Patient reported frequency of lupus flare: associations with foundation makeup and sunscreen use

Objective: To test the hypothesis that usage of foundation makeup (FM) and sunscreen lotion (SS), used individually or in combination, is associated with significant changes in the likelihood of lupus symptom exacerbation. Methods: Self-reported flare days (SRF) and use of FM and SS products, were retrospectively examined in 80 Caucasian Australian women with ACR classified SLE for a year. Negative binomial regression modelled SRF days (outcome) against independent FMSS variable and covariates: age; diagnosis years; outdoor hours; BMI; stress; immune therapy medication (ITM) use. Results: Statistically significant inverse associations between SRF days and FMSS use were found. Protective effects were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for combined FMSS exposure days (OR 0.998, CI 0.997 - 1.0) and FM alone (OR 0.603, CI 0.363 - 1.0). Significant associations consistent with increased SRF risk were seen in sub-analysis models for participants taking ITM: univariate model (OR 1.968, p = 0.03); multivariate model for FMSS (OR 2.11, CI 1.161 - 3.835); FM days (OR 1.855, CI 1.023 - 3.364). Results show SRF day reduction of 0.15% for each day of product exposure. Conclusion: Study results highlight protective effects of wearing FM with or without SS. This reduction in flare days ultimately has potential to improve quality of life in SLE patients

Breeding strategies to improve Miscanthus as a sustainable source of biomass for bioenergy and biorenewable products

Miscanthus, a C4 perennial grass native to Eastern Asia, is being bred to provide biomass for bioenergy and biorenewable products. Commercial expansion with the clonal hybrid M. × giganteus is limited by low multiplication rates, high establishment costs and drought sensitivity. These limitations can be overcome by breeding more resilient Miscanthus hybrids propagated by seed. Naturally occurring fast growing indigenous Miscanthus species are found in diverse environments across Eastern Asia. The natural diversity provides for plant breeders, the genetic resources to improve yield, quality, and resilience for a wide range of climates and adverse abiotic stresses. The challenge for Miscanthus breeding is to harness the diversity through selections of outstanding wild types, parents, and progenies over a short time frame to deploy hybrids that make a significant contribution to a world less dependent on fossil resources. Here are described the strategies taken by the Miscanthus breeding programme at Aberystwyth, UK and its partners. The programme built up one of the largest Miscanthus germplasm collections outside Asia. We describe the initial strategies to exploit the available genetic diversity to develop varieties. We illustrate the success of combining diverse Miscanthus germplasm and the selection criteria applied across different environments to identify promising hybrids and to develop these into commercial varieties. We discuss the potential for molecular selections to streamline the breeding process

Visual narratives performing and transforming people living with autoimmune illness: a pilot case study

Identity perspectives underpin an arts health intervention research project titled 'Artmaking, Visual Narrative and Wellbeing'. This article considers the adaptability benefits of working with artmaking narratives to support the long-term emotional and physical wellbeing of people living with chronic autoimmune illness. The article describes the methods and background to the pilot transdisciplinary case study of twelve participants, the intervention, data sources and qualitative strategies that were intersected with quantitative, medical, physical and functionality indicators. It identified that time and memory work, using montage methods in visual narratives, supported a renewed confidence in the participants' life journey. Notions of pain and time temporarily retreated when strong affective responses emerged from new storied possibilities. These findings demonstrate how visual narrative methods work as a sense-making experience for the collision between past narratives and present specific medical and/or socio-cultural contexts. The findings are discussed in the context of their potential contribution to the wider arts and health debat

SAPHIRE: Stress and Pulmonary Hypertension in Rheumatoid Evaluation—A Prevalence Study

Pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) is a disorder of elevated resistance in the pulmonary arterial vessels, reflected by elevation of measured pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), and presenting with breathlessness and, if untreated, progressing to right heart failure and death. The heightened prevalence of PAH in populations with underlying systemic autoimmune conditions, particularly scleroderma and its variants, is well recognised, consistent with the proposed autoimmune contribution to PAH pathogenesis, along with disordered thrombotic, inflammatory, and mitogenic factors. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of a group of systemic autoimmune conditions featuring inflammatory symmetrical erosive polyarthropathy as its hallmark. This study explored the prevalence of PAH in a population of unselected individuals with RA, using exercise echocardiography (EchoCG). The high prevalence of EchoCG-derived elevation of PAP (EDEPP) in this population (14%) suggests that, like other autoimmune conditions, RA may be a risk factor for PAH. Patients with RA may therefore represent another population for whom PAH screening with noninvasive tools such as EchoCG may be justified

Non-invasive detection of microvascular changes in a paediatric and adolescent population with type 1 diabetes: a pilot cross-sectional study

Background: The detection of microvascular damage in type 1 diabetes is difficult and traditional investigations do not detect changes until they are well established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined ability of nailfold capillaroscopy, laser Doppler flowmetry, retinal vessel analysis and 24-hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring to detect early microvascular changes in a paediatric and adolescent population with type 1 diabetes. Methods: Patients aged between 8–18 years with type I diabetes and no other autoimmune conditions were studied. The participants underwent the above cardiac and vascular investigations in a single three-hour session. Standard parameters including HbA1c were also investigated. Associations between all parameters were described by correlation analysis. Fisher’s exact and t-tests determined the association with clinical findings. Results: 26 participants were recruited. The mean HbA1c was 8.1% (SD ± 1.1) with a mean duration of type 1 diabetes of 7.9 years (SD ± 3.4). Three participants had microalbuminuria and one had early signs of retinopathy. Participants with microvascular complications had more avascular areas on nailfold capillaroscopy (p = 0.03). Recent HbA1c was positively associated with the number of nailfold microhaemorrhages (p = 0.03) Decreased baseline perfusion by laser Doppler flowmetry was associated with increased capillary density (p = 0.001) and an increased number of microaneurysms (p = 0.04) on nailfold capillaroscopy. Conclusions: This pilot study has shown that in children and adolescents with established type 1 diabetes, abnormal microvasculature can be detected by these investigations. These markers were also positively associated with evidence of suboptimal diabetes control as assessed by HbA1c. Further research will be necessary to determine the practical role of these investigations in the management and progress of the complications of type 1 diabetes