EULAR recommendations for the management of primary small and medium vessel vasculitis.

Objectives: To develop European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for the management of small and medium vessel vasculitis. Methods: An expert group (consisting of 10 rheumatologists, 3 nephrologists, 2 immunologists, 2 internists representing 8 European countries and the USA, a clinical epidemiologist and a representative from a drug regulatory agency) identified 10 topics for a systematic literature search using a modified Delphi technique. In accordance with standardised EULAR operating procedures, recommendations were derived for the management of small and medium vessel vasculitis. In the absence of evidence, recommendations were formulated on the basis of a consensus opinion. Results: In all, 15 recommendations were made for the management of small and medium vessel vasculitis. The strength of recommendations was restricted by low quality of evidence and by EULAR standardised operating procedures. Conclusions: On the basis of evidence and expert consensus, recommendations have been made for the evaluation, investigation, treatment and monitoring of patients with small and medium vessel vasculitis for use in everyday clinical practice.

Wave propagation in a medium with disordered excitability

The effect of quenched disorder on the propagation of autowaves in excitable media is studied both experimentally and numerically in relation to the light-sensitive Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. The spatial disorder is introduced through a random distribution with two different levels of transmittance. In one dimension the (time-averaged) wave speed is smaller than the corresponding to a homogeneous medium with the mean excitability. Contrarily, in two dimensions the velocity increases due to the roughening of the front. Results are interpreted using kinematic and scaling arguments. In particular, for d = 2 we verify a theoretical prediction of a power-law dependence for the relative change of the propagation speed on the disorder amplitude.

Expression of calbindin immunoreactivity by subpopulations of primary sensory neurons in chick embryo dorsal root ganglion cells grown in coculture or conditioned medium.

Primary sensory neurons which innervate neuromuscular spindles in the chicken are calbindin-immunoreactive. The influence exerted by developing skeletal muscle on the expression of calbindin immunoreactivity by subpopulations of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells in the chick embryo was tested in vitro in coculture with myoblasts, in conditioned medium (CM) prepared from myoblasts and in control cultures of DRG cells alone. Control cultures of DRG cells grown at the 6th embryonic day (E6) did not show any calbindin-immunostained ganglion cell. In coculture of myoblasts previously grown for 14 days, about 3% of calbindin-immunoreactive ganglion cells were detected while about 1% were observed in some cultures grown in CM. Fibroblasts from various sources were devoid of effect. Skin or kidney cells were more active than myoblasts to initiate calbindin expression by subpopulations of DRG cells in coculture or, to a lesser degree, in CM. The results suggest that cellular factors would rather induce calbindin expression in certain sensory neurons than ensure a selective neuronal survival.

Thermal conductivity of low-decomposed Sphagnum peat used as growth medium

Kasvualustana käytetyn heikosti maatuneen rahkaturpeen lämmönjohtavuus

Assessment of debris-flow susceptibility at medium-scale in the Barcelonnette Basin, France

Debris flows are among the most dangerous processes in mountainous areas due to their rapid rate of movement and long runout zone. Sudden and rather unexpected impacts produce not only damages to buildings and infrastructure but also threaten human lives. Medium- to regional-scale susceptibility analyses allow the identification of the most endangered areas and suggest where further detailed studies have to be carried out. Since data availability for larger regions is mostly the key limiting factor, empirical models with low data requirements are suitable for first overviews. In this study a susceptibility analysis was carried out for the Barcelonnette Basin, situated in the southern French Alps. By means of a methodology based on empirical rules for source identification and the empirical angle of reach concept for the 2-D runout computation, a worst-case scenario was first modelled. In a second step, scenarios for high, medium and low frequency events were developed. A comparison with the footprints of a few mapped events indicates reasonable results but suggests a high dependency on the quality of the digital elevation model. This fact emphasises the need for a careful interpretation of the results while remaining conscious of the inherent assumptions of the model used and quality of the input data.

Cherenkov mesons as in-medium quark energy loss

We recently showed that a heavy quark moving su ciently fast through a quark-gluon plasma may lose energy by Cherenkov-radiating mesons [1]. Here we review our previous holographic calculation of the energy loss in N = 4 Super Yang-Mills and extend it to longitudinal vector mesons and scalar mesons. We also discuss phenomenological implications for heavy-ion collision experiments. Although the Cherenkov energy loss is an O(1=Nc) effect, a ballpark estimate yields a value of dE/dx for Nc = 3 which is comparable to that of other mechanisms.

Evaluation of Dense Bridge Floor Concrete using Superplasticizer, HR-192, 1977

Much effort is being expended by various state, federal, and private organizations relative to the protection and preservation of concrete bridge floors. The generally recognized culprit is the chloride ion, from the deicing salt, reaching the reinforcing steel, and along with water and oxygen, causing corrosion. The corrosion process exerts pressure which eventually causes cracks and spalls in the bridge floor. The reinforcing· has been treated and coated, various types of "waterproof" membranes have been placed on the deck surface, decks have been surfaced with dense and modified concretes, decks have been electrically protected, and attempts to internally seal the concrete have been made. As of yet, no one method has been proven and accepted by the various government agencies as being the "best" when considering the initial cost, application effort, length and effectiveness of protection, etc.

Nonlinear Pile Behavior in Integral Abutment Bridges, HR-227, Part 1, 1982

The highway departments of all fifty states were contacted to find the extent of application of integral abutment bridges, to survey the different guidelines used for analysis and design of integral abutment bridges, and to assess the performance of such bridges through the years. The variation in design assumptions and length limitations among the various states in their approach to the use of integral abutments is discussed. The problems associated with lateral displacements at the abutment, and the solutions developed by the different states for most of the ill effects of abutment movements are summarized in the report. An algorithm based on a state-of-the-art nonlinear finite element procedure was developed and used to study piling stresses and pile-soil interaction in integral abutment bridges. The finite element idealization consists of beam-column elements with geometric and material nonlinearities for the pile and nonlinear springs for the soil. An idealized soil model (modified Ramberg-Osgood model) was introduced in this investigation to obtain the tangent stiffness of the nonlinear spring elements. Several numerical examples are presented in order to establish the reliability of the finite element model and the computer software developed. Three problems with analytical solutions were first solved and compared with theoretical solutions. A 40 ft H pile (HP 10 X 42) in six typical Iowa soils was then analyzed by first applying a horizontal displacement (to simulate bridge motion) and no rotation at the top and then applying a vertical load V incrementally until failure occurred. Based on the numerical results, the failure mechanisms were generalized to be of two types: (a) lateral type failure and (b) vertical type failure. It appears that most piles in Iowa soils (sand, soft clay and stiff clay) failed when the applied vertical load reached the ultimate soil frictional resistance (vertical type failure). In very stiff clays, however, the lateral type failure occurs before vertical type failure because the soil is sufficiently stiff to force a plastic hinge to form in the pile as the specified lateral displacement is applied. Preliminary results from this investigation showed that the vertical load-carrying capacity of H piles is not significantly affected by lateral displacements of 2 inches in soft clay, stiff clay, loose sand, medium sand and dense sand. However, in very stiff clay (average blow count of 50 from standard penetration tests), it was found that the vertical load carrying capacity of the H pile is reduced by about 50 percent for 2 inches of lateral displacement and by about 20 percent for lateral displacement of 1 inch. On the basis of the preliminary results of this investigation, the 265-feet length limitation in Iowa for integral abutment concrete bridges appears to be very conservative.

Dense Concrete Layer as Top Course of Bridge Deck Construction, HR-502, 1990

The use of deicing salts in this part of the country is a necessity to remove ice from our bridges. The use of these salts has always been a problem since the chloride-ions penetrate the concrete and reach the steel and cause corrosion which eventually cause deterioration of both the steel and concrete. One method used to try to prevent this from happening was to apply a waterproof membrane to the concrete after it was placed. This method did help, but was not cost effective as the longevity of the membrane system was of relatively short duration. For this reason, this research project was initiated. After the original deck was placed a second layer of concrete about 1 1/2" thick was placed on top. Biennial evaluation of the decks included testing for delaminations and steel corrosion. Cores were also obtained for a chloride analysis. Testing and observations showed the two-layer bridge deck to be effective in preventing corrosion. Since the time this project was initiated, epoxy steel has been introduced and is a cost effective way to protect the steel from corrosion.

Détermination de l'antigène HLA-G soluble dans le liquide folliculaire et dans le milieu de culture d'embryons comme indicateur du succès d'un traitement par FIV-ICSI [Soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) in follicular fluid and embryo culture medium and its impact on pregnancy prediction in IVF-ICSI treatment]

In IVF around 70% of embryos fail to implant. Often more than one embryo is transferred in order to enhance the chances of pregnancy, but this is at the price of an increased multiple pregnancy risk. In the aim to increase the success rate with a single embryo, research projects on prognostic factors of embryo viability have been initiated, but no marker has found a routine clinical application to date. Effects of soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (sHLA-G) on both NK cell activity and on Th1/Th2 cytokine balance suggest a role in the embryo implantation process, but the relevance of sHLA-G measurements in embryo culture medium and in follicular fluid (FF) are inconsistent to date. In this study, we have investigated the potential of sHLA-G in predicting the achievement of a pregnancy after IVF-ICSI in a large number of patients (n = 221). sHLA-G was determined in media and in FF by ELISA. In both FF and embryo medium, no significant differences in sHLA-G concentrations were observed between the groups "pregnancy" and "implantation failure", or between the groups "ongoing" versus "miscarried pregnancies". Our results do not favour routine sHLA-G determinations in the FF nor in embryo conditioned media, with the current assay technology available.

Residual effects of successive exposure of soybean Bradyrhizobium strains to aluminium on solid defined medium

The aim of these studies was to investigate whether residual toxic effects of exposing soybean root nodule bacteria to Al in a solid defined media (SDM) alter tolerance to Al, survival, sensitivity to antibiotics, N2 fixation effectiveness and genetic diversity of Bradyrhizobium strains. After being exposed four times to Al, strains showed variation in Al tolerance but there was no evidence of change in their original Al tolerance, sensitivity to the antibiotics or genetic diversity. Exposure of Bradyrhizobium strains to SDM plus Al did not alter biological N2 fixation effectiveness of five strains. Strain SEMIA 587 showed a reduction in its N2 fixation effectiveness but it seems that it was just a superficial toxic effect because one single passage through the plant eliminated this effect. Residual Al did not cause increases in Al tolerance and reductions in the survival and N2 fixation effectiveness of Bradyrhizobium strains USDA 143, SEMIA 586, SEMIA 5019, SEMIA 5039 and SEMIA 5073. It also did not alter the resistance to antibiotics of strains USDA 143, SEMIA 5039 and SEMIA 5073, and the genetic diversity of the strains SEMIA 587 and SEMIA 5019.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells stabilize already-formed aortic aneurysms more efficiently than vascular smooth muscle cells in a rat model.

PURPOSE: Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) expand because of aortic wall destruction. Enrichment in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (VSMCs) stabilizes expanding AAAs in rats. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) can differentiate into VSMCs. We have tested the hypothesis that bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) stabilizes AAAs in a rat model. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Rat Fischer 344 BM-MSCs were isolated by plastic adhesion and seeded endovascularly in experimental AAAs using xenograft obtained from guinea pig. Culture medium without cells was used as control group. The main criteria was the variation of the aortic diameter at one week and four weeks. We evaluated the impact of cells seeding on inflammatory response by immunohistochemistry combined with RT-PCR on MMP9 and TIMP1 at one week. We evaluated the healing process by immunohistochemistry at 4 weeks. RESULTS: The endovascular seeding of BM-MSCs decreased AAA diameter expansion more powerfully than VSMCs or culture medium infusion (6.5% ± 9.7, 25.5% ± 17.2 and 53.4% ± 14.4; p = .007, respectively). This result was sustained at 4 weeks. BM-MSCs decreased expression of MMP-9 and infiltration by macrophages (4.7 ± 2.3 vs. 14.6 ± 6.4 mm(2) respectively; p = .015), increased Tissue Inhibitor Metallo Proteinase-1 (TIMP-1), compared to culture medium infusion. BM-MSCs induced formation of a neo-aortic tissue rich in SM-alpha active positive cells (22.2 ± 2.7 vs. 115.6 ± 30.4 cells/surface units, p = .007) surrounded by a dense collagen and elastin network covered by luminal endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown in this rat model of AAA that BM-MSCs exert a specialized function in arterial regeneration that transcends that of mature mesenchymal cells. Our observation identifies a population of cells easy to isolate and to expand for therapeutic interventions based on catheter-driven cell therapy.

Line search multilevel optimization as computational methods for dense optical flow

We evaluate the performance of different optimization techniques developed in the context of optical flow computation with different variational models. In particular, based on truncated Newton methods (TN) that have been an effective approach for large-scale unconstrained optimization, we de- velop the use of efficient multilevel schemes for computing the optical flow. More precisely, we evaluate the performance of a standard unidirectional mul- tilevel algorithm - called multiresolution optimization (MR/OPT), to a bidrec- tional multilevel algorithm - called full multigrid optimization (FMG/OPT). The FMG/OPT algorithm treats the coarse grid correction as an optimiza- tion search direction and eventually scales it using a line search. Experimental results on different image sequences using four models of optical flow com- putation show that the FMG/OPT algorithm outperforms both the TN and MR/OPT algorithms in terms of the computational work and the quality of the optical flow estimation.

Evaluation of the Confirmation Light System at Signalized Intersections in Medium to Large Iowa Communities to Reduce Red Light Running Violations”, TR-657, 2015

Red light running continues to be a serious safety concern for many communities in the United States. The Federal Highway Administration reported that in 2011, red light running accounted for 676 fatalities nationwide. Red light running crashes at a signalized intersections are more serious, especially in high speed corridors where speeds are above 35 mph. Many communities have invested in red light countermeasures including low-cost strategies (e.g. signal backplates, targeted enforcement, signal timing adjustments and improvement with signage) to high-cost strategies (e.g. automated enforcement and intersection geometric improvements). This research study investigated intersection confirmation lights as a low-cost strategy to reduce red light running violations. Two intersections in Altoona and Waterloo, Iowa were equipped with confirmation lights which targeted the through and left turning movements. Confirmation lights enable a single police officer to monitor a specific lane of traffic downstream of the intersection. A before-after analysis was conducted in which a change in red light running violations prior to- and 1 and 3 months after installation were evaluated. A test of proportions was used to determine if the change in red light running violation rates were statistically significant at the 90 and 95 percent levels of confidence. The two treatment intersections were then compared to the changes of red light running violation rates at spillover intersections (directly adjacent to the treatment intersections) and control intersections. The results of the analysis indicated a 10 percent reduction of red light running violations in Altoona and a 299 percent increase in Waterloo at the treatment locations. Finally, the research team investigated the time into red for each observed red light running violation. The analysis indicated that many of the violations occurred less than one second into the red phase and that most of the violation occurred during or shortly after the all-red phase.

Comprehensive analysis of proteins secreted by dermatophytes in a protein medium which to some extent mimic "in vivo" growth parameters

RESUME : Les dermatophytes sont les agents infectieux les plus fréquents responsables de la plupart des mycoses superficielles chez les humains et chez les animaux. Ces infections, dermatophytoses, également appelées tineas ou teignes, sont fréquentes et causent des problèmes de santé publique au niveau mondial. La capacité d'envahir et de progresser au sein des structures kératinisées est probablement liée à la sécrétion de différentes enzymes kératinolytiques, qui sont considérées comme la principale caractéristique liée à la pathogénicité de ces champignons. L'objectif de ma thèse a été premièrement de progresser dans l'identification et la caractérisation des nouvelles protéines sécrétées, afin de mieux comprendre a) la capacité globale des dermatophytes à envahir les structures kératinisées, et b) les différences dans la virulence et la spécificité d'hôte que présentent les espèces étudiées .Pour progresser dans l'identification et la caractérisation de ces nouvelles protéines, les secretomes de six espèces de dermatophytes (Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton violaceum, Trichophyton soudanense, Trichophyton equinum, Arthroderma vanbreuseghemii et Trichophyton tonsurans) ont été étudiés. Bien qu'il y ait un niveau globalement élevé de similitude entre les protéases sécrétées, les différentes espèces de dermatophytes sécrètent des profiles protéiques distincts lorsqu'elles sont cultivées dans les mêmes conditions de culture, et donc une signature spécifique a pu être associé à chaque espèce. Ces profiles ont été un outil avantageux pour identifier et cartographier les protéines orthologues aux six espèces et ont aussi permit la discrimination d'espèces très proches comme T. tonsurans et T. equinum qui ne peuvent pas être différenciées par l'ADN ribosomal. Ce travail également présente ce que l'on croit être la première identification global des protéines sécrétées par les dermatophytes dans des conditions de culture que incitent l'activité protéolytique extracellulaire. Ce catalogue de protéines, comprenant des endo- and exo- proteases, autres hydrolases, oxydoreductases et des protéines avec fonction inconnue, représente probablement le spectre d'enzymes qui permettent la dégradation des tissus kératinisés en composés qui peuvent être assimilés par le champignon. Les résultats suggèrent qu'un changement écologique pourrait être associé à une expression différentielle des gènes codant les protéines sécrétées, en particulier, les protéases, plutôt qu'à des divergences génétiques au niveau des gènes codant les protéines orthologues. Une sécrétion différentielle des protéines par les dermatophytes pourrait également être responsable de la variabilité inflammatoire qui causent ces agents infectieux chez les différents hôtes. Par conséquent, les protéines identifiées ici sont également importantes pour faire la lumière sur la réponse immunitaire de l'hôte au cours du processus infectieux. SUMMARY : Dermatophytes are the most common infectious agents responsible for superficial mycosis in humans and animals. Dermatophytoses, also called tineas or ringworm, are frequent and cause public health problems worldwide. The secretion of different keratinolytic enzymes is believed to be a key pathogenicity-related characteristic of these fungi. The aim of this work was first to progress in the identification and characterization of novel secreted proteins, in order to better understand a) the overall capability of dermatophytes to invade keratinised structures, and b) differences in virulence and host-specificity of the investigated species. To progress in the identification and characterization of novel proteins, the secretomes from Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton violaceum, Trichophyton soudanense, Trichophyton equinum, Arthroderma vanbreuseghemii and Trichophyton tonsurans were studied. Although there is a high global level of similarity among the secreted proteases, different dermatophyte species produce distinct patterns of proteins when grown in the same culture medium, and so a specific signature could be associated to each species. These patterns were useful to identify and map orthologous proteins among the six species, as well as to discriminate the closely related species T. tonsurans and T. equinum, which cannot be differentiated by ribosomal DNA. This work also presents the first in-depth identification of the major proteins secreted by dermatophytes growing under conditions promoting extracellular proteolytic activity. This catalogue of proteins, which include several endo- and exo- proteases, other hydrolases, oxydoreductases, and proteins of unknown function, probably represents the spectrum of enzymes that allow the degradation of keratinized tissues into compounds which can be assimilated by the fungus. The results suggest that ecological switching could be related to a differential expression of genes encoding secreted proteins, particularly, proteases, rather than genetic divergences of the genes encoding orthologous proteins. Differential secretion of proteins by Dermatophyte species could also be responsible for the variable inflammation caused by the infectious agent within the host. Therefore, the proteins here identified are also important to shed light into the immune response of the host during the infection process.