No abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of moisture on corrosion behaviour of steel ground rods in mildly desertified soil and the mechanism behind it. Design/methodology/approach -The specimens were used for weight loss corrosion experiments and polarization scans were taken at different moisture levels. Specimen surfaces were characterized using a scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, and using X-ray diffraction.Findings -The results indicated that the moisture content of the soil influenced steel corrosion considerably. The maximum corrosion of 20G and Q235 galvanised steels occurred at 10 per cent and 12.5 per cent soil moisture, respectively. The corrosion products of 20G steel were mostly Fe 2 O 3 and Fe 3 O 4 , whereas that of Q235 galvanised steel was Zn 5 (OH) 8 Cl 2 · H 2 O. Originality/value -The paper provides information regarding the relationship between moisture and corrosion of steel ground rods, which is useful for understanding the mechanism of soil corrosion. The research results can provide theoretical guidelines for preventing the corrosion of steel ground rods buried in mildly desertified soil.

Giant cell angioblastoma (GCAB) is an extremely rare soft tissue tumor of early childhood and only five cases have been described to date. As such the clinical, pathological, and prognostic features are poorly defined. We prensent here a new case of GCAB in bone of a child aged 4-years old. The lesion was composed of dense and loose cell regions. The dense regions were characterized by nodular, linear, and plexiform aggregates of oval- to spindle-shaped tumor cells around small vascular channels and interspersed with large mononuclear cells and multinucleate giant cells. The loose cell areas were characterized by distributed fibroblasts and abundant myxoid matrix, which diminished with patient age. Infiltrative growth was observed in some areas. Oval-to-spindle cells showed positivity for Vimentin, CD31 and CD34 staining, and partial positivity for smooth muscle actin. Mononuclear cells and multinucleate giant cells showed Vimentin and CD68 positivity. Seventeen months after thorough curettage of the lesion, a local recurrence was found. Based upon the clinical, histological and immunohistochemical findings, infiltrate condition, and prognosis, we classified GCAB into two subtypes. Type I does not infiltrate surrounding tissues and has good prognosis. Type II infiltrates the surrounding tissues, relapses earlier, and has worse prognosis. This report augments the limited GCAB literature to promote our understanding and guide therapy of this rare disease.Virtual slidesThe virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/6699811297488137

Background Noninvasive diagnostic technologies that can dynamically monitor changes in liver inflammation are highly important for the management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and thus warrant further exploration. This study assessed the diagnostic efficacy of FibroScan for liver inflammation in CHB patients. Methods A total of 1185 patients were selected, and ultrasound-guided liver biopsy was performed within 1 month after the FibroScan test. The liver stiffness measurement (LSM), the reliability criteria (IQR/M) of LSM, the quality of liver biopsy (complete portal area, PA), and the liver inflammation grades were the main observation items of this study. With liver biopsy as the control, the diagnostic efficacy of FibroScan for liver inflammation in CHB patients was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results The grade of liver inflammation was positively correlated with the stage of fibrosis (rho = 0.829, P < 0.001). Different grades of inflammation will have significant rise in LSM values within the same fibrosis stage, and LSM values were positively correlated with liver inflammation grade and fibrosis stage, and the rho is 0.579 and 0.593 respectively (P < 0.001). Significant differences in the LSM of FibroScan were observed among different grades of liver inflammation (P < 0.0001). Liver biopsy (PA > 10) served as the control, and the cutoff point and the area under ROC curves (AUCs) of the LSMs for different inflammation grades were as follows: G2, 8.6 kPa, 0.775; G3 9.8 kPa, 0.818; and G4, 11.0 kPa; 0.832. With LSM cutoff values of 8.6 kPa, 9.8 kPa and 11.0 kPa, FibroScan showed certain diagnostic value for CHB patients with G2, G3 and G4 liver inflammation, especially those with G4 inflammation. Conclusions The grade of liver inflammation was positively correlated with the stage of fibrosis, different grades of inflammation will have significant rise in LSM values within the same fibrosis stage. In addition to liver fibrosis, FibroScan could evaluate liver inflammation in CHB patients in a noninvasive manner.