Complementing human behavior assessment by leveraging personal ubiquitous devices and social links:An evaluation of the peer-ceived momentary assessment method

Background: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) enables individuals to self-report their subjective momentary physical and emotional states. However, certain conditions, including routine observable behaviors (e.g., moods, medication adherence) as well as behaviors that may suggest declines in physical or mental health (e.g., memory losses, compulsive disorders) cannot be easily and reliably measured via self-reports. Objective: This study aims to examine a method complementary to EMA, denoted as peer-ceived momentary assessment (PeerMA), which enables the involvement of peers (e.g., family members, friends) to report their perception of the individual's subjective physical and emotional states. In this paper, we aim to report the feasibility results and identified human factors influencing the acceptance and reliability of the PeerMA. Methods: We conducted two studies of 4 weeks each, collecting self-reports from 20 participants about their stress, fatigue, anxiety, and well-being, in addition to collecting peer-reported perceptions from 27 of their peers. Results: Preliminary results showed that some of the peers reported daily assessments for stress, fatigue, anxiety, and well-being statistically equal to those reported by the participant. We also showed how pairing assessments of participants and peers in time enables a qualitative and quantitative exploration of unique research questions not possible with EMA-only based assessments. We reported on the usability and implementation aspects based on the participants' experience to guide the use of the PeerMA to complement the information obtained via self-reports for observable behaviors and physical and emotional states among healthy individuals. Conclusions: It is possible to leverage the PeerMA method as a complement to EMA to assess constructs that fall in the realm of observable behaviors and states in healthy individuals

Stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles: role in oncogenic processes, bioengineering potential, and technical challenges

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cellular-derived versatile transporters with a specialized property for trafficking a variety of cargo, including metabolites, growth factors, cytokines, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, throughout the microenvironment. EVs can act in a paracrine manner to facilitate communication between cells as well as modulate immune, inflammatory, regenerative, and remodeling processes. Of particular interest is the emerging association between EVs and stem cells, given their ability to integrate complex inputs for facilitating cellular migration to the sites of tissue injury. Additionally, stem cell-derived EVs can also act in an autocrine manner to influence stem cell proliferation, mobilization, differentiation, and self-renewal. Hence, it has been postulated that stem cells and EVs may work synergistically in the process of tissue repair and that dysregulation of EVs may cause a loss of homeostasis in the microenvironment leading to disease. By harnessing the property of EVs for delivery of small molecules, stem cell-derived EVs possess significant potential as a platform for developing bioengineering approaches for next-generation cancer therapies and targeted drug delivery methods. Although one of the main challenges of clinical cancer treatment remains a lack of specificity for the delivery of effective treatment options, EVs can be modified via genetic, biochemical, or synthetic methods for enhanced targeting ability of chemotherapeutic agents in promoting tumor regression. Here, we summarize recent research on the bioengineering potential of EV-based cancer therapies. A comprehensive understanding of EV modification may provide a novel strategy for cancer therapy and for the utilization of EVs in the targeting of oncogenic processes. Furthermore, innovative and emerging new technologies are shifting the paradigm and playing pivotal roles by continually expanding novel methods and materials for synthetic processes involved in the bioengineering of EVs for enhanced precision therapeutics

Retroperitoneal robot-assisted live-donor nephrectomy: A single-center study

BackgroundAs the demand for kidney transplants continues to increase globally, healthcare institutions face a challenge to bridge the gap between patients waitlisted for kidney transplants and the number of donors. A major factor influencing the donor's decision is the operative risk and potential complications of the surgery. Open surgical approaches have been vastly replaced with laparoscopic donor nephrectomies as the standard of practice. However, there is a growing body of evidence pointing towards its potential superiority over laparoscopic methods. In this study, we aim to present our experience on outcomes of Robotic-Assisted Live Donor Nephrectomies (RALDN), the first series of its kind in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).MethodsWe retrospectively collected data from patients who underwent RALDN at Mediclinc City Hospital. Demographic data, laboratory investigations, and operative details were collected and analyzed.ResultsSeven patients underwent RALDN between 2021 and April 2022 at our facility. Four donors were male while three were female. Median length of hospital stay was 4 days. In our study, one of the patients suffered from a Clavien-Dindo grade IV complication which necessitated prolonged admission.ConclusionWe conclude that RALDN is a safe method for donor kidney procurement, carrying a low risk of morbidity and mortality. This method could potentially evolve the number of kidney donors to address the issue of high kidney transplant demand

Maturation of Dose-Corrected Tacrolimus Predose Trough Levels in Pediatric Kidney Allograft Recipients

Orientadora: Letícia GodoyNo original impresso da monografia não há um padrão no espaçamento do texto.Monografia (licenciatura) - Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Biológicas. Curso de Educação Física

Fatal Emmonsia sp. Infection and Fungemia after Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

We report a fatal case of disseminated Emmonsia sp. infection in a 55-year-old man who received an orthotopic liver transplant. The patient had pneumonia and fungemia, and multisystem organ failure developed. As human habitats and the number of immunocompromised patients increase, physicians must be aware of this emerging fungal infection

Low dose rabbit antithymocyte globulin is non-inferior to higher dose in low-risk pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink belowBackground: Currently, there is no consensus among pediatric kidney transplant centers regarding the use and regimen for immunosuppressive induction therapy. Methods: In this single center, retrospective cohort study, pediatric kidney transplant recipients transplanted between 1 May 2013 and 1 May 2018 with rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) induction were included. We stratified patients based on immunological risk, with high risk defined as those with repeat transplant, preformed donor specific antibody, current panel-reactive antibodies > 20%, 0 antigen match and/or African-American heritage. Outcome of interest was the incidence of biopsy proven acute rejection by 1 year. Results: A total of 166 patients met inclusion criteria. Age of patients was 12 years (11 mo-21 y), (median, range), 21.5% received a living donor transplant and 50.6% were female. Low-immunologic-risk patients were divided into 2 groups, those who received the lower cumulative rATG dose of ≤ 3.5 mg/kg (n = 52) versus the higher cumulative dose of > 3.5 mg/kg (n = 47). The median total dose in the lower dose group was 3.1 (IQR 0.3) and 4.4 (IQR 0.8) in the higher dose group, P < 0.001. Rejection rate did not differ significantly between the 2 treatment groups (7/52 vs. 6/47). None in the lower dose group developed BK nephropathy versus 3 in the higher dose group. Graft loss due to BK nephropathy occurred in 1 patient in the higher dose group. Graft loss in the whole cohort at 12 months was a rare event (n = 1) with 99.5% graft survival and 100% patient survival. Conclusions: Reduced rATG dosing (≤ 3.5 mg/kg) when compared to higher dosing (> 3.5 mg/kg) is safe and effective in low-risk pediatric kidney transplant recipients without increasing risk of rejection. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information. Keywords: Acute allograft rejection; Immunosuppression; Induction therapy; Thymoglobulin; Transplantation.Tashia and John Morgridge Endowed Postdoctoral Fellow of the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institut

Reversal of Hyperglycemia and Suppression of Type 1 Diabetes in the NOD Mouse with Apoptotic DNA Immunotherapy™ (ADi™), ADi-100

The antigen-specific apoptotic DNA immunotherapeutic, ADi-100, is designed to suppress type 1 diabetes and consists of two DNA plasmids encoding genetic sequences of the apoptosis-inducing molecule, BAX, and the secreted form of the autoantigen, glutamic acid decarboxylase 65, that is CpG hyper-methylated to avoid inflammatory signaling (msGAD55). Upon a four-day treatment with ADi-100 of young female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, the frequency of various tolerogenic dendritic cell populations increased in draining lymph nodes; these cells lost the capacity to stimulate glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)-specific CD4+ T lymphocytes and were associated with the previously demonstrated enhancement of GAD-specific regulatory T cells. The efficacy of two ADi-100 formulations containing different proportions of BAX and msGAD55, 1:4 (10/40 µg) and 1:2 (17/33 µg), was evaluated in mildly hyperglycemic pre-diabetic NOD female mice. Both formulations suppressed the incidence of diabetes by 80% in an antigen-specific manner, while all untreated mice developed diabetes. However, treatment of pre-diabetic mice with significantly higher hyperglycemia, denoting progressive disease, showed that ADi-100 1:2 strongly suppressed diabetes incidence by 80% whereas the ADi-100 1:4 was less effective (50%). As an antigen-specific monotherapy, ADi-100 is highly efficacious in reversing elevated hyperglycemia to prevent diabetes, in which increasing apoptosis-inducing BAX content is a promising immune tolerance feature