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The C-H-O-N-S elements that constitute the outgassed atmosphere and exosphere have likely been delivered by chondritic materials to the Earth during planetary accretion and subsequently processed over billions of years of planetary differentiation. Although these elements are generally considered to be volatile, a large part of the accreted C-H-O-N-S on Earth must have been sequestered in the core and mantle, with the remaining part concentrated at the Earth’s surface (exosphere: atmosphere + ocean + crust ). The likely reason for this is that, depending on the prevailing pressure (P), temperature (T) and oxidation state (oxygen fugacity, fO 2 ) in the planet’s interior, the C-H-O-N-S elements can behave as siderophile, lithophile, refractory, magmatophile, or atmophile. It is not clear if these elements might be sequestered in the interiors of planets elsewhere, since the governing parameters of P-T-fO 2 during the diverse magmatic processes controlling magmatic differentiation vary greatly over time and from planet to planet. The magma ocean outgassed the first atmosphere, which was probably also the largest in terms of mass, but its nature and composition remain poorly known. Meanwhile, a significant, but unknown, part of the accreted C-H-O-N-S elements was sequestered in the core. These will probably never be liberated into the atmosphere. A secondary atmosphere was then fuelled by volcanism, driven by mantle convection and most likely enhanced by plate tectonics. The Earth still has active volcanism, and the volume and volatile contents of its magma are closely linked to geodynamics. Earth’s volcanoes have long emitted relatively oxidized gases, in contrast to Mars and Mercury. Mantle oxidation state seems to increase with planetary size, although the role of plate tectonics in changing the Earth’s mantle oxidation state remains poorly understood. Water contents of magma from elsewhere in the solar system are not so different from those produced by the Earth’s depleted mantle. Other elements (e.g. N, S, C) are unevenly distributed. A great diversity of speciation and quantity of magmatic gas emitted is found in planetary systems, with the key inputs being: 1 – degassing of the magma ocean, 2 – mantle oxidation state (and its evolution), and 3 – plate tectonics (vs. other styles of mantle convection). Many other parameters can affect these three inputs, of which planetary size is probably one of the most important.

Measurements of Residual Magnetic Field RMF (the tangential component parallel to the load direction) were taken on the surface of P91 steel plate samples (X10CrMoVNb9-1) subjected to periodic pulsating tensile cyclic loads with the use of flux-gate and magneto impedance sensors, and preliminary measurement results are compiled and analyzed. The study investigates how the microstructure and load cycle parameters affect the RMF changes due to stress variations. Each combination of parameters: microstructure and load cycle corresponds to the characteristic variability pattern of magnetization and its maximum and minimum values.

We measured the reduced partition function ratios for iron isotopes in goethite FeO(OH), potassium-jarosite KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, and hydronium-jarosite (H3O)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6, by Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering (NRIXS, also known as Nuclear Resonance Vibrational Spectroscopy -NRVS- or Nuclear Inelastic Scattering -NIS) at the Advanced Photon Source. These measurements were made on synthetic minerals enriched in 57Fe. A new method (i.e., the general moment approach) is presented to calculate {\\beta}-factors from the moments of the NRIXS spectrum S(E). The first term in the moment expansion controls iron isotopic fractionation at high temperature and corresponds to the mean force constant of the iron bonds, a quantity that is readily measured and often reported in NRIXS studies.

Introduction:The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate long-term outcomes in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) patients postoperatively treated with distinct RAI activities of 30 mCi, 60 mCi, and 100 mCi.Material and methods:The analysis involved 277 low-risk and 46 intermediate-risk patients, who underwent radioiodine (RAI) ablation with 30 mCi, 60 mCi or 100 mCi under prospective, randomized clinical trials. Seventy-eight patients from the low-risk group received 30 mCi, whereas 125 and 74 patients received 60 mCi and 100 mCi, respectively. Regarding the intermediate-risk group, 20 patients were given 60 mCi, and 26 subjects were given 100 mCi. The mean time of follow-up was 11 years.Results:An excellent treatment response was obtained in 88%, 89% and 90% of low-risk patients treated with 30 mCi, 60 mCi, and 100 mCi, respectively, and in 85% of intermediate-risk patients, who were administered 60 or 100 mCi. An indeterminate response was achieved in 9.4% and 6.5%, whereas an incomplete structural response was obtained in 1.4% and 6.5% of low-risk and intermediate-risk patients, respectively. An incomplete biochemical response was observed only in 2.2% of intermediate-risk patients. The differences in treatment response regarding RAI activity were not significant.Conclusions:RAI activity of 30 mCi demonstrates a comparable efficacy as 60 mCi and 100 mCi in low-risk DTC. RAI activity of 60 mCi seems to be effective in intermediate-risk DTC.

This paper presents the results of research concerning the evaluation of tribological properties of graphite materials used, among others, for crystallisers for continuous casting of non-ferrous metals and their alloys. Graphite materials differing not only in their physical properties but also in the technology of their production were selected from a wide range of commercially available products. Wear resistance investigations of the tested graphite materials were carried out on a pin-on-disc tribometer under technically dry friction conditions on a sliding distance of 1000 m. A constant load but variable speed was used in the tests. The mean value of the coefficient of friction and the wear of the material were determined based on the tribological tests carried out. It was observed that as the speed increases, the average value of the coefficient of friction decreases, while the wear increases. A microstructural analysis of the wear track showed that the friction mechanism depends mainly on the graphite formation technology, which is related to the microstructure of the tested materials, and to a lesser extent to their physical and mechanical properties. Varying the speed values made it possible to trace changes in the wear mechanism, on the basis of which it is possible to predict the durability and reliability of graphite crystalliser operation.

Development of the Digital Material Representation (DMR) model, based on 3D reconstruction algorithm and serial sectioning, is the main goal of the present paper. Details on the serial sectioning and image processing algorithms are presented first. Serial sectioning is realized on the basis of light microscopy (LM). Then concept of 3D reconstruction and developed algorithms are presented. Two approaches, based on shape coefficients and the flood fill algorithms, are developed to identify corresponding features on subsequent 2D images. Then, the interpolation algorithm to reconstruct 3D volume between 2D images is presented. Finally, obtained 3D model is an input for finite element mesh generation software for subsequent finite element calculations.

We sought to evaluate the efficacy, biochemical effects, safety and outcome of recombinant human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) as an adjunct to radioiodine treatment of advanced differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). We also sought to determine whether rhTSH is useful as an adjunct to radioiodine treatment following isotretinoin re-differentiation therapy of DTC metastases that have lost function. Therefore, in 54 consecutive patients who had retained bulky metastatic and/or locoregional lesions of DTC despite the exhaustion of other therapeutic options, we gave one to four courses of two consecutive daily intramuscular injections of rhTSH, 0.9 mg, followed by a therapeutic activity of (131)I per os on day 3. Fifty patients had received prior radioiodine treatment aided by l-thyroxine (T(4)) withdrawal. We included in the study 23 patients who had received a trial of isotretinoin therapy for re-differentiation of confirmed de-differentiated metastases. In a blinded, within-patient comparison of post-therapy whole-body scans after the first rhTSH-aided and latest withdrawal-aided treatments in patients with functional metastases at baseline, 18 of 27 (67%) scan pairs were concordant, four (15%) were discordant in favour of the rhTSH-aided scan and five (19%) were discordant in favour of the withdrawal-aided scan. In total, 37 (74%) of 50 paired scans were concordant, eight (16%) favoured rhTSH and five (10%) favoured withdrawal. All differences appeared to be attributable to clinical causes, not to any difference between endogenous and exogenous TSH stimulation. Reflecting the biochemical activity of rhTSH and the release of thyroglobulin (Tg) due to tumour destruction, median serum Tg concentration rose approximately fourfold between baseline and day 6 of the rhTSH-aided treatment course. rhTSH was well tolerated, with mostly minor, transient toxicity, except for neck oedema in three patients with neck infiltrates and pathological spine fracture in one patient with a large vertebral metastasis. At 6 months, complete response occurred in one (2%), partial response in 12 (26%) and disease stabilisation in 19 (40%) of 47 evaluable patients. The rate of complete + partial response was 41% and that of disease stabilisation, 30%, in the 27 evaluable patients with functional metastases at baseline; the corresponding rates were 10% and 55% in the 20 evaluable patients with non-functional metastases at baseline. Although within-patient comparison of early outcome after both modalities is limited by a significantly greater median number of courses and a greater median cumulative activity of radioiodine given under withdrawal, response to rhTSH-aided and withdrawal-aided treatment was similar in 23 (52%) of 44 evaluable patients, superior with rhTSH in 12 (27%) and superior with withdrawal in seven (16%). In two patients, a superior response was obtained after isotretinoin pretreatment and rhTSH and attributed to re-differentiation therapy. In conclusion, our study provides preliminary evidence that rhTSH safely and effectively aids radioiodine treatment of advanced DTC, and does so to an at least equivalent degree as does T(4) withdrawal.