Influence of Anode Immersion Speed on Current and Power in Plasma Electrolytic Polishing.

Plasma electrolytic polishing (PeP) is mainly used to improve the surface quality and thus the performance of electrically conductive parts. It is usually used as an anodic process, i.e.

Quo vadis reactive arthritis?

Purpose Of Review: We provide an overview of recent articles which describe new thinking regarding HLA-B27-associated reactive arthritis (ReA), including those additional infection-related arthritides triggered by microbes that often are grouped under the term ReA.

Recent Findings: With the advent and continuation of the pandemic, an increasing number of cases and case series of post-COVID-19 arthritis have been reported and classified as ReA. Further, arthritis after COVID-19 vaccination is a new entity included within the spectrum of ReA.

Psoriatic Spondylitis: A Disease Manifestation in Debate: Evidences to Know for the Clinical Rheumatologist.

With the advent of classification criteria for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), patients with axial manifestations associated with psoriasis, initially described in the l950s as a specific entity termed psoriatic spondylitis (PS), are now categorized within PsA, ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and axSpA. Thus, different terms are used to describe axial disease in patients with PsA including PS, axial psoriatic arthritis (axPsA), and psoriatic spondyloarthritis. Patients with PS may present with inflammatory and/or mechanical back pain, but also may display axial disease on imaging despite not complaining of back pain.

Plasma Electrolytic Polishing of Nitinol: Investigation of Functional Properties.

A novel, environmentally friendly, fast, and flexible polishing process for Nitinol parts is presented in this study. Nitinol samples with both superelastic and shape memory properties at room temperature were investigated. The chemical contamination and surface roughness of superelastic Nitinol plates were examined before and after plasma electrolytic polishing.

Investigation of Post-Processing of Additively Manufactured Nitinol Smart Springs with Plasma-Electrolytic Polishing.

Additive manufacturing of Nitinol is a promising field, as it can circumvent the challenges associated with its conventional production processes and unlock unique advantages. However, the accompanying surface features such as powder adhesions, spatters, ballings, or oxide discolorations are undesirable in engineering applications and therefore must be removed. Plasma electrolytic polishing (PeP) might prove to be a suitable finishing process for this purpose, but the effects of post-processing on the mechanical and functional material properties of additively manufactured Nitinol are still largely unresearched.

Reactive Arthritis Update: Spotlight on New and Rare Infectious Agents Implicated as Pathogens.

Purpose Of Review: This article presents a comprehensive narrative review of reactive arthritis (ReA) with focus on articles published between 2018 and 2020. We discuss the entire spectrum of microbial agents known to be the main causative agents of ReA, those reported to be rare infective agents, and those reported to be new candidates causing the disease. The discussion is set within the context of changing disease terminology, definition, and classification over time.

Chlamydia-Induced Reactive Arthritis: Disappearing Entity or Lack of Research?

Purpose Of Review: Recent studies regarding the frequency of Chlamydia-induced reactive arthritis (ReA) are reviewed, with a focus on the question of whether the entity is in fact disappearing or whether it is simply being underdiagnosed/underreported. Epidemiological reports indicate diversity in the frequency of Chlamydia-associated ReA in various parts of the world, with evidence of declining incidence in some regions.

Recent Findings: The hypothesis that early effective treatment with antibiotics prevents the manifestation of Chlamydia-associated ReA requires further investigation.

Henri Matisse's medical history: Multiple health problems and impact on creativity.

Matisse (1869-1954) is regarded-along with Pablo Picasso-as one of the most influential contemporary artists of the 20th century. Books, biographies and illustrations often show the artist in a wheelchair or in bed, producing cut-papers with a pair of scissors or painting with a specially extended brush. Usually it is reported that abdominal surgery left Matisse chair- and bed-bound.

[Guideline-Orientated Prescription of Disease-Modifying Drugs in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis - an Analysis Based on Social Health Insurance Claims Data].

Background: With the market entry of biologics, the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has changed fundamentally in terms of efficacy and costs.

The Aim: of this study is to analyse the treatment according the guideline of the German society of rheumatology for RA patients with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) using claims data from the statutory health insurance.

Materials And Methods: The claims data of the Techniker Krankenkasse were analysed retrospectively for the years 2011 - 2014.

Auguste Renoir, Sculptor With Hired Hands: A Masterful Artistic Cooperation Overshadowed by Legal Issues and Copyright Infringement.

The coping with rheumatoid arthritis of the famous French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) is described in former publications. The heavily handicapped painter has in his last years created sculptures in cooperation with the sculptor Richard Guino (1890-1973). The extraordinary genesis of the sculptures through a masterful artistic cooperation, as well as the resulting legal issues and shameful copyright infringements, is reported.

Claims Data Analysis of Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitor Treatment Dosing Among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of Methods.

Background: With tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, changes of dosing, switching between drugs, insufficient adherence, and persistence are frequent in rheumatoid arthritis. Because this is often associated with decreased efficiency and increased costs, dosage analyses based on claims data are of increasing interest for healthcare providers and payers. Nevertheless, no standardized methods exist to ensure high-quality research.

Coinfection of Chlamydiae and other Bacteria in Reactive Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis: Need for Future Research.

Reactive (inflammatory) arthritis has been known for many years to follow genital infection with the intracellular bacterial pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis in some individuals. Recent studies from several groups have demonstrated that a related bacterium, the respiratory pathogen Chlamydia pneumoniae, can elicit a similar arthritis. Studies of these organisms, and of a set of gastrointestinal pathogens also associated with engendering inflammatory arthritis, have been relatively extensive.

Causality of Chlamydiae in Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis: a Plea for Increased Translational Research.

Current molecular genetic understanding of the metabolically active persistent infection state of Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae in the synovium in patients with arthritis and spondyloarthritis favors a causal relationship. Here, we examine how adequately the accepted criteria for that etiologic relationship are fulfilled, emphasizing the situation in which these microorganisms cannot be cultivated by standard or other means. We suggest that this unusual situation of causality by chlamydiae in rheumatic disease requires establishment of a consensus regarding microorganism-specific terminology as well as the development of new diagnostic and classification criteria.

New insights into Chlamydia and arthritis. Promise of a cure?

Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae together comprise the most frequent causative pathogens that elicit reactive arthritis (ReA). Advances in our understanding of the molecular biology/molecular genetics of these organisms have improved significantly the ability to detect chlamydiae in the joint for diagnostic purposes, as well as extending our current understanding of the pathogenic processes they elicit in the joint and elsewhere. An important aspect of the latter is that synovial chlamydiae infect the joint in an unusual but metabolically active state.

Easy probability estimation of the diagnosis of early axial spondyloarthritis by summing up scores.

Objectives: Several sets of criteria for the diagnosis of axial SpA (including non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis) have been proposed in the literature in which scores were attributed to relevant findings and the diagnosis requests a minimal sum of these scores. To quantitatively estimate the probability of axial SpA, multiplying the likelihood ratios of all relevant findings was proposed by Rudwaleit et al. in 2004.