Early progression as a predictor of survival in marginal zone lymphomas: An analysis from the FIL-NF10 study

Marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs) are indolent nonfollicular B-cell lymphomas (INFLs) and have heterogeneous clinical behavior. Recently, time to progression of disease at 24 months (POD24) was identified to stratify overall survival (OS) in follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma and in INFL. Here, we examined the ability of POD24 to predict subsequent OS in a large, international cohort of MZL as part of the NF10 prospective international registry headed by Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL). POD24 was only calculated for MZL patients requiring immediate therapy and was defined as experiencing lymphoma progression within 24 months from diagnosis. Among the 1325 patients enrolled in the NF10 study, we identified 321 patients with MZL for whom immediate therapy was planned right after lymphoma diagnosis. Overall, POD24 was confirmed in 59 patients (18%). Three-year OS for patients with POD24 was 53% with a hazard ratio of 19.5 (95% confidence interval, 8.4-45) compared with patients without POD24 (3-year OS, 95%). Association of POD24 with OS was confirmed for the subgroup of splenic and extranodal MZLs. Assessment of POD24 stratifies subsequent outcome inMZL and identifies a high-risk population

COVID-19-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome in the early pandemic experience in Lombardia (Italy)

Objective To estimate the incidence and describe clinical characteristics and outcome of GBS in COVID-19 patients (COVID19-GBS) in one of the most hit regions during the frst pandemic wave, Lombardia. Methods Adult patients admitted to 20 Neurological Units between 1/3–30/4/2020 with COVID19-GBS were included as part of a multi-center study organized by the Italian society of Hospital Neuroscience (SNO). Results Thirty-eight COVID19-GBS patients had a mean age of 60.7 years and male frequency of 86.8%. CSF albuminocytological dissociation was detected in 71.4%, and PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was negative in 19 tested patients. Based on neurophysiology, 81.8% of patients had a diagnosis of AIDP, 12.1% of AMSAN, and 6.1% of AMAN. The course was favorable in 76.3% of patients, stable in 10.5%, while 13.2% worsened, of which 3 died. The estimated occurrence rate in Lombardia ranges from 0.5 to 0.05 GBS cases per 1000 COVID-19 infections depending on whether you consider positive cases or estimated seropositive cases. When we compared GBS cases with the pre-pandemic period, we found a reduction of cases from 165 to 135 cases in the 2-month study period in Lombardia. Conclusions We detected an increased incidence of GBS in COVID-19 patients which can refect a higher risk of GBS in COVID-19 patients and a reduction of GBS events during the pandemic period possibly due to a lower spread of more common respiratory infectious diseases determined by an increased use of preventive measures

Design and optimization of the energy supply for the Global Interactive Village Environment : Techno-economic feasibility of an off grid solution for electrification in India

In a energy scenario moving fast towards the deployment of renewable energy technologies and the need of reducing CO2 emissions, hybrid energy systems for rural electrification are a feasible alternative solution to the utilization of conventional Diesel generators. The project focuses on the design and optimization of an off-grid hybrid energy system for a village of around 250 inhabitants in Gujarat, India. The energy system is part of a bigger project, “G.I.V.E. Center of Excellence”, which has an innovative concept on a more sustainable rural lifestyle. The system, which has to depend mainly on locally available resources, intends to serve three main services: electrical demand, water purification and thermal energy for cooking. Two system configurations were designed and optimized to supply the estimated demand. The main outcome is a techno-economic analysis of the different system performances, which leads to a conclusion: dealing with the services individually has lower costs of implementation, less than half if compared to the implementation of a conventional Diesel generator. Furthermore, CO2 emissions are drastically reduced. A sensitivity analysis was performed to address the different uncertainties such as the cost of the fuel. The result shows that if enough biomass resource would be available, a system based only on renewable energy technologies is economically profitable.G.I.V.E. Scandinavi

Hepatitis B virus-associated B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in non-endemic areas in Western Europe: Clinical characteristics and prognosis

International audienceThe association between B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is well demonstrated by epidemiological studies. Most studies concerning this association have been conducted in endemic areas. Thus, little is known concerning the clinical characteristics of HBV-related lymphomas in non-endemic areas. Here, we report the characteristics and outcomes of 39 patients with active HBV infection and B-cell NHL collected retrospectively in France and Italy. We also compared their characteristics with those of HCV-positive patients with NHL. The gender ratio (M/F) was 3.3 and the median age at NHL diagnosis, 59 years. The pathological distribution was 24 (62%) diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) and 15 (38%) other lymphomas subtypes: marginal zone lymphoma (n = 6), follicular lymphoma (n = 3), mantle cell lymphoma (n = 2), Burkitt's lymphoma (n = 1), and not otherwise specified low-grade B-NHL (n = 3). Treatment included antiviral therapy for 35 patients (90%). Twenty-two (92%) DLBCL patients received an R-CHOP or R-CHOP-like regimen, leading to complete remission for 18 (75%).At one year, 21 DLBCL patients (88%) were alive, and 13 other B-cell lymphoma patients (87%) were alive. This European study underscores the predominance of DLBCL among patients with active HBV infection and their similar outcomes to non-HBV infected patients with DLBCL when treated with R-CHOP and antivirals

Tablet-based Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure copy task: a novel application to assess spatial, procedural, and kinematic aspects of drawing in children

Abstract The paper-and-pencil Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) copy task has been extensively used to assess visuo-constructional skills in children and adults. The scoring systems utilized in clinical practice provide an integrated evaluation of the drawing process, without differentiating between its visuo-constructional, organizational, and motor components. Here, a tablet-based ROCF copy task capable of providing a quantitative assessment of the drawing process, differentiating between visuo-constructional, organizational, and motor skills, is trialed in 94 healthy children, between 7 and 11 years of age. Through previously validated algorithms, 12 indices of performance in the ROCF copy task were obtained for each child. Principal component analysis of the 12 indices identified spatial, procedural, and kinematic components as distinct dimensions of the drawing process. A composite score for each dimension was determined, and correlation analysis between composite scores and conventional paper-and-pencil measures of visuo-constructional, procedural, and motor skills performed. The results obtained confirmed that the constructional, organizational, and motor dimensions underlie complex figure drawing in children; and that each dimension can be measured by a unique composite score. In addition, the composite scores here obtained from children were compared with previsions results from adults, offering a novel insight into how the interplay between the three dimensions of drawing evolves with age

Independent prognostic impact of tumour-infiltrating macrophages in early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma

Although patients with early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma have a high rate of cure, a portion of these are resistant to or relapse after standard treatment. Current prognostic criteria based on clinical and laboratory parameters at diagnosis do not allow to accurately identify the subset of patients with less favourable clinical outcome. An increased number of tumour-infiltrating macrophages was found to be associated with shortened survival in patients with classic Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of the proportion of CD68-positive infiltrating macrophages in patients with early-stage classic Hodgkin's lymphoma. By using immunohistochemistry technique, we evaluated for CD68 expression diagnostic biopsies of 106 patients affected by supradiaphragmatic early-stage classic Hodgkin's lymphoma treated at our institution since 2000 to 2010. All patients were treated with adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy in the majority. The 2-year overall survival and progression-free survival (PFS) in the entire cohort were 97% and 83% respectively. The 2-year PFS was statistically different between patients with favourable and those with unfavourable prognosis according to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) risk criteria (96% vs 79%, p = 0.039) and between patients having less than 25% of CD68-positive infiltrating macrophages and those with more than 25% (85% vs 67%, p = 0.012). All patients with favourable EORTC criteria had CD68 expression lower than 25%. Within those with unfavourable EORTC criteria, patients with a CD68+ count greater than 25% had a worse 2-year PFS than patients having values lower than 25% (64% vs 82%, p = 0.03). Moreover, in multivariate analysis, after adjusting for CD68+ macrophages count and EORTC score, only CD68+ macrophages count higher than 25% retained a prognostic effect on PFS (hazard ratio = 2.8, 95%CI: 1.1-7.6, p = 0.038). Our data show that a proportion of tumour-infiltrating macrophages greater than 25% is associated with unfavourable clinical outcome in patients with early-stage Hodgkin's lymphom

Mutational and immunogenetic landscape of HCV

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