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Despite the effectiveness of intergroup contact in reducing prejudice, opportunities for contact are not always associated with positive mutual intergroup perceptions. This might be due, at least partly, to negative contact, i.e., intergroup encounters perceived as unpleasant, and to individual characteristics which might shape reactions to opportunities for contact and to actual contact. Here we considered cultural humility, i.e., a subdomain of humility referring to the ability to have a humble and other-oriented approach to others' cultures. We propose that cultural humility might orient individuals to successfully and non-judgmentally interact with outgroup members. Therefore, cultural humility might be associated with positive contact and with reduced negative contact, and might favor beneficial effects of opportunities for contact in terms of prejudice reduction. In a cross-sectional study conducted among Italian participants considering immigrants and Muslims as outgroups, we found that cultural humility was associated with positive contact and with reduced negative contact. Furthermore, opportunities for contact were associated with negative contact only among respondents with low cultural humility. Cultural humility also moderated the valenced contact-prejudice associations. However, disconfirming our predictions, positive contact was associated with reduced prejudice mainly for people with low cultural humility, while negative contact was associated with more prejudice mainly for people with high cultural humility. Findings will be discussed emphasizing the role of cultural humility for intergroup contact and the possible contribution of cultural humility training to foster harmonious intergroup relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aplastic anemia (AA), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) are rare disorders of bone marrow failure. Once considered distinct entities, these three diseases are now believed to have overlapping pathophysiologies. The Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports patients and families living with bone marrow failure disorders, sponsored a scientific symposium in Bethesda, MD, in March 2012. This report summarizes the symposium presentations by 30 of the world's leading AA, MDS, and PNH researchers on recent findings, current areas of controversy, and recommendations for basic and clinical research to advance the field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir are administered to patients with mild COVID-19 to prevent worsening of disease. • Hospitalisation and mortality rates with molnupiravir vs. nirmatrelvir/ritonavir were compared in patients with leukaemia or lymphoma. • No statistically significant differences between treatments for hospitalisation, mortality rates or survival probability. • Results support the use of molnupiravir in patients with haematological malignancies in Europe. • Patients with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir-related contraindications and drug-drug interactions may benefit from molnupiravir treatment. Molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir are antivirals used to prevent progression to severe SARS-CoV-2 infections and decrease hospitalisation and mortality rates. Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir was authorised in Europe in December 2021, whereas molnupiravir is not yet licensed in Europe as of February 2022. Molnupiravir may be an alternative to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir because it is associated with fewer drug-drug interactions and contraindications. A caveat for molnupiravir is the mode of action induces viral mutations. Mortality rate reduction with molnupiravir was less pronounced than that with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in patients without haematological malignancy. Little is known about the comparative efficacy of the two drugs in patients with haematological malignancy at high-risk of severe COVID-19. Thus, molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir were compared in a cohort of patients with haematological malignancies. Clinical data from patients treated with molnupiravir or nirmatrelvir/ritonavir monotherapy for COVID-19 were retrieved from the EPICOVIDEHA registry. Patients treated with molnupiravir were matched by sex, age (±10 years), and severity of baseline haematological malignancy to controls treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. A total of 116 patients receiving molnupiravir for the clinical management of COVID-19 were matched to an equal number of controls receiving nirmatrelvir/ritonavir. In each of the groups, 68 (59%) patients were male; with a median age of 64 years (interquartile range [IQR] 53-74) for molnupiravir recipients and 64 years (IQR 54-73) for nirmatrelvir/ritonavir recipients; 56.9% (n=66) of the patients had controlled baseline haematological malignancy, 12.9% (n=15) had stable disease, and 30.2% (n=35) had active disease at COVID-19 onset in each group. During COVID-19 infection, one third of patients from each group were admitted to hospital. Although a similar proportion of patients in the two groups were vaccinated (molnupiravir n=77, 66% vs. nirmatrelvir/ritonavir n=87, 75%), more of those treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir had received four vaccine doses (n=27, 23%) compared with those treated with molnupiravir (n=5, 4%) (P <0.001). No differences were detected in COVID-19 severity (P =0.39) or hospitalisation (P =1.0). No statistically significant differences were identified in overall mortality rate (P =0.78) or survival probability (d30 P =0.19, d60 P =0.67, d90 P =0.68, last day of follow up P =0.68). Deaths were either attributed to COVID-19, or the infection was judged by the treating physician to have contributed to death. Hospitalisation and mortality rates with molnupiravir were comparable to those with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in high-risk patients with haematological malignancies and COVID-19. Molnupiravir is a plausible alternative to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for COVID-19 treatment in patients with haematological malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: CD200 is a relatively ubiquitously expressed molecule that plays a role in cancer immune evasion through interaction with its receptors. High expression levels of CD200 have been described in different human malignancies. For example, CD200 has been shown to be targeted after RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK activation in melanoma. Here we present the analysis of CD200 expression in human Multiple Myeloma (MM) samples. We found that CD200-positive cells express ERK and p-ERK. Moreover, UO126, a MEK inhibitor, reduces CD200 expression. Furthermore, we observe that CD200-positive cells show reduced immunogenicity compared to normal lymphocytes and that such immunogenicity increases when UO126 is used. We therefore hypothesize that CD200 expression in MM could suppress antitumor response and that anti-CD200 treatment might be therapeutically beneficial in CD200-expressing tumors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several reports demonstrated that the activation of Nuclear Factor-kappa B NF-κB is essential for the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (MM). We analyzed the nuclear localization of NF-κB in MM-cells derived from 60 different patients with MM at presentation and in relapse, as well as in three myeloma cell lines. Nuclear localization (the active form) of NF-κB was detected in only one MM-sample from a refractory patient and in two samples from relapsed patients, while all the other samples, including the MM-cell lines, almost exclusively express the cytoplasmic (inactive) form of NF-κB. In mesenchymal cells from MM-patients NF-κB was clearly present in the nucleus. In addition, the proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib, which is described to antagonize NF-κB activity, had a consistent antitumor activity against both chemoresistant and chemosensitive MM-cells, regardless the NF-κB localization, thus suggesting the existence of other molecular targets of proteasome inhibitors in MM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: By conventional metaphase and SNP array cytogenetics we serially studied a patient affected by high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), documenting the conversion from partial trisomy 8q to trisomy 8 and partial tetrasomy 8q during progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Moreover, the serial application of high resolution genomic array analysis at different disease stages allowed the description of cryptic abnormalities and the demonstration of their enrichment in the AML phase. In particular the detection and quantification of a copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity region located in chromosome 11q guided the search for point mutations in the CBL gene, thus allowing the escription of the novel missense mutation K382E and the demonstration of its selection during progression to secondary AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, a simple formula for predicting the horizontal capacity of masonry portals is proposed and discussed. Moving from the approach firstly introduced by J. Heyman in his keystone paper The Stone Skeleton [Heyman J. The stone skeleton. International Journal of Solids and Structures 1966;2:249–79], the principle of virtual works for olonomic systems is applied to derive expressions for the collapse multiplier of a chosen load distribution. With this goal, four collapse mechanisms have been selected on account of mechanical and engineering considerations, and closed form expressions for the multipliers for each of them has been derived. Those expressions have allowed us to perform extensive parametric analyses, varying the geometrical ratios that determine the portal configuration. As a result, the ranges of the main geometrical ratios, in which one or another mechanism may prevail have been derived. An abacus is also provided to evaluate the collapse multiplier of any portal, once its geometrical characteristics are known. Finally, a simplified expression is proposed, whose results show scatters from the exact solution almost always below 6%. Such an expression may turn out valuable for designers from the point of view of seismic vulnerability assessment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Our aim was to study the influence of acute graft-versus-host disease (a-GVHD) on primary engraftment times after allogeneic transplantation. Primary engraftment and frequency of marrow granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units and erythroid burst-forming units, at day +18, were studied in 126 allogeneic transplants. Patients were grouped according to the time when a-GVHD treatment with corticosteroids was started. The no–a-GVHD group are those who, during the first 3 months, had no need for a-GVHD treatment; the early–a-GVHD group are those who needed a-GVHD treatment within 19 days; and the postengraftment–a-GVHD group are those who were not on corticosteroid treatment at the time of engraftment but needed it after day +19. The no–a-GVHD group reached a neutrophil count (N) > 0.5 × 10 9 /L in a median of 17.8 days. The postengraftment–a-GVHD group reached N > 0.5 × 10 9 /L in a median of 21.4 days ( p = 0.0003). The early–a-GVHD group had N > 0.5 × 10 9 /L in a median of +17.0 days ( p = 0.23). When factors important for engraftment were studied in a multivariate analysis, postengraftment a-GVHD was a significant factor in delayed neutrophil and platelet engraftment. Both the early–a-GVHD and postengraftment–a-GVHD groups showed a significant reduction in frequency of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units and erythroid burst-forming units found in marrow at day +18. In conclusion, a-GVHD may influence early marrow reconstitution and is a relevant factor for primary myeloid and platelet engraftment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]