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Low demands on maintenance and 100% recyclability cause the growing popularity of weathering steel bridges worldwide. Recent experimental results made it possible to derive generic probabilistic models describing long‐term corrosion losses for various types of weathering steels and exposures. In the contribution, these probabilistic models are applied in reliability assessment. For representative structural members and failure modes, the material allowances for the loss of thickness are derived to achieve a specified target reliability in exposures corresponding to Corrosivity Categories C2 and C3. Numerical analysis reveals that the allowances recommended by the ECCS guideline are generally conservative. For larger sections exposed in C2, a "no allowance" strategy might even be considered. For C3, design allowance of about 0.5‐0.6 mm is then determined by the probabilistic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion of weathering steels in outdoor conditions has been observed since their pioneering applications in construction in the 1960s. Changing environmental conditions such as decreasing SO2 concentration and changes in temperature and relative air humidity affect the formation and development of a protective layer of corrosion products on the surface of these steels. The study compares the long‐term corrosion rates of weathering steels according to EN ISO 9224 with the measured rates for various environments in the Czech Republic and abroad, with a focus on sites with high concentrations of chlorides from de‐icing salts. When considering related uncertainties, the corrosion rate models provide estimates in a wide range, and in‐situ measurements can significantly improve corrosion loss predictions. The reliability of bridges made of weathering steels with a well‐developed protective layer is insignificantly affected by corrosion. However, low reliability levels may be experienced in critical details where for example leakage may damage the protective layer of patina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation of cytarabine into induction therapy became standard of care for younger patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). On the basis of its beneficial impact, many centers incorporated cytarabine at lower doses also into first-line treatments of elderly patients. We conducted a multicenter observational study that prospectively analyzed safety and efficacy of alternating 3 + 3 cycles of R-CHOP and R-cytarabine for newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible MCL patients. A total of 73 patients were enrolled with median age 70 years. Most patients had intermediate (39.7%) and high-risk (50.7%) disease according to MCL international prognostic index. Rituximab maintenance was initiated in 58 patients. Overall response rate reached 89% by positron emission tomography-computed tomography, including 75.3% complete remissions. Two patients (2.7%) did not complete the induction therapy because of toxicity. Three patients (4.1%) were considered nonresponders, which led to therapy change before completion of induction. Estimated progression-free survival and overall survival were 51.3% and 68.6% at 4 years, respectively. Mantle cell lymphoma international prognostic index, bulky disease (≥ 5 cm), and achievement of positron emission tomography-negativity independently correlated with progression-free survival. Grade 3 to 4 hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity was documented in 48% and 20.5% patients, respectively. Alternation of R-CHOP and R-cytarabine represents feasible and very effective regimen for elderly/comorbid MCL patients. This study was registered at GovTrial (clinicaltrials.gov) NCT03054883. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spacek M, Hubacek P, Markova J, Zajac M, Vernerova Z, Kamaradova K, Stuchly J, Kozak T. Plasma EBV-DNA monitoring in Epstein-Barr virus-positive Hodgkin lymphoma patients. APMIS 2010. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with approximately one-third of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) cases. EBV-DNA is often present in the plasma and whole blood of EBV-associated HL patients. However, the significance of EBV-DNA monitoring is debated. In a cohort of 165 adult HL patients, EBV-DNA viral load was prospectively monitored both in the plasma and whole blood. Diagnostic tissue samples of all patients were histologically reviewed; in 72% nodular sclerosis was detected, 24% presented with mixed cellularity (MC), and 5% had other type of HL. Tissues from 150 patients were also analyzed for the presence of latent EBV infection using in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNA (EBER) and immunohistochemistry for latent membrane protein (LMP1). Using these methods, 29 (19%) patients were classified as EBV positive. Using real-time quantitative PCR, 22 (76%) of EBV-positive HL patients had detectable EBV-DNA in the plasma and 19 (66%) patients in whole blood prior to therapy. In the group of EBV-negative HL cases, three (2%) patients had detectable plasma EBV-DNA and 30 (25%) patients whole blood EBV-DNA before treatment. EBV-positive HL was significantly associated with EBV-DNA positivity both in the plasma and whole blood in pretreatment samples, increasing age and MC subtype. Serial analysis of plasma EBV-DNA showed that response to therapy was associated with decline in viral load. Moreover, significantly increased plasma EBV-DNA level recurred before disease relapse in one patient. Our results further suggest that the assessment of plasma EBV-DNA viral load might be of value for estimation of prognosis and follow-up of patients with EBV-positive HL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 79-year-old male patient who was taken to a hospital because of refractory anaemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS). It states that a karyotype having additional sex combs like ASXL1 and teashirt zinc finger homeobox TSHZ2 genes from ider(20q) aberration was inserted in bone marrow cells of the patient. It also mentions that gene copy number and ribonucleic acid (RNA) levels in the patient were analysed using different hybridization techniques.