Realising early recognition of arthritis in times of increased telemedicine:the value of patient-reported swollen joints

Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease

Submarine Cascais Canyon as a sediment conduit to the deep sea : comparison with adjacent slopes

Submarine canyons are known to be important conduits that trap, accumulate and deliver both natural and anthropogenic sediments from the shelf to the deep sea. Ten multi-cores from the Cascais Canyon and from the neighbour slopes (off Estremadura and Sines) were dated by 21Opb methodologies and analyzed for texture, major and trace metals to evaluate the role of submarine canyons in the transport of anthropogenic metals to the abyssal plains. Higher accumulation mass rates were determined in the upper Cascais Canyon than in the lower canyon and slopes. Enrichment factors (EF) were used to evaluate the level of metal enrichment in the studied areas. EF values exceeding natural background concentrations were obtained for Pb suggesting an anthropogenic and/or diagenetic source for Pb enrichment in the Cascais Canyon, but also, to a lesser extent, in the Estremadura and Sines slopes. Studies of provenance based on the ratio of different stable Pb isotopes can help to determinethe origin of such metal in the sediments

Alterações recentes nas razões isotópicas de Pb em sedimentos do Canhão Submarino de Cascais, Portugal

Temporal variations in lead concentrations and stable lead isotopic ratios in two sediment cores from the Cascais Canyon shows changes in sources of Pb during the last two centuries. The increase of total Pb contents wIth the evolution of Pb ratio recorded in both cores reveals the Increase of Pb from industrial sources. Nevertheless, this increase is lower in deeper core location (252-32) due to dilution and mixing with uncontaminated marine materials. An isotopic shift towards lower Pb/Pb in the shallower core (252-35) during the 1970s may reflect the increasing number of vehicles in the Lisboa area during that time

Biomass increment and carbon sequestration in hedgerow-grown trees

The global role of tree-based climate change mitigation is widely recognized; trees sequester large amounts of atmospheric carbon, and woody biomass has an important role in the future biobased economy. In national carbon and biomass budgets, trees growing in hedgerows and tree rows are often allocated the same biomass increment data as forest-grown trees. However, the growing conditions in these linear habitats are different from forests given that the trees receive more solar radiation, potentially benefit from fertilization residuals from adjacent fields and have more physical growing space. Tree biomass increment and carbon storage in linear woody elements should therefore be quantified and correctly accounted for. We examined four different hedgerow systems with combinations of pedunculate oak, black alder and silver birch in northern Belgium. We used X-ray CT scans of pith-to-bark cores of 73 trees to model long-term (tree life span) and short-term (last five years) trends in basal area increment and increment in aboveground stem biomass. The studied hedgerows and tree rows showed high densities (168–985 trees km-1) and basal areas (22.1–44.9 m2 km-1). In all four hedgerow systems, we found a strong and persistent increase in stem biomass and thus carbon accumulation with diameter (long-term trend). The current growth performance (short-term trend) also increased with tree diameter and was not related to hedgerow tree density or basal area, which indicates that competition for light does not (yet) limit tree growth in these ecosystems. The total stem volume was 82.0–339.7 m3 km-1 (corresponding to 18.8–100.7 Mg aboveground carbon km-1) and the stem volume increment was 3.1–14.5 m3 km-1 year-1 (aboveground carbon sequestration 0.7–4.3 Mg km-1 year-1). The high tree densities and the persistent increase in growth of trees growing in hedgerow systems resulted in substantial wood production and carbon sequestration rates at the landscape scale. Our findings show that trees growing in hedgerow systems should be included when biomass and carbon budgets are drafted. The biomass production rates of hedgerow trees we provide can help refine the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Рідке мило на основі соапстоків після нейтралізації олій та жирів в нейтралізуючому розчині, що містить етанол

Development and application of statistical models for medical scientific researc

The Features of the Synovium in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis According to the 2010 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria

OBJECTIVES: It has been shown in early arthritis cohorts that the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) enable an earlier diagnosis, perhaps at the cost of a somewhat more heterogeneous patient population. We describe the features of synovial inflammation in RA patients classified according to these new criteria. METHODS: At baseline, synovial tissue biopsy samples were obtained from disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD)-naïve early RA patients (clinical signs and symptoms <1 year). Synovial tissue was analyzed for cell infiltration, vascularity, and expression of adhesion molecules. Stained sections were evaluated by digital image analysis. Patients were classified according to the two different sets of classification criteria, autoantibody status, and outcome. FINDINGS: Synovial tissue of 69 RA patients according to 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria was analyzed: 56 patients who fulfilled the criteria for RA at baseline and 13 who were initially diagnosed as undifferentiated arthritis but fulfilled criteria for RA upon follow up. The synovium at baseline was infiltrated by plasma cells, macrophages, and T cells as well as other cells, and findings were comparable to those when patients were selected based on the 1987 ACR criteria for RA. There was no clear cut difference in the characteristics of the synovium between RA patients initially diagnosed as undifferentiated arthritis and those who already fulfilled classification criteria at baseline. CONCLUSION: The features of synovial inflammation are similar when the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria are used compared to the 1987 ACR criteria

Prenatal parental tobacco smoking, gene specific DNA methylation, and newborns size: the Generation R study

Background: Deleterious effects of prenatal tobacco smoking on fetal growth and newborn weight are well-established. One of the proposed mechanisms underlying this relationship is alterations in epigenetic programming. We selected 506 newborns from a population-based prospective birth cohort in the Netherlands. Prenatal parental tobacco smoking was assessed using self-reporting questionnaires. Information on birth outcomes was obtained from medical records. The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation of the growth genes IGF2DMR and H19 was measured in newborn umbilical cord white blood cells. Associations were assessed between parental tobacco smoking and DNA methylation using linear mixed models and adjusted for potential confounders. Results: The DNA methylation levels of IGF2DMR and H19 in the non-smoking group were median (90 % range), 54.0 % (44.6–62.0), and 30.0 % (25.5–34.0), in the first trimester only smoking group 52.2 % (44.5–61.1) and 30.8 % (27.1–34.1), and in the continued smoking group 51.6 % (43.9–61.3) and 30.2 % (23.7–34.8), respectively. Continued prenatal maternal smoking was inversely associated with IGF2DMR methylation (β = −1.03, 95 % CI −1.76; −0.30) in a dose-dependent manner (P-trend = 0.030). This association seemed to be slightly more profound among newborn girls (β = −1.38, 95 % CI −2.63; −0.14) than boys (β = −0.72, 95 % CI −1.68; 0.24). H19 methylation was also inversely associated continued smoking <5 cigarettes/day (β = −0.96, 95 % CI −1.78; −0.14). Moreover, the association between maternal smoking and newborns small for gestational age seems to be partially explained by IGF2DMR methylation (β = −0.095, 95 % CI −0.249; −0.018). Among non-smoking mothers, paternal tobacco smoking was not associated with IGF2DMR or H19 methylation. Conclusions: Maternal smoking is inversely associated with IGF2DMR methylation in newborns, which can be one of the underlying mechanisms through which smoking affects fetal growth