Myeloid leukemia with transdifferentiation plasticity developing from T-cell progenitors.

Unfavorable patient survival coincides with lineage plasticity observed in human acute leukemias. These cases are assumed to arise from hematopoietic stem cells, which have stable multipotent differentiation potential. However, here we report that plasticity in leukemia can result from instable lineage identity states inherited from differentiating progenitor cells.

Chronic pruritus: evaluation of patient needs and treatment goals with a special regard to differences according to pruritus classification and sex.

Background: Chronic pruritus (CP) is present in approximately one-third of all dermatological patients. Diagnostics and treatment are challenging and impair patients' quality of life.

Objectives: To analyse therapeutic needs in terms of the importance of treatment goals in a large sample of patients with CP.

Afri-Can Forum 2 : Johannesburg, South Africa. 16-18 February 2015.

A1 Introduction to the 2nd synchronicity forum of GHRI/CHVI-funded Canadian and African HIV prevention and vaccine teams O1 Voluntary medical male circumcision for prevention of heterosexual transmission of HIV in adult males in Soweto: What do indicators and incidence rate show? Hillary Mukudu, Neil Martinson, Benn Sartorius O2 Developing a peer-led community mobilization program for sex workers in Soweto: HIV risk and demographics Jenny Coetzee, Janan Dietrich, Kgaugelo Mokgatswana, Rachel Jewkes, Glenda E. Gray O3 Salient beliefs about adherence: A qualitative survey conducted as part of the demonstration study on "treatment as prevention" (TasP) and "pre-exposure prophylaxis" (PrEP) among female sex workers (FSWS) in Cotonou, Benin Marylène Dugas, Luc Béhanzin, Fernand A. Guédou, Marie-Pierre Gagnon, Michel Alary O4 Relative perception of risk as a driver of unsafe sexual practices among key populations: Cases of fisherfolk and women and their partners involved in multiple sexual partnerships in Uganda Rwamahe Rutakumwa, Martin Mbonye, Thadeus Kiwanuka, Sarah Nakamanya, Richard Muhumuza, Winfred Nalukenge, Janet Seeley O5 Exploring the acceptability of new biomedical HIV prevention technologies among MSM, adolescents and heterosexual adults in South Africa Millicent Atujuna, Melissa Wallace, Ben Brown, Linda Gail Bekker, Peter A.

Choosy Cannibals Preferentially Consume Siblings with Relatively Low Fitness Prospects.

When an individual can selfishly cannibalize a relative or altruistically set it free, the benefits of altruism will be positively associated with the relative's fitness prospects (the benefits it receives from altruism). We tested the prediction that altruism should be preferentially directed toward high-quality relatives using larvae of the New Mexican spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata), a species in which tadpoles plastically express omnivore and carnivore ecomorphs. In a no-choice design, we presented carnivores with sibling or nonsibling omnivores varying in developmental stage, which is positively associated with survival in this toad's ephemeral larval environment.

[Chronic pruritus : Care in daily practice].

Chronic pruritus is a highly prevalent, multifactorial symptom requiring extensive diagnostics, treatment and consideration of accompanying symptoms (reduced quality of life, sleep disorders, psychic factors). Patient care is thus complex and requires consideration of individual treatment goals. Patients indicate their wish for a symptom-free life an explanation of the causes and a trustful physician-patient relationship.

The pay-offs of maternal care increase as offspring develop, favouring extended provisioning in an egg-feeding frog.

Offspring quantity and quality are components of parental fitness that cannot be maximized simultaneously. When the benefits of investing in offspring quality decline, parents are expected to shift investment towards offspring quantity (other reproductive opportunities). Even when mothers retain complete control of resource allocation, offspring control whether to allocate investment to growth or development towards independence, and this shared control may generate parent-offspring conflict over the duration of care.

ODMedit: uniform semantic annotation for data integration in medicine based on a public metadata repository.

Background: The volume and complexity of patient data - especially in personalised medicine - is steadily increasing, both regarding clinical data and genomic profiles: Typically more than 1,000 items (e.g., laboratory values, vital signs, diagnostic tests etc.

Leukemogenic MLL-ENL Fusions Induce Alternative Chromatin States to Drive a Functionally Dichotomous Group of Target Genes.

MLL fusions are leukemogenic transcription factors that enhance transcriptional elongation through modification of chromatin and RNA Pol II. Global transcription rates and chromatin changes accompanying the transformation process induced by MLL-ENL were monitored by nascent RNA-seq and ChIP-seq, revealing 165 direct target genes separated into two distinct clades. ME5 genes bound MLL-ENL at the promoter, relied on DOT1L-mediated histone methylation, and coded preferentially for transcription factors, including many homeobox genes.

Experimental manipulation of avoidable feelings of uncertainty: Effects on anger and anxiety.

Though anger and anxiety are related, putative explanations for this association remain unclear. Beliefs about one's state of uncertainty may be a pathway-the belief that one's uncertain state is unavoidable might lead to anxiety, whereas the belief that one's uncertain state is avoidable might lead to both anxiety and anger. To test this hypothesis, participants experienced an uncertainty induction and were then assigned to the avoidable uncertainty condition (experimental group) or the unavoidable uncertainty condition (control group).

An exploration of Intolerance of Uncertainty and memory bias.

Background And Objectives: Research suggests that individuals high in Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) have information processing biases, which may explain the close relationship between IU and worry. Specifically, high IU individuals show an attentional bias for uncertainty, and negatively interpret uncertain information. However, evidence of a memory bias for uncertainty among high IU individuals is limited.

Insomnia Symptoms Following Treatment for Comorbid Panic Disorder With Agoraphobia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) frequently also suffer from insomnia. However, the impact of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders on insomnia has been understudied. Furthermore, comorbidity between anxiety disorders is common.

[Leukemia research in Germany: the Competence Network Acute and Chronic Leukemias].

The Competence Network "Acute and Chronic Leukemias" was founded in 1997 by the consolidation of the leading leukemia study groups in Germany. Key results are the development of new trials and cooperative studies, the setup of patient registries and biobanking facilities, as well as the improvement of study infrastructure. In 2003, the concept of the competence network contributed to the foundation of the European LeukemiaNet (ELN).

Portal of medical data models: information infrastructure for medical research and healthcare.

Introduction: Information systems are a key success factor for medical research and healthcare. Currently, most of these systems apply heterogeneous and proprietary data models, which impede data exchange and integrated data analysis for scientific purposes. Due to the complexity of medical terminology, the overall number of medical data models is very high.

Increased DNA methylation of Dnmt3b targets impairs leukemogenesis.

The de novo DNA methyltransferases Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b are of crucial importance in hematopoietic stem cells. Dnmt3b has recently been shown to play a role in genic methylation. To investigate how Dnmt3b-mediated DNA methylation affects leukemogenesis, we analyzed leukemia development under conditions of high and physiological methylation levels in a tetracycline-inducible knock-in mouse model.

Genomic landscape of liposarcoma.

Liposarcoma (LPS) is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma accounting for 20% of all adult sarcomas. Due to absence of clinically effective treatment options in inoperable situations and resistance to chemotherapeutics, a critical need exists to identify novel therapeutic targets. We analyzed LPS genomic landscape using SNP arrays, whole exome sequencing and targeted exome sequencing to uncover the genomic information for development of specific anti-cancer targets.

Using Electronic Health Records to Support Clinical Trials: A Report on Stakeholder Engagement for EHR4CR.

Background: The conduct of clinical trials is increasingly challenging due to greater complexity and governance requirements as well as difficulties with recruitment and retention. Electronic Health Records for Clinical Research (EHR4CR) aims at improving the conduct of trials by using existing routinely collected data, but little is known about stakeholder views on data availability, information governance, and acceptable working practices.

Methods: Senior figures in healthcare organisations across Europe were provided with a description of the project and structured interviews were subsequently conducted to elicit their views.

Detectability matters: conspicuous nestling mouth colours make prey transfer easier for parents in a cavity nesting bird.

An often underappreciated function of signals is to notify receivers of the presence and position of senders. The colours that ornament the mouthparts of nestling birds, for example, have been hypothesized to evolve via selective pressure generated by parents' inability to efficiently detect and feed nestlings without such visually conspicuous targets. This proposed mechanism has primarily been evaluated with comparative studies and experimental tests for parental allocation bias, leaving untested the central assumption of this detectability hypothesis, that provisioning offspring is a visually challenging task for avian parents and conspicuous mouths help.

Azacitidine in combination with intensive induction chemotherapy in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia: The AML-AZA trial of the Study Alliance Leukemia.

DNA methylation changes are a constant feature of acute myeloid leukemia. Hypomethylating drugs such as azacitidine are active in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as monotherapy. Azacitidine monotherapy is not curative.

Infection Exposure is a Causal Factor in B-cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia as a Result of Pax5-Inherited Susceptibility.

Unlabelled: Earlier in the past century, infections were regarded as the most likely cause of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (pB-ALL). However, there is a lack of relevant biologic evidence supporting this hypothesis. We present in vivo genetic evidence mechanistically connecting inherited susceptibility to pB-ALL and postnatal infections by showing that pB-ALL was initiated in Pax5 heterozygous mice only when they were exposed to common pathogens.

European EADV network on assessment of severity and burden of Pruritus (PruNet): first meeting on outcome tools.

Background: Chronic pruritus is a frequently occurring symptom of various dermatoses that causes a high burden and impaired quality of life. An effective anti pruritic therapy is important for the patient, but its effectiveness is difficult to evaluate. Diverse methods and interpretations of pruritic metrics are utilized in clinical trials and the daily clinical practice in different countries, resulting in difficulties comparing collected data.

Clinical Research Informatics: Recent Advances and Future Directions.

Objectives: To summarize significant developments in Clinical Research Informatics (CRI) over the past two years and discuss future directions.

Methods: Survey of advances, open problems and opportunities in this field based on exploration of current literature.

Results: Recent advances are structured according to three use cases of clinical research: Protocol feasibility, patient identification/ recruitment and clinical trial execution.

An experimental test for age-related improvements in reproductive performance in a frog that cares for its young.

Reproductive performance often increases with age in long-lived iteroparous organisms, a pattern that can result from within-individual increases in effort and/or competence. In free-living populations, it is typically difficult to distinguish these mechanisms or to isolate particular features of reproduction-influencing outcomes. In captive Oophaga pumilio, a frog in which mothers provide extended offspring provisioning via trophic eggs, we experimentally manipulated the age at which females started breeding and then monitored them across repeated reproductive events.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Chronic Pruritus: An Analysis Related to Disease Etiology, Clinical Skin Conditions and Itch Intensity.

Background: It is unknown if health-related quality of life (HRQoL) differs between diseases associated with chronic pruritus (CP).

Objective: To analyze HRQoL in relation to age, gender, skin lesions (primary vs. scratch-induced secondary) and itch intensity.

Clinical Trial Feasibility Study Questionnaire Analysis.

With the growing complexity and cost of clinical trials (CTs) over the past few decades, Protocol Feasibility (PF) studies have become one of the most critical CT steps in order to avoid costly protocol amendments and ensure the success of CTs. The PF process includes interaction with clinicians located at targeted clinical sites, which results in slow and cumbersome process steps. These process steps are normally supported by information systems that allow users to create, share and collect responses to feasibility questionnaires.