Improved GVHD-free relapse-free survival when rATG/ATLG is used in allo-HCT from matched sibling donors - an EBMT registry study by the Transplant Complications Working Party.

The EBMT recommends rabbit anti-thymocyte or anti-T-lymphocyte globulin (rATG/ATLG) as GVHD prophylaxis in matched sibling donor (MSD) allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). However, discrepancies between recommendations and clinical practice were reflected in the EBMT survey. Therefore, we performed retrospective EBMT registry analysis from 2014 to 2021 to reinforce the real-world evidence context of rATG/ATLG impact on post-transplantation outcomes.

Low-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: molecular landscape, treatment strategies and emerging therapies.

Low-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer is a specific category of bladder cancer with a favourable prognosis; however, its management presents several challenges. The risk of stage progression is very low, but approximately half of patients will experience recurrence within the first 5 years after diagnosis. This high propensity for recurrence, coupled with the threat of progression, mandates ongoing surveillance.

Differential effects of mercury compounds on mutagenicity, genotoxicity and repair of UV-DNA damage.

Mercury (Hg) is a global contaminant that is present in human diet as methylmercury (MeHg). Recent studies linked MeHg exposure with high risks of skin cancers. It is unknown whether MeHg is directly genotoxic in skin cells or able to enhance mutagenic effects of UV radiation.

Developing Clinically Interpretable Neuroimaging Biotypes in Psychiatry.

Despite available treatments, major depressive disorder (MDD) remains one of the leading causes of disability across medical conditions. The current symptom-based diagnostic system groups patients with highly heterogeneous presentations, with no biomarkers to guide treatment-akin to diagnosing heart disease solely by chest pain, without imaging to reveal the underlying pathology. Lacking biological guidance, clinicians rely on trial-and-error prescribing.

Chronic medical diseases and depressive symptoms in Europe: A study using representative data from 275,009 individuals in the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS-3).

Background: Depressive symptoms significantly increase physical morbidity, mortality, and healthcare demands, while chronic diseases can exacerbate depressive symptoms. This study aimed to: 1) determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms among individuals with and without chronic diseases; 2) compare the number of chronic diseases across age groups in those with and without depressive symptoms; and 3) analyze associations between depressive symptoms and chronic diseases, adjusting for sociodemographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health-related variables.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data from 275,009 participants (126,642 men, 148,367 women) in the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (2018-2020) across 30 European countries were analyzed.

Strong Families Start at Home/Familias Fuertes Comienzan en Casa-Improving Child Diet Quality and Parental Feeding Practices: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Children in the United States have poor diet quality, increasing their risk for chronic disease burden later in life. Caregivers' feeding behaviors are a critical factor in shaping lifelong dietary habits. The Strong Families Start at Home/Familias Fuertes Comienzan en Casa (SFSH) was a 6-month, home-based, pilot randomized-controlled feasibility trial that aimed to improve the diet quality of 2-5-year-old children and promote positive parental feeding practices among a predominantly Hispanic/Latine sample.

Experiences and preferences for HIV prevention modalities among transgender women and sex workers in São Paulo, Brazil: a qualitative study.

Transgender women and sex workers in Brazil underutilise HIV prevention services. Understanding preferences and decision-making regarding HIV prevention can help develop new programmes to meet their needs. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 transgender women and travesti sex workers in São Paulo, Brazil.

Biodiversity to Breakthroughs: The Promise of Saudi Arabian Medicinal Plants in Antiviral Research.

Viruses are minuscule entities that cannot survive independently without a Living host. Pathogenic viruses pose a significant threat to global health, resulting annually in the deaths of thousands of people. Recent studies indicate that medicinal plants may serve as an effective source of sustainable natural antiviral agents.

Ultrasonographic assessment of bypass capacity after revascularization surgery in moyamoya disease: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.

Purpose: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a chronic cerebrovascular disorder characterized by progressive arterial stenosis and fragile collateral formation, elevating stroke risk. Revascularization is the standard treatment, yet up to 27% of patients experience ischemic events within a year due to bypass insufficiency. While digital subtraction angiography (DSA) remains the gold standard for assessing bypass function, it is invasive and time-consuming.

Tetrandrine has protective role in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury via the TRPV2/Ca/calcineurin/NFAT axis.

Background: The protective function of the tetrandrine (TET)-mediated transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) channel in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI) has been established in numerous investigations. The objective of the current study was to explain how TRPV2 further modulates downstream factors to influence the progression of MI/RI.

Methods: To this end, an MI/RI model in rats and a hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) cell model in H9c2 cells were constructed.

Tracing Footprint and Risk of Microplastics and Microfibers in the Lakes across China.

Tracing footprint and risk of microplastics and microfibers is crucial to managing plastic and fiber waste. We identified microfibers from microplastics, quantitatively apportioned the sources of microplastics and microplastics in 102 lakes across China by field work, and developed a novel index (IMRI) to assess the risk based on human footprint and the abundance, size, shape, color, and residual monomers and chemical additives. The abundance in the sediments of these lakes ranged from 0.

Glycerol and glycerol-3-phosphate: multifaceted metabolites in metabolism, cancer and other diseases.

Glycerol and glycerol-3-phosphate are key metabolites at the intersection of carbohydrate, lipid and energy metabolism. Their production and usage are organismal and cell type specific. Glycerol has unique physicochemical properties enabling it to function as an osmolyte, protein structure stabilizer, antimicrobial and antifreeze agent, important to preservation of many biological functions.

Routine Doppler Ultrasonography Does Not Differentiate Acute Tubular Necrosis and Rejection in Early Pediatric Kidney Transplantation.

Introduction: Differentiating acute tubular necrosis (ATN) from rejection in pediatric kidney transplant (KT) recipients remains challenging and necessitates invasive biopsy. Doppler ultrasound-derived resistive index (RI) is a noninvasive modality to assess graft status, but its diagnostic utility in children is unclear. This study evaluates RI's ability to distinguish ATN and rejection in KT.

Similar Outcome With Haploidentical, Matched Sibling, or Matched Unrelated Donor Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Adult Patients With Adverse-Risk TP53-Mutated Acute Myeloid Leukemia in First Remission: A Comparative Study From the Global Committee and the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Given the dismal prognosis for patients with TP53-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the optimal donor for those undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed adult patients with TP53-mutated AML who underwent first allo-HCT in CR1 between 2010 and 2021. Outcomes were compared among using a haploidentical donor (Haplo), a matched sibling donor (MSD), and a 10/10 matched unrelated donor (MUD).

Target the Heart: A New Axis of Alzheimer's Disease Prevention.

Background/objective: Cyclosporine A and other calcineurin inhibitors have been identified as prospective treatments for preventing Alzheimer's disease. We previously found that calcineurin inhibitors elicit a unique behavioral profile in zebrafish larvae, characterized by increased activity, acoustic hyperexcitability, and reduced visually guided behaviors. Screening a large library of FDA-approved compounds using Z-LaP Tracker revealed that some heart medications produce a similar behavioral profile, suggesting these drugs may exert calcineurin-inhibitor-like effects relevant to prevent-ing or ameliorating Alzheimer's disease.

Racial Disparity in Myeloablative Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Outcomes in Patients with Hematological Malignancies Older Than 45 Years.

Introduction: The impact of race on outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) has long been a field of research. The Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) studies have shown worse survival for Black and Hispanic patients within the first year after HCT, but rates evened out for one-year survivors. From our personal experience, we hypothesize that the outcomes of South Asians (age ≥ 45 years) receiving myeloablative conditioning (MAC) are also worse compared to other races.

Protein kinase C and endothelial dysfunction in select vascular diseases.

Protein kinases have crucial roles in intracellular signal transduction pathways that affect a wide range of biochemical processes, including apoptosis, metabolism, proliferation, and protein synthesis. Vascular endothelial cells are important regulators of vasomotor tone, tissue/organ perfusion, and inflammation. Since its discovery in the late 1970s, a growing body of literature implicates protein kinase C (PKC) in pathways involving angiogenesis, endothelial permeability, microvascular tone, and endothelial activation.

Feasibility of combining tDCS with exercise for increasing physical activity in people with depression.

Introduction: Physical inactivity and depression are significant public health concerns, often co-occurring and exacerbating one another. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has shown promise in enhancing cognitive and affective processes, potentially improving exercise adherence and outcomes in individuals with depressive symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary within group effects of combining tDCS with an aerobic exercise (AE) intervention to increase physical activity in individuals with elevated depressive symptoms.

The life cycle of infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship projects and interventions: the dynamic interplay of implementation and de-implementation science (Part I of II).

In Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention and Control, programmatic goals often strive to achieve clinical benefit by practice change in the direction of doing less. Practically, this may include reducing the number of tests ordered, encouraging shorter and more narrow courses of antimicrobials, or discontinuing practices that are no longer contextually appropriate. Because promoting practice change in the direction of doing less is a critical aspect of day-to-day operations in Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention and Control, the goals of this Research Committee White Paper are to provide a roadmap and framework for leveraging principles of implementation and de-implementation science in day-to-day practice.

Leveraging de-implementation science to promote infection prevention and stewardship: a roadmap and practical examples (Part II of II).

De-implementation of established practices is a common challenge in infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship and a necessary part of the life cycle of healthcare quality improvement programs. Promoting de-implementation of ineffective antimicrobial use and increasingly of low-value diagnostic testing are cornerstones of stewardship practice. Principles of de-implementation science and the interplay of implementation and de-implementation are discussed in part I of this Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America White Paper Series.

Whole genome sequence analysis of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol across 246 K individuals.

Background: Rare genetic variation provided by whole genome sequence datasets has been relatively less explored for its contributions to human traits. Meta-analysis of sequencing data offers advantages by integrating larger sample sizes from diverse cohorts, thereby increasing the likelihood of discovering novel insights into complex traits. Furthermore, emerging methods in genome-wide rare variant association testing further improve power and interpretability.

Understanding donor heart preservation: Cellular mechanisms and clinical outcomes.

Static cold storage (SCS) on ice has remained the gold standard preservation method for heart transplantation, and prolonged cold ischemia outside the typical 4-6 hour window is associated with an increased risk of primary graft dysfunction - a consequence attributed to ischemic damage and reperfusion injury. This, unfortunately limits the travel radius for donor heart procurement, a key factor that contributes to the overall shortage of donor organs. Recent research and clinical data have illustrated the validity of other preservation systems in preserving cardiac allografts, and many of these devices have shown promise in potentially prolonging the tolerated ischemic time beyond the accepted standard.