Management practices and cultivars for canola ( Brassica napus L.) have evolved for seeding and harvest management systems including the adoption of straight‐cutting (S/C) over windrowing. We explored how manipulations to seeding rate, pod shatter reduction hybrid, and harvest method alter canola seed yield and quality. An experiment was conducted at five locations across the Canadian Prairies between 2018 and 2022, consisting of two pod shatter reduction hybrids with contrasting growth phenology sown at densities of 60, 120, and 180 seeds m −2 , and subjected to either windrowing at 60% and 90% seed color change (SCC), or S/C at 10% and 5% seed moisture. Irrespective of hybrid choice or harvest management, densities of 120 and 180 seeds m −2 provided high and stable yield relative to 60 seeds m −2 . Seed losses were minimal for both hybrids, but the late‐maturing cultivar expressed higher seed yield and oil concentration. Straight‐cutting at 10% seed moisture achieved the highest yields for both hybrids, but delays in S/C timing reduced its advantage over windrowing at 90% SCC. Yield components such as seed number and seed weight on secondary branches became critical to achieve high yields at lower seeding densities when environmental stress was low. While reducing seeding densities to cut costs can be tempting, the highest and most stable yields were achieved with a late‐maturing hybrid, sown at 120 seeds m −2 and managed with S/C at harvest. This study provides insights into how seeding density and harvest method interact to affect canola yield within a genetic × environment × management framework.
In recent years, proton therapy centres have begun to shift from conventional 2D-kV imaging to volumetric imaging systems for image guided proton therapy (IGPT). This is likely due to the increased commercial interest and availability of volumetric imaging systems, as well as the shift from passively scattered proton therapy to intensity modulated proton therapy. Currently, there is no standard modality for volumetric IGPT, leading to variation between different proton therapy centres. This article reviews the reported clinical use of volumetric IGPT, as available in published literature, and summarises their utilisation and workflow where possible. In addition, novel volumetric imaging systems are also briefly summarised highlighting their potential benefits for IGPT and the challenges that need to be overcome before they can be used clinically.
Objective: To evaluate the benefits and risks of minimally invasive procedures in the management of patients with infertility and provide guidance to gynaecologists who manage common conditions in these patients.Target Population: Patients with infertility (inability to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse) undergoing investigation and treatment.Benefits, Harms, and Costs: Minimally invasive reproductive surgery can be used to treat infertility, improve fertility treatment outcomes, or preserve fertility. All surgery has risks and associated complications. Reproductive surgery may not improve fertility outcomes and may, in some instances, damage ovarian reserve. All procedures have costs, which are borne either by the patient or their health insurance provider.Evidence: We searched English-language articles from January 2010 to May 2021 in PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Science Direct, Scopus, and Cochrane Library (see Appendix A for MeSH search terms).Validation Methods: The authors rated the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. See online Appendix B (Tables B1 for definitions and B2 for interpretations of strong and conditional [weak] recommendations).
Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) continues to be a malignancy with an unmet clinical demand. Development of radioimmunoconjugates which target cancer-specific receptors provides an opportunity for radioimmunotherapy of both metastatic and primary PDAC. In this study, we characterised the in vitro behaviour of a novel beta-emitting radioimmunoconjugate [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 as a therapeutic agent against PDAC. [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 is designed to target cancer-specific mucin 1 epitopes (MUC1-CE) overexpressed on most epithelial cancers, including PDAC. Results A series of in vitro experiments were performed on PDAC cell lines (PANC-1, CAPAN-1, BxPC-3 and AsPC-1) exhibiting strong to weak MUC1-CE expression. [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 bound to all cell lines relative to their expression of MUC1-CE. [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 was also rapidly internalised across all cell lines, with a maximum of 75.4% of activity internalised within the PANC-1 cell line at 48 h. The expression of γH2AX foci and clonogenic survival of PANC-1 and AsPC-1 cell lines after exposure to [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 were used to quantify the in vitro cytotoxicity of [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595. At 1 h post treatment, the expression of γH2AX foci exceeded 97% in both cell lines. The expression of γH2AX foci continued to increase in PANC-1 cells at 24 h, although expression reduced in AsPC-1. Clonogenic assays showed a high level of cell kill induced by [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595. Conclusion [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 has favourable in vitro characteristics to target and treat MUC1-CE positive PDAC. Further investigations to characterise the in vivo effects and potential value of [ 177 Lu]Lu-DOTA-C595 in other MUC1-CE expressing malignancies such as lung, ovarian and colorectal adenocarcinoma are warranted.
In vivo dosimetry (IVD) in a commonly used liver cancer treatment of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) has been done based on the post-treatment image-based dosimetry approach. Real-time IVD is necessary to verify the dose delivery and detect errors during the treatment for better patient outcomes. This study aims to develop a fibre optic dosimeter (FOD) for in vivo real-time dose rate measurement during internal beta radiation therapy, e.g., SIRT. A ruby fibre optic probe was prepared and studied the radioluminescence (RL) characteristics, including its major challenge of stem effect arising from Cherenkov radiation and luminescence from the irradiated fibre. The stem signal was suppressed adequately using the stem removal technique of optical filtering, and only 2.3 ± 1.1% stem signal was contributed to the measured RL signal. A linear dose rate response was observed during the exposure of the ruby probe to varying dose rates using a 6 MeV electron beam and a positron-emitting radionuclide fluorine-18. The ruby exhibited a temporally non-constant RL signal, which increased the RL signal by 0.84 ± 0.29 counts/sec 2 during the irradiation of the maximum dose rate used in this study of 9 Gy/min for 2 min. The ability of ruby FOD to measure the absolute dose rate with sufficient stem effect suppression and the linear RL dose rate response indicates its suitability for real-time IVD during internal beta radiation therapy. Future work will investigate the time-dependent RL characteristic of ruby and validate post-treatment image-based dosimetry using ruby-based FOD.
