Three-dimensional time-resolved optical tomography of a conical breast phantom

A 32-channel time-resolved imaging device for medical optical tomography has been employed to evaluate a scheme for imaging the human female breast. The fully automated instrument and the reconstruction procedure have been tested on a conical phantom with tissue-equivalent optical properties. The imaging protocol has been designed to obviate compression of the breast and the need for coupling fluids. Images are generated from experimental data with an iterative reconstruction algorithm that employs a three-dimensional (3D) finite-element diffusion-based forward model. Embedded regions with twice the background optical properties are revealed in separate 3D absorption and scattering images of the phantom. The implications for 3D time-resolved optical tomography of the breast are discussed.     

New indicator for optimal preprocessing and wavelength selection of near-infrared spectra

Preprocessing of near-infrared spectra to remove unwanted, i.e., non-related spectral variation and selection of informative wavelengths is considered to be a crucial step prior to the construction of a quantitative calibration model. The standard methodology when comparing various preprocessing techniques and selecting different wavelengths is to compare prediction statistics computed with an independent set of data not used to make the actual calibration model. When the errors of reference value are large, no such values are available at all, or only a limited number of samples are available, other methods exist to evaluate the preprocessing method and wavelength selection. In this work we present a new indicator (SE) that only requires blank sample spectra, i.e., spectra of samples that are mixtures of the interfering constituents (everything except the analyte), a pure analyte spectrum, or alternatively, a sample spectrum where the analyte is present. The indicator is based on computing the net analyte signal of the analyte and the total error, i.e., instrumental noise and bias. By comparing the indicator values when different preprocessing techniques and wavelength selections are applied to the spectra, the optimal preprocessing technique and the optimal wavelength selection can be determined without knowledge of reference values, i.e., it minimizes the non-related spectral variation. The SE indicator is compared to two other indicators that also use net analyte signal computations. To demonstrate the feasibility of the SE indicator, two near-infrared spectral data sets from the pharmaceutical industry were used, i.e., diffuse reflectance spectra of powder samples and transmission spectra of tablets. Especially in pharmaceutical spectroscopic applications, it is expected beforehand that the non-related spectral variation is rather large and it is important to remove it. The indicator gave excellent results with respect to wavelength selection and optimal preprocessing. The SE indicator performs better than the two other indicators, and it is also applicable to other situations where the Beer-Lambert law is valid.     

The use of passive personal neutron dosemeters to determine the neutron dose equivalent component of radiation fields in spacecraft

For the altitude range and inclination of the International Space Station (ISS), secondary neutrons can be a major contributor to dose equivalent inside a spacecraft. The exact proportion is very dependent on the amount of shielding of the primary galactic cosmic radiation and trapped particles, but is likely to lie in the range of 10-50%. Personal neutron dosemeters of simple design, processed using simple techniques developed for personal dosimetry, may be used to estimate this neutron component.     

Polyarginine segments in block copolypeptides drive both vesicular assembly and intracellular delivery

Polymeric vesicles are a relatively new class of nanoscale self-assembled materials that show great promise as robust encapsulants. Compared with liposomes, use of polymeric building blocks for membrane formation allows increased stability, stimuli responsiveness and chemical diversity, which may prove advantageous for drug-delivery applications . A major drawback of most polymeric vesicles is the lack of biofunctionality, which restricts their ability to interact with cells and tissues. We have prepared vesicles composed of polyarginine and polyleucine segments that are stable in media, can entrap water soluble species, and can be processed to different sizes and prepared in large quantities. The remarkable feature of these materials is that the polyarginine segments both direct structure for vesicle formation and provide functionality for efficient intracellular delivery of the vesicles. This unique synergy between nanoscale self-assembly and inherent peptide functionality provides a new approach for design of multifunctional materials for drug delivery.     

Three-dimensional time-resolved optical mammography of the uncompressed breast

Optical tomography is being developed as a means of detecting and specifying disease in the adult female breast. We present a series of clinical three-dimensional optical images obtained with a 32-channel time-resolved system and a liquid-coupled interface. Patients place their breasts in a hemispherical cup to which sources and detectors are coupled, and the remaining space is filled with a highly scattering fluid. A cohort of 38 patients has been scanned, with a variety of benign and malignant lesions. Images show that hypervascularization associated with tumors provides very high contrast due to increased absorption by hemoglobin. Only half of the fibroadenomas scanned could be observed, but of those that could be detected, all but one revealed an apparent increase in blood volume and a decrease in scatter and oxygen saturation.     

Production and evaluation of silicon immersion gratings for infrared astronomy

Immersion gratings, diffraction gratings where the incident radiation strikes the grooves while immersed in a dielectric medium, offer significant compactness and performance advantages over front-surface gratings. These advantages become particularly large for high-resolution spectroscopy in the near-IR. The production and evaluation of immersion gratings produced by fabricating grooves in silicon substrates using photolithographic patterning and anisotropic etching is described. The gratings produced under this program accommodate beams up to 25 mm in diameter (grating areas to 55 mm x 75 mm). Several devices are complete with appropriate reflective and antireflection coatings. All gratings were tested as front-surface devices as well as immersed gratings. The results of the testing show that the echelles behave according to the predictions of the scalar efficiency model and that tests done on front surfaces are in good agreement with tests done in immersion. The relative efficiencies range from 59% to 75% at 632.8 nm. Tests of fully completed devices in immersion show that the gratings have reached the level where they compete with and, in some cases, exceed the performance of commercially available conventional diffraction gratings (relative efficiencies up to 71%). Several diffraction gratings on silicon substrates up to 75 mm in diameter having been produced, the current state of the silicon grating technology is evaluated.     

A compact high-energy neutron spectrometer

A compact liquid organic neutron spectrometer based on a single NE213 liquid scintillator (5 cm diameter x 5 cm) is described. The spectrometer is designed to measure neutron fluence spectra over the energy range 2-200 MeV and is suitable for use in neutron fields having any type of time structure. Neutron fluence spectra are obtained from measurements of two-parameter distributions (counts versus pulse-height and pulse shape) using the Bayesian unfolding code MAXED. Calibration and test measurements made using a pulsed neutron beam with a continuous energy spectrum are described and the application of the spectrometer to radiation dose measurements is discussed.     

Fourier transform capillary electrophoresis with laminar-flow gated pressure injection

Fourier transform capillary electrophoresis (FTCE) was developed as a method to improve signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and resolution in capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation. In FTCE, multiple simultaneous CE separations were performed in the same channel system and interrogated using a single-point detector. To illustrate experimentally the improvement offered by FTCE in S/N ratio and resolution, we carried out a modest number (five) of multiple injections and separations. We show even with this small number of separations, S/N increased by a factor of 2.9, and theoretical plate height improved by a factor of more than 30. We demonstrated this technique with laser-induced fluorescence detection, but a wide variety of detection methods are compatible with FTCE.     

Microscale exoglycosidase processing and lectin capture of glycans with phospholipid assisted capillary electrophoresis separations

Capillary electrophoresis separations of glycans labeled with 1-aminopyrene-3,6,8-trisulfonic acid were achieved with separation efficiencies ranging from 480,000 to 640,000 theoretical plates in a 60.2 cm, 25 μm inner diameter fused silica capillary. Under these separation conditions, the coefficient of variation in peak area is 10%, and if labeling efficiency is estimated at 100%, the limit of detection is 15 fM. The capillary electrophoresis method incorporated phospholipid additives to enhance the separation of glycans with slight differences in hydrodynamic volume. In addition, the phospholipid additives supported the integration of the lectin concanavalin A as well as the enzymes α1-2,3 mannosidase or β1-4 galactosidase to provide structural and compositional information about the glycans subject to separation. The use of in-capillary cleavage of terminal glycan residues with exoglycosidases offers a number of advantages over benchtop enzymatic sequencing, including reduced consumption of analyte, as well as enzyme. These methods were used to evaluate glycans derived from the glycoproteins α1-acid glycoprotein, fetuin, and ribonuclease B, as well as from glycoproteins collected from MCF7 cells.     

The effects of Mn2+ doping on the luminescence properties of 12CaO 7Al2O:Eu2+ nanocrystal phosphor

The long lasting blue phosphorescence (LLP) and photostimulated luminescence (PSL) after ultraviolet light irradiation at room temperature in 12CaO 7Al2O3:xEu2+, yMn2+ (x = 0, 0.001; y = 0, 0.01) prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method were observed. It was shown that novel oxide 12CaO 7Al2O3:Eu2+, Mn2+ (C12A7:Eu2+, Mn2+) with unique nanocage structure can store energy when irradiated with 365 nm photons. And photon energy can be subsequently released by exposed to 980 nm light. The codopant Mn2+ enhances the intensity of the persistent phosphorescence and PSL due to the existence of more shallow and new deeper electron traps in C12A7: Eu2+, Mn2+. A model for energy storing and recovering and the detailed mechanism of PSL are presented through comparing with the luminescence properties of the co-doped C12A7:Eu2+, Mn2+ and C12A7:Eu2+.