Metalation calculators for E. coli strain JM109 (DE3): aerobic, anaerobic, and hydrogen peroxide exposed cells cultured in LB media.

Three Web-based calculators, and three analogous spreadsheets, have been generated that predict in vivo metal occupancies of proteins based on known metal affinities. The calculations exploit estimates of the availabilities of the labile buffered pools of different metals inside a cell. Here, metal availabilities have been estimated for a strain of Escherichia coli that is commonly used in molecular biology and biochemistry research, e.g. in the production of recombinant proteins. Metal availabilities have been examined for cells grown in Luria-Bertani (LB) medium aerobically, anaerobically, and in response to H2O2 by monitoring the abundance of a selected set of metal-responsive transcripts by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The selected genes are regulated by DNA-binding metal sensors that have been thermodynamically characterized in related bacterial cells enabling gene expression to be read out as a function of intracellular metal availabilities expressed as free energies for forming metal complexes. The calculators compare these values with the free energies for forming complexes with the protein of interest, derived from metal affinities, to estimate how effectively the protein can compete with exchangeable binding sites in the intracellular milieu. The calculators then inter-compete the different metals, limiting total occupancy of the site to a maximum stoichiometry of 1, to output percentage occupancies with each metal. In addition to making these new and conditional calculators available, an original purpose of this article was to provide a tutorial that discusses constraints of this approach and presents ways in which such calculators might be exploited in basic and applied research, and in next-generation manufacturing.

Violence Against Women During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Study from a Turkish Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVE: Violence against women (VAW) is a major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has worsened gender inequality, resulting in a heightened incidence of VAW. This study aims to assess the characteristics of women who admit to the emergency department (ED), both before the pandemic and during the pandemic. The secondary aim is to compare the frequencies of violence cases between periods. METHODS: By single-center, retrospective, and cross-sectional design, the periods of April 10 - December 31, 2020 and April 10 - December 31, 2019 were compared. The outcomes of the study were the daily ED admission numbers of both sexes, the prevalence of VAW cases in the ED, as well as sociodemographic and clinical variables of the women who were exposed to violence. RESULTS: During the pandemic period, number of VAW cases in the ED increased 13% and the ratio of VAW cases to all ED admissions tripled compared to the pre-pandemic period. Women exposed to VAW were more likely to be without social insurance, injured in the trunk part of their body, and having a life-threatening injury in the pandemic period. In both periods, women were attacked by an intimate partner, dominantly (42.6% and 54.1%, respectively). In addition, among all admissions of adults to the ED, women's percentage decreased while men's admission ratios increased during the pandemic period. Admissions to ED declined 47.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the year before. CONCLUSION: Cases of VAW tend to increase during the pandemic, and health care settings should be well-organized to respond to survivors.

Isolated Severe Immune Thrombocytopenia due to Acute Brucellosis.

Mild anemia and leukopenia are the most common hematologic findings in the course of acute brucellosis. However severe form of thrombocytopenia is less frequently reported. The patient was admitted to the hospital with fever, gingival bleeding, and petechial skin lesions related to severe thrombocytopenia. He was investigated for the causes of thrombocytopenia. Test results showed that Wright agglutination test was positive at 1/5120 titer, and blood culture was positive for Brucella melitensis. Finally, he was diagnosed as acute brucellosis. Rifampicin and doxycycline treatment was started on he third day of admission. A bone marrow aspiration was performed on the seventh day of admission because of severe thrombocytopenia did not response to brucellosis treatment. The result of bone marrow aspiration was consistent with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. With the addition of corticosteroid treatment, his complaints resolved immediately, and thrombocyte count rose to normal range. He was discharged on the 12th day of rifampicin and doxycycline therapy, and he was successfully completed 6-week therapy. In cases of brucella induced immune thrombocytopenia, corticosteroid treatment might be useful for the prevention of bleeding complications.

Outcome of autologous stem-cell transplantation in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma patients in a centre from Turkey.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the predictors of outcome in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) receiving autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two consecutive patients who received ASCT at the Stem Cell Transplantation Unit of Gazi University Hospital from February 2005 through June 2011 for relapsed or refractory HL were analysed retrospectively RESULTS: Fifty-one patients could be evaluated after transplantation, as one of the patients died in the early post-transplantation period. Complete remission was obtained in 36 (71%), partial remission in 9 (18%), stable disease in 4 (8%), and progressive disease in 2 (3%) patients. After a median follow-up of 22 (range, 0.5-75) months, 46 (88%) patients were alive. The probability of overall survival (OS), progression free survival (PFS) and transplantation related mortality at 5 years were 87, 53, and 2%, respectively. Chemosensitive relapse had a positive impact on both OS and PFS CONCLUSION: ASCT remains to be the standard treatment of relapsed or refractory HL patients. Chemosensitive relapse is the most important prognostic factor determining the outcome of the ASCT.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with hematological malignancies.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the clinical course and mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with hematological malignancies. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients with hematological malignancies and ARDS admitted to medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital were analyzed semi-prospectively in the study. RESULTS: The most common etiology of ARDS was pneumonia. The ratio of partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood to fractional concentration of inspired oxygen (PO2/FiO2) was 104 (74-165). Ten patients (15%) received non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIV), 21 (31%) received invasive mechanical ventilation (MV), and 36 (53%) received both NIV and invasive MV. ICU mortality was 77% in the cohort. None of the variables with relevance to the underlying hematological disease was associated with mortality. The presence of two or more organ failures was the only independent risk factor for mortality (P = 0.045), whereas NIV was associated with low mortality (P = 0.001). The Kaplan-Meier curve of mortality, with respect to the type of MV support, demonstrated that NIV was associated with the lowest mortality (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The mortality of ARDS in critically ill patients with hematological malignancies is quite high. The presence of multi-organ failure is independently associated with high mortality whereas the use of NIV is independently associated with low mortality.

Early post-transplantation positron emission tomography in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma is an independent prognostic factor with an impact on overall survival.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic role of pre- and/or early post-autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) (18)F-flourodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. Forty-three consecutive patients were enrolled in this study. FDG-PET/CT was performed following salvage chemotherapy within 6 weeks of undergoing ASCT and at the first month after ASCT. FDG-PET positivity was found in 26 patients before ASCT and in 13 patients after ASCT. The patients who had negative PET scan before or after ASCT had significantly better outcomes in terms of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Pre- and post-ASCT FDG-PET positivity was found to be independently associated with PFS while post-ASCT FDG-PET was an independent factor with an impact on OS in multivariate analysis. (18)F-flourodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging may be useful in predicting prognosis after ASCT. Furthermore, effective treatment options including allogeneic stem cell transplantation might be considered in patients with positive FDG-PET scan after salvage chemotherapy and ASCT.

Hepatitus B virus reactivation in HBV-DNA negative and positive patients with hematological malignancies.

Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a frequent complication of chemotherapy (CT) in patients with HBsAg carriers. In this prospective study, we documented CT induced HBV reactivation risk in patients with hematological malignancies. HBV reactivation risk is influenced by baseline viral load. Therefore, we divided our study population into two groups according to HBV-DNA status. HBV-DNA negative patients (n=18) were treated with nucleoside analogues once HBV reactivation was observed. HBV-DNA positive patients (n=12) commenced lamivudine before the initiation of the CT. In HBV-DNA negative patients HBV reactivation was found in 10 patients (55.5%). HBV reactivation was significantly more frequent in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients (P=0.008) and in patients receiving rituximab containing chemotherapy regimens (P=0.06). Eight patients (80.0%) responded to antiviral treatment after HBV reactivation. Two CLL patients experienced a flare-up after the withdrawal of antiviral therapy. In HBV-DNA positive patients, HBV reactivation was observed in four patients (33.3%) during lamivudine treatment and in two patients after lamivudine withdrawal. This study demonstrated the increased risk of CT-induced HBV reactivation in CLL patients, for the first time.

Extranodal multifocal Rosai-Dorfman disease: response to 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine treatment.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) or "sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy" is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology. The disease usually presents with painless lymphadenopathy with occasional extranodal involvement in various organs. We report a case of a 36-year-old man with a history of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), who recently presented with inguinal lymphadenopathy. Following the diagnosis of RDD on lymph node biopsy, he developed symptoms of spinal cord compression due to a mass lesion discovered at T6-7 vertebral level. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG) positron emission tomography (PET-CT) revealed extensive disease with lung, renal and bone involvement. The patient received a short course of steroid therapy for cord compression findings and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) treatment was initiated for long-term disease control. He had a dramatic sustained response to treatment with six courses of 2-CdA. These results suggest that 2-CdA can be an effective treatment of choice and positron emission tomography with 18FDG can be used for determining the extent of disease and for follow-up in RDD.

BT-online: an innovated and promising computer assisted transfusion system.

BACKGROUND: Errors in the transfusion process are common. These errors encompass a spectrum of events ranging from incorrect transfusion to administration of infected blood products. To overcome these complications, we developed a new blood management software system - the BT-Online system - to decrease erroneous transfusions that are mostly human based. MATERIAL/METHODS: Like previously developed transfusion safety systems, this program uses handheld devices to improve the safety of bedside practices. The BT-online system consists of 3 main structures: (1) the personal digital assistant, (2) the equipment and software (user interface), and (3) the relational database and a web service providing communication of a security-layered database with other personal digital assistants. RESULTS: This system has many features including the ability at the bedside to check the complete patient history and requested tests and blood products, the ability to conduct simultaneous multiple procedures, the ability to transmit results to the database, the ability to gather restrictions and warnings regarding the transfusion and request sections, the ability to provide constant and secure data transfer, a user-friendly design, the ability to gather warnings during measurements that alert the user to potential errors, the ability to enter complications and symptoms and retrieve relevant information and suggestions, the ability to enter transfusion complications, and the ability to check test results and create statistical data for future use. CONCLUSIONS: This system can contribute to blood banks and health care facilities via the above-mentioned specifications. We recommend this system to health care facilities with a significant patient turnover.

Miller-Fisher syndrome associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a frequent hematological malignancy, with meningeal or peripheral nerve infiltrations being the most commonly encountered neurological complications. In this report, we describe a CLL patient with Miller-Fisher syndrome (MFS) who responded to immune modulation with plasmapheresis. A 47-year-old man diagnosed as B-cell CLL admitted with neutropenic fever. He complained of diplopia and numbness of both arms. Neurological examination revealed a bilateral external ophthalmoplegia, dysphagia, dysarthria, mild shoulder girdle muscle weakness and gait ataxia, accompanied by absent tendon reflexes. Nerve conduction studies were indicative of a predominantly axonal sensori-motor peripheral neuropathy. This association of CLL with MFS had not been previously reported in the literature.

A prospective study on chemotherapy-induced hepatitis B virus reactivation in chronic HBs Ag carriers with hematologic malignancies and pre-emptive therapy with nucleoside analogues.

Chemotherapy-induced hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is a serious problem in chronic HBV carriers with hematologic malignancies. In 12 patients with hematologic malignancies, we performed a prospective study to determine the effectiveness of nucleoside analogues in the pre-emptive therapy of chemotherapy-induced HBV reactivation. HBV reactivation occurred in seven patients (58.3%) whereas five of the seven patients (71%) responded to nucleoside analogue therapy. HBV reactivation-related acute liver failure and death was not observed in the present study. All five patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) experienced chemotherapy-induced HBV reactivation regardless of the chemotherapy regimen. Therefore, we suggest that CLL carries a significant risk of chemotherapy-induced HBV reactivation. The pre-emptive therapy of chemotherapy-induced HBV reactivation appears to be safe, based on the results of this pilot study. Pre-emptive therapy enables the definition of high-risk patients who cannot be identified by primary prophylaxis.

The plateled-derived growth factor level (PDGF) in Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and its relationship disease activation.

The research reported in this paper was designed to study the role of plateled-derived growth factor (PDGF) in Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). The PDGF levels in 9 patients with HD and 12 NHL and in a control group consisting of 20 people, was measured by ELISA method. The PDGF values in the disease group of 19 patients were raised. The values of PDGF in the control group were 28.977+/-9 pg/ml, but were measured at 147.083+/-54 pg/ml in HD group and 131.487+/-56 pg/ml in NHL group (p < 0.01). The observation of a 5-fold increase in PDGF values in the disease group when compared to the control group suggests that PDGF could itself be considered as a possible factor in the pathogenesis of HD and NHL. In order to support this, there is a need to design additional studies monitoring PDGF in larger number of patients at various stages of the disease.

Hypercalcemia and Multiple Pathological Fractures in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia: A Case Report.

Hypercalcemia is common in some lymphoproliferative disorders such as myeloma or T- cell leukaemialymphoma, but is rarely described in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). A CLL patient who have been presented with multiple pathological fractures and widespread osteolytic lesions is reported. He was a 74 year old male with fractures of his bilateral humerus and radii and multiple osteolytic lesions of skull, fibula, femur and costals. On his admission to the hospital for the fractures he has been diagnosed as CLL. Hypercalcemia has also been documented. All the disorders that could be the reason of hypercalcemia have been ruled out. The open biopsy of bone marrow showed lymphocytic infiltration in which increased number of prolymphocytes are observed. Hypercalcemia arising in a patient with CLL may indicate a negative prognosis.