The minimal residual disease (MRD) status plays a crucial role in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and is currently used in most therapeutic protocols to guide the appropriate ...therapeutic decision. Therefore, it is imperative that laboratories offer accurate and reliable results through well standardized technical processes by establishing rigorous operating procedures.
Our goal is to propose a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) panel for MRD detection in ALL and provide recommendations intended for flow cytometry laboratories that work on 4-color flow cytometry platforms.
The document includes pre-analytical and analytical procedures, quality control assurance, technical procedures, as well as the information that needs to be included in the reports for clinicians.
The AX-PET demonstrator—Design, construction and characterization Beltrame, P.; Bolle, E.; Braem, A. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2011, Volume:
654, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Axial PET is a novel geometrical concept for Positron Emission Tomography (PET), based on layers of long scintillating crystals axially aligned with the bore axis. The axial coordinate is obtained ...from arrays of wavelength shifting (WLS) plastic strips placed orthogonally to the crystals. This article describes the design, construction and performance evaluation of a demonstrator set-up which consists of two identical detector modules, used in coincidence. Each module comprises 48 LYSO crystals of 100
mm length and 156 WLS strips. Crystals and strips are readout by Geiger-mode Avalanche Photo Diodes (G-APDs). The signals from the two modules are processed by fully analog front-end electronics and recorded in coincidence by a VME-based data acquisition system. Measurements with point-like
22Na sources, with the modules used both individually and in coincidence mode, allowed for a complete performance evaluation up to the focal plane reconstruction of point sources. The results obtained are in good agreement with expectations and proved the set-up to be ready for the next evaluation phase with PET phantoms filled with radiotracers.
Are grape juices more erosive than orange juices? Beltrame, A. P. C. A.; Noschang, R. A. T.; Lacerda, D. P. ...
European archives of paediatric dentistry,
08/2017, Volume:
18, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Aims
To evaluate the chemical characteristics of grape and orange juices, and their erosive potential in the decrease of microhardness and the loss of enamel structure.
Methods
Five grape and orange ...juices were evaluated for pH, titratable acidity, calcium, phosphate, and fluoride concentration. De-ionised water and Cola soft drink were used as a negative and positive control, respectively. Twelve specimens of bovine enamel were immersed in beverages for 10 min at 37 °C, 3 times/day for 7 days. Erosive potential was quantified using microhardness and loss of enamel structure. Anova One Way, Student’s
t
test, Multiple Regression and Spearman Correlation (p < 0.05) were used to analyse the results.
Results
Powdered grape juice showed the lowest pH (3.18 ± 0.03) and pure grape juice presented the highest titratable acidity (5.48 ± 0.06 mL NaOH/100 mL). Fresh orange juice and soya-based grape juice revealed the lowest calcium (0.77 ± 0.12 mmol/L) and phosphate concentrations (0.35 ± 0.06 mmol/L), respectively. Among juices, powdered orange juice caused the greatest decrease in surface microhardness (SMH) (127.99 ± 40.47 ΔSMH) and grape juice from concentrate caused the greatest loss of enamel structure (13.30 ± 3.56 μm).
Conclusions
All of the evaluated juices contributed to dental erosion. Grape juices presented greater erosive potential than orange juices. Pure, powdered and concentrated grape juices showed similar loss of enamel structure to the Cola soft drink. The erosive potential of beverages was statistically correlated to pH, titratable acidity, calcium, phosphate and fluoride concentrations.
Dark matter and double beta decay experiments require extremely low radioactivity within the detector materials. For this purpose, the University of California, Los Angeles and Hamamatsu Photonics ...have developed the QUartz Photon Intensifying Detector (Q
upid), an ultra-low background photodetector based on the Hybrid Avalanche Photo Diode (HAPD) and entirely made of ultraclean synthetic fused silica. In this work we present the basic concept of the Q
upid and the testing measurements on Q
upids from the first production line.
Screening of radioactivity at the Gator facility in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso has shown that the Q
upids safely fulfill the low radioactive contamination requirements for the next generation zero background experiments set by Monte Carlo simulations.
The quantum efficiency of the Q
upid at room temperature is
>
30
% at the xenon scintillation wavelength. At −100
°C, the Q
upid shows a leakage current smaller than 1
nA and a global gain of 10
5. In these conditions, the photocathode and the anode show
>
95
%
linearity up to
1
μ
A
for the cathode and 3
mA for the anode. The photocathode and collection efficiency are uniform to 80% over the entire surface. In parallel with single photon counting capabilities, the Q
upids have a good timing response: 1.8 ±0.1
ns rise time, 2.5 ±0.2
ns fall time, 4.20 ±0.05
ns (FWHM) pulse width, and 160 ±30
ps (FWHM) transit time spread.
The Q
upids have also been tested in a liquid xenon environment, and scintillation light from
57Co and
210Po radioactive sources was observed.
We present a precise measurement of the ratio RK=Γ(K→eν(γ))/Γ(K→μν(γ)) and a study of the radiative process K→eνγ, performed with the KLOE detector. The results are based on data collected at the ...Frascati e+e− collider DAΦNE for an integrated luminosity of 2.2 fb−1. We find RK=(2.493±0.025stat±0.019syst)×10−5, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This result is used to improve constraints on parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with lepton flavor violation. We also measured the differential decay rate dΓ(K→eνγ)/dEγ for photon energies 10<Eγ< 250 MeV. Results are compared with predictions from theory.
► We propose a 3-stage DM and Iˆ1/2 observatory based on multi-ton LXe and LAr detectors. ► This work is a quantitative study of the topics in Astropart. Phys. 31 (2009) 63–74. ► WIMP cross-sections ...and masses could be measured with sensitivity of 10-47cm2. ► 0ν2β decay could be observed for 136Xe with sensitivity to half-lives 10E27–10E28y. ► The pp solar ν spectrum, and ν flux from a Galactic SN, could also be measured.
We study a three stage dark matter and neutrino observatory based on multi-ton two-phase liquid Xe and Ar detectors with sufficiently low backgrounds to be sensitive to WIMP dark matter interaction cross sections down to 10-47cm2, and to provide both identification and two independent measurements of the WIMP mass through the use of the two target elements in a 5:1 mass ratio, giving an expected similarity of event numbers. The same detection systems will also allow measurement of the pp solar neutrino spectrum, the neutrino flux and temperature from a Galactic supernova, and neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe to the lifetime level of 1027–1028y corresponding to the Majorana mass predicted from current neutrino oscillation data. The proposed scheme would be operated in three Generic stages G2, G3, G4, beginning with fiducial masses 1-ton Xe+5-ton Ar (G2), progressing to 10-ton Xe+50-ton Ar (G3) then, dependent on results and performance of the latter, expandable to 100-ton Xe+500-ton Ar (G4). This method of scale-up offers the advantage of utilizing the Ar vessel and ancillary systems of one stage for the Xe detector of the succeeding stage, requiring only one new detector vessel at each stage. Simulations show the feasibility of reducing or rejecting all external and internal background levels to a level <1 events per year for each succeeding mass level, by utilizing an increasing outer thickness of target material as self-shielding. The system would, with increasing mass scale, become increasingly sensitive to annual signal modulation, the agreement of Xe and Ar results confirming the Galactic origin of the signal. Dark matter sensitivities for spin-dependent and inelastic interactions are also included, and we conclude with a discussion of possible further gains from the use of Xe/Ar mixtures.
Adequate re-establishment of thymopoiesis is critical for long-term immune reconstitution after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), potentially impacting patient survival rates. This study ...aimed to evaluate immune reconstitution in pediatric HCT recipients by quantifying recent thymic emigrants (RTEs), specifically CD3+CD31+CD45RA+ cells.
We conducted a retrospective analysis of 186 pediatric patients transplanted between 2013 and 2020, undergoing their first allogeneic HCT, who were alive in the first 100 days after transplantation with immune recovery evaluation at three time points: day 100, day 180 and day 360 after HCT. We analyzed the distribution of peripheral blood subsets of T, B and natural killer lymphocytes and assessed the impact of underlying disease, HCT type, stem cell source, recipient age, conditioning regimen, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurrence and cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation on immune recovery.
At day 100, patients under 10 years exhibited higher RTE CD4+ and CD8+CD31+CD45RA+ counts compared with older patients (5.3 versus 2.2 cells/µL, P = 0.022 and 48 versus 72.8 cells/µL, P = 0.049, respectively). Patients with haploidentical HCT had lower RTE CD4+ counts compared with those with unrelated or related donors (2.4 versus 4.4 versus 7.9 cells/µL, P = 0.024). Administration of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin negatively impacted RTE CD4+ production (median, 6.5 versus 2.4 cells/µL, P = 0.007). At day 180, the presence of GVHD had a negative influence on RTE production (11.7 versus 56.8 cells/µL, P < 0.001), particularly higher-grade acute GVHD (without, 56.8 cells/µL, grade 1–2, 28.1 cells/µL, grade 3–4, 6.0 cells/µL, P < 0.001). Patients with CMV reactivation had higher CD8+CD31+CD45RA+ compared with those without reactivation (median, 204.6 versus 100.2 cells/µL, P = 0.022). At day 360, no variables significantly affected RTE recovery. Overall survival at 5-year follow-up was 87.7%, with a median of 1170 days (range, 122–3316). Multivariate analysis showed that age >10 years (P = 0.038), negative CMV donor serology (P = 0.0029) and acute GVHD (P = 0.0026) had a negative impact on survival.
This study highlights variations in RTE production based on patient age, donor type and immunosuppression regimen employed.
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