Myeloablative autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation resets the B cell repertoire to a more naïve state in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: Myeloablative autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) was recently demonstrated to provide significant benefit over cyclophosphamide (CYC) in the treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) in the Scleroderma: Cyclophosphamide or Transplantation (SCOT) trial. As dysregulation of the B cell compartment has previously been described in dcSSc, we sought to gain insight into the effects of myeloablative autologous HSCT as compared with CYC.

Methods: We sequenced the peripheral blood immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) repertoires in patients with dcSSc enrolled in the SCOT trial.

BAX 335 hemophilia B gene therapy clinical trial results: potential impact of CpG sequences on gene expression.

Gene therapy has the potential to maintain therapeutic blood clotting factor IX (FIX) levels in patients with hemophilia B by delivering a functional human F9 gene into liver cells. This phase 1/2, open-label dose-escalation study investigated BAX 335 (AskBio009, AAV8.sc-TTR-FIXR338Lopt), an adeno-associated virus serotype 8 (AAV8)-based FIX Padua gene therapy, in patients with hemophilia B.

Machine learning predicts stem cell transplant response in severe scleroderma.

Objective: The Scleroderma: Cyclophosphamide or Transplantation (SCOT) trial demonstrated clinical benefit of haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) compared with cyclophosphamide (CYC). We mapped PBC (peripheral blood cell) samples from the SCOT clinical trial to scleroderma intrinsic subsets and tested the hypothesis that they predict long-term response to HSCT.

Methods: We analysed gene expression from PBCs of SCOT participants to identify differential treatment response.

Disseminated gouty panniculitis: an unusual presentation of extensive cutaneous tophi.

Gouty panniculitis is a rare cutaneous illness characterized by the deposition of subcutaneous mono-sodium urate crystals with lobular panniculitis. Only a small number of cases with gouty panniculitis have been reported in the literature with unclear pathogenesis. In this article, we present a case of disseminated gouty panniculitis in the patient who had never been diagnosed of gout but revealed significant hyperuricemia at the time of diagnosis.

Refractive outcomes following bevacizumab monotherapy compared with conventional laser treatment: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Children born prematurely who develop retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) often develop myopia, and those who require laser treatment may develop very high myopia, which has considerable clinical consequences.

Objective: To report refractive outcomes in preterm infants who developed ROP in zone I or zone II posterior as stage 3+ ROP or aggressive posterior ROP (APROP).

Design, Setting, And Participants: All infants received intravitreal bevacizumab or laser therapy in a prospective, stratified, randomized, controlled, masked, multicenter clinical trial, Bevacizumab Eliminates the Angiogenic Threat for ROP (BEAT-ROP).

Muc5b is required for airway defence.

Respiratory surfaces are exposed to billions of particulates and pathogens daily. A protective mucus barrier traps and eliminates them through mucociliary clearance (MCC). However, excessive mucus contributes to transient respiratory infections and to the pathogenesis of numerous respiratory diseases.

Potential for oxytocin use in children and adolescents with mental illness.

Background: Oxytocin, long known for its role in childbirth and breastfeeding, has recently come under investigation for its psychoactive properties. We investigated its potential for use in adolescent psychiatric populations for anxiety, depression, attachment disorders, and conduct disorder.

Methods: We conducted a thorough search of the literature using the Pubmed and Psychinfo databases and reviewed both the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from January 2000 until June 2010 and the new research abstracts from the 2009 and 2008 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry conferences.

Diffusion tensor quantification of the macrostructure and microstructure of human midsagittal corpus callosum across the lifespan.

The midsagittal cross-sectional area of the human corpus callosum (CC) has been used by many researchers as a marker of development, natural aging, and neurodegenerative and acquired pathologies. The availability of non-invasive MRI methods for quantifying the macrostructural and microstructural organization of the CC would help to clarify the CC contribution to behavior and cognition in both health and disease. In this report, we extended and validated the ability of a recently described semi-automated diffusion tensor imaging tissue segmentation method to utilize the high orientation contrast of the CC on diffusion tensor imaging.

Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (avastin) for treatment of stage 3 retinopathy of prematurity in zone I or posterior zone II.

Purpose: To report a retrospective, consecutive, noncomparative case series of moderate and severe stage 3 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in zone I or posterior zone II treated by bilateral intravitreal injections of bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA).

Methods: Eleven infants weighing from 515 g to 1,015 g at birth (mean, 706.

The use of biosensor and microarray techniques in the rapid detection and identification of salmonellae.

The ever-present need for rapid and sensitive assay methods to detect foodborne pathogens, particularly the salmonellae, has led to increased incorporation of biosensor technology into microarray and other platforms. The use of mimetics and aptamers has been added to these procedures. Nanoparticles, particularly incorporating fluorophores and quantum dots into various procedures, have decreased the size of instrumentation while increasing automation, sensitivity, and rapidity of results.

Modular organization of occipito-temporal pathways: cortical connections between visual area 4 and visual area 2 and posterior inferotemporal ventral area in macaque monkeys.

The modular organization of cortical pathways linking visual area 4 (V4) with occipital visual area 2 (V2) and inferotemporal posterior inferotemporal ventral area (PITv) was investigated through an analysis of the patterns of retrogradely labeled cell bodies after injections of tracers into V4 and PITv. Although cytochrome oxidase or other stains have failed to yield reliable independent anatomical markers for cortical modules beyond V1 and V2, V4 and PITv seem to have modular compartments with specific patterns of cortico-cortical connectivity. Tracer injections of V4 labeled cells in V2 (1) thin stripes exclusively, (2) interstripes exclusively, or (3) specific combinations of interstripe and thin stripe subcompartments.

Quality of life assessment in pregnant women with the human immunodeficiency virus.

Objective: To describe the perceived quality of life and functional status of women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during the antenatal, perinatal, and postpartum periods.

Methods: Medical Outcome Survey-Short Form questionnaires were completed during antenatal visits, 24 hours after delivery, and 6 months postpartum by 21 HIV-positive women and 21 HIV-negative controls matched for age, race, parity, and education. The Medical Outcome Survey-Short Form measures subject perceptions of overall health, pain, physical role, social and cognitive function, mental health, energy/fatigue, health distress, quality of life, and health transition.

Arginine aminopeptidase, an integral membrane protein of the Cryptosporidium parvum sporozoite.

Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were studied for the expression of aminopeptidase by using amino acids bound to the synthetic fluorescent substrate 7-amino-4-trifluoromethyl coumarin. After 1 h of incubation, intact oocysts showed no activity; however, homogenization and solubilization with Triton X-114 followed by phase separation yielded a 22-fold increase in aminopeptidase activity in the detergent fraction. With arginyl-6-amino-2-styrylquinoline as a substrate, aminopeptidase activity was observed in permeabilized oocysts and freshly excysted sporozoites but not on intact oocysts or empty oocyst membranes after excystation.