Rheumatoid Arthritis and Periodontal Disease: A Complex Interplay

Recent advances in understanding the dynamic pathways involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis have emphasized the pivotal role of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory cells, endothelial cell activation and matrix degradation, acting in a genetically predisposed environment. On the other hand, there are significant amounts of data highlighting the potential role of bacteria (leading periodonthopatic pathogen Porfiromonas gingivalis) in promoting different types of arthritis, as well as the influence of periodontis (an infectious-inflammatory condition) as etiological or modulating factor in different pathologies, including cardio-vascular disorders, diabetes, respiratory disease and inflammatory rheumatic disorders (such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and lupus). The present chapter deals with the possible association between rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis as entities with common pathological events

Resilin: Elastic MapReduce for Private and Community Clouds

The MapReduce programming model, introduced by Google, offers a simple and efficient way of performing distributed computation over large data sets. Although Google's implementation is proprietary, MapReduce can be leveraged by anyone using the free and open source Apache Hadoop framework. To simplify the usage of Hadoop in the cloud, Amazon Web Services offers Elastic MapReduce, a web service enabling users to run MapReduce jobs. Elastic MapReduce takes care of resource provisioning, Hadoop configuration and performance tuning, data staging, fault tolerance, etc. This service drastically reduces the entry barrier to perform MapReduce computations in the cloud, allowing users to concentrate on the problem to solve. However, Elastic MapReduce is restricted to Amazon EC2 resources, and is provided at an additional cost. In this paper, we present Resilin, a system implementing the Elastic MapReduce API with resources from other clouds than Amazon EC2, such as private and community clouds. Furthermore, we explore a feature going beyond the current Amazon Elastic MapReduce offering: performing MapReduce computations over multiple distributed clouds.Le modèle de programmation MapReduce, introduit par Google, offre un moyen simple et efficace de réaliser des calculs distribués sur de large quantités de données. Bien que la mise en œuvre de Google soit propriétaire, MapReduce peut être utilisé librement en utilisant le framework Hadoop. Pour simplifier l'utilisation de Hadoop dans les nuages informatiques, Amazon Web Services offre Elastic MapReduce, un service web qui permet aux utilisateurs d'exécuter des travaux MapReduce. Il prend en charge l'allocation de ressources, la configuration et l'optimisation de Hadoop, la copie des données, la tolérance aux fautes, etc. Ce service rend plus accessible l'exécution de calculs MapReduce dans les nuages informatiques, permettant aux utilisateurs de se concentrer sur la résolution de leur problème plutôt que sur la gestion de leur plate-forme. Cependant, Elastic MapReduce est limité à l'utilisation de ressources de Amazon EC2, et est proposé à un coût additionnel. Dans cet article, nous présentons Resilin, un système mettant en œuvre l'API Elastic MapReduce avec des ressources provenant d'autres nuages informatiques que Amazon EC2, tels que les nuages privés ou communautaires. De plus, nous explorons une fonctionnalité additionnelle comparé à Amazon Elastic MapReduce: l'exécution de calculs MapReduce sur plusieurs nuages distribués

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN CARIOUS DISEASE AND INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

We aimed to analyse parameters defining carious disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to evaluate potential correlations with inflammatory systemic parameters related to RA. Materials and method. We performed a complex clinical oral exam (DMFT, PI, RFR, RFS, CT) and inflammatory tests (ESR, C-reactive protein) and ASLO in seven patients known with RA. The results were statistically analyzed by SPSS 16 programs and Spearman`s correlation. The results showed a positive correlation between ASLO and DMFT, PI, CT, ESR and DMFT, PI, CT, C-reactive protein and variable: CT, PI; negative correlations were reported between ASLO and RFR, RFS, while C-reactive protein also associated with DMFT, RFR, RFS. Conclusions RA can influence the patient's cariogenic risk

Compromis performance-coût dans les clouds hétérogènes

Cloud infrastructures provide on-demand access to a large variety of computing devices with different performance and cost. This creates many opportunities for cloud users to run applications having complex resource requirements, starting from large numbers of servers with low-latency interconnects, to specialized devices such as GPUs and FPGAs. User expectations regarding the execution of applications may vary between the fastest possible execution, the cheapest execution or any trade-off between the two extremes. However, enabling cloud users to easily make performance-cost trade-offs is not a trivial exercise and choosing the right amount and type of resources to run applications accordingto user expectations is very difficult. This thesis proposes three contributions to enable performance-cost trade-offs for application execution in heterogeneous clouds by following two directions: make good use of resources and make good choice of resources. We propose as a first contribution a method to share FPGA-based accelerators in cloud infrastructures having the objective to improve their utilization. As a second contribution we propose profiling methods to automate the selection of heterogeneous resources for executing applications under user objectives. Finally, we demonstrate how these technologies can be implemented and exploited in heterogeneous cloud platforms.Les infrastructures de cloud fournissent une grande variété de ressources de calcul à la demande avec différents compromis coût-performance. Cela donne aux utilisateurs des nombreuses opportunités pour exécuter leurs applications ayant des besoins complexes en ressources, à partir d’un grand nombre de serveurs avec des interconnexions à faible latence jusqu’à des dispositifs spécialisés comme des GPUs et des FPGAs. Les besoins des utilisateurs concernant l’exécution de leurs applications peuvent varier entre une exécution la plus rapide possible, la plus chère ou un compromis entre les deux. Cependant, le choix du nombre et du type des ressources à utiliser pour obtenir le compromis coût-performance que les utilisateurs exigent constitue un défi majeur. Cette thèse propose trois contributions avec l’objectif de fournir des bons compromis coût-performance pour l’exécution des applications sur des plates-formes hétérogènes. Elles suivent deux directions : un bon usage des ressources et un bon choix des ressources. Nous proposons comme première contribution une méthode de partage pour des accélérateurs de type FPGA dans l’objectif de maximiser leur utilisation. Dans une seconde contribution, nous proposons des méthodes de profilage pour la modélisation de la demande en ressources des applications. Enfin, nous démontrons comment ces technologies peuvent être intégrées dans une plate-forme de cloud hétérogène

Resilin: Elastic MapReduce for Private and Community Clouds

The MapReduce programming model, introduced by Google, offers a simple and efficient way of performing distributed computation over large data sets. Although Google's implementation is proprietary, MapReduce can be leveraged by anyone using the free and open source Apache Hadoop framework. To simplify the usage of Hadoop in the cloud, Amazon Web Services offers Elastic MapReduce, a web service enabling users to run MapReduce jobs. Elastic MapReduce takes care of resource provisioning, Hadoop configuration and performance tuning, data staging, fault tolerance, etc. This service drastically reduces the entry barrier to perform MapReduce computations in the cloud, allowing users to concentrate on the problem to solve. However, Elastic MapReduce is restricted to Amazon EC2 resources, and is provided at an additional cost. In this paper, we present Resilin, a system implementing the Elastic MapReduce API with resources from other clouds than Amazon EC2, such as private and community clouds. Furthermore, we explore a feature going beyond the current Amazon Elastic MapReduce offering: performing MapReduce computations over multiple distributed clouds.Le modèle de programmation MapReduce, introduit par Google, offre un moyen simple et efficace de réaliser des calculs distribués sur de large quantités de données. Bien que la mise en œuvre de Google soit propriétaire, MapReduce peut être utilisé librement en utilisant le framework Hadoop. Pour simplifier l'utilisation de Hadoop dans les nuages informatiques, Amazon Web Services offre Elastic MapReduce, un service web qui permet aux utilisateurs d'exécuter des travaux MapReduce. Il prend en charge l'allocation de ressources, la configuration et l'optimisation de Hadoop, la copie des données, la tolérance aux fautes, etc. Ce service rend plus accessible l'exécution de calculs MapReduce dans les nuages informatiques, permettant aux utilisateurs de se concentrer sur la résolution de leur problème plutôt que sur la gestion de leur plate-forme. Cependant, Elastic MapReduce est limité à l'utilisation de ressources de Amazon EC2, et est proposé à un coût additionnel. Dans cet article, nous présentons Resilin, un système mettant en œuvre l'API Elastic MapReduce avec des ressources provenant d'autres nuages informatiques que Amazon EC2, tels que les nuages privés ou communautaires. De plus, nous explorons une fonctionnalité additionnelle comparé à Amazon Elastic MapReduce: l'exécution de calculs MapReduce sur plusieurs nuages distribués

TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT INVOLVEMENT IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

The aim of our study was to identify potential relations between temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pathology (signs and symptoms) and disease activity, disability and impairment of quality of life in patients with inflammatory rheumatic conditions. We performed a cross-sectional observational study in a cohort of consecutive patients with inflammatory rheumatic disorders (IRD) and TMJ-related arthritis, attending at least once the outpatient rheumatology department between 2005 and 2007. 152 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 55 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) met the eligibility criteria (IRD with TMJ involvement at the time of examination) and were recruited for this study; supplementary, 33 healthy controls also featured signs and symptoms related to TMJ involvement and qualified to be included in the study. TMJ complaints were recorded by a regular questionnaire examining the following items: spontaneous muscle pain, muscle pain during use of the jaw, articular pain, difficulty in opening the mouth. In all cases we evaluated disease activity and disability according to internationally validated instruments specifically designed for each disorder or with a common destination. TMJ involvement is commonly reported in patients with RA and AS account for high levels of disability and impaired health-related quality of life. TMJ arthritis significantly correlates with disease activity and disability, not only in RA but also in AS, requiring a complex management

MUSCULOSKELETAL COMPLAINS AMONG DENTISTS: FOCUS ON CERVICAL SPINE INVOLVEMENT

Musculoskeletal pathology in dentistry settings has multifaceted triggers, including prolonged, either standing or sitting static postures, repetitive movements, vicious positions with excessive bending and rotation with subsequent overloading and overstress of the head, spine, scapula-humeral joint, hand, but also weight bearing joints such as hips and knees. The main objective of our study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal complains, especially cervical spine involvement, among dentists. We performed a cross-sectional study on 40 gender, age, and years of practice-matched subjects stratified in two groups according to their background profession – dentists in group I, general practitioners (GP) in group II, aiming to identify work-related musculoskeletal issues. A specific questionnaire derived from the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was applied in all cases, evaluating the sitting discomfort and working performance; we focused on two main items that reflect the level of comfort or discomfort (item 1) and cervical pain on a visual analogue scale of 0-10 cm (item 2). Working in specific dental environment must complain with ergonomic recommendations, particularly focused on working posture aiming to limit as a feasible extent the overload on lumbar spine and excessive negative influence on cervical segment. Sitting on an ergonomic chair or alternating sitting with standing posture during working day should be promoted in routine dentistry practice. Work-related musculoskeletal complains, with special emphasis on cervical spine pathology, is commonly reported among dentists; both static and dynamic overstress of the vertebral structure are responsible for abnormal biomechanics and subsequent pathology in routine dental professional practice

NEURONAL AND SYNAPTIC ORGANIZATION OF ENTERIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

The aim of present work is a double one. On the first hand we tried to collect together the newest data concerning the enteroneurons’ morphology, their association in the parietal plexuses and their synaptic interconnections. All classes of enteroneurons were discussed in detail, but, despite their diversity, we have concluded that, essentially, they can be classified as motor, sensitive and interneurons, are disposed in layers and have the same functionality as the cerebral cortex neurons. According to their neurochemistry, we have imagined reflex circuits subserving motor and secretory functions, illustrated with original diagrams. Enteroglia and interstitial cells of Cajal are also assessed in interrelation with neurilema and myolema of gut muscles fibers. The second goal of our study was focussed on serotoninergic enteroneurons, their contribution to both motor and secretory gut functions and also on synuclein production in the enteroneurons, named by us extraparietointestinal. Their contribution to trigger the initial stages of Parkinson disease is proposed

Interaction of biologic therapy with apical periodontitis and periodontitis: a systematic review

Biologic medications (BMs) are increasingly used for the management of systemic chronic inflammatory diseases. These diseases are often associated with a higher prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) and periodontitis (P). The purpose of this systematic review was to ascertain the interactions between AP and/or P and BMs. The review was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42017054756). Electronic searches were performed on Pubmed Medline, Scopus and The Web of Science from their inception through to 20 March 2018. The references of the articles selected were checked. The keywords were chosen based on a pilot search, which aimed to find the most frequently prescribed BMs. The included studies were appraised qualitatively using appropriate tools. Thirty-five articles met the inclusion criteria, comprising 16 non-randomized clinical studies, 12 in vivo animal studies and 7 case reports. Quality of information was assessed as high in 18 articles, moderate in 16 articles and low in 1 article. BMs in patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases seems to inhibit the progression of AP and P, and to enhance the healing response to periodontal and endodontic treatment. A healthier condition of the periodontal tissues seems to be associated with a better response of the patient to BMs therapy.N Peddis, D Musu, F Ideo, G Rossi-Fedele, E Cott