New rules of ABO-compatibility in kidney transplantation.

ABO compatibility rules in kidney transplantation have been deeply modified with the possibility of ABO-incompatible transplantation. The recipient has to be prepared in the days preceding surgery with an objective of ABO antibody titers of 1/8 or less. This is obtained through a procedure including antibody removal, rituximab and IV immunoglobulins alone or in association according to the initial titer.

Evaluation of four commercial extraction-quantification systems to monitor EBV or CMV viral load in whole blood.

Background: Measurement of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) viral loads is commonly used to monitor posttransplant patients. Two new systems (eMAG/eSTREAM and Versant/kPCR) have been recently commercialized.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of four systems to quantify CMV and EBV in whole blood.

Pronase treatment improves flow cytometry crossmatching results.

Flow cytometry crossmatching (FC-XM) is the most sensitive cell-based method for detecting donor-specific antibodies in clinical organ transplantation. Unfortunately, background FC-XM reactivity is elevated in assays with B lymphocytes-partly because of nonspecific immunoglobulin binding by Fc receptors and B-cell surface immunoglobulins. To reduce the background reactivity in a B-cell FC-XM assay, we treated lymphocytes with pronase (1 mg/mL for 30 minutes).

Alpha-fetoprotein is a biomarker of unfolded protein response and altered proteostasis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells exposed to sorafenib.

Sorafenib is the treatment of reference for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A decrease in the serum levels of Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is reported to be the biological parameter that is best associated with disease control by sorafenib. In order to provide a biological rationale for the variations of AFP, we analyzed the various steps of AFP production in human HCC cell lines exposed to sorafenib.

Evaluation of two matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) systems for the identification of Candida species.

Candida spp. are responsible for severe infections in immunocompromised patients and those undergoing invasive procedures. The accurate identification of Candida species is important because emerging species can be associated with various antifungal susceptibility spectra.

Microwave engineering of plasma-assisted CVD reactors for diamond deposition.

The unique properties of CVD diamond make it a compelling choice for high power electronics. In order to achieve industrial use of CVD diamond, one must simultaneously obtain an excellent control of the film purity, very low defect content and a sufficiently rapid growth rate. Currently, only microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition (MPACVD) processes making use of resonant cavity systems provide enough atomic hydrogen to satisfy these requirements.

Polarization properties of thin films of diamond.

Thin films transparent to optical radiation offer polarization properties that are enhanced when the thickness of the film is an odd multiple of the quarter-wavelength. The transmission and reflection properties of a 1.16-μm-thick film of diamond realized by plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition have been studied at 10.

[Treatment of early menopause. A report of 2 cases].

Veralipride was given to two patients with early menopause ascertained by hormonal investigations. In both women (aged 33 and 30 years), an estradiol-progestogen combination given for hot flushes, disorders of character, and depression, had been unsuccessful. Symptoms resolved under therapy with veralipride alone or associated with the previous treatment.