The influence of time and implants in high-dose rate image-guided adaptive brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer.

Purpose: To compare the clinical outcomes of two different schedules of modern image-guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) in patients underwent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT) for locally advanced cervical cancer treated (LACC) METHODS AND MATERIALS: Data from medical records of all consecutive patients with histologically proven cervical cancer (FIGO 2018 stage IB-IVA) treated by HDR-BT after CCRT at our institution between 2016 and 2021 were reviewed.

Results: Two hundred and 8 patients with LACC FIGO 2018 stages (IB 20.7%; II 26.

Primary cutaneous rhabdomyosarcoma with EWSR1/FUS::TFCP2 fusion: four new cases with distinctive morphology, immunophenotypic, and genetic profile.

EWSR1/FUS::TFCP2-rearranged rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare tumor with an aggressive clinical course, a predilection for craniofacial bones, spindled and/or epithelioid histomorphology, and positive immunohistochemistry (IHC) for epithelial and myogenic markers, along with variable ALK expression. Herein, we present four additional cases of primary cutaneous TFCP2-rearranged RMS. Notably, one tumor (case 1) displayed a varied pathological spectrum, initially presenting as a low-grade spindle cell neoplasm, but progressed into a high-grade spindle/epithelioid tumor.

Cryoablation for treatment of peripheral lung metastases from colorectal cancer: a bicenter retrospective study.

Objectives: To evaluate the oncological efficacy and complications of cryoablation (CA) in treating lung metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) at the lung periphery.

Materials And Methods: The inclusion criteria for this bicenter retrospective study included patients with histologically confirmed CRC, with radiologically confirmed lung metastases at the periphery of the lung (distance of less than or equal to 2 cm from the costal, diaphragmatic, or cervical pleura) treated with CA between January 2017 and June 2022. Patients with intra-parenchymal metastases or metastases close to the mediastinal pleura and patients without follow-up were excluded.

Genetic susceptibility to optic neuropathy in patients with alcohol use disorder.

Background: The pathophysiology of toxico-nutritional optic neuropathies remains debated, with no clear understanding of the respective roles played by the direct alcohol toxicity, smoking and the often associated vitamin deficiencies, which are risk factors for optic neuropathy. Our aim was to investigate genetic susceptibility in patients with bilateral infraclinical optic neuropathy associated with chronic alcohol use disorder.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 102 visually asymptomatic patients with documented alcohol use disorder from a French reference center.

A novel lung SBRT treatment planning: Inverse VMAT plan with leaf motion limitation to ensure the irradiation reproducibility of a moving target.

This study exposed the implementation of a novel technique (VMAT) for the planning of moving targets in lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). This new technique has been compared to static conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and dynamic conformal arc (DCA). The rationale of this study was to lower geometric complexity (54.

Phenotypic plasticity: A missing element in the theory of vegetation pattern formation.

Regular spatial patterns of vegetation are a common sight in drylands. Their formation is a population-level response to water stress that increases water availability for the few via partial plant mortality. At the individual level, plants can also adapt to water stress by changing their phenotype.

Expanding the molecular landscape of undifferentiated sarcomas of bone with a novel EWSR1-SSX3 gene fusion.

Undifferentiated sarcomas characterized by a primitive monomorphic round to spindle cell phenotype and often non-specific immunoprofile remain difficult to subclassify outside molecular analysis. The increased application of RNA sequencing in clinical practice led to significant advances and discoveries of novel gene fusions that furthered our understanding and refined classification of otherwise undifferentiated neoplasms. In this study, we report an undifferentiated round to spindle cell sarcoma arising in the femur of a 34-year-old female.

Evaluation of preventive tract embolization with standardized gelatin sponge slurry on chest tube placement rate after CT-guided lung biopsy: a propensity score analysis.

Background: To evaluate the effect of tract embolization (TE) with gelatin sponge slurries during a percutaneous lung biopsy on chest tube placement and to evaluate the predictive factors of chest tube placement.

Methods: Percutaneous CT-guided lung biopsies performed with (TE) or without (non-TE) tract embolization or between June 2012 and December 2021 at three referral tertiary centers were retrospectively analyzed. The exclusion criteria were mediastinal biopsies, pleural tumors, and tumors adjacent to the pleura without pleural crossing.

A Novel Active Device for Shoulder Rotation Based on Force Control.

This article describes a one-degree-of-freedom haptic device that can be applied to perform three different exercises for shoulder rehabilitation. The device is based on a force control architecture and an adaptive speed PI controller. It is a portable equipment that is easy to use for any patient, and was optimized for rehabilitating external rotation movements of the shoulder in patients in whom this was limited by muscle-skeletal injuries.

Robust Fastener Detection Based on Force and Vision Algorithms in Robotic (Un)Screwing Applications.

This article addresses how to tackle one of the most demanding tasks in manufacturing and industrial maintenance sectors: using robots with a novel and robust solution to detect the fastener and its rotation in (un)screwing tasks over parallel surfaces with respect to the tool. To this end, the vision system is based on an industrial camera with a dynamic exposure time, a tunable liquid crystal lens (TLCL), and active near-infrared reflectance (NIR) illumination. Its camera parameters, combined with a fixed value of working distance (WD) and variable or constant field of view (FOV), make it possible to work with a variety of fastener sizes under several lighting conditions.

The impact of brachytherapy boost for anal canal cancers in the era of de-escalation treatments.

Purpose: To analyze clinical outcomes of high-dose-rate (HDR) interstitial brachytherapy boost (ISBT) after external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for the treatment of anal canal cancers (ACC).

Methods And Materials: A total of 78 patients with ACC were treated at our institution by ISBT. Local Control (LC), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), colostomy-free survival (CFS) and toxicity rates were analyzed.

Brachytherapy boost in anal canal cancer - A GEC ESTRO PDR task force meta-analysis.

Purpose: A meta-analysis is presented comparing clinical outcomes and toxicities between high dose rate (HDR) and pulsed dose rate (PDR) brachytherapy (BT) for anal cancer.

Methods And Material: Retrospective or prospective clinical trials were identified on electronical databases. Data were collected per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-Analyses guidelines.

Evidence for scale-dependent root-antation feedback and its role in halting the spread of a pantropical shrub into an endemic sedge.

Vegetation pattern formation is a widespread phenomenon in resource-limited environments, but the driving mechanisms are largely unconfirmed empirically. Combining results of field studies and mathematical modeling, empirical evidence for a generic pattern-formation mechanism is demonstrated with the clonal shrub L. (hereafter ) on the Brazilian island of Trindade.

Endogenous IL-1 receptor antagonist restricts healthy and malignant myeloproliferation.

Here we explored the role of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) repressor cytokine, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1rn), in both healthy and abnormal hematopoiesis. Low IL-1RN is frequent in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and represents a prognostic marker of reduced survival. Treatments with IL-1RN and the IL-1β monoclonal antibody canakinumab reduce the expansion of leukemic cells, including CD34 progenitors, in AML xenografts.

An ultra-low-dose protocol for computed tomography-guided lung radiofrequency ablations.

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ultra-low-dose (ULD) protocol for computed tomography (CT)-guided lung radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Patients who had undergone lung RFA between November 2017 and January 2021 were consecutively and retrospectively included. Thirty patients were treated using a conventional standard protocol (SP), including helical acquisitions with mA automatic adjustment and sequential CT at 80 kVp; and 31, with a ULD protocol defined with helical acquisitions with fixed mA and sequential series at 100 kVp.

Impact of fiducial markers placement on the delineation of target volumes in radiation therapy for oesophageal cancer: FIDUCOR study.

Purpose: This prospective monocentric phase II study (FIDUCOR-study, NCT02526134) aimed to assess the impact of fiducial markers (FMs) implantation on conformal chemo-radiation therapy (CRT) planning in oesophageal carcinoma (EC) patients.

Methods/materials: Fifteen EC patients were enrolled in the study. Each patient underwent two simulation CT-scans before (CT1) and after (CT2) FMs implantation, in the same position.

The top 10 most frequently involved genes in hereditary optic neuropathies in 2186 probands.

Hereditary optic neuropathies are caused by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells whose axons form the optic nerves, with a consistent genetic heterogeneity. As part of our diagnostic activity, we retrospectively evaluated the combination of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy mutations testing with the exon sequencing of 87 nuclear genes on 2186 patients referred for suspected hereditary optic neuropathies. The positive diagnosis rate in individuals referred for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy testing was 18% (199/1126 index cases), with 92% (184/199) carrying one of the three main pathogenic variants of mitochondrial DNA (m.

Early clinical outcomes of hybrid brachytherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer: making adverse situations in a favorable scenario.

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility and early clinical outcomes of combined intra-cavitary (IC) and interstitial (IS) image-guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) as curative and definitive treatment of patients treated with chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC).

Material And Methods: Data from medical records of all consecutive patients with histologically proven cervical cancer (FIGO 2018 stage IB-IV), treated by brachytherapy after CCRT at our institution between 2017 and 2020 were reviewed.

Results: One hundred and forty-two patients with LACC FIGO 2018 stages (IB: 20.

Adaptive Magnetic Resonance-Guided External Beam Radiation Therapy for Consolidation in Recurrent Cervical Cancer.

Purpose: Adaptive magnetic resonance (MR)-guided brachytherapy takes an important place as consolidation within the care of cervical malignancies, but may be impracticable in some unusual cases. This work aimed to present the case of adaptive MR-guided external beam radiation therapy (aMRgRT) used as a boost in a recurrence of cervical cancer.

Methods And Materials: We report on a case of a parametrial recurrence in a 31-year-old patient who already underwent a trachelectomy as treatment for her primary growth.

How do information flows affect impact from environmental research? - An analysis of a science-policy network.

Evidence of the impact arising from environmental research is increasingly demanded. Exchanges between science providers and actors that use scientific knowledge to address environmental problems are recognized as a key component of the mechanisms through which impact occurs. Yet, the role of interactions between science and policy actors in delivering and shaping research impact is not well established.

Dancing vortices in a driven nematic liquid crystal cell: Theory and experiment.

The interaction of light beams with helical defects in optical materials generates optical vortices. Understanding and manipulating the dynamics of helical defects allows for the creation of versatile sources of optical vortex beams. Using a magnetic ring on a nematic liquid crystal cell, we trapped helical defects identified as matter vortices.