Do quality of life and work productivity change in early axial spondyloarthritis and non-axial spondyloarthritis patients after two years?

Objective: To compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and non-axSpA patients with chronic back pain of < 2 years (2 y).

Methods: Baseline and 2 y data of patients included in the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early cohort were analyzed. HRQoL was assessed by the physical (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey; and presenteeism, absenteeism, work productivity loss (WPL) and activity impairment (AI) by the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire.

Antimicrobial Composites Based on Methacrylic Acid-Methyl Methacrylate Electrospun Fibers Stabilized with Copper(II).

This study presents fibers based on methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate (Eudragit L100) as Cu(II) adsorbents, resulting in antimicrobial complexes. Eudragit L100, an anionic copolymer synthesized by radical polymerization, was electrospun in dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol (EtOH). The electrospinning process was optimized through a 2-factorial design, with independent variables (copolymer concentration and EtOH/DMF volume ratio) and three repetitions at the central point.

Necrotizing mesenteric vasculitis in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystemic autoimmune disorder which may affect the gastrointestinal system. Half of the patients with SLE experience gastrointestinal symptoms, with the most common being nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and abdominal pain. Mesenteric vasculitis is a severe and rare complication of SLE and one of the most frequent causes of severe acute abdominal pain.

Functional dentition and well-being among Chilean 80-year-olds.

Background: The Decade of Healthy Aging 2021-2030 calls for a strengthening of the policies for older people in Latin America. An example of successful oral aging is the Japanese "8020" campaign, which achieved 50% of people aged 80 years having ≥20 teeth by 2016.

Objective: To evaluate the association between having a functional dentition (≥20 teeth) and cognitive health, social participation, and quality of life in people aged ≥80 years.

A Tricky Diagnosis of Poncet's Disease.

Erythema nodosum (EN) is a type of panniculitis often benign and self-limited. It may, however, be associated with numerous causes, the most common being infections (namely streptococcal infections), of which tuberculosis (TB) is also one. We report the case of a 43-year-old woman who was referred to our outpatient department with signs of a recurrent EN along with an asymmetrical oligoarthritis of the lower limbs.

Sex differences in axial spondyloarthritis: data from a Portuguese spondyloarthritis cohort.

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), particularly ankylosing spondylitis was historically considered a male's disease and has been under-recognized in women. Emerging evidence reveals sex differences in pathophysiology, disease presentation and therapeutic efficacy.

Objective: To identify differences between sexes in a Portuguese cohort of patients with axSpA regarding clinical manifestations, disease activity, functional capacity, patient related outcomes and presence of sacroiliitis on x-ray or magnetic resonance imaging.

DIFFICULT BILIARY CANNULATION: SHOULD WE ALWAYS TRY A SECOND ERCP AFTER A FAILED NEEDLE-KNIFE FISTULOTOMY?

Background: A successful bile duct cannulation is a prerequisite for the realization of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). When biliary cannulation is not possible, needle-knife fistulotomy (NKF) can be performed. However, when biliary access is not successfully achieved even after performing NKF, it is possible to interrupt the procedure, and repeat the ERCP after a short interval.

Direct tissue-sensing reprograms TLR4 Tfh-like cells inflammatory profile in the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

CD4 T cells mediate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis through both antibody-dependent and independent mechanisms. It remains unclear how synovial microenvironment impinges on CD4 T cells pathogenic functions. Here, we identified a TLR4 follicular helper T (Tfh) cell-like population present in the blood and expanded in synovial fluid.

Composite materials based on chitosan/gold nanoparticles: From synthesis to biomedical applications.

Conventional strategies (Turkevich's, and modified Turkevich's methods) often synthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). These pathways produce AuNPs using toxic chemistries to reduce Au(III) and stabilize Au(0) atoms upon the AuNP surfaces. To overcome the disadvantages of conventional approaches, chitosan and chitosan-based materials associate with Au(III) to produce composites.

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/cationic tannin blend films with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

This study reports the synthesis, characterization and biological properties of films based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and a cationic tannin polymer derivative (TN). Films are obtained from polymeric blends by tuning the PVA/TN weight ratios. The materials are characterized through infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, mechanical analyses, and scanning electron microscopy.

Clonal expansion across the seas as seen through CPLP-TB database: A joint effort in cataloguing Mycobacterium tuberculosis genetic diversity in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem within the Community of Portuguese Language Speaking Countries (CPLP). Despite the marked variation in TB incidence across its member-states and continued human migratory flux between countries, a considerable gap in the knowledge on the Mycobacterium tuberculosis population structure and strain circulation between the countries still exists. To address this, we have assembled and analysed the largest CPLP M.

Microplastics in the environment: Challenges in analytical chemistry - A review.

Microplastics can be present in the environment as manufactured microplastics (known as primary microplastics) or resulting from the continuous weathering of plastic litter, which yields progressively smaller plastic fragments (known as secondary microplastics). Herein, we discuss the numerous issues associated with the analysis of microplastics, and to a less extent of nanoplastics, in environmental samples (water, sediments, and biological tissues), from their sampling and sample handling to their identification and quantification. The analytical quality control and quality assurance associated with the validation of analytical methods and use of reference materials for the quantification of microplastics are also discussed, as well as the current challenges within this field of research and possible routes to overcome such limitations.

A thermoregulation model for hypothermic treatment of neonates.

This paper presents a thermoregulation finite element model (FEM) to simulate hypothermia procedures for the treatment of encephalopathy hypoxic-ischemia (EHI) in neonates, a dangerous ischemic condition that can cause neurological damages and even death. Therapeutic hypothermia is the only recommended technique to reduce sequels caused by EHI in neonates; intervention with moderate cooling for neural rescue in newborns with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury is the culmination of a series of clinical research studies spanning decades. However, the direct monitoring of brain cooling is difficult and can lead to additional tissue damage.

The BACTEC MGIT(tm) 320 system as a laboratory tool to diagnose tuberculosis in a Brazilian hospital with a high prevalence of HIV infection.

Introduction: The World Health Organization endorses the BACTEC Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT)(tm) system as a rapid, sensitive, and specific method to diagnostic of tuberculosis. Here, we compared the performance of this system against Ogawa-Kudoh cultures and microscopy.

Methods: A total of 927 samples were obtained between December 2011 and December 2013 from 652 cases of suspected tuberculosis at the School Hospital of the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil.

Molecular typing of Mycobacterium bovis isolated in the south of Brazil.

Bovine tuberculosis is a major infectious disease of the cattle. In this study, 85 M. bovis isolates from 162 lymph nodes, obtained from a herd of cattle on a farm in southern Brazil, were evaluated using spoligotyping and VNTR.