Cultural differences in intimacy: The influence of gender-role ideology and individualism-collectivism

Two studies examined emotional intimacy in European Canadian and Chinese Canadian dating relationships. Cultural differences in gender-role ideology and individualism–collectivism were hypothesized to differentially contribute to selfdisclosure and responsiveness, and in turn, intimacy. Study 1 revealed that Chinese Canadians’ lower intimacy relative to European Canadians was mediated by their greater gender-role traditionalism but not by their individualism or collectivism. Study 2 further linked greater gender-role traditionalism to lower self-disclosure, and in turn, lower intimacy. Results also revealed that Chinese Canadians’ lower intimacy mediated their lower relationship satisfaction and higher rate of relationship termination in Study 1, but that Chinese Canadians were not any more likely to terminate their relationships in Study 2

Making information flow explicit in HiStar

HiStar is a new operating system designed to minimize the amount of code that must be trusted. HiStar provides strict information flow control, which allows users to specify precise data security policies without unduly limiting the structure of applications. HiStar's security features make it possible to implement a Unix-like environment with acceptable performance almost entirely in an untrusted user-level library. The system has no notion of superuser and no fully trusted code other than the kernel. HiStar's features permit several novel applications, including privacy-preserving, untrusted virus scanners and a dynamic Web server with only a few thousand lines of trusted code.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Cybertrust Award CNS-0716806)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Cybertrust/DARPA Grant CNS-0430425

Clinical, histopathological and molecular characterization of extramedullary acute myeloid leukemia

Myeloid neoplasms, typically liquid tumors, may manifest as extramedullary (EM) masses, representing a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. EM manifestations of acute myeloid leukemia (eAML), also called myeloid sarcoma (MS), constitute an unusual presentation or complication of AML, which can occur in isolation (isolated eAML) or in the context of a leukemic process (synchronous eAML). Genetic events and molecular mechanisms leading to eAML and the impact on clinical outcomes are not well understood and previous studies were limited mainly to small samples or case series, often with controversial results. The current study aims to clarify aspects of MS by i) examining a large monocentric cohort of newly diagnosed AML patients at the University of Florence (Careggi Hospital), comparing those with and without concurrent EM involvement; ii) analyzing the clinical, histopathological, and molecular profiles of 40 MS samples from 8 Italian Centers. 600 patients with newly diagnosed AML, after excluding 82 cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), were identified. 103/600 (17%) had eAML. Overall, 81% and 19% (n=119) had de novo and sAML, respectively. 494 (82%) patients were treated with intensive chemotherapy, and in 243 (41%) cases allo-HSCT was performed. Out of 539 evaluable patients, 245 (46%) had an abnormal karyotype of whom 71 cases (13%) had a complex karyotype. 140 (23%) were NPM1, 126 (21%) FLT3-ITD, 27 (5%) inv (16), 26 (4%) CEBPA bZIP, 24 (4%) t(8;21) mutated. Regarding baseline characteristics, patients with eAML were significantly younger (56 vs. 58 years, p=0.01), had higher white blood cell count (p< 0.01) and higher peripheral blood blast count (p= 0.02). Of interest, ELN 2022 favorable risk category (18% vs 31%, p=0.01) was significantly less common in eAML; conversely, intermediate category was more represented in eAML (42% versus 32%, p=0.03). FLT3-ITD (31% versus 19%, p<0.01) and TP53 mutations (22% versus 10%, 3 p=0.04) were significantly more common in eAML at diagnosis. Median overall survival including all 600 patients was 20.2 months (95% CI 15-25), significantly different for patients with (11 months) and without (23.5 months, p<0.01) eAML. The presence of >1 EM localization was associated with a less favorable outcome (HR 2; p<0.01) compared to cases with 1 EM localization. In multivariate analysis for OS, the presence of eAML (HR 1.4; p=0.02) along with older age (p<0.01), and ELN 2022 risk categorization (p<0.01) were significant for a reduced survival. Considering eAML only, ELN 2022 risk categorization lost the power to discriminate between intermediate and adverse category (p=0.4). Intensive chemotherapy and allo-HSCT were associated with superior OS in patients with and without eAML. Considering eAML only, SRSF2 (HR 3; p=0.03), SETBP1 (HR 10; p=0.04), and JAK2 (HR 4.9; p=0.04) mutations were associated with a reduced OS. When analyzing ELN 2022 genetic risk categories separately for patients with and without eAML, a significant different survival for intermediate risk patients was documented (HR 1.6; p=0.02); not in favorable (p=0.6), nor in adverse risk category (p=0.8). The whole exome sequencing (WES) of 25/40 MS, documented that 5,444 genes were mutated, with a median of 204 mutated genes per sample. The most frequent mutated genes were MDCAM1 (60%), PYGM (52%), DAGLA (48%), COL6A5 (40%), ZNF91 (40%). Our study represents one of the largest cohorts of eAML and establishes key molecular markers linked to EM, such as FLT3-ITD and TP53 mutations, providing evidence that eAML is associated with adverse risk features. Of interest, when considering eAML only, ELN 2022 risk categorization lost the power to discriminate between intermediate and adverse category, but a significantly different survival was maintained between favorable and intermediate category. Finally, intensive chemotherapy and allo-HSCT improved survival. A gene expression profile (GEP) analysis using NanoString technology is ongoing to complement the WES results, along with clinical, and histopathological features

Benefit-risk profile of cytoreductive drugs along with antiplatelet and antithrombotic therapy after transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke in myeloproliferative neoplasms

We analyzed 597 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) who presented transient ischemic attacks (TIA, n = 270) or ischemic stroke (IS, n = 327). Treatment included aspirin, oral anticoagulants, and cytoreductive drugs. The composite incidence of recurrent TIA and IS, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and cardiovascular (CV) death was 4.21 and 19.2%, respectively at one and five years after the index event, an estimate unexpectedly lower than reported in the general population. Patients tended to replicate the first clinical manifestation (hazard ratio, HR: 2.41 and 4.41 for recurrent TIA and IS, respectively); additional factors for recurrent TIA were previous TIA (HR: 3.40) and microvascular disturbances (HR: 2.30); for recurrent IS arterial hypertension (HR: 4.24) and IS occurrence after MPN diagnosis (HR: 4.47). CV mortality was predicted by age over 60 years (HR: 3.98), an index IS (HR: 3.61), and the occurrence of index events after MPN diagnosis (HR: 2.62). Cytoreductive therapy was a strong protective factor (HR: 0.24). The rate of major bleeding was similar to the general population (0.90 per 100 patient-years). In conclusion, the long-term clinical outcome after TIA and IS in MPN appears even more favorable than in the general population, suggesting an advantageous benefit-risk profile of antithrombotic and cytoreductive treatment