Quantifying the intrinsic amount of fabrication disorder in photonic-crystal waveguides from optical far-field intensity measurements

Residual disorder due to fabrication imperfections has important impact in nanophotonics where it may degrade device performance by increasing radiation loss or spontaneously trap light by Anderson localization. We propose and demonstrate experimentally a method of quantifying the intrinsic amount of disorder in state-of-the-art photonic-crystal waveguides from far-field measurements of the Anderson-localized modes. This is achieved by comparing the spectral range that Anderson localization is observed to numerical simulations and the method offers sensitivity down to ~ 1 nm

Hepatobiliary scintigraphy with SPET in the diagnosis of bronchobiliary fistula due to a hydatid cyst

In this report, we present the application of hepatobiliary scintigraphy using Tc-99m mebrofenin in the diagnosis of bronchobiliary fistula caused by a liver hydatid cyst, which penetrated the diaphragm. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy noticeably depicted the leakage of the tracer from the biliary system of the liver to the bronchial tree. Hepatobiliary scintigraphy stands as a robust modality in the accurate diagnosis and treatment planning of bronchobiliary fistulas. © 2015, P.Ziti and Co. All rights reserved

Study on antibiotic residues in Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Tabriz market

Vast application of the antibiotic drugs in animals without due attention to withdrawal times necessitates quality control of food stuff in terms of antibiotics' residues. Antibiotic residues in food stuff cause bacterial resistance, allergic reactions, toxicity, carcinogenic effects and change of natural micro flora of intestine in consumers. So, the aim of the present study is detection of antibiotic residues and its contamination rate in cultured rainbow trout. Four-plate test is one of the microbiological methods of detecting antibiotic residues in food stuff, which is based on inhibition zone formation around the sample in four culture media with different pH and test bacteria. For this purpose, 45 samples from skin and meat of rainbow trout fish were obtained randomly from fish market of Tabriz city. After different phases of four-plate test, from a total of 180 skin samples, 13 cases (7.22%) and from a total of 180 meat samples, 18 cases (10%) were diagnosed to be contaminated to antibiotic residues. The results showed that contamination rate of two tissues, (meat and skin), have no significant difference (P>0.05), and the highest contamination to antibiotic residues were related to penicillin and macrolides groups (P<0.05)

99mTc-MIBI Lung Scintigraphy in the Assessment of Pulmonary Involvement in Interstitial Lung Disease and Its Comparison With Pulmonary Function Tests and High-Resolution Computed Tomography: A Preliminary Study

The differentiation of active inflammatory processes from an inactive form of the disease is of great value in the management of interstitial lung disease (ILD). The aim of this investigation was to assess the efficacy of 99mTc-methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) scans in distinguishing the severity of the disease compared to radiological and clinical parameters.In total, 19 known cases of ILD were included in this study and were followed up for 1 year. Five patients without lung disease were considered as the control group. The patients underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and high-resolution computed tomography scans, followed by 99mTc-MIBI scanning. The 99mTc-MIBI scans were analyzed either qualitatively (subjectively) or semiquantitatively.All 19 ILD patients demonstrated a strong increase in 99mTc-MIBI uptake in the lungs compared to the control group. The 99mTc-MIBI scan scores were higher in the patient group in both the early phase (0.240.19-0.31 vs 0.110.10-0.15, P 0.14). The 99mTc-MIBI scan scores were not significantly correlated with the PFT findings (P > 0.05). In total, 5 patients died and 14 patients were still alive over the 1-year follow-up period. There was also a significant difference between the uptake intensity of 99mTc-MIBI and the outcome in the early phase (dead: 0.320.29-0.43 vs alive: 0.210.18-0.24, P < 0.05) and delayed phase (dead: 0.270.22-0.28 vs alive: 0.100.07-0.19, P < 0.05).The washout rate was ~40 min starting from 20 min up to 60 min and this rate was significantly different in our 2 study groups (ILD: 46.6115.61-50.39 vs NL: 70.9127.09-116.36, P = 0.04).The present study demonstrated that 99mTc-MIBI lung scans might distinguish the severity of pulmonary involvement in early views, which were well correlated with HRCT findings. These results also revealed that 99mTc-MIBI lung scans might be used as a complement to other diagnostic and clinical examinations in terms of functional information in ILD; however, further investigations are strongly required

Effect of Freezing on Stress–Strain Characteristics of Granular and Cohesive Soils

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from ASCE via the DOI in this recordTo investigate the stress-strain behavior of frozen soils, a program of triaxial compression tests was designed and carried out on samples of unfrozen and frozen cohesive (CL) and granular (SP) soils and pure ice. The experiments involved study of the influence of freezing, temperature reduction and loading rate on the stress-strain characteristics of the frozen ground. The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of using the Artificial Ground Freezing (AGF) technique in the excavation and tunneling in Line 2 of the Tabriz Subway project. The results show that freezing of the CL soil has no significant effect on the type of soil behavior (strain-hardening), while, freezing of the SP soil changes its strain-hardening behavior to strain-softening. The effect of freezing on the increase in shear strength of the saturated SP soil is much greater than that of the saturated CL soil; however, the rate of increase in the shear strength due to freezing and temperature reduction is much larger for the CL soil. Freezing and reduction in temperature cause an increase in the elastic modulus of all the materials tested in the present study. Also, the shear strength and elastic modulus 26 of these materials increase with loading rate.Ministry of Science of Ira

Comparison of technetium-99m IgG with technetium-99m red blood cells labeling in cardiac blood-pool scintigraphy: A preliminary study

This first clinical prospective study was conducted to use of technetium-99m immunoglobulin G (99mTc-IgG) as compared with autologous 99mTc-red blood cells (RBC) in gated blood pool ventriculography. We studied 12 patients who referred to us for a possible diagnosis of liver hemangioma or infection. Six patients underwent gated planar blood pool (GPBP) acquisition using 99mTc-RBC and 6 GPBP acquisition using 99mTc-IgG. The use of 99mTc-IgG in cardiac blood pool studies provided comparable images to 99mTc-RBC. In conclusion, 99mTc-IgG, which is readily available and needs only a single injection, may be an attractive alternative to 99mTc-RBC for the estimation of various cardiac function parameters like left ventricular function

Concurrent papillary thyroid cancer and parathyroid adenoma as a rare condition: A case report

Although the pathological relationship between parathyroid and thyroid diseases is common, an association between parathyroid adenoma and thyroid cancer is rare. Concomitant thyroid cancer in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) has been reported at varying frequencies. WE present here a 23-year-old man who had papillary thyroid carcinoma in the right thyroid lobe and a parathyroid adenoma in the left thyroid lobe, which were confirmed surgically. Copyright © 2012 Via Medica

The role of gated myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (GMPS) in myocarditis: A case report and review of the literature

Acute myocarditis is one of the most challenging diagnoses and treatments in cardiology. The acute viral myocarditis diagnosis is usually based on high suspicion, history taking, and physical examination. Likewise, the use of chest radiography, electrocardiography (ECG), and echocardiography is helpful in making a final diagnosis, but all are non-specific. In addition, in imaging query, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) depicts some degree of cardiac inflammation in the course of myocarditis. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has also been shown to be useful in diagnosis, and this noninvasive technique diminishes the need for myocardial biopsy. The current study presents the diagnostic and prognostic role of MPI in a 25-year-old patient with suspected myocarditis. The patient underwent gated-technetium-99m-lablled, methoxyisobutyl isonitrile, single photon emission computed tomography (Gated 99mTc-MIBI SPECT) that showed nonheterogeneous absorption with remarkable decreased radiotracer uptake in the myocardium in both stress and rest phases. In addition, the gated mode demonstrated decreased wall motion and thickening of the myocardium with a sum motion score (SMS) of 28, a sum thickening score (STS) of 15, and a measured LVEF of 34%. The study concludes that 99mTC-MIBI SPECT imaging is a useful modality in the preparation of supplementary diagnostic and prognostic information in viral myocarditis. Copyright © 2011 Via Medica