricians and Youth Doctors (BVKJ), the Federal Association of Pulmonologists (BDP) and the German Dermatologists Association (BVDD).

The present guideline (S2k) on allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) was established by the German, Austrian and Swiss professional associations for allergy in consensus with the scientific specialist societies and professional associations in the fields of otolaryngology, dermatology and venereology, pediatric and adolescent medicine, pneumology as well as a German patient organization (German Allergy and Asthma Association; Deutscher Allergie- und Asthmabund, DAAB) according to the criteria of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften, AWMF). AIT is a therapy with disease-modifying effects. By administering allergen extracts, specific blocking antibodies, toler-ance-inducing cells and mediators are activated.

Surface-mediated formation of Pu(IV) nanoparticles at the muscovite-electrolyte interface.

The formation of Pu(IV)-oxo-nanoparticles from Pu(III) solutions by a surface-enhanced redox/polymerization reaction at the muscovite (001) basal plane is reported, with a continuous increase in plutonium coverage observed in situ over several hours. The sorbed Pu extends >70 Å from the surface with a maximum concentration at 10.5 Å and a total coverage of >9 Pu atoms per unit cell area of muscovite (0.