Whole Body Bone Tissue and Cardiovascular Risk in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Introduction. Atherosclerosis and osteoporosis share an age-independent bidirectional correlation. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) represents a risk factor for both conditions. Objectives. The study aims to evaluate the connection between the estimated cardiovascular risk (CVR) and the loss of bone tissue in RA patients. Methods. The study has a prospective cross-sectional design and it includes female in-patients with RA or without autoimmune diseases; bone tissue was measured using whole body dual X-ray absorptiometry (wbDXA); CVR was estimated using SCORE charts and PROCAM applications. Results. There were 75 RA women and 66 normal women of similar age. The wbDXA bone indices correlate significantly, negatively, and age-independently with the estimated CVR. The whole body bone percent (wbBP) was a significant predictor of estimated CVR, explaining 26% of SCORE variation along with low density lipoprotein (P < 0.001) and 49.7% of PROCAM variation along with glycemia and menopause duration (P < 0.001). Although obese patients had less bone relative to body composition (wbBP), in terms of quantity their bone content was significantly higher than that of nonobese patients. Conclusions. Female patients with RA and female patients with cardiovascular morbidity have a lower whole body bone percent. Obese female individuals have higher whole body bone mass than nonobese patients

Caractérisation des mécanismes d'usure par tribocorrosion d'alliages modèles Ni-Cr

Les alliages à base nickel sont utilisés dans les centrales nucléaires pour la fabrication des tubes générateurs de vapeur, parce qu ils présentent une bonne résistance aux sollicitations mécaniques élevées dans un milieu corrosif à haute température. La résistance au milieu corrosif est attribuée à une couche protectrice très fine de Cr2O3 qui se forme à la surface de l alliage. Les tubes générateurs de vapeur comptent parmi les composants les plus délicats à entretenir, d une part, du fait de leur importance pour la sûreté et, d autre part, parce que les tubes d échange sont soumis à de nombreux mécanismes de dégradation à cause de conditions sévères de fonctionnement.. L objectif de cette étude a été d évaluer et de comparer le comportement en tribocorrosion de deux alliages modèles Ni 15%Cr et Ni 30%Cr. Ces alliages ont été utilisés pour mettre en évidence, évaluer et comparer l influence de la teneur en chrome sur la formation de la couche d'oxyde superficielle et le rôle de cette dernière sur les mécanismes et cinétiques d'usure par tribocorrosion. L étude de la tribocorrosion a été effectuée à l aide d un tribomètre pion disque par application d un frottement unidirectionnel, en régime continu et intermittent en milieu aqueux boré lithié à la température ambiante. La dégradation de la couche protectrice formée à la surface des deux alliages a été suivie en mettant en œuvre un protocole expérimental en trois étapes. Dans la première étape du protocole, le suivi de l évolution du potentiel libre et l enregistrement des diagrammes d impédance électrochimique ont été utilisés pour analyser le comportement électrochimique des deux alliages en absence de frottement. Lors de la deuxième étape, les mêmes techniques électrochimiques ont été employées en présence d un frottement continu et pour différentes pressions de contact. Durant l étape trois du protocole, des essais de tribocorrosion en régime de frottement intermittent ont été réalisés pour mettre en évidence la capacité d auto cicatrisation de la surface des deux alliages modèles. Pour les deux alliages Ni - Cr, les essais de tribocorrosion ont mis en évidence une augmentation de l usure totale avec la pression de contact appliquée. Quel que soit la force normale appliquée, la principale composante de l usure totale est l usure mécanique du substrat mis à nu. L usure purement corrosive du substrat diminue avec l augmentation de la teneur en chrome. Du point de vue qualitatif, le principal mécanisme d usure identifié a été l usure abrasive par micro - labourage. Dans cette étude a été effectuée une étude de l usure d alliages modèles Ni Cr, dans les conditions de tribocorosion, ainsi que une analyse du mécanisme et la cinétique d usure. Le comportement de la couche superficielle d oxyde de chrome et son effet sur la résistance à la tribocorrosion ont été évalués. Ces résultats peuvent servir de base à la compréhension de l origine des problèmes qui peuvent apparaître pendant la vie d un alliage inoxydable à base nickel soumis à des efforts mécaniques en milieu agressifs et permettre une sélection plus pertinente des matériaux métalliques pour diverses applications industrielles, particulièrement dans le domaine nucléaire.Some components of nuclear power plants, as steam generator tubes are made from Ni base alloys. These components are exposed to severe environment of high temperature and high pressure and submitted to contact mechanical stresses. These Ni based alloys properties are determined by their ability to form on their surface an inner protective barrier film mainly composed of Cr2O3. The steam generator tubes are among the most difficult components to maintain, on the hand, because of their safety importance and secondly, the exchange tubes are subject to various degradation mechanisms, because of the harsh conditions of work. Wear by tribocorrosion is a physicochemical aging mechanism which occurs in the management of the nuclear power plants life time.Tribocorrosion is an irreversible process which involves mechanical and chemical / electrochemical interactions between surfaces in relative motion, in the presence of a corrosive environment. The goal of this study was to quantify in terms of quantity and quality the wear generated by tribocorrosion process on Ni Cr model alloys. Two model alloys: Ni -15Cr and Ni -30Cr were used to highlight, evaluate and compare the influence of the chromium content on the formation of the protective oxide layer and the role played by the latter one on the kinetics and mechanisms of wear by tribocorrosion. The tribocorrosion experiments were performed by using a pin -on disc tribometer under controlled electrochemical conditions in LiOH H3BO3 solution. The corrosion wear degradation of the protective layer during continuous and intermittent unidirectional sliding tests was investigated by a three-stage tribocorrosion protocol. In the first stage, electrochemical techniques (open circuit potential measurements and electrochemical impedance measurements) were used without applying unidirectional sliding to monitor and evaluate the characteristics of protective oxide layer formed on the surface of the two model alloys. In the second stage, the same electrochemical techniques were employed during the application of the unidirectional sliding test to evaluate the total material loss for different applied contact pressures. In the last stage of the experimental procedure the self healing process was investigated by intermittent unidirectional sliding tests.The total material loss after a tribocorrosion experiment, determined by profilometric measurements, is the sum of two components: the material loss due to corrosion of active material in the wear track, which can be calculated fro, the corrosion current values given by impedance measurements; applying Faraday s law, and the material loss due to mechanical wear, the difference between total material loss and the material loss due to corrosive wear. Experiments proved that the total material loss increases with the increase of the contact pressure in both cases of Ni Cr model alloys. The prevailing contribution in the total volumetric material loss is the material loss due to mechanical wear of active material in the sliding track. Nevertheless, the increase of the chromium content improves the resistance to the corrosive wear of active material in the sliding track. From qualitative viewpoint, a mechanism of abrasive wear by micro-ploughing was revealed in the sliding tracks.CHATENAY MALABRY-Ecole centrale (920192301) / SudocSudocFranceF

Romanian Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: From Tradition to Science

From ancient times, plants have been used by humans for food, fodder, fibre and medicinal purposes. Several plants were empirically considered as treatments for a large array of illness and medical conditions. Each community had specific natural remedies, based on the geographical area, environmental conditions and other factors. Thus, the use of plants can be considered as part of the intangible cultural heritage of each community. In the geographical area of today’s Romania, the ancient inhabitants, Dacians, had very good knowledge regarding the use of plants for medicinal purposes, as presented by several historical sources. The present work describes protocols for the extraction and purification of natural extracts, analytical characterisation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of their potential applications as well as some practical examples of their application on selected Romanian native medicinal and aromatic plants. The presented results offer scientific support to their traditional use, suggesting in the same time some modern applications, for example in the nanotechnology field

OSTEOPOROSIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A LOWER PREVALENCE OF BODY MASS INDEX-DEFINED OBESITY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Objective. The objective of this initial phase of the study is to retrospectively screen rheumatoid arthritis (RA) phenotype characteristics associated with osteoporosis. Methods. The study included all RA patients who randomly came to the university rheumatology department between January and July 2018. Demographic data, anthropometric data, RA-specific variables, osteoporosis data and comorbidities were collected retrospectively and cross-sectionally from the first (and most frequently the only) observation sheet of each patient within the study timeframe. Correlations and comparison were analyzed using appropriate non-parametric tests, all of the reported being significant (p<0.05). Results. The sample included 149 RA patients (60.8 years mean age; 81.2% women), 40 (26.8%) of which had osteoporosis and 31 (20.8%) were obese. Compared to RA patients without osteoporosis, RA patients with osteoporosis were significantly older (56.0 respectively 71.0 years) and had: lower body mass index (BMI; 23.8 kg/m2 respectively 29.6 kg/m2 ), longer disease duration (11.0 respectively 17.0 years), higher prevalence of rural dwelling (prevalence ratio – PR=2.46), smoking (PR=3.71), inflammation (PR=1.35), anti-citrullinated protein antibody positivity (PR=1.51), glucocorticoids (PR=1.85) and carotid artery disease (PR=3.01), but a lower prevalence of obesity (PR=3.43). Lumbar bone mineral density was significantly correlated with BMI (rho=0.294) and with rheumatoid factor titers (rho=0.311), controlling for age, gender and disease duration. Conclusions. BMI-defined obesity seems to be associated with a lower prevalence of osteoporosis among RA patients, while disease severity (treatment with glucocorticoids, inflammation and ACPA positivity) is associated with a higher prevalence of osteoporosis. Gain of adipose tissue and loss of bone tissue seem to be antagonistic and parallel body composition alterations in RA

The Economic Value of Job Crafting Interventions in Healthcare: An Utility Analysis Based on Romanian Income Data

Objectives: The aim of the study was to estimate the economic value of job crafting interventions for the Romanian medical field. Materials and Methods: The utility analysis was used, representing the evaluation of the economic impact of human resource management solutions based on mathematical formulas. Meta analytical data show that job crafting interventions have a positive impact on the performance of healthcare workers. We estimated the financial value of these psychological interventions in three ways: monetary increase in productivity, percentage increase in productivity, and reduction in labor costs. Outcomes: The results indicate substantial benefits for the healthcare field as a result of job crafting interventions, as measured by monetary increases in productivity. The percentage increase in productivity was estimated at 14% for a period of three months. The reduction in labor costs was estimated at 12% over a three-month period. Conclusions: Job crafting interventions could have a significant economic value for the Romanian medical sector

Methods Assessment for a Sustainable Preparation of the Animal Fat Samples from Dairy Matrix for 1H-NMR Analysis Used to Check Dairy Products Conformity

In the context of globalization and the free movement of foodstuffs, conformity assessment has become a condition for detecting fraud affecting their quality. Therefore, fast and reliable methods of analysis are mandatory. NMR proved that can provide a fatty acid profile that characterizes the apolar matrix. Sample preparation is a very important step that influences the results. Any used method should have none to minimum impact in the profile of the NMR spectrum. The study was carried out to examine the influence of fat sample preparation in 1H-NMR analyses. Four methods were assessed to obtain necessary fat. We included the referential ISO 17189%253A2003 in this investigation in order to have a base in comparison of the results. This standard is used to calculate total fat content from butter and it is quite complex in terms of sample preparation. Only the part regarding fat separation and extraction was used. The other variants were centrifugation, direct extraction via phases destabilizing and fat drying by high temperature. Butter was produced in pilot plant by churning commercial 30%25 fat cream. 1H-NMR spectra were obtained using a Bruker 400 MHz spectrometer. Sustainability, economical approach and environmental factors were the most important criteria followed to choose the right method. No important differences in the fatty acids profile of the butter fat extract were observed in NMR spectra, this conclusion offer the base of using phase destabilisation as a preparation method for this type of analyse

Musculoskeletal and Nerve Ultrasonography

Musculoskeletal ultrasound had gained more and more importance lately and there is no doubt now about its role in the diagnosis and management of rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, osteoarthritis and crystal related arthropathies. We can say that now, US is a widely available, non-invasive, and cost-effective technique suitable for the evaluation of the articular and periarticular structures, such as joints, tendons, muscles, ligaments, and bursa. The real-time capabilities of the US allow continuous observation of those structures during movement and of the needle placement during musculoskeletal interventions. More than this, recently, ultrasonography (US) has gained its rights in the evaluation of Sjogren syndrome and giant cell arteritis. Thus, US can detect changes secondary to both inflammatory joint diseases, like synovitis, tenosynovitis or enthesitis, and to degenerative disease, like osteophytes or tendinosis. US can identify calcium pyrophosphate and urate deposits at the level of the cartilage and tendons and to recognize the changes at the level of the salivary glands in the context of the Sjogren’s syndrome and the ones at the level of the temporal artery, secondary to giant cell arteritis

The Endocannabinoid System a Turning Point in Optimizing Physiotherapy Procedures in Knee Osteoarthritis

Introduction: Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is characterized by wear, tear, and it's a slowly progressive loss of cartilage, that becomes finally disabling. KOA is one of the most analyzed diseases by many medical specialties such as rheumatology, orthopedics, rehabilitation medicine, and physiotherapy. Major symptoms of KOA such as pain, dysfunction, and chronic low-grade inflammation will decrease the quality of life and eventually lead to locomotor disability. Since there are no effective ways to limit KOA progression, involvement of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may be a non-pharmacological therapeutic alternative in the management of this disease. This study debate aspects of ways to modulate the ECS in KOA, using physiotherapeutic (PT) means such as TENS electroanalgesia, LASER biostimulation, and physical exercises with analgesic effects.Materials and Methods: In the study, we included 82 sources, with the following keywords in the title: knee osteoarthritis, cannabidiol, endocannabinoid, inflammatory pain, analgesia, neuropathic pain, physiotherapy, electrotherapy, and LASER. To perform this review, we searched for the most relevant articles in the field of medicine and physiotherapy in 7 international databases applying inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: The application of TENS currents in certain doses and frequencies together with LASER biostimulation stimulates the production of endocannabinoids thus controlling pain, and stimulating the ECS. Physical exercise has an antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory role and stimulates the release of endogenous opioids.Conclusions: The results obtained from this meta-analysis may contribute to paradigm shifts in clinical practice related to the treatment of pain by PT. TENS, LASER, and physical exercise are effective clinical tool that limits chronic inflammation and pain by involving the ECS. More studies are needed to understand endocannabinoid system involvements in KOA, and that will inspire medical doctors and physiotherapists to improve long-term treatment strategies.</p

Characterization of wear mechanism by tribocorrosion of nickel base alloys

Les alliages à base nickel sont utilisés dans les centrales nucléaires pour la fabrication des tubes générateurs de vapeur, parce qu’ils présentent une bonne résistance aux sollicitations mécaniques élevées dans un milieu corrosif à haute température. La résistance au milieu corrosif est attribuée à une couche protectrice très fine de Cr2O3 qui se forme à la surface de l’alliage. Les tubes générateurs de vapeur comptent parmi les composants les plus délicats à entretenir, d’une part, du fait de leur importance pour la sûreté et, d’autre part, parce que les tubes d’échange sont soumis à de nombreux mécanismes de dégradation à cause de conditions sévères de fonctionnement.. L’objectif de cette étude a été d’évaluer et de comparer le comportement en tribocorrosion de deux alliages modèles Ni – 15%Cr et Ni – 30%Cr. Ces alliages ont été utilisés pour mettre en évidence, évaluer et comparer l’influence de la teneur en chrome sur la formation de la couche d'oxyde superficielle et le rôle de cette dernière sur les mécanismes et cinétiques d'usure par tribocorrosion. L’étude de la tribocorrosion a été effectuée à l’aide d’un tribomètre pion – disque par application d’un frottement unidirectionnel, en régime continu et intermittent en milieu aqueux boré – lithié à la température ambiante. La dégradation de la couche protectrice formée à la surface des deux alliages a été suivie en mettant en œuvre un protocole expérimental en trois étapes. Dans la première étape du protocole, le suivi de l’évolution du potentiel libre et l’enregistrement des diagrammes d’impédance électrochimique ont été utilisés pour analyser le comportement électrochimique des deux alliages en absence de frottement. Lors de la deuxième étape, les mêmes techniques électrochimiques ont été employées en présence d’un frottement continu et pour différentes pressions de contact. Durant l’étape trois du protocole, des essais de tribocorrosion en régime de frottement intermittent ont été réalisés pour mettre en évidence la capacité d’auto cicatrisation de la surface des deux alliages modèles. Pour les deux alliages Ni - Cr, les essais de tribocorrosion ont mis en évidence une augmentation de l’usure totale avec la pression de contact appliquée. Quel que soit la force normale appliquée, la principale composante de l’usure totale est l’usure mécanique du substrat mis à nu. L’usure purement corrosive du substrat diminue avec l’augmentation de la teneur en chrome. Du point de vue qualitatif, le principal mécanisme d’usure identifié a été l’usure abrasive par micro - labourage. Dans cette étude a été effectuée une étude de l’usure d’alliages modèles Ni – Cr, dans les conditions de tribocorosion, ainsi que une analyse du mécanisme et la cinétique d’usure. Le comportement de la couche superficielle d’oxyde de chrome et son effet sur la résistance à la tribocorrosion ont été évalués. Ces résultats peuvent servir de base à la compréhension de l’origine des problèmes qui peuvent apparaître pendant la vie d’un alliage inoxydable à base nickel soumis à des efforts mécaniques en milieu agressifs et permettre une sélection plus pertinente des matériaux métalliques pour diverses applications industrielles, particulièrement dans le domaine nucléaire.Some components of nuclear power plants, as steam generator tubes are made from Ni base alloys. These components are exposed to severe environment of high temperature and high pressure and submitted to contact mechanical stresses. These Ni – based alloys properties are determined by their ability to form on their surface an inner protective barrier film mainly composed of Cr2O3. The steam generator tubes are among the most difficult components to maintain, on the hand, because of their safety importance and secondly, the exchange tubes are subject to various degradation mechanisms, because of the harsh conditions of work. Wear by tribocorrosion is a physicochemical aging mechanism which occurs in the management of the nuclear power plants life time.Tribocorrosion is an irreversible process which involves mechanical and chemical / electrochemical interactions between surfaces in relative motion, in the presence of a corrosive environment. The goal of this study was to quantify in terms of quantity and quality the wear generated by tribocorrosion process on Ni – Cr model alloys. Two model alloys: Ni -15Cr and Ni -30Cr were used to highlight, evaluate and compare the influence of the chromium content on the formation of the protective oxide layer and the role played by the latter one on the kinetics and mechanisms of wear by tribocorrosion. The tribocorrosion experiments were performed by using a pin -on–disc tribometer under controlled electrochemical conditions in LiOH – H3BO3 solution. The corrosion – wear degradation of the protective layer during continuous and intermittent unidirectional sliding tests was investigated by a three-stage tribocorrosion protocol. In the first stage, electrochemical techniques (open circuit potential measurements and electrochemical impedance measurements) were used without applying unidirectional sliding to monitor and evaluate the characteristics of protective oxide layer formed on the surface of the two model alloys. In the second stage, the same electrochemical techniques were employed during the application of the unidirectional sliding test to evaluate the total material loss for different applied contact pressures. In the last stage of the experimental procedure the self healing process was investigated by intermittent unidirectional sliding tests.The total material loss after a tribocorrosion experiment, determined by profilometric measurements, is the sum of two components: the material loss due to corrosion of active material in the wear track, which can be calculated fro, the corrosion current values given by impedance measurements; applying Faraday’s law, and the material loss due to mechanical wear, the difference between total material loss and the material loss due to corrosive wear. Experiments proved that the total material loss increases with the increase of the contact pressure in both cases of Ni – Cr model alloys. The prevailing contribution in the total volumetric material loss is the material loss due to mechanical wear of active material in the sliding track. Nevertheless, the increase of the chromium content improves the resistance to the corrosive wear of active material in the sliding track. From qualitative viewpoint, a mechanism of abrasive wear by micro-ploughing was revealed in the sliding tracks