Pioneering sustainable treatment delivery in childhood leukemia through synchronous telemedicine-A pilot study.

Cancer care places a heavy economic burden on families and health systems, driven by high treatment costs, lengthy hospital stays, and the necessity for extensive travel to specialized facilities. To address this challenge, an integrated health care network (IHCN) was implemented for maintenance treatment in acute leukemia. The IHCN encompassed outpatient services provided by local physicians and synchronous telemedicine consultation with pediatric oncologists.

Orthogonal characterization of rAAV9 reveals unexpected transgene heterogeneity.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is the most widely used viral vector for in vivo human gene therapy. To ensure safety and efficacy of gene therapy products, a comprehensive analytical profile of the rAAVs is needed, which provides crucial information for therapeutic development and manufacturing. Besides information on rAAV quantities and possible contaminating DNA and protein species, assessing rAAV quality is of utmost importance.

High repetition-rate foam targetry for laser-plasma interaction experiments: Concept and preliminary results.

Foam targets have gained considerable importance over the last decade in laser-matter interaction. They find widespread applications such as in inertial confinement fusion and secondary sources for particles and radiation. At the same time, the advent of high repetition-rate laser systems, be they short-pulse in the tens of femtosecond regime or in the kilo-Joule nanosecond regime, calls for equally high repetition rate targetry systems.

Definition and terminology of developmental language disorders-Interdisciplinary consensus across German-speaking countries.

In recent years, there have been intense international discussions about the definition and terminology of language disorders in childhood, such as those sparked by the publications of the CATALISE consortium. To address this ongoing debate, a Delphi study was conducted in German-speaking countries. This study consisted of three survey waves and involved over 400 experts from relevant disciplines.

Integration of Daily Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation.

Patients' reports of their health status are increasingly used in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) to better understand the negative impact on symptom burden and quality of life. Little is known regarding the implementation in routine clinical care, particularly how it can be used to improve supportive care. We sought to the evaluate feasibility of capturing daily patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in the acute phase of SCT to measure physical and psychosocial symptom burden.

Proof-of-Principle Experiment on the Dynamic Shell Formation for Inertial Confinement Fusion.

In the dynamic-shell (DS) concept [V. N. Goncharov et al.

Developing a platform for Fresnel diffractive radiography with 1 μm spatial resolution at the National Ignition Facility.

An x-ray Fresnel diffractive radiography platform was designed for use at the National Ignition Facility. It will enable measurements of micron-scale changes in the density gradients across an interface between isochorically heated warm dense matter materials, the evolution of which is driven primarily through thermal conductivity and mutual diffusion. We use 4.

Disagreement between mothers' and fathers' rating of health-related quality of life in children with cancer.

Purpose: Serial assessment of health condition based on self-report made by children and their proxies has consistently shown a lack of congruence. The study explored the discrepancies between mother's, father's, and children's reports on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) during the first two months of pediatric cancer treatment.

Methods: In this cohort study, children and parents completed the generic and cancer-specific Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory (PedsQL) questionnaires at initial diagnosis and in the subsequent months.

Use of Daily Patient-Reported Outcome Measurements in Pediatric Cancer Care.

Importance: Patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs) are emerging as an important component of adult cancer care, but little has been done with regard to PROMs for pediatric cancer care.

Objectives: To identify pediatric patients with cancer who are at risk of severe adverse effects of treatment and provide individualized supportive care using PROMs.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This single-center cohort study with PROMs implemented in daily clinical routine was conducted from May 1, 2020, to November 15, 2021, among pediatric patients with a cancer diagnosis or their proxies.

A laser parameter study on enhancing proton generation from microtube foil targets.

The interaction of an intense laser with a solid foil target can drive [Formula: see text] TV/m electric fields, accelerating ions to MeV energies. In this study, we experimentally observe that structured targets can dramatically enhance proton acceleration in the target normal sheath acceleration regime. At the Texas Petawatt Laser facility, we compared proton acceleration from a [Formula: see text] flat Ag foil, to a fixed microtube structure 3D printed on the front side of the same foil type.

Hyponatremia During Induction Therapy in Distinct Pediatric Oncological Cohorts: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Hyponatremia is a well-known adverse event of repeated therapy with vincristine in oncological patients. However, to date, data in pediatric patients with malignant diseases other than acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are sparse or lacking.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study of 98 pediatric patients was conducted to analyze the incidence of hyponatremia in a Caucasian cohort of newly diagnosed ALL.

Implementation of daily patient-reported outcome measurements to support children with cancer.

Background: Several stakeholders, including patients and health care providers, suggest symptom self-reporting measurements for a more patient-directed cancer control approach. However, services tailored to measure daily reporting and implementing it in clinical care are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and value of daily patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) by children receiving chemotherapy for cancer.

Bridging the gap in outpatient care: Can a daily patient-reported outcome measure help?

Background: Childhood patients have high risks for developing debilitating somatic and mental health side-effects as a consequence of the many different approaches employed in treating their cancer. Early recognition and close monitoring of clinical and psychological problems are essential in planning appropriate interventions and preventing further deterioration.

Case: ePROtect was established as an easy-to-use application for daily self-reporting of symptoms during cancer therapy.

Enhancements in laser-generated hot-electron production via focusing cone targets at short pulse and high contrast.

We report on the increase in the accelerated electron number and energy using compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) targets from a short-pulse (∼150 fs), high-intensity (>10^{18} W/cm^{2}), and high-contrast (∼10^{8}) laser-solid interaction. We report on experimental measurements using CPC targets where the hot-electron temperature is enhanced up to ∼9 times when compared to planar targets. The temperature measured from the CPC target is 〈T_{e}〉=4.

Ion acceleration from microstructured targets irradiated by high-intensity picosecond laser pulses.

Structures on the front surface of thin foil targets for laser-driven ion acceleration have been proposed to increase the ion source maximum energy and conversion efficiency. While structures have been shown to significantly boost the proton acceleration from pulses of moderate-energy fluence, their performance on tightly focused and high-energy lasers remains unclear. Here, we report the results of laser-driven three-dimensional (3D)-printed microtube targets, focusing on their efficacy for ion acceleration.

Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Protocol for Pediatric Urological Augmentation and Diversion Surgery Using Small Bowel.

Purpose: Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols aim to improve recovery following urological augmentation and diversion surgery. Based on the positive experiences in adult patients, we evaluated safety and outcomes after implementation of an enhanced recovery after surgery protocol in children undergoing urological augmentation and diversion using small bowel.

Materials And Methods: Complications, time to stool, time to flatus and total hospital stay of 15 consecutive patients (group 2) were recorded and compared to the data of 15 consecutive patients before the changes in protocol were effective (group 1).

Evaluation of BRCA1/2 mutational status among German and Austrian women with triple-negative breast cancer.

Purpose: Testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in breast cancer patients is used to identify the risk of second primary cancers and the risk of cancer in the patients' family. Women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are thought to be more likely to be BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, but most national guidelines for genetic testing, including those used in Germany and Austria, do not consider receptor triple negativity.

Methods: We determined the prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations within a cohort of 100 unselected TNBC cases, including patients from Germany and Austria to identify those BRCA-positive patients with a masked family history and who would have been missed due to respective current national guidelines.

Treatment with Ca2+ ionophore improves embryo development and outcome in cases with previous developmental problems: a prospective multicenter study.

Study Question: Does calcium ionophore treatment (A23187, calcimycin) improve embryo development and outcome in patients with a history of developmental problems/arrest?

Summary Answer: Application of A23187 leads to increased rates of cleavage to 2-cell stage, blastocyst formation and clinical pregnancy/live birth.

What Is Known Already: Studies on lower animals indicate that changes in intracellular free calcium trigger and regulate the events of cell division. In humans, calcium fluctuations were detected with a peak shortly before cell division.

Identification of genes induced in Vibrio cholerae in a dynamic biofilm system.

The facultative human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the severe secretory diarrheal disease cholera, persists in its aquatic reservoirs in biofilms during interepidemic periods. Biofilm is a likely form in which clinically relevant V. cholerae is taken up by humans, providing an infective dose.

Type 1 fimbriae contribute to catheter-associated urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli.

Biofilm formation on catheters is thought to contribute to persistence of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), which represent the most frequent nosocomial infections. Knowledge of genetic factors for catheter colonization is limited, since their role has not been assessed using physicochemical conditions prevailing in a catheterized human bladder. The current study aimed to combine data from a dynamic catheterized bladder model in vitro with in vivo expression analysis for understanding molecular factors relevant for CAUTI caused by Escherichia coli.

Adjuvant sequencing of tamoxifen and anastrozole is superior to tamoxifen alone in postmenopausal women with low proliferating breast cancer.

Purpose: To assess the predictive value of Ki67 expression in postmenopausal hormone receptor-positive early-breast cancer patients, who were either treated with adjuvant tamoxifen (TAM) alone or with TAM followed by anastrozole (ANA).

Experimental Design: Expression of Ki67 was determined centrally by immunohistochemistry on whole tissue sections of postmenopausal endocrine-responsive breast cancers from patients who had been enrolled in the prospectively randomized Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group Trial 8, and had received TAM for 5 years, or TAM for 2 years followed by ANA for 3 years. Ki67 expression was evaluated both as a continuous variable and dichotomized to low (≤10%) and high (>10%).

Sentinel node biopsy after primary chemotherapy in breast cancer: a note of caution from results of ABCSG-14.

Over the past years, experience has been increasing with lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy (SNB) after preoperative chemotherapy for breast cancer, with a wide range of results reported in the literature and final conclusions on the diagnostic value and clinical consequences of this sequential approach still missing. Between 1999 and 2002, the Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group (ABCSG) conducted a prospective randomized multicenter trial comparing three versus six preoperative cycles of epirubicin/docetaxel + granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for operable breast cancer. Of the 292 patients recruited to the trial overall, 111 were enrolled in a prospective subprotocol for performing LM and SNB in addition to obligatory axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) after PC.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy after preoperative chemotherapy for breast cancer: findings from the Austrian Sentinel Node Study Group.

Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become an accurate alternative to axillary lymph node dissection for early breast cancer. However, data are still insufficient as regards the combination of SLNB with preoperative chemotherapy (PC).

Methods: The Austrian Sentinel Node Study Group investigated 167 patients who underwent SLNB and axillary lymph node dissection after 3 to 6 courses of PC.

Adjuvant extension of chemotherapy after neoadjuvant therapy may not improve outcome in early-stage breast cancer.

Introduction: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is equivalent to adjuvant therapy (AdC) in terms of survival and disease-free interval. Many institutions add AdC after NAC and surgery. However, such extended chemotherapy (ExC) is not evidence based.