Radiotherapy dose escalation using pre-treatment diffusion-weighted imaging in locally advanced rectal cancer: a planning study.

Objectives: Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) may provide biologically relevant target volumes for dose-escalated radiotherapy in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). This planning study assessed the dosimetric feasibility of delivering hypofractionated boost treatment to intra-tumoural regions of restricted diffusion prior to conventional long-course radiotherapy.

Methods: Ten patients previously treated with curative-intent standard long-course radiotherapy (50 Gy/25#) were re-planned.

Flexural and Impact Behaviors of Mortar Composite Including Carbon Fibers.

This study investigated the flexural and impact performances of mortar composite made with carbon fibers (MCCF). Four mortar composites (MCCF1, MCCF2, MCCF3, and MCCF4) were produced, using 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4% carbon fibers by volume, respectively. Another mortar composite without any carbon fibers (MCCF0) was prepared for its use as a control mix.

Performance and Cost-Effectiveness of Short Pitch-Based Carbon Fiber Reinforced Mortar Composite.

This paper discusses the performance of the short pitch-based carbon fiber reinforced mortar (CFRM) composite considering its key properties and cost-effectiveness. Five different types of mortar composite were produced using 0-4% volume contents of short pitch-based carbon fibers. The mortar composites were tested for inverted slump cone flow (flow time and volume flow), unit weight, air content, compressive strength, flexural strength, impact resistance, and water absorption.

Prostate cancer GTV delineation with biparametric MRI and Ga-PSMA-PET: comparison of expert contours and semi-automated methods.

Objective: The optimal method for delineation of dominant intraprostatic lesions (DIL) for targeted radiotherapy dose escalation is unclear. This study evaluated interobserver and intermodality variability of delineations on biparametric MRI (bpMRI), consisting of weighted (W) and diffusion-weighted (DWI) sequences, and Ga-PSMA-PET/CT; and compared manually delineated GTV contours with semi-automated segmentations based on quantitative thresholding of intraprostatic apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and standardised uptake values (SUV).

Methods: 16 patients who had bpMRI and PSMA-PET scanning performed prior to any treatment were eligible for inclusion.

Post-traumatic growth in prisoners and its association with the quality of staff-prisoner relationships.

Background: Being sentenced to imprisonment can be traumatic. This may lead to further negative effects, including reoffending or disorders of mental health. Emerging research, however, has suggested that traumatic events can, at times, also lead to post-traumatic growth, leading us to question whether prisoners could experience this.