POSSIBILITIES OF USING DEARS.NET PROJECT RESULTS FOR RURAL AREAS EDUCATION

This paper is trying to disseminate information about one of the Leonardo da Vinci Project on which USAMV Cluj-Napoca in involved. This particular project, DEARs.net “European Networking to strengthen Agriculture and Rural Development enhancing skills”, is a result of a former collaboration between our university and its promoter and it is focused on the possibility of developing and improving the vocational training system designed for agriculture and rural area all over the Europe

ARAS: an automated radioactivity aliquoting system for dispensing solutions containing positron-emitting radioisotopes.

BackgroundAutomated protocols for measuring and dispensing solutions containing radioisotopes are essential not only for providing a safe environment for radiation workers but also to ensure accuracy of dispensed radioactivity and an efficient workflow. For this purpose, we have designed ARAS, an automated radioactivity aliquoting system for dispensing solutions containing positron-emitting radioisotopes with particular focus on fluorine-18 ((18)F).MethodsThe key to the system is the combination of a radiation detector measuring radioactivity concentration, in line with a peristaltic pump dispensing known volumes.ResultsThe combined system demonstrates volume variation to be within 5 % for dispensing volumes of 20 μL or greater. When considering volumes of 20 μL or greater, the delivered radioactivity is in agreement with the requested amount as measured independently with a dose calibrator to within 2 % on average.ConclusionsThe integration of the detector and pump in an in-line system leads to a flexible and compact approach that can accurately dispense solutions containing radioactivity concentrations ranging from the high values typical of [(18)F]fluoride directly produced from a cyclotron (~0.1-1 mCi μL(-1)) to the low values typical of batches of [(18)F]fluoride-labeled radiotracers intended for preclinical mouse scans (~1-10 μCi μL(-1))

Energy-sensitive GaSb/AlAsSb separate absorption and multiplication avalanche photodiodes for X-Ray and gamma-ray detection

Demonstrated are antimony‐based (Sb‐based) separate absorption and multiplication avalanche photodiodes (SAM‐APDs) for X‐ray and gamma‐ray detection, which are composed of GaSb absorbers and large bandgap AlAsSb multiplication regions in order to enhance the probability of stopping high‐energy photons while drastically suppressing the minority carrier diffusion. Well‐defined X‐ray and gamma‐ray photopeaks are observed under exposure to 241Am radioactive sources, demonstrating the desirable energy‐sensitive detector performance. Spectroscopic characterizations show a significant improvement of measured energy resolution due to reduced high‐peak electric field in the absorbers and suppressed nonradiative recombination on surfaces. Additionally, the GaSb/AlAsSb SAM‐APDs clearly exhibit energy response linearity up to 59.5 keV with a minimum full‐width half‐maximum of 1.283 keV. A further analysis of the spectroscopic measurement suggests that the device performance is intrinsically limited by the noise from the readout electronics rather than that from the photodiodes. This study provides a first understanding of Sb‐based energy‐sensitive SAM‐APDs and paves the way to achieving efficient detection of high‐energy photons for X‐ray and gamma‐ray spectroscopy

Quantitative assessments of glycolysis from single cells

The most common positron emission tomography (PET) radio-labeled probe for molecular diagnostics in patient care and research is the glucose analog, 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose (^(18)F-FDG). We report on an integrated microfluidics-chip/beta particle imaging system for in vitro ^(18)F-FDG radioassays of glycolysis with single cell resolution. We investigated the kinetic responses of single glioblastoma cancer cells to targeted inhibitors of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. Further, we find a weak positive correlation between cell size and rate of glycolysis

Distinct properties of layer 3 pyramidal neurons from prefrontal and parietal areas of the monkey neocortex

In primates, working memory function depends on activity in a distributed network of cortical areas that display different patterns of delay task-related activity. These differences are correlated with, and might depend on, distinctive properties of the neurons located in each area. For example, layer 3 pyramidal neurons (L3PNs) differ significantly between primary visual and dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) cortices. However, to what extent L3PNs differ between DLPFC and other association cortical areas is less clear. Hence, we compared the properties of L3PNs in monkey DLPFC versus posterior parietal cortex (PPC), a key node in the cortical working memory network. Using patch-clamp recordings and biocytin cell filling in acute brain slices, we assessed the physiology and morphology of L3PNs from monkey DLPFC and PPC. The L3PN transcriptome was studied using laser microdissection combined with DNA microarray or quantitative PCR. We found that in both DLPFC and PPC, L3PNs were divided into regular spiking (RS-L3PNs) and bursting (B-L3PNs) physiological subtypes. Whereas regional differences in single-cell excitability were modest, B-L3PNs were rare in PPC (RS-L3PN:BL3PN, 94:6), but were abundant in DLPFC (50:50), showing greater physiological diversity. Moreover, DLPFC L3PNs display larger and more complex basal dendrites with higher dendritic spine density. Additionally, we found differential expression of hundreds of genes, suggesting a transcriptional basis for the differences in L3PN phenotype between DLPFC and PPC. These data show that the previously observed differences between DLPFC and PPC neuron activity during working memory tasks are associated with diversity in the cellular/ molecular properties of L3PNs.Fil: Gonzalez Burgos, Guillermo. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Miyamae, Takeaki. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Krimer, Yosef. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Gulchina, Yelena. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Pafundo, Diego Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay; ArgentinaFil: Krimer, Olga. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Bazmi, Holly. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Arion, Dominique. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Enwright, John F.. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Fish, Kenneth N.. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Lewis, David A.. Univeristy of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados Unido