Bone Absorptiometry in Metabolic Bone Disease: Baseline Values and Long-Term Treatment with Calcitriol (Post-Menopausal Osteoporosis Versus Osteomalacia)

Total body bone absorptiometry reveals low mineral density in both postmenopausal osteoporosis and osteomalacia patients. The method was used to investigate the effect of calcitriol administration on patients suffering from one of these conditions. In osteomalacia, the administration of calcitriol resulted in a dramatic improvement in bone mineral density (sometimes up to 50% in 12 months), indicating the rapid mineralization of previously uncalcified bone tissue as a result of the normalization of the Ca x P product. In osteoporosis a similar treatment was seen to halt the progressive decrease in bone mineral levels and sometimes resulted in minor increases in density (up to 5%). This is likely to be due to a normalization of intestinal calcium malabsorption which halts secondary homeostatic bone resorption

On totally geodesic submanifolds in the Jacobian locus

We study submanifolds of A_g that are totally geodesic for the locally symmetric metric and which are contained in the closure of the Jacobian locus but not in its boundary. In the first section we recall a formula for the second fundamental form of the period map due to Pirola, Tortora and the first author. We show that this result can be stated quite neatly using a line bundle over the product of the curve with itself. We give an upper bound for the dimension of a germ of a totally geodesic submanifold passing through [C] in M_g in terms of the gonality of C. This yields an upper bound for the dimension of a germ of a totally geodesic submanifold contained in the Jacobian locus, which only depends on the genus. We also study the submanifolds of A_g obtained from cyclic covers of the projective line. These have been studied by various authors. Moonen determined which of them are Shimura varieties using deep results in positive characteristic. Using our methods we show that many of the submanifolds which are not Shimura varieties are not even totally geodesic.Comment: To appear on International Journal of Mathematic

The politics of urban management and planning in African cities

Half of Africa’s population is expected to live in a city by 2035, up from 40 per cent today. This is a testament to the fact that a quarter of the world’s fastest-growing cities are in Africa and 52 African cities already have more than 1 million inhabitants each. But these cities are only projected to absorb a quarter of the growth in urban populations, meaning that small and medium cities will host the majority of new urban dwellers (UN-Habitat, 2014: 23–25). African cities are the most unequal in the world, posing a major challenge to their future (UN-Habitat, 2010: 2)

On some differential-geometric aspects of the Torelli map

In this note we survey recent results on the extrinsic geometry of the Jacobian locus inside $\mathsf{A}_g$. We describe the second fundamental form of the Torelli map as a multiplication map, recall the relation between totally geodesic subvarieties and Hodge loci and survey various results related to totally geodesic subvarieties and the Jacobian locus.Comment: To appear on Boll. UMI, special volume in memory of Paolo de Bartolomei

Partnering with higher education institutions for social and environmental justice in the global South: lessons from the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre

In the context of the £1.5 billion aid money that the UK government is now channelling through UK research institutions, this article explores the importance of building local institutions and capacity in order to establish equitable research partnerships that respond to local concerns. It will also explore the role of these institutions in brokering local partnerships for urban justice

Differences in biologics for treating ankylosing spondylitis: The contribution of network meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a chronic form of arthritis of unknown origin affecting the spine. In this study, we aimed to identify clinical and safety profiles of adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, etanercept, golimumab, infliximab, and secukinumab that are biologic agents (biologics) mainly used for the treatment of AS, and to understand differences between them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An extensive literature research was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE in order to identify all network meta- analysis (NMA) and/or mixed treatment comparison (MTC) papers. NMA and/or MTC, with a ranking of the effectiveness of biologics in AS, were included in the analysis, and the adhesion to ISPOR guidelines was investigated. RESULTS: 60 studies were identified; after applying exclusion criteria methods, 7 studies underwent further analysis. Infliximab was the drug that exhibited the highest probability for achieving clinical efficacy by ASAS20 at 12 and 24 weeks. Considering only subcutaneous biologics, Golimumab achieved the highest probability for achieving the ASAS20 response at 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Results from NMA on the use of biologics in AS indicates infliximab emerged as the drug with the highest probability of obtaining ASAS20 response both at 12 and 24 weeks of treatment

Gitelman syndrome associated with chondrocalcinosis and severe neuropathy: a novel heterozygous mutation in SLC12A3 gene

Gitelman syndrome (GS) is an inherited salt-wasting tubulopathy characterized by hypocalciuria, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia and metabolic alkalosis, due to inactivating mutations in the SLC12A3 gene. Symptoms may be systemic, neurological, cardiovascular, ophthalmological or musculoskeletal. We describe a 70 year-old patient affected by recurrent arthralgias, hypoesthesia and hyposthenia in all 4 limbs and severe hypokalemia, complicated by atrial flutter. Moreover, our patient reported eating large amounts of licorice, and was treated with medium-high dosages of furosemide, thus making diagnosis very challenging. Genetic analysis demonstrated a novel heterozygous mutation in the SLC12A3 gene; therefore, we diagnosed GS and started potassium and magnesium replacement. GS combined with chondrocalcinosis and neurological involvement is quite common, but this is the first case of an EMG-proven severe neuropathy associated with GS. Herein, we underline the close correlation between hypomagnesemia, chondrocalcinosis and neurological involvement. Moreover, we report a new heterozygous mutation in exon 23 (2738G>A), supporting evidence of a large genetic heterogeneity in this late-onset congenital tubulopathy