Validity of one-time phantomless patient-specific quality assurance in proton therapy with regard to the reproducibility of beam delivery.

Background: Patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) is a crucial yet resource-intensive task in proton therapy, requiring special equipment, expertise and additional beam time. Machine delivery log files contain information about energy, position and monitor units (MU) of all delivered spots, allowing a reconstruction of the applied dose. This raises the prospect of phantomless, log file-based QA (LFQA) as an automated replacement of current phantom-based solutions, provided that such an approach guarantees a comparable level of safety.

Prenatal diagnosis following preimplantation genetic testing (PGT): recommendations of the Italian Society of Human Genetics (SIGU).

This document aims to provide good practice recommendations in order to support maternal-foetal medicine specialists, clinical geneticists and clinical laboratory geneticists in the management of pregnancies obtained after the transfer of an embryo tested with preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). It was drafted by geneticists expert in preimplantation genetics and prenatal genetic diagnosis belonging to the "Working Group in Cytogenomics, Prenatal and Reproductive Genetics" of the "Italian Society of Human Genetics" (SIGU). In particular, the paper addresses the diagnostic algorithm to be applied in prenatal follow-up depending on the type of PGT performed, the results obtained and the related diagnostic value based on the most recent literature data and Italian and international recommendations.

Urine Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin in Non-Associative Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia: A Prospective Controlled Study in 22 Dogs.

Background: Urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) is a biomarker for the early diagnosis of AKI.

Objectives: To evaluate uNGAL in dogs with non-associative immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) and to evaluate whether uNGAL correlates with disease severity markers, negative prognostic indicators and outcome.

Animals: Twenty-two dogs with non-associative IMHA and 14 healthy dogs.

Automated Integration of AI Results into Radiology Reports Using Common Data Elements.

Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into radiology practice can create opportunities to improve diagnostic accuracy, workflow efficiency, and patient outcomes. Integration demands the ability to seamlessly incorporate AI-derived measurements into radiology reports. Common data elements (CDEs) define standardized, interoperable units of information.

Social Network Types in Autistic Adults and Its Associations with Mastery, Quality of Life, and Autism Characteristics.

Research shows heterogeneity in experiences of social contact and social networks in autistic adults. In this study, we aim to identify clusters of social support networks and investigate associations of clusters with mastery, quality of life, and autism characteristics. Autistic adults (N = 381; 45.

State-dependent neurovascular modulation induced by transcranial ultrasound stimulation.

Previous studies reported baseline state-dependent effects on neural and hemodynamic responses to transcranial ultrasound stimulation. However, due to neurovascular coupling, neither neural nor hemodynamic baseline alone can fully explain the ultrasound-induced responses. In this study, using a general linear model, we aimed to investigate the roles of both neural and hemodynamic baseline status as well as their interactions in ultrasound-induced responses.

Age-threshold for increased risk of developing back disorders: prospective cohort with 74 000 individuals from the UK Biobank.

Objective: To investigate the prospective associations between age and the risk of low back disorders (LBD), dorsal disorders (DD), and cervical disorders (CD), and to identify a potential age-threshold for increased risk of back disorders.

Methods: Prospective cohort from the UK Biobank comprising adults with no history of back disorders. We examined different ages and their association with the risk of back disorders derived from diagnoses of hospital registers.

c-di-GMP inhibits rRNA methylation and impairs ribosome assembly in the presence of kanamycin.

Cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a ubiquitous bacterial secondary messenger with diverse functions. A previous Escherichia coli proteome microarray identified that c-di-GMP binds to the 23S rRNA methyltransferases RlmI and RlmE. Here we show that c-di-GMP inhibits RlmI activity in rRNA methylation assays, and that it modulates ribosome assembly in the presence of kanamycin.

TNIP1 Impacts Prognosis by Modulating the Immune Microenvironment in BRCA.

Breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) affects women worldwide, and despite advancements in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, outcomes remain suboptimal. TNIP1, a novel target involved in multiple immune signaling pathways, influences tumor development and survival. However, the connection between BRCA and TNIP1 remains unclear.

Quality of orthodontic care in an academic setting in the Middle East.

Assessment of the quality of orthodontic care in a UAE-based orthodontic postgraduate training institution was conducted using multiple indices, including the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR), American Board of Orthodontics Objective Grading System (ABO-OGS), and Index of Complexity Outcome and Need (ICON). Retrospective evaluation of pre- and post-treatment records of patients (n = 201) treated with fixed orthodontic appliances was performed by two examiners Statistical analysis assessed the influence of gender, type of malocclusion, need for extraction, missed appointments and number of treating residents on treatment duration. The average numerical reduction of the PAR and ICON scores at the start and end of the treatment were 17.

Extensive benchmarking of a method that estimates external model performance from limited statistical characteristics.

Predictive model performance may deteriorate when applied to data sources that were not used for training, thus, external validation is a key step in successful model deployment. As access to patient-level external data sources is typically limited, we recently proposed a method that estimates external model performance using only external summary statistics. Here, we benchmark the proposed method on multiple tasks using five large heterogeneous US data sources, where each, in turn, plays the role of an internal source and the remaining-external.

Botulinum toxin-A is ineffective in premature ejaculation treatment: insights from a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

The ejaculatory reflex consists of emission and expulsion, with the latter involving rhythmic muscular contractions that propel seminal fluid. Botulinum toxin, through its inhibitory effects, has been hypothesized to improve premature ejaculation (PE). This study evaluates high-quality evidence on botulinum toxin-A injections into the bulbospongiosal muscle as a treatment for PE.

Preclinical use of a clinically-relevant scAAV9/SUMF1 vector for the treatment of multiple sulfatase deficiency.

Background: Multiple Sulfatase Deficiency (MSD) is a rare inherited lysosomal storage disorder characterized by loss of function mutations in the SUMF1 gene that manifests as a severe pediatric neurological disease. There are no available targeted therapies for MSD.

Methods: We engineered a viral vector (AAV9/SUMF1) to deliver working copies of the SUMF1 gene and tested the vector in Sumf1 knock out mice that generally display a median lifespan of 10 days.

Phenome-wide associations of sleep characteristics in the Human Phenotype Project.

Sleep tests commonly diagnose sleep disorders, but the diverse sleep-related biomarkers recorded by such tests can also provide broader health insights. In this study, we leveraged the uniquely comprehensive data from the Human Phenotype Project cohort, which includes 448 sleep characteristics collected from 16,812 nights of home sleep apnea test monitoring in 6,366 adults (3,043 male and 3,323 female participants), to study associations between sleep traits and body characteristics across 16 body systems. In this analysis, which identified thousands of significant associations, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was the body characteristic that was most strongly correlated with the peripheral apnea-hypopnea index, as adjusted by sex, age and body mass index (BMI).

Long-term liver outcomes after metabolic surgery in compensated cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis.

No therapy has been shown to reduce the risk of major adverse liver outcomes (MALO) in patients with cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). The Surgical Procedures Eliminate Compensated Cirrhosis In Advancing Long-term (SPECCIAL) observational study compared the effects of metabolic surgery and nonsurgical treatment in patients with obesity and compensated histologically proven MASH-related cirrhosis. Using a doubly robust estimation methodology to balance key baseline characteristics between groups, the time-to-incident MALO was compared between 62 patients (68% female) who underwent metabolic surgery and 106 nonsurgical controls (71% female), with a mean follow-up of 10.

Distributed communication interference resource scheduling using the master-slave parallel scheduling genetic algorithm.

With the increasing intelligence and diversification of communication interference in recent years, communication interference resource scheduling has received more attention. However, the existing interference scenario models have been developed mostly for remote high-power interference with a fixed number of jamming devices without considering power constraints. In addition, there have been fewer scenario models for short-range distributed communication interference with a variable number of jamming devices and power constraints.

Fabrication of a poly(m‑aminophenol)/3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane/graphene oxide ternary nanocomposite for removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution.

Three composites based on Poly (meta-aminophenol) (PmAP), (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) and graphene oxide (GO) were synthesized with initial GO dispersion of 3.3, 6.6, and 9.

Assessment model of ozone pollution based on SHAP-IPSO-CNN and its application.

The problem of ground-level ozone (O) pollution has become a global environmental challenge with far-reaching impacts on public health and ecosystems. Effective control of ozone pollution still faces complex challenges from factors such as complex precursor interactions, variable meteorological conditions and atmospheric chemical processes. To address this problem, a convolutional neural network (CNN) model combining the improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm and SHAP analysis, called SHAP-IPSO-CNN, is developed in this study, aiming to reveal the key factors affecting ground-level ozone pollution and their interaction mechanisms.

Tunable optical nonreciprocity in double-cavity optomechanical system with nonreciprocal coupling.

We propose a double-cavity optomechanical system with nonreciprocal coupling to realize tunable optical nonreciprocity that has the prospect of making an optical device for the manipulation of information processing and communication. Here we investigate the steady-state dynamic processes of the double-cavity system and the transmission of optical waves from opposite cavity directions. The transmission spectrum of the probe field is presented in detail and the physical mechanism of the induced transparency window is analyzed.

Alleviating symptoms of paediatric acute rhinosinusitis and acute otitis media with otorrhea using nasal-spraying Bacillus probiotics: a randomized controlled trial.

Acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) in children may be accompanied by acute otitis media (AOM) which is often associated with bacterial co-infections. These conditions are among the primary reasons that children visit hospitals and require antibiotic treatment. This study evaluated the efficacy of the nasal-spraying probiotics (LiveSpo Navax containing 5 billion Bacillus subtilis and B.

Body composition and physical performance of mountain bike athletes.

Body composition is a determining factor in the physical performance of cyclists, directly influencing efficiency and power during competitions. Understanding these aspects can help optimize training and maximize results. This study aimed to analyze the influence of body composition on physical performance in mountain bike athletes.

The impact of bleaching using 15% carbamide peroxide on surface properties of CAD-CAM composite structures.

This study aims to evaluate the effects of the home bleaching method on the surface microhardness and surface roughness of both polished and unpolished CAD-CAM resin composite materials. A polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN) block, Enamic (VE), along with four resin composite blocks (RCB) (Grandio [GN], Lava™ Ultimate [LV], BRILLIANT Crios [B], and Cerasmart [CS]), were prepared to dimensions of 14 mm × 12 mm × 2 mm and were categorized into unpolished and polished groups (n = 4). Microhardness measurements were conducted using a Vickers microhardness tester (300 gf load for 20 s) at various time points: before home bleaching, after home bleaching with 15% Opalescence for 8 h and for 56 h, 24 h after bleaching, and one month after bleaching.