Development, design, and realization of a proficiency test for the forensic determination of shooting distances - FDSD 2015

Within the framework of the ENFSI Expert Working Group Firearms/GSR a novel proficiency test on the Forensic Determination of Shooting Distances – FDSD 2015 – was implemented. This proficiency test was developed out of collaborative studies which were previously carried out by a number of pre-selected ENFSI laboratories. The aim of this test was to assess the laboratories’ performance in visualizing the lead patterns on a shot object, and compare the questioned patterns with provided test shot patterns. The participating laboratories were requested to estimate the presumed shooting distance following their individual laboratory specific methods (SOPs) for shooting distance/muzzle-to-target determination. The submitted results were compiled by means of z scores according to the IUPAC and EURACHEM guidelines, and an extended statistical evaluation was performed. This is one of the first proficiency tests in the field of qualitative forensic methods where z scores were successfully utilized. This paper summarizes the results of the study and presents the overall performance of the participating laboratories

Development, design, and realization of a proficiency test for the forensic determination of shooting distances - FDSD 2015

Within the framework of the ENFSI Expert Working Group Firearms/GSR a novel proficiency test on the Forensic Determination of Shooting Distances – FDSD 2015 – was implemented. This proficiency test was developed out of collaborative studies which were previously carried out by a number of pre-selected ENFSI laboratories. The aim of this test was to assess the laboratories’ performance in visualizing the lead patterns on a shot object, and compare the questioned patterns with provided test shot patterns. The participating laboratories were requested to estimate the presumed shooting distance following their individual laboratory specific methods (SOPs) for shooting distance/muzzle-to-target determination. The submitted results were compiled by means of z scores according to the IUPAC and EURACHEM guidelines, and an extended statistical evaluation was performed. This is one of the first proficiency tests in the field of qualitative forensic methods where z scores were successfully utilized. This paper summarizes the results of the study and presents the overall performance of the participating laboratories

Evaluation of an MPN test for the rapid enumeration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospital waters.

In this study, the performance of a new most probable number (MPN) test (Pseudalert®/Quanti-Tray®) for the enumeration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from hospital waters was compared with both international and national membrane filtration-based culture methods for P. aeruginosa: ISO 16266:2006 and UK The Microbiology of Drinking Water – Part 8 (MoDW Part 8), which both use Pseudomonas CN agar. The comparison based on the calculation of mean relative differences between the two methods was conducted according to ISO 17994:2014. Using both routine hospital water samples (80 from six laboratories) and artificially contaminated samples (192 from five laboratories), paired counts from each sample and the enumeration method were analysed. For routine samples, there were insufficient data for a conclusive assessment, but the data do indicate at least equivalent performance of Pseudalert®/Quanti-Tray®. For the artificially contaminated samples, the data revealed higher counts of P. aeruginosa being recorded by Pseudalert®/Quanti-Tray®. The Pseudalert®/Quanti-Tray® method does not require confirmation testing for atypical strains of P. aeruginosa, saving up to 6 days of additional analysis, and has the added advantage of providing confirmed counts within 24–28 hours incubation compared to 40–48 hours or longer for the ISO 16266 and MoDW Part 8 methods

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for patients with TP53 mutant or deleted chronic lymphocytic leukemia : Results of a prospective observational study

Non peer reviewe

Donor selection for KIR alloreactivity is associated with superior survival in haploidentical transplant with PTCy

With the continuous increase in the use of haploidentical donors for transplantation, the selection of donors becomes increasingly important. Haploidentical donors have been selected primarily based on clinical characteristics, while the effects of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) on outcomes of haploidentical-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) remain inconclusive. The present study aimed to thoroughly evaluate the effect of KIRs and binding ligands assessed by various models, in addition to other patient/donor variables, on clinical outcomes in haplo-HSCT. In a cohort of 354 patients undergoing their first haplo-HSCT, we found that a higher Count Functional inhibitory KIR score (CF-iKIR) was associated with improved progression-free survival (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.71; P = .029) and overall survival (OS) (HR, 0.66; P = .016), while none of the other models predicted for survival in these patients. Moreover, using exploratory classification and regression tree analysis, we found that donor age <58 years combined with cytomegalovirus-nonreactive recipient was associated with the best OS, whereas donor age >58 years was associated with the worst OS. In the rest of our cohort (80%), cytomegalovirus-reactive recipients with a donor <58 years old, a higher CF-iKIR was associated with superior OS. The 3-year OS rates were 73.9%, 54.1% (HR, 1.84; P = .044), 44.5% (HR, 2.01; P = .003), and 18.5% (HR, 5.44; P <.001) in the best, better, poor, and worse donor groups, respectively. Our results suggest that KIR alloreactivity assessed by CF-iKIR score can help optimize donor selection in haplo-HSCT

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for patients with TP53 mutant or deleted chronic lymphocytic leukemia : Results of a prospective observational study

Non peer reviewe