Immunogenicity profile after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with onco-hematological diseases.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of onco-hematological pathologies on seroconversion to COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to the effects of chemotherapy treatment on this response.

Methods: The present study evaluated the immunogenic response of 76 patients with onco-hematological diseases to multiple vaccine platforms compared to 25 control individuals.

Results: Our results showed positive response rates of 74.

Exploring the relationships between safety and maintenance in the cold generation process: insights from the functional resonance analysis method.

Industrial refrigeration systems typically use ammonia as a refrigerant gas, which is a toxic gas so leaks can be catastrophic. This study aimed to identify how to improve robustness in a cold generation process using the functional resonance analysis method (FRAM). A case study was conducted through interviews and direct observations to develop three FRAM models: one focusing on operation and maintenance functions; another focusing on functions related to the provision of occupational health and safety (OHS) measures; and a third overlapping the first two models.

Posterior Circulation Evaluation in Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia.

Background: The role of transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography in identifying children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) at risk for stroke is well known; however, the major studies that evaluated TCD velocities in children with SCA did not report posterior circulation evaluation data. The objective of our study was to describe the pattern of blood flow velocities in the posterior circulation of patients with SCA and to examine their relationship with findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).

Methods: All adult patients with SCA followed in the outpatient clinic of our hospital were evaluated with TCD and MRI/MRA.

Haptoglobin gene polymorphisms and interleukin-6 and -8 levels in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Background: Haptoglobin genotypes, and interleukin-6 and -8 participate in the pathophysiology of sickle cell anemia. The expression of cytokines is regulated by genetic mechanisms however the effect of haptoglobin polymorphisms on these cytokines is not fully understood. This study aimed to compare the frequency of haptoglobin genotypes and the interleukin-6 and -8 concentrations in sickle cell anemia patients and controls to investigate the association between haptoglobin genotypes and cytokine levels.

Interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 gene polymorphisms are associated with manifestations of sickle cell anemia.

Sickle cell anemia (SCA), a disorder characterized by both acute and chronic inflammation, exhibits substantial phenotypic variability. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and IL-6 are important in acute and chronic diseases, and their single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been considered as predictors of prognosis in several inflammatory conditions. This study aims at exploring possible association of IL-1β and IL-6 SNPs as potential genetic modifiers and or predictors of SCA clinical and laboratory phenotypes.

Exercise-Induced Abnormal Increase of Systolic Pulmonary Artery Pressure in Adult Patients With Sickle Cell Anemia: An Exercise Stress Echocardiography Study.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) at rest is a risk factor for death in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Exercise echocardiography (EE) can detect latent PH. We sought to investigate the occurrence of exercise-induced abnormal response of systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) in adult patients with SCA and normal SPAP at rest, and to identify the independent predictors of this abnormal response.

Priapism is associated with sleep hypoxemia in sickle cell disease.

Purpose: We assessed penile rigidity during sleep and the relationship of sleep abnormalities with priapism in adults with sickle cell disease.

Materials And Methods: This was a case-control study of 18 patients with sickle cell disease and a history of priapism during the previous year, and 16 controls with sickle cell disease. Participants underwent overnight polysomnography and RigiScan® Plus recording to detect penile rigidity oscillations.

Molecular analysis of β-thalassemia patients: first identification of mutations HBB:c.93-2A>G and HBB:c.114G>A in Brazil.

The various clinical phenotypes in β-thalassemias have stimulated the study of genetic factors that could modify the manifestations of these diseases. We examined 21 patients with β-thalassemia (β-thal) in order to identify some genetic modifying factors: β-thalassemia mutations, HBG2:g.-158C>T polymorphism, α-globin gene deletions and (AT)xNz(AT)y motif within the hypersensitive site 2-locus control region (HS2-LCR).

Bone marrow and peripheral white blood cells number is affected by sleep deprivation in a murine experimental model.

Sleep deficit and related disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent in modern life and an extensive literature has documented that acute or chronic sleep deprivation can lead to several physiological consequences. Here, we evaluated the effects of sleep deprivation on hematopoietic composition of either bone marrow or peripheral blood. Mice were subjected to paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) for 72 h by modified multiple platform method, with or without an additional sleep recovery (SR) period of 10 days.

Absence of association between TNF-α polymorphism and cerebral large-vessel abnormalities in adults with sickle cell anemia.

Stroke is a serious complication of sickle cell anemia (SCA) affecting children and adults. Recent reports suggested that tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (-308) polymorphism is an important risk factor for stroke in children with SCA. The role of TNF-α polymorphism in the frequency of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) abnormalities in adults with SCA is still uncertain.

Brain magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in adult patients with sickle cell disease: correlation with transcranial Doppler findings.

Background And Purpose: Brain imaging abnormalities were reported in up to 44% of children with sickle cell disease (SCD). The prevalence of neuroimaging abnormalities in adult patients with SCD and their relationship to transcranial Doppler is still unclear. Our objectives were to study the frequency of MRI and MR angiography abnormalities in adults with SCD and to define what transcranial Doppler velocities are associated with intracranial stenoses detected by MR angiography.

Educational inequalities in cancer incidence in Turin, Italy.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between cancer incidence and socioeconomic status, and to examine the temporal trends in social inequalities in cancer risk. Educational differentials in the incidence of cancer (25 sites) among adult residents of Turin (Italy) were examined using data from the Turin Longitudinal Study and the Piedmont Cancer Registry. The relationship between cancer incidence and educational level was evaluated over three 5-year periods between 1985 and 1999 using Poisson models.

Multiple primary choledocholithiasis in sickle cell disease.

Choledocholithiasis can be caused by either primary or secondary bile duct stones. Although patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at high risk of development of pigmented gallstones due to chronic hemolysis, primary choledocholithiasis in SCD is very uncommon. The delay in the diagnosis of biliary tract pathology can occur in patients who had a prior cholecystectomy.

A high positive predictive value algorithm using hospital administrative data identified incident cancer cases.

Objective: We have developed and validated an algorithm based on Piedmont hospital discharge abstracts for ascertainment of incident cases of breast, colorectal, and lung cancer.

Study Design And Setting: The algorithm training and validation sets were based on data from 2000 and 2001, respectively. The validation was carried out at an individual level by linkage of cases identified by the algorithm with cases in the Piedmont Cancer Registry diagnosed in 2001.

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in adults with sickle cell disease.

Background: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is used to select children with sickle cell disease (SCD) for primary stroke prevention using regular blood transfusion. Whether it can also identify high stroke risk in adults with SCD is not known.

Methods: The authors examined 112 adult patients from two convenience population samples with SCD and 53 healthy control subjects to compare velocities in adults to those reported in children with SCD and to evaluate the influence of age and hematocrit on TCD.

XmnI polymorphism is associated with fetal hemoglobin levels in hypoplastic syndromes.

Context And Objective: Acquired fetal hemoglobin (HbF) elevation has been implicated as a prognostic factor in dyserythropoietic disorders. Our objectives were to examine acquired HbF increases in aplastic anemia (AA) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients, and to evaluate whether there is an association between the presence of XmnI and 5' hypersensitive site locus control region (LCR-HS2) polymorphisms and the HbF levels.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study at the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Service of Universidade Federal de São Paulo - Escola Paulista de Medicina.