Theranostic Platforms Based on Silica and Magnetic Nanoparticles Containing Quinacrine, Chitosan, Fluorophores, and Quantum Dots

In this paper, we describe the synthesis of multilayer nanoparticles as a platform for the diagnosis and treatment of ischemic injuries. The platform is based on magnetite (MNP) and silica (SNP) nanoparticles, while quinacrine is used as an anti-ischemic agent. The synthesis includes the surface modification of nanoparticles with (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPMS), the immobilization of quinacrine, and the formation of a chitosan coating, which is used to fix the fluorophore indocyanine green (ICG) and colloidal quantum dots AgInS2/ZnS (CQDs), which serve as secondary radiation sources. The potential theranostic platform was studied in laboratory animals.

Nuclear Newcomer Countries—The Path of the United Arab Emirates

Embarking on nuclear power requires high-level political decisions and commitments, considerable planning efforts, financial investments and commercial considerations, long-term sustainability for safety; as well as international and legal framework for a nuclear power programme. There are numerous challenges surrounding government decisions to introduce nuclear power into the energy mix of a country. This chapter highlights the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) experience and accomplishments in the development and regulation of its nuclear power programme. In particular, it focuses on the milestones of the UAE path, which might be of interest to nuclear newcomer countries and to a broader international community. This chapter outlines the development of the UAE comprehensive national nuclear law and regulatory framework, which started with the so-called “nuclear policy”. It also includes an overview of a strategy that was developed and set the early path for the UAE peaceful nuclear programme, including timelines for specific targets. The international conventions and UAE’s nuclear cooperation agreements, as well as the cooperation with the IAEA are also mentioned. Particular attention has been paid to the role of the UAE nuclear regulator and its mandate and the development of the UAE regulations and regulatory guides. The licensing of the nuclear power programme, as well as the licensing of other activities and practices involving radiation sources have been also described in the publication. In conclusion, the publication shares some lessons the UAE learnt and on which it will base its efforts towards the continuous enhancement of its legal framework.

Wakefield Formation by a Short Electron Beam in Quantum Nanowires

The basic properties of classical and quantum plasmas are discussed. Quantum plasmas behave differently due to high densities and low temperatures at nanometer scale in contrast to classical ones which are characterized by low densities and high temperatures. A literature survey is made to investigate the plasma phenomenon with quantum mechanical effects. Classical and quantum viewpoints are also presented to understand the free electron gas in metals. In particular, the excitation of stable plasmon wakefield is studied due to a short electron pulse propagating in axial direction of nanowire. The latter contains degenerate electrons and classical static ions. By using the Trivelpiece-Gould configuration and Fourier transform techniques, a general dispersion is obtained for the electrostatic plasmons and analyzed numerically. Nevertheless, an evolution equation for the wakefield is derived and carried out the stability analysis. In a gold nanowire, the amplitudes of wakefield become significantly modified by the variation of quantum diffraction, quantum exchange-correlations and mode quantization in the radial direction. The present findings may prove useful for investigating new radiation sources in the extreme-ultraviolet range.

Monte Carlo simulations for XIDer, a novel digital integration X-ray detector for the next generation of synchrotron radiation sources

This work presents the first simulation results of the incremental digital integration readout, a charge-integrating front-end scheme with in-pixel digitisation and accumulation. This novel readout concept is at the core of the XIDer (X-ray Integrating Detector) project, which aims to design 2D pixelated X-ray detectors optimised for high energy scattering and diffraction applications for the next generation of synchrotron radiation sources such as the ESRF Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The digital integration readout and the XIDer detector open the possibilities for high-duty-cycle operation under very high photon flux, fast frame-rate and high dynamic range with single-photon sensitivity in the 30–100 keV energy range. The readout method allows for noise-free effective X-ray detection. The digital integration concept is currently under investigation to evaluate the impact of main critical design parameters to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the readout scheme and consequently to propose refinements in the final implementation. Simulations have been performed with a dedicated Monte Carlo simulation tool, X-DECIMO, a modular Python package designed to recreate the complete detection chain of X-ray detectors for synchrotron radiation experiments. Losses and non-linearities of the readout scheme are simulated and quantified. In addition to presenting simulation results for this novel readout scheme, this work underlines the potential of the approach and some of its limitations.

Best practices for time-resolved serial synchrotron crystallography

With recent developments in X-ray sources, instrumentation and data-analysis tools, time-resolved crystallographic experiments, which were originally the preserve of a few expert groups, are becoming simpler and can be carried out at more radiation sources, and are thus increasingly accessible to a growing user base. However, these experiments are just that: discrete experiments, not just `data collections'. As such, careful planning and consideration of potential pitfalls is required to enable a successful experiment. Here, some of the key factors that should be considered during the planning and execution of a time-resolved structural study are outlined, with a particular focus on synchrotron-based experiments.

Analysis of patient medical exposure in X-ray diagnostics in Russia for half a century (1970–2019)

During last 50 years, firstly in the RSFSR in the USSR (1970-80), then in the Russian Federation - RF (1990-2019), the authors studied the radiation safety issues of patients from medical exposure. The reader is offered a complex radiation-hygienic analysis of the 50-year medical exposure of patients and of the population in Russia to inform and analyze the available data on the most common type of use of ionizing radiation sources in the national economy. For a half century, several generations of people have changed and medical diagnostic X-ray equipment and technologies have also radically changed. The information from this article was obtained on the basis of radiation-hygienic statistics, as well as considered our research. The data is presented at the federal level in the form of the volume of research carried out- determined by the number of X-ray procedures, as well as the level of medical exposure in the form of effective dose of patients in Russia - a huge region with a population of about 150 million people, where about 200 million X-Ray procedures were performed annually, i.e. about 10 billion X-Ray procedures for the entire observation period. During the study, a collective effective dose was - 6.5 million person-Sv at the rate of 100 thousand person-Sv and more per year. The paper presents the dynamics and the structure of the studied indicators depending on the type of medical exposure, as well as its localization. The contribution of the X-ray diagnostics to the total volume of radiation diagnostics, which is developing dynamically, is presented. It was found that throughout the study, there were two oppositely directed processes: an increase in the number of X-Ray procedures and a decrease in the effective doses of patients. At present, the minimum dose has been reached, after that it has been increasing began, associated with the use of new computer technologies. It was determined that, depending on the localization, the main radiation load during X-ray procedures falls on the skeleton and digestive organs. It is shown that during the study period (in 1986) there was an accident at the Chernobyl, which significantly affected on medical activities and, in particular, X-ray diagnostic indicators. The paper shows the consequences of these situations. In general, the data presented is huge in volume and significant in information content. The information obtained on the basis of such a unique data is representative and allows, firstly, to analytically study the issues of radiation protection of patients and, secondly, to plan the strategy and tactics of its development.

A Compact Accelerator-Based Light Source for High-Power, Full-Bandwidth Tunable Coherent THz Generation

Terahertz (THz) radiation sources are increasingly significant for many scientific frontiers, while the generation of THz radiation with high-power at wide-tunable frequencies is still a limitation for most existing methods. In this paper, a compact accelerator-based light source is proposed to produce coherent THz radiation with high pulse energy and tunable frequency from 0.1 THz to 60 THz. By using a frequency beating laser-modulated electron beam and undulator taper, intense coherent THz radiation can be generated through undulators. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed technique can generate narrow-bandwidth THz radiation with a pulse energy up to 6.3 millijoule (mJ) and the three-dimensional effects of beam has limited influence on its performance. The proposed technique will open up new opportunities for THz spectroscopic and time-resolved experiments.

Radiation Model of a Housing of Cooled Infrared Detector Array

The infrared camera detects infrared radiation from the observed objects, Its main element is the array of infrared detectors, which converts the received radiation into an electrical signal. The radiation sources recorded by the detector can be divided as useful, received from the observed scene, and useless received from such objects as the detector housing and lens elements. These unusable radiation sources have a significant impact on the design of the detector itself. The article presents a model of the detector housing and a quantitative analysis of the influence of various radiation sources on the effectiveness of radiation detection from the observed scene.

Novelty Surface Coatings for Far Infrared Spectrum Black Body Radiators

Black body radiation sources are commonly used devices in areas related to thermal imaging and radiometry. They are the closest physical approximation of theoretical black body emitter derived from the Planck’s law. Majority of such devices are costly with restricted information about their production technology, including their emitter surface. A few relatively easily accessible coatings with potential application in such devices have been chosen and their emissivity measured. The paper presents measurements that provides information necessary to determine whether there are coatings viable for black body emitter or reference surface.