Bringing revolution through quadcopter technology in the field of supplying medicine in the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand: Case example of Pithoragarh.

Background: Quadcopters are used in various forms in the civil arena, from crop insurance to agricultural drones, as loudspeakers for announcing government guidelines, resilience tools in infrastructure monitoring, real-time vehicle detection, etc. However, the usage of quadcopters and hexacopters in supplying medical aid to inhospitable and far-flung terrains is being studied and researched in less detail throughout the globe.

Aim: This paper focuses on the basics of quadcopter technology in supplying medicines and its advantages to the affected patients who get life-saving medicines from earlier inaccessible roads.

Simlukafusp alfa (FAP-IL2v) immunocytokine is a versatile combination partner for cancer immunotherapy.

Simlukafusp alfa (FAP-IL2v, RO6874281/RG7461) is an immunocytokine comprising an antibody against fibroblast activation protein α (FAP) and an IL-2 variant with a retained affinity for IL-2Rβγ > IL-2 Rβγ and abolished binding to IL-2 Rα. Here, we investigated the immunostimulatory properties of FAP-IL2v and its combination with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibition, CD40 agonism, T cell bispecific and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC)-mediating antibodies. The binding and immunostimulatory properties of FAP-IL2v were investigated and compared with FAP-IL2wt.

Visual interpretation, not SUV ratios, is the ideal method to interpret 18F-DOPA PET scans to aid in the cure of patients with focal congenital hyperinsulinism.

Introduction: Congenital hyperinsulinism is characterized by abnormal regulation of insulin secretion from the pancreas causing profound hypoketotic hypoglycemia and is the leading cause of persistent hypoglycemia in infants and children. The main objective of this study is to highlight the different mechanisms to interpret the 18F-DOPA PET scans and how this can influence outcomes.

Materials And Methods: After 18F-Fluoro-L-DOPA was injected intravenously into 50 subjects' arm at a dose of 2.

Rapid Brain Nicotine Uptake from Electronic Cigarettes.

This study sought to determine brain nicotine kinetics from use of the increasingly popular electronic cigarette (E-cig). In 17 E-cig users (9 men and 8 women), brain uptake of nicotine after inhalation from E-cigs was directly assessed using C-nicotine PET. The brain nicotine kinetics were compared with those from smoking combustible cigarettes (C-cigs).

Whole Body PET Imaging with a Norepinephrine Transporter Probe 4-[F]Fluorobenzylguanidine: Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry.

Purpose: 4-[F]Fluorobenzylguanidine ([F]PFBG) is a positron emission tomography (PET) probe for non-invasive targeting of the norepinephrine transporter. The aim of this study was to assess uptake and distribution characteristics of this PET probe.

Procedures: Three cynomolgus monkeys were injected with 269 ± 51 MBq (7.

Pancreatic uptake and radiation dosimetry of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA from PET imaging studies in infants with congenital hyperinsulinism.

Methods: After injecting 25.6 ± 8.8 MBq (0.

Selective targeting of melanoma using N-(2-diethylaminoethyl) 4-[F]fluoroethoxy benzamide (4-[F]FEBZA): a novel PET imaging probe.

Background: The purpose of this study was to develop a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging probe that is easy to synthesize and selectively targets melanoma in vivo. Herein, we report the synthesis and preclinical evaluation of N-(2-diethylaminoethyl) 4-[F]Fluoroethoxy benzamide (4-[F]FEBZA). A one-step synthesis was developed to prepare 4-[F]FEBZA in high radiochemical yields and specific activity.

A programmable smoke delivery device for PET imaging with cigarettes containing C-nicotine.

Introduction: PET imaging with C-nicotine-loaded cigarettes is a valuable tool to directly assess fast nicotine kinetics and its neuropharmacological role in tobacco dependence. To eliminate variations among puffs inhaled by subjects, this work aimed to develop a programmable smoke delivery device (SDD) to produce highly reproducible and adjustable puffs of cigarette smoke for PET experiments.

New Method: The SDD was built around a programmable syringe pump as a smoking machine to draw a puff of smoke from a C-nicotine-loaded cigarette and make it available for a subject to take the smoke into the mouth and then inhale it during PET data acquisition.

4-C-Methoxy -(2-Diethylaminoethyl) Benzamide: A Novel Probe to Selectively Target Melanoma.

We report the synthesis and preclinical evaluation of a C-labeled probe to target melanoma using PET. The target compound 4-C-methoxy -(2-diethylaminoethyl) benzamide (4-C-MBZA) was prepared via the C-methylation of 4-hydroxy -(2-diethylaminoethyl) benzamide (4-HBZA). The in vitro binding was performed using B16F1 (melanoma cells), MCF-10A (breast epithelial cells), and MDA-MB 231 (breast cancer cells).

Biodistribution and Radiation Dosimetry of C-Nicotine from Whole-Body PET Imaging in Humans.

This study assessed the in vivo distribution of C-nicotine and the absorbed radiation dose from whole-body C-nicotine PET imaging of 11 healthy (5 male and 6 female) subjects. After an initial CT attenuation scan, C-nicotine was administered via intravenous injection. A dynamic PET scan was acquired for 90 s with the brain in the field of view, followed by a series of 13 whole-body PET scans acquired over a 90-min period.

Sex-specific effects of cigarette mentholation on brain nicotine accumulation and smoking behavior.

Menthol cigarettes are likely associated with greater risks of smoking dependence than non-menthol cigarettes. We sought to test the hypothesis that menthol increases the rate of brain nicotine accumulation (BNA) during smoking and thereby enhances its addictive effects. In a counter-balanced cross-over design, 10 menthol and 9 non-menthol smokers (10 females and 9 males; mean age 44.

Further characterization of quinpirole-elicited yawning as a model of dopamine D3 receptor activation in male and female monkeys.

The dopamine (DA) D3 receptor (D3R) has been associated with impulsivity, pathologic gambling, and drug addiction, making it a potential target for pharmacotherapy development. Positron emission tomography studies using the D3R-preferring radioligand [(11)C]PHNO ([(11)C](+)-propyl-hexahydro-naphtho-oxazin) have shown higher binding potentials in drug abusers compared with control subjects. Preclinical studies have examined D3R receptor activation using the DA agonist quinpirole and the unconditioned behavior of yawning.

Effects of repeated treatment with the dopamine D2/D3 receptor partial agonist aripiprazole on striatal D2/D3 receptor availability in monkeys.

Rationale: Chronic treatment with dopamine (DA) receptor agonists and antagonists can differentially affect measures of DA D2/D3 receptor number and function, but the effects of chronic treatment with a partial D2/D3 receptor agonist are not clear.

Objective: We used a within-subjects design in male cynomolgus monkeys to determine the effects of repeated (17-day) treatment with the D2/D3 receptor partial agonist aripiprazole (ARI; 0.03 mg/kg and 0.

Effects of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists on cognition in rhesus monkeys with a chronic cocaine self-administration history.

Cocaine use is associated with impaired cognitive function, which may negatively impact treatment outcomes. One pharmacological strategy to improve cognition involves nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) stimulation. However, the effects of chronic cocaine exposure on nAChR distribution and function have not been characterized.

Social dominance in female monkeys: dopamine receptor function and cocaine reinforcement.

Background: Brain imaging and behavioral studies suggest an inverse relationship between dopamine (DA) D2/D3 receptors and vulnerability to cocaine abuse, although most research has used males. For example, male monkeys that become dominant in a social group have significant elevations in D2/D3 receptor availability and are less vulnerable to cocaine reinforcement.

Methods: DA D2/D3 receptor availability was assessed in female cynomolgus monkeys (n = 16) with positron emission tomography (PET) while they were individually housed, 3 months after stable social hierarchies had formed, and again when individually housed.

Recent trends in antibody-based oncologic imaging.

Antibodies, with their unmatched ability for selective binding to any target, are considered as potentially the most specific probes for imaging. Their clinical utility, however, has been limited chiefly due to their slow clearance from the circulation, longer retention in non-targeted tissues and the extensive optimization required for each antibody-tracer. The development of newer contrast agents, combined with improved conjugation strategies and novel engineered forms of antibodies (diabodies, minibodies, single chain variable fragments, and nanobodies), have triggered a new wave of antibody-based imaging approaches.

Geospatial analysis of HIV-Related social stigma: a study of tested females across mandals of Andhra Pradesh in India.

Background: In Geographical Information Systems issues of scale are of an increasing interest in storing health data and using these in policy support. National and international policies on treating HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive women in India are based on case counts at Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centers (VCTCs). In this study, carried out in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, these centers are located in subdistricts called mandals, serving for both registration and health facility policies.

Kinetics of brain nicotine accumulation in dependent and nondependent smokers assessed with PET and cigarettes containing 11C-nicotine.

Tobacco smoking is a chronic, relapsing disorder that constitutes one of the primary preventable causes of death in developed countries. Two of the popular hypotheses to explain the development and maintenance of strong nicotine dependence in cigarette smokers posit (i) a rapid brain nicotine accumulation during cigarette smoking and/or (ii) puff-associated spikes in brain nicotine concentration. To address these hypotheses, we investigated the dynamics of nicotine accumulation in the smoker's brain during actual cigarette smoking using PET with 3-s temporal resolution and (11)C-nicotine loaded into cigarettes.

Misoprostol for termination of pregnancy-can it precipitate a seizure in a well controlled secondary epileptic tuberculoma patient?

A 35 year woman G2P0A1L0 at 16 weeks period of gestation, underwent termination of pregnancy for a fetus having a large lumbosacral meningomyelocele and Arnold chairi II malformation. She was a known treated case of tuberculoma of the brain who was not on any antiepileptics, and had been seizure free for the past two years. She developed two episodes of seizures precipitated during pregnancy termination with misoprostol.

Design, synthesis, and preliminary in vitro and in vivo evaluation of N-(2-diethylaminoethyl)-4-[18F]fluorobenzamide ([18F]-DAFBA): a novel potential PET probe to image melanoma tumors.

In order to develop a PET radiopharmaceutical to image malignant melanoma, we synthesized N-(2-diethylaminoethyl)-4-[(18)F]fluorobenzamide ([(18)F]-DAFBA). In vitro studies show a high uptake of [(18)F]-DAFBA by the B16F1 melanoma cells. No significant binding was seen for DAFBA to the sigma-1 and sigma-2 receptors in vitro.

A remote controlled system for the preparation of 7 alpha-[18F]fluoro-17 alpha-methyl 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone ([18F]FMDHT) using microwave.

For non-invasive imaging of the prostate cancer, we synthesized 7 alpha-fluoro-17 alpha-methyl 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone ([(18)F]FMDHT) for androgen receptor mediated PET imaging. Preliminary in vitro and in vivo evaluations of this compound show promise. We designed and implemented a remote controlled system for reliable, efficient, and safe handling of radioactivity during the radiochemical synthesis of [(18)F]FMDHT.

In vivo biodistribution of an androgen receptor avid PET imaging agent 7-alpha-fluoro-17 alpha-methyl-5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone ([(18)F]FMDHT) in rats pretreated with cetrorelix, a GnRH antagonist.

Purpose: For this study, we have assessed the in vivo distribution and androgen receptor (AR) seeking properties of an F-18-labeled androgen [(18)F]FMDHT in rats castrated with a GnRH antagonist.

Materials And Methods: The radiochemical synthesis of [(18)F]FMDHT was performed using a previously published method. The radiochemical synthesis provided the desired product in good radiochemical yields and radiochemical purity.

3-Amino-4-(2-((4-[18F]fluorobenzyl)methylamino)methylphenylsulfanyl)benzonitrile, an F-18 fluorobenzyl analogue of DASB: synthesis, in vitro binding, and in vivo biodistribution studies.

3-amino-4-(2[11C]methylaminomethylphenylsulfanyl)benzonitrile (C-11 DASB) exhibits excellent in vitro and in vivo properties toward the serotonin transporter. If labeled with a longer physical half-life radioisotope, this ligand could be more attractive to research groups lacking an on-site cyclotron or lacking C-11 synthesis capabilities. We produce p-[18F]fluorobenzyl iodide on a routine basis to synthesize several neuroimaging agents.

Effects of cocaine and MDMA self-administration on serotonin transporter availability in monkeys.

Although serotonin (5-HT) can interact with dopamine (DA) systems to modulate the subjective and reinforcing effects of psychostimulants such as cocaine and 3,4-methyldioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy), the long-term effects of exposure to psychostimulants on brain 5-HT systems are not well characterized. The present study assessed 5-HT transporter (SERT) availability using positron emission tomography (PET) in rhesus monkeys with the SERT-specific radioligand [(11)C]3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenylsulfanyl)-benzonitrile (DASB). SERT availability was assessed in regions of interest including the caudate nucleus, putamen, anterior cingulate cortex, and cerebellum.