Male and female red-cheeked cordon bleus sing similar yet individualistic songs.

Birdsong is an excellent system for studying complex vocal signaling in both males and females. Historically, most research in captivity has focused only on male song. This has left a gap in our understanding of the environmental, neuroendocrine, and mechanistic control of female song.

Song system neuroanatomy, and immediate early gene expression in a finch species with extensive male and female song.

Birdsong is a relatively well-studied behavior, both due to its importance as a model for vocal production learning and as an intriguing complex social behavior. Until the last few decades, work on birdsong focused almost exclusively on males. However, it is now widely accepted that female song not only exists, but is fairly common throughout the oscine passerines.

Hyperfractionated Cyclophosphamide and Dexamethasone Alone or in Combination with Daratumumab and/or Carfilzomib for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis.

Background: Hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (HyperCd) alone, or with carfilzomib(K) and/or daratumumab(D), represents a potential treatment option when rapid disease control is needed for patients with aggressive presentations of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

Patients And Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective analysis of adult patients with RRMM who received HyperCd with or without K and/or D between May 1, 2016 and August 1, 2019 at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. We here report treatment response and safety outcomes.

New and emerging pharmacotherapies for the management of multiple myeloma.

Purpose: The pharmacology, efficacy, safety, and dosing/administration of new and emerging therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma are summarized.

Summary: There have been significant advancements in the treatment of multiple myeloma in recent years, with an expansion of available drug therapies. Newer therapies for multiple myeloma include the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies daratumumab and isatuximab, the exportin 1 inhibitor selinexor, the anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin, and the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel.

Neuroendocrine and behavioral response to testosterone-induced female song in canaries (Serinus canaria).

Male song in songbirds is a critical and elaborate signal for mate attraction. In many species female listeners respond to male song both behaviorally and physiologically (e.g.

Corrected calcium versus ionized calcium measurements for identifying hypercalcemia in patients with multiple myeloma.

Background: Dysregulated bone turnover is an important clinical manifestation of multiple myeloma (MM), and 30% of patients present with hypercalcemia. Serum calcium levels are routinely monitored using total calcium measurements corrected for albumin. However, myeloma-related paraproteins may bind calcium, confounding these measurements.

Cyclophosphamide desensitization in patients with severe hypersensitivity reactions to bendamustine.

Introduction: Cyclophosphamide is a nitrogen mustard alkylator employed in the treatment of many malignancies and autoimmune disorders. Despite reports of cyclophosphamide hypersensitivity ranging from rash to anaphylaxis, no cases of desensitization have been reported in the oncologic setting.

Case Report: We report a cyclophosphamide desensitization protocol used for two patients who experienced severe hypersensitivity to bendamustine, a structurally related drug with potential cross immunogenicity.

A rare case of methotrexate and primaquine co-administration in a mantle cell lymphoma patient.

What Is Known And Objective: High-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is associated with a plethora of adverse drug reactions and potential drug interactions (DIs). But there is a paucity of information regarding the safety of co-administering primaquine with HD-MTX.

Case Summary: A 65-year-old male patient was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) with CNS involvement and treated with three cycles of IV HD-MTX.

Clinical Management of Glomerular Diseases.

Progressive glomerular damage can occur as a result of various etiologic factors including infections, medications, diseases, and autoimmune disorders. This article discusses the clinical management of the leading conditions associated with glomerular disease, including glomerulosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and membranous nephropathy. Glomerular damage and disease progression may lead to end stage renal disease.

Adverse Prognostic Factors for Morbidity and Mortality During Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Mobilization in Patients with Light Chain Amyloidosis.

Patients with immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis undergoing peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell (PBSC) mobilization for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HCT) can experience significant morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to characterize the adverse events and identify prognostic factors associated with the development of morbidity and mortality in patients with AL amyloidosis who had begun PBSC mobilization for auto-HCT. A retrospective study was performed in 101 consecutive patients with AL amyloidosis who underwent PBSC mobilization for auto-HCT between January 2006 and December 2013.

The Role of Pain Classification Systems in Pain Management.

Pain is a multidimensional experience that can significantly impair an individual's quality of life. This article describes the pain classification systems, including anatomic, etiologic, intensity, duration, pathophysiological, and conditions that are not easily classified. A holistic approach is taken by addressing key components to assist with effective pain management, including the psychological and spiritual aspects of care.

Interdisciplinary implementation of tacrolimus intravenous standard concentration in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients.

Purpose Reduction in waste of intravenous (IV) tacrolimus, an immunosuppressant used to prevent graft-versus-host disease in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients, was evaluated after standardizing the concentration. Methods A single-center, retrospective cohort study at a large academic comprehensive cancer center was performed comparing patient-specific intravenous tacrolimus doses (tacrolimus doses in 50, 100, or 250 mL of normal saline based on manufacturer's recommended concentration) to tacrolimus intravenous standard concentration (tacrolimus 1 mg in 250 mL of normal saline) continuous intravenous infusion titrated to prescribed dose. The cohort study was performed on two hematopoietic stem cell transplantation nursing units consisting of a prepilot phase during which time patient-specific intravenous tacrolimus doses were compounded and administered, followed by the pilot phase during which patients received tacrolimus intravenous standard concentration.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells in Hematologic Malignancies.

Patients with B-cell hematologic malignancies who progress through first- or second-line chemotherapy have a poor prognosis. Early clinical trials with autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have demonstrated promising results for patients who have relapsed or refractory disease. Lymphodepleting conditioning regimens, including cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, pentostatin, bendamustine, interleukin-2, and total body irradiation, are often administered before the infusion of CAR T cells, allowing for greater T-cell expansion.

Stability of tacrolimus injection diluted in 0.9% sodium chloride injection and stored in Excel bags.

Purpose: The chemical stability and physical compatibility of tacrolimus i.v. infusion solutions prepared in Excel bags and stored at 23 or 4 °C for up to nine days were studied.

New Results from the Search for Low-Mass Weakly Interacting Massive Particles with the CDMS Low Ionization Threshold Experiment.

The CDMS low ionization threshold experiment (CDMSlite) uses cryogenic germanium detectors operated at a relatively high bias voltage to amplify the phonon signal in the search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Results are presented from the second CDMSlite run with an exposure of 70 kg day, which reached an energy threshold for electron recoils as low as 56 eV. A fiducialization cut reduces backgrounds below those previously reported by CDMSlite.

Effects of the leucovorin shortage: Pilot study investigating cost, efficacy, and toxicity comparison of low fixed-dose versus body surface area-adjusted leucovorin dosing in patients with resectable colon or metastatic colorectal cancer.

Purpose As a result of the leucovorin shortage, we switched from BSA-adjusted to low fixed-dose leucovorin in patients with colon cancer receiving fluorouracil-containing therapy. Methods A retrospective, pilot study of adults receiving intravenous leucovorin as part of a fluorouracil-containing treatment was conducted including individuals with stage II or III colon or newly diagnosed metastatic colorectal cancer. One low fixed-dose (leucovorin 50 mg) patient was matched by the investigator to one BSA-adjusted (leucovorin 200-500 mg/m/dose) patient on disease stage and age.

First direct limits on lightly ionizing particles with electric charge less than e/6.

While the standard model of particle physics does not include free particles with fractional charge, experimental searches have not ruled out their existence. We report results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II) experiment that give the first direct-detection limits for cosmogenically produced relativistic particles with electric charge lower than e/6. A search for tracks in the six stacked detectors of each of two of the CDMS II towers finds no candidates, thereby excluding new parameter space for particles with electric charges between e/6 and e/200.

Search for low-mass weakly interacting massive particles with SuperCDMS.

We report a first search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) using the background rejection capabilities of SuperCDMS. An exposure of 577 kg days was analyzed for WIMPs with mass <30  GeV/c(2), with the signal region blinded. Eleven events were observed after unblinding.

The Value of Pharmacy Residency Training for Health Systems: An Annotated Bibliography.

Purpose: Identify and summarize articles that describe the value that pharmacy residency training offers to sponsoring health systems.

Summary: There is a tremendous gap between the number of resident applicants and the number of pharmacy residencies available. Informing health-system administration executives about the proven value of residency training is key to expanding the number of available positions.

Search for low-mass weakly interacting massive particles using voltage-assisted calorimetric ionization detection in the SuperCDMS experiment.

SuperCDMS is an experiment designed to directly detect weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a favored candidate for dark matter ubiquitous in the Universe. In this Letter, we present WIMP-search results using a calorimetric technique we call CDMSlite, which relies on voltage-assisted Luke-Neganov amplification of the ionization energy deposited by particle interactions. The data were collected with a single 0.