A qualitative evaluation of occupational therapy-led work rehabilitation for people with inflammatory arthritis : perspectives of therapists and their line managers

Introduction: Occupational therapy-led work rehabilitation for employed people with inflammatory arthritis and work problems was piloted in five hospitals in the United Kingdom. This qualitative study explored the views of participating occupational therapists and their line managers about the work rehabilitation training received and conducting the intervention, with particular focus on the structured interview used, the Work Experience Survey – Rheumatic Conditions. Method: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with occupational therapists (n¼9), followed by telephone interviews with their line managers (n¼2). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed by three researchers to maximize validity. Results: The main themes emerging from the occupational therapists’ interviews were: varying levels of prior knowledge and experience of work rehabilitation, initial concerns about the feasibility of a lengthy work assessment in practice and increased confidence in delivering work rehabilitation as the study progressed. The line managers’ interviews generated themes around the positive impact of the work rehabilitation training the occupational therapists received, and changes in their practice. Conclusion: The Work Experience Survey – Rheumatic Conditions was considered a good choice of work assessment which can be implemented in practice. Once therapists had provided the work intervention several times, their confidence and skills increase

Long-Lived Antibody and B Cell Memory Responses to the Human Malaria Parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax

Antibodies constitute a critical component of the naturally acquired immunity that develops following frequent exposure to malaria. However, specific antibody titres have been reported to decline rapidly in the absence of reinfection, supporting the widely perceived notion that malaria infections fail to induce durable immunological memory responses. Currently, direct evidence for the presence or absence of immune memory to malaria is limited. In this study, we analysed the longevity of both antibody and B cell memory responses to malaria antigens among individuals who were living in an area of extremely low malaria transmission in northern Thailand, and who were known either to be malaria naïve or to have had a documented clinical attack of P. falciparum and/or P. vivax in the past 6 years. We found that exposure to malaria results in the generation of relatively avid antigen-specific antibodies and the establishment of populations of antigen-specific memory B cells in a significant proportion of malaria-exposed individuals. Both antibody and memory B cell responses to malaria antigens were stably maintained over time in the absence of reinfection. In a number of cases where antigen-specific antibodies were not detected in plasma, stable frequencies of antigen-specific memory B cells were nonetheless observed, suggesting that circulating memory B cells may be maintained independently of long-lived plasma cells. We conclude that infrequent malaria infections are capable of inducing long-lived antibody and memory B cell responses

From autoinflammation to autoimmunity: old and recent findings

Autoimmune diseases and autoinflammatory diseases have a number of similar etiopathogenetic and clinical characteristics, including genetic predisposition and recurrent systemic inflammatory flares. The first phase of ADs involves innate immunity: by means of TLRs, autoantigen presentation, B and T cell recruitment and autoantibody synthesis. The second phase involves adaptive immunity, a self-sustaining process in which immune complexes containing nucleic acids and autoantibodies activate self-directed inflammation. The link between autoimmunity and autoinflammation is IL-1 f, which is crucial in connecting the innate immune response due to NLR activation and the adaptive immune responses of T and B cells. In conclusion, although ADs are still considered adaptive immunity-mediated disorders, there is increasing evidence that innate immunity and inflammasomes are also involved. The aim of this review is to highlight the link between the innate and adaptive immune mechanisms involved in autoimmune diseases

DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS, SIMULATION OF CONCENTRATION PROCESS OF OXIDIZED IRON AND CHROMIUM ORES IN SUSPENSION HYDROCYCLONES

There the hydrocyclone process has been studied as alternative for the jigging in view to decrease of losses of valuable components in concentration of oxidized iron ores. The study of flow pattern by means of air-buble flares of rate transducers and by means of photography allowed to confirm the existence of high-rate (up to 1,2 m/s) local radial flow in the field of edge of outlet. The separation mechanism in two- and three-product (with coaxial tubes) hydrocyclones has been offered. The optimum relations of lengthes of internal branch pipes and of cylindrical part of hydrocyclone have been ascertained. The factors which provide for maximum of separation density have been recommended on the basis of methods of hydromechanics and mechanics. The simulator of hydrocyclone process (as the set of regression equations) and the calculation procedure of loads of regeneration system and of expectable production indicators of concentration have been developed. The effectiveness of developed concentration process has been checked under the industrial conditions. The developed concentration process of chromium ores has been accepted for use in the Don Ore Mining-and-Processing Enterprise. The study results may by used for design, for prediction estimation of concentrating capacity of ores and in the educational processAvailable from VNTIC / VNTIC - Scientific & Technical Information Centre of RussiaSIGLERURussian Federatio