Interlingual duplicating in the speech of bilingual children

Bilinguals of every age sometimes double units of one language with those of the other, especially in the situations where they have to interact with speakers of different languages. Bilingual communication stimulates code-switches, various in their structure and pragmatics. Among them, researchers observe the following phenomena in bilingual children’s speech: a) double morphology, b) translation/interpreting equivalents combinations, and c) self-interpreting. However, the interrelation between structural and semantic/pragmatic aspects, on the one hand, and the developmental characteristics of childhood bilingualism, on the other hand, have been underresearched. The authors of the paper argue that various cases of interlingual duplicating can indicate the balance between the competences of children in their two languages at different stages of their bilingual development. The purpose of the study is to describe structural, semantic, and pragmatic aspects of interlingual duplicating combinations in the speech of two children who acquire Russian and English simultaneously, as well as to find the correlation between their duplications and the development of their bilingualism. The results of the study can be used for the description of childhood bilingualism and the evaluation of bilingual children’s communicative competence in each of their languages and their interpreting abilities at various age stages.

Second Transplant with HLA Haplo-Identical Hematopoietic Stem Cells for Graft Failure after Double Units Cord Blood Transplantation.

Graft failure (GF) can be a fatal complication following cord blood transplantation (CBT). Up to date, there has not been an ideal treatment for it. Recently, second transplant has been used as a potential therapy for treatment of GF. However, it is unclear which is the best source for donor cells that result successful engraftment and low rate of complications related to transplantation. In this study, we evaluated the outcomes and safety of second transplant with HLA haplo-identical hematopoietic stem cells for graft failure after double units cord blood transplantation in three patients. These patients suffered from myelodysplasia (MDS), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), severe aplastic anemia (SAA) respectively (median age, 16 years; range, 10–20 years). After myeloablative conditioning, all of them received double umbilical cord blood (UCB) units with at least one 5/6 HLA-matched unit (median infused dose, 6.85×107 nucleated cell [NC]/kg; range, 6.28–7.17×107 NC/kg). The characteristics of these patients and double cord blood transplantation data are detailed in the following Table. The former two patients developed early GF on 30 days after CBT. In the third patient, neutrophil and platelet recovery was observed on +14d and +31d respectively, and sustained hamatopoiesis was derived from a single donor with higher nucleated and CD34+ cells until 4 months after CBT when late GF happened, After reduced-intensity or myeloablative conditioning, all of them subsequently received HLA haplo-identical three-loci mismatched HSCT donated by their mothers (median infused dose, 8.40×108 nucleated cell [NC]/kg; range, 8.02–9.82×107 NC/kg). The time interval from GF to the second transplantation of these patients ranged from 7 to 10 days. Cyclosporine A (CsA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) were ad- ministered for the prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Detailed data of the second transplantation were also shown below. Engraftment was achieved on all three patients between the twelfth day and the fourteenth day after the transplantation with a full donor chimaerism. Acute GVHD of grades I–II and slight chronic GVHD occurred in these patients. All three patients survive up till now, and one patient has survived for 15 months after the second transplantation. This is the first report in china using HLA haplo-identical HSCT to rescue the GF after double CBT in China. The results are encouraging though the number of the patients is too small. Patients’characteristics and transplantation data Patients No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 Age(years)/sex 20/F 10/M 16/F Body weight 43.5kg 32kg 40kg Diagnosis MDS ALL(CR1) SAA Conditioning Ara-c/CY/TBI BU/CY CY/ATG Nucleated cells (CB1/CB2) (4.02/2.83)×107/kg (3.92/2.36)×107/kg (2.44/4.73)×107/kg CD34+ cells (CB1/CB2) (0.61/0.28)×105/kg (2.55/0.85)×105/kg (0.53/1.42)×105/kg CD3+ cells (CB1/CB2) (2.26/2.34)×106/kg (0.37/0.16)×106/kg (0.53/0.35)×106/kg HLA-mismatched (CB1; CB2) 2/6; 1/6. 1/6; 0/6 0/6; 1/6 GF 30d 30d 4m Second transplant 37d 38d 4m Conditioning Flu/ATG TBI2GY/ATG Flu/CY/ATG GVHD prhphylaxis CsA+MMF CsA+MMF CsA+MMF Nucleated cells 8.02×108/kg 8.40×108/kg 9.82×108/kg CD34+ cells 4.31×106/kg 3.50×106/kg 7.86×106/kg ANC>0.5×109/L 12d 13d 14d PLT>2×109/L 18d 17d 18d Follow up 15M+ 3M+ 12M+

Cord Blood Transplantation after Non Myeloablative Conditioning (Minneapolis Protocol): Impact on Transplant Outcomes in 112 Adults with Hematologic Malignancy. A French Multicentric Study of the Société Française de Greffe de Moelle et de Thérapie Cellulaire (SFGM-TC) and Eurocord.

The aim of this retrospective multicentric study was to assess the results of 112 consecutive umbilical cord blood transplantations (UCBT) following nonmyeloablative conditioning (NMA) performed in 20 French centres, between October 2003 and March 2007.Characteristics of the patients : Underlying disease: acute leukaemia: myeloid 60, lymphoblastic 17, lymphoma: 15, myelodysplasia: 5, myeloma: 4, Hodgkin: 4, chronic leukaemia: myeloid 3 and lymphoid 3 and 1 solid tumor. Median age at transplantation: 44 y (16–69), median weight: 62 kg (42–125), male: 49 (43%), CMV seropositivity: 64% ; 32 pts had received previous autologous and 3 allogeneic transplantation. The time between diagnosis and transplant was 19 months (3–174). Disease status at transplantation was early (31%), intermediate (37%) and advanced (32%). Median follow-up was 7 months (2–38). The original Minneapolis conditioning regimen was used in 106 (96%) pts and modified in 6 (4 or 6 Gy TBI: 4 pts; ATG: 2). Characteristics of the grafts: A single unit was infused in 77 pts (69%), two in 35 (31%). HLA compatibility was 6/6 in 6 pts, 5/6 in 36, 4/6 in 60, ≤ 3/6 in 6 ; 43 pts were ABO matched. Infused nucleated cells (NC) was 3.1×107/kg (1–9): 2.9 × 107/kg in single units and 3.7 × 107/kg in double units. Results: Neutrophils recovery was 85±4% at a median of 19 days (0–48) ; 14% pts experienced autologous recovery; 14% had mixed and 72% full donor chimerism at D+100. Univariate analysis indicated the low weight, previous transplantation, double units and HLA compatibility as significant factors for neutrophil recovery; however multivariate analysis did not find any significant factor. Acute GVHD was observed in 34±5% of pts: 21, 12 and 5 pts had grade II, III or IV aGVHD respectively and chronic GVHD in 16%. Non relapse mortality was 12±3% at 6 months ; relapse: 22±5% ; overall survival: 72±5%. Causes of death were relapse in 17 pts, GVHD in 2 pts, venocclusive disease and multiorgan failure in 5, infections in 4 and other toxicity in 3. DFS at 6 and 24 months were 68±5% and 65±5%, respectively. By univariate analysis, risk factors for DFS were age (>44y), weight, previous transplant, HLA disparity (0+1 vs 2+3), and NC dose (<3.1× 107/kg). Multivariate analysis identified 3 independent risk factors: HLA disparity, cell dose and age were still significant. This French experience of UCBT after NMA confirms the good results of the Minneapolis group (Brunstein et al. Blood 2007). Few events were observed between 6 and 24 mo and DFS remains high, however a longer follow up is needed. A prospective study of UCBT after NMA conditioning in AML is ongoing in France to identify the risk factors for DFS in a more homogeneous group of pts.

Multicomponent Collection (Mcc): An Overview

Collection of multiple products, including single and double units of platelets (SDP, DPP), plasma and RBC is progressively improving donor utilization and is leading to more cost-effective apheresis. Cell separators such as the Fresenius AS 204, the Dideco Excel version 97 and the Baxter Amicus are newcomers to the family of the last generation apparatuses used for MCC such as the AS 104, the Vivacell and the MCS 3p. The Cobe Spectra is for the moment the only apparatus unable to collect packed RBC along with platelets but Cobe too is moving in the direction of MCC. The next step is triple product apheresis.