Contrerasmagnusson1480

2415; p  less then  0.0001) but not postculture period compared to PSPPs (387 vs. 198; p = 0.9). STR rates (79 vs. 90; p = 0.98) were unchanged with APs but decreased considerably with pooled PLTs (826 vs. 50; p = 0.0006). Contamination (299 vs. 324; p = 0.84) and STR rates (25 vs. 116; p = 0.22) were similar for PLTs tested by BacT/ALERT and eBDS primary culture methods. A change in donor skin preparation method in 2012 was associated with decreased contamination and STR rates. CONCLUSION Primary culture significantly reduced bacterial contamination and STR associated with pooled but not AP PLTs. Measures such as secondary testing near time of use or pathogen reduction are needed to further reduce STRs. © 2020 AABB.OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine comprehensive metabolic changes of caffeine in the serum of patients with parkinsonian disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and multiple system atrophy (MSA) and to compare this with healthy control serum. METHODS Serum levels of caffeine and its 11 downstream metabolites from independent double cohorts consisting of PD (n = 111, 160), PSP (n = 30, 19), MSA (n = 23, 17), and healthy controls (n = 43, 31) were examined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The association of each metabolite with clinical parameters and medication was investigated. Mutations in caffeine-associated genes were investigated by direct sequencing. RESULTS A total of 9 metabolites detected in more than 50% of participants in both cohorts were decreased in 3 parkinsonian disorders compared with healthy controls without any significant association with age at sampling, sex, or disease severity (Hoehn and Yahr stage and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor section) in PD, and levodopa dose or levodopa equivalent dose in PSP and MSA. Of the 9 detected metabolites, 8 in PD, 5 in PSP, and 3 in MSA were significantly decreased in both cohorts even after normalizing to daily caffeine consumption. No significant genetic variations in CYP1A2 or CYP2E1 were detected when compared with controls. CONCLUSION Serum caffeine metabolic profiles in 3 parkinsonian diseases show a high level of overlap, indicative of a common potential mechanism such as caffeine malabsorption from the small intestine, hypermetabolism, increased clearance of caffeine, and/or reduced caffeine consumption. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.OBJECTIVE Accurate diagnosis is particularly challenging in Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSAp), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). this website We compare the utility of 3 promising biomarkers to differentiate disease state and explain disease severity in parkinsonism the Automated Imaging Differentiation in Parkinsonism (AID-P), the Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index (MRPI), and plasma-based neurofilament light chain protein (NfL). METHODS For each biomarker, the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curves were quantified for PD versus MSAp/PSP and MSAp versus PSP and statistically compared. Unique combinations of variables were also assessed. Furthermore, each measures association with disease severity was determined using stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS For PD versus MSAp/PSP, AID-P (AUC, 0.900) measures had higher AUC compared with NfL (AUC, 0.747) and MRPI (AUC, 0.669), P  less then  0.05. For MSAp versus PSP, AID-P (AUC, 0.889), and MRPI (AUC, 0.824) measures were greater than NfL (AUC, 0.537), P  less then  0.05. We then combined measures to determine if any unique combination provided enhanced accuracy and found that no combination performed better than the AID-P alone in differentiating parkinsonisms. Furthermore, we found that the AID-P demonstrated the highest association with the MDS-UPDRS (Radj 2 -AID-P, 26.58%; NfL,15.12%; MRPI, 12.90%). CONCLUSIONS Compared with MRPI and NfL, AID-P provides the best overall differentiation of PD versus MSAp/PSP. Both AID-P and MRPI are effective in differentiating MSAp versus PSP. Furthermore, combining biomarkers did not improve classification of disease state compared with using AID-P alone. The findings demonstrate in the current sample that the AID-P and MRPI are robust biomarkers for PD, MSAp, and PSP. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.BACKGROUND Parkinson's disease is characterized by a high burden of gastrointestinal comorbidities, especially constipation and reduced colonic transit time, and by gut microbiota alterations. The diverse metabolites produced by the microbiota are broadly relevant to host health. How microbiota composition and metabolism relate to gastrointestinal function in Parkinson's disease is largely unknown. The objectives of the current study were to assesses associations between microbiota composition, stool consistency, constipation, and systemic microbial metabolites in Parkinson's disease to better understand how intestinal microbes contribute to gastrointestinal disturbances commonly observed in patients. METHODS Three hundred participants (197 Parkinson's patients and 103 controls) were recruited for this cross-sectional cohort study. Participants supplied fecal samples for microbiota sequencing (n = 300) and serum for untargeted metabolomics (n = 125). Data were collected on motor and nonmotor Parkinson's symptlogy and pathophysiology. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, health care professionals are at the forefront of managing the highly infectious corona virus. As the most common route of transmission is via aerosols and droplet inhalation, it is critical for health care workers to have the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) including gowns, masks, and goggles. Surgical masks are not effective in preventing the influenza and SARS, so they are unlikely to be able to resist contaminated aerosols form entering the respiratory system. Therefore, it is vital to use respirators which have been proven to offer better protection against droplets, aerosols and fluid penetration and which form a tight seal around the mouth and nose. Various types of respirators are used in healthcare settings, such as half-mask filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). The most commonly used FFR is the N95 disposable respirator, which is tight fitting and has a 95% or above particle filtering efficiency for a median particle size of 0.3 micrometer. This review discusses respirators, their purpose, typs, clinical efficiency and proper donning and doffing techniques. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.BACKGROUND Adoptive NK cell infusion is a promising immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. The aim of this study was to test the activity of clinical-grade membrane-bound IL-21/4-1BBL-expanded NK cell products against AML in vivo. METHODS Fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were incubated with equal numbers of irradiated membrane-bound IL-21/4-1BBL-expressing K562 cells for 2-3 weeks to induce clinical-grade NK cell expansion. RESULTS Expansion for 2 and 3 weeks produced ∼4 and 8 × 109 NK cells from 2 × 107 PBMC. The production of CD107a and TNF-α in NK cell products in response to AML cell lines and primary blasts was higher than that observed in resting NK cells. The 2-week expanded NK cell products were xenografted into immunodeficient mice with leukemia and were persistently found in the bone marrow, spleen, liver, lung and peripheral blood for at least 13 days; furthermore, these expanded products reduced the AML burden in vivo. Compared with matched AML patients with persistent or relapsed minimal residual disease (MRD+ ) who underwent regular consolidation therapy, MRD+ patients who underwent NK treatment had better overall survival and showed no major adverse events. CONCLUSIONS Clinical-grade mbIL-21/4-1BBL-expanded NK cells exhibited antileukemic activity against AML in vitro and in vivo. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.A 46-year-old Pakistani woman was referred to dermatology with a 2-year history of a recurrent daily (2-4) urticarial rash, throat tightness after ingestion of certain foods and intermittent eczema affecting her legs. Previous skin prick tests by immunology to common foods were unremarkable. She had subclinical hypothyroidism and was on no relevant medications. On examination there was mild eczema on the lower legs that responded to topical steroids. Dermographism was not present. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.The most common drivers of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are oncogenic activating mutations in KIT (75%) or PDGFRA (10%) [1]; 5% of GISTs are succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)-deficient, secondary to either SDHx mutations or SDHC promoter hypermethylation [2]. Rare GISTs have alternate drivers, including BRAF, RAS, or NF1 mutations, or NTRK3 or FGFR1 fusions. Here we report the first case of GIST with an ALK gene rearrangement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) mostly affects sick neonates in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with predisposing or underlying conditions. The clinical presentation is nonspecific which often leads to a delayed or missed diagnosis. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use in the NICU is rapidly increasing. One of the main uses of neonatologist-performed POCUS is cranial ultrasound which permits diagnosis and monitoring of neurological disease at the bedside. We present the case of a neonate with a complex clinical situation where cranial POCUS permitted a prompt diagnosis and treatment of severe CSVT by imaging the transverse sinuses through the mastoid fontanelle. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Highly concentrated sugar solutions are known to be effective anti-microbial agents. However, it is unknown whether this effect is solely the result of the collective osmotic effect imparted by a mixture of sugars or whether the type of carbohydrate used also has an individual chemical effect on bacterial responses, i.e., inhibition/growth. In view of this, in this work, the anti-microbial properties of four sugars, namely glucose, fructose, sucrose and maltose against three common food pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, were investigated using a turbidimentric approach. The results obtained indicate that the type of sugar used has a significant effect on the extent of bacterial inhibition which is not solely dependent on the water activity of the individual sugar solution. In addition, while it was shown that high sugar concentrations inhibit bacterial growth, very low concentrations show the opposite effect, i.e. they stimulate bacterial growth, indicating that there is a threshold concentration upon which sugars cease to act as anti-microbial agents and become media instead.