Efficacy and safety of rechallenge with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-I&T radioligand therapy in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and outcome of rechallenge [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-I&T in newly progressed mCRPC patients after response to initial [177Lu]Lu-PSMA radioligand therapy (PRLT). METHODS: We retrospectively included 18 patients who underwent rechallenge with [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-I&T. All patients presented with (i) newly progressed disease after response to initial PRLT; (ii) a [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT confirming the presence of PSMA-positive metastases; iii) ECOG performance status 0-1. Adverse events were graded according to CTCAE v5.0. Response was assessed by PSA and classified according to PCWG3 recommendations. For patients who underwent restaging with [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT, imaging response was categorised according to adapted PERCIST v1.0. In patients with discordant [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT and PSA, other available imaging modalities were evaluated to confirm disease status. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the first cycle of initial PRLT and rechallenge PRLT, respectively, until last patient contact or death. RESULTS: Patients were initially treated with a median of 5 cycles (range 4-7) and were rechallenged after a median of 9 months (range 3-13). Each patient received a median of 4 (range 2-7) rechallenge cycles (median cumulative activity 26.1 GBq). None of the patients experienced life-threatening G4 adverse events during either treatment period. Grade 3 adverse events included one case of anaemia, one case of thrombocytopenia, and one case of renal failure. In 8/18 patients long-term toxicities were evaluated. Serious toxicities (≥ Grade 3) occurred in 3/8 patients (n = 1 G4 thrombocytopenia, n = 1 G4 renal failure and n = 1 pancytopenia and G4 renal failure). Best PSA50%-response was observed in 44% of patients and PSA-disease control was confirmed in 56% of patients at the last cycle. Of the 12/18 patients restaged by imaging, 6/12 (50%) patients had disease control (partial response/stable disease), 1/12 had a mixed response, and 5/12 had progression. After a median follow-up time of 25 months (range 14-44), 10 patients had died, 7 were still alive, and one patient was lost at follow-up. The median OS was 29 months (95%CI, 14.3-43.7 months) for the initial treatment and 11 months (95%CI, 8.1-13.8 months) for the first rechallenge course. CONCLUSION: More than half of patients benefit from rechallenge PRLT. Our analysis suggests that rechallenge may prolong survival in selected patients, with an acceptable safety profile.

Casimir Effect in MEMS: Materials, Geometries, and Metrologies-A Review.

Casimir force densities, i.e., force per area, become very large if two solid material surfaces come closer together to each other than 10 nm. In most cases, the forces are attractive. In some cases, they can be repulsive depending on the solid materials and the fluid medium in between. This review provides an overview of experimental and theoretical studies that have been performed and focuses on four main aspects: (i) the combinations of different materials, (ii) the considered geometries, (iii) the applied experimental measurement methodologies and (iv) a novel self-assembly methodology based on Casimir forces. Briefly reviewed is also the influence of additional parameters such as temperature, conductivity, and surface roughness. The Casimir effect opens many application possibilities in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), where an overview is also provided. The knowledge generation in this fascinating field requires interdisciplinary approaches to generate synergetic effects between technological fabrication metrology, theoretical simulations, the establishment of adequate models, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Finally, multiple applications are addressed as a research roadmap.

Adverse childhood experiences, gender, and suicidality among Florida high school students: Examining intervening mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent a key risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents. However, the intervening mechanisms linking ACEs and suicidality, and whether such processes vary by gender, remain underexplored. OBJECTIVE: The present study examines whether the relationships between ACEs and the likelihood of experiencing suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide are indirect through depressive symptoms and low self-control. This study also investigates whether these direct and indirect paths might be moderated by gender. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The analyses make use of data on a statewide representative sample of students enrolled in public high schools in Florida (N = 23,078) from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS). METHODS: Generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) was used to estimate the direct and indirect effects of ACEs on the likelihood of suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide. The indirect effects were assessed using bootstrapping, and between-gender differences in the coefficients were tested. RESULTS: ACEs has direct associations with depressive symptoms, low self-control, and both suicidality outcomes. The effects of ACEs on suicidal thoughts are indirect through both depressive symptoms and low self-control, and the effects of ACEs on suicide attempts are indirect through depressive symptoms. Limited gender differences in these pathways emerge. CONCLUSIONS: For male and female youth, ACEs are associated with heightened depression symptoms and reduced self-control, and both of these factors partially explain the previously established relationship between ACEs and suicidality.

The greenbeard gene tgrB1 regulates altruism and cheating in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Greenbeard genetic elements encode rare perceptible signals, signal recognition ability, and altruism towards others that display the same signal. Putative greenbeards have been described in various organisms but direct evidence for all the properties in one system is scarce. The tgrB1-tgrC1 allorecognition system of Dictyostelium discoideum encodes two polymorphic membrane proteins which protect cells from chimerism-associated perils. During development, TgrC1 functions as a ligand-signal and TgrB1 as its receptor, but evidence for altruism has been indirect. Here, we show that mixing wild-type and activated tgrB1 cells increases wild-type spore production and relegates the mutants to the altruistic stalk, whereas mixing wild-type and tgrB1-null cells increases mutant spore production and wild-type stalk production. The tgrB1-null cells cheat only on partners that carry the same tgrC1-allotype. Therefore, TgrB1 activation confers altruism whereas TgrB1 inactivation causes allotype-specific cheating, supporting the greenbeard concept and providing insight into the relationship between allorecognition, altruism, and exploitation.

The intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender and the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

The prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors across distinct intersections of race/ethnicity and gender among adolescents remains understudied. The current study seeks to address this important gap in suicide scholarship using a statewide representative sample of U.S. Florida middle school and high school adolescents. Data drawn from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS) (N = 41,764) were analyzed to examine disparities in suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among 26 racial/ethnic and gender subgroups of middle school and high school aged adolescents. Survey-weighted prevalence estimates for both suicidality outcomes were generated, and binary contrasts were used to assess the statistical significance of the differences in the probabilities between members of each subgroup and youth belonging to all other subgroups. Our results indicate that the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts was highly gendered and varied according to racial/ethnic subgroups. Native American girls reported more suicidal thoughts (49.9%) and attempts (16.5%) in the past 12 months than any race/gender group. Other racial/ethnic and gender groups that reported particularly high rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts were West Indian/Caribbean female adolescents (48.8% and 13.4%, respectively), Puerto Rican female adolescents (48.5% and 14.7%, respectively), and Black/non-Hispanic female adolescents (19.9% and 15.6%, respectively). Because certain gender and race/ethnic subgroups are at an increased risk for suicidality, more research is needed to better understand the risk and protective factors to determine which suicide prevention strategies might best serve each group.

A novel cubic-exp evaluation algorithm considering non-symmetrical axial response signals of confocal microscopes.

The depth discrimination in confocal microscopy is based on the digital analysis of depth response signals obtained by each camera pixel during measurement. Various signal-processing algorithms are used for this purpose. The accuracy of these algorithms is inter alia restricted by the axial symmetry of the signals. However, in practice response signals are rather asymmetrical especially in case of measurement objects with critical surface structures such as edges or steep flanks. We present a novel signal-processing algorithm based on an exponential function with a cubic argument to handle asymmetrical and also symmetrical depth response signals. Results obtained by this algorithm are compared to those of commonly used signal processing algorithms. It turns out that the novel algorithm is more robust, more accurate and exhibits a repeatability of a similar order compared to other algorithms. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: A novel, more robust algorithm with improved accuracy in peak extraction especially for asymmetrical response signals in confocal microscopy is introduced and validated. Improved accuracy is demonstrated for height and layer thickness measurements.

The trial tax and the intersection of race/ethnicity, gender, and age in criminal court sentencing.

OBJECTIVE: Prior research consistently demonstrates that defendants convicted at trial are sentenced more harshly than those who plead guilty. Additionally, a vast literature has shown that Black and Hispanic defendants, and especially young minority males, are particularly disadvantaged in sentencing, though these effects may be conditional on various legal and case-processing factors. However, it remains unclear how the mode of conviction might moderate these inequalities according to offenders' combined race/ethnicity, gender, and age. HYPOTHESES: I expected that mode of conviction would moderate the joint effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and age on the imposition of a sentence to prison and on sentence length such that young minority males convicted at trial would receive more severe punishments than members of other subgroups. METHOD: The analyses made use of data on defendants sentenced for noncapital felony crimes in Florida circuit courts over a 12-year period (N = 1,076,500). Hurdle regression models and marginal effects analysis were used. RESULTS: Greater sentencing disparities in absolute as well as relative terms between young minority males and other race/ethnicity, gender, and age subgroups were found among trial cases than among plea cases. Further, Black and Hispanic males were subjected to trial taxes that were substantially larger than those of other subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that defendants who plead guilty are generally sentenced according to predictable and standardized "going rates" of punishment, whereas the enhanced discretion afforded judges in trial cases as well as racialized "bad facts" about defendants that emerge at trial may drive inequalities in punishment. Thus, extralegal sentencing disparities tied to mode of conviction are an area in which criminal justice reform efforts might be directed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Differential Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Florida High School Students: The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender.

PURPOSE: The prevalence of exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) across distinct intersections of race/ethnicity and gender among adolescents remains relatively unknown. The current study seeks to address this important gap in the literature using a statewide representative sample of Florida high school students. METHODS: Data drawn from the 2020 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS) (N = 20,438) were analyzed to examine differences in ACE exposure among 26 racial/ethnic and gender subgroups of high-school aged youth. Lifetime exposure to ACEs was constructed using 10 different ACE categories to measure ACEs prevalence as reported exposure to 1+ ACEs and 4+ ACEs. RESULTS: Exposure to ACEs was highly gendered and varied according to racial/ethnic subgroup. While notable differences across gender and racial/ethnic groups emerged when measuring prevalence as exposure to 1+ ACEs, several of these disparities were further amplified when prevalence was measured as exposure to 4+ ACEs. Native American female adolescents represented the group at greatest risk of high exposure to ACEs, with more than 50% of such youth reporting exposure to 4+ ACEs. DISCUSSION: The prevalence of ACE exposure varies significantly across race/ethnic and gender subgroups of youth. These intersections should be considered for prevention efforts and clinical treatments of trauma exposure as ACEs may be linked to certain outcomes or behaviors based on high exposure in certain subpopulations of youth.

Global Soil Hydraulic Properties dataset based on legacy site observations and robust parameterization.

The representation of land surface processes in hydrological and climatic models critically depends on the soil water characteristics curve (SWCC) that defines the plant availability and water storage in the vadose zone. Despite the availability of SWCC datasets in the literature, significant efforts are required to harmonize reported data before SWCC parameters can be determined and implemented in modeling applications. In this work, a total of 15,259 SWCCs from 2,702 sites were assembled from published literature, harmonized, and quality-checked. The assembled SWCC data provide a global soil hydraulic properties (GSHP) database. Parameters of the van Genuchten (vG) SWCC model were estimated from the data using the R package 'soilhypfit'. In many cases, information on the wet- or dry-end of the SWCC measurements were missing, and we used pedotransfer functions (PTFs) to estimate saturated and residual water contents. The new database quantifies the differences of SWCCs across climatic regions and can be used to create global maps of soil hydraulic properties.

Unstructured Socializing with Peers, Low Self-Control, and Substance Use.

Research consistently finds that unstructured socializing with peers and low self-control are both positively associated with substance use among adolescents. However, largely absent from the literature is a consideration of whether unstructured socializing with peers and low self-control have differential and interactive effects when predicting usage of different classifications of drugs. The current study addresses these issues using data collected on a statewide sample of middle school and high school students who participated in the 2017 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey. Results indicate that (1) unstructured socializing with peers is a stronger predictor of soft drug use than low self-control, (2) low self-control is a stronger predictor of hard drug use than unstructured socializing with peers, and (3) the effect of unstructured socializing on both soft and hard drug use is diminished among adolescents who are lower in self-control.