2,144 research outputs found
Smoking and response to rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis : results from an international European collaboration
Objectives: To investigate whether smoking habits predict response to rituximab (RTX) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Method: We included patients from the CERERRA international cohort receiving the first treatment cycle with available smoking status (n = 2481, smokers n = 528, non-current smokers n = 1953) and at least one follow-up visit. Outcome measures were change in Disease Activity Score based on 28-joint count (Delta DAS28) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) good response at 6 months, with non-current smokers as the referent group. Results: Compared with non-smokers at baseline, smokers were more often rheumatoid factor (RF)/anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) positive and males, had shorter disease duration, lower DAS28 and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score, a higher number of prior biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, and were more likely to receive concomitant conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARDs). Disease activity had decreased less in smokers at 6 months (Delta DAS28 = 1.5 vs 1.7, p = 0.006), although the difference was no longer significant after correction for baseline DAS28 (p = 0.41). EULAR good response rates did not differ between smokers and non-smokers overall or stratified by RF/ACPA status, although smokers had lower good response rates among seronegative patients (ACPA-negative: 6% vs 14%, RF-negative: 11% vs 18%). Smoking did not predict good response [odds ratio (OR) = 1.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.76-1.41], while ACPA, DAS28, HAQ, and concomitant csDMARDs were significant predictors for good response. However, when stratified by country, smokers were less likely to achieve good response in Sweden (unadjusted OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.07-0.89), and a trend was seen in the Czech Republic (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.16-1.02). Conclusion: In this large, observational, multinational RA cohort, smokers starting RTX differed from non-smokers by having shorter disease duration and lower disease activity, but more previous treatments. The overall results do not support smoking as an important predictor for response to RTX in patients with RA.Peer reviewe
Strangeness enhancements at central rapidity in 40 A GeV/c Pb-Pb collisions
Results are presented on neutral kaon, hyperon and antihyperon production in
Pb-Pb and p-Be interactions at 40 GeV/c per nucleon. The enhancement pattern
follows the same hierarchy as seen in the higher energy data - the enhancement
increases with the strangeness content of the hyperons and with the centrality
of collision. The centrality dependence of the Pb-Pb yields and enhancements is
steeper at 40 than at 158 A GeV/c. The energy dependence of strangeness
enhancements at mid-rapidity is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures and 3 tables. Presented at International
Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM2009), Buzios, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, 27 Sept - 2 Oct 2009. Submitted to J.Phys.G: Nucl.Part.Phys, one
reference adde
Rapidity distributions around mid-rapidity of strange particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/c
The production at central rapidity of K0s, Lambda, Xi and Omega particles in
Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c has been measured by the NA57 experiment over a
centrality range corresponding to the most central 53% of the inelastic Pb-Pb
cross section. In this paper we present the rapidity distribution of each
particle in the central rapidity unit as a function of the event centrality.
The distributions are analyzed based on hydrodynamical models of the
collisions.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure
Study of the transverse mass spectra of strange particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c
The NA57 experiment has collected high statistics, high purity samples of
\PKzS and \PgL, and hyperons produced in Pb-Pb collisions at 158
GeV/. In this paper we present a study of the transverse mass spectra of
these particles for a sample of events corresponding to the most central 53% of
the inelastic Pb-Pb cross-section. We analyse the transverse mass distributions
in the framework of the blast-wave model for the full sample and, for the first
time at the SPS, as a function of the event centrality.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures, submitted to J. Phys. G: Nucl. Phy
New results from the NA57 experiment
We report results from the experiment NA57 at CERN SPS on hyperon production
at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/ and 40 GeV/.
, and yields are compared with those from the STAR
experiment at the higher energy of the BNL RHIC. , , \
and preliminary transverse mass spectra are presented and interpreted
within the framework of a hydro-dynamical blast wave model.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the proceedings of The XXXVIIIth
Rencontres de Moriond "QCD and High Energy Hadronic Interactions
Expansion dynamics of Pb-Pb collisions at 40 A GeV/c viewed by negatively charged hadrons
In this paper we present results on transverse mass spectra and Hanbury-Brown
and Twiss correlation functions of negatively charged hadrons, which are
expected to be mostly negative pions, measured in Pb-Pb collisions at 40 A
GeV/c beam momentum. Based on these data, the collision dynamics and the
space-time extent of the system at the thermal freeze-out are studied over a
centrality range corresponding to the most central 53% of the Pb--Pb inelastic
cross section. Comparisons with freeze-out conditions of strange particles and
HBT results from other experiments are discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 18 figure
Results on hyperon production from the NA57 experiment
Recent results on hyperon production in Pb--Pb collisions from the NA57
experiment are reported. Strangeness enhancement and the transverse mass
spectra properties at 158 GeV per nucleon are described.Comment: submitted to Acta Phys. Hung. A (Heavy Ion Physics
Strange particle production in 158 and 40 GeV/ Pb-Pb and p-Be collisions
Results on strange particle production in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 and 40
GeV/ beam momentum from the NA57 experiment at CERN SPS are presented.
Particle yields and ratios are compared with those measured at RHIC.
Strangeness enhancements with respect to p-Be reactions at the same beam
momenta have been also measured: results about their dependence on centrality
and collision energy are reported and discussed.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of the "Hot Quarks 2004" Conference,
July 18-24 2004, New Mexico, USA, submitted to Journal of Physics G 7 pages,
5 figure
Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Associates Differentially with Erosions and Synovitis and Has a Different Temporal Course in Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibody (Anti-CCP)-positive versus Anti-CCP-negative Early Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dislocation Creep of Olivine: Backstress Evolution Controls Transient Creep at High Temperatures
Transient creep occurs during geodynamic processes that impose stress changes on rocks at high temperatures. The transient is manifested as evolution in the viscosity of the rocks until steady-state flow is achieved. Although several phenomenological models of transient creep in rocks have been proposed, the dominant microphysical processes that control such behavior remain poorly constrained. To identify the intragranular processes that contribute to transient creep of olivine, we performed stress-reduction tests on single crystals of olivine at temperatures of 1250–1300°C. In these experiments, samples undergo time‐dependent reverse strain after the stress reduction. The magnitude of reverse strain is ~10-3 and increases with increasing magnitude of the stress reduction. High-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction analyses of deformed material reveal lattice curvature and heterogeneous stresses associated with the dominant slip system. The mechanical and microstructural data are consistent with transient creep of the single crystals arising from accumulation and release of backstresses among dislocations. These results allow the dislocation‐glide component of creep at high temperatures to be isolated, and we use these data to calibrate a flow law for olivine to describe the glide component of creep over a wide temperature range. We argue that this flow law can be used to estimate both transient creep and steady‐state viscosities of olivine, with the transient evolution controlled by the evolution of the backstress. This model is able to predict variability in the style of transient (normal versus inverse) and the load-relaxation response observed in previous work.LH and DW acknowledge support from the Natural Environment Research Council, grant NE/M000966/1, LH and CT acknowledge support from the Natural Environment Research Council, grant 1710DG008/JC4, and DW acknowledges support from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, User Support Programme Space Research, grant ALWGO.2018.038, and startup funds from Utrecht University. LH recognizes funds used to develop the uniaxial apparatus from the John Fell Fund at the University of Oxford
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