Genotypes and clinical aspects associated with bone mineral density in Argentine postmenopausal women.

The aim of this study was to determine genotypes and clinical aspects associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women from Córdoba, Argentina. Polymorphisms were assessed by RFLP-PCR technique using BsmI and FokI for vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) and XbaI and PvuII for estrogen receptor-alpha gene (ERalpha) as restrictases. Sixty-eight healthy, 54 osteopenic, and 64 osteoporotic postmenopausal women were recruited.

Genotypes of vitamin D and estrogen receptors in pre and perimenopausal women from Córdoba, Argentina.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of vitamin D receptor and estrogen receptor genotypes and their relationship with the lumbar spine or femoral neck bone mineral density in healthy pre and perimenopausal women from Córdoba (Argentina) and adjacent areas. Genotypes were assessed by restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction technique. Bsm I and Fok I for vitamin D receptor gene and Xbal and Pvull for estrogen receptor gene were used as restrictases.

Finite element modelling of a rotating piezoelectric ultrasonic motor.

The evaluation of the performance of ultrasonic motors as a function of input parameters such as the driving frequency, voltage input and pre-load on the rotor is of key importance to their development and is here addressed by means of a finite element three-dimensional model. First the stator is simulated as a fully deformable elastic body and the travelling wave dynamics is accurately reproduced; secondly the interaction through contact between the stator and the rotor is accounted for by assuming that the rotor behaves as a rigid surface. Numerical results for the whole motor are finally compared to available experimental data.

A longitudinal study of pulmonary involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome: relationship between alveolitis and subsequent lung changes on high-resolution computed tomography.

Eighteen non-smoking women suffering from primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) with previously documented alveolitis were re-examined, clinically and by pulmonary function tests (PFT), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), chest X-ray and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) after a 2 yr follow-up period. Longitudinal evaluation revealed unchanged PFT. The final BAL study showed a normal differential count in six of 14 patients with initial lymphocyte alveolitis, and a persistent alveolar lymphocytosis in the remaining eight patients, associated with an increased percentage of neutrophils in one of them.

Soluble interleukin-2 receptor in sera and synovial fluids of rheumatoid patients: correlations with disease activity.

The measurement of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), a sensitive marker of lymphocyte activation, has been proposed as an indicator of disease activity and "outcome" in patients with inflammatory diseases characterized by the activation of immune cells. Serum sIL-2R levels have been reported higher in rheumatoid patients than in controls. Using an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), we evaluated soluble IL-2R levels in the serum of 34 patients with RA and in the synovial fluid of 25 of these patients and we compared it with levels found in the serum of 13 healthy controls.