This novel ovine two-event TRALI model presents a new tool for the investigation of TRALI pathogenesis. It represents the first description of an in vivo large animal model of TRALI and the first description of TRALI caused by transfusion with heat-treated pooled supernatant from human whole blood platelet concentrates.

Background and Aim: Lung Cancer (LC) is a major cancer killer worldwide, and 5-yr survival is extremely poor (≤15%), accentuating the need for more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Studies have shown cell-free microRNAs (miRNAs) circulating in the serum and plasma with specific expression in cancer, indicating the potential of using miRNAs as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and therapy. This study aimed to identify differentially-expressed two miRNAs in the plasma of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients that might be a clinically useful tool for lung cancer early detection. miRNA-21 is one of the most abundant oncomirs. miRNA-23a functions as an oncogene in several human cancers, however, its clinical value has not been investigated in NSCLC. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Assiut University Hospital, Egypt, from 2017 to 2018. Plasma samples were obtained from 45 NSCLC patients. The expression level of miR-21 and miRNA-23a was detected by qRT-PCR and compared to 40 healthy control subjects. The relation between both miRNAs and clinicopathological parameters was evaluated. Results: The expression level of miR-21 and miRNA-23a was significantly up-regulated (36.9 ± 18.7 vs. 1.12 ± 0.84 and 24.7 ± 19.09 vs. 1.16 ± 0.45) in NSCLC compared to matched controls (P<0.0001each). There was a significant difference in the level of plasma miRNA-21 and miRNA- 23a expression between the different grades of the disease (P = 0.032 and P = 0.001, respectively). The plasma miRNA-21 and miRNA-23a levels in the lung cancer patients with distant metastasis (n = 20) were significantly higher than those in the patients without metastasis (n = 25) (P<0.0001 each), the expression of miR-21 and miRNA-23a was significantly associated with tumor size (P = 0.001, P = 0.0001, respectively), but not significantly related to lymph node metastasis (P = 0.687 and 0.696, respectively). A positive correlation was observed between miRNA-21 and miRNA-23a (r = 0.784, P<0.01), There was no significant difference in the plasma miRNA-21 and miRNA-23a levels in the lung cancer patients with different histopathological types. Conclusion: miR-21 and miR-23a might play an oncogenic role in LC and is a poor prognostic factor. Switching off miRNA-21 and miRNA-23a may improve the treatment of LC. Our results must be verified by large-scale prospective studies with standardized methodology.

Background: Lung cancer is one of the main human health threats. Survival of lung cancer patients depends on the timely detection and diagnosis. Among the genetic irregularities that control cancer development and progression, there are microRNAs (miRNAs). This study aimed to assess the plasma level of circulating miRNA-17 and miRNA-222 as non-invasive markers in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Patients and methods: A total of 40 patients with NSCLC and 20 healthy controls who were matched in terms of age and sex with the patient group were included in this case-control study.. Estimation of miRNA-17 and miRNA-222 expression profiles in the plasma was done using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). The relationship between both markers and their clinicopathological features were also determined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was done to evaluate the role of these microRNAs in NSCLC diagnosis and follow-up. Results: MiRNA-17 and miRNA-222 levels were significantly upregulated in NSCLC patients compared with controls (48.32±12.35 vs 1.16±0.19 and 34.53±3.1 vs 1.22±0.14) (P=0.000). Plasma miRNA-17 level was increased, and the miRNA-222 level was decreased across different stages of the disease; however, these differences d were not statistically significant (P=0.4, P=0.5, respectively). The miRNA-17 levels were higher in the lung cancer patients with metastasis , but miRNA-222 levels were lower patients without metastasis. We found no statistically significant difference in this regard(P=0.4 vs P=0.3, respectively). ROC curve analysis showed that the sensi¬tivity and specificity of miRNA-17 were 77.78% and 87.50% , and of miRNA-222 were 50% and 88.89%. Conclusion: MiRNA-17 and miRNA-222 can be considered as non-invasive biomarkers for detection of early lung carcinogenesis and metastasis in patients with NSCLC, hence providing a basis for the development of novel therapeutic approaches.

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There has been growing attention toward the predictive value of the coagulation parameters abnormalities in COVID-19. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of coagulation parameters namely Prothrombin concentration (PC), activated Partial thromboplastin Time (aPTT), D-Dimer (DD), Anti Thrombin III (ATIII) and fibrinogen (Fg) together with hematological, and biochemical parameters in predicting the severity of COVID-19 patients and estimating their relation to clinical outcomes in hospitalized and severe COVID-19 Patients. In a prospective study, a total of 267 newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients were enrolled. They were divided into two groups; hospitalized group which included 144 patients and non-hospitalized group that included 123 patients. According to severity, the patients were divided into severe group which included 71 patients and non-severe group that included 196 patients who were admitted to ward or not hospitalized. Clinical evaluation, measurement of coagulation parameters, biochemical indices, outcome and survival data were recorded. Hospitalized and severe patients were older and commonly presented with dyspnea (P ≤ 0.001). Differences in coagulation parameters were highly significant in hospitalized and severe groups in almost all parameters, same for inflammatory markers. D-dimer, AT-III and LDH showed excellent independently prediction of severity risk. With a cut-off of > 2.0 ng/L, the sensitivity and specificity of D dimer in predicting severity were 76% and 93%, respectively. Patients with coagulation abnormalities showed worse survival than those without (p = 0.002). Early assessment and dynamic monitoring of coagulation parameters may be a benchmark in the prediction of COVID-19 severity and death.