Serum B-cell maturation antigen: a novel biomarker to predict outcomes for multiple myeloma patients.

B-cell maturation antigen is expressed on plasma cells. In this study, we have identified serum B-cell maturation antigen as a novel biomarker that can monitor and predict outcomes for multiple myeloma patients. Compared to healthy donors, patients with multiple myeloma showed elevated serum B-cell maturation antigen levels (<0.

Idiopathic linear IgA bullous dermatosis: prognostic factors based on a case series of 72 adults.

Background: Linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) is a clinically and immunologically heterogeneous, subepidermal, autoimmune bullous disease (AIBD), for which the long-term evolution is poorly described.

Objectives: To investigate the clinical and immunological characteristics, follow-up and prognostic factors of adult idiopathic LABD.

Methods: This retrospective study, conducted in our AIBD referral centre, included adults, diagnosed between 1995 and 2012, with idiopathic LABD, defined as pure or predominant IgA deposits by direct immunofluorescence.

Outcomes of multiple myeloma patients receiving bortezomib, lenalidomide, and carfilzomib.

New classes of drugs including the proteasome inhibitors (PI) bortezomib and, more recently, carfilzomib and the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide have shown improved outcomes for multiple myeloma (MM) patients during the past decade. However, most of the studies reporting outcomes for patients receiving these drugs have relied on older data sets derived from large institutions that included patients not receiving their treatment at those facilities and represented only those eligible for clinical trials or were from sites where treatment options were limited. We have analyzed data from 258 MM patients who have received treatment with at least one of three agents: bortezomib, carfilzomib, and lenalidomide in a single clinic specializing in MM with respect to their responses and other outcomes to treatment regimens including these agents.

Intrinsic motivation, curiosity, and learning: Theory and applications in educational technologies.

This chapter studies the bidirectional causal interactions between curiosity and learning and discusses how understanding these interactions can be leveraged in educational technology applications. First, we review recent results showing how state curiosity, and more generally the experience of novelty and surprise, can enhance learning and memory retention. Then, we discuss how psychology and neuroscience have conceptualized curiosity and intrinsic motivation, studying how the brain can be intrinsically rewarded by novelty, complexity, or other measures of information.

Repeated human leukocyte antigen mismatches in lung re-transplantation.

Background: The role of HLA-sensitization in the absence of detectable DSA in lung re-transplantation is unclear. Antigens of the second donor matching the HLA typing of the first donor are considered 'unacceptable', by some tissue typing laboratories, especially in kidney re-transplantation.

Methods: Thus, we performed a retrospective analysis of all lung re-transplantations focussing on the impact of HLA-homologies between the first and the second donor ('unacceptable' antigens; repeated HLA mismatch) on patient and graft survival.

Improved clinical outcomes for multiple myeloma patients treated at a single specialty clinic.

Despite recent advances made in its treatment, multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable B cell malignancy. Thus, the objective for treating these patients is to prolong overall survival (OS) and preserve patients' quality of life. We have analyzed data from 264 consecutive MM patients who had their initial visit between July 1, 2004 and December 1, 2014 and have received treatment in a single clinic specializing in MM.

Factor structure of therapist fidelity to individual resiliency training in the Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode Early Treatment Program.

Background: Evidence-based approaches and early intervention have improved the long-term prognosis of individuals with schizophrenia. However, little is known about the therapeutic processes involved in individual therapy in first-episode psychosis. A comprehensive psychosocial/psychiatric programme for this population, NAVIGATE, includes an individual therapy component, individual resiliency training (IRT).

Phenotyping Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction Using Body Plethysmography and Computed Tomography.

Restrictive subtype of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) was recently described after lung transplantation. This study compares different definitions of a restrictive phenotype in CLAD patients and impact on survival. Eighty-nine CLAD patients out of 1191 screened patients (September 1987 to July 2012) were included as complete longitudinal lung volume measurements and chest computed tomography (CT) after CLAD onset was available.

Everolimus Versus Mycophenolate Mofetil De Novo After Lung Transplantation: A Prospective, Randomized, Open-Label Trial.

The role of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors in de novo immunosuppression after lung transplantation is not well defined. We compared Everolimus versus mycophenolate mofetil in an investigator-initiated single-center trial in Hannover, Germany. A total of 190 patients were randomly assigned 1:1 on day 28 posttransplantation to mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) or Everolimus combined with cyclosporine A (CsA) and steroids.

Lung transplantation in the spotlight: Reasons for high-cost procedures.

Background: Hospital treatment costs of lung transplantation are insufficiently analyzed. Accordingly, it remains unknown, whether current Diagnosis Related Groups, merely accounting for 3 ventilation time intervals and length of hospital stay, reproduce costs properly, even when an increasing number of complex recipients are treated. Therefore, in this cost determination study, actual costs were calculated and cost drivers identified.

Cognitive-behaviour therapy for post-traumatic stress in schizophrenia. A randomized controlled trial.

Background: There is limited evidence for effective interventions in the treatment of post-traumatic stress symptoms within individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Clinicians have concerns about using exposure treatments with this patient group. The current trial was designed to evaluate a 16-session cognitive restructuring programme, without direct exposure, for the treatment of post-traumatic stress symptoms specifically within individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Unhappy Cities.

There are persistent differences in self-reported subjective well-being across US metropolitan areas, and residents of declining cities appear less happy than others. Yet some people continue to move to these areas, and newer residents appear to be as unhappy as longer-term residents. While historical data on happiness are limited, the available facts suggest that cities that are now declining were also unhappy in their more prosperous past.

mHealth for Schizophrenia: Patient Engagement With a Mobile Phone Intervention Following Hospital Discharge.

Background: mHealth interventions that use mobile phones as instruments for illness management are gaining popularity. Research examining mobile phone‒based mHealth programs for people with psychosis has shown that these approaches are feasible, acceptable, and clinically promising. However, most mHealth initiatives involving people with schizophrenia have spanned periods ranging from a few days to several weeks and have typically involved participants who were clinically stable.

[Cutaneous tuberculosis of the ear due to Mycobacterium bovis].

Introduction: Isolated cutaneous tuberculosis is uncommon, accounting for only 0.14 to 5% of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. We report a rare case of ear cutaneous tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis in an immunocompetent woman.

Rangelia vitalii, Babesia spp. and Ehrlichia spp. in dogs in Passo Fundo, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Pathogens transmitted by ticks are an emerging problem worldwide, this study aimed to diagnose the causal agents of infection in dogs presenting suspected hemoparasitoses. Fifty-eight dogs with clinical signs such as depression, hemorrhagic diathesis and fever were evaluated regarding clinical presentation, hemogram, blood smears and serological tests, using the indirect immunofluorescence method for the agents Babesia vogeli and Ehrlichia canis and conventional PCR for Babesia spp. (gene 18S rRNA), Rangelia vitalii (gene 18S rRNA) and Ehrlichia spp.

Spatial and non-spatial aspects of visual attention: Interactive cognitive mechanisms and neural underpinnings.

In humans and non-human primates, the parietal lobe plays a key role in spatial attention - the ability to extract information from regions of space. This role is thought to be mediated by "priority" maps that highlight attention-worthy locations, and provide top-down feedback for motor orienting and attentional allocation. Traditionally, priority signals within the parietal cortex have been characterized as being purely spatial, i.

Health Technology Intervention After Hospitalization for Schizophrenia: Service Utilization and User Satisfaction.

Objective: The authors examined patients' acceptance of the Health Technology Program (HTP), an integrative approach to relapse prevention after hospitalization of adults with schizophrenia or related disorders. The program combines use of digital tools with support from a mental health technology coach (MHTC).

Methods: Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders received six months of treatment that began within 60 days of a psychiatric hospitalization and included the development of a personalized relapse prevention plan, three digital tools, and contacts with MHTCs.

Lung transplantation for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Background: Lung transplantation (LTx) is a well-established treatment for end-stage pulmonary disease. However, data regarding microbiology and outcome of patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) after lung transplantation are limited.

Methods: A retrospective analysis between August 1992 and September 2014 of all patients undergoing lung transplantation at our program of all recipients with a primary diagnosis of bronchiectasis was performed.

Development and usability testing of a web-based smoking cessation treatment for smokers with schizophrenia.

Introduction: Over half of people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders smoke tobacco. Web-based approaches to cessation have been effective for the general population, but are not usable by many with schizophrenia disorders due to cognitive impairments and low computer experience. We developed a prototype smoking cessation treatment website for this group of smokers with features to reduce cognitive load.

Levels of uninvolved immunoglobulins predict clinical status and progression-free survival for multiple myeloma patients.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by the enhanced production of the same monoclonal immunoglobulin (M-Ig or M protein). Techniques such as serum protein electrophoresis and nephelometry are routinely used to quantify levels of this protein in the serum of MM patients. However, these methods are not without their shortcomings and problems accurately quantifying M proteins remain.

Topical Nasal Anesthesia in Flexible Bronchoscopy--A Cross-Over Comparison between Two Devices.

Introduction: Topical airway anesthesia is known to improve tolerance and patient satisfaction during flexible bronchoscopy (FB). Lidocaine is commonly used, delivered as an atomized spray. The current study assesses safety and patient satisfaction for nasal anesthesia of a new atomization device during outpatient bronchoscopy in lung transplant recipients.