Early CD3+/CD15+ peripheral blood leukocyte chimerism patterns correlate with long-term engraftment in non-malignant hematopoietic SCT

Following hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) for non-malignant disorders (NMDs) variable donor chimerism among lympho-hematopoietic lines may be observed. We retrospectively evaluated early post-HSCT, lineage-sorted (CD3+ and CD15+) peripheral blood leukocyte chimerism data to characterize patterns and assess for association with long-term CD15+ engraftment. 'Early' was defined as the first value obtained between days +14 and +42, 'late' as the last recorded value after day +90. 'High' donor chimerism was defined as 80% on either fraction at all time-points. Patients were classified into four subgroups with respect to early CD3+/CD15+ chimerism patterns (high/low) then analyzed for long-term CD15+ chimerism status. A total of 135 transplants were evaluable, with all three time-points available in 97. Underlying disease, graft source, patient age and conditioning intensity varied. 'Split' early chimerism (discordant high/low CD3+/CD15+ status) was common. Multivariable analysis revealed strong association between conditioning regimen and primary disease on early CD3+/CD15+ chimerism patterns and a dominant predictive effect of early CD15+ chimerism on long-term CD15+ donor engraftment (observed at median day +365). These data may guide real-time clinician decisions (restraint vs intervention, when available) when faced with unfavorable or unusual early lympho-hematopoietic chimerism patterns following HSCT for NMD.

Cardiac Ultrasound Findings in Infants with Severe (Hurler Phenotype) Untreated Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) Type I

BACKGROUND

Serious cardiac valve disease and left ventricular hypertrophy occur in most untreated older children with severe mucopolysaccharidosis type I. Although it is assumed that early intervention prevents these processes, evaluation of cardiac findings in these infants has not yet been reported.

METHODS

We reviewed echocardiograms of 13 untreated infants < 1 year of age with severe mucopolysaccharidosis type I who had undergone evaluation for hematopoietic cell transplantation. We recorded left ventricular chamber dimensions, septal and posterior wall thicknesses, ventricular function, and aortic sinus diameters. We evaluated mitral and aortic valves for increased thickness, regurgitation, and stenosis.

RESULTS

Average age (7M, 6F) was 221 (range 25-347) days. Left ventricular chamber dimension was ≥2 SD of normal in 3/13; wall thicknesses were ≥2 SD of normal in 2/13 infants. Systolic function was normal. Mitral valves were thickened in all infants; mitral regurgitation was present in 9/13, but significant in only three infants. Aortic valves were thickened in 10/13, but no infant had significant aortic regurgitation. Neither mitral nor aortic stenosis occurred. Aortic roots were dilated to ≥2 SD of normal in 5/13.

CONCLUSIONS

Characteristic cardiac features of severe mucopolysaccharidosis type I can be seen in infancy. Mitral and aortic valve thickening are nearly universally present, even in the youngest infants. In 20-30 % of infants, other abnormalities such as left ventricular dilation, increased wall thickness, and mild mitral/aortic regurgitation may occur. Aortic root dilation is a frequent finding. Early intervention with enzyme replacement therapy may minimize the incidence and severity of cardiac findings in these infants.

SUMMARY

Serious cardiac valve disease and left ventricular hypertrophy occur in most untreated older children with severe mucopolysaccharidosis type I. Although it is assumed that early intervention prevents these processes, evaluation of cardiac findings in these infants has not yet been reported. In our study of 13 infants with severe untreated MPS I < 1 year of age, mitral and aortic valve thickening was nearly universally present and aortic root dilation was frequent. Despite this, we found a lower incidence of left ventricular hypertrophy and both a lower incidence and milder expression of mitral and aortic valve dysfunction than previously reported in older children. These findings suggest that earlier intervention, including neonatal screening, may be of benefit to children with severe MPS I.

Loss of Fatty-Acid delta(6) desaturating ability in human mammary epithelial-cells that express an activated C-ha-ras oncogene

The synthesis of essential fatty acids (EFAs) that have been shown to inhibit breast cancer cell growth in vitro and tumor growth in animals requires desaturation at C-6 of linoleic or alpha-linolenic acid. This observation, combined with reports that many tumors and tumor cell lines are deficient in Delta(6) desaturation and/or contain low levels of 6-desaturated EFAs, has led to the suggestion that loss of Delta(6) desaturating ability is relevant to the process of malignant transformation. This study was undertaken in search of direct evidence that malignant transformation of mammary epithelial cells alters EFA metabolism. We used two cell lines derived from the spontaneously immortalized human mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A and expressing either the c-Ha-ras protooncogene (MCF-10AneoN) or an activated c-Ha-ras oncogene (MCF-10AneoT), and a cell line immortalized by transfection of human mammary epithelial cells with SV40 T antigen. We compared these cell lines in terms of ability to convert EFAs (30 mu M) to other EFAs of the same family. MCF-10AneoT cells lose the ability to perform Delta(6) and Delta(4) desaturations, whereas MCF-10AneoN cells and the SV40 T antigen-transformed cell line do not. No significant changes in growth response to culture with 6-desaturated EFAs were noted for MCF-10AneoT cells compared with MCF-10AneoN and parental MCF-10A cells, suggesting that FA metabolism alone cannot account for the effects of EFAs on the growth of neoplastic and non-neoplastic mammary epithelial cells.

Measurement of the proton-air cross section at √s=57 TeV with the Pierre Auger Observatory

We report a measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV. This is derived from the distribution of the depths of shower maxima observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory: systematic uncertainties are studied in detail. Analyzing the tail of the distribution of the shower maxima, a proton-air cross section of [505±22(stat)(-36)(+28)(syst)] mb is found.

Early diagnosis of cerebral X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy in boys with Addison's disease improves survival and neurological outcomes

Approximately one third of boys with X-linked adrenoleukodystophy (X-ALD) develop an acute, progressive inflammatory process of the central nervous system, resulting in rapid neurologic deterioration and death. Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) can halt the progression of neurologic disease if performed early in the course of the cerebral form of X-ALD. We describe a retrospective cohort study of 90 boys with X-ALD evaluated at our institution between 2000 and 2009, to determine if early diagnosis of X-ALD following the diagnosis of unexplained adrenal insufficiency (AI) improves outcomes. We describe seven cases with a delay in the diagnosis of X-ALD and compare their outcomes to ten controls with the diagnosis of ALD made within 12 months following diagnosis of AI. At the time of evaluation for HCT, boys with a delay in the diagnosis of X-ALD had more extensive cerebral involvement and more limited functioning. These boys also were 3.9 times more likely to die and had significant advancement of cerebral disease after HCT, compared with boys with a timely diagnosis of X-ALD. In conclusion, the early diagnosis of cerebral X-ALD following the diagnosis of unexplained AI, and subsequent treatment with HCT improves both neurological outcomes and survival in boys with cerebral X-ALD.

Scaling Properties in the Electrical and Reliability Characteristics of Lead-Zirconate-Titanate (PZT) Ferroelectric Thin Film Capacitors

This paper investigates the issues in the scaling of thin film PZT (Lead-Zirconate-Titanate) capacitors for DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memories) applications. The test structures used were MIM (metal-insulator-metal) capacitors with platinum electrodes and PZT deposited using a sol-gel process. Charge storage density (Q'c), leakage current density (JL), unipolar switching time to 10% decay (ts), time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) and electrical fatigue have been analyzed. Unipolar switching time has been modeled as an RC time constant, where C is electric-field dependent. Q'c at a given electric field appears to remain constant over the range of film thicknesses and electrode areas studied. Leakage current density and time-to-breakdown (tBD) for a given electric field degrade with decreasing film thickness. Unipolar stressing causes considerably less fatigue than bipolar stressing, and after 2 × 1011 cycles, a 400nm film still exhibits sufficient Q'c for DRAM operation.

Evolution of cellular structures during Ge 1-x Si x single-crystal growth by means of a modified phase-field method

We have studied the evolution of cellular structures in Ge 1-x Si x single-crystal growth as a function of process parameters. Because these structures are much larger than those occurring during the solidification of metals, we developed a modified phase-field method, which is able to handle these structure within reasonable computer times using the real material parameters. The model has been tested for computing equilibrium shapes of crystals, dendritic growth, and cellular growth of Ni x Cu 1-x. We also performed classical molecular dynamics calculations in order to compute the diffusion coefficients of Si and Ge in melts of various compositions.