ABSTRACT
Grating based X-ray phase contrast imaging is on the verge of being applied in clinical settings. To achieve this goal, compact setups with high sensitivity and dose efficiency are necessary. Both can be increased by eliminating unwanted absorption in the beam path, which is mainly due to the grating substrates. Fabrication of gratings via deep X-ray lithography can address this issue by replacing the commonly used silicon substrate with materials with lower X-ray absorption that fulfill certain boundary conditions. Gratings were produced on both graphite and polymer substrates without compromising on structure quality. These gratings were tested in a three-grating setup with a source operated at 40 kVp and lead to an increase in the detector photon count rate of almost a factor of 4 compared to a set of gratings on silicon substrates. As the visibility was hardly affected, this corresponds to a significant increase in sensitivity and therefore dose efficiency.
Subject(s)
Artifacts , Refractometry/instrumentation , X-Ray Diffraction/instrumentation , Absorption, Radiation , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Radiation Dosage , Reproducibility of Results , Scattering, Radiation , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/instrumentation , X-RaysABSTRACT
This report describes a relatively simple test for C3 nephritic factor (C3NeF) activity utilizing immunofixation electrophoresis to quantitate the production of the breakdown product C3c. Tests performed on plasmas from 22 control patients and 93 renal patients have biopsy diagnoses other than basement membrane dense deposit disease (BMDDD) yielded negative results for C3NeF activity. Tests performed on plasmas from three patients with BMDDD were positive for C3NeF activity, yielding values significantly higher than those for the control group and the patients with other renal diseases. The test can be performed on specimens collected in EDTA to prevent in vitro C3 degradation during storage or transport at ambient temperature.
Subject(s)
Complement C3 Nephritic Factor/analysis , Complement Inactivator Proteins/analysis , Glomerulonephritis/immunology , Immunoelectrophoresis , Basement Membrane/immunology , Basement Membrane/pathology , Biopsy , Complement C3 , Edetic Acid , False Positive Reactions , Glomerulonephritis/pathology , Humans , Immunologic TechniquesABSTRACT
A 49-year-old white woman with refractory anemia subsequently developed acute myelomonocytic leukemia with paraproteinemia 12 months later. The paraprotein was characterized as immunoglobulin G, type kappa, and the Bence Jones protein as free kappa chains. Further studies, including electron microscopy, cytochemistry, and immunofluorescence provided evidence for synthesis of the paraprotein, both in vivo and vitro, by the myelomonocytic leukemic cells.
Subject(s)
Leukemia, Myeloid/complications , Paraproteinemias/etiology , Cells, Cultured , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/biosynthesis , Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains/biosynthesis , Leukemia, Myeloid/metabolism , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The second death due to rabies encephalitis occurring among American servicemen stationed in the Republic of Vietnam is reported. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by performing the direct fluorescent antibody test for rabies on smears of corneal epithelial cells obtained on the second day of hospitalization. The reliability of various laboratory procedures in confirming the diagnosis of human rabies early in the course of clinical illness is discussed. The cornea test is a useful and rapid method of diagnosing human rabies prior to the development of significant serum antibody titers.
