Current means of measuring disease in preclinical models of atherosclerosis include ex vivo assessment of disease tissues post-mortem and non-invasive imaging primarily of structural and anatomic features of lesions, in vivo. A non-invasive, quantitative means of imaging known biologic profiles associated with atherosclerotic disease, in vivo, would enable a robust additional understanding and ...

Optical imaging of fluorescent objects embedded in a tissue simulating medium was characterized using non-contact based approaches to fluorescence remittance imaging (FRI) and sub-surface fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (FDOT). Using Protoporphyrin IX as a fluorescent agent, experiments were performed on tissue phantoms comprised of typical in-vivo tumor to normal tissue contrast ratios...

Brain inflammation is a hallmark of cerebral ischemia, where it has been implicated in tissue damage as well as in repair. Imaging technologies that specifically visualize these processes are highly desirable. In this PhD thesis, the feasibility of planar near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging to visualize inflammation in a mouse model of focal cerebral ischemia (middle cerebral artery occlu...

following collapse of the soviet :union:, regional integration has been regarded as one of the requirements that need to be met by various regions wishing to be a part of globalization process. the eco region, particularly countries in central asia and the caucasus are not an exception. nevertheless, this region has been faced with some integration challenges. employing an analytical-descriptiv...

The growth of regional trade blocks has been one of the major developments in international relations in recent years. Regional agreements vary widely but, all have the objective of reducing barriers to trade between member countries that in most cases result in increasingly trade flows and economic growth. This paper attempts to explore the results of trade integration in ECO, EU and OIC block...

after the cold war, the concept of international security underwent a modification. among the most important components of such a transformation, the consolidation of ‘environmental security’, a topic in international security, can be taken into account. environmental security deal with threats that are not only the unintentional result of social and economic activities but are very slow in...

Context. Two main classes of imaging algorithms have emerged in radio interferometry: the CLEAN algorithm and its multiple variants, and compressed-sensing inspired methods. They are both discrete in nature, and estimate source locations and intensities on a regular grid. For the traditional CLEAN-based imaging pipeline, the resolution power of the tool is limited by the width of the synthesize...

Iran’s ‘resistance economy’ is sometimes presented as defensive strategy. Despite Washington’s ‘New Middle East’ wars and the rapid evaporation of expected benefits from the long JCPOA (nuclear deal) process, a certain illusion remains that a general ‘normalisation’ with the outside powers might still bring economic benefits to the country. Nevertheless, it remains true that, while Iran is a la...

E conomic integration among countries has continued to deepen over the past decade. This is especially visible at the regional level, with the escalation of Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) ranging from Free Trade Areas (FTAs) to Customs Unions (CUs). Nowadays, many developing countries have entered a new regional integration agreement with developed and developing countries. S...