by Margaret E. Newman  , Kenneth Pursell  and David Pitrak

Received: 05 November 2018;  Published: 20 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1901040

Infection with parvovirus B19 is common, with up to 55% of adults showing seropositive evidence of prior infection. Clinical disease can occur due to acute infection, chronic persistent viremia, rarely secondary infection, or possibly viral reactivation of latent virus. The clinical presentation of primary infection depends on age, the presence of a hematologic condition, and immune status. We report a renal transplant recipient who developed transfusion dependent anemia refractory to erythropoietin that responded [...]

by Maud Gits-Muselli  , Stéphane Bretagne  and Alexandre Alanio

Received: 04 December 2018;  Published: 17 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1901060

Pneumocystis jirovecii is an atypical fungus transmitted via the airborne route between humans. This fungus is exclusively associated with humans and almost each individual has encountered it at least once before reaching the age of two. P. jirovecii can be cleared and spontaneously resolutive in immunocompetent, whereas it can be responsible for severe Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised patients. In the next decades, the putative increase of the population of immunocompromised patients is likely to [...]

by Andrew Villamil  , Talya Vogel  , Elli Weisbaum  and Daniel J. Siegel

Received: 03 October 2018;  Published: 16 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1901003

Research on the physiological and emotional health benefits of meditative practices has grown exponentially over the last two decades, influencing both scientific literature and popular media. Research has highlighted three distinct components or pillars at the core of meditative practices and mind training. They are, focused attention, open awareness, and kind intention. Neuroimaging studies and recent research highlight that the repeated practice of directing attention and awareness can enhance neural connections [...]

by Joep Geraedts

Received: 15 January 2019;  Published: 15 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1901059

A healthy and happy 2019

by Spinello Antinori  and Laura Milazzo

Received: 28 October 2018;  Published: 15 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1901039

Solid organ transplantation (SOT) is increasingly employed worldwide to treat several diseases causing both acute and chronic organ failure. Recipients of SOT are at an increased risk to develop infections as a consequence of immunosuppressive therapy. Sometimes such infections may be acquired by the transplanted organ or by reactivation of a previously acquired latent infection. The globalization and the increase of international travel poses a risk for exposure to infections such as Chagas disease (CD), leishmani [...]

by Kirsten Greenlaw  and Jai Jai Shiva Shankar

Received: 07 October 2018;  Published: 13 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.1901019

Background: Perfusion imaging, mainly MR perfusion (MRP), is performed frequently for brain tumor imaging. CT perfusion (CTP) is less studied as a method for characterizing brain tumors. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of CTP perfusion parameters in evaluating brain tumors and to compare it with MRP measures in the same patient population. Methods: Patients underwent CTP and MRP imaging prospectively. Images were processed with vendor-provided and vendor-neutral software. Four regions of [...]

by Elizabeth Orsega-Smith  , Stephen Goodwin  , Melissa Ziegler  , Katie Greenawalt  , Jennie Turner  and Erica Rathie

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 10 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901029

Background: Research has shown that positive psychology interventions can enhance subjective well-being and reduce depression. However, the efficacy of these programs with older adult populations has been minimally studied. The present study studied the short and long term impact of an intervention enhancing happiness and overall mental well-being in older adults. Methods: The Art of Happiness is an 8-week program conducted at 2 senior centers in the state of Delaware. Each 90-minute class examined a different topi [...]

by Makeda L. Robinson  , Kyle Enriquez  and Dora Y. Ho

Received: 02 November 2018;  Published: 08 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1901038

Flaviviruses can cause epidemics and endemics with substantial public health threat and economic impacts. In the last few decades, many flaviviruses have re-emerged or expanded their territories to new regions or continents, including West Nile virus (WNV) which has become endemic in the US since its arrival in 1999 and Zika virus (ZIKV) which recently spread across the Americas. These events demonstrate the speed with which a vector-borne pathogen can disseminate when introduced into a susceptible population with [...]

by Selma A. Augusta Quist Møller  , Sohrab Sami  and Shauna L. Shapiro

Received: 04 July 2018;  Published: 06 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1901002

Background: In this study, we performed a systematic review of randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) examining the health benefits of (mindful) self-compassion-based interventions (SCBIs) and studies which explicitly combine SCBIs and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Based on the compelling evidence supporting the effectiveness of MBIs, we evaluated the potential use of MBIs and SCBIs to complement one another, and whether SCBIs may serve as supplementary, or preliminary interventions for individuals not fully [...]

by Filomena Papa  , Bartolomeo Sapio  and Enrico Nicolò

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 04 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901028

Background: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to promote healthy aging and increase the quality of life of older adults. However, several barriers like access, performance, psychological, and privacy issues still exist against fully deploying ICT solutions for older adults. To determine useful methods to overcome such barriers, this work investigated the possible factors that prevent elders from directly accepting ICT services based on three field studies. Methods: The Unified The [...]