α-Zirconium diammonium phosphate (α-Zr­(NH4PO4)2·H2O) and ZrO2 find useful applications as ion-exchangers and catalysts. The current syntheses of these compounds are usually via solution-precipitation methods that require solvents and excess of reagents. An essentially solvent-free approach with only the water of crystallization for homogenization has now been developed, by which α-zirconium diammonium phosphate and ZrO2 can be synthesized with minimalistic ratios of reactants. α-Zr­(NH4PO4)2·H2O was directly accessible in a single step, in contrast to the currently used two-step solution processes. Highly crystalline α-Zr­(NH4PO4)2·H2O was obtained from a reaction composition of ZrOCl2·8H2O:4­(NH4)2HPO4:0.05NaF after heating at 120 °C for 1 day. α-Zr­(NH4PO4)2·H2O showed excellent sorption for Pb2+ and Cu2+ with removal efficiencies ≥99% and high distribution coefficients of 106–107. Similarly, by this minimalistic approach, different modifications of ZrO2 were obtained depending on the base and temperature. Monoclinic ZrO2 formed at 160 °C from stoichiometric mixtures of ZrOCl2·8H2O and ammonium carbonate or with 1.5 times excess urea. Tetragonal ZrO2 was obtained with a stoichiometric amount of NaOH. The monoclinic ZrO2 showed higher activity than the tetragonal form in the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley reduction of furfural to furfuryl alcohol.

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INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: There remains lack of agreement on the optimal mpMRI prostate cancer scoring system with recent UK consensus recommending use of 5-point Likert assessment rather than PI-RADS. Using a paired cohort study design we compared clinical validity and utility of both scoring systems in the detection of clinically significant (cs) and insignificant (ci) prostate cancer (PCa).METHODS: 329 pre-biopsy mpMRI scans in consecutive patients underwent prospective paired reporting using both Likert and PI-RADS (v2) by expert uro-radiologists. Patients were offered biopsy for any Likert or PI-RADS score !3; a score of 3 required PSAdensity !0.12ng/ml/ml. Utility was evaluated in terms of proportion biopsied, and proportion of csPCa and ciPCa detected. In those patients biopsied, overall accuracy of each system was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The primary threshold of csPCa was Gleason !3þ4; secondary thresholds of !Gleason 4þ3, Ahmed/UCL1 (Gleason !4þ3 or maximum cancer core length (CCL) !6 or total CCL !6) and Ahmed/UCL2 (Gleason !3þ4 or maximum CCL !4 or total CCL !6) were also used.RESULTS: Median age was 66 (IQR: 13) and PSA was 8 (IQR: 6). A similar proportion of men met the biopsy threshold and underwent biopsy in both groups (69.3% vs. 75.7%). Likert predicted more csPCa than PI-RADS across all disease thresholds. Rates of ciPCa were comparable in each group (Table 1). ROC analysis of biopsied patients showed that, although both scoring systems performed well as predictors of csPCa, Likert exhibited higher areas under the curve (AUC) than PI-RADS across all thresholds (Table 2).CONCLUSIONS: Both scoring systems demonstrated good diagnostic performance. Overall, Likert was superior by all definitions of csPCa. It has the advantages of being flexible, intuitive and allows inclusion of clinical data. We recommend that its use be considered once radiologists have developed sufficient experience in reporting prostate mpMRI.