A Quantitative Evaluation of the Effects of Radiation Therapy on the Post-Surgical Breast.

Background: Radiation (RT) effects on breast volume may impact breast-conserving therapy (BCT) outcomes, but quantitative information is lacking regarding the extent/timing of volume loss. This study aimed to quantify volume loss by assessing changes in irradiated breasts.

Methods: Breast volume changes were calculated for 113 patients (115 breasts) following T1 tumor lumpectomies.

Tailoring Plasmonic Fields with Shape-Controlled Single-Crystal Gold Metasurfaces.

Geometry and crystallinity play a critical role in the wavelength-dependent optical responses and plasmonic local near-field distributions of metallic nanostructures. Nevertheless, the ability to tailor the shape and position of crystalline metal surface nanostructures has remained a challenge that limits control of their enhanced local fields and represents a barrier to harnessing their individual and collective responses. Here, we describe a solution deposition method in the presence of anionic additives, which yields shape-controlled, single-crystal plasmonic gold nanostructures on Ag(100) and Au(100) substrates.

The timing of antenatal care access for adolescent pregnancies in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background:  Late antenatal care (ANC)-seeking among pregnant adolescents threatens their health outcomes, and the health outcomes of their new-borns. South Africa has experienced a rapid increase in adolescent pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to the existing concerns around adolescent pregnancy care-seeking behaviour.

Aim:  The main aim of this study was to investigate the causes and covariates of late ANC access among adolescents in the Cape Town Metropole, South Africa.

Moving the needle: a narrative review of enhanced recovery protocols in breast reconstruction.

Background And Objective: After a relatively late introduction to the literature in 2015, enhanced recovery protocols for breast reconstruction have flourished into a wealth of reports. Many have since described unique methodologies making improved offerings with superior outcomes attainable. This is a particularly interesting procedure for the study of enhanced recovery as it encompasses two dissident approaches.