Individual Sensitivity for Radiotherapy-related Adverse Tissue Reactions in Patients Treated Twice for Metachronous Cancers.

The role of genetics in susceptibility to radiotherapy-induced toxicities is unclear. A strong impact of genetics should cause correlated toxicities in patients with metachronous double radiotherapy. We ascertained information about demographics, lifestyle, radiotherapy and early toxicities in irradiated tissues for a retrospective cohort of 98 patients from 2 hospitals who underwent two metachronous radiotherapeutic treatments (2007-2022) of different anatomical regions.

Radiation exposure during cardiac interventions in CHD: German Registry 2012-2020.

Background: Since patients with congenital heart defects (CHD) frequently require life-long medical care and repeat invasive treatment, radiation exposure during interventional procedures is a relevant issue concerning potential radiation related risks. Therefore, an analysis on radiation data from the German Registry for Cardiac Operations and Interventions in patients with CHD was performed.

Methods: From January 2012 until December 2020 a total of 28,374 cardiac catheter interventions were recorded.

Evaluation of a novel malaria anti-sporozoite vaccine candidate, R21 in Matrix-M adjuvant, in the UK and Burkina Faso: two phase 1, first-in-human trials.

Background: Malaria remains a substantial public health burden among young children in sub-Saharan Africa and a highly efficacious vaccine eliciting a durable immune response would be a useful tool for controlling malaria. R21 is a malaria vaccine comprising nanoparticles, formed from a circumsporozoite protein and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) fusion protein, without any unfused HBsAg, and is administered with the saponin-based Matrix-M adjuvant. This study aimed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the malaria vaccine candidate, R21, administered with or without adjuvant Matrix-M in adults naïve to malaria infection and in healthy adults from malaria endemic areas.

Outcome of a Mix-and-Match Approach with a Monofocal Aspherical and a Bifocal Extended Depth-of-Focus Intraocular Lens to Achieve Extended Monovision in Cataract Patients.

Background: Extended monovision is a novel mix-and-match approach that has been recently introduced. It involves implanting an aspherical monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) for distance vision in the dominant eye, and a bifocal extended depth-of-focus (EDOF) IOL in the nondominant eye. The target refraction for the nondominant eye is - 1.

Metacognitive Training for Subjects with Bipolar Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Impairments in social cognition in bipolar disorder (BD) have been extensively described in the last decade but few treatment strategies have been studied to address this issue. This study presents findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the efficacy of metacognitive training for bipolar disorder (MCT-BD) compared to Treatment as Usual (TAU) among individuals with BD in remission. The aim was to determine whether MCT-BD could improve social cognition and overall functioning in this population.

Intestinal barrier function, caecal microbiota and growth performance of thermoneutral or heat stressed broiler chickens fed reduced crude protein diets supplemented with guanidinoacetic acid.

The effectiveness of guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) in reduced protein (RP) diets on performance and gut health of broilers under heat stress is largely unknown. A 35-d experiment was conducted using four dietary treatments: a standard protein diet (SP, 22.1 and 20.

Nanoring interactions with bio-relevant molecule: A quantum chemical approach to C and BN systems.

This study investigates the interaction of a synthetic bio-relevant molecule with C and BN nanorings, exploring their potential applications in sensing and drug delivery. Employing Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the ωB97XD level with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set, we computed the adsorption and electronic properties of the resulting nanocomplexes. A total of ten distinct configurations were identified for the interactions, with adsorption energies ranging from -6.

Prediction of Deoxynivalenol contamination in wheat kernels and flour based on visible near-infrared spectroscopy, feature selection and machine learning modelling.

Contamination of wheat by the mycotoxin Deoxynivalenol (DON), produced by Fusarium fungi, poses significant challenges to the quality of crop yield and food safety. Visible and near-infrared (vis-NIR) spectroscopy has emerged as a promising, non-destructive, and efficient tool for detecting mycotoxins in cereal crops and foods. This study aims to utilize vis-NIR spectroscopy, coupled with a feature selection technique and machine learning modelling, to predict and classify DON contamination in wheat kernels and flour.

Assessment of pandemic-related pregnancy stress from seven western countries using Rasch analyses.

Introduction: This study examined psychometric properties of the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) using a Rasch Model (RM) in a large sample of pregnant women from Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America (USA).

Material And Methods: Rasch analyses were used to analyze a sample of 7185 pregnant women who completed the PREPS during the COVID-19 pandemic onset from April to August 2020. Psychological, sociodemographic, and obstetric factors were also collected and analyzed.

Rotating radial injection pattern for highly sensitive electrical impedance tomography of human lung anomalies.

Objective: Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) is a non-invasive technique used for lung imaging. A significant challenge in EIT is reconstructing images of deeper thoracic regions due to the low sensitivity of boundary voltages to internal conductivity variations. The current injection pattern is decisive as it influences the current path, boundary voltages, and their sensitivity to tissue changes.

Microplastics in freshwaters: Comparing effects of particle properties and an invertebrate consumer on microbial communities and ecosystem functions.

The effects of microplastic (MP) accumulation in freshwaters on organisms and ecosystem functions are poorly understood, as are the roles of MP particle properties in regulating these effects. In freshwater microcosms, we quantified variation in microbial communities and ecosystem functions and compared effects of MP concentration (0, 1000, 50000 particles/kg), shape (sphere, fragment, fibre), and polymer (polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polystyrene) with those of a model invertebrate consumer (Chironomus riparius). We detected multiple effects of specific MP properties, especially associated with MP fragments and fibres, and the polymer polypropylene.

Insights into morphology of the 'columnar epithelium' within the female reproductive system of brachyuran crabs.

The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the not well understood egg-transportation mechanisms through the female reproductive systems of crabs. For this, Carcinus maenas was chosen as a model to study the cuticular epithelium underlying the cuticle of the vagina and the ventral seminal receptacle. This cuticular epithelium is investigated by performing histochemical and ultrastructural analyses of the epithelial cells.

Coupling of single nanodiamonds hosting SiV color centers to plasmonic double bowtie microantennas.

Color centers are promising single-photon emitters owing to their operation at room temperature and high photostability. In particular, using nanodiamonds as a host material is of interest for sensing and metrology. Furthermore, being a solid-state system allows for incorporation to photonic systems to tune both the emission intensity and photoluminescence spectrum and therefore adapt the individual color center to desired properties.

Naphtho[1,2-][1,4]diazepinedione-Based P2X4 Receptor Antagonists from Structure-Activity Relationship Studies toward PET Tracer Development.

The P2X4 receptor is implicated in various pathological conditions, including neuropathic pain and cancer. This study reports the development of 1,4-naphthodiazepinedione-based P2X4 receptor antagonists aimed at both therapeutic applications and potential use as PET tracers for imaging P2X4 receptor expression in cancer. Structure-activity relationship studies aided by docking studies and molecular dynamics simulations led to a series of compounds with potent P2X4 receptor antagonism, promising inhibition of interleukin-1β release in THP-1 cells and suitability for radiolabeling with fluorine-18.

Supervised Exercise for Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Cost-Utility Analysis Alongside the PREFERABLE-EFFECT Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the cost utility of a 9-month supervised exercise program for patients with metastatic breast cancer (mBC), compared with control (usual care, supplemented with general activity advice and an activity tracker). Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of exercise for patients with mBC is essential for implementation in clinical practice and is currently lacking.

Methods: A cost-utility analysis was performed alongside the multinational PREFERABLE-EFFECT randomized controlled trial, conducted in 8 centers across Europe and Australia.

Operando X-Ray Tomoscopy of Laser Beam Welding.

The phenomena occurring in a weld seam during advancement of a laser beam over a metallic component are still under dispute. The occurrence and evolution of porosity and the occasional blowout of melt need to be understood. Here, a recently developed X-ray tomoscopy setup is applied, providing one hundred 3D images per second to capture the temporal evolution of the melt pool in an AlSi9Cu3(Fe) die-casting while a laser beam advances.

Floodplain forests drive fruit-eating fish diversity at the Amazon Basin-scale.

Unlike most rivers globally, nearly all lowland Amazonian rivers have unregulated flow, supporting seasonally flooded floodplain forests. Floodplain forests harbor a unique tree species assemblage adapted to flooding and specialized fauna, including fruit-eating fish that migrate seasonally into floodplains, favoring expansive floodplain areas. Frugivorous fish are forest-dependent fauna critical to forest regeneration via seed dispersal and support commercial and artisanal fisheries.

Structural determinants of oxygen resistance and Zn-mediated stability of the [FeFe]-hydrogenase from .

[FeFe]-hydrogenases catalyze the reversible two-electron reduction of two protons to molecular hydrogen. Although these enzymes are among the most efficient H-converting biocatalysts in nature, their catalytic cofactor (termed H-cluster) is irreversibly destroyed upon contact with dioxygen. The [FeFe]-hydrogenase CbA5H from has a unique mechanism to protect the H-cluster from oxygen-induced degradation.

Ultrafast Laser-Induced Spin Dynamics in All-Semiconductor Ferromagnetic CrSBr-Phosphorene Heterostructures.

Ultrashort laser pulses are extensively used for efficient manipulation of interfacial spin injection in two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. However, physical processes accompanying the photoinduced spin transfer dynamics on the all-semiconductor ferromagnetic vdW heterostructure remain largely unexplored. Here, we present a computational investigation of the femtosecond laser pulse induced purely electron-mediated spin transfer dynamics at a time scale of less than 50 fs in a vdW heterostructure.

Data-Driven Improvement of Local Hybrid Functionals: Neural-Network-Based Local Mixing Functions and Power-Series Correlation Functionals.

Local hybrid functionals (LHs) use a real-space position-dependent admixture of exact exchange (EXX), governed by a local mixing function (LMF). The systematic construction of LMFs has been hampered over the years by a lack of exact physical constraints on their valence behavior. Here, we exploit a data-driven approach and train a new type of "n-LMF" as a relatively shallow neural network.

Retrospective exploratory evaluation of individual pigs' behaviour involved in tail biting during rearing and fattening.

Tail biting is one of the biggest welfare problems in pigs. However, depending on the individuals involved (e.g.