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(1) Background: Myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDSs) consist of a group of blood malignancies with a complex biological background. In this context, we investigated the role of autophagy and apoptosis in the pathogenesis and progression of MDSs. (2) Methods: To address this issue, we performed a systematic expression analysis on a total of 84 genes in patients with different types of MDSs (low/high risk of malignancy) versus healthy individuals. Furthermore, real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate significantly upregulated or downregulated genes in a separate cohort of MDS patients and healthy controls. (3) Results: MDS patients were characterized by lower expression levels for a large series of genes involved in both processes compared to healthy individuals. Of importance, deregulation was more pronounced in patients with higher-risk MDS. Results from the qRT-PCR experiments displayed a high level of concordance with the PCR array, strengthening the relevance of our findings. (4) Conclusions: Our results indicate a clear effect of autophagy and apoptosis on MDS development, which becomes more pronounced as the disease progresses. The results from the present study are expected to assist in our understanding of the biological background of MDSs as well as in the identification of novel therapeutic targets.

To examine patient and disease characteristics, toxicity, and clinical outcomes for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC) who are rechallenged with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based therapy.In this retrospective cohort, we included patients treated with ICI for aUC after having prior ICI treatment. Endpoints included the evaluation of radiographic response and disease control rates with first and second ICI courses, outcomes based on whether there was a change in ICI class (anti-PD-1 vs. anti-PD-L1), and assessment of the reasons for ICI discontinuation.We identified 25 patients with aUC from 9 institutions who received 2 separate ICI courses. ORR with first ICI and second ICI were 39% and 13%, respectively. Most patients discontinued first ICI due to progression (n = 19) or treatment-related toxicity (n = 4). Thirteen patients received non-ICI treatment between the first and second ICI, and 12 patients changed ICI class (anti-PD-1 vs. anti-PD-L1) at rechallenge. Among 10 patients who changed ICI class, 8 (80%) had progressive disease as best response with second ICI, while among 12 patients re-treated with the same ICI class, only 3 (25%) had progressive disease as best response at the time of rechallenge. With second ICI, most patients discontinued treatment due to progression (n = 18) or patient preference (n = 2).A proportion of patients with aUC rechallenged with ICI-based regimens may achieve disease control, supporting clinical trials in that setting, especially with ICI-based combinations. Future studies are needed to validate our results and should also focus on identifying biomarkers predictive of benefit with ICI rechallenge.

Summary: Background: Haemodialysis access thrombosis is associated with significant morbidity and access abandonment rates, for which endovascular salvage is a well described treatment option. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of endovascular salvage procedures of thrombosed vascular access circuits and identify factors influencing outcomes. Patients and methods: Retrospective review of 328 consecutive procedures performed over 10 years at our institution between January 2010 and December 2019. Patient demographics, access circuit characteristics, procedure details and outcome data were collected. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate patency rates and Cox multivariate regression analysis to identify factors affecting outcomes. Results: Technical and clinical success rates were 87.8% and 75.9% respectively. The primary, primary assisted and secondary patency rates at 6 months were 42.2%, 46.7% and 59.1%; and at 12 months were 23.4%, 28.3% and 41.8% respectively. Median access circuit survival was 9.2 months. Major complication rate was 5.2% including 3 procedure-related deaths. Native AVF, lower time from thrombosis to intervention and pharmacomechanical thrombectomy using AngioJetTM predicted positive outcomes. Previous thrombectomy within 3 months and residual thrombus at completion were associated with poorer outcomes. Age and hypertension predicted higher complication rates. Conclusions: This is one of the largest single center series of endovascular salvage of thrombosed haemodialysis access and demonstrates that endovascular treatment is effective and provides durable access circuit survival. Careful patient screening is essential to optimize outcomes.

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are increasingly being used in data centers and the cloud due to their potential to accelerate certain workloads as well as for their architectural flexibility, since they can be used as accelerators, smart-NICs, or stand-alone processors. To meet the challenges posed by these new use cases, FPGAs are quickly evolving in terms of their capabilities and organization. The utilization of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) in FPGA devices is one recent example of such a trend. In this article, we study the potential of FPGAs equipped with HBM from a data analytics perspective. We consider three workloads common in analytics-oriented databases and implement them on an FPGA showing in which cases they benefit from HBM: range selection, hash join, and stochastic gradient descent for linear model training. We integrate our designs into a columnar database (MonetDB) and show the trade-offs arising from the integration related to data movement and partitioning. We consider two possible configurations of the HBM, using a single and a dual clock version design. With the right design, FPGA+HBM-based solutions are able to surpass the highest performance provided by either a two-socket POWER9 1 system or a 14-core Xeon 2 E5 by up to 5.9× (range selection), 18.3× (hash join), and 6.1× (SGD).

Background: Conflict is a competitive interaction of people directly or indirectly related and through this interaction one part tries to thwart goals, intentions and wants of the other part. Objective: To assess the emotional intelligence (EI) role among health professionals (HPs) and its relation to conflict management resolution in a public hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a public hospital in Greece from March to September 2020. A random sample of sample of 153 HPs participated in the study. A self-completion questionnaire was structured including questions on socioeconomic characteristics, conflict management and EI. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS 25. Results: The majority of the sample (56.9%) usually conflict with colleague, 23.5% with supervisors, 22.9% with subordinates and 20.3% with the hospital administration. Regarding conflict management strategy, 71.9% try to avoid the conflict and 53.6% negotiate for mutual benefit with the opposite side. 53.3% and 44.7% of the sample stated that differences in educational levels and the unclearly messages provoke conflicts. HPs has moderate level of EI (5.6 ±0.7). The increase of employees’ EI is correlated with the decrease of organizational problems. Contrariwise, employees with high EI, are more aware and satisfied with their work, they know their limits and obligations and are probably more adaptable to changes and requirements. Conclusion: Conflicts appear to be common in hospitals settings. The detection of the factors causing them must be a priority of the modern health management which should encourage health care workers to report conflicts without being punitive.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a well-established treatment option for advanced urothelial carcinoma, and biomarkers of response are needed for better patient selection. We show that metastatic disease confined to lymph nodes is associated with better outcomes, while metastases to liver, bone or both are associated with poor outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Results are hypothesis-generating but relevant to practice. BACKGROUND: Sites of metastasis have prognostic significance in advanced urothelial carcinoma (aUC), but more information is needed regarding outcomes based on metastatic sites in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). We hypothesized that presence of liver/bone metastases would be associated with worse outcomes with ICI. METHODS: We identified a retrospective cohort of patients with aUC across 26 institutions, collecting demographics, clinicopathological, treatment, and outcomes information. Outcomes were compared with logistic (observed response rate; ORR) and Cox (progression-free survival; PFS, overall survival; OS) regression between patients with/without metastasis beyond lymph nodes (LN) and those with/without bone/liver/lung metastasis. Analysis was stratified by 1st or 2nd(+) line. RESULTS: We identified 917 ICI-treated patients: in the 1st line, bone/liver metastases were associated with shorter PFS (Hazard ratio; HR: 1.65 and 2.54), OS (HR: 1.60 and 2.35, respectively) and lower ORR (OR: 0.48 and 0.31). In the 2nd(+) line, bone/liver metastases were associated with shorter PFS (HR: 1.71 and 1.62), OS (HR: 1.76 and 1.56) and, for bone-only metastases, lower ORR (OR: 0.29). In the 1st line, LN-confined metastasis was associated with longer PFS (HR: 0.53), OS (HR:0.49) and higher ORR (OR: 2.97). In the 2nd(+) line, LN-confined metastasis was associated with longer PFS (HR: 0.47), OS (HR: 0.54), and higher ORR (OR: 2.79); all associations were significant. CONCLUSION: Bone and/or liver metastases were associated with worse, while LN-confined metastases were associated with better outcomes in patients with aUC receiving ICI. These findings in a large population treated outside clinical trials corroborate data from trial subset analyses.

ICOS is induced in activated T cells and its main role is to boost differentiation and function of effector T cells. ICOS is also constitutively expressed in a subpopulation of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells under steady-state condition. Studies using ICOS germline knockout mice or ICOS-blocking reagents suggested that ICOS has supportive roles in regulatory T (Treg) cell homeostasis, migration, and function. To avoid any compounding effects that may arise from ICOS-deficient non–Treg cells, we generated a conditional knockout system in which ICOS expression is selectively abrogated in Foxp3-expressing cells (ICOS FC mice). Compared to Foxp3-Cre control mice, ICOS FC mice showed a minor numerical deficit of steady-state Treg cells but did not show any signs of spontaneous autoimmunity, indicating that tissue-protective Treg populations do not heavily rely on ICOS costimulation. However, ICOS FC mice showed more severe inflammation in oxazolone-induced contact hypersensitivity, a model of atopic dermatitis. This correlated with elevated numbers of inflammatory T cells expressing IFN-γ and/or TNF-α in ICOS FC mice compared with the control group. In contrast, elimination of ICOS in all T cell compartments negated the differences, confirming that ICOS has a dual positive role in effector and Treg cells. Single-cell transcriptome analysis suggested that ICOS-deficient Treg cells fail to mature into T-bet+CXCR3+ “Th1-Treg” cells in the draining lymph node. Our results suggest that regimens that preferentially stimulate ICOS pathways in Treg cells might be beneficial for the treatment of Th1-driven inflammation.

Bladder tumour-focused magnetic resonance image-guided adaptive radiotherapy using a 1.5 Tesla MR-linac is feasible. A full online workflow adapting to anatomy at each fraction is achievable in approximately 30 min. Intra-fraction bladder filling did not compromise target coverage with the class solution employed.

Biogeochemical models simulate soil nitrogen (N) turnover and are often used to assess N losses through denitrification. Though models simulate a complete N budget, only specific N pools/fluxes (i.e. N2O, NO3-, NH3, NOx) are usually published, because the full budget cannot be validated with measured data. Field studies rarely include full N balances, especially N2 fluxes, which are difficult to quantify. Limiting publication of modeling results based on available field data is a missed opportunity to improve the understanding of modeled processes. We suggest that the modeler community support publication of all simulated N pools and processes in future studies.

Plants produce a diverse array of toxic compounds which may be released by precipitation, that explains their wide occurrence in surrounding soil and water. This study presents the first mechanistic model for describing the generation and environmental fate of a natural toxin, viz. ptaquiloside (PTA), a carcinogenic phytotoxin produced by bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum L. Kuhn). The newly adapted DAISY model was calibrated based on two-year monitoring performed in the period 2018-2019 in a Danish bracken population located in a forest glade. Several functions related to the fate of PTA were calibrated, covering processes from toxin generation in the canopy, wash off by precipitation and degradation in the soil. Model results (2018-2019) show a good description of observed bracken biomass and PTA contents, indicating that toxin production can be explained by biomass and bracken development stage. The wash off is maximum in the middle of summer, coinciding with the moment of maximum biomass, fully developed canopy and highest PTA content. Model results show that only 4.4 % of the PTA produced in bracken is washed off by precipitation, from both canopy and litter. Once in the soil, PTA degrades rapidly, especially during summer due to the high soil temperatures. Leaching takes place in form of pulses directly connected to precipitation events, with maximum simulated concentrations up to 4.39 µg L-1 at 50 cm depth. Macropore transport is responsible for the events with highest PTA concentrations, contributing to 72% of the total mass of PTA leached. Based on the results, we identify areas with high precipitation and soils characterized by fast transport, as the most vulnerable to surface and groundwater pollution by phytotoxins

Evaporation from bare soil is an important hydrological process and part of the water and energy balances of land surfaces. Comprehensive modelling of this process must include coupled liquid, vapor and heat fluxes. Model concepts of varying complexity have been proposed to predict water loss from soil through evaporation. The objective of our study was to test a coupled water, vapor and heat flow model with data from laboratory evaporation experiments under different boundary conditions. Laboratory evaporation experiments were conducted with a sand and a silt loam under three atmospheric forcings. Pressure heads, soil temperature and the evaporation rates were monitored and the experiments were simulated with a coupled water, vapour and heat flow model which solves the surface energy balance and predicts the evaporation rates. The evaporation dynamics was well captured, in particular the onset of stage-two evaporation and the evaporation rates during stage-two. A valid description of the observed data required the use of a comprehensive model of the soil hydraulic properties which accounts for water adsorption and film flow. However, a slow continuous decrease in the measured evaporation rate during stage-one could not be described with the model under the assumption of a constant aerodynamic resistance. While the addition of established empirical soil resistance parametrizations significantly degraded model performance, the use of a boundary layer resistance improved the evaporation rate predictions for the sandy soil but not for the silt loam. Care should be taken when using resistance parametrizations in coupled modelling of bare soil evaporation.

Soils are characterized by structural components on multiple spatial scales, originating from soil formation processes, soil-plant interactions, microbial activity and management operations. This leads to local heterogeneities for almost all measurements of physical, chemical and biological state variables. This includes the diffusion process, which is known to be affected by the tortuosity, and therefore the water content. Also, biochemical reactions in soils appear to be highly variable in space and time. Yet, the identification of the main controlling factors of the dynamic of reaction rates in unsaturated porous media remain partial.Studying biochemical reaction in real-world soil-plant-atmosphere systems is highly challenging since the true underlying structures can never be absolutely known. For this, it is appealing to employ synthetic experiments. In this study, we consider a simple A+B à C reaction and investigate the potential impact of small-scale heterogeneity, infiltration fluxes and diffusion on apparent reaction rates in a series of synthetic soils geostatistically described by the Miller-Miller theory. Reactive transport is solved using the random-walk particle-tracking approach to properly account for dispersion and mixing conditions.Results indicates a synergetic control of the intensity of soil heterogeneity, the Peclet number and the spatial variability of the (tortuosity-dependent) diffusion coefficient on mixing conditions, which has a great impact on effective reaction rates and on the formation of hot-spots and hot-moments. The initial location of the reactants appears to also condition the mixing state of the system and, therefore, the dynamic of reactions. We illustrate then the high complexity of reactive systems in unsaturated soils, which makes the use of average macroscopic reaction rates (as in most agriculture, environmental and geoengineering models) at least questionable.

Plain balloon angioplasty remains the first-line treatment for dialysis access stenosis. This chapter reviews the outcomes of plain balloon angioplasty from cohort studies and comparative studies. Angioplasty outcomes are more favourable in arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) compared to arteriovenous grafts (AVG) with primary patency at 6 months ranging from 42–63% compared to 27–61%, respectively, and improved for forearm fistulae compared with upper arm fistulae. Higher pressures are required to treat stenoses in AVFs compared to AVGs. Outcomes are worse in more severe stenoses, increased patient age, previous interventions and fistulae that develop early stenoses. Major complication rates following angioplasty in dialysis access are between 3 and 5%. Repeat treatments and the use of adjuncts such as drug-coated balloons and stents can prolong the patency of dialysis access. Level of Evidence No level of evidence (Review paper).

The paper proposes the use of supervised machine learning (ML) methods for quickly predicting the seismic response of rocking systems when subjected to seismic excitations. Different supervised ML algorithms are discussed, while a relatively simple and a more sophisticated algorithm are examined in detail. Specifically, the two algorithms compared are the k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) and the Support Vector Machine (SVM). The performance of the ML models is demonstrated considering both sine pulses and different sets of natural ground motion records. The results are practically perfect for sine pulses, while accurate results were also obtained for the case of natural ground motions. The proposed ML-based tool allows to quickly assess the risk of damage for rocking systems, while it is also very important when a large number of rocking blocks have to be studied, e.g. in the case of a building’s inventory.

Thin Mo films in the thickness range between 1 and 164 nm have been deposited on high-quality quartz and Corning glass substrates by Radio Frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering under high vacuum (base pressure ~ 3 × 10-7 mbar). The sputtering target was metallic Mo. Subsequent short annealing of Mo at temperatures between about 400 °C - 600 °C in a muffle furnace in air produced MoO3 thin films. Heating even to 400°C resulted in significant growth of crystal size. Surprisingly, films thinner than about 50 nm could not be heated at higher temperatures due to the evaporation of the oxide. Ultraviolet – visible light absorption spectroscopy experiments were employed for the determination of the optical band gap. The results for direct and indirect allowed transitions are discussed.

The removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) occurring in wastewater effluents, such as pharmaceutically active substances (PhACs) and personal care products, pose a big research challenge since they can be a major source of pollution for water bodies and a danger to public health. The objective of this work was to perform a comprehensive monitoring of a broad set of PhACs (>130) in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) close to Thessaloniki (Greece), as well as to evaluate the potential of heterogeneous catalytic ozonation for the removal of CECs from wastewater through a continuous flow system. The high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis revealed the highest average concentrations for irbesartan (1817 ng/L). Antihypertensives along with antibiotics, psychiatrics, and β-blockers were found to aggravate the effluents. Removal efficiency after conventional treatment was >30%. The results from catalytic ozonation unit operation indicate that the introduction of a proper solid material that acts as catalyst can enhance the removal of CECs. A preliminary risk assessment using the risk quotient (RQ) revealed that irbesartan and telmisartan entail high acute risk. The overall results underline the urgent need to incessantly monitor PhACs and expand the toxicological studies to establish the sublethal and chronic effects on aquatic organisms.

This interdisciplinary study reconsiders nineteenth-century English newspaper editor George Jacob Holyoake’s paradoxical legacy. Drawing on Gramscian cultural hegemony theory, the study demonstrates Holyoake’s use of press activism to win liberal reforms, culturally empower the working class and articulate Owenist-socialism’s evolving counter-hegemony. In particular, it shows that his editorial agitations laid important discursive foundations for secularism, freedom of the radical press and the co-operative movement. Although Holyoake is frequently celebrated by secularists and co-operators alike for his leading role in their movements’ historic take-off, this article argues his alternative journalism decisively underwrote those campaigns. Against clerical, capitalist and repressive state power, his editorial labour thereby shaped the emergent, oppositional culture that transformed a pre-democratic Britain. Although Holyoake’s multiplex legacy has overshadowed his alternative journalism’s importance, this article thus illuminates his neglected role as an ‘organic intellectual’ of the English working class, an ‘integral journalist’ and an alternative media pioneer.

Sarcomatoid urothelial carcinoma (SUC) is a rare and aggressive variant of bladder cancer with limited data regarding epidemiology and survival. In this study, we explored clinicopathologic factors and oncologic outcomes of patients with SUC derived from Survival, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, in comparison to conventional UC (CUC).SEER database was searched for patients with invasive (≥T1) SUC or CUC using the topography codes C67.0 to C67.9 for bladder cancer and the morphologic codes 8120/8122 for CUC/SUC respectively. Demographic/clinicopathologic/treatment/survival data were extracted. Disease-specific survival (DSS) was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Chi-squared tests were used for comparative analysis and Cox proportional hazards model for identifying clinical covariates associated with DSS.A total of 569 patients with SUC and 37,740 with CUC were identified. Overall, there was a male predominant population in both cohorts, although a higher proportion of women were noted in the SUC cohort (32 vs. 25%). Patients with SUC had significantly higher incidence of non-bladder confined disease (T3/4, 37% vs. 22%) and nodal invasion (18% vs. 12%) in comparison to those with CUC (all P.05). Median DSS was 16 months (95% CI: 12.4-19.6) in the SUC vs. 82 months (95% CI; 75.9-88.1) in the CUC cohort. Presence of SUC histology was independently associated with shorter DSS in the multivariate analysis, when adjusted for other significant clinicopathologic factors.SUC was associated with advanced stage and shorter DSS compared to CUC. Further studies are needed to better understand biological underpinnings behind its aggressive behavior and the role of novel systemic treatments.

Objectives To define chronic ultrasound lesions of the axillary artery (AA) in long-standing giant cell arteritis (GCA) and to evaluate the reliability of the new ultrasound definition in a web-based exercise. Methods A structured Delphi, involving an expert panel of the Large Vessel Vasculitis subgroup of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Ultrasound Working Group was carried out. The reliability of the new definition was tested in a 2-round web-based exercise involving 23 experts and using 50 still images each from AA of long-standing and acute GCA patients, as well as 50 images from healthy individuals. Results The final OMERACT ultrasound definition of chronic changes was based on measurement and appearance of the intima-media complex. The overall reliability of the new definition for chronic ultrasound changes in longstanding GCA of the AA was good to excellent with Light's kappa values of 0.79-0.80 for inter-reader reliability and mean Light's-kappa of 0.88 for intra-reader reliability. The mean inter-rater and intra-rater agreements were 86-87% and 92%, respectively. Good reliabilities were observed comparing the vessels with longstanding versus acute GCA with a mean agreement and kappa values of 81% and 0.63, respectively. Conclusion The new OMERACT ultrasound definition for chronic vasculitis of the AA in GCA revealed a good to excellent inter- and intra-reader reliability in a web-based exercise of experts.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on clinical practice and healthcare professionals. We aimed to assess how interventional radiology services (IR services) were impacted by the pandemic and describe adaptations to services and working patterns across the first two waves. Methods An anonymous six-part survey created using an online service was distributed as a single-use web link to 7125 members of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe via email. Out of 450 respondents, 327 who completed the survey at least partially including 278 who completed the full survey were included into the analysis. Results Interventional radiologists (IRs) reported that the overall workload decreased a lot (18%) or mildly (36%) or remained stable (29%), and research activities were often delayed (30% in most/all projects, 33% in some projects). Extreme concerns about the health of families, patients and general public were reported by 43%, 34% and 40%, respectively, and 29% reported having experienced significant stress (25% quite a bit; 23% somewhat). Compared to the first wave, significant differences were seen regarding changes to working patterns, effect on emergency work, outpatient and day-case services in the second wave. A total of 59% of respondents felt that their organisation was better prepared for a third wave. A total of 19% and 39% reported that the changes implemented would be continued or potentially continued on a long-term basis. Conclusion While the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected IR services in terms of workload, research activity and emotional burden, IRs seem to have improved the own perception of adaptation and preparation for further waves of the pandemic.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare, often fatal demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) caused by the reactivation of JC polyomavirus in the CNS. We present a case of a 54-year-old man with follicular lymphoma diagnosed with PML after being treated with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody-based regimens for several years. Due to the lack of effective treatment choices for PML, the patient was treated with nivolumab, based on recent reports, but succumbed to his disease a few months after diagnosis. In this paper, we focus on reviewing the literature of PML cases correlated with newer agents used in hematology, possible factors affecting disease prognosis, as well as the available data on upcoming therapeutic options for patients with PML. Though newer promising treatments such as anti-PD1 monoclonal antibodies arise, a definitive treatment option is yet to be found. Vigilance, early detection, and prompt intervention play a crucial role in the prognosis of PML in patients with hematological malignancies.

Fe3O4 nanoparticles “decorated” by LAPONITE® nanodisks have been materialized utilizing the Schikorr reaction and tested as mediators of heat for localized magnetic hyperthermia (MH) and as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/disease has been repeatedly reported in patients treated with immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and most commonly involves patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) immune-related adverse events (irAEs). In the current study, we present a patient with melanoma who developed CMV gastritis during treatment with pembrolizumab in the absence of irAEs and without previous or current immunosuppression. Moreover, we review the literature regarding CMV infection/disease in patients treated with ICIs for solid malignancies. We present the currently available data on the pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, endoscopic findings, and histologic features and highlight the potential differences among cases complicating R/R irAEs versus those occurring in patients who are immunosuppression naive. Finally, we discuss the currently available data regarding potential useful diagnostic tools as well as the management of these patients.

Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR) converts ribonucleotides to deoxyribonucleotides required for DNA replication and repair. RNR consists of subunits M1 and M2. It has been studied as a prognostic factor in several solid tumors and in chronic hematological malignancies, but not in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Peripheral blood samples were collected from 135 CLL patients. M1/M2 gene mRNA levels were measured and expressed as a RRM1-2/GAPDH ratio. M1 gene promoter methylation was studied in a patients’ subgroup. M1 mRNA expression was higher in patients without anemia (p = 0.026), without lymphadenopathy (p = 0.005) and 17p gene deletion (p = 0.031). Abnormal LDH (p = 0.022) and higher Rai stage (p = 0.019) were associated with lower M1 mRNA levels. Higher M2 mRNA levels were found in patients without lymphadenopathy (p = .048), Rai stage 0 (p = 0.025) and Trisomy 12 (p = 0.025). The correlation between RNR subunits and clinic-biological characteristics in CLL patients demonstrate RNR’s potential role as a prognostic factor.

Taking the Fear Out of Data Analysis provides readers with the necessary knowledge and skills to understand, perform, and interpret quantitative data analysis effectively. Acknowledging that people often dislike statistics and quantitative methods, this book illustrates that statistical reasoning can be a fun and intuitive part of our lives.