by Maurizio Salvadori  and Aris Tsalouchos

Received: 13 October 2019;  Published: 02 December 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1904093

Antibody-mediated rejection represents a significant barrier to favorable long-term outcomes after kidney transplantation and remains the most common cause of allograft failure. Therapeutic apheresis techniques are commonly used, in combination with other treatments such as immunosuppressive drugs, in the pre-transplant and post-transplant protocols for the prevention and treatment of antibody-mediated injury. The rationale is to remove the donor-specific antibodies and the other inflammatory mediators, which inclu [...]

by Gerhard Litscher

Received: 11 November 2020;  Published: 13 November 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2004043

The Nogier reflex or reflex auriculo-cardiac (RAC) or the dynamic pulse reaction is a physiological phenomenon that is not generally accepted in conventional medicine. Therefore, evidence-based research in this sub-area is important for auricular medicine as it provides appropriate scientific evidence for better acceptance. In this editorial, a RAC measurement based on a modified smartphone registration and analysis is presented. The contribution is intended to stimulate researchers to continue working in this inte [...]

by Selvaraju Sivamani  , Rajoo Baskar  and Balasubramanian Lakshmi

Received: 29 April 2021;  Published: 14 September 2021;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2103037

One of the crucial steps in the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass is pretreatment. We investigated the applicability of a hybrid pretreatment method, This involved acid treatment followed by alkali before the production of fermentable sugars from cassava stem. The substrate was initially treated with acid (1% oxalic acid at 100 °C for 2 h), followed by treatment with a 10% NaOH–urea mixture (by mixing 5 g each of NaOH and urea in 100 mL of water) at 100 °C for 1 h. A cellulose recovery of 98.55% was obtained with the [...]

by Joep Geraedts

Received: 08 April 2019;  Published: 14 August 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.1903089

Mitochondrial diseases are among the most prevalent inborn errors of metabolism. The overwhelming majority of mitochondrial diseases (about 85%) result from mutations in nuclear genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, while some (15%) are caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA). The familial mtDNA mutations are exclusively inherited from the mother. There are four main methods available to prevent the transmission of mtDNA mutations: preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) or prenatal diagnosis (PND) [...]

by Susan Kane Patton  , Jennifer Vincenzo  , Holly B. Bennett  , Michelle Gray  , Leah Jean Henry  , Alishia Ferguson  , Ro Dibrezzo  , Christopher S. Walter  and Maryalice Kelly

Received: 15 August 2019;  Published: 29 October 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1904084

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate faculty and student perceptions of a fall risk assessment and prevention activity for older adults offered in multiple community settings by health professional faculty and students. Background: In the US, the percentage of adults 65 and older who fell was more than 29% in 2018. Among states, Arkansas ranks 48th with 35.2% of older adults reporting a fall (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2018). Methods: Four senior centers in Northwest Arkansas hosted a [...]

by Ganisetti Vijay Kumar  , Min-Ze Lu  and Chang-Ming Liaw

Received: 02 May 2021;  Published: 11 August 2021;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2103037

The development of high-efficiency motor drives for various applications is important in the industry 4.0 era, especially for their extensive application to electric vehicles (EVs). In this study, a position sensorless EV synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) drive has been developed, which exhibits good driving performance and efficiency over a wide speed and load range. To solve the key problems popularly encountered in the existing approaches, the high-frequency injection (HFI) scheme based on q-axis injection ha [...]

by Scott S. Graves  , DavidW. Mathes  and Rainer Storb

Received: 23 November 2018;  Published: 23 August 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1903080

Background: The application of hematopoietic cell transplantation for induction of immune tolerance has been limited by toxicities associated with conditioning regimens and to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Decades of animal studies have culminated into sufficient control of these two problems, making immune tolerance a viable alternative to life-long application of immunosuppressive drugs to prevent allograft rejection. Methods: Studies in mice have paved the way for the application of HCT with limited toxicity [...]

by Rahul Abhyankar  , Divya Mella  and Edward Pan

Received: 12 November 2018;  Published: 04 January 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.1901018

Objective: To report a unique case of cerebellopontine angle glioblastoma with concurrent spinal cord involvement. Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignancy of the central nervous system (CNS), comprising 46.6% of all CNS malignancies. By anatomic location, cerebellopontine angle (CPA) GBMs are exceedingly rare. To our knowledge, the following case represents the tenth reported case of CPA GBM and the first with a corresponding spinal cord tumor on presentation. Methods: Retrospective cha [...]

by Michael Y. Shino  , Ariss Derhovanessian  , David M. Sayah  , Rajan Saggar  , Ying Ying Xue  , Abbas Ardehali  , Barry R. Stripp  , David J. Ross  , Joseph P. Lynch  , Robert M. Elashoff  , S. Samuel Weigt  and John A. Belperio

Received: 11 September 2018;  Published: 30 November 2018;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.1804029

Background: The long term clinical significance of respiratory infections after lung transplantation remains uncertain. Methods: In this retrospective single-center cohort study of 441 lung transplant recipients, we formally evaluate the association between respiratory infection and chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). We furthermore hypothesized that bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) CXCL9 concentrations are augmented during respiratory infections, and that episodes of infection with elevated BALF CXCL9 ar [...]

by Marco Barale  , Ruth Rossetto Giaccherino  , Ezio Ghigo  and Massimo Procopio

Received: 31 October 2018;  Published: 14 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.1901033

Background: It is well known that hypovitaminosis D has been associated with various cardio-metabolic disorders, though the pathogenetic link, if any, still remains unclear. Our aim was to evaluate in elderly uncontrolled non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetic patients with hypovitaminosis D, whether six-months vitamin D supplementation was able to improve glycemic control, lipid profile and blood pressure levels. Methods: In an open-label pilot study, thirty type 2 diabetic patients (age 71.5 ± 3.2 years, BMI [...]