The paper presents the
222Rn Standard System realized at the Radionuclide Metrology Laboratory from IFIN-HH, Romania. It contains a Pylon solid
226Ra source, and a glass circuit for circulation and ...recovery of
222Rn in glass ampoules, at the 77
K temperature. The radon can be recovered both in ampoules with liquid scintillator (LS), for absolute standardization of
222Rn by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) (
Cassette et al., 2006), and in evacuated ampoules as gas, simultaneously or by the transfer of radon from gas into LS ampoules, in order to establish the traceability chain. The absolute standardization consists in the registration of the double coincidence counting rate in LS, due to the whole sequence of short life components of the
222Rn chain, in equilibrium conditions. The main correction applied to the measurement results is due to the decay of
214Po during the extendable dead time of the system. The following procedure was applied to take it into account. The value of the base duration of the dead time was precisely measured and used for the data corrections. The measurements of each source were repeated during a period of several days, and the decay curve parameters were calculated. If the dead time value and the correction formulae, presented throughout the paper, were adequate, then the re-determination of the
222Rn half life,
T
1/2
=(3.8232±0.0008)
d, using the decay curve of the corrected counting rates should be correct. On the other hand, the effective dead time values obtained by parallel calculations were compared. The paper presents the results obtained in the standardization of several sources, by LSC, and the evaluation of the uncertainties associated to the method.
Tritiated water has been standardized in the framework of a French–Romanian cooperation by two improved methods: liquid scintillation counting based on the triple to double coincidence ratio method ...and the internal gas proportional counting used in conjunction with a tritium generator for chemical reduction of water. The uncertainties of measurement for both methods were smaller than 0.6% and the two results were consistent within these uncertainties, indicating that either method is equally suited for standardizing tritiated water.
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been modified via genetic or pharmacological engineering into potent antigen-presenting cells-like capable of priming responding CD8 T cells. In this study, our ...screening of a variant library of Accum molecule revealed a molecule (A1) capable of eliciting antigen cross-presentation properties in MSCs. A1-reprogrammed MSCs (ARM) exhibited improved soluble antigen uptake and processing. Our comprehensive analysis, encompassing cross-presentation assays and molecular profiling, among other cellular investigations, elucidated A1’s impact on endosomal escape, reactive oxygen species production, and cytokine secretion. By evaluating ARM-based cellular vaccine in mouse models of lymphoma and melanoma, we observe significant therapeutic potency, particularly in allogeneic setting and in combination with anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor. Overall, this study introduces a strong target for developing an antigen-adaptable vaccination platform, capable of synergizing with immune checkpoint blockers to trigger tumor regression, supporting further investigation of ARMs as an effective and versatile anti-cancer vaccine.
Display omitted
•Treatment with A1/antigen mix reprograms MSCs into antigen-presenting cells•The antigen cross-presenting ability of ARM cells require ROS and UPR•ARMs synergize with immune-checkpoint inhibitors in priming potent antitumoral activity
Classification Description: Immunology; Pharmaceutical engineering; Cancer
Tritiated water can be standardized by internal gas proportional counting following its chemical reduction, by means of a tritium gas generator, to produce tritiated hydrogen. In this paper a new ...tritium gas generator is described in detail together with the method of measurement based on the internal gas counting. It has new and improved features and offers the advantage of being simpler and easier to operate than other tritium generators available. Thus, this tritium generator has the following new features: (i) it performs the water reduction at a lower temperature (450°C) than the other generators which need 600°C ; (ii) the reduction yield is always unitary. Also, it has a simple and compact construction by using the same components for water degassing and water reduction. Its simple disassembly and reassembly allow for easy maintenance
In internal gas proportional counting, the evaluation of counting losses is important in order to obtain high accuracy measurement results. In this paper, counting losses due to the wall effect not ...counted and beta particles with very low energy are evaluated by analytical calculations. The calculated and experimental results are compared and a very good agreement is found.
Multichannel counting is often used when samples containing a mixture of known radionuclides are measured. Solutions to this method have been presented but to our knowledge, none of them took into ...account the covariances for evaluating the uncertainty of measurement. This paper presents new solutions for estimating uncertainties in measurement of radionuclide mixtures by multichannel counting and shows that covariances may contribute significantly to uncertainty of measurement so that they must be evaluated.
This study evaluated the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., Sylmar, CA) in blind subjects with severe outer retinal degeneration.
Single-arm, prospective, ...multicenter clinical trial.
Thirty subjects were enrolled in the United States and Europe between June 6, 2007, and August 11, 2009. All subjects were followed up for a minimum of 6 months and up to 2.7 years.
The electronic stimulator and antenna of the implant were sutured onto the sclera using an encircling silicone band. Next, a pars plana vitrectomy was performed, and the electrode array and cable were introduced into the eye via a pars plana sclerotomy. The microelectrode array then was tacked to the epiretinal surface.
The primary safety end points for the trial were the number, severity, and relation of adverse events. Principal performance end points were assessments of visual function as well as performance on orientation and mobility tasks.
Subjects performed statistically better with the system on versus off in the following tasks: object localization (96% of subjects), motion discrimination (57%), and discrimination of oriented gratings (23%). The best recorded visual acuity to date is 20/1260. Subjects' mean performance on orientation and mobility tasks was significantly better when the system was on versus off. Seventy percent of the patients did not have any serious adverse events (SAEs). The most common SAE reported was either conjunctival erosion or dehiscence over the extraocular implant and was treated successfully in all subjects except in one, who required explantation of the device without further complications.
The long-term safety results of Second Sight's retinal prosthesis system are acceptable, and most subjects with profound visual loss perform better on visual tasks with system than without it.
The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System (Second Sight Medical Products, Inc, Sylmar, CA) was developed to restore some vision to patients blind as a result of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or outer ...retinal degeneration. A clinical trial was initiated in 2006 to study the long-term safety and efficacy of the Argus II System in patients with bare or no light perception resulting from end-stage RP.
Prospective, multicenter, single-arm clinical trial. Within-patient controls included the nonimplanted fellow eye and patients' native residual vision compared with their vision with the Argus II.
Thirty participants in 10 centers in the United States and Europe.
The worse-seeing eye of blind patients was implanted with the Argus II. Patients wore glasses mounted with a small camera and a video processor that converted images into stimulation patterns sent to the electrode array on the retina.
The primary outcome measures were safety (the number, seriousness, and relatedness of adverse events) and visual function, as measured by 3 computer-based, objective tests. Secondary measures included functional vision performance on objectively scored real-world tasks.
Twenty-four of 30 patients remained implanted with functioning Argus II Systems at 5 years after implantation. Only 1 additional serious adverse event was experienced after the 3-year time point. Patients performed significantly better with the Argus II on than off on all visual function tests and functional vision tasks.
The 5-year results of the Argus II trial support the long-term safety profile and benefit of the Argus II System for patients blind as a result of RP. The Argus II is the first and only retinal implant to have market approval in the European Economic Area, the United States, and Canada.
PDF
