How Early Can Checkpoint Inhibitors Induce a Complete Metabolic Response in Chemorefractory Hodgkin Lymphoma?

A 24-year-old man with classical Hodgkin lymphoma was lost to follow-up after metabolic complete remission (mCR). He presented 4 years later with B-symptoms and impaired clinical condition. Relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma was diagnosed.

Intensive-Dose Tinzaparin in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: The INTERACT Study.

(1) Background: It is well-established that coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is highly pro-inflammatory, leading to activation of the coagulation cascade. COVID-19-induced hypercoagulability is associated with adverse outcomes and mortality. Current guidelines recommend that hospitalized COVID-19 patients should receive pharmacological prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Analytical method for the trace determination of esterified 3- and 2-monochloropropanediol and glycidyl fatty acid esters in various food matrices.

Fatty acid esters of 3-monochloro-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPDEs), of 2-monochloro-1,3-propanediol (2-MCPDEs) and of 2,3-epoxy-1-propanol or glycidol (GEs), which are considered to be deleterious to human health, may occur in a broad variety of food samples. A proper risk assessment of those substances requires the availability of robust occurrence data; in this respect concerns have been raised regarding the reliability of results obtained with the currently available methods to determine those substances in processed food. This article presents an indirect analytical procedure for the simultaneous determination of 3-MCPDEs, 2-MCPDEs and GEs in a wide variety of food products after extraction by pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) and determination by gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS).

Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma of the thoracic spine: report of an extreme rare case.

Primary low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma of the bone seems to be extraordinary rare. A search of the literature revealed only 11 prior cases. The most common location is distal femur, followed by the iliac wing.

Emerging role of linker histone variant H1x as a biomarker with prognostic value in astrocytic gliomas. A multivariate analysis including trimethylation of H3K9 and H4K20.

Although epigenetic alterations play an essential role in gliomagenesis, the relevance of aberrant histone modifications and the respective enzymes has not been clarified. Experimental data implicates histone H3 lysine (K) methyltransferases SETDB1 and SUV39H1 into glioma pathobiology, whereas linker histone variant H1.0 and H4K20me3 reportedly affect prognosis.

Complex interactions between the components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, and with components of MAPK, JAK/STAT and Notch-1 pathways, indicate their involvement in meningioma development.

We investigated the significance of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and its interactions with MAPK, JAK/STAT and Notch pathways in meningioma progression. Paraffin-embedded tissue from 108 meningioma patients was analysed for the presence of mutations in PIK3CA and AKT1. These were correlated with the expression status of components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, including p85α and p110γ subunits of PI3K, phosphorylated (p)-AKT, p-mTOR, p-p70S6K and p-4E-BP1, as well as of p-ERK1/2, p-STAT3 and Notch-1, clinicopathological data and patient survival.

Fate of selected emerging micropollutants during mesophilic, thermophilic and temperature co-phased anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge.

The removal of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) was studied in three lab-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) systems; a single-stage mesophilic, a single-stage thermophilic and a two-stage thermophilic/mesophilic. All micropollutants underwent microbial degradation. High removal efficiency (>80%) was calculated for diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen; whereas triclosan, bisphenol A and the sum of nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO) and nonylphenol diethoxylate were moderately removed (40-80%).

The role of activated carbon and disinfection on the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from wastewater.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are two important groups of emerging pollutants due to their toxicological and chemical characteristics and their persistent detection in the aquatic environment. Wastewater treatment plants are a significant pathway for their transfer to the water courses. It is well evidenced that these chemicals are only partially removed through biological treatment of wastewater and therefore being detected in secondary effluents.

Contribution of primary and secondary treatment on the removal of benzothiazoles, benzotriazoles, endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals and perfluorinated compounds in a sewage treatment plant.

The occurrence and fate of 36 emerging contaminants, belonging to five different classes, (benzotriazoles, BTRs; benzothiazoles, BTHs; perfluorinated compounds, PFCs; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs and endocrine disruptors, EDCs) were investigated in raw, treated wastewater (both particulate and dissolved phases), and in sludge from a sewage treatment plant (STP) in Athens, Greece. The average concentrations of BTRs, BTHs, NSAIDs and EDCs in raw wastewater ranged between 11 ng L(-1) and 7.27 μg L(-1), while PFCs did not exceed 100 ng L(-1).

Sox11 expression in astrocytic gliomas: correlation with nestin/c-Met/IDH1-R132H expression phenotypes, p-Stat-3 and survival.

Background: Sox11 is a transcription factor expressed in foetal and neoplastic brain tissue, including gliomas. It has been shown to suppress the tumourigenicity of glioma stem cells in vivo, thereby being hypothesised to function as a tumour suppressor.

Methods: We investigated the expression of Sox11 in 132 diffuse astrocytomas in relation to the regulator cell marker nestin, c-Met and IDH1-R132H, which have shown to be differentially expressed among the molecular subgroups of malignant gliomas, as well as to an inducer of astrocytic differentiation, that is, signal transducer and activator of transcription (p-STAT-3), clinicopathological features and survival.

Effect of wastewater chlorination on endocrine disruptor removal.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are compounds of mainly anthropogenic origin that interfere with the endocrine system of animals and humans thus causing a series of disorders. Wastewater treatment plants are one of the major routes for transporting such chemicals to the water courses. In the context of this study, several chlorination batch tests were performed in order to assess the effectiveness of chlorination to remove bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), nonylphenol (NP) and its ethoxylates (NP1EO and NP2EO) from secondary effluent.

Fate of selected pharmaceuticals and synthetic endocrine disrupting compounds during wastewater treatment and sludge anaerobic digestion.

The concentrations of nine emerging contaminants, including pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) (ibuprofen, IBF; naproxen, NPX; diclofenac, DCF; ketoprofen, KFN) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (triclosan, TCS; bisphenol, BPA; nonylphenol, NP; nonylphenol monoethoxylate, NP1EO; nonylphenol diethoxylate, NP2EO), were determined in wastewater and sludge samples of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Greece. Average concentrations in raw and treated wastewater ranged from 0.39 (KFN) to 12.

Phosphorylated 4E-binding protein 1 (p-4E-BP1): a novel prognostic marker in human astrocytomas.

Aims: To investigate the significance of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in astrocytic tumours, published information in this context being limited, especially regarding phosphorylated 4E-binding protein (p-4E-BP) 1.

Methods And Results: Paraffin-embedded tissue from 111 patients with astroglial tumours (grades II-IV) was investigated for the association of phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR) signalling components with phosphorylated extracellular signal-related kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) and phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT) expression, clinicopathological features, angiogenesis, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1)-R132H, and survival. Expression was also quantified by western blot analysis in 12 cases and in three primary glioma cell cultures following rapamycin treatment.

Expression of interleukin-8 receptor CXCR2 and suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 in astrocytic tumors.

The aim was to expand recently published information regarding the significance of the interleukin (IL)-8/p-STAT-3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription) pathway in astrocytomas, focusing on the IL-8 receptor, chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 2 (CXCR2), and the STAT-3 inhibitor SOCS-3 (suppressors of cytokine signaling). A total of 91 paraffin-embedded human astrocytoma tissues (grades II-IV) were investigated for the association of SOCS-3 and CXCR2 expression with clinicopathologic and morphometric microvascular characteristics, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), IL-8 and p-STAT-3 expression and patient survival. Peripheral IL-8 secretion levels were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT).

Occurrence of endocrine disrupters and selected pharmaceuticals in Aisonas River (Greece) and environmental risk assessment using hazard indexes.

Purpose: The presence of four phenolic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs: nonylphenol [NP], NP monoethoxylate[NP1EO], bisphenol A [BPA], triclosan, [TCS]) and four nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs: ibuprofen[IBF], ketoprofen [KFN], naproxen [NPX], diclofenac [DCF]) in a Greek river receiving treated municipal wastewater was investigated in this study.

Methods: Samples were taken from four different points of the river and from the outlet of a sewage treatment plant (STP) during six sampling campaigns, and they were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Results: According to the results, EDCs were detected in almost all samples, whereas NSAIDs were detected mainly in wastewater and in the part of the river that receives wastewater from the STP.

Prognostic significance of IL-8-STAT-3 pathway in astrocytomas: correlation with IL-6, VEGF and microvessel morphometry.

Malignant astrocytomas are highly vascular neoplasms characterized by a potent angiogenic and immunosuppressive phenotype. Th2-cytokines (IL-6/IL-8) are implicated as major regulators of glioma cell growth and invasiveness. STAT-3, a downstream transducer of cytokine signaling is positively associated with tumor angiogenesis.

Expression of pERK and pAKT in human astrocytomas: correlation with IDH1-R132H presence, vascular endothelial growth factor, microvascular characteristics and clinical outcome.

Although pERK and pAKT are reportedly activated in various neoplasms, little information is available about their significance in astrocytomas. Paraffin-embedded tissue from 82 patients with diffuse infiltrating astrocytomas (grades II to IV) was investigated for the association of pERK and pAKT activation with clinicopathological features, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and microvascular parameters. Nuclear pERK labelling index (LI) increased with increasing cytoplasmic pERK LI and nuclear and cytoplasmic pAKT LI (p = 0.

Synchronous well differentiated neuroendocrine tumour and gastrointestinal stromal tumour of the stomach: a case report.

Background: Well differentiated neuroendocrine tumours (carcinoids), arising from cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system, represent the most commonly encountered gastric endocrine tumours. Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs), which stem from interstitial Cajal cells located within the wall of the gastrointestinal tract and have a characteristic immunoreactivity for CD117 (c-kit protein), account for the majority of gastrointestinal mesenchymal neoplasms. Simultaneous occurrence of a GIST with a well differentiated neuroendocrine tumour in the stomach is very rare.

An analytical method for the simultaneous trace determination of acidic pharmaceuticals and phenolic endocrine disrupting chemicals in wastewater and sewage sludge by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

This article presents an analytical method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for the simultaneous determination of the most frequently used acidic pharmaceutical residues, ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen and ketoprofen (KFN), and phenolic endocrine disruptors, bisphenol (BPA), triclosan (TCS), nonylphenol, nonylphenol monoethoxylate and nonylphenol diethoxylate, in wastewater and sewage sludge samples. In the first phase of the study, each compound has been characterized individually and afterwards in mixture as a trimethylsilyl derivative in order to identify the characteristic ions (m/z ratio) constituting the mass spectrum and to choose the ions for quantification and confirmation. Subsequently, derivatization was evaluated by testing different variables such as the volume of the derivatization solvent bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide and the effect of each catalyst, pyridine and 1% trimethyl chlorosilane, in the derivatized solution.

Trace element availability in a sewage sludge-amended cotton grown Mediterranean soil.

Long-term field investigations on the use of biosolids are scarce in the Mediterranean region, especially on non-food high-profit crops. Thus we studied the effects of repeated sludge application for 4 yr on trace element (both essential and non-essential) availability to cotton, by applying sludge at four increasing rates up to 50 Mg ha(-1). Although sludge had low metal concentrations, sludge-added trace element availability (assessed with soil-to-plant transfer coefficient) was higher in the first year compared to those in the subsequent years of experiment, but it decreased with time to the value of the unamended control.

Chronic bacterial and parasitic infections and cancer: a review.

Background: A relatively underestimated facet of infectious diseases is the association of chronic bacterial and parasitic infections with cancer development. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the evidence regarding the association of such infections with the development of malignancy, excluding the overwhelming evidence of the association of Helicobacter pylori and cancer.

Methodology: We searched Pubmed, Cochrane, and Scopus without time limits for relevant articles.

Comparative immunohistochemical analysis of aurora-A and aurora-B expression in human glioblastomas. Associations with proliferative activity and clinicopathological features.

In the present study, we carried out a comparative immunohistochemical analysis of aurora-A and aurora-B expression in 40 patients with primary glioblastomas, and attempted to identify any associations with Ki-67 index and the patients' clinical features. The impact of various treatment modalities and proliferative activity on patient outcome was also assessed. Immunohistochemistry was carried out using formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue sections.