Introduction The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) is being developed to enhance the localisation of radiopharmaceutical uptake in targeted tissues during surgical procedures such as sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy. Purpose To assess the capability of the HGC, a lymph-node-contrast (LNC) phantom was constructed for an evaluative study simulating medical scenarios of varying radioactivity concentration and SLN size. Materials and methods The phantom was constructed using two methyl methacrylate PMMA plates (8 mm thick). The SLNs were simulated by drilling circular wells of diameters ranging between 10 mm and 2.5 mm (16 wells in total) in one plate. These simulated SLNs were placed underneath scattering material with thicknesses ranging between 5 mm and 40 mm. The second plate contains four rectangular wells to simulate background activity uptake surrounding the SLNs. The activity used ranged between 4 MBq and 0.025 MBq for the SLNs. The background activity was 1/10 of the SLNs activity. The collimator to source distance was 120 mm. Results Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) analysis and spatial resolution measurements of the simulated SLN were used to compare the imaging sets over acquisition times ranging between 60s and 240s. The HGC successfully detected 87.5% to 100% of the SLNs through 20mm of scattering material, and it could detect 75% to 93.75% of the SLNs through 40mm of scattering material. Measurement of Full-Width-at-Half-Maximum (FWHM) for the detected SLNs ranged between 9.5 mm and 12 mm. Conclusion The HGC is capable of detecting low activity uptake in small SLNs indicating its usefulness as an intraoperative imaging system during surgical SLN procedures.
It is well known that drilling fluid is a key parameter for optimizing drilling operations, cleaning the hole, and managing the rig hydraulics and margins of surge and swab pressures. Although the experimental works represent valid and reliable results, they are expensive and time consuming. In contrast, continuous and regular determination of the rheological fluid properties can perform its essential functions during good construction. The aim of this study is to develop empirical models to estimate the drilling mud rheological properties of water-based fluids with less need for lab measurements. This study provides two predictive techniques, multiple regression analysis and artificial neural networks, to determine the rheological
... Show MoreIn the present work, leaching process studiedusing organic acids (acetic acid and lactic acid) to extract phosphate from the Iraqi Akashat phosphate ore by separation of calcareous materials (mainly calcite). This approach characterized by energy conservation, environmental enhancement by recovery of calcite as calcium sulfate (gypsum), keeping the physical and chemical properties of apatite. Samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectrophotometer. From the obtained experimental data it was found that using the two organic acids yields closed purity values of the produced apatite at the optimum conditions, while at different acid concentrations, it was found that the efficiency of acetic acid is higher at the low acid co
... Show MoreThis paper presents the Taguchi approach for optimization of hardness for shape memory alloy (Cu-Al-Ni) . The influence of powder metallurgy parameters on hardness has been investigated. Taguchi technique and ANOVA were used for analysis. Nine experimental runs based on Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array were performed (OA),for two parameters was study (Pressure and sintering temperature) for three different levels (300 ,500 and 700) MPa ,(700 ,800 and 900)oC respectively . Main effect, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio was study, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) using to investigate the micro-hardness characteristics of the shape memory alloy .after application the result of study shown the hei
... Show MoreSubsurface soil water retention (SWRT) is a recent technology for increasing the crop yield, water use efficiency and then the water productivity with less amount of applied water. The goal of this research was to evaluate the existing of SWRT with the influence of surface and subsurface trickle irrigation on economic water productivity of cucumber crop. Field study was carried out at the Hawr Rajab district of Baghdad governorate from October 1st, to December 31st, 2017. Three experimental treatments were used, treatment plot T1 using SWRT with subsurface trickle irrigation, plot T2 using SWRT with surface trickle irrigation, while plot T3 without using SWRT and using surface tickle irrigation system. The obtained results showed th
... Show MoreIn recent years, non-oil primary balance indicator has been given considerable financial important in rentier state. It highly depends on this indicator to afford a clear and proper picture of public finance situation in term of appropriate and sustainability in these countries, due to it excludes the effect of oil- rental from compound of financial accounts which provide sufficient information to economic policy makers of how economy is able to create potential added value and then changes by eliminating one sided shades of economy. In Iraq, since, 2004, the deficit in value of this indicator has increased, due to almost complete dependence on the revenues of the oil to finance the budget and the obvious decline of the non-oil s
... Show MoreTwo field experiments were carried out for cultivating yellow maize crop Zea mays L. during the autumn planting season 2019 in two sites with soils of different textures. The first site is a loamy texture in one of the fields of the Medhatia Agriculture Division, Babylon Governorate. The second was silty loam by an alluvial mixture in one of the fields of Al-Nouriah Research Station, Ministry of Agriculture located in Al-Nouriah sub-district, Al-Qadisiyah governorate. It was found through the results that the uniformity, efficiency, and adequacy of the irrigation efficiency of the sprinkler irrigation method is better than that of the sprinkler irrigation method, and it ranged between (88.6-88.7) for uniformity and (84-86)% of the irrigatio
... Show MoreThe physical and elastic characteristics of rocks determine rock strengths in general. Rock strength is frequently assessed using porosity well logs such as neutron and sonic logs. The essential criteria for estimating rock mechanic parameters in petroleum engineering research are uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus. Indirect estimation using well-log data is necessary to measure these variables. This study attempts to create a single regression model that can accurately forecast rock mechanic characteristics for the Harth Carbonate Formation in the Fauqi oil field. According to the findings of this study, petrophysical parameters are reliable indexes for determining rock mechanical properties having good performance p
... Show MoreRoller-Compacted Concrete is a no-slump concrete, with no reinforcing steel, no forms, no finishing and wet enough to support compaction by vibratory rollers. Due to the effect of curing on properties and durability of concrete, the main purpose of this research is to study the effect of various curing methods (air curing, 7 days water curing, and permanent water curing) and porcelanite (local material used as an Internal Curing agent) with different replacement percentages of fine aggregate (volumetric replacement) on some properties of Roller-Compacted Concrete and to explore the possibility of introducing practical Roller-Compacted Concrete for road pavement with minimum requirement of curing. Specimens were sawed fro
... Show MoreToday, urban Stormwater management is one of the main concerns of municipalities and stakeholders. Drought and water scarcity made rainwater harvesting one of the main steps toward climate change adaptation. Due to the deterioration of the quality of urban runoff and the increase of impermeable urban land use, the treatment of urban runoff is essential. Best Management Practice (BMP) and Low Impact Development (LID) approaches are necessary to combat climate change consequences by improving the quantity and quality of water resources. The application of Bioswales along urban streets and roadways can reduce the stress on water resources, recharge groundwater and prevent groundwater pollution. While Sulaymaniyah City has a
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