Assessing the Influence of Different Comorbidities Indexes on the Outcomes of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in a Developing Country

Although the application of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) has enabled better prediction of transplant-related mortality (TRM) in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (AHSCT), data from developing countries are scarce. This study prospectively evaluated the HCT-CI and the Adult Comorbidity Evaluation (ACE-27), in its original and in a modified version, as predictors of post-transplant complications in adults undergoing a first related or unrelated AHSCT in Brazil. Both bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) as graft sources were included. We analyzed the cumulative incidence of granulocyte and platelet recovery, sinusoidal obstructive syndrome, acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease, relapse and transplant-related mortality, and rates of event-free survival and overall survival. Ninety-nine patients were assessed. Median age was 38 years (18–65 years); HCT-CI ≥ 3 accounted for only 8% of cases; hematologic malignancies comprised 75.8% of the indications for AHSCT. There was no association between the HCT-CI or the original or modified ACE-27 with TRM or any other studied outcomes after AHSCT. These results show that, in the population studied, none of the comorbidity indexes seem to be associated with AHSCT outcomes. A significantly low frequency of high-risk (HCT-CI ≥ 3) in this Brazilian population might justify these results.     

Epidemiology of training injuries in amateur taekwondo athletes: a retrospective cohort study

The objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence and describe the pattern and severity of training injuries in taekwondo, and to compare pattern and severity of training injuries with competition injuries. One hundred and fifty-two active Australian amateur taekwondo athletes, aged 12 years or over, completed an online survey comprising questions on training exposure and injury history over the preceding 12 months. The main outcome measures were: overall injury incidence rate per athlete-year; training injury incidence rate per athlete-year, per 1000 athlete-training-sessions, and per 1000 athlete-hours of training; injury severity; and injury proportions by anatomical region and by type of injury. Injury incidence rates were calculated with 95% confidence intervals using standard methods, while injury proportions were compared using Fisher''s exact test. The vast majority (81.5%) of taekwondo injuries in an average athlete-year occurred during training. The training injury incidence rate was estimated to be 1.6 (95% CI: 1.4, 1.9) per athlete-year, 11.8 (95% CI: 10.4, 13.4) per 1000 athlete-training-sessions, and 7.0 (95% CI: 6.1, 7.9) per 1000 athlete-hours of training. Among athletes with five or fewer injuries, the severity and injury pattern of training injuries were, by and large, the same as for competition injuries. Approximately sixty percent (60.3%) of training injuries required treatment by a health professional. Considering the burden of training injuries exceeds that of competition injuries, taekwondo governing bodies and stakeholders are encouraged to devote more efforts towards the identification of risk factors for, and prevention of, training injuries in the sport of taekwondo.     

Life cycle assessment of a waste lubricant oil management system

Purpose

This paper compares 16 waste lubricant oil (WLO) systems (15 management alternatives and a system in use in Portugal) using a life cycle assessment (LCA). The alternatives tested use various mild processing techniques and recovery options: recycling during expanded clay production, recycling and electric energy production, re-refining, energy recovery during cement production, and energy recovery during expanded clay production.

Methods

The proposed 15 alternatives and the actual present day situation were analyzed using LCA software UMBERTO 5.5, applied to eight environmental impact categories. The LCA included an expansion system to accommodate co-products.

Results

The results show that mild processing with low liquid gas fuel consumption and re-refining is the best option to manage WLO with regard to abiotic depletion, eutrophication, global warming, and human toxicity environmental impacts. A further environmental option is to treat the WLO using the same mild processing technique, but then send it to expanded clay recycling to be used as a fuel in expanded clay production, as this is the best option regarding freshwater sedimental ecotoxicity, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity, and acidification.

Conclusions

It is recommended that there is a shift away from recycling and electric energy production. Although sensitivity analysis shows re-refining and energy recovery in expanded clay production are sensitive to unit location and substituted products emission factors, the LCA analysis as a whole shows that both options are good recovery options; re-refining is the preferable option because it is closer to the New Waste Framework Directive waste hierarchy principle.     

First identification of tannin-binding proteins in saliva of Papio hamadryas using MS/MS mass spectrometry

Hamadryas baboons possess salivary proline-rich proteins (PRP), as indicated by the presence of pink-staining protein bands using 1D SDS gel electrophoresis and Coomassie R250 staining. The ability of these protein bands to interact with tannic acid was further examined. In a tannin-binding assay using 5 μg tannic acid mixed with hamadryas whole saliva, we recently found four distinct protein bands of apparently 72, 55, 20, and 15 kDa that were precipitated during the experiments. In this work, we were able to identify these protein bands in a follow-up analysis using MS/MS mass spectrometry after excising such bands out of air-dried gels. Albumin and α-amylase were present in the tannic acid-protein complexes, with albumin already known to nonspecifically interact with a great diversity of chemical compounds. More interesting, we also identified a basic PRP and a cystatin precursor protein. This was the first successful attempt to identify a PRP from precipitated tannin-protein complexes in hamadryas baboons using MS/MS mass spectrometry. On the other hand, the role of cystatins in tannin binding is not yet well understood. However, there are recent reports on cystatin expression in saliva of rats responding to astringent dietary compounds. In conclusion, the follow-up data on tannin-binding proteins present in salivary secretions from hamadryas baboons adds important knowledge to primate physiology and feeding ecology, in order to shed light on the establishment and development of food adaptations in primates. It also demonstrates that tannin binding is characteristic for PRP, but might not be restricted to this particular group of proteins in primate species.     

Clonal lineages, antibiotic resistance and virulence factors in vancomycin-resistant enterococci isolated from fecal samples of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Fourteen vanA-containing enterococcal isolates were detected in seven of 52 fecal samples (13.5%) from free-ranging red foxes in Portugal. Nine of the vanA-containing isolates were Enterococcus faecium and five were E. durans. Both sequence types, ST262 and ST273, were identified among E. faecium isolates.