Adalimumab and sulfasalazine in alleviating sacroiliac and aortic inflammation detected in PET/CT in patients with axial spondyloarthritis : PETSPA

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Aim: Inflammatory signals in the sacroiliac (SI) joints and the aorta of patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) were graded by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging before and after treatment with sulfasalazine (SSZ) or adalimumab (ADA). Methods: Patients with axSpA, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) ≥ 4, were recruited. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug-naïve patients started SSZ for 12 weeks, whereas those with prestudy treatment with or contraindication to SSZ commenced ADA for 16 weeks. In addition, those patients in the SSZ group with insufficient response commenced ADA for 16 weeks. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT was performed after inclusion and after treatment with SSZ and ADA. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was assessed for the aorta and the SI joints, and maximal target-to-blood-pool ratio (TBRmax) only for the aorta. Results: Among five SSZ patients, mean ± SD BASDAI was 4.7 ± 1.6 before and 3.5 ± 1.4 after treatment (p =.101). In 13 ADA patients, the BASDAI decreased from 5.4 ± 1.6 to 2.8 ± 2.2 (p <.001). Among the SSZ patients, SUVmax in SI joints decreased from 2.35 ± 0.55 to 1.51 ± 0.22 (−35.8%, p =.029). Aortic TBRmax decreased from 1.59 ± 0.43 to 1.26 ± 0.26 (−33.2%, p =.087). In the ADA patients, SUVmax in the SI joints was 1.92 ± 0.65 before and 1.88 ± 0.54 after treatment (−1.8%, p =.808) and TBRmax in the aorta 1.50 ± 0.60 before and 1.40 ± 0.26 after treatment (−6.7%, p =.485). Conclusions: Our small open-label study showed that SSZ may reduce PET-CT-detectable inflammation in the SI joints, with a trend towards a reduction in the aorta.Peer reviewe

Political travel across the ‘Iron Curtain’ and Communist youth identities in West Germany and Greece in the 1970s and 1980s

This article explores tours through the Iron Curtain arranged by West German and Greek pro-Soviet Communist youth groups, in an attempt to shed light on the transformation of European youth cultures beyond the ‘Americanisation’ story. It argues that the concept of the ‘black box’, employed by Rob Kroes to describe the influence of American cultural patterns on Western European youth, also applies to the reception of Eastern Bloc policies and norms by the Communists under study. Such selective reception was part of these groups’ efforts to devise a modernity alternative to the ‘capitalist’ one, an alternative modernity which tours across the Iron Curtain would help establish. Nevertheless, the organisers did not wish such travel to help eliminate American/Western influences on youth lifestyles entirely: the article analyses the excursions’ aims with regard to two core components of youth lifestyles in Western Europe since the 1960s, which have been affected by intra-Western flows, the spirit of ‘doing one’s own thing’ and transformations of sexual practices. The article also addresses the experience of the travellers in question, showing that they felt an unresolved tension: the tours neither served as a means of Sovietisation nor as an impulse to develop an openly anti-Soviet stance.PostprintPeer reviewe

Language testers and their place in the policy web

In the context of policy-driven language testing for citizenship, a growing body of research examines the political justifications and ethical implications of language requirements and test use. However, virtually no studies have looked at the role that language testers play in the evolution of language requirements. Critical gaps remain in our understanding of language testers' first-hand experiences interacting with policymakers and how they perceive the use of tests in public policy. We examined these questions using an exploratory design and semi-structured interviews with 28 test executives representing 25 exam boards in 20 European countries. The interviews were transcribed and double coded in NVivo (weighted kappa = .83) using a priori and inductive coding. We used a horizontal analysis to evaluate responses by participant and a vertical analysis to identify between-case themes. Findings indicate that language testers may benefit from policy literacy to form part of policy webs wherein they can influence instrumental decisions concerning language in migration policy

Solute fluxes in the Kidisjoki catchment, subarctic Finnish Lapland

Le bilan hydrique, la chimie des eaux et les transferts en solution ont été étudiés dans le bassin versant de Kidisjoki (18 km2 ; 75 à 365 m d’altitude ; 69º47’N et 27º05’E) en Laponie finlandaise. L’aire d’étude fait partie du Bouclier baltique, d’âge précambrien et composé essentiellement de gneiss et de granulites. Nous estimons que la dénudation chimique dans le bassin versant est de l’ordre de 2,9 t.km2.a-1. La variabilité spatio-temporelle de la charge en solution dans le bassin versant semble être influencée par des variations spatiales de la persistance du gélisol hivernal et de l’épaisseur du régolithe. En dépit de la faible intensité de l’altération chimique et de la faible concentration des solutions dans les eaux superficielles, l’altération chimique semble être plus importante que l’érosion fluviale et pourrait être le principal processus de dénudation de cet environnement subarctique.Water balance, water chemistry, and solute fluxes have been investigated in the Kidisjoki catchment (18 km2 ; 75 to 365 m a.s.l. ; 69°47’N, 27°05’E) in subarctic Finnish Lapland. The study area is part of the Precambrian Baltic Shield and is composed lithologically of gneisses and granulites. It is estimated that chemical denudation in the catchment is on the order of 2.9 t.km2.yr-1. Spatio-temporal variability of solute yields within the catchment seems to be influenced by spatial variations of winter ground frost duration and regolith thickness. In spite of the low intensity of chemical weathering and the low solute concentrations in the surface water, chemical denudation seems to be more important than mechanical fluvial erosion, and so might be the most important denudational process in this subarctic environment