Publications by authors named "Cowan A"

Background: Kidney transplant recipients are uniquely exposed to the disordered bone metabolism associated with chronic kidney disease beginning before transplantation followed by chronic corticosteroid use after transplantation. Previous efforts to synthesize the rapidly accruing evidence regarding estimation and management of fracture risk in kidney transplant recipients are outdated and incomplete.

Objective: To synthesize the evidence informing the overall incidence, patient-specific risk prediction, and methods of prevention of fractures in patient living with a kidney transplant.

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High-entropy-alloy (HEA) nanocrystals hold immense potential for catalysis, offering virtually unlimited alloy combinations through the inclusion of at least five constituent elements in varying ratios. However, general and effective strategies for synthesizing libraries of HEA nanocrystals with controlled surface atomic structures remain scarce. In this study, a transferable strategy for developing a library of facet-controlled seed@HEA nanocrystals through seed-mediated growth is presented.

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Background: Neonatal pulmonary embolism is a rare occurrence, especially when idiopathic, instead occurring in patients with identifiable risk factors including severe dehydration, presence or history of a central venous line, or identifiable genetic causes. Given the rarity of paediatric and neonatal pulmonary emboli, few guidelines exist to support the clinician in both the initial resuscitation and ongoing management of the critically ill patient with pulmonary emboli.

Case Summary: We present a 5-day-old female with unprovoked massive pulmonary embolism and associated haemodynamic compromise.

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Background: Daratumumab, an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, has been approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Data are needed regarding the use of daratumumab for high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma, a precursor disease of active multiple myeloma for which no treatments have been approved.

Methods: In this phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma to receive either subcutaneous daratumumab monotherapy or active monitoring.

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  • - Immune effector cell-associated hematotoxicity (ICAHT) significantly affects patients undergoing CAR T-cell therapy, and the factors linked to severe forms of it are not well understood.
  • - Researchers identified key pre-infusion and post-infusion factors that predict early severe ICAHT in a study involving 691 patients; these included disease type, blood counts, inflammatory and coagulopathy markers.
  • - Two predictive models (eIPMPre and eIPMPost) were developed and validated, showing strong accuracy in predicting severe ICAHT, with the post-infusion model being particularly effective; an online tool for individualized predictions is available for use.
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Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) demonstrates a complex interaction with tobacco exposure and sex differences, where females and males may experience varying risks and outcomes. This study aims to investigate how sex differences mediate the relationship between tobacco exposure and CKD development, with a secondary focus on regional variability and social determinants of health.

Study Selection And Criteria: Comprehensive searches on MEDLINE, EMBASE, clinicaltrials.

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Background: Initial insights into oncology clinical trial outcomes are often gleaned manually from conference abstracts. We aimed to develop an automated system to extract safety and efficacy information from study abstracts with high precision and fine granularity, transforming them into computable data for timely clinical decision-making.

Methods: We collected clinical trial abstracts from key conferences and PubMed (2012-2023).

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What Is This Summary About?: This summary describes the final analysis of the GRIFFIN study. In this study, participants were newly diagnosed with a type of blood and bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma, had never received any treatment, and were able to undergo an autologous stem cell transplant. The GRIFFIN study looked at adding the drug daratumumab (D) to a combination of standard treatments called RVd (lenalidomide [R], bortezomib [V], and dexamethasone [d]) during the treatment phases induction and consolidation, followed by daratumumab and lenalidomide (D-R) maintenance.

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We report 14 cases of immune effector cell (IEC)-associated enterocolitis following chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy in multiple myeloma, with a 1.2% incidence overall (0.2% for idecabtagene vicleucel and 2.

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  • Despite known benefits of exercise on metabolism, a thorough understanding of how exercise affects metabolic processes is currently missing.
  • Research using isotope-labeled infusions in mice revealed that exercise significantly increases glucose production from different sources, specifically in female mice and showing differences from human metabolism.
  • The study also found that during exercise, various organs altered their fuel use, with notable increases in protein breakdown and fatty acid oxidation, while certain metabolic processes continued despite their energy costs.
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Pseudaminic acid is a non-mammalian sugar found in the surface glycoconjugates of many bacteria, including several human pathogens, and is a virulence factor thought to facilitate immune evasion. The final step in the biosynthesis of the nucleotide activated form of the sugar, CMP-Pse5Ac7Ac is performed by a CMP-Pse5Ac7Ac synthetase (PseF). Here we present the biochemical and structural characterization of PseF from Aeromonas caviae (AcPseF), with AcPseF displaying metal-dependent activity over a broad pH and temperature range.

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  • * A phase I clinical trial using the gamma-secretase inhibitor (GSI) crenigacestat alongside anti-BCMA CAR T-cells showed that GSI affected the tumor microenvironment, particularly altering monocyte populations and their gene expression.
  • * The study also found that some patients had monoallelic deletion of the BCMA gene after previous treatments, which correlated with shorter progression-free survival, highlighting the need to investigate GSIs with BCMA-targeted therapies for better outcomes. *
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No randomized trial has directly compared daratumumab and lenalidomide (D-R) maintenance therapy versus standard-of-care lenalidomide (R) alone post-transplant. Here, we report the primary results of the phase 3 AURIGA study evaluating D-R versus R maintenance in NDMM patients who were in ≥very good partial response, minimal residual disease (MRD; threshold 10-5) positive, and anti-CD38 naïve post-transplant. Patients were randomized 1:1 to D-R or R maintenance for up to 36 cycles.

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  • * A study involving 541 patients found that reducing dexamethasone doses (LD-DEX) didn’t significantly affect progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) compared to full doses (FD-DEX).
  • * The findings indicate that dose reductions are frequently made during treatment, but their impact on patient outcomes in modern treatment protocols needs more investigation.
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The electrochemical reduction of CO is a promising pathway for converting CO into valuable fuels and chemicals. The local environment at the cathode of CO electrolyzers plays a key role in determining activity and selectivity, but currently some mechanisms are still under debate. In particular, alkali metal cations have been shown to enhance the selectivity of metal catalysts, but their role remains less explored for molecular catalysts especially in high-current electrolyzers.

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The controlled aggregation of organic chromophores into supramolecular structures offers a way to control and tune photocatalytic activity. However, the underlying mechanisms of charge transfer and accumulation are still unclear. Time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy is a powerful structural probe for studying photogenerated intermediates.

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  • - The study analyzed the effects of cytogenetic abnormalities in 283 AL amyloidosis patients treated with daratumumab-based therapies, focusing on abnormalities like t(11;14), deletion(13q), and gain/amp(1q).
  • - Among various subgroups, only +1q showed a significant lower rate of very good partial response and was linked to worse hematologic event-free survival, while t(11;14) did not negatively impact overall survival.
  • - The findings suggest that patients with the +1q abnormality may benefit from targeted clinical trials with novel immunotherapies to improve their treatment outcomes.
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  • Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) is an effective treatment for multiple myeloma, with real-world data collected from 61,725 patients revealing median overall survival of 90.2 months and median progression-free survival of 36.5 months.* -
  • Cumulative relapse incidence and non-relapse mortality rates at 24 months were found to be 33% and 2.5% respectively, with better outcomes linked to factors like younger age, certain disease subtypes, and high performance status.* -
  • Global variations were observed in patient outcomes based on registry data, influenced by differences in patient characteristics, use of maintenance treatments, and macroeconomic factors, highlighting the safety and effectiveness of AH
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The randomized, phase 2 GRIFFIN study (NCT02874742) evaluated daratumumab plus lenalidomide/bortezomib/dexamethasone (D-RVd) in transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). We present final post hoc analyses (median follow-up, 49.6 months) of clinically relevant subgroups, including patients with high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (HRCAs) per revised definition (del[17p], t[4;14], t[14;16], t[14;20], and/or gain/amp[1q21]).

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Background: Initial insights into oncology clinical trial outcomes are often gleaned manually from conference abstracts. We aimed to develop an automated system to extract safety and efficacy information from study abstracts with high precision and fine granularity, transforming them into computable data for timely clinical decision-making.

Methods: We collected clinical trial abstracts from key conferences and PubMed (2012-2023).

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Background: Illicitly manufactured fentanyls and stimulants are implicated in the escalating US mortality from drug overdose. San Francisco, California (SF) has seen declining fentanyl injection while smoking has increased. Beliefs and behaviors surrounding this development are not well understood.

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Most transplant-eligible multiple myeloma (MM) patients undergo autologous peripheral blood stem cell collection (PBSC) using G-CSF with on-demand plerixafor (G ± P). Chemomobilization (CM) can be used as a salvage regimen after G ± P failure or for debulking residual tumor burden ahead of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Prior studies utilizing cyclophosphamide-based CM have not shown long-term benefits.

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  • Time toxicity in cancer treatment means that too many doctor visits and treatments can hurt how patients feel and live their lives.
  • The review looks at how this affects patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma, especially when choosing treatments like chemo or specific drugs.
  • It also discusses ways to reduce these burdens while still keeping the treatments effective and safe for patients.
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Biohybrid photocatalysts are composite materials that combine the efficient light-absorbing properties of synthetic materials with the highly evolved metabolic pathways and self-repair mechanisms of biological systems. Here, we show the potential of conjugated polymers as photosensitizers in biohybrid systems by combining a series of polymer nanoparticles with engineered cells. Under simulated solar light irradiation, the biohybrid system consisting of fluorene/dibenzo []thiophene sulfone copolymer (LP41) and recombinant (i.

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