COVID-19 convalescent plasma: current status,lessons from the past and future perspectives

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, blood transfusion services worldwide started collection of convalescent plasma as early as possible, as exemplified by the response in Norway. There were challenges related to donor selection, donor safety, testing for relevant antibodies and indications for and dosing of the convalescent plasma. As more knowledge became available, the product quality was more standardised. Multiple case reports, observational studies and some randomized studies were published during the pandemic, as well as laboratory studies reporting different approaches to antibody testing. The results were conflicting and the importance of convalescent plasma was disputed.Even though there has been strong international collaboration with involvement of many key organisations, we may better prepare for the next pandemic. An even stronger, more formalised collaboration between these organisations could provide more clear evidence of the importance of convalescent plasma, based on the principles of passive immunisation.     

A Coupled FEM-BEM Approach for the Solution of the Free-Boundary Axi-Symmetric Plasma Equilibrium Problem

In this paper we present a coupled Finite Element Method – Boundary Element Method (FEM-BEM) approach for the solution of the free-boundary axi-symmetric plasma equilibrium problem. The proposed method, obtained from an improvement of the Hagenow-Lackner coupling method, allows to efficiently model the equilibrium problem in unbounded domains by discretizing only the plasma region; the external conductors can be modelled either as 2D or 3D models, according to the problem of interest. The paper explores different iterative methods for the solution of the nonlinear Grad-Shafranov equation, such as Picard, Newton-Raphson and Newton-Krylov, in order to provide a robust and reliable tool, able to handle large-scale problems (e.g. high resolution equilibria). This method has been implemented in the FRIDA code (FRee-boundary Integro-Differential Axisimmetric – https://github. om/matteobonotto/ FRIDA), together with a suitable Adaptive Integration Technique (AIT) for the computation of the source term. FRIDA has been successfully tested and validated against experimental data from RFX-mod device, and numerical equilibria of an ITER-like device.     

Plasmacytic cutaneous pathology: A review

We review the spectrum of cutaneous disorders associated with inflammatory and neoplastic plasmacytic pathology. Because plasma cells are derived from B‐lymphocytes our overview includes discussion of certain lymphoplasmacytic proliferations. It is structured along histopathological lines, addressing conditions characterized by (a) cutaneous plasma cell infiltrates, (b) deposits of plasma cell products or their derivatives in the skin and (c) miscellaneous, poorly understood cutaneous complications of plasmacytic disorders. Lesions arising primarily in the skin and those due to cutaneous involvement by multisystem disorders are addressed. The range includes a spectrum of tumefactive and circulatory manifestations. We highlight key clinical and pathological features of the different conditions and outline recent advances in our understanding of these entities. By emphasizing the dermatopathological characteristics of this spectrum of disorders we hope to hone the diagnostic accuracy of practitioners in the field.     

Collecting and evaluating convalescent plasma for COVID-19 treatment: why and how?

Plasma provided by COVID-19 convalescent patients may provide therapeutic relief as the number of COVID-19 cases escalates steeply worldwide. Prior findings in various viral respiratory diseases including SARS-CoV-related pneumonia suggest that convalescent plasma can reduce mortality, although formal proof of efficacy is still lacking. By reducing viral spread early on, such an approach may possibly downplay subsequent immunopathology. Identifying, collecting, qualifying and preparing plasma from convalescent patients with adequate SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing Ab titres in an acute crisis setting may be challenging, although well within the remit of most blood establishments. Careful clinical evaluation should allow to quickly establish whether such passive immunotherapy, administered at early phases of the disease in patients at high risk of deleterious evolution, may reduce the frequency of patient deterioration, and thereby COVID-19 mortality.     

急性心肌梗死患者D二聚体质量浓度与远期预后的关系

目的 探讨急性心肌梗死(acute myocardial infarction,AMI)患者D二聚体(D-dimer)质量浓度与病情严重程度和远期心源性死亡的关系。方法 选取2013年1月至2020年1月收入首都医科大学附属北京友谊医院的AMI患者3 990例,根据D-dimer质量浓度分为3组:≤0.50 mg/L、0.51～0.80 mg/L、≥0.81 mg/L,平均随访时间为2.1 (1.0～4.0) 年。应用Cox比例风险回归模型评估D-dimer对心源性死亡的影响。结果 D-dimer≥0.81 mg/L组患者年龄较大、女性居多、体质量指数较低,既往合并高血压、糖尿病者较多,3支病变较为多见,住院期间肾小球滤过率较低,N末端B型利钠肽原峰值明显升高,左室射血分数<50%患者比例明显升高。D-dimer≥0.81 mg/L组患者在随访期间累计心源性病死率(18.7%)高于D-dimer≤0.50 mg/L组(2.3%)和D-dimer 0.51～0.80 mg/L组(6.1%),且校正其他危险因素后,D-dimer能独立预测AMI患者的心源性死亡(HR=1.71,95%CI:1.34~2.18,P<0.001)。结论 D-dimer能反映AMI患者病情的严重程度,且D-dimer升高可在一定程度上预测AMI患者远期心源性死亡事件发生率升高。