Quantitative imaging of yttrium-86 PET with the ECAT EXACT HR+ in 2D mode.

The radionuclide 86Y potentially allows for the precise assessment of tissue radioactivity biodistribution and, thus, extrapolation of a therapeutic dose of 90Y-labeled compounds. A method to obtain quantitative images from 86Y-PET measurements after a background correction and a recalibration is presented. Cylinder and body phantom measurements with 18 F and 86Y using an ECAT EXACT HR+ tomograph were performed in 2D mode. A second-order series expansion is used to correct for the background of spurious coincidences in the sinogram. A recalibration of the positron emission tomography (PET) system, depending on the ratio of true coincidences and singles, is implemented. The correction for the nonannihilation coincidences with a second-order series expansion significantly improves the accuracy of quantitation: The lesion-to-background ratio is reproduced, and the variation of the activity concentration in the homogeneous background regions of the phantoms is smaller than 5%. The apparent activities in cold inserts of various densities is reduced to less than 15% of the concentration in the active region. The recalibration of the system works with a relative error of 0.2% +/- 2.4%. In conclusion, the used approximations lead to improved uniformity and quantitative accuracy in 86Y-PET measurements with the ECAT EXACT HR+.

Levels and pattern of volatile organic nitrates and halocarbons in the air at Neumayer Station (70 degrees S), Antarctic.

Levels and patterns of C1-C4/C9 organic nitrates were measured for the first time in Antarctica. The sampling was done by adsorptive enrichment on Tenax TA followed by thermodesorption cold-trap high resolution capillary gas chromatography with electron capture detection. 2-70 1 air on-column have been analyzed this way. C1-C9 alkyl mononitrates, C2-C4 alkyl dinitrates, C2-C4 hydroxy alkyl nitrates, and halocarbons could be identified in air samples collected near the German Neumayer Research Station, Antarctica, in February 1999. Volatile biogenic and anthropogenic halocarbons were used to assess the origin of the air parcels analyzed. The average concentration measured for sigmaC2-C6 alkyl nitrates was in the range of 9.2 +/- 1.8 ppt(v), while the sum of the mixing ratios of six C2-C4 hydroxy alkyl nitrates was in the range of 1.1 +/- 0.2 ppt(v). Moreover, C2-C4 alkyl dinitrates were found at levels near the detection limit of 0.1-0.5 ppt(v). The concentrations of organic nitrates found in Antarctic air represent ultimate baseline levels due to chemical and physical loss processes during long-range transport in the air. The South Atlantic and the Antarctic Ocean as a general secondary source for organic nitrates in terms of an air/sea exchange equilibrium has to be evaluated yet, but it seems logical. Our results confirm the common assumption that there are no biogenic marine sources of C2-C9 organonitrates. We have found a level of > 80 ppt(v) for methyl nitrate. This level if it can be confirmed in a systematic survey requires a strong biogenic source of methyl nitrate in the Antarctic Ocean.

Dissociating a common working memory network from different neural substrates of phonological and spatial stimulus processing.

Positron emission tomography was used to investigate common versus specific cortical regions for the maintenance of spatial versus phonological information in working memory (WM). Group and single-subject analyses of regional cerebral blood flow during a new 2 x 2 factorial n-back task were performed. Eight subjects had to memorize either phonological features or the location of serially presented syllables. Brain activation during phonological judgment and spatial judgment (0-back) was compared with that during two corresponding WM conditions (2-back). We observed a common network associated with the requirement of maintaining and sequencing items in WM. Seven or more subjects activated (posterior) superior frontal sulcus (pSFS, BA 6/8, global maximum) and/or adjacent gyri, posterior parietal cortex, and precuneus (BA 7). Less consistently, bilateral middle frontal gyrus (BA 9/46) was involved. Bilateral anterior (BA 39/40) and posterior (BA 7) intraparietal sulcus, as well as right pSFS, exhibited dominance for spatial WM. Although underlying stimulus processing pathways for both types of information were different, no region specific for phonological WM was found. Robust activation within the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 44 and 45) was present, during both phonological WM and phonological judgment. We conclude that the controversial left prefrontal lateralization for verbal WM reflects more general phonological processing strategies, not necessarily required by tasks using letters. We propose a stimulus-independent role for the bilateral pSFS and its vicinity for maintenance and manipulation of different context-dependent information within working memory.