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PubMedID: 28864648 Objective. To arrive at consensus for candidate outcomes for disease activity assessment in largevessel vasculitis (LVV) in clinical trials. Methods.A Delphi survey including 99 items was circulated among international experts for 3 rounds. Results. Fifty-seven items were accepted for both giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis. Sixty-seven percent of experts voted to have a common approach for both diseases with additional disease-specific items such as weight loss, scalp tenderness/necrosis, morning stiffness, dizziness, visual symptoms, and imaging. Conclusion. This study highlights similarities and differences in experts' perspectives for assessing clinical activity in LVV and may guide a consensus-driven core set of validated outcomes. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases: U01 AR51874 04, U54 AR057319 National Center for Research Resources: U54 RR019497 Sponsored by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium, which has received support from the US National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (U54 AR057319 and U01 AR51874 04), the National Center for Research Resources (U54 RR019497), and the Office of Rare Diseases Research. Additional support for the work of the OMERACT Vasculitis Working Group was received through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Pilot Project Grant. S.Z. Aydin, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Rheumatology, The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa; H. Direskeneli, MD, Professor of Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Marmara University Faculty of Medicine; P.A. Merkel, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Division of Rheumatology, and Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics, University of Pennsylvania. Address correspondence to Dr. P.A. Merkel, Section of Rheumatology, University of Pennsylvania, White Building, 5th Floor Penn, 3400 Spruce St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. E-mail: pmerkel@upenn.edu Accepted for publication June 3, 2017.

Background: The discovery and development of novel biomarkers that could facilitate early diagnosis and thus prevent the progression of atherosclerosis-related diabetes mellitus (DM), cerebral infarction (CI), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has garnered much research interest. Notably, recent reports have described a number of highly sensitive antibody markers. In this study, we aimed to identify additional antibody markers that would facilitate screening. Methods: The amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay (AlphaLISA) method, which incorporates glutathione- or streptavidin-donor beads and anti-human-IgG-acceptor beads, was used to evaluate serum antibody levels in serum samples. The protein array method was used for the initial screening, and peptide arrays were used to identify epitope sites. Results: The protein array identified SH3 domain-binding protein 5 (SH3BP5) as a target antigen of serum IgG antibodies in the sera of patients with atherosclerosis. We prepared recombinant glutathione S-transferase (GST)- fused SH3BP5 protein. Peptide arrays revealed that the epitope site recognized by serum antibodies is located within amino acids 161–174 of SH3BP5. AlphaLISA revealed significantly higher serum antibody levels against both the SH3BP5 protein and peptide in patients with DM, acute-phase CI, transient ischemic attack, CVD or chronic kidney disease (CKD), than in healthy donors. Furthermore, areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of these antibodies were higher in patients with CKD and DM than in other patients. Spearman correlation analysis revealed associations between the serum antibody levels against SH3BP5 peptide and artery stenosis, hypertension, and smoking. Conclusions: The serum anti-SH3BP5 antibody marker appears to be useful for estimating the progress of atherosclerosis and may discriminate atherosclerosis associated with hypertension and/or habitual smoking.

Backgrounds and the purpose of the study Inducible NO synthase activity has been frequently reported in varicose veins. Aminoguanidine is known to inhibit iNOS. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of aminoguanidine on varicocelized rats. Methods Male Wistar rats were divided into groups A, B, C, D, E, and F (control group). Groups A, B, C, and D rats underwent left varicocele induction with a 20-gauge needle. Group E (sham) rats underwent a similar procedure, but the renal vein was left intact. Ten weeks after varicocele induction, sperm parameters were evaluated in groups D, E, and F. Groups A and B received 50 mg/kg aminoguanidine or placebo, respectively, daily for 10 weeks. After 10 and 20 weeks of varicocele induction, the fertility outcomes of the experimental groups were evaluated. Results The values of the sperm parameters did not differ significantly between groups B and D, but were significant when compared with groups F and E (P≤0.05). The values of the sperm parameters of groups F and E showed no significant changes (P≤0.05). The changes between group A and groups B and D were significant (P≤0.05). Ten weeks after varicocele induction, rats of groups A, B, and C were still fertile. After 20 weeks, only half of the rats in group A were fertile. Conclusions Aminoguanidine improved the sperm parameters and mating outcomes in vari-cocelized rats.

© 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Chronic rotator cuff (RC) tears affect a large portion of the population and result in substantial upper extremity impairment, shoulder weakness, pain, and limited range of motion. Regardless of surgical or conservative treatment, persistent atrophic muscle changes limit functional restoration and may contribute to surgical failure. We hypothesized that deficits in the skeletal muscle progenitor (SMP) cell pool could contribute to poor muscle recovery following tendon repair. Biopsies were obtained from patients undergoing arthroscopic RC surgery. The SMP population was quantified, isolated, and assayed in culture for its ability to proliferate and fuse in vitro and in vivo. The SMP population was larger in muscles from cuffs with partial tears compared with no tears or full thickness tears. However, SMPs from muscles in the partial tear group also exhibited reduced proliferative ability. Cells from all cuff states were able to fuse robustly in culture and engraft when injected into injured mouse muscle, suggesting that when given the correct signals, SMPs are capable of contributing to muscle hypertrophy and regeneration regardless of tear severity. The fact that this does not appear to happen in vivo helps focus future therapeutic targets for promoting muscle recovery following rotator cuff repairs and may help improve clinical outcomes.

29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 939-942, In this paper, we will describe three kinds of screen-printable materials, that is, n/p-type doping pastes, surface passivation paste and Cu-alloy electrode paste. The n/p-type doping pastes have three main features: (i) uniform and controllable sheet resistance, (ii) minimal out-diffusion, and (iii) no residue. These can be applicable to high-efficiency solar cells such as selective emitter, back contact and bi-facial structure. The surface passivation paste has also three main features: (i) easy to form thin-layer patterning by screen printing, (ii) field-effect passivation, and (iii) comparable negative fixed charge density to ALD-Al2O3. Therefore, this can be alternative to ALD or PECVD passivation for fabricating the local back-surface-field cell in a lower-cost process. The Cu-alloy electrode paste is the replacement to reduce material cost of the Ag-paste. This paste is composed of Cu-alloy, glass frit, solvent and binder. By firing at around 800 C, the barrier layer is formed outside of the conductive layer (Cu-alloy) and prevents Cu-migration to Si. These screen-printable materials enable to provide high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cell without significant additional process and cost.