Differences in hip bone mineral density may explain the hip fracture pattern in osteoarthritic hips

Introduction In patients with osteoarthritis of the hip (OAH), trochanteric fractures are much more common than femoral neck fractures. One reason may be altered bone composition in the proximal femurs. OAH often leads to a fixed external rotation of the hip, leading to difficulties in positioning during DXA measurements. We compared BMD in OAH-affected legs and healthy legs

Characterization of microcrystalline cellulose spheres and prediction of hopper flow based on a μ(I)-rheology model.

International audienceThe objective of this study was to characterize the rheology of a pharmaceutical material in the context of the µ(I)-rheology model and to use this model to predict powder flow in a manufacturing operation that is relevant to pharmaceutical manufacturing. The rheology of microcrystalline cellulose spheres was therefore characterized in terms of the μ(I)-rheology model using a modified Malvern Kinexus rheometer. As an example of an important problem in pharmaceutical manufacturing, the flow of these particles from a hopper was studied experimentally and numerically using a continuum Navier-Stokes solver based on the Volume-Of-Fluid (VOF) interface-capturing numerical method. The work shows that the rheology of this typical pharmaceutical material can be measured using a modified annular shear rheometer and that the results can be interpreted in terms of the μ(I)-rheology model. It is demonstrated that both the simulation results and the experimental data show a constant hopper discharge rate. It is noted that the model can suffer from ill-posedness and it is shown how an increasingly fine grid resolution can result in predictions that are not entirely physically realistic. This shortcoming of the numerical framework implies that caution is required when making a one-to-one comparison with experimental data

Smoking induces overexpression of immediate early genes in active Graves' ophthalmopathy.

Background: Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for the development of Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). In a previous study of gene expression in intraorbital fat, adipocyte-related immediate early genes (IEGs) were overexpressed in patients with GO compared to controls. We investigated whether IEGs are upregulated by smoking and examined other pathways that may be affected by smoking. Methods: Gene expression in intraorbital fat was studied in smokers (n=8) and non-smokers (n=8) with severe active GO as well as in subcutaneous fat in thyroid-healthy smokers (n=5) and non-smokers (n=5) using microarray and real-time PCR. Results: With microarray, eight IEGs were upregulated more than 1.5-fold in smokers compared to non-smokers with GO. Five were chosen for confirmation and were also overexpressed with real-time PCR. Interleukin-1 beta /IL-1B/ (2.3-fold) and interleukin-6 /IL-6/ (2.4-fold) were upregulated both with microarray and with real-time PCR in smokers with GO compared to non-smokers. Major histocompatibility complex, class II, DR beta 1 /HLA-DRB1/ was upregulated with microarray (2.1-fold) and with borderline significance with real-time PCR. None of these genes were upregulated in smokers compared to non-smokers in subcutaneous fat. Conclusions: IEGs, IL-1B, and IL-6 were overexpressed in smokers with severe active GO compared to non-smokers suggesting that smoking activates pathways associated with adipogenesis and inflammation. This study underlines the importance of IEGs in the pathogenesis of GO and provides evidence for possible novel therapeutic interventions in GO. The mechanisms activated by smoking may be shared with other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis