Objectives: This study aimed to provide long-term clinical data about an innovative epidermal radioisotope therapy called Rhenium-SCT V R (Skin Cancer Therapy) for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), based on the use of the non-sealed beta emitter rhenium-188. Material and methods: 52 NMSC patients with a mean age of 71.7 years were treated with rhenium-188 skin cancer therapy between the years 2005 and 2014. An acryl matrix containing rhenium-188 was applied on a plastic foil covering the tumor. The treatment time for reaching a radiation dose of 50 Gy was calculated by a software program. Patients' characteristics and clinical follow-up data were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Results: Overall 55 lesions (32 BCC, 19 SCC, 2 M. Bowen and 2 extramammary Paget's disease (EMPD)) mainly in the head and neck region (72.3%) were treated. The average size of the irradiation area was 9.79 cm 2 and the mean treatment time 46.35 min. All lesions showed a complete remission after a follow-up period between 3 and more than 12 months. No complications or other post-interventional problems were reported. Conclusions: Rhenium-SCT V R is considered as an effective, rapid, safe, painless treatment mostly performed in a single therapeutic session, regardless of the shape complexity, anatomical site and number of lesions.

The feather duster worm Schizobranchia insignis is an abundant marine annelid found subtidally and in the low intertidal of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. As in other sabellids, the anterior appendages, used for feeding and respiration, can be damaged by physical or biological means. Limited information is available on the regeneration of radioles leading us to study this process on a worm with radioles that dichotomously branch. First, we documented the occurrence of natural radiole damage in two populations of S. insignis found at environmentally distinct sites: a subtidal marina and an intertidal, rocky bench. All 21 worms collected from the exposed intertidal bench had branchial crown damage, whereas 15 of 22 worms (68%) sampled in the marina exhibited natural radiole damage. In the laboratory, we observed radiole regeneration on individuals of S. insignis from the marina by removing a single radiole. Radiole regrowth was a continuous process in which functionality was restored through radiole bifurcation, elongation, and the development of internal support structures. The regrowth of a single radiole of S. insignis took more than 35 days. However, in one of our studies, after 21 days, although not all individuals recovered, four of 12 worms (33%) had completed bifurcation. Pointed tips on the distal‐most branches signified the end of bifurcation. During recovery, individuals of S. insignis did not consistently regenerate the same number of branches observed prior to damage. In addition, a majority of the radiole elongation during recovery occurred after branching. The radiole regeneration in Eudistylia vancouveri, a closely related species found in the marina, was observed to compare regeneration in co‐occurring species. We found that the radiole regeneration in E. vancouveri was less complex because of the absence of branching. Since Schizobranchia is the only genus in which radioles are branched, our study of S. insignis provides a unique examination of natural radiole damage and regrowth.

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Mutualistic associations between benthic marine invertebrates and reef taxa are common. Sponge-dwelling gobies benefit from protection within sponge tubes and greater food availability. Sponge-dwelling gobies are hypothesized to increase sponge pump rates by consuming polychaete parasites, but such increases have not yet been demonstrated. We investigated the association between sponge-dwelling gobies (Elacatinus horsti) and two species of tube sponge (Aplysina lacunosa and Aplysina archeri) in Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. We visually assessed goby presence in sponges and used in situ methods with fluorescein dye to measure estimate feeding rates via pump rates. Aplysina archeri were more likely to host a goby than A. lacunosa. For both sponge species, pump rates of tubes with gobies were higher on average than those of tubes without gobies. Our observations, therefore, suggest that E. horsti associations with Aplysina are likely mutualistic relationships in which sponges benefit from higher feeding rates when gobies are present.