CoReSi: a GPU-based software for Compton camera reconstruction and simulation in collimator-free SPECT.

Compton cameras (CCs) are imaging devices that may improve observation of sources ofphotons. The images are obtained by solving a difficult inverse problem. We present CoReSi, a Compton reconstruction and simulation software implemented in Python and powered by PyTorch to leverage multi-threading and to easily interface with image processing and deep learning algorithms.

A distributed subcortical circuit linked to instrumental information-seeking about threat.

Daily life for humans and other animals requires switching between periods of threat- and reward-oriented behavior. We investigated neural activity associated with spontaneous switching, in a naturalistic task, between foraging for rewards and seeking information about potential threats with 7T fMRI in healthy humans. Switching was driven by estimates of likelihood of threat and reward.

Association Between Surgeon Stress and Major Surgical Complications.

Importance: Surgeon stress can influence technical and nontechnical skills, but the consequences for patient outcomes remain unknown.

Objective: To investigate whether surgeon physiological stress, as assessed by sympathovagal balance, is associated with postoperative complications.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This multicenter prospective cohort study included 14 surgical departments involving 7 specialties within 4 university hospitals in Lyon, France.

Physical Prehabilitation for Older Patients with Cancer before Complex Medical-Surgical Interventions: An Umbrella Review.

Prehabilitation has become a field of increasing interest over recent decades. However, few studies specifically investigated prehabilitation for older patients with cancer. The objective of this umbrella review was to summarize evidence on prehabilitation programs to identify the physical interventions that may be applied with benefit to older cancer patients who will undergo complex medical-surgical procedures.

Polarization resolved second harmonic scattering of neat water in the right angle and forward scattering geometries.

Liquid water still remains an ubiquitous liquid whose molecular organization requires careful investigation. In this work, we present a study of the second harmonic scattering (SHS) intensity for two different scattering angles, namely, the forward and the right angle geometries. This method performed at optical wavelengths is indeed selective toward long correlation lengths.

Temperature-dependent benefits and costs of cytoplasmic male sterility in snail .

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) originates from a mito-nuclear conflict where mitochondrial genes induce male sterility and nuclear genes restore male fertility in hermaphrodites. The first observation of CMS in animals was reported recently in the freshwater snail where it is associated with two extremes divergent mitotypes D and K. The D individuals are male-steriles while male fertility is restored by nuclear genes in K and are found mixed with the most common male-fertile N mitotype in natural populations (i.

On peptide bond formation from protonated glycine dimers in the gas phase: computational insight into the role of protonation.

Peptide bond formation from the pure protonated glycine dimer, H(Gly), and from the mixed protonated glycine-diglycine dimer, HGly(Gly), was recently found experimentally to occur in gas-phase experiments in the absence of any catalyst and especially under anhydrous conditions [, 2023, , 775]. In this contribution we further examine the conditions of such unimolecular reactions by means of density-functional theory calculations at the DFT/M06 2X/6-311G++(2df,p) level, focusing in particular on the role played by the protonation site. Two pathways, stepwise and concerted, are identified for the pure protonated dimer, and six pathways are examined for the mixed dimer.

Evaluation of the Interaction Between Menthol and Camphor, Major Compounds of Clinopodium nepeta Essential Oil: Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory and Anticancer Activities Against Breast Cancer Cell Lines.

This study evaluates the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities of camphor, menthol, and their equimolar combination. In silico toxicity analysis confirmed the absence of toxic effects for both compounds. Antioxidant activity, assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays, revealed a synergistic effect of the equimolar combination with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC) values of 10.

Accurate evaluation of factor VIII activity of efanesoctocog alfa in the presence of emicizumab.

Background: Efanesoctocog is a B-domain-deleted, Fc-fusion factor (F)VIII linked to the D'D3 domain of von Willebrand factor and 2 XTEN polypeptides, designed for an ultra-extended half-life for prophylaxis in hemophilia A, but also aiding in managing acute bleeding or surgery in patients on long-term emicizumab. However, no current laboratory method accurately measures FVIII levels in the presence of emicizumab.

Objectives: To test whether the bovine chromogenic FVIII assay, specifically calibrated for efanesoctocog, could provide an accurate assessment of efanesoctocog activity.

Interstitial Lung Disease Associated with Anti-Ku Antibodies: A Case Series of 19 Patients.

Antibodies against Ku have been described in patients with various connective tissue diseases. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical, functional, and imaging characteristics of interstitial lung disease in patients with anti-Ku antibodies. : This single-center, retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary referral institution.

Novel Variants Related to a Variable Phenotypic Spectrum Ranging from Epilepsy with Auditory Features to Severe Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies.

Pathogenic variants are associated with neonatal epilepsies, ranging from self-limited neonatal epilepsy to -developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). In this study, next-generation sequencing was performed, applying a panel of 142 epilepsy genes on three unrelated individuals and affected family members, showing a wide variability in the epileptic spectrum. The genetic analysis revealed two likely pathogenic missense variants (c.

Molecular Evolution of the Gene in the Subfamily Murinae.

OGP, encoded by the gene, is the major non-serum oviductal protein in most mammals. In the genome of , has been identified as a pseudogene. However, presents a functional gene.

Real-world effectiveness and safety of bulevirtide monotherapy for up to 96 weeks in patients with HDV-related cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Bulevirtide (BLV) 2 mg/day is EMA approved for the treatment of compensated chronic HDV infection; however, real-world data in large cohorts of patients with cirrhosis are lacking.

Methods: Consecutive HDV-infected patients with cirrhosis starting BLV 2 mg/day from September 2019 were included in a European retrospective multicenter real-world study (SAVE-D). Patient characteristics before and during BLV treatment were collected.

H-F cross-polarization magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization NMR investigation of advanced pharmaceutical formulations.

A new 3.2 mm H-F-X magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization NMR (MAS DNP-NMR) probe was developed with a unique coil design with separate radiofrequency channels for H excitation and C or F detection to enable acquisition of H-F cross-polarization (CP) MAS experiments, direct-detected F spectra with proton decoupling, and acquisition on C with simultaneous double decoupling on the H and 19F channels as well as H-F-C double-CP experiments under low temperature MAS DNP conditions. We use these sequences to study AZD2811, which is an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), in its pure dry state as well as in its corresponding drug delivery formulation consisting of drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs).

Establishing a living biobank of pediatric high-grade glioma and ependymoma suitable for cancer pharmacology.

Background: Brain tumors are the deadliest solid tumors in children and adolescents. Most of these tumors are glial in origin and exhibit strong heterogeneity, hampering the development of effective therapeutic strategies. In the past decades, patient-derived tumor organoids (PDT-O) have emerged as powerful tools for modeling tumoral cell diversity and dynamics, and they could then help defining new therapeutic options for pediatric brain tumors.

Temporary Transvenous Pacing Performed in the Intensive Care Unit or in the Catheterization Laboratory.

Background: Temporary transvenous pacing (TTP) is a common procedure, predominantly performed in the catheterization laboratory (cath lab) because of presumed lower complication rate. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TTP placement in the ICU compared to TTP placement in the cath lab.

Methods: This retrospective, real-life study included all patients requiring TTP in a tertiary care ICU between 2019 and 2022.

Development of a 50% (w/v) aluminium chloride hexahydrate solution as haemostatic agent.

Objectives: Acceleration of the haemostasis process after dermatological surgery predominantly relies on mechanical methods, such as the use of sutures or staples. To our knowledge, there is currently no commercialised haemostatic agent for this specific application. Due to the protein precipitation properties of the 50% (w/v) aluminium chloride hexahydrate solution, its physicochemical stability and maintenance of sterility over a 6 month period were assessed.

Quantitative study of microplastic degradation in urban hydrosystems: Comparing in situ environmentally aged microplastics vs. artificially aged materials generated via accelerated photo-oxidation.

The degradation of plastic waste is a major research challenge due to the adverse impacts of microplastic weathering on the environment and ecosystems. As a major source of plastic contamination comes from urban hydrosystems, studying MP degradation prior to their environmental dissemination is crucial. Through a combination of field sampling and laboratory experiments, this study provides a thorough statistical degradation comparison analysis between polyethylene in situ environmentally aged microplastics and artificially aged films.

An Alternative Hypothesis on Enhanced Deep Supercooling of Water: Nucleator Inhibition via Bicarbonate Adsorption.

Supercooling allows for retarding water crystallization toward negative Celsius temperatures. Previous findings of CO molecules shifting into bicarbonate species upon freezing, the latter which naturally adsorb on hydrophobic interfaces, are put in perspective here to interpret earlier published data. Since it has been shown that ice nucleation is unlikely on negatively charged surfaces, I propose that bicarbonates adsorb on most solid particles present in water that act as nucleators, thus retarding freezing and enhancing supercooling.

Transcriptomic Data Reveal Divergent Paths of Chitinase Evolution Underlying Dietary Convergence in Anteaters and Pangolins.

Ant-eating mammals represent a textbook example of convergent evolution. Among them, anteaters and pangolins exhibit the most extreme convergent phenotypes with complete tooth loss, elongated skulls, protruding tongues, and hypertrophied salivary glands producing large amounts of saliva. However, comparative genomic analyses have shown that anteaters and pangolins differ in their chitinase acidic gene (CHIA) repertoires, which potentially degrade the chitinous exoskeletons of ingested ants and termites.

Dual functionalization of carboxymethyl cellulose and alginate via Passerini three-component reaction to graft two hydrophobic moieties: Toward modular thin films.

Passerini reaction was advantageously exploited to hydrophobize carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and alginates (ALG) by employing various hydrophobic aldehydes and isocyanides. The Passerini reaction, carried out in ecofriendly conditions, allowed to design never described twofold hydrophobized polysaccharide derivatives via the covalent grafting of two hydrophobic moieties. The modified CMC and ALG products were in-depth characterized to guaranty the success of the modification and to calculate the degrees of substitution (DS).

Interplay between the Xer recombination system and the dissemination of antibioresistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.

Antibiotic-resistant infections are a pressing clinical challenge. Plasmids are known to accelerate the emergence of resistance by facilitating horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria. We explore this question in Acinetobacter baumannii, a globally emerging nosocomial pathogen responsible for a wide range of infections with a worrying accumulation of resistance, particularly involving plasmids.