Signaling pathways in skin cancers and the protective functions of melatonin.

Melatonin, a hormone primarily synthesized in the pineal gland, has an essential role in the regulation of various physiological processes, such as the sleep-wake cycle, immune function, and antioxidative responses. Emerging evidence suggests that melatonin also exerts significant protective effects against skin cancers, particularly melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of melatonin's multifaceted mechanisms of action in preventing and treating skin cancers, focusing on its antioxidant, photoprotective, and radioprotective properties.

CSF and blood levels of Neurofilaments, T-Tau, P-Tau, and Abeta-42 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Recent literature suggests that markers of neuroaxonal damage, such as neurofilaments and tau protein, might serve as potential biomarkers for ALS. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis study to compare cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood levels of total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau (p-tau), amyloid beta peptide 42 (Abeta-42), and neurofilaments in ALS patients and controls. A systematic search of Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, and ISI Web of Science was conducted on March 18, 2022, and updated on January 26, 2023.

Diffusion tensor transformation for personalizing target volumes in radiation therapy.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is used in tumor growth models to provide information on the infiltration pathways of tumor cells into the surrounding brain tissue. When a patient-specific DTI is not available, a template image such as a DTI atlas can be transformed to the patient anatomy using image registration. This study investigates a model, the invariance under coordinate transform (ICT), that transforms diffusion tensors from a template image to the patient image, based on the principle that the tumor growth process can be mapped, at any point in time, between the images using the same transformation function that we use to map the anatomy.

Integrating muscle fiber orientation from visible human data into radiotherapy target volumes.

A major challenge in treatment of tumors near skeletal muscle is defining the target volume for suspected tumor invasion into the muscle. This study develops a framework that generates radiation target volumes with muscle fiber orientation directly integrated into their definition. The framework is applied to nineteen sacral tumor patients with suspected infiltration into surrounding muscles.

A reference-point-method-based online proton treatment plan re-optimization strategy and a novel solution to planning constraint infeasibility problem.

. Propose a highly automated treatment plan re-optimization strategy suitable for online adaptive proton therapy. The strategy includes a rapid re-optimization method that generates quality replans and a novel solution that efficiently addresses the planning constraint infeasibility issue that can significantly prolong the re-optimization process.

Embedding machine learning based toxicity models within radiotherapy treatment plan optimization.

This study addresses radiation-induced toxicity (RIT) challenges in radiotherapy (RT) by developing a personalized treatment planning framework. It leverages patient-specific data and dosimetric information to create an optimization model that limits adverse side effects using constraints learned from historical data.The study uses the optimization with constraint learning (OCL) framework, incorporating patient-specific factors into the optimization process.

Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii in ticks collected from Iran.

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the prevalence and genetic structure of Coxiella burnetii in tick samples collected from domestic animals in Hormozgan province146 tick samples were randomly collected from cattle, sheep, goat, camel and dog herds in seven cities of Hormozgan. After the DNA was extracted from each tick sample; Nested-PCR method was used to identify the presence of C. burnetii using IS1111 transposon gene and isocitrate dehydrogenase icd gene.

Computer Simulation to Assess Emergency Department Length of Stay in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objectives: Our study aimed to identify how emergency department (ED) arrival rate, process of care, and physical layout can impact ED length of stay (LOS) in pediatric traumatic brain injury care.

Methods: Process flows and value stream maps were developed for 3 level I pediatric trauma centers. Computer simulation models were also used to examine "what if" scenarios based on ED arrival rates.

The influence of anisotropy on the clinical target volume of brain tumor patients.

Current radiotherapy guidelines for glioma target volume definition recommend a uniform margin expansion from the gross tumor volume (GTV) to the clinical target volume (CTV), assuming uniform infiltration in the invaded brain tissue. However, glioma cells migrate preferentially along white matter tracts, suggesting that white matter directionality should be considered in an anisotropic CTV expansion. We investigate two models of anisotropic CTV expansion and evaluate their clinical feasibility.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis in immunocompetent patients: a case report and review of literature.

Introduction: Mucormycosis of the head and neck region is a rare but aggressive fungal infection that usually involves immunocompromised patients. More infrequently, this infection can also occur in people with no otherwise known underlying immunological deficit. This rarity usually causes a delay in diagnosis and may severely decrease the chance of survival in these patients.

Effect of killed autogenous polyvalent vaccines against Vibrio harveyi, V. alginolyticus and Streptococcus iniae on survival and immunogenicity of Asian seabass (Latescalcarifer).

Vibriosis and Streptococcosis are the most important bacterial diseases that infect Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) in various stages of its life cycle. Vaccination is a cost-effective strategy to prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases and increase sustainability in the aquaculture industry. This study was aimed to develop and evaluate a killed polyvalent vaccine against Vibrio harveyi, V.

Epigenetic regulation of temozolomide resistance in human cancers with an emphasis on brain tumors: Function of non-coding RNAs.

Brain tumors, which are highly malignant, pose a significant threat to health and often result in substantial rates of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The brain cancer therapy has been challenging due to obstacles such as the BBB, which hinders effective delivery of therapeutic agents. Additionally, the emergence of drug resistance further complicates the management of brain tumors.

Online adaptive planning methods for intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

Online adaptive radiation therapy aims at adapting a patient's treatment plan to their current anatomy to account for inter-fraction variations before daily treatment delivery. As this process needs to be accomplished while the patient is immobilized on the treatment couch, it requires time-efficient adaptive planning methods to generate a quality daily treatment plan rapidly. The conventional planning methods do not meet the time requirement of online adaptive radiation therapy because they often involve excessive human intervention, significantly prolonging the planning phase.

Exploring trade-offs in treatment planning for brain tumor cases with a probabilistic definition of the clinical target volume.

Purpose: This study demonstrates how a novel probabilistic clinical target volume (CTV) concept-the clinical target distribution (CTD)-can be used to navigate the trade-off between target coverage and organ sparing with a semi-interactive treatment planning approach.

Methods: Two probabilistic treatment planning methods are presented that use tumor probabilities to balance tumor control with organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing. The first method explores OAR dose reduction by systematically discarding of CTD voxels with an unfavorable dose-to-probability ratio from the minimum dose coverage objective.

Genetic species identification and population structure of grouper (Hamilton, 1822) collected from fish markets along the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea.

Many ecologically important and valuable fisheries marine species have been misidentified in terms of both the statistical data and market demand. Correct identification at the species level and the population genetic structure of the orange-spotted grouper (), a precious fish in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea, was tested using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (DNA barcoding) and D-loop sequencing. The results revealed that the species found in the region, including , , , and were all mistakenly grouped together and identified as only .

Personalized mid-course FDG-PET based adaptive treatment planning for non-small cell lung cancer using machine learning and optimization.

. Traditional radiotherapy (RT) treatment planning of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) relies on population-wide estimates of organ tolerance to minimize excess toxicity. The goal of this study is to develop a personalized treatment planning based on patient-specific lung radiosensitivity, by combining machine learning and optimization.

Circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor as a potential biomarker in stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Stroke, an acute cerebrovascular event, is a leading cause of disability, placing a significant psycho-socioeconomic burden worldwide. The adaptation and reorganization process following any neuronal damage is regarded as neuroplasticity. Among many factors believed to attribute to this process, Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin coordinating neuroplasticity after various neurological disorders such as stroke.

Conic formulation of fluence map optimization problems.

The convexity of objectives and constraints in fluence map optimization (FMO) for radiation therapy has been extensively studied. Next to convexity, there is another important characteristic of optimization functions and problems, which has thus far not been considered in FMO literature: conic representation. Optimization problems that are conically representable using quadratic, exponential and power cones are solvable with advanced primal-dual interior-point algorithms.

Removal of nitrate and phosphate from simulated agricultural runoff water by Chlorella vulgaris.

Microalgae such Chlorella vulgaris can effectively absorb nitrate and phosphate from contaminated water. This work characterized nitrate and phosphate removal from simulated agricultural runoff using C. vulgaris.

Toward Personalized Radiation Therapy of Liver Metastasis: Importance of Serial Blood Biomarkers.

Purpose: To assess the added value of serial blood biomarkers in liver metastasis stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Materials And Methods: Eighty-nine patients were retrospectively included. Pre- and midtreatment blood samples were analyzed for potential biomarkers of the treatment response.

Selenium nanoparticle and selenomethionine as feed additives: effects on growth performance, hepatic enzymes' activity, mucosal immune parameters, liver histology, and appetite-related gene transcript in goldfish (Carassius auratus).

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of different dietary selenium sources, selenium nanoparticle (nSe), and selenomethionine (SeMet) as feed additives on growth performance, hepatic enzymes' activity, biochemical, mucosal immune parameters, liver histology, and appetite-related gene transcript in goldfish (Carassius auratus). At first, goldfish juveniles (n=480; mean 4.54 g) were fed dietary selenium nanoparticle at 0, 0.

Metabolite profiling, histological and oxidative stress responses in the grey mullet, Mugil cephalus exposed to the environmentally relevant concentrations of the heavy metal, Pb (NO3).

In this study, a metabolomics approach was applied to investigate the metabolic responses of grey mullet, Mugil cephalus to toxicity induced by heavy metal, Pb (NO3). In addition, the study was followed by assessing the peroxidation index and histology of liver as supplementary data. Pb (NO3) exposure affected the plasma metabolome, especially four group metabolites including amino acids, methylated metabolites, energetic metabolites and citric acid intermediates.

Optimal treatment plan adaptation using mid-treatment imaging biomarkers.

Previous studies on personalized radiotherapy (RT) have mostly focused on baseline patient stratification, adapting the treatment plan according to mid-treatment anatomical changes, or dose boosting to selected tumor subregions using mid-treatment radiological findings. However, the question of how to find the optimal adapted plan has not been properly tackled. Moreover, the effect of information uncertainty on the resulting adaptation has not been explored.

Perspectives on the model-based approach to proton therapy trials: A retrospective study of a lung cancer randomized trial.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to assess whether a model-based approach applied retrospectively to a completed randomized controlled trial (RCT) would have significantly altered the selection of patients of the original trial, using the same selection criteria and endpoint for testing the potential clinical benefit of protons compared to photons.

Methods And Materials: A model-based approach, based on three widely used normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) models for radiation pneumonitis (RP), was applied retrospectively to a completed non-small cell lung cancer RCT (NCT00915005). It was assumed that patients were selected by the model-based approach if their expected ΔNTCP value was above a threshold of 5%.

Towards optimal stopping in radiation therapy.

A typical fractionated radiotherapy (RT) course is a long and arduous process, demanding significant financial, physical, and mental commitments from patients. Each additional session of RT significantly increases the physical and psychological burden on patients and leads to higher radiation exposure in organs-at-risk (OAR), while, in some cases, the therapeutic benefits might not be high enough to justify the risks. Today, through technological advancements in molecular biology, imaging, and genetics more information is gathered about individual patient response before, during, and after the treatment.