65 Years on-Aflatoxin Biomarkers Blossoming: Whither Next?

Aflatoxins are mycotoxins produced by and several other related organisms and are common contaminants of numerous grains and nuts, especially maize (corn) and peanuts. Although, undoubtedly, aflatoxins have been present in the food of humans for millennia, their toxic effects were not discovered until 1960, first becoming evident as a non-infectious outbreak of poisoning of turkeys (Turkey X disease) arising from contaminated groundnut meal. The elucidation of specific chemical structures in 1963 led to the rapid characterization of aflatoxins as among the most potent chemical carcinogens of natural origin ever discovered.

Autocontouring of primary lung lesions and nodal disease for radiotherapy based only on computed tomography images.

Background And Purpose: In many clinics, positron-emission tomography is unavailable and clinician time extremely limited. Here we describe a deep-learning model for autocontouring gross disease for patients undergoing palliative radiotherapy for primary lung lesions and/or hilar/mediastinal nodal disease, based only on computed tomography (CT) images.

Materials And Methods: An autocontouring model (nnU-Net) was trained to contour gross disease in 379 cases (352 training, 27 test); 11 further test cases from an external centre were also included.

Odor-Cued Grab Air Sampling for Improved Investigative Odorant Prioritization Assessment of Transient Downwind Environmental Odor Events.

A critical prelude to any community odor assessment should be the prioritization of specific chemical odorants that are most responsible for targeted downwind odors. Unfortunately, and historically, this is a step that has often been bypassed or overlooked. However, correct understanding of the specific impactful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can inform the follow-on sampling, analytical, and remediation strategies that are most appropriate and efficient, based upon the chemistry behind the issue.

Sealing faults and fluid-induced seismicity.

Sealing faults are nearly impermeable barriers that can form boundaries between subsurface pore-pressure domains. In hydrocarbon systems, sealing faults commonly form part of a structural trap; they are thus important elements for future storage of CO and other gases in depleted reservoirs. The Triassic Montney Formation in western Canada hosts low-permeability gas reservoirs containing sealing faults that have previously been assumed to compartmentalize pressure domains.

Enhancing in vivo cell and tissue targeting by modulation of polymer nanoparticles and macrophage decoys.

The in vivo efficacy of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) is dependent on their pharmacokinetics, including time in circulation and tissue tropism. Here we explore the structure-function relationships guiding physiological fate of a library of poly(amine-co-ester) (PACE) NPs with different compositions and surface properties. We find that circulation half-life as well as tissue and cell-type tropism is dependent on polymer chemistry, vehicle characteristics, dosing, and strategic co-administration of distribution modifiers, suggesting that physiological fate can be optimized by adjusting these parameters.

Species differences in specific ligand-binding affinity and activation of AHR: The biological basis for calculation of relative effective potencies and toxic equivalence factors.

In 2022 the World Health Organization (WHO) published updated 'Toxic Equivalence Factors' (TEFs) for a wide variety of chlorinated dioxins, dibenzofurans and PCBs [collectively referred to as 'dioxin-like chemicals'; DLCs) that interact with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)]. Their update used sophisticated statistical analysis of hundreds of published studies that reported estimation of 'Relative Effective Potency' (REP) values for individual DLC congeners. The weighting scheme used in their assessment of each study favored in vivo over in vitro studies and was based largely on rodent studies.

Recommendation on the technical and dosimetric data to be included in stereotactic body radiation therapy clinical trial publications based on a systematic review.

The results of phase II and III trials on Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) increased adoption of SBRT worldwide. The ability to replicate clinical trial outcomes in routine practice depends on the capability to reproduce technical and dosimetric procedures used in the clinical trial. In this systematic review, we evaluated if peer-reviewed publications of clinical trials in SBRT reported sufficient technical data to ensure safe and robust implementation in real world clinics.

Physics-informed deep learning to forecast [Formula: see text] during hydraulic fracturing.

Short-term forecasting of estimated maximum magnitude ([Formula: see text]) is crucial to mitigate risks of induced seismicity during fluid stimulation. Most previous methods require real-time injection data, which are not always available. This study proposes two deep learning (DL) approaches, along with two data-partitioning methods, that rely solely on preceding patterns of seismicity.

Dose-escalated simultaneous integrated boost radiotherapy in early breast cancer (IMPORT HIGH): a multicentre, phase 3, non-inferiority, open-label, randomised controlled trial.

Background: A tumour-bed boost delivered after whole-breast radiotherapy increases local cancer-control rates but requires more patient visits and can increase breast hardness. IMPORT HIGH tested simultaneous integrated boost against sequential boost with the aim of reducing treatment duration while maintaining excellent local control and similar or reduced toxicity.

Methods: IMPORT HIGH is a phase 3, non-inferiority, open-label, randomised controlled trial that recruited women after breast-conserving surgery for pT1-3pN0-3aM0 invasive carcinoma from radiotherapy and referral centres in the UK.

Benchmarking Tests of Contemporary SRS Platforms: Have Technological Developments Resulted in Improved Treatment Plan Quality?

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery treatment delivery can be performed with a range of devices, each of which have evolved over recent years. We sought to evaluate the differences in performance of contemporary stereotactic radiosurgery platforms and also to compare them with earlier platform iterations from a previous benchmarking study.

Methods And Materials: The following platforms were selected as "state of the art" in 2022: Gamma Knife Icon (GK), CyberKnife S7 (CK), Brainlab Elements (Elekta VersaHD and Varian TrueBeam), Varian Edge with HyperArc (HA), and Zap-X.

Corrigendum to "Surface-guided radiotherapy for lung cancer can reduce the number of close patient contacts without compromising initial setup accuracy" [Tech. Innov. Patient Support Radiat. Oncol. 20 (2021) 61-63].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.tipsro.

Application of failure mode and effects analysis to validate a novel hybrid Linac QC program that integrates automated and conventional QC testing.

A hybrid quality control (QC) program was developed that integrates automated and conventional Linac QC, realizing the benefits of both automated and conventional QC, increasing efficiency and maintaining independent measurement methods. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was then applied in order to validate the program prior to clinical implementation. The hybrid QC program consists of automated QC with machine performance check and DailyQA3 array on the TrueBeam Linac, and Delta4 volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) standard plan measurements, alongside conventional monthly QC at a reduced frequency.

Basin-scale multi-decadal analysis of hydraulic fracturing and seismicity in western Canada shows non-recurrence of induced runaway fault rupture.

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is a reservoir stimulation technique that has been widely deployed in recent years to increase the productivity of light oil and/or natural gas from organic-rich, low-permeability formations. Although the process of fracturing a rock typically results in microseismic events of magnitude < 0, many cases of felt seismic events (typically magnitude 3.0 or larger) have also been reported.

Implementation of a comprehensive set of optimised CBCT protocols and validation through imaging quality and dose audit.

Objectives: Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for radiotherapy treatment verification has increased in frequency; therefore, it is crucial to optimise image quality and radiation dose to patients. The aim of this study was to implement optimised CBCT protocols for the Varian TrueBeams for most tumour sites in adult patients.

Methods: A combination of patient size-specific CBCT protocols from the literature and developed in-house was used.

Short-term forecasting of M during hydraulic fracturing.

Previous studies of injection-induced earthquake sequences have shown that the maximum magnitude (M) of injection-induced seismicity increases with the net injected volume (V); however, different proposed seismic-hazard paradigms predict significantly different values of M. Using injection and seismicity data from two project areas in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, where hydraulic fracturing induced seismicity was observed, we test the predictive power and robustness of three existing and one novel method to estimate M. Due to their vastly different values of seismogenic index (Σ), these two project areas represent end-member cases of seismogenic response.

SEAFARER - A new concept for validating radiotherapy patient specific QA for clinical trials and clinical practice.

Background: The quality of radiotherapy delivery has been shown to significantly impact clinical outcomes including patient survival. To identify errors, institutions perform Patient Specific Quality Assurance (PSQA) assessing each individual radiotherapy plan prior to starting patient treatments. Externally administered Dosimetry Audits have found problems despite institutions passing their own PSQA.

InSAR data reveal that the largest hydraulic fracturing-induced earthquake in Canada, to date, is a slow-slip event.

For tectonic earthquakes, slip rate spans a continuum from creep to supershear earthquakes, where slow slip events (SSEs) are important in releasing stress without radiating damaging seismic energy. Industrial-scale subsurface fluid injection has caused induced earthquakes, but the role of SSEs in fault activation is currently unclear. Ground-deformation observations, measured by satellite radar, show that SSEs up to magnitude 5.

Surface-guided radiotherapy for lung cancer can reduce the number of close patient contacts without compromising initial setup accuracy.

Surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT) can assist with patient setup by providing a real-time feedback mechanism over the whole patient treatment surface. It also has the potential to reduce the number of close contacts between staff and the patient, which is advocated for infection control during the COVID-19 pandemic. Residual translations and rotations (post-CBCT) were acquired following a conventional setup protocol (using permanent marks and lasers) and an SGRT setup protocol.

Why all radiotherapy planning studies are wrong but some are useful.

Dosimetry comparison studies of radiotherapy treatment planning are common, but often their limitations are not fully acknowledged. Useful data for the community may be produced, which is reproducible and reliable for implementation by others. However, this will only be achieved by clear and detailed reporting, and by consideration of delivered doses and clinical significance.

Acute Liver Failure With Severe Lactic Acidosis Secondary to Infiltrative Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: An Imaging-Negative Presentation.

Liver involvement by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is common in late stage disease but rarely results in severe hepatic dysfunction. Here, we discuss a case of acute liver failure (ALF) with severe lactic acidosis in a 75-year-old female with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The patient was admitted with nausea, fevers, and mild acidosis.

Long-term experience of MPC across multiple TrueBeam linacs: MPC concordance with conventional QC and sensitivity to real-world faults.

Machine Performance Check (MPC) is an automated Quality Control (QC) tool that is integrated into the TrueBeam and Halcyon linear accelerators (Linacs), utilizing the imaging systems to verify the Linac beam and geometry. This work compares the concordance of daily MPC results with conventional QC tests over a 3-year period for eight Linacs in order to assess the sensitivity of MPC in detecting faults. The MPC output measurements were compared with the monthly ionization chamber measurements for 6 and 10 MV photon beams and 6, 9, 12, 16, and 18 MeV electron beams.