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Major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were common complications after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) causing significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to evaluate the cardiac risk after elective EVAR for uncomplicated noninfected infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm in a large multicenter cohort. This is a multicenter, retrospective, financially unsupported physician-initiated observational cohort study conducted by four academic tertiary referral hospitals from January 2018 to March 2021. Baseline, perioperative, and postoperative information of elective EVARs was evaluated. The primary outcome was the incidence of MACEs after EVAR, which was defined as acute coronary syndrome, non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, de novo atrial fibrillation, hospitalization for heart failure, and revascularization as well as cardiovascular death. Secondary outcomes were 1-year overall survival (all-cause mortality) and freedom from aorta-related mortality. Comparative analysis was conducted between MACE and overall population, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyze factors associated with the risk of the MACE occurrence and early 1-year mortality. The study has enrolled 497 patients (35 females, 7%) with a mean age of 75.3 ± 7.8 years. The MACE rate was 6.4% (32/497, events/patients), and the majority of the events were recorded in the postoperative period (24/32, 75%; overall 24/497, 4.8%). One-year survival from all-cause mortality was 94% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 91-96), and the MACE population showed a significantly lower survival estimation rate (Overall - MACEs, 95.8% [95% CI: 93-97] - 67.9% [95% CI: 47-82], log-rank 41.950, P =.0001). Freedom from aorta-related mortality was 99.3% (95% CI: 98-100). The perioperative need for red blood cell transfusions was strongly related to the MACE occurrence (odds ratio: 2.67, 95% CI: 1.52-4.68, P =.001) and 1-year mortality (hazard ratio: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.48-3.09, P =.0001). MACEs represent a common complication in the postoperative and early period after elective EVAR. Blood loss requiring red blood cell transfusions is associated with increased postoperative MACEs and early mortality, suggesting that all the efforts should be carried out to reduce the bleeding during and after elective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a general equilibrium trade model to quantify the welfare cost of decoupling from Russia. We find that a doubling of non-tariff barriers imposed by the West on Russian imports and exports of all goods would decrease Russian welfare by 4.8% and would have a relatively small effect on Western welfare. We show that the welfare cost of decoupling is amplified by supply chains and that restrictions on Russian energy, especially oil, matter quantitatively. Finally, we find that welfare losses generated by restrictions actually applied by the West in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine account for around 80% of those obtained in our decoupling scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new evidence on the reorganization of global production exploiting a novel dataset of Italian multinational firms surveyed throughout 2020 and 2021 as well as consolidated data sources. We find that Covid-19 did not spur large waves of reshoring nor plant closures. Even though the pandemic caused severe losses to firms, including multinationals, most did not stop foreign production nor are willing to do so in the near future. Trade policy uncertainty, conversely, is more likely to induce reshoring and plant closures. This evidence is consistent with a simple multi-period model, illustrating how offshoring, on the one side, and reshoring, on the other side, are asymmetric in important ways. In the presence of sunk costs, reshoring requires sufficiently large and permanent shocks to demand, trade and foreign production costs to induce behavioral changes. Covid-19 was a major shock, but it was mostly perceived as temporary, while persistent trade policy uncertainty, especially if combined with other shocks, is more likely to induce firms to revise their internationalization strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealed more than two millennia ago by Pythagoras, consonance and dissonance (C/D) are foundational concepts in music theory, perception, and aesthetics. The search for the biological, acoustical, and cultural factors that affect C/D perception has resulted in descriptive accounts inspired by arithmetic, musicological, psychoacoustical or neurobiological frameworks without reaching a consensus. Here, we review the key historical sources and modern multidisciplinary findings on C/D and integrate them into three main hypotheses: the vocal similarity hypothesis (VSH), the psychocultural hypothesis (PH), and the sensorimotor hypothesis (SH). By illustrating the hypotheses-related findings, we highlight their major conceptual, methodological, and terminological shortcomings. Trying to provide a unitary framework for C/D understanding, we put together multidisciplinary research on human and animal vocalizations, which converges to suggest that auditory roughness is associated with distress/danger and, therefore, elicits defensive behavioral reactions and neural responses that indicate aversion. We therefore stress the primacy of vocality and roughness as key factors in the explanation of C/D phenomenon, and we explore the (neuro)biological underpinnings of the attraction-aversion mechanisms that are triggered by C/D stimuli. Based on the reviewed evidence, while the aversive nature of dissonance appears as solidly rooted in the multidisciplinary findings, the attractive nature of consonance remains a somewhat speculative claim that needs further investigation. Finally, we outline future directions for empirical research in C/D, especially regarding cross-modal and cross-cultural approaches. • Consonance and dissonance (C/D) are foundational concepts in Western music. • We provide an extensive review of the multidisciplinary findings on C/D perception. • We highlight the conceptual and methodological shortcomings of the literature. • We critically examine the most recent hypotheses about C/D. • We outline novel directions for future empirical research in C/D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to enhance "Pecorino" type ovine cheese by adding Moringa oleifera leaves powder (MOLP). Cheese-making trials, conducted at industrial level, used raw ewes' milk and two selected Lactococcus lactis strains. The experimental plan included a control production (CTR), and two experimental productions with 1% or 2% MOLP addition (1-MOLP and 2-MOLP, respectively). MOLP did not hinder starters development, which reached about 8.0 Log CFU/g in 2-month ripened cheeses. Illumina results highlighted lactococci dominance in all trials [45.98%–62.48% of relative abundance (RA)]. Physicochemical analysis showed that MOLP-enriched cheeses had higher protein content and lower secondary lipid oxidation. The addition of MOLP increased total phenolic compounds in cheese, reaching 3.64 mg GAE/g in the 2-MOLP sample. MOLP-enriched cheeses showed significantly higher radical scavenging activity than CTR production (p < 0.0001). Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) revealed increased levels of chlorogenic acid, protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid due to MOLP enrichment. In the presence of MOLP, cheese volatile organic compounds were affected by compounds like 2-octanone, 3-hexen-2-one, heptane, nonanol, and linalool. 1-MOLP cheese was comparable to CTR production in overall satisfaction (sensory evaluation). Including MOLP in cheese production offers exciting opportunities for functional Sicilian ewes' milk products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A digital workflow in fixed prosthodontics may use a 3D printer to obtain a cast for porcelain application. Standards exist that define the accuracy of traditional casts, but the accuracy requirements of 3D-printed casts have not been defined. The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate how the accuracy of 3D-printed casts affected prosthesis fit and whether they correctly reproduced interproximal contacts. Copings with different die spacings were used to test different 3D-printed casts of the same dental arch. The accuracy of the 3D casts was assessed by imaging and comparing the resulting standard tessellation language (STL) files with the original through a matching software program. Accuracy scores were then correlated with a score measuring how well the copings fit the casts. The first data set was obtained from a patient receiving restoration of the 4 maxillary incisors. The teeth were prepared, the dental arch was imaged intraorally, and 10 resin casts were printed with four 3D printers. Two sets of 4 zirconia test copings were prepared, and 3 clinicians assessed their fit on each cast. A further set of casts was created from a second patient requiring prosthetic restoration for 5 adjacent teeth to assess whether undersizing affected the best fit of the copings on their dies. The clinical scores and accuracy scores did not correlate. The results suggested that printed dies showing a certain degree of undersizing might provide a better fit than those showing better correspondence to the actual anatomic structure. The oversized dies were the worst. Only 7 of 17 casts being assessed were deemed suitable for veneering of the copings. The undersized casts tested clinically better than casts printed by using the same printer under standard settings. This retrospective study indicated that 3D-printed casts that do not allow copings to fit appropriately usually show mean excess oversizing. Axially undersizing the printed dies on casts might allow a better fit of copings to be veneered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lower limbs wounds affect a significant number of people. • Nutrition is an important factor in the prevention and treatment of chronic wounds. • Appropriate hydration is essential to all cellular functions. • High adherence to Mediterranean diet improve wound healing. • High hydration habit improve wound healing rate. Chronic leg ulcers are a common condition among adults, causing pain and social distress. Population aging has contributed to the amplification of the disease with increased cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, stroke, limb ischemia, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and hydration on the healing rate of the ulcers. A group of 35 patients (M/F 16/19, mean age 78 ± 10 years) with venous, arterial, or mixed ulcers was subjected to a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and a Hydration Habits Questionnaire (HHQ). Clinical and anthropometric data were collected. A one-year follow-up was conducted. Complete ulcer healing was observed in 26% of the patients, of whom 67% had a habit of high hydration (more than 1 liter /day), regardless of adherence to the MD. In our study population, about half showed a low adherence to the MD. A moderate-high adherence to the MD showed an increase of arterial ulcer healing compared to subjects with a low adherence to the MD, however, only when associated to a consumption of more than 1 liter of water daily. In conclusion, dietary assessments could help identify patients who are likely to benefit from nutritional interventions for improving overall health and wound healing. The habit of high hydration, namely more than 1 liter daily, can influence the wound healing rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel method for automated human vertebrae segmentation is proposed. • It combines the advantages of Algorithmic Feature Recognition Method and an enhanced Statistical Shape Model. • The method has been tested on L2 human vertebrae of male patients. • It has been stressed with low-density discretized models with missing morphological features. • The results show its robustness and effectiveness over the state-of-the-art. Human vertebrae are analysed and measured for various purposes, including to study anatomy, to diagnose illness, and to evaluate therapies. Achieving an accurate morphological and dimensional characterisation of three-dimensional (3D) vertebrae relies on the precise recognition of their features. Traditionally, these features, lacking defined edges, have been identified manually through a time-consuming, poorly repeatable, and poorly reproducible process. To the authors' knowledge, there is only one method published in the literature able to automatically recognise all the most important vertebral features: the algorithmic feature recognition method (AFRM). It requires a high-density point cloud as input, the presence of all morphological features, even if incomplete, and incurs high computational costs. This research aims to propose an improved version of the AFRM to overcome its limitations. The proposed approach combines the robustness of AFRM to provide the semantic segmentation of a 3D healthy human vertebra with the ability of the enhanced statistical shape model (eSSM) to transfer information among different models. Specifically, AFRM provides the semantic segmentation of the mean shape of the eSSM, while the latter transfers this information to target shapes. The eSSM was developed using 20 training samples of healthy adult male L2 vertebrae. The test samples included five healthy vertebrae and four vertebras with large missing parts. None of the test shapes were included in the training set. The novel approach could accurately recognise morphological features without the constraints that affect the AFRM. The proposed method guarantees reliable and automated segmentation through AFRM, exploiting the eSSM's ability to provide results even when dealing with sparsely populated or partially incomplete target models, significantly reducing the computational load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehumanization refers to the practice of treating patients as objects rather than individuals with dignity and respect. This study explores dehumanization in healthcare, specifically mechanistic dehumanization and self-dehumanization, which can result in poor care and negative outcomes. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a dehumanization questionnaire given to 324 nurses in various departments. The study took place at ANONYMIZED, from September to November 2022. The questionnaire analyzed emotions like anger, impatience, and apathy, identified as key dehumanizing factors. Results indicated that these emotions were prevalent in nurses' perceptions of patients. Interestingly, while Intensive Care nurses often involved families in patient care, leading to higher satisfaction, ward department nurses sometimes viewed patient or family relationships as obstacles. Despite this, 66 % of nurses reported satisfaction with the care provided, while 12 % were indifferent. The study concludes that the root of dehumanization lies in nurses' inability to feel emotions, the impersonality of care, and the sterility of assistance, leading to self-dehumanization. To combat this, the study suggests strengthening nursing autonomy and education and fostering a positive work environment. The way nurses perceive themselves directly impacts their treatment of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reptile species respond to site-scale and landscape-scale variables. • Habitat structure, time since fire, and landscape structure influence reptile abundance. • Influence of site-scale variables on reptile species may depend on landscape structure. • Understanding responses to variables at multiple spatial scales is important for reptile conservation. Land use changes, such as the development of agriculture and plantation forestry, and altered fire regimes, are major drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide, influencing the availability of suitable habitat for species. Reptiles are sensitive to both these processes as they are influenced by native vegetation extent and habitat structure. While much is known about the independent effects of fire and land use change on species distributions, few studies have investigated potential interactive effects; specifically, whether the influence of site-scale variables on reptiles depends on the properties of the surrounding landscape. We sampled reptiles at 107 sites in fire-prone heathy woodland, interspersed with plantation forestry and agriculture in south-west Victoria, Australia. We investigated the responses of seven reptile species to both site-scale variables (time since fire and several measures of habitat structure) and landscape-scale variables (extent of native vegetation and plantations and the presence of pasture within a 3.14 square km area) to 1) identify whether species' responses to fire and habitat depended on landscape structure, and 2) examine the relative influence of time since fire, habitat structure and landscape structure on reptile abundance. We predicted that responses to site-scale variables would vary with a key landscape structure variable: the amount of native vegetation cover. Further, we predicted that site-scale variables would be stronger predictors of species abundance than landscape-scale variables. Generalised linear models, accounting for imperfect detection, were used to estimate species responses to site and landscape-scale predictors. For two species (Amphibolurus muricatus and Liopholis whitii) there was evidence that their responses to site-scale variables depended on landscape structure. However, contrary to our first prediction, native vegetation cover was not the only landscape structure variable that influenced species' responses to site-scale variables. Three species (Acritoscincus duperreyi , A. muricatus, and Lerista bougainvillii) responded to both habitat structure and landscape structure variables, though the relative influence of the variables at the different scales was varied among the species. One species (Lampropholis guichenoti) responded to fire and habitat structure variables at the site-scale but did not respond to landscape structure. One species (Aprasia striolata) responded to landscape structure variables but not to site-scale variables. Our second prediction, that site-scale variables would be the strongest predictors of abundance, was true for two species, but overall, our results were varied, with species responding at both scales. Examining species' responses to drivers at multiple spatial scales is essential for conservation management, as even species with low dispersal capacity such as reptiles can respond to processes occurring at large spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Relationships between fuel and habitat components depend on productivity. • Eight out of nine mammal species associated more strongly with habitat than fuel. • Seven species were correlated with components of fuel. • Fuel components can be useful surrogates for habitat and mammal occurrence. Prescribed fire is often applied with the goal of reducing fuel loads and lessening the impact of future wildfires on humans. As fuel represents habitat for some animal species, fuel reduction treatments are likely to affect species' access to resources. Understanding the interrelationships between fuel, habitat and animal occurrence will help managers of flammable landscapes meet the dual objective of reducing fuel loads and conserving biodiversity. In addition, should fuel hazard assessments reflect habitat structure, fuel hazard scores could be used to predict the response of animals to prescribed fire. This would be useful in many regions where fuel hazard assessments are routinely conducted, but data about habitat change or the direct response of animals are lacking. In this study, we tested the capacity of fuel hazard scores to predict both habitat structure and ground-dwelling mammal occurrence at 187 sites in the Otway Ranges, south-eastern Australia. First, we explored relationships between habitat structure and fuel hazard. Second, we investigated how animals responded to both habitat and fuel. Habitat complexity was positively related to overall fuel hazard, although this varied with net primary productivity. Habitat attributes were best at predicting the occurrence of eight out of nine ground-dwelling mammal species, although seven species were also correlated with components of fuel hazard. Some species were not strongly associated with either habitat or fuel. These species-specific relationships between habitat, fuel and fauna highlight the continuing importance of measuring habitat or animals directly when investigating faunal responses to disturbance. However, in the absence of these data, fire managers can use a common fuel assessment method to predict the effect of fuel reduction on habitat structure and the occurrence of some ground-dwelling mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Fillets, rounds, chamfers and grooves are secondary features which are typically present in real manufactured mechanical components to satisfy some manufacturing and functional requirements. Despite the broad array of research conducted on feature recognition, the investigation of secondary features is a relatively new topic. All of the pertinent studies have been focusedonly on the recognition of secondary features from B-Rep models. The recognition and segmentation of secondary features from a discrete model is a non-trivial problem due to the same geometric descriptors that may be applied to both primary and secondary features. Moreover, although in real-world mechanical parts primary features are planes, cylinders or cones, the secondary features may be non-analytical and complex-shaped geometries. Further sources of uncertainty are the measurement errors and non-ideal geometries of the real objects to which the method is applied. To overcome these problems, a new and original method to segment secondary features of tessellated geometric models is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of geometric-differential properties and provides specific strategies that reduce its sensitivity to all of the above-mentioned uncertainties without affecting its selectivity. The proposed method, described in detail in this paper, is tested in some very critical cases, and the results are presented and discussed. Highlights • A new method for secondary feature recognition from 3D scanned object is proposed. • The method works from not well sampled and noisy 3D mesh. • The method requires just a few setting parameters that are not critical. • High-level semantic description of a scanned object is automatically generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Functional diversity links species diversity with ecosystem function. • We surveyed mammals and vegetation structure in southeast Australian eucalypt forest. • Mammal functional diversity responded positively to vegetation structural complexity. • Relationships were consistent in wet and dry forest. • Conserving structurally complex vegetation may enhance ecosystem function. Abstract Enhanced understanding of relationships between functional diversity (FD) and environmental gradients is crucial given accelerating rates of land-cover change and disturbance worldwide. Functional diversity measures the abundance, range and distribution of traits in a community, and links species diversity with ecosystem function. Several studies have related bird or invertebrate FD to environmental gradients, but information on the responses of mammal FD to vegetation structural diversity at scales of management relevance is scarce. We addressed this knowledge gap by examining responses of ground-dwelling mammal FD to vegetation structural complexity in wet (high-productivity) and dry (low-productivity) eucalypt forest in the Otway Ranges, southeast Australia. In dry forest, we expected a positive relationship between FD and vegetation structural complexity because more resources should enable species with a greater diversity of traits to co-exist. We expected negative correlations in wet forest, where competitive dominance may drive a decrease in FD as structural complexity increases. Ground-dwelling mammals were surveyed using camera traps, and we used five traits to construct four FD indices (richness, evenness, divergence, and dispersion). Six vegetation structure variables were used to calculate two indices of vegetation structure, and we used linear mixed models to relate functional diversity and species richness to vegetation structural complexity (the total abundance of structural attributes) and heterogeneity (the level of contrast or patchiness in structure), in wet and dry forest. Camera traps detected ten native ground-dwelling mammal species. All FD indices were positively correlated with vegetation structural complexity, but only functional dispersion responded to structural heterogeneity. Contrary to expectations, relationships between FD and structural complexity were consistent in both forest types, and we suggest that low levels of functional niche occupancy prevented competitive dominance in wet forest. Species richness did not respond to any predictor variables, and is unlikely to be a useful surrogate of ground-dwelling mammal FD. Our results indicate that forest managers may sustain ecosystem functions performed by ground-dwelling mammals by conserving structurally complex vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change occurring in the last decades in the Mediterranean basin is allowing to experiment with the cultivation of new exotic crops from different parts of the world. The present study focuses on the evaluation of coffee plant adaptation to the Mediterranean climate and determining the chemical composition of coffee beans (Coffea arabica cv. Caturra) grown in Sicily, Italy. Weather variables' data (air temperature, relative humidity and light exposure) for the location of the study were studied. Antiradical capacity, total phenolic content, polyphenolic, fatty acids, amino acids profiles, alkaloids and other bioactive compounds of nutraceutical and cosmetic significance of coffee husks (comprising mostly outer skin and pulp) and seeds cultivated in Mediterranean climate. The study revealed that in coffee cherry cultivated in the Mediterranean climate, similar amounts of chemical constituents such as fatty acids, amino acids, polyphenols, flavonoids, chlorogenic acids and vitamins were found concerning coffee grown in the equatorial regions of the earth called "coffee belt". • Coffee plant adaptation to the Mediterranean climate; experimental crops of Coffea arabica cv. Caturra grown in Sicily, Italy were studied. • Antiradical capacity, total phenolic content, polyphenolic, fatty acids, amino acids profiles, alkaloids and other bioactive compounds of Mediterranean coffee husks and seeds were investigated. • Studied coffee, from the point of view of bioactive and nutritional components, was comparable to those of tropical origin despite very different climatic conditions. • The use of Sicilian coffee could be stimulated by the new demands of consumers who are increasingly looking for a product with a low environmental impact, and high nutraceutical qualities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim to reduce the uncertainties of the traditional archaeological approach and reduce costs for ceramic investigation, in this paper a computer-based method is proposed. A discrete geometric model of a pottery fragment is the starting input, from which a first distinction in axially and not-axially symmetric surfaces can be done. Geometrical and morphological features are then recognized. Only once that all this information is obtained, it is possible to proceed with the dimensional analysis. The analysis carried on the test case here illustrated proves that the automatic method presents accuracy and robustness not achievable even using the best application of the archaeological method. This method seems to be functional to other goals, such as for pottery classification and reconstruction of ancient ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Statement of problem Recent research has shown that dynamic parameters correlate with insertion energy—that is, the total work needed to place an implant into its site—might convey more reliable information concerning immediate implant primary stability at insertion than the commonly used insertion torque (IT), the reverse torque (RT), or the implant stability quotient (ISQ). Yet knowledge on these dynamic parameters is still limited. Purpose The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate whether an energy-related parameter, the torque-depth curve integral (I), could be a reliable measure of primary stability. This was done by assessing if (I) measurement was operator-independent, by investigating its correlation with other known primary stability parameters (IT, RT, or ISQ) by quantifying the (I) average error and correlating (I), IT, RT, and ISQ variations with bone density. Material and methods Five operators placed 200 implants in polyurethane foam blocks of different densities using a micromotor that calculated the (I) during implant placement. Primary implant stability was assessed by measuring the ISQ, IT, and RT. ANOVA tests were used to evaluate whether measurements were operator independent (P>. 05 in all cases). A correlation analysis was performed between (I) and IT, ISQ, and RT. The (I) average error was calculated and compared with that of the other parameters by ANOVA. (I)-density, IT-density, ISQ-density, and RT-density plots were drawn, and their slopes were compared by ANCOVA. Results The (I) measurements were operator independent and correlated with IT, ISQ, and RT. The average error of these parameters was not significantly different (P>. 05 in all cases). The (I)-density, IT-density, ISQ-density, and RT-density curves were linear in the 0.16 to 0.49 g/cm³ range, with the (I)-density curves having a significantly greater slope than those regarding the other parameters (P≤. 001 in all cases). Conclusions The torque-depth curve integral (I) provides a reliable assessment of primary stability and shows a greater sensitivity to density variations than other known primary stability parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases share a common pathogenetic mechanism involving aggregation and deposition of misfolded proteins, oxidative stress, metal dyshomeostasis, and glutamate exicitotoxicity, which lead to progressive dysfunction of central nervous system (CNS). A potential strategy to counteract these deleterious events at neuronal level is represented by the employment of a novel class of multi-target therapeutic agents that selectively and simultaneously hit these targets In this paper, we report the metal binding and antioxidant properties of a novel metal-protein attenuating peptide, GSH-LD, a tetrapeptide obtained by linking glutathione, a well-known antioxidant tripeptide, to L-Dopa. Results demonstrated that GSH-LD possesses chelating capabilities in order to selectively target the excess of metals without interfere with metal-containing antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, antioxidant assays revealed a large contribution of GSH-LD to restore the antioxidant defences of damaged neuronal cells Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • GSH-LD as potential tool to treat neurodegenerative disorders • GSH-LD as chelating agent of metals • GSH-LD may reduce oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been extensively investigated in renal cell carcinoma and led to remarkable results. Radiation therapy may increase the activity of immune modulating agents through different mechanisms, priming the immune system, recruiting immune cells to the tumor environment, and altering the immunosuppressive effects of the tumor microenvironment. Preclinical studies reported increased loco-regional control when radiation is combined with immune-checkpoint blockade. Moreover, increased systemic disease control has been demonstrated when local radiation is combined with both anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Actually, several trials are ongoing testing the activity of radiation therapy in combination with different immune-modulating agents for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The aim of this paper is to focus on the biological rationale of adding radiation therapy to immune-modulating agents in renal cell carcinoma and to review the currently available clinical evidence about the combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]