Fluorescence optical imaging for treatment monitoring in patients with early and active rheumatoid arthritis in a 1-year follow-up period

BACKGROUND: Fluorescence optical imaging (FOI) enables visualization of inflammation in the hands in rheumatic joint diseases with currently a lack of long-term follow-up studies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate FOI for treatment monitoring in a homogenous cohort of patients with early (disease duration  3.2) RA over a period of 12 months. METHODS: Thirty-five RA patients (24 (68.6%) females, mean age 53.3 years (SD 13.6)) were investigated clinically by DAS28, tender joint count (TJC) and swollen joint count (SJC) and by FOI in phases 1-3 and PrimaVistaMode (PVM) before therapy change and after 12 months. The FOI activity score (FOIAS) was calculated based on individual joint scores from 0 to 3 in 30 joints per patient, adding up to a sum score (0-90). RESULTS: We found a statistically significant reduction of FOIAS in phase 1 from baseline (median 5.0, IQR 24.96) to follow-up (median 1.0, IQR 4.0) in all patients (p = 0.0045), both in responders and non-responders according to EULAR response criteria by DAS28. Statistically significant reductions over 12 months were found for median DAS28(ESR) 5.61 to 3.31, TJC 7.0 to 1.0, and SJC 5.0 to 1.0 (each p <  0.001). No statistically significant correlations were detected between the FOIAS change in phase 1 and DAS28(ESR), TJC, or SJC. Correlations between the other phases and clinical outcomes were weak to moderate. CONCLUSION: Reduced early enhancement in FOI phase 1 can be observed in clinically responding and non-responding early RA patients under treatment. Regarding potential marker performance, FOI probably shows a reduction of inflammation more objectively

Solitonic lattice and Yukawa forces in the rare earth orthoferrite TbFeO3

The control of domains in ferroic devices lies at the heart of their potential for technological applications. Multiferroic materials offer another level of complexity as domains can be either or both of a ferroelectric and magnetic nature. Here we report the discovery of a novel magnetic state in the orthoferrite TbFeO3 using neutron diffraction under an applied magnetic field. This state has a very long incommensurate period ranging from 340 Angstrom at 3K to 2700 Angstrom at the lowest temperatures and exhibits an anomalously large number of higher-order harmonics, allowing us to identify it with the periodic array of sharp domain walls of Tb spins separated by many lattice constants. The Tb domain walls interact by exchanging spin waves propagating through the Fe magnetic sublattice. The resulting Yukawa-like force, familiar from particle physics, has a finite range that determines the period of the incommensurate state.Comment: 11 pages 14 figure

Investigation of Current Methods to Identify Helicopter Gear Health

This paper provides an overview of current vibration methods used to identify the health of helicopter transmission gears. The gears are critical to the transmission system that provides propulsion, lift and maneuvering of the helicopter. This paper reviews techniques used to process vibration data to calculate conditions indicators (CI's), guidelines used by the government aviation authorities in developing and certifying the Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS), condition and health indicators used in commercial HUMS, and different methods used to set thresholds to detect damage. Initial assessment of a method to set thresholds for vibration based condition indicators applied to flight and test rig data by evaluating differences in distributions between comparable transmissions are also discussed. Gear condition indicator FM4 values are compared on an OH58 helicopter during 14 maneuvers and an OH58 transmission test stand during crack propagation tests. Preliminary results show the distributions between healthy helicopter and rig data are comparable and distributions between healthy and damaged gears show significant differences

Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data: what’s the story for families using social work?

Embedded within quantitative longitudinal panel or cohort studies is narrative potential that is arguably untapped but might enrich our understanding of individual and social lives across time. This paper discusses a methodology to assemble the life history narratives of families using social work by drawing on quantitative data from the British Household Panel Survey. It explores whether this person-centred approach helps us to understand the counterintuitive results of a parallel multivariate analyses, which suggest that families using social work fare worse than similar others over time. Our findings are tentative, due to the experimental use of this narrative method and the limits of social work information in the dataset. Nonetheless, the life histories presented bring to light complexities, diversity and the non-linear pathways between families’ needs, support and outcomes that the aggregates obscure. We conclude that reconstructing families’ lives in this way, especially in the absence of complementary longitudinal qualitative data, affords the wider opportunity to interrogate and better understand the findings of quantitative longitudinal studies

Pour une définition de l’agriculture urbaine : réciprocité fonctionnelle et diversité des formes spatiales

Les agricultures observables dans les agglomérations (agricultures professionnelles en circuits courts ou longs, jardins privés et partagés, agriculture de loisirs) sont aujourd’hui valorisées dans leurs dimensions alimentaires, environnementales et socio-politiques. Elles participent aux manières d’habiter la ville et à l’aménagement des territoires urbains. La diversité de leurs formes et de leurs représentations pour les acteurs complexifie toutefois la définition d’une « agriculture urbaine ». Sur la base d’observations de terrain en Bretagne (France) nous retenons qu’outre sa localisation proche de la ville, ce sont ses fonctionnalités et son intégration dans le projet d’agglomération qui permettent de définir son caractère urbain.Interest has grown on the agricultural, environmental and socio-political contribution of production farming in long and short food supply chains, family and community gardens, and hobby farms found in and around cities. Agricultural initiatives make up part of the urban experience and urban authorities consider them in their development and planning schemes. The intricacy of the term “urban agriculture” comes from the diversity of its forms and of its representations by stakeholders. A field study conducted in Brittany (France) allows us to assert that in addition to its location close to towns, its urban nature is determined by its purposes and integration at the metropolitan level

Evaluation of the causal effects between dopamine infusion changeover and fluctuations in mean arterial pressure in neonates

Objective To evaluate whether changing dopamine infusions every 12 hours and preparing these infusions 30 min before administration reduces blood pressure fluctuations in preterm and term neonates. Design This was a retrospective study using data from live patients on the neonatal unit and prospective study exploring stability of infusions in a laboratory-based neonatal ward simulation. Setting Single-centre study in a tertiary neonatal surgical unit in a university teaching hospital. Patients Neonates who received more than one subsequent dopamine infusion and had invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring, during their admission in the neonatal unit, were included. Interventions As part of the Quality Improvement project, the standard operating procedure (SOP) was changed, and dopamine infusions were prepared by nursing staff and left to rest for 30 min before administering to the neonate. Additionally, infusions were replaced every 12 hours. Main outcome measures The percentage change in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and the percentage loss in the drug concentration during infusion during changeover. Results Our findings indicate that up to 15% of the initial dopamine concentration is lost after 24 hours. This results in a sharp variation in the dopamine concentration during infusion changeover that correlates with observed rapid fluctuations in MAP. In changing the SOP, no significant difference in the concentration of dopamine and MAP were observed over 12 hours. Conclusions Delaying administration of dopamine infusions by 30 min after preparation combined with changing infusions 12 hourly has reduced MAP fluctuations. Therefore, the risks associated with MAP fluctuations, including intraventricular haemorrhages, are reduced

Evolution of pressure profiles during the discharge of a silo

We report measurements of the pressure profile in the outlet plane of a discharging silo. We observe that, whatever the preparation of the granular system, a dynamic Janssen effect is at play: the apparent mass of the grains, i.e. the part of their mass sustained by the base, is significantly smaller than their actual mass because of the redirection of the weight to the lateral wall of the container. The pressure profiles reveal a significant decrease of the pressure in the vicinity of the outlet as the system discharges whereas the flow-rate remains constant. The measurements are thus a direct experimental proof that the flow-rates of granular material through an aperture are not controlled by the local stress conditions

Substance Use as a Longitudinal Predictor of the Perpetration of Teen Dating Violence

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9877-1.The prevention of teen dating violence is a major public health priority. However, the dearth of longitudinal studies makes it difficult to develop programs that effectively target salient risk factors. Using a school-based sample of ethnically diverse adolescents, this longitudinal study examined whether substance use (alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs) and exposure to parental violence predicted the perpetration of physical dating violence over time. 1,042 9th and 10th grade high schools students were recruited and assessed in the spring of 2010, and 93% of the original sample completed the 1-year follow-up in the spring of 2011. Participants who had begun dating at the initial assessment and who self-identified as African American (n = 263; 32%), Caucasian (n = 272; 33%), or Hispanic (n = 293; 35%) were included in the current analyses (n = 828; 55% female). Slightly more than half of the adolescents who perpetrated dating violence at baseline reported past year dating violence at follow-up, relative to only 11% of adolescents who did not report perpetrating dating violence at baseline. Structural equation modeling revealed that the use of alcohol and hard drugs at baseline predicted the future perpetration of physical dating violence, even after accounting for the effects of baseline dating violence and exposure to interparental violence. Despite differences in the prevalence of key variables between males and females, the longitudinal associations did not vary by gender. With respect to race, exposure to mother-to-father violence predicted the perpetration of dating violence among Caucasian adolescents. Findings from the current study indicate that targeting substance use, and potentially youth from violent households, may be viable approaches to preventing the perpetration of teen dating violence

Biomineralisations en carbonate de calcium chez les métazoaires : tendances macro-évolutives - Défis pour la décennie à venir.

16 pagesInternational audienceCalcium carbonate-based biominerals, also referred as biocalcifications, are the most abundant biogenic mineralized products at the surface of the Earth. In this paper, we summarize general concepts on biocalcifications and we sketch macro-evolutionary trends throughout the history of the Earth, from Archean to Phanerozoic times. Then, we expose five fundamental issues that represent key-challenges in biocalcification researches for the coming decade: the first one concerns the comprehension of the micro- and nano-structure of calcium carbonate biominerals from a mineral viewpoint, while the second one deals with the understanding of the dynamic process of their fabrication. The third one treats the subtle interplay between organics and the mineral phase. The fourth issue focuses on an environmental challenge related to ocean acidification (OA); at last, the diagenetic processes that affect biogenic calcium carbonate mineral constitute the fifth issue.Les biocalcifications, ou biominéraux en carbonate de calcium, sont les minéralisations biogéniques les plusabondantes à la surface du globe. Le présent article montre comment les biocalcifications sont à l’origine de certainsconcepts scientifiques d’importance, et comment elles ont évolué au cours des temps géologiques, de l’Archéen au Phanérozoïque.Cinq défis majeurs y ayant trait sont ensuite identifiés pour les années à venir : le premier vise à comprendrela structure des biocalcifications aux échelles micro- et nanométriques, tandis que le second s’interroge sur leprocessus dynamique de leur formation. Le troisième défi traite des interactions complexes entre constituants organiqueset phase minérale. Le quatrième se focalise sur des questions environnementales cruciales, notamment l’acidificationocéanique. Le dernier défi consiste à comprendre comment les phénomènes diagénétiques et la fossilisationaffectent les biocalcifications dans leur globalité