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At the present time, different kinds of thermal neutron detectors are under development at the European Spallation Source research facility, in order to overcome the well-known problem of the 3He shortage. One of these new systems relies on the use of a 3D neutron converter cathode that consists of a stack of aluminum grids, covered by a 0.9 µm 10B enriched boron carbide layer (10B4C). As the conversion efficiency is a function of the boron thickness and the mean free path of the charged particles produced in the neutron induced reaction, the characterization of the boron carbide layer uniformity over the grids becomes crucial. In this work, a non-destructive method to map the thickness distribution of the converter layer over the grids is shown. The measurements exploit the white-beam neutron radiography technique where the specimen is irradiated at different angles. This experiment has been performed at the IMAT beamline operating at the ISIS spallation neutron source (UK). The results confirm that this non-destructive, wide-ranging technique allows a reliable and fast sample characterization and that it may be exploited in similar analyses where equivalent requirements are requested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) supports individuals to define, discuss, and record goals and preferences for future medical treatment and care. Despite being internationally recommended, randomised clinical trials of ACP in patients with advanced cancer are scarce., Methods and Findings: To test the implementation of ACP in patients with advanced cancer, we conducted a cluster-randomised trial in 23 hospitals across Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, and United Kingdom in 2015-2018. Patients with advanced lung (stage III/IV) or colorectal (stage IV) cancer, WHO performance status 0-3, and at least 3 months life expectancy were eligible. The ACTION Respecting Choices ACP intervention as offered to patients in the intervention arm included scripted ACP conversations between patients, family members, and certified facilitators; standardised leaflets; and standardised advance directives. Control patients received care as usual. Main outcome measures were quality of life (operationalised as European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC] emotional functioning) and symptoms. Secondary outcomes were coping, patient satisfaction, shared decision-making, patient involvement in decision-making, inclusion of advance directives (ADs) in hospital files, and use of hospital care. In all, 1,117 patients were included (442 intervention; 675 control), and 809 (72%) completed the 12-week questionnaire. Patients' age ranged from 18 to 91 years, with a mean of 66; 39% were female. The mean number of ACP conversations per patient was 1.3. Fidelity was 86%. Sixteen percent of patients found ACP conversations distressing. Mean change in patients' quality of life did not differ between intervention and control groups (T-score -1.8 versus -0.8, p = 0.59), nor did changes in symptoms, coping, patient satisfaction, and shared decision-making. Specialist palliative care (37% versus 27%, p = 0.002) and AD inclusion in hospital files (10% versus 3%, p < 0.001) were more likely in the intervention group. A key limitation of the study is that recruitment rates were lower in intervention than in control hospitals., Conclusions: Our results show that quality of life effects were not different between patients who had ACP conversations and those who received usual care. The increased use of specialist palliative care and AD inclusion in hospital files of intervention patients is meaningful and requires further study. Our findings suggest that alternative approaches to support patient-centred end-of-life care in this population are needed., Trial Registration: ISRCTN registry ISRCTN63110516., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: BH and LB are developers of Respecting Choices and report personal fees from Gundersen Health, outside the submitted work.