The role of medical physics experts in clinical trials: A guideline from the European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics.

The EFOMP working group on the Role of Medical Physics Experts (MPEs) in Clinical Trials was established in 2010, with experts from across Europe and different areas of medical physics. Their main aims were: (1) To develop a consensus guidance document for the work MPEs do in clinical trials across Europe. (2) Complement the work by American colleagues in AAPM TG 113 and guidance from National Member Organisations.

The Structure-Function Relationship of Branched Polyethylenimine Impregnated over Mesoporous Carbon Aerogels: An In-Depth Thermogravimetric Insight.

We present a comprehensive thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of polyethylenimine (PEI)-impregnated resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aerogels. While numerous studies focus on PEI-impregnated SBA, RF materials have been less examined, despite their interest and specificities. As most articles on PEI-impregnated porous materials follow typical experimental methods defined for SBA, particularities of RF-PEI materials could remain unheeded.

Qualitative Study on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Within Radiation Oncology in Europe.

Purpose: Organizational culture plays a major role in prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives by aligning individual values of employees with organizational values. However, effective strategies to create an inclusive organizational culture, in which these values are aligned, remain unclear. The European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) launched a qualitative study, as a follow-up of the previous project on DEI that highlighted low levels of inclusion and work engagement among radiation oncology (RO) professionals in Europe.

Gender-related and geographic trends in interactions between radiotherapy professionals on Twitter.

Background And Purpose: Twitter presence in academia has been linked to greater research impact which influences career progression. The purpose of this study was to analyse Twitter activity of the radiotherapy community around ESTRO congresses with a focus on gender-related and geographic trends.

Materials And Methods: Tweets, re-tweets and replies, here designated as , around the ESTRO congresses held in 2012-2021 were collected.

The role of medical physicists in clinical trials across Europe.

Introduction: The roles and responsibilities of medical physicists (MPs) are growing together with the evolving science and technology. The complexity of today's clinical trials requires the skills and knowledge of MPs for their safe and efficient implementation. However, it is unclear to what extent the skillsets offered by MPs are being exploited in clinical trials across Europe.

From Iron to Copper: The Effect of Transition Metal Catalysts on the Hydrogen Storage Properties of Nanoconfined LiBH in a Graphene-Rich N-Doped Matrix.

Incipient wetness impregnation was employed to decorate two N-doped graphene-rich matrixes with iron, nickel, cobalt, and copper nanoparticles. The N-doped matrix was wetted with methanol solutions of the corresponding nitrates. After agitation and solvent evaporation, reduction at 800 °C over the carbon matrix promoted the formation of nanoparticles.

Establishing a benchmark of diversity, equity, inclusion and workforce engagement in radiation oncology in Europe - An ESTRO collaborative project.

Background And Purpose: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the medical workforce is linked to improved patient care and innovation, as well as employee retention and engagement. The European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology launched a survey to provide a benchmark of DEI and engagement among radiation oncology (RO) professionals in Europe.

Methods: An anonymous survey was disseminated among RO professionals in Europe.

Clinical implementation of deep-learning based auto-contouring tools-Experience of three French radiotherapy centers.

Deep-learning (DL)-based auto-contouring solutions have recently been proposed as a convincing alternative to decrease workload of target volumes and organs-at-risk (OAR) delineation in radiotherapy planning and improve inter-observer consistency. However, there is minimal literature of clinical implementations of such algorithms in a clinical routine. In this paper we first present an update of the state-of-the-art of DL-based solutions.

Alexithymia and professional quality of life in radiation oncology: The moderator effect of the professional profile.

Background And Purpose: Cancer care can be taxing. Alexithymia, a personality construct characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing feeling and emotions, an externally-oriented thinking style and scarcity of imagination and fantasy, is significantly correlated with higher levels of both secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout and lower levels of compassion satisfaction in medical professionals in radiation oncology. In this study, we aimed to assess the difference in professional quality of life (QoL) and the association with alexithymia in this multidisciplinary field depending on the specific profession (radiation/clinical oncologist, RO; medical physicist, MP; radiation therapist, RTT).

Professional quality of life and burnout among medical physicists working in radiation oncology: The role of alexithymia and empathy.

Background And Purpose: The professional quality of life of radiation oncology professionals can be influenced by different contributing factors, including personality traits. Alexithymia involves deficits in emotion processing and awareness. Empathy is the ability to understand another's 'state of mind/emotion'.

The role of alexithymia and empathy on radiation therapists' professional quality of life.

Background And Purpose: Physical and mental well-being are crucial for oncology professionals as they affect performance at work. Personality traits, as alexithymia and empathy, may influence professional quality of life. Alexithymia involves diminished skills in emotion processing and awareness.

Professional quality of life and burnout amongst radiation oncologists: The impact of alexithymia and empathy.

Background And Purpose: Different factors may influence the professional quality of life of oncology professionals. Among them, personality traits, as alexithymia and empathy, are underinvestigated. Alexithymia is about deficits in emotion processing and awareness.

Tuning LiBH for Hydrogen Storage: Destabilization, Additive, and Nanoconfinement Approaches.

Hydrogen technology has become essential to fulfill our mobile and stationary energy needs in a global low-carbon energy system. The non-renewability of fossil fuels and the increasing environmental problems caused by our fossil fuel-running economy have led to our efforts towards the application of hydrogen as an energy vector. However, the development of volumetric and gravimetric efficient hydrogen storage media is still to be addressed.

[Stereotactic body radiotherapy: Prospective study to evaluate asthenia and quality of life].

Purpose: To evaluate prospectively asthenia and the quality of life in patients treated by stereotactic body irradiation and to determine their predictive factors.

Methods And Materials: Quality of life was assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 and asthenia was evaluated with the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), on the first day (T1), last day (T2) and 1-3 weeks after the end of treatment (T3).

Results: Sixty-three patients were treated with stereotactic body irradiation from February 2017 to May 2017 and 41 were included in the analysis (22 patients excluded for lack of understanding, organization, psychologic disorders or refusal).

Radiomics and Machine Learning for Radiotherapy in Head and Neck Cancers.

An increasing number of parameters can be considered when making decisions in oncology. Tumor characteristics can also be extracted from imaging through the use of radiomics and add to this wealth of clinical data. Machine learning can encompass these parameters and thus enhance clinical decision as well as radiotherapy workflow.

Development and characterisation of self-assembled graphene hydrogel-based anodes for bioelectrochemical systems.

In this work, we report a simple and scalable method to produce high efficiency 3D graphene-based electrodes (GH) for bioelectrochemical systems. GH were obtained by self-assembly of graphene oxide, through slow reduction with ascorbic acid over conductive mesh-works (carbon cloth and stainless-steel). The GH structure and composition were characterised by electron microscopy (SEM) and spectroscopy (FTIR and Raman), whereas the electrodes' performance was tested by chronoamperometry and cyclic voltammetry in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) inoculated with a pure culture of .

Updates on the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in males worldwide and the commonest cancer in males in the UK. The recent updates on the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer were discussed at a multidisciplinary day event organized by the British Institute of Radiology and held in London in November 2016. This day covered the use of the prostate-specific antigen biomarker and of advanced imaging techniques such as multiparametric and whole-body MRI, choline positron emission tomography/CT and gallium-labelled prostate-specific membrane antigen for the detection of prostate cancer.

An external dosimetry audit programme to credential static and rotational IMRT delivery for clinical trials quality assurance.

Purpose: External dosimetry audits give confidence in the safe and accurate delivery of radiotherapy. The RTTQA group have performed an on-site audit programme for trial recruiting centres, who have recently implemented static or rotational IMRT, and those with major changes to planning or delivery systems.

Methods: Measurements of reference beam output were performed by the host centre, and by the auditor using independent equipment.

Comparative study of the electrochemical behavior and analytical applications of (bio)sensing platforms based on the use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in different polymers.

This review present a critical comparison of the electrochemical behavior and analytical performance of glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) modified with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed in different polymers: polyethylenimine (PEI), PEI functionalized with dopamine (PEI-Do), polyhistidine (Polyhis), polylysine (Polylys), glucose oxidase (GOx) and double stranded calf-thymus DNA (dsDNA). The comparison is focused on the analysis of the influence of the sonication time, solvent, polymer/CNT ratio, and nature of the polymer on the efficiency of the dispersions and on the electrochemical behavior of the resulting modified electrodes. The results allow to conclude that an adequate selection of the polymers makes possible not only an efficient dispersion of CNTs but also, and even more important, the building of successful analytical platforms for the detection of different bioanalytes like NADH, glucose, DNA and dopamine.

Applying a gaming approach to IP strategy.

Adopting an appropriate IP strategy is an important but complex area, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, in which aspects such as regulatory submissions, high competitive activity, and public health and safety information requirements limit the amount of information that can be protected effectively through secrecy. As a result, and considering the existing time limits for patent protection, decisions on how to approach IP in these sectors must be made with knowledge of the options and consequences of IP positioning. Because of the specialized nature of IP, it is necessary to impart knowledge regarding the options and impact of IP to decision-makers, whether at the level of inventors, marketers or strategic business managers.

Soluble heterometallic coordination polymers based on a bis-terpyridine-functionalized dioxocyclam ligand.

Soluble homo- and heterometallic coordination polymers containing transition metal cations (Cu(2+), Fe(2+), Co(2+), and Ni(2+) ions) were prepared in a two-step procedure using a polytopic bis(terpyridine)dioxocyclam ligand 1H(2) (dioxocyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-5,7-dione). These supramolecular systems incorporate two different metal complexes, the metal cations being located both between two terpyridine units and in the macrocyclic framework. The characterization of these soluble architectures was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, mass spectrometry, viscosimetry, and UV-vis absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies.

Metallo-supramolecular gels based on a multitopic cyclam bis-terpyridine platform.

The domain of soluble metallopolymers (i.e., polymers spontaneously obtained from the self-assembly of metal ions and polytopic bridging ligands) is promising for the construction of novel materials with perspectives in magnetic, redox, optical, electrochromic, or mechanical properties.

Acid-base-driven interconversion between a mononuclear complex and supramolecular coordination polymers in a terpyridine-functionalized dioxocyclam ligand.

A polytopic cyclam-bis-terpyridine ligand has been used to accomplish an acid-base-triggered formation of either a mononuclear neutral complex or metallopolymers with Cu(2+) ions. A controlled interconversion between these two forms was achieved through the reversible displacement of a Cu(2+) cation from the macrocycle to the terpyridine units.

[Must the concept of intrinsic asthma be supported?].

Intrinsic asthma, defined as asthma which is not from allergy to pneumo-allergens, of cause unknown, may show several etiologies. Allergics, remembering that there in some subjects there may be small amounts of IgE on the mastocytes, with specific RAST IgE negative, skin tests only weakly positive, but with a positive provocation test to pneumo-allergens. Food allergy, isolated and associated, may also contribute a not-negligible cause.