In-Silico Hyperthermia Performance of a Near-Field Patch Antenna at Various Positions on a Human Body Model

A compact patch applicator designed to enhance targeted energy coupling at 434 MHz is a key enabler for sensitizing temperature increments in body regions containing superficial tumours. A detailed FDTD body model is used to explore simulated RF coupling and temperature increments for typical clinical conditions. The antenna impedance matching, specific absorption rate and thermal distribution parameters are evaluated to identify applied performance outcomes. The analysis reveals physiological-RF coupling patterns for an optimised closely-coupled single element applicator

Interaction of RF-hyperthermia Applicator with High Fidelity Human Body Model

A compact patch antenna working at the 434 MHz ISM frequency band is proposed as an RF-Hyperthermia applicator. The electromagnetic interaction in terms of S11, SAR and E-Field distribution of the antenna with a High Fidelity human body model is investigated. This analysis provides useful information for engineers and clinical staff to develop more efficient and smaller antennas for medical applications, in particular for RF-Hyperthermia cancer therapy, where the size of the antenna determines tumor accessibility

Pseudomonas versuta sp. nov., isolated from Antarctic soil

In this study we used a polyphasic taxonomy approach to analyse three bacterial strains coded L10.10T, A4R1.5 and A4R1.12, isolated in the course of a study of quorum-quenching bacteria occurring Antarctic soil. The 16S rRNA gene sequence was identical in the three strains and showed 99.7% pairwise similarity with respect to the closest related species Pseudomonas weihenstephanensis WS4993T, and the next closest related species were P. deceptionensis M1T (99.5%), P. psychrophila E-3T, P. endophytica BSTT44T and P. fragi ATCC 4973T (99.2%). Therefore, the three strains were classified within the genus Pseudomonas. Analysis of housekeeping genes (rpoB, rpoD and gyrB) sequences showed similarities of 84-95% with respect to the closest relatives, confirming its phylogenetic affiliation. The whole genome average nucleotide identity (ANI) values were more than 99% similar among the three strains, and less than 86% to the closest related species type strains. The respiratory quinone is Q9. The major fatty acids are C16:0, C16:1 ω7c/C16:1 ω6c in summed feature 3 and C18:1 ω7c/C18:1 ω6c in summed feature 8. The strains are oxidase- and catalase-positive. The arginine dihydrolase and urease tests are positive. Growth occurs at 4–30 °C with an optimum at 28 °C, and at pH 4.0–10. The DNA G + C content is 58.2–58.3 mol %. The combined genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic data support the classification of strains L10.10T, A4R1.5 and A4R1.12 into a novel species of Pseudomonas, for which the name P. versuta sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is L10.10T (LMG 29628T, DSM 101070T)

Machine Learning-Driven Multiscale Modeling: Bridging the Scales with a Next-Generation Simulation Infrastructure

Interdependence across time and length scales is common in biology, where atomic interactions can impact larger-scale phenomenon. Such dependence is especially true for a well-known cancer signaling pathway, where the membrane-bound RAS protein binds an effector protein called RAF. To capture the driving forces that bring RAS and RAF (represented as two domains, RBD and CRD) together on the plasma membrane, simulations with the ability to calculate atomic detail while having long time and large length- scales are needed. The Multiscale Machine-Learned Modeling Infrastructure (MuMMI) is able to resolve RAS/RAF protein-membrane interactions that identify specific lipid-protein fingerprints that enhance protein orientations viable for effector binding. MuMMI is a fully automated, ensemble-based multiscale approach connecting three resolution scales: (1) the coarsest scale is a continuum model able to simulate milliseconds of time for a 1 μm2 membrane, (2) the middle scale is a coarse-grained (CG) Martini bead model to explore protein-lipid interactions, and (3) the finest scale is an all-atom (AA) model capturing specific interactions between lipids and proteins. MuMMI dynamically couples adjacent scales in a pairwise manner using machine learning (ML). The dynamic coupling allows for better sampling of the refined scale from the adjacent coarse scale (forward) and on-the-fly feedback to improve the fidelity of the coarser scale from the adjacent refined scale (backward). MuMMI operates efficiently at any scale, from a few compute nodes to the largest supercomputers in the world, and is generalizable to simulate different systems. As computing resources continue to increase and multiscale methods continue to advance, fully automated multiscale simulations (like MuMMI) will be commonly used to address complex science questions

Impact of hormonal treatment duration in combination with radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer: Meta-analysis of randomized trials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hormone therapy plus radiotherapy significantly decreases recurrences and mortality of patients affected by locally advanced prostate cancer. In order to determine if difference exists according to the hormonal treatment duration, a literature-based meta-analysis was performed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Relative risks (RR) were derived through a random-effect model. Differences in primary (biochemical failure, BF; cancer-specific survival, CSS), and secondary outcomes (overall survival, OS; local or distant recurrence, LR/DM) were explored. Absolute differences (AD) and the number needed to treat (NNT) were calculated. Heterogeneity, a meta-regression for clinic-pathological predictors and a correlation test for surrogates were conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Five trials (3,424 patients) were included. Patient population ranged from 267 to 1,521 patients. The longer hormonal treatment significantly improves BF (with significant heterogeneity) with an absolute benefit of 10.1%, and a non significant trend in CSS. With regard to secondary end-points, the longer hormonal treatment significantly decrease both the LR and the DM with an absolute difference of 11.7% and 11.5%. Any significant difference in OS was observed. None of the three identified clinico-pathological predictors (median PSA, range 9.5-20.35, Gleason score 7-10, 27-55% patients/trial, and T3-4, 13-77% patients/trial), did significantly affect outcomes. At the meta-regression analysis a significant correlation between the overall treatment benefit in BF, CSS, OS, LR and DM, and the length of the treatment was found (p≤0.03).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although with significant heterogeneity (reflecting different patient' risk stratifications), a longer hormonal treatment duration significantly decreases biochemical, local and distant recurrences, with a trend for longer cancer specific survival.</p

Disseminated and Congenital Toxoplasmosis in a Mother and Child With Activated PI3-Kinase δ Syndrome Type 2 (APDS2): Case Report and a Literature Review of Toxoplasma Infections in Primary Immunodeficiencies

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) plays an integral role in lymphocyte function. Mutations in PIK3CD and PIK3R1, encoding the PI3K p110δ and p85α subunits, respectively, cause increased PI3K activity and result in immunodeficiency with immune dysregulation. We describe here the first cases of disseminated and congenital toxoplasmosis in a mother and child who share a pathogenic mutation in PIK3R1 and review the mechanisms underlying susceptibility to severe Toxoplasma gondii infection in activated PI3Kδ syndrome (APDS) and in other forms of primary immunodeficiency

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Mapping Diversity in Milan - Historical Approaches to Urban Immigration

An historical and spatial approach is crucial to the understanding of any city. Waves of immigration and population movements from different sources have constructed the cultural mix of this financial, industrial and market city over time. To focus just on the new foreign immigration into Milan over the last 25 years or so risks omitting the deep historical fissures created by previous (and bigger) waves of population movements the traces left by these populations in the urban fabric and their role in subjective experience. Moreover, the historical and spatial comparison of various types and moments of population movement can help us to understand the changes to this city at macro and micro-levels. This paper uses a mixture of approaches in order to understand and map diversity in Milan, its province and its region. It is intended as a discussion paper to be looked at in conjunction with the work and arguments laid out in other research projects and published work. Methodologies used in this paper range from straightforward historical research (using documents and archives) to photography, micro-history (the examination of one small area in this case one housing block) and oral historical interviews

First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. VII. Polarization of the Ring

The Event Horizon Telescope observed the horizon-scale synchrotron emission region around the Galactic center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), in 2017. These observations revealed a bright, thick ring morphology with a diameter of 51.8 ± 2.3 μas and modest azimuthal brightness asymmetry, consistent with the expected appearance of a black hole with mass M ≈ 4 × 106 M ⊙. From these observations, we present the first resolved linear and circular polarimetric images of Sgr A*. The linear polarization images demonstrate that the emission ring is highly polarized, exhibiting a prominent spiral electric vector polarization angle pattern with a peak fractional polarization of ∼40% in the western portion of the ring. The circular polarization images feature a modestly (∼5%–10%) polarized dipole structure along the emission ring, with negative circular polarization in the western region and positive circular polarization in the eastern region, although our methods exhibit stronger disagreement than for linear polarization. We analyze the data using multiple independent imaging and modeling methods, each of which is validated using a standardized suite of synthetic data sets. While the detailed spatial distribution of the linear polarization along the ring remains uncertain owing to the intrinsic variability of the source, the spiraling polarization structure is robust to methodological choices. The degree and orientation of the linear polarization provide stringent constraints for the black hole and its surrounding magnetic fields, which we discuss in an accompanying publication