Electrocrystallization of calcium carbonate on carbon-based electrodes

Calcium carbonate was deposited by electrochemical reduction of oxygen to hydroxyl ions at various carbon-based electrodes. Although some vaterite was observed during earlier stages of the electrodeposition, the predominant polymorph during later stages was calcite. The average crystal size reached a value of 15 μm after 10 h at a glassy carbon electrode but the crystal growth rate was substantially accelerated when oxygen was catalytically reduced. The same average size of the calcite crystals in this case (Pt/C electrode) was reached within a period of 1.5 h. Efficient removal of CaCO₃ from water was demonstrated when using a porous aerogel carbon electrode and a potential sufficiently negative to promote reduction of water molecules within the pores.     

Recently Graduated Medical Students Lack Exposure to and Comfort with Chronic Liver Diseases

Digestive Diseases and Sciences - The prevalence of chronic liver disease (CLD) is rising, but it remains unclear if medical school curricula are emphasizing CLD to reflect its growing...     

Standardization and Cross Validation of Alloreactive IFNγ ELISPOT Assays Within the Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation Consortium

Emerging evidence indicates memory donor‐reactive T cells are detrimental to transplant outcome and that quantifying the frequency of IFNγ‐producing, donor‐reactive PBMCs by ELISPOT has potential utility as an immune monitoring tool. Nonetheless, differences in assay performance among laboratories limit the ability to compare results. In an effort to standardize assays, we prepared a panel of common cellular reagent standards, developed and cross validated a standard operating procedure (SOP) for alloreactive IFNγ ELISPOT assays in several research laboratories supported by the NIH‐funded Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation (CTOT) Consortium. We demonstrate that strict adherence to the SOP and centralized data analysis results in high reproducibility with a coefficient of variance (CV) of ～30%. This standardization of IFNγ ELISPOTassay will facilitate interpretation of data from multicenter transplantation research studies and provide the foundation for developing clinical laboratory testing strategies to guide therapeutic decision‐making in transplant patients.     

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas in pregnancy: Tackling therapeutic quandaries

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) often present with systemic symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath and night sweats, mimicking pregnancy-related features which may result in delayed disease diagnosis. Furthermore, the wish to avoid investigational imaging, aiming to protect the fetus from radiation exposure, may lead to a further delay, which does not often result in significant changes in HL clinical nature and patient outcome. In contrast, a more aggressive behavior (i.e., advanced disease stage and reproductive organ involvement) of most NHL types diagnosed in pregnancy may require urgent therapeutic intervention to prevent disease progression.     

In vitro flow based systems to study platelet function and thrombus formation: Recommendations for standardization: Communication from the SSC on Biorheology of the ISTH

Experimental videomicroscopic in vitro assays of thrombus formation based on blood perfusion are instrumental in a wide range of basic studies in thrombosis, screening for hereditary or acquired plateletrelated pathologies, and assessing the effectiveness of novel anti‐platelet therapies. Here, we discuss application of the broadly used “in vitro thrombosis model”: a frequently used assay to study the formation of 3D aggregates under flow, which involves perfusing anticoagulated whole blood over fibrillar collagen in a flow geometry of rectangular cross‐section, such as glass microcapillaries or parallel‐plate flow chambers. Major advantaged of this assay are simplicity and ability to reproduce the four main stages of platelet thrombus formation, i.e. platelet tethering, adhesion, activation and aggregation under a wide range of hemodynamic conditions. On the other hand, these devices represent, at best, simple reductive models of thrombosis. We also describe how blood flow assays can be used to study various aspects of platelet function on adhesive proteins and discuss the relevance of such flow models. Finally, we propose recommendations for standardization related to the use of this assay that cover collagen source, coating methods, micropatterning, sample composition, anticoagulation, choice of flow device, hemodynamic conditions, quantification challenges, variability, pre‐analytical conditions and other issues.