Thrombotic and bleeding complications in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and severe COVID-19: a study of ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be more susceptible to COVID-19 related poor outcomes, including thrombosis and death, due to the advanced age, the presence of comorbidities, and the disease and treatment-related immune deficiency. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of thrombosis and bleeding in patients with CLL affected by severe COVID-19. METHODS: This is a retrospective multicenter study conducted by ERIC, the European Research Initiative on CLL, including patients from 79 centers across 22 countries. Data collection was conducted between April and May 2021. The COVID-19 diagnosis was confirmed by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for SARS-CoV-2 on nasal or pharyngeal swabs. Severe cases of COVID-19 were defined by hospitalization and the need of oxygen or admission into ICU. Development and type of thrombotic events, presence and severity of bleeding complications were reported during treatment for COVID-19. Bleeding events were classified using ISTH definition. STROBE recommendations were used in order to enhance reporting. RESULTS: A total of 793 patients from 79 centers were included in the study with 593 being hospitalized (74.8%). Among these, 511 were defined as having severe COVID: 162 were admitted to the ICU while 349 received oxygen supplementation outside the ICU. Most patients (90.5%) were receiving thromboprophylaxis. During COVID-19 treatment, 11.1% developed a thromboembolic event, while 5.0% experienced bleeding. Thrombosis developed in 21.6% of patients who were not receiving thromboprophylaxis, in contrast to 10.6% of patients who were on thromboprophylaxis. Bleeding episodes were more frequent in patients receiving intermediate/therapeutic versus prophylactic doses of low-molecular-weight heparin (LWMH) (8.1% vs. 3.8%, respectively) and in elderly. In multivariate analysis, peak D-dimer level and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio were poor prognostic factors for thrombosis occurrence (OR?=?1.022, 95%CI 1.007?1.038 and OR?=?1.025, 95%CI 1.001?1.051, respectively), while thromboprophylaxis use was protective (OR?=?0.199, 95%CI 0.061?0.645). Age and LMWH intermediate/therapeutic dose administration were prognostic factors in multivariate model for bleeding (OR?=?1.062, 95%CI 1.017-1.109 and OR?=?2.438, 95%CI 1.023-5.813, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CLL affected by severe COVID-19 are at a high risk of thrombosis if thromboprophylaxis is not used, but also at increased risk of bleeding under the LMWH intermediate/therapeutic dose administration

Rola słowników w procesie rozumienia czytanego tekstu w języku angielskim jako języku obcym

Niniejsza praca magisterska w części teoretycznej omawia rolę słowników w procesie czytania w języku obcym. W części empirycznej opisano badanie przeprowadzone wśród grupy uczniów szkoły średniej dotyczące wpływu słownika angielsko-polskiego na wynik testu czytania ze zrozumieniem. W części teoretycznej zawarto omówienie trzech rodzajów strategii radzenia sobie z nieznanym słownictwem występującym w tekście obcojęzycznym, porównano różne typy haseł słownikowych oraz streszczono wyniki badań dotyczących wpływu słownika na rozumienie tekstu czytanego oraz na przyswajanie nowych słów podczas czytania tekstów w języku obcym. Z badań tych wynika, że uczniowie używający słownika podczas czytania przyswajają znacznie więcej słów niż grupa kontrolna. Jednakże brakuje jednoznacznych dowodów wskazujących na pozytywny wpływ wyszukiwania nieznanych słów na zrozumienie czytanego tekstu.Dlatego ta druga kwestia została podjęta w części empirycznej. Analiza wyników pozwala stwierdzić, że dostępność słownika nie wpływa znacząco na rozumienie tekstu czytanego, a wręcz może być czynnikiem rozpraszającym uwagę uczniów. The thesis presented here discusses the role of the dictionary in the reading process and reports on the study investigating the effect of the bilingual dictionary on the secondary school students’ comprehension of two L2 texts.In theoretical part, three reading strategies of dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary are compared, different dictionary entries and formats are analysed, and learners look-up behaviour, as presented in the previous studies, is discussed. Also, the review of previous research concerning the effect of the dictionary on incidental acquisition of new vocabulary items while reading L2 texts and the effect of the dictionary on the reader’s comprehension is provided. Research has consistently shown that the use of a dictionary while reading enhances incidental acquisition of words and leads to better retention of those words. However, there is some conflicting evidence concerning the effect of the dictionary on comprehension. Thus, the latter issue was taken up as the subject matter of the empirical part. As no statistically significant gain in comprehension score was found in the dictionary condition as compared to the no-dictionary condition, and slight tendency to achieve better results in no-dictionary condition was discovered, it can be concluded that the availability of a dictionary does not enhance the reader’s comprehension

Age-Dependent Change in the Morphology of Nucleoli and Methylation of Genes of the Nucleolar Organizer Region in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) Model (Temminck and Schlegel, 1849) (Galliformes: Aves)

ANDRASZEK K., GRYZIÑSKA M., WÓJCIK E., KNAGA S., SMALEC E. 2014. Age-dependent change in the morphology of nucleoli and methylation of genes of the nucleolar organizer region in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) model (Temminck and Schlegel, 1849) (Galliformes: Aves). Folia Biologica (Kraków) $ : 293-300. Nucleoli are the product of the activity of nucleolar organizer regions (NOR) in certain chromosomes. Their main functions are the formation of ribosomal subunits from ribosomal protein molecules and the transcription of genes encoding rRNA. The aim of the study was to determine the shape of nucleoli and analyse methylation in the gene RN28S in the spermatocytes of male Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) in two age groups. Nucleoli were analysed in cells of the first meiotic prophase. Their number and shape were determined and they were classified as regular, irregular or defragmented. In the cells of the young birds no defragmented nucleoli were observed, with regular and irregular nucleoli accounting for 97% and 3%, respectively. In the cells of older birds no regular nucleoli were observed, while irregular and defragmented nucleoli accounted for 37% and 67%, respectively. MSP (methylation-specific PCR) showed that the gene RN28S is methylated in both 15-week-old and 52-week-old quails. In recent years an association has been established between nucleolus morphology and cellular ageing processes