Biomarkers of nucleic acid oxidation, polymorphism in, and expression of, hOGG1 gene in styrene-exposed workers.

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Definitions and reliability assessment of elementary ultrasound lesions in giant cell arteritis: a study from the OMERACT Large Vessel Vasculitis Ultrasound Working Group

Objectives: To define the elementary ultrasound (US) lesions in giant cell arteritis (GCA) and to evaluate the reliability of the assessment of US lesions according to these definitions in a web-based reliability exercise. Methods: Potential definitions of normal and abnormal US findings of temporal and extracranial large arteries were retrieved by a systematic literature review. As a subsequent step, a structured Delphi exercise was conducted involving an expert panel of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) US Large Vessel Vasculitis Group to agree definitions of normal US appearance and key elementary US lesions of vasculitis of temporal and extracranial large arteries. The reliability of these definitions on normal and abnormal blood vessels was tested on 150 still images and videos in a web-based reliability exercise. Results: Twenty-four experts participated in both Delphi rounds. From originally 25 statements, nine definitions were obtained for normal appearance, vasculitis and arteriosclerosis of cranial and extracranial vessels. The 'halo' and 'compression' signs were the key US lesions in GCA. The reliability of the definitions for normal temporal and axillary arteries, the 'halo' sign and the 'compression' sign was excellent with inter-rater agreements of 91-99% and mean kappa values of 0.83-0.98 for both inter-rater and intra-rater reliabilities of all 25 experts. Conclusions: The 'halo' and the 'compression' signs are regarded as the most important US abnormalities for GCA. The inter-rater and intra-rater agreement of the new OMERACT definitions for US lesions in GCA was excellent

International consensus for ultrasound lesions in gout: Results of delphi process and web-reliability exercise

Objective. To produce consensus-based definitions of the US elementary lesions in gout and to test their reliability in a web-based exercise. Methods. The process consisted of two steps. In the first step a written Delphi questionnaire was developed from a systematic literature review and expert international consensus. This collated information resulted in four statements defining US elementary lesions: double contour (DC), tophus, aggregates and erosion. The Delphi questionnaire was sent to 35 rheumatology experts in US, asking them to rate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement. The second step tested the reliability by a web-exercise. US images of both normal and gouty elementary lesions were collected by the participants. A facilitator then constructed an electronic database of 110 images. The database was sent to the participants, who evaluated the presence/absence of US elementary lesions. A group of 20 images was displayed twice to evaluate intra-reader reliability. Results. A total of 32 participants responded to the questionnaires. Good agreement (>80%) was obtained for US definitions on DC, tophus, aggregates and erosion in the Delphi exercise after three rounds. The reliability on images showed inter-reader κ values for DC, tophus, aggregates, erosion findings of 0.98, 0.71, 0.54 and 0.85, respectively. The mean intra-reader κ values were also acceptable: 0.93, 0.78, 0.65 and 0.78, respectively. Conclusion. This, the first consensus-based US definition of elementary lesions in gout, demonstrated good reliability overall. It constitutes an essential step in developing a core outcome measurement that permits a higher degree of homogeneity and comparability between multicentre studies

ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ ПРОБІОТИЧНИХ БАКТЕРІЙ ПРИ КОМБІНОВАНІЙ ВАКЦИНАЦІЇ ПРОТИ ГЕПАТИТУ В В ЕКСПЕРИМЕНТІ

The aim of the work – to elucidate the efficacy of three times immunizations of BALB/c mice with recombinant Engerix-B vaccine, as well as its combinations with lactobacilli and bifidobacteria probiotic strains for hepatitis B prevention. Materials and methods. The recombinant Engerix-B (ENGERIX B) vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (Belgium) was used in the work. that administered to mice subcutaneously along the spine once a day, three times with an interval of 10 days. The formation of antibo­dies to the HBsAg subtypes ad and ay in serum blood was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Conclusions. The use of Engerix-B vaccine in conjunction with L. casei IMV B-7280 increases the effectiveness of hepatitis B vaccination in animals, as evidenced by a significant increase in antibody titres after the third immunization.Мета роботи – визначення ефективності триразової імунізації мишей BALB/c рекомбінантною вакциною Енджерикс-В, а також її поєднань з пробіотичними штамами лактобацил і біфідобактерій для профілактики гепатиту В.Матеріали і методи. У роботі використовували рекомбінантну вакцину Engerix-B (ENGERIX B) виробництва GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (Бельгія), яку вводили мишам підшкірно по хребту один раз на добу, тричі з інтервалом в 10 діб. Формування HBsAg-антитіл до підтипів ad і ay у сироватці крові визначали за допомогою імуноензимного методу.Висновки. Використання вакцини Енджерикс-В у поєднанні з L. casei ІМВ В-7280 підвищувало ефективність вакцинації проти гепатиту В у тварин, що підтверджувалося суттєвим підвищенням титру антитіл після третьої імунізації