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.
Polymeric hollow fiber membrane is produced by a physical process called wet or dry/wet phase inversion; a technique includes many steps and depends on different factors (starting from selecting materials, end with post-treatment of hollow fiber membrane locally manufactured). This review highlights the most significant factors that affect and control the characterization and structure of ultrafiltration hollow fiber membranes used in different applications.
Three different types of polymers (polysulfone PSF, polyethersulfone PES or polyvinyl chloride PVC) were considered to study morphology change and structure of hollow fiber membranes in this review. These hollow fiber membranes were manufactured with different pro
... Show MoreKinetics study on the phenol oxidation by catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) using CuO.NiO/Al2O3 as heterogeneous catalyst is presented. 4 g/l phenol solution of pH 7.3 was oxidized in a trickle bed reactor with gas flow rate of 80% stochiometric excess (S.E).. In order to verify the proposed kinetics, a series of CWAO experimental tests were done at two temperatures (140 and 160° C), oxygen partial pressures (9 and 12 bar), and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 h-1). According to Power Law, the reaction orders are found to be approximately 1 and 0.5 with respect to phenol concentration and oxygen solubility, respectively. These values favorably compare with those cited in the literature for intrinsic kinetics,
... Show MoreBackground: pregnancy as a systemic condition causes changes in the functioning of human body as a whole and specifically in the oral cavity and it also is considered as a stressful condition. These changes may favor the increase of oxidative stress. Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate the level of marker of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde) and antioxidant (uric acid) in saliva of pregnant compared to non-pregnant women and to assess the gingival health condition in both groups. Additionally, unstimulated salivary flow rate was determined in both groups. Subjects, materials and methods: The study group consisted of sixty pregnant women, they were divided into three equal groups according to trimester (20 pregnant women for each
... Show MoreDue to the lack of statistical researches in studying with existing (p) of Exogenous Input variables, and there contributed in time series phenomenon as a cause, yielding (q) of Output variables as a result in time series field, to form conceptual idea similar to the Classical Linear Regression that studies the relationship between dependent variable with explanatory variables. So highlight the importance of providing such research to a full analysis of this kind of phenomena important in consumer price inflation in Iraq. Were taken several variables influence and with a direct connection to the phenomenon and analyzed after treating the problem of outliers existence in the observations by (EM) approach, and expand the sample size (n=36) to
... Show MoreBackground: Selenium-73 with half- life of 7.15 hour emits β+ in nature and has six stable isotopes which are ( 74Se,76Se,77Se,78Se,80Se and 82Se ). Selenium-73 has many applications in technology and radioselenium compounds of metallic have found various applications in medicine.
Objective: To make a comparison between different reactions that produced cross sections of Se-73 radioisotopes.
Subjects and methods: The feasibility of the production of Selenium -73 via various nuclear reactions was investigated. Excitation functions of 73Se production by the re
... Show MoreThe main objective of resources management is to supply and support the site operation with necessary resources in a way to achieve the required timing in handing over the work as well as to achieve the cost-realism within the budget estimated. The research aims to know the advantage of using GIS in management of resources as one of the new tools that keep pace with the evolution in various countries around the world also collect the vast amount of spatial data resources in one environment easily to handled and accessed quickly and this help to make the right decision regarding management of resources in various construction projects. The process of using GIS in the management and identification of resources is of extreme importance in t
... Show MorePurpose: The study aims to investigate the extent to which material and non-material requirements are available in applying budgeting programs and performance in Iraqi governmental companies that are not aimed at achieving profits. whose activities are limited to providing services of public interest. This is done by studying the extent to which the requirements of each stage of preparing the programs and performance budget can be met. Theoretical framework: The process of evaluating financial performance is the main objective of all economic units, whether they are governmental or private economic units. Budgets contribute to the evaluation process by analyzing deviations in the application. The study includes an analytical pres
... Show MoreThe corrosion behavior of Titanium in a simulated saliva solution was improved by Nanotubular Oxide via electrochemical anodizing treatment using three electrodes cell potentiostat at 37°C. The anodization treatment was achieved in a non-aqueous electrolyte with the following composition: 200mL ethylene glycol containing 0.6g NH4F and 10 ml of deionized water and using different applied directed voltage at 10°C and constant time of anodizing (15 min.). The anodized titanium layer was examined using SEM, and AFM technique.
The results showed that increasing applied voltage resulted in formation titanium oxide nanotubes with higher corrosion resistance
In this paper the effect of engagement length, number of teeth, amount of applied load, wave propagation time, number of cycles, and initial crack length on the principal stress distribution, velocity of crack propagation, and cyclic crack growth rate in a spline coupling subjected to cyclic torsional impact have been investigated analytically and experimentally. It was found that the stresses induced due to cyclic impact loading are higher than the stresses induced due to impact loading with high percentage depends on the number of cycles and total loading time. Also increasing the engagement length and the number of teeth reduces the principal stresses (40%) and
(25%) respectively for increasing the engagement length from (0.15 to 0