Evidence of a Weakly Absorbing Intermediate Mode of Aerosols in AERONET Data from Saharan and Sahelian Sites

Accurate retrievals of aerosol size distribution are necessary to estimate aerosols' impact on climate and human health. The inversions of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) usually retrieve bimodal distributions. However, when the inversion is applied to Saharan and Sahelian dust, an additional mode of intermediate size between the coarse and fine modes is sometimes seen. This mode explains peculiarities in the behavior of the Angstrom exponent, along with the fine mode fraction retrieved using the spectral deconvolution algorithm, observed in a March 2006 dust storm. For this study, 15 AERONET sites in northern Africa and on the Atlantic are examined to determine the frequency and properties of the intermediate mode. The mode is observed most frequently at Ilorin in Nigeria. It is also observed at Capo Verde and multiple sites located within the Sahel but much less frequently at sites in the northern Sahara and the Canary Islands. The presence of the intermediate mode coincides with increases in Angstrom exponent, fine mode fraction, single-scattering albedo, and to a lesser extent percent sphericity. The Angstrom exponent decreases with increasing optical depth at most sites when the intermediate mode is present, but the fine mode fraction does not. Single-scattering albedo does not steadily decrease with fine mode fraction when the intermediate mode is present, as it does in typical mixtures of dust and biomass-burning aerosols. Continued investigation is needed to further define the intermediate mode's properties, determine why it differs from most Saharan dust, and identify its climate and health effects

Reproducibility of the WHO histological criteria for the diagnosis of Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms.

This study, performed on behalf of the Italian Registry of Thrombocythaemias (Registro Italiano Trombocitemie), aimed to test the inter-observer reproducibility of the histological parameters proposed by the WHO classification for the diagnosis of the Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. A series of 103 bone marrow biopsy samples of Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms consecutively collected in 2004 were classified according to the WHO criteria as follows: essential thrombocythaemia (n=34), primary myelofibrosis (n=44) and polycythaemia vera (n=25). Two independent groups of pathologists reviewed the bone marrow biopsies. The first group was asked to reach a collegial 'consensus' diagnosis. The second group reviewed individually all the cases to recognize the main morphological parameters indicated by the WHO classification and report their results in a database. They were subsequently instructed to individually build a 'personal' diagnosis of myeloproliferative neoplasms subtype just assembling the parameters collected in the database. Our results indicate that high levels of agreement ( 6570%) have been reached for about all of the morphological features. Moreover, among the 18 evaluated histological features, 11 resulted statistically more useful for the differential diagnosis among the different Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. Finally, we found a high percentage of agreement (76%) between the 'personal' and 'consensus' diagnosis (Cohen's kappa statistic >0.40). In conclusion, our results support the use of the histological criteria proposed by the WHO classification for the Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms to ensure a more precise and early diagnosis for these patients

Applicazione ai Tissue Microarray delle tecniche di immunoistochimica e di Ibridazione In Situ Fluorescente per la caratterizzazione immunofenotipica e citogenetica di linfoma a grandi cellule B diffuso

Obbiettivo Lo scopo di questo lavoro \ue8 stato la costruzione di un Tissue Microarray (TMA) pilota per la valutazione immunofenotipica e citogenetica di una casistica di linfoma a grandi cellule B diffuso (DLBCL), tramite analisi immunoistochimiche e di Ibridazione In Situ Fluorescente (FISH). Materiali e Metodi Abbiamo costruito il TMA utilizzando le biopsie linfonodali di 12 pazienti affetti da linfoma a grandi cellule B diffuso; ne abbiamo ottimizzato la costruzione per la lettura al microscopio a fluorescenza distanziando in maniera differenziale i carotaggi dello stesso caso da quelli del casi adiacenti mentre per mantenere la rappresentabilit\ue0 tissutale abbiamo inserito cinque carotaggi da 2 mm per campione. Al TMA abbiamo applicato cinque protocolli immunoistochimici (CD10, BCL6, MUM1, GCET1 e FOXP1) e un protocollo FISH (cMYC). Risultati I dati immunoistochimici sono stati elaborati secondo gli algoritmi di Hans e Choi: secondo il protocollo di Hans sono risultati 8 DLBCL con profilo immunofenotipico centro germinativo simile (GCB) e 4 DLBCL con profilo attivato (ABC); in accordo con l'algoritmo di Choi 7 DLBCL GCB e 5 DLBCL ABC. La conformit\ue0 dei dati immunoistochimici ottenuti \ue8 stata valutata confrontando i risultati con quelli delle indagini immunoistochimiche eseguite su sezione interna, al momento della diagnosi. Abbiamo ottenuto in questo modo una concordanza del 100% con l\u2019algoritmo di Hans e una concordanza del 92% con l\u2019algoritmo di Choi. L\u2019analisi di MYC non ha evidenziato la presenza di traslocazioni ma in tre casi \ue8 stato possibile rilevare polisomie del cromosoma 8. Conclusioni Questo studio ci ha permesso di definire i criteri metodologici per la progettazione e la costruzione di un TMA (con una concordanza del 100% rispetto ai dati ottenuti al momento della diagnosi) che potesse essere letto agevolmente al microscopio a fluorescenza, fornendo cos\uec una piattaforma di analisi ad alta resa per l'esecuzione di indagini immunoistochimiche e citogenetiche FISH

Multifactorial neutropenia in a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia and associated large granular lymphocyte expansion: A case report

Neutropenia in the setting of acute hematological malignancies may impact disease prognosis, thus affecting therapy dose intensity. This is often due to chemotherapy\u2011induced aplasia as well as to the disease itself. However, chronic neutropenia deserves further investigation, as the management of reversible concomitant causes may avoid treatment delay. The present study describes a case of an acute promyelocytic leukemia patient with chronic severe neutropenia of multifactorial origin, including acute leukemia itself, chemotherapy, autoimmune activation with anti\u2011platelets and anti\u2011neutrophil antibodies positivity, and the rare association of large granular lymphocyte (LGL) expansion. As neutropenia may challenge the diagnosis and treatment of acute malignancies, clinicians and hematopathologists must discuss the differential diagnosis in order to avoid misdiagnosing and undertreating concomitant diseases. In particular, LGL chronic expansion and autoimmunity should be considered

Description of a "Trans-Saharan" strain of human T-Lymphotropic virus type 1 in West Africa

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and the molecular epidemiology of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in a group of pregnant women living in Guinea Bissau. We studied 427 consecutive pregnant women attending 10 centers for HIV-1 infection monitoring in Bissau. HTLV-1 infection was found in 2.6% of the patients. Phylogenetic analysis of the long terminal repeat region showed that 10 isolates were of the cosmopolitan subtype (HTLV-1a) and that only 1 was of the widespread Central African subtype (HTLV-1b). All the cosmopolitan isolates belonged to the HTLV-1aD subgroup, which was first described in North Africa and clustered with other Senegal and Guinea isolates to form a significant West African clade. Our data show a high prevalence of HTLV-1 in Guinea Bissau and suggest the existence of a trans-Saharan strain distributed in North and West Africa, which probably crossed the desert in the past as a result of contacts between nomadic and sedentary populations or along trading routes

Prevalence and risk determinants of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in pregnant women in Bissau

Objectives : To analyse the risk determinants of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in pregnant women in Bissau. Methods Pregnant women attending the antenatal clinics of Bissau between January 2002 and June 2006 were consecutively tested unless they opted out. Results Among 23,869 tested women the overall prevalence of HIV-1 was 5.7%, that of HIV-2 was 2.4%, and these included the 0.7% prevalence of HIV-1 and HIV-2 duals. The main factors associated with the risk of HIV-1 infection were older age, occupation and number of sexual partners. Beafada and Mandinga ethnic groups were at greater risk of presenting HIV-1, and Bijago and Papel at lower risk. The factors associated with the risk of HIV-2 were age, literacy and occupation; the Beafada were at greater risk than the other ethnic groups. Conclusions : The prevalence of HIV-2 infection decreased overtime, whereas that of HIV-1 infection remained substantially stable, but was higher than that observed in previous studies. The rapid decline in the rates of HIV-2 infection suggests that many of the factors that allowed its exponential growth in the past have now been partially removed, and that sexual and vertical transmission have not been sufficient to maintain and extend the epidemic

A pre-registered, multi-lab non-replication of the Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE)

The Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) is a well-known demonstration of the role of motor activity in the comprehension of language. Participants are asked to make sensibility judgments on sentences by producing movements toward the body or away from the body. The ACE is the finding that movements are faster when the direction of the movement (e.g., toward) matches the direction of the action in the to-be-judged sentence (e.g., Art gave you the pen describes action toward you). We report on a pre- registered, multi-lab replication of one version of the ACE. The results show that none of the 18 labs involved in the study observed a reliable ACE, and that the meta-analytic estimate of the size of the ACE was essentially zero

The Butterfly Fauna Of The Italian Maritime Alps:Results Of The «Edit» Project

Bonelli, Simona, Barbero, Francesca, Casacci, Luca Pietro, Cerrato, Cristiana, Balletto, Emilio (2015): The butterfly fauna of the Italian Maritime Alps: results of the EDIT project. Zoosystema 37 (1): 139-167, DOI: 10.5252/z2015n1a6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5252/z2015n1a