Interfacial Modification of Lithium Metal Anode by Boron Nitride Nanosheets.

Metallic lithium (Li) is the most attractive anode for Li batteries because it holds the highest theoretical specific capacity (3860 mA h g-1) and the lowest redox potential (-3.040 V vs SHE). However, the poor interface stability of the Li anode, which is caused by the high reactivity and dendrite formation of metallic Li upon cycling, leads to undesired electrochemical performance and safety issues. While two-dimensional boron nitride (BN) nanosheets have been utilized as an interfacial layer, the mechanism on how they stabilize the Li-electrolyte interface remains elusive. Here, we show how BN nanosheet interlayers suppress Li dendrite formation, enhance Li ion transport kinetics, facilitate Li deposition, and reduce electrolyte decomposition. We show through both simulation and experimental data that the desolvation process of a solvated Li ion within the interlayer nanochannels kinetically favors Li deposition. This process enables long cycling stability, reduced voltage polarization, improved interface stability, and negligible volume expansion. Their application as an interfacial layer in symmetric cells and full cells that display significantly improved electrochemical properties is also demonstrated. The knowledge gained in this study provides both critical insights and practical guidelines for designing a Li metal anode with significantly improved performance.

Liposomal formulation of a new antifungal hybrid compound provides protection against Candida auris in the ex vivo skin colonization model.

The newly emerged pathogen, Candida auris, presents a serious threat to public health worldwide. This multidrug-resistant yeast often colonizes and persists on the skin of patients, can easily spread from person to person, and can cause life-threatening systemic infections. New antifungal therapies are therefore urgently needed to limit and control both superficial and systemic C. auris infections. In this study, we designed a novel antifungal agent, PQA-Az-13, that contains a combination of indazole, pyrrolidine, and arylpiperazine scaffolds substituted with a trifluoromethyl moiety. PQA-Az-13 demonstrated antifungal activity against biofilms of a set of 10 different C. auris clinical isolates, representing all four geographical clades distinguished within this species. This compound showed strong activity, with MIC values between 0.67 and 1.25 µg/mL. Cellular proteomics indicated that PQA-Az-13 partially or completely inhibited numerous enzymatic proteins in C. auris biofilms, particularly those involved in both amino acid biosynthesis and metabolism processes, as well as in general energy-producing processes. Due to its hydrophobic nature and limited aqueous solubility, PQA-Az-13 was encapsulated in cationic liposomes composed of soybean phosphatidylcholine (SPC), 1,2-dioleoyloxy-3-trimethylammonium-propane chloride (DOTAP), and N-(carbonyl-methoxypolyethylene glycol-2000)-1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, sodium salt (DSPE-PEG 2000), and characterized by biophysical and spectral techniques. These PQA-Az-13-loaded liposomes displayed a mean size of 76.4 nm, a positive charge of +45.0 mV, a high encapsulation efficiency of 97.2%, excellent stability, and no toxicity to normal human dermal fibroblasts. PQA-Az-13 liposomes demonstrated enhanced antifungal activity levels against both C. auris in in vitro biofilms and ex vivo skin colonization models. These initial results suggest that molecules like PQA-Az-13 warrant further study and development.

In situ biaxial loading and multi-scale deformation measurements of nanostructured materials at the CoSAXS beamline at MAX IV Laboratory.

Characterization of the mechanical response of polymers and composite materials relies heavily on the macroscopic stress-strain response in uniaxial tensile configurations. To provide representative information, the deformation process must be homogeneous within the gauge length, which is a condition that is rarely achieved due to stress concentration or inhomogeneities within the specimen. In this work, the development of a biaxial mechanical testing device at the CoSAXS beamline at MAX IV Laboratory is presented. The design facilitates simultaneous measurement of small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS), allowing assessment of the microstructural configuration before, after and during the continuous deformation process at multiple length scales. The construction also supports multiple deformation conditions, while guaranteeing stability even at high loads. Furthermore, the mechanical experiments can be complemented with spatially resolved mesoscopic surface deformation measurements using 3D-surface digital image correlation (DIC). Polycarbonate (PC) was used to demonstrate the varied material response to multi-axial deformation, as PC is isotropic with a high glass transition temperature (∼150°) and high strength. As a result, a clear correlation between full-field methods and the microstructural information determined from WAXS measurements is demonstrated. When a uniaxial load is applied, homogeneous strain regions could be observed extending perpendicular to the applied load. When a secondary axial load was added (biaxial mode), it was observed that high strain domains were created near the centre of the sample and at the boundaries after yield. With increased strain, the deformation in the main deformation direction also increases. Mechanical reliability was demonstrated by carrying out static loading of polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibre (CF) bundles. As a result, the nonlinear stiffening behaviour typically observed in CFs was seen, while no evidence of the creation of new voids during loading was observed. The results support the reliability and broad applicability of the developed technique.

Insights into nanoparticle shape transformation by energetic ions.

Shape modification of embedded nanoparticles can be achieved by means of swift heavy ion irradiation. During irradiation, the particles elongate and align with the direction of the ion beam, presumably due to nanometer-scale phase transitions induced by individual ion impacts. However, the details of this transformation are not fully understood. The shape of metal nanoparticles embedded in dielectric matrices defines the non-linear optical properties of the composite material. Therefore, understanding the transformation process better is beneficial for producing materials with the desired optical properties. We study the elongation mechanism of gold nanoparticles using atomistic simulations. Here we focus on long-timescale processes and adhesion between the nanoparticle and the matrix. Without the necessity of ad-hoc assumptions used earlier, our simulations show that, due to adhesion with the oxide, the nanoparticles can grow in aspect ratio while in the molten state even after silicon dioxide solidifies. Moreover, they demonstrate the active role of the matrix: Only explicit simulations of ion impacts around the embedded nanoparticle provide the mechanism for continuous elongation up to experimental values of aspect ratio. Experimental transmission electron microscopy micrographs of nanoparticles after high-fluence irradiation support the simulations. The elongated nanoparticles in experiments and their interface structures with silica, as characterized by the micrographs, are consistent with the simulations. These findings bring ion beam technology forward as a precise tool for shaping embedded nanostructures for various optical applications.

[Euthanasia and assisted suicide in people with mental disorders]. / Eutanasia y suicidio asistido en personas con enfermedad mental.

Until 2020, only Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Netherlands admitted, under differentiated legal coverage, requests for euthanasia and / or assisted suicide in patients with non-terminal illnesses, and for reasons of intractable and unbearable suffering. Since March 2021 this is also possible in Spain. The objective of this work is to review the existing studies and characteristics of the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide (ESA) in people with mental disorders (TM) and / or dementia (D) and see if the legal requirements essential in ESA applications in these patients are to be met. The hypothesis is that compliance with these requirements is especially difficult in patients with TM-D, either because of the characteristics of the disease itself, or because of the recognized legal security failures. Likewise, there may be sources of fraud not actually prosecuted by the State, either due to the complicity of society and / or due to the necessary cooperation of Medicine. As a result of this review, we raise criticaethical-deontological considerations about the approval of ESA for patients with TM-D, and its errors and consequences, to the reflection of the readers. We propose as an alternative to ESA the so-called ″palliative psychiatry″, which aims at improving the quality of life of patients and their families by facing the problems associated with severe persistent mental illness -potentially fatal- through the prevention and relief of suffering.

Necrosis intestinal, una complicación infrecuente de la nutrición enteral por yeyunostomía / Mesenteric necrosis, a rare complication of feeding jejunostomy

RESUMEN La nutrición enteral es parte importante del soporte vital avanzado en el paciente crítico, y ha demostrado ser más fisiológica, económica y con resultados superiores a la nutrición parenteral. La yeyunostomía para alimentación enteral está indicada cuando no es posible la alimentación por vía oral y está contraindicada la utilización de una sonda nasogástrica o nasoyeyunal de alimentación. Es una vía de alimentación con escasa morbilidad, aunque no está exenta de complicaciones, y algunas de ellas pueden ser graves. Comunicamos un caso de necrosis intestinal vinculado a la alimentación enteral por yeyunostomía en un paciente sometido a una gastrectomía oncológica.

ABSTRACT Enteral nutrition is an important component of advanced life support in the critically ill patient, and has demonstrated to be more physiologic, cheaper and with better results than parenteral nutrition. Jejunostomy for enteral nutrition is indicated when the oral route is impossible and the use of a nasogastric or nasojejunal feeding tube is contraindicated. Although the rate of complications associated with enteral nutrition through jejunostomy is low, they may occur and be serious. We report a case of bowel necrosis associated with a jejunostomy performed for enteral nutrition in a patient who underwent oncologic gastrectomy.

SAXS data modelling for the characterisation of ion tracks in polymers.

Here, we present new models to fit small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data for the characterization of ion tracks in polymers. Ion tracks in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide (PI) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) were created by swift heavy ion irradiation using 197Au and 238U with energies between 185 MeV and 2.0 GeV. Transmission SAXS measurements were performed at the Australian Synchrotron. SAXS data were analysed using two new models that describe the tracks by a cylindrical structure composed of a highly damaged core with a gradual transition to the undamaged material. First, we investigate the 'Soft Cylinder Model', which assumes a smooth function to describe the transition region by a gradual change in density from a core to a matrix. As a simplified and computational less expensive version of the 'Soft Cylinder Model', the 'Core Transition Model' was developed to enable fast fitting. This model assumes a linear increase in density from the core to the matrix. Both models yield superior fits to the experimental SAXS data compared with the often-used simple 'Hard Cylinder Model' assuming a constant density with an abrupt transition.

Tough and Fatigue Resistant Cellulose Nanocrystal Stitched Ti3 C2 Tx MXene Films.

Ti3 C2 Tx MXene (or "MXene" for simplicity) has gained noteworthy attention for its metal-like electrical conductivity and high electrochemical capacitance-a unique blend of properties attractive toward a wide range of applications such as energy storage, healthcare monitoring, and electromagnetic interference shielding. However, processing MXene architectures using conventional methods often deals with the presence of defects, voids, and isotropic flake arrangements, resulting in a trade-off in properties. Here, a sequential bridging (SB) strategy is reported to fabricate dense, freestanding MXene films of interconnected flakes with minimal defects, significantly enhancing its mechanical properties, specifically tensile strength (≈285 MPa) and breaking energy (≈16.1 MJ m-3 ), while retaining substantial values of electrical conductivity (≈3050 S cm-1 ) and electrochemical capacitance (≈920 F cm-3 ). This SB method first involves forming a cellulose nanocrystal-stitched MXene framework, followed by infiltration with structure-densifying calcium cations (Ca2+ ), resulting in tough and fatigue resistant films with anisotropic, evenly spaced, and strongly interconnected flakes - properties essential for developing high-performance energy-storage devices. It is anticipated that the knowledge gained in this work will be extended toward improving the robustness and retaining the electronic properties of 2D nanomaterial-based macroarchitectures.

AnemiaAR: a serious game to support teaching of haematology.

Serious games can be suitable tools for educational support in different areas of knowledge, such as Medicine. These applications, combined with technologies like mixed and augmented reality, provide a differentiated user experience that can keep or improve the interest and motivation of students and teachers during the teaching and learning process. In this context, this study aimed to present the development of AnemiaAR, a mixed reality serious game to support the teaching of haematology, helpful for students and professors in the visualisation and presentation of anaemia concepts. Fourteen medical students from the University of Passo Fundo participated in a pilot study to evaluate the application, considering a sociodemographic questionnaire, a questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model, and two modules of the Game Experience Questionnaire. The preliminary results were satisfactory, showing good acceptance and positive experience of the game, besides improvements. The study also pointed out differences in the game evaluation among participants, considering the prior experience in games, the previously attended haematology subject, and the time spent performing the game tasks.

Toughening Wet-Spun Silk Fibers by Silk Nanofiber Templating.

Regenerated silk fibers typically fall short of silkworm cocoon fibers in mechanical properties due to reduced fiber crystal structure and alignment. One approach to address this has been to employ inorganic materials as reinforcing agents. The present study avoids the need for synthetic additives, demonstrating the first use of exfoliated silk nanofibers to control silk solution crystallization, resulting in all-silk pseudocomposite fibers with remarkable mechanical properties. Incorporating only 0.06 wt% silk nanofibers led to a ≈44% increase in tensile strength (over 600 MPa) and ≈33% increase in toughness (over 200 kJ kg-1 ) compared with fibers without silk nanofibers. These remarkable properties can be attributed to nanofiber crystal seeding in conjunction with fiber draw. The crystallinity nearly doubled from ≈17% for fiber spun from pure silk solution to ≈30% for the silk nanofiber reinforced sample. The latter fiber also shows a high degree of crystal orientation with a Herman's orientation factor of 0.93, a value which approaches that of natural degummed B. mori silk cocoon fiber (0.96). This study provides a strong foundation to guide the development of simple, eco-friendly methods to spin regenerated silk with excellent properties and a hierarchical structure that mimics natural silk.

Central nervous system high-grade neuroepithelial tumor with BCOR alteration: a short report

Central nervous system high-grade neuroepithelial tumors with BCOR alteration are rare. Currently, there are only 24 cases reported in the literature. These tumors are characterized by a change involving the BCOR gene and have a poor prognosis. Studies are needed to improve the current therapy and outcomes of these neoplasms. This case report describes the clinical history of a patient with this disease and aims to contribute to the current knowledge about this new entity.

An actionable hydroeconomic Decision Support System for the assessment of water reallocations in irrigated agriculture. A study of minimum environmental flows in the Douro River Basin, Spain.

Despite major recent advances in socio-hydrology and hydroeconomics research, interdisciplinary methods and models for water policy assessment remain largely concealed to the academic arena. Most river basin authorities still base decision-making on inputs from hydrologic Decision Support Systems (DSS), and have limited information on the economic costs that water policies may impose on the economy. This paper presents a time-variant hierarchical framework that connects a hydrologic module and an economic module by means of two-way feedback protocols. The hydrologic module is designed to fit the AQUATOOL DSS, the hydrologic model used by Spanish river basin authorities to inform decision-making at a basin scale; while the economic module is populated with a Positive Multi-Attribute Mathematical Programming (PMAMP) model that represents the behavior and adaptive responses of irrigators. The proposed hierarchical framework is used to assess the economic repercussions of strengthening irrigation quotas so to achieve minimum environmental flows in the Douro River Basin (Spain) under climate change. Results show that reductions in agricultural water allocations to meet environmental flow requirements create nonlinear incremental profit and employment losses in irrigated agriculture that are on average low to moderate (between -4% and -12.9 % for profit, and between -4.6 % and -12 % for employment, depending on the scenario). During extreme droughts, the abrupt reductions in water availability and agricultural allocations can test farming systems past the breaking point and lead to catastrophic profit and employment losses (>80 %).

SARS-CoV-2 in children with cancer in Brazil: Results of a multicenter national registry.

BACKGROUND: Strategies to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in special populations are complex and challenging. Few studies have addressed the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric patients with cancer in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: Multicenter observational cohort study with prospective records and retrospective analyses starting in April 2020 in 21 pediatric oncology centers distributed throughout Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Patients under 18 years of age who are infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (confirmed diagnosis through reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]) while under treatment at pediatric oncology centers. The variables of interest included clinical symptoms, diagnostic and therapeutic measures. The repercussions of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cancer treatment and general prognosis were monitored. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-nine patients were included (median age 6 [4-13] years, 58% male). Of these, 55.9% had acute leukemia and 34.1% had solid tumors. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 was diagnosed by RT-PCR. Various laboratory markers were analyzed, but showed no correlation with outcome. Children with low or high BMI for age had lower overall survival (71.4% and 82.6%, respectively) than those with age-appropriate BMI (92.7%) (p = .007). The severity of presentation at diagnosis was significantly associated with outcome (p < .001). Overall mortality in the presence of infection was 12.3% (n = 22). CONCLUSION: In children with cancer and COVID-19, lower BMI was associated with worse prognosis. The mortality in this group of patients (12.3%) was significantly higher than that described in the pediatric population overall (∼1%).

Ion track etching of polycarbonate membranes monitored by in situ small angle X-ray scattering.

In situ small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of ion track etching in polycarbonate foils are used to directly monitor the selective dissolution of ion tracks with high precision, including the early stages of etching. Detailed information about the track etching kinetics and size, shape, and size distribution of an ensemble of nanopores is obtained. Time resolved measurements as a function of temperature and etchant concentration show that the pore radius increases almost linearly with time for all conditions and the etching process can be described by an Arrhenius law. The radial etching shows a power law dependency on the etchant concentration. An increase in the etch rate with increasing temperature or concentration of the etchant reduces the penetration of the etchant into the polymer but does not affect the pore size distribution. The in situ measurements provide an estimate for the track etch rate, which is found to be approximately three orders of magnitude higher than the radial etch rate. The measurement methodology enables new experiments studying membrane fabrication and performance in liquid environments.

Influence of different asparaginase formulations in the prognosis of children with acute lymphocytic leukaemia in Brazil: a multicentre, retrospective controlled study.

Our group recently showed that the (ASNase) formulation available in Brazil from 2017 to 2018 when used at the same dose and frequency as the formulation provided previously did not reach the activity considered therapeutic. Based on these, our goal was to assess the impact of these facts on the prognosis of children with ALL at different oncology centers. A multicentre retrospective observational study followed by a prospective follow-up. Patients aged >1 and <18 years in first-line treatment followed up at 10 referral centres, between 2014 and 2018 who received the formulation Leuginase® were identified (Group B). For each patient, the centre registered 2 patients who received ASNase in the presentation of Aginasa® exclusively (Group A). Data collection was registered using (Redcap® ). A total of 419 patients were included; 282 in Group A and 137 in B. Group A had a 3-year OS and EFS of 91·8% and 84·8% respectively, while Group B had a 3-year OS of 83·8% (P = 0·003) and EFS of 76·1% (P = 0·008). There was an impact on 3-year OS and EFS of children who received a formulation. This result highlights the importance of evaluating ASNase and monitoring its activity.

Epidemiological evaluation and survival of children with acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract Objective: This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics and survival rates of children with acute myeloid leukemia treated in hospitals in southern Brazil and compare them with international data. Methods: A multicenter cohort study was conducted with retrospective data collection of all new patients with acute myeloid leukemia under 18 treated at five referral centers in pediatric hematology-oncology in southern Brazil between January 2005 and December 2015. Results: Of the 149 patients with acute myeloid leukemia, 63.0% (n = 94) were male. The median age at diagnosis was 10.5 years (range 0-18 years) and 40.3% (n = 60) had a white blood cell count below 50,000/mm2. The most common Franco-American-British (FAB) subtype was M3 (n = 43, 28.9%). Nine (6.0%) patients had central nervous system disease. In M3 patients, overall survival (OS) was 69.2% and 3-year event-free survival was 67.7%; in non-M3 patients, these rates were 45.3% and 36.7%, respectively. In non-M3 patients, OS was significantly different between transplanted (61.8%) and non-transplanted (38.2%) patients (p = 0.031). Conclusions: These results show a higher prevalence of the Franco-American-British M3 subtype than that reported in the international literature, as well as a decreased OS compared with that of developed countries. Further multicenter Brazilian studies with a larger sample size are encouraged to better understand the characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia, and to improve the treatment and prognosis in this population.

Epidemiological evaluation and survival of children with acute myeloid leukemia.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics and survival rates of children with acute myeloid leukemia treated in hospitals in southern Brazil and compare them with international data. METHODS: A multicenter cohort study was conducted with retrospective data collection of all new patients with acute myeloid leukemia under 18 treated at five referral centers in pediatric hematology-oncology in southern Brazil between January 2005 and December 2015. RESULTS: Of the 149 patients with acute myeloid leukemia, 63.0% (n=94) were male. The median age at diagnosis was 10.5 years (range 0-18 years) and 40.3% (n=60) had a white blood cell count below 50,000/mm2. The most common Franco-American-British (FAB) subtype was M3 (n=43, 28.9%). Nine (6.0%) patients had central nervous system disease. In M3 patients, overall survival (OS) was 69.2% and 3-year event-free survival was 67.7%; in non-M3 patients, these rates were 45.3% and 36.7%, respectively. In non-M3 patients, OS was significantly different between transplanted (61.8%) and non-transplanted (38.2%) patients (p=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: These results show a higher prevalence of the Franco-American-British M3 subtype than that reported in the international literature, as well as a decreased OS compared with that of developed countries. Further multicenter Brazilian studies with a larger sample size are encouraged to better understand the characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia, and to improve the treatment and prognosis in this population.

[Usefulness of the Difficult Cholecystectomy Score according to laparoscopic conversion]. / Utilidad del Score de la Colecistectomía Dificultosa según conversión laparoscópica.

Introduction: Biliary lithiasis (LB) is a very frequent problem in the daily consultation of a general surgeon, so currently, 10 to 15% of the adult population in the experienced countries has LB. Methodology: A descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study was carried out with patients sometimes having a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a period between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. The main objective of this study is to determine the differences in the risk scoring means of difficult cholecystectomy according to the conversion to open surgery in patients diagnosed with symptomatic biliary lithiasis. Results: Through the registered data, it can be said that being a man, with a leukocyte count> 12,000 mm3, with a BMI> 30, the presence of choledocholithiasis and a greater gallbladder cut with 3 mm are factors that increase the risk of conversion to open surgery in this series of patients. It is feasible and safe to use this score to determine the patients with the highest risk of conversion since all the independent factors identified are not modifiable. Conclusion: In short, being a man, with a leukocyte count> 10,000 mm3, with a BMI> 30, the presence of choledocholithiasis and a gallbladder wall greater than 3 mm are factors that increase the risk of conversion to open surgery in a series of patients undergoing video laparoscopy. in a university hospital and it is feasible and safe to use this score to identify those patients with the highest risk of conversion.

Introducción: La litiasis biliar (LB) es un problema muy frecuente en la consulta diaria de un cirujano general, por lo que actualmente, del 10 al 15% de la población adulta en los países desarrollados presenta LB. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, observacional y transversal con los pacientes sometidos a colecistectomía laparoscópica en un período comprendido entre el 1 de enero del 2018 y el 31 de diciembre del 2018. El objetivo principal de este estudio es determinar diferencias de media del score de riesgo de colecistectomía dificultosa según conversión a cirugía abierta en pacientes con diagnóstico de litiasis biliar sintomática. Resultados: A través de los datos registrados se puede decir que ser hombre, con recuento de leucocitos >12.000 mm3, con IMC >30, presencia de coledocolitiasis y pared vesicular mayor a 3 mm son factores que incrementan el riesgo de conversión a cirugía abierta en esta serie de pacientes. Es factible y seguro utilizar este score para determinar aquellos pacientes con mayor riesgo de conversión dado que todos los factores independientes identificados no son modificables. Conclusión: En definitiva, ser hombre, con recuento de leucocitos >10.000 mm3, con IMC >30, presencia de coledocolitiasis y pared vesicular mayor a 3 mm son factores que incrementan el riesgo de conversión a cirugía abierta en una serie de pacientes sometidos a video laparoscopía en un Hospital universitario y es factible y seguro utilizar este score para identificar esos pacientes con mayor riesgo de conversión.

Annealing of ion tracks in apatite under pressure characterized in situ by small angle x-ray scattering.

Fission track thermochronology is routinely used to investigate the thermal history of sedimentary basins, as well as tectonic uplift and denudation rates. While the effect of temperature on fission track annealing has been studied extensively to calibrate the application of the technique, the effect of pressure during annealing is generally considered to be negligible. However, a previous study suggested elevated pressure results in a significantly different annealing behaviour that was previously unknown. Here, we present a method to study track annealing in situ under high pressure by using synchrotron-based small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). To simulate fission tracks in a controlled environment, ion tracks were created in apatite from Durango, Mexico using 2 GeV Au or Bi ions provided by an ion accelerator facility. Samples were annealed at 250 °C at approximately 1 GPa pressure using diamond anvil cells (DACs) with heating capabilities. Additional in situ annealing experiments at ambient pressure and temperatures between 320 and 390 °C were performed for comparison. At elevated pressure a significantly accelerated annealing rate of the tracks was observed compared with annealing at ambient pressure. However, when extrapolated to geologically relevant temperatures and pressures, the effects become very small. The measurement methodology presented provides a new avenue to study materials behaviour in extreme environments.