Validity and reliability of a wearable blood flow restriction training device for arterial occlusion pressure assessment.

Purpose: The blood flow restriction (BFR) training is an effective approach to promoting muscle strength, muscle hypertrophy, and regulating the peripheral vascular system. It is recommended to use to the percentage of individual arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) to ensure safety and effectiveness. The gold standard method for assessing arterial occlusive disease is typically measured using Doppler ultrasound.

The evaluation of an on-site monitoring program for activity meter quality assurance with exemption-level sources.

This paper discusses the feasibility of a monitoring program for the quality assurance status of activity meters. We sent a questionnaire to clinical nuclear medicine departments of medical institutions, requesting information on their activity meters and quality assurance practices. On-site visits were conducted with exemption-level standard sources (Co-57, Cs-137 and Ba-133) for dose calibrators in nuclear medicine departments including physical inspection, accuracy and reproducibility.

Ultrafast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry determination of donepezil in human plasma: application to a bioequivalence study.

A liquid chromatography equipped with tandem mass spectrometric method using multi-stage flow rates was developed for the determination of donepezil in human plasma to support a randomized, crossover bioequivalence (BE) study in which healthy volunteers each received a single oral dose of the reference and test formulations of 10 mg donepezil hydrochloride. This integrated liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system with electrospray ionization and a deuterium-labeled internal standard (IS) were employed for the positive multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) analyses. The baseline separation using a high-resolution monolithic column under gradient and flexible flowrate conditions between donepezil and multiple interfering peaks from the extracted quality control, calibration standard and study plasma samples following simple protein precipitation extraction procedures was accomplished within 1.

2-μm fused-core column ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric determination of donepezil in human plasma: Application to a bioequivalence study.

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) hyphenated to tandem mass spectrometric methods using the dimethylpentafluorophenylpropyl stationary phase with polar and nonpolar characteristics of a 2-μm fused-core silica particle packing were evaluated to perform efficient separation for the analysis of donepezil in human plasma. The fused-core silica particle design providing the shorter diffusional mass transfer path for the analytes is less affected in resolving power by increasing mobile-phase velocity for faster chromatographic resolution between the administered compound and multiple interfering peaks from the extracted quality control, calibration standard and study samples following simple protein precipitation extraction procedures. In this work, two UHPLC-MS/MS approaches requiring 1.

Intercomparison of conventional and QuickScan dicentric scoring for the validation of individual biodosimetry analysis in Taiwan.

Purpose: The dicentric chromosome assay (DCA), the gold standard for radiation biodosimetry, evaluates an individual absorbed radiation dose by the analysis of DNA damage in human lymphocytes. The conventional (C-DCA) and QuickScan (QS-DCA) scoring methods are sensitive for estimating radiation dose. The Biodosimetry Laboratory at Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER), Taiwan, participated in intercomparison exercises conducted by Health Canada (HC) in 2014, 2015 and 2018 to validate the laboratory's accuracy and performance.

Inverted-Type InAlAs/InAs High-Electron-Mobility Transistor with Liquid Phase Oxidized InAlAs as Gate Insulator.

An inverted-type InAlAs/InAs metal-oxide-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor (MOS-HEMT) with liquid phase oxidized (LPO) InAlAs as the gate insulator is demonstrated. A thin InAs layer is inserted in the sub-channel layers of InGaAs to enhance the device performance. The proposed inverted-type InAlAs/InAs MOS-HEMT exhibits an improved maximum drain current density, higher transconductance, lower leakage current density, suppressed noise figures, and enhanced associated gain compared to the conventional Schottky-gate HEMT.

Standardization of Cd by two methods.

Cd is quite a useful nuclide for the calibration of X-ray spectroscopy, gamma-ray spectroscopy or as an excitation source in X-ray fluorescence. In this work, 4π(PC)e-X coincidence counting and 4π(LS)ce counting were used to determine the activity of the Cd solution. The two methods showed good agreement in their counting results.

HIF1/2α mediates hypoxia-induced LDHA expression in human pancreatic cancer cells.

Glycolysis is a typical conduit for energy metabolism in pancreatic cancer (PC) due to the hypoxic microenviroment. Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to lactate and is considered to be a key checkpoint of anaerobic glycolysis. The aim of the present study was to explore the mechanism of interactions between hypoxia, HIF-1/2α and LDHA, and the function of LDHA on PC cells by analyzing 244 PC and paratumor specimens.

Comparison exercise on activity determination of radioactive waste drums in Taiwan.

The National Radiation Standard Laboratory of Taiwan organized in 2014 a comparison exercise by distributing 210 L drum-typed samples to seven radioactive waste analysis laboratories in Taiwan. Four drums were filled with uniformly distributed active carbon, water, resin and concrete, respectively and five drums were filled with cracked metals and heterogeneously distributed radioactive sources. Measurement uncertainties of participants results are in the range 3–40% (k=2) and about 96% of the reported results produced En values (ISO, 1997) smaller than one for drums with activity uniformly distributed.

Reference drums used in calibration of a plastic scintillation counter in a 4π counting geometry.

In this study, two kinds of reference drums were developed. One type was constructed with nine layers of large-area sources filled with different materials having five different densities. The other type of reference drums was constructed with nine rod sources filled with the same materials of different densities.

Comparing standard Bonner spheres and high-sensitivity Bonner cylinders.

Standard Bonner spheres and proposed high-sensitivity Bonner cylinders were calibrated in a neutron calibration room, using a (252)Cf source. The Bonner sphere system consists of 11 polyethylene (PE) spheres of various diameters and 4 extended spheres that comprise embedded metal shells. Similar to the design of Bonner spheres, a set of Bonner cylinders was assembled using a large cylindrical (3)He tube as the central probe, which was wrapped using various thicknesses of PE.

Measurement and calibration of metal and non-metal wastes produced from decommissioning.

This report described a radioactive waste reference drum which was established with large-area sources and metal slices. This reference drum could be applied in calibration or testing of drum counting systems having 4π counting geometry and being made with plastic scintillators. This metal reference drum has the advantages of easy operation, low natural background and it also has agreeable measurement efficiency calibration curves for the drum counting system as the non-metal reference drum studied previously.

Proficiency test for clearance mixed-nuclide samples.

In 2010, the National Radiation Standard Laboratory held a proficiency test for measurement and analysis of clearance mixed-nuclide samples. Two types of samples, box-shape and drum-shape, containing (60)Co and (137)Cs mixed solutions were measured by the participating laboratories and their results were then compared with the reference values. Seven participants used plastic scintillator counting systems and two participants used HPGe spectrometer systems to join in this study, obtaining 40 measurement results.

Evaluating practicability of an LSC method for routine monitoring gross alpha and beta activities in water samples in Taiwan.

A procedure using liquid scintillation counting for the monitoring of gross alpha and beta activities in environmental water was implemented to improve the conventional procedure using GFPC adopted in Taiwan. The new procedure was acquired through calibration and validation, and then was applied to the monitoring of surface water in Taiwan. This procedure can improve 2-4 times of detection efficiencies and takes only 70-80% of analysis time with reliable accuracy.

The performance evaluation of a movable gamma-ray counting system for radwaste measurement.

Performance tests of a movable gamma-ray waste drum scanning system were carried out in this study. The scanner consists of a single HPGe detector on a movable cart with a 90° collimation angle to the observed item. The detection efficiency for (137)Cs was determined using the ISOTOPIC software.

Antioxidative activity of water extract of sweet potato leaves in Taiwan.

This study reports the preparation of four varieties of water extract from sweet potato leaves from Taiwan, including TNG10, TNG57, TNG66 and YSP, and evaluates their antioxidative activity. The EC50 values (scavenging DPPH radicals) of TNG10, TNG57, TNG66 and YSP were 0.27±0.

[Indication of fusion for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis treated by "windows technique" laminoforaminotomy].

Objective: To explore the indications of fusion for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis treated by "windows technique".

Methods: From December 1999 to December 2005, 145 consecutive patients who were treated by primary decompression with "windows technique" laminoforaminotomy for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis, a retrospective study, were divided into 3 groups (A and B and C) by preoperative lumbar conditions and surgical methods. In group A, 39 patients with spinal instability or degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or scoliosis underwent decompression and fusion; in group B, 31 patients with spinal instability or degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or scoliosis underwent decompression alone; In group C, 75 patients without spinal instability or degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis or scoliosis were treated by decompression without fusion.

Proficiency testing feasibility study for the measurement of gamma-emitting clearance samples.

A proficiency testing feasibility study program was proposed by the National Radiation Standard Laboratory (NRSL) of Taiwan to understand the capabilities of laboratories dealing with clearance measurements, and to issue related technical criteria for radioactive waste assay. In this program, twelve blind test samples with different levels of radioactivity, radionuclides and different packing densities were prepared. Seven laboratories participated in this program and fourteen instruments were tested.

The calibration and evaluation of a radioactive waste drum counting system.

The drum counting system was calibrated in this study. For (137)Cs, the counting efficiencies were around 14-1% when the density of the waste of the drum was changed from 0.15 to 2.

Primary standardization of (67)Ga radiopharmaceuticals.

The two-dimensional extrapolation technique and dead time extrapolation technique of 4pibeta-gamma-coincidence counting were used to standardize the activity of (67)Ga. The counting results of the two absolute counting techniques showed good agreement while the two-dimensional extrapolation technique could save about 50% of the total counting time in this study. The accuracy of the Capintec CRC-15R radionuclide calibrator used by the radiopharmacy of INER was studied in this research.

Absolute counting of 188Re radiopharmaceuticals.

The Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) has provided 188Re radiopharmaceuticals for hospitals in Taiwan. To enhance the accuracy of commercial radionuclide calibrators used by radiopharmacies and hospitals, and to ensure that patients receive proper doses of these radiopharmaceuticals, it is very important to standardize this nuclide. The 4pibeta-gamma coincidence counting method was used to standardize the mass activities of 188Re in this study.

The absolute counting of 166mHo, 58Co and 88Y.

In this study, absolute 4pi beta-gamma-coincidence counting was used to measure the mass activity of 166mHo, 58Co and 88Y. For 166mHo and 88Y, three gamma windows were set to study the systematic error caused by the different gamma window settings. To eliminate the effect arising from the large difference in counting efficiency of the 4pi beta counter between electron capture events and beta+ particles, the two-dimensional extrapolation method was used to measure 58Co.

The alpha and beta emitter measurement system in INER. Institute of Nuclear Energy Research.

An alpha/beta emitter measurement system used to calibrate surface sources following the guidelines of ISO 8769 has been established in Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) around the year 2000. This system consists of a windowless proportional counter with a uniformity of 0.28% when measuring the emission rate of a source on a centered area of 100 mm x 150 mm, and a uniformity of 0.