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Observations of the X-ray sky after the next decade will most likely be dominated by Athena (Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics), the second large mission of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2035 programme. Athena has been conceived to address the "Hot and Energetic Universe" science theme, which focuses on the assembly and evolution of hot baryons in cosmic structures as well as the physics and energetic output generated by accreting super-massive black holes, along with the relationship between the two processes, dubbed cosmic feedback. Thanks to its transformational capabilities, Athena will enable bringing all of today's XMM-Newton's hot science topics to a new stage. In this paper, we summarize the Athena science case, science requirements, as well as the expected mission performance, mission concept, and its status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this single centre study were to assess the feasibility of related cord blood collecting, the appropriateness of storage and the final suitability for transplantation. Since September 1994, 63 families were enrolled in this study. Families were eligible if they were caring for a patient with a disorder treatable by haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and were experiencing a pregnancy. A total of 72 cord blood units were collected and stored for 64 patients (both siblings and parents). We focussed on human leucocyte antigen (HLA) compatibility and cell content as critical requirements to unit's suitability for transplantation. HLA-typing was carried out for 34 donor–recipient couples and most units (72%) mismatched with the related patients. About 60% of collections had a minimum cell dose considered acceptable for transplantation. Only 21% of units had both compatibility degree and cell content suitable for transplantation. When applicable, information on the compatibility degree between the foetus and the patient should be obtained during pregnancy. Appropriateness of related cord blood banking for parents should be further investigated and cost-effective guidelines policies should be provided. Finally, as banking of related cord blood units is an important resource then, this public service should be supported and enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The practice of leucoreduction and the need for compliance with production standards have a considerable impact in blood banks. In our country , the importance of evaluating several systems of filtration has been recently stressed as a result of the decision of many European countries with the aim to adopt a policy of a global filtration. In order to test such procedure we have compared two different in-line filters. Methods We studied 153 Packed Red Blood Cell (PRBC) units leucodepleted with in-line filters: 77 PRBC units were filtered with the Leucoflex LCR4 (Macopharma) and 80 PRBC units were filtered with Fresenius filters. The units were processed in accordance with the distribution Companies directives: the Macopharma PRBC were stored at 4°C for 24 hours before filtration, while the Fresenius bags were filtered after only 2 hours at 20°C. The assessment of the leucocytes reduction, of the hemoglobin level and its percentage reduction and the final value of the hematocrit has been investigated. Results Comparison of the effects of the two in-line filters are shown in the table. The log depletion after filtration has been estimated to 3.39 (SD=0.49) for Leucoflex LCR4 and to 4,45 (SD=0.64) for Fresenius filters. The loss of Hb (in percentage) was 1.8 times higher for Leucoflex LCR4 than Frosenius filters. Discussion Both the two filters have shown to be effective in terms of leucocyte depletion and erythrocyte recruitment, even if the efficiency reached by Fresenius filters appears to be strongly marked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]