Academic literature on the topic 'CreaSolv'

Researchers in the Circular Flooring project are using the CreaSolv® Process to recover PVC from postconsumer waste flooring, enabling its eventual re-use, as Thomas Diefenhardt and Dr. Martin Schlummer explain.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used in a wide range of applications, from flooring to artificial leather, but only a relatively small proportion is currently recycled. Researchers in the Circular Flooring project use the CreaSolv® Process to recover PVC from post-consumer waste flooring, enabling its eventual re-use in new products, as Thomas Diefenhardt and Dr. Martin Schlummer explain in this article. 

Unilever, one of the worlds largest fast-moving good companies, has been criticized for its contribution to plastic waste in Indonesia. This report explores the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), its importance for companies, and delve into the history of the company and its role in Indonesias plastic waste crisis. The paper also discusses the challenges faced by the CreaSolv technology for recycling plastic sachets in Indonesia and possible solutions to address the issue. In addition, the paper discusses how the company could improve the recycling process, redesign packaging to be more sustainable, and scale up the recycling technology to have a larger impact.

Glen Creason, the longtime Map Librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, acquaints readers with six cartographers, most of them little-known today, whose work between the 1840s and 1940s shaped Los Angeles, preserved its history, and made the city accessible to visitors and Angelenos alike.

The functional properties of composites modified by superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) strongly depend on the swelling capacity of applied SAPs. In this sense, three types of commercially available SAPs namely Cablock CT, Hydropam, and Creasorb SIS with different chemical composition and particle size distribution were studied in this manuscript to reveal the differences in absorptivity as can be viewed as pretests for their utilization in concrete composites. In addition, absorptivity in distilled water, tap water, and 0.1 M NaCl solution are examined for determining the SAPs response for the change of the solution pH. To overcome problems with the teabag method inaccuracy, the new method is introduced. Besides to quantitative evaluation of the SAPs absorptivity, the correlation for the absorption and desorption period as the function of SAPs residence time within the examined solution is proposed. To access the effect of selected SAPs on functional properties, optimization based on the flow table test is employed and mechanical parameters are determined after 7, 14, 28, and 90 days of curing. Obtained results refer to substantial differences between particular SAPs and contribute to the understanding of the effect of SAP on the functional properties of cement-based materials.

Scintillators are phosphor materials that emit many low-energy photons upon exposure of high-energy ionizing radiation such as X- and γ-rays. They have been utilized in combination with photodetectors for radiation measurements, including medical imaging [1], underground resources exploration [2], luggage inspection [3], and structural analysis of materials [4]. The required characteristics of scintillators are different depending on the applications. For example, high light yield (LY) for high energy resolution and high signal-noise ratio, short decay time for high time resolution, large effective atomic number for high interaction probability with ionizing radiation, and low hygroscopicity for long-term usability are important. Halide crystals such as Tl-doped CsI and NaI have been utilized as practical scintillators because of their high LY owing to the medium bandgap energy (5.8–6.3 eV) [4, 5]. However, most halide crystals have issues related to chemical instability due to hygroscopicity. Thus, novel non-hygroscopic scintillators with high LY have been desired. Nowadays, Cu-based halide scintillators have received attention owing to good properties such as high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), scintillation LY, and no hygroscopicity. We have focused on the alkali copper halide group such as A 2CuX 3 (A = K, Rb X = Cl, Br). They showed high PLQY (~100%) attributed to the recombination of self-trapped excitons under UV and X-ray irradiations [6, 7]. However, their scintillation LYs under γ-rays have not been clarified. According to Hume-Rothery rules [8], a continuous solid solution containing two or more components can be easily formed when two substances with similar ionic radius and crystal structure are partially mixed in the matrix. In continuous solid solutions, emission properties of phosphors were improved by optimizing energy levels in the bandgap and lattice defects involved in the luminescence [9]. On the basis of the rules, the continuous solid solutions of (K,Rb)2CuCl3 and (K,Rb)2CuBr3 can be grown. Thus, we fabricated (K,Rb)2CuCl3 and (K,Rb)2CuBr3 to enhance the scintillation properties. In this presentation, the scintillation properties such as the X-ray-induced scintillation spectra, the scintillation decay curves, afterglow curves, and pulse-height spectra of 1 37Cs γ-rays (662 keV) measurements will be presented. [1] C.W. Eijk., Phys. Med. Biol., 47 (2002) R85. [2] A. Nikitin et.al., IEEE Nucl. Sci. Symp. Med. Imag. Conf. (2010) 1214. [3] V.D. Ryzhikov et.al., IEEE Symposium Conference Record Nuclear Science (2004) 4291. [4] V.V. Nagarkar et.al., IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 45 (1998) 492. [5] M. Moszynski et.al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A (2004) 4291. [6] T.D Creason et.al., Chem. Mater. 32 (2020).

Abstract Background: Emerging data supports PARPi combinations, including PARPi with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), as effective therapies in TNBC. The Adaptive Multi-Drug Treatment of Evolving Cancers (AMTEC) trial (NCT03801369) is evaluating the PARPi + ICB combination of olaparib (ola) + durvalumab (durva) in mTNBC patients (pts). Deep profiling of paired pre- and on-ola monotherapy TNBC biopsies (Bx) is key to identifying: i) predictive biomarkers to select pts who will benefit from PARPi + ICB, and ii) resistance mechanisms that inform on other rational PARPi combinations. We report on biomarker characterization of paired Bxs from 18 AMTEC pts. Methods: AMTEC pts undergo a pre-ola Bx (Bx1), start one (28-day) cycle of ola monotherapy (300 mg BID), with a repeat on-ola Bx (Bx2) before adding durva (1500 mg Q4W) to ola. Profiling of DNA, RNA and protein signals in Bx1 and Bx2 using WES, RNAseq, RPPA, and spatially resolved single cell proteomics using cycIF and mIHC was correlated with clinical outcomes to identify predictors of ola + durva sensitivity, and adaptive resistance to PARPi therapy. Results: WES/RNAseq - TNBC subtype (Bx1) was a strong predictor of response, with basal immune activated (BLIA), luminal androgen receptor (LAR), and basal immune suppressed (BLIS) subtypes associated with mPFS of 8.7, 2.5, and 1.7 months, respectively (p<0.05). MutSig3 signature in Bx1 (Yes = 7.4 mo vs. No = 2.5 mo; p<0.05), or increases in IFN signaling in Bx2 (Yes = 6.6 mo vs. No = 2.2 mo; p<0.05) were positive predictors of mPFS. RPPA - Change in PD-L1 expression on Bx2 (from Bx1) was a positive predictor (p<0.05). RAS-MAPK pathway activation in Bx1 was predictive of a poor response (p<0.05). mIHC - Two dominant immune cell groups were identified: 1) T cell enriched, and 2) hypoinflammed. On Bx1, most pts in the T cell enriched group achieved a partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD), whereas pts in the hypoinflammed group all had progressive disease (PD, p=0.04). On Bx2, all pts in the T cell enriched group were PR or SD, whereas PD pts comprised the hypoinflammed group (p=0.06). Conclusions: Findings highlight the value of paired Bxs to identify predictive biomarkers of PARPi + ICB sensitivity. Emerging resistance mechanisms justify amending AMTEC to a PARPi biomarker-driven trial evaluating ola in combination with durva, selumetinib (MEKi), or capivasertib (AKTi). Citation Format: Zahi I. Mitri, Evthokia A. Hobbs, Shaun M. Goodyear, Jeong Youn Lim, Joanna Pucilowska, Brett Johnson, Allison L. Creason, Courtney Betts, Lisa M. Coussens, Shannon McWeeney, Christopher L. Corless, Joe W. Gray, Gordon B. Mills. Biomarker-driven selection of polyADP ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi)-based combination therapies in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer (mTNBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2149.

Abstract Introduction: Use of CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) in combination with endocrine therapy has transformed treatment and greatly improved outcome for ER+ breast cancer (BC) patients. However, many BC patients eventually progress on therapy. To understand how ER+ metastatic BC (mBC) tumors become refractory to CDK4/6i, we have created a multimodal, longitudinal tumor atlas to investigate tumor mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, as part of the NCI Cancer Moonshot Human Tumor Atlas Network. By deeply profiling individual patients, we identified a wide variety of putative tumor intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of resistance to CDK4/6i. Methods: mBC ER+ patients (n=5) enrolled in the Knight Cancer Institute SMMART Trials program underwent biopsies before treatment and on progression with combination CDK4/6i and endocrine therapy. Biopsies were profiled using: clinical imaging, bulk genomics (WES), transcriptomics (RNAseq), and proteomics (RPPA), multiplex tissue imaging (mIHC, cycIF), single-cell genomics (scDNAseq) and epigenomics (sci-ATAC-seq). Results: Upon progression, patients displayed dysregulated tumor-intrinsic activity via upregulation of gene expression in cell cyclins and kinases as well as genomic copy loss of regulatory factors, such as Rb. On-progression biopsies exhibited increased expression and pathway activity of IL-Jak-Stat and Interferon signaling and changes in tumor microenvironment immune cell composition, including elevated immune cytotoxicity; however, a subset of CD8 T cells expressed LAG3, Tbet, and TIM3, indicating signs of immune activation trending toward exhaustion. Patients also exhibited increased M2 Macrophage and T regulatory cell infiltration, suggesting compensatory feedback to dampen immune activity. Analysis of spatial organization identified cellular neighborhoods recurring across all samples with changes after therapy observed primarily in neighborhoods associated with epithelial-stromal density and immune reactivity/suppression. Conclusion: Findings from this mBC ER+ cohort highlight heterogenous molecular and cellular changes that occur after treatment with a CDK4/6i. We observed multiple tumor intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including modulation of proliferation in neoplastic cells and tumor microenvironment composition, that are suggested to play a role in acquired resistance. We hypothesize a set of patients that initially respond to CDK4/6i therapy may initially display immune activation, but the sustained activation and long-term exposure to therapy may lead to chronic inflammation and immunosuppression. These observations suggest combining CDK4/6i therapy with immunotherapy may provide benefit. We also observed recurrent spatial cellular patterns that recapitulate known biological structures in these tissues; future work will explore association of spatial organization with therapeutic response. Citation Format: Allison L. Creason, Julian Egger, Cameron Watson, Shamilene Sivagnanam, Jia-Ren Lin, Koei Chin, Peter K. Sorger, Lisa M. Coussens, Zahi I. Mitri, Joe W. Gray, Gordon B. Mills, Jeremy Goecks. Longitudinal, multimodal profiling of metastatic ER+ breast cancer on CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 6618.

Abstract Introduction: A limited number of drugs are available for use in breast cancer patients, and several are not in practical use due to the lack of adequate biomarkers. We have recently demonstrated the feasibility of using machine learning on molecular data from bulk tumor analysis to create a nine-protein signature named VEGF-inhibition Response Predictor (ViRP) for selecting BC patients for treatment with chemotherapy and bevacizumab. The ViRP score is currently being validated in the NAPEER+ clinical trial (EudraCT 2021-005850-27). Increasing evidence suggests that spatial organization of cells within the tumor microenvironment influences survival and response to therapy in numerous cancer types. In methods based on bulk tumor analysis all tumor cells are profiled simultaneously with both colocalized and distant stroma and immune cells. We are thus pursuing information on spatial organization of cellular phenotypes expressing selected cancer related proteins including our nine ViRP proteins. Methods: From the NeoAva (NCT00773695) clinical trial evaluating the effect of bevacizumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (n=132 pts), FFPE tissue sections from patients before, during, and after treatment were made. Cyclic immunofluorescence (cyCIF) was used to profile the spatial expression of 32 cancer-signaling and 32 immune-related proteins, comprising our nine ViRP proteins, on FFPE tissue sections from selected patients (n = 20). The Galaxy-ME platform was used for image processing and downstream analysis of spatial protein profiling. Results: Use of cyCIF for spatial analysis enabled for evaluation of malignant cells in the context of surrounding microenvironmental cells, including immune cells. We found that cell type-specific protein abundance and subcellular localization formed a highly heterogenous pattern in the tissue. This was particularly evident for the nine ViRP proteins, and differences in expression between tumor cell populations will be further elucidated. Among the patients selected for cyCIF analysis, 4 were chosen based on misclassification by the ViRP signature. Ongoing studies focus on revealing spatial expression patterns to optimize the ViRP biomarker and explore why misclassification occurs. Furthermore, the observed molecular biology of the evolving tissues under treatment in responding and non-responding patients may reveal new biomarkers indicative of treatment response or resistance. Conclusion: We observe that the expression of proteins in tumor tissues is highly heterogeneous, and thus include numerous features not captured by bulk tumor analysis. Future development of new predictive tools and biomarkers that integrate molecular data which is multiparametric and spatial will set the stage for a new class of biomarkers in cancer diagnostics. Citation Format: Mads Haugland Haugen, David Kilburn, Hongli Ma, Cameron Watson, Allison Creason, Dong Zhang, Maria Aa Dahle, Ole Christian Lingjaerde, Marianne L. Smebye, Oeystein Garred, Mette S. Foersund, Mai T. Nguyen, Gunhild M. Maelandsmo, Gordon Mills, Olav Engebraaten. Spatial protein profiling by cyclic immunofluorescence to interpret and improve bulk tumor-based predictor of response to chemotherapy with bevacizumab in neoadjuvant breast cancer treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 5627.

Abstract Background: First-line CDKi and endocrine therapy has improved survival for patients with mHRBC. Upon CDKi progression, the optimal treatment strategy for mHRBC without a targetable mutation in PIK3CA, AKT, PTEN or ESR1 is unclear. The CAPItello-291 trial showed that targeting the PIK3CA pathway after CDKi improved progression-free survival, including mHRBC without identifiable genomic alterations in PIK3CA, AKT or PTEN. Protein expression analysis may identify whether signaling pathways such as PIK3CA/AKT are upregulated after CDKi and proffer rational targets even without genomic alterations. We used digital spatial profiling (DSP) to perform protein expression analysis of oncogenic pathways on mHRBC samples collected from patients before and after CDKi treatment. Methods: Patients with mHRBC treated with a CDKi between 2015 and 2022 with available archival tissue were included in this study. Samples were obtained <2.5 years prior to CDKi start and <1 year after CDKi discontinuation. The sample cohort included 6 paired biopsies, which enable direct assessment of CDKi changes. A single FFPE slide per sample was stained with an 82-protein cocktail of antibodies conjugated to UV-photocleavable DNA barcodes and analyzed using the NanoString GeoMx platform. For each sample, three 660-micron regions of interest (ROI) were selected to maximize tumor cell content and avoid necrosis or sectioning artifacts. Protein expression data was normalized by geometric mean, ROI expression was averaged per patient, and means comparisons were made between groups. This study was approved by the OHSU Institutional Review Board Results: Thirty-five samples from 29 patients were analyzed (23 pre-CDKi, 12 post-CDKi). AKT and INPP4B expression was greater post-CDKi in patients treated for >6 months compared to those treated for ≤6 months (AKT, >6 months: 2254, ≤6 months: 1194, p = 0.032; INPP4B, >6 months: 1135, ≤6 months: 390, p=0.032). BCL-2 expression was greater and Ki-67 expression was lower post-CDKi in patients treated for >6 months compared to those treated ≤ 6 months (BCL-2, >6 months: 1547, ≤6 months: 563, p=0.016; Ki-67, >6 months: 421, ≤ 6 months 1807, p=0.016). Conclusion: Patients treated with CDKi for longer durations had increased expression of PIK3CA/AKT pathway proteins; suggesting that the pathway could become upregulated during CDKi treatment. Higher BCL-2 expression is associated with reduced apoptosis, and lower Ki-67 expression is associated with slower proliferation rates. Whether these observations are a result of CDKi treatment or are related to indolent tumor behavior merits further study. Future studies will evaluate RNA sequencing and multiplex immunohistochemistry of immune microenvironment on samples from the same cohort to more deeply characterize the effects of CDKi on mHRBC tumors. Citation Format: Brie Chun, Allison Creason, Shaun M. Goodyear, Laura Heiser, Zahi Mitri. Duration of CDK4/6 inhibitor (CDKi) treatment in metastatic HR+ HER2- breast cancer (mHRBC) is associated with changes in AKT pathway protein expression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 5341.