Predictive Value of Hematological Inflammatory Markers in Endometrial Neoplasia

Objective: To investigate the predictive role of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) as hematological inflammatory markers in cases of endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. Material and Method: This retrospective study was performed between 2005-2015 with 247 cases of 83 endometrial adenocarcinoma (group 1), 64 of endometrial hyperplasia (group 2) and 100 controls (group 3) who underwent a curettage due to abnormal uterine bleeding and had a normal histopathology in our tertiary clinic. The cases were chosen from patients without chronic diseases, that do not have infection or medication that could affect the systemic inflammatory response. Preintervention blood parameters were taken into account. The neutrophil/ lymphocyte and platelet/lymphocyte ratios were and statistical comparisons of the groups were conducted. Results: The age distribution of 247 patients was between 26 and 85 years, and the mean age was 48.8 ± 8.92.The median age was 54 in group 1, 46 in group 2 and 45 in group 3. The age was significant between group 1 and the other groups (p=0.001). Some 71% of the cases were premenopausal and 29% were postmenopausal, the latter being significantly more frequent in group 1 (62.7%; p=0.001). Of the cases with endometrial hyperplasia, 42 (65.6%) had simple and 22 (34.4%) have atypical-complex lesions. The median NLRs in groups 1, 2, and 3 were 2.15, 2.10, and 1.92, respectively, with median PLRs of 135.1, 134.0 and 145.6. There was a statistically significant difference between the NLR measurements of the cases from different groups (p=0.048; p<0.05). The NLR value for the endometrial adenocarcinoma group was significantly higher than for the control group (p=0.033; p<0.05). The optimum cut-off value was calculated to be ≥4, at which sensitivity was 20.5%, specificity 99%, positive predictive value (PPV) 94.4% and negative predictive value (NPV) 60%. Conclusion: The value of NLR ≥4 has predictive significance in distinguishing endometrial pathologies before intervention in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. Simple, cheap and easy-to-perform, the NLR can be used as a potential hematological marker for endometrial malignancy.

Benign Pulmonary Metastasizing Leiomyoma of the Uterus

Benign Metastasizing Leiomyoma (BML) is a rare disease which represents with multiple leiomyomatous lesions in many tissues and organs especially in lungs. These patients have been operated for leiomyoma of the uterus. Here we report a case of a 41-year-old woman who was evaluated in a thoracic surgery hospital for dyspnea and bilateral nodules in chest roentgenogram. She had no history of neoplasm, only myomectomy history of uterine leiomyoma 10 years ago. Biopsy and histopathological examination were consistent with pulmonary leiomyoma. The patient was reffered to our clinic and we performed a total abdominal hysterectomy for her multiple uterine leiomyomas. The final diagnosis was 'benign pulmonary metastasizing leiomyoma'. After this diagnosis, surgical castration was performed but two years later, repeat imaging showed progression in pulmonary lesions and progesterone therapy was administered to the patient. Patient has continued on this hormonal therapy to date and during the 5-years follow-up, the persisting lesions in both lungs regressed.

Structure of amorphous Ag/Ge/S alloys: experimentally constrained density functional study

Density functional/molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to determine structural and other properties of amorphous Ag/Ge/S and Ge/S alloys. In the former, the calculations have been combined with experimental data (x-ray and neutron diffraction, extended x-ray absorption fine structure). Ag/Ge/As alloys have high ionic conductivity and are among the most promising candidates for future memristor technology. We find excellent agreement between the experimental results and large-scale (500 atoms) simulations in Ag/Ge/S, and we compare and contrast the structures of Ge/S and Ag/Ge/S. The calculated electronic structures, vibrational densities of states, ionic mobilities, and cavity distributions of the amorphous materials are discussed and compared with data on crystalline phases where available. The high mobility of Ag in solid state electrolyte applications is related to the presence of cavities and can occur via jumps to a neighbouring vacant site.

Structural singularities in Ge(x)Te(100-x) films

Structural and calorimetric investigation of Ge(x)Te(100-x) films over wide range of concentration 10 < x < 50 led to evidence two structural singularities at x ∼ 22 at. % and x ∼ 33-35 at. %. Analysis of bond distribution, bond variability, and glass thermal stability led to conclude to the origin of the first singularity being the flexible/rigid transition proposed in the framework of rigidity model and the origin of the second one being the disappearance of the undercooled region resulting in amorphous materials with statistical distributions of bonds. While the first singularity signs the onset of the Ge-Ge homopolar bonds, the second is related to compositions where enhanced Ge-Ge correlations at intermediate lengthscales (7.7 Å) are observed. These two threshold compositions correspond to recently reported resistance drift threshold compositions, an important support for models pointing the breaking of homopolar Ge-Ge bonds as the main phenomenon behind the ageing of phase change materials.

Silver environment and covalent network rearrangement in GeS3-Ag glasses

The structure of Ag-doped GeS3 glasses (0, 15, 20, 25 at.% Ag) was investigated by diffraction techniques and extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. Structural models were obtained by fitting the experimental datasets simultaneously by the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique. It is observed that Ge has mostly S neighbours in GeS3, but Ge-Ge bonds appear already at 15% Ag content. Sulfur has ~2 S/Ge neighbours over the whole concentration range, while the S-Ag coordination number increases with increasing Ag content. Ag-Ag pairs can already be found at 15% Ag. The Ag-S mean coordination number changes from 2.17 ± 0.2 to 2.86 ± 0.2 between 15% and 25% Ag content. Unlike the As-S network in AsS2-25Ag glass, the Ge-S network is not fragmented upon Ag-doping of GeS3 glass.

Phase separation in ternary Co-Gd-Ti liquids

The phase equilibria and the solidification behavior of ternary Co-Gd-Ti (Co ≤35 at.%) alloys have been investigated. The phase transformation and equilibria in the liquid phase were studied in situ for two alloys, Co30Gd35Ti35 and Co30Gd50Ti20, by combining electrostatic levitation of the samples with high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction (XRD) at elevated temperature. The XRD patterns with two diffuse maxima for molten Co30Gd35Ti35 give direct evidence for liquid-liquid phase separation in this composition. In contrast, no indication for phase separation in the Co30Gd50Ti20 alloy is detected. Coarsened microstructures, typical for the phase-separating systems, are observed for the Co30Gd35Ti35, Co25Gd37.5Ti37.5, Co10Gd45Ti45 and Co30Gd20Ti50 cast alloys. Our findings suggest that the stable miscibility gap of binary Gd-Ti extends into the ternary Co-Gd-Ti system (up to about 30 at.% Co). Thermodynamic calculations of the ternary Co-Gd-Ti system by the CALPHAD method are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Short range order and stability of amorphous Ge(x)Te(100-x) alloys (12 ≤ x ≤ 44.6)

Amorphous Ge(x)Te(100-x) alloys were obtained over a broad composition range (12 ≤ x ≤ 44.6) by thermal co-evaporation. Their structure was investigated by x-ray diffraction and extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. Experimental datasets were fitted simultaneously by the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique. It is concluded that Te is mostly twofold coordinated and the majority of Ge atoms have four neighbours. The number of Ge-Ge and Te-Te bonds evolves monotonically with composition. Ge-Ge bonding can be observed already at x = 24 while Te-Te bonds can be found even in Ge44.6Te55.4. The models obtained by simulation show that the structure of compositions with x > 24 should be considered as a random covalent network but there is chemical ordering for x ≤ 24, exactly in the composition range where glasses can be obtained from the melt by fast quenching. The composition dependences of some physical properties also point to the connection between chemical short range order and the stability of the amorphous phase: while the glass transition temperature and microhardness increase monotonically with the composition, the thermal stability of the amorphous films goes through a maximum around x = 20-24.

Structural investigations of Ge5As(x)Se(95-x) and Ge15As(x)Se(85-x) glasses using x-ray diffraction and extended x-ray fine structure spectroscopy

The structure of Ge(5)As(x)Se(95-x) (x = 10, 20, 30, 38 at.%) and Ge(15)As(x)Se(85-x) (x = 10, 25, 34 at.%) glasses has been investigated by high-energy x-ray diffraction and extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements. The experimental datasets have been modelled using the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique. The model atomic configurations have been analysed in detail. It has been found that the homonuclear Ge-Ge, As-As, Se-Se and heteronuclear Ge-As bonds play an important role in the structure formation of the Ge-As-Se glasses. The total number of these bonds decreases quite slowly with the mean coordination number similarly to the nonlinear refractive index.

On the atomic structure of Zr60Cu20Fe20 metallic glass

The structure of Zr(60)Cu(20)Fe(20) metallic glass has been studied with high-energy x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and extended x-ray absorption spectroscopy and modelled with the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique. It is found that Cu and Fe atoms prefer Zr as a nearest neighbour. The mean interatomic distance between Cu/Fe and Zr atoms in the glass is remarkably shorter than the sum of the respective atomic radii. The coordination numbers for Cu/Fe-Cu/Fe pairs are very close to each other, suggesting a regular distribution of Cu and Fe atoms in the Zr(60)Cu(20)Fe(20) metallic glass.

Structure of GeSe4-In and GeSe5-In glasses

(Ge(0.2)Se(0.8))(100-x)In(x) and (Ge(0.17)Se(0.83))(100-x)In(x) (x = 0, 5, 10, 15 at.%) chalcogenide glasses have been studied with high-energy x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and extended x-ray absorption spectroscopy at Ge, Se and In K-edges. The experimental data were modelled simultaneously with the reverse Monte Carlo simulation method. GeSe(4/2) tetrahedra are shown to be the main structural units in the binary and ternary glasses investigated. Indium bonds to the excess Se atoms in the ternary Ge-Se-In glasses. While the majority of In atoms have three Se neighbours, some In atoms may be tetrahedrally coordinated by Se.

Atomic structure of As(2)S(3)-Ag chalcogenide glasses

(As(0.4)S(0.6))(100-x)Ag(x) glasses (x = 0, 4, 8, 12 at.%) have been studied with high-energy x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and extended x-ray absorption spectroscopy at As and Ag K-edges. The experimental data were modelled simultaneously with the reverse Monte Carlo simulation method. Analysis of the partial pair correlation functions and coordination numbers extracted from the model atomic configurations revealed that silver preferentially bonds to sulfur in the As(2)S(3)-Ag ternary glasses, which results in the formation of homoatomic As-As bonds. Upon the addition of Ag, a small proportion of Ag-As bonds (N(AgAs)≈0.3) are formed in all three ternary compositions, while the direct Ag-Ag bonds (N(AgAg)≈ 0.4) appear only in the glass with the highest Ag content (12 at.%). Similar to the g- As(2)S(3) binary, the mean coordination number of arsenic is close to three, and that of sulfur is close to two, in the As(2)S(3)-Ag ternary glasses. The first sharp diffraction peak on the total structure factors of As(2)S(3) binary and (As(0.4)S(0.6))(100-x)Ag(x) ternary glasses is related to the As-As and As-S correlations.

Segregation and temperature effect on the atomic structure of Bi(30)Ga(70) liquid alloy

We investigate the structure of liquid monotectic alloy Bi(30)Ga(70) above and below the critical point. The three-dimensional structure at 265 °C is modelled by means of the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique using neutron and x-ray diffraction experimental data. It is shown that atomic segregation on the short-range scale exists in the liquid Bi(30)Ga(70) slightly above the critical temperature (T(C) = 262 °C). We present also the structure factors of Bi(30)Ga(70) liquid alloy under the critical point at 240 and 230 °C obtained with neutron diffraction to highlight the temperature effect in the atomic structure.

'Wrong bonds' in sputtered amorphous Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5)

The structure of sputtered amorphous Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) was investigated by high energy x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and Ge-, Sb- and Te K-edge EXAFS measurements. The five datasets were modelled simultaneously in the framework of the reverse Monte Carlo simulation technique. It was found that apart from Te-Sb and Te-Ge bonds existing in the crystalline phases, Ge-Ge and Sb-Ge bonding is also significant in sputtered amorphous Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5). According to our results, all components obey the '8-N' rule.

Atomic structure of As(25)Si(40)Te(35) glass

Glassy As(25)Si(40)Te(35) has been studied by x-ray and neutron diffraction as well as x-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS) at As and Te K-edges. Simultaneous modelling of the four independent measurements by means of the reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation technique allowed the separation of partial pair distribution functions and estimation of the corresponding coordination numbers. It is shown that the atomic structure of As(25)Si(40)Te(35) glass can be presented as a three-dimensional network of twofold coordinated Te, threefold coordinated As and fourfold coordinated Si atoms.