Effective targeting of PDGFRA-altered high-grade glioma with avapritinib.

PDGFRA is crucial to tumorigenesis and frequently genomically altered in high-grade glioma (HGG). In a comprehensive dataset of pediatric HGG (n = 261), we detect PDGFRA mutations and/or amplifications in 15% of cases, suggesting PDGFRA as a therapeutic target. We reveal that the PDGFRA/KIT inhibitor avapritinib shows (1) selectivity for PDGFRA inhibition, (2) distinct patterns of subcellular effects, (3) in vitro and in vivo activity in patient-derived HGG models, and (4) effective blood-brain barrier penetration in mice and humans.

sp. nov. a South American cordycipitoid species exhibiting inter-phylum host-jumping and having potential as a biological control agent for pest management.

Macro- and microscopic morphological studies and multilocus phylogenetic analysis were made on larval specimens of a ghost moth collected from a pigeon pea plantation in Huánuco, Peru. DNA sequences from the cadaver and the fungal isolates obtained represented a monophyletic clade based on the phylogeny. All morphological characters and molecular data showed that the pathogenic fungus infecting the ghost moth larvae was an unknown cordycipitoid species, herein described as, sp.

A Practical Guide to Assessing and Addressing Context in Quality Improvement.

This article highlights the often underestimated influence of context in improving the quality of inpatient pediatric care. Context includes environmental, social, cultural, and systemic factors that surround and influence health care service delivery and intervention outcomes. Underappreciation for context can be responsible for the lack of intervention success in improving patient outcomes and can lead to differences in outcomes when initiatives are replicated or spread across health care settings.

Synergistic RAS-MAPK and AKT Activation in MYC-Driven Tumors via Adjacent PVT1 Rearrangements.

MYC-driven (MYC+) cancers are aggressive and often fatal. MYC dysregulation is a key event in these cancers, but overexpression of MYC alone is not always enough to cause cancer. (), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) adjacent to MYC on chromosome 8 is a rearrangement hotspot in many MYC+ cancers.