Purpose: Osteochondromas are the most common benign tumor of the bone. They are sometimes responsible for vascular complications involving either veins or arteries, principally around the knee.
...Methods: We report six cases of such complications. An extensive review of literature through a computerized research was performed.
Results: We found 97 cases that were previously reported in the English literature giving sufficient details and providing data on 103 cases for analysis.
Conclusion: Surgical treatment of vascular complications of osteochondromas is recommended as an urgent procedure to avoid irreversible damages, such as arterial occlusion, embolism, or phlebitis. Prophylactic resection of osteochondromas in the vicinity of a vessel must be performed.
Experimental models are critical for the understanding of lung health and disease and are indispensable for drug development. However, the pathogenetic and clinical relevance of the models is often ...unclear. Further, the use of animals in biomedical research is controversial from an ethical perspective.The objective of this task force was to issue a statement with research recommendations about lung disease models by facilitating in-depth discussions between respiratory scientists, and to provide an overview of the literature on the available models. Focus was put on their specific benefits and limitations. This will result in more efficient use of resources and greater reduction in the numbers of animals employed, thereby enhancing the ethical standards and translational capacity of experimental research.The task force statement addresses general issues of experimental research (ethics, species, sex, age,
and
models, gene editing). The statement also includes research recommendations on modelling asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, lung infections, acute lung injury and pulmonary hypertension.The task force stressed the importance of using multiple models to strengthen validity of results, the need to increase the availability of human tissues and the importance of standard operating procedures and data quality.
The acquisition of atmospheric wind profiles on a global
scale was realized by the launch of the Aeolus satellite, carrying the
unique Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument (ALADIN), the first Doppler ...wind lidar in space. One major component of ALADIN is its high-power, ultraviolet
(UV) laser transmitter, which is based on an injection-seeded,
frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser and fulfills a set of demanding requirements
in terms of pulse energy, pulse length, repetition rate, and spatial
and spectral beam properties. In particular, the frequency stability of the
laser emission is an essential parameter which determines the performance of
the lidar instrument as the Doppler frequency shifts to be detected are on
the order of 108 smaller than the frequency of the emitted UV light.
This article reports the assessment of the ALADIN laser frequency stability
and its influence on the quality of the Aeolus wind data. Excellent
frequency stability with pulse-to-pulse variations of about 10 MHz (root
mean square) is evident for over more than 2 years of operations in space
despite the permanent occurrence of short periods with significantly
enhanced frequency noise (> 30 MHz). The latter were found to
coincide with specific rotation speeds of the satellite's reaction wheels,
suggesting that the root cause are micro-vibrations that deteriorate the
laser stability on timescales of a few tens of seconds. Analysis of the
Aeolus wind error with respect to European
Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model winds shows that the
temporally degraded frequency stability of the ALADIN laser transmitter has
only a minor influence on the wind data quality on a global scale, which is
primarily due to the small percentage of wind measurements for which the
frequency fluctuations are considerably enhanced. Hence, although the Mie
wind bias is increased by 0.3 m s−1 at times when the
frequency stability is worse than 20 MHz, the small contribution of 4 %
from all Mie wind results renders this effect insignificant
(< 0.1 m s−1) when all winds are considered. The impact on the
Rayleigh wind bias is negligible even at high frequency noise. Similar
results are demonstrated for the apparent speed of the ground returns that
are measured with the Mie and Rayleigh channel of the ALADIN receiver. Here, the application of a frequency stability threshold that filters out wind observations with variations larger than 20 or 10 MHz improves the accuracy of the Mie and Rayleigh ground velocities by only 0.05
and 0.10 m s−1, respectively, however at the expense of
useful ground data.
The global observation of profiles of the atmospheric wind speed is the highest-priority unmet need for global numerical weather prediction. Satellite Doppler lidar is the most promising candidate to ...meet the requirements on global wind profile observations with high vertical resolution, precision, and accuracy. The European Space Agency (ESA) decided to implement a Doppler wind lidar mission called the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission Aeolus (ADM-Aeolus) to demonstrate the potential of the Doppler lidar technology and the expected impact on numerical weather forecasting. An airborne prototype of the instrument on ADM-Aeolus was developed to validate the instrument concept and retrieval algorithms with realistic atmospheric observations before the satellite launch. It is the first airborne direct-detection Doppler lidar for atmospheric observations, and it is operating at an ultraviolet wavelength of 355 nm. The optical design is described in detail, including the single-frequency pulsed laser and the two spectrometers to resolve the Doppler frequency shift from molecular Rayleigh and aerosol Mie backscatter. The airborne prototype is representative of the spaceborne instrument, and their specific differences are discussed.
The aim was to study changes in immunohistochemical expression markers of synovial and skin inflammation, clinical outcomes and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scores with abatacept treatment in ...patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Biological-treatment-naïve PsA patients with active disease including synovitis of a knee were enrolled in this single-centre, crossover study. Patients were randomised to receive intravenous abatacept 3 mg/kg of body weight or placebo infusion on day 1, 15 and 29; thereafter abatacept 10 mg/kg of body weight was administered every 28 days for 5 months. Clinical data were collected at each visit. Synovial biopsy of the involved knee was obtained at baseline and 2 and 6 months. MRI of the same knee and skin biopsy was performed prior to arthroscopy.
Fifteen patients were recruited. Significant improvements in the joint-related measures were observed; 90% were European League Against Rheumatism criteria responders and 30% achieved psoriasis area severity index (PASI)50 at 6 months. Reduction in synovitis (P = 0.016) and vascularity (P = 0.039) macroscopic scores consistent with decrease in total MRI score (P = 0.016) were noticed. Abatacept decreased the immunohistological expression of FOXP3+ cells (P = 0.027), specifically the expression of CD4+FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) (P = 0.008) in the synovium over 6 months. There was no significant clinical or immunohistological change in any of the skin measures.
This is the first study assessing synovial and psoriatic skin immunpathological changes following abatacept treatment in PsA. Reduction in Treg expression in the synovium but not in the psoriatic lesion suggests abnormal Treg function in PsA with differential suppressive capacity in the synovium compared to the lesional skin. The results of this study demonstrate that abatacept 10 mg/kg of body weight might be an effective treatment option for joint disease in patients with PsA.
Irish Health Products Regulatory Authority.
CT 900/489/1 - Abatacept (case number: 2077284, EudraCT Number: 2009-017525-19, Protocol number: 77777). Registered on 12 March 2010.
In August 2018, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first Doppler wind lidar into space, which has since then been providing continuous
profiles of the horizontal line-of-sight wind ...component at a global scale. Aeolus data have been successfully assimilated into several numerical
weather prediction (NWP) models and demonstrated a positive impact on the quality of the weather forecasts. To provide valuable input data for NWP
models, a detailed characterization of the Aeolus instrumental performance as well as the realization and minimization of systematic error sources
is crucial. In this paper, Aeolus interferometer spectral drifts and their potential as systematic error sources for the aerosol and wind products
are investigated by means of instrument spectral registration (ISR) measurements that are performed on a weekly basis. During these measurements,
the laser frequency is scanned over a range of 11 GHz in steps of 25 MHz and thus spectrally resolves the transmission curves of the
Fizeau interferometer and the Fabry–Pérot interferometers (FPIs) used in Aeolus. Mathematical model functions are derived to analyze the
measured transmission curves by means of non-linear fit procedures. The obtained fit parameters are used to draw conclusions about the Aeolus
instrumental alignment and potentially ongoing drifts. The introduced instrumental functions and analysis tools may also be applied for upcoming
missions using similar spectrometers as for instance EarthCARE (ESA), which is based on the Aeolus FPI design.
Gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach (GAPPS) is an autosomal-dominant cancer-predisposition syndrome with a significant risk of gastric, but not colorectal, adenocarcinoma. We ...mapped the gene to 5q22 and found loss of the wild-type allele on 5q in fundic gland polyps from affected individuals. Whole-exome and -genome sequencing failed to find causal mutations but, through Sanger sequencing, we identified point mutations in APC promoter 1B that co-segregated with disease in all six families. The mutations reduced binding of the YY1 transcription factor and impaired activity of the APC promoter 1B in luciferase assays. Analysis of blood and saliva from carriers showed allelic imbalance of APC, suggesting that these mutations lead to decreased allele-specific expression in vivo. Similar mutations in APC promoter 1B occur in rare families with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Promoter 1A is methylated in GAPPS and sporadic FGPs and in normal stomach, which suggests that 1B transcripts are more important than 1A in gastric mucosa. This might explain why all known GAPPS-affected families carry promoter 1B point mutations but only rare FAP-affected families carry similar mutations, the colonic cells usually being protected by the expression of the 1A isoform. Gastric polyposis and cancer have been previously described in some FAP-affected individuals with large deletions around promoter 1B. Our finding that GAPPS is caused by point mutations in the same promoter suggests that families with mutations affecting the promoter 1B are at risk of gastric adenocarcinoma, regardless of whether or not colorectal polyps are present.
Hevea brasiliensis
is the main commercial source of natural rubber. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems are involved in various biotic and abiotic stresses. Genetic engineering was ...undertaken to study the strengthening of plant defences by antioxidants. To that end,
Hevea
transgenic plant lines over-expressing a
Hevea brasiliensis
cytosolic
HbCuZnSO
D gene were successfully established and regenerated. Over-expression of the
HbCuZnSOD
gene was not clearly related to an increase in SOD activity in plant leaves. The impact of
HbCuZnSOD
gene over-expression in somatic embryogenesis and in plant development are presented and discussed. The water deficit tolerance of two
HbCuZnSOD
over-expressing lines was evaluated. The physiological parameters of transgenic plantlets subjected to a water deficit suggested that plants from line TS4T8An displayed lower stomatal conductance and a higher proline content. Over-expression of the
HbCuZnSOD
gene and activation of all ROS-scavenging enzymes also suggested that protection against ROS was more efficient in the TS4T8An transgenic line.
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