Search

Abstract Current approaches to project spatial biodiversity responses to climate change mainly focus on the direct effects of climate on species while regarding land use and land cover as constant or prescribed by global land‐use scenarios. However, local land‐use decisions are often affected by climate change and biodiversity on top of socioeconomic and policy drivers. To realistically understand and predict climate impacts on biodiversity, it is, therefore, necessary to integrate both direct and indirect effects (via climate‐driven land‐use change) of climate change on biodiversity. In this perspective paper, we outline how biodiversity models could be better integrated with regional, climate‐driven land‐use models. We initially provide a short, non‐exhaustive review of empirical and modelling approaches to land‐use and land‐cover change (LU) and biodiversity (BD) change at regional scales, which forms the base for our perspective about improved integration of LU and BD models. We consider a diversity of approaches, with a special emphasis on mechanistic models. We also look at current levels of integration and at model properties, such as scales, inputs and outputs, to further identify integration challenges and opportunities. We find that LU integration in BD models is more frequent than the other way around and has been achieved at different levels: from overlapping predictions to simultaneously coupled simulations (i.e. bidirectional effects). Of the integrated LU‐BD socio‐ecological models, some studies included climate change effects on LU, but the relative contribution of direct vs. indirect effects of climate change on BD remains a key research challenge. Important research avenues include concerted efforts in harmonizing spatial and temporal resolution, disentangling direct and indirect effects of climate change on biodiversity, explicitly accounting for bidirectional feedbacks, and ultimately feeding socio‐ecological systems back into climate predictions. These avenues can be navigated by matching models, plugins for format and resolution conversion, and increasing the land‐use forecast horizon with adequate uncertainty. Recent developments of coupled models show that such integration is achievable and can lead to novel insights into climate–land use–biodiversity relations. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Abstract The estimation sound fields over space is of interest in sound field control and analysis, spatial audio, room acoustics and virtual reality. Sound fields can be estimated from a number of measurements distributed over space yet this remains a challenging problem due to the large experimental effort required. In this work we investigate sensor distributions that are optimal to estimate sound fields. Such optimization is valuable as it can greatly reduce the number of measurements required. The sensor positions are optimized with respect to the parameters describing a sound field, or the pressure reconstructed at the area of interest, by finding the positions that minimize the Bayesian Cramér-Rao bound (BCRB). The optimized distributions are investigated in a numerical study as well as with measured room impulse responses. We observe a reduction in the number of measurements of approximately 50% when the sensor positions are optimized for reconstructing the sound field when compared with random distributions. The results indicate that optimizing the sensors positions is also valuable when the vector of parameters is sparse, specially compared with random sensor distributions, which are often adopted in sparse array processing in acoustics.

Abstract Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted tracers show increased uptake in several malignancies, indicating a potential for peptide radioligand therapy. Intra-arterial injection of radiotracers can increase the therapeutic window. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of intra-arterial injection of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and compare tracer uptake after intrahepatic arterial injection and intravenous injection. Three patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma received [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 through a hepatic arterial infusion pump, followed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Two-three days later, patients underwent PET/CT after intravenous [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 injection. All tumours showed higher uptake on the intra-arterial scan compared with the intravenous scan: the intra-arterial / intravenous standardised uptake value normalised by lean body mass ratios were 1.40, 1.46, and 1.54. Local intra-arterial PSMA injection is possible in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Local injection increases tumour-to-normal tissue ratios, increasing the therapeutic window for theranostic applications. Relevance statement Intra-arterial Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) injection increases the therapeutic window for potential theranostic application in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Key Points Three patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma underwent PET/CT after intra-arterial and intravenous injection of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11. Intra-arterial injection showed higher uptake than intravenous injection. PSMA-targeted imaging could be valuable for a subset of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients. Graphical Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae plays a significant role in nosocomial infections and spreading antibiotic resistance, and therefore forms a major threat to public health. In this study, we investigated the role of the wastewater pathway in the spread of pathogenic bacteria and more specifically, in the spread of antibiotic resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae subspecies. Whole-genome sequencing was performed of 185 K. pneumoniae isolates collected from hospital, nursing home, and community wastewater, the receiving wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and clinical isolates from the investigated hospital. K. pneumoniae isolates from different sources were not genetically related, except for WWTP influent (46.5%) and effluent (62.5%), revealing survival of bacteria from wastewater treatment. The content of antibiotic resistance (ARGs), virulence, and plasmid replicon genes differed between K. pneumoniae subspecies and their origin. While chromosomal bla genes were specific for each K. pneumoniae subspecies, bla genes predicted in plasmid contigs were found in several K. pneumoniae subspecies, implying possible gene transfer between subspecies. Transferable ARGs were most abundant in patients and hospital isolates (70%), but the average number of plasmid replicon genes per isolate was similar across all sources, showing plasmid content being more relevant than plasmid quantity. Most patient (90%) and hospital wastewater (34%) isolates were K. pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae, and the yersiniabactin cluster genes ybt, fyuA, and irp12 were only found in this subspecies, as were the IncFII(pECLA), IncHI2A, and IncHI2 plasmid replicon genes, suggesting the clinical origin of these type of plasmids.

The field of nuclear theranostic clinical trials is continuously expanding as an increasing number of novel agents and treatment combinations are explored for treating advanced and metastatic cancers. Moving from ‘bench-to-bedside’ is oftentimes a complex and lengthy process. The objective of this overview is to explore the basic elements involved in designing clinical trials with a special focus on theranostics in nuclear medicine. The 'bench-to-bedside' journey involves translating basic scientific research into patient-effective treatments. Preclinical studies, a crucial initial step, are a complex process encompassing in vitro experiments, in vivo studies, and animal models to explore hypotheses in humans. Clinical trials follow, with predefined phases assessing safety, effectiveness, and comparisons to existing treatments. This process demands investments in data management, statistics, good clinical practice (GCP) accreditations, and collaborative efforts for funding and sustainable pricing. Theranostics, merging diagnostics and personalized treatment, is at the forefront. Continuous efforts to enhance existing agents involve reducing adverse effects, exploring new indications, and incorporating advanced imaging modalities. Radionuclide therapy, unique with non-uniform distribution and complex radiobiology, plays a distinct role. This article explores trends and challenges in each clinical trial phase in light of the emerging field of theranostics in nuclear medicine, emphasizing meticulous trial design, dosimetry optimization, and the necessity of collaborative stakeholder efforts for successful implementation.

Abstract Background This study evaluates the feasibility of a nine-month advanced quality-improvement program aimed at enhancing the quality of care provided by primary care physical therapists in the Netherlands. The evaluation is based on routinely collected health outcomes of patients with nonspecific low back pain, assessing three feasibility domains: (1) appropriateness, feasibility, and acceptability for quality-improvement purposes; (2) impact on clinical performance; and (3) impact on learning and behavioral change. Methods A mixed-methods quality-improvement study using a concurrent triangulation design was conducted in primary care physical therapist practice. Feedback reports on the processes and outcomes of care, peer assessment, and self-assessment were used in a Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle based on self-selected goals. The program’s appropriateness, feasibility, and acceptability, as well as the impact on clinical performance, were evaluated using the Intervention Appropriate Measure, Feasibility Intervention Measure, Acceptability Intervention Measure (for these three measure, possible scores range from 4 to 20), and with a self-assessment of clinical performance (scored 0–10), respectively. The impact on learning and behavioral change was evaluated qualitatively with a directed content analysis. Results Ten physical therapists from two practices participated in this study. They rated the program with a mean of 16.5 (SD 1.9) for appropriateness, 17.1 (SD 2.2) for feasibility, and 16.4 (SD 1.5) for acceptability. Participants gave their development in clinical performance a mean score of 6.7 (SD 1.8). Participants became aware of the potential value of using outcome data and gained insight into their own routines and motivations. They changed their data collection routines, implemented data in their routine practice, and explored the impact on their clinical behavior. Conclusions This explorative study demonstrated that a quality-improvement program, using health outcomes from a national registry, is judged to be feasible. Impact statement This study provides preliminary evidence on how physical therapists may use health outcomes to improve their quality, which can be further used in initiatives to improve outcome-based care in primary physical therapy.

Abstract Background New digital detectors and block-sequential regularized expectation maximization (BSREM) reconstruction algorithm improve positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) image quality. The impact on image quality may differ from analogue PET/computed tomography (CT) protocol. The aim of this study is to determine the potential reduction of injected [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE activity for digital PET/MR with BSREM reconstruction while maintaining at least equal image quality compared to the current analogue PET/CT protocol. Methods NEMA IQ phantom data and 25 patients scheduled for a diagnostic PET/MR were included. According to our current protocol, 1.5 MBq [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE per kilogram (kg) was injected. After 60 min, scans were acquired with 3 (≤ 70 kg) or 4 (> 70 kg) minutes per bedposition. PET/MR scans were reconstructed using BSREM and factors β 150, 300, 450 and 600. List mode data with reduced counts were reconstructed to simulate scans with 17%, 33%, 50% and 67% activity reduction. Image quality was measured quantitatively for PET/CT and PET/MR phantom and patient data. Experienced nuclear medicine physicians performed visual image quality scoring and lesion counting in the PET/MR patient data. Results Phantom analysis resulted in a possible injected activity reduction of 50% with factor β = 600. Quantitative analysis of patient images revealed a possible injected activity reduction of 67% with factor β = 600. Both with equal or improved image quality as compared to PET/CT. However, based on visual scoring a maximum activity reduction of 33% with factor β = 450 was acceptable, which was further limited by lesion detectability analysis to an injected activity reduction of 17% with factor β = 450. Conclusion A digital [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TATE PET/MR together with BSREM using factor β = 450 result in 17% injected activity reduction with quantitative values at least similar to analogue PET/CT, without compromising on PET/MR visual image quality and lesion detectability.

Background Initiation of antitumor immunity is reliant on the stimulation of dendritic cells (DCs) to present tumor antigens to naïve T cells and generate effector T cells that can kill cancer cells. Induction of immunogenic cell death after certain types of cytotoxic anticancer therapies can stimulate T cell-mediated immunity. However, cytotoxic therapies simultaneously activate multiple types of cellular stress and programmed cell death; hence, it remains unknown what types of cancer cell death confer superior antitumor immunity.Methods Murine cancer cells were engineered to activate apoptotic or pyroptotic cell death after Dox-induced expression of procell death proteins. Cell-free supernatants were collected to measure secreted danger signals, cytokines, and chemokines. Tumors were formed by transplanting engineered tumor cells to specifically activate apoptosis or pyroptosis in established tumors and the magnitude of immune response measured by flow cytometry. Tumor growth was measured using calipers to estimate end point tumor volumes for Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.Results We demonstrated that, unlike apoptosis, pyroptosis induces an immunostimulatory secretome signature. In established tumors pyroptosis preferentially activated CD103+ and XCR1+ type I conventional DCs (cDC1) along with a higher magnitude and functionality of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells and reduced number of regulatory T cells within the tumor. Depletion of cDC1 or CD4+ and CD8+ T cells ablated the antitumor response leaving mice susceptible to a tumor rechallenge.Conclusion Our study highlights that distinct types of cell death yield varying immunotherapeutic effect and selective activation of pyroptosis can be used to potentiate multiple aspects of the anticancer immunity cycle.

Summary: Background: The aim of this study was to provide quantitative evidence for the potential of PSMA-targeting radioligand therapy (RLT) as treatment approach for malignant brain tumours, and to explore whether tumour uptake could be enhanced by super-selective intra-arterial (ssIA)-administration. Methods: Ten patients (n = 5 high-grade glioma, n = 5 brain metastasis) received 1.5 MBq/kg [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 intravenously and, within 7 days, intra-arterially (i.e., selectively in tumour-feeding arteries), followed twice by PET-MRI at 90, 165 and 240 min post-injection. Patient safety was monitored for each procedure. Standardised uptake values (SUVs) were obtained for tumour, healthy-brain, salivary glands and liver. Tumour-to-salivary-gland (T/SG) and tumour-to-liver (T/L) uptake-ratios were calculated. Findings: No adverse events requiring study termination occurred. All patients showed uptake of [68Ga]Ga-PSMA-11 at the tumour site. Uptake was a median 15-fold higher following ssIA-administration (SUVmax median: 142.8, IQR: 102.8–245.9) compared to IV-administration (10.5, IQR:7.5–13.0). According to the bootstrap analysis, mean SUVmax after ssIA (168.8, 95% CI: 110.6–227.0) was well beyond the 95% confidence-interval of IV administration (10.5, 95% CI: 8.4–12.7). Uptake in healthy-brain was negligible, independent of administration route (SUVmean

Abstract Aim To explore the dosimetric effect of substituting Lu-177 with Tb-161 in targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) using the registered tracers DOTA-TATE and PSMA-617. Methods Using established kinetic data for [177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE and [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617, radiation absorbed doses to typical tumour lesion as well as non-target tissues ([177Lu]Lu-DOTA-TATE: kidneys, spleen and liver, [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617: kidneys, liver and salivary glands) were calculated for Lu-177 and Tb-161. Results For both DOTA-TATE and PSMA-617, the substitution of Lu-177 with Tb-161 results in an increase in the delivered dose per unit of activity to tumour tissue by 40%. If an equivalent non-target delivered dose is strived for in order not to increase toxicity, based on kidney absorbed dose, 7400 MBq Lu-177 per cycle should be substituted with 5400 MBq Tb-161 for DOTA-TATE and 5300 MBq of Tb-161 for PSMA-617. Conclusion When substituting Lu-177 with Tb-161, activity conversion is necessary in order not to exceed non-target dose limits.

Acute myocardial infarction still represents the major cause of mortality in high-income countries. Therefore, considerable efforts have been focused on the treatment of myocardial infarctions in the acute and long-term phase, with special attention being paid to reperfusion strategies and adjunctive antithrombotic therapies. In fact, despite the successful mechanical recanalization of the epicardial conduit, a substantial percentage of patients still experience poor myocardial reperfusion or acute/subacute in-stent thrombosis. Due the delayed onset of action of currently available oral antiplatelet therapies, glycoprotein (GP) IIb–IIIa inhibitors could be expected to improve clinical outcomes, especially when administrated in the early phase of the infarction, due to the larger platelet composition of fresh thrombi, the dynamic nature of early thrombi, and the larger amount of viable myocardium existing in the early, as compared to a delayed, phase. Considerable evidence has accumulated regarding the benefits from GP IIb–IIIa inhibitors on mortality, especially among high-risk patients and when administered as an upstream strategy. Therefore, based on currently available data, GP IIb–IIIa inhibitors can be considered when the drug can be administered within the first 3 h of symptom onset and among high-risk patients (e.g., those with advanced Killip class or an anterior myocardial infarction). Even though it is not universally accepted, in our opinion, this strategy should be implemented in a pre-hospital setting (in an ambulance) or as soon as possible when arriving at the hospital (at the Emergency Room or Coronary Care Unit, irrespective of whether they are in spoke or hub hospitals). A new, second-generation GP IIb–IIIa inhibitor (zalunfiban) appears to be highly suitable as a pre-hospital pharmacological facilitation strategy at the time of first medical contact due to its favourable features, including its simple subcutaneous administration, rapid onset of action (15 min), and limited time of action (with a half-life of ~1 h), which is likely to minimize the risk of bleeding. The ongoing CELEBRATE trial, including 2499 STEMI patients, may potentially provide compelling data to support the upstream treatment of STEMI patients undergoing mechanical reperfusion. In fact, although the current therapeutic target of increased rates of timely reperfusion has been achieved, the future goal in myocardial infarction treatment should be to achieve the most rapid reperfusion prior to primary percutaneous coronary intervention, thus further minimizing myocardial damage, or, in some cases, even preventing it completely, and improving survival.

Estuaries are impacted by catchment land use changes, driving degradation associated with eutrophication and alterations in sediment dynamics. Estuarine ecological monitoring has typically covered only recent periods, so magnitudes and trajectories of degradation are often poorly described. Here, we develop a multi-method approach to hindcast historic estuary condition. We determined geochemical properties in dated sediment cores from two sites in the eutrophic New River Estuary (NRE), Aotearoa New Zealand. Mud, organic matter, carbon, and nitrogen (N) contents increased from ~1847 to 2019 (~20 to 100%, ~1 to ~7%, ~0.2 to ~3%, and ~0.03 to ~0.37% respectively). Historic land use modelling shows increasing catchment loads and water column total N rising from 165 to 663 mg m-3, with more rapid change in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Strong correlations (R2 = 0.93-0.95) were found between sediment N content and water column N concentrations. Trophic indicators hindcasted by a Bayesian Belief Network worsened from the mid-20th to 21st centuries. This degradation is associated with increased sheep, beef and dairy farming in the catchment. Our approach identifies nutrient and sediment loadings associated with ‘tipping points’ for indicators and can inform policy by identification of hazardous levels of contaminant loading for other estuaries.

IntroductionStress may pose a serious challenge to immune homeostasis. Stress however also may prepare the immune system for challenges such as wounding or infection, which are likely to happen during a fight or flight stress response.MethodsIn common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) we studied the stress-induced redistribution of neutrophils into circulation, and the expression of genes encoding CXC chemokines known to be involved in the regulation of neutrophil retention (CXCL12) and redistribution (CXCL8), and their receptors (CXCR4 and CXCR1-2, respectively) in blood leukocytes and in the fish hematopoietic organ – the head kidney. The potential involvement of CXC receptors and stress hormone receptors in stress-induced neutrophil redistribution was determined by an in vivo study with selective CXCR inhibitors and antagonists of the receptors involved in stress regulation: glucocorticoid/mineralocorticoid receptors (GRs/MRs), adrenergic receptors (ADRs) and the melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R).ResultsThe stress-induced increase of blood neutrophils was accompanied by a neutrophil decrease in the hematopoietic organs. This increase was cortisol-induced and GR-dependent. Moreover, stress upregulated the expression of genes encoding CXCL12 and CXCL8 chemokines, their receptors, and the receptor for granulocytes colony-stimulation factor (GCSFR) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9). Blocking of the CXCR4 and CXCR1 and 2 receptors with selective inhibitors inhibited the stress-induced neutrophil redistribution and affected the expression of genes encoding CXC chemokines and CXCRs as well as GCSFR and MMP9.DiscussionOur data demonstrate that acute stress leads to the mobilization of the immune system, characterized by neutrophilia. CXC chemokines and CXC receptors are involved in this stress-induced redistribution of neutrophils from the hematopoietic tissue into the peripheral blood. This phenomenon is directly regulated by interactions between cortisol and the GR/MR. Considering the pivotal importance of neutrophilic granulocytes in the first line of defense, this knowledge is important for aquaculture, but will also contribute to the mechanisms involved in the stress-induced perturbation in neutrophil redistribution as often observed in clinical practice.