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Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been considered a promising tool for agricultural analysis in the recent years due to its advantages over traditional techniques, such as fewer sample preparations and faster measurements. An adequate choice of equipment and optimization of parameters for measurements in soils becomes an important issue aiming at a better performance of the technique. The performance of two LIBS systems, using a monomode laser at 532 nm and a multimode laser at 1064 nm, were evaluated for soil analysis. The craters formed in the sample by action of the laser pulses studied by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) aimed to analyze the efficiency of the lasers in the ablation process. The plasma temperature and electronic density, evaluated using the Saha-Boltzmann method, were similar for both lasers. The lower boundary of the Local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) condition was verified for both lasers. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was analyzed for many emission lines of important elements of the soil, such as C, Fe, Mg, and K. Partial least square (PLS) analysis was used to verify the performance of both lasers for the quantitative analysis. From the PLS analysis, a better performance for the elemental quantification as found to 1064 nm laser and compared to 532 nm laser, i. e, higher coefficient R, a small Root Mean Square Error of Calibration (RMSEC) for C, K and Mg, and small Root Mean Square Error of Prediction (RMSEP) for K and Mg. In conclusion, the results suggesting the use of a multimode Laser at 1064 nm hence are more accessible, and less expensive, than a monomode Laser at 532 nm.

Brazil is seen as a potential world breadbasket in which an increase of around 40% in its current production is expected by the year 2050 to attend food demand imposed by world population growth. The disorderly intensification of agriculture results in erosion, losses and exhaustion of soil nutrients, abandonment of the area, and opening of new agricultural ones. The authors were motivated by the questioning of how significant the changes at surface runoff and soil loss over time are. Thus, this work aimed to investigate the temporal component (10 years) in the surface runoff and soil loss of a typical soil found in the Cerrado biome (Brazilian Savanah), an area that shelters a large part of the national agricultural production. The study area is located in Itirapina municipality, central region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil (22º10'S, 47º52'W, elevation of 790m). The region's mean annual rainfall is about 1486 mm and humid subtropical climate, with hot summers and dry winters. The soil type found is the Orthic Quartzarenic Neosol (RQo), which occupies approximately 15% of the Cerrado biome superficial area. Surface runoff and sediment yield are monitored in rectangular experimental plots (5 meters wide, 20 meters long, and 9% slope). Monitoring takes place in six plots kept under bare soil (three plots constructed in 2011, called P1, and another three plots constructed in 2020, called P2). Runoff flows downhill and is automatically registered through large tipping buckets and then stored in large boxes (360 liters). Runoff samples are collected after each precipitation event to identify the amount of sediment in the liquid sample. To study the pedological characteristics, soil samples were collected at different depths (15, 30, 60, and 90 centimeters) of the experimental plots in 2013 and 2022 and sent to laboratory analyses such as granulometric, porosity, density, and hydraulic conductivity. It was observed that P1 has a runoff volume 10.3% greater than P2 under the same dimensions and slope. Runoff usually starts first and lasts longer at P1 than P2. P1 soil exposure to precipitation and solar radiation over 10 years modified the superficial pedological characteristics, causing: clogging of the pores, loss of superficial soil layer, particle breakdown, and deposition near the outlet plot. Currently, the sediment carried at P1 is rich in soil particles of larger dimensions while P2 has high clay contents. The differences in the hydrological responses of the experimental plots were confirmed through laboratory analyses demonstrating that P1 has lower clay, organic matter, and porosity contents in the plot surface layers compared to P2. Most runoff and soil loss monitoring are limited to campaigns covering isolated events up to 1 year, but records over a long time as given above are scarce, especially in tropical and subtropical areas, demonstrating its relevance to the soil research community.

This study investigated the prognostic significance of metabolically active tumor volume (MATV) measurements applied to 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Methods:18F-fluorocholine PET/CT imaging was performed on 30 patients with CRPC. Metastatic disease was quantified on the basis of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), MATV, and total lesion activity (TLA = MATV × mean standardized uptake value). Tumor burden indices derived from whole-body summation of PET tumor volume measurements (i.e., net MATV and net TLA) were evaluated as variables in Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier survival analyses. Results: Net MATV ranged from 0.12 cm3 to 1,543.9 cm3 (median, 52.6 cm3). Net TLA ranged from 0.40 to 6,688.7 g (median, 225.1 g). Prostate-specific antigen level at the time of PET correlated significantly with net MATV (Pearson r = 0.65, P = 0.0001) and net TLA (r = 0.60, P = 0.0005) but not highest lesional SUVmax of each scan. Survivors were followed for a median 23 mo (range, 6–38 mo). On Cox regression analyses, overall survival had a significant association with net MATV (P = 0.0068), net TLA (P = 0.0072), and highest lesion SUVmax (P = 0.0173) and a borderline association with prostate-specific antigen level (P = 0.0458). Only net MATV and net TLA remained significant in univariate-adjusted survival analyses. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated significant differences in survival between groups stratified by median net MATV (log-rank P = 0.0371), net TLA (log-rank P = 0.0371), and highest lesion SUVmax (log-rank P = 0.0223). Conclusion: Metastatic prostate cancer detected by 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT can be quantified on the basis of volumetric measurements of tumor metabolic activity. The prognostic value of 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT may stem from this capacity to assess whole-body tumor burden. With further clinical validation, 18F-fluorocholine PET-based indices of global disease activity and mortality risk could prove useful in patient-individualized treatment of CRPC.

A soil, a plant and a fertilizer sample were investigated by double-pulse (DP) laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in orthogonal beam geometry using a reheating configuration. The DP-LIBS signal enhancement was evaluated with respect to the corresponding single-pulse (SP) LIBS as a function of the interpulse delay at various ablation energies. The maximum signal enhancement measured was 155-fold when low ablation energy (4 mJ) and an interpulse delay of 10 μs were used. At high laser energies (≥ 16 mJ) and interpulse delay of 0.6 μs, the maximum signal enhancement was up to 3-fold. The effect of excitation energies and interpulse delays on emission line intensities was discussed in the various conditions used. The emission line enhancement measured for ionic lines was always higher than that of atomic lines. Plasma excitation temperature and electron density measured as a function of interpulse delays at various ablation energies were shown to be related to the emission line intensities.

The purpose of this work was to develop and optimize the key parameters that influence the double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique in the orthogonal beam geometry when applied to the elemental analysis of environmental samples.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-15T13:30:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014Bitstream added on 2015-05-15T13:56:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ISSN2156-8278-2014-05-11-722-729.pdf: 3517422 bytes, checksum: 8b8a6cbe5d0d0ce9ceb82e71f1519681 (MD5) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Advanced field methods of carbon (C) analysis should now be capable of providing repetitive, sequential measurements for the evaluation of spatial and temporal variation at a scale that was previously unfeasible. Some spectroscopy techniques, such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), have portable features that may potentially lead to clean and rapid alternative approaches for this purpose. The goal of this study was to quantify the C content of soils with different textures and with high iron and aluminum concentrations using LIBS. LIBS emission spectra from soil pellets were captured, and the C content was estimated (emission line of C (I) at 193.03 nm) after spectral offset and aluminum spectral interference correction. This technique is highly portable and could be ideal for providing the soil C content in a heterogeneous experiment. Dry combustion was used as a reference method, and for calibration a conventional linear model was evaluated based on soil textural classes. The correlation between reference and LIBS values showed r = 0.86 for medium-textured soils and r = 0.93 for fine-textured soils. The data showed that better correlation and lower error (14%) values were found for the fine-textured LIBS model. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 0.32% for medium-textured soils and 0.13% for fine-textured soils. The results indicated that LIBS quantification can be affected by the texture and chemical composition of soil. Signal treatment was shown to be very important for mitigation of these interferences and to improve quantification. Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Instituto de Química de Araraquara, Araraquara, Rua Prof. Francisco Degni, 55, Quitandinha, CEP 14800900, SP, Brasil Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Departamento de Química Analítica Instituto de Química de Araraquara FAPESP 2010/09211-6 CNPq 560292/2010-4

This study investigated the prognostic significance of metabolically active tumor volume (MATV) measurements applied to (18)F-fluorocholine PET/CT in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).(18)F-fluorocholine PET/CT imaging was performed on 30 patients with CRPC. Metastatic disease was quantified on the basis of maximum standardized uptake value (SUV(max)), MATV, and total lesion activity (TLA = MATV × mean standardized uptake value). Tumor burden indices derived from whole-body summation of PET tumor volume measurements (i.e., net MATV and net TLA) were evaluated as variables in Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses.Net MATV ranged from 0.12 cm(3) to 1,543.9 cm(3) (median, 52.6 cm(3)). Net TLA ranged from 0.40 to 6,688.7 g (median, 225.1 g). Prostate-specific antigen level at the time of PET correlated significantly with net MATV (Pearson r = 0.65, P = 0.0001) and net TLA (r = 0.60, P = 0.0005) but not highest lesional SUV(max) of each scan. Survivors were followed for a median 23 mo (range, 6-38 mo). On Cox regression analyses, overall survival had a significant association with net MATV (P = 0.0068), net TLA (P = 0.0072), and highest lesion SUV(max) (P = 0.0173) and a borderline association with prostate-specific antigen level (P = 0.0458). Only net MATV and net TLA remained significant in univariate-adjusted survival analyses. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated significant differences in survival between groups stratified by median net MATV (log-rank P = 0.0371), net TLA (log-rank P = 0.0371), and highest lesion SUV(max) (log-rank P = 0.0223).Metastatic prostate cancer detected by (18)F-fluorocholine PET/CT can be quantified on the basis of volumetric measurements of tumor metabolic activity. The prognostic value of (18)F-fluorocholine PET/CT may stem from this capacity to assess whole-body tumor burden. With further clinical validation, (18)F-fluorocholine PET-based indices of global disease activity and mortality risk could prove useful in patient-individualized treatment of CRPC.