De novo chronic lymphocytic leukemia/prolymphocytic leukemia or B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia? The importance of integrating clinico-morphological and immunophenotypic findings in distinguishing chronic lymphoproliferative diseases with circulating phase

B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL) is an extremely rare disease, accounting for approximately 1% of the lymphocytic leukemias. B-PLL generally occurs in older people. It is characterized by the presence of more than 55% prolymphocytes in the peripheral blood (PB), no or minimal lymphadenopathy, massive splenomegaly, and very high white blood cell counts. The prognosis of B-PLL patients is generally poor, with a median survival of 3 years, although a subset of patients may show a prolonged survival. Herein, we report a case of a 70-year-old male with weakness, generalized lymphadenopathy, and moderate splenomegaly at the initial presentation. Hematologic examination revealed lymphocytic leukocytosis, favoring a chronic lymphoproliferative disorder (CLPD). The key to decoding the precise CLPD was a combination of the clinical profile, morphologic findings on the peripheral blood and the bone marrow, immunophenotypic analysis, and cytogenetic study. The best diagnosis proffered was a de novo chronic lymphocytic leukemia/prolymphocytic leukemia. There was no prior history of lymphoproliferative disorder or lymphocytic leukocytosis. Discriminating this entity from other lymphoproliferative disorders is crucial as the treatment and prognosis are varied compared to the other lymphoproliferative disorders. The diagnostic conundrum encountered and the incredible utility of ancillary studies in such a scenario are highlighted in this study

Designing of Supported Organocatalysts from Carboxylic Acids for the Mannich-Type Synthesis of β-Amino Carbonyl Compounds

<div><p></p><p>New supported acidic organocatalysts were prepared by the impregnation of three carboxylic acids (CF₃COOH, CCl₃COOH and CH₃COOH) on silica support at room temperature in diethyl ether. The catalysts were characterized by SEM, EDX, TGA, FT-IR and powder XRD analysis. These solid acids were observed as highly efficient reusable catalysts at room temperature for the selective synthesis of β-amino carbonyl compounds via Mannich-type reactions of acetophenone, arylamine and arylaldehydes in CH₂Cl₂ solution and solvent-free grinding method within short time. The more acidic two catalysts could be recycled up to five cycles with a small loss in catalytic activity.</p></div

Studies on –SO₃H functionalized Brønsted acidic imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) for one-pot, two-step synthesis of 2-styrylquinolines

<p>Four task-specific –SO₃H functionalized imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated for Brønsted acidities by Hammett functions. After knowing their thermal stabilities, the catalytic activity was observed for the preparation of 2-styrylquinolines by following consecutive Friedländer and Knoevenagel reactions in solvent-free thermal energy. The acidity order ([Dsim][OOCCF₃] > [Dsim][OTs] > [Dsim][OOCCl₃] > [Msim][OOCCF₃]) of three ILs was consistent with their activity order observed in the acid-catalyzed synthesis of 2-styrylquinolines under solvent-free conditions at 90° C, with the exception of [Dsim][OTs]. The best catalytic activity was shown by 25 mol% of [Dsim][OOCCF₃] IL. The less acidic IL required 50 mol% to give good yield of 2-styrylquinolines under the optimized condition.</p

Buried Interface Passivation of Perovskite Solar Cells by Atomic Layer Deposition of Al2O3

Despite having long excited carrier lifetimes and high mobilities in hybrid halide perovskite materials, conventional (n-i-p) devices exhibit significant interfacial nonradiative recombination losses that are little understood but limit the radiative efficiency and the overall open-circuit potential. In this Letter, we reveal that the process of spiro-OMeTAD coating on perovskite gives rise to buried defect states, which are detrimental to the devices’ operational stability. We subsequently report a method to passivate these deleterious buried defect states by atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 through controlled precursor dosages on fully functional devices. The process results in notable improvements in the overall device performance, but the underlying root-cause analysis is what we essentially aimed to elucidate here. The reported passivation technique results in (a) an increase in the efficiency primarily due to an increase of VOC by ∼60–70 mV and consequently (b) enhanced photoluminescence and higher electroluminescence quantum efficiency and (c) overall device operational (MPPT) stability under ambient and, exclusively, even under high vacuum (>300 h) conditions, which is otherwise challenging.The authors thank Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Govt. of India for financial support. S.K.S. and D.D.S. thank Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India for financial support through a bilateral research grant. S.G. thanks University Grant Commission; T.B., D.P., and S.B. thank Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); N.S. acknowledges Prime Minister Research Fellowship for student fellowship. D.D.S. thanks CSIR for the Bhatnagar Fellowship supporting a part of this research. A.C. acknowledges SERB (India, Grant No. EMR/2017/004878) for financial support