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Background: The impact of donor age on the immune reconstitution of patients with hematological malignancies who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is unclear. Method: We retrospectively compared the outcomes of 381 patients who underwent allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) from 308 donors under 50 years of age and 73 donors over 50 years of age. IVIG was regularly supplemented for patients in the first 3 months post‐HCT. Results: The counts of CD8+CD45RA+ naïve T cells were significantly lower in patients of the older donor group than in the younger donor group in the first year after PBSCT (190.6 cells/μl vs. 239.6 cells/μl, p =.018). Patients in the older donor group had significantly fewer CD19+ B cells on day +270 (123.4 cells/μl vs. 183.5 cells/μl, p =.021) and day +365 (169 cells/μl vs. 271.1 cells/μl, p =.01) after PBSCT. Serum IgA (.76 g/L vs..97 g/L, p <.001) and IgM levels (.75 g/L vs. 1.04 g/L, p <.001) were significantly lower in patients in the older donor group from day +60 to +365 after PBSCT. The EBV reactivation rate within the first 3 months after PBSCT was significantly higher in patients in the older donor group (48.6% vs. 38.3%, p =.034). However, the incidences of CMV reactivation, II‐IV acute graft‐versus‐host disease (aGvHD), chronic GvHD (cGvHD), 3‐year relapse rate, 3‐year transplant‐related mortality (TRM) and 3‐year overall survival (OS) were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: In conclusion, donors ≥50 years old were associated with inferior immune reconstitution and higher EBV reactivation in patients after PBSCT, but no change in OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) with graphene oxide@SiO2 (GO@SiO2) nanocomposites as the adsorbent followed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was developed for simultaneous determination of melatonin, L-tryptophan, and two L-tryptophan-derived esters in food (black sesame seed (Sesamum indicum L.) was selected in this case). The GO@SiO2 nanocomposite was prepared by one-pot aggregation in aqueous phase with sol-gel technique. The structure and morphology of the GO@SiO2 were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The extraction conditions of dSPE including the ratio of material to liquid, adsorption and desorption time, desorption temperature, and desorption solvents were investigated, respectively. The detection limits of the developed method for the analysis of melatonin, L-tryptophan, L-tryptophan methyl ester, and L-tryptophan ethyl ester were achieved below 0.1 μg mL−1. The established method was successfully applied to the analysis of the target analytes in black sesame seed, which provided a simple, low-cost, and sensitive approach for the determination of trace compounds in complex samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a highly efficient and rapid method for simultaneously removing cationic dyes from aqueous solutions was developed by using monodispersed mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as the adsorbents. The MSNs were prepared by a facile one-pot method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller. Experimental results demonstrated that the as-prepared MSNs possessed a large specific surface area (about 585 m²/g), uniform particle size (about 30 nm), large pore volume (1.175 cm³/g), and narrow pore size distribution (1.68 nm). The materials showed highly efficient and rapid adsorption properties for cationic dyes including rhodamine B, methylene blue, methyl violet, malachite green, and basic fuchsin. Under the optimized conditions, the maximum adsorption capacities for the above mentioned cationic dyes were in the range of 14.70 mg/g to 34.23 mg/g, which could be achieved within 2 to 6 min. The probable adsorption mechanism of MSNs for adsorption of cationic dyes is proposed. It could be considered that the adsorption is mainly controlled by electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding between the cationic dyes and MSNs. As a low-cost, biocompatible, and environmentally friendly material, MSNs have a potential application in wastewater treatment for removing some environmental cationic contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a magnetic solid-phase extraction protocol followed with high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was developed for the determination of maltol and ethyl maltol in food samples. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared by one-step hydrothermal method and was used as adsorbent for clean and preconcentrated maltol and ethyl maltol in food samples. The as-prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticle was characterized by transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The extraction conditions including the amount of material, extraction time, pH, temperature, and desorption solvents were investigated, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limits of 0.04 and 0.05 µg mL−1 could be achieved for maltol and ethyl maltol. The recoveries between 84.2 and 103.4% with RSDs lower than 2.30% were obtained for the analysis of spiked plum candy sample. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of real samples, such as juice, chocolate, and plum candy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and Objectives: The optimal prognostic assessment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) remains unclear. This study aimed to propose a novel staging system in comparison with the current staging systems for HCC following DEB-TACE., Materials and Methods: From four centers, patients with HCC undergoing DEB-TACE as the initial therapy were retrospectively included and classified into training and validation sets. Multivariable regression was used to determine the independent prognostic factors in the training set. A novel staging system incorporating the independent factors was proposed and externally validated in terms of discrimination and calibration compared to other staging systems in both sets., Results: The training and validation sets included 335 and 99 patients, respectively. Multivariable regression revealed independent factors including alpha-fetoprotein level, aspartate aminotransferase to lymphocyte count ratio index, maximum tumor diameter, Child-Pugh class, and portal vein invasion. The novel prognostic staging system, named PADCA, was proposed and outperformed other staging systems with the highest C-index, area under the curve, Wald test value, clinical benefit, and the lowest Akaike information criterion in the training and validation sets., Conclusion: The PADCA staging system has a superior prognostic predictive ability compared to the current staging systems. PADCA can assist clinicians in screening out the patients most likely to derive benefit from DEB-TACE and guiding the formulation of therapy and follow-up strategy., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)