Association of Circulating Antibody-Secreting Cell Maturity With Disease Features in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Objective: B cell hyperactivity plays an important role in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). We undertook this study to better understand the B cell effector branch, namely antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) in primary SS, and to examine the quantity, maturity, and inflammatory properties of ASCs in primary SS patients.

Methods: Circulating ASCs, defined as CD3-CD14-CD27+CD38++ cells, from 21 primary SS patients and 10 healthy controls were assessed using spectral flow cytometry.

Guided internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients with chronic pain: A meta-analytic review.

Background: Chronic pain has a large individual and societal burden. Previous reviews have shown that internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) can support patients' pain coping. However, factors related to participant experience of iCBT and effective and safe iCBT delivery for chronic pain have not recently been summarized.

Humoral and cellular SARS-CoV-2 vaccine responses in patients with giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.

Objectives: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) are overlapping autoinflammatory diseases affecting people over 50 years. The diseases are treated with immunosuppressive drugs such as prednisolone, methotrexate, leflunomide and tocilizumab. In this study, we assessed the immunogenicity and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations in these diseases (based on humoral and cellular immunity).

Immunisation with Coronavirus-2 vaccines induces potent antibody responses and does not aggravate the lymphocyte compartment of primary Sjögren's syndrome patients.

Objectives: The peripheral lymphocyte compartment of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) differs strongly from healthy individuals. Whether this altered lymphocyte composition also changes abnormally during immune reactions, especially by novel CoV-2-vaccines, is unknown.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 26 pSS patients and 6 healthy controls were compared before Coronavirus-2 (CoV-2) vaccination (Pfizer/BNT162b2, Moderna/mRNA-1273, AstraZeneca/AZD122 ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) and 7 days after secondary vaccination.

β-Adrenergic signaling induces Notch-mediated salivary gland progenitor cell control.

β-Adrenergic signaling blockade is a mainstay of hypertension management. One percent of patients taking β-blockers develop reduced salivary gland (SG) function. Here we investigate the role of SG progenitor cells in β-blocker-induced hyposalivation, using human SG organoid cultures (SGOs).

Guided internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients with rheumatic conditions: A systematic review.

Context: Rheumatic conditions have a large impact on both patients and society. Many patients experience adjustment problems, such as symptoms of anxiety and depression and sleep problems, contributing to high healthcare costs. Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) has shown to support patients with somatic conditions in coping with their disease, with therapist-guided iCBT usually showing larger effects than unguided iCBT.

Evaluation of continuous beam rescanning versus pulsed beam in pencil beam scanned proton therapy for lung tumours.

The treatment of moving targets with pencil beam scanned proton therapy (PBS-PT) may rely on rescanning strategies to smooth out motion induced dosimetric disturbances. PBS-PT machines, such as Proteus®Plus (PPlus) and Proteus®One (POne), deliver a continuous or a pulsed beam, respectively. In PPlus, scaled (or no) rescanning can be applied, while POne implies intrinsic 'rescanning' due to its pulsed delivery.

Spirituality, Quality of Life, and End of Life Among Indigenous Peoples: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: While spirituality and quality of life (QOL) are essential components of end-of-life (EOL) care, limited studies have examined these constructs for indigenous peoples. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to examine the state of the science regarding spirituality and QOL at EOL for indigenous people, particularly Native Americans.

Method: The Arksey and O'Malley (2005) framework guided this scoping review, which examined 30 articles that included qualitative and quantitative studies, commentary papers, and reviews.

The Role of Rhizosphere Bacteriophages in Plant Health.

Microbiomes and their hosts influence each other; for instance, the microbiome improves host fitness, whereas the host supports microbiome nutrition. Most studies on this topic have focused on the role of bacteria and fungi, although research on viruses that infect bacteria, known as 'bacteriophages' (phages), has gained importance due to the potential role bacteriophages play in the resilience and functionality of the gut microbiome. Like the gut microbiome, the rhizosphere harbors a complex microbiome, but little is known about the role of phages in this ecosystem.

Progenitor cell niche senescence reflects pathology of the parotid salivary gland in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: Salivary gland (SG) progenitor cells (SGPCs) maintain SG homeostasis. We have previously shown that in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), SGPCs are likely to be senescent, and may underpin SG dysfunction. This study assessed the extent of senescence of cells in a SGPC niche in pSS patients' SGs, and its correlation with functional and clinical parameters.

Expanding Application of the Long-Term Quality of Life Instrument to the Population of Women Undergoing Treatment of Advanced Breast Cancer.

Background: The Long-Term Quality of Life (LTQL) instrument was designed for female cancer survivors who have completed treatment and includes an existential spirituality subscale that is omitted in many other quality of life scales. Women with advanced breast cancer are now living longer, while also expressing greater spiritual concerns.

Objective: The objective of this analysis was to test the psychometric properties of the LTQL among women undergoing treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Salivary Gland Stem Cells Age Prematurely in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Objective: A major characteristic of the autoimmune disease primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is salivary gland (SG) hypofunction. The inability of resident SG stem cells (SGSCs) to maintain homeostasis and saliva production has never been explained and limits our comprehension of mechanisms underlying primary SS. The present study was undertaken to investigate the role of salivary gland stem cells in hyposalivation in primary SS.

Becoming an eCoach: Training therapists in online cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic pain.

Objective: Online cognitive-behavioral therapy (iCBT) is effective in supporting patients' self-management. Since iCBT differs from face-to-face CBT on several levels, proper training of therapists is essential. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a therapist training based on theoretical domains that are known to influence implementation behavior, for an iCBT for chronic pain.

Functional significance of conserved cysteines in the human organic cation transporter 2.

The significance of conserved cysteines in the human organic cation transporter 2 (hOCT2), namely the six cysteines in the long extracellular loop (loop cysteines) and C474 in transmembrane helix 11, was examined. Uptake of tetraethylammonium (TEA) and 1-methyl-4-phenypyridinium (MPP) into Chinese hamster ovary cells was stimulated >20-fold by hOCT2 expression. Both cell surface expression and transport activity were reduced considerably following mutation of individual loop cysteines (C51, C63, C89, C103, and C143), and the C89 and C103 mutants had reduced Michaelis constants (K(t)) for MPP.

An intervention to increase caregiver support for asthma management in middle school-aged youth.

Objective: Asthma control requires adherence to a treatment regimen. Caregiver involvement is a key determinant of adolescent asthma control, but the involvement must recognize the youth's developmental stage and need for autonomy. This article describes the evaluation of a pilot asthma management intervention for middle school-aged youth and their adult network members, including caregivers, based on caregiver findings.

"It's a feel. That's what a lot of our evidence would consist of ": public health practitioners' perspectives on evidence.

This article describes how evidence is defined and used in two British Columbia public health departments during the implementation of a Healthy Living initiative in 2009. Through interviews with 21 public health staff and decision makers, the author sought to investigate how "evidence" was defined by both frontline and management staff and how it was used in decision making. The authors found public health staff, particularly frontline practitioners, to be drawn to grassroots and local "lived experience" evidence.

Building knowledge integration systems for evidence-informed decisions.

Purpose: This paper aims to describe methods and models designed to build a comprehensive, integrative framework to guide the research to policy and practice cycle in health care.

Design/methodology/approach: Current models of science are summarised, identifying specific challenges they create for knowledge to action (KTA). Alternative models for KTA are outlined to illustrate how researchers and decision makers can work together to fit the KTA model to specific problems and contexts.

Cultivating empathy for the mentally ill using simulated auditory hallucinations.

Objective: The authors address the issue of cultivating medical students' empathy for the mentally ill by examining medical student empathy pre- and postsimulated auditory hallucination experience.

Methods: At the University of Utah, 150 medical students participated in this study during their 6-week psychiatry rotation. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, Student Version, was used before and after the experience.

The role of community health workers (CHWs) in health promotion research: ethical challenges and practical solutions.

This article aims to describe the role of community health workers (CHWs) in health promotion research and address the challenges and ethical concerns associated with this research approach. A series of six focus groups are conducted with project managers and investigators (n = 5 to 11 per session) who have worked with CHWs in health promotion research. These focus groups are part of a larger study funded by the National Institutes of Health titled "Training in Research Ethics and Standards" (Project TRES).

Assessment of scaffold hopping efficiency by use of molecular interaction fingerprints.

A novel scoring algorithm based on molecular interaction fingerprints (IFPs) was comparatively evaluated in its scaffold hopping efficiency against four virtual screening standards (GlideXP, Gold, ROCS, and a Bayesian classifier). Decoy databases for the two targets under examination, adenosine deaminase and retinoid X receptor alpha, were obtained from the Directory of Useful Decoys and were further enriched with approximately 5% of active ligands. Structure and ligand-based methods were used to generate the ligand poses, and a Tanimoto metric was chosen for the calculation of the similarity interaction fingerprint between the reference ligand and the screening database.

Policies related to active transport to and from school: a multisite case study.

Active transportation to and from school (ATS) is a viable strategy to help increase physical activity among youth. ATS can be challenging because initiatives require transdisciplinary collaboration, are influenced by the built environment and are affected by numerous policies. The purpose of this study is to identify policies and factors that influence ATS initiatives.