BACKGROUND The first coronavirus (COVID‐19) case was reported in United States in the state of Washington, approximately 3 months after the outbreak in Wuhan, China. Three weeks later, the US federal government declared the pandemic a national emergency. The number of confirmed COVID‐19 positive cases increased rather rapidly and changed routine daily activities of the community. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS This brief report describes the response from the hospital, the regional blood center, and the hospital‐based transfusion services to the events that took place in the community during the initial phases of the pandemic. RESULTS In Washington State, the first week of March started with four confirmed cases and ended with 150; by the end of the second week of March there were more than 700 cases of confirmed COVID‐19. During the first week, blood donations dropped significantly. Blood units provided from blood centers of nonaffected areas of the country helped keep inventory stable and allow for routine hospital operations. The hospital‐based transfusion service began prospective triaging of blood orders to monitor and prioritize blood usage. In the second week, blood donations recovered, and the hospital postponed elective procedures to ensure staff and personal protective equipment were appropriate for the care of critical patients. CONCLUSION As community activities are disrupted and hospital activities switch from routine operations to pandemic focused and urgent care oriented, the blood supply and usage requires a number of transformations.
A bulk, template-free method to synthesize nanofibers of substituted polyanilines is presented. The morphology of the substituted polyanilines changes from agglomerates or micron-sized spheres to a nanofiber network when an initiator, such as p-phenylenediamine, is introduced into the conventional reagents used to synthesize these polymers. UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry reveal that the oxidation state and chemical composition of the substituted polyaniline nanofibers do not differ significantly from that of conventional polyaniline derivatives possessing an agglomerated morphology. Gel permeation chromatography indicates that the nanofibers formed possess an unusually low polydispersity compared to substituted polyanilines synthesized by other methods. Open-circuit potential measurements obtained during the synthesis of these polyaniline derivatives confirm that there is a significant increase in the reaction rate of the polymerization which is directly related to nanofiber formation. This synthetic method appears quite general as a wide variety of substituted aniline monomers have been polymerized into nanofibrillar polymers.
Vehicle generated particle emissions represent a major source of air pollution in urban environments. Recent studies show that monitoring particulate matter in the ultrafine particle (UF) size range (diameter < 100 nm) is critical for assessing adverse health effects. A consensus is emerging that particle number concentration, rather than particle mass, may constitute a better predictor of health effects resulting from exposure to particulate matter (Oberdorster et al., 1990;
Background and Objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has impacted blood systems worldwide. Challenges included maintaining blood supplies and initiating the collection and use of COVID‐19 convalescent plasma (CCP). Sharing information on the challenges can help improve blood collection and utilization. Materials and Methods A survey questionnaire was distributed to International Society of Blood Transfusion members in 95 countries. We recorded respondents' demographic information, impacts on the blood supply, CCP collection and use, transfusion demands and operational challenges. Results Eighty‐two responses from 42 countries, including 24 low‐ and middle‐income countries, were analysed. Participants worked in national (26.8%) and regional (26.8%) blood establishments and hospital‐based (42.7%) institutions. CCP collection and transfusion were reported by 63% and 36.6% of respondents, respectively. Decreases in blood donations occurred in 70.6% of collecting facilities. Despite safety measures and recruitment strategies, donor fear and refusal of institutions to host blood drives were major contributing factors. Almost half of respondents working at transfusion medicine services were from large hospitals with over 10,000 red cell transfusions per year, and 76.8% of those hospitals experienced blood shortages. Practices varied in accepting donors for blood or CCP donations after a history of COVID‐19 infection, CCP transfusion, or vaccination. Operational challenges included loss of staff, increased workloads and delays in reagent supplies. Almost half of the institutions modified their disaster plans during the pandemic. Conclusion The challenges faced by blood systems during the COVID‐19 pandemic highlight the need for guidance, harmonization, and strengthening of the preparedness and the capacity of blood systems against future infectious threats.
Patients with congenital thrombocytopenia have an increased risk of developing myeloid neoplasms. In these cases, the morphologic distinction between disease at baseline and at progression is challenging. This report analyzes clinicopathologic features of congenital thrombocytopenia with long-term follow-up at one referral center. Records from the last 20 years were searched for cases of congenital thrombocytopenia with bone marrow biopsies and peripheral blood smears. The clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular features were analyzed. Six adult and two pediatric patients were identified (six male, two female). Age range at first biopsy was 1-47 (median, 31) years. Underlying diseases included thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome, congenital thrombocytopenia with radial-ulnar synostosis, MYH9-related disorder, shortened telomere syndrome, congenital thrombocytopenia with ANKRD26 mutation, and familial platelet disorder with predisposition to acute myeloid leukemia. Four patients had myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm-like marrow changes such as hypercellularity, increased myeloid to erythroid ratio, numerous micromegakaryocytes (highlighted by CD42b), and marrow fibrosis. Two patients had marrow hypoplasia and two had unremarkable marrow morphology. Three patients-all in the myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm-like group-developed disease progression characterized by erythroid and myeloid dysplasia, elevated bone marrow blasts, and new cytogenetic abnormalities. Unlike non-familial myeloid neoplasms, congenital thrombocytopenia patients in the myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm-like group had a long and indolent clinical course (average age at disease progression, 47 years). In summary, three distinct morphologic types of congenital thrombocytopenia were identified: a hyperplastic myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm-like group, a hypoplastic bone marrow failure-like group, and a group with relatively normal marrow morphology. Emergence of cytogenetic abnormalities and dysplasia in non-megakaryocyte lineages correlated with disease progression.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.