Relationship Between Ultrasound and Physical Examination in the Assessment of Enthesitis in Patients With Spondyloarthritis: Results From the DEUS Multicenter Study.

Objective: The study objectives were (i) to explore the agreement between the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) ultrasound lesions of enthesitis and physical examination in assessing enthesitis in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and (ii) to investigate the prevalence and clinical relevance of subclinical enthesitis in this population.

Methods: Twenty rheumatology centers participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients with SpA, including axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), underwent both ultrasound scan and physical examination of large lower limb entheses.

Reference intervals for erythrocyte parameters and hemoglobin electrophoresis parameters for young children in Guangxi.

Background: Erythrocyte parameter analysis is the important means for diagnosis and treatment of hematological diseases, which are essential for screening of thalassemia in southern China combined with hemoglobin electrophoresis analysis. But little is known regarding the reference intervals (RIs) in healthy pediatrics in these two areas.

Methods: 95% RIs of erythrocyte parameters were calculated from 853 healthy preschoolers, aged from 1 days to <6 years, according to the C28-A3C guidelines of the Institute of Clinical and Laboratory Standards.

Antibodies to Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein Are Pathogenic in Mice and May Be Clinically Relevant in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is an autoantigen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and experimental models of arthritis. This study was undertaken to investigate the structure, function, and relevance of anti-COMP antibodies.

Methods: We investigated the pathogenicity of monoclonal anti-COMP antibodies in mice using passive transfer experiments, and we explored the interaction of anti-COMP antibodies with cartilage using immunohistochemical staining.

Predicting the Risk of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Chinese Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Treatment and Research Group Cohort Study.

Objective: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, there is no algorithm to identify those at high risk. This study was undertaken to develop a prediction model for PAH in patients with lupus that provides individualized risk estimates.

Effect of Atorvastatin on Knee Cartilage Volume in Patients With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis: Results From a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objective: To determine whether atorvastatin slows tibial cartilage volume loss in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: Participants ages 40-70 years were randomized to receive oral atorvastatin (40 mg once daily) (n = 151) or matching placebo (n = 153). The primary end point was annual percentage change in tibial cartilage volume over 2 years, assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Effectiveness of Extract for the Treatment of Symptoms and Effusion-Synovitis of Knee Osteoarthritis : A Randomized Trial.

Background: Current pharmacologic therapies for patients with osteoarthritis are suboptimal.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of extract (CL) for reducing knee symptoms and effusion-synovitis in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and knee effusion-synovitis.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Mechanistic insights into SARS-CoV-2 epidemic via revealing the features of SARS-CoV-2 coding proteins and host responses upon its infection.

Summary: There are seven known coronaviruses that infect humans: four mild coronaviruses, including HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1, only cause mild respiratory diseases, and three severe coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, can cause severe respiratory diseases even death of infected patients. Both infection and death caused by SARS-CoV-2 are still rapidly increasing worldwide. In this study, we demonstrate that viral coding proteins of SARS-CoV-2 have distinct features and are most, medium and least conserved with SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and the rest four mild coronaviruses (HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU1), respectively.

Structural Basis of Cross-Reactivity of Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies.

Objective: Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs) develop many years before the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was undertaken to address the molecular basis of the specificity and cross-reactivity of ACPAs from patients with RA.

Methods: Antibodies isolated from RA patients were expressed as monoclonal chimeric antibodies with mouse Fc.

Quantitative Signal Intensity Alteration in Infrapatellar Fat Pad Predicts Incident Radiographic Osteoarthritis: The Osteoarthritis Initiative.

Objective: To determine whether infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) signal intensity measures are predictive of incident radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA) over 4 years in the Osteoarthritis Initiative study.

Methods: Case knees (n = 355), as defined by incident ROA, were matched 1:1 with control knees, according to sex, age, and radiographic status. T2-weighted magnetic resonance images were assessed at P0 (the visit when incident ROA was observed on a radiograph), P1 (1 year prior to P0), and baseline and used to assess IPFP signal intensity semiautomatically.

Germinal Center B Cells Are Essential for Collagen-Induced Arthritis.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered to be a prototypical autoimmune disorder. Several mechanisms have been proposed for the known pathologic function of B cells in RA, including antigen presentation, cytokine secretion, and humoral immunity. The aim of this study was to address the function of B lymphocytes in experimental arthritis.

Medial temporal lobe atrophy as a predictor of poor cognitive outcomes in general paresis.

Background: The effect of penicillin therapy on clinical outcomes vary among patients with general paresis (GP). We sought to explore biomarkers that might serve as predictors of clinical outcomes in GP and identify patients requiring early intervention.

Methods: Thirty-five inpatients with GP were recruited.

Differences in the Spectrum of Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibody Fine Specificities Between Malaysian and Swedish Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Implications for Disease Pathogenesis.

Objective: Antibodies to the citrullinated protein antigens (ACPAs) are important in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the prevalence of ACPAs with different fine specificities in different populations is unclear. This study sought to examine the fine specificity of the antibody responses toward citrullinated proteins in RA patients from Malaysia, an area where genetic and environmental determinants of RA are different from those in more frequently studied cohorts of Caucasian subjects.

Vasa vasorum in atherosclerosis and clinical significance.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to several acute cardiovascular complications with poor prognosis. For decades, the role of the adventitial vasa vasorum (VV) in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis has received broad attention. The presence of VV neovascularization precedes the apparent symptoms of clinical atherosclerosis.

Association of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide with contrast-induced nephropathy and long-term outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease and relative preserved left ventricular function.

The aim of the present article was to evaluate the association of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) with contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and long-term outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and relative preserved left ventricular function (LVF) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We prospectively enrolled 1203 consecutive patients with CKD and preserved LVF undergoing elective PCI. The primary end point was the development of CIN, defined as an absolute increase in serum creatinine (SCr) ≥0.

Heat stress induces apoptosis through a Ca²⁺-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Background: Heat stress can be acutely cytotoxic, and heat stress-induced apoptosis is a prominent pathological feature of heat-related illnesses, although the precise mechanisms by which heat stress triggers apoptosis are poorly defined.

Methods: The percentages of viability and cell death were assessed by WST-1 and LDH release assays. Apoptosis was assayed by DNA fragmentation and caspase activity.

An anatomical study on the characteristics of cutaneous branches-chain perforator flap with ulnar artery pedicle.

Background: The objective of this study was to provide anatomical information for the repair of small tissue defects in the hands and forearms with ulnar artery pedicle cutaneous branches-chain perforator flaps.

Methods: Twelve ulnar artery pedicle cutaneous branches-chain perforator flaps taken from human cadavers were studied using three methods: latex perfusion for microanatomy analysis, denture material and vinyl chloride mixed packing for cast analysis, and polyvinyl alcohol and bismuth oxide perfusion for molybdenum target x-ray arteriography. Statistical analysis was performed on cutaneous perforators with a diameter of 0.

Emerging role of mast cells and macrophages in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Mast cells are essential in allergic immune responses. Recent discoveries have revealed their direct participation in cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. Although more sophisticated mechanisms are still unknown, data from animal studies suggest that mast cells act similarly to macrophages and other inflammatory cells and contribute to human diseases through cell-cell interactions and the release of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and proteases to induce inflammatory cell recruitment, cell apoptosis, angiogenesis, and matrix protein remodeling.

[Magnetic resonance imaging findings of capillary hemangioma in the brain].

Objective: To investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of capillary hemangioma in the brain to improve the diagnosis of capillary hemangioma.

Methods: The MRI findings were analyzed in 6 patients with pathologically confirmed capillary hemangioma in the brain to define the characteristic MRI features of capillary hemangioma.

Results: In the 6 patients, the capillary hemangiomas were located in the pons (n=1), bulbus medullae (n=1), bilateral cerebellar hemisphere (n=1), right temporal lobe (n=1) or left frontal lobe (n=1).

[Uncoupling protein-2 expression in granular cells and embryo development in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer cycle].

Objective: To examine the expression of uncoupling protein-2 (UCP2) in the granular cell of women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) and explore its role in embryo development.

Methods: In this prospective study, the levels of UCP2 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by the chemiluminescence method in the granular cell of 53 women.

Results: Women with low UCP2 level had higher ROS level, suggesting an inverse relationship between them (r=-0.

[Relation of human zygote morphology and implantation of the transferred embryo].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between human embryo implantation rates and the zygote morphology and establish zygote morphologic indices that indicate the embryo implantation potential after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET).

Methods: Sixty-two patients with IVF-ET were enrolled in this study, who were below 35 years of age with endometrium thickness no greater than 8 mm on the day of HCG injection. Embryo transfer was performed on day 3 after oocyte retrieval, and 30 patients with successful implantation of all the embryos transferred (implantation rate of 100%) were allocated into the implantation group, and the other 32 patients with implantation failure (implantation rate of 0) served as the control group.

[Effects of 8-OH-DPAT on respiratory rhythmical discharge activity in isolated neonatal rat brainstem slice].

Objective: To investigate the role of 5-HT1A receptors in the generation and modulation of basic respiration rhythm.

Methods: Brainstem slices of 20 newborn SD rats (0-3 days) were prepared and respiratory rhythmical discharge activity (RRDA) of the hypoglossal nerve was recorded by suction electrode on these preparations including the medial region of the nucleus retrofacialis (mNRF) with the hypoglossal nerve rootlets retained, and the effects of 5-HT1A receptors on RRDA were investigated by application of specific agonist of 5-HT1A receptors 8-OH-DPAT in the perfusion solution. The 20 neonatal rats were divided into 4 groups and the brainstem slices were perfused continuously for 10 min with different concentrations of 8-OH-DPAT (1, 5, 10, 20 micromol/L, respectively).