Accurate dating of stalagmites from low seasonal contrast tropical Pacific climate using Sr 2D maps, fabrics and annual hydrological cycles.

Tropical Pacific stalagmites are commonly affected by dating uncertainties because of their low U concentration and/or elevated initial Th content. This poses problems in establishing reliable trends and periodicities for droughts and pluvial episodes in a region vulnerable to climate change. Here we constrain the chronology of a Cook Islands stalagmite using synchrotron µXRF two-dimensional mapping of Sr concentrations coupled with growth laminae optical imaging constrained by in situ monitoring.

Soluble syndecan-3 binds chemokines, reduces leukocyte migration in vitro and ameliorates disease severity in models of rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Syndecans are heparan sulfate proteoglycans that occur in membrane-bound or soluble forms. Syndecan-3, the least well-characterised of the syndecan family, is highly expressed on synovial endothelial cells in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Here, it binds pro-inflammatory chemokines with evidence for a role in chemokine presentation and leukocyte trafficking into the joint, promoting the inflammatory response.

Inflammatory biomarkers do not distinguish between patients with sciatica and referred leg pain within a primary care population: results from a nested study within the ATLAS cohort.

Background: There is increasing interest in the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of sciatica and whether these could be potential targets for treatment. We sought to investigate serum biomarker levels in patients with low back-related leg pain, including sciatica.

Methods: Primary care consulters aged > 18 with low back-related leg pain were recruited to a cohort study (ATLAS).

Anti-citrullinated protein antibody positive rheumatoid arthritis is primarily determined by rheumatoid factor titre and the shared epitope rather than smoking per se.

Objective: To analyse the relationship between rheumatoid factor (RF) titre, smoking and HLA-DRB1 alleles coding a "shared epitope" (SE) in relation to anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) positivity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: RA patients (n = 658) attending rheumatology clinics in Cornwall, UK (cohort 1) were stratified according to RF and ACPA titre, and smoking pack years at diagnosis. A further 409 RA patients from North Staffordshire, UK (cohort 2) were studied to confirm the relationship between RF levels, smoking and ACPA positivity in relation to SE status.

An initial investigation into endothelial CC chemokine expression in the human rheumatoid synovium.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a destructive and chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease. Synovial inflammation is a major feature of RA and is associated with leukocyte recruitment. Leukocytes cross the endothelial cells (ECs) into the synovial tissue and fluid and this migration is mediated via a range of chemokines and adhesion molecules on the ECs.