BackgroundsThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcome of cervical spine arthritis in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), who received anti-TNFα early in the course of cervical spine arthritis.MethodsMedical charts and imaging of JIA patients with cervical spine involvement were reviewed in this retrospective study. Data, including age at disease onset, JIA type, disease activity, treatment and clinical outcome were collected. Initial and followup MRI examinations of cervical spine were performed according to the hospital protocol to evaluate the presence of inflammation and potential chronic/late changes.ResultsFifteen JIA patients with MRI proved cervical spine inflammation (11 girls, 4 boys, median age 6.3y) were included in the study: 9 had polyarthritis, 3 extended oligoarthritis, 2 persistent oligoarthritis and 1 juvenile psoriatic arthritis. All children were initially treated with high-dose steroids and methotrexate. In addition, 11 patients were treated with anti-TNFα drug within 3 months, and 3 patients within 7 months of cervical spine involvement confirmed by MRI. Mean observation time was 2.9y, mean duration of anti-TNFα treatment was 2.2y. Last MRI showed no active inflammation in 12/15 children, allowing to stop biological treatment in 3 patients, and in 3/15 significant reduction of inflammation. Mild chronic changes were found on MRI in 3 children.ConclusionsEarly treatment with anti-TNFα drugs resulted in significantly reduced inflammation or complete remission of cervical spine arthritis proved by MRI, and prevented the development of serious chronic/late changes. Repeated MRI examinations are suggested in the follow-up of JIA patients with cervical spine arthritis.

Motor age determination as a part of condition monitoring heavily employs vibration analysis. This study introduces a new method for such analysis, based on concepts of cepstrum and marginal Hilbert spectrum. This new method, named Berthil cepstrum, may be applied in general signal processing, not only when vibration signals are concerned. Classical marginal Hilbert spectrum has also been applied to the artificial motor aging data with excellent results. Furthermore, a ranking of known spectrum-based methods for determination of motor age together with the new methods introduced in this study has been made based on SVM and RELIEF attribute ranking, showing quality of the new methods.

Organisations have started to adopt open innovation processes to supplement their internal competencies and resources. Adoption of these processes assist them in keeping up with the pace of technology and protecting their competitive advantage in the market. Despite the significance of open innovation processes, there are few studies focusing on them. The purpose of this study is mapping coupled open innovation processes to contribute to the field of open innovation. The case study research was set up to explore how organisations undertake coupled open innovation processes from the perspective of employees working in a small-medium sized enterprise. The Activity Theory was used as a research framework. The research findings revealed how the importing and exporting mechanisms of coupled processes. The findings are discussed to fill the knowledge gaps in the existing literature and help design management academia and practice identify future work areas.

Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Abbreviations: AML: Acute Myeloid Leukemia; CBC: Complete Blood Count; CML: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia; HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus; IFN-g: Interferon Gamma; INM: Inner Nuclear Membrane; LBR: Lamin B Receptor; MDS: Myelodysplastic Syndrome; NE: Nuclear Envelope; ONM: Outer Nuclear Membrane; PHA: Pelger-Huët Anomaly; PHA: PseudoPelger-Huët Anomaly; TB: Tuberculosis; TNF-a: Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; WBC: White Blood Cell

Scientific knowledge about the predispositions of Bosnian native breeds of sheep (Dubska) for the production of milk and milk products until recently were quite sparse and very scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the biochemical indicators and serum minerals, for monitoring the nutritional status. Until now subject research did not include testing of the effect of biochemical parameters and hormonal status of the blood of sheep on the quality of milk and milk products. Persistence of this connection is justified by the fact that most of the ingredients of milk just derived from the blood. The main objective of this research was to explore metabolic parameters of sheep’s blood, and their relative importance on the quality and quantity of milk components. The study included a total of 127 sheep blood samples from two different areas (Livno and Travnik) in summer feeding period (July, August and September). The animals were marked with the appropriate number of ear tags on the basis of which we always took samples from the same animals through different periods. In sheep blood serum, the concentration of biochemical parameters (glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, total protein, albumin, urea, AST, ALT, AP, GGT, LDH, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium) and metabolic hormones (triiodothyronine, thyroxine, and insulin cortisol), and samples of milk: milk parameters (milk fat, lactose and protein) as well as fatty acid composition of the milk. The concentrations of blood biochemical parameters were determined by spectrophotometry with automated analysis with ready-made package of slides. Concentrations of metabolic hormones (T3, T4, cortisol and insulin) in the serum were determined by ELISA method. The percentages of fat, protein and lactose in milk were determined by infrared spectrophotometry. Fatty acids in milk were determined by gas chromatography (GC). Our research showed hypoglicemia, mild hypoproteinemia and hypoalbuminemia probably due to nutritional deificiencies during lactation period. Negative energy balance could be responsabile for changes found in the cholesterol concentration as well as in the activity of ALT, AST, GGT, LDH. Significant differences in milk fat and milk protein, as well as fatty acids composition were determined between localities and season sampling. In general, our results showed varriation of blood biochemistry and milk quality. Due to differencies in climate, botanical differences of soil and pasture these variations are considered to be acceptable. Statistical analysis was performed using the software package SPSS 15.00 (for biochemical paramters and parameters of milk) and 21.00 (for metabolic hormones and fatty acid composition of the milk).