Clinical Outcomes and Serum B-Cell Maturation Antigen Levels in a Real-World Unselected Population of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients.

Background: Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients have been widely published in the clinical trials setting, but data published from real-world settings are limited.

Objective: We determined the survival and factors that predict outcomes among 161 unselected, newly diagnosed MM patients whose frontline therapy was started at a single clinic specializing in the treatment of this B-cell malignancy.

Patients And Methods: None of these patients underwent an autologous stem cell transplantation as part of their initial therapy and the population had a high proportion (35%) of cytogenetic high-risk patients.

Predicting outcomes and monitoring disease in patients with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell dyscrasia and the most common form of primary bone marrow cancer. Nearly 35,000 new cases of MM are diagnosed in the United States each year. MM is a slowly progressive illness that remains incurable.

Efficacy of isatuximab in combination with steroids for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients exhibiting only biochemical progression-A single center retrospective study.

Objectives: Isatuximab is approved for treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) with dexamethasone and carfilzomib or pomalidomide. Patients receiving these three-drug regimens have exhibited more Grade ≥ 3 adverse events (AEs) compared to the two-drug class combination of isatuximab and steroids alone. Thus, this single-center retrospective study investigated the efficacy of isatuximab with dexamethasone and methylprednisolone (ISAdm) for RRMM patients showing only biochemical progression (BP) of their disease.

Third dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for patients with multiple myeloma.

We have reported that IgG antibody responses following two mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations are impaired among patients with multiple myeloma (MM). In the current study, sixty-seven patients with MM were tested for anti-spike IgG antibodies 0-60 days prior to their first vaccination, 14-28 days following the second dose, and both before and 14-28 days after their third dose of the mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2 vaccines. After the first two doses, most patients' (93 %) antibody levels declined to ineffective levels (<250 BAU/mL) prior to their third dose (D3).

Ruxolitinib and methylprednisolone for treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Although Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy for treating autoimmune disorders and myeloproliferative neoplasms, their efficacy in treating other types of cancer has not been clearly demonstrated. We evaluated oral ruxolitinib (15 mg twice daily) with oral methylprednisolone (40 mg every other day) for multiple myeloma (MM) patients with progressive disease who had received a proteasome inhibitor, lenalidomide, glucocorticosteroids and three or more prior regimens. All of the planned 29 patients had been enrolled with follow-up until 28 April 2022.

From seduction to sexism: Feminists challenge the ethics of therapist-client sexual relations in 1970s america.

Before the 1970s, psychologists and other mental health professionals who had sex with their patients committed no ethical violations. Indeed, the line between seduction and sexual exploitation in the therapy hour was extremely blurry to patients and therapists alike. This article is about how that changed.

Adaptation of Hansenula polymorpha to methanol: a transcriptome analysis.

Background: Methylotrophic yeast species (e.g. Hansenula polymorpha, Pichia pastoris) can grow on methanol as sole source of carbon and energy.

The YvfTU two-component system is involved in plcR expression in Bacillus cereus.

Background: Most extracellular virulence factors produced by Bacillus cereus are regulated by the pleiotropic transcriptional activator PlcR. Among strains belonging to the B. cereus group, the plcR gene is always located in the vicinity of genes encoding the YvfTU two-component system.

A single, specific thymine mutation in the ComK-binding site severely decreases binding and transcription activation by the competence transcription factor ComK of Bacillus subtilis.

The competence transcription factor ComK plays a central role in competence development in Bacillus subtilis by activating the transcription of the K regulon. ComK-activated genes are characterized by the presence of a specific sequence to which ComK binds, a K-box, in their upstream DNA region. Each K-box consists of two AT-boxes with the consensus sequence AAAA-(N)(5)-TTTT, which are separated by a flexible spacer resulting in either two, three, or four helical turns between the starting nucleotides of the repeating AT-box units.

Functional analysis of the competence transcription factor ComK of Bacillus subtilis by characterization of truncation variants.

The competence transcription factor ComK is the master regulator of competence development in Bacillus subtilis. In the regulatory pathway, ComK is involved in different interactions: (i) protein-DNA interactions to stimulate transcription of ComK-dependent genes and (ii) protein-protein interactions, divided into interactions with other proteins and interactions between ComK proteins involving oligomerization. The fact that ComK displays different types of interactions suggests the presence of specific, distinct domains in the protein.

Expression of transcription activator ComK of Bacillus subtilis in the heterologous host Lactococcus lactis leads to a genome-wide repression pattern: a case study of horizontal gene transfer.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is generally considered a possible mechanism by which bacteria acquire new genetic properties. Especially when pathogenicity genes are involved, HGT might have important consequences for humans. In this report we describe a case study of HGT in which a transcriptional activator, ComK of Bacillus subtilis, was introduced into a heterologous host species, Lactococcus lactis.

Stripping Bacillus: ComK auto-stimulation is responsible for the bistable response in competence development.

In Bacillus subtilis competence for genetic transformation develops only in a subpopulation of cells in an isogenic culture. The molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotypic heterogeneity are unknown. In this study, we stepwise simplify the signal transduction cascade leading to competence, yielding a strain devoid of all regulatory inputs for this process that have been identified so far.

Binding affinities of host-guest, protein-ligand, and protein-transition-state complexes.

The affinities of hosts-ranging from small synthetic cavitands to large proteins-for organic molecules are well documented. The average association constants for the binding of organic molecules by cyclodextrins, synthetic hosts, and albumins in water, as well as of catalytic antibodies or enzymes for substrates are 10(3.5+/-2.

The origins of noncovalent catalysis of intermolecular Diels-Alder reactions by cyclodextrins, self-assembling capsules, antibodies, and RNAses.

The catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions by noncovalent binding by synthetic, protein, and nucleic acid hosts has been surveyed and compared. These catalysts consist of binding cavities that form complexes containing both the diene and the dienophile; the cycloaddition reaction occurs in the cavity. The binding requires no formation of covalent bonds and is driven principally by the hydrophobic (or solvophobic) effect.