Updates on the Prognosis of Giant Cell Arteritis: A Systematic Review.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is considered the most common type of vasculitis, especially in people aged 50 years or older, and imaging studies have helped predict its systemic nature. We conducted this review to highlight the results of the recently published articles considering the prognosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA). We searched for the relevant literature in SCOPUS, PubMed, Web of Science, and Science Direct and were included. We used Rayyan (Rayyan Systems, Cambridge, Massachusetts) throughout this systematic approach. The search resulted in twelve studies with 2600 patients with GCA diagnosis; most of them, 1853 (71.3%), were females. This systematic review found that most of the GCA patients experienced at least one relapse episode, primarily in patients younger than 75 years, with dependency on glucocorticoids, female sex, and involvement of large vessel vasculitis. We also found that stroke in GCA patients was associated with a bad prognosis. Therefore, we think more prospective studies are needed to enhance particular patient outcomes, and new therapeutic approaches using accessible biotherapies like tocilizumab and other similar medications are required.

Hybrid fuzzy inference rules of descent method and wavelet function for volatility forecasting.

This research employs the gradient descent learning (FIR.DM) approach as a learning process in a nonlinear spectral model of maximum overlapping discrete wavelet transform (MODWT) to improve volatility prediction of daily stock market prices using Saudi Arabia's stock exchange (Tadawul) data. The MODWT comprises five mathematical functions and fuzzy inference rules. The inputs are the oil price (Loil) and repo rate (Repo) according to multiple regression correlation, and the Engle and Granger Causality test Engle RF, (1987). The logarithm of the stock market price (LSCS) in Tadawul reflects the output variable. The correlation matrix reveals that there is no collinearity between the input variables, and the causality test demonstrates that the input variables significantly influence the outcome variable. According to the multiple regression, there is a substantial negative influence between Loil and LSCS but a significant positive effect between Repo and output. For the 80% dataset under ME (0.000005), MAE (0.003214), and MAPE (0.064497), the MODWT-LA8 (ARIMA(1,1,0) with drift) for the LSCS variable performs better than other WT functions. In the novel hybrid model MODWT-FIR.DM, each function's approximation coefficient (LSCS) is applied with input variables (Loil and Repo). We evaluate the performance of the proposed model (MODWT-LA8-FIR.DM) using different statistical measures (ME, RMSE, MAE, MPE) and compare it to two established models: the original FIR.DM and other MODWT-FIR.DM functions for forecasting 20% of datasets. The outcomes show that the MODWT-LA8-FIR.DM performs better than the traditional models based on lower ME (3.167586), RMSE (3.167638), MAE (3.167586), and MPE (80.860849). The proposed hybrid model may be a potential stock market forecasting model.

Improving forecasting accuracy for stock market data using EMD-HW bagging.

Many researchers documented that the stock market data are nonstationary and nonlinear time series data. In this study, we use EMD-HW bagging method for nonstationary and nonlinear time series forecasting. The EMD-HW bagging method is based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the moving block bootstrap and the Holt-Winter. The stock market time series of six countries are used to compare EMD-HW bagging method. This comparison is based on five forecasting error measurements. The comparison shows that the forecasting results of EMD-HW bagging are more accurate than the forecasting results of the fourteen selected methods.

Low-molecular-weight peptidic and cyclic antagonists of the receptor for the complement factor C5a.

Activation of the human complement system of plasma proteins during immunological host defense can result in overproduction of potent proinflammatory peptides such as the anaphylatoxin C5a. Excessive levels of C5a are associated with numerous immunoinflammatory diseases, but there is as yet no clinically available antagonist to regulate the effects of C5a. We now describe a series of small molecules derived from the C-terminus of C5a, some of which are the most potent low-molecular-weight C5a receptor antagonists reported to date for the human polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) C5a receptor. 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to determine solution structures for two cyclic antagonists and to indicate that antagonism is related to a turn conformation, which can be stabilized in cyclic molecules that are preorganized for receptor binding. While several cyclic derivatives were of similar antagonistic potency, the most potent antagonist was a hexapeptide-derived macrocycle AcF[OPdChaWR] with an IC50 = 20 nM against a maximal concentration of C5a (100 nM) on intact human PMNs. Such potent C5a antagonists may be useful probes to investigate the role of C5a in host defenses and to develop therapeutic agents for the treatment of many currently intractable inflammatory conditions.

The influence of Lys68 in decepeptide agonists of C5a on C5a receptor binding, activation and selectivity.

The potent, conformationally biased C5a agonist peptide YSFKPMPLaR (C5a65-74, Y65, F67, P69, P71, D-Ala73) was used as a template to gain insight into the nature and importance of lysine at position 68 in the peptide-receptor interaction. A panel of YSFKPMPLaR analogs with systematic substitutions for Lys68 was evaluated for C5a receptor (C5aR) binding affinity and activation in two well-characterized assay systems: human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and human fetal artery. In addition, we determined the activity of these new analogs in transfected rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells in which the Glu at position 199 of the C5aR (wtGlu199) was replaced by a Gln (C5aR-Gln199) or a Lys (C5aR-Lys199). Our results indicated that Lys68 in YSFKPMPLaR plays an important role in binding the C5aR expressed on PMNs and RBL cells. Furthermore, the data indicated that Lys68 interacted with Glu199 of the C5aR in PMNs and RBL cells. In human fetal artery, however, Lys68 substitutions had little or no effect on activity, which suggested that the receptor conformation may be different in this tissue. Thus, the interaction between Lys68 of the decapeptide agonist and Glu199 of the C5aR may be cell type-specific and may form the molecular basis for tissue-specific responses to C5a agonists.

Effects of lead on the male reproductive system in mice.

The effect of environmental lead on the male reproductive system has been a major area of concern for several years. Lead toxicity to the male reproductive system of sexually mature male CF-1 mice was investigated by administering two concentrations of lead (0.25% and 0.5%) via drinking water for 6 wk. The low lead dose significantly reduced the number of sperm within the epididymis, while the high dose reduced both the sperm count and percentage of motile sperm and increased the percentage of abnormal sperm within the epididymis. There was no significant effect on testis weight; however, the high-dose treatment significantly decreased the epididymis and seminal vesicle weights as well as overall body weight gain. Plasma luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone (T) levels were not affected by lead administration indicating that in adult male CF-1 mice, lead targets testicular spermatogenesis and sperm within the epididymis to produce reproductive toxicity rather than acting at other sites within the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis.

Molecular, antibiogram and serological typing of Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Al-Makased Hospital in East Jerusalem.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of nosocomial infections and a risk in patients who have either undergone surgery or are on haemodialysis. The S. aureus infections in patients admitted to the clinical departments of Al-Makased Charitable Hospital in Jerusalem during a period of one year were investigated. Isolates included were from blood, surgical wounds, or other nonsuperficial sites. Of 63 isolates available for analysis, 46 (73.0%) expressed type 8 capsular polysaccharide; 13 (20.7%), type 5 capsular polysaccharide; only 4 isolates (6.3%) did not express type 5 or type 8 antibodies. The strains fitted in 7 different antibiogram types, with the type showing resistance only to penicillin and ampicillin prevalent in 34 out of 63 isolates (54.0%). Of the 12 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates (19.1%), 8(66.7%) possessed the type 8 capsule and 4(33.7%) the type 5 capsule. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of all isolates with the restriction-endonuclease enzymes Sma I revealed 34 patterns demonstrating that no single methicillin-sensitive S. aureus strain was endemic in the hospital. However, all MRSA isolates with a type 8 capsule showed identical PFGE patterns using the 2 restriction-endonuclease enzymes Sma I and SST II. Moreover, type 5 isolates showed identical patterns (one isolate differed from the rest with one band only). These data suggest and confirm the clonality of type 5 and type 8 MRSA isolates. Analysing the results of the capsular and antibiogram typing schemes in conjunction proved useful and suggested that such an analysis can be employed as a helpful epidemiological tool in hospitals with limited resources.