Endothelial Progenitor Cells as a Potential Biomarker in Interstitial Lung Disease Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) increases morbidity and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although the pathogenesis of ILD associated with RA (RA-ILD(+)) remains poorly defined, vascular tissue is crucial in lung physiology. In this context, endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are involved in endothelial tissue repair. However, little is known about their implication in RA-ILD(+). Accordingly, we aimed to investigate the potential role of EPC related to endothelial damage in RA-ILD(+). EPC quantification in peripheral blood from 80 individuals (20 RA-ILD(+) patients, 25 RA-ILD(-) patients, 21 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients, and 14 healthy controls) was performed by flow cytometry. EPC were considered as CD34(+), CD45(low), CD309(+) and CD133(+). A significant increase in EPC frequency in RA-ILD(+) patients, as well as in RA-ILD(-) and IPF patients, was found when compared with controls (p < 0.001, p = 0.02 and p < 0.001, respectively). RA-ILD(+) patients exhibited a higher EPC frequency than the RA-ILD(-) ones (p = 0.003), but lower than IPF patients (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that EPC increase may represent a reparative compensatory mechanism in patients with RA-ILD(+). The degree of EPC frequency may help to identify the presence of ILD in RA patients and to discriminate RA-ILD(+) from IPF

HLA association with the susceptibility to anti-synthetase syndrome

Objective: To investigate the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) association with anti-synthetase syndrome (ASSD). Methods: We conducted the largest immunogenetic HLA-DRB1 and HLA-B study to date in a homogeneous cohort of 168 Caucasian patients with ASSD and 486 ethnically matched healthy controls by sequencing-based-typing. Results: A statistically significant increase of HLA-DRB1*03:01 and HLA-B*08:01 alleles in patients with ASSD compared to healthy controls was disclosed (26.2% versus 12.2%, P = 1.56E–09, odds ratio–OR [95% confidence interval–CI] = 2.54 [1.84–3.50] and 21.4% versus 5.5%, P = 18.95E–18, OR [95% CI] = 4.73 [3.18–7.05]; respectively). Additionally, HLA-DRB1*07:01 allele was significantly decreased in patients with ASSD compared to controls (9.2% versus 17.5%, P = 0.0003, OR [95% CI] = 0.48 [0.31–0.72]). Moreover, a statistically significant increase of HLA-DRB1*03:01 allele in anti-Jo-1 positive compared to anti-Jo-1 negative patients with ASSD was observed (31.8% versus 15.5%, P = 0.001, OR [95% CI] = 2.54 [1.39–4.81]). Similar findings were observed when HLA carrier frequencies were assessed. The HLA-DRB1*03:01 association with anti-Jo-1 was unrelated to smoking history. No HLA differences in patients with ASSD stratified according to the presence/absence of the most representative non-anti-Jo-1 anti-synthetase autoantibodies (anti-PL-12 and anti-PL-7), arthritis, myositis or interstitial lung disease were observed. Conclusions: Our results support the association of the HLA complex with the susceptibility to ASSD

Associations between Screen Time and Physical Activity among Spanish Adolescents

Excessive time in front of a single or several screens could explain a displacement of physical activity. The present study aimed at determining whether screen-time is associated with a reduced level of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in Spanish adolescents living in favorable environmental conditions. or more to total screen-time showed a 64% (OR = 0.61, 95% CI, 0.44–0.86) increased risk of failing to achieve the recommended adolescent MVPA level. Participation in organized physical activities and sports competitions were more strongly associated with MVPA than screen-related behaviors.No single screen-related behavior explained the reduction of MVPA in adolescents. However, the total time accumulated through several screen-related behaviors was negatively associated with MVPA level in boys. This association could be due to lower availability of time for exercise as the time devoted to sedentary screen-time activities increases. Participation in organized physical activities seems to counteract the negative impact of excessive time in front of screens on physical activity

Contribution of Individual and Environmental Factors to Physical Activity Level among Spanish Adults

BACKGROUND: Lack of physical activity (PA) is a major risk for chronic disease and obesity. The main aims of the present study were to identify individual and environmental factors independently associated with PA and examine the relative contribution of these factors to PA level in Spanish adults. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A population-based cross-sectional sample of 3,000 adults (18-75 years old) from Gran Canaria (Spain) was selected using a multistage stratified random sampling method. The participants were interviewed at home using a validated questionnaire to assess PA as well as individual and environmental factors. The data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. One demographic variable (education), two cognitive (self-efficacy and perceived barriers), and one social environmental (organized format) were independently associated with PA in both genders. Odds ratios ranged between 1.76-2.07 in men and 1.35-2.50 in women (both p<0.05). Individual and environmental factors explained about one-third of the variance in PA level. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Self-efficacy and perceived barriers were the most significant factors to meet an adequate level of PA. The risk of insufficient PA was twofold greater in men with primary or lesser studies and who are employed. In women, living in rural environments increased the risk of insufficient PA. The promotion of organized PA may be an efficient way to increase the level of PA in the general population. Improvement in the access to sport facilities and places for PA is a prerequisite that may be insufficient and should be combined with strategies to improve self-efficacy and overcome perceived barriers in adulthood

CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Robust aeroacoustic computations based on Curle's and Powell's analogies

Hybrid methods based on acoustic analogies provide an efficient approach to compute flow generated sound in low Mach number engineering applications. In this paper, a comparative study of the numerical robustness of different formulations of Vortex Sound Theory and Curle's analogy is carried out. A particular focus is placed on the numerical effects related to the truncation and discretization of the quadrupolar field. © 2008 by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Department of Mechanical Engineering All rights reserved.status: publishe

Numerical estimation of the absorption coefficient of flexible micro-perforated plates in an impedance tube

In this study, we numerically model a vibro-acoustic systemconsisting of a flexible micro-perforated plate (f-MPP) and an acoustic medium. Combined with a back-cavity, micro-perforated plates are considered as a promising noise control technology due to their tunable, wide-band sound absorption characteristics and robust performance. An MPP consists of a plate with uniformly distributed perforations whose diameters are in the order of a millimeter. These perforations are small enough to dissipate the acoustic perturbations due to the viscous effects caused by the presence of the Stokes layers. When the plate is rigid, the sound dissipation mechanism for a specific frequency bandwidth is determined by the perforation diameter, plate thickness, plate porosity and the back cavity depth. Yet, when the plate is flexible, additional absorption peaks, which cannot be determined by the parameters mentioned before, are observed in the measurements. This phenomenon is due to the vibro-acoustic coupling of the flexible plate and the acoustic medium. To model the vibro-acoustic system numerically, we couple two 3D cylindrical acoustic mediums, i.e. incident and back cavity regions, with a flexible plate consisting of shell elements. The perforations are separately located on the plate as independent transfer admittance elements with impedance values obtained from existing models. The system is disturbed with a plane wave excitation and the assessment of the model is done by comparing the calculated absorption coefficient with the experimental results from the literature. In the future, we plan to investigate the effect of perforation positions with the help of the model built in this study

Nonlinear acoustic resistance of perforated plates in the transition regime

With this study, we provide a global link between linear and non-linear acoustic resistance of a perforation as a function of orifice geometry and Strouhal number. High amplitudes of acoustic pressure induce flow separation at the edges of the orifices. This is a non-linear mechanism increasing the acoustic resistance of a perforation. Quasi-static models have been used to predict the acoustic resistance in the non-linear regime, yet the linear to non-linear transition has been out of focus so far. We carry out open-end impedance measurements in a semi-anechoic room with four different samples. These samples are selected to have different orifice geometries and edge profiles, so that the conclusions would be general. The most prominent result of this study is that the change in the non-linear resistance can be expressed as a function of the Strouhal number only, if the resistance is corrected for the vena-contracta factor which can be deduced from steady flow measurements

Numerical estimation of the absorption coefficient of flexible micro-perforated plates in an impedance tube

In this study, we numerically model a vibro-acoustic systemconsisting of a flexible micro-perforated plate (f-MPP) and an acoustic medium. Combined with a back-cavity, micro-perforated plates are considered as a promising noise control technology due to their tunable, wide-band sound absorption characteristics and robust performance. An MPP consists of a plate with uniformly distributed perforations whose diameters are in the order of a millimeter. These perforations are small enough to dissipate the acoustic perturbations due to the viscous effects caused by the presence of the Stokes layers. When the plate is rigid, the sound dissipation mechanism for a specific frequency bandwidth is determined by the perforation diameter, plate thickness, plate porosity and the back cavity depth. Yet, when the plate is flexible, additional absorption peaks, which cannot be determined by the parameters mentioned before, are observed in the measurements. This phenomenon is due to the vibro-acoustic coupling of the flexible plate and the acoustic medium. To model the vibro-acoustic system numerically, we couple two 3D cylindrical acoustic mediums, i.e. incident and back cavity regions, with a flexible plate consisting of shell elements. The perforations are separately located on the plate as independent transfer admittance elements with impedance values obtained from existing models. The system is disturbed with a plane wave excitation and the assessment of the model is done by comparing the calculated absorption coefficient with the experimental results from the literature. In the future, we plan to investigate the effect of perforation positions with the help of the model built in this study