The TRAF1/C5 region is a risk factor for polyarthritis in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic disorder in which both genetic and environmental factors are involved. Recently, we identified the TRAF1/C5 region (located on chromosome 9q33-34) as a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (p(combined) = 1.4 x 10(-8)). In the present study the association of the TRAF1/C5 region with the susceptibility to JIA was investigated. A case-control association study was performed in 338 Caucasian patients with JIA and 511 healthy individuals. We genotyped the single nucleotide polymorphism rs10818488 as a marker for the TRAF1/C5 region. The A allele was associated with the susceptibility to rheumatoid factor-negative polyarthritis with an 11% increase in allele frequency (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.18; p = 0.012). This association was stronger when combining subtypes with a polyarticular phenotype (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.90; p = 0.004). In addition, we observed a trend towards an increase in A allele frequency in patients with extended oligoarthritis versus persistent oligoarthritis (49%, 38% respectively); p = 0.055. Apart from being a well replicated risk factor for RA, TRAF1/C5 also appears to be a risk factor for the rheumatoid factor-negative polyarthritis subtype of JIA and, more generally, seems to be associated with subtypes of JIA characterised by a polyarticular cours

Association of the CD226 (DNAM-1) Gly307Ser polymorphism with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

No abstract available

Association of the CCR5Δ32 variant with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in a meta-analysis

No abstract available

Effect of fluoride toothpastes on enamel demineralization

BACKGROUND: It was the aim of this study to investigate the effect of four different toothpastes with differing fluoride compounds on enamel remineralization. METHODS: A 3 × 3 mm window on the enamel surface of 90 human premolars was demineralized in a hydroxyethylcellulose solution at pH 4.8. The teeth were divided into 6 groups and the lower half of the window was covered with varnish serving as control. The teeth were immersed in a toothpaste slurry containing: placebo tooth paste (group 1); remineralization solution (group 2); Elmex Anticaries (group 3); Elmex Sensitive (group 4); Blend-a-med Complete (group 5) and Colgate GRF (group 6). Ten teeth of each group were used for the determination of the F(- )content in the superficial enamel layer and acid solubility of enamel expressed in soluble phosphorus. Of 6 teeth of each group serial sections were cut and investigated with polarization light microscopy (PLM) and quantitative energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). RESULTS: The PLM results showed an increased remineralization of the lesion body in the Elmex Anticaries, Elmex Sensitive and Colgate GRF group but not in the Blend-a-med group. A statistically significant higher Ca content was found in the Elmex Anticaries group. The fluoride content in the superficial enamel layer was significantly increased in both Elmex groups and the Blend-a-med group. Phosphorus solubility was significantly decreased in both Elmex groups and the Blend-a-med group. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that amine fluoride compounds in toothpastes result in a clearly marked remineralization of caries like enamel lesions followed by sodium fluoride and sodium monofluorophosphate formulations

Improving adherence to glaucoma medication: a randomised controlled trial of a patient-centred intervention (The Norwich Adherence Glaucoma Study)

Background Improving adherence to ocular hypertension (OH)/glaucoma therapy is highly likely to prevent or reduce progression of optic nerve damage. The present study used a behaviour change counselling intervention to determine whether education and support was beneficial and cost-effective in improving adherence with glaucoma therapy. Methods A randomised controlled trial with a 13-month recruitment and 8-month follow-up period was conducted. Patients with OH/glaucoma attending a glaucoma clinic and starting treatment with travoprost were approached. Participants were randomised into two groups and adherence was measured over 8 months, using an electronic monitoring device (Travalert® dosing aid, TDA). The control group received standard clinical care, and the intervention group received a novel glaucoma education and motivational support package using behaviour change counselling. Cost-effectiveness framework analysis was used to estimate any potential cost benefit of improving adherence. Results Two hundred and eight patients were recruited (102 intervention, 106 control). No significant difference in mean adherence over the monitoring period was identified with 77.2% (CI, 73.0, 81.4) for the control group and 74.8% (CI, 69.7, 79.9) for the intervention group (p = 0.47). Similarly, there was no significant difference in percentage intraocular pressure reduction; 27.6% (CI, 23.5, 31.7) for the control group and 25.3% (CI, 21.06, 29.54) for the intervention group (p = 0.45). Participants in the intervention group were more satisfied with information about glaucoma medication with a mean score of 14.47/17 (CI, 13.85, 15.0) compared with control group which was 8.51 (CI, 7.72, 9.30). The mean intervention cost per patient was GB£10.35 (<US$16) and not cost-effective. Conclusions Adherence with travoprost was high and not further increased by the intervention. Nevertheless, the study demonstrated that provision of information, tailored to the individual, was inexpensive and able to achieve high patient satisfaction with respect to information about glaucoma medication. Measurement of adherence remains problematic since awareness of study participation may cause a change in participant behaviour

Generalization Mediates Sensitivity to Complex Odor Features in the Honeybee

Animals use odors as signals for mate, kin, and food recognition, a strategy which appears ubiquitous and successful despite the high intrinsic variability of naturally-occurring odor quantities. Stimulus generalization, or the ability to decide that two objects, though readily distinguishable, are similar enough to afford the same consequence [1], could help animals adjust to variation in odor signals without losing sensitivity to key inter-stimulus differences. The present study was designed to investigate whether an animal's ability to generalize learned associations to novel odors can be influenced by the nature of the associated outcome. We use a classical conditioning paradigm for studying olfactory learning in honeybees [2] to show that honeybees conditioned on either a fixed- or variable-proportion binary odor mixture generalize learned responses to novel proportions of the same mixture even when inter-odor differences are substantial. We also show that the resulting olfactory generalization gradients depend critically on both the nature of the stimulus-reward paradigm and the intrinsic variability of the conditioned stimulus. The reward dependency we observe must be cognitive rather than perceptual in nature, and we argue that outcome-dependent generalization is necessary for maintaining sensitivity to inter-odor differences in complex olfactory scenes

Crystal Structure Analysis Reveals Functional Flexibility in the Selenocysteine-Specific tRNA from Mouse

Selenocysteine tRNAs (tRNA(Sec)) exhibit a number of unique identity elements that are recognized specifically by proteins of the selenocysteine biosynthetic pathways and decoding machineries. Presently, these identity elements and the mechanisms by which they are interpreted by tRNA(Sec)-interacting factors are incompletely understood.We applied rational mutagenesis to obtain well diffracting crystals of murine tRNA(Sec). tRNA(Sec) lacking the single-stranded 3'-acceptor end ((ΔGCCA)RNA(Sec)) yielded a crystal structure at 2.0 Å resolution. The global structure of (ΔGCCA)RNA(Sec) resembles the structure of human tRNA(Sec) determined at 3.1 Å resolution. Structural comparisons revealed flexible regions in tRNA(Sec) used for induced fit binding to selenophosphate synthetase. Water molecules located in the present structure were involved in the stabilization of two alternative conformations of the anticodon stem-loop. Modeling of a 2'-O-methylated ribose at position U34 of the anticodon loop as found in a sub-population of tRNA(Sec)in vivo showed how this modification favors an anticodon loop conformation that is functional during decoding on the ribosome. Soaking of crystals in Mn(2+)-containing buffer revealed eight potential divalent metal ion binding sites but the located metal ions did not significantly stabilize specific structural features of tRNA(Sec).We provide the most highly resolved structure of a tRNA(Sec) molecule to date and assessed the influence of water molecules and metal ions on the molecule's conformation and dynamics. Our results suggest how conformational changes of tRNA(Sec) support its interaction with proteins