German evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of Psoriasis vulgaris (short version)

Psoriasis vulgaris is a common and chronic inflammatory skin disease which has the potential to significantly reduce the quality of life in severely affected patients. The incidence of psoriasis in Western industrialized countries ranges from 1.5 to 2%. Despite the large variety of treatment options available, patient surveys have revealed insufficient satisfaction with the efficacy of available treatments and a high rate of medication non-compliance. To optimize the treatment of psoriasis in Germany, the Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft and the Berufsverband Deutscher Dermatologen (BVDD) have initiated a project to develop evidence-based guidelines for the management of psoriasis. The guidelines focus on induction therapy in cases of mild, moderate, and severe plaque-type psoriasis in adults. The short version of the guidelines reported here consist of a series of therapeutic recommendations that are based on a systematic literature search and subsequent discussion with experts in the field; they have been approved by a team of dermatology experts. In addition to the therapeutic recommendations provided in this short version, the full version of the guidelines includes information on contraindications, adverse events, drug interactions, practicality, and costs as well as detailed information on how best to apply the treatments described (for full version, please see Nast et al., JDDG, Suppl 2:S1–S126, 2006; or http://www.psoriasis-leitlinie.de)

Quasi-static Load Sharing Model in the Case of Moulded Glass Fibre Reinforced Polyamide 6 Gears

International audienceThis paper presents a fast and efficient computational method to predict the mechanicalbehaviour of plastic cylindrical gears made of fibre reinforced polyamide 6. Based on this method, aninvestigation on the relation between the fibre orientation and the gear behaviour is done. Thenumerical method uses a viscoelastic model accounting for the temperature, humidity and rotationalspeed dependence of the gear. This model is developed under the assumption that the material isstressed in its linear domain. The method is performed in three steps: the first one consists of definingthe fibre orientation from simulation and experimental results. The second step characterises theviscoelastic behaviour of the material. The third step consists in calculating the load sharing with localmeshing, which integrates the viscoelastic model over the entire surface of the tooth. This modelpermits computation of the load sharing between instantaneously engaged teeth and provides resultssuch as contact pressure, tooth root stress and transmission error. Three fibre orientation models withan increasing complexity are compared. Simulation results show a limited influence of the fibreorientation on the contact pressure and tooth root stress, nevertheless difference up to 10% areobserved on the transmission error amplitude