The use of a thermophilic acidophilic iron-oxidizing archaeon, Acidianus brierleyi, was investigated for oxidation and immobilization of As(III) from acidic refinery waste water. Some As(III) oxidation was measured in all Ac. brierleyi cultures independently of the presence or concentration of Fe(II) in bulk solution; the exception was at initial Fe(II) concentration ([Fe(II)](ini)) of 1000 mg l(-1) where As(III) oxidation became markedly facilitated and consequently approximately 70% of As was immobilized as amorphous ferric arsenate. Providing 1000 mg l(-1) Fe(III) instead of Fe(II) did not show the same effect, implying the importance of Fe(III) be microbially-produced and complexed in the archaeal EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) region for effective As(III) oxidation. The reaction towards secondary mineral formation shifted from ferric arsenate to jarosite at [Fe(II)](ini) of >1000 mg l(-1). Furthermore addition of jarosite seed crystals retarded the As(III) oxidation rate at [Fe(II)](ini) of 1000 mg l(-1). The observations indicate that by setting the appropriate bulk Fe(II)/As(III) ratio in Ac. brierleyi culture to achieve a certain concentration of Fe(III) within the EPS region, but at the same time to avoid jarosite formation, it is possible to maximize the As(III) oxidation rate and thus As immobilization efficiency. This study describes for the first time microbially-mediated simultaneous oxidation and immobilization of As(III) as ferric arsenate, using a thermoacidophilic iron-oxidizing archaeon, Ac. brierleyi. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Severe adverse events (SAE) and late hematological malignancies have been reported after PBSC donation. No prospective data on incidence and risk factors have been available for family donors so far. The Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (JSHCT) introduced therefore in 2000 a mandatory registration system. It defined standards for donor eligibility and asked harvest centers to report any SAE immediately. All donors were examined at day 30 and were to be contacted once each year for a period of 5 years. Acute SAEs within day 30 were reported from 47/3264 donations (1.44%) with 14 events considered as unexpected and severe (0.58%). No donor died within 30 days. Late SAEs were reported from 39/1708 donors (2.3%). The incidence of acute SAEs was significantly higher among donors not matching the JSHCT standards (P=0.0023). Late hematological malignancies in PBSC donors were not different compared with a retrospective cohort of BM donors (N:1/1708 vs N:2/5921; P=0.53). In conclusion, acute and late SAEs do occur in PBSC donors at relatively low frequency but risk factors can be defined.

We studied the clinical outcomes of 87 adults with de novo acute leukemias who received unrelated cord blood transplantation (CBT) after myeloablative conditioning. Between August 1998 and July 2008, 55 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and 32 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were treated with unrelated CBT. All patients received 4 fractionated 12 Gy total body irradiation (TBI) and chemotherapy as myeloablative conditioning and cyclosporine plus short term methotrexate as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. The median age was 38 years and the median number of nucleated cells was 2.38 x 107/kg. 16 patients were transplanted not in complete remission (CR). t(9;22) and 11q23 abnormalities were found in nine and seven, respectively. All patients received a single cord blood unit and grafts were selected from at least 4/6 serologically matched units in the Japan Cord Blood Bank Network. Variables considered in statistical analyses were age, gender, diagnosis, disease status at CBT, disease risk, cytogenetic subgroups, total nucleated cell (TNC) dose, sex mismatches, ABO mismatches, HLA mismatches (A and B by low resolution, DRB1 by high resolution), and blood levels of cyclosporine. With a median follow-up of 42 months (range 13-120), the probability of disease free survival (DFS) at 5 years was 67.1% (95%CI: 57.0-77.2%). The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 23.1% (95%CI: 13.7-32.5%). In multivariate analysis, the risk factor identified for both DFS and the incidence of relapse was the numbers of HLA mismatches. The probability of DFS and the cumulative incidence of relapse in the subset of three HLA antigen mismatches (n = 25) were 89.6% and 9.9%, respectively. Several reports have shown that HLA matched CBT resulted in better outcome, but our study revealed superior outcome in recipients of grafts with three HLA antigen mismatches. Although this is a result from a Japanese single institute, we suggest that CBT from grafts with three HLA antigen mismatches may improve outcomes by reducing the incidence of relapse without increasing treatment related mortality (TRM) in adult patients with de novo acute leukemias.

We analyzed the disease-specific outcomes of adult patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) treated with cord blood transplantation (CBT) after myeloablative conditioning. Between August 1998 and June 2009, 33 adult patients with advanced MDS were treated with unrelated CBT. The diagnoses at transplantation included refractory anemia with excess blasts (n=7) and MDS-related secondary AML (sAML) (n=26). All patients received four fractionated 12 Gy TBI and chemotherapy as myeloablative conditioning. The median age was 42 years, the median weight was 55 kg and the median number of cryopreserved nucleated cells was 2.51 × 107 cells per kg. The cumulative incidence of neutrophil recovery at day 50 was 91%. Neutrophil recovery was significantly faster in sAML patients (P=0.04). The cumulative incidence of plt recovery at day 200 was 88%. Plt recovery was significantly faster in CMV seronegative patients (P<0.001). The cumulative incidence of grade II–IV acute GVHD (aGVHD) and extensive-type chronic GVHD was 67 and 34%, respectively. Degree of HLA mismatch had a significant impact on the incidence of grade II–IV aGVHD (P=0.021). TRM and relapse at 5-years was 14 and 16%, respectively. The probability of EFS at 5 years was 70%. No factor was associated with TRM, relapse and EFS. These results suggest that adult advanced MDS patients without suitable related or unrelated BM donors should be considered as candidates for CBT.