Ordinary chondrite NWA 4560 was investigated by analytical electron microscopy. Elemental composition and mineral composition have been analyzed. Kamacite, troilite, olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, and oligoclase have been identified, and mean composition of meteorite, and composition of olivine, pyroxenes and oligoclase determined. Olivine Fa30–38, orthopyroxene bronzite Fs9–32Wo2–4, clinopyroxenes (pigeonite Fs13–17Wo5–7, as well as augite Fs17Wo22), and oligoclase Ab80An20 have been found in the meteorite. Olivine and pyroxene are common. POP, PO, BO, PP, RP, C, POP, GP and GOP chondrules have been identified. Elemental and mineral composition, atomic ratios and microstructure indicate that NWA 4560 is a type 3.2 ordinary chondrite which belongs to LL group.
New NWA 4039 eucrite found in 2005 in Morocco was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Elemental composition and mineral composition have been analyzed. The composition of feldspars and plagioclases has been determined, and the presence of ilmenite, chromite, troilite and silica confirmed. It was established that the mean elemental composition of NWA 4039 and atomic and molar ratios: Fe/Mn = 31, Na/Al = 0.045, Ca/Al = 0.66 and Mg/Mg+Fe = 31 are typical of eucrites, and two main meteorite minerals have the mean composition: pyroxene En30Fs66Wo4 and plagioclase feldspar An91Ab9. Presence of clinopyroxene pigeonite En37Fs55Wo8 and plagioclase An90Ab10 and An92Ab8 has been revealed. Mean chemical composition, as well as TiO2 content (0.59 wt%) vs. FeO/MgO ratio (4.11) indicate that NWA 4039 is a non cumulate, basaltic eucrite.
We describe the scanning ellipsometry and transition radiation methods as well as their applications to surface dielectric function measurements. In particular, we present the results for a gadolinium sample in the visible and ultraviolet spectral ranges. We compare our experimental results obtained by both methods.
Circulation of energy much depends on biological transformations of organic matter, of both allochthonous and autochthonous origin. Microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) and macroinvertebrates exploiting available local environmental resources play an especially important role in this flow. Because among macroinvertebrates, chironomids (Chironomidae, Diptera) dominate in freshwater ecosystems these insects are very important. Energy flow is affected to the highest degree by detritivores feeding on small particles of organic matter: either suspended in water (filtering collectors, such as Odontomesa fulva and Micropsectra) or occurring on/in river bottom (gathering collectors or deposit feeders, Prodiamesa olivacea, Glyptotendipes). In turn periphyton feeders, such as Cricotopus, scrape periphyton from surfaces of various substrate objects, including epiphyton developing on vascular plants. Predators, e.g. Conchapelopia melanops and Cryptochironomus, constitute from 10 to 20% of total benthos density along the longitudinal river profile. Each of this group shows a morphological adaptation to the kind of food resources used. Photos of chironomidae head capsules were made by scanning electron microscope Vega 5135 Tescan in low vacuum operation's mod.
New NWA 4967 carbonaceous chondrite found in 2007 was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Elemental composition, mineral composition and microstructure have been analyzed. The composition and distribution of olivines have been determined, and kamacite, taenite, troilite, spinel and melilite identified.
Introduction. Blood biomarkers may support early diagnosis of lung cancer by enabling pre-selection of candidates for computed tomography screening or discrimination between benign and malignant screening-detected nodules. We aimed to identify features of serum metabolome distinguishing individuals with early-detected lung cancer from healthy participants of the lung cancer screening program. Methods. Blood samples were collected in the course of a low-dose computed tomography screening program performed in the Gdansk district (Northern Poland). The analysis included 31 patients with screening-detected lung cancer and the pair-matched group of 92 healthy controls. The gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) approach was used to identify and quantify small metabolites present in serum. Results. There were several metabolites detected in the sera whose abundances discriminated patients with lung cancer from controls. Majority of the differentiating components were downregulated in cancer samples, including amino acids, carboxylic acids and tocopherols, whereas benzaldehyde was the only compound significantly upregulated. A classifier including nine serum metabolites allowed separation of cancer and control samples with 100% sensitivity and 95% specificity. Conclusions. Signature of serum metabolites discriminating between cancer patients and healthy participants of the early lung cancer screening program was identified using a GC/MS metabolomics approach. This signature, though not validated in an independent dataset, deserves further investigation in a larger cohort study.
The aim of the present study was to perform comparative analysis of serum from patients with different stages of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using the three complementary proteomic approaches to identify proteome components associated with the progression of cancer. Serum samples were collected before any treatment from 200 patients with NSCLC, including 103 early stage, 64 locally advanced and 33 metastatic cancer samples, and from 200 donors without malignancy. The low-molecular-weight fraction of serum proteome was MALDI-profiled in all samples. Serum proteins were characterized using 2D-PAGE and LC-MS/MS approaches in a representative group of 30 donors. Several significant differences were detected between serum samples collected from patients with early stage cancer and patients with locally advanced cancer, as well as between patients with metastatic cancer and patients with local disease. Of note, serum components discriminating samples from early stage cancer and healthy persons were also detected. In general, about 70 differentiating serum proteins were identified, including inflammatory and acute phase proteins already reported to be associated with the progression of lung cancer (serum amyloid A or haptoglobin). Several differentiating proteins, including apolipoprotein H or apolipoprotein A1, were not previously associated with NSCLC. No significant differences in patterns of serum proteome components were detected between patients with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. In conclusion, we identified the biomarker candidates with potential importance for molecular proteomic staging of NSCLC. Additionally, several serum proteome components revealed their potential applicability in early detection of the lung cancer.
Radiotherapy causes molecular changes observed at the level of body fluids, which are potential biomarker candidates for assessment of radiation exposure. Here we analyzed radiotherapy-induced changes in a profile of small metabolites detected in sera of head and neck cancer patients using the gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry approach. There were about 20 compounds, including carboxylic acids, sugars, amines and amino acids, whose levels significantly differed between pre-treatment and post-treatment samples. Among metabolites upregulated by radiotherapy there was 3-hydroxybutyric acid, whose level increased about three times in post-treatment samples. Moreover, compounds affected by irradiation were associated with several metabolic pathways, including protein biosynthesis and amino acid metabolism.
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