State of the Science: Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Prolonged Grief Disorder.

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is a distinct diagnostic entity that has recently garnered considerable attention as it describes an intense, enduring, distressing and disabling bereavement reaction experienced by a small minority of community-based mourners. In recent decades, research has exploded to address how best to treat PGD with different psychotherapeutic interventions. In this state-of-the-science review, the strength of the evidence will be discussed regarding common psychotherapeutic interventions used to treat grief.

Lipid droplets are a metabolic vulnerability in melanoma.

Melanoma exhibits numerous transcriptional cell states including neural crest-like cells as well as pigmented melanocytic cells. How these different cell states relate to distinct tumorigenic phenotypes remains unclear. Here, we use a zebrafish melanoma model to identify a transcriptional program linking the melanocytic cell state to a dependence on lipid droplets, the specialized organelle responsible for lipid storage.

Exposure to Propylparaben During Pregnancy and Lactation Induces Long-Term Alterations to the Mammary Gland in Mice.

The mammary gland is a hormone sensitive organ that is susceptible to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during the vulnerable periods of parous reorganization (ie, pregnancy, lactation, and involution). Pregnancy is believed to have long-term protective effects against breast cancer development; however, it is unknown if EDCs can alter this effect. We examined the long-term effects of propylparaben, a common preservative used in personal care products and foods, with estrogenic properties, on the parous mouse mammary gland.

The Mouse Mammary Gland: a Tool to Inform Adolescents About Environmental Causes of Breast Cancer.

Adolescence is a vulnerable period of breast development, and environmental chemical exposures that occur during this period can increase the risk of breast cancer in adulthood. Discussing breast health with adolescent girls can be difficult for several reasons. In this project, we worked to not only inform adolescent researchers about environmental risks for breast cancer but to also involve them in research studies.

Oxybenzone Alters Mammary Gland Morphology in Mice Exposed During Pregnancy and Lactation.

Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals are generally thought to have permanent "organizational" effects when exposures occur during development but not adulthood. Yet, an increasing number of studies have shown that pregnant females are disrupted by endocrine-disrupting chemical exposures, with some effects that are permanent. Here, we examined the long-term effects of exposure to oxybenzone, an estrogenic chemical found in sunscreen and personal care products, on the morphology of the mammary gland in mice exposed during pregnancy and lactation.

Bisphenol S Alters the Lactating Mammary Gland and Nursing Behaviors in Mice Exposed During Pregnancy and Lactation.

High doses of estrogenic pharmaceuticals were once prescribed to women to halt lactation. Yet, the effects of low-level xenoestrogens on lactation remain poorly studied. We investigated the effects of bisphenol S (BPS), an estrogen receptor (ER) agonist, on the lactating mammary gland; the arcuate nucleus, a region of the hypothalamus important for neuroendocrine control of lactational behaviors; and nursing behavior in CD-1 mice.

Data describing lack of effects of 17α-ethinyl estradiol on mammary gland morphology in female mice exposed during pregnancy and lactation.

Ethinyl estradiol (EE) is a synthetic estrogen used in pharmaceutical contraceptives. In many studies evaluating estrogenic endocrine disruptors, EE is used as a positive control for estrogenicity. However, the effects of EE often differ from the effects of other xenoestrogens, suggesting that these other compounds might act via distinct mechanisms.

FLOCK cluster analysis of plasma cell flow cytometry data predicts bone marrow involvement by plasma cell neoplasia.

We analyzed plasma cell populations in bone marrow samples from 353 patients with possible bone marrow involvement by a plasma cell neoplasm, using FLOCK (FLOw Clustering without K), an unbiased, automated, computational approach to identify cell subsets in multidimensional flow cytometry data. FLOCK identified discrete plasma cell populations in the majority of bone marrow specimens found by standard histologic and immunophenotypic criteria to be involved by a plasma cell neoplasm (202/208 cases; 97%), including 34 cases that were negative by standard flow cytometric analysis that included clonality assessment. FLOCK identified discrete plasma cell populations in only a minority of cases negative for involvement by a plasma cell neoplasm by standard histologic and immunophenotypic criteria (38/145 cases; 26%).

FLOCK cluster analysis of mast cell event clustering by high-sensitivity flow cytometry predicts systemic mastocytosis.

Objectives: In our high-sensitivity flow cytometric approach for systemic mastocytosis (SM), we identified mast cell event clustering as a new diagnostic criterion for the disease.

Methods: To objectively characterize mast cell gated event distributions, we performed cluster analysis using FLOCK, a computational approach to identify cell subsets in multidimensional flow cytometry data in an unbiased, automated fashion.

Results: FLOCK identified discrete mast cell populations in most cases of SM (56/75 [75%]) but only a minority of non-SM cases (17/124 [14%]).

High-sensitivity flow cytometric analysis of mast cell clustering in systemic mastocytosis: a quantitative and statistical analysis.

We characterized recently identified event clusters in systemic mastocytosis (SM) by calculating the coefficient of variation (CV, %) of CD117 and side scatter (SSC), based on the mean fluorescence intensity of mast cells using flow cytometry. Seventy-five samples were from patients with SM and 124 samples from patients negative for SM (non-SM). Discrete cluster formation seen in 50 cases correlated with significantly lower CV for SSC (46.