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This study shows that dual-phase FDG-PET is superior to conventional FDG-PET or MRI-CT in the evaluation of metastatic lesions in locally advanced or recurrent cervical cancer.

An aerobic oxidative removal of mercaptans from gasoline in the absence of liquid base has been demonstrated for gasoline sweetening over CuZnAl catalyst. This process could proceed at large WHSV of gasoline (50–70 h−1) with >95% mercaptan conversion at 150°C (or 300°C) using an O2/S molar ratio of 20–40. At 150°C, dimerization of mercaptans occurred dominantly to form their disulfides. At 300°C, deep oxidation of the mercaptans to SO2 was the dominant process in the first tens of hours, but it decreased then with prolonged time on stream and meanwhile the dimerization increased. The spent catalyst could be restored to its fresh activity level only through a calcination treatment in air. This process was also demonstrated to be effective and efficient for sweetening of a real cracking gasoline. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009

BACKGROUND Small cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix is an uncommon tumor associated with high mortality even among patients with early stage disease. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery has been suggested by regimens used for small cell lung carcinoma. During the years 1980‐1997, 19 cases in which various adjuvant chemotherapies were given after hysterectomy were reported in the literature published in English. METHODS Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered consecutively to 23 patients with Stage Ib‐II small cell cervical carcinoma who had been primarily treated with radical hysterectomy and had adequate bone marrow, renal, and hepatic functions. A combination of vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide alternating with cisplatin and etoposide (VAC/PE) was administered to 14 patients during the years 1988‐1996 according to a prospective study protocol. A combination of cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin (PVB) was administered to 8 patients, and another regimen was administered to 1 patient during the years 1984‐1988. Prognostic factors were evaluated by analyzing both the data on these 23 patients and the pooled data on the cases retrieved from the literature and our own files. RESULTS Ten of the 14 patients who received VAC/PE had no evidence of disease during a median follow‐up of 41 months, whereas 3 of the 9 who received PVB or another regimen survived. Of the 10 patients who died of their disease, all died of distant metastasis within 10 months after recurrence. Meta‐analysis of the pooled data showed that 68% of patients who received regimens containing VAC or PE survived, whereas 33% of patients who received regimens not containing VAC/PE survived (P = 0.0078, log rank test). Seventy percent of patients with no lymph node metastasis at hysterectomy and 35% with lymph node metastasis survived (P = 0.05). All patients who died of disease had extrapelvic metastasis. CONCLUSIONS Chemotherapies containing VAC or PE are favorable regimens for patients with early stage small cell cervical carcinoma after radical hysterectomy. Cancer 1998;83:712‐718. © 1998 American Cancer Society.

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BACKGROUND During follow‐up for patients with cervical carcinoma, elevation of serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC‐Ag) levels in the absence of detectable recurrent lesions presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. In the current prospective study, the authors evaluated the use of fluorine‐18‐labeled fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) to detect disease recurrence in this setting. METHODS Women with cervical carcinoma who experienced complete responses to primary treatment or salvage therapy and who had no evidence of recurrent disease as detected by conventional methods but had serum SCC‐Ag levels ≥ 2.0 ng/mL on 2 consecutive occasions were eligible for the study. PET was performed within 2 weeks after the completion of conventional studies for the assessment of recurrence. RESULTS Twenty‐seven consecutive patients were registered for the current study. PET findings were positive for 19 patients: 14 who had a distant lesion or lesions, 2 who had a local lesion or lesions, and 3 who had both local and distant lesions. Of these 19 patients, 17 were confirmed to have recurrent disease; the remaining two were found to be free of disease but had severe anthracosis in the PET‐positive mediastinal lymph nodes. Seven of the eight patients with negative PET findings were not found to have recurrent disease on follow‐up. Overall, PET detected FDG‐avid lesions in 17 (94%; P < 0.001) of the 18 patients with recurrent disease. Seven of these 18 patients received therapy with curative intent; complete control was achieved in 6, four of whom currently are alive and free of disease. The addition of PET in the current setting curbed the use of futile curative therapy and significantly increased overall survival for patients in the current cohort compared with a historical group of 30 consecutive patients who had elevated SCC‐Ag levels as a first sign of recurrence. CONCLUSIONS PET expedited the detection of recurrent cervical carcinoma in patients with unexplained elevation of SCC‐Ag levels. Such expedited detection may have positive effects on patient survival. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

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SUMMARYThe rale of clearance of exiracellular plasma DNA in man ha.s importani inipiitalions for palhogenelie mechanisms in systemic lupus erythemalosus (SLE), as well as for eeriain oihcr clinical states. Present knowledge of this parameter is derived exelusively from studies of injected, naked DNA in animals. Recent informalion indicates that the physiologic form of plasma DNA in SLE is that of oligonucleosome-like molecules rather than of naked DNA and eonsists of multimcric complexes of DNA bound to histone, probably arising from an apoplotic process. In order to study the rale at which ihese oligonucleosome-like complexes are removed from plasma and to do so in man rather than experimental animals, we exploited the observation that during haemodialysis large amounts of DNA are released, apparently within the dialysis coil, inlo the paiieni's plasma. Since this release appears lo cease promptly with termination of the procedure, it offered the potential for estimating the rate of removal of such DNA from human plasma. Moreover, if that DNA. as postulated, were shown to possess an oligonucleosome-like structure resembling that fotind endogenously in human SLE, the relevance of such information to the human disease state would be further enhanced. The present results support the conclusion that DNA released into plasma during haemodialysis possesses such an oligonucleosome-like structure. The plasma half-life of ihat DNA in man was found nol lo exceed 4 min. The highly dynamic state thus implied for extracellular endogenous plasma DNA in man has important implications for pathogenetic mechanisms dependent on dsDNA in SLE. Moreover, individuals undergoing chronic hacmodialysi,s, who are thereby exposed to a very large cumulative amount of such DNA., might serve as models for studying its long-term sequelae.