Repository Corticotropin Injection for Active Rheumatoid Arthritis Despite Aggressive Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Withdrawal Trial.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to assess efficacy and safety of repository corticotropin injection (RCI) in subjects with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite treatment with a corticosteroid and one or two disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). METHODS: All subjects received open-label RCI (80 U) twice weekly for 12 weeks (part 1); only those with low disease activity [LDA; i.e., Disease Activity Score 28 joint count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) \u3c 3.2] were randomly assigned to receive either RCI (80 U) or placebo twice weekly during the 12-week double-blind period (part 2). The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of subjects who achieved LDA at week 12. Secondary efficacy endpoints included proportions of subjects who maintained LDA during weeks 12 through 24 and achieved Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) ≤ 10 at weeks 12 and 24. Safety was assessed via adverse event reports. RESULTS: Of the 259 enrolled subjects, 235 completed part 1; 154 subjects (n = 77 each for RCI and placebo) entered part 2, and 127 (RCI, n = 71; placebo, n = 56) completed. At week 12, 163 subjects (62.9%) achieved LDA and 169 (65.3%) achieved CDAI ≤ 10 (both p \u3c 0.0001). At week 24, 47 (61.0%) RCI-treated and 32 (42.1%) placebo-treated subjects maintained LDA (p = 0.019); 66 (85.7%) RCI-treated and 50 (65.8%) placebo-treated subjects maintained CDAI ≤ 10 (p = 0.004). No unexpected safety signals were observed. CONCLUSIONS: RCI was effective and generally safe in patients with active RA despite corticosteroid/DMARD therapy. By week 12, \u3e 60% of patients achieved LDA, which was maintained with 12 additional weeks of treatment. Most patients who achieved LDA maintained it for 3 months after RCI discontinuation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02919761

Radio observational constraints on Galactic 3D-emission models

(Abridged) We constrain simulated all-sky maps in total intensity, linear polarization, and rotation measure (RM) by observations. We test a number of large-scale magnetic field configurations and take the properties of the warm interstellar medium into account. From a comparison of simulated and observed maps we are able to constrain the regular large-scale Galactic magnetic field in the disk and the halo of the Galaxy. The local regular field is 2 microG and the average random field is about 3 microG. The known local excess of synchrotron emission originating either from enhanced CR electrons or random magnetic fields is able to explain the observed high-latitude synchrotron emission. The thermal electron model (NE2001) in conjunction with a proper filling factor accounts for the observed optically thin thermal emission and low frequency absorption by optically thick emission. A coupling factor between thermal electrons and the random magnetic field component is proposed, which in addition to the small filling factor of thermal electrons increases small-scale RM fluctuations and thus accounts for the observed depolarization at 1.4 GHz. We conclude that an axisymmetric magnetic disk field configuration with reversals inside the solar circle fits available observations best. Out of the plane a strong toroidal magnetic field with different signs above and below the plane is needed to account for the observed high-latitude RMs. Our preferred 3D-model fits the observations better than other models over a wide frequency range.Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, for full resolution version see ftp://ftp.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/outgoing/p098wre/sun-etal.pd

Water, salt water, and alkaline solution uptake in epoxy thin films

As a means of characterizing the diffusion parameters of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites within a relatively short time frame, the potential use of short term tests on epoxy films to predict the long-term behavior is investigated. Reference is made to the literature to assess the effectiveness of Fickian and anomalous diffusion models to describe solution uptake in epoxies. The influence of differing exposure conditions on the diffusion in epoxies, in particular the effect of solution type and temperature, are explored. Experimental results, where the solution uptake in desiccated (D) or undesiccated (U) thin films of a commercially available epoxy matrix subjected to water (W), salt water (SW), or alkali concrete pore solution (CPS) at either 20 or 60°C, are also presented. It was found that the type of solution did not significantly influence the diffusion behavior at 20°C and that the mass uptake profile was anomalous. Exposure to 60°C accelerated the initial diffusion behavior and appeared to raise the level of saturation. In spite of the accelerated approach, conclusive values of uptake at saturation remained elusive even at an exposure period of 5 years. This finding questions the viability of using short-term thin film results to predict the long-term mechanical performance of FRP materialsThe first author was funded through an Engingeering and Physical Science Research Council Doctoral Training Award.This is the peer reviewed version of Scott, P. and Lees, J.M. (2013) Water, salt water and alkaline solution uptake in epoxy thin films, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, v. 130 (3) pp. 1898-1908 which has been published on: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.39331. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Energy efficiency of information transmission by electrically coupled neurons

The generation of spikes by neurons is energetically a costly process. This paper studies the consumption of energy and the information entropy in the signalling activity of a model neuron both when it is supposed isolated and when it is coupled to another neuron by an electrical synapse. The neuron has been modelled by a four dimensional Hindmarsh-Rose type kinetic model for which an energy function has been deduced. For the isolated neuron values of energy consumption and information entropy at different signalling regimes have been computed. For two neurons coupled by a gap junction we have analyzed the roles of the membrane and synapse in the contribution of the energy that is required for their organized signalling. Computational results are provided for cases of identical and nonidentical neurons coupled by unidirectional and bidirectional gap junctions. One relevant result is that there are values of the coupling strength at which the organized signalling of two neurons induced by the gap junction takes place at relatively low values of energy consumption and the ratio of mutual information to energy consumption is relatively high. Therefore, communicating at these coupling values could be energetically the most efficient option

Constraining the regular Galactic Magnetic Field with the 5-year WMAP polarization measurements at 22 GHz

[ABRIDGED] The knowledge of the regular component of the Galactic magnetic field gives important information about the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way, as well as constitutes a basic tool to determine cosmic rays trajectories. It can also provide clear windows where primordial magnetic fields could be detected. We want to obtain the regular (large scale) pattern of the magnetic field distribution of the Milky Way that better fits the polarized synchrotron emission as seen by the 5-year WMAP data at 22 GHz. We have done a systematic study of a number of Galactic magnetic field models: axisymmetric, bisymmetric, logarithmic spiral arms, concentric circular rings with reversals and bi-toroidal. We have explored the parameter space defining each of these models using a grid-based approach. In total, more than one million models are computed. The model selection is done using a Bayesian approach. For each model, the posterior distributions are obtained and marginalised over the unwanted parameters to obtain the marginal 1-D probability distribution functions. In general, axisymmetric models provide a better description of the halo component, although attending to their goodness-of-fit, the rest of the models cannot be rejected. In the case of disk component, the analysis is not very sensitive for obtaining the disk large scale structure, because of the effective available area (less than 8% of the whole map and less than 40% of the disk). Nevertheless, within a given family of models, the best-fit parameters are compatible with those found in the literature. The family of models that better describes the polarized synchrotron halo emission is the axisymmetric one, with magnetic spiral arms with a pitch angle of ~24 degrees, and a strong vertical field of 1 microG at z ~ 1 kpc. When a radial variation is fitted, models require fast variations.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&

The Large-Scale Atomic and Molecular Gas in the Circinus Galaxy

We have used the ATCA and the SEST to map the large-scale atomic and molecular gas in the nearby Circinus galaxy. The HI mosaic of Circinus exhibits the warps in position angle and inclination revealed in the single-pointing image, both of which appear to settle beyond the inner 30 kpc which was previously imaged. The molecular gas has been mapped in both the CO transitions, where we derive a total molecular gas mass of ~2e9 Mo. Within a radius of 3 kpc, i.e. where CO was clearly detected, the molecular fraction climbs steeply from ~0.7 to unity with proximity to the nucleus. Our HI mosaic gives an atomic gas mass of ~6e9 Mo which is 70% of the fully mapped single dish value. The total neutral gas mass to dynamical mass ratio is therefore 3%, consistent with the SAS3 classification of Circinus. The high (molecular) gas mass fraction found previously, only occurs close to the central ~0.5 kpc and falls to < 10% within and outwith this region, allaying previous concerns regarding the validity of applying the Galactic conversion ratio to Circinus. The rotation curve, as traced by both the HI and CO, exhibits a steep dip at ~1 kpc, the edge of the atomic/molecular ring, within which the star-burst is occurring. We find the atomic and molecular gases to trace different kinematical features and believe that the fastest part of the sub-kpc ring consists overwhelmingly of molecular gas. Beyond the inner kpc, the velocity climbs to settle into a solid body rotation at >10 kpc. Most of the starlight emanates from within this radius and so much of the dynamical mass, which remains climbing to the limit of our data (>50 kpc), must be due to the dark matter halo.Comment: 13 pages, MNRAS in pres

Incidence and drug treatment of emotional distress after cancer diagnosis : a matched primary care case-control study

Notes This work is published under the standard license to publish agreement. After 12 months the work will become freely available and the license terms will switch to a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Parameterizing the interstellar dust temperature

The temperature of interstellar dust particles is of great importance to astronomers. It plays a crucial role in the thermodynamics of interstellar clouds, because of the gas-dust collisional coupling. It is also a key parameter in astrochemical studies that governs the rate at which molecules form on dust. In 3D (magneto)hydrodynamic simulations often a simple expression for the dust temperature is adopted, because of computational constraints, while astrochemical modelers tend to keep the dust temperature constant over a large range of parameter space. Our aim is to provide an easy-to-use parametric expression for the dust temperature as a function of visual extinction ($A_{\rm V}$) and to shed light on the critical dependencies of the dust temperature on the grain composition. We obtain an expression for the dust temperature by semi-analytically solving the dust thermal balance for different types of grains and compare to a collection of recent observational measurements. We also explore the effect of ices on the dust temperature. Our results show that a mixed carbonaceous-silicate type dust with a high carbon volume fraction matches the observations best. We find that ice formation allows the dust to be warmer by up to 15% at high optical depths ($A_{\rm V}> 20$ mag) in the interstellar medium. Our parametric expression for the dust temperature is presented as $T_{\rm d} = \left[ 11 + 5.7\times \tanh\bigl( 0.61 - \log_{10}(A_{\rm V})\bigr) \right] \, \chi_{\rm uv}^{1/5.9}$, where $\chi_{\rm uv}$ is in units of the Draine (1978) UV fieldComment: 16 pages, 17 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in A&A. Version 2: the omission of factor 0.921 in equation 4 is correcte

Molecular gas in NGC6946

We present imaging of molecular gas emission in the star-forming spiral galaxy NGC6946. Our CO(1-0) and CO(3-2) images, made at 22" resolution with the IRAM 30-m and the Heinrich Hertz 10-m radio telescopes, are the most extensive CO observations of this galaxy and are among the most extensive observations of molecular gas in any spiral galaxy. The molecular component in NGC6946 is unusually massive, with a ratio of molecular to atomic Hydrogen of 0.57. A star formation efficiency image for NGC6946 ranges by over two orders of magnitude with highest values found in the northeastern spiral arm, and anticorrelates with the 6cm polarized emission image, which traces the regular part of the magnetic field. We analyse the ISM in NGC6946's disk by making 1-D and 2-D comparisons of images made in several wavebands. A point-by-point correlation technique finds that the molecular gas is closely associated with the 7micron-emitting dust. The high correlation found between the MIR emission and the radio continuum at 6cm cannot be due to dust heating and gas ionization in star-forming regions because the thermal radio emission is less correlated with the MIR than the nonthermal emission. A coupling of magnetic fields to gas clouds is proposed as a possible scenario.Comment: A&A accepted, 23 pages, 11 figures. Version with high resolution figures available at: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~wwalsh/sp.htm