Radiographic joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis is associated with differences in cartilage turnover and can be predicted by serum biomarkers: an evaluation from 1 to 4 years after diagnosis

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to determine whether serum biomarkers for degradation and synthesis of the extracellular matrix of cartilage are associated with, and can predict, radiographic damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Clinical and radiographic data of 87 RA patients were recorded 1 year after disease onset and then annually up to four years. Serum concentrations of four cartilage biomarkers were determined at these time points: a neoepitope formed by collagenase cleavage of type II collagen (C2C), a neoepitope formed by collagenase cleavage of type II collagen as well as type I collagen (C1,2C), a carboxy propeptide of type II procollagen formed during synthesis (CPII), and a cartilage proteoglycan aggrecan turnover epitope (CS846-epitope). Biomarker concentrations between patients with rapid radiographic progression (>7.3 Sharp/van der Heijde units per year) and those with slow radiographic progression (<2.3 units per year) were compared. In addition, we evaluated the long-term and short-term predictive value of each biomarker for progression of radiographic damage. RESULTS: Patients with rapid radiographic progression had higher C2C, higher C1,2C, and higher CS846-epitope levels than slow progressors. CPII levels showed no differences. Most importantly, the long-term radiographic progression for C2C, for C1,2C, and for CS846-epitope can be predicted by the biomarker value at year 1 after disease onset. C2C was also a predictor for joint space narrowing and annual radiographic damage during the subsequent year. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the concentration of serum biomarkers of cartilage collagen breakdown and proteoglycan turnover, but not of collagen synthesis, are related to joint destruction in RA. The use of these biomarkers may be of value when studying progression of joint damage in patients with RA

Children and Their Parents: A Comparative Study of the Legal Position of Children with Regard to Their Intentional and Biological Parents in English and Dutch Law

This is a book about children and their parents. There are many different kinds of children and at least about as many different kinds of parents. In addition to the many different disciplines that study children and their parents, such as sociology, psychology, child studies and gender studies, to name but a few, this study concerns a legal question with regard to the parent-child relationship, namely how the law assigns parents to children. This subject is approached in a comparative legal perspective and covers England and The Netherlands. The book contains a detailed comparison and analysis of the manner in which the law in the two jurisdictions assigns the status of legal parent and/or attributes parental responsibility to the child’s biological and intentional parents. The concept ‘procreational responsibility’, which is introduced in the concluding chapter of the book, may be used as a tool to assess and reform existing regulations on legal parent-child relationships. The structure of the book, which is based on a categorisation of different family types in a ‘family tree’, enables the reader to have easy access to family-specific information.FdR – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide

Observations on a Minke Whale (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Antarctic

Volume: 27Start Page: 217End Page: 22

CCDC 859046: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: C.A.van Walree,M.Lutz,A.L.Spek,L.W.Jenneskens,R.W.A.Havenith|2013|J.Mol.Struct.|1036|115|doi:10.1016/j.molstruc.2012.09.068,An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

Out of Place? The Effects of Demolition on Youths’ Social Contacts and Leisure Activities—A Case Study in Utrecht, the Netherlands

Most Dutch cities have adopted urban restructuring policies aimed at creating a socially mixed population in deprived neighbourhoods. This entails the demolition of low-cost, social rented housing units, which leads to the displacement of their residents. While researchers have investigated the social effects of displacement on adults, this study is the first to provide insight into the effects on youths. The findings indicate that, although the first months after displacement youths lose some social contacts and stop participating in certain leisure activities, they show high levels of flexibility and soon make new friends and take up leisure activities in their new neighbourhood. No differences were found in friendships and leisure activities between displaced youths and those in a control group of non-displaced youths as reported at the time of the study. This confirms that in the long term the effects of displacement are limited

Using meta-regression analyses in addition to conventional systematic review methods to examine the variation in cost-effectiveness results – a case study

Abstract Background Systematic reviews of cost-effectiveness analyses summarize results and describe study characteristics. Variability in the study results is often explained qualitatively or based on sensitivity analyses of individual studies. However, variability due to input parameters and study characteristics (e.g., funding or study quality) is often not statistically explained. As a case study, a systematic review on the cost-effectiveness of drug-eluting stents (DES) versus bare-metal stents (BMS) using meta-regression analyses is performed to explore the usefulness of such methods compared with conventional review methods. Methods We attempted to identify and review all modelling studies published until January 2012 that compared costs and consequences of DES versus BMS. We extracted general study information (e.g., funding), modelling methods, values of input parameters, and quality of the model using the Philips et al. checklist. Associations between study characteristics and the incremental costs and effectiveness of individual analyses were explored using regression analyses corrected for study ID. Results Sixteen eligible studies were identified, with a combined total of 508 analyses. The overall quality of the models was moderate (59 % ± 15 %). This study showed associations (e.g., type of lesion) that were expected (based on individual studies), however the meta-regression analyses revealed also unpredicted associations: e.g., model quality was negatively associated with repeat revascularizations avoided. Conclusions Meta-regressions can be of added value, identifying significant associations that could not be identified using conventional review methods or by sensitivity analyses of individual studies. Furthermore, this study underlines the need to examine input parameters and perform a quality check of studies when interpreting the results

CCDC 220026: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: J.I.van der Vlugt, J.Ackerstaff, T.W.Dijkstra, A.M.Mills, H.Kooijman, A.L.Spek, A.Meetsma, H.C.L.Abbenhuis, D.Vogt|2004|Adv.Synth.Catal.|346|399|doi:10.1002/adsc.200303186,An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.