780 research outputs found
Lack of corneal chrysiasis in rheumatoid arthritis patients undergoing oral gold therapy.
No full textCorneal chrysiasis is a common consequence of parenteral chrysotherapy in patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis. Concerning the factors and conditions that could be determinant for the gold accumulation in the cornea, there are contradictory opinions. Total or weekly gold dose and its accumulation quota, and the frequency of drug administration, seemed to be parameters to which corneal chrysiasis could be related. Since all these parameters are completely different during oral gold therapy, previous investigations on corneal chrysiasis are inapplicable to patients undergoing oral treatment. This study, performed on rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with auranofin, orally administered for 8-34 months, did not reveal any appreciable corneal deposits of gold
Pathogenetic role of HLA-B27 and its subtypes
No full textThe strong association between HLA-B27 and ankylosing spondylitis has been known for more than 33 years, but the enigma of the pathogenetic role of the gene and its product has not yet been solved. Ongoing studies have produced evidence supporting different theories to explain this association, and structural and functional studies of HLA-B27 allele products at molecular level have provided information of broad and multidisciplinary value and disclosed new avenues leading to autoimmunity and immune disregulation
The efficacy and safety of auranofin in the treatment of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. A long-term open study
No full textThe safety and efficacy of auranofin in the long‐term treatment of children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was investigated in an open study of 14 patients. Twelve patients completed at least 12 months of treatment, and 7 patients completed 36 months of treatment. Classic parameters of disease activity showed improvement over baseline values after 6 months of treatment, and laboratory indices remained stable or improved throughout the study. Auranofin was well tolerated; the frequency of adverse effects was lower in these patients than has been previously reported in either adults or children whose arthritis has been treated with injectable gold. Copyright © 1988 American College of Rheumatology
Studying the Pc(4450) resonance in J/psi photoproduction off protons
No full textA resonancelike structure, the Pc(4450), has recently been observed in the J/ψ p spectrum by the LHCb Collaboration. We discuss the feasibility of detecting this structure in J/ψ photoproduction in the CLAS12 experiment at JLab. We present a first estimate of the upper limit for the branching ratio of the Pc(4450) to J/ψ p. Our estimates, which take into account the experimental resolution effects, predict that it will be possible to observe a sizable cross section close to the J/ψ production threshold and shed light on the Pc(4450) resonance in the future photoproduction measurements
Joint and tendon involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus: an ultrasound study of hands and wrists in 108 patients
No full textAbstract
OBJECTIVE:
To estimate the prevalence of, and identify factors associated with, hand and wrist US alterations in a large cohort of SLE patients.
METHODS:
One hundred and eight consecutive SLE patients were recruited and classified according to arthropathy type and the musculoskeletal item of the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) 2004 score. US examinations were performed on hand and wrist flexor tendons, wrist extensor tendons, second and third MCP and wrist joints bilaterally using a multi-planar scanning technique.
RESULTS:
US examination showed joint involvement in 42/108 (38.8%) subjects, tendon involvement in 44/108 (40.7%) and both in 22/108 (20.3%). Patients with rhupus syndrome (n = 8) carried a higher incidence of inflammatory changes (87%) and erosions (87%) compared with the six with Jaccoud's arthropathy (50% and 17%, respectively) and the 94 with non-deforming X-ray non-erosive arthropathy (37% and 21%, respectively). Power Doppler signal was prevalent in patients scoring A (n = 4) or B (n = 9) on the musculoskeletal item of the BILAG 2004, and was significantly more frequent at the joint (92%) and tendon (54%) level than in the 26 patients scoring C (19%, P = 0.0007 and 15%, P = 0.016, respectively) and in the 69 scoring D (3%, P < 0.0001 and 3%, P < 0.0001). US changes in patients who scored C or D were more expressed at the tendon level (50% and 29%, respectively) than at the joint level (35% and 9%, respectively).
CONCLUSION:
The picture of musculoskeletal US in SLE depends on arthropathy subtype and disease activity. US examination could be a valid and reliable tool to monitor musculoskeletal features and therapeutic outcomes in SLE patients
Treatment Target in Newly Diagnosed Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: The Association of Lupus Low Disease Activity State and Remission With Lower Accrual of Early Damage
No full textObjectives: To compare the effect of achievement and maintenance of lupus low disease activity state (LLDAS) and clinical remission (CR) in preventing early damage accrual in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods: In a monocentric cohort of 116 newly diagnosed SLE patients, LLDAS and CR achievement at 6 months (T1) after treatment initiation and their maintenance over the next 12 months were assessed. Early damage was recorded after 18 months of follow-up (T2) using the SLICC/damage index. Uni- and multivariate analysis were performed to evaluate the association of LLDAS and CR with early damage.
Results: LLDAS was significantly more attained than CR both at T1 (42.2% vs. 21.6% of patients, p<0.001) and T2 (46.6% vs. 31.9%, p=0.022). Overlap rate between persistent LLDAS and persistent CR was 41.7% (n=15). On multivariate analysis, achievement of CR (OR 0.07, 95%CI 0.01 to 0.59, p=0.015) and LLDAS (OR 0.25, 95%CI 0.06 to 0.99, p=0.049) at T1 were independently associated with lower accrual of early damage. Patients who achieved LLDAS (including CR) at T1 and steadily persisted in this condition until T2 developed significantly less damage compared to those who failed to maintain it during the T1-T2 interval (p=0.003), those who achieved it later than T1 (p<0.001) or those who had never been in this condition (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Although CR is recommended as the primary treatment target in SLE, LLDAS represents a valid alternative in the early stage of SLE management. LLDAS and CR maintenance should be targeted to prevent damage
Finite-energy sum rules in eta photoproduction off a nucleon
No full textThe reaction gamma N -> eta N is studied in the high-energy regime (with photon lab energies E gamma(lab) > 4 GeV) using information from the resonance region through the use of finite-energy sum rules. We illustrate how analyticity allows one to map the t dependence of the unknown Regge residue functions. We provide predictions for the energy dependence of the beam asymmetry at high energies
The rs75862629 minor allele in the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases intergenic region affects human leucocyte antigen B27 expression and protects from ankylosing spondylitis in Sardinia
No full textHLA-B27 and the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) and ERAP2 genes are predisposing factors for AS. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the ERAP2 promoter (rs75862629) coordinates the transcription of both ERAP genes. We investigated whether this SNP associates with AS and whether it affects the expression of the two major HLA-B27 alleles present in Sardinia, the AS-associated B*2705 and the non-AS-associated B*2709.OBJECTIVES: HLA-B27 and the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) and ERAP2 genes are predisposing factors for AS. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the ERAP2 promoter (rs75862629) coordinates the transcription of both ERAP genes. We investigated whether this SNP associates with AS and whether it affects the expression of the two major HLA-B27 alleles present in Sardinia, the AS-associated B*2705 and the non-AS-associated B*2709. METHODS: Four SNPs in the ERAP region were genotyped in HLA-B*2705-positive patients with AS (n = 145), B27-positive healthy subjects (n = 126) and B27-negative controls (n = 250) and the allele and haplotype frequencies were derived. The expression of ERAP1 and ERAP2 mRNAs in 36 HLA-B27-positive B lymphoblastoid cell lines was measured by quantitative PCR. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay was performed to search for a nuclear factor binding the DNA sequence encompassing rs75862629. The expression of HLA-B27 molecules related to the SNP at rs75862629 was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: The minor allele G at rs75862629 was found significantly increased in B27 healthy individuals, both B*2705 and B*2709, compared with B*2705-positive patients with AS and B27-negative controls. The electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated the lack of binding of a transcription factor as the cause of the observed reduction in the ERAP2 concomitant with a higher ERAP1 expression. Of note, this occurs with a different cell surface expression of the HLA-B*2705 and HLA-B*2709 molecules. CONCLUSION: SNP rs75862629, by modulating simultaneously the expression of ERAP1 and ERAP2, provides protection from AS in HLA-B27-positive subjects in Sardinia. This has a functional impact on HLA-B27 expression and likely on disease onset
Studying the P_c(4450) Resonance in J/psi Photoproduction Off Protons
No full textThe LHCb has reported the observation of a resonancelike structure, the Pc(4450), in the J/ψ p
invariant masses. In our work, we discuss the feasibility of detecting this structure in J/ψ photoproduction,
e.g. in the measurements that have been approved for the experiments in Hall A/C and
in Hall B with CLAS12 at JLab. Also the GlueX Collaboration has already reported preliminary
results. We take into account the experimental resolution effects, and perform a global fit to world
J/ψ photoproduction data in order to study the possibility of observing the Pc(4450) signal in future
JLab data. We present a first estimate of the upper limit for the branching ratio of the Pc(4450) into
the J/ψ p channel, and we study the angular distributions of the differential cross sections. This
will shed light on the nature and couplings of the Pc(4450) structure in the future photoproduction
experiments
Mechanics of inhomogeneous turbulence and interfacial layers
No full textThe mechanics of inhomogeneous turbulence in and adjacent to interfacial layers bounding turbulent and non-turbulent regions are analysed. Different mechanisms are identified according to the straining by the turbulent eddies in relation to the strength of the mean shear adjacent to, or across, the interfacial layer. How the turbulence is initiated and the topology of the region of turbulence are also significant factors. Specifically the cases of a layer of turbulence bounded on one, or two, sides by a uniform and/or shearing flow, and a circular region of a rotating turbulent vortex are considered and discussed.
The entrainment processes at fluctuating interfaces occur both at the outer edges of turbulent shear layers, with and without free-stream turbulence (e.g. jets, wakes and boundary layers), at internal boundaries such as those at the outside of the non-turbulent core of swirling flows (e.g. the ‘eye-wall’ of a hurricane) or at the top of the viscous sublayer and roughness elements in turbulent boundary layers. Conditionally sampled data enables these concepts to be tested. These concepts lead to physically based estimates for critical modelling parameters such as eddy viscosity near interfaces, entrainment rates, maximum velocity and displacement heights
- …
