9,189 research outputs found
Erratum to: A prospective evaluation of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in acute microcrystalline arthritis.
A prospective evaluation of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in acute microcrystalline arthritis.
The performance of ultrasound (US) in the diagnosis of acute gouty (MSU) arthritis and calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) arthritis is not yet well defined. Most studies evaluated US as the basis for diagnosing crystal arthritis in already diagnosed cases of gout and few prospective studies have been performed.
One hundred nine consecutive patients who presented an acute arthritis of suspected microcrystalline arthritis were prospectively included. All underwent an US of the symptomatic joints(s) and of knees, ankles and 1(st) metatarsopalangeal (MTP) joints by a rheumatologist "blinded" to the clinical history. 92 also had standard X-rays. Crystal identification was the gold standard.
Fifty-one patients had MSU, 28 CPP and 9 had both crystals by microscopic analysis. No crystals were detected in 21. One had septic arthritis. Based on US signs in the symptomatic joint, the sensitivity of US for both gout and CPP was low (60% for both). In gout, the presence of US signs in the symptomatic joint was highly predictive of the diagnosis (PPV = 92%). When US diagnosis was based on an examination of multiple joints, the sensitivity for both gout and CPP rose significantly but the specificity and the PPV decreased. In the absence of US signs in all the joints studied, CPP arthritis was unlikely (NPV = 87%) particularly in patients with no previous crisis (NPV = 94%). X-ray of the symptomatic joints was confirmed to be not useful in diagnosing gout and was equally sensitive or specific as US in CPP arthritis.
Arthrocenthesis remains the key investigation for the diagnosis of microcrystalline acute arthritis. Although US can help in the diagnostic process, its diagnostic performance is only moderate. US should not be limited to the symptomatic joint. Examination of multiple joints gives a better diagnostic sensitivity but lower specificity
Neutral mode heat transport and fractional quantum Hall shot noise
We study nonequilibrium edge state transport in the fractional quantum Hall
regime for states with one or several counter-propagating neutral modes. We
consider a setup in which the neutral modes are heated by a hot spot, and where
heat transported by the neutral modes causes a temperature difference between
the upper and lower edges in a Hall bar. This temperature difference is probed
by the excess noise it causes for scattering across a quantum point contact. We
find that the excess noise in the quantum point contact provides evidence for
counter-propagating neutral modes, and we calculate its dependence on both the
temperature difference between the edges and on source drain bias.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Frequent use of paracetamol and risk of allergic disease among women in an Ethiopian population
Introduction
The hypothesis that paracetamol might increase the risk of asthma and other allergic diseases have gained support from a range of independent studies. However, in studies based in developed countries, the possibility that paracetamol and asthma are associated through aspirin avoidance is difficult to exclude.
Objectives
To explore this hypothesis among women in a developing country, where we have previously reported aspirin avoidance to be rare.
Methods
In 2005/6 a population based cohort of 1065 pregnant women was established in Butajira, Ethiopia and baseline demographic data collected. At 3 years post birth, an interview-based questionnaire administered to 945 (94%) of these women collected data on asthma, eczema, and hay fever in the past 12 month, frequency of paracetamol use and potential confounders. Allergen skin tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and cockroach were also performed. The independent effects of paracetamol use on allergic outcomes were determined using multiple logistic regression analysis.
Findings
The prevalence of asthma, eczema and hay fever was 1.7%, 0.9% and 3.8% respectively; of any one of these conditions 5.5%, and of allergen sensitization 7.8%. Paracetamol use in the past month was reported by 29%, and associations of borderline significance were seen for eczema (adjusted OR (95% CI) = 8.51 (1.68 to 43.19) for 1–3 tablets and 2.19 (0.36 to 13.38) for ≥4 tablets, compared to no tablets in the past month; overall p = 0.055) and for ‘any allergic condition’ (adjusted OR (95% CI) = 2.73 (1.22 to 6.11) for 1–3 tablets and 1.35 (0.67 to 2.70) for ≥4 tablets compared to 0 in the past month; overall p = 0.071).
Conclusions
This study provides further cross-sectional evidence that paracetamol use increases the risk of allergic disease
Three years of the Latin American Branch of the International Centre for Electronic Navigational Charts (LA RENC)
The Energy of Regular Black Hole in General Relativity Coupled to Nonlinear Electrodynamics
According to the Einstein, Weinberg, and M{\o}ller energy-momentum complexes,
we evaluate the energy distribution of the singularity-free solution of the
Einstein field equations coupled to a suitable nonlinear electrodynamics
suggested by Ay\'{o}n-Beato and Garc\'{i}a. The results show that the energy
associated with the definitions of Einstein and Weinberg are the same, but
M{\o}ller not. Using the power series expansion, we find out that the first two
terms in the expression are the same as the energy distributions of the
Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m solution, and the third term could be used to survey the
factualness between numerous solutions of the Einstein field eqautions coupled
to a nonlinear electrodynamics.Comment: 11 page
Abrasive water jet drilling of advanced sustainable bio-fibre-reinforced polymer/hybrid composites : a comprehensive analysis of machining-induced damage responses
This paper aims at investigating the effects of variable traverse speeds on machining-induced damage of fibre-reinforced composites, using the abrasive water jet (AWJ) drilling. Three different types of epoxy-based composites laminates fabricated by vacuum bagging technique containing unidirectional (UD) flax, hybrid carbon-flax and carbon fibre-reinforced composite were used. The drilling parameters used were traverse speeds of 20, 40, 60 and 80 mm/min, constant water jet pressure of 300 MPa and a hole diameter of 10 mm. The results obtained depict that the traverse speed had a significant effect with respect to both surface roughness and delamination drilling-induced damage responses. Evidently, an increase in water jet traverse speed caused an increase in both damage responses of the three samples. Significantly, the CFRP composite sample recorded the lowest surface roughness damage response, followed by C-FFRP, while FFRP exhibited the highest. However, samples of FFRP and hybrid C-FFRP recorded lowest and highest delamination damage responses, respectively. The discrepancy in both damage responses, as further validated with micrographs of colour video microscopy (CVM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray μCT), is attributed to the different mechanical properties of the reinforced fibres, fibre orientation/ply stacking and hybridisation of the samples.Peer reviewe
Intraperitoneal Delivery of Acetate-Encapsulated Liposomal Nanoparticles for Neuroprotection of the Penumbra in a Rat Model of Ischemic Stroke
Background: Ischemic stroke is a devastating condition, with metabolic derangement and persistent inflammation enhancing the initial insult of ischaemia. Recombinant tissue plasminogen remains the only effective treatment but limited as therapy must commence soon after the onset of symptoms. Purpose: We investigated whether acetate, which modulates many pathways including inflammation, may attenuate brain injury in stroke. As acetate has a short blood half-life and high amounts irritate the gastrointestinal tract, acetate was administered encapsulated in a liposomal nanoparticle (liposomal-encapsulated acetate, LITA). Methods: Transient ischemia was induced by 90 mins middle-cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in Sprague-Dawley rats, and LITA or control liposomes given intraperitoneally at occlusion and daily for up to two weeks post-MCAO. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to estimate lesion volume at 24 h, 1 and 2 weeks post-MCAO and anterior lateral ventricular volume (ALVv) at 2 weeks post-MCAO. Locomotive behaviour was tested prior to the final MRI scan. After the final scan, brains were collected, and immunohistochemistry was performed. Results: Lesion volumes were decreased by ~80% from 24 h to one-week post-MCAO, in both control and LITA groups (P<0.05). However, the lesion was increased by ~50% over the subsequent 1 to 2 weeks after MCAO in the control group (from 24.1±10.0 to 58.7±28.6 mm3; P<0.05) but remained unchanged in the LITA group. ALVv were also attenuated by LITA treatment at 2 weeks post-MCAO (177.2±11.9% and 135.3±10.9% of contralateral ALVv for control and LITA groups, respectively; P<0.05). LITA-treated animals also appeared to have improved motor activity, moving with greater average velocity than control animals. Microglial immunoreactivity was ~40% lower in the LITA group compared to the control group (P<0.05), but LITA did not modulate neurogenesis, apoptosis, histone acetylation and lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: LITA appears to attenuate the harmful chronic neuroinflammation observed during brain remodeling after a focal ischemic insult
On the energy of homogeneous cosmologies
An energy for the homogeneous cosmological models is presented. More
specifically, using an appropriate natural prescription, we find the energy
within any region with any gravitational source for a large class of gravity
theories--namely those with a tetrad description--for all 9 Bianchi types. Our
energy is given by the value of the Hamiltonian with homogeneous boundary
conditions; this value vanishes for all regions in all Bianchi class A models,
and it does not vanish for any class B model. This is so not only for
Einstein's general relativity but, moreover, for the whole 3-parameter class of
tetrad-teleparallel theories. For the physically favored one parameter
subclass, which includes the teleparallel equivalent of Einstein's theory as an
important special case, the energy for all class B models is, contrary to
expectation, negative.Comment: 11 pages, reformated with minor change
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