Molecular monitoring of minimal residual disease in two patients with MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia and haploidentical transplantation after relapse

This report describes the clinical courses of two acute myeloid leukemia patients. Both had MLL translocations, the first a t(10;11)(p11.2;q23) with MLL-AF10 and the second a t(11;19)(q23;p13.1) with MLL-ELL fusion. They achieved a clinical remission under conventional chemotherapy but relapsed shortly after end of therapy. Both had a history of invasive mycoses (one had possible pulmonary mycosis, one systemic candidiasis). Because no HLA-identical donor was available, a haploidentical transplantation was performed in both cases. Using a specially designed PCR method for the assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD), based on the quantitative detection of the individual chromosomal breakpoint in the MLL gene, all patients achieved complete and persistent molecular remission after transplantation. The immune reconstitution after transplantation is described in terms of total CD3+/CD4+, CD3+/CD8+, CD19+, and CD16+/CD56+ cell numbers over time. The KIR and HLA genotypes of donors and recipients are reported and the possibility of a KIR-mediated alloreactivity is discussed. This report illustrates that haploidentical transplantation may offer a chance of cure without chronic graft-versus-host disease in situations where no suitable HLA-identical donor is available even in a high-risk setting and shows the value of MRD monitoring in the pre- and posttransplant setting

Paleontología y geología del Pleistoceno de las provincias de Chaco y Formosa, Argentina

En los últimos años ha habido un importante incremento en el conocimiento paleontológico y paleoambiental del Pleistoceno del Chaco Oriental, especialmente en las provincias de Corrientes y Formosa y, en menor medida, en la provincia del Chaco. En estas dos últimas provincias la abundante diversidad está representada en su mayoría por mamíferos, registrándose 17 taxones en Chaco y 27 Formosa. En el Chaco todos los registros indican el predominio de ambientes abiertos de pastizales con clima árido/semiárido, congruente con un período glacial. En concordancia con esto, las dataciones absolutas asociadas a fósiles indican antigüedades de entre 22.000 a 26.000 años A.P. A su vez, los fósiles registrados en Formosa con precisa procedencia estratigráfica provienen de la Formación Río Bermejo. Estos indican, en su mayoría, el predominio de ambientes abiertos, pero también se registran taxones propios de climas más húmedos y cálidos (e.g. Holmesina paulacoutoi y Procyon cancrivorus). Las dataciones obtenidas para esta unidad indican que estas asociaciones corresponden al Pleistoceno más tardío-Holoceno temprano (12.400 a 9.700 años A.P.). La evidencia paleobotánica asociada a estos niveles muestra un predominio del componente herbáceo, con gramíneas megatérmicas, desarrolladas mayormente bajo un clima cálido-templado y condiciones subhúmedas. La evaluación tafonómica de los restos provenientes de esta unidad evidencia en sus atributos la dinámica del sistema fluvial del rio Bermejo durante el Pleistoceno.“Paleontology and geology of the Pleistocene from Chaco and Formosa provinces, Argentina”. Recently, the paleontological and paleoenvironmental knowledge of the Pleistocene of the Eastern Chaco has increased significantly, especially in Corrientes and Formosa provinces. While the province of Chaco was less studied. In these last two provinces, the great diversity is represented by mammals, with records of 17 taxa in Chaco and 25 taxa in Formosa. All records of the Chaco province indicate the predominance of open grassland environments with arid / semi - arid climate, congruent with a glacial period. Also, the absolute dating associated with fossils indicated an antiquity of 22 ka to 26 ka. In addition, the Formosa fossils recorded, with precise stratigraphic origin, were taken from the Río Bermejo Formation. Generally, they show the predominance of open environments, but taxa of humid and warm climates (eg Holmesina paulacoutoi and Procyon cancrivorus) are also recorded. The data obtained for this unit indicate that these associations correspond to the late Pleistocene-Early Holocene (12.4 ka to 9.7 ka). The paleobotanical evidence associated to these levels shows a predominance of the herbaceous component, with megatermic grasses, developed mainly under a warm-temperate climate and sub-humid conditions. The taphonomic evaluation of Río Bermejo Formation remains shows in its attributes the dynamics of the river system of the Bermejo river during the last part of Pleistocene.Fil: Contreras, Silvina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Méndez, Cecilia Romina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Zurita, Alfredo Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Lutz, Alicia Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Orfeo, Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Miño Boilini, Ángel Ramón. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Friedrichs, Juan. Museo Prvincial de Ciencias Naturales de Villa Escolar; ArgentinaFil: Friedrichs, José. Museo Prvincial de Ciencias Naturales de Villa Escolar; Argentin

The CMS Phase-1 pixel detector upgrade

The CMS detector at the CERN LHC features a silicon pixel detector as its innermost subdetector. The original CMS pixel detector has been replaced with an upgraded pixel system (CMS Phase-1 pixel detector) in the extended year-end technical stop of the LHC in 2016/2017. The upgraded CMS pixel detector is designed to cope with the higher instantaneous luminosities that have been achieved by the LHC after the upgrades to the accelerator during the first long shutdown in 2013–2014. Compared to the original pixel detector, the upgraded detector has a better tracking performance and lower mass with four barrel layers and three endcap disks on each side to provide hit coverage up to an absolute value of pseudorapidity of 2.5. This paper describes the design and construction of the CMS Phase-1 pixel detector as well as its performance from commissioning to early operation in collision data-taking.Peer reviewe

Engines of Social Change? Peasant Migration and the Transgression of Spatial, Legal and Cultural Divides in Late Imperial Russia

Häfner L. Engines of Social Change? Peasant Migration and the Transgression of Spatial, Legal and Cultural Divides in Late Imperial Russia. In: Fauser M, Friedrichs A, Harders L, eds. Migrations and Border Processes. Practices and Politics of Belonging and Exclusion in Europe from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century. London: Routledge; 2021: 64-87