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From ten patients with advanced malignant disease involving the bone marrow, autologous hematopoietic stem cells were collected from the peripheral blood during eight four-hour pheresis procedures and cryopreserved. No manipulations to increase the number of stem cells circulating in the blood were used during the collections. Following marrow ablative chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy, the autologous cells were thawed and infused intravenously (IV). WBCs reappeared in the circulation at a median of eight days (range seven to 11 days) after stem cell infusion. Two patients died early, whereas the other eight reached normal numbers of circulating granulocytes that have persisted for up to greater than 20 months. These eight patients became independent of RBC transfusions (hemoglobin concentration greater than 10 g/dL) at a median of 27 days (range 11 to 58 days) after transplantation. One patient received platelet transfusions for counts less than 50 x 109)/L, one patient developed a clinical picture of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and six patients maintained a platelet count greater than 20 x 10(9)/L at a median of 23 days (range 14 to 25 days) following stem cell infusion. This technique allows patients ineligible for autologous bone marrow transplantation due to unacceptable anesthetic risks, prior pelvic irradiation, or bone marrow metastases to receive marrow ablative therapy.

A recent Journal article by Wright (1) described dramatic color-change demonstrations using solutions of household chemicals, including that of starch-iodine complex formation. It occurred to us that starch-iodine solution colorimetry might provide a suitable means of introducing quantitative data analysis in high school chemistry laboratories. The procedure to produce a standard curve for starch concentration measurement by image analysis using a color scanner and computer for data acquisition and color analysis is described. Color analysis is performed by a Visual Basic computer program that measures red, green, and blue (RGB) color intensities for pixels within the scanner image. The red component of the image of the reaction solution is used to quantify the starch concentration. The computer program is available in Supplemental Material. W The chemicals used in the demonstration are inexpensive and readily available in stores. An experiment to measure starch from a potato is described. Procedures Preparation of Starch Stock SolutionA stock starch solution was prepared according to instructions given by Wright (1) using cornstarch. A starch slurry (1 g cornstarch plus water) was slowly poured and mixed into approximately 75 mL of water that had just been boiled. This solution was brought to 100-mL volume by further addition of water to form a stock solution of [starch] = 1g͞dL. Successive dilutions of this starch stock solution were prepared using water. Mixture with Iodine Indicator SolutionA dilute iodine indicator solution was prepared in water by addition of 50 µL of tincture of iodine per 3 mL of water (approximately 1 part tincture of iodine per 60 parts water). The starch-iodine reaction, producing a color change of the dilute iodine indicator solution from yellow-red to deep blue, took place in a standard clear-plastic 96-well microtitre plate using 200 µL of the iodine solution followed by addition of 50 µL of starch solution. Isolation of Starch from a PotatoA raw Russet potato was weighed (155.0 g), skinned (140.5 g, potato without skin), and then processed in an electric "juicer" to produce potato juice (96.8 g or 68.9% recovery of the skinned potato mass). The juice was collected in two 50-mL conical-bottom screw-cap plastic centrifuge tubes. The juice had high solids content and readily separated into liquid and solids upon standing. Solids formed in two layers: a dense white solid (starch) and a brown layer (likely to be cell wall components) of lesser density. The dense white solid became tightly packed upon standing. After 2 hours standing, the fuliginous liquid portion of the juice was separated from the solid components by decanting. The brown solids were effectively removed from the mixture by two cycles of a wash procedure: the combined solids were resuspended in cold tap water by vigorous shaking of the tube; after allowing the mixture to settle for an additional 2 hours, the less dense brown solids were carefully resuspended in the liquid fraction by slow rotation and inversion of the tu...

Transfusion associated-graft versus host disease (TA-GVHD) is a rare complication of blood transfusion. It carries a very high mortality rate. Although the phenomenon has been well described in immunocompromised patients, this review focuses on the immunocompetent host. Cases of TA-GVHD continue to be reported following a variety of surgical procedures, especially cardiac procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. Additional risk factors for TA-GVHD include blood component transfusion in populations with limited genetic diversity, the use of directed donations from family members, and the transfusion of fresh blood. As there is no effective treatment, the focus is on prevention.

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