Development and validation of a Monte Carlo simulation of photon transport in an Anger camera

The geometric component of the point spread function (PSF) of a gamma camera collimator can be determined analytically, and the penetration component can be calculated readily by numerical ray-tracing. A Monte Carlo simulation of photon transport which includes collimator scatter is developed. The simulation was implemented with an array processor which propagates up to 1024 photons in parallel, allowing accurate estimates of the total radial PSF in less than a day. The simulation was tested by imaging monoenergetic point sources of Tc-99m, Cr-51, and Sr-85 (140, 320, and 514 keV, respectively) on a General Electric Star Cam with low-energy, general-purpose, and medium-energy collimators. Comparisons of measured and simulated PSFs demonstrate the validity of the model and the significance of collimator scatter in the degradation of image quality.     

OSHA's bloodborne pathogens rule an opportunity/threat

If you supply healthcare linen, OSHA's new ruling comes with a price tag, but it may be a marketing boon as well. The costs of compliance are high--about $1.19 million annually. One of the most costly and important parts of the ruling is the required employer-paid hepatitis B vaccination of employees. But behind the costs, there's good news for the textile rental industry. The opportunity to serve small medical facilities and nursing homes as well as hospitals with reusable healthcare garments could create a revenue source estimated to be at least $177 million a year.     

Knowing healthcare customer needs key to profitable niche marketing

A potential $177 million-a-year market has been opened to textile rental operators, thanks to OSHA's recent ruling on bloodborne pathogens. Healthcare providers nationwide are now searching for solutions to their protective apparel needs. Such customer needs are what drive niche markets. Whether you've been serving the healthcare market for years or are just now targeting it, here are the marketing strategies you need.     

Bloodborne pathogens compliance update. Local OSHA regulations cover textile rental companies in 23 states and two U.S. territories

The last phase of the federal OSHA standard on occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens became effective July 6. However, compliance deadlines may vary in the 23 states and two U.S. territories that have their own OSHA offices. The states and territories have the option of adopting the federal standard or drafting their own plans. Here's a status report on the OSHA-approved state programs for bloodborne pathogens.     

A Realistic Computer-Simulated Brain Phantom for Evaluation of PET Charactenstics

To evaluate accurately the imaging characteristics of positron emission tomography (PET), a realistic computer-simulated brain phantom was developed. A cross-sectional slice from a human cadaver brain was chosen for its combination of gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) regions. The slice was photographed and digitized into a gray-level image with a video digitizer, boundary edges were located around cerebral structures in the digitized image, and each structural region was assigned a uniform pixel value dependent on both the cerebral parameter (e.g., blood flow, oxygen uptake, metabolic rate) under investigation and the type of structure (gray matter, white matter, CSF). Line integrals through the regions were generated at various angular and transverse positions according to specific physical characteristics (such as detector line-spread function) of a tomographic scanner configuration to create a set of simulated but realistic projection measurements. The set of projection measurements can be processed with any standard reconstruction program to create a tomographic image to reveal the effects of various PET characteristics. Investigations with this computer-simulated brain phantom have demonstrated its usefulness for examining the interrelations among neuroanatomical structure volume, tomographic spatial resolution, partial volume effect, and nonlinear parameter estimation. Transportability of the simulated phantom and the procedure to other medical imaging environments is described, and limitations of this simulation procedure are discussed.     

表面n沟CCD的电离辐射损伤

本文报道了150光敏元表面n沟CCD(电荷耦合器件)在不同能量电子和γ射线辐照后的电离辐射效应。试验结果表明,转移失效率在≤10Gy时已明显增大。但大多数器件在累积剂量≤50Gy时,通过调整“胖零”注入仍可工作。在高剂量辐照期间,不同栅偏压器件的转移效率退化存在较大差异。应用高频和准静态C-V技术分析了参数退化的原因。     

Biosynthesis and identification of volatiles released by the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca

The volatiles released by agar plate cultures of two strains of the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca (strains Sg a15 and DW4/3-1) were collected in a closed-loop stripping apparatus (CLSA) and analyzed by GC-MS. Large numbers of substances from different compound classes (ketones, esters, lactones, terpenes, and sulfur and nitrogen compounds) were identified; several of them are reported from natural sources for the first time. The volatiles 2-methyltridecan-4-one (17), its isomer 3-methyltridecan-4-one (20), and the higher homologue 2-methyltetradecan-4-one (18) were identified in the extracts of both strains and were synthesized. In addition, strain Sg a15 produced 2,12-dimethyltridecan-4-one (19), 2-methyltridec-2-en-4-one (23), and a series of phenyl ketones, among them 1-phenyldecan-1-one (14) and 9-methyl-1-phenyldecan-1-one (16), whereas strain DW4/3-1 emitted traces of 10-methylundecan-2-one (21). The biosynthesis of 14 and 16 was examined in feeding experiments with deuterated precursors carried out on agar plate cultures. The leucine-derived starter unit isovalerate was shown to be incorporated into 16, as was phenylalanine-derived benzoic acid into both 14 and 16. The results point to formation both of the phenyl ketones and of the structurally related aliphatic ketones through an unusual head-to-head coupling between a starter unit such as benzoyl-CoA and a fatty acyl-CoA, followed by decarboxylation.     

沙蚕毒系杀虫剂毒力测定方法的讨论

该类杀虫剂属神经毒剂,但其杀虫作用机制、中毒症状、以及死亡速率等较常用三大类杀虫剂有其特殊性。它不直接作用于乙酰胆碱酯酶,而是乙酰胆碱受体的竞争性抑活剂,以阻遏神经正常传递而使虫体麻痹、软化和失去取食能力,继之缓慢地死去。据测试,当4～5龄菜青虫或玉米螟幼虫取食或接触该类药剂后的半小时内即可出现中毒症状,复苏的可     

灭多威及其混合剂对棉铃虫的杀卵作用和生化机理

用灭多威及其混合剂处理不同发育阶段的棉铃虫卵和初孵幼虫，生化法测定不同发育阶段卵中的乙酰胆碱酯酶，羧酸酯酶活性和蛋白质含量。结果表明，灭多威及其混合剂对初产卵杀卵作用较小，对发育至１日龄以后卵的杀卵作用大；３种混合剂对初孵幼虫的击倒毒力均高于灭多威；该类药剂杀卵作用大小与卵内乙酰胆碱酯酶的活性呈正相关。