Algae as Bio-fertilizers: Between current situation and future prospective.

Bio-fertilization is a sustainable agricultural practice that includes using bio-fertilizers to increase soil nutrient content resulting in higher productivity. Soil micro-flora has been exposed to improve soil fertility and increase biomass productivity and identified as a correct environmentally friendly bio-based fertilizer for pollution-free agricultural applies. The majority of cyanobacteria can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and several species including Anabaena sp., Nostoc sp., and Oscillatoria angustissima is known to be effective cyanobacterial based bio fertilizers. Acutodesmus dimorphus, Spirulina platensis Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus dimorphus, Anabaena azolla, and Nostoc sp. are some of the green microalgae and cyanobacteria species that have been successfully used as bio fertilizers to boost crop growth. Also, Chlorella vulgaris is one of the most commonly used microalgae in bio fertilizer studies. The addition of seaweed species that are Sargassum sp. and Gracilaria verrucosa leads to chemical changes as a soil fertility indicator on clay and sandy soils, and the addition of seaweed conditioner to soil can improve its organic content, return pH to normal, and reduce C/N ratio in both sandy and clay soil. This review provides an effective approach to increase soil fertility via environmentally friendly bio-based fertilizer using micro and macro algae. Instead of the usage of inorganic and organic fertilizers that have polluted impacts to soil as aggregation of heavy metals, in addition to there their human carcinogenic effects.

Coexistence of Prefibrotic Myelofibrosis with Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance: A Case Report.

The coexistence of dual hematological neoplasms is an unusual and challenging presentation due to the different combination of etiopathology. The presentation of synchronous dual hematological malignancies can be one of the 3 types: myeloid + lymphoid or dual lymphoid or dual myeloid. Here, we are reporting a case of a 53-year-old male with simultaneous presence of JAK2 V617F-positive myeloproliferative neoplasm with features favoring prefibrotic phase of primary myelofibrosis (pre-PMF) in combination with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). In such cases of simultaneous existence of dual hematological neoplasm management, it is recommended to treat the more aggressive one. Currently, our management plan is focusing on treating the pre-PMF and observation of MGUS with regular monitoring for transformation to MM.

Aberrant Acquisition of T-cell Associated Markers in Plasma Cell Neoplasms: An Aggressive Disease with Extramedullary Involvement and Very Short Survival.

BACKGROUND: Plasma cell neoplasms can show aberrant expression of different lineage-related antigens; however, co-expression of T-cell-associated markers on malignant plasma cells is extremely rare. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This report describes clinicopathologic characteristics of three myeloma patients with emergent plasmablastic morphology and aberrant acquisition of T-cell-associated markers diagnosed in our center. An extensive literature search for similar cases was conducted, and the relevant pathologic, clinical, and prognostic characteristics were summarized. RESULTS: A total of 22 cases of plasma cell neoplasm (including the three cases reported here) showed aberrant co-expression of T-cell markers. We found an evident association between aberrant expression of T-cell markers on malignant plasma cells and extramedullary involvement, aggressive morphologic features, high proliferative index ki67 >90%, aggressive clinical course, an adverse outcome, and short survival. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION: Due to the rarity of this aberrant phenotype and scarcity of the published data, the precise causative mechanism and its clinical implications have not yet been elucidated.

Fatal temozolomide induced aplastic anemia in a female with Glioblastoma multiforme : A case report and literature review.

When seeing patients on Temozolomide with pancytopenia, aplastic anemia secondary to the drug should be considered early in the differentials to avoid permanent hematological suppression.

Composite Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma and Mantle Cell Lymphoma; Small Cell Variant: A Real Diagnostic Challenge. Case Presentation and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND Chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) both have a common origin arising from mature CD5+ B-lymphocytes. Their distinction is crucial since MCL is a considerably more aggressive disease. Composite lymphoma consisting of CLL/SLL and MCL has been rarely reported. This type of composite lymphoma may be under-diagnosed as the 2 neoplasms have many features in common, both morphologically and immunophenotypically. CASE REPORT We report the case of a 57-year-old male patient who presented with a 4-month history of recurrent abdominal pain and distention with hepatosplenomegaly. Peripheral blood showed a high leukocytes count (46.7×10³/uL) with marked lymphocytosis of 35.0×10³/uL, mostly small mature-looking, with some showing nuclear irregularities, with approximately 3% prolymphocytes. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry revealed 2 immunophenotypically distinct abnormal CD5+monotypic B-cell populations. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on peripheral blood demonstrated IGH/CCND1 rearrangement consistent with t(11;14) in 65% of cells analyzed. Accordingly, based on compilation of findings from morphology, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, and FISH, A diagnosis of composite lymphoma consisting of MCL; small cell variant and CLL/SLL was concluded. CONCLUSIONS We describe a case of composite lymphoma of MCL (small cell variant) and CLL/SLL that emphasizes the crucial role of the multiparametric approach, including vigilant cyto-histopathologic examination, immunophenotyping by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, as well as genetic testing, to achieve the correct diagnosis.

A Rare Case of Severe Copper Deficiency in an Infant with Exclusive Breast Feeding Mimicking Myelodysplastic Syndrome.

An 11-month-old full-term female infant was referred to the hematology clinic due to marked anemia and neutropenia. She was almost exclusively breastfed and rejecting all trials for supplementary food including artificial formulas. Bone marrow aspirate revealed cytoplasmic vacuolization in precursors of the myeloid and erythroid series with significant dysgranulopoiesis and dyserythropoiesis and ringed sideroblasts. Flow cytometry analysis revealed increased hematogones with aberrant loss/downregulation of CD33 on granulocytes and monocytes (sign of dysmyelopoiesis). Laboratory investigation revealed low serum copper and ceruloplasmin. Administration of a multivitamin including a high concentration of copper for only 1 week improved her hemoglobin and absolute neutrophil count up to 1.9 × 103/µL, then dropped to 0.3 103/µL after she stopped taking the copper multivitamin. Her blood counts improved till total normalization and up to the time this report is issued. The probable role of unrecognized copper deficiency in causing anemia in infants more than 6 months of age is discussed, and the importance of serum copper examination in refractory anemia and neutropenia is emphasized. This case shows that copper deficiency should be an integral part of the differential diagnosis of refractory anemia including sideroblastic anemia and dysplasia. To the best of our knowledge, no such case has previously been described in the literature.

An uncommon case of chronic myeloid leukemia with variant cytogenetic.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by Philadelphia chromosome which is a balanced translocation between chromosome 9 and 22 in 90% of cases. However, variant cytogenetic still happens in 5-10 % of cases, the importance of which is controversial as well as its response to therapy, prognosis and progression to acute leukemias. Here we report a male patient with CML and variant cytogenetic who responded to low dose of Dasatinib (50 mg daily).

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia with cryptic Philadelphia translocation and extramedullary B-lymphoid blast phase as an initial presentation.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) characterized by the presence of a reciprocal translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 9 and 22, t(9;22)(q34:q11), resulting in fusion of the break point cluster region (BCR) with the ABL gene, which forms an oncogene, the transcript of which is an oncoprotein with a tyrosine kinase function. In the great majority of CML; BCR/ABL1 is cytogenetically visualized as t(9;22); giving rise to the Ph chromosome, harboring the chimeric gene. Cryptic or masked translocations occur in 2-10% patients with no evidence for the BCR/ABL rearrangement by conventional cytogenetics but are positive by Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) and/or reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). These patients are described as Philadelphia negative (Ph negative) BCR/ABL1- positive CML with the chimeric gene present on the derivative chromosome 22, as in most CML cases, or alternatively on the derivative 9 in rare occasions. In the majority of cases, CML is diagnosed in the chronic phase; it is less frequently diagnosed in accelerated crises, and occasionally, its initial presentation is as acute leukemia. The prevalence of extramedullary blast phase (BP) has been reported to be 7-17% in patients with BP. Surprisingly, no extra-medullary blast crises of B- lymphoid lineage have been reported before among cases of CML as the initial presentation. We report an adult male diagnosed as CML- chronic phase when he was shortly presented with treatment-naive extramedullary B-lymphoid blast crises involving multiple lymph nodes, with no features of acceleration or blast crises in the peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM). In addition the patient had variant/cryptic Philadelphia translocation. This is the first report of CML, on the best of our knowledge, with extramedullary B-lymphoid blast phase, as initial presentation, that showed a cryptic Ph translocation.

An Unusual Case of Hepatosplenic αß T-Cell Lymphoma Presenting with Coombs'-Negative Hemolytic Anemia.

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) is a rare and aggressive extranodal T-cell lymphoma that comprises <5% of peripheral T-cell lymphomas. The majority of cases harbor the γδ T-cell receptor (TCR), but recently, a few cases have been shown to express the αß TCR. Comparison of these two subtypes (αß and γδ) shows similar clinicopathologic and cytogenetic features; however, due to the paucity of reported cases, it is not clear whether they are prognostically distinct entities. We report a case of αß HSTCL with a rather unusual presentation of Coombs'-negative hemolytic anemia. Diagnosis proved challenging due to an unusual blastoid morphology with the absence of typical intrasinusoidal distribution of tumor cells in the bone marrow. This unique case adds to the growing list of this rare subtype of T-cell lymphomas, which warrant urgent attention due to the lack of effective treatment options and dismal prognosis.

Aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index in hepatitis C virus and Schistosomiasis coinfection.

AIM: To assess the diagnostic accuracy, of aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) alone and with antischistosomal antibody (Ab) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and schistosomiasis coinfection. METHODS: This retrospective study included medical records of three hundred and eighty three Egyptian men patients who had undergone percutaneous liver biopsy between January 2006 to April 2014 in tertiary care hospital in Qatar for diagnosis or monitoring purpose were selected. Data of patients > 18 years of age were included in the study. The values of HCV RNA titer and antischistosomal antibody titer were also taken into consideration. Patients were excluded from the study if they had any other concomitant chronic liver disease, including; history of previous antiviral or interferon therapy, immunosuppressive, therapy, chronic hepatitis B infection, human immunodeficiency virus co-infection, autoimmune hepatitis, decompensated liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, prior liver transplantation, and if no data about the liver biopsy present. RESULTS: Median age of patients was 46 years. About 7.1% had no fibrosis, whereas 30.4%, 37.5%, 20.4%, and 4.6% had fibrosis of stage I, II, III, and IV respectively. In bivariate analysis, APRI score, levels of AST, platelet count and age of patient showed statistically significant association with liver fibrosis (P < 0.0001); whereas antischistosomal antibody titer (P = 0.52) and HCV RNA titer (P = 0.79) failed to show a significant association. The respective AUC values for no fibrosis, significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis of APRI score were 63%, 73.2%, 81.1% and 88.9% respectively. This showed good sensitivity and specificity of APRI alone for grading of liver fibrosis. But the inclusion of anti-Schistosoma antibody did not improve the prediction of fibrosis stage. CONCLUSION: The study results suggest that noninvasive biochemical markers like APRI are sensitive and specific in diagnosing the degree of fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with coinfection of HCV and schistosomiasis as compared to biopsy. The addition of antischistosomal Ab to APRI did not improve sensitivity for predicting the degree of cirrhosis.

Rare aggressive natural killer cell leukemia presented with bone marrow fibrosis - a diagnostic challenge.

Aggressive natural killer cell leukemia is an extraordinary rare aggressive malignant neoplasm of natural killer cells. Although its first recognition as a specific entity was approximately 20 years ago, this leukemia has not yet been satisfactorily characterized as fewer than 200 cases have been reported in the literature and up to our knowledge, this is the first case report in Qatar. Reaching a diagnosis of aggressive natural killer leukemia was a challenging experience, because in addition to being a rare entity, the relative scarcity of circulating neoplastic cells, failure to obtain an adequate aspirate sample sufficient to perform flow cytometric analysis, together with the absence of applicable method to prove NK clonality (as it lack specific clonal marker); our case had atypical confusing presentation of striking increase in bone marrow fibrosis that was misleading and complicated the case further. The bone marrow fibrosis encountered may be related to the neoplastic natural killer cells' chemokine profile and it may raise the awareness for considering aggressive natural killer leukemia within the differential diagnosis of leukemia with heightened marrow fibrosis.

Púrpura trombocitopênica idiopática na infância: estudo de base populacional no Catar / Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in childhood: a population-based study in Qatar

OBJETIVO: Definir o padrão da púrpura trombocitopênica idiopática (PTI) (aguda/crônica), e descrever seus sintomas e características clínicas em crianças com menos de 14 anos de idade em uma sociedade árabe recentemente desenvolvida. MÉTODOS: Este estudo descritivo retrospectivo foi realizado no Departamento de Pediatria do Hospital Geral de Hamad, Hamad Medical Corporation, Catar. Foram incluídas neste estudo 50 crianças com idade inferior a 14 anos e diagnóstico de PTI durante o período de 2000 a 2005. RESULTADOS: Das crianças estudadas (50), 62 por cento foram diagnosticadas com PTI aguda e 38 por cento com PTI crônica. A PTI aguda foi mais prevalente em meninos (64,5 por cento) em comparação com meninas (35,5 por cento), enquanto que a PTI crônica apresentou uma distribuição quase igual em meninos (57,9 por cento) e meninas (42,1 por cento). História de infecção viral foi comum em casos de PTI tanto aguda (71 por cento) quanto crônica (63,2 por cento); 68 por cento das crianças com PTI apresentaram contagem de plaquetas abaixo de 20x10(9)/L ao diagnóstico. A maioria das crianças estudadas (74 por cento) foi tratada com imunoglobulina intravenosa. CONCLUSÕES: O estudo revelou uma alta incidência de PTI entre as crianças no Catar. As descobertas do estudo são semelhantes às de outros relatos internacionais.

OBJECTIVE: To find the pattern of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (acute/chronic) and to describe presenting features and clinical characteristics of the disease in children below 14 years of age in a newly developed Arabian society. METHODS: This retrospective, descriptive study was carried out at the Pediatric Department of the Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. A total of 50 children below 14 years of age who were diagnosed with ITP during the period 2000-2005 were included. RESULTS: Among the studied children (50), 62 percent were diagnosed with acute ITP and 38 percent with chronic ITP. Acute ITP was more prevalent in boys (64.5 percent) when compared with girls (35.5 percent), whereas for chronic ITP, nearly an equal distribution was found in boys (57.9 percent) and girls (42.1 percent). Preceding viral infection was common in both acute (71 percent) and chronic (63.2 percent) ITP cases; 68 percent of the children with ITP showed a platelet count below 20x10(9)/L at the time of presentation. Most of the studied children were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (74 percent). CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed a high incidence of ITP among children in Qatar. The study findings are in line with other international reports.

Hepatocellular carcinoma in Hepatitis C genotype 4 after viral clearance and in absence of cirrhosis: two case reports.

Genotype 4 Hepatitis C virus represents approximately 20% of global Hepatitis C virus infection and is the source of a considerable burden to health-care providers across the globe. Many studies reported that interferon reduces the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis C.Hereby, we are reporting two cases of hepatocellular carcinoma in Hepatitis C virus-genotype 4 after complete viral eradication and in absence of cirrhosis. We aim to highlight the possible direct oncogenic effect of Hepatitis C virus-genotype 4, particularly with concomitant bilharzial infection and the importance of life-log follow up of these patients even in absence of cirrhosis.