Corticospinal and Clinical Effects of Muscle Tendon Vibration in Neurologically Impaired Individuals. A Scoping Review.

This review verified the extent, variety, quality and main findings of studies that have tested the neurophysiological and clinical effects of muscle tendon vibration (VIB) in individuals with sensorimotor impairments. The search was conducted on PubMed, CINAHL, and SportDiscuss up to April 2024. Studies were selected if they included humans with neurological impairments, applied VIB and used at least one measure of corticospinal excitability using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Impact of robust optimization on patient specific error thresholds for high dose rate prostate brachytherapy source tracking.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of catheter shift errors and determine patient specific error thresholds (PSETs) for different high dose rate prostate brachytherapy (HDRPBT) plans generated by different forms of inverse optimization.

Methods: Three plans were generated for 50 HDRPBT patients and PSETs were determined for each of the 3 plans. Plan 1 was the original Oncentra Prostate (v4.

Automatic plan selection using deep network-A prostate study.

Background: Recently, high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatment plans generation was improved with the development of multicriteria optimization (MCO) algorithms that can generate thousands of pareto optimal plans within seconds. This brings a shift, from the objective of generating an acceptable plan to choosing the best plans out of thousands.

Purpose: In order to choose the best plans, new criteria beyond usual dosimetrics volumes histogram (DVH) metrics are introduced and a deep learning (DL) framework is added as an automatic plan selection algorithm.

Spectral Properties of Marennine-like Pigments Reveal Minor Differences Between Blue Species and Strains.

Marennine is the specific bluish pigment produced by the marine diatom Gaillon (Simonsen), responsible for the greening of oysters in France's Atlantic coast. For decades, was considered the only blue diatom and described as such. However, new blue species have been described recently, among which Davidovich, Gastineau, and Mouget (Black Sea, Crimea, Ukraine); Gastineau, Hansen, and Mouget (Mediterranean Sea, southern France) Gastineau, Hansen, and Mouget (West Atlantic Ocean, USA); and one not characterized yet, sp.

Proof-of-concept of real-time electromagnetic guidance for gynecologic interstitial catheters in high dose rate brachytherapy.

Background And Purpose: The addition of interstitial needles to intracavitary gynecologic (GYN) high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy has been shown to improve target coverage and organs-at-risk (OAR) sparing. However, no commercial solution allows real-time guidance of interstitial catheter placement. This phantom study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system guidance workflow for GYN HDR brachytherapy treatment in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and real-time transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) fusion scenario.

Haralick texture feature analysis for Monte Carlo dose distributions of permanent implant prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Demonstrate quantitative characterization of 3D patient-specific absorbed dose distributions using Haralick texture analysis, and interpret measures in terms of underlying physics and radiation dosimetry.

Methods: Retrospective analysis is performed for 137 patients who underwent permanent implant prostate brachytherapy using two simulation conditions: "TG186" (realistic tissues including 0-3.8% intraprostatic calcifications; interseed attenuation) and "TG43" (water-model; no interseed attenuation).

Bidirectional transfer of a small membrane-impermeable molecule between the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine and germline.

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) is a positive regulator of cell proliferation often upregulated in cancer. Its Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog MPK-1 stimulates germline stem cell (GSC) proliferation nonautonomously from the intestine or somatic gonad. How MPK-1 can perform this task from either of these two tissues however remains unclear.

Perspectives of parents with lived experience of cytomegalovirus infection, on universal newborn screening for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) in Canada: a patient-led qualitative study.

Objective: To understand parental perspectives regarding universal newborn screening (UNS) for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) in Canada.

Design: A qualitative, patient-led study using the Patient and Community Engagement Research approach consisting of online focus groups and in-depth individual interviews to understand parental preferences regarding UNS for cCMV. Data were analysed iteratively using inductive thematic analysis and narrative story analysis.

Reliability and minimal detectable change of dynamic temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation using a single experimental paradigm.

Background: Quantitative sensory tests (QST) are frequently used to explore alterations in somatosensory systems. Static and dynamic QST like pain threshold and temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) are commonly used to evaluate excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms involved in pain processing. The aim of the present study was to document the reliability and the minimal detectable change (MDC) of these dynamic QST measurements using a standardized experimental paradigm.

Implementing culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices with checklists and goal setting.

We discuss the use of two empirically validated behavior-change methods-checklists and goal setting-and designed a checklist to assist behavior analysts in improving their behavioral services to be more culturally responsive and trauma informed. We also present pilot data evaluating the use of the checklist and goal setting on the inclusion of culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices in behavior support plans designed for students in a public school. The training package was effective for both participants, and the participants' weekly goals corresponded to the observed changes in their behavior plans.

Insights into Molecular Interactions between a GAPDH-Related Fish Antimicrobial Peptide, Analogs Thereof, and Bacterial Membranes.

Interactions between SJGAP (skipjack tuna GAPDH-related antimicrobial peptide) and four analogs thereof with model bacterial membranes were studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD trajectory analyses showed that the N-terminal segment of the peptide analogs has many contacts with the polar heads of membrane phospholipids, while the central α helix interacts strongly with the hydrophobic core of the membranes. The peptides also had a marked influence on the wave numbers associated with the phase transition of phospholipids organized as liposomes in both the interface and aliphatic chain regions of the infrared spectra, supporting the interactions observed in the MD trajectories.

Physicochemical properties of wild and cultivated macroalgae harvested in the Canadian boreal-subarctic transition zone.

is a brown seaweed used as a food ingredient. The aim of this work was to study possible differences between chemical composition, color, mode of cultivation, harvesting period and site and its environmental conditions. Water temperature, salinity, radiation, and fluorescence were monitored in each harvesting site.

COVID-19-Induced Automation: An Exploratory Study of Critical Occupations.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have spurred automation, especially in critical occupations. This article explores the potential of each detailed Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC) occupation being automated due to COVID-19. The authors explore two key elements of each occupation: its exposure to diseases such as COVID-19 and the probability of that occupation being automated.

Models of practice and training in psychotherapy: cross-national perspectives from Italy and Canada.

Internationally, there is ongoing concern about accessibility to mental health care and training. The goal of this study was to explore commonalities and differences within models of clinical psychology and psychotherapy in Ontario, Canada, and Lombardia, Italy, respectively, to inform improvements to the accessibility of mental health care and training. Using key informant sampling, we recruited ten students and professionals in Italy and Canada who study or work in psychology for semi-structured interviews.

Aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty extraction of patient-specific deep learning-based dose predictions in LDR prostate brachytherapy.

In brachytherapy, deep learning (DL) algorithms have shown the capability of predicting 3D dose volumes. The reliability and accuracy of such methodologies remain under scrutiny for prospective clinical applications. This study aims to establish fast DL-based predictive dose algorithms for low-dose rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy and to evaluate their uncertainty and stability.

A comprehensive quality assurance protocol for electromagnetic tracking in brachytherapy.

Background: Electromagnetic tracking (EMT) systems have proven to be a valuable source of information regarding the location and geometry of applicators in patients undergoing brachytherapy (BT). As an important element of an enhanced and individualized pre-treatment verification, EMT can play a pivotal role in detecting treatment errors and uncertainties to increase patient safety.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is two-fold: to design, develop and test a dedicated measurement protocol for the use of EMT-enabled afterloaders in BT and to collect and compare the data acquired from three different radiation oncology centers in different clinical environments.

Exploring Factors That Influence Postexercise Glycemia in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes in the Real World: The Type 1 Diabetes Exercise Initiative Pediatric (T1DEXIP) Study.

Objective: To explore 24-h postexercise glycemia and hypoglycemia risk, data from the Type 1 Diabetes Exercise Initiative Pediatric (T1DEXIP) study were analyzed to examine factors that may influence glycemia.

Research Design And Methods: This was a real-world observational study with participant self-reported physical activity, food intake, and insulin dosing (multiple daily injection users). Heart rate, continuous glucose data, and available pump data were collected.

Development of patient and catheter specific error thresholds for high dose rate prostate brachytherapy.

Background: In-vivo source tracking has been an active topic of research in the field of high-dose rate brachytherapy in recent years to verify accuracy in treatment delivery. Although detection systems for source tracking are being developed, the allowable threshold of treatment error is still unknown and is likely patient-specific due to anatomy and planning variation.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine patient and catheter-specific shift error thresholds for in-vivo source tracking during high-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy (HDRPBT).

Multi-point calorimeter using distributed fiber Bragg gratings for small field dosimetry in radiotherapy.

Background: The interest of using fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) dosimeters in radiotherapy (RT) lies in their (i) microliter detection volume, (ii) customizable spatial resolution, (iii) multi-point dose measurement, (iv) real-time data acquisition and (v) insensitivity to Cherenkov light. These characteristics could prove very useful for characterizing dose distributions of small and nonstandard fields with high spatial resolution.

Purpose: We developed a multi-point FBGs dosimeter customized for small field RT dosimetry with a spatial resolution of 1 mm.

Establishing a fingerprinting method for fast catheter identification in HDR brachytherapy in vivo dosimetry.

Purpose: To use quantities measurable during in vivo dosimetry to build unique channel identifiers, that enable detection of brachytherapy errors.

Materials And Methods: Treatment plan of 360 patients with prostate cancer who underwent high-dose-rate brachytherapy (range, 16-25 catheters; mean, 17) were used. A single point virtual dosimeter was placed at multiple positions within the treatment geometry, and the source-dosimeter distance and dwell time were determined for each dwell position in each catheter.

Vibration-induced postural reactions: a scoping review on parameters and populations studied.

Objective: Mechanical vibration is an effective way for externally activating Ia primary endings of the muscle spindles and skin mechanoreceptors. Despite its popularity in proprioception and postural control studies, there is still no review covering the wide variety of vibration parameters or locations used in studies. The main purpose of this scoping review was thus to give an overview of general vibration parameters and to identify, if available, the rationale for justifying methodological choices concerning vibration parameters.

Accuracy of an electromagnetic tracking enabled afterloader based on the automated registration with CT phantom images.

Background: Electromagnetic tracking (EMT) has been researched for brachytherapy applications, showing a great potential for automating implant reconstruction, and overcoming image-based limitations such as contrast and spatial resolution. One of the challenges of this technology is that it does not intrinsically share the same reference frame as the patient's medical imaging.

Purpose: To present a novel phantom that can be used for a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) program of brachytherapy EMT systems and use this phantom to validate a novel applicator-based registration method of EMT and image reference frames for gynecological (GYN) interstitial brachytherapy.