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Cardiovascular diseases are an array of age-related disorders, and accumulating evidence suggests a link between cardiac resident macrophages (CRMs) and the age-related disorders. However, how does CRMs alter with aging remains elusive. In the present study, aged mice (20 months old) have been employed to check for their cardiac structural and functional alterations, and the changes in the proportion of CRM subsets as well, followed by sorting of CRMs, including C-C Motif Chemokine Receptor 2 (CCR2)+ and CCR2– CRMs, which were subjected to Smart-Seq. Integrated analysis of the Smart-Seq data with three publicly available single-cell RNA-seq datasets revealed that inflammatory genes were drastic upregulated for both CCR2+ and CCR2– CRMs with aging, but genes germane to wound healing were downregulated for CCR2– CRMs, suggesting the differential functions of these two subsets. More importantly, inflammatory genes involved in damage sensing, complement cascades, and phagocytosis were largely upregulated in CCR2– CRMs, implying the imbalance of inflammatory response upon aging. Our work provides a comprehensive framework and transcriptional resource for assessing the impact of aging on CRMs with a potential for further understanding cardiac aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quinclorac is important precursor for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and synthetic chemistry. The state‐of‐art synthesis of quinclorac via condensation, chlorination and oxidative hydrolysis often uses homogeneous catalysts and strong acid oxidant agents to promote the catalytic oxidation, which requires huge manpower input for the late‐stage purification process and is usually environmentally unfriendly. In this work, we successfully fabricated a stable cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) Co‐based composite (CoPc/TiO2) by anchoring CoPc on the surface of TiO2 nanorods for the selective oxidation of 3,7‐dichloro‐8‐dichloro methyl quinoline (3,7‐D‐8‐DMQ) into quinclorac. More impressively, CoPc/TiO2‐2.5 %‐Mn‐Br exhibits a high selectivity of 91.9 % for the catalytic oxidation of 3,7‐D‐8‐DMQ to quinclorac in acetic acid, with a quinclorac yield of 86.4 %, which is approximately 2.43 times higher than that of pristine CoPc‐Mn‐Br. The obtained heterogeneous catalytic system shows good reusability. Detailed mechanistic investigations reveal that the system works through a free radical mechanism via the formation of Co2+/Co3+ redox cycles. This work provides a new understanding for the stabilization of reaction intermediates and facilitates the designs of catalysts for selective catalytic oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CoPc-Mn(OAc) 2 -HBr catalytic system for selective oxidation shows high quinclorac selectivity and yield. • CoPc leads to more active species of Co3+, and thus facilitating the catalytic performance. • Experiments and theoretical calculations have proven the generation of 3,7-dichloro quinoline-CO radical species. • A Co2+/Co3+ mediated free radical mechanism is proposed. Nowadays, the use of quinoline derived synthons as precursors of quinclorac products is an important research topic in green chemistry. O 2 is a cheap, stable, and eco-friendly oxidant, holding promise for organic oxidation reactions. Herein, we have pioneered the discovery of CoPc-Mn(OAc) 2 -HBr (CoPc-Mn-Br) catalyst system for the selective oxidation of 3,7-dichloro-8-dichloro methyl quinoline (3,7-D-8-DMQ) into quinclorac with high 3,7-D-8-DMQ conversion at 59.3 %. The CoPc-Mn-Br exhibits excellent selectivity of quinclorac (up to 60.3 %), affording high quinclorac yield of 35.7 %, which is 3.1-fold higher than the yield of Co(OAc) 2 -Mn(OAc) 2 -HBr (Co-Mn-Br). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) investigations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that CoPc promotes the adsorption and activation of O 2 in this oxidation process, which generates more Co3+, leading to producing the reactive intermediate species 3,7-dichloro-8-carbonyl quinoline free radicals via the radical process. The insight achieved from this fundamental study may be further applied to other organic syntheses via selective oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly efficient cooperative furfuryl alcohol conversion and H 2 evolution in one photoredox cycle over 1D/2D Mn x Cd 1-x S/Ti 3 C 2 MXene Schottky junction. [Display omitted] • A 1D/2D Mn x Cd 1-x S/Ti 3 C 2 MXene photocatalyst is synthesized. • Furfural synthesis coupled with H 2 production is conducted in one photoredox cycle. • Schottky junction structure facilitates the separation and transfer of photoinduced carriers. • A tentative mechanism for cooperative furfuryl alcohol conversion and H 2 evolution is proposed. Selective and efficient photocatalytic transformation of biomass-derived platform molecules to high-value-added fuels or chemicals is a great challenge for green chemistry, especially utilizing visible light energy and earth-abundant catalytic materials. In this work, we report a 1D/2D Mn x Cd 1-x S/Ti 3 C 2 (MCSTC-X) Schottky junction structure to achieve efficient photocharge separation/transfer via in-situ interfacial self-assembly strategy. Under visible light illumination, the optimized MCSTC-7.5 catalyst enables the selective conversion of furfuryl alcohol into furfural with a production rate of 764.3 μmol·g−1·h−1, accompanied by water splitting into H 2 with a generation rate of 756.5 μmol·g−1·h−1. Benefiting from the internal electric field in the Schottky junction structure, the efficient separation and transfer of photoinduced charge carriers are realized in one photoredox cycle. Moreover, a plausible reaction mechanism for the photocatalytic selective valorization of furfuryl alcohol to furfural and H 2 evolution is proposed. Hopefully, this work would open a new avenue for sustainable and practical production of solar chemicals and fuels by rationally designing 1D/2D Schottky junction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To implement an outcome‐driven frequency filter for improving radiomics‐based modeling of human papillomavirus (HPV) for patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Methods and materials: One hundred twenty‐eight OPSCC patients with known HPV status (60‐HPV+ and 68‐HPV–, confirmed by immunohistochemistry‐P16 protein testing) were retrospectively studied. A 3D Discrete Fourier Transform was applied on contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (CE‐CT) images of patient gross tumor volumes (GTVs) to transform intensity distributions to the frequency domain and estimate frequency power spectrums of HPV– and HPV+ patient cohorts. Statistical analyses were performed to rank frequency bands contributing toward the prediction of HPV status. An outcome‐driven frequency filter was designed accordingly and applied to GTV frequency information. A 3D inverse discrete Fourier transform was applied to reconstruct HPV‐related frequency‐filtered images. Radiomics features (11 feature‐categories) were extracted from pre‐ and post‐frequency filtered images using our previously published "ROdiomiX" software. Least‐absolute‐shrinkage‐and‐selection‐operation (Lasso) combined with a generalized linear model (Lasso‐GLM) was developed to identify and rank feature subsets with the optimal information for prediction of HPV+/–. Radiomics‐based Lasso‐GLM classifiers (pre‐ and post‐frequency filtered) were constructed and validated using random permutation sampling and nested cross‐validation (CV) techniques. Average area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC), and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) were computed to estimate generalization error and prediction performance. Results: Among 192 radiomic features, 15 features were found to be statistically significant discriminators between HPV+/– cohorts on post‐frequency filtered CE‐CT images. Fourteen such radiomic features were observed on pre‐frequency filtered datasets. Discriminant features included tumor morphology and intensity contrast. Performances for prediction of HPV for the pre‐ and post‐frequency filtered Lasso‐GLM classifiers were as follows: AUC/PPV/NPV = 0.789/0.755/0.805 and 0.850/0.808/0.877, respectively. Nested CV performances for prediction of HPV for the pre‐ and post‐frequency filtered Lasso‐GLM classifiers were as follows: AUC/PPV/NPV = 0.814/0.725/0.877 and 0.890/0.820/0.911, respectively. Conclusion: Albeit subject to confirmation in a larger cohort, this pilot study presents encouraging results on the importance of frequency analysis prior to radiomic feature extraction toward enhancement of model performance for characterizing HPV in patients with OPSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Nicotinic ACh receptors containing the α7 sub-unit (α7-nAChRs) suppress inflammation through a wide range of pathways in immune cells. These receptors are thus potentially involved in a number of inflammatory diseases. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of α7-nAChRs remain to be described.Experimental Approach: Anti-inflammatory effects of α7-nAChR agonists were assessed in both murine macrophages (RAW 264.7) and bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM), stimulated with LPS, using immunoblotting, RT-PCR and luciferase reporter assays. The role of adenylyl cyclase-6 in the degradation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) following endocytosis, was explored via overexpression and knockdown. A mouse model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) induced by porcine pancreatic elastase was used to confirm key findings.Results: Anti-inflammatory effects of α7-nAChRs were largely dependent on adenylyl cyclase-6 activation, as knockdown of adenylyl cyclase-6 considerably reduced the effects of α7-nAChR agonists while adenylyl cyclase-6 overexpression promoted them. We found that α7-nAChRs and adenylyl cyclase-6 are co-localized in lipid rafts of macrophages and directly interact. Activation of adenylyl cyclase-6 led to increased degradation of TLR4. Administration of the α7-nAChR agonist PNU-282987 attenuated pathological and inflammatory end points in a mouse model of COPD.Conclusion and Implications: The α7-nAChRs inhibit inflammation through activating adenylyl cyclase-6 and promoting degradation of TLR4. The use of α7-nAChR agonists may represent a novel therapeutic approach for treating COPD and possibly other inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The interaction between immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and radiation (RT) for brain metastases has not been well understood. Given that acute neurotoxicity from this combination is not well characterized, we reviewed patients receiving ICB and RT for brain metastases. Methods Patients treated with ICB and cranial RT from 2010 through 2017 were reviewed. ICB and RT must have been administered within 30 days of each other. Treatment parameters, performance status, symptoms prior to treatment, and toxicity were extracted from the electronic medical record. Survival was calculated from the end of RT to last follow-up or death. Results Seventy-eight patients were included. Median follow-up was 177 days (range, 12-1603). Median age was 64 years old (range, 29-98) and 47 (63%) were male. The main tumor types were melanoma (n = 47) and nonsmall-cell lung cancer (n = 19). Fifty-seven patients were treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and 21 with whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Most patients received single-agent ICB, though 4 patients received nivolumab and ipilimumab. Forty-one (53%) patients reported no neurologic toxicity. Grade 2 or greater neurologic toxicities were reported in 12 (21%) and 8 (38%) patients in the SRS and WBRT groups, respectively. WBRT was associated with a greater risk of any neurotoxicity, though there was no correlation between ICB agent and toxicity. Sequencing of ICB and RT (ie, <30 days vs <7) did not influence rates of toxicity. Conclusions ICB during SRS or WBRT does not appear to worsen acute neurotoxicity compared to historical controls of RT alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Outcomes after adjuvant radiotherapy for cutaneous melanoma with perineural invasion (PNI).Methods: Seven patients (5 cutaneous, 2 recurrent nerve lesions) received radiotherapy.Results: At a median 4.5 years: Two patients did not recur; no local failures occurred. Three patients who omitted nodal irradiation developed regional failures (2 out-of-field, 1 in-field). Three patients developed distant metastases. Four died with disease (median, 3.6 years); 1 died from intercurrent disease (13.0 years). Two are alive without disease (6.8 and 11.6 years). No patient experienced grade ≥3 toxicity.Conclusions: Postoperative radiotherapy can reduce local recurrences; primary radiotherapy for unresectable disease is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a retrospective study of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) for 94 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer at our institution. The patients were treated with either 50 Gy in five treatments or 48 Gy in four treatments, corresponding to biologically effective doses (BED) of 100 Gy or 105.6 Gy, respectively. The results demonstrate that, with relatively low BEDs, we can achieve excellent local control with minimal toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Machine learning (ML), a type of artificial intelligence (AI) technology that uses a data-driven approach for pattern recognition, has been shown to be beneficial for many tasks across healthcare. To characterize the commercial availability of AI/ML applications in the clinic, we performed a detailed analysis of AI/ML-enabled medical devices approved/cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by June 2021.Methods/materials: The publicly available approval letters by the FDA on 343 AI/ML-enabled medical devices compiled by the agency were reviewed. The characteristics of the devices and the patterns of their intended use were analyzed, and basic descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the aggregated data.Results: Most devices were reviewed by radiology (70.3%) and cardiovascular (12.0%) medical specialty panels. The growth of these devices sharply rose since the mid-2010s. Most (95.0%) devices were cleared under the 510(k) premarket notification pathway, and 69.4% were software as a medical device (SaMD). Of the 241 radiology-related devices, the most common applications were for diagnostic assistance (48.5%) and image reconstruction (14.1%). Of the 117 radiology-related devices for diagnostic assistance, 20.5% were developed for breast lesion assessment and 14.5% for cardiac function assessment on echocardiogram. Of the 41 cardiology-related devices, the most common applications were electrocardiography-based arrhythmia detection (46.3%) and hemodynamics & vital signs monitoring (26.8%).Conclusion: In this study, we characterized the patterns and trends of AI/ML-enabled medical devices approved or cleared by the FDA. To our knowledge, this is the most up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of the landscape as of 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar was used as a heterogeneous activator for peroxymonosulfate (PMS), and the activation performance strongly depended on the structure, functional groups, and modification of the biochar. In this study, a new type of modified biochar was synthesized by utilizing the Mn(II) adsorption capacity of bacteria. After one-step pyrolysis of Mn(II)-adsorbed bacterial cells at 800 °C, a Mn-incorporated bacterial-derived biochar (Mn-BBC) was successfully produced. It exhibited structural heterogeneity, with MnO located at the surface of the BBC matrix, as shown on the result of SEM and XRD. Compared to BBC, Mn-BBC showed a 10-fold increase (0.0727 min−1 versus 0.0069 min−1) of pollutant removal rate. In addition, it also showed anti-interference capacity against common water matrix (except 10 mM CO 3 2-) and great stability/reusability. Chemical quenching, electron spin resonance, and pyrophosphate trapping indicated an indirect but important role of the superoxide, formed during the self-decomposition of PMS. The MnO on Mn-BBC can be oxidized by superoxide to produce surface Mn(III), which then binds to PMS and forms a surface complex. This complex promotes electron transfer from the pollutant to the Mn-BBC, facilitating the oxidation of the contaminants. Overall, this study confirmed the PMS activation capacity and mechanism of Mn-BBC, which expands the application of BBC-based materials derived from metal-adsorbed microbes. [Display omitted] • Metal ion-loaded bacterial cells can be a source of biochar. • Mn-incorporated biochar presents 10-folds higher activity than pristine biochar. • Surface Mn(III) is produced from the MnO oxidation by superoxide. • Electron-transfer from pollutant to PMS-Mn(III) complex is the dominant pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterogeneous sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) have been widely reported over the last decade as a promising technology for pollutant removal from wastewater. In this study, a novel peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator was obtained by visible-light-driven Mn(II) oxidation in the presence of nitrate. The photochemically synthesized manganese oxides (PC-MnO x) were polymorphic amorphous nanoparticles and nanorods, with an average oxidation state of approximately 3.0. It possesses effective PMS activation capacity and can remove 20 mg L−1 acid organic II (AO7) within 30 min. The AO7 removal performance of PC-MnO x was slightly decreased in natural waterbodies and in the presence of CO 3 2-, while it showed an anti-interference capacity for Cl-, NO 3 - and humic acid. Chemical quenching, reactive oxygen species (ROS) trapping, X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), in-situ Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical experiments supported a nonradical mechanism, i.e., electron transfer from AO7 to the metastable PC-MnO x -PMS complex, which was responsible for AO7 oxidation. The PC-MnO x -PMS system also showed substrate preferences based on their redox potentials. Moreover, PC-MnO x could activate periodate (PI) but not peroxydisulfate (PDS) or H 2 O 2. Overall, this study provides a new catalyst for PMS activation through a mild and green synthesis approach. [Display omitted] • Amorphous MnOx was obtained through visible-light-driven Mn(II) oxidation. • Amorphous MnOx-PMS can remove pollutants in a wide pH range. • Surface Mn(III)-PMS complex is essential for PMS activation. • Electron-transfer was regarded as the dominated pathway for AO7 degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time-domain correlation information of wind generation is important for wind power utilization. This paper proposes a parametric approach for the short-term multiperiod joint probability density function (JPDF) forecast of wind generation. The approach makes a spot forecast of wind generation by using support vector machine (SVM), and the probability distribution of the SVM forecast error is estimated by sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) which assumes that the forecast error follows a Gaussian distribution. Then, the SVM forecast result is corrected. The correlation matrix of the forecast errors within multiple successive forecast periods is estimated using the historical data. By combining the variance information obtained by SBL and the correlation matrix, the covariance matrix of the forecast errors is formed. Thereby, the JPDF of wind generation is obtained. Data collected from an actual wind farm are used for the study, and the results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The justification of the Gaussian assumption of SBL is also explained in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic diagnosis of malignant prostate cancer patients from mpMRI has been studied heavily in the past years. Model interpretation and domain drift have been the main road blocks for clinical utilization. As an extension from our previous work we trained on a public cohort with 201 patients and the cropped 2.5D slices of the prostate glands were used as the input, and the optimal model were searched in the model space using autoKeras. As an innovative move, peripheral zone (PZ) and central gland (CG) were trained and tested separately, the PZ detector and CG detector were demonstrated effective in highlighting the most suspicious slices out of a sequence, hopefully to greatly ease the workload for the physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-situ constructing Schottky junction via anchoring Ni-P alloy onto defect-rich ZnS nanospheres for highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic H 2 production. • A unique Schottky junction composed of Ni-P alloy and defect-rich ZnS nanospheres (Ni-P/DR-ZnS) was in-situ fabricated. • The Ni-P/DR-ZnS nanocomposites displayed excellent photocatalytic H 2 evolution activity and stability under visible light. • The as-formed Schottky junction accelerated the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers. • The transfer mechanism of photogenerated charge over the Ni-P/DR-ZnS was studied in detail. The development of efficient and stable photocatalysts is fundamentally required for sunlight-driven water splitting. Herein, Ni-P alloy is controllably anchored onto the surface of defect-rich ZnS (DR-ZnS) nanospheres through in-situ photodeposition strategy. The optimized Ni-P/DR-ZnS nanocomposite displays superior visible-light photocatalytic H 2 production rate (69.92 μmol h−1), which is about 29 times and 3.6 times higher than that of the bare DR-ZnS and 1 wt% Pt/DR-ZnS, respectively, and a notable apparent quantum yield of 2.4 % at 420 nm. The existence of rich defects endows the DR-ZnS with visible-light absorption capability. The constructed Schottky junction between the Ni-P alloy and DR-ZnS accelerates the transfer of photogenerated electrons from DR-ZnS to Ni-P, thus boosting the photocatalytic performance. Moreover, the charge transfer process and underlying photocatalytic mechanism are unravelled by multiple in-depth characterizations. This research sheds novel light on rationally fabricating high-efficient and low-cost photocatalysts through integrating defect engineering and Schottky junction design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel AgIn 5 S 8 /ZnS Z-scheme heterojunction was fabricated for the first time. • The AgIn 5 S 8 /ZnS displayed outstanding photocatalytic H 2 evolution performance. • The Zn defect mediated the transport and separation of charge carriers. • The superior performance was ascribed to the Z-scheme heterojunction. Exploring high-efficiency Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst has been regarded as an effective approach for promoting photocatalytic hydrogen production efficiency. In this study, a novel direct Z-scheme heterojunction composed of AgIn 5 S 8 (denoted as AIS) and Zn-defective ZnS (denoted as D-ZnS) was fabricated via two-step hydrothermal method. The AIS/D-ZnS heterojunction exhibited improved visible light harvesting capability, prolonged charge lifetime and promoted charge separation efficiency, thus contributing to the remarkably enhanced photocatalytic activity as well as stability. The photocatalytic H 2 evolution rate of the optimized (0.10:1)AIS/D-ZnS reached 932.76 μmol·h−1 g−1, which was 12 times higher than that of bare D-ZnS (75.13 μmol·h−1 g−1) under visible light irradiation, and an optimal apparent quantum yield of 3.7% was achieved at λ = 420 nm. TEM, XPS, EPR and PL results confirmed the appropriate concentration of Zn defects is conducive to the separation of photogenerated carriers. DMPO-EPR and PL probe experiments for determining O 2 − and OH active radicals further proved that the transfer and separation of electrons and holes followed Z-scheme mechanism. This work not only presents an alternative strategy for the construction of highly efficient Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts, but also provides new insights into the role of defects in mediating the separation and migration of charge carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Salivary duct carcinomas (SDC) can present with distinct immunologic profiles similar to breast cancer, such as androgen receptor (AR) and HER-2/Neu-positivity, raising the hypothesis that these tumors may respond to hormonal signaling. No consensus exists on how to best manage this entity. The data evaluating the use of targeted therapies, such as androgen deprivation therapy and HER-2 receptor inhibitors, in the front-line setting when treating curatively is limited. We studied patients with AR+ SDC, demonstrating high rates of control and survival using an aggressive approach to treatment. Immunoprofiles were highly variable, highlighting the potential for future treatment individualization. We hope that this may allow for personalization of treatment in the future, using molecular profiling to determine whether the addition of biological agents in the definitive setting against specific targets, such as AR and HER-2/Neu, will further improve outcomes for these patients. Background: Salivary duct carcinomas (SDC) are a rare and aggressive subtype of salivary gland neoplasm. They can present with distinct immunoprofiles, such as androgen receptor (AR) and HER-2/Neu-positivity. To date, no consensus exists on how to best manage this entity. Methods: All patients diagnosed with nonmetastatic AR+ SDC of the parotid from 2013 to 2019 treated with curative intent were included. Immunologic tumor profiling was conducted using 24 distinct markers. Kaplan–Meier analyses were used to estimate locoregional recurrence (LRR), distant control, and overall survival (OS). Results: Fifteen patients were included. Nine (60%) patients presented with T4 disease and eight (53%) had positive ipsilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. Ten (67%) patients underwent trimodality therapy, including surgery followed by adjuvant radiation and concurrent systemic therapy. The median follow-up was 5.5 years (interquartile range, 4.8–6.1). The estimated 5-year rates of LRR, distant progression, and OS were 6%, 13%, and 87%, respectively. Conclusion: Despite only including AR+ SDC of the parotid, immunoprofiles, such as expression of HER-2, were highly variable, highlighting the potential to tailor systemic regimens based on individual histologic profiles in the future. Studies with larger patient numbers using tumor-specific molecular profiling and tumor heterogeneity analyses are justified to better understand the biology of these tumors. Molecularly informed treatment approaches, including the potential use of AR- and HER-2/Neu-directed therapies upfront in the definitive setting, may hold future promise to further improve outcomes for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Immunotherapy represents the standard-of-care systemic therapy in patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer (HNC). However, these patients often present with local disease, which can affect quality of life, and local progression can lead to significant morbidity. Local response rates from immunotherapy alone are subpar. Thus, palliative radiation is often utilized in this scenario. 'QuadShot'(QS), a hypofractionated palliative radiation regimen, can provide symptomatic relief and local control and may potentiate the effects of immunotherapy. There have been no previous studies evaluating the combination of immunotherapy with QS. We found that the combination of QS with concurrent immunotherapy was well tolerated and significantly improved local control compared to QS alone. The median survival of 9.4 months compares favorably to historical controls for patients with HNC treated with QS. This approach represents a promising treatment option for patients with HNC unsuited for curative-intent treatment and warrants prospective evaluation. Objectives: Patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer (HNC) have limited treatment options. 'QuadShot' (QS), a hypofractionated palliative radiotherapy regimen, can provide symptomatic relief and local control and may potentiate the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We compared outcomes of QS ± concurrent ICIs in the palliative treatment of HNC. Materials and Methods: We identified patients who received ≥three cycles of QS from 2017 to 2022 and excluded patients without post-treatment clinical evaluation or imaging. Outcomes for patients who received QS alone were compared to those treated with ICI concurrent with QS, defined as receipt of ICI within 4 weeks of QS. Results: Seventy patients were included, of whom 57% received concurrent ICI. Median age was 65.5 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 57.9–77.8), and 50% patients had received prior radiation to a median dose of 66 Gy (IQR: 60–70). Median follow-up was 8.8 months. Local control was significantly higher with concurrent ICIs (12-month: 85% vs. 63%, p = 0.038). Distant control (12-month: 56% vs. 63%, p = 0.629) and median overall survival (9.0 vs. 10.0 months, p = 0.850) were similar between the two groups. On multivariable analysis, concurrent ICI was a significant predictor of local control (HR for local failure: 0.238; 95% CI: 0.073–0.778; p = 0.018). Overall, 23% patients experienced grade 3 toxicities, which was similar between the two groups. Conclusions: The combination of QS with concurrent ICIs was well tolerated and significantly improved local control compared to QS alone. The median OS of 9.4 months compares favorably to historical controls for patients with HNC treated with QS. This approach represents a promising treatment option for patients with HNC unsuited for curative-intent treatment and warrants prospective evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper describes the first challenge on head and neck tumor segmentation in PET/CT. • Training (n = 201 , 4 centers) and test sets (n = 53 , 1 unseen center) amount to 254 cases. • All ground truth segmentations underwent cleaning to ensure quality and homogeneity. • The winning team obtained a DSC of 0.759, showing a larg improvement over the baseline. • Additional post-challenge analyses (e.g. false positives analysis, ranking stability). [Display omitted] This paper relates the post-analysis of the first edition of the HEad and neCK TumOR (HECKTOR) challenge. This challenge was held as a satellite event of the 23rd International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) 2020, and was the first of its kind focusing on lesion segmentation in combined FDG-PET and CT image modalities. The challenge's task is the automatic segmentation of the Gross Tumor Volume (GTV) of Head and Neck (H&N) oropharyngeal primary tumors in FDG-PET/CT images. To this end, the participants were given a training set of 201 cases from four different centers and their methods were tested on a held-out set of 53 cases from a fifth center. The methods were ranked according to the Dice Score Coefficient (DSC) averaged across all test cases. An additional inter-observer agreement study was organized to assess the difficulty of the task from a human perspective. 64 teams registered to the challenge, among which 10 provided a paper detailing their approach. The best method obtained an average DSC of 0.7591, showing a large improvement over our proposed baseline method and the inter-observer agreement, associated with DSCs of 0.6610 and 0.61, respectively. The automatic methods proved to successfully leverage the wealth of metabolic and structural properties of combined PET and CT modalities, significantly outperforming human inter-observer agreement level, semi-automatic thresholding based on PET images as well as other single modality-based methods. This promising performance is one step forward towards large-scale radiomics studies in H&N cancer, obviating the need for error-prone and time-consuming manual delineation of GTVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodate (PI)-based advanced oxidation processes are a newly discovered approach for effective pollutant elimination. In this study, we demonstrated that biochar obtained from pyrolysis of anaerobic sewage sludge without any pretreatment can be used for PI activation. The biochar obtained at 800 °C (SBC-800) exhibited the best PI activation capacity using acid organic II (AO7) as substrate. The PI activation was strongly dependent on pH and exhibited the highest AO7 removal rate at pH 3.0. Meanwhile, the anti-interference capacity with common wastewater components and reusability of the SBC-800/PI system were confirmed. Combined with the results of chemical quenching, reactive oxygen species (ROS) trapping, X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), electrochemical and density function theory (DFT)-based calculations, singlet oxygen production and electron transfer mediated by the SBC-800-PI complex were the dominant AO7 oxidation mechanisms. This study provides easily prepared catalysts for PI activation and paves the way for solid waste recycling and reuse. [Display omitted] • Anaerobic sludge derived biochar was firstly used for periodate activation. • Biochar obtained at 800 °C possess the highest pollutant removal capacity • Periodate activation was strong pH-dependent but slight affect by the other factors. • Electron transfer, 1O 2 and hydroxyl radicals contributed to the pollutant oxidation. • Carbonyl group and graphitic N were the main active sites for periodate activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]