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Graft failure after allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation, although generally uncommon, can be a devastating complication. This report includes the outcome of nine patients who received a salvage transplant for failure to engraft after one (n=8) or 2 (n=1) prior transplants. Eight patients received allografts from the original donor. All received fludarabine 30 mg/m2 i.v. and alemtuzumab 20 mg i.v. daily from days −6 to −2. Daily CYA was begun on day −2, and the allograft was infused on day 0. The therapy was well tolerated with low toxicity, and all nine patients engrafted, recovering neutrophils at a median of 12 days after transplant. Four patients died: two of relapse, one of a fungal infection in the setting of GVHD and one of multiple sclerosis. The combination of fludarabine and alemtuzumab is an effective and well-tolerated salvage conditioning regimen for patients who experience graft failure after blood or marrow transplants.Bone Marrow Transplantation (2009) 43, 477–480; doi:10.1038/bmt.2008.353; published online 3 November 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) is potentially curative for a variety of life-threatening nonmalignant hematologic diseases such as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and hemoglobinopathies. The application of BMT to treat these disorders is limited by the lack of suitable donors and often end-organ damage from the underlying disease. We treated three patients with thrombotic PNH, one of whom also had sickle cell disease, with a nonmyeloablative, HLA-haploidentical BMT with post-transplant CY. Rapid engraftment without GVHD occurred in two of the patients, including the patient with sickle cell disease. Both patients are disease free with full donor chimerism and require no immunosuppressive therapy, with follow-up of 1 and 4 years, respectively. Nonmyeloablative, HLA-haploidentical BMT with post-transplant CY is a promising approach for patients with life-threatening nonmalignant hematologic disease who lack an HLA-matched sibling donor.Bone Marrow Transplantation (2008) 42, 523–527; doi:10.1038/bmt.2008.203; published online 14 July 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven sets of 2D particle image velocimetry data obtained in the bottom boundary layer of the coastal ocean along the South Carolina and Georgia coast [at the South Atlantic Bight Synoptic Offshore Observational Network (SABSOON) site] are examined, covering the accelerating and decelerating phases of a single tidal cycle at several heights above the seabed. Additional datasets from a previous deployment are also included in the analysis. The mean velocity profiles are logarithmic, and the vertical distribution of Reynolds stresses normalized by the square of the free stream velocity collapse well for data obtained at the same elevation but at different phases of the tidal cycle. The magnitudes of , , and - decrease with height above bottom in the 25–160-cm elevation range and are consistent with the magnitudes and trends observed in laboratory turbulent boundary layers. If a constant stress layer exists, it is located below 25-cm elevation. Two methods for estimating dissipation rate are compared. The first, a direct estimate, is based on the measured in-plane instantaneous velocity gradients. The second method is based on fitting the resolved part of the dissipation spectrum to the universal dissipation spectrum available in Gargett et al. Being undervalued, the direct estimates are a factor of 2–2.5 smaller than the spectrum-based estimates. Taylor microscale Reynolds numbers for the present analysis range from 24 to 665. Anisotropy is present at all resolved scales. At the transition between inertial and dissipation range the longitudinal spectra exhibit a flatter than -5/3 slope and form spectral bumps. Second-order statistics of the velocity gradients show a tendency toward isotropy with increasing Reynolds number. Dissipation exceeds production at all measurement heights, but the difference varies with elevation. Close to the bottom, the production is 40%–70% of the dissipation, but it decreases to 10%–30% for elevations greater than 80 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented regarding the effects of post transplantation of cyclophosphamide (CY) on patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA.)

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article about the impact of reduced-intensity stem cell transplantation on young women's reproduction function is presented.

As part of an applied research project, an engineering design and structure deployment study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of performing in-situ larval set of Crassostrea virginica within a temporarily deployed containment barrier. The intent of the barrier was to contain free-swimming larvae to maximize set on emplaced shell substrate. The project site was located in the Chesapeake Bay waters of Maryland (USA) in a tidal tributary adjacent to the Patuxent River. The project included a practical ocean engineering approach to specify barrier and mooring system components by investigating environmental design criteria, applying computational fluid dynamic techniques, and characterizing the barrier and mooring leg shape and tension with catenary equations. Following analysis and component specification, both the barrier and mooring system components were deployed. The structure consisted of two, 15 m length sections of Type-III turbidity curtain with a skirt depth of 4.57 m, but adjustable with furling lines. The structure enclosed an area of about 65 m 2 with clean oyster shell substrate and was held vertical in the water column with ∼0.3 m floats at the surface and chain at the bottom of the skirt. It was deployed with an 8-point spread mooring configuration to maintain its shape in a 0.51 m/s current and 0.75 m waves. After deployment, larvae were introduced into the enclosed volume and allowed three days to set before removing the barrier. A companion biological field study demonstrated that the technique could add over 180 juvenile oysters/m 2 to the site with clean cultch. Recommendations for a potential, scaled-up version are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements just within and above a mature corn canopy have been performed to clarify the small-scale spatial structure of the turbulence. The smallest resolved scales are about 15 times the Kolmogorov length scale (η ≈ 0.4 mm), the Taylor microscales are about 100η, and the Taylor scale Reynolds numbers range between Rλ = 2000 and 3000. The vertical profiles of mean flow and turbulence parameters match those found in previous studies. Frequency spectra, obtained using the data as time series, are combined with instantaneous spatial spectra to resolve more than five orders of magnitude of length scales. They display an inertial range spanning three decades. However, the small-scale turbulence in the dissipation range exhibits anisotropy at all measurement heights, in spite of apparent agreement with conditions for reaching local isotropy, following a high-Reynolds-number wind tunnel study. Directly calculated subgrid-scale (SGS) energy flux, determined by spatially filtering the PIV data, increases significantly with decreasing filter size, providing support for the existence of a spectral shortcut that bypasses the cascading process and injects energy directly into small scales. The highest measured SGS flux is about 40% of the estimated energy cascading rate as determined from a -5/3 fit to the spectra. Terms appearing in the turbulent kinetic energy budget that can be calculated from the PIV data are in agreement with previous results. Evidence of a very strong correlation between dissipation rate and out-of-plane component of the vorticity is demonstrated by a striking similarity between their time series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the toxicity associated with myeloablative conditioning, nonmyeloablative regimens are increasingly being used in vulnerable patient populations. For patients with sickle cell disease, stable mixed chimerism has proven sufficient to reverse the phenotype. Because the vast majority of patients do not have an HLA-matched sibling, a safe nonmyeloablative regimen that could be applied to the haploidentical setting would be ideal. We employed a mismatched mouse model using BALB/c donors and C57BL/6 recipients. Recipient mice were conditioned with 200 cGy TBI and sirolimus or CSA with or without post transplant Cy (PT-Cy). Our data show that when sirolimus or PT-Cy alone is given to C57BL/6 recipients, donor cells are not detected. However, when sirolimus is administered for 15 or 31 days starting 1 day before or up to 6 days after transplant with PT-Cy, all mice maintain stable mixed chimerism. In contrast, conventional therapy employing CSA with or without PT-Cy does not result in stable mixed chimerism. Lastly, mice with stable mixed chimerism after sirolimus display decreased reactivity to donor Ag both in vitro and in vivo. These data identify a novel strategy for inducing mixed chimerism for the treatment of nonmalignant hematologic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rituximab may improve transplant outcomes but may delay immunologic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]