Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation on Aortic Stiffness and Arterial Hemodynamics in People With Osteoarthritis and Vitamin D Deficiency

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Potential of UAV-Based Active Sensing for Monitoring Rice Leaf Nitrogen Status

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based active canopy sensors can serve as a promising sensing solution for the estimation of crop nitrogen (N) status with great applicability and flexibility. This study was endeavored to determine the feasibility of UAV-based active sensing to monitor the leaf N status of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and to examine the transferability of handheld-based predictive models to UAV-based active sensing. In this 3-year multi-locational study, varied N-rates (0–405 kg N ha−1) field experiments were conducted using five rice varieties. Plant samples and sensing data were collected at critical growth stages for growth analysis and monitoring. The portable active canopy sensor RapidSCAN CS-45 with red, red edge, and near infrared wavebands was used in handheld mode and aerial mode on a gimbal under a multi-rotor UAV. The results showed the great potential of UAV-based active sensing for monitoring rice leaf N status. The vegetation index-based regression models were built and evaluated based on Akaike information criterion and independent validation to predict rice leaf dry matter, leaf area index, and leaf N accumulation. Vegetation indices composed of near-infrared and red edge bands (NDRE or RERVI) acquired at a 1.5 m aviation height had a good performance for the practical application. Future studies are needed on the proper operation mode and means for precision N management with this system

Belimumab - an anti-BLyS human monoclonal antibody for rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) is a major regulatory factor that controls the development and survival of B cells. Elevated serum levels of BLyS have been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Belimumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits BLyS and it is being developed for the treatment of RA. This review aims to summarize up-to-date pharmacological and clinical data of belimumab in the treatment of RA. Areas covered: A literature search was performed on PubMed using keywords, including belimumab, LymphoStat-B, benlysta, BLyS inhibitor, rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disease. References of relevant studies were searched by hand. Abstracts of international conferences up to October 2012 were also included. Belimumab was well tolerated in the treatment of RA over 24 weeks. It significantly increased American College of Rheumatology (ACR)20 responses at week 24, especially in patients with high disease activity, positive rheumatoid factor, no anti-TNF treatment experience and those who had failed methotrexate therapy. However, belimumab failed to demonstrate significantly improved ACR50 and ACR70 responses in the single Phase II clinical trial of RA. Expert opinion: These results suggest that the clinical efficacy of belimumab for RA needs to be further investigated in future clinical trials. Careful patient selection may be necessary for belimumab to achieve optimal clinical outcomes in RA.8 page(s

New goodness-of-fit tests based on fiducial empirical distribution function

In this paper we derive new tests for goodness of fit based on the fiducial empirical distribution function (EDF) after the probability integral transformation of the sample. Note that the fiducial EDF for a set of given sample observations is a randomized distribution function. By substituting the fiducial EDF for the classical EDF in the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cramér-von Mises statistics and so forth, randomized statistics are derived, of which the qth quantile and the expectation are chosen as test statistics. It emerges from Monte Carlo simulations that in most cases there exist some of the new tests having better power properties than the corresponding tests based on the classical EDF and Pyke's modified EDF.

Rapid Preparation of Mesoporous Methylsilsesquioxane Aerogels by Microwave Heating Technology

Microwave heating technology is known as an alternative to traditional gas and electric heating sources. In this work, mesoporous methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels were prepared via a sol–gel process accompanied by microwave heating technology, and microwave heating was used in the gelation of sol and the drying of wet gels, respectively. The effects of hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as a surfactant and template, hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a catalyst, ethanol as a solvent, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a gelation agent, and microwave power on the pore structure of as-prepared MSQ aerogels were investigated in detail. Microwave heating at low power results in the acceleration of sol–gel transition and achieves the gelation within a few minutes. Appropriate amounts of chemical reagents and microwave heating at high power allow the preparation of mesoporous MSQ aerogels with a BET-specific surface area of 681.6 m2·g−1 and a mesopore size of 19 nm, and the resultant MSQ aerogel still has a BET specific surface area as high as 134 m2·g−1 after heat treatment at 600 °C for 2 h, showing high thermal stability. The MSQ aerogels/fibre composite possesses a low thermal conductivity of 0.039 W/(m·k)−1, displaying good thermal insulation. Microwave heating technology is a promising heating method for the preparation of other aerogels

Facile Synthesis of Methylsilsesquioxane Aerogels with Uniform Mesopores by Microwave Drying

Methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels with uniform mesopores were facilely prepared via a sol⁻gel process followed by microwave drying with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) as a precursor, hydrochloric acid (HCl) as a catalyst, water and methanol as solvents, hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as a surfactant and template, and propylene oxide (PO) as a gelation agent. The microstructure, chemical composition, and pore structures of the resultant MSQ aerogels were investigated in detail to achieve controllable preparation of MSQ aerogels, and the thermal stability of MSQ aerogels was also analyzed. The gelation agent, catalyst, solvent, and microwave power have important roles related to the pore structures of MSQ aerogels. Meanwhile, the microwave drying method was found to not only have a remarkable effect on improving production efficiency, but also to be conducive to avoiding the collapse of pore structure (especially micropores) during drying. The resulting MSQ aerogel microwave-dried at 500 W possessed a specific surface area up to 821 m2/g and a mesopore size of 20 nm, and displayed good thermal stability

Fabrication and Characterization of MSQ Aerogel Coating on ePTFE Thin Films for Cable Sheaths

With methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels synthesized by the sol-gel method as a raw material and Si-Ti sol as a binder, an alcohol-based aerogel slurry consisting of only MSQ aerogel and Si-Ti sol was prepared and coated on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) to form an MSQ aerogel coating layer, followed by low-temperature heat treatment. The effect of Si-Ti sol content on the microstructure of the MSQ aerogel coating layer was investigated, and the properties of a typical MSQ aerogel-layer-coated ePTFE film were evaluated. The results show that Si-Ti sol has an important role in terms of film-forming capability, surface smoothness, flexibility, and powder dropping of the MSQ aerogel coating layer. With a Si-Ti sol of 10.5 wt.% content as a binder and after heat treatment at 170 °C for 30 min, the coated ePTFE flexible thin film with a layer thickness of 30 μm shows high uniformity, integrity, and electrical insulation properties, with an elongation at break decrease over 130%, a thermal conductivity of 0.1753 W/(m·K) at 25 °C, a dielectric constant of 16.5674, and a dielectric loss of 0.06369, which can be promisingly applied in cable sheaths

Facile Synthesis of Flexible Methylsilsesquioxane Aerogels with Surface Modifications for Sound- Absorbance, Fast Dye Adsorption and Oil/Water Separation

New flexible methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ) aerogels have been facilely prepared by a sol–gel process with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS) as co-precursors, followed by surface modification and ambient pressure drying. The microstructure, mechanical properties and hydrophobicity of these MSQ aerogels after surface modifications of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and/or hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) were investigated in detail, and the applications of surface-modified MSQ aerogels in sound-absorbance, fast dye adsorption and oil/water separation were evaluated, respectively. The MSQ aerogels surface-modified by HMDS possess flexibility, elasticity and superhydrophobicity, and demonstrate good performance in the mentioned applications. The resultant MSQ aerogel used in sound-absorbance has high frequency (about 6 kHz) acoustic absorptivity of up to 80%, benefiting from its macroporous structure and porosity of 94%, and it also possesses intermediate frequency acoustic absorptivity (about 1 kHz) up to 80% owing to its elasticity. This MSQ aerogel can selectively separate oil from oil/water mixtures with high efficiency due to its superhydrophobicity and superlipophilicity, resulting from a lot of methyl groups, density as low as 0.12 cm3·g−1 and a water contact angle as high as 157°. This MSQ aerogel can be assembled to be a monolithic column applied for fast dye adsorption, and shows selective adsorption for anionic dyes and removal efficiency of methyl orange of up to 95%

Circulating C reactive protein in osteoarthritis : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: There is emerging evidence that the development and progression of osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with inflammation. C reactive protein (CRP), a systemic marker for inflammation, may be elevated in OA patients but the evidence is conflicting. Objective: To systematically review the literature for the relationship between serum CRP levels measured by a high sensitivity method (high sensitive CRP (hs-CRP)) and OA, as well as the correlation between circulating CRP levels and OA phenotypes. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases were systematically searched from January 1992 to December 2012. Studies were included when they met the inclusion criteria and data from studies were extracted. Two independent reviewers assessed study quality using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Meta-analyses were performed to pool available data from included studies. Results: 32 studies met the inclusion criteria. Serum hs-CRP levels in OA were modestly but statistically significantly higher than controls (mean difference=1.19 mg/L, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.73, p<0.001) with significant heterogeneity between studies. Levels were significantly associated with pain (r=0.14, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.20, p<0.001) and decreased physical function (r=0.25, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.39, p<0.001). No significant associations were found between hs-CRP levels and radiographic OA. Conclusions: Low-grade systemic inflammation may play a greater role in symptoms rather than radiographic changes in OA.8 page(s