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Abstract: Predominantly antibody deficiencies have an estimated prevalence of >1 in 25 000. Their classical phenotype entails the association of autoimmune manifestations with increased susceptibility to infections. Up to 8% of these patients ultimately develop immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Reducing the risk for infections and considering nonimmunosuppressive treatments, such as thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs), are important considerations for these patients. This nationwide retrospective case series assessed the outcomes and safety of TPO-RAs as treatment for ITP in adults diagnosed with predominantly antibody deficiencies. Response and complete response to treatment were defined as platelet count reaching 30 × 109/L and 100 × 109/L, respectively. We analyzed data from 28 patients. The median follow-up time after introduction of the first TPO-RAs was 33 months (range, 2 weeks to 10.6 years). After 6 weeks of follow-up, response was achieved in 24 of the 28 patients (85.7%), and among those, 21 patients (75%) displayed a complete response. At the last available follow-up visit, only 7 patients (25%) needed second-line therapies for ITP, and among those, only 5 patients (17.9%) received immunosuppressants. Only 3 patients (10.7%) reported laboratory-confirmed hepatobiliary adverse events of light or mild severity and 3 patients (10.7%) reported thrombotic events. In conclusion, TPO-RAs seemed to be an effective and safe option of treatment in these case series. Our results suggest that eltrombopag or romiplostim should be considered as second-line therapy for ITP related to predominantly antibody deficiencies., (© 2024 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.)

Background : In EDTA-induced pseudothrombopenia, citrate or MgSO 4 are recommended for platelet counting. Pre-analytical conditions are poorly defined for tubes containing MgSO 4 or citrate. In this study, we analyzed the impact of agitation of these tubes on platelet counts. Methods: K2EDTA, citrate, and MgSO 4 tubes from 70 patients were gently agitated on a wheel rotating at 20 rpm. Platelets were analyzed on the Sysmex XN analyzer at different times, and the percentage of platelet deviation from T0 was assessed and compared with the desirable bias of the EFLM. Results : at 180 min in fluorescence, the relative variation of platelets after shaking is 1.17% for K2EDTA, -29.76% for citrate, and -33.18% for MgSO 4 , while for unshaken MgSO 4 platelets the variation is -1.3%. The reduction in platelet numbers when citrate or MgSO 4 tubes are shaken is linked to the appearance of platelet clusters. Conclusions : agitation of MgSO 4 and especially citrate tubes led to a decrease in platelet counts due to the formation of platelet aggregates; on the other hand, platelet counts on EDTA are virtually stable. During transport, we recommend putting sodium citrate and MgSO 4 tubes in an upright position and avoiding shaking them to avoid giving an erroneous platelet result.

Background: The limited available data suggest that the prevalence of problem gambling is increased among young adults with first-episode psychosis, possibly due in part to several risk factors for problem gambling that are common in this population. Aripiprazole, a widely used antipsychotic drug, has also been linked to cases of problem gambling, but causality remains uncertain. Although the consequences of problem gambling further hinder the recovery of people with first-episode psychosis, there is a paucity of research about this comorbidity and its risk factors. Additionally, to our knowledge, no screening instrument for problem gambling tailored to these individuals exists, contributing to its under-recognition. Further, treatment approaches for problem gambling adapted to this population are at an embryonic stage, while existing treatments effectiveness remains to be documented. Using an innovative screening and assessment procedure for problem gambling, this study aims to identify risk factors for problem gambling among people with first-episode psychosis and to document the effectiveness of standard treatment approaches., Methods: This is a multicenter prospective cohort study conducted in two first-episode psychosis clinics, including all patients admitted between November 1st, 2019, and November 1st, 2023, followed for up to 3 years until May 1st, 2024. These 2 clinics admit approximately 200 patients annually, for an expected sample size of 800 individuals. The primary outcome is the occurrence of a DSM-5 diagnosis of gambling disorder. All patients are screened and evaluated for problem gambling using a systematic procedure at admission, and every 6 months thereafter. Socio-demographic and clinical variables are prospectively extracted from the patients' medical records. The nature and effectiveness of treatments for problem gambling offered to affected individuals are also documented from medical records. Survival analyses with Cox regression models will be used to identify potential risk factors for problem gambling. Descriptive statistics will document the effectiveness of treatments for problem gambling in this population., Discussion: A better understanding of potential risk factors for problem gambling among people with first-episode psychosis will allow for better prevention and detection of this neglected comorbidity. Results of this study will also hopefully raise clinicians' and researchers' awareness and serve as the basis to adapted treatments that will better support recovery., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05686772. Retrospectively registered, 9 January 2023., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Silicone and pure organic binders were used to develop FAU-type zeolite coatings applied on pre-treated aluminum substrates by using a spraying method and then cured under specific conditions. The influence of the amount of binder on adhesion properties of zeolite coatings was first investigated to determine the optimum ratio between zeolite and binder. Zeolite coatings were then elaborated with a high zeolite content (between 70 and 80 wt.%) to ensure high adsorption capacities. The amount of binders involved in different zeolite coatings was sufficient to achieve interesting adhesion and cohesion properties. The accessibility of zeolite microporosity was studied by nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements, which revealed a very small or no loss of the micropore volume for the optimized coatings. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) adsorption measurements were carried out using n -hexane as probe molecule. FAU-type zeolite in powder form adsorbs 180 mg/g anhydrous zeolite , whereas the amounts of n -hexane adsorbed by zeolite coatings ranged from 131 to 175 mg/g anhydrous zeolite .

Despite the ongoing development of automated hematology analyzers to optimize complete blood count results, platelet count still suffers from pre-analytical or analytical pitfalls, including EDTA-induced pseudothrombocytopenia. Although most of these interferences are widely known, laboratory practices remain highly heterogeneous. In order to harmonize and standardize cellular hematology practices, the French-speaking Cellular Hematology Group (GFHC) wants to focus on interferences that could affect the platelet count and to detail the verification steps with minimal recommendations, taking into account the different technologies employed nowadays. The conclusions of the GFHC presented here met with a "strong professional agreement" and are explained with their rationale to define the course of actions, in case thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis is detected. They are proposed as minimum recommendations to be used by each specialist in laboratory medicine who remains free to use more restrictive guidelines based on the patient's condition., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Introduction: Haemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) is considered to be the gold standard for the follow-up of glycaemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus and is also a diagnostic tool. Accordingly, reliable and efficient methods must be used for its quantification. Roche Diagnostics have recently adapted the Tina-quant® HbA 1c Third Generation immunoassay on a fully dedicated analyser, the Cobas c513, which allows a high throughput of up to 400 samples per hour. The present article deals with the evaluation of the analytical performances of this system which has been recently introduced to the market., Materials and Methods: Precision, comparison with two ion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods (Variant II and D-100 systems, BioRad Laboratories) using Passing Bablok and Bland-Altman analyses, accuracy and interference of the most frequent haemoglobin (Hb) variants on HbA 1c measurement were evaluated., Results: Precision was high, with coefficients of variation lower than 1.1% (HbA 1c values expressed in National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program units, 1.7% for values expressed in International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine [IFCC] units). The comparison study showed similar results with the two HPLC systems. The analysis of samples with IFCC-assigned values showed high methodological accuracy. Finally, no interference of bilirubin, triglycerides and common Hb variants (Hb AC, AD, AE, AS) was observed., Conclusions: This evaluation showed that the analytical performance of the Cobas c513 analyser for HbA 1c assay makes it suitable for a routine use in clinical chemistry laboratories., Competing Interests: Potential conflict of interest: None declared.

Water intrusion-extrusion isotherms performed at room temperature on hydrophobic pure silica chabazite show that the water-Si-CHA system displays real spring behavior. However, differences in pressure-volume diagrams are observed between the first and the other intrusion-extrusion cycles, indicating that some water molecules interact with the inorganic framework after the first intrusion. (29)Si and especially (1)H solid-state NMR showed the creation of new defect sites upon the intrusion-extrusion of water and the existence of two kinds of water molecules trapped in the supercage of Si-CHA: a first layer of water strongly hydrogen bonded with the silanols of the framework and a subsequent layer of liquidlike physisorbed water molecules undergoing interaction with the first layer. This hydrogen bonding scheme is also supported by X-ray powder diffraction.

A cDNA probe representative of the human hnRNP I/PTB gene was used to perform fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on metaphases of human chromosomes. A new localization was found on band 19p13.3 in addition to the previously reported localization to band 14q23. Identical results were obtained when FISH analysis was repeated with probes covering different parts of the hnRNP I cDNA clone. This supported the notion that most, if not all, of the sequences of the different parts of this clone are present on both chromosomes. Moreover, Southern blot analysis of DNAs from interspecies somatic hybrids containing chromosomes 19 and 14 revealed that the whole hnRNP I cDNA probe generated very similar patterns in each hybrid DNA. These data suggest that two closely related copies of the hnRNP I gene exist in the human genome.

The autoantigen p43 is a nuclear protein initially identified with autoantibodies from dogs with a lupus-like syndrome. Here we show that p43 is an RNA-binding protein, and identify it as hnRNP G, a previously described component of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein complexes. We demonstrate that p43/hnRNP G is glycosylated, and identify the modification as O-linked N-acetylglucosamine. A full-length cDNA clone for hnRNP G has been isolated and sequenced, and the predicted amino acid sequence for hnRNP G shows that it contains one RNP-consensus RNA binding domain (RBD) at the amino terminus and a carboxyl domain rich in serines, arginines and glycines. The RBD of human hnRNP G shows striking similarities with the RBDs of several plant RNA-binding proteins.