Developing and designing an internet-based support and education program for patients awaiting kidney transplantation with deceased donors through: a Delphi study.

Aims: The aim of this study was to develop and refine the content and design of an internet-based support and education program for patients awaiting kidney transplantation from deceased donors.

Design: A Delphi process was used.

Methods: A prototype internet-based intervention was drafted, based on previous research.

Waiting for kidney transplantation from deceased donors: Experiences and support needs during the waiting time -A qualitative study.

Objectives: The study aimed to explore and describe patients' experiences of the transplantation process and the support they had received during the waiting time.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients currently waiting for kidney transplantation from deceased donors (n = 7) or recently having received kidney transplantation (n = 7). Interviews were transcribed, anonymized and analysed inductively using thematic analysis.

Magnetic resonance imaging detected radiation-induced changes in patients with proton radiation-treated arteriovenous malformations.

Background: Treatment of intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) includes surgery, radiation therapy, endovascular occlusion, or a combination. Proton radiation therapy enables very focused radiation, minimizing dose to the surrounding brain.

Purpose: To evaluate the presence of radiation-induced changes on post-treatment MRI in patients with AVMs treated with proton radiation and to compare these with development of symptoms and nidus obliteration.

Evaluation of four surface surrogates for modeling lung tumor positions over several fractions in radiotherapy.

Patient breathing during lung cancer radiotherapy reduces the ability to keep a sharp dose gradient between tumor and normal tissues. To mitigate detrimental effects, accurate information about the tumor position is required. In this work, we evaluate the errors in modeled tumor positions over several fractions of a simple tumor motion model driven by a surface surrogate measure and its time derivative.

Evaluation of irregular breathing effects on internal target volume definition for lung cancer radiotherapy.

Purpose: Irregular breathing may compromise the treated volume for free-breathing lung cancer patients during radiotherapy. We try to find a measure based on a breathing amplitude surrogate that can be used to select the patients who need further investigation of tumor motion to ensure that the internal target volume (ITV) provides reliant coverage of the tumor.

Material And Methods: Fourteen patients were scanned with four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) during free-breathing.

Genome-Scale Mapping Reveals Complex Regulatory Activities of RpoN in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

RpoN, an alternative sigma factor commonly known as σ, is implicated in persistent stages of infections in which genes associated with this regulator are upregulated. We here combined phenotypic and genomic assays to provide insight into its role and function in this pathogen. RpoN was found essential for virulence in mice, and functional assays showed that it controls biofilm formation and motility.

Low-Dose Image-Guided Pediatric CNS Radiation Therapy: Final Analysis From a Prospective Low-Dose Cone-Beam CT Protocol From a Multinational Pediatrics Consortium.

Background: Lower-dose cone-beam computed tomography protocols for image-guided radiotherapy may permit target localization while minimizing radiation exposure. We prospectively evaluated a lower-dose cone-beam protocol for central nervous system image-guided radiotherapy across a multinational pediatrics consortium.

Methods: Seven institutions prospectively employed a lower-dose cone-beam computed tomography central nervous system protocol (weighted average dose 0.

Identification of novel GPR81 agonist lead series for target biology evaluation.

GPR81 is a novel drug target that is implicated in the control of glucose and lipid metabolism. The lack of potent GPR81 modulators suitable for in vivo studies has limited the pharmacological characterization of this lactate sensing receptor. We performed a high throughput screen (HTS) and identified a GPR81 agonist chemical series containing a central acyl urea scaffold linker.

Winter City Urbanism: Enabling All Year Connectivity for Soft Mobility.

This study explores connectivity for soft mobility in the winter season. Working with residents from the sub-arctic city of Luleå, Sweden, the research examines how the interaction between the built environment and winter season affects people's use of the outdoor environment. The research questions for this study are (1) How do residents perceive the effects of winter on an areas spatial structure and pattern of streets and pathways? and (2) What enablers and barriers impact resident soft mobility choices and use of the public realm in winter? Methods used were mental mapping and photo elicitation exercises.

Practice Patterns of Stereotactic Radiotherapy in Pediatrics: Results From an International Pediatric Research Consortium.

Purpose/objectives: There is little consensus regarding the application of stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) in pediatrics. We evaluated patterns of pediatric SRT practice through an international research consortium.

Materials And Methods: Eight international institutions with pediatric expertise completed a 124-item survey evaluating patterns of SRT use for patients 21 years old and younger.

Reproducibility of heart and thoracic wall position in repeated deep inspiration breath holds for radiotherapy of left-sided breast cancer patients.

Background: Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) for radiotherapy of left-sided breast cancer patients can effectively move the heart away from the target and reduce the heart dose compared to treatments in free breathing. This study aims to investigate the positional reproducibility of heart edge (HE) and thoracic wall (TW) during repeated DIBHs.

Material And Methods: At three occasions, 11 left-sided breast cancer patients were CT imaged during 6 minutes of repeated DIBHs with 60 cine CT series.

SIOPE - Brain tumor group consensus guideline on craniospinal target volume delineation for high-precision radiotherapy.

Objective: To develop a consensus guideline for craniospinal target volume (TV) delineation in children and young adults participating in SIOPE studies in the era of high-precision radiotherapy.

Methods And Materials: During four consensus meetings (Cambridge, Essen, Liverpool, and Marseille), conventional field-based TV has been translated into image-guided high-precision craniospinal TV by a group of expert paediatric radiation oncologists and enhanced by MRI images of liquor distribution.

Results: The CTV should include the whole brain, cribriform plate, most inferior part of the temporal lobes, and the pituitary fossa.

Protective Effects of the Complement Inhibitor Compstatin CP40 in Hemorrhagic Shock.

Trauma-induced hemorrhagic shock (HS) plays a decisive role in the development of immune, coagulation, and organ dysfunction often resulting in a poor clinical outcome. Imbalanced complement activation is intricately associated with the molecular danger response and organ damage after HS. Thus, inhibition of the central complement component C3 as turnstile of both inflammation and coagulation is hypothesized as a rational strategy to improve the clinical course after HS.

Reirradiation for Recurrent Pediatric Central Nervous System Malignancies: A Multi-institutional Review.

Purpose: Reirradiation has been proposed as an effective modality for recurrent central nervous system (CNS) malignancies in adults. We evaluated the toxicity and outcomes of CNS reirradiation in pediatric patients.

Methods And Materials: The data from pediatric patients <21 years of age at the initial diagnosis who developed a recurrent CNS malignancy that received repeat radiation therapy (RT) across 5 facilities in an international pediatric research consortium were retrospectively reviewed.

Parents' Experiences and Responses to an Intervention for Psychological Preparation of Children and Families During the Child's Radiotherapy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate parents' experiences and responses to a systematic intervention for psychological preparation of children and families during the child's radiotherapy (RT) treatment. In this case-control study at 3 pediatric RT centers, an intervention with a preparatory kit, including age-adjusted information on tablets, gift of a stuffed toy or a pair of headphones, a parent booklet, and toy models of the computed tomography and RT machines was implemented. For evaluation, a mixed methods data collection was conducted.

A dose based approach for evaluation of inter-observer variations in target delineation.

Background And Purpose: Substantial inter-observer variations in target delineation have been presented previously. Target delineation for paediatric cases is difficult due to the small number of children, the variation in paediatric targets, the number of study protocols, and the individual patient's specific needs and demands. Uncertainties in target delineation might lead to under-dosage or over-dosage.

Hypofractionated high-energy proton-beam irradiation is an alternative treatment for WHO grade I meningiomas.

Background: Radiation treatment is commonly employed in the treatment of meningiomas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of hypofractionated high-energy proton therapy as adjuvant or primary treatment for WHO grade I meningiomas.

Method: A total of 170 patients who received irradiation with protons for grade I meningiomas between 1994 and 2007 were included in the study.

Lung toxicity after radiation in childhood: Results of the International Project on Prospective Analysis of Radiotoxicity in Childhood and Adolescence.

Background And Purpose: This study presents the evaluation of acute and late toxicities of the lung in children and adolescents after irradiation in terms of dose-volume effects.

Materials And Methods: Irradiated children and adolescents in Germany have prospectively been documented since 2001 in the "Registry for the Evaluation of Side-Effects after Radiotherapy in Childhood and Adolescence (RiSK)"; in Sweden since 2008 in the RADTOX registry.

Results: Up to April 2012, 1,392 children were recruited from RiSK, and up to June 2013, 485 from the RADTOX-registry.

Profile of European proton and carbon ion therapy centers assessed by the EORTC facility questionnaire.

Background: We performed a survey using the modified EORTC Facility questionnaire (pFQ) to evaluate the human, technical and organizational resources of particle centers in Europe.

Material And Methods: The modified pFQ consisted of 235 questions distributed in 11 sections accessible on line on an EORTC server. Fifteen centers from 8 countries completed the pFQ between May 2015 and December 2015.

Practice patterns of palliative radiation therapy in pediatric oncology patients in an international pediatric research consortium.

Background/objectives: The practice of palliative radiation therapy (RT) is based on extrapolation from adult literature. We evaluated patterns of pediatric palliative RT to describe regimens used to identify opportunity for future pediatric-specific clinical trials.

Design/methods: Six international institutions with pediatric expertise completed a 122-item survey evaluating patterns of palliative RT for patients ≤21 years old from 2010 to 2015.

An unmodified wobble uridine in tRNAs specific for Glutamine, Lysine, and Glutamic acid from Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium results in nonviability-Due to increased missense errors?

In the wobble position of tRNAs specific for Gln, Lys, and Glu a universally conserved 5-methylene-2-thiouridine derivative (xm5s2U34, x denotes any of several chemical substituents and 34 denotes the wobble position) is present, which is 5-(carboxy)methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine ((c)mnm5s2U34) in Bacteria and 5-methylcarboxymethyl-2-thiouridine (mcm5s2U34) in Eukarya. Here we show that mutants of the bacterium Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium LT2 lacking either the s2- or the (c)mnm5-group of (c)mnm5s2U34 grow poorly especially at low temperature and do not grow at all at 15°C in both rich and glucose minimal media. A double mutant of S.

It Is Tough and Tiring but It Works--Children's Experiences of Undergoing Radiotherapy.

Approximately 300 children ages 0 to 18 are diagnosed with cancer in Sweden every year, and 80 to 90 of them undergo radiotherapy treatment. The aim was to describe children's experiences of preparing for and undergoing radiotherapy, and furthermore to describe children's suggestions for improvement. Thirteen children between the ages of 5 and 15 with various cancer diagnoses were interviewed.