B-cell activating factor BAFF as a novel alert marker for the immunological risk stratification after kidney transplantation

Abstract The B cell activating factor BAFF has gained importance in the context of kidney transplantation due to its role in B cell survival. Studies have shown that BAFF correlates with an increased incidence of antibody-mediated rejection and the development of donor-specific antibodies. In this study, we analyzed a defined cohort of kidney transplant recipients who were treated with standardized immunosuppressive regimens according to their immunological risk profile. The aim was to add BAFF as an awareness marker in the course after transplantation to consider patient’s individual immunological risk profile. Included patients were transplanted between 2016 and 2018. Baseline data, graft function, the occurrence of rejection episodes, signs of microvascular infiltration, and DSA kinetics were recorded over 3 years. BAFF levels were determined 14 d, 3 and 12 months post transplantation. Although no difference in graft function could be observed, medium-risk patients showed a clear dynamic in their BAFF levels with low levels shortly after transplantation and an increase in values of 123% over the course of 1 year. Patients with high BAFF values were more susceptible to rejection, especially antibody-mediated rejection and displayed intensified microvascular inflammation; the combination of high BAFF + DSA puts patients at risk. The changing BAFF kinetics of the medium risk group as well as the increased occurrence of rejections at high BAFF values enables BAFF to be seen as an awareness factor. To compensate the changing immunological risk, a switch from a weaker induction therapy to an intensified maintenance therapy is required

SoTL Lab: Undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research in teaching and learning in CSD

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Communication Sciences and Disorders SoTL Lab was designed to provide hands-on research experiences to undergraduate students on a large scale. Student reflections on experiences within the SoTL Lab identify the value of collaboration, development of confidence, and exposure to the entire research process as key outcomes. These experiences foster development of research skills and may lead students to consider academic careers

Evidence for gesture-speech mismatch detection impairments in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia suffer from impairments in the perception and production of gestures. The extent to which patients can access the semantic association between speech and co-verbal gestures in concrete or abstract/metaphorical meaning contexts is unknown. We investigated 1) how patients differ from controls in gesture matching performance, 2) how performance differs in the context of abstract versus concrete meaning, and 3) whether formal thought disorder (FTD) symptom severity predicts task impairment. Forty-five patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (two subgroups, mild and severe) took part in this study. Participants were presented with video clips, each showing an actor saying a sentence while producing a gesture. Sentences contained either concrete or abstract/metaphorical information, and the accompanying gesture was either semantically related or unrelated to the sentence. Participants indicated via button press whether the gesture matched the content of the verbal utterance. Both patient subgroups demonstrated reduced performance in all comparisons. A significant interaction was found between patient subgroup and sentence abstractness. Task performance was worst for patients with severe positive FTD symptomatology in the abstract condition, while there were no patient subgroup differences in the concrete condition. These data shed new light on gesture-speech mismatch detection impairments in schizophrenia.Scopu

B-cell activating factor BAFF as a novel alert marker for the immunological risk stratification after kidney transplantation

The B cell activating factor BAFF has gained importance in the context of kidney transplantation due to its role in B cell survival. Studies have shown that BAFF correlates with an increased incidence of antibody-mediated rejection and the development of donor-specific antibodies. In this study, we analyzed a defined cohort of kidney transplant recipients who were treated with standardized immunosuppressive regimens according to their immunological risk profile. The aim was to add BAFF as an awareness marker in the course after transplantation to consider patient’s individual immunological risk profile. Included patients were transplanted between 2016 and 2018. Baseline data, graft function, the occurrence of rejection episodes, signs of microvascular infiltration, and DSA kinetics were recorded over 3 years. BAFF levels were determined 14 d, 3 and 12 months post transplantation. Although no difference in graft function could be observed, medium-risk patients showed a clear dynamic in their BAFF levels with low levels shortly after transplantation and an increase in values of 123% over the course of 1 year. Patients with high BAFF values were more susceptible to rejection, especially antibody-mediated rejection and displayed intensified microvascular inflammation; the combination of high BAFF + DSA puts patients at risk. The changing BAFF kinetics of the medium risk group as well as the increased occurrence of rejections at high BAFF values enables BAFF to be seen as an awareness factor. To compensate the changing immunological risk, a switch from a weaker induction therapy to an intensified maintenance therapy is required