A radio-enzymatic method for the estimation of L-leucine-specific radioactivity

A method is presented for the estimation of L-leucine concentration and radioactivity in biological samples. The sample L-leucine is specifically bound to tRNA and its radioactivity estimated in the presence of either added labelled L-leucine or cold L-leucine (in the same proportion), as well as in the presence of a large excess of cold L-leucine. The latter gave the measurement of non-leucine radioactivity present in the sample. The measurements in the presence and absence of labelled/cold L-leucine allowed the estimation of L-leucine levels and radioactivity by using a simple set of calculations and a standard curve built with known cold L-leucine concentrations in the presence of a fixed known amount of [14C]L-leucine.     

A CT assisted method for absolute quantitation of internal radioactivity

A method is described for the determination of radioactivity (microCi or MBq) at an organ site within an object or patient. Using both anatomic image data (CT or MRI scans) and planar gamma camera images, activity at depth is determined using a matrix inversion method based on least squares. The result of the inversion analysis was the unknown set of n linear (uniform) activity densities representative of each organ within the phantom or patient. The problem was overdetermined since the number of unknown activity densities (microCi/cm) was much less than the number of analysis points (N) within the nuclear image. This method, defined as the CT assisted matrix inversion (CAMI) technique, was accurate to within 15% for a three "organ" plastic phantom, wherein the organs were right circular cylinders having activities of 74 to 508 microCi (or 2.74 MBq to 18.8 MBq). This accuracy included image quantitation effects, particularly assumptions concerning attenuation correction. The average absolute percent error of the estimated activity in four distinct radioactive volumes in the phantom was 9.8%. It was found that the background activity within the phantom was estimated to be too high if sampling regions near strong sources were used in the analysis (scatter effect). This was minimized by going at least 2 cm away from such sources. By applying the method to a monoclonal antibody clinical study, activities within the patient's major organs such as liver, spleen, and kidney could be estimated, even in cases where the organ could not be visualized. Here, the CAMI algorithm gave internally consistent results for the patient's left and right lung linear activity concentrations. The CAMI technique resolves the problem of tissue superimposition using depth information from 3-D CT and is applicable in cases where a number of organs overlap in the gamma camera image. Thus, the method should be generally useful to nuclear image quantitation and the estimation of absorbed radiation doses in patients. One particular application is the estimation of radiation doses in radioimmunotherapy (RIT).     

National radioactivity standards for beta-emitting radionuclides used in intravascular brachytherapy

The uses of beta-particle emitting radionuclides in therapeutic medicine are rapidly expanding. To ensure the accurate assays of these nuclides prior to administration, radioactivity standards are needed. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the national metrological standards laboratory for the United States, uses high-efficiency liquid scintillation counting to standardize solutions of such beta emitters, including 32P, 90Sr/90Y, and 188Re. Additional measurements are made on radionuclidic impurities, half lives, and other decay-scheme parameters (such as branching decay ratios or gamma-ray abundances) using HPGe detectors and reentrant ionization chambers. Following such measurements at NIST, standards are disseminated in three ways: Standard Reference Materials (SRMs), calibrations for source manufacturers, and calibration factors for commercial instruments. Uncertainties in the activity calibrations for these nuclides are of the order of +/-0.5% (at approximately 1-standard deviation confidence intervals).     

A Search for Identity.

Discusses steps to developing a successful graduate training program. These steps include defining a psychologist's capabilities, defining professional objectives to provide a framework for the training, determining what specific training methods would help reach these objectives, and conducting a follow-up with graduates to determine their professional achievements. The author then highlights a number of objectives he feels are appropriate for graduate training programs. These include the training of the student in the proper understanding and application of the scientific method, ensuring that the psychologist can relate psychological principles and concepts to a broad range of behavior, helping the student develop the requisite skills for conducting either a theoretical, experimental, or applied analysis, and ensuring that the student understands principles of measurement, is informed about other disciplines, and can recognize in a set of results the implications for future investigations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)