The PENELOPE Physics Models and Transport Mechanics. Implementation into Geant4

[EN] A translation of the penelope physics subroutines to C++, designed as an extension of the Geant4 toolkit, is presented. The Fortran code system penelope performs Monte Carlo simulation of coupled electron-photon transport in arbitrary materials for a wide energy range, nominally from 50 eV up to 1 GeV. Penelope implements the most reliable interaction models that are currently available, limited only by the required generality of the code. In addition, the transport of electrons and positrons is simulated by means of an elaborate class II scheme in which hard interactions (involving deflection angles or energy transfers larger than pre-defined cutoffs) are simulated from the associated restricted differential cross sections. After a brief description of the interaction models adopted for photons and electrons/positrons, we describe the details of the class-II algorithm used for tracking electrons and positrons. The C++ classes are adapted to the specific code structure of Geant4. They provide a complete description of the interactions and transport mechanics of electrons/positrons and photons in arbitrary materials, which can be activated from the G4ProcessManager to produce simulation results equivalent to those from the original penelope programs. The combined code, named PenG4, benefits from the multi-threading capabilities and advanced geometry and statistical tools of Geant4.Financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades/Agencia Estatal de Investigacion/European Regional Development Fund, European Union, (projects nos. RTI2018-098117-B-C21 and RTI2018-098117-B-C22) is gratefully aknowledged. The work of VA was supported by the program Ayudas para la contratacion de personal investigador en formacion de caracter predoctoral, programa VALi+d under grant number ACIF/2018/148 from the Conselleria dEducacio of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Fondo Social Europeo (FSE). VG acknowledges partial support from FEDER/MCIyU-AEI under grant FPA2017-84543-P, by the Severo Ochoa Excellence Program under grant SEV-2014-0398 and by Generalitat Valenciana through the project PROMETEO/2019/087.Asai, M.; Cortés-Giraldo, MA.; Giménez-Alventosa, V.; Giménez Gómez, V.; Salvat, F. (2021). The PENELOPE Physics Models and Transport Mechanics. Implementation into Geant4. Frontiers in Physics. 9:1-20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2021.738735S120

The PENELOPE physics models and transport mechanics. Implementation into Geant4

A translation of the penelope physics subroutines to C++, designed as an extension of the Geant4 toolkit, is presented. The Fortran code system penelope performs Monte Carlo simulation of coupled electron-photon transport in arbitrary materials for a wide energy range, nominally from 50 eV up to 1 GeV. Penelope implements the most reliable interaction models that are currently available, limited only by the required generality of the code. In addition, the transport of electrons and positrons is simulated by means of an elaborate class II scheme in which hard interactions (involving deflection angles or energy transfers larger than pre-defined cutoffs) are simulated from the associated restricted differential cross sections. After a brief description of the interaction models adopted for photons and electrons/positrons, we describe the details of the class-II algorithm used for tracking electrons and positrons. The C++ classes are adapted to the specific code structure of Geant4. They provide a complete description of the interactions and transport mechanics of electrons/positrons and photons in arbitrary materials, which can be activated from the G4ProcessManager to produce simulation results equivalent to those from the original penelope programs. The combined code, named PenG4, benefits from the multi-threading capabilities and advanced geometry and statistical tools of Geant4

Physical exercise neuroprotects ovariectomized 3xTg-AD mice through BDNF mechanisms

Postmenopausal women may be more vulnerable to cognitive loss and Alzheimer's disease (AD) than premenopausal women because of their deficiency in estrogens, in addition to their usually older age. Aerobic physical exercise has been proposed as a therapeutic approach for maintaining health and well-being in postmenopausal women, and for improving brain health and plasticity in populations at high risk for AD. To study the neuroprotective mechanisms of physical exercise in a postmenopausal animal model, we submitted previously ovariectomized, six-month old non-transgenic and 3xTg-AD mice to three months of voluntary exercise in a running wheel. At nine months of age, we observed lower grip strength and some exacerbation of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)-like involving active exploratory activities. A similar major cognitive impairment was observed of ovariectomized 3xTg-AD mice in comparison with sham-operated 3xTg-AD mice. A reduction of bodily fitness and lack of retention of memory were observed in the ovariectomized non-transgenic mice. Physical exercise protected against all deleterious behaviors and normalized learning and memory. It also protected against body frailty, as expected. Analyses of hippocampal key markers of antioxidant and neuroplasticity signaling pathways, showed that ovariectomy impairs the activation of CREB through physical exercise. Furthermore, molecular and behavioral correlates suggested a central role of BDNF in the neuroprotection mediated by physical exercise therapy against apathy and memory loss induced by ovariectomy and the AD-genotype. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.This study was supported by grants: SAF2009-13093-C02-02, SAF2010-19498, SAF2012-39852-C02-02 and CSD2010-00045 from the Spanish MINECO; 2009/SGR/214 from the Generalitat and 062931 from the Fundació La Marató de TV3, of Catalonia; and 35NEURO GentxGent. Yoelvis García-Mesa acknowledges support received from the Fundació La Marató de TV3Peer Reviewe

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

PenRed: An extensible and parallel Monte-Carlo framework for radiation transport based on PENELOPE

The authors are deeply indebted to F. Salvat for many com-ments and suggestions, for clarifying many subtleties of the sim-ulation algorithms of the transport of particles through matter, specially using PENELOPE, and for his patience and understanding. The work of V. Gimenez-Alventosa was supported by the program "Ayudas para la contratacion de personal investigador en formacion de carhcter predoctoral, programa VALi+d" under grant number ACIF/2018/148 from the Conselleria d'Educacio of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Fondo Social Europeo (FSE) . V. Gimenez ac-knowledges partial support from FEDER/MCIyU-AEI under grant FPA201784543P, by the Severo Ochoa Excellence Program under grant SEV-2014-0398 and by Generalitat Valenciana through the project PROMETEO/2019/087.Giménez-Alventosa, V.; Giménez Gómez, V.; Oliver-Gil, S. (2021). PenRed: An extensible and parallel Monte-Carlo framework for radiation transport based on PENELOPE. Computer Physics Communications. 267:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2021.108065S11226

Benchmark of the PenRed Monte Carlo framework for HDR brachytherapy

The purpose of this study is to validate the PenRed Monte Carlo framework for clinical applications in brachytherapy. PenRed is a C++ version of Penelope Monte Carlo code with additional tallies and utilities. Six benchmarking scenarios are explored to validate the use of PenRed and its improved bachytherapy-oriented capabilities for HDR brachytherapy. A new tally allowing the evaluation of collisional kerma for any material using the track length kerma estimator and the possibility to obtain the seed positions, weights and directions processing directly the DICOM file are now implemented in the PenRed distribution. The four non-clinical test cases developed by the Joint AAPM-ESTRO-ABG-ABS WG-DCAB were evaluated by comparing local and global absorbed dose differences with respect to established reference datasets. A prostate and a palliative lung cases, were also studied. For them, absorbed dose ratios, global absorbed dose differences, and cumulative dose-volume histograms were obtained and discussed.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain (MCIN) (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) (PID2020-113126RB-I00, PID2021-125096NB-I00)AEI-MICINN (PID2020-113334GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2019/087)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (RGPIN-2019-05038)Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Nature et Technologies (FRQNT) (MCIN/AEI/10.13039)Generalitat Valenciana (GVA) (PROMETEO/2021/064)7.215 Q1 JCR 20211.217 Q1 JCR 2021No data IDR 2021UE

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