Time Of Collection Research Articles

The Plasma Metabolome and Risk of Incident Kidney Stones.

Information on metabolomic profiles in kidney stone formers is limited. To examine independent associations between plasma metabolomic profiles and the risk of incident, symptomatic kidney stones in adults, we conducted prospective nested case-control studies in two large cohorts. We performed plasma metabolomics on 1,758 participants, including 879 stone formers (346 from the Health Professionals Follow-up [HPFS] cohort, 533 from the Nurses' Health Study [NHS] II cohort) and 879 non-stone formers (346 from HPFS, 533 from NHS II) matched for age, race, time of blood collection, fasting status and (for NHS II) menopausal status and luteal day of menstrual cycle for premenopausal participants. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio of kidney stones adjusted for body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes, thiazide use, and intake of potassium, animal protein, oxalate, dietary and supplemental calcium, caffeine, and alcohol. A plasma metabolite based score was developed in each cohort in a conditional logistic regression model with a lasso penalty. The scores derived in the HPFS ('KMS_HPFS') and the NHS II ('KMS_NHS') were tested for their association with kidney stone risk in the other cohort. A variety of individual metabolites were associated with incident kidney stone formation at prespecified levels of metabolome-wide statistical significance. We identified three metabolites associated with kidney stones in both HPFS and NHS II: beta-cryptoxanthin, sphingomyelin (d18:2/24:1, d18:1/24:2), and sphingomyelin (d18:2/24:2). The standardized KMS_HPFS yielded an OR for stones in the NHS II cohort of 1.23 (95% CI 1.05, 1.44). The standardized KMS_NHS was in the expected direction but did not reach statistical significance in HPFS (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.97, 1.39). The findings of specific metabolites associated with kidney stone status in two cohorts as well as a plasma metabolomic signature offer a novel approach to characterize stone formers.

Variables Affecting CA15.3 Tumor Antigen Expression and Antibodies against It in Female National Health and Nutritional Survey Participants.

Cancers of ductal origin often express glycoprotein mucin 1 (MUC1), also known as CA15.3, with higher levels leading to poor prognosis. Conversely, anti-MUC1 antibodies develop in some patients, leading to better prognosis. We sought to identify epidemiologic factors associated with CA15.3 antigen or antibody levels. Levels of CA15.3 antigen and anti-CA15.3 IgG antibodies were measured in archived sera from 2,302 mostly healthy women from the National Health and Nutritional Survey; and epidemiologic predictors of their levels were examined using multivariate and correlational analyses. Among racial groups, Black women had the highest levels of CA15.3 antigen and lowest levels of antibodies. Increasing body mass index and current smoking were associated with low anti-CA15.3 antibody levels. Low CA15.3 antigen levels were seen in oral contraceptive users and high levels in women who were pregnant or lactating at the time of blood collection, with the latter group also having high antibody levels. Past reproductive events associated with high antigen levels included the following: later age at menarche, having given birth, and history of endometriosis. Lower antigen levels were seen with increasing duration of OC use. Anti-CA15.3 antibody levels decreased with an increasing estimated number of ovulatory years. Key determinants of CA.15.3 antigen or antibody levels include the following: race, body mass index, smoking, later menarche, childbirth, number of ovulatory cycles, and endometriosis. This study supports the premise that known epidemiologic factors affecting risk for or survival after MUC1-expressing cancers may, at least partially, operate through their association with CA15.3 antigen or antibody levels.

Climate change, seasonality and household water security in rural Gambia: A qualitative exploration of the complex relationship between weather and water

Climate change could pose a threat to water security for many communities, particularly in settings where rainfall patterns are becoming more varied and there is higher frequency of extreme events, such as heavy rainfall and droughts. Understanding how rainfall affects water security—including water access, water quality and water use behaviours—can inform investment in more climate-resilient infrastructure and safeguard against future health risks. This study aims to explore how households in rural Gambia experienced water security in relation to seasonal rainfall patterns and extreme weather events. Data collection focused on two communities (Kiang West and Basse) with differing access to water infrastructure, within which some villages had greater access to groundwater sources, such as solar-powered boreholes, and others primarily used uncovered wells. 46 participants were interviewed in Spring 2022 using multiple qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews and transect walks. We found that people’s experience of water security and rainfall (including seasonal rainfall, drought and heavy rainfall) was complex and varied according to the primary household water source. Both dry and rainy season posed challenges to household water security in terms of quality and quantity. Households with access to more resilient infrastructure, such as solar-powered boreholes, discussed a shift in the relationship between weather and water security, where they were less vulnerable to water shortages during dry conditions compared to those using wells. However, these sources did not fully resolve water security issues, as they experienced water shortages during cloudy conditions. Extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, heightened perceived water issues, as these events sometimes damaged water infrastructure and contaminated water sources. Seasonal workloads, that were higher in the rainy season, also jeopardised water security, as this limited time for water collection. Increased investment in infrastructure, maintenance, water-treatment and behavioural change is required to mitigate the risks.

IMMUNE RESPONSE OF MICE TO AFRICAN SWINE FEVER VIRUS DNA VACCINE A224L AND A276R WITH LIPOFECTAMINE,CHOLESTEROL AND POLYMER ENCAPSULATION

A vaccine against African Swine Fever (ASF) is urgently needed to reduce losses for pig farmers throughout the world. The study was aimed to test the immune response of mice to an ASF-DNA vaccine with the A224L and A276R genes with polymer, lipofectamine, and cholesterol adjuvants. Each mouse was vaccinated intramuscularly with 25 μg of plasmid encapsulated with the above adjuvants. Mouse sera were collected at weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4. Antibodies against A224L and A276R were detected by ELISA test using synthetic peptides as antigens. Optical density (OD) values were analysed statistically using the Analysis of Variance test with the SPSS Version 25. The results showed that the OD values of the serum of mice given the ASF-A224L and A276R DNA vaccines with polymer adjuvants (0.149), lipofectamine (0.080), and cholesterol (0.058), as well as control mice (0.020) differed significantly (p= 0.000), while the time of serum collection had no significant effect (p=0.517). The conclusion is that the OD values of mice sera after DNA-ASF-A224L and A276R encapsulated with polymer, lipofectamine and cholesterol were statistically significant, while sampling time did not show any statistically difference. Further studies are needed to improve the adjuvant mixing protocol with larger quantities of plasmids.Keywords:mice; DNA vaccine; ASF; polymer; ELISA

The Intoxication Equivalency of 11-Hydroxy-Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Relative to Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol.

Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a psychoactive phytocannabinoid found in the Cannabis sativa plant. THC is primarily metabolized into 11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-THC) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (COOH-THC), which may themselves be psychoactive. There is very little research-based evidence concerning the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of 11-OH-THC as an individual compound. Male C57BL/6 mice were treated with THC or 11-OH-THC via intraperitoneal injection, tail vein intravenous injection, or oral gavage, and whole-blood compound levels were measured to determine pharmacokinetic parameters [Cmax, time to Cmax (Tmax), elimination half-life, area under the curve, apparent volume of distribution, systemic clearance, terminal rate constant, and absolute bioavailability] while also monitoring changes in catalepsy, body temperature, and nociception. 11-OH-THC achieved a Tmax at 30 minutes for all routes of administration. The maximum concentration at 30 minutes was not different between intravenous and intraperitoneal routes, but the oral gavage Cmax was significantly lower. THC had a 10-minute time to the maximum concentration, which was the first blood collection time point, for intravenous and intraperitoneal and 60 minutes for oral gavage, with a lower Cmax for intraperitoneal and oral gavage compared with intravenous. When accounting for circulating compound levels and ED50 responses, these data suggest that 11-OH-THC was 153% as active as THC in the tail-flick test of nociception and 78% as active as THC for catalepsy. Therefore, 11-OH-THC displayed equal or greater activity than the parent compound THC, even when accounting for pharmacokinetic differences. Thus, the THC metabolite 11-OH-THC likely plays a critical role in the bioactivity of cannabis; understanding its activity when administered directly will aid in the interpretation of future animal and human studies. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study establishes that the primary metabolite of THC, 11-OH-THC, displays equal or greater activity than THC in a mouse model of cannabinoid activity when directly administered and even when accounting for route of administration, sex, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic differences. These data provide critical insight into the bioactivity of THC metabolites that will inform the interpretation of future in vivo cannabinoid research and represent a model for how THC consumption and metabolism may affect cannabis use in humans.

Participation for learners with cognitive disabilities in class activities during the pandemic in UAE: issues and barriers

The study examines issues related to achieving meaningful participation in class activities as an element of social inclusion of learners with cognitive disabilities aged 14–19 years that are enrolled in educational institutions (schools/centres) during COVID-19 in United Arab Emirates. The paper relied on a qualitative approach with 5 sessions of virtual observation and 18 semi-structured virtual interviews with learners themselves and their care givers/parents as the main methodological tool given lack of access to physical means at the time of data collection during the global pandemic (2021–22). The analysis was thematic, focusing on explored and extracted main issues that impact one important aspect of the social inclusion of such learners, which is their active participation during a difficult time. The results showed that learners with cognitive disabilities faced additional several issues in addition to what members of the surrounding community dealt with during the disaster. Data revealed that they were immensely affected by the pandemic, with another layer of social isolation, lack of peer interaction as well as family restriction that is directed at them with additional measures than everyone in the household. It also showed that despite the efforts and programmes designed by schools/institutes that were in place to support their engagement in academic and social activities, participation as an important social aspect of their school lives was badly impacted. Despite calls for prioritizing such learners, the study revealed that learners with cognitive disability were constructed as ‘last on the list’ among class community members in terms of their participation and active engagement in different class activities. The data were purposefully collected at a time that is unlikely to be replicated for many years to come (a global pandemic), the purpose was to give a reflection on the status allocated to such individuals during hard, unusual and/or difficult times for any future practice. The paper forwards recommendations to support educational institutions to promote active participation of learners with cognitive disabilities.

Determination of the Biochemical and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Rose Oil (Rosa damascena Mill.) Collected in Different Time Periods

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the biochemical and antioxidant enzyme activities of oil of rose petals collected at different time intervals during the day. The results of the present study revealed that significant changes occurred in the biochemical content of the oil of rose petals due to collecting at various intervals in a day. The total phenolic content exhibited a statistically significant increase over the day, reaching a 151.57% increment by 14.00 p.m. compared to the initial level. Similarly, total flavonoid content and total antioxidant activity progressively increased. Proline, known for its versatile roles, including antioxidant defense, increased from 7.43 mg g-1 in the morning to 24.96 mg g-1. Significant temporal changes were observed in antioxidant enzyme activities as well. Catalase (CAT) activity, for instance, increased by 588.22% from 6.00 a.m. to 14.00 p.m., with similar alterations noted in superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and peroxidase (POD) activities. The results highlight a correlation between flower collection time and biochemical activities, with a noticeable increase in antioxidant enzyme activities as the day progresses. The findings emphasize the importance of considering plant physiology and environmental factors when determining optimal flower collection times. In conclusion, it can be said that the collection time of flowers influences the quality of rose oil and early morning collection may be more suitable.

Estimation of the amount of pear pollen based on flowering stage detection using deep learning

Pear pollination is performed by artificial pollination because the pollination rate through insect pollination is not stable. Pollen must be collected to secure sufficient pollen for artificial pollination. However, recently, collecting sufficient amounts of pollen in Japan has become difficult, resulting in increased imports from overseas. To solve this problem, improving the efficiency of pollen collection and strengthening the domestic supply and demand system is necessary. In this study, we proposed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based method to estimate the amount of pear pollen. The proposed method used a deep learning-based object detection algorithm, You Only Look Once (YOLO), to classify and detect flower shapes in five stages, from bud to flowering, and to estimate the pollen amount. In this study, the performance of the proposed method was discussed by analyzing the accuracy and error of classification for multiple flower varieties. Although this study only discussed the performance of estimating the amount of pollen collected, in the future, we aim to establish a technique for estimating the time of maximum pollen collection using the method proposed in this study.

A Systematic Review of Outdoor Thermal Comfort Studies for the Urban (Re)Design of City Squares

In the upcoming period, city squares’ urban redesign will be crucial in achieving sustainable development goals. This study presents a systematic review of OTC-related studies for the urban design of city squares using the PRISMA 2020 methodology. A review included a total of 173 papers from 2001 to 2023. The results identified five study types—clusters based on four pre-defined criteria: study approach, data collection methods, time duration, and primary objectives. The clusters indicate that more than half of all studies are related to the comparison of thermal comfort and heat mitigation measures. Most of the case studies were located in one of three climate zones: temperate oceanic (Cfb) (58 studies), hot summer Mediterranean (Csa) (40 studies), or humid subtropical (Cfa) (28 studies). The most common geometry of the analyzed urban square is medium-sized, is rectangular, and has dominant axel orientation south–north. Also, based on all five clusters, several research gaps were identified, appropriate for future research: the majority of studies related to the traditionally considered climate areas, no typology of urban square geometry configuration based on OTC assessment, and the lack of a local design model for assessing and improving the thermal comfort of city squares.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of social support on turnover intention in clinical nurses.

Nurse turnover has become a salient issue in healthcare system worldwide and seriously compromises patient outcomes. Social support is considered an effective contributor to alleviate nurse turnover intention (TI). However, the degree of correlation between social support and nurse TI remains elusive. This study aims to evaluate the strength of the effectiveness of social support on TI among nurses as well as its potential moderators. This systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. To obtained qualified studies, two researchers searched Embase, PubMed, Web of science, CINAHL, CNKI, WanFang, and Chinese Medical Journal Full Text Database from inception to January 6, 2024. Meta-analysis, publication bias, and sensitivity analysis were carried out on the included studies using CMA 3.0 software, and the moderating effect was verified through meta-analysis of variance (ANOVA). A total of 38 studies were obtained, involving 63,989 clinical nurses. The comprehensive effect size of the random effect model showed a significant medium negative correlation between social support and TI among nurses (p < 0.001). The sample size and TI measurement tools significantly moderated the correlation between social support and TI (p < 0.050). However, nurse department, gender, data collection time, and social support measurement tools did not moderate the correlation between the two variables. Social support is negatively associated with TI in nurses. Nursing administrators and the medical community should fully recognize the importance of social support for nurses and take corresponding measures to enhance it, thereby reducing TI and ensuring the stability of the nursing team.

Peptide Drug Design Using Alchemical Free Energy Calculation: An Application and Validation on Agonists of Ghrelin Receptor.

With recent large-scale applications and validations, the relative binding free energy (RBFE) calculated using alchemical free energy methods has been proven to be an accurate measure to probe the binding of small-molecule drug candidates. On the other hand, given the flexibility of peptides, it is of great interest to find out whether sufficient sampling could be achieved within the typical time scale of such calculation, and a similar level of accuracy could be reached for peptide drugs. However, the systematic evaluation of such calculations on protein-peptide systems has been less reported. Most reported studies of peptides were restricted to a limited number of data points or lacking experimental support. To demonstrate the applicability of the alchemical free energy method for protein-peptide systems in a typical real-world drug discovery project, we report an application of the thermodynamic integration (TI) method to the RBFE calculation of ghrelin receptor and its peptide agonists. Along with the calculation, the synthesis and in vitro EC50 activity of relamorelin and 17 new peptide derivatives were also reported. A cost-effective criterion to determine the data collection time was proposed for peptides in the TI simulation. The average of three TI repeats yielded a mean absolute error of 0.98 kcal/mol and Pearson's correlation coefficient (R) of 0.77 against the experimental free energy derived from the in vitro EC50 activity, showing good repeatability of the proposed method and a slightly better agreement than the results obtained from the arbitrary time frames up to 20 ns. Although it is limited by having one target and a deduced binding pose, we hope that this study can add some insights into alchemical free energy calculation of protein-peptide systems, providing theoretical assistance to the development of peptide drugs.

First report of the new Neopestalotiopsis species causing strawberry leaf spot and fruit rot in Georgia.

In April 2023, symptomatic strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) plants (cv. 'Camarosa' and 'Florida Brilliance') were observed at a commercial farm in Worth County, GA (USA). Symptoms included foliar, irregularly distributed, and different-sized spots (dark brown with light brown centers) and dark brown V-shaped necrotic areas starting at the leaf edge. By the time of sample collection, ~50% incidence was reported in the field. Leaf samples were collected and shipped overnight to the laboratory. Black acervuli were observed readily on old necrotic foliar lesions. Conidial morphology was consistent with that observed with Neopestalotiopsis species (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2014). Conidia were ellipsoid to fusiform, five-celled, with three light brown median cells and one hyaline apical and basal cell. Apical cells had two-to-four flexuous appendages, and the basal cell had one non-flexuous appendage (Fig 1). The average (n = 20) conidia length, not including the appendages, was 26.6 µm (SD: 2.8), and width was 6.3 µm (SD: 0.94). Fungal isolation was conducted on acidified PDA and incubated at 25°C for 6 days. Dense, white mycelia were observed on the upper plate surface, while a pale pink/orange coloration was observed on the underside (Fig 1). Black acervuli formed on the surface of the white mycelial mat. Six isolates were purified and selected to confirm the species identity. DNA was extracted from 6-day-old cultures and PCR was conducted following Kaur et al. (2023). Amplified DNA was digested with the restriction enzyme BsaWI and two bands were clearly visualized (~130 and ~290 bp), along with a faint band of 20-bp (Fig 2). Four of the six isolates were selected for sequencing of the β-tubulin gene. BLAST queries using the consensus sequence showed that all isolates had 100% identity to strain N21002 from Florida (FL), characterized as Neopestalotiopsis sp. (Kaur et al. 2023). One representative isolate (AJ07-2023) was deposited in GenBank (accession No. PP316103). Pathogenicity tests were performed on 27-day-old transplants of Sensation 'Florida127' provided by Natalia Peres from the UF. Plants were grown in 10.5 cm pots in the greenhouse. Isolate AJ07-2023 was grown on PDA for 30 days at 25°C, and the spore suspension was adjusted at 106 spore/ml. Five strawberry plants were sprayed with 5 ml of inoculum using a Preval sprayer with a CO2 canister, and 5 plants were sprayed with sterile distilled water. Plants were placed in a growth chamber for 6 days and covered with plastic bags after the sixth day to maintain ~85% relative humidity and 25°C. Foliar symptoms, including dark-brown circular lesions occurring towards the edge of leaves with light-brown center and light-yellow halo, developed 13 days after inoculation. No symptoms were observed on control plants. Neopestalotiopsis sp. was reisolated from inoculated plants as described above. Colony, conidial morphology, and PCR results were consistent with the original isolates. Neopestalotiopsis disease has been reported on strawberry in FL (Baggio et al. 2021), OH (Rotondo et al. 2022) and IN (Guan et al. 2023). Although the disease has been observed sporadically in GA since 2020 (Brannen, personal communication), to our knowledge, this is the first official report of the new Neopestalotiopsis sp. in GA. It has been reported that this new strain is more aggressive on fruits and leaves than other Neopestalotiopsis spp. (Baggio et al. 2021), therefore, accurate identification is critical for proper management.

Multifold enhancement of quantum SNR by using an EMCCD as a photon number resolving device

Electron multiplying charge-coupled devices (EMCCDs), owing to their high quantum efficiency and spatial resolution, are widely used to study typical quantum optical phenomena and related applications. Researchers have already developed a procedure that enables one to statistically determine whether a pixel detects a single photon, based on whether its output is higher or lower than the estimated noise level. However, these techniques are feasible at extremely low photon numbers (≈0.15 mean number of photons per pixel per exposure), allowing for at most one photon per pixel. This limitation necessitates a very large number of frames required for any study. In this work, we present a method to estimate the mean rate of photons per pixel per frame for arbitrary exposure time. Subsequently, we make a statistical estimate of the number of photons (≥ 1) incident on each pixel. This allows us to effectively use the EMCCD as a photon number resolving device. This immediately augments the acceptable light levels in the experiments, leading to significant reduction in the required experimentation time. As evidence of our approach, we quantify contrast in quantum correlation exhibited by a pair of spatially entangled photons generated by a spontaneous parametric down conversion process. In comparison with conventional methods, our method realizes an enhancement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by approximately a factor of 3 for half the data collection time. This SNR can be easily enhanced by minor modifications in experimental parameters such as exposure time, etc.

Dynamic redundancy as a mechanism to optimize collective random searches.

We explore the case of a group of random walkers looking for a target randomly located in space, such that the number of walkers is not constant but new ones can join the search, or those that are active can abandon it, with constant rates r_{b} and r_{d}, respectively. Exact analytical solutions are provided both for the fastest-first-passage time and for the collective time cost required to reach the target, for the exemplifying case of Brownian walkers with r_{d}=0. We prove that even for such a simple situation there exists an optimal rate r_{b} at which walkers should join the search to minimize the collective search costs. We discuss how these results open a new line to understand the optimal regulation in searches conducted through multiparticle random walks, e.g., in chemical or biological processes.

Strategy to expedite gas sensor calibration based on cyclic temperature operation and data augmentation

The gas sensor calibration using data-driven approach requires a large volume of training data. The conventional method demands numerous measurements of response data, consuming substantial manpower and time resources. To expedite and streamline the sensor calibration and model deployment, this study proposes a cost-effective and practical calibration strategy combining data augmentation and data preprocessing. This strategy aims to minimize both the collection time and amount of measurement data necessary while ensuring high identification accuracy and generalization performance. The random cropping technique based on sliding sampling window is developed to expand the sample size by randomly and consecutively resampling new data from the limited raw response data. This approach allows any fixed-length sequence from the raw response curve to serve as the training and test sample, facilitating fast and real-time measurement for online detection and dynamic analysis. Furthermore, data preprocessing techniques using sequence normalization and fast Fourier transform are employed to extract the species and concentration features, thereby mitigating drift-like effects in the response data. The effectiveness of this strategy is demonstrated with real measurement data, showcasing significant improvements in identification accuracy and generalization performance compared to conventional methods.

Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized through Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films were synthesized by using a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method with a low flow rate (200 sccm) of mixed gases (Ar and H2). SWCNT thin films with different thicknesses can be prepared by controlling the collection time of the SWCNTs on membrane filters. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the SWCNTs formed bundles and that they had an average diameter of 1.46 nm. The Raman spectra of the SWCNT films suggested that the synthesized SWCNTs were very well crystallized. Although the electrical properties of SWCNTs have been widely studied so far, the Hall effect of SWCNTs has not been fully studied to explore the electrical characteristics of SWCNT thin films. In this research, Hall effect measurements have been performed to investigate the important electrical characteristics of SWCNTs, such as their carrier mobility, carrier density, Hall coefficient, conductivity, and sheet resistance. The samples with transmittance between 95 and 43% showed a high carrier density of 1021-1023 cm-3. The SWCNTs were also treated using Brønsted acids (HCl, HNO3, H2SO4) to enhance their electrical properties. After the acid treatments, the samples maintained their p-type nature. The carrier mobility and conductivity increased, and the sheet resistance decreased for all treated samples. The highest mobility of 1.5 cm2/Vs was obtained with the sulfuric acid treatment at 80 °C, while the highest conductivity (30,720 S/m) and lowest sheet resistance (43 ohm/square) were achieved with the nitric acid treatment at room temperature. Different functional groups were identified in our synthesized SWCNTs before and after the acid treatments using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).

Analysis of Factors Affecting Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization Efficiency and Early Hematopoietic Reconstruction Indicators during Autologous Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Purpose To analyze the factors affecting the mobilization efficiency of hematopoietic stem cells and hematopoietic reconstruction indicators during autologous peripheral hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Methods The clinical data of 54 patients who underwent autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell mobilization and transplantation at Xuzhou Central Hospital from May 2016 to April 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The gender, age, disease type, mobilization regimen, number of chemotherapy sessions, G-CSF (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) dosage, and platelet number at the time of collection were also collected. Moreover, the relationship between these indicators with mobilization results and hematopoietic reconstruction was analyzed. Results Results showed that age, disease type, and number of collections were significantly related to the mobilization results (number of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells). Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that the number of collections was an independent factor affecting mobilization efficiency. Similarly, age, platelet value at the time of collection, CD34+ stem cell value during collection, white blood cell count, and number of chemotherapy times were significantly related to the time of megakaryocytic hematopoietic reconstruction. Multifactor analysis found that age and platelet count were independent factors affecting the reconstruction time of the megakaryocytic system. However, no factor was related to the time of granulocyte hematopoietic reconstruction. Conclusion Platelet count and age when collecting hematopoietic stem cells are closely related to megakaryocytic hematopoietic reconstruction and are key indicators of early hematopoietic reconstruction after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

PARROT BORNAVIRUSES IN PSITTACINES KEPT IN CAPTIVITY IN THE STATE OF SANTA CATARINA, BRAZIL.

Parrot bornaviruses are responsible for proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) in psittacines. This study aimed to determine the occurrence and factors associated with Parrot bornaviruses infection in psittacines kept in captivity in a state in the southern region of Brazil. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 192 birds from two facilities (A and B) in 2019, using choanal, esophageal, and cloacal swabs and feathers, totaling 768 samples subjected to reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), for the matrix (M) protein gene with a final product of 350 base pairs (bp). Genetic sequencing of three positive samples was performed by the Sanger method. In the study, the overall virus occurrence was 35.9% (69/192), with 40.4% (42/104) in Facility A and 30.7% (27/88) in Facility B. Sequencing analysis of the samples revealed the presence of Parrot bornavirus 2 (PaBV-2) in both facilities. Swab samples from the choanal (40/69), esophageal (30/69), cloacal (35/69), and feather (15/69) tested positive, facilitating the molecular diagnosis of Parrot bornaviruses. The results indicated that there is no single ideal sample type for antemortem molecular diagnosis of this virus. Simultaneously testing all four samples at the same time point yielded more diagnoses than testing any single sample among the four. Most of the 29 sampled psittacine species were native, and 46.9% of the birds (90/192) consisted of endangered species. Among the psittacines that tested positive, 88.4% (61/69) were clinically healthy, and 8.7% (6/69) exhibited clinical or behavioral signs, including behavioral changes, alterations in feathering, and changes in body score at the time of collection. This study showcases the application of minimally invasive sampling for diagnosing Parrot bornaviruses, enabling sample collection when the birds are restrained for clinical evaluation. This approach facilitates a prompt and effective antemortem diagnosis, thereby serving as an efficient screening method for parrots kept in captivity.

Effectiveness of a Glyceryl Trinitrate (GTN) Patch in Preventing Amputation, Improving Pain Control and Reducing the Size of Tissue Loss for a Patient With Critical Limb-Threatening Ischaemia (CLTI).

Background Foot ulcer is a common complication of poorly controlled diabetes and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The current standard of treatment for diabetic foot ulcers includes the management of underlying risk factors, wound debridement, use of antibiotics for infection, off-loading with cast, and revascularisation surgery. The glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) patch is currently off-licence in treating PVD or diabetic foot ulcers. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the GTN patch in preventing amputation, improving pain control, and reducing the size of tissue loss (ulcer/gangrene) or localised ischaemic area. Method This is a pilot study of 30 patients who were started on the GTN patchfrom February 2020 to October 2021. Inclusion criteria were patients who have critical limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) and with no viable options or are at high risk for revascularisation, both endovascular and open surgery. Patients who were on a GTN patch for less than six weeks at the time of data collection or had unclear outcomes were excluded. The outcomes were retrospectively collected on prevention of amputation, improvement in pain control, and reduction in tissue loss (the size of ulcer/gangrene) or localised ischaemic area with the use of a GTN patch. The binomial test was used to compare the observed outcome of the GTN patch and the expected outcome, which was assumed to be 50% in this study. Results Ninety-three per cent (93%) of the patients who had GTN patches successfully avoided amputation (p<0.0001). Eighty-four per cent (84%) of patients reported better pain control (p=0.0022) and improvement in the size of ulcer/gangrene/localised ischaemic areas (p=0.0005). Conclusion The GTN patch is effective in preventing amputation, improving pain control, and reducing the size of ulcer/gangrene/localised ischaemic areas in patients who have end-stage CLTI and no viable options or who are at high risk for revascularisation surgery.

Pathological complete response rate to anthracycline versus non−anthracycline based chemotherapy regimens in localized and regional HER2 neu positive breast cancer.

e12632 Background: Debate over the need of anthracycline as part of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in HER2-neu early breast cancer was addressed in many trials with results favoring similar outcomes with or without anthracycline. This was not adopted fully in Saudi Arabia because of concern regarding ethnic differences in response to treatment. We conducted this retrospective analysis to evaluate if there is any difference in pathological complete response rate (PCR) in patients with early HER2-neu positive breast cancer depending on neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen. Methods: Patients with HER2-neu positive early breast cancer who were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) facility between the year 2018 and 2022 were all evaluated for pathological subtype, HER2-neu status and type of neoadjuvant chemotherapy administered. Pathological response status was evaluated in all patients and PCR was measured to see if there was any difference depending on the use of anthracycline (AC) or non-anthracycline (non-AC) based chemotherapy regimen. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, clinical stage, treatments and outcomes were collected via JHAH’s oncology registry. Categorical variables are reported as frequencies and percentages. The association between chemotherapy regimen AC vs non-AC based and PCR was analyzed using Fisher Exact Test. p-value &lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. Analyses were conducted using JMP version 15. Results: In this study 59 HER2-neu positive early breast cancer patients were identified. We examined their clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes. Median age was 57. The most prevalent histology was invasive carcinoma of no special type (79.66%), Estrogen receptor positivity was observed in 72.88% of patients, while progesterone receptor positivity was seen in 62.71% of cases. Majority of patients were alive (96.61%) at the time of data collection. There was no significant difference in clinical stage in both groups. The association between chemotherapy type and pathological response was assessed. Among patients receiving AC chemotherapy (n=29), 55.17% achieved PCR, while for patients receiving Non-AC chemotherapy (n=30), the PCR rate was 50%. However, this difference was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.8). Conclusions: In our cohort of HER-neu positive early breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant therapy there seems to be no significant difference in PCR with AC or Non-AC based chemotherapy regimens. This is concordant with the international trends.