The impact of rheumatoid arthritis on foot function in the early stages of disease: a clinical case series

BACKGROUND Foot involvement occurs early in rheumatoid arthritis but the extent to which this impacts on the structure and function leading to impairment and foot related disability is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical disease activity, impairment, disability, and foot function in normal and early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) feet using standardised clinical measures and 3D gait analysis. METHODS Twelve RA patients with disease duration ≤2 years and 12 able-bodied adults matched for age and sex underwent 3D gait analysis to measure foot function. Disease impact was measured using the Leeds Foot impact Scale (LFIS) along with standard clinical measures of disease activity, pain and foot deformity. For this small sample, the mean differences between the groups and associated confidence intervals were calculated using the t distribution RESULTS Moderate-to-high foot impairment and related disability were detected amongst the RA patients. In comparison with age- and sex-matched controls, the patients with early RA walked slower (1.05 m/s Vs 1.30 m/s) and had a longer double-support phase (19.3% Vs 15.8%). In terminal stance, the heel rise angle was reduced in the patients in comparison with normal (-78.9° Vs -85.7°). Medial arch height was lower and peak eversion in stance greater in the RA patients. The peak ankle plantarflexion power profile was lower in the patients in comparison with the controls (3.4 W/kg Vs 4.6 W/kg). Pressure analysis indicated that the RA patients had a reduced lesser toe contact area (7.6 cm2 Vs 8.1 cm2), elevated peak forefoot pressure (672 kPa Vs 553 kPa) and a larger mid-foot contact area (24.6 cm2 Vs 19.4 cm2). CONCLUSION Analysis detected small but clinically important changes in foot function in a small cohort of RA patients with disease duration <2 years. These were accompanied by active joint disease and impairment and disability

The Japanese Malay: Ethnic Categorisation in Southwest Borneo

The distinction found throughout Borneo between those peoples locally termed Dayak (Dayaks) and those locally termed Melayu (Malays) is most commonly understood as one between non-Islamic indigenous peoples (Dayaks) and Islamic indigenous peoples (Malays). While Borneo peoples recognize that not all Muslims are Malays, they nevertheless often appear to make a correlation between Muslim and Malay. This article argues that in parts of the island the distinction is more complex than such an easy elision between identity and religion can allow for; in particular, the category Melayu, as used among Dayak people, can only be understood in terms of local histories of domination, marginalization, and exclusion. In south-west Borneo, where Dayaks have long been subject to would-be domination by Malays, the category Melayu, as used by Dayaks, is one of alterity, indexing a range of characteristics seen as opposed to those found in their own societies. While adherence to Islam is one of these characteristics, it is not the only-nor even the most important-of them. The article elaborates this argument with respect to the ethnicizing of Japanese occupiers by local Dayaks during World War ii

Simulation analysis of energy production in the B. C. pulp and paper industry

ABSTRACT This paper describes a dynamic simulation model of energy production and use by pulp and paper mills. The model can be used to assess the costs and benefits of the use of different proportions of wood waste (referred to as 'hog fuel') and fossil fuels to generate process steam and electricity, with the costs and benefits measured from several points of view, principally those of the mill management and of the economy as a whole. Using either point of view, the model has been fitted to the eighteen major pulp and paper mills in British Columbia, and used to assess the consequences of the size and nature of optimal hog fuel projects. Some results are reported in this paper and references are given to other papers containing more complete results of various aspects of the research project. INTRODUCTION Whenever there are big changes in technology or relative prices, many of the standard rules of thumb for optimal choices fall apart, and many new alternatives have to be considered in a systematic way. This offers great scope for the design and use of simulation models that capture the key elements of an industrial process and expose the key alternatives for This paper was presented to the conference on Simulation Modelling and Decision in Energy Systems, held in Montreal in June, 1978 and sponsored by the International Association of Science and Technology for Development. It represents early results of work also reported in [1], [2], [3] and [4]. While Helliwell is a continuing member of U.B.C.'s Department of Economics, Cox is currently at M.I.T.'s Energy Laboratory Cambridge, Mass

Experiments C02 /OGO 2/ and D02 /OGO 4/ Final report, 2 Nov. 1962 - 31 Jul. 1969

VLF data from OGO 2 and OGO 4 on propagation, wave-particle interactions, and noise in ionosphere and magnetospher

Carboplatin binding to a model protein in non-NaCl conditions to eliminate partial conversion to cisplatin, and the use of different criteria to choose the resolution limit

Hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) co-crystallisation conditions of carboplatin without sodium chloride (NaCl) have been utilised to eliminate partial conversion of carboplatin to cisplatin observed previously. Tetragonal HEWL crystals were successfully obtained in 65% MPD with 0.1M citric acid buffer at pH 4.0 including DMSO. The X-ray diffraction data resolution to be used for the model refinement was reviewed using several topical criteria together. The CC1/2 criterion implemented in XDS led to data being significant to 2.0{\AA}, compared to the data only being able to be processed to 3.0{\AA} using the Bruker software package (SAINT). Then using paired protein model refinements and DPI values based on the FreeR value, the resolution limit was fine tuned to be 2.3{\AA}. Interestingly this was compared with results from the EVAL software package which gave a resolution limit of 2.2{\AA} solely using crossing 2, but 2.8{\AA} based on the Rmerge values (60%). The structural results showed that carboplatin bound to only the N{\delta} binding site of His-15 one week after crystal growth, whereas five weeks after crystal growth, two molecules of carboplatin are bound to the His-15 residue. In summary several new results have emerged: - firstly non-NaCl conditions showed a carboplatin molecule bound to His-15 of HEWL; secondly binding of one molecule of carboplatin was seen after one week of crystal growth and two molecules were bound after five weeks of crystal growth; and thirdly the use of several criteria to determine the diffraction resolution limit led to the successful use of data to higher resolution.Comment: 14 pages; submitted to Acta Cryst D Biological Crystallography reference number tz504

Classical and quantum properties of a 2-sphere singularity

Recently Boehmer and Lobo have shown that a metric due to Florides, which has been used as an interior Schwarzschild solution, can be extended to reveal a classical singularity that has the form of a two-sphere. Here the singularity is shown to be a scalar curvature singularity that is both timelike and gravitationally weak. It is also shown to be a quantum singularity because the Klein-Gordon operator associated with quantum mechanical particles approaching the singularity is not essentially self-adjoint.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, minor corrections, final versio

Crystallographic MAD Phasing Strategies Explored Using ELETTRA Sincrotrone Mn K-Edge Data to 2.1 Å and Use of CHESS Establishes the Diffraction Resolution Limit as 0.92 Å for the Protein Mn, Ca Concanavalin A

Multiwavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD) data have been collected from a single crystal of the protein concanavalin A so as to evaluate different combinations of wavelengths for crystallographic structure determination. Data were recorded to 2.1 Å resolution on a flash frozen crystal at three wavelengths about the Mn K-edge (1.8951 Å, 1.8940 Å, 1.800 Å) using synchrotron radiation at ELETTRA\u27s Sincrotrone Trieste \u27XRD\u27 beamline. This is one of the longest wavelength K-edge MAD studies undertaken to date. Anomalous and dispersive Patterson maps are seen to be of high quality and indicate a high occupancy for the manganese binding site. This is confirmed also in the MAD phase determination and electron density maps. Finally 0.92 Å data recorded at CHESS indicates the prospects available for combined phasing strategies based on MAD to medium/high resolution along with ultra high resolution data