The adjusted International Prognostic Index and beta-2-microglobulin predict the outcome after autologous stem cell transplantation in relapsing/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Preliminary data on the use of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as a salvage therapy for peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) indicate that the results are similar to those obtained in aggressive B-cell lymphomas. The aim of our study was to analyze outcomes of a large series of patients with PTCL with a prolonged follow-up who received ASCT as salvage therapy. DESIGN AND METHODS: Between 1990 and 2004, 123 patients in this situation were registered in the GELTAMO database. The median age at transplantation was 43.5 years; in 91% of patients the disease was chemosensitive. RESULTS: Seventy-three percent of the patients achieved complete remission, 11% partial remission and the procedure failed in 16%. At a median follow-up of 61 months, the 5-year overall and progression-free survival rates were 45% and 34%, respectively. The presence of more than one factor of the adjusted International Prognostic Index (a-IPI) and a high beta2-microglobulin at transplantation were identified as adverse prognostic factors for both overall and progression-free survival and allowed the population to be stratified into three distinct risk groups. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that approximately one third of patients with PTCL in the salvage setting may enjoy prolonged survival following ASCT, provided they are transplanted in a chemosensitive disease state. The a-IPI and beta2-microglobulin level predict the outcome after ASCT in relapsing/refractory PTCL

Death in the Sun: The bioarchaeology of an early post-Medieval hospital in Gibraltar

In 2014, during construction work at the ex-Civil Hospital in Gibraltar, excavations led by the Gibraltar Museum revealed a major, previously unknown burial ground containing more than 200 skeletons. We present the historical, archaeological and radiometric dating evidence from the site alongside the results of initial osteological analyses. The data indicate that the burials pertain to an earlier 16th century Spanish hospice, and therefore stand to offer new insights into the functioning of this early modern hospital and the health and movements of people at a time of incipient globalisation

Prolonged survival of patients with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation: the GELTAMO experience

Abstract OBJECTIVES: Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AIL) is a rare lymphoma with a poor prognosis and no standard treatment. Here, we report our experiences with 19 patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDC/ASCT) within the GELTAMO co-operative group between 1992 and 2004. METHODS: The median age at transplantation was 46 yr. Fifteen patients underwent the procedure as front-line therapy and four patients as salvage therapy. Most patients received peripheral stem cells (90%) coupled with BEAM or BEAC as conditioning regimen (79%). RESULTS: A 79% of patients achieved complete response, 5% partial response and 16% failed the procedure. After a median follow-up of 25 months, eight patients died (seven of progressive disease and secondary neoplasia), while actuarial overall survival and progression-free survival at 3 yr was 60% and 55%. Prognostic factors associated with a poor outcome included bone marrow involvement, transplantation in refractory disease state, attributing more than one factor of the age-adjusted-International Prognostic Index, Pretransplant peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) Score or Prognostic Index for PTCL. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the patients with AIL that display unfavourable prognostic factors at diagnosis or relapse would be expected to be alive and disease-free after 3 yr when treated with HDC/ASCT. Patients who are transplanted in a refractory disease state do not benefit from this procedure

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Impact of long-term viral suppression in CD4+ recovery of HIV-children on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

BACKGROUND: The effects of HAART may differ between children and adults because children have a developing immune system, and the long-term immunological outcome in HIV-infected children on HAART is not well-known. A major aim of our study was to determine CD4+ evolution associated with long-term VL control during 4 years of observation on HAART. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective study on a cohort of 160 vertically HIV-infected children. It was carried out from 1996 to 2004 in six large Spanish pediatric referral hospitals. We compared 33 children who had long-term VL suppression (VL ≤400 copies/ml) in the first 12 months of follow-up and maintained that level throughout follow-up (Responders-group), and 127 children with persistently detectable VL in spite of ART switches (Non-Responders-group). RESULTS: We observed a quick initial and significant increase in CD4(+ )counts from the baseline to 12 months on HAART in both groups (p < 0.01). The Non-Responders group sustained CD4+ increases and most of these children maintained high CD4(+ )level counts (≥25%). The Non-Responders group reached a plateau between 26% and 27% CD4(+ )at the first 12 months of follow-up that remained stable during the following 3 years. However, the Responders group reached a plateau between 30% and 32% CD4(+ )at 24, 36 and 48 months of follow-up. We found that the Responders group had higher CD4(+ )count values and higher percentages of children with CD4(+ )≥25% than the Non-Responders group (p < 0.05) after month 12. CONCLUSION: Long-term VL suppression in turn induces large beneficial effects in immunological responses. However, it is not indispensable to recover CD4(+ )levels

METODOLOGÍA DE SELECCIÓN DE POZOS CANDIDATOS PARA TRATAMIENTOS DE CONFORMANCE QUÍMICO

La canalización generalmente es consecuencia de la heterogeneidad del yacimiento, especialmente por grandes variaciones de permeabilidad, ocasionando reducción en la eficiencia volumétrica como producto de la recirculación del fluido inyectado en procesos de recobro secundario y/o mejorado (EOR). Con el objetivo de mejorar el perfil vertical de inyección y reducir la recirculación de agua inyectada, en Colombia se han implementado, desde el año 2008 a 2020, 33 tratamientos de control de canalización y conformance químico profundo en nueve campos con el objetivo de aumentar la eficiencia de barrido volumétrico para incrementar el factor de recuperación de petróleo. El resultado de los tratamientos reportados es de hasta 3 barriles de petróleo incremental por cada barril de gel rígido inyectado. Sin embargo, la cantidad de tratamientos de conformance es baja en comparación con el número de pozos inyectores en el país de aproximadamente 1400). Por lo tanto, Ecopetrol adaptó una metodología de selección de pozos candidatos para tratamientos de conformance químico que tiene en cuenta continuidad de los yacimientos, determinación y caracterización de la heterogeneidad, estudio de movimiento de fluidos, determinación de conectividad del patrón de inyección, distribución vertical y areal de los fluidos inyectados y producidos, generación de gráficos diagnósticos en software Sahara para finalmente identificar los pozos candidatos y realizar el diseño del tratamiento de conformance. La generación de los gráficos diagnóstico base de la metodología tiene como punto de partida la distribución vertical de producción secundaria realizada por el método IWR de alocación de producciones de malla ponderando caudales, en el cual la producción de un pozo es distribuida entre los inyectores que lo afectan, y esta producción es asociada a cada inyector. Con respecto a la distribución areal se toman elementos de flujo creando mallas dinámicas centradas en inyector y se pondera utilizando la distribución angular. La distribución de producción secundaria tiene en cuenta los ILT/PLT realizados históricamente en los pozos inyectores/ productores, mallado y coeficientes de distribución de los patrones de inyección en el tiempo. En el presente trabajo se hace una descripción y aplicación de la metodología integrada que permite identificar la producción de petróleo y agua por yacimiento en cada patrón de inyección, así como la eficiencia del agua inyectada para mapear acciones de mejoramiento de la producción de petróleo y disminución de la producción de agua, con el objetivo de identificar los sectores con menor desempeño y que requieren optimización del proceso secundario y/o mejorado. La metodología se validó y complementó con información de trazadores interwell (IWTT) y simulación numérica en líneas de flujo (streamline). En ese sentido, se vienen aplicando tratamientos de conformance desde el año 2021 en 23 nuevos pozos con resultados prometedores de producción incremental de petróleo. La selección de pozos candidatos para tratamientos de conformance químico amplían las expectativas de masificación de estas tecnologías en diferentes campos del país y se convierten en pieza fundamental para apalancar la consecución de reservas y una disminución de la huella de carbono debido principalmente a que con el mismo caudal de fluido inyectado se incrementa la producción de petróleo y en algunos tratamientos puede disminuir la producción de agua, asegurando menor consumo de energía (CO2) por cada barril de petróleo extraído

Stellar streams discovered in the Dark Energy Survey

We perform a search for stellar streams around the Milky Way using the first 3 yr of multiband optical imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We use DES data covering ∼5000 deg2 to a depth of g>23.5 with a relative photometric calibration uncertainty of <1%. This data set yields unprecedented sensitivity to the stellar density field in the southern celestial hemisphere, enabling the detection of faint stellar streams to a heliocentric distance of ∼50 kpc. We search for stellar streams using a matched filter in color–magnitude space derived from a synthetic isochrone of an old, metal-poor stellar population. Our detection technique recovers four previously known thin stellar streams: Phoenix, ATLAS, Tucana III, and a possible extension of Molonglo. In addition, we report the discovery of 11 new stellar streams. In general, the new streams detected by DES are fainter, more distant, and lower surface brightness than streams detected by similar techniques in previous photometric surveys. As a by-product of our stellar stream search, we find evidence for extratidal stellar structure associated with four globular clusters: NGC 288, NGC 1261, NGC 1851, and NGC 1904. The ever-growing sample of stellar streams will provide insight into the formation of the Galactic stellar halo, the Milky Way gravitational potential, and the large- and small-scale distribution of dark matter around the Milky Way

Standardized endpoint definitions for transcatheter aortic valve implantation clinical trials: a consensus report from the Valve Academic Research Consortium†

To propose standardized consensus definitions for important clinical endpoints in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), investigations in an effort to improve the quality of clinical research and to enable meaningful comparisons between clinical trials. To make these consensus definitions accessible to all stakeholders in TAVI clinical research through a peer reviewed publication, on behalf of the public health

Systematic assessment of long-read RNA-seq methods for transcript identification and quantification

The Long-read RNA-Seq Genome Annotation Assessment Project (LRGASP) Consortium was formed to evaluate the effectiveness of long-read approaches for transcriptome analysis. The consortium generated over 427 million long-read sequences from cDNA and direct RNA datasets, encompassing human, mouse, and manatee species, using different protocols and sequencing platforms. These data were utilized by developers to address challenges in transcript isoform detection and quantification, as well as de novo transcript isoform identification. The study revealed that libraries with longer, more accurate sequences produce more accurate transcripts than those with increased read depth, whereas greater read depth improved quantification accuracy. In well-annotated genomes, tools based on reference sequences demonstrated the best performance. When aiming to detect rare and novel transcripts or when using reference-free approaches, incorporating additional orthogonal data and replicate samples are advised. This collaborative study offers a benchmark for current practices and provides direction for future method development in transcriptome analysis