Determining elemental strontium distribution in rat bones treated with strontium ranelate and strontium citrate using 2D micro-XRF and 3D dual energy K-edge subtraction synchrotron imaging

Strontium-based medications, such as strontium ranelate, have been suggested to have therapeutic effects in patients with osteoporosis. Strontium salts available off-shelf in stores across North America are assumed to provide similar effects as strontium ranelate and thus should lead to similar distributions of elemental strontium incorporated in bone. The objective of this study was to compare the spatial distribution of strontium in animal bones following the administration of strontium ranelate and strontium citrate. Seventeen-week-old Sprague–Dawley rats were split into three groups over 10 weeks and given 625 mg/kg/day of strontium ranelate and 676 mg/kg/day of strontium citrate; the control group received no additional supplementary strontium. The humeri were collected from all animals, and strontium distribution was mapped using 2D micro-XRF and 3D dual energy K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging. 2D and 3D elemental mapping methods demonstrated that strontium delivered during treatment by both salts had the same spatial distribution. 3D elemental strontium maps of treated animal bones showed that strontium was largely observed in the trabecular regions under the epiphyseal (growth) plate. The thickness of the strontium layers in both the strontium ranelate and strontium citrate sample was not significantly different (p = .9201). 2D micro-XRF and 3D dual-energy KES images effectively elucidated the spatial distribution of elemental strontium in calcified tissue. These methods provide a novel approach to evaluating the potential efficacy of strontium supplements in the treatment of osteoporosis.     

A Triple Pore Network Model (T-PNM) for Gas Flow Simulation in Fractured,Micro-porous and Meso-porous Media

Transport in Porous Media - In this study, a novel triple pore network model (T-PNM) is introduced which is composed of a single pore network model (PNM) coupled to fractures and micro-porosities....     

Efficacy of incorporating PCMs into the commercial wall on the energy-saving annual thermal analysis

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this study, the efficacy of incorporating phase change material (PCM) into the building walls on the annual heat transfer reduction is examined....     

Development of the ANN–KIM composed model to predict the nanofluid energetic thermal conductivity via various types of nano-powders dispersed in oil

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Artificial neural network/kriging interpolation method optimization method which is evaluated concerned the hybrid nanofluid composed of iron oxide...     

Pd(0)-guanidine@MCM-41: a very effective catalyst for rapid production of bis (pyrazolyl)methanes

In this research, a rapid, green and efficient protocol for synthesis of bis (pyrazolyl)methane derivatives in the presence of Pd(0)-guanidine@MCM-41 catalysts under solvent-free conditions by the following two methods has been reported: (i) via the one-pot pseudo five-component reaction among phenylhydrazine (2 equivalents), ethyl acetoacetate (2 equivalents) and aromatic aldehydes (1 equivalent); and (ii) the one-pot pseudo three-component reaction between 3-methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one (2 equivalents) and aromatic aldehydes (1 equivalent). Some advantages of this protocol include: green conditions, extremely short times, high efficiency, proper one-pot operation, generality of method, easy work-up and recyclability, and reusability of the catalyst up to five times without significant loss in catalytic activity.     

The experimental/numerical investigation of variations in strip speed,water shower pattern and water temperature on high-temperature strip cooling rate in hot strip mill

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Hot-rolled strips are cooled on the run-out table to achieve the customer-required mechanical properties. Cooling reduces the oxidation, which can...     

Potential energy and atomic stability of H2O/CuO nanoparticles flow and heat transfer in non-ideal microchannel via molecular dynamic approach: the Green–Kubo method

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - It is interesting to investigate the number of nanoparticle (NP) and temperature effects on H2O/CuO nanofluid thermal conductivity and the atomic...     

Thermal particle base methods in fluid flow and heat transfer

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry -     

Distinguishing and quantification of the human visual pathways using high-spatial-resolution diffusion tensor tractography

Quantification of the living human visual system using MRI methods has been challenging, but several applications demand a reliable and time-efficient data acquisition protocol. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of high-spatial-resolution diffusion tensor fiber tractography (DTT) in reconstructing and quantifying the human visual pathways. Five healthy males, age range 24–37 years, were studied after approval of the institutional review board (IRB) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. We acquired diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data with 1-mm slice thickness on a 3.0-Tesla clinical MRI scanner and analyzed the data using DTT with the fiber assignment by continuous tractography (FACT) algorithm. By utilizing the high-spatial-resolution DTI protocol with FACT algorithm, we were able to reconstruct and quantify bilateral optic pathways including the optic chiasm, optic tract, optic radiations free of contamination from neighboring white matter tracts.