Technical comparison of four different extracorporeal photopheresis systems

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a therapeutic technique that combines leukapheresis and ultraviolet (UV)A irradiation of the leukapheresate after 8-methoxypsoralen treatment with subsequent retransfusion. It can be achieved with a single device (online) or by combining an apheresis machine with a separate UVA light source (offline). The comparability of both established methods is unknown. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In a prospective setting, four ECP systems were evaluated: one with integrated UVA irradiation for online ECP (Therakos) and three with external UVA irradiation for offline ECP (Amicus, Optia, and Cobe Spectra). Apheresis variables and cell counts were determined by methods including flow cytometry. RESULTS: The duration of apheresis ranged from 120 minutes (Amicus, Optia) to 275 minutes (Therakos). Mononuclear cell (MNC) counts in the treatment bags were comparable between offline ECP methods and lower for online ECP. CD16+ monocytes were abundant in online ECP (82%) but rarer in offline ECP (median, 14% – 19%). Hematocrit ranged from 0.1% (Therakos) to 8% (Amicus). There were no side effects in any patients. DISCUSSION: All offline ECP systems studied yielded comparable cellular compositions and highly enriched populations of MNCs. In contrast, white blood cells from online ECP displayed enrichment of nonclassical monocytes. The relevance of these findings is unknown as there is no established biomarker to predict the therapeutic efficacy of these procedures

Distribution and clinical comparison of restrictive feeding and eating disorders using ICD-10 and ICD-11 criteria.

OBJECTIVE Within the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), diagnostic criteria for feeding and eating disorders were revised and new diagnoses including avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) are classifiable; however, nothing is known about how these changes affect the prevalence of feeding and eating disorders. This study compared the distribution and clinical characteristics of restrictive feeding and eating disorders between ICD-10 and ICD-11. METHOD The Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), its child version, and the EDE ARFID module were administered to N = 82 patients (0-17 years) seeking treatment for restrictive feeding and eating disorders and their parents. Clinical characteristics were derived from medical records, questionnaires, and objective anthropometrics. RESULTS The number of residual restrictive eating disorders (rrED) significantly decreased from ICD-10 to ICD-11 due to a crossover to full-threshold disorders, especially anorexia nervosa (AN) or ARFID. Patients reclassified to ICD-11 ARFID were younger, had an earlier age of illness onset, more restrictive eating behaviors, and tended to have more somatic comorbidities compared to those reclassified to ICD-11 AN. Patients with rrED according to both ICD-10 and ICD-11 were younger, had an earlier age of illness onset, less shape concern, and more somatic comorbidities than patients who were reclassified from ICD-10 rrED to ICD-11 AN or ARFID. DISCUSSION This study highlights the inclusive approach of ICD-11 criteria, paving the way for more targeted treatment, and ARFID's high clinical relevance. Future studies considering nonrestrictive feeding and eating disorders across the life span may allow further analyses on diagnostic crossover. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE Changes in diagnostic criteria for restrictive eating disorders within the newly published ICD-11 led to an increase in full-threshold disorders, while the number of rrED was significantly lowered compared to ICD-10 criteria. The results thus highlight the diagnostic utility of ICD-11 criteria and may help providing adequate treatment to children and adolescents with rrED

Total platelet donation count and donation frequency are determinants of plateletpheresis‐associated lymphopenia

Background Plateletpheresis using a leukocyte reduction system (LRS) traps donor WBCs in the LRS chamber, which may lead to lymphopenia, especially in frequent plateletpheresis donors. It seems plausible that this might cause adverse effects. However, current knowledge about potential confounders and donor health impacts is incomplete. Donors and methods Recent platelet donors and donations collected at University Hospital Regensburg from 2016 to 2019 using the Terumo BCT Trima Accel LRS system were retrospectively analyzed and compared with historical platelet donors and donations collected mainly with Fresenius Kabi Amicus non-LRS system from 2010 to 2013. Additionally, recent donors were prospectively surveyed using a health-related topics questionnaire. Results Analysis of 819 recent donors with 11,254 blood counts and 1464 questionnaires and 1011 historical donors with 12,848 blood counts revealed that increased annual platelet donation frequencies were associated with decreased lymphocyte counts in both groups. Median lymphocyte counts in recent donors with no versus ≥24 previous annual donations declined from 2.0 to 1.2 × 103/μL (p < 2.2 × 10−16), and those in historical donors with no versus ≥24 previous annual donations decreased from 2.0 to 1.5 × 103/μL (p = 6 × 10−4), respectively. The questionnaire results showed that donation frequency and lymphopenia were not associated with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) incidence or duration, but platelet donors who concomitantly donated granulocytes had significantly shorter URTI durations than those who did not (p = .008). Conclusion This study confirmed that plateletpheresis-associated lymphopenia occurs in LRS and to a lesser degree in non-LRS platelet donors, but revealed no evidence of a negative impact on donor health

Conductance fluctuations in diffusive rings: Berry phase effects and criteria for adiabaticity

We study Berry phase effects on conductance properties of diffusive mesoscopic conductors, which are caused by an electron spin moving through an orientationally inhomogeneous magnetic field. Extending previous work, we start with an exact, i.e. not assuming adiabaticity, calculation of the universal conductance fluctuations in a diffusive ring within the weak localization regime, based on a differential equation which we derive for the diffuson in the presence of Zeeman coupling to a magnetic field texture. We calculate the field strength required for adiabaticity and show that this strength is reduced by the diffusive motion. We demonstrate that not only the phases but also the amplitudes of the h/2e Aharonov-Bohm oscillations are strongly affected by the Berry phase. In particular, we show that these amplitudes are completely suppressed at certain magic tilt angles of the external fields, and thereby provide a useful criterion for experimental searches. We also discuss Berry phase-like effects resulting from spin-orbit interaction in diffusive conductors and derive exact formulas for both magnetoconductance and conductance fluctuations. We discuss the power spectra of the magnetoconductance and the conductance fluctuations for inhomogeneous magnetic fields and for spin-orbit interaction.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures; minor revisions. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Multistep screening and selection of COVID‐19 convalescent plasma donors at the early stage of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A retrospective analysis

Background and Aims The COVID-19 pandemic reached Bavaria in February 2020. Almost simultaneously, Chinese physicians published reports on the first successful treatments with plasma from COVID-19 convalescent donors. With these silver linings on the horizon, we decided to establish the manufacturing of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody-containing plasma from COVID-19 convalescent donors at our site. Here we describe our donor selection process, built from the ground up, which enabled us to cope with the immense resonance after our social media call for donors. Methods As a first step, we created a specific questionnaire for telephone interviews applied by trained students to filter the wave of callers interested in plasma donation. Afterward, the medical staff evaluated the hotline questionnaires and chose eligible donors to be invited for on-site donor evaluation. Data documentation was performed with MS Excel, and statistical analyses were calculated with GraphPad Prism 8. A quantitative in-house ELISA was used to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and determine specific titers. Results Out of 1465 calls from potential plasma donors, we could register 420 persons with a completed questionnaire. Evaluation of questionnaires identified 222 of 420 persons as eligible for donation, and 55 were directly asked for on-site donor qualification. Subsequently, as anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers ≥1:800 were required, we invited 89 of 222 potential donors for an antibody screening. This procedure resulted in another 28 potential donors for an on-site evaluation. Finally, 12 donors qualified with a titer of 1:400 and 24 with ≥1:800. Conclusion Identifying suitable COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors was expected to be highly time-consuming. Implementing a screening procedure with our hotline questionnaire helped us streamline the donor selection process and reduce the workload for the staff. We propose combining the described selection process with the later introduced on-site antibody screening as an effective strategy

Skarn testing report: MAP002: D5.4

An assessment of tin-skarn resources in the Erzgebirge, Germany, was conducted with the 3-Part Method. For this purpose a Grade-Tonnage Model for this deposit type was established. A literature review produced grade and tonnage data for 23 skarn deposits, of which 9 are in the assessment area. Based on an existing predictive map created with an AI algorithm, seven permissive tracts with a total area of 776 km² were defined. To estimate the number of undiscovered deposits a panel of five experts in the economic geology of the Erzgebirge was assembled. From the expert estimates and the newly developed Grade-Tonnage Model the undiscovered ore and metal tonnages in each permissive tract were evaluated. In four of the seven tracts the probability of the existence of at least one undiscovered deposit is estimated to be greater than 50%, in permissive tract 2 it is even greater than 90%. In each of these tracts, the median assessed undiscovered ore tonnages are several million tons and the tin resources exceed 10,000 tons. For the most perspective tract (Permissive tract 2) the median estimates are 40.6 Million tons of ore with a tin content of 114,000 tons. For tungsten (tonnages calculated as WO3) the numbers are slightly lower. The results verify the high resource potential of tin skarns in the Erzgebirge and can be used to guide future exploration activities to the most economically promising permissive tracts

Rohstoffprognosen für Zinn, Wolfram, Fluss- und Schwerspat im Mittelerzgebirge

Im Rahmen des Projektes ROHSA 3 wurden auf Basis vorhandener und neu verfügbar gemachter Daten Prognosen für Zinn, Wolfram sowie Fluss- und Schwerspat in einem 740 m² großen Gebiet im Mittelerzgebirge angefertigt. Die Karten zeigen höffige Gebieten, wobei für Zinn und Wolfram erstmals auch Mengen-Prognosen erstellt wurden. Geophysikalische, geochemische Daten sowie Lagerstättenindikatoren (z. B. Tektonik, Erz kontrollierende Lithologien) wurden durch die Software advangeo@ aufbereitet und mittels ihrer künstlich neuronalen Netze (KNN) verarbeitet. Durch höhere Datendichte, Einbeziehung dreidimensionaler geologischer Daten und Aufstellung quantitativer Modelle wurde ein deutlicher Erkenntnisfortschritt erzielt. Redaktionsschluss: 31.07.202

Rohstoffprognosen für Zinn, Wolfram, Fluss- und Schwerspat im Mittelerzgebirge

Im Rahmen des Projektes ROHSA 3 wurden auf Basis vorhandener und neu verfügbar gemachter Daten Prognosen für Zinn, Wolfram sowie Fluss- und Schwerspat in einem 740 m² großen Gebiet im Mittelerzgebirge angefertigt. Die Karten zeigen höffige Gebieten, wobei für Zinn und Wolfram erstmals auch Mengen-Prognosen erstellt wurden. Geophysikalische, geochemische Daten sowie Lagerstättenindikatoren (z. B. Tektonik, Erz kontrollierende Lithologien) wurden durch die Software advangeo@ aufbereitet und mittels ihrer künstlich neuronalen Netze (KNN) verarbeitet. Durch höhere Datendichte, Einbeziehung dreidimensionaler geologischer Daten und Aufstellung quantitativer Modelle wurde ein deutlicher Erkenntnisfortschritt erzielt. Redaktionsschluss: 31.07.202