The Intergenerational Effects From Structural Racism Cost Our Society Greatly.

Structural racism is historically rooted, and has been a foundation for United States immigration policy. This injustice has intergenerational effects that cost society greatly - with impacts on social cohesion, individual and collective health, and well-being, and ultimately our ability to function as a civil society. Limited pathways to citizenship and major restrictions to resources that promote integration have adverse consequences for immigrants and, their families.

Medicare Utilization and Cost Trends for CAR T Cell Therapies Across Settings of Care in the Treatment of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Introduction: Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies have transformed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treatment. It is important to better understand their use in Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) patients, who often differ from commercially insured populations in important ways.

Methods: We analyzed Medicare FFS claims data, focusing on the utilization patterns across three CAR T products-lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel), and axicabtagene autoleucel (axi-cel)-which are indicated for the treatment of DLBCL.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Access in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Association of Access with Social Determinants of Health and Travel Time to Treatment Centers.

Large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy represents a novel treatment with curative potential for relapsed or refractory (R/R) LBCL, but there are access barriers to this innovative therapy that are not well-studied. Study objectives were: (1) Assess the impact of geographic factors and social determinants of health (SDOH) on access to treatment with CAR T in a sample of patients with R/R LBCL and ≥2 prior lines of therapy (LOT).

Hospital healthcare resource utilization and costs for chimeric antigen T-cell therapy and autologous hematopoietic cell transplant in patients with large B-cell lymphoma in the United States.

The efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) is well-established. This study, using the Premier PINC AI Healthcare Database, assessed hospital costs and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) between CAR T-cell therapy and autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT) for 733 LBCL patients from 01/01/2017-04/30/2021 (166 CAR T and 567 AHCT from 37 US hospital systems. CAR T-cell therapy had higher index costs but lower non-pharmacy costs, shorter hospital stays, lower ICU utilization than AHCT.

Benefit of axicabtagene ciloleucel versus chemoimmunotherapy in older patients and/or patients with poor ECOG performance status with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after 2 or more lines of prior therapy.

Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) in trials has demonstrated favorable efficacy compared with historical controls after ≥2 lines of therapy for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B cell lymphoma (LBCL). Herein, we compared the real-world effectiveness of axi-cel with efficacy and effectiveness of chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) in patients aged ≥65 years and patients with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) of 2. A total of 1146 patients treated with commercial axi-cel for R/R LBCL with ≥2 lines of prior therapy were included from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Research prospective observational study, and 469 patients treated with CIT for R/R LBCL after ≥2 lines of prior therapy were included from SCHOLAR-1 (an international, multicohort, retrospective study).

Health Care Resource Utilization and Total Costs of Care for Adult Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the United States: A Retrospective Claims Analysis.

Purpose: Although immunotherapies such as blinatumomab and inotuzumab have led to improved outcomes, financial burden and health resource utilization (HRU) have increased for adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (R/R B-ALL). This study assessed real-world HRU and costs of care among adult patients with R/R B-ALL by line of therapy (LoT) in the United States.

Methods: We selected patients from the MarketScan Database (January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2020) as follows: ≥1 claims of ALL-indicated first-line (1L) therapies, ≥1 diagnosis of ALL before the index date (1L initiation date), 6-month continuous enrollment before the index date, second-line (2L) therapy initiation, ≥18 years old at 2L, no clinical trial enrollment, no diagnosis of other forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and no claim for daratumumab or nelarabine during the study period.

Health resource utilization and costs of care for adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma in the United States: a retrospective claims analysis.

Objectives: We assessed real-world healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs among US patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (R/R MCL) by line of therapy (LoT).

Methods: We selected patients from MarketScan® (1/1/2016-12/31/2020): ≥1 claims of MCL-indicated first line (1L) therapies, ≥1 diagnoses of MCL pre-index date (1L initiation date), ≥6-month continuous enrollment pre-index date, second line (2L) therapy initiation, ≥18 years old at 2L, and no clinical trial enrollment. Outcomes included time to next treatment (TTNT), all-cause HRU, and costs.

Screening for hearing loss in the Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking elderly using tablet-based pure-tone and word-in-noise test.

The present study aimed to establish the test-retest reliability and validity of a tablet-based automated pure-tone screening test and a word-in-noise test as hearing screening tools for older Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking adults. It was a cross-sectional within-subject study. One hundred and thirty-two older adults participated in this study, and 112 of them completed the automated pure-tone screening test, word-in-noise test, and conventional pure-tone audiometry.

A meta-review of school-based disaster interventions for child and adolescent survivors.

Background: Children and adolescents are among the most vulnerable groups affected by natural and man-made disaster. To better understand research and practice concerning mental health and psychosocial support efforts in humanitarian settings, the authors conducted a comprehensive review of all intervention programmes within the past decade that universally targeted children and adolescents who were exposed to a natural and/or man-made disaster.

Methods: We searched PubMed, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library and CINAHL for mental health and psychosocial interventions (MHPSS) involving children and adolescents.

Prevalence of depressive symptoms and its correlates among medical students in China: a national survey in 33 universities.

We conducted a national survey among medical students in China to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and explore associated risk factors based on an established questionnaire composed of demographic information, life events in the past four weeks before survey, and the validated Chinese version of the 21-item Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). The mean age of enrolled 9010 students was 20.7 (standard deviation: 1.

Circulating Tumor Cells as Potential Biomarkers in Bladder Cancer.

Purpose: We explored the diagnostic use of circulating tumor cells in patients with neoadjuvant bladder cancer using enumeration and next generation sequencing.

Materials And Methods: A total of 20 patients with bladder cancer who were eligible for cisplatin based neoadjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled in an institutional review board approved study. Subjects underwent blood draws at baseline and after 1 cycle of chemotherapy.

Moderating effects of a postdisaster intervention on risk and resilience factors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder in Chinese children.

This study is an evaluation of a psychosocial intervention involving child and adolescent survivors of the 2008 Sichuan China earthquake. Sociodemographics, earthquake-related risk exposure, resilience using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using the UCLA-PTSD Index were collected from 1,988 intervention participants and 2,132 controls. Mean resilience scores and the odds of PTSD did not vary between groups.

An examination of resilience cross-culturally in child and adolescent survivors of the 2008 China earthquake using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).

Background: The 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China destroyed towns and village, displaced over a million people and caused thousands of deaths. There is a need to understand how children and adolescents are able to bounce back after this distressing event. This study conducts a psychometric assessment of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the measure's validity among children and adolescent survivors in order to identify the factors associated with resilience in this socio-cultural setting.

Ectopic vesicular glutamate release at the optic nerve head and axon loss in mouse experimental glaucoma.

Although clinical and experimental observations indicate that the optic nerve head (ONH) is a major site of axon degeneration in glaucoma, the mechanisms by which local retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons are injured and damage spreads among axons remain poorly defined. Using a laser-induced ocular hypertension (LIOH) mouse model of glaucoma, we found that within 48 h of intraocular pressure elevation, RGC axon segments within the ONH exhibited ectopic accumulation and colocalization of multiple components of the glutamatergic presynaptic machinery including the vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT2, several synaptic vesicle marker proteins, glutamate, the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor complex and active zone cytomatrix components, as well as ultrastructurally identified, synaptophysin-containing vesicles. Ectopic vesicle exocytosis and glutamate release were detected in acute preparations of the LIOH ONH.

Involvement of EphB/Ephrin-B signaling in axonal survival in mouse experimental glaucoma.

Purpose: To examine the functional significance of EphB/ephrin-B upregulation in mouse experimental glaucoma.

Methods: In a loss-of-function approach, mouse mutants lacking EphB2 (EphB2(-/-)) or EphB3 (EphB3(-/-)) protein, and mutants expressing EphB2 truncated in the C-terminus (EphB2(lacZ/lacZ)) were subjected to laser-induced ocular hypertension (LIOH), an experimental mouse model of glaucoma. The number of optic nerve axons was counted in paraphenylenediamine (PPD)-stained sections and compared between EphB mutants and wild type littermates.

Effects of temperature, salinity, and pH on the survival and activity of marine cercariae.

Alterations of abiotic factors due to global climate change are predicted to impact disease dynamics, particularly for pathogens with complex life cycles involving free-living infectious stages, such as the cercariae of trematode parasites. Previous investigations of cercarial output, longevity, and infectivity suggest an overall increase in trematode transmission in response to elevated temperature. However, while increased temperature will likely be accompanied by changes in salinity and pH in marine ecosystems, little is known regarding their influence on cercariae.

Laser-induced ocular hypertension in albino CD-1 mice.

Purpose: To establish a laser-induced model of ocular hypertension (LIOH) in albino CD-1 mice and to characterize the sequence of pathologic events triggered by intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation.

Methods: LIOH was induced unilaterally in CD-1 mice by laser photocoagulation of limbal and episcleral veins 270 degrees to 300 degrees circumferentially, sparing the nasal aspect and the long ciliary arteries. IOP was measured with a rebound tonometer.

Axonal/glial upregulation of EphB/ephrin-B signaling in mouse experimental ocular hypertension.

Purpose: To use a laser-induced ocular hypertension (LIOH) mouse model to examine the optic nerve head (ONH) expression of EphB/ephrin-B, previously shown to be upregulated in glaucomatous DBA/2J mice. To relate ephrin-B reverse signaling with states of axonal response to disease.

Methods: LIOH was induced unilaterally in CD-1 mice by laser photocoagulation of limbal and episcleral veins.

Upregulation of EphB2 and ephrin-B2 at the optic nerve head of DBA/2J glaucomatous mice coincides with axon loss.

Purpose: To identify genes with upregulated expression at the optic nerve head (ONH) that coincides with retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon loss in glaucomatous DBA/2J mice. To further demonstrate that the proteins encoded by these genes bind to RGC axons and influence fundamental axon physiology.

Methods: In situ hybridization and cell-type-specific immunolabeling were performed on ONH sections from DBA/2J mice (3 to 11 months old) and C57Bl/6NCrl mice (10 months old).

Regions in the 3' untranslated region confer stage-specific expression to the Leishmania mexicana a600-4 gene.

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania have a digenetic lifecycle, alternating between the promastigote and amastigote stages. The extracellular promastigote resides within a sandfly vector, while the obligate intracellular amastigote stage replicates in the phagolysosome of mammalian host macrophages. Adaptation to and survival within these vastly differently environments is accompanied by differential expression of a subset of genes, which is regulated post-transcriptionally via cis-acting elements in 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) or intercistronic sequences.

CCN3 (NOV) interacts with connexin43 in C6 glioma cells: possible mechanism of connexin-mediated growth suppression.

Many tumor cells exhibit aberrant gap junctional intercellular communication, which can be restored by transfection with connexin genes. We have previously discovered that overexpression of connexin43 (Cx43) in C6 glioma cells not only reduces proliferation but also leads to production of soluble growth-inhibitory factors. We identified that several members of the CCN (Cyr61/connective tissue growth factor/nephroblastoma-overexpressed) family are up-regulated following Cx43 expression, including CCN3 (NOV).