Thermal analysis of both ventilated and full disc brake rotors with frictional heat generation

In automotive engineering, the safety aspect has been considered as a number one priority in development of a new vehicle. Each single system has been studied and developed in order to meet safety requirements. Instead of having air bags, good suspension systems, good handling and safe cornering, one of the most critical systems in a vehicle is the brake system. The objective of this work is to investigate and analyze the temperature distribution of rotor disc during braking operation using ANSYS Multiphysics. The work uses the finite element analysis techniques to predict the temperature distribution on the full and ventilated brake discs and to identify the critical temperature of the rotor. The analysis also gives us the heat flux distribution for the two discs

SPECT/CT imaging of the lumbar spine in chronic low back pain: a case report

Mechanical low back pain is a common indication for Nuclear Medicine imaging. Whole-body bone scan is a very sensitive but poorly specific study for the detection of metabolic bone abnormalities. The accurate localisation of metabolically active bone disease is often difficult in 2D imaging but single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) allows accurate diagnosis and anatomic localisation of osteoblastic and osteolytic lesions in 3D imaging. We present a clinical case of a patient referred for evaluation of chronic lower back pain with no history of trauma, spinal surgery, or cancer. Planar whole-body scan showed heterogeneous tracer uptake in the lumbar spine with intense localisation to the right lateral aspect of L3. Integrated SPECT/CT of the lumbar spine detected active bone metabolism in the right L3/L4 facet joint in the presence of minimal signs of degenerative osteoarthrosis on CT images, while a segment demonstrating more gross degenerative changes was more quiescent with only mild tracer uptake. The usefulness of integrated SPECT/CT for anatomical and functional assessment of back pain opens promising opportunities both for multi-disciplinary clinical assessment and treatment for manual therapists and for research into the effectiveness of manual therapies

In vitro selectivity, in vivo biodistribution and tumour uptake of annexin V radiolabelled with a positron emitting radioisotope

The availability of a noninvasive method to detect and quantify apoptosis in tumours will enable tumour response to several cancer therapies to be assessed. We have synthesised two radiotracers, annexin V and the N-succinimidyl-3-iodobenzoic acid (SIB) derivative of annexin V, labelled with radio-iodine (124I and 125I) and provided proof of the concept by assessing specific binding and biodistribution of these probes to apoptotic cells and tumours. We have also assessed the tumour uptake of [124I]annexin V in a mouse model of apoptosis. RIF-1 cells induced to undergo apoptosis in vitro showed a drug concentration-dependent increased binding of [125I]annexin V and [125I]SIB–annexin V. In the same model system, there was an increase in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labelling (TUNEL)-positive cells and a decrease in clonogenic survival. Radiotracer binding was completely inhibited by preincubation with unlabelled annexin V. In RIF-1 tumour-bearing mice, rapid distribution of [125I]SIB–annexin V-derived radioactivity to kidneys was observed and the radiotracer accumulated in urine. The binding of [125I]SIB–annexin V to RIF-1 tumours increased by 2.3-fold at 48 h after a single intraperitoneal injection of 5-fluorouracil (165 mg kg−1 body weight), compared to a 4.4-fold increase in TUNEL-positive cells measured by immunostaining. Positron emission tomography images with both radiotracers demonstrated intense localisation in the kidneys and bladder. Unlike [124I]SIB–annexin V, [124I]annexin V also showed localisation in the thyroid region presumably due to deiodination of the radiolabel. [124I]SIB–annexin V is an attractive candidate for in vivo imaging of apoptosis by PET

Site-Specific Labeling of Annexin V with F-18 for Apoptosis Imaging

Annexin V is useful in detecting apoptotic cells by binding to phosphatidylserine (PS) that is exposed on the outer surface of the cell membrane during apoptosis. In this study, we examined the labeling of annexin V-128, a mutated form of annexin V that has a single cysteine residue at the NH2 terminus, with the thiol-selective reagent 18F-labeling agent N-[4-[(4-[18F]fluorobenzylidene)aminooxy]butyl]maleimide ([18F]FBABM). We also examined the cell binding affinity of the 18F-labeled annexin V-128 ([18F]FAN-128). [18F]FBABM was synthesized in two-step, one-pot method modified from literature procedure. (Toyokuni et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 2003, 14, 1253−1259). The average yield of [18F]FBABM was 23 ± 4% (n = 4, decay-corrected) and the specific activity was ∼6000 Ci/mmol. The total synthesis time was ∼92 min. The critical improvement of this study was identifying and then developing a purification method to remove an impurity N-[4-[(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene)aminooxy]butyl]maleimide 4, whose presence dramatically decreased the yield of protein labeling. Conjugation of [18F]FBABM with the thiol-containing annexin V-128 gave [18F]FAN-128 in 37 ± 9% yield (n = 4, decay corrected). Erythrocyte binding assay of [18F]FAN-128 showed that this modification of annexin V-128 did not compromise its membrane binding affinity. Thus, an in vivo investigation of [18F]FAN-128 as an apoptosis imaging agent is warranted

APOMAB®, a La-Specific Monoclonal Antibody, Detects the Apoptotic Tumor Response to Life-Prolonging and DNA-Damaging Chemotherapy

Background: Antineoplastic therapy may impair the survival of malignant cells to produce cell death. Consequently, direct measurement of tumor cell death in vivo is a highly desirable component of therapy response monitoring. We have previously shown that APOMAB® representing the DAB4 clone of a La/SSB-specific murine monoclonal autoantibody is a malignant cell-death ligand, which accumulates preferentially in tumors in an antigen-specific and dose-dependent manner after DNA-damaging chemotherapy. Here, we aim to image tumor uptake of APOMAB® (DAB4) and to define its biological correlates. Methodology/Principal Findings: Brisk tumor cell apoptosis is induced in the syngeneic EL4 lymphoma model after treatment of tumor-bearing mice with DNA-damaging cyclophosphamide/etoposide chemotherapy. Tumor and normal organ accumulation of Indium 111 (111In)-labeled La-specific DAB4 mAb as whole IgG or IgG fragments was quantified by whole-body static imaging and organ assay in tumor-bearing mice. Immunohistochemical measurements of tumor caspase-3 activation and PARP-1 cleavage, which are indicators of early and late apoptosis, respectively, were correlated with tumor accumulation of DAB4. Increased tumor accumulation of DAB4 was associated directly with both the extent of chemotherapy-induced tumor cell death and DAB4 binding per dead tumor cell. Tumor DAB4 accumulation correlated with cumulative caspase-3 activation and PARP-1 cleavage as tumor biomarkers of apoptosis and was directly related to the extended median survival time of tumor-bearing mice. Conclusions/Significance: Radiolabeled La-specific monoclonal antibody, DAB4, detected dead tumor cells after chemotherapy, rather than chemosensitive normal tissues of gut and bone marrow. DAB4 identified late apoptotic tumor cells in vivo. Hence, radiolabeled DAB4 may usefully image responses to human carcinoma therapy because DAB4 would capture the protracted cell death of carcinoma. We believe that the ability of radiolabeled DAB4 to rapidly assess the apoptotic tumor response and, consequently, to potentially predict extended survival justifies its future clinical development as a radioimmunoscintigraphic agent. This article is part I of a two-part series providing proof-of-concept for the the diagnostic and therapeutic use of a La-specific monoclonal antibody, the DAB4 clone of which is represented by the registered trademark, APOMAB®.Fares Al-Ejeh, Jocelyn M. Darby, Chris Tsopelas, Douglas Smyth, Jim Manavis and Michael P. Brow

Anatomical classification of the shape and topography of the stomach

The aim of the study was to present the classification of anatomical variations of the stomach, based on the radiological and historical data. In years 2006–2010, 2,034 examinations of the upper digestive tract were performed. Normal stomach anatomy or different variations of the organ shape and/or topography without any organic radiologically detectable gastric lesions were revealed in 568 and 821 cases, respectively. Five primary groups were established: abnormal position along longitudinal (I) and horizontal axis (II), as well as abnormal shape (III) and stomach connections (IV) or mixed forms (V). The first group contains abnormalities most commonly observed among examined patients such as stomach rotation and translocation to the chest cavity, including sliding, paraesophageal, mixed-form and upside-down hiatal diaphragmatic hernias, as well as short esophagus, and the other diaphragmatic hernias, that were not found in the evaluated population. The second group includes the stomach cascade. The third and fourth groups comprise developmental variations and organ malformations that were not observed in evaluated patients. The last group (V) encloses mixed forms that connect two or more previous variations