Improving the arthritis component of the SLEDAI-2K.

Objective: To propose a new definition for SLEDAI arthritis informed by imaging.

Methods: We performed a planned secondary analysis of observational data from a multicentre study evaluating SLE patients with inflammatory joint pain (swelling not required) using various clinical instruments, laboratory tests and ultrasound. For SLEDAI arthritis, assessors (blinded to ultrasound) were asked which of the glossary terms for arthritis in any version of the SLEDAI drove their decision to score for arthritis.

Optimizing dielectric, mechanical, and thermal properties of epoxy resin through molecular design for multifunctional performance.

Epoxy resins are widely used as dielectric materials in electrical and electronic systems. However, the trend of miniaturization of electronic devices and increasing power output of electrical equipment have created new challenges for dielectric materials, necessitating low dielectric constants, high breakdown strength, and high electrical resistivity. This study introduces three molecular modifications to epoxy resin systems using facile synthesis procedures, including modifiers with bulky groups and crosslinking potential to reduce the dielectric constant while enhancing mechanical and thermal reliability, along with deep traps to increase breakdown strength.

Modified Hank's Balanced Salt Solution as a Storage Medium for Avulsed Teeth: In Vitro Assessment of Periodontal Fibroblast Viability.

Background/aim: The optimal storage medium for an avulsed tooth should preserve the viability of periodontal fibroblasts (PDLF) to the highest degree, facilitating the re-attachment of periodontal fibers and improving the prognosis of replantation. This study compared the effect of the PDLF viability in Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS), supplemented culture medium, that is, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), and four modified HBSS mixtures.

Material And Methods: Periodontal tissues were obtained from extracted human teeth and processed for PDLF culture.

Differential expression of six cytokines in Rattus rattus exposed to leptospirosis: A comprehensive transcriptomic analysis.

Background: Rattus rattus are the main carriers of various zoonotic diseases including leptospirosis. Regrettably, information underlying the cytokine response of wild R. rattus upon leptospirosis infection is lacking.

subsp. subsp. nov., a nascent bacterial endosymbiont isolated from the parasitoid wasp, .

An endosymbiotic bacterium of the genus , designated as strain HZ, was cultured from the parasitoid wasp , which develops on the pupae of various host flies. The bacterium was detected in developed on houseflies, , in a poultry facility in Hazon, northern Israel. After culturing, this bacterium displayed no surface motility on Luria-Bertani agar and was rod-shaped and irregular in size, ~10-30 nm in diameter and 5-20 µm in length.