Myeloid Sarcoma of the Skin in a Patient with Myelodysplastic Syndrome

ABSTRACT We report the case of a 76-year-old woman who presented with asymptomatic extensive erythematous. Firm plaques were noted over the right cheek. Complete blood count was normal, as was a peripheral smear. An excision biopsy taken from the cheek showed infiltration of the dermis and hypodermis with atypical cells which were strongly positive for human leukocyte antigen (HLA-DR) and lysozyme and were moderately myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme. The results of immunohistochemical staining for CD34, CD117, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD23, CD56, and ALK-1 were negative. Bone marrow analysis indicated myelodysplastic syndrome RAEB 1 while cytogenetic finding showed tetrasomy 8. It was recommended that the patient undergo local radiotherapy of skin lesions, but she refused and was lost to follow-up. KEY WORDS: skin; myeloid sarcoma; myelodysplastic syndrome </p

Myeloid Sarcoma of the Skin in a Patient with Myelodysplastic Syndrome

ABSTRACT We report the case of a 76-year-old woman who presented with asymptomatic extensive erythematous. Firm plaques were noted over the right cheek. Complete blood count was normal, as was a peripheral smear. An excision biopsy taken from the cheek showed infiltration of the dermis and hypodermis with atypical cells which were strongly positive for human leukocyte antigen (HLA-DR) and lysozyme and were moderately myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme. The results of immunohistochemical staining for CD34, CD117, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD23, CD56, and ALK-1 were negative. Bone marrow analysis indicated myelodysplastic syndrome RAEB 1 while cytogenetic finding showed tetrasomy 8. It was recommended that the patient undergo local radiotherapy of skin lesions, but she refused and was lost to follow-up. KEY WORDS: skin; myeloid sarcoma; myelodysplastic syndrome </p

Effects of losartan, tempol, and their combination on renal nitric oxide synthases in the animal model of chronic kidney disease

Down-regulation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NO defi ciency in the kidneys have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In this study we examined the effects of losartan, tempol, and combined treatment on three NOS isoforms expressions, kidney NO content and NOS correlation with renal function and structure in the early stage of adriamycin (ADR)-induced CKD in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Rats were divided into control group, and four other groups which were treated with ADR and received vehicle, losartan (L, angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker), tempol (T, redox-cycling nitroxide) or T + L treatment (by gavage) in a six-week study. Reduction of all NOS isoforms expressions were signifi cantly improved by losartan or tempol, and correlated with proteinuria amelioration. Combined treatment induced down-regulation of constitutive NOS isoforms, whilst inducible NOS was up-regulated and followed by increased nitrite content and a signifi cant decline in the glomerular fi ltration rate. Losartan or tempol prevented ADR-induced neoexpression of vimentin in the glomeruli and tubulointerstital areas, whereas de novo vimentin expression was still observed in the atrophic tubules and in the interstitial fi broblasts and myofi broblasts in combined treatment. It can be concluded that single treatments, contrary to combined, were effective in improving NO bioavailability and slowing down the progression of CKD

Neurodegenerative Condition Detection Using Modified Metaheuristic for Attention Based Recurrent Neural Networks and Extreme Gradient Boosting Tuning

Parkinson&#x2019;s disease is a neurological disorder, caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons which can cause various movement disorders to appear, recognized as standard Parkinson&#x2019;s motor symptoms. A drug to stop the progression of the disease is very difficult to find, so current treatment is based on alleviating the symptoms of the disease itself. As no direct treatment exists that would cure the condition, early detection and proper treatment are essential in maintaining the patient&#x2019;s quality of life. This work explores the potential of merging artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms for Parkinson&#x2019;s disease early detection from finger-tapping accelerometer tests. Time series classification is explored through the use of recurrent neural networks augmented with and without attention layers. Additionally, extreme gradient boosting in combination with statistical analysis is explored in order to differentiate Parkinson&#x2019;s from other developing neurodegenerative disorders. As the performance of algorithms hinges on proper parameter selection, this work applies metaheuristics for performance optimization. A modified version of a recently introduced sinh cosh optimizer algorithm is also proposed. The approach is tested on a publicly available real-world clinical dataset consisting of patients and control group samples and a total of three separate experiments were conducted. The introduced optimizer demonstrated admirable performance in comparative analysis, with the best performing models exceeding 90&#x0025; accuracy

Toxic effects of a cyanobacterial strain on Chironomus riparius larvae in a multistress environment

Cyanobacteria and their toxic metabolites present a global threat to water habitats, but their impact on aquatic organisms in a multistress environment has been poorly investigated. Here we present the results of a survey on the effects of the toxic cyanobacterial strain Trichormus variabilis (heterotypic synonym Anabaena variabilis), and its toxic metabolite, cyanotoxin microcystin-LR, on Chironomus riparius larvae in a multistress environment. An environmentally relevant concentration of microcystin-LR (0.1 mg/L) caused an increase in larvae mortality in an acute toxicity test, which became greater in the presence of environmental stressors (NO3−, NH4+, PO43− and Cd2+), pointing to an additive effect of these agents. Chronic exposure of C. riparius larvae to the microcystin-LR producing strain of T. variabilis in a multistress environment led to a reduction in the larval mass and hemoglobin concentration, and it induced DNA damage in larval somatic cells. The results revealed the additive effect of microcystin-LR in combination with all three tested stressors (NO3−, NH4+, PO43−), and the deleterious effect of chronic exposure of C. riparius larvae to the microcystin-LR producing T. variabilis in a multistress environment. However, the present study further emphasizes the importance of investigating interactions between stressors and cyanotoxins, and their effect on aquatic organisms.This is a manuscript of an article published as Stanković, Nikola, Boris Jovanović, Ivana Kostić Kokić, Milica Stojković Piperac, Jelica Simeunović, Dimitar Jakimov, Ivica Dimkić, and Djuradj Milošević. "Toxic effects of a cyanobacterial strain on Chironomus riparius larvae in a multistress environment." Aquatic Toxicology (2022): 106321. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2022.106321. Posted with permission.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License

Can phytoplankton blooming be harmful to benthic organisms? The toxic influence of Anabaena sp. and Chlorella sp. on Chironomus riparius larvae

Cyanobacteria and microalgae are abundant biota groups in eutrophic freshwater ecosystems, serving as a food source for many aquatic organisms, including the larvae of non-biting midges (Chironomidae). Many species of cyanobacteria are toxin producers, which can act as stressors to other organisms. The present study aimed to analyze and compare the effects of dietary exposure to the common toxic cyanobacteria Anabaena sp. and non-toxic microalgae Chlorella sp. in Chironomus riparius larvae. Microcystin was detected and quantified in the methanolic extract of Anabaena sp. using the HPLC-DAD technique, and it was identified as microcystin- LR. Both Anabaena sp. and Chlorella sp. were suitable food sources to enable the survival of C. riparius larvae in laboratory conditions, causing negligible mortality and significant differences in the larval mass (ANOVA and Post hoc Tukey HSD test; pThis is a manuscript of an article published as Stanković, Nikola, Ivana Kostić, Boris Jovanović, Dimitrija Savić-Zdravković, Sanja Matić, Jelena Bašić, Tatjana Cvetković, Jelica Simeunović, and Djuradj Milošević. "Can phytoplankton blooming be harmful to benthic organisms? The toxic influence of Anabaena sp. and Chlorella sp. on Chironomus riparius larvae." Science of The Total Environment (2020): 138666. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138666.</p

Predictive parameters for imatinib failure in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

<p><b>Objective:</b> Until recently, imatinib was the standard first-line treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The inclusion of nilotinib and dasatinib as first-line options in CML raised a debate on treatment selection. The aim of our study was to analyze predictive parameters for imatinib response as the first-line treatment of CML patients.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> The study included 168 consecutive patients with chronic phase Philadelphia-positive CML who were diagnosed and treated with Imatinib 400 mg once daily at a single university hospital. Numerous parameters were analyzed in terms of imatinib response including comorbidities as well as occurrence of second malignancies.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> After the median follow-up of 87 months in 61 patients (36.3%), the imatinib failure was verified. Cox regression analysis identified hepatomegaly (<i>p</i> = 0.001), leukocytosis ≥ 100 × 109/l (<i>p</i> = 0.001), blood blasts ≥ 1% (<i>p</i> = 0.002), and the presence of additional cytogenetic aberrations (<i>p</i> = 0.002) as predictors of Imatinib failure. Based on these findings, a new prognostic model was developed according to which imatinib failure had 17% (8/47) of patients in low risk, 34.9% (30/86) of patients in intermediate risk, and 76.7% (23/30) of patients in high-risk group (HR = 3.973, 95% CI for HR 2.237–7.053, <i>p</i> < 0.001).</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> The new score allows better selection of patients who are suitable for treatment with imatinib and may guideline the clinical decision for front-line treatment of CML.</p

Twenty nevi on the arms: a simple rule to identify patients younger than 50 years of age at higher risk for melanoma

13Patients with a high total nevus count (TNC) merit a total-body examination, but a simple strategy to identify these high-risk individuals is essentially missing. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the number of melanocytic nevi on both arms and the TNC, and to evaluate patient variables that may have an effect on this association. In this multicenter, cross-sectional study, 2175 patients were examined and the mean number of arm nevi in relation to TNC was calculated. A mean value of fewer than 10 arm nevi was found in patients with TNC lower than 51 and a mean value of greater than 19 arm nevi was scored in patients with TNC greater than 50. These values remained unchanged after adjustment for various patient variables. In relation to TNC greater than 50, the presence of 20 or more arm nevi had specificity and negative predictive values of 95.2 and 89.6%, respectively. The sensitivity was 65.5% in patients younger than 50 years of age and 37.5% in the older age group. The number of arm nevi was significantly higher in individuals with a history of melanoma and in those with a melanoma detected during the study period. The presence of 20 or more nevi on the arms is an independent predictor of a high TNC and risk of melanoma. This sign thus represents a simple and rapid screening tool for either the primary care physician or the dermatologist to help identify high-risk patients.nonenoneArgenziano, Giuseppe; Giacomel, Jason; Zalaudek, Iris; Apalla, Zoe; Blum, Andreas; De Simone, Paola; Lallas, Aimilios; Longo, Caterina; Moscarella, Elvira; Tiodorovic-Zivkovic, Danica; Tiodorovic, Jelica; Jovanovic, Dragan L; Kittler, HaraldArgenziano, Giuseppe; Giacomel, Jason; Zalaudek, Iris; Apalla, Zoe; Blum, Andreas; De Simone, Paola; Lallas, Aimilios; Longo, Caterina; Moscarella, Elvira; Tiodorovic-Zivkovic, Danica; Tiodorovic, Jelica; Jovanovic, Dragan L; Kittler, Haral