Validation of a self-reported work disability questionnaire for ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) may severely limit patients'' capacity to work. Recently, we validated a work disability questionnaire (WDQ) for Crohn disease. As UC shares clinical characteristics with Crohn disease, we hypothesized that the questionnaire might also be useful for UC. The study was aimed to validate the WDQ for use in UC. Consecutive patients with UC (n = 142, 67 women; age 48 +/- 1) completed the UC-WDQ and the inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire-9 (IBDQ-9), and EuroQoL-5D quality-of-life questionnaires. Validation of the UC-WDQ included an assessment of its construct validity, including: discriminant validity, convergent validity, and reproducibility (test-retest). We also calculated the intraclass correlation and the Cronbach alpha. 1. Discriminant validity: Mean UC-WDQ scores were 12.8 +/- 4.4 (remission phase) and 17.2 +/- 6.1 (with clinical activity) (P < .05). 2. Convergent validity: The correlations of UC-WDQ were r = 0.74 (P < .001) with IBDQ, r = 0.44 (P < .01) with disease activity, r = 0.56 (P < .01) with EuroQoL-5D, and r = 0.60 (P < .01) with the EuroQoL-5D visual scale. 3. Reproducibility: Test-retest reproducibility: UC-WDQ scores obtained after a 2-week interval were similar (15.8 vs 15.1), (r = 0.91, P < .01). Intraclass correlation was 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.92-0.95). Cronbach alpha was 0.94. The UC-WDQ is a valid and reliable tool for measuring work disability in patients with UC

Rapid Identification of Viable H. pylori Cells in Feces by DVCFISH

[EN] Helicobacter pylori isolation in fecal samples is a less invasive and more comfortable practice than those that require patient endoscopy, particularly in children. However, culture of this pathogen from stools is usually unsuccessful. Other techniques such as PCR or H. pylori Stool Antigen (HpSA) are used to detect the presence of H. pylori in feces; nevertheless, a positive result by using these techniques does not involve viability of the pathogen. Direct Viable Count combined with Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (DVC-FISH) technique has been successfully applied to detect viable H. pylori cells in highly contaminated environmental samples. To assess the suitability of DVC-FISH technique to identify viable H. pylori cells in stools, experimentally inoculated feces and fecal samples from infected patients were analyzed. qPCR and culture techniques were also used. Viable H. pylori cells were detected by DVC-FISH in all inoculated samples with a specific DNA/LNA probe. H. pylori colonies were also identified on agar. DVC-FISH gave positive results in all the patients' fecal samples, while qPCR only detected H. pylori in two patients. DVC-FISH technique with LNA/DNA probes has the potential to be used as a specific and effective non-invasive method for the detection of viable H. pylori in stools samples. Moreover, our results evidence the presence of viable H. pylori cells in fecal samples from infected patients, supporting the evidence that H. pylori is transmitted via the fecal route.The work has been funded by AGL2014-53875-R grant (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain).Moreno Trigos, MY.; Pérez-Santonja, R.; Ramirez, M.; Calvet, X.; Santiago Cuellar, P.; Ferrús Pérez, MA. (2015). Rapid Identification of Viable H. pylori Cells in Feces by DVCFISH. JSM Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 3(3). http://hdl.handle.net/10251/97911S3

Hubble Space Telescope Images of Magellanic Cloud Planetary Nebulae: Data and Correlations across Morphological Classes

The morphology of planetary nebulae (PNe) provides an essential tool for understanding their origin and evolution, as it reflects both the dynamics of the gas ejected during the TP-AGB phase, and the central star energetics. Here we study the morphology of 27 Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae (MCPNe) and present an analysis of their physical characteristics across morphological classes. Similar studies have been successfully carried out for galactic PNe, but were compromised by the uncertainty of individual PN distances. We present our own HST/FOC images of 15 Magellanic Cloud PNe (MCPNe) acquired through a narrow-band lambda 5007 [O III] filter. We use the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution technique on these pre-COSTAR images to achieve post-COSTAR quality. Three PNe imaged before and after COSTAR confirm the high reliability of our deconvolution procedure. We derive morphological classes, dimensions, and surface photometry for all these PNe. We have combined this sample with HST/PC1 images of 15 MCPNe, three of which are in common with the FOC set, acquired by Dopita et al. (1996), to obtain the largest MCPN sample ever examined from the morphological viewpoint. By using the whole database, supplemented with published data from the literature, we have analyzed the properties of the MCPNe and compared them to a typical, complete galactic sample. Morphology of the MCPNe is then correlated with PN density, chemistry, and evolution.Comment: text file lstanghe_mcpn.tex (LaTex); Figures 2 through 10, Figure 5 is in 3 parts (a,b,c); Figure 1 available by regular mail only; ApJ, in press, November 10, 199

AFTER, the front end ASIC of the T2K Time Projection Chambers

The T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) experiment is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A near detector, located at 280m of the production target, is used to characterize the beam. One of its key elements is a tracker, made of three Time Projection Chambers (TPC) read by Micromegas endplates. A new readout system has been developed to collect, amplify, condition and acquire the data produced by the 124,000 detector channels of these detectors. The front-end element of this system is a a new 72-channel application specific integrated circuit. Each channel includes a low noise charge preamplifier, a pole zero compensation stage, a second order Sallen-Key low pass filter and a 511-cell Switched Capacitor Array. This electronics offers a large flexibility in sampling frequency, shaping time, gain, while taking advantage of the low physics events rate of 0.3 Hz. We detail the design and the performance of this ASIC and report on the deployment of the frond-end electronics on-site

Single donor ionization energies in a nanoscale CMOS channel

One consequence of the continued downwards scaling of transistors is the reliance on only a few discrete atoms to dope the channel, and random fluctuations of the number of these dopants is already a major issue in the microelectonics industry. While single-dopant signatures have been observed at low temperature, studying the impact of only one dopant up to room temperature requires extremely small lengths. Here, we show that a single arsenic dopant dramatically affects the off-state behavior of an advanced microelectronics field effect transistor (FET) at room temperature. Furthermore, the ionization energy of this dopant should be profoundly modified by the close proximity of materials with a different dielectric constant than the host semiconductor. We measure a strong enhancement, from 54meV to 108meV, of the ionization energy of an arsenic atom located near the buried oxide. This enhancement is responsible for the large current below threshold at room temperature and therefore explains the large variability in these ultra-scaled transistors. The results also suggest a path to incorporating quantum functionalities into silicon CMOS devices through manipulation of single donor orbitals

A Multifractal Analysis of Asian Foreign Exchange Markets

We analyze the multifractal spectra of daily foreign exchange rates for Japan, Hong-Kong, Korea, and Thailand with respect to the United States Dollar from 1991 to 2005. We find that the return time series show multifractal spectrum features for all four cases. To observe the effect of the Asian currency crisis, we also estimate the multifractal spectra of limited series before and after the crisis. We find that the Korean and Thai foreign exchange markets experienced a significant increase in multifractality compared to Hong-Kong and Japan. We also show that the multifractality is stronge related to the presence of high values of returns in the series

Accretion in Young Stellar/Substellar Objects

We present a study of accretion in a sample of 45 young, low mass objects in a variety of star forming regions and young associations, about half of which are likely substellar. Based primarily on the presence of broad, asymmetric Halpha emission, we have identified 13 objects (~30% of our sample) which are strong candidates for ongoing accretion. At least 3 of these are substellar. We do not detect significant continuum veiling in most of the accretors with late spectral types (M5-M7). Accretion shock models show that lack of measurable veiling allows us to place an upper limit to the mass accretion rates of <~ 10^{-10} Msun/yr. Using magnetospheric accretion models with appropriate (sub)stellar parameters, we can successfully explain the accretor Halpha emission line profiles, and derive quantitative estimates of accretion rates in the range 10^{-12} < Mdot < 10^{-9} Msun/yr. There is a clear trend of decreasing accretion rate with stellar mass, with mean accretion rates declining by 3-4 orders of magnitude over ~ 1 - 0.05 Msun.Comment: 38 pages, including 8 figures and 6 tables, accepted by Ap

Real-Time PCR Improves Helicobacter pylori Detection in Patients with Peptic Ulcer Bleeding

Background and aims: Histological and rapid urease tests to detect H. pylori in biopsy specimens obtained during peptic ulcer bleeding episodes (PUB) often produce false-negative results. We aimed to examine whether immunohistochemistry and real-time PCR can improve the sensitivity of these biopsies. Patients and Methods: We selected 52 histology-negative formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens obtained during PUB episodes. Additional tests showed 10 were true negatives and 42 were false negatives. We also selected 17 histology-positive biopsy specimens obtained during PUB to use as controls. We performed immunohistochemistry staining and real-time PCR for 16S rRNA, ureA, and 23S rRNA for H. pylori genes on all specimens. Results: All controls were positive for H. pylori on all PCR assays and immunohistochemical staining. Regarding the 52 initially negative biopsies, all PCR tests were significantly more sensitive than immunohistochemical staining (p<0.01). Sensitivity and specificity were 55% and 80% for 16S rRNA PCR, 43% and 90% for ureA PCR, 41% and 80% for 23S rRNA PCR, and 7% and 100% for immunohistochemical staining, respectively. Combined analysis of PCR assays for two genes were significantly more sensitive than ureA or 23S rRNA PCR tests alone (p<0.05) and marginally better than 16S rRNA PCR alone. The best combination was 16S rRNA+ureA, with a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 80%. Conclusions: Real-time PCR improves the detection of H. pylori infection in histology-negative formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy samples obtained during PUB episodes. The low reported prevalence of H. pylori in PUB may be due to the failure of conventional tests to detect infection

Isolation of human fibroadipogenic progenitors and satellite cells from frozen muscle biopsies

Altres ajuts: Association Française contre les Myopathies (22525)Altres ajuts: Fundación Isabel GemioSkeletal muscle contains multiple cell types that work together to maintain tissue homeostasis. Among these, satellite cells (SC) and fibroadipogenic progenitors cells (FAPs) are the two main stem cell pools. Studies of these cells using animal models have shown the importance of interactions between these cells in repair of healthy muscle, and degeneration of dystrophic muscle. Due to the unavailability of fresh patient muscle biopsies, similar analysis of interactions between human FAPs and SCs is limited especially among the muscular dystrophy patients. To address this issue here we describe a method that allows the use of frozen human skeletal muscle biopsies to simultaneously isolate and grow SCs and FAPs from healthy or dystrophic patients. We show that while the purified SCs differentiate into mature myotubes, purified FAPs can differentiate into adipocytes or fibroblasts demonstrating their multipotency. We find that these FAPs can be immortalized and the immortalized FAPs (iFAPs) retain their multipotency. These approaches open the door for carrying out personalized analysis of patient FAPs and interactions with the SCs that lead to muscle loss

Disease severity in familial cases of IBD

Background: Phenotypic traits of familial IBD relative to sporadic cases are controversial, probably related to limited statistical power of published evidence. Aim: To know if there are phenotype differences between familial and sporadic IBD, evaluating the prospective Spanish registry (ENEIDA) with 11,983 cases. Methods: 5783 patients (48.3%) had ulcerative colitis (UC) and 6200 (51.7%) Crohn's disease (CD). Cases with one or more 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree relatives affected by UC/CD were defined as familial case. Results: In UC and CD, familial cases compared with sporadic cases had an earlier disease onset (UC: 33 years [IQR 25–44] vs 37 years [IQR 27–49]; p b 0.0001); (CD: 27 years [IQR 21–35] vs 29 years [IQR 22–40]; p b 0.0001), higher prevalence of extraintestinal immune-related manifestations (EIMs) (UC: 17.2% vs 14%; p = 0.04); (CD: 30.1% vs 23.6%; p b 0.0001). Familial CD had higher percentage of ileocolic location (42.7% vs 51.8%; p = 0.0001), penetrating behavior (21% vs 17.6%; p = 0.01) and perianal disease (32% vs 27.1%; p = 0.003). Differences are not influenced by degree of consanguinity. Conclusion: When a sufficiently powered cohort is evaluated, familial aggregation in IBD is associated to an earlier disease onset, more EIMs and more severe phenotype in CD. This feature should be taken into account at establishing predictors of disease course