PhysioKit: An Open-Source, Low-Cost Physiological Computing Toolkit for Single- and Multi-User Studies.

The proliferation of physiological sensors opens new opportunities to explore interactions, conduct experiments and evaluate the user experience with continuous monitoring of bodily functions. Commercial devices, however, can be costly or limit access to raw waveform data, while low-cost sensors are efforts-intensive to setup. To address these challenges, we introduce PhysioKit, an open-source, low-cost physiological computing toolkit. PhysioKit provides a one-stop pipeline consisting of (i) a sensing and data acquisition layer that can be configured in a modular manner per research needs, and (ii) a software application layer that enables data acquisition, real-time visualization and machine learning (ML)-enabled signal quality assessment. This also supports basic visual biofeedback configurations and synchronized acquisition for co-located or remote multi-user settings. In a validation study with 16 participants, PhysioKit shows strong agreement with research-grade sensors on measuring heart rate and heart rate variability metrics data. Furthermore, we report usability survey results from 10 small-project teams (44 individual members in total) who used PhysioKit for 4-6 weeks, providing insights into its use cases and research benefits. Lastly, we discuss the extensibility and potential impact of the toolkit on the research community.

Central nervous system involvement in AIDS-related lymphomas.

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is reportedly more common in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related lymphomas (ARL). We describe factors and outcomes associated with CNS involvement at baseline (CNS(B) ) and relapse (CNS(R) ) in 886 patients with newly diagnosed ARL. Of 886 patients, 800 received either intrathecal (IT) therapy for CNS(B) or IT prophylaxis. CNS(B) was found in 13%. CNS(B) was not associated with reduced overall survival (OS). There was no difference in the prevalence of CNS(B) between the pre-combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and cART eras. 5·3% of patients experienced CNS(R) at a median of 4·2 months after diagnosis (12% if CNS(B) ; 4% if not). Median OS after CNS(R) was 1·6 months. On multivariate analysis, only CNS(B) [hazard ratio (HR) 3·68, P = 0·005] and complete response to initial therapy (HR 0·14, P < 0·0001) were significantly associated with CNS(R) . When restricted to patients without CNS(B) , IT CNS prophylaxis with 3 vs. 1 agent did not significantly impact the risk of CNS(R) . Despite IT CNS prophylaxis, 5% of patients experienced CNS(R) . Our data confirms that CNS(R) in ARL occurs early and has a poor outcome. Complete response to initial therapy was associated with a reduced frequency of CNS(R) . Although CNS(B) conferred an increased risk for CNS(R) , it did not impact OS.

Use of ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide in combination with brentuximab vedotin or romidepsin based on CD30 positivity in relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (R/R PTCL) has a poor prognosis. Romidepsin (Ro) and brentuximab vedotin (Bv), combined with ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (ICE) has not been significantly studied in PTCL. AIM: We report outcomes of Bv-ICE in CD30 (+) and Ro-ICE in CD30 (-) R/R PTCL treated in "Blinded for peer review" Cancer Center. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively identified R/R PTCL patients treated with BV-ICE or romidepsin-ICE from May 2016 to September 2019. Out of 13 R/R PTCL patients, 6 were treated with Bv-ICE and 7 with Ro-ICE. Bv-ICE had an overall response rate (ORR) of 66.7%, with all the patients achieving a complete response. ORR was 71.4% for Ro-ICE with 57.1% of patients achieving a complete response. Two patients treated with Bv-ICE and three treated with Ro-ICE received transplantation. CONCLUSION: In our experience, treatment with Bv-ICE and Ro-ICE based on CD30 positivity is feasible and effective to treat patients with R/R PTCL.

Myelomatous Pleural Effusion as a Presenting Symptom: A Case Report.

Myelomatous pleural effusion (MPE) is a rare complication in patients suffering from multiple myeloma (MM). Dyspnea is the predominant symptom in the clinical presentation. Poor prognosis and aggressive MM behavior have been linked to this condition. We describe a case of MPE in an undiagnosed MM patient who presented with respiratory discomfort and general malaise.

BOLDSync: a MATLAB-based toolbox for synchronized stimulus presentation in functional MRI.

BACKGROUND: Precise and synchronized presentation of paradigm stimuli in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is central to obtaining accurate information about brain regions involved in a specific task. NEW METHOD: In this manuscript, we present a new MATLAB-based toolbox, BOLDSync, for synchronized stimulus presentation in fMRI. RESULTS: BOLDSync provides a user friendly platform for design and presentation of visual, audio, as well as multimodal audio-visual (AV) stimuli in functional imaging experiments. We present simulation experiments that demonstrate the millisecond synchronization accuracy of BOLDSync, and also illustrate the functionalities of BOLDSync through application to an AV fMRI study. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: BOLDSync gains an advantage over other available proprietary and open-source toolboxes by offering a user friendly and accessible interface that affords both precision in stimulus presentation and versatility across various types of stimulus designs and system setups. CONCLUSIONS: BOLDSync is a reliable, efficient, and versatile solution for synchronized stimulus presentation in fMRI study.

New antibody approaches to lymphoma therapy.

The CD20-directed monoclonal antibody rituximab established a new era in lymphoma therapy. Since then other epitopes on the lymphoma surface have been identified as potential targets for monoclonal antibodies (mAb). While most mAbs eliminate lymphoma cells mainly by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, complement-dependent cytotoxicity or direct cell death, others counter mechanisms utilized by malignant cells to evade immune surveillance. Expression of PD-L1 on malignant or stromal cells in the tumor environment for example leads to T-cell anergy. Targeting either PD-1 or PD-L1 via mAbs can indirectly eliminate cancer cells by unblocking the host intrinsic immune response. Yet another mechanism of targeted therapy with mAbs are bi-specific T-cell engagers (BiTE) such as blinatumomab, which directly engages the host immune cells. These examples highlight the broad spectrum of available therapies targeting the lymphoma surface with mAbs utilizing both passive and active immune pathways. Many of these agents have already demonstrated significant activity in clinical trials. In this review we will focus on novel CD20-directed antibodies as well as mAbs directed against newer targets like CD19, CD22, CD40, CD52 and CCR4. In addition we will review mAbs unblocking immune checkpoints and the BiTE blinatumomab. Given the success of mAbs and the expansion in active and passive immunotherapies, these agents will play an increasing role in the treatment of lymphomas.

Visuospatial perception: an emerging biomarker for Alzheimer's disease.

In recent years, the focus of research on Alzheimer's disease (AD) has shifted toward finding reliable diagnostic biomarkers that enable accurate detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as well as AD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has the potential to identify functional changes in the preclinical stages of AD. In addition to the cardinal deficits in memory, deficits in visuospatial cognition are pervasive in AD. Recent neurophysiological and imaging studies have revealed that changes in visuospatial perception (VSP) functions can be detected in the early stages of AD. This review highlights the scope of VSP functional alterations as a biomarker for AD. We describe the neuroanatomical regions involved in the processing of various VSP tasks, and discuss the effect of AD on these regions from a pathological as well as a functional point of view. A comprehensive synopsis of the existing fMRI literature that has assessed VSP in patients with MCI and AD has been provided. The diagnostic scope of monitoring the brain activation correlates of VSP processing in AD is discussed in terms of the key advantages of utilizing VSP-related deficits in AD for early detection and longitudinal tracking of AD.