Broadening the scope of Chimeric Antigen Receptor therapies

The field of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) based therapies has led to a paradigm shift in medicine: cells as drugs. The use of cell-based therapies to treat cancer has revolutionized the field of cancer immunotherapy and made the hope of a cancer cure a reality for many patients. While the landscape of CAR-based therapies is predicted to transform the field of cancer therapy, there are several shortcomings that still need to be addressed. First, while some patients experience long-lasting remission, many others relapse after treatment. Second, the use of CAR-based therapies has been primarily limited to hematological malignancies and have yet to be successfully developed for use against solid tumors. Finally, due to the high price tag and lengthy manufacturing process, CAR-based therapies remain inaccessible to many patients who could benefit from them. This thesis will examine these challenges and review the various strategies that are currently used to address them

Library Structures as Sites to Rethink: Using Established Workflows to Open a New Understanding of EDI Unit Culture

This panel of presenters explored how established workflows, documentation, and cross-campus connections could be re-purposed to promote EDI unit goals. The purpose of this panel will be to 1) model how one library unit is working to integrate EDI conversations and practices into established library and unit structures 2) offer a reflective and interactive component to help participants identify what structures they already have in place at their institutions that could be recast with an EDI focus, and 3) share professional development examples that can support EDI needs and open conversations within a unit

Tapping into Global Competencies Using Canvas “Outcomes”

Using Canvas Outcomes to Create Competency-Based Rubrics: Many instructors know how to use Canvas rubrics in their courses but did you know that you can link them directly to standards, learning objectives, UULOS, and other accreditation-required competencies across a college for more specific quantitative data? School of Public Health is accredited by CAHME, an accreditation body for Master\u27s of Healthcare (MHA) students. We have taken the competencies required by this accreditation body and reflected them into universal Canvas Outcomes to create competency-based rubrics. This collaborative change with academic and administrative faculty is being piloted in Fall 2019 in MHA Courses with some interesting preliminary outputs, data, and results. Hopefully in continuing these competency-based rubrics through semesters, we will be able to reflect growth for students and ultimately helping to reflect this for our accreditation bodies.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1094/thumbnail.jp

Role of visual analytics in supporting mental healthcare systems research and policy: A systematic scoping review

The availability of healthcare data has exponentially grown, both in quantity and complexity. The speed of this evolution has generated new challenges for translating complex data into effective evidence-informed policy. Visual analytics offers new capacity to analyze healthcare systems and support better decision-making. We conducted a systematic scoping review to look for evidence of visual analytics approaches being applied to mental healthcare systems and their use in driving policy. We found 79 relevant studies and categorized them in two ways: by study purpose and by type of visualization. The majority (67.1%) of the studies used geographical maps, and 11% conducted highly complex studies requiring novel visualizations. Significantly, only 15% of the studies provided information indicating high levels of usability for policy and planning. Our findings suggest that while visual analytics continues to evolve rapidly, there is a need to ensure this evolution reflects the practical needs of policy makers

The Lantern Vol. 61, No. 1, December 1993

• In Order to Succeed • Essay • Power of Human Self-Interest: Man vs. Car • In Setterich • Wandering Wanda • Maybe Kitchens • Saltiness • Homecoming • Perfect • Sincerely, Jen • A Midterm and a Paper • Prophet Junkie • Soundless Memo • After Ireland, Part 1https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1142/thumbnail.jp

Sites of vulnerability in HCV E1E2 identified by comprehensive functional screening

The E1 and E2 envelope proteins of hepatitis C virus (HCV) form a heterodimer that drives virus-host membrane fusion. Here, we analyze the role of each amino acid in E1E2 function, expressing 545 individual alanine mutants of E1E2 in human cells, incorporating them into infectious viral pseudoparticles, and testing them against 37 different monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to ascertain full-length translation, folding, heterodimer assembly, CD81 binding, viral pseudoparticle incorporation, and infectivity. We propose a model describing the role of each critical residue in E1E2 functionality and use it to examine how MAbs neutralize infection by exploiting functionally critical sites of vulnerability on E1E2. Our results suggest that E1E2 is a surprisingly fragile protein complex where even a single alanine mutation at 92% of positions disrupts its function. The amino-acid-level targets identified are highly conserved and functionally critical and can be exploited for improved therapies and vaccines

Prospective Evaluation of the Impact of Stress, Anxiety, and Depression on Household Income among Young Women with Early Breast Cancer from the Young and Strong Trial

Background: Young women with breast cancer tend to report lower quality of life and higher levels of stress than older women with breast cancer, and this may have implications for other psychosocial factors including finances. We sought to determine if stress, anxiety, and depression at diagnosis were associated with changes in household income over 12-months in young women with breast cancer in the United States. Methods: This study was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study comprised of women enrolled in the Young and Strong trial. Of the 467 women aged 18–45 newly diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer enrolled in the Young and Strong trial from 2012 to 2013, 356 (76%) answered income questions. Change in household income from baseline to 12 months was assessed and women were categorized as having lost, gained, maintained the same household income \u3c$100,000, or maintained household income ≥$100,000. Patient-reported stress, anxiety, and depression were assessed close to diagnosis at trial enrollment. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression models were used to compare women who lost, gained, or maintained household income ≥$100,000 to women who maintained the same household income \u3c$100,000. Results: Although most women maintained household income ≥$100,000 (37.1$100,000 (32.3%), 15.4% lost household income and 15.2% gained household income. Stress, anxiety, and depression were not associated with gaining or losing household income compared to women maintaining household incomes \u3c$100,000. Women with household incomes \u3c$50,000 had a higher risk of losing household income compared to women with household incomes ≥$50,000. Women who maintained household incomes ≥$100,000 were less likely to report financial or insurance problems. Among women who lost household income, 56% reported financial problems and 20% reported insurance problems at 12 months. Conclusions: Baseline stress, anxiety, and depression were not associated with household income changes for young women with breast cancer. However, lower baseline household income was associated with losing household income. Some young survivors encounter financial and insurance problems in the first year after diagnosis, and further support for these women should be considered

Bias Blind Spot: Structure, Measurement, and Consequences

People exhibit a bias blind spot: they are less likely to detect bias in themselves than in others. We report the development and validation of an instrument to measure individual differences in the propensity to exhibit the bias blind spot that is unidimensional, internally consistent, has high test-retest reliability, and is discriminated from measures of intelligence, decision making ability, and personality traits related to self-esteem, self-enhancement, and self-presentation. The scale is predictive of the extent to which people judge their abilities to be better-than-average for easy tasks and worse-than-average for difficult tasks, ignore the advice of others, and are responsive to an intervention designed to mitigate a different judgmental bias. These results suggest that the bias blind spot is a distinct metabias resulting from naïve realism rather than other forms of egocentric cognition, and has unique effects on judgment and behavior

Methodology of AA CRASH: a prospective observational study evaluating the incidence and pathogenesis of adverse post-traumatic sequelae in African-Americans experiencing motor vehicle collision: Table 1

A motor vehicle collision (MVC) is one of the most common life-threatening events experienced by individuals living in the USA. While most individuals recover following MVC, a significant proportion of individuals develop adverse post-traumatic sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorder or persistent musculoskeletal pain. Adverse post-traumatic sequelae are common, morbid and costly public health problems in the USA and other industrialised countries. The pathogenesis of these disorders following MVC remains poorly understood. In the USA, available data suggest that African-Americans experience an increased burden of adverse post-traumatic sequelae after MVC compared to European Americans, but to date no studies examining the pathogenesis of these disorders among African-Americans experiencing MVC have been performed

Methodology of AA CRASH: a prospective observational study evaluating the incidence and pathogenesis of adverse post-traumatic sequelae in African-Americans experiencing motor vehicle collision.

INTRODUCTION: A motor vehicle collision (MVC) is one of the most common life-threatening events experienced by individuals living in the USA. While most individuals recover following MVC, a significant proportion of individuals develop adverse post-traumatic sequelae such as post-traumatic stress disorder or persistent musculoskeletal pain. Adverse post-traumatic sequelae are common, morbid and costly public health problems in the USA and other industrialised countries. The pathogenesis of these disorders following MVC remains poorly understood. In the USA, available data suggest that African-Americans experience an increased burden of adverse post-traumatic sequelae after MVC compared to European Americans, but to date no studies examining the pathogenesis of these disorders among African-Americans experiencing MVC have been performed. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The African-American CRASH (AA CRASH) study is an NIH-funded, multicentre, prospective study that enrols African-Americans (n=900) who present to the emergency department (ED) within 24 hours of MVC. Participants are enrolled at 13 ED sites in the USA. Individuals who are admitted to the hospital or who report a fracture or tissue injury are excluded. Participants complete a detailed ED interview that includes an assessment of crash history, current post-traumatic symptoms and health status prior to the MVC. Blood samples are also collected in the ED using PAXgene DNA and PAXgene RNA tubes. Serial mixed-mode assessments 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year after MVC include an assessment of adverse sequelae, general health status and health service utilisation. The results from this study will provide insights into the incidence and pathogenesis of persistent pain and other post-traumatic sequelae in African-Americans experiencing MVC. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: AA CRASH has ethics approval in the USA, and the results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal