Objectives: Recently, there have been important advances in the clinical application of targeted hybrid near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent-radioactive tracers. ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid, for example, is already being used by some centres for sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck cancer. The radioactive component allows imaging at depths which would not be possible with NIR alone and, once exposed, the NIR fluorescence reporter can be imaged at very high resolution. Gamma detection is currently carried out with a separate hand-held gamma camera or with a non-imaging probe. Visualisation of NIR fluorescence during surgery requires a dedicated NIR camera, several of which are available commercially. We describe a novel hand-held hybrid NIR-gamma small field of view camera, capable of displaying co-aligned images from both modalities, which can be fused into one image or viewed separately. This study is a preliminary investigation of the performance of the fluorescence component of this camera, including phantom studies and first images from a preclinical pilot study. Methods: The hybrid camera consists of a 1500 µm thick thallium doped caesium iodide columnar (CsI:Tl) scintillator coupled to an electron multiplying charged coupled device (EMCCD). A 1.0mm diameter tungsten pinhole collimator gives a 40mm x 40mm nominal field of view for an 8mm x 8mm CCD detection area. A fluorescence camera was aligned to provide the same field of view as the gamma camera with an LED ring as the excitation source. The performance of the fluorescence imaging was quantified in this study for the fluorophores ICG and IRDye800CW (CW800) using a range of bespoke phantom experiments. In vivo images were also obtained from a preclinical study of a targeted hybrid tracer (cRGD-CW800-TCO + TCO-DOTA-111In) in mice with HT29 colorectal cancer xenografts. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The portable hybrid camera prototype has been shown to successfully image dual NIR-gamma tracers using both in vitro and in vivo experimental models. With further development, this camera could be used intraoperatively, offering the benefits of gamma imaging at depth in tissues and high resolution surface NIR fluorescence imaging in a single imaging system.
To assess cultural competence among nursing students from nine countries to provide an international perspective on cultural competence.
A descriptive, cross‐sectional design.
A convenience sample of 2,163 nursing students from nine countries was surveyed using the Cultural Capacity Scale from April to November 2016.
The study found a moderate range of cultural competence among the students. The ability to teach and guide other nursing colleagues to displ
Recent years have seen an explosion in graph data from a variety of scientific, social and technological fields. From these fields, emotion recognition is an interesting research area because it finds many applications in real life such as in effective social robotics to increase the interactivity of the robot with human, driver safety during driving, pain monitoring during surgery etc. A novel facial emotion recognition based on graph mining has been proposed in this paper to make a paradigm shift in the way of representing the face region, where the face region is represented as a graph of nodes and edges and the gSpan frequent sub-graphs mining algorithm is used to find the frequent sub-structures in the graph database of each emotion. T
... Show MoreA single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial in patients with deep caries and symptoms of reversible pulpitis compared outcomes from a self-limiting excavation protocol using chemomechanical Carisolv gel/operating microscope (self-limiting) versus selective removal to leathery dentin using rotary burs (control). This was followed by pulp protection with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and restoration with glass ionomer cement and resin composite, all in a single visit. The pulp sensibility and periapical health of teeth were assessed after 12 mo, in addition to the differences in bacterial tissue concentration postexcavation. Apical radiolucencies were assessed using cone beam computed tomography/periapical radiographs (CBC
... Show MorePsidium guajava, belonging to the Myrtaceae family, thrives in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. This important tropical fruit finds widespread cultivation in countries like India, Indonesia, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South America. Throughout its various parts, including fruits, leaves, and barks, guava boasts a rich reservoir of bioactive compounds that have been traditionally utilized as folkloric herbal medicines, offering numerous therapeutic applications. Within guava, an extensive array of Various compounds with antioxidative properties and phytochemical constituents are present, including essential oils, polysaccharides, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, triterpenoids, alkaloids, steroids, glycosides, tannins, fl
... Show MoreSocial protection meets different aspects of the needs of vulnerable groups, such as the economic, health, education, and family relations and ties in the Iraqi society. This is because vulnerable groups have suffered from social and economic influences that have negative implications on the social reality as a whole. Poverty is a case in point, which paved the way to frequent setbacks that have led to social structure instability. Accordingly, the present study aims to examine the role and effect of the Net of Social Protection Program in equally distributing social protection to curb or mitigate any negative consequnces that might happen to the poor segments and vulnerable people, who are succeptible to shocks, such as: the orphans, un
... Show MoreThe emergence of COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented escalation in different aspects of human activities, including medical education. Students and educators across academic institutions have confronted various challenges in following the guidelines of protection against the disease on one hand and accomplishing learning curricula on the other hand. In this short view, we presented our experience in implementing e-learning to the undergraduate nursing students during the present COVID-19 pandemic emphasizing the learning content, barriers, and feedback of students and educators. We hope that this view will trigger the preparedness of nursing faculties in Iraq to deal with this new modality of learning and improve it should t
... Show MoreThe research topic was chosen as a result of the importance of human resource in business organizations in general and the industrial process in particular. Without the human resource, business organizations cannot continue and achieve success and excellence, and the research problem has been diagnosed in the lack of sales of General Cement Company’s northern products, despite their distinctiveness, standing, and reputation in The market and its products with standard specifications, and through this problem, the following questions were raised: &nbs
... Show MoreThe research seeks to identify the effectiveness of a selective program in modifying irrational thinking that causes anger among an important class of societies in general. namely teachers. Specifically female teachers because of the pressures they suffer because of the nature of this profession. It may develop into anger outburst, which may cause irrational thinking arose as a result of the different situations they are going through. The sample of the program consisted of (12) teachers in Egypt, from different educational sectors. The researcher intended to clarify the emotion of anger and the irrational thoughts associated with it and the contribution of the selective counseling program in modifying those irrational thinking. This was
... Show MoreThe importance of this research is due to its importance goals, Which are about the attempt of researchers to investigate the probability of depending on businesses, environments to transform organizations, performance in away that enhance the leading role of organizations in their environments , and through views of a number of the staff working in the foundation of technical institutes in Mosul. .
After deciding the methodology of the study that ,in one hand ,performs the goals of the study , and achieving a suitable theoretical framework to present the concepts of businesses, environments and the leadin
... Show MoreForeign body embolization is a rare but serious iatrogenic complication that might necessitate transcatheter or even surgical retrieval. A broken double-lumen catheter was snared using a goose neck snare kit. The procedure was successful, and the patient experienced no further complications.