-
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer... Jun 2024The goal of this study is to determine the accuracy of the PTW Beamscan program in determining the inflection point from Flattening Filter Free Beam Profile utilizing...
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study is to determine the accuracy of the PTW Beamscan program in determining the inflection point from Flattening Filter Free Beam Profile utilizing Multiple Detectors.
METHODS
True Beam Linear Accelerator with 6FFF and 10FFF Photon Energies and 10 cm, 15 cm and 20 cm Field Sizes were used for this study. Profile measurements were taken with PTW's 729, 1,500, and 1,600 and the Starcheck system, the Pinpoint 3D with Beamscan system, and Linac's EPID. The first-order derivative was utilized in both the Excel spreadsheet and Beamscan software to analyse raw measured data to locate inflection point and the FWHM was calculated. The accuracy of inflection points and FWHM between the Excel sheet calculation and the software program were investigated.
RESULTS
For 10X10 cm2 in the 729 Array, the greatest differences in FWHM were 5.16 mm and 5.04 mm for the X6 FFF and X10 FFF Energies, respectively. The largest difference was 2.26 mm for 1,600 SRS arrays with a 15×15 cm2 field size. The difference in FWHM between Manual and software analysis for 10X10 cm2 and 20X20 cm2 Field Sizes is in decreasing order for detectors from 729, 1,500, 1,600 SRS, Starcheck, Pinpoint 3D, and EPID. In contrast, there is no climbing or declining pattern detected in the difference in Field Width for the 15×15 cm2 Field Size. Similarly, for all detectors except the 1,600 SRS array, the peak of the first-order derivative occurs at the chamber position for a 15X15 cm2 field size.
CONCLUSION
The higher resolution of measurement yields more accuracy in inflection point and the FWHM. Irrespective of measurement resolution, the Beamscan software provided the FWHM closer to the respective nominal Field Size. Out of all detectors, results obtained with Excel Starcheck and EPID are good in agreement with values obtained by the software analysis. Thus, it is shown that Beamscan software is so accurate in determining inflection point of a FFF beam profile and used for routine profile analysis.
Topics: Software; Particle Accelerators; Humans; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; Photons; Radiotherapy Dosage; Radiometry; Algorithms
PubMed: 38918681
DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.6.2177 -
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer... Jun 2024The aim of this study was to investigate the detector size effect on small-field dosimetry and compare the performance of 6MV WFF/FFF techniques. (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to investigate the detector size effect on small-field dosimetry and compare the performance of 6MV WFF/FFF techniques.
METHODS
We investigated the detector size effect on small-field dosimetry and compared the performance of 6MV WFF/FFF techniques. PDD, profile curves, and absorbed dose were measured in water under reference conditions with 6MV (WFF/FFF) techniques. We employed Farmer FC65-P, CC13, CC01, and IBA Razor diode, with Versa Lineac. Subsequently, we replicated this assessment for small-fields under 5cmx5cm dimensions.
RESULTS
For both 6MV WFF/FFF, significant dose differences (Dmax=1.47cm), were ±4.55%, ±6.7, ±12.75% and ±33.3% for 4cmx4cm, 3cmx3cm, 2cmx2cm, and 1cmx1cm, respectively. The average difference relative to D10 was observed to be ±4.66%, ±5.73%, ±6.58%, and ±8.75% for the previous field sizes. Differences between WFF/FFF are neglected values at all field sizes>2.3%, also, the output of the largest detector FC65-P is lower at 55% in the smallest field size. Variation in the profile doesn't exceed a difference of >5% in flatness between WFF/FFF at depth10cm, across all fields, while symmetry is >1%, but radiation output is considerably lower at 55% for FC65-P chamber in 2cmx2cm, 1cmx1cm compared to the CC01 chamber and Razor diode. Significant differences in 1cmx1cm, where FC65-P chamber exhibits around 49% difference compared to Razor diode with 6MV (WFF/FFF). Conclusions: Significant differences were observed in doses with various detectors. Detector-size influences the dose. WFF/FFF techniques show no major differences in small-fields dosimetry. Utilize some situations the advantage of FFF boasting a higher dose rate, consequently reducing treatment time to half.
Topics: Humans; Radiometry; Radiotherapy Dosage; Particle Accelerators; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; Phantoms, Imaging
PubMed: 38918673
DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2024.25.6.2105 -
Archives of Pathology & Laboratory... Jul 2024Overexposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause severe lung disease including progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Field emission scanning electron microscopy with...
In Situ Lung Dust Analysis by Automated Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy With Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy: A Method for Assessing Inorganic Particles in Lung Tissue From Coal Miners.
CONTEXT.—
Overexposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause severe lung disease including progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) has been used for in situ lung dust particle analysis for evaluation of disease etiology. Automating such work can reduce time, costs, and user bias.
OBJECTIVE.—
To develop and test an automated FESEM-EDS method for in situ analysis of inorganic particles in coal miner lung tissue.
DESIGN.—
We programmed an automated FESEM-EDS procedure to collect particle size and elemental data, using lung tissue from 10 underground coal miners with PMF and 4 control cases. A statistical clustering approach was used to establish classification criteria based on particle chemistry. Data were correlated to PMF/non-PMF areas of the tissue, using corresponding brightfield microscopy images. Results for each miner case were compared with a separate corresponding analysis of particles recovered following tissue digestion.
RESULTS.—
In situ analysis of miner tissues showed higher particle number densities than controls and densities were generally higher in PMF than non-PMF areas. Particle counts were typically dominated by aluminum silicates with varying percentages of silica. Compared to digestion results for the miner tissues, in situ results indicated lower density of particles (number per tissue volume), larger size, and a lower ratio of silica to total silicates-probably due to frequent particle clustering in situ.
CONCLUSIONS.—
Automated FESEM-EDS analysis of lung dust is feasible in situ and could be applied to a larger set of mineral dust-exposed lung tissues to investigate specific histologic features of PMF and other dust-related occupational diseases.
Topics: Humans; Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; Dust; Lung; Coal Mining; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Occupational Exposure; Male; Particle Size
PubMed: 38918006
DOI: 10.5858/arpa.2024-0002-OA -
Microbiology Spectrum Jun 2024The pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to evolve to give rise to variants of concern that can escape vaccine-induced...
UNLABELLED
The pandemic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to evolve to give rise to variants of concern that can escape vaccine-induced immunity. As such, more effective vaccines are urgently needed. In this study, we evaluated virus-like particle (VLP) as a vaccine platform for SARS-CoV-2. The spike, envelope, and membrane proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain were expressed by a single recombinant baculovirus BacMam and assembled into VLPs in cell culture. The morphology and size of the SARS-CoV-2 VLP as shown by transmission electron microscopy were similar to the authentic SARS-CoV-2 virus particle. In a mouse trial, two intramuscular immunizations of the VLP BacMam with no adjuvant elicited spike-specific binding antibodies in both sera and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. Importantly, BacMam VLP-vaccinated mouse sera showed neutralization activity against SARS-CoV-2 spike pseudotyped lentivirus. Our results indicated that the SARS-CoV-2 VLP BacMam stimulated spike-specific immune responses with neutralization activity.
IMPORTANCE
Although existing vaccines have significantly mitigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, none of the vaccines can induce sterilizing immunity. The spike protein is the main component of all approved vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) due primarily to its ability to induce neutralizing antibodies. The conformation of the spike protein in the vaccine formulation should be critical for the efficacy of a vaccine. By way of closely resembling the authentic virions, virus-like particles (VLPs) should render the spike protein in its natural conformation. To this end, we utilized the baculovirus vector, BacMam, to express virus-like particles consisting of the spike, membrane, and envelope proteins of SARS-CoV-2. We demonstrated the immunogenicity of our VLP vaccine with neutralizing activity. Our data warrant further evaluation of the virus-like particles as a vaccine candidate in protecting against virus challenges.
PubMed: 38916311
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00959-24 -
Heliyon Jun 2024Functional bioactive ingredients isolated from microalgae as sustainable sources have become a new subject of pharmacology and functional foods. Thus, the work aims to...
Characterization of C-phycocyanin antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, and anti-HCoV-229E activities and encapsulation for implementation in an innovative functional yogurt.
Functional bioactive ingredients isolated from microalgae as sustainable sources have become a new subject of pharmacology and functional foods. Thus, the work aims to produce crude phycocyanin (C-PC), define it, and investigate its pharmacological effects before warping it in a nanophytosome. Subsequently, the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles were evaluated. Both free and nanophytosomes of C-PC were incorporated into cow milk fermented with the probiotic KU985435 to make functional yoghurt and the stability of C-PC of both phytosomes was assessed. The amino acid content of C-PC revealed the presence of eight of nine essential amino acids and eight of eleven non-essential amino acids. C-PC has a medium molecular weight (82.992 kDa). Some pharmacological effects like reducing inflammation (98.76 % ± 0.065), fighting free radicals (99.12 % ± 0.027), and being able to inhibit the human coronavirus 229 E with a selective index of 27.9 were observed. The maximum viral inhibitory activity was detected during the adsorption stage. Anti-human liver and colon carcinomas that exceeded Doxorubicin with very low cytotoxicity against normal cell lines were detected. C-PC is an unstable protein that could be degraded in the yoghurt during storage. Therefore, phytosome encapsulation can effectively stabilize C-PC (particle size 44.50 ± 12 nm and zeta-potential -32.4 ± 5 mV) and protect it from the acidic environment of the yoghurt. The produced yoghurt showed the desired physicochemical and functional properties and overall acceptance. The results prove that C-PC from spirulina algae is a renewable source of dyes. The encapsulation process using phytosomes gave it high stability against environmental influences, and therefore, it can be applied in the food and pharmaceutical industries in the future.
PubMed: 38912514
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31642 -
Heliyon Jun 2024Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is a major residue of cocoa processing industry, while medicinal plant is used for treatment of malaria and diabetes mellitus in folk medicine....
Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is a major residue of cocoa processing industry, while medicinal plant is used for treatment of malaria and diabetes mellitus in folk medicine. This study aimed to produce microencapsulated powders from saponin-enriched CPH and extracts and assess their physicochemical, phytochemical, antioxidant, and α-glucosidase inhibition properties. The findings show that the microencapsulated powders were achieved diserable physicochemical properties (moisture of 3.22-4.76 %, water activity of 0.43-0.46, water solubility index of 74.18-88.77 %, particle size of 254.2-719.7 nm, and zeta potential from -6.97 to -15.1 mV). The phytochemical content of microencapsulated CPH powders gained at high levels (total saponin content of 151.87-193.46 mg EE/g DS, total flavonoid content of 33.80-46.05 mg CE/g DS), total alkaloid content of 15.20-24.23 mg AA/g DS, and total phenolic content of 5.41-6.49 mg GAE/g DS). The antioxidant potential of microencapsulated CPH powders using ARSC and FRAP assays was 15.51-18.20 and 9.61-11.89 mg TE/g DS, respectively, while their α-glucosidase inhibition capacity at 100 μg/mL was found at 51.74-52.16 %. The phytochemical content (except total alkaloid content), antioxidant, and α-glucosidase inhibitory potential of microencapsulated CPH powders were smaller than those of microencapsulated and combined powders. This study reveals that the microencapsulated CPH and powders were prospective in reducing hyperglycemia activity. Therefore, this study provided an evidence for further application of CPH and plant for functional food development.
PubMed: 38912482
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32703 -
International Journal of Pharmaceutics:... Jun 2024Vincristine (VCR), as a cytotoxic drug, is used clinically to treat acute lymphatic leukemia and breast cancer, and commonly used clinically as vincristine sulfate...
Vincristine (VCR), as a cytotoxic drug, is used clinically to treat acute lymphatic leukemia and breast cancer, and commonly used clinically as vincristine sulfate (VCRS). However, its clinical use is limited by unpredictable pharmacologic characteristics, a narrow therapeutic index, and neurotoxicity. The pH gradient method was used for active drug loading of VCRS, and the process route mainly includes the preparation of blank liposomes and drug-loaded liposomes. VCRS liposomes had suitable particle size, high encapsulation efficiency and good stability. The loading and release kinetics of VCRS liposomes were explored. By calculating the changes of encapsulation efficiency with time at different temperatures, it was confirmed that the drug-loading process of liposomes exhibited a first-order kinetic feature, and the activation energy required for the reaction was determined as 20.6 kcal/mol. The release behavior at different pH was also investigated, and it was demonstrated that the release behavior conformed to the first-order model, suggesting that the release mechanism of VCRS was simple transmembrane diffusion. VCRS liposomes also enhanced and antitumor activity. Thus, VCRS liposomes showed great potential for VCRS delivery, and the loading and release kinetics were well researched to provide a reference for investigating active drug loading liposomes.
PubMed: 38912324
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpx.2024.100258 -
Journal of Biomedical Optics Jul 2024The depolarization of circularly polarized light (CPL) caused by scattering in turbid media reveals structural information about the dispersed particles, such as their...
SIGNIFICANCE
The depolarization of circularly polarized light (CPL) caused by scattering in turbid media reveals structural information about the dispersed particles, such as their size, density, and distribution, which is useful for investigating the state of biological tissue. However, the correlation between depolarization strength and tissue parameters is unclear.
AIM
We aimed to examine the generalized correlations of depolarization strength with the particle size and wavelength, yielding depolarization diagrams.
APPROACH
The correlation between depolarization intensity and size parameter was examined for single and multiple scattering using the Monte Carlo simulation method. Expanding the wavelength width allows us to obtain depolarization distribution diagrams as functions of wavelength and particle diameter for reflection and transparent geometries.
RESULTS
CPL suffers intensive depolarization in a single scattering against particles of various specific sizes for its wavelength, which becomes more noticeable in the multiple scattering regime.
CONCLUSIONS
The depolarization diagrams with particle size and wavelength as independent variables were obtained, which are particularly helpful for investigating the feasibility of various particle-monitoring methods. Based on the obtained diagrams, several applications have been proposed, including blood cell monitoring, early embryogenesis, and antigen-antibody interactions.
Topics: Scattering, Radiation; Particle Size; Monte Carlo Method; Light; Computer Simulation; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry
PubMed: 38912213
DOI: 10.1117/1.JBO.29.7.075001 -
Frontiers in Chemistry 2024The oxalic acid complexation method and sulfuric acid heat treatment method were used to synthesize the YMnO (YMO) and YMO-SO (YMO-SO) photocatalysts. The YMO-SO...
Synthesis and full-spectrum-responsive photocatalytic activity from UV/Vis to near-infrared region of S-O decorated YMnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of ibuprofen.
The oxalic acid complexation method and sulfuric acid heat treatment method were used to synthesize the YMnO (YMO) and YMO-SO (YMO-SO) photocatalysts. The YMO-SO photocatalyst maintained the crystal structure of YMO, but the particle size increased slightly and the optical band gap decreased significantly. The YMO-SO photocatalyst demonstrates a wide range of light absorption capabilities, covering ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light. The photocatalytic activity of YMO-SO was investigated with ibuprofen as the target pollutant. The YMO-SO photocatalyst exhibits high ultraviolet (UV), visible and near-infrared photocatalytic activity. Experiments with different environmental parameters confirmed that the best catalyst content was 1 g/L, the best drug concentration was 75 mg/L and the best pH value was 7. The capture experiment, free radical detection experiment and photocatalytic mechanism analysis confirmed that the main active species of YMO-SO photocatalyst were hole and superoxide free radical.
PubMed: 38911994
DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1424548 -
ACS Omega Jun 2024Bio-oil production from rice husk, an abundant agricultural residue, has gained significant attention as a sustainable and renewable energy source. The current research...
Bio-oil production from rice husk, an abundant agricultural residue, has gained significant attention as a sustainable and renewable energy source. The current research aims to employ artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) modeling techniques for the optimization of operating parameters for bio-oil extracted from rice husk ash (RHA) through pyrolysis. ANN and SVM methods are employed to model and optimize the operational conditions, including temperature, heating rate, and feedstock particle size, to enhance the yield and quality of bio-oil. Additionally, ANN modeling is utilized to create a predictive model for bio-oil properties, allowing for the efficient optimization of pyrolysis conditions. This research provides valuable insights into the production and properties of bio-oil from RHA. By harnessing the capabilities of ANN and SVM, this research not only aids in understanding the intricate relationships between process variables and bio-oil properties but also provides a means to systematically enhance the production process. The predictive results obtained from the ANN were found to be good when compared with the SVM. Several models with different numbers of neurons have been trained with different transfer functions. values for the training, validation, and test phases are around 1.0, i.e., 0.9981, 0.9976, and 0.9978, respectively. The overall -value was 0.9960 for the proposed network. The findings were considered acceptable, as the overall -value was close to 1.0. The optimized operational parameters contribute to the efficient conversion of RHA into bio-oil, thereby promoting the use of this sustainable resource for renewable energy production. This approach aligns with the growing emphasis on reducing the environmental impact of traditional fossil fuels and advancing the utilization of alternative and environmentally friendly energy sources.
PubMed: 38911793
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c03131