FastCAR: fast correction for ambient RNA to facilitate differential gene expression analysis in single-cell RNA-sequencing datasets.

Cell type-specific differential gene expression analyses based on single-cell transcriptome datasets are sensitive to the presence of cell-free mRNA in the droplets containing single cells. This so-called ambient RNA contamination may differ between samples obtained from patients and healthy controls. Current ambient RNA correction methods were not developed specifically for single-cell differential gene expression (sc-DGE) analyses and might therefore not sufficiently correct for ambient RNA-derived signals.

The impact of watching educational video clips on analogue patients' physiological arousal and information recall.

Objective: Investigating the influence of watching three educational patient-provider interactions on analogue patients' emotional arousal and information recall.

Methods: In 75 analogue patients the emotional arousal was measured with physiological responses (electrodermal activity and heart rate) and self-reported arousal.

Results: A moderate increased level of physiological arousal was measured but not too much to inflict emotional distress.

Ultra-fast analysis of plasma and intracellular levels of HIV protease inhibitors in children: a clinical application of MALDI mass spectrometry.

HIV protease inhibitors must penetrate into cells to exert their action. Differences in the intracellular pharmacokinetics of these drugs may explain why some patients fail on therapy or suffer from drug toxicity. Yet, there is no information available on the intracellular levels of HIV protease inhibitors in HIV infected children, which is in part due to the large amount of sample that is normally required to measure the intracellular concentrations of these drugs.

Effects of active treatment discontinuation in patients with a CD4+ T-cell nadir greater than 350 cells/mm3: 48-week Treatment Interruption in Early Starters Netherlands Study (TRIESTAN).

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of discontinuing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-1-positive patients who initiated HAART at a CD4+ T-cell count >350 cells/mm.

Methods: Eligible patients were identified from the Dutch AIDS Therapy Evaluation, The Netherlands (ATHENA) national observational cohort. Interruption or continuation of HAART was offered to all.

Suspected idiopathic CD4+ T-lymphocytopenia in a young patient with vulvar carcinoma stage IV.

A case of a woman having a large invasive vulvar carcinoma is reported. Because of the early age of onset and recurrent pneumonia, immunodeficiency was suspected. There appeared to be a repetitive low CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, without evidence of HIV infection or other diseases or therapies known to be clearly associated with T-cell depletion.