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Objectives: To report oncological outcomes of active surveillance (AS) at a single non‐academic institution adopting the standardised Prostate Cancer Research International Active Surveillance (PRIAS) protocol. Patients and Methods: Competing risk analyses estimated the incidence of overall mortality, metastases, conversion to treatment, and grade reclassification. The incidence of reclassification and adverse pathological findings at radical prostatectomy were compared between patients fulfilling all PRIAS inclusion criteria vs those not fulfilling at least one. Results: We analysed 341 men with Grade Group 1 prostate cancer (PCa) followed on AS between 2010 and 2022. There were no PCa deaths, two patients developed distant metastases and were alive at the end of the study period. The 10‐year cumulative incidence of metastases was 1.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33–6.4%). A total of 111 men were reclassified, and 127 underwent definitive treatment. Men not fulfilling at least one PRIAS inclusion criteria (n = 43) had a higher incidence of reclassification (subdistribution hazards ratio 1.73, 95% CI 1.07–2.81; P = 0.03), but similar rates of adverse pathological findings at radical prostatectomy. Conclusion: Metastases in men on AS at a non‐academic institution are as rare as those reported in established international cohorts. Men followed without stringent inclusion criteria should be counselled about the higher incidence of reclassification and reassured they can expect rates of adverse pathological findings comparable to those fulfilling all criteria. Therefore, AS should be proposed to all men with low‐grade PCa regardless of whether they are followed at academic institutions or smaller community hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in genetic engineering have established murine models that permit the selective control of cholinergic neurons via optical stimulation. Despite copious benefits granted by these experimental advances, the sensory physiognomy of these organisms has remained poorly understood. Therefore, the present study evaluates sensory and neuronal response properties of animal models developed for the study of optically induced acetylcholine release regulation. Auditory brainstem responses, fluorescence imaging, and patch clamp recording techniques were used to assess the impact of viral infection, sex, age, and anesthetic agents across the ascending auditory pathway of ChAT‐Cre and ChAT‐ChR2(Ai32) mice. Data analyses revealed that neither genetic configuration nor adeno‐associated viral infection alters the early stages of auditory processing or the cellular response properties of cholinergic neurons. However, anesthetic agent and dosage amount profoundly modulate the response properties of brainstem neurons. Last, analyses of age‐related hearing loss in virally infected ChAT‐Cre mice did not differ from those reported in wild type animals. This investigation demonstrates that ChAT‐Cre and ChAT‐ChR2(Ai32) mice are viable models for the study of cholinergic modulation in auditory processing, and it emphasizes the need for prudence in the selection of anesthetic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radicals and radical anions such as OH, NO3and SO4−can act as important oxidants in aqueous solutions, e.g.as a part of the tropospheric multiphase system. In the present study the aqueous phase kinetics of OH, NO3and SO4−radical reactions with the following ten aliphatic poly-alcohols 1,2-ethanediol, 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,2,3-propanetriol, 1,2-butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, (2R,3S)-butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol (meso-erythritol), (2R,4R)-pentane-1,2,3,4,5-pentol (arabitol) and (2R,3R,4R,5R)-hexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexol (mannitol) were investigated. These alcohols are both of anthropogenic and of biogenic origin and all are highly water soluble. All rate constants throughout this study were determined as a function of the temperature between 278 ≤T[K] ≤ 328. OH radical reactions with poly-alcohols (k2nd= 1.6–4.7 × 109L mol−1s−1) are the fastest among the three investigated radicals. The corresponding NO3radical (k2nd= 0.66–1.5 × 107L mol−1s−1) and SO4−radical (k2nd= 2.7–5.3 × 107L mol−1s−1) reactions are on average two orders of magnitude slower. All three radicals react by an H-abstraction mechanism preferably at the α-carbon atom of the investigated alcohols. Kinetic measurements were performed using laser flash photolysis-long path absorption (LFP-LPA). Rate constants were measured either directly following the NO3and SO4−concentration–time profile or by a competition kinetics method using a well characterized reference reaction (SCN−) for OH radicals. Furthermore, obtained kinetic data are used to extend existing reactivity correlations for H-abstraction reactions with bond dissociation energies in aqueous solution and to calculate the tropospheric lifetimes of the alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport of cargoes along axons is crucial for ensuring effective neuronal function and survival. Lysosomes, which are membrane-bound organelles responsible for the degradation of macromolecules, are among the many cargoes being transported. Compartmentalized systems that allow for the separation of the somatic compartment from the axonal network, are widely used in the field of neurobiology and in the study of axonal transport in particular. Among the various solutions available, microfluidics chambers that take advantage of fluidic separation between different compartments, have seen widespread adoption. Said chambers are made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a transparent, gas permeable compound, which is compatible with fluorescence microscopy, and have significantly positively impacted cellular neuroscience, drastically increasing our understanding of axonal peripheral signaling. Here we describe a two-layered microfluidics chamber, engineered to allow for the culture of adult sensory neurons. This device was designed to promote the proper placement of adult sensory neurons in the somatic chamber in proximity of the microgrooves. We detail the production of the master mold, how to fabricate and assemble the device and how to disaggregate and load the cells in it. In addition, we provide details on how to conduct and analyze an axonal transport experiment using a custom made script in MATLAB designed by our laboratory., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)