Shielding design of a brachytherapy unit at the Korle Bu teaching hospital in Ghana: comparison of theoretical calculations and experimental study.

A theoretical study was carried out to re-evaluate the integrity of the biological shielding of (137)Cs brachytherapy unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana, and the results were verified by measurement of the dose rates at selected locations. The primary objective was to determine the current state of protection and safety of staff and the general public. Shielding design of the brachytherapy unit at the hospital was based on postulated workload and occupancy factors of the facility.

Galectin-4 and galectin-6 are two closely related lectins expressed in mouse gastrointestinal tract.

Galectins are a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins that share a conserved sequence and affinity for beta-galactosides. Some, such as galectin-1, are isolated as dimers and have a single carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) in each monomer, whereas others, such as galectin-4, are isolated as monomers and have two CRDs in a single polypeptide chain. In the course of studying mouse colon mRNA for galectin-4, we detected a related mRNA that encodes a new galectin that also has two CRDs in a single peptide chain.