The adsorption of heavy metal ions from synthetic solutions was performed using sawdust of beech, linden and poplar trees. The adsorption depends on the process time, pH of the solution, type of ...ions, initial concentration of metals and the sawdust concentration in suspension. The kinetics of adsorption was relatively fast, reaching equilibrium for less than 20
min. The adsorption equilibrium follows Langmuir adsorption model. The ion exchange mechanism was confirmed assuming that the alkali-earth metals from the adsorbent are substituted by heavy metal ions and protons. On lowering the initial pH, the adsorption capacity decreased, achieving a zero value at a pH close to unity. The maximum adsorption capacity (7–8
mg
g
−1 of sawdust) was achieved at a pH between 3.5 and 5 for all the studied kinds of sawdust. The initial concentration of the adsorbate and the concentration of sawdust strongly affect the process. No influence of particles size was evidenced. A degree of adsorption higher than 80% can be achieved for Cu
2+ ions but it is very low for Fe
2+ ions, not exceeding 10%.
We studied clinical and immunological outcome of Covid-19 in consecutive CLL patients from a well-defined area during month 1-13 of the pandemic. Sixty patients (median age 71 y, range 43-97) were ...identified. Median CIRS was eight (4-20). Patients had indolent CLL (n = 38), had completed (n = 12) or ongoing therapy (n = 10). Forty-six patients (77%) were hospitalized due to severe Covid-19 and 11 were admitted to ICU. Severe Covid-19 was equally distributed across subgroups irrespective of age, gender, BMI, CLL status except CIRS (p < 0.05). Fourteen patients (23%) died; age ≥75 y was the only significant risk factor (p < 0.05, multivariate analysis with limited power). Comparing month 1-6 vs 7-13 of the pandemic, deaths were numerically reduced from 32% to 18%, ICU admission from 37% to 15% whereas hospitalizations remained frequent (86% vs 71%). Seroconversion occurred in 33/40 patients (82%) and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detectable at six and 12 months in 17/22 and 8/11 patients, respectively. Most (13/17) had neutralizing antibodies and 19/28 had antibodies in saliva. SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cells (ELISpot) were detected in 14/17 patients. Covid-19 continued to result in high admission even among consecutive and young early- stage CLL patients. A robust and durable B and/or T cell immunity was observed in most convalescents.
Background
In Sweden, social restrictions to contain SARS‐CoV‐2 have primarily relied upon voluntary adherence to a set of recommendations. Strict lockdowns have not been enforced, potentially ...affecting viral dissemination. To understand the levels of past SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in the Stockholm population before the start of mass vaccinations, healthy blood donors and pregnant women (n = 5,100) were sampled at random between 14 March 2020 and 28 February 2021.
Methods
In this cross‐sectional prospective study, otherwise‐healthy blood donors (n = 2,600) and pregnant women (n = 2,500) were sampled for consecutive weeks (at four intervals) throughout the study period. Sera from all participants and a cohort of historical (negative) controls (n = 595) were screened for IgG responses against stabilized trimers of the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike (S) glycoprotein and the smaller receptor‐binding domain (RBD). As a complement to standard analytical approaches, a probabilistic (cut‐off independent) Bayesian framework that assigns likelihood of past infection was used to analyse data over time.
Setting
Healthy participant samples were randomly selected from their respective pools through Karolinska University Hospital. The study was carried out in accordance with Swedish Ethical Review Authority: registration number 2020–01807.
Participants
No participants were symptomatic at sampling, and blood donors were all over the age of 18. No additional metadata were available from the participants.
Results
Blood donors and pregnant women showed a similar seroprevalence. After a steep rise at the start of the pandemic, the seroprevalence trajectory increased steadily in approach to the winter second wave of infections, approaching 15% of all individuals surveyed by 13 December 2020. By the end of February 2021, 19% of the population tested seropositive. Notably, 96% of seropositive healthy donors screened (n = 56) developed neutralizing antibody responses at titres comparable to or higher than those observed in clinical trials of SARS‐CoV‐2 spike mRNA vaccination, supporting that mild infection engenders a competent B‐cell response.
Conclusions
These data indicate that in the first year since the start of community transmission, seropositivity levels in metropolitan in Stockholm had reached approximately one in five persons, providing important baseline seroprevalence information prior to the start of vaccination.
The flotation tailings pond of the Bor Copper Mine poses a great ecological problem not only for the town of Bor but also for the surrounding soils and watercourses. Since the old flotation tailings ...contain about 0.2% of copper on the average, we investigated their leaching with sulphuric acid in the absence and presence of an oxidant. The aim was to determine the leaching kinetics of copper and iron as affected by various factors such as: the pH value of the leach solution, stirring speed, pulp density, particle size, concentration of ferric ions, temperature and time for leaching. The average copper and iron recovery obtained was from 60% to 70% and from 2% to 3%, respectively. These results indicate that the old flotation tailings pond represents an important source of secondary raw material for the extraction of copper and that it should be valorized rather than land reclamation. At the end of the paper, a mechanism of dissolution of copper and iron minerals from the tailings was described.
BackgroundAntiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterised by thrombophilic state and circulating antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) including anti ...beta2-GPI.ObjectivesSince than it became one of the most systemic conditions. In the last three and half decades, a variety of clinical manifestations involving almost all organs and tissues (cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, renal, cutaneous, hematologic, gastrointestinal, ocular, skeletal and endocrinology), have been described associated with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL).MethodsOur study comprises a total of 608 patients: 420 primary APS (PAPS) patients and 188 SLE patients with secondary APS (SAPS). aPL analysis included detection of aCL, aß2GPI, and LA.ResultsThrombosis was diagnosed in 46.5% patients, with higher prevalence in PAPS compared to SAPS patients: 51.2% and 38.3%, respectively, p=0.045. Pseudoinfective endocarditis was observed in 12.8% secondary APS patients and 3.1% in primary APS patients (p=0.004). 30% of the patients with high levels of aCL IgG antibodies had valve thickening and dysfunction, as compared to 4.1% without valve abnormalities (p=0.002). Presence of ß2GPI IgG was significantly related to stroke, and overall ß2GPI (IgG and IgM) positivity was significantly related to TIA in SAPS patients. Valvular manifestations were significantly related to TIA in both groups of patients and were independent risk factors for TIA in PAPS (OR 3.790 CI 1.597–8.998 p=0.003: table 2). In PAPS, epilepsy correlated with ß2GPI-IgM, migraine with aCL-IgM, thrombocytopenia with aCL-IgM, aCL-IgG, anti ß2GPI-IgG and LA. Livedo reticularis was more prominent in PAPS with high levels of aCL-IgG. Skin ulcerations were more prevalent in aCL-IgM positive SAPS patients and epilepsy more frequently had high levels of anti ß2GPI-IgG in SAPS.ConclusionsIn this cross-section analysis of a large cohort of APS patients we analysed that APS patients can be presented with a wide variety of thrombotic and nonthrombotic manifestations. The key the success is multidisciplinary approach in all time of patient’s life. Antiphospholipid syndrome is really a disease with protean faces.References1 Hughes GR. The antiphospholipid syndrome: ten years on. Lancet1993; 342:341–4.2 Ardalan MR, Vahedi A. Antiphospholipid syndrome: A disease of protean face. J Nephropathology 2013; 2(1):81–4.3 . Stojanovich L, Markovic O, Marisavljevic D, at all. Influence of antiphospholipid antibody levels and type on thrombotic manifestations: results from the Serbian National cohort study. Lupus 2011; 0: 1–8.4 Stojanovich L, Kontic M, Djokovic A, et al. Association between systemic non-criteria APS manifestations and antibody type and level: results from the Serbian national cohort study. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2013; 31(2):234–42.AcknowledgementsAcknowledgement: Funding: This work was supported by research grant number 175041, and TR 32040 for 2011–2018, issued by the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Serbia.Disclosure of InterestNone declared
Besides genetic factors, it is known that some trace elements, as Selenium, Copper, and Zinc are essential for thyroid gland fuction and thyroid hormone metabolism. Moreover, there were some metals ...effect that suggested patterns associated with overt thyroid disease.
Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), chronic autoimune inflamation of thyroid gland with cosequtive hipothyroidism, is common disease in Serbia, and we thought it is worthwile to explore potential effects of essential and toxic metals and metalloides on thyroid function and ability to restore euthyroid status of them.
This cross-sectional, case-control, study investigated the status of essential elements (Selenium,Copper,and Zinc) and toxic metals and metalloides (Al, Cr, Mn, Co, As, Cd, Sb, Ba, Be, Pb and Ni) from the blood of 22 female, patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis and overt hypothyroidism, and compared it with those of 55 female healthy persons. We tried to establish the presence of any correlation between previous mentioned elements and thyroid function in hypothyroid patients and healthy participants.
The results of our study suggested that the blood concentration of essential trace elements, especially the ratio of Copper, and Selenium may influence directly thyroid function in patients with HT and overt hypothyroidism.Thus, our findings may have implication to life-long substitution therapy in terms of l-thyroxine dose reduction. Furthermore, for the first time, our study shown potential toxic effect of Cadmium on thyroid function in HT patients, which may implicate the dose of l-thyroxine substitution.
BackgroundBecause of the fact that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) causes joint and muscle pain, fatigue, depression, the very thought of exercising can be a challenge for patients. Although ...exercise can be beneficial and can significantly improve the quality of life.ObjectivesThe aim of the study is to determine the form of physical activity in SLE patients that could improve their quality of life. Although exercise can be beneficial and can significantly improve the quality of life.MethodsThis prospective study included 60 patients diagnosed with SLE in stable condition. A randomly selected group of 30 women had aerobic training on a bicycle ergometer for a period of 15 minutes, 3 times per week for 6 weeks, while the second group of 30 women did exercise for 30 minutes, 3 times per week during the same period. FSS (fatigue Severity Scale), Short Form 36 (SF36) questionnaire on the quality of life and Beck depression inventory (BDI) were analyzed at baseline and after 6 weeks.ResultsFatigue was present in all patients (FSS score 53.8 ± 5.7; min 39, max 63) before starting the exercise. Fatigue was present in 11 patients (18.3%) after the physical activity while 49 (81.7%) patients did not experience it (FSS score 29.1 ± 7.8; min 18, max 45). Before starting the exercise the largest number of patients, 40 (66.67%) of them, was in a moderate depressed state, while after physical activities the greatest number of patients, 37 (61.66%), had a mild mood disturbance. There are high statistical differences (p<0.001) in values of all areas of quality of life questionnaire SF36 before and after the implementation of physical activity. Comparing the different types of physical activities there were not any statistically significant differences (p>0.05) in values of FSS and BDI questionnaire. A statistically significant difference was observed in terms of reducing the parameters of pain, general health and mental health in a group that had a physical activity on a bicycle ergometer evaluated by the SF36 questionnaire (p<0.05).ConclusionsOur study has shown that a continuous physical activity in SLE patients significantly improves their quality of life by reducing fatigue and depressive reactions without negative impacts on the activity of their disease. The type of physical activity was not relevant.ReferencesAyan C, Martin V. Systemic lupus erythematosus and exercise.Lupus 2007; 16:5–9.Mancuso CA,Perna M, Sargent AB, Salmon JE.Perceptions and measurements of physical activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus 2011;20:231–42.Wolkmann ER, Grossman JM, Sahakian LJ, Skaggs BJ, FitzGerald J, Ragavendra N, et al. Low physical activity is associated with proinflammatory high-density lipoprotein and increased subclinical atherosclerosis in women with systemic lupus erythematosus.Arthritis Care Res 2010;62:258–65.AcknowledgementThis work was supported by research grant number 175041 for 2011 - 2016, issued by the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Serbia, and by research grant number TR 32040 for 2011 - 2016, issued by the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Serbia.Disclosure of InterestNone declared
BackgroundSeveral manifestations strongly associated with APS have been excluded as classification criteria.1 2 ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate correlation between circulating ...immune-complexes of IgG or IgM antibodies bound to B2GPI (B2G-CIC and B2M-CIC) and clinical manifestations in Serbian cohort of APS patients.MethodsA total of 57 patients with APS were evaluated: 35 with PAPS and 22 patients with SAPS. Mean age was 47.6±1.6 years; 36 (63.2%) were women. All patients have met the 2006 revised Sydney criteria for APSQuantification of B2G-CIC and B2M-CIC levels was performed as previously, for detect B2G-CIC was used anti-human IgG HRP-conjugate and for B2M-CIC human IgM HRP- conjugate, both from INOVA (INOVA Diagnostics Inc., San Diego, CA, USA).ResultsIn our cohort Serbian APS patients the prevalence of CIC was 19.29% (11/57); 8 patients with B2M-CIC and the remain 3 patients with B2G-CIC. Livedo reticularis was diagnosed with higher prevalence in patients with CIC compared with patients without CIC; 63.6% and 23.9%, respectively (OR: 5.57, p=0.01). In patients with CIC, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia were more prominent; 54.4% vs 17.4% (OR: 5.70, p=0.01) and 45.5% vs 13.0% (OR: 5.56, p=0.01), respectively. Ophthalmic sicca was more prevalent in patients with CIC; 54.4% vs 8.7% (OR: 12.6, p<0.001). Although complement consumption was more frequent in patients with CIC (figure 1).Figure 1 Mean levels of C3 (A) and C4 (B) complement in groups. Mean levels of C3 (115.6±9.2 mg/dL and 140.9±4.3 mg/dL, group-1 and group-2 respectively) and mean levels of C4 (140.9±4.3 mg/dL and 30.8±1.6 mg/dL, group-1 and group-2, respectively).ConclusionsB2G-CIC and B2M-CIC are strongly associated with clinical manifestations related to APS. Widening the APS spectrum is indispensable to better understand this syndrome.References1 Stojanovich L, Kontic M, Djokovic A, Marisavljevic D, Ilijevski N, Stanisavljevic N, et al. Association between systemic non-criteria APS manifestations and antibody type and level: results from the Serbian national cohort study. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2013 Mar-Apr;31(2):234–42.2 Stojanovich L, Markovic O, Marisavljevic D, Elezovic I, Ilijevski N, Stanisavljevic N. Influence of antiphospholipid antibody levels and type on thrombotic manifestations: results from the Serbian National Cohort Study. Lupus. 2012Mar;21(3):338–45.AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by research grant number 175041, and TR 32040 for 2011–2018, issued by the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Serbia.Disclosure of InterestNone declared
•We show that NGS is a powerful method to detect viruses in CSF from HSCT patients as well as healthy individuals.•We show that rolling circle amplification before NGS is suitable for detection of ...Tourque Teno virus (TTV).•Using NGS and qPCR, we found higher levels of TTV in HSCT patients with neurological complications compared to controls.•Also, we found elevated levels of mononuclear cells in several samples, which is an indicator of viral infections.
Neurological complications (NC) in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients lead to long-term sequelae and result in significant morbidity and mortality. Since risk factors for NC include viral infection or reactivation, virome inspection after HSCT might be helpful to the clinical management of patients after HSCT.
In this study we investigated whether any viruses are found in association with NC after HSCT. For this purpose, unbiased next generation sequencing (NGS) was used to characterize nucleic acid (NA) content in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) taken at time of NC in 35 HSCT patients. Virome definition in CSF from non-transplanted subjects (controls) was also tested to define the commensal flora.
A higher number of reads/contigs mapped to viruses in patients compared to the controls (7,626 vs 235). Besides bacteriophages, Torque teno virus (TTV) was also identified in both controls and patients. Interestingly, a significantly higher number of TTV-like sequences was detected in the patient samples (7,236 vs 9), showing similarities to distinct genotypes; 3/2,575, 2/1,692 and 2/2,969 contigs/reads mapped to TTV11, TTV13 and Torque teno midi virus, respectively.
In conclusion, unbiased NGS demonstrated to be a suitable approach to characterize the virome in samples containing limiting amounts of NA. The higher TTV levels and genetic diversity found in CSF of subjects with NC after HSCT might suggest a possible association between TTV reactivation and the disorder. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the possible role of TTV on NC in HSCT patients.
Copper removal from acid mine drainage originating from closed copper mine “Cerovo” RTB Bor, Serbia and containing approximately 1.3
g
dm
−3 of copper and a very small amount of Fe
2+/Fe
3+ ions, has ...been successfully performed by the direct electrowinning method using either a porous copper sheet or carbon felt as the cathode. A cell with a fluidised bed of inert turbulent promoters, also used in this study, may be considered as unacceptable for the purpose view, having a cell voltage between 12 and 14
V.
The cells used in the electrowinning experiments were compared in terms of cell voltage, pH and copper concentration. The results showed that it is possible to remove copper successfully from the mine waters with a high degree of electrowinning—higher than 92% and with a satisfactorily average current efficiency (>60%). Depending on the process time and the applied current, a final copper concentration less than 0.1
g
dm
−3 was achieved. The specific energy consumption was approximately 7
kWh
kg
−1 of deposited copper. A dense copper deposit was obtained when a three-dimensional electrode was used.
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