Regional lymph node invasion in pediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma: an international cohort study from the International Soft Tissue Sarcoma Consortium.

Background: In pediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS), the frequency and prognostic impact of regional lymph node involvement (N1) are not clearly defined and may vary according to histological type. We therefore to analyze the rate of N1 at diagnosis, the pattern of nodal relapse, and the prognostic impact of N1 in pediatric patients with NRSTS.

Methods: Data were collected and analyzed through the International Soft Tissue SaRcoma ConsorTium (INSTRuCT).

Early radiologic tumour volume response in non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma is not predictive for survival.

Background: There is an urgent need for early radiological markers predicting survival in paediatric rhabdomyosarcoma patients.

Objective: To analyse the predictive value of early radiological tumour volume response to chemotherapy in non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma patients.

Methods: The European paediatric Soft tissue sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) RMS 2005 study prospectively included non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma patients.

Urban landscapes tend to increase the presence of pathogenic protozoa, microsporidia and viruses, but likely decrease the abundance of viruses in wild bees and wasps.

Pathogens are shared between wild bees and wasps but little is known about how urbanization affects their occurrence. Here, the role of temperature and fragmentation of green areas, both associated with urbanization, in modulating pathogen loads was investigated. Twelve pathogens were investigated in the bees Anthophora plumipes Pallas, 1772, Halictus scabiosae (Rossi, 1790), Osmia cornuta (Latreille, 1805), and the wasp Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) sampled across an urbanization gradient in a metropolitan area of northern Italy.

Decommissioning procedure and induced activation levels in the vault walls of a 11 MeV self-shielded Medical Cyclotron: simulations and measurements.

This study outlines the decommissioning process of an 11 MeV self-shielded medical cyclotron operated for over 12 years at the Ospedale San Raffaele, Milano, Italy. A comprehensive analysis of neutron-induced activation in the vault walls was performed to guide safe demolition procedures. Using FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations and laboratory-based gamma and beta spectrometry, the activity of long-lived radionuclides, particularly Fe, was evaluated across multiple wall depths.

Surgical Lymph Node Staging in Extremity Rhabdomyosarcoma: The EpSSG RMS 2005 Trial Experience.

Background: The European pediatric soft tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) RMS 2005 study recommends a lymph node biopsy for extremity rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). The aim of our study was to analyze the results of the lymph node sampling strategies used, such as sentinel node biopsy (SNB) and nodal sampling (NS), and compare the outcome of patients undergoing different nodal staging techniques.

Methods: All non-metastatic (M0) patients registered in the EpSSG RMS 2005 study with an RMS of the extremity, presenting between 2005 and 2016, were included for analysis of the lymph node sampling techniques used.

Data on visitation records from wild bees and plants along a land use gradient in Germany and Belgium: laboratory work and protocol description for barcoding.

The dataset contains information on plant-bee interactions in an agricultural landscape with diverse intensities of land use management, in Germany and Belgium. It was collected during spring and early summer in 2020 and 2021 using two complementary types of sampling: standardized transects (5 transects of 50 m long in 1 h of netting) and targeted sampling in which flowers were observed for diverse periods of times, anywhere in an area of 50 to 150 m. The species identity was obtained with field keys and DNA barcoding.

Acquisition matters - how do scan parameters affect apparent diffusion coefficient estimates in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma.

Background: The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) derived from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a potential biomarker for treatment response in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. Due to its rarity, investigations into this marker require multicenter approaches, which can result in variability in acquisition parameters.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of different acquisition parameters on ADC estimates in a multicenter dataset of rhabdomyosarcoma patients.

Laser activation of single group-IV colour centres in diamond.

Spin-photon interfaces based on group-IV colour centres in diamond offer a promising platform for quantum networks. A key challenge in the field is realising precise single-defect positioning and activation, which is crucial for scalable device fabrication. Here we address this problem by demonstrating a two-step fabrication method for tin vacancy (SnV) centres that uses site-controlled ion implantation followed by local femtosecond laser annealing with in-situ spectral monitoring.

Pediatric Craniofacial Osteosarcoma: The Milano Experience.

Background: Craniofacial osteosarcoma (CFOS) is a rare tumor, typically affecting patients over 60, with a low incidence of metastasis at diagnosis as well as at relapse.

Patients And Methods: This study analyzed patients treated for high-grade CFOS at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori between 1991 and 2021, focusing on histological characteristics, systemic and local treatment, and outcome.

Results: Eleven patients (7F/4M) were included, with a median age of 15 years.

Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor in Children and Adolescents: Local Treatment in a Retrospective Single-Center Experience.

Background: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a rare and aggressive sarcoma often associated with neurofibromatosis type 1, whose clinical management remains complex and challenging. Few publications exist on pediatric MPNST, and limited data are available on the best treatment approach, in particular regarding local therapy.

Methods: This retrospective analysis concerned 45 patients less than 18 years old with MPNST, treated at a referral center for pediatric sarcomas from 1983 to 2023.

Current Approaches to the Treatment of Pediatric Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Rhabdomyosarcoma and Nonrhabdomyosarcoma Soft Tissue Sarcomas.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare mesenchymal tumors representing up to 7% of all cancers in children. In the pediatric population, rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common histology while the remainder is composed of several distinct histotypes collectively known as nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS). RMS and NRSTS have individualized staging and treatment paradigms.

Ultrafast Dynamics of Rydberg Excitons and Their Optically Induced Charged Complexes in Encapsulated WSe Monolayers.

Quantum confinement and reduced dielectric screening lead to strong excitonic effects in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Encapsulation of TMD monolayers in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) unveils the excitonic Rydberg series below the free particle bandgap. The nonequilibrium response and the dynamics of these higher order exciton states and their multiparticle complexes remain almost unexplored.

Electromechanical Response of Saddle Points in Twisted hBN Moiré Superlattices.

In twisted layered materials (t-LMs), an interlayer rotation can break inversion symmetry and create an interfacial array of staggered out-of-plane polarization due to AB/BA stacking registries. This symmetry breaking can also trigger the formation of edge polarizations localized along the perimeter of AB/BA regions (i.e.

From walls to wonder: Talking about spaces tailored for adolescents and young adults with cancer.

If, as widely recognized in the scientific community, adolescent and young adult cancer patients are in many ways unique, then the spaces where they receive care should be equally special. The design of hospital environments that cater to the specific needs of young patients is a crucial factor in defining the essential features that care centers should ideally include to provide the best possible support for adolescent and young adult patients.This paper explores the growing importance of hospital design in fostering continuity in patients' lives, balancing both functionality and aesthetics.

EGFR-KDD Myofibroblastic Neoplasm or Congenital Peribronchial Myofibroblastic Tumor (CPMT)? Report of a Congenital Myofibroblastic Neoplasm With Unusual Histologic Features.

EGFR-kinase-domain duplication (KDD) has been reported in Infantile fibrosarcoma-like myofibroblastic tumors and cellular mesoblastic nephroma. We report a pulmonary neoplasm with EGFR-(KDD) and infantile fibrosarcoma-like histologic features in a female infant with an unusual clinical and histologic evolution, characterized by persistent disease with morphologic features of Congenital Peribronchial Myofibroblastic Tumor (CPMT) after chemotherapy and targeted therapy. The CPMT morphology with EGFR-KDD in the post-therapy specimen might be an evolution induced by the treatment, which suggests the hypothesis that CPMT is part of the morphologic spectrum of infantile fibrosarcoma/cellular mesoblastic nephroma.

Raman Forbidden Layer-Breathing Modes in Layered Semiconductor Materials Activated by Phonon and Optical Cavity Effects.

We report Raman forbidden layer-breathing modes (LBMs) in layered semiconductor materials (LSMs). The intensity distribution of all observed LBMs depends on layer number, incident light wavelength, and refractive index mismatch between LSM and underlying substrate. These results are understood by a Raman scattering theory via the proposed spatial interference model, where the naturally occurring optical and phonon cavities in LSMs enable spatially coherent photon-phonon coupling mediated by the corresponding one-dimensional periodic electronic states.

Maintenance Chemotherapy in Patients With High-Risk Rhabdomyosarcoma: Long-Term Survival Analysis of the European Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group RMS 2005 Trial.

The European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) RMS 2005 trial evaluated maintenance chemotherapy in high-risk rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Patients were randomly assigned to either discontinue treatment (standard arm) or receive six 28-day cycles of vinorelbine (25 mg/m) once per day on days 1, 8, and 15, plus once daily low-dose cyclophosphamide (25 mg/m; experimental arm). Initial results showed improved overall survival (OS), but disease-free survival (DFS) improvement was not statistically significant.

Contaminant-driven midgut histological damage in bees and other aculeate Hymenoptera: A quantitative review.

We present a review about histological sub-lethal effects due to anthropogenic contaminants on the midgut of bees and other aculeate hymenopterans. Contaminant types, damage types, and methodology were extracted and summarized from 74 published articles, and then quantitatively analyzed. We found that the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) is by far the most widely used model.

Dabrafenib and Trametinib for the Treatment of Pediatric and Adolescent Melanoma: Single Center Experience Data From Italian Compassionate Use.

Data on BRAF/MEK inhibitors in pediatric and adolescent melanoma patients are limited. We report data of patients treated with dabrafenib/trametinib for compassionate use at our institution. From January 2020, four patients with Stage III and two patients with Stage IV disease were treated.

NUT carcinoma in children and adolescents: An analysis of the European Cooperative Study Group on pediatric rare tumors (EXPeRT).

Background And Aims: NUT carcinoma (NC) is a sporadic, highly aggressive tumor that primarily affects children, adolescents, and young adults and is characterized by the presence of somatic NUTM1 rearrangements. This analysis by the European Cooperative Study Group for Pediatric Rare Tumors (EXPeRT) aims to fill the knowledge gap regarding the clinical characteristics of children with NC.

Methods: A retrospective case series of NC-patients aged 0-18 years treated between 2011 and 2023 was conducted using the EXPeRT database.

Adhesion and Reconstruction of Graphene/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterostructures: A Quantum Monte Carlo Study.

We investigate interlayer adhesion and relaxation at interfaces between graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) monolayers in van der Waals heterostructures. The adhesion potential between graphene and hBN is calculated as a function of local lattice offset using diffusion quantum Monte Carlo methods, which provide an accurate treatment of van der Waals interactions. Combining the adhesion potential with elasticity theory, we determined the relaxed structures of graphene and hBN layers at interfaces, finding no metastable structures.