The electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), for many considered as a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes, has revolutionised the tobacco industry in the last decades. In e-cigarettes, tobacco ...combustion is replaced by e-liquid heating, leading some manufacturers to propose that e-cigarettes have less harmful respiratory effects than tobacco consumption. Other innovative features such as the adjustment of nicotine content and the choice of pleasant flavours have won over many users. Nevertheless, the safety of e-cigarette consumption and its potential as a smoking cessation method remain controversial due to limited evidence. Moreover, it has been reported that the heating process itself can lead to the formation of new decomposition compounds of questionable toxicity. Numerous in vivo and in vitro studies have been performed to better understand the impact of these new inhalable compounds on human health. Results of toxicological analyses suggest that e-cigarettes can be safer than conventional cigarettes, although harmful effects from short-term e-cigarette use have been described. Worryingly, the potential long-term effects of e-cigarette consumption have been scarcely investigated. In this review, we take stock of the main findings in this field and their consequences for human health including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objective
To describe the radiographic phenotype of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) according to the presence of HLA–B27.
Methods
An international collaboration compared the radiographic phenotype of ...axial SpA according to HLA–B27 status. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and axial psoriatic arthritis (PsA) were collected. Radiographs were read centrally, blinded to clinical details. The symmetry of the sacroiliac joints and lumbar syndesmophytes and the morphology of syndesmophytes (typical marginal versus atypical chunky), together with the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score and the Psoriatic Arthritis Spondylitis Radiographic Index, were recorded.
Results
A total of 244 patients with PsA and 198 patients with AS were included. In PsA, 60 patients (25%) were HLA–B27 positive while in AS, 148 patients (75%) were HLA–B27 positive. Patients with HLA–B27 were younger and more often male and had a longer duration of disease. In multivariable logistic regression, HLA–B27 was significantly associated with syndesmophyte symmetry (odds ratio OR 3.02 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.38, 6.61) and marginal syndesmophytes (OR 1.97 95% CI 1.16, 3.36) but not with sacroiliac symmetry. Mean radiographic scores were higher for patients with HLA–B27.
Conclusion
Patients with axial SpA who are positive for HLA–B27 have more severe radiographic damage, more marginal syndesmophytes, and more frequent syndesmophyte symmetry compared to patients who are negative for HLA–B27.
Inflammation and activation of the immune system are key molecular and cellular events in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, hypertension-induced target-organ ...damage, and abdominal aortic aneurysm. Angiotensin II (Ang-II) is the main effector peptide hormone of the renin-angiotensin system. Beyond its role as a potent vasoconstrictor and regulator of blood pressure and fluid homeostasis, Ang-II is intimately involved in the development of vascular lesions in cardiovascular diseases through the activation of different immune cells. The migration of leukocytes from circulation to the arterial subendothelial space is a crucial immune response in lesion development that is mediated through a sequential and coordinated cascade of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesive interactions involving an array of cell adhesion molecules present on target leukocytes and endothelial cells and the generation and release of chemoattractants that activate and guide leukocytes to sites of emigration. In this review, we outline the key events of Ang-II participation in the leukocyte recruitment cascade, the underlying mechanisms implicated, and the corresponding redox-signaling pathways. We also address the use of inhibitor drugs targeting the effects of Ang-II in the context of leukocyte infiltration in these cardiovascular pathologies, and examine the clinical data supporting the relevance of blocking Ang-II-induced vascular inflammation.
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•Angiotensin II (Ang-II) is a key molecule in the leukocyte infiltration associated with cardiovascular disorders.•Ang-II is involved in most of the steps of the leukocyte recruitment cascade.•This action is exquisitely mediated by underlying redox-signaling pathways.•Ang-II supports, in part, the vascular inflammation linked to atherosclerosis, abdominal aortic aneurysm and hypertension.•Pharmacological modulation of Ang-II might impair the arterial inflammation associated to these cardiovascular diseases.
Chemokines are proinflammatory mediators that regulate leukocyte trafficking at different steps of the leukocyte recruitment cascade. Studies using new imaging approaches and new mouse models are ...giving new insights into the role of chemokines in neutrophil migration at sites of inflammation. Conventional rolling and adhesion paradigms as well as previously unappreciated functions of signaling pathways triggering leukocyte adhesion, intralumenal crawling and transendothelial migration are compiled and described here. In this review we will summarize recent work in this field, highlighting in vivo imaging studies that examine the behavior of neutrophils in response to chemokines.
Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) composed of DNA decorated with histones and proteases trap and kill bacteria but also injure host tissue. Here we show that during a bloodstream infection with ...methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the majority of bacteria are sequestered immediately by hepatic Kupffer cells, resulting in transient increases in liver enzymes, focal ischaemic areas and a robust neutrophil infiltration into the liver. The neutrophils release NETs into the liver vasculature, which remain anchored to the vascular wall via von Willebrand factor and reveal significant neutrophil elastase (NE) proteolytic activity. Importantly, DNase although very effective at DNA removal, and somewhat effective at inhibiting NE proteolytic activity, fails to remove the majority of histones from the vessel wall and only partly reduces injury. By contrast, inhibition of NET production as modelled by PAD4-deficiency, or prevention of NET formation and proteolytic activity as modelled in NE(-/-) mice prevent collateral host tissue damage.
Psoriasis is a common skin disease. Up to 30% of patients with psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA) resulting, by far, the most prevalent coexisting condition. Heterogeneity of clinical and ...radiological presentation is a major challenge to diagnosis of PsA. Initial reports about PsA emphasized a benign course in most patients, but it is now recognized that psoriatic arthritis often leads to impaired function and a reduced quality of life. PsA is a progressive disease characterized by diverse clinical features, often resulting in diagnostic delay and treatment that are associated with poor clinical and structural outcomes. New effective treatments may halt PsA progression, and consequently, treatment goals have evolved from simple reduction of pain to achieving full remission or minimal disease activity. This emerging treat-to-target strategy paradigm emphasize a need for early diagnosis; sensitive imaging techniques may be of value in this process. While radiography and CT depict structural damage, US and MRI have emerged as helpful tools to evaluate magnitude and severity of active inflammatory lesions. This review aims to describe the role of imaging modalities in diagnosis, follow-up and prognosis of PsA.
Optimal tuning of the hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm BESKOS, ALEXANDROS; PILLAI, NATESH; ROBERTS, GARETH ...
Bernoulli : official journal of the Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability,
11/2013, Letnik:
19, Številka:
5A
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We investigate the properties of the hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm (HMC) in high dimensions. HMC develops a Markov chain reversible with respect to a given target distribution π using separable ...Hamiltonian dynamics with potential - log π. The additional momentum variables are chosen at random from the Boltzmann distribution, and the continuous-time Hamiltonian dynamics are then discretised using the leapfrog scheme. The induced bias is removed via a Metropolis-Hastings accept/reject rule. In the simplified scenario of independent, identically distributed components, we prove that, to obtain an 𝒪(1) acceptance probability as the dimension d of the state space tends to ∞, the leapfrog step size h should be scaled as h = l × d-1/4. Therefore, in high dimensions, HMC requires 𝒪 (d1/4) steps to traverse the state space. We also identify analytically the asymptotically optimal acceptance probability, which turns out to be 0.651 (to three decimal places). This value optimally balances the cost of generating a proposal, which decreases as l increases (because fewer steps are required to reach the desired final integration time), against the cost related to the average number of proposals required to obtain acceptance, which increases as l increases.
•The field saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) can assess run-off on urban soils.•Organic matter content can affect Kfs in recent vegetated urban soils.•The older the age of the current land-use, ...the larger Kfs.•Vegetated urban soils can mitigate run-off in areas with extreme precipitations.•Spatial planning should consider Kfs of vegetated urban soils.
In urban areas, episodes of extreme precipitation may generate run-off floods, but urban soils are seldom considered in spatial planning documents. Our aim was to assess the infiltration of vegetated urban soils and to identify the soil parameters affecting infiltration in order to explore the potential of these soils for run-off mitigation under a Mediterranean climate with extreme precipitation episodes. We compared vegetated soils in the “urban” zone of the Marseilles’ 16th district (France) either lying on former clay quarries or tile factories (T) or not (NT) and with different land-uses. We used a simplified method to measure field saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs), measured penetration resistance in the first 0.15 m (Qd) and analysed physico-chemical properties in the first horizon. Levels of run-off production were estimated according to Kfs and an adaptation of USDA Hydrologic Soil Groups. All soils were Technosols or Anthrosols regardless of their prior history. We found that land-use history influenced Kfs, with T soils and soils with current vegetated land-use younger than 13 years having lower Kfs than NT soils and soils with land-use older than 13 years. Soil organic matter content influenced Kfs positively when soils were young, while vegetation cover and penetration resistance (most of the soils had Qd > 2 MPa) had not a clear effect on Kfs. Overall, combining Kfs and soil depth, 14.3% of the T soils and 84.6% of the NT soils had low levels of run-off production. It is therefore recommended that 1) Technosols or Anthrosols should be characterised for their unique physico-chemical and physical properties but also for their land-use history, and 2) the infiltration of these soils should be considered in spatial planning documents.
Nurses who are capable of developing their competencies appropriately in the field of management are considered fundamental to the sustainability and improvement of health outcomes. These core ...competencies are the critical competencies to be developed in specific areas. There are different core competencies for nurse managers, but none in the Spanish health system. The objective of this research is to identify the core competencies needed for nurse managers in the Spanish health system. The research was carried out using the Delphi method to reach a consensus on the core competencies and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine construct validity, reducing the dimensionality of a dataset by finding the causes of variability in the set and organizing them by importance. A panel of 50 experts in management and healthcare engaged in a four-round Delphi study with Likert scored surveys. We identified eight core competencies from an initial list of 51: decision making, relationship management, communication skills, listening, Leadership, conflict management, ethical principles, collaboration and team management skills. PCA indicated the structural validity of the core competencies by saturation into three components (α Cronbach >0.613): communication, leadership and decision making. The research shows that eight competencies must be developed by the nursing managers in the Spanish health system. Nurse managers can use these core competencies as criteria to develop and plan their professional career. These core competencies can serve as a guideline for the design of nurse managers' development programs in Spain.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. While many factors can contribute to CVD, atherosclerosis is the cardinal underlying pathology, and its ...development is associated with several metabolic risk factors including dyslipidemia and obesity. Recent studies have definitively demonstrated a link between low-grade systemic inflammation and two relevant metabolic abnormalities: hypercholesterolemia and obesity. Interestingly, both metabolic disorders are also associated with endothelial dysfunction/activation, a proinflammatory and prothrombotic phenotype of the endothelium that involves leukocyte infiltration into the arterial wall, one of the earliest stages of atherogenesis. This article reviews the current literature on the intricate relationship between hypercholesterolemia and obesity and the associated systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, and discusses the effectiveness of present, emerging and in-development pharmacological therapies used to treat these metabolic disorders with a focus on their effects on the associated systemic inflammatory state and cardiovascular risk.
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