The impact on disability of initial treatment with methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the MARI study

The study aimed to assess in a population of subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with methotrexate (MTX) how the initial approach to the treatment influenced subsequent disability. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data collected during the baseline visit of the MARI study, a multicenter observational study on patients with RA on treatment with MTX for at least 12 months. Subjects who fulfilled the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) were included in the evaluation. For every patient we retrospectively evaluated the disease duration, the duration of symptoms before the diagnosis, the time elapsed before first MTX treatment, the initial MTX dose, and the concomitant medications in the first six months of therapy. Disability was defined as a DI-HAQ score ≥1. The study population included 1015 subjects. Patients with a DI-HAQ score ≥1 had a longer duration of symptoms before diagnosis, a higher delay in treatment initiation, a lower initial dose of MTX and a more frequent co-treatment with symptomatic drugs. Disability was found less frequently in subjects treated with other concomitant disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) but not with biological agents. Logistic regression analysis identified as significant predictors of disability: older age, female sex, a longer time to complete diagnosis, a delay in starting MTX treatment higher than 6 months, and a concomitant treatment with symptomatic drugs, while a combination therapy with other DMARDs was associated with a lower risk of disability. A late diagnosis and a delay in starting a treatment with MTX are associated with poorer functional outcomes in patients with RA

Investigations on a Selectable-Value, High Dc Voltage Standard

At National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) a Selectable Value High DC Voltage Standard operating in the range from 10 V to 100 was realized to cover the absence of high level DC Voltage Standards at voltages upper than 10 V to employ both as Laboratory Standards or traveling Standards for Interlaboratory Comparisons. It A novel ground-mobile electronic technique was utilized. In the first tests the developed Standard showed better noise and stability of the same order of top level DC Voltage and Multifunction Calibrators, widely employed in Electrical Calibration Laboratories. The project is also upgradable up to 1000 V

Programmable source for DC voltage ratio calibration of DVMs

Les multimètres numerale de haute qualité, en raison de leur linéarité, peuvent être utilisés comme normes de rapport de tension. Les applications possibles de métrologie sont nombreuses: les laboratoires secondaires, peuvent utiliser avec profit un multimètre numérique avec une courbe de linéarité calibrée pour la maintenance et la traçabilité metrologique de l’échelle du volt et pour l’étalonnage des rapports de résistance. Dans les laboratoires primaires, un multimètre numerale calibré avec une grande exactitude est un moyen efficace de maintenir l’échelle de résistance. La linéarité est mieux déterminée dans la gamme ± 10V, l’intervalle fondamental de fonctionnement de convertisseurs analogique-numériques à lintérieur de la plupart des multimétres. Cet article décrit une source de tension continue de trés faible bruit electrique, basée sur un convertisseur N/A R-2R, pour générer le tension de référence necessarie pour la calibration en linéarité d’un multimétre. Un filtre specifiquement concu pour cette application, posé a la sortie di generateur, attenue le fluctuations de tension residues et stabilise le lectures du multimetre

The impact on disability of initial treatment with methotrexate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the MARI study

The study aimed to assess in a population of subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with methotrexate (MTX) how the initial approach to the treatment influenced subsequent disability. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data collected during the baseline visit of the MARI study, a multicenter observational study on patients with RA on treatment with MTX for at least 12 months. Subjects who fulfilled the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) were included in the evaluation. For every patient we retrospectively evaluated the disease duration, the duration of symptoms before the diagnosis, the time elapsed before first MTX treatment, the initial MTX dose, and the concomitant medications in the first six months of therapy. Disability was defined as a DI-HAQ score ≥1. The study population included 1015 subjects. Patients with a DI-HAQ score ≥1 had a longer duration of symptoms before diagnosis, a higher delay in treatment initiation, a lower initial dose of MTX and a more frequent co-treatment with symptomatic drugs. Disability was found less frequently in subjects treated with other concomitant disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) but not with biological agents. Logistic regression analysis identified as significant predictors of disability: older age, female sex, a longer time to complete diagnosis, a delay in starting MTX treatment higher than 6 months, and a concomitant treatment with symptomatic drugs, while a combination therapy with other DMARDs was associated with a lower risk of disability. A late diagnosis and a delay in starting a treatment with MTX are associated with poorer functional outcomes in patients with RA

Interdisciplinary Approaches towards Materials with Enhanced Properties for Electrical Engineering

n/