Activity measurements and calibrations for Ac in radioactive equilibrium with its progeny.

The massic activity of Ac in 0.1 mol/L HCl was measured by multiple primary methods over four consistent measurement campaigns. Results from the triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) method of liquid scintillation (LS) counting were in accord with other LS-based primary methods.

Soil dissipation and efficacy on itchgrass of soil-applied residual herbicides pendimethalin and clomazone in Louisiana sugarcane.

Background: Sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) growers in Louisiana report that the widely used soil residual herbicide, pendimethalin, is less effective at controlling itchgrass (Rottboellia chochinchinensis), possibly through accelerated dissipation from repeated applications. Some growers have started to use another herbicide, clomazone, in place of pendimethalin for itchgrass control when pendimethalin does not provide the necessary control.

Xenophilus aerolatus isolate misidentified as Brucella spp. by MALDI-TOF MS (VITEK-MS) system.

We report the characterization of Xenophilus aerolatus strain identified from a screening rectal swab specimen in human, initially misidentified as Brucella spp. by MALDI-TOF MS (VITEK-MS system). The strain is able to growth on Colorex mSuperCARBA plate, suggesting carbapenem resistance.

Occupational health and safety portrait of lobster fishers from a St. Lawrence Gulf community.

Lobstering industry workers are known to have poor overall health and low safety records, but there is still a gap in information concerning Canadian lobster fishers. This study aimed to report occupational health and safety characteristics of an Atlantic Canada community of lobster fishers and to assess differences between captains and deckhands. Twenty-eight participants (10 captains, 18 deckhands) were questioned and self-reported on lifestyle, general health status, work-related musculoskeletal disorders and traumatic injuries.

The Use of Vignettes to Improve the Validity of Qualitative Interviews for Realist Evaluation.

Although realist evaluation (RE) requires multiple data collection methods, qualitative interviews are considered most valuable and are most frequently used. The guiding principles of RE may limit the emergence of new Context-Mechanism-Outcome (CMO) configurations by evoking particular underlying mechanisms. This paper proposes a new method for conducting semi-structured interviews in the RE context by drawing on the literature and examining the ability of vignettes to explore perceptions about specific situations.

Nonaneurysmal perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage on noncontrast head CT: An accuracy, inter-rater, and intra-rater reliability study.

Background And Purpose: To evaluate the reliability and accuracy of nonaneurysmal perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage (NAPSAH) on Noncontrast Head CT (NCCT) between numerous raters.

Materials And Methods: 45 NCCT of adult patients with SAH who also had a catheter angiography (CA) were independently evaluated by 48 diverse raters; 45 raters performed a second assessment one month later. For each case, raters were asked: 1) whether they judged the bleeding pattern to be perimesencephalic; 2) whether there was blood anterior to brainstem; 3) complete filling of the anterior interhemispheric fissure (AIF); 4) extension to the lateral part of the sylvian fissure (LSF); 5) frank intraventricular hemorrhage; 6) whether in the hypothetical presence of a negative CT angiogram they would still recommend CA.

Absolute emission intensities of the gamma rays from the decay of Ra and Pb progenies and the half-life of the Pb decay.

Absolute gamma-ray emission intensities for 36 characteristic gamma rays from the decay of Ra, Pb, and their progeny were determined by measuring sources calibrated for activity by means of primary methods based on well-defined high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors at both NIST and NPL. Results from the two laboratories agree with recent data evaluations, except for gamma rays with low emission intensities. The decay schemes have been re-balanced based on the new results.

Liquid scintillation efficiencies, gamma-ray emission intensities, and half-life for Gd-153.

Gadolinium-153 was standardized for activity by live-timed anticoincidence counting and an ampoule was submitted to the international reference system (SIR). Absolute emission intensities for the main γ rays were determined with calibrated high-purity germanium (HPGe) and lithium-drifted silicon (Si(Li)) detectors. A revised decay scheme is indicated, with no probability of direct electron capture to the Eu ground state.

Comparison of calibration coefficients for a vinten ionization chamber simulated using four Monte Carlo methods.

The Vinten 671 ionization chamber (VIC) was modelled using Monte Carlo (MC) programs EGSnrc, Penelope, and TOPAS. Several national measurement institutes have VICs with well-characterized response relationships and have measured calibration coefficients for many radionuclides. Twelve radionuclides with various decay emissions were assessed as well as 14 monoenergetic photon sources and 10 monoenergetic electron sources.

Gravimetric deposition of microliter drops with radiometric confirmation.

A manual microliter gravimetric dispensing technique is demonstrated using a micropipettor modified for use with removeable microcapillaries. Liquid scintillation sources were prepared from a well-characterized Am reference solution, providing a radiometric check of dispensed masses. Further experiments confirmed controlled dispensing of drops onto gold foils with losses ≤0.

Isocitrate dehydrogenase wt and IDHmut adult-type diffuse gliomas display distinct alterations in ribosome biogenesis and 2'O-methylation of ribosomal RNA.

Background: High-grade adult-type diffuse gliomas (HGGs) constitute a heterogeneous group of aggressive tumors that are mostly incurable. Recent advances highlighting the contribution of ribosomes to cancer development have offered new clinical perspectives. Here, we uncovered that isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)wt and IDHmut HGGs display distinct alterations of ribosome biology, in terms of rRNA epitranscriptomics and ribosome biogenesis, which could constitute novel hallmarks that can be exploited for the management of these pathologies.

The international reference system for beta-particle emitting radionuclides: Validation through the pilot study CCRI(II)-P1.Co-60.

The Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) is developing a new transfer instrument to extend its centralized services for assessing the international equivalence of radioactive standards to new radionuclides. A liquid scintillation counter using the triple/double coincidence ratio method is being studied and tested in the CCRI(II)-P1.Co-60 pilot study.

Intronic small nucleolar RNAs regulate host gene splicing through base pairing with their adjacent intronic sequences.

Background: Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are abundant noncoding RNAs best known for their involvement in ribosomal RNA maturation. In mammals, most expressed snoRNAs are embedded in introns of longer genes and produced through transcription and splicing of their host. Intronic snoRNAs were long viewed as inert passengers with little effect on host expression.

Use of Invasive Brain-Computer Interfaces in Pediatric Neurosurgery: Technical and Ethical Considerations.

Invasive brain-computer interfaces hold promise to alleviate disabilities in individuals with neurologic injury, with fully implantable brain-computer interface systems expected to reach the clinic in the upcoming decade. Children with severe neurologic disabilities, like quadriplegic cerebral palsy or cervical spine trauma, could benefit from this technology. However, they have been excluded from clinical trials of intracortical brain-computer interface to date.

[Current issues and options for improving influenza vaccination rates in rural areas].

Introduction: Despite the positive impact of vaccination on health, influenza vaccination rates worldwide remain low for certain population groups. In Quebec, vaccination rates among populations with chronic diseases remain below what is expected by public health. Since this situation is also noticeable in rural areas, it is necessary to reflect on the current issues associated with low vaccination rates in the rural population.

A realist evaluation of a support and training program for family caregivers in the municipality of Envigado: A research protocol.

Aims: In Envigado, Colombia, the Secretariat of Health has implemented, since 2011, an interprofessional program involving nurses to support and train relatives to improve the quality of life of people with a loss of autonomy and their family caregivers. The objectives of this study are to assess the outcomes of this program and to explore the contextual elements and mechanisms that can explain these outcomes.

Design: This article presents the research protocol for a realist evaluation that will be carried out to gather the perspectives of various local stakeholders involved.

Acute Effects of High-Frequency Insular Stimulation on Interictal Epileptiform Discharge Rates in Patients with Refractory Epilepsy.

Rationale: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of several sites, such as the thalamus, has been shown to reduce seizure frequency and interictal epileptiform activity in patients with refractory epilepsy. Recent findings have demonstrated that the insula is part of the ‘rich club’ of highly connected brain regions. This pilot study investigated short-term effects of high-frequency (HF) insular DBS on interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) rate in patients with refractory epilepsy.

Nurses' clinical practices reducing the impact of HIV-related stigmatisation in non-HIV-specialised healthcare settings: a protocol for a realist synthesis.

Introduction: Despite tremendous progress in care, people living with HIV (PLHIV) continue to experience HIV-related stigmatisation by nurses in non-HIV-specialised healthcare settings. This has consequences for the health of PLHIV and the spread of the virus. In the province of Quebec (Canada), only four interventions aimed at reducing the impact of HIV-related stigmatisation by nurses have been implemented since the beginning of the HIV pandemic.

Characteristics, barriers and facilitators of initiatives to develop interprofessional collaboration in rural and remote primary healthcare facilities: a scoping review.

Introduction: Despite strong evidence supporting interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and the documented need for collaborative practice in primary health care (PHC), initiatives to promote IPC in rural and remote PHC facilities have not been extensively studied. The purpose of this article is to map interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) initiatives implemented to promote IPC in rural and remote PHC facilities, and identify barriers and facilitators to their implementation.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted.

Primary standardization of Pb activity by liquid scintillation counting.

An activity standard for Pb in equilibrium with its progeny was realized, based on triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) liquid scintillation (LS) counting. A Monte Carlo-based approach to estimating uncertainties due to nuclear decay data (branching ratios, beta endpoint energies, γ-ray energies, and conversion coefficients for Pb and Tl) led to combined standard uncertainties ≤ 0.20 %.

A Canadian National Survey of the Neurosurgical Management of Intracranial Abscesses.

Objective: Intracerebral abscess is a life-threatening condition for which there are no current, widely accepted neurosurgical management guidelines. The purpose of this study was to investigate Canadian practice patterns for the medical and surgical management of primary, recurrent, and multiple intracerebral abscesses.

Methods: A self-administered, cross-sectional, electronic survey was distributed to active staff and resident members of the Canadian Neurosurgical Society and Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative.

snoDB 2.0: an enhanced interactive database, specializing in human snoRNAs.

snoDB is an interactive database of human small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that includes up-to-date information on snoRNA features, genomic location, conservation, host gene, snoRNA-RNA targets and snoRNA abundance and provides links to other resources. In the second edition of this database (snoDB 2.0), we added an entirely new section on ribosomal RNA (rRNA) chemical modifications guided by snoRNAs with easy navigation between the different rRNA versions used in the literature and experimentally measured levels of modification.