AbstractDespite their diversity in habitats, nematodes are often considered to have a highly conserved neuroanatomy. This premise is based on only a subset of the nematode phylogenetic tree focused on the more diverged clades within the class Chromadorea, which includes the model organismCaenorhabditis elegans,thereby limiting our understanding of macroevolutionary trends in nervous system structure. To approach this problem, we used nuclear morphology to quantify the number of neurons in the nematode ventral nerve cord (VNC) to identify evolutionary patterns in neuroanatomical organization within the basal clades of Chromadorea and Enoplea. DAPI staining revealed significant VNC neuron count variations among families, with notable differences between the classes Enoplea and Chromadorea and among Enoplean species. These results may indicate a degree of evolutionary morphological stasis in later diverging Chromadorean clades. To further examine developmental patterns and potential variation in Enoplean nervous system architecture, we established an isogenic culture of the nematodeMononchus aquaticus.We found that whileM. aquaticuscontained four times as many VNC neuronal nuclei asC. elegans, the VNC had a similar developmental timeline during post-embryonic stages. However, dye-filling assays revealed an extensive distribution of neurons along the lateral body wall, which have no obvious homolog toC. elegans. We found thatM. aquaticusis capable of sustained movement following bisection that may imply a more distributed nervous system network. Our results provide a roadmap for understanding phylum-wide nervous system evolution and demonstrate large-scale differences between Enoplean and Chromodorean nervous systems.

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Abstract The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility-DEMO Oriented
Neutron Source (IFMIF-DONES) is designed mainly to test and qualify materials
for future fusion reactors by exposing them to a high energetic and intense neutron
flux, and also to develop other scientific experiments using a fraction of the neutrons
generated. The Lithium Systems are crucial to the operation of the facility, generating
and delivering the neutron flux through the interaction of a deuteron beam with a
flowing lithium target. It comprises four systems: the Target System that produces
the stable high-velocity lithium flow target and handles the substantial heat load from
the beam interaction; the Heat Removal Loops, designed to supply the liquid lithium to
the target in adequate conditions, this removing up to 10 MW through primary lithium
loops and secondary and tertiary oil and water loops; the Impurity Control System,
which controls the contents of impurities in the lithium, to reduce corrosion and
erosion phenomena, and localize the radioactive impurities; and the Lithium System
Ancillaries, providing essential support such as vacuum, gas, and electrical power to
the other systems. The design and operation of the Lithium Systems face several
significant challenges. Maintaining the stability and high velocity of the lithium flow
under extreme conditions is of paramount importance. Operating in a high-radiation
environment presents additional complexities, requiring the development of specialized
maintenance strategies in conjunction with remote handling technologies. The design
of the IFMIF-DONES Lithium System has evolved over the last years. This paper
presents the current design status, highlighting the solutions implemented to address
these challenges and to ensure the reliable and safe operation of the facility.

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ABSTRACTAnionic redox reaction (ARR) can provide extra capacity beyond transition metal (TM) redox in lithium‐rich TM oxide cathodes. Practical ARR application is much hindered by the structure instability, particularly at the surface. Oxygen release has been widely accepted as the ringleader of surficial structure instability. However, the role of TM in surface stability has been much overlooked, not to mention its interplay with oxygen release. Herein, TM dissolution and oxygen release are comparatively investigated in Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2. Ni is verified to detach from the lattice counter‐intuitively despite the overwhelming stoichiometry of Mn, facilitating subsequent oxygen release of the ARR process. Intriguingly, surface reorganization occurs following regulated Ni dissolution, enabling the stabilization of the surface and elimination of oxygen release in turn. Accordingly, a novel optimization strategy is proposed by adding a relaxation step at 4.50 V within the first cycle procedure. Battery performance can be effectively improved, with voltage decay suppressed from 3.44 mV/cycle to 1.60 mV/cycle, and cycle stability improved from 66.77% to 90.01% after 100 cycles. This work provides new perspectives for clarifying ARR surface instability and guidance for optimizing ARR performance.

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Abstract The International Symposium on Liquid Metals Applications for Fusion (ISLA) aims to assemble scientists and engineers engaged in research on lithium and liquid metal applications for fusion devices, facilitating discussions on recent advancements and challenges in an open forum to support the development of viable fusion reactors. The 8th International Symposium on Liquid Metals Applications for Fusion (ISLA-8) was organized by the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, form September 8-12, 2024, in Hefei, China. The symposium was attended by over 70 participants, marking one of the highest attendance figures in the series. A total of 68 presentations were delivered, including 59 presented on-site, while the remainder were conducted online. The participants represented 10 countries, namely China, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, the USA, the Czech Republic, Italy, Thailand, Spain, and Germany. The symposium covered 10 topics, structured into 13 sessions. Additionally, an opening session provided an overview of the current symposium, while a closing session summarized reports from each session chair.

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Abstract In the control of large superconducting tokamaks, particularly for devices like DEMO reactors, where no stabilizing plates or in-vessel coils due to the existence of tritium blankets, position, shape, and current of plasmas must be controlled solely with superconducting coils, for which we developed novel control schemes [S. Inoue et al., Nuclear Fusion 61, 096009 (2021)]; an adaptive voltage allocation (AVA) scheme automatically allocates power supply voltages for plasma current and position/shape control, and a robust last closed flux surface reconstruction scheme can robustly reconstruct the plasma shape in the presence of large eddy currents. This paper reports the first experimental demonstration of these schemes on JT-60SA, which is the world’s largest tokamak and has DEMO-relevant device conditions, such as no stabilization plates and in-vessel coils. During the first operational phase at JT-60SA, interference in control of shape, position, and current of plasmas was successfully resolved by the AVA scheme, achieving several milestones such as an elongation of 1.7 (with a vertical instability growth rate of around 90 s−1), and the world’s largest plasma current of 1.2 MA as a superconducting tokamak.

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Abstract Primary activity standardization of the radionuclide iodine-123 using 4π(X,e)(LS)-γ coincidence counting is presented in this paper. The activity concentration of an aqueous solution was determined by the efficiency extrapolation technique using neutral density filters. The measurements were realized using a digitizer-based data acquisition system. The coincidence analysis of the collected list-mode data was performed offline using a custom-developed computer code. The results were used to participate in an international comparison under the auspices of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) via the International Reference System (SIR) as well as the Transfer Instrument of the International Reference System (SIRTI).

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AbstractThe relationship between hypovitaminosis D and the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is well established in countries with high prevalence and incidence of IBD and low exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. However, only some studies included emerging countries, which have an increasing prevalence of IBD and diverse climate and social conditions.This cross-sectional study's purpose is to evaluate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and its relationship with IBD activity in patients treated at a reference service in an emerging country.This study analyzed the medical records of 113 patients from June 2022 to August 2023. We collected data about sex, age, IBD diagnosis, vitamin D serum levels, fecal calprotectin, and IBD medication. We presented the descriptive data as absolute and relative frequencies. We looked for possible links between calprotectin and vitamin D in people with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). We used the Chi-square test of independence (when expected cell counts were greater than 5) and Fisher's exact test (when expected cell counts were less than 5).We diagnosed 78 patients with UC and 35 with CD. Serum vitamin D levels were less than 30 ng/dl in 57.1% of patients with CD and 57,7% of those with UC. There was no association between low vitamin D serum levels and fecal calprotectin.The present study indicates a prevalence of low vitamin D serum levels in patients with IBD, but this finding does not have a significant relationship with disease activity.

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Information on the prevalence of the most popular breeds within one society can provide insights into its sociological, economic, and anthropological aspects, while also aiding in the organization of more effective veterinary services and improving animal welfare. This research aimed to determine whether there has been a change in dog breed ownership between the Serbian capital city, Belgrade (BG), and non-Belgrade (non-BG) regions over the last 15 years, for three five-year periods: 2008-2012, 2013- 2017, and 2018-2022. Data on breed prevalence were collected from the official Vetup database of the Republic of Serbia. Mixed-breed dogs were the most prevalent in both BG and non-BG regions across all three periods, though their percentage has declined in the most recent period relative to purebred dogs. In the first period, large working/ guardian breeds dominated in all regions. German Shepherds consistently ranked as the most prevalent purebred dogs across all periods and regions. In contrast, Maltese dogs emerged as the most prevalent breed in Belgrade during the two most recent periods. In 2013-2017, other small breeds began to emerge, and in the third period, they dominated the BG region, while larger breeds remained more common in non- BG regions. These changes may reflect lifestyle changes and urban preferences for smaller breeds better suited to apartment living. These trends reflect dog ownership preferences, shaped by lifestyle changes and socio-economic factors in urban and rural areas, while also aligning with global patterns but probably retaining unique traits of local patterns.

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Abstract Background Brain metastases (BrM) from prostate cancer (PC) are rare. This study sought to evaluate their prevalence, clinical features, treatment modalities, and survival outcomes. Methods From a database of BrM patients, we analyzed 28 cases from prostate cancer treated at our center between 2008 and 2023. Results BrM from PC comprised 0.7% of cases. Majority of patients had high-risk features at PC diagnosis: median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at diagnosis was 65.5 ng/mL (range: 3.9–784.7 ng/mL), 82% were Gleason grade group ≥4, and 68% had perineural invasion (PNI). At BrM diagnosis, 79% were castrate-resistant. Most patients had concurrent metastases, including bone (94%), lymph nodes (63%), or lung (6%). Fifty percent presented with a single brain lesion, and the median Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA) score was 1.5 (range: 0.5–2.5). Patients commonly had radiographic brain edema (57%) and neurological symptoms (54%), whereas only 7% had seizures. Median overall survival (OS) was 9.4 months (95% CI: 4.8–14.8 months) after BrM diagnosis. An upward trend in OS was observed with higher GPA (p=0.07). Treatment modalities, including surgery with adjuvant radiation, stereotactic radiosurgery, and whole-brain radiotherapy, showed no significant difference in median OS (9.4, 10.1, and 11.0 months respectively, p=0.79). OS did not significantly differ between patients with a single versus multiple BrM or patients with castrate-sensitive versus castrate-resistant PC. Conclusion BrMs from prostate cancer are rare and predominantly occur in patients with advanced, castrate-resistant disease, often accompanied by other metastases. This analysis enhances our understanding of the disease trajectory and informs treatment discussions.

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