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Objective: To investigate the value of 2-(3-[ 18 F]fluoropropyl)-2-methyl-malonic acid ([ 18 F]ML-8) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of rat pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups, including pulmonary fibrosis model group and control group. The rat model was established by an intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BLM). Control rats were treated with saline. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (CT) with [ 18 F]ML-8 or 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ([ 18 F]FDG) was performed on 2 groups. After PET/CT imaging, lung tissues were collected for histologic examination. Data were analyzed and comparisons between 2 groups were performed using Student t test. Results: Bleomycin-treated rats showed a higher lung uptake of [ 18 F]ML-8 than control rats ( P < .05). In BLM-treated rats, the lung to muscle relative uptake ratio of [ 18 F]ML-8 was also higher than that of [ 18 F]FDG ( P < .05). Pathological examination showed overproliferation of fibroblasts and deposition of collagen in lungs from BLM-treated rats. Compared to control rats, BLM-treated rats had higher lung hydroxyproline content ( P < .05). Immunofluorescence staining indicated more apoptotic cells in BLM-treated rats than those in control rats. Moreover, the apoptosis rate of lung tissues obtained from BLM-treated rats was higher than that from control rats ( P < .05). Conclusions: 2-(3-[ 18 F]fluoropropyl)-2-methyl-malonic acid PET/CT could be used for noninvasive diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis in a rat model.

Non-fatal agricultural injuries and associated risk factors among female farmers in Colorado were assessed on 485 farms between 1993 and 1995. Risk factors assessed include age, number of years in farming, primary cash crop and annual cash value on farm, depressive symptoms, organophosphates use on farm, having children under 6 years of age, having children worked on farm. On those farms, there were 872 principal operators and spouses interviewed in 1993, 402 were female farmers. Three hundred fifty-nine of those 402 female farmers were re-interviewed in 1994 and 316 of the second year participants were followed up in 1995. A total of 49 (12.1%) of the female farmers reported agricultural work-related injuries between January 1992 and June 1995. Of these, 29 (59.2%) were injured one time, 14 (28.2%) were injured two times, 5 (10.2%) were injured three times, and 1 (2.04%) was injured four times. Injury rates per 200,000 working hours for animal handling, farmstead material handling, crop producti...