The Evaluation on the Cadmium Net Concentration for Soil Ecosystems.

Yixing, known as the "City of Ceramics", is facing a new dilemma: a raw material crisis. Cadmium (Cd) exists in extremely high concentrations in soil due to the considerable input of industrial wastewater into the soil ecosystem. The in situ technique of diffusive gradients in thin film (DGT), the ex situ static equilibrium approach (HAc, EDTA and CaCl2), and the dissolved concentration in soil solution, as well as microwave digestion, were applied to predict the Cd bioavailability of soil, aiming to provide a robust and accurate method for Cd bioavailability evaluation in Yixing. Moreover, the typical local cash crops-paddy and zizania aquatica-were selected for Cd accumulation, aiming to select the ideal plants with tolerance to the soil Cd contamination. The results indicated that the biomasses of the two applied plants were sufficiently sensitive to reflect the stark regional differences of different sampling sites. The zizania aquatica could effectively reduce the total Cd concentration, as indicated by the high accumulation coefficients. However, the fact that the zizania aquatica has extremely high transfer coefficients, and its stem, as the edible part, might accumulate large amounts of Cd, led to the conclusion that zizania aquatica was not an ideal cash crop in Yixing. Furthermore, the labile Cd concentrations which were obtained by the DGT technique and dissolved in the soil solution showed a significant correlation with the Cd concentrations of the biota accumulation. However, the ex situ methods and the microwave digestion-obtained Cd concentrations showed a poor correlation with the accumulated Cd concentration in plant tissue. Correspondingly, the multiple linear regression models were built for fundamental analysis of the performance of different methods available for Cd bioavailability evaluation. The correlation coefficients of DGT obtained by the improved multiple linear regression model have not significantly improved compared to the coefficients obtained by the simple linear regression model. The results revealed that DGT was a robust measurement, which could obtain the labile Cd concentrations independent of the physicochemical features' variation in the soil ecosystem. Consequently, these findings provide stronger evidence that DGT is an effective and ideal tool for labile Cd evaluation in Yixing.

Exposure to a magnetic field or laser radiation ameliorates effects of Pb and Cd on physiology and growth of young wheat seedlings.

Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) contamination of soils pose significant problems for successful seed germination and establishment. We compared effects of subjecting wheat seeds either to a magnetic field (MF: 0-800 millitesla) or laser radiation (LR: 0-8min at 20mW/mm2) on wheat seed germination and on physiology and growth of young seedlings exposed to these two heavy metals as seeds and as 2-day-old seedlings. Intermediate levels of either MF or LR increased germination. In seeds untreated by MF or LR, exposure to Cd and Pb resulted in: significant increases in the concentrations of malondialdehyde ([MDA]) and superoxide anion radical ([O2-]), and in the conductivity of electrolyte leakage (CEL); significant decreases in catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione reductase (GR) activity; a significant decrease in glutathione concentration ([GSH]); and a significant decrease in shoot biomass relative to seeds exposed to these heavy metals following MF or LR treatments. Although both MF and LR ameliorated physiological effects of Cd and Pb exposure on young seedlings, only LR decreased Cd and Pb concentrations in the wheat shoot itself. Our results suggest that in agricultural sites contaminated by these two heavy metals, that LR could improve production and counter heavy metals accumulation.

Spectrum reconstruction method based on the detector response model calibrated by x-ray fluorescence.

Accurate estimation of distortion-free spectra is important but difficult in various applications, especially for spectral computed tomography. Two key problems must be solved to reconstruct the incident spectrum. One is the acquisition of the detector energy response. It can be calculated by Monte Carlo simulation, which requires detailed modeling of the detector system and a high computational power. It can also be acquired by establishing a parametric response model and be calibrated using monochromatic x-ray sources, such as synchrotron sources or radioactive isotopes. However, these monochromatic sources are difficult to obtain. Inspired by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrum modeling, we propose a feasible method to obtain the detector energy response based on an optimized parametric model for CdZnTe or CdTe detectors. The other key problem is the reconstruction of the incident spectrum with the detector response. Directly obtaining an accurate solution from noisy data is difficult because the reconstruction problem is severely ill-posed. Different from the existing spectrum stripping method, a maximum likelihood-expectation maximization iterative algorithm is developed based on the Poisson noise model of the system. Simulation and experiment results show that our method is effective for spectrum reconstruction and markedly increases the accuracy of XRF spectra compared with the spectrum stripping method. The applicability of the proposed method is discussed, and promising results are presented.

Value of attenuation correction in stress-only myocardial perfusion imaging using CZT-SPECT.

BACKGROUND: Attenuation correction (AC) improves the diagnostic outcome of stress-only myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using conventional SPECT. Our aim was to determine the value of AC using a cadmium zinc telluride-based (CZT)-SPECT camera. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively included 107 consecutive patients who underwent stress-optional rest MPI CZT-SPECT/CT. Next, we created three types of images for each patient; (1) only displaying reconstructed data without the CT-based AC (NC), (2) only displaying AC, and (3) with both NC and AC (NC + AC). Next, two experienced physicians visually interpreted these 321 randomized images as normal, equivocal, or abnormal. Image outcome was compared with all hard events over a mean follow-up time of 47.7 ± 9.8 months. The percentage of images interpreted as normal increased from 45% using the NC images to 72% using AC and to 67% using NC + AC images (P < .001). Hard event hazard ratios for images interpreted as normal were not different between using NC and AC (1.01, P = .99), or NC and NC + AC images (0.97, P = .97). CONCLUSIONS: AC lowers the need for additional rest imaging in stress-first MPI using CZT-SPECT, while long-term patient outcome remained identical. Use of AC reduces the need for additional rest imaging, decreasing the mean effective dose by up to 1.2 mSv.

The value of local normal limits in quantitative Thallium-201 CZT MPI SPECT.

BACKGROUND: Considering the distinctive characteristics of CZT detectors, automatic quantification of ischemia using normal limits included with software package may deliver suboptimal results for CAD detection. The present study aims to evaluate the benefits of creating normal limits specific to a local population and laboratory protocol. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two groups were selected from patients who had undergone a CZT MPI. Normal limits were generated with the QPS application based on the population with low likelihood of CAD. Using the vendor-supplied and the population-specific normal limits i-TPD and vessel-specific SDS results obtained for patients who had subsequently undergone coronary angiography were compared with coronary angiography data. A weak correlation was observed for low i-TPD (stress TPD minus rest TPD) and SDS values. Both databases gave similar values for the area under the ROC curve concerning i-TPD (0.75 to 0.74) and SDS results (0.72 to 0.75 for the LAD, 0.62 to 0.64 for the LCx, and 0.63 to 0.67 for the RCA). Sensitivity (60%), specificity (78%), and predictive positive (84%) and negative (52%) values were also similar with a diagnostic and prognostic threshold value. CONCLUSION: The use of a population-specific created database did not influence the diagnostic value of thallium-201 MPI QPS results using a CZT camera.

Comparison of the prognostic value of myocardial perfusion imaging using a CZT-SPECT camera with a conventional anger camera.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) cameras allow faster exams with less radiation dose but there are little data comparing its prognosis information with that of dedicated cardiac Na-I SPECT cameras OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to compare the prognostic value of MPI using an ultrafast protocol with low radiation dose in a CZT-SPECT and a traditional one. METHODS: Group 1 was submitted to a two-day MIBI protocol in a conventional camera, and group 2 was submitted to a 1-day MIBI protocol in CZT camera. MPI were classified as normal or abnormal, and perfusion scores were calculated. Propensity score matching methods were performed RESULTS: 3554 patients were followed during 33±8 months. Groups 1 and 2 had similar distribution of age, gender, body mass index, risk factors, previous revascularization, and use of pharmacological stress. Group 1 had more abnormal scans, higher scores than group 2. Annualized hard events rate was higher in group 1 with normal scans but frequency of revascularization was similar to normal group 2. Patients with abnormal scans had similar event rates in both groups CONCLUSION: New protocol of MPI in CZT-SPECT showed similar prognostic results to those obtained in dedicated cardiac Na-I SPECT camera, with lower prevalence of hard events in patients with normal scan.

Cadmium-Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxide Microspheres for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction.

We report the synthesis of cadmium-aluminum layered double hydroxide (CdAl LDH) using the reaction-diffusion framework. As the hydroxide anions diffuse into an agar gel matrix containing the mixture of aluminum and cadmium salts at a given ratio, they react to give the LDH. The LDH self-assembles inside the pores of the gel matrix into a unique spherical-porous shaped microstructure. The internal and external morphologies of the particles are studied by electron microscopy and tomography revealing interconnected channels and a high surface area. This material is shown to exhibit a promising performance in the photoreduction of carbon dioxide using solar light. Moreover, the palladium-decorated version shows a significant improvement in its reduction potential at room temperature.

Nuclear model calculation and targetry recipe for production of 110mIn.

(110m)In is potentially an important positron emitting that can be used in positron emission tomography. In this work, the excitation functions and production yields of (110)Cd(d, 2n), (111)Cd(d, 3n), (nat)Cd(d, xn), (110)Cd(p, n), (111)Cd(p, 2n), (112)Cd(p, 3n) and (nat)Cd(p, xn) reactions to produce the (110m)In were calculated using nuclear model code TALYS and compared with the experimental data. The yield of isomeric state production of (110)In was also compared with ground state production ones to reach the optimal energy range of projectile for the high yield production of metastable state. The results indicate that the (110)Cd(p, n)(110m)In is a high yield reaction with an isomeric ratio (σ(m)/σ(g)) of about 35 within the optimal incident energy range of 15-5 MeV. To make the target, cadmium was electroplated on a copper substrate in varying electroplating conditions such as PH, DC current density, temperature and time. A set of cold tests were also performed on the final sample under several thermal shocks to verify target resistance. The best electroplated cadmium target was irradiated with 15 MeV protons at current of 100 µA for one hour and the production yield of (110m)In and other byproducts were measured.

Application of a CZT detector to in situ environmental radioactivity measurement in the Fukushima area.

Instead of conventional Ge semiconductor detectors and NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometers, an application of a CdZnTe semiconductor (CZT) whose crystal has the dimension of 1 cm cubic to the in situ environmental radioactivity measurement was attempted in deeply affected areas in Fukushima region. Results of deposition density on soil for (134)Cs/(137)Cs obtained seemed consistent, comparing obtained results with those measured by the Japanese government.

Development and validation of a patient-tailored dose regime in myocardial perfusion imaging using CZT-SPECT.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines for SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) traditionally recommend a fixed tracer dose. Yet, clinical practice shows degraded image quality in heavier patients. The aim was to optimize and validate the tracer dose and scan time to obtain a constant image quality less dependent on patients' physical characteristics. METHODS: 125 patients underwent Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT)-SPECT stress MPI using a fixed Tc-99m-tetrofosmin tracer dose. Image quality was scored by three physicians on a 4-point grading scale and related to the number of photon counts normalized to tracer dose and scan time. Counts were correlated with various patient-specific parameters dealing with patient size and weight to find the best predicting parameter. From these data, a formula to provide constant image quality was derived, and subsequently tested in 92 new patients. RESULTS: Degradation in image quality and photon counts was observed for heavier patients for all patients' specific parameters (P < .01). We found body weight to be the best-predicting parameter for image quality and derived a new dose formula. After applying this new body weight-depended tracer dose and scan time in a new group, image quality was found to be constant (P > .19) in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: Also in CZT SPECT image quality decreases with weight. The use of a tracer dose and scan time that depends linearly on patient's body weight corrected for the varying image quality in CZT-SPECT MPI. This leads to better radiation exposure justification.

3D iteratively reconstructed spatial resolution map and sensitivity characterization of a dedicated cardiac SPECT camera.

BACKGROUND: A solid-state cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) SPECT device provides ultrafast myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with a spherical field-of-view (FOV). This study aims at determining the spatial resolution and sensitivity throughout this FOV as a guide for patient positioning. METHODS AND RESULTS: For this CZT camera (Discovery 570c, GE Healthcare), the iteratively reconstructed spatial resolution along 3 Cartesian axes was compared (average resolution 6.9 ± 1.0 mm full-width at half-maximum) using a 2 dimensional array of point sources in air which was aligned with a transverse plane shifted throughout the FOV. Sensitivity was plotted in the central transverse slice and axially in locations comparable to the placement of the heart in 266 rest/stress cardiac studies (M 78, age 63 ± 13 years). The average sensitivity was 0.46 ± 0.19 kc/s/MBq with a transverse gradient of 0.039 ± 0.001 kc/s/MBq/cm (8.9% of the sensitivity per cm). Reconstructed relative activity was uniform (uniformity <9%) and count rate was linear (R = 0.999) over 3 orders of magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: The CZT SPECT camera offers good resolution, sensitivity, and uniformity, and provides linearity in count rate. A gradient of >8%/cm in sensitivity justifies the crucial role of patient positioning with the heart closest to the detector.

High-accuracy measurement of the 113Cd+ ground-state hyperfine splitting at the milli-Hertz level.

We have developed a microwave frequency standard based on the 15.2 GHz ground-stated hyperfine transition of (113)C(+) ions. Using a laser-cooled ion cloud trapped in a linear quadrupole Paul trap, the clock transition frequency is measured to be 15 199 862 855.0125(87) Hz, with an accuracy at the 10(-13) level. The main errors are from the microwave frequency reference used in the experiment. The precision is improved by nearly two orders of magnitude than that reported before.

Methyl-orange and cadmium simultaneous removal using fly ash and photo-Fenton systems.

Wastewaters resulting from the textile and dye finishing industries need complex treatment for efficient removal of colour and other compounds existent in the dyeing and rising baths (heavy metals, surfactants, equalizers, etc.). Modified fly ash (FA) mixed with TiO(2) photocatalyst represent a viable option for simultaneous removal of dyes and heavy metals, and the optimized conditions are discussed in this paper for synthetic wastewaters containing methyl-orange (MO) and cadmium. For a cost-effective dye removal process, further tests were done, replacing the photocatalyst with a (photo)Fenton system. The optimized technological parameters (contact time, amount of fly ash and amount of Fe(2+)/H(2)O(2)) allow to reach removal efficiencies up to 88% for the heavy metal and up to 70% for the dye. The adsorption mechanisms and the process kinetic are discussed, also considering the possibility of in situ generation of the Fenton system, due to the fly ash composition.

Sonochemical syntheses of a new nano-plate cadmium(II) coordination polymer as a precursor for the synthesis of cadmium(II) oxide nanoparticles.

Nanoplates of the three-dimensional coordination polymer, {[Cd(3)(3-pyc)(4)(N(3))(2)(H(2)O)](n) (1), 3-pyc(-)=pyridine-3-carboxylate), have been synthesized by a sonochemical process and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, IR spectroscopy and elemental analyses. Cadmium(II) oxide nanoparticles were prepared from thermal decomposition in oleic acid and direct calcination of compound 1 at different temperatures. The thermal stability of nano-sized compound 1 was studied by thermal gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). Results show that the size and morphology of the CdO nanoparticles are dependent upon the particles size of compound 1 and the thermolysis temperature. A decrease in the particle size of compound 1 leads to a decrease in the particle size of the CdO, while an increase in the processing temperature leads to an increase in the particle size of the produced cadmium(II) oxide nano-particles.

Influence of ultrasound on cadmium ion removal by sorption process.

This study presents the removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solution by the sorption process in the presence (sono-sorption) and absence (conventional method) of ultrasound. Batch experiments were conducted to study the main parameters such as sorbate concentration, amount of sorbent, contact time, and ultrasound intensity. In addition, the sorbate/sorbent concentration ratios were studied in two different ways: (a) in a constant sorbate concentration and variable amount of sorbent, (b) in a constant amount of sorbent and variable sorbate concentration. The results indicated that under proper conditions, there was a possibility to remove cadmium ion very fast and efficiently from aqueous solution. In addition, the intensity of ultrasound and the sorbate/sorbent concentration ratio were two important factors for the removal of this pollutant and therefore, this study was focused mostly on these two variables.

A novel 3D porous metal-organic framework based on trinuclear cadmium clusters as a promising luminescent material exhibiting tunable emissions between UV and visible wavelengths.

A novel 3D porous MOF built with trinuclear cadmium clusters exhibiting rhombohedral topology has been synthesized and characterized as a promising luminescent material that can give tunable emissions between UV and visible wavelengths by controlling the number of guest molecules.

Production of the radioactive antitumoral cisplatin.

This work presents the preparation of radiolabelled cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum (II), CDDP*, sealed in a cadmium capsule. The irradiation of CDDP covered by cadmium, employing exposure times longer than 2 h, demonstrated good chemical purity and high specific activity. This finding allowed a better detection of in vivo CDDP* and suggests that it may be a good tool for studies of long-term biodistribution of pharmaceutical formulations containing this drug.

Role of free cadmium and selenium ions in the potential mechanism for the enhancement of photoluminescence of CdSe quantum dots under ultraviolet irradiation.

The present study describes an enhancement of the photoluminescence of CdSe quantum dots under long-term ultraviolet irradiation in organic solvents. The photoenhancement effect followed multiexponential kinetics and was found to depend on several factors: intensity of ultraviolet light, polarity of the solvent, presence of capping agents on the nanocrystal surface, and presence of free Cd and Se ions in the solution. High intensity ultraviolet irradiation provoked a rapid enhancement of the photoluminescence of CdSe nanocrystals, reaching the maximum with subsequent photoluminescence decay. Low-intensity ultraviolet irradiation provoked a comparatively slow enhancement of the photoluminescence of CdSe nanocrystals, reaching saturation after 5-6 hours of irradiation in organic solvents (butanol and chloroform). The photoenhancement effect was reversible or irreversible depending on the additional ingredients. The role of free Cd and Se in these processes was clarified. The results are discussed in the context of ultraviolet induced liberation of free Cd and Se ions from the nanocrystal surface and their hypothetical reversible deposition with trapping of the surface holes and influencing the efficiency of radiative versus nonradiative exciton decay during the enhancement of photoluminescence.

Quantitative analysis of the photodegradation of emitting CdTe nanocrystals dispersed in glass films.

CdTe nanocrystals (NCs, green- and red-emitting) prepared by an aqueous method were embedded into transparent glass films (15-20 microm thick) using a sol-gel method. Photodegradation of the NCs in the films due to UV irradiation (365 nm) was investigated quantitatively by measuring the PL efficiency as a function of the irradiation time for various irradiation intensities at several temperatures. Since CdTe NCs prepared by an aqueous method incorporate sulfur atoms from the surfactant (thioglycolic acid) during prolonged reflux in an alkaline region, the surface of red-emitting NCs (3.9 nm phi) is much more sulfur rich than that of green-emitting ones (2.6 nm phi), as previously reported. Due to this composition difference, the degradation behaviors of the two types of NCs differ significantly. The photodegradation of green-emitting glass films depended linearly on the irradiation intensity, whereas that of red-emitting ones showed a quadratic dependence. The activation energies of the photodegradation for both types of films were similar, 304 +/- 9 and 288 +/- 7 meV/particle, respectively. The NCs in the film were more than 2 orders of magnitude more robust than those in colloidal solutions. Comparison of the degradation of the glass films in air and in an Ar atmosphere revealed that the main mechanism of the photodegradation of the green-emitting NCs was oxidization from the first electronically excited state. The mechanism of the red-emitting NCs was not oxidization but a surface change probably related to a surfactant reaction.