Using Natural Radionuclides to Trace Sources of Suspended Particles in the Lower Reaches of the Yellow River

Natural radionuclides are powerful tools for understanding the sources and fate of suspended particulate matter(SPM).Particulate matter with different particle sizes behaves differently with respect to adsorption and desorption.We analyzed the activi-ties and distribution characteristics of multiple natural radionuclides(238U,226Ra,40K,228Ra,7Be and 210Pbex)on size-fractionated SPM at the Lijin Hydrographic Station(Huanghe or Yellow River)every month over a one-year period.Results showed that medium silt(16–32µm)was the main component.As expected,the activity of each radionuclide decreased with an increase of particle size.We examined the sources of SPM with different particle sizes using activity ratios of 226Ra/238U,228Ra/226Ra,40K/238U and 7Be/210Pbex,and concluded that SPM with different particle sizes originated from different sources.Our results indicate that fine SPM(<32µm)was mainly from the erosion of soil along the lower reaches of the Yellow River,while coarse SPM(>32µm)was mainly derived from resuspension of riverbed sediment.During high runoff periods,the concentration of SPM increased significantly,and the pro-portion of fine particles originating upstream increased.Naturally occurring radioactive isotopes,especially on size-fractionated par-ticles,are therefore seen as useful tracers to understand the sources and behaviors of riverine particles transported from land to sea.

GPU-accelerated three-dimensional reconstruction method of the Compton camera and its application in radionuclide imaging

A novel and fast three-dimensional reconstruction method for a Compton camera and its performance in radionuclide imaging is proposed and analyzed in this study. The conical surface sampling back-projection method with scattering angle correction(CSS-BP-SC) can quickly perform the back-projection process of the Compton cone and can be used to precompute the list-mode maximum likelihood expectation maximization(LM-MLEM). A dedicated parallel architecture was designed for the graphics processing unit acceleration of the back-projection and iteration stage of the CSS-BP-SC-based LM-MLEM. The imaging results of the two-point source Monte Carlo(MC) simulation demonstrate that by analyzing the full width at half maximum along the three coordinate axes, the CSS-BP-SC-based LM-MLEM can obtain imaging results comparable to those of the traditional reconstruction algorithm, that is, the simple back-projection-based LM-MLEM. The imaging results of the mouse phantom MC simulation and experiment demonstrate that the reconstruction results obtained by the proposed method sufficiently coincide with the set radioactivity distribution, and the speed increased by more than 664 times compared to the traditional reconstruction algorithm in the mouse phantom experiment. The proposed method will further advance the imaging applications of Compton cameras.

Imaging assessment of photosensitizer emission induced by radionuclide-derived Cherenkov radiation using charge-coupled device optical imaging and long-pass filters

BACKGROUND Radionuclides produce Cherenkov radiation(CR),which can potentially activate photosensitizers(PSs)in phototherapy.Several groups have studied Cherenkov energy transfer to PSs using optical imaging;however,cost-effectively identifying whether PSs are excited by radionuclide-derived CR and detecting fluorescence emission from excited PSs remain a challenge.Many laboratories face the need for expensive dedicated equipment.AIM To cost-effectively confirm whether PSs are excited by radionuclide-derived CR and distinguish fluorescence emission from excited PSs.METHODS The absorbance and fluorescence spectra of PSs were measured using a microplate reader and fluorescence spectrometer to examine the photo-physical properties of PSs.To mitigate the need for expensive dedicated equipment and achieve the aim of the study,we developed a method that utilizes a chargecoupled device optical imaging system and appropriate long-pass filters of different wavelengths(manual sequential application of long-pass filters of 515,580,645,700,750,and 800 nm).Tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin(TCPP)was utilized as a model PS.Different doses of copper-64(^(64)CuCl_(2))(4,2,and 1 mCi)were used as CR-producing radionuclides.Imaging and data acquisition were performed 0.5 h after sample preparation.Differential image analysis was conducted by using ImageJ software(National Institutes of Health)to visually evaluate TCPP fluorescence.RESULTS The maximum absorbance of TCPP was at 390-430 nm,and the emission peak was at 670 nm.The CR and CRinduced TCPP emissions were observed using the optical imaging system and the high-transmittance long-pass filters described above.The emission spectra of TCPP with a peak in the 645-700 nm window were obtained by calculation and subtraction based on the serial signal intensity(total flux)difference between^(64)CuCl_(2)+TCPP and^(64)CuCl_(2).Moreover,the differential fluorescence images of TCPP were obtained by subtracting the^(64)CuCl_(2)image from the^(64)CuCl_(2)+TCPP image.The experimental results considering different^(64)CuCl_(2)doses showed a dosedependent trend.These results demonstrate that a bioluminescence imaging device coupled with different longpass filters and subtraction image processing can confirm the emission spectra and differential fluorescence images of CR-induced TCPP.CONCLUSION This simple method identifies the PS fluorescence emission generated by radionuclide-derived CR and can contribute to accelerating the development of Cherenkov energy transfer imaging and the discovery of new PSs.

Effects of Food Diet Preparation Techniques on Radionuclide Intake and Its Implications for Individual Ingestion Effective Dose in Abeokuta, Southwestern Nigeria

The radioactivity measurements in food crops and their diet derivatives and farm soil samples from Abeokuta, one of the elevated background radiation areas in Nigeria have been carried out in order to determine the concentration levels of natural radionuclides (40K, 226Ra and 232Th). The activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides in the samples were determined via gamma-ray spectrometry using a 76 mm × 76 mm NaI(Tl) detector. Different common food crops representing the major sources of dietary requirements to the local population were collected for the measurements. The collected food crops were prepared into their different derivable composite diets using preparation techniques locale to the population. Using available food consumption data and the activity concentrations of the radionuclides, the ingestion effective doses were evaluated for the food crops and diet types per preparation techniques. For the tuberous food crop samples, the annual ingestion effective doses in the raw and different composite diets were 0.02 - 0.04 μSv and cumulatively 0.04 - 0.05 μSv while in the non-tuberous crops the doses were 0.44 - 0.70 μSv and cumulatively greater than 1 μSv respectively. Results of the study indicate that method of diet preparation is seen to play a major role in population ingestion dose reduction especially for tuberous crops than in non-tuberous crops. The study also showed that more ingestion dose could be incurred in diets prepared by roasting techniques. The result of the study will serve as a useful radiometric data for future epidemiological studies in the area and for food safety regulations and policy implementations in the country.

Baculovirus vector-mediated transfer of NIS gene into colon tumor cells for radionuclide therapy

AIM:To investigate the feasibility of radionuclide therapy of colon tumor cells by baculovirus vector-mediated transfer of the sodium/iodide symporter(NIS) gene.METHODS:A recombinant baculovirus plasmid carrying the NIS gene was constructed,and the viruses(BacNIS) were prepared using the Bac-to-Bac system.The infection efficiency in the colon cancer cell line SW1116 of a green fluorescent protein(GFP) expressing baculovirus(Bac-GFP) at different multiplicities of infection(MOI) with various concentrations of sodium butyrate was determined by flow cytometry.An in vitro cytotoxicity assay was also conducted after infection of SW1116 cells with Bac-NIS.Iodine uptake of Bac-NIS infected SW1116 cells and inhibition of this uptake by sodium perchlorate was examined,and the effect of Bac-NISmediated 131 I in killing tumor cells was evaluated by cell colony formation tests.RESULTS:Infection and transgene expression in SW1116with Bac-GFP were significantly enhanced by sodium butyrate,as up to 72% of SW1116 cells were infected with the virus at MOI of 400 and sodium butyrate at 0.5 mmol/L.No obvious cytotoxicity was observed under these conditions.Infection of SW1116 with Bac-NIS allowed uptake of 131 I in these tumor cells,which could be inhibited by sodium perchlorate.The viability of SW1116 cells infected with Bac-NIS was significantly lower than with Bac-GFP,suggesting that NIS gene-mediated 131 I uptake could specifically kill tumor cells.CONCLUSION:Baculovirus vector-mediated NIS gene therapy is a potential approach for treatment of colon cancer.

A novel approach for radionuclide diffusion in the enclosed environment of a marine nuclear reactor during a severe accident

A severe accident in a marine nuclear reactor leads to radionuclide leakage,which causes hidden dangers to workers and has adverse effects of environmental pollution.It is necessary to propose a novel approach to radionuclide diffusion in a confined environment after a severe accident in a marine nuclear reactor.Therefore,this study proposes a new method for the severe accident analysis program MELCOR coupled with computational fluid dynamics scSTREAM to study radioactive diffusion in severe accidents.The radionuclide release fraction and temperature calculated by MELCOR were combined with the scSTREAM calculations to study the radionuclide diffusion behavior and the phenomenon of radionuclide diffusion in different space environments of the reactor under the conditions of varying wind velocities of the ventilation system and diffusion speed.The results show that the wind velocity of the ventilation system is very small or zero,and the turbulent diffusion of radionuclides is not obvious and diffuses slowly in the form of condensation sedimentation and gravity settlement.When the wind speed of the ventilation system increases,the flow of radionuclides meets the wall and forms eddy currents,affecting the time variation of radionuclides diffusing into chamber 2.The wind velocity of the ventilation system and the diffusion speed has opposite effects on the time variation trend of radionuclide diffusion into the four chambers.

A novel approach for feature extraction from a gamma‑ray energy spectrum based on image descriptor transferring for radionuclide identification

This study proposes a novel feature extraction approach for radionuclide identification to increase the precision of identification of the gamma-ray energy spectrum set.For easier utilization of the information contained in the spectra,the vectors of the gamma-ray energy spectra from Euclidean space,which are fingerprints of the different types of radionuclides,were mapped to matrices in the Banach space.Subsequently,to make the spectra in matrix form easier to apply to image-based deep learning frameworks,the matrices of the gamma-ray energy spectra were mapped to images in the RGB color space.A deep convolutional neural network(DCNN)model was constructed and trained on the ImageNet dataset.The mapped gamma-ray energy spectrum images were applied as inputs to the DCNN model,and the corresponding outputs of the convolution layers and fully connected layers were transferred as descriptors of the images to construct a new classification model for radionuclide identification.The transferred image descriptors consist of global and local features,where the activation vectors of fully connected layers are global features,and activations from convolution layers are local features.A series of comparative experiments between the transferred image descriptors,peak information,features extracted by the histogram of the oriented gradients(HOG),and scale-invariant feature transform(SIFT)using both synthetic and measured data were applied to 11 classical classifiers.The results demonstrate that although the gamma-ray energy spectrum images are completely unfamiliar to the DCNN model and have not been used in the pre-training process,the transferred image descriptors achieved good classification results.The global features have strong semantic information,which achieves an average accuracy of 92.76%and 94.86%on the synthetic dataset and measured dataset,respectively.The results of the statistical comparison of features demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms the peak-searching-based method,HOG,and SIFT on the synthetic and measured datasets.

Use of ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) fallout radionuclides for spatial soil erosion and redistribution assessment on steeply sloping agricultural highlands

The steeply sloping agricultural highlands in Korea have severe soil erosion.Estimation of both soil erosion and sedimentation in these highlands is necessary to make plans for soil-conservation measures,but it is not feasible using existing soil-erosion models.This study measured the site-specific concentrations of ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) on both a highland slope(33%slope)and a reference site(undisturbed flat area)to estimate soil erosion and redistribution.The use of the fallout radionuclide(FRN)method was evaluated to see if it is a suitable method for characterizing soil erosion.Results were compared with those obtained with the Universal Soil Loss Equation(USLE),which is an empirical model that estimates annual soil erosion.The average concentrations of ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) at the reference site were 11.57±0.24 Bq kg^(-1) and 59.74±4.2 Bq kg^(-1),respectively.Concentrations of ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) in the experimental slope were 16.4%and 10.8%,respectively,of those at the reference site.Radionuclide inventories were lower at the upper point of the slope than those at the basal point of the slope.Concentrations of ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) were significantly correlated with available phosphorus,organic matter,CEC,and exchangeable cations.Estimation of soil redistribution rate using ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) showed site-specific variations at different points along the slope,and respective ranges were^(-1)7.46~-207.51 and 1.55~-581.38 Mgha^(-1) yr^(-1),which indicated that more erosion was assessed by ^(210)Pb_(ex) than by ^(137)Cs.Redistribution analysis showed that soil erosion occurred along the entire slope,except for the bottom point of the slope where 1.55 Mgha^(-1) yr^(-1) of sediment accumulated.The USLE provided a single value of the average annual soil loss in the entire slope,which was either 166 or 398 Mgha^(-1) yr^(-1),depending on the soil erodibility factor(soil series factor and calculated factor from soil sample analysis)used in the model.We conclude that the FRN method using ^(137)Cs and ^(210)Pb_(ex) radionuclides can be used to assess soil erosion and redistribution in steeply sloping agricultural highlands.Verification of soil-erosion values using the FRN method and soil-erosion models has been controversial,but it merits further study at many locations with different soils,topography,and management practices.

Dating sediments on several lakes inferred from radionuclide profiles

In this paper, several sediment cores from three lakes (Gucheng Lake, Dianchi Lake and Dabusopao Lake) in the different regions of China were dated radiometrically by 210 Pb, 137 Cs and in Dianchi also by 241 Am. The study shows that the profiles of 137 Cs in lake sediment of China generally have 2—4 distinct chronological markers, i.e. the onset of fallout in 1954 and peak fallout in 1963, 1974 and 1986. As many places of the northern hemisphere, the peak fallout in 1963 was the result of the atmospheric atomic weapons test. But in some areas of China, there may be have one or two other peaks of 137 Cs fallout, one can derive from Chernobyl fallout in 1986 and the other is caused by the nuclear testing fallout in early 1970s. So in these areas, the profiles of 137 Cs can have 2 or 3 peaks as the time markers. 241 Am, which is another fallout product from nuclear weapons testing, also provides a useful dating marker in Dianchi. These time markers are of considerable value to confirm 210 Pb dates in the three lakes. Despite there are some questions remain concerning the interpretation of these radionuclide records in lake sediments, coupling with 210 Pb and 137 Cs (and/or 241 Am) is suggested to be a valuable limnological tool for establishing sediment chronologies for the lake sediments in China.

Radionuclide Contents and Physicochemical Water Quality Indicators in Stream, Well and Borehole Water Sources in High Radiation Area of Abeokuta, Southwestern Nigeria

Water samples from streams, hand-dug wells and boreholes in high background radiation areas in Abeokuta, Nigeria have been collected in order to determine the activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in the samples as well as their physicochemical characteristics. These parameters were evaluated in order to deter-mine the quality of these water sources to the local population, who use these water resources for drinking and domestic activities. Measurements of radioactivity in the water samples were carried out using γ-ray spectroscopy, while standard chemistry methods were used for the physicochemical determinations of these quality parameters. A total of fourteen representative water samples from streams (7), boreholes (4), and hand dug wells (3) were collected for study. The determined activity concentrations of the radionuclides in these samples were used to calculate the effective dose to the population from due to ingestion of and drink-ing the locally available water. The total annual ingestion effective doses were found to vary between 115.00 &#177;1.15μSv and 1362.30 &#177;438.02 μSv. The physicochemical parameters where found to be lower than the prescribed standard safe limits in the water sources except for the nitrate and phosphate levels which were particularly high in the water samples from boreholes and hand-dug wells. The radiation effective ingestion dose due to ingestion of water from dug wells and streams was found to be higher than the dose due to inges-tion of water from borehole sources in the studied areas. The results obtained in this study, have been taken as a baselines for physicochemical parameters and activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in water samples within Odeda and Obafemi-owode parts of Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Estimation of Annual Effective Dose Due to Ingestion of Natural Radionuclides in Cattle in Tin Mining Area of Jos Plateau, Nigeria

Contamination of land could occur during the extraction and handling of materials containing high levels of naturally occurring radionuclide materials. These radionuclides find their ways into the food chain. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th in heart, liver, kidney, lungs, spleen and beef of cattle slaughtered and consumed in a tin mining area of Jos Plateau, Nigeria were determined by gamma ray spectroscopy method. The activity concentration of 40K is the highest in all the samples. The annual effective dose to man through the ingestion of the radionuclides in the organs was estimated. The mean annual effective doses calculated are 35.35 ± 13.84, 57.89 ± 38.27 and 46.93 ± 10.28 μSv?y?1 for heart, liver and kidney, respectively. Those of lungs, spleen and meat are 28.44 ± 15.70, 48.34 ± 28.85 and 41.24 ± 3.56 μSv?y?1, respectively. These are of the order of two magnitudes higher than those obtained for food in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Assessment of Radionuclide Content of Shore Sediments Collected from the Bank of River Benue, North-Central Nigeria

Ionizing Radiation emitted from radionuclide has an adverse effect on human health. A continuing population exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMS) found in our environment is one of the major scientific subjects that attract public attention. The assessment of radionuclide content of shore sediments of river Benue-North Central Nigeria was carried out using gamma-ray spectrometry. The activity concentrations of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 were found to have an average concentration of 1.17, 3.31 and 405.95 Bq·kg-1 respectively. The values gotten from present study were compared with the world average values. World average values of U-238, Th-232 and K-40 are 50 Bq·kg-1, 50 Bq·kg-1 and 500 Bq·kg-1 respectively. The mean concentration of daughter radionuclides generated from U-238, Th-232 was 4.32, 10.37, 5.24, 3.86, 11.87, and 6.52 for Bi-212, Pb-212, Bi-214, Pb-214, Ra-226 and Ac-228, respectively. The mean of the absorbed dose, Annual effective dose equivalent, for radium equivalent activity, and external hazard index, were evaluated to be 19.45 nGy·h-1, 23.82 μSv·y-1, 37.16 Bq·kg-1, 0.10 mSv·y1, below the permissible limit of 57 nGy·h-1, 70 μSv·y-1, 370 Bq·kg-1 and 1 mSv·y-1 respectively. These shore sediments from river Benue are therefore, radiologically safe for construction and other domestic and industrial purposes.

Atmospheric Dispersion and Deposition of Radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I) Released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

The Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM) in the 594 km× 594 km model domain with the horizontal grid scale of 3 km×3 km centered at a power plant and the Eulerian Transport Model (ETM) modified from the Asian Dust Aerosol Model 2 (ADAM2) in the domain of 70° LAT × 140° LON with the horizontal grid scale of 27 km×27 km have been developed. These models have been implemented to simulate the concentration and deposition of radionuclides (137Cs and 131I) released from the accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. It is found that both models are able to simulate quite reasonably the observed concentrations of 137Cs and 131I near the power plant. However, the LPDM model is more useful for the estimation of concentration near the power plant site in details whereas the ETM model is good for the long-range transport processes of the radionuclide plume. The estimated maximum mean surface concentration, column integrated mean concentration and the total deposition (wet+dry) by LPDM for the period from 12 March to 30 April 2011 are, respectively found to be 2.975 × 102 Bq m-3, 3.7 × 107 Bq m-2, and 1.78 × 1014 Bq m-2 for 137Cs and 1.96 × 104 Bq m-3, 2.24 × 109 Bq m-2 and 5.96 × 1014 Bq m-2 for 131I. The radionuclide plumes released from the accident power plant are found to spread wide regions not only the whole model domain of downwind regions but the upwind regions of Russia, Mongolia, Korea, eastern China, Philippines and Vietnam within the analysis period.

Medical management of victims contaminated with radionuclides after a “dirty bomb” attack

A wide spectrum of scenarios may lead to radiation incidents and the liberation of radioactive material. In the case of a terrorist attack by a "dirty bomb", there is a risk of mechanical and thermal trauma, external irradiation, superficial contamination and incorporation of radioactive material. The first treatment priority must be given to the care of trauma patients with life-threatening injuries, as the health effects of radiation occur with latency. Radionuclide incorporation will lead to a longer-lasting irradiation from inside the body, associated with a higher risk of stochastic radiation effects(e.g., occurrence of tumors) in the long run. It must be expected that victims with potentially incorporated radionuclides will far outnumber trauma patients. The elimination of radionuclides can be enhanced by the administration of decorporation agents such as(Ca) Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid(DTPA) or Prussian blue,reducing the radiological burden of the body. There is still no consensus whether decorporation treatment should be started immediately based only on a suspicion of radionuclide incorporation("urgent approach") or if the results of internal dosimetry confirming the necessity of a treatment should be awaited, accepting the delay caused by the measurements and computations("precautionary approach"). As the therapeutic effectiveness may be substantially decreased if treatment initiation is delayed only by several days, depending on the radionuclide, the physicochemical properties of the compounds involved and the route of absorption, we favor an "urgent approach" from a medical point of view. In doubt, it seems justified to treat victims by precaution, as the adverse effects of the medication seem minimal. However, in the case of a high number of victims, an "urgent treatment approach" may require a large number of daily doses of antidotes, and therefore, adequate investments in preparedness and antidote stockpiling are necessary.

Estimation of the radionuclide distribution in sediment in coast area

The study of the radionuelide distribution in sediment is a very important aspect in environmental impact of the low level radioactive liquid waste (LLW) from coastal nuclear facilities or nuclear power plant. Even now we do not know much about it. In this paper, a simple and useful method is put forward and it is used to estimate the nuclide distribution in sediment. The result showed that the LLW from nuclear facility or nuclear power plant will do a little harm to the sediment nearby. But the harm is not very serious. Much works have to be done before full understanding of the situation.

Distribution of gamma-ray radionuclides in surface sediments of the KongsQorden, Arctic: Implications for sediment provenance

The Kongsfjorden is highly sensitive region to climate variability,however,the study of gamma-ray radionuclides in related areas is relatively scarce.In this study,the grain size,total organic carbon(TOC),13 Corg isotopes,and specific activities of seven gamma nuclides were analysed in surface sediments of the Kongsfjorden in the Arctic during the summer of 2017.The specific activities of 210 Pb_(ex),137 Cs,238 U,226 Ra,228 Ra,228 Th,and 40 K were 12–256 Bq/kg,0–3.8 Bq/kg,25–42 Bq/kg,24–38 Bq/kg,22–40 Bq/kg,22–40 Bq/kg,and 354–738 Bq/kg,respectively,with average values of(121±94)Bq/kg,(2.0±1.2)Bq/kg,(34±6)Bq/kg,(32±4)Bq/kg,(32±6)Bq/kg,(33±6)Bq/kg,and(611±119)Bq/kg.This study observed a significant positive correlation(r=0.845,p<0.05)between TOC and 210 Pb_(ex),highlighting the strong influence of organic matter on the distribution of 210 Pb_(ex).The boundary scavenging of210 Pb from the open sea contributed 27.5%–46.2%to the total 210 Pb_(ex) in the sediments of the outer Kongsfjorden.The grain size was an important factor affecting the activity distribution of several radionuclides(238 U,228 Ra,228 Th,226 Ra,and 40 K).The specific activity of 137 Cs indicated the transport of terrestrial materials from the exposed area of the Kongsfjorden.The sediments in the Kongsfjorden were derived from various material contributions of glacial meltwater debris,glacial rivers,bare soil,atmospheric deposition,and marine sources.This study explains the source of the Kongsfjorden sediment and the distribution characteristics of radionuclides,and illustrateas the main factors affecting the distribution of radionuclides,which provides a reference for the behavior of polar radionuclides in future research.

A Continuum One——Dimensional Model for Radionuclide Migration Testing in Unsaturated Loess

Unsaturated radionuclide migration experiments were conducted in a pit inside the testing hall. Several types of radionuclides were used in the experiments . Tritium was used as a tracer for water movement in unsaturated loess . Other kinds of radionuclides were also used in order to obtain fundamental parameters for radionuclide migration so that further environmental assessment of low-level radioactive waste disposal can be carried out . Mechanisms governing unsaturated flow in loess , that is , principles of one-way lateral flow , are presented qualitatively in this paper . And a continuum one-dimensional model for radionuclide migration testing is developed based on the experiments conducted under the particular conditions at the test site . The data measured from the tests were compared with solutions of this one -dimensional model . Results show that this model is feasible for modeling radionuclide migration in unsaturated loess .

Role of radionuclide imaging for diagnosis of device and prosthetic valve infections

Cardiovascular implantable electronic device(CIED) infection and prosthetic valve endocarditis(PVE) remain a diagnostic challenge.Cardiac imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of patients with CIED infection or PVE.Over the past few years,cardiac radionuclide imaging has gained a key role in the diagnosis of these patients,and in assessing the need for surgery,mainly in the most difficult cases.Both ^(18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography(^(18)F-FDG PET/CT) and radiolabelled white blood cell single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography(WBC SPECT/CT) have been studied in these situations.In their 2015 guidelines for the management of infective endocarditis,the European Society of Cardiology incorporated cardiac nuclear imaging as part of their diagnostic algorithm for PVE,but not CIED infection since the data were judged insufficient at the moment.This article reviews the actual knowledge and recent studies on the use of ^(18)F-FDG PET/CT and WBC SPECT/CT in the context of CIED infection and PVE,and describes the technical aspects of cardiac radionuclide imaging.It also discusses their accepted and potential indications for the diagnosis and management of CIED infection and PVE,the limitations of these tests,and potential areas of future research.

Equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography:Its usefulness in current practice and potential future applications

The routine and potential future applications of equilibrium radionuclide angiocardiography/multigated acquisition (MUGA) in clinical decision making are explored in this review. The non-invasive nature of the test, less operator dependence, lower radiation dose and ease of performing, even in ill patients, are important considerations in clinical cardiology practice. Two important routine uses of this modality in day-to-day clinical practice include the following: serial assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients receiving cardiotoxic chemotherapy, and determination of accurate LVEF in patients with intractable heart failure. Other potential utilities of MUGA that could be translated into clinical practice include determination of regional LVEF, obtaining information about both right and left ventricle in suitable patients as a part of first pass angiocardiography, identification of diastolic dysfunction in patients with heart failure with preserved LVEF, and demonstration of dyssynchrony prior to cardiac resynchronisation, specifically by MUGA single photon emission tomography.The last two indications are particularly important and evolving at this point.

Frequency domain cardiography and radionuclide ventriculography for evaluation of left ventricular function in coronary artery disease

Fifty-six patients with chest pain underwent selective coronaryangiography,radionuclide ventriculography (RNV) and frequency domaincardiography (FCG) to evaluate left ventricular function in coronary artery dis-ease (CAD).The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of FCG were 87.5%,77.8%and 82.9%,respectively,which were slightly less than those of RNV (92.5%,88.9% and 90.8%,respectively).The changes of FCG scores were negatively corre-lated with changes of LVEF (r=-0.586,P【0.01),and TS (r=-0.679,P【0.01).These results indicate that FCG may be useful for the evaluation of leftventricular function in patients with CAD.