Koncepcja układu odzyskiwania energii z rurociągu szybowego.

Przedmiotem artykułu jest koncepcja układu odzyskiwania energii ze strugi wody technologicznej transportowanej do wyrobisk rurociągiem przeciwpożarowym w szybie. Przedstawiono problem projektowania mini turbiny oraz dobór pozostałych urządzeń układu. Oszacowano ilość rocznie produkowanej energii elektrycznej oraz okres zwrotu nakładów inwestycyjnych

Characterization and quality control of 2.5 MV beam in TrueBeam medical linear accelerator

Praca skupia się na charakterystyce oraz procesie kontroli jakości nowej, megawoltowej energii promieniowana, która została zaimplementowana w medycznym akceleratorze liniowym Varian TruBeam. Użycie wiązki promieniowania o efektywnym potencjale przyspieszającym 2,5 MV redukuje dawkę promieniowania, jaką otrzymuje pacjent w trakcie obrazowania o około 50% oraz zapewnia znacznie lepszą jakość obrazu. W celu kontroli jakości nowej energii promieniowania dokonano pełnej charakterystyki wiązki poprzez wyznaczanie procentowej dawki głębokościowej, pomiar profili i kalibrację mocy dawki, wykonano test Winstona-Lutza, a także oceniono jakość obrazowania z użyciem fantomu Leeds TOR 18FG. Wyznaczone parametry umożliwiły opracowanie protokół QA, które stosowane są w praktyce klinicznej.This work describes the characteristics and quality control process of the new megavoltage energy, which was implemented on the Varian TruBeam medical linear accelerator. New beam, generated by 2,5 MV nominal accelerating potential reduces the dose of radiation received by the patient during imaging process by 50% and provides better image quality. In order to control the quality of 2,5 MV beam, full beam characteristic was performed by measure a percent depth dose, beam profiles and outputs calibration, the Winston-Lutz test was performed. The image quality was evaluated using the Leeds TOR 18FG phantom was evaluated. The determined parameters allowed to develop QA protocol, which are used in clinical routine

Quality Assurance in Nuclear Medicine. Routine tests of quality control of PET and PET/CT systems

Jednym z warunków zapewnienia i utrzymania wysokiego poziomu jakości badań diagnostycznych w medycynie nuklearnej jest wykonywanie testów kontroli jakości zgodnie z zaleceniami i regulacjami prawnymi. Testy podstawowe kontroli jakości, będące jednym z elementów systemu kontroli jakości w zakładach medycyny nuklearnej, są nieodzowną częścią rutynowej pracy klinicznej. Niniejsza praca ma na celu przedstawienie procedur wykonywania testów podstawowych kontroli jakości dla skanerów PET i PET/CT.One of the conditions for ensuring and maintaining a high level of quality diagnostic exams in nuclear medicine is to perform quality control tests in accordance with legal recommendations and regulations. Basic quality control tests, which are one of the elements of the quality control system in nuclear medicine departments, are a very important part of routine clinical work. This work aims to present the procedures for performing basic quality control tests for PET and PET/CT scanners

Comparison of three different phantoms used for Winston-Lutz test with Artiscan software

BackgroundOne of the most important test in every quality assurances process of medical linear accelerators is the Winston-Lutz test, allowing an evaluation of the treatment isocentre in the light of uncertainty of the position of the collimator, the gantry and the couch.AimThe purpose of this work was analysis of the results of the Winston-Lutz test performed with three different phantoms for two different accelerators.Materials and methodsMeasurements were performed on two Varian machines: TrueBeam equipped with aS1200 EPID and TrueBeam equipped with aS1000 EPID. During the study three different phantoms dedicated for verification of the radiation isocentre were used: PTW Isoball, AQUILAB Isocentre Phantom and Varian Isocentre Cube. Analysis of the DICOM images was performed in Artiscan software.ResultsFor TrueBeam with as1200 EPID, gantry MV isocentre was about 0.18 mm larger for Varian Isocentre Cube than for two other phantoms used in this study. The largest variability of this parameter was observed for the couch. The results differed to 1.16 mm. For TrueBeam with as1000 EPID, results for collimator isocentre with PTW Isoball phantom were about 0.10 mm larger than for two other phantoms. For the gantry, results obtained with Varian Isocentre Cube were 0.21 mm larger.ConclusionThe obtained results for all three phantoms are within the accepted tolerance range. The largest differences were observed for treatment couch, which may be related to the phantom mobility during couch movement

Smart Polymeric Nanocarriers of Met-enkephalin

This study describes a novel approach to polymeric nanocarriers of the therapeutic peptide met-enkephalin based on the aggregation of thermoresponsive polymers. Thermoresponsive bioconjugate poly­((di­(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether methacrylate)-<i>ran</i>-(oligo­(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether methacrylate) is synthesized by AGET ATRP using modified met-enkephalin as a macroinitiator. The abrupt heating of bioconjugate water solution leads to the self-assembly of bioconjugate chains and the formation of mesoglobules of controlled sizes. Mesoglobules formed by bioconjugates are stabilized by coating with cross-linked two-layer shell via nucleated radical polymerization of <i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide using a degradable cross-linker. The targeting peptide RGD, containing the fluorescence marker carboxyfluorescein, is linked to a nanocarrier during the formation of the outer shell layer. In the presence of glutathione, the whole shell is completely degradable and the met-enkephalin conjugate is released. It is anticipated that precisely engineered nanoparticles protecting their cargo will emerge as the next-generation platform for cancer therapy and many other biomedical applications

Poly[tri(ethylene glycol) ethyl ether methacrylate]-Coated Surfaces for Controlled Fibroblasts Culturing

Well-defined thermosensitive poly­[tri­(ethylene glycol) monoethyl ether methacrylate] (P­(TEGMA-EE)) brushes were synthesized on a solid substrate by the surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of TEGMA-EE. The polymerization reaction was initiated by 2-bromo-2-methylpropionate groups immobilized on the surface of the wafers. The changes in the surface composition, morphology, philicity, and thickness that occurred at each step of wafer functionalization confirmed that all surface modification procedures were successful. Both the successful modification of the surface and bonding of the P­(TEGMA-EE) layer were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The thickness of the obtained P­(TEGMA-EE) layers increased with increasing polymerization time. The increase of environmental temperature above the cloud point temperature of P­(TEGMA-EE) caused the changes of surface philicity. A simultaneous decrease in the polymer layer thickness confirmed the thermosensitive properties of these P­(TEGMA-EE) layers. The thermosensitive polymer surfaces obtained were evaluated for the growth and harvesting of human fibroblasts (basic skin cells). At 37 °C, seeded cells adhered to and spread well onto the P­(TEGMA-EE)-coated surfaces. A confluent cell sheet was formed within 24 h of cell culture. Lowering the temperature to an optimal value of 17.5 °C (below the cloud point temperature of the polymer, <i>T</i>_CP, in cell culture medium) led to the separation of the fibroblast sheet from the polymer layer. These promising results indicate that the surfaces produced may successfully be used as substrate for engineering of skin tissue, especially for delivering cell sheets in the treatment of burns and slow-healing wounds

Metabolic syndrome is associated with similar long-term prognosis in non-obese and obese patients. An analysis of 45 615 patients from the nationwide LIPIDOGRAM 2004-2015 cohort studies

Aims We aimed to evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and long-term all-cause mortality. Methods The LIPIDOGRAM studies were carried out in the primary care in Poland in 2004, 2006 and 2015. MetS was diagnosed based on the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III) and Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria. The cohort was divided into four groups: non-obese patients without MetS, obese patients without MetS, non-obese patients with MetS and obese patients with MetS. Differences in all-cause mortality was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results 45,615 participants were enrolled (mean age 56.3, standard deviation: 11.8 years; 61.7% female). MetS was diagnosed in 14,202 (31%) by NCEP/ATP III criteria, and 17,216 (37.7%) by JIS criteria. Follow-up was available for 44,620 (97.8%, median duration 15.3 years) patients. MetS was associated with increased mortality risk among the obese (hazard ratio, HR: 1.88 [95% CI, 1.79-1.99] and HR: 1.93 [95% CI 1.82-2.04], according to NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria, respectively) and non-obese individuals (HR: 2.11 [95% CI 1.85-2.40] and 1.7 [95% CI, 1.56-1.85] according to NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria respectively). Obese patients without MetS had a higher mortality risk than non-obese patients without MetS (HR: 1.16 [95% CI 1.10-1.23] and HR: 1.22 [95%CI 1.15-1.30], respectively in subgroups with NCEP/ATP III and JIS criteria applied). Conclusions MetS is associated with increased all-cause mortality risk in non-obese and obese patients. In patients without MetS obesity remains significantly associated with mortality. The concept of metabolically healthy obesity should be revised