Multi-institutional Knowledge-Based (KB) plan prediction benchmark models for whole breast irradiation.

Purpose: To train and validate KB prediction models by merging a large multi-institutional cohort of whole breast irradiation (WBI) plans using tangential fields.

Methods: Ten institutions (INST1-INST10, 1481 patients) developed their KB-institutional models for left/right WBI (ten models for right and eight models for left). The transferability of models among centers was assessed based on the overlap of the geometric Principal Component (PC1) of each model when applied to other institutions and/or on the presence of significantly different optimization policies.

Impact of intravenous CT contrast agents on internal calibration techniques to determine trabecular BMD of the lumbar spine.

Objectives: Contrast agents are frequently administered in computed tomography (CT) scans used for opportunistic screening of osteoporosis. The objective of this study is to compare the impact of contrast-related bone mineral density (BMD) increase between phantom-based and internal CT calibration techniques.

Materials And Methods: Phantom-based and internal CT calibration techniques were used to determine trabecular BMD in 93 existing clinical CT scans of the lumbar spine of 34 subjects, scanned before and after administration of contrast agents.

Effectiveness of Nirsevimab Immunoprophylaxis Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus-related Outcomes in Hospital Care Settings: A Seasonal Cohort Study of Infants in Catalonia (Spain).

Background: In Catalonia, infants <6 months old were eligible to receive nirsevimab, a novel monoclonal antibody against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). We aimed to analyze nirsevimab's effectiveness in hospital-related outcomes of the seasonal cohort (born during the RSV epidemic from October to January 2024) and compared them with the catch-up cohort (born from April to September 2023).

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of all infants born between October 1, 2023, and January 21, 2024, according to their immunization with nirsevimab (immunized and nonimmunized).

Evaluating the In Vitro Anthelmintic Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) Against the Adult Stages of Fasciola hepatica.

Background: Fascioliasis represents one of the most significant parasitic and foodborne zoonotic diseases in the world. Resistance to currently deployed human and veterinary flukicides is a growing health problem. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have developed enormous importance in nanomedicine.

Low-Impedance Hybrid Carbon Structures on SiO: A Sequential Gas-Phase Coating Approach.

Carbon coating on SiO surface is crucial for enhancing initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and cycling performance in batteries, while also buffering volume expansion. Despite its market prevalence, the effects of the carbon layer's quality and structure on the electrochemical properties of SiO remain underexplored. This study compares carbon layers produced via gas-phase and solid-phase coating methods, introducing an innovative technique that sequentially uses two gases to develop a low-impedance hybrid carbon structure.

Developing Research-Oriented Health Professionals: Understanding Students' Perceptions and Needs for Extracurricular Research Opportunities.

Background: Undergraduate training in research principles is often mandated by healthcare profession regulators in Ireland to prepare graduates for higher specialist training. Students can be offered the opportunity to participate in extracurricular research activities, in addition to those embedded in the curricula. This cross-sectional study aims to explore student attitudes towards research and to understand their motivations for engaging in research-related activities and any barriers that might prevent them from doing so.

Robust estimation of skin physiological parameters from hyperspectral images using Bayesian neural networks.

Significance: Machine learning models for the direct extraction of tissue parameters from hyperspectral images have been extensively researched recently, as they represent a faster alternative to the well-known iterative methods such as inverse Monte Carlo and inverse adding-doubling (IAD).

Aim: We aim to develop a Bayesian neural network model for robust prediction of physiological parameters from hyperspectral images.

Approach: We propose a two-component system for extracting physiological parameters from hyperspectral images.

Brain-inspired wiring economics for artificial neural networks.

Wiring patterns of brain networks embody a trade-off between information transmission, geometric constraints, and metabolic cost, all of which must be balanced to meet functional needs. Geometry and wiring economy are crucial in the development of brains, but their impact on artificial neural networks (ANNs) remains little understood. Here, we adopt a wiring cost-controlled training framework that simultaneously optimizes wiring efficiency and task performance during structural evolution of sparse ANNs whose nodes are located at arbitrary but fixed positions.

Unveiling the physicochemical, photocatalytic, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of MWCNT-modified AgO/CuO/ZnO nanocomposites.

Water pollution, oxidative stress and the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains are significant global threats that require urgent attention to protect human health. Nanocomposites that combine multiple metal oxides with carbon-based materials have garnered significant attention due to their synergistic physicochemical properties and versatile applications in both environmental and biomedical fields. In this context, the present study was aimed at synthesizing a ternary metal-oxide nanocomposite consisting of silver oxide, copper oxide, and zinc oxide (ACZ-NC), along with a multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified ternary metal-oxide nanocomposite (MWCNTs@ACZ-NC).

Microfluidic Approach for Enhanced Paeoniflorin Transdermal Delivery: A Comparative Study on Different Chips and Mixing Dynamics.

Paeoniflorin is a natural pharmaceutical ingredient with a widely biological activity. However, as a hydrophilic drug, the problem of low transdermal rate limits its clinical application. To overcome this shortage, LUVs were used as biocompatible carriers of paeoniflorin in this study.

Surface Modification of 3D Biomimetic Shark Denticle Structures for Drag Reduction.

Shark skin features superhydrophilic and riblet-textured denticles that provide drag reduction, antifouling, and mechanical protection. The artificial riblet structures exhibit drag reduction capabilities in turbulent flow. However, the effects of the surface wettability of shark denticles and the cavity region underneath the denticle crown on drag reduction remain insufficiently explored.

Thermal comfort perception among park users in Prague, Central Europe on hot summer days-A comparison of thermal indices.

The assessment of human perception of the thermal environment is becoming highly relevant in the context of global climate change and its impact on public health. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the suitability of the use of four frequently used thermal comfort indices (thermal indices)-Wet Bulb Global Temperature (WGBT), Heat Index (HI), Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)-to assess human thermal comfort perception in three large urban parks in Central Europe, using Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, as a case study. We investigated the relationship between the four indices and the thermal perception of park visitors, while taking into account the effect of the sex, age, and activity of the respondents and the week-time and daytime of their visit (assessed parameters).

Dipolar wavevector interference induces a polar skyrmion lattice in strained BiFeO films.

Skyrmions can form regular arrangements, so-called skyrmion crystals (SkXs). A mode with multiple wavevectors q then describes the arrangement. While magnetic SkXs, which can emerge in the presence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, are well established, polar skyrmion lattices are still elusive.

The bright and dark side of blue-enriched light on sleep and activity in older adults.

Low indoor light in urban housing can disrupt health and wellbeing, especially in older adults who experience reduced light sensitivity and sleep/circadian disruptions with natural aging. While controlled studies suggest that enhancing indoor lighting may alleviate the negative effects of reduced light sensitivity, evidence for this to be effective in the real world is lacking. This study investigates the effects of two light conditions on actigraphic rest-activity rhythms and subjective sleep in healthy older adults (≥ 60 years) living at home.

The mechanism of amyloid fibril growth from Φ-value analysis.

Amyloid fibrils are highly stable misfolded protein assemblies that play an important role in several neurodegenerative and systemic diseases. Although structural information of the amyloid state is now abundant, mechanistic details about the misfolding process remain elusive. Inspired by the Φ-value analysis of protein folding, we combined experiments and molecular simulations to resolve amino-acid contacts and determine the structure of the transition-state ensemble-the rate-limiting step-for fibril elongation of PI3K-SH3 amyloid fibrils.

Harnessing deep learning to detect bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome from chest CT.

Background: Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), a fibrotic airway disease that may develop after lung transplantation, conventionally relies on pulmonary function tests (PFTs) for diagnosis due to limitations of CT imaging. Deep neural networks (DNNs) have not previously been used for BOS detection. This study aims to train a DNN to detect BOS in CT scans using an approach tailored for low-data scenarios.

Coupling between topological edge state and defect mode-based biosensor using phononic crystal.

A wealth of details regarding an individual's state of health, like a person's respiratory and metabolic functioning, can be studied by analyzing the volatile molecules and atoms in human exhaled breath. Besides, the salinity of seawater is a crucial factor in understanding its characteristics because any variation in the salinity of seawater represents the variations in the hydrological, biological, and chemical distributions. In this paper, a symmetrical one-dimensional phononic structure is theoretically designed using two symmetrical crystals separated with a defective cavity.

Genome-wide association study of urinary cadmium levels in current smokers from the multiethnic cohort study.

Background: Cadmium (Cd), classified as an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Group 1 human carcinogen, is present in cigarette smoke. Recent studies have illustrated the potential role of genetics in influencing Cd biomarker levels.

Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of urinary Cd levels in 1977 current smokers from the Multiethnic Cohort Study, comprising participants from five different racial and ethnic groups.

High-resolution X-ray phase-contrast tomography of human placenta with different wavefront markers.

Phase-contrast micro-tomography ([Formula: see text]CT) with synchrotron radiation can aid in the differentiation of subtle density variations in weakly absorbing soft tissue specimens. Modulation-based imaging (MBI) extracts phase information from the distortion of reference patterns, generated by periodic or randomly structured wavefront markers (e.g.

Comparing the winding numbers of two one-dimensional two-band topological systems by their wavefunction overlap.

The measurement of topological numbers is crucial in the research of topological systems. In this article, we propose a protocol for obtaining the topological number (specifically, winding numbers in this case) of an unknown one-dimensional (1D) two-band topological system by comparing it with a known topological system. We consider two 1D two-band topological systems and their Bloch wavefunction overlap and verify a theorem.

High-performance solid-state proton gating membranes based on two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded organic framework composites.

Biological ion channels exhibit strong gating effects due to their zero-current closed states. However, the gating capabilities of artificial nanochannels have typically fallen short of biological channels, primarily owing to the larger nanopores that fail to completely block ion transport in the off-states. Here, we demonstrate solid-state hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks-based membranes to achieve high-performance ambient humidity-controlled proton gating, accomplished by switching the proton transport pathway instead of relying on conventional ion blockage/activation effects.

Electrical impedance tomography meets reduced order modelling: a framework for faster and more reliable electrical conductivity estimations.

Inclusion of individualised electrical conductivities of head tissues is crucial for the accuracy of electrical source imaging techniques based on electro/magnetoencephalography and the efficacy of transcranial electrical stimulation. Parametric electrical impedance tomography (pEIT) is a method to cheaply and non-invasively estimate them using electrode arrays on the scalp to apply currents and measure the resulting potential distribution. Conductivities are then estimated by iteratively fitting a forward model to the measurements, incurring a prohibitive computational cost that is generally lowered at the expense of accuracy.

A Method for Validating PET and SPECT Cameras for Quantitative Clinical Imaging Trials Using Novel Radionuclides.

Our aim is to report methodology that has been developed to calibrate and verify PET and SPECT quantitative image accuracy and quality assurance for use with nonstandard radionuclides, especially with longer half-lives, in clinical imaging trials. Procedures have been developed for quantitative PET and SPECT image calibration for use in clinical trials. The protocol uses a 3-step approach: check quantitative accuracy with a previously calibrated radionuclide in a simple geometry, check the novel trial radionuclide in the same geometry, and check the novel radionuclide in a more challenging, complex geometry (the National Electrical Manufacturers Association [NEMA] NU-2 International Electrotechnical Commission [IEC] image-quality phantom).

MicroRNA-130b Is a Unique Autophagy-Related Epigenetic Predictor of FLOT-Chemotherapy in Gastric Cancers.

Introduction: Liquid biopsies have great potential for precision medicine as they provide information about primary and metastatic tumors using minimally invasive techniques. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers for detecting gastric cancer (GC). The aim of the study was to identify miR molecules associated with autophagy in gastric cancer (GC) cells, determine their expression levels in GC and FLOT-treated patients, and assess the efficacy of FLOT therapy in GC patients.

Intraocular lens calculation formula selection for short eyes: based on axial length and anterior chamber depth.

Purpose: To evaluate the predictive accuracy of 11 intraocular lens (IOL) calculation formulas in eyes with an axial length (AL) less than 22.00 mm.

Methods: New-generation formulas (Barrett Universal II [BUII], Emmetropia Verifying Optical [EVO] 2.