Increased serum visfatin level is associated with fat deposition of the lumbar spine in ankylosing spondylitis patients.

Objectives: To assess the serum visfatin levels in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), as well as its correlation with fat deposition of the lumbar spine. Methods: Serum visfatin levels were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 50 AS patients and 75 sex-and age-matched healthy controls. The clinical and laboratory indexes of AS patients were recorded, and the lumbar spine magnetic resonance scan was performed to evaluate the lumbar spine fat deposition in AS patients. The level of serum visfatin and its correlation with lumbar fat deposition were analyzed, and the risk factors of AS lumbar MRI fat deposition were evaluated by Logistic regression. Results: Serum visfatin levels in AS patients were elevated compared with that in healthy controls (p < 0.001), and were more significant in patients with fat deposition and syndesmophyte formation (p = 0.017 and p = 0.014, respectively). Serum visfatin levels were positively correlated with CRP, BASDAI, mSASSS and fat deposition (all p < 0.05). Age (OR = 1.085, 95% CI: 1.005-1.173, p = 0.038), disease duration (OR = 1.267, 95% CI: 1.017-1.578, p = 0.035), and visfatin (OR = 1.846, 95% CI: 1.004-3.393, p = 0.048) were risk factors for fat deposition in AS patients. Conclusions: The level of serum visfatin in AS patients is significantly increased, which is associated with fat deposition on lumbar MRI. Elevated visfatin level is an independent risk factor for AS lumbar fat deposition.

Impact of short-term exposure to ambient air pollution on osteoarthritis: a multi-city time-series analysis in Central-Eastern China.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a threat to public health issue with high morbidity and disability worldwide. However, unequivocal evidence on the link between air pollution and OA remains little, especially in multi-study sites. This study aimed to explore the relationship between short-term exposure to main air pollutants and the risk of OA outpatient visits in multi-study sites. A multi-city time-series analysis was performed in Anhui Province, Central-Eastern China from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2020. We used a two-stage analysis to assess the association between air pollution and daily OA outpatient visits. City-specific associations were estimated with a distributed lag nonlinear model and then pooled by random-effects or fixed-effects meta-analysis. Stratified analysis was conducted by gender, age, and season. Additionally, the disease burden of OA attributable to air pollutant exposure was calculated. A total of 35,700 OA outpatients were included during the study period. The pooled exposure-response curves showed that PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations below the reference values could increase the risk of OA outpatient visits. Concretely, per 10 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration was linked to an elevated risk of OA outpatient visits at lag 2 and lag 3 days, where the effect reached its highest value on lag 2 day (RR: 1.023, 95%CI: 1.005-1.041). We observed that a 10 µg/m3 increase in PM10 was positively correlated with OA outpatient visits (lag2 day, RR: 1.011, 95%CI: 1.001-1.025). Nevertheless, no statistical significance was discovered in gaseous pollutants (including SO2, O3, and CO). Additionally, a significant difference was found between cold and warm seasons, but not between different genders or age groups. This study reveals that particulate matter is an important factor for the onset of OA in Anhui Province, China. However, there is no evidence of a relationship of gaseous pollutants with OA in this area.

Massive Open Online Courses Combined with Flipped Classroom: An Approach to Promote Training of Resident Physicians in Rheumatology.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in combination with flipped classroom teaching in the standard training of resident physicians (resident physician trainees). METHODS: A total of 110 resident physician trainees enrolled in 2018, with a major in Internal Medicine, were selected and divided into a control group (n = 55) who experienced traditional teaching methods and an experimental group (n = 55) who experienced MOOCs plus flipped classroom teaching. Their post-class test scores and satisfaction questionnaires were compared. RESULTS: The test scores (80.60 ± 7.65) of resident physician trainees in the experimental group were higher than those of the control group (77.05 ± 8.08), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The experimental group trainees were highly satisfied with the MOOC + flipped classroom program. CONCLUSION: MOOCs in combination with flipped classroom teaching can increase the effectiveness of teaching in the standard training for resident physicians and trainees' comprehensive clinical diagnosis and treatment ability.

Using internet search data to explore the global public concerns in ankylosing spondylitis.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the changes of global public interest in internet search of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) based on Google Trends (GT) data, in order to reflect the characteristics of AS itself. METHODS: GT was used to obtain the search popularity scores of the term 'AS' on a global scale, between January 2004 and December 2018, under the 'health' classification. Based on the global search data of AS provided by GT, the cosinor analysis was used to test whether there was seasonality in AS. RESULTS: In general, AS related search volume demonstrated a decreasing trend from January 2004 to December 2014 and then remain stable from January 2015 to December 2018. No obvious seasonal variations were detected in AS related search volume (amplitude=1.54; phase: month=3.9; low point: month=9.9; p>0.025), which peaked in April and bottomed out in October. The top 17 rising topics were adalimumab, spondylolisthesis, Morbus, Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev, autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosis, HLA- B27 positive, Crohn's disease, rheumatology, spondylosis, arthritis, uveitis, rheumatism, sacroiliac, psoriatic arthritis and spondylitis. CONCLUSIONS: Globally, there is no significant seasonal variation in GT for AS. The top fast-growing topics related to AS may be beneficial for doctors to provide targeted health education of the disease to patients and their families.

Clinical and serological associations of anti-ribosomal P0 protein antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical and serological associations of anti-ribosomal P0 protein antibodies (anti-Rib-P0) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The sera of 470 patients with SLE and 124 patients with primary Sjogren's Syndrome (pSS) were collected. Line immunoassay (LIA) was used to detect anti-Rib-P0 and other related antibodies. A complete laboratory evaluation and clinical examination were also performed in each SLE patient. The prevalence of anti-Rib-P0 in SLE patients was significantly higher than that in pSS patients (35.74 vs 6.45%) (P < 0.001). There was a significantly lower prevalence of cardiac involvement in anti-Rib-P0-positive SLE patients compared to anti-Rib-P0-negative SLE patients (P = 0.019); no significant associations of anti-Rib-P0 antibodies with encephalopathy manifestations and other vital organs involvement were observed. Anti-nucleosomes, anti-dsDNA, anti-Histones, anti-SmD1, and anti-U1snRNP were significantly associated with serum anti-Rib-P0 antibodies positivity in SLE patients (all P < 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of the anti-Rib-P0 antibodies to diagnose SLE were 35.74 and 93.55%, respectively. There is a higher prevalence of anti-Rib-P0 in SLE patients. Anti-Rib-P0 positivity may indicate lower cardiac involvement for SLE patients. It may serve as an important complementary parameter in SLE, in addition to anti-dsDNA, anti-SmD1, and anti-nucleosomes.

Plasma/Serum Leptin Levels in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leptin is an adipokine that has several effects on metabolism and immune system in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The present investigations of the relationship between plasma/serum leptin levels and AS are contradictory. To derive a more precise estimation on the plasma/serum leptin levels in AS patients and related factors, a meta-analysis was performed. METHODS: Published literature that compares plasma/serum leptin levels between AS group and control group from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and other databases were searched. The study quality was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated by fixed-effects or random-effect model analyses. Statistical heterogeneity within studies was examined by the Q statistic. RESULTS: A total of eight studies including 391 AS patients and 293 healthy controls were finally included in the meta-analysis. No significant differences in plasma/serum leptin levels was found between AS patients and healthy controls when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (pooled SMD = 0.384, 95% CI = -1.522 to 0.753). Meanwhile, subgroup analyses by gender also showed no significant differences in plasma/serum leptin levels between case group and controls. CONCLUSION: There is no significant difference in plasma/serum leptin levels between AS patients and controls.

[The expression and clinical significance of IL-17AR on peripheral blood B cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus].

AIM: To investigate the expressions of Interleukin-17A receptor (IL-17AR) on the peripheral blood B lymphocytes of SLE patients and to analyze the correlations between IL-17AR and clinical parameters. METHODS: Expression of IL-17AR on peripheral blood CD19(+);B lymphocytes were analyzed in 60 SLE patients and 33 healthy controls by flow cytometry. The difference of IL-17AR expression levels in two groups were compared. Furthermore, the correlation between IL-17AR expressions and clinical some measures, such as ESR, CRP, complement 3(C3), complement 4(C4), the amount of serum IgG, anti double strands DNA antibody, anti nuclear antibody, SLEDAI score and urine protein excretion were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with healthy subjects, the proportions of B cells expressing IL-17AR were higher among SLE patients. In SLE patients, groups with mouth ulcer, serositis, renal lesions or immunologic abnormality were higher than the negative groups separately. The positive correlations were observed between IL-17AR expression levels and clinical measure of the SLEDAI, CRP and serum triglyceride level. The negative correlation was observed between IL-17AR expression levels and clinical measure of the serum indirect bilirubin level, serum albumin level. CONCLUSION: Interleukin-17A receptor expression increased on peripheral blood B cells of SLE patients, and correlate with clinical measures.

Genetic analysis for F1 yield traits with conditional approach in island cotton (Gossypium barbadense L.).

A genetic model with additive, dominance and genotype x environment interaction effect was employed to analyze the 3-year data of F(1) hybrids from 5 x 4 diallel cross, whose parents were Island cotton and had different fruit branch types. Unconditional and conditional genetic variances were conducted for analyze genetic impacts of yield components on yield. Results of unconditional genetic variances showed that there were no additive variance of total lint yield. But conditional additive effects of total lint yield, when excluding the phenotype of boll weight, boll number at prefrost, boll number at postfrost, and lint yield at prefrost, indicated that improving the additive effects of the total lint yield was still possible. Crossing and selecting component traits with high contributive additive effects could obtain good offsprings. Yield components contributed large dominance effects to the heterosis of lint yield at prefrost and total lint yield in crosses. Yield component traits were controlled with each other. The traits having positive contributive effects could be applied to further improve target traits.