VEXAS syndrome: A review of bone marrow aspirate and biopsies reporting myeloid and erythroid precursor vacuolation.

Myeloid and erythroid precursor vacuolation is a common dysplastic finding associated with myeloid malignancies, toxins, drug, and nutritional deficiencies. It has been described as a core morphologic feature in VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome. We sought to determine the number of cases attributable to VEXAS syndrome in bone marrow biopsies and aspirates (BAMB) reporting myeloid precursor vacuolation. We reviewed 1318 individual BAMB reports from January 2020 to July 2021 where "vacuole(s)," "vacuolation," or "vacuolated" was reported. Bone marrow biopsies with vacuolation confined to blasts or those completed as routine workup prior to stem cell transplant or post induction chemotherapy for AML (acute myeloid leukemia) were excluded. Myeloid and erythroid precursor vacuolation was noted in 219 reports representing 210 patients. The most common etiology was myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (38.6%), AML (16.7%), lymphoproliferative disorders and multiple myeloma (7.6%), drug or toxin exposure (5.2%) myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) or MPN/MDS overlap syndrome (4.3%). VEXAS syndrome was determined to be the etiology in 2.9% of patients. Two additional cases of VEXAS syndrome with bone marrow biopsies reported in the specified time frame did not explicitly report myeloid or erythroid precursor vacuolation but were identified based on clinical suspicion and repeat BAMB review. Myeloid and erythroid precursor vacuolation is a dysplastic feature attributable to VEXAS syndrome in at least 2.9% of cases. Standardized reporting of vacuolization, triaging of molecular sequencing and optimal treatment of this disorder are critical issues facing those seeing patients with suspected VEXAS syndrome.

Parent Engagement with an Online, School-Based, Character Strengths Promotion Program.

Schools are increasingly bolstering student character strengths to promote academic success and well-being. Schools' character-promotion efforts would benefit from involving students' caregivers. Online resources may be an accessible way to engage students' families, but further research is needed to maximize accessibility and engagement. A brief character strengths program was developed and integrated within online accounts accessed by parents of kindergarten students. Content analysis of parent focus groups (N = 14, 86% women) indicated that access to and engagement with the program was improved by several factors, including visuals, intuitive navigation, strength-based content, and school-based recruitment. Content analysis of caregivers' (N = 54, 91% women, M age = 36.52, SD age = 4.40) responses to the program's reflection questions indicated that parents prefer highly applicable content, particularly information about noticing and developing character strengths in their child. Finally, exploratory descriptive statistics indicated that single parents, fathers, and parents of racial minority children were less likely to engage with the program which alludes to the additional barriers faced by these socio-demographic groups. The results provide specific suggestions for involving parents in school-based character promotion efforts, as well as highlight the importance of additional research to better understand the needs of diverse families. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41042-022-00072-4.

Cognitive schemas as longitudinal predictors of self-reported adolescent depressive symptoms and resilience.

Given that depression risk intensifies in adolescence, examining associates of depressive symptoms during the shift from childhood to adolescence is important for expanding knowledge about the etiology of depression symptoms and disorder. A longitudinal youth report was employed to examine the trajectory of both the content and structure of positive and negative schemas in adolescence and also whether these schemas could prospectively predict depressive symptoms and youth-reported resilience. One hundred and ninety-eight participants (aged 9 to 14) were recruited from four schools to complete measures of youth depressive symptoms, resilience, and schema content and structure. Those who consented to a follow-up study completed the same measures online (50 participants completed). Negative and positive schema content and structure were related over time. After controlling depressive symptoms/resilience at Time 1, negative schema content was the only significant predictor (trend level) of depressive symptoms and resilience at Time 2. Implications for cognitive theories and clinical practice are discussed.

Diastereoselective tandem reactions of substituted 3-sulfolenes with bis-vinyl ketones leading to highly functionalized bicyclic and tricyclic frameworks.

The base-promoted reaction of 3-sulfolene with bis-vinyl ketones was shown in earlier work to proceed through a γ-1,2 addition/anionic oxy-Cope cascade; a subsequent treatment with base induced a second γ-1,2 addition to provide a [3.3.0] bicyclic framework that our group then exploited in the design of rigidified enzyme inhibitors for influenza neuraminidase. Out of a desire to expand the range of structural archetypes accessible through these couplings (and hopefully access additional conformationally-constrained inhibitor platforms) we have revisited this methodology, this time using substituted starting reagents. We show that judicious choice of the newly added substituent can control the exclusive formation of one of four new structural types, each formed as a single diastereomer. These include bicyclo[3.2.1] sulfones and spiro[5.4] sulfones, as well as an expanded collection of our original bicyclo[3.3.0] sulfone scaffolds, this time incorporating adjacent quaternary centres or additional rings.

Exploring structural trends for complexes of Me2E(OSO2CF3)2 (E = Si, Ge, Sn) with pyridine derivatives.

The coordination of Me2E(OTf)2 (E = Si, Ge, Sn) acceptors by dmap or 2,2'-bipy furnishes two series of complexes which exhibit distinct structural trends that correlate with the covalent radii of the tetrael elements, and which contrast complexes of these ligands with EX4 (X = Cl or Br).