Education and training to support radiation protection research in Europe: the DoReMi experience

A review is presented to the program of education and training setup within the DoReMi Network of Excellence. DoReMi was funded by Euratom under the EU 7th Framework Programme to coordinate the EU research into risks from low-dose ionizing radiation. It was seen to be necessary to form a network of expert institutions in order to tackle the scientific questions with the resources available. From the start, importance was given to the need to stimulate and support education and training to build up the capability of the research community. DoReMi dedicated a workpackage to education and training that put in place a number of activities that have been successful in attracting new students into the area and introducing research scientists to new topic areas and technologies. The program of education and training in DoReMi provided a significant contribution to the low-dose radiation research community and has been further developed and extended in the following Euratom-funded project OPERRA and the European Joint Programme CONCERT

Low-dose radiation therapy for COVID-19 pneumopathy: what is the evidence?

In the current dismal situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective management of patients with pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome is of vital importance. Due to the current lack of effective pharmacological concepts, this situation has caused interest in (re)considering historical reports on the treatment of patients with low-dose radiation therapy for pneumonia. Although these historical reports are of low-level evidence per se, hampering recommendations for decision-making in the clinical setting, they indicate effectiveness in the dose range between 0.3 and 1 & x202f;Gy, similar to more recent dose concepts in the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory/degenerative benign diseases with, e.g., a single dose per fraction of 0.5 & x202f;Gy. This concise review aims to critically review the evidence for low-dose radiation treatment of COVID-19 pneumopathy and discuss whether it is worth investigating in the present clinical situation

Weight of various tissues and counts of isolated ECs.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Summary of the total weight of separate tissues; weight of heart (n = 10) and lung (n = 3) taken from 13–15 week-old female mice; weight of repair blastemas (n = 10) taken from a balloon which was induced by using Freund’s adjuvant/PBS-emulsion; weight of CT26 (n = 10) and B16-F0 (n = 10) tumors which were taken when the size was ranging between 0.3 and 0.4 cm³. (<b>B</b>) Corresponding isolated EC counts were calculated per 100 mg tissue.</p

Schematic representation of the isolation procedure of primary, bead-free endothelial cells (ECs).

<p>(<b>A</b>) First, DSB-X biotin-labeled rat anti-mouse CD31-antibody binds to CD31-positive ECs. Subsequently, streptavidin-labeled Dynabeads bind to DSB-X biotin. After magnetic separation, the Dynabeads are removed by a biotin-streptavidin competition. (<b>B</b>) Separation of CD31-positive H5V cells mixed with CD31-negative CT26 tumor cells at a ratio of 20∶1. The proportion (%) of CD31-positive H5V cells and the mean fluorescence intensity (mfi) remained unchanged after a simulated digestion step. (<b>C</b>) After separation, the mean fluorescence intensity (mfi) remained stable after digestion (second bar), but dropped to 17% after bead separation (third bar). (<b>D</b>) The recovery rate of H5V cells after separation was greater 70%.</p

Differences in expression of EC markers derived from slow- and fast-growing tumors (CT26 and B16-F0).

<p>(<b>A, B</b>) Growth curves and doubling times of CT26 (n = 15) and B16-F0 (n = 15), <i>in vivo</i>. Asteriks represent significantly different values (p* ≤0.05; p*** ≤0.001). (<b>C</b>) Mean fluorescence intensity values (CD31, CD105, CD144, CD34, CD54, CD102) from slow-growing tumor ECs (CT26 (n = 3)) and fast-growing tumor ECs (B16-F0 (n = 3)). Asteriks represent significantly different values (p* ≤0.05; p** ≤0.01).</p

Size of primary ECs isolated from different tissues.

<p>(<b>A–C</b>) Isolated ECs from heart, repair blastema and B16-F0 with bound Dynabeads. Arrows indicate specific binding of corresponding CD31-positive ECs to Dynabeads. (<b>D–F</b>) Isolated ECs from heart, repair blastema and B16-F0 after biotin-streptavidin competition without any bound Dynabeads. (<b>G, H</b>) Mean of the forward scatter (FSC) from CD31+ cells isolated from heart (n = 4), lung (n = 3), repair blastema (n = 2), CT26 (n = 4) and B16-F0 (n = 4) measured using flow cytometry. Asteriks represent significantly different values (p** ≤0.01; p*** ≤0.001).</p