Recycling PCBs for nanoparticles production with potential applications in cosmetics, cement manufacturing, and CO capture.

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a global problem, and many countries have established laws and regulations to promote its proper disposal and recycling. E-waste contains a significant content of printed circuit boards (PCBs), composed of metals and other valuable metals that may become scarce in Earth's crust - Copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), and others. The main objective of this review is to explore the potential for producing nanoparticles (NPs) from the metals extracted through PCB recycling, with applications in the cosmetics, cement manufacturing, and carbon dioxide (CO) capture industries.

Joint EURADOS-EANM initiative for an advanced computational framework for the assessment of external dose rates from nuclear medicine patients.

Background: In order to ensure adequate radiation protection of critical groups such as staff, caregivers and the general public coming into proximity of nuclear medicine (NM) patients, it is necessary to consider the impact of the radiation emitted by the patients during their stay at the hospital or after leaving the hospital. Current risk assessments are based on ambient dose rate measurements in a single position at a specified distance from the patient and carried out at several time points after administration of the radiopharmaceutical to estimate the whole-body retention. The limitations of such an approach are addressed in this study by developing and validating a more advanced computational dosimetry approach using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations in combination with flexible and realistic computational phantoms and time activity distribution curves from reference biokinetic models.

Extremity exposure of nuclear medicine workers: results from an EANM and EURADOS survey.

Background: Extremity exposure during the handling of unsealed radioactive sources is a matter of concern for nuclear medicine workers. Next to Tc and F, other radiopharmaceuticals have seen an increase in their use over the last decade. However, limited information on their impact on extremity dose is available.

Main challenges in radiation protection with emerging radionuclide therapies.

The recent development of radionuclide therapy and radioligand therapy has raised a call for achieving the highest quality standards, for either radiopharmacy or radiation protection. Novel radionuclides are now being used, either under the form of in-house production radiopharmaceuticals or available from companies. Over the last 20 years, they include radiolabeled microspheres for selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT), the introduction of the first commercially available alpha emitter radiopharmaceutical, Ra, and the radiosynoviorthesis which is highly variable across Europe.

Nanocarriers Based on Gold Nanoparticles for Epigallocatechin Gallate Delivery in Cancer Cells.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are inorganic and biocompatible nanovehicles capable of conjugating biomolecules to enhance their efficacy in cancer treatment. The high and reactive surface area provides good advantages for conjugating active compounds. Two approaches were developed in this work to improve the Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) antioxidant efficacy.

Review of extremity dosimetry in nuclear medicine.

The exposure of the fingers is one of the major radiation protection concerns in nuclear medicine (NM). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the exposure, dosimetry and protection of the extremities in NM. A wide range of reported finger doses were found in the literature.

CytoRADx: A High-Throughput, Standardized Biodosimetry Diagnostic System Based on the Cytokinesis-Block Micronucleus Assay.

In a large-scale catastrophe, such as a nuclear detonation in a major city, it will be crucial to accurately diagnose large numbers of people to direct scarce medical resources to those in greatest need. Currently no FDA-cleared tests are available to diagnose radiation exposures, which can lead to complex, life-threatening injuries. To address this gap, we have achieved substantial advancements in radiation biodosimetry through refinement and adaptation of the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay as a high throughput, quantitative diagnostic test.

Open-label placebo for chronic low back pain: a 5-year follow-up.

Long-term follow-up of patients treated with open-label placebo (OLP) are nonexistent. In this article, we report a 5-year follow-up of a 3-week OLP randomized controlled trial (RCT) in patients with chronic low back pain. We recontacted the participants of original RCT and reassessed their pain, disability, and use of pain medication.

Cytogenetically-based biodosimetry after high doses of radiation.

Dosimetry is an important tool for triage and treatment planning following any radiation exposure accident, and biological dosimetry, which estimates exposure dose using a biological parameter, is a practical means of determining the specific dose an individual receives. The cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay (CBMN) is an established biodosimetric tool to measure chromosomal damage in mitogen-stimulated human lymphocytes. The CBMN method is especially valuable for biodosimetry in triage situations thanks to simplicity in scoring and adaptability to high-throughput automated sample processing systems.

Open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

This randomized controlled trial was performed to investigate whether placebo effects in chronic low back pain could be harnessed ethically by adding open-label placebo (OLP) treatment to treatment as usual (TAU) for 3 weeks. Pain severity was assessed on three 0- to 10-point Numeric Rating Scales, scoring maximum pain, minimum pain, and usual pain, and a composite, primary outcome, total pain score. Our other primary outcome was back-related dysfunction, assessed on the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.

High-Throughput Indirect Quantitation of C Enriched Metabolites Using H NMR.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is widely used in metabolomics to perform quantitative profiling of low-molecular weight compounds from biological specimens. The measurement of endogenous metabolites using NMR has proven to be a powerful tool to identify new metabolic biomarkers in physiological and pathological conditions, and to study and evaluate treatment efficiency. In this study we present a rapid approach to indirectly quantify C enriched molecules using one-dimensional (1D) H NMR.

The role of molecular imaging in modern drug development.

Drug development represents a highly complex, inefficient and costly process. Over the past decade, the widespread use of nuclear imaging, owing to its functional and molecular nature, has proven to be a determinant in improving the efficiency in selecting the candidate drugs that should either be abandoned or moved forward into clinical trials. This helps not only with the development of safer and effective drugs but also with the shortening of time-to-market.

Preclinical imaging: an essential ally in modern biosciences.

Translational research is changing the practice of modern medicine and the way in which health problems are approached and solved. The use of small-animal models in basic and preclinical sciences is a major keystone for these kinds of research and development strategies, representing a bridge between discoveries at the molecular level and clinical implementation in diagnostics and/or therapeutics. The development of high-resolution in vivo imaging technologies provides a unique opportunity for studying disease in real time, in a quantitative way, at the molecular level, along with the ability to repeatedly and non-invasively monitor disease progression or response to treatment.