Low-Level BCR::ABL1 Transcript at Diagnosis in Childhood Leukemia: A 10-Year Single Institution Study.

Introduction: Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a high risk form of ALL associated with dismal outcomes in the pre-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) era. Addition of a TKI to chemotherapy improves outcomes. Therefore, testing for the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome by at least two methods at the time of diagnosis is critical.

A Paediatric Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia Patient Harbouring a Cryptic PML-RARA Insertion due to a Complex Structural Chromosome 17 Rearrangement.

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia with PML-RARA fusion is usually associated with the t(15;17)(q24.1;q21.1) translocation but may also arise from complex or cryptic rearrangements.

Ultra-Sensitive Droplet Digital PCR for the Assessment of Microchimerism in Cellular Therapies.

Current techniques to assess chimerism after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are limited in both sensitivity and precision. These drawbacks are problematic in the context of cellular therapies that frequently result in microchimerism (donor chimerism <1%). We have developed a highly sensitive droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay using commercially available regents with good performance throughout the range of clinically relevant chimerism measurements, including microchimerism.

Use of ubiquitous, highly heterozygous copy number variants and digital droplet polymerase chain reaction to monitor chimerism after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Chimerism analysis has an important role in the management of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It informs response to disease relapse, graft rejection, and graft-versus-host disease. We have developed a method for chimerism analysis using ubiquitous copy number variation (CNV), which has the benefit of a "negative background" against which multiple independent informative markers are quantified using digital droplet polymerase chain reaction.

Updates on softwood-to-ethanol process development.

Softwoods are generally considered to be one of the most difficult lignocellulosic feedstocks to hydrolyze to sugars for fermentation, primarily owing to the nature and amount of lignin. If the inhibitory effect of lignin can be significantly reduced, softwoods may become a more useful feedstock for the bioconversion processes. Moreover, strategies developed to reduce problems with softwood lignin may also provide a means to enhance the processing of other lignocellulosic substrates.

Effect of oxygen delignification operating parameters on downstream enzymatic hydrolysis of softwood substrates.

Enhanced oxygen delignification of softwood pulp samples (taken upstream and downstream of a commercial oxygen delignification unit) improved the initial rate of enzymatic saccharification and overall yield of monomeric sugars by 62-82% and 76-80%, respectively. Laboratory-scale experiments were used to examine the effect of a broad range of operating parameters (temperature, time, caustic concentration, and oxygen partial pressure) on the effectiveness of oxygen delignification. Using empirical models, kappa number (residual lignin content) was found to effectively predict final conversion to monomeric sugars.

Functional activated protein C resistance assays: correlation with factor V DNA analysis is better with RVVT-than APTT-based assays.

We compare results of factor V DNA analysis with three different clotting-based assays designed to detect activated protein C (APC) resistance (APCR), using samples from 958 patients undergoing assessment for thrombophilia. The original and most commonly used APTT-based procedure (generating an APTT ratio in presence versus absence of APC), showed the least correlation with DNA findings, with a large overlap between normals and heterozygotes. Using this procedure, over 40% of patients with a normal DNA pattern gave APTT ratio results within the heterozygotes' ratio range, and thus is a poor predictor for factor V DNA Leiden mutation (sensitivity 94.

[The SOS-like reactions of Pseudomonas putida].

Under ultraviolet radiation of Pseudomonas putida 1087 the SOS-similar response which is expressed in the inhibition of cell respiration and cell division with the following filamentation is revealed. In the result of introduction of pPE24 and pMH21 plasmids into the cells of P. putida 1087 for inhibition of RecA-similar protein the SOS-similar response disappears and the basic cell mass dies.