First In Vivo and Phantom Imaging of Cyclotron-Produced La as a Theranostic Radionuclide for Ac and La.

Theranostic isotope pairs have gained recent clinical interest because they can be labeled to the same tracer and applied for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The goals of this study were to investigate cyclotron production of clinically relevant La activities using natural and isotopically enriched barium target material, compare fundamental PET phantom imaging characteristics of La with those of common PET radionuclides, and demonstrate in vivo preclinical PET tumor imaging using La-PSMA-I&T. La was produced on a 24-MeV cyclotron using an aluminum-indium sealed target with 150-200 mg of isotopically enriched BaCO, BaCO, and Ba metal.

Taking cyclotron Ga production to the next level: Expeditious solid target production of Ga for preparation of radiotracers.

Introduction: Gallium-68 is an important radionuclide for positron emission tomography (PET) with steadily increasing applications of Ga-based radiopharmaceuticals for clinical use. Current Ga sources are primarily Ge/Ga-generators, along with successful attempts of Ga production using a cyclotron. This study evaluated cyclotron Ga production and automated separation using expeditiously manufactured solid targets, demonstrates an order of magnitude improvement in yield compared to Ge/Ga generators, and presents a convenient alternative to existing cyclotron production processes.

Identifying the arrival of extensional and flexural wave modes using wavelet decomposition of ultrasonic signals.

In health monitoring applications of composite materials, the health state of specimens is often evaluated using naturally occurring and simulated Acoustic Emission stress waves. For such applications, identifying the arrival times of the extensional and flexural wave modes from acquired signals is a crucial step, and must be performed reliably and potentially on large sets of signals. This article proposes using the wavelet decomposition of a signal to develop a fast, algorithmic and automated approach to estimate the arrival times of the extensional and flexural wave modes.

Dust is the dominant source of "heavy metals" to peat moss (Sphagnum fuscum) in the bogs of the Athabasca Bituminous Sands region of northern Alberta.

Sphagnum fuscum was collected from twenty-five ombrotrophic (rain-fed) peat bogs surrounding open pit mines and upgrading facilities of Athabasca Bituminous Sands (ABS) in northern Alberta (AB) in order to assess the extent of atmospheric contamination by trace elements. As a control, this moss species was also collected at a bog near Utikuma (UTK) in an undeveloped part of AB and 264km SW of the ABS region. For comparison, this moss was also collected in central AB, in the vicinity of the City of Edmonton which is approximately 500km to the south of the ABS region, from the Wagner Wetland which is 22km W of the City, from Seba Beach (ca.

Overview of the Full-scale Radiological Dispersal Device Field Trials.

In 2012, Defence Research and Development Canada, in partnership with a number of other Canadian and International organizations, led a series of three field trials designed to simulate a Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD). These trials, known as the Full-Scale RDD (FSRDD) Field Trials, involved the explosive dispersal of a short-lived radioactive tracer ((140)La, t1/2 = 40.293 h).

Sphagnum mosses from 21 ombrotrophic bogs in the athabasca bituminous sands region show no significant atmospheric contamination of "heavy metals".

Sphagnum moss was collected from 21 ombrotrophic (rain-fed) peat bogs surrounding open pit mines and upgrading facilities of Athabasca bituminous sands in Alberta (AB). In comparison to contemporary Sphagnum moss from four bogs in rural locations of southern Germany (DE), the AB mosses yielded lower concentrations of Ag, Cd, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Tl, similar concentrations of Mo, but greater concentrations of Ba, Th, and V. Except for V, in comparison to the "cleanest", ancient peat samples ever tested from the northern hemisphere (ca.

The impact of implementation of the Canadian regulatory requirements on the quality of natural health products: the glucosamine case.

Purpose: We investigated whether the recent implementation of the regulatory requirements for the entry to the Canadian market of natural products has resulted in improved quality of the available glucosamine products.

Methods: Eleven available products, of which 8 had been tested in 2002 (7 had contained substantially lower than the label claim of the active ingredient), and a European pharmaceutical grade tablet were assayed for their glucosamine content. The potassium and sodium contents of the products were also tested.

Compositional and material properties of rat bone after bisphosphonate and/or Strontium ranelate drug treatment.

Purpose: We investigated elemental strontium and/or bisphosphonate drug incorporation upon the compositional and biomechanical properties of vertebral bone, in a rat model of Osteoporosis secondary to ovariectomy.

Methods: Six month old female rats were ovariectomized (OVX) and divided into untreated OVX-Vehicle, OVX-RIS (Risedronate bisphosphonate [BP] treated), OVX-SrR (Strontium Ranelate [Protos®] treated), combination OVX-RIS+SrR, and sham-operated controls. After 16 weeks of treatment, rats were euthanized and lumbar vertebra were dissected.

Modeling enzootic raccoon rabies from land use patterns - Georgia (USA) 2006-2010.

We analyzed how land-use patterns and changes in urbanization influence reported rabid raccoons in Georgia from 2006 - 2010.  Using Geographical Information Systems and rabies surveillance data, multivariate analysis was conducted on 15 land-use variables that included natural topography, agricultural development, and urbanization to model positive raccoon rabies cases while controlling for potential raccoon submission bias associated with higher human population densities.  Low intensity residential development was positively associated with reported rabid raccoons while a negative association was found with evergreen forest.

Ascorbic acid differentially modulates the induction of heme oxygenase-1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 and glutathione S-transferase Ya by As(3+), Cd(2+) and Cr(6+).

The induction of phase II drug metabolizing enzymes serves as a detoxification mechanism for many mutagens, carcinogens and other toxic compounds. Specifically, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) and glutathione S-transferase Ya subunit (Gst ya) are key enzymes involved in cellular defense against reactive forms of oxygen and the inhibition of carcinogenesis. As(3+), which induces these enzymes, has been proven to have a role in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Malveae (Malvaceae, subfamily Malvoideae) as inferred from ITS sequence data.

Phylogenetic relationships among genera of tribe Malveae (Malvaceae, subfamily Malvoideae) were reconstructed using sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18S-26S nuclear ribosomal repeat. Newly generated sequences were combined with those available from previous generic level studies to assess the current circumscription of the tribe, monophyly of some of the larger genera, and character evolution within the tribe. The ITS data do not support monophyly of most generic alliances as presently defined, nor do the data support monophyly of several Malveae genera.

Metallic copper as a fiducial marker for both CT and PET.

There is great interest in augmenting computed tomography (CT) with information gained from other imaging modalities. Positron emission tomography (PET) provides valuable data related to patient physiology to aid in the delineation of tumor volumes. Combining the information provided by these imaging modalities requires accurate spatial registration of the two data sets.