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Objective: Few data are available on whether changes in metabolic syndrome affect incident gout. This study was undertaken to assess associations between metabolic syndrome status and incident gout, as well as changes in the clinical characteristics of metabolic syndrome and incident gout, in a cohort of young men. Methods: This nationwide, population‐based cohort study included 20–39‐year‐old men who participated in serial health check‐ups. The outcome, incident gout, was defined according to the claims database diagnostic code for gout. Associations among changes in metabolic syndrome status and incident gout were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. Results: Among 1,293,166 individuals, 18,473 were diagnosed as having gout (incidence rate 3.36 per 1,000 person‐years). Subjects who had chronic metabolic syndrome (defined as metabolic syndrome at all 3 health check‐ups) had a nearly 4‐fold higher risk of incident gout compared to subjects who did not have metabolic syndrome at any of the 3 health check‐ups (adjusted hazard ratio [HRadj] 3.82 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 3.67–3.98]). Development of metabolic syndrome more than doubled the risk of incident gout (HRadj 2.31 [95% CI 2.20–2.43]). Conversely, recovery from metabolic syndrome reduced the risk of incident gout by nearly half (HRadj 0.52 [95% CI 0.49–0.56]). Among metabolic syndrome components, changes in elevated triglycerides (development of elevated triglycerides, HRadj 1.74 [95% CI 1.66–1.81]; recovery from elevated triglycerides, HRadj 0.56 [95% CI 0.54–0.59]) and abdominal obesity (development of abdominal obesity, HRadj 1.94 [95% CI 1.85–2.03]; recovery from abdominal obesity, HRadj 0.69 [95% CI 0.64–0.74]) showed the greatest association with altered risk of incident gout. Associations between changes in the status and clinical characteristics of metabolic syndrome and incident gout were more pronounced in subjects ages 20–29 years compared to those ages 30–39 years, and in subjects who were underweight or who had a normal weight. Conclusion: Changes in the status and clinical characteristics of metabolic syndrome were associated with altered risk of incident gout. These results suggest that metabolic syndrome is a modifiable risk factor for gout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the effect of tumor necrosis factor a inhibitors (TNFi) on spinal radiographic progression in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods: Subjects were selected from patients at a single tertiary hospital between 1995 and 2014. Patients who used TNFi with baseline and paired follow-up radiographic data with a minimum interval of 2 years were included. Time to start TNFi was defined as the time from symptom onset to the start of TNFi use. TNFi index was defined as the ratio of the period of TNFi use to the entire period of disease. Radiographic damage was assessed by the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS). Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with radiographic progression. Results: A total of 151 patients were included in the analysis. Seventeen (11.3%) patients were female and mean DmSASSS/year was 1.01 units/year. Mean X-ray follow-up duration was 102.9 ± 54.9 months. Mean time from symptom onset to start of TNFi use was 104.8 ± 83.6 months (median 84 months) and mean TNFi index was 42.9 ± 23.8% (median 40.9%). In multivariable analysis, initial mSASSS, initial C-reactive protein, body mass index, current smoker, and delayed start of TNFi use were associated with radiographic progression. Presence of peripheral arthritis and the TNFi index were negatively associated with radiographic progression. Conclusions: A delay in starting TNFi use and low TNFi index were associated with radiographic progression. Early and long-term use of TNFi appear to reduce spinal radiographic progression in patients with AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: Chronic periaortitis (CP) is a disease characterized by a fibro‐inflammatory periaortic cuff and adventitia‐predominant fibrosis. CP encompasses idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis and inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and recent studies have documented overlap between CP and immunoglobulin G4‐related disease (IgG4‐RD). This study aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients with CP. Method: CP patients were identified by retrospective review of 1245 patients with International Classification of Diseases 10th edition code of aortitis or aortic disease. Patients were further classified into IgG4‐related and non‐IgG4‐related CP according to the criteria proposed by a Japanese study. Results: A total of 61 CP patients were identified. Patients showed a male predominance (70%) with median age of 61 at diagnosis. The abdominal aorta was most commonly involved (84%), while the thoracic aorta was affected in 46% of patients. Twenty‐three (38%) patients had accompanying aortic aneurysm. Approximately 60% of patients achieved remission without further relapse during the course. Ten patients were classified as IgG4‐related and 25 as non‐IgG4‐related. There was no significant difference in clinical features and outcomes between groups, with the exception of older age and greater pancreas involvement in IgG4‐related patients. Conclusion: We documented 61 CP patients including 10 IgG4‐related cases. CP involved the abdominal aorta in most patients and the thoracic aorta in approximately 50% of patients. IgG4‐related CP patients were older and had greater pancreas involvement, but disease outcomes appeared to be similar between IgG4‐related and non‐IgG4‐related CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Pulmonary arterial hypertension ( PAH) is a major cause of mortality in connective tissue disease ( CTD). The survival rates and mortality-predictive factors of a nationwide registry of Korean patients with CTD- PH measured by echocardiography were determined. Methods Patients with CTD- PH were enrolled between April 2008 and December 2012. Hemodynamic parameters and clinical data ( WHO-functional class [ FC], organ involvement, laboratory tests and treatment agents) were recorded. Survival rates were calculated by using the Kaplan-Meier method. Mortality-associated factors were examined by Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Results In total, 174 incident PH cases (61 with systemic lupus erythematosus, 50 with systemic sclerosis, 10 with mixed CTD, 22 with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) and 31 with other CTDs) were diagnosed by Doppler echocardiography. Of these, 25 (14%) died during the 3.8 ± 2.7 year follow-up period after PH diagnosis. The 1- and 3-year survival rates were 90.7% and 87.3%, respectively. Compared to the other CTD- PHs, RA- PH had the lowest survival rates (56% 3 year survival; P = 0.022). Multiple regression analysis revealed that low diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide ( DLCO), pleural effusion and diabetes mellitus were poor prognostic factors ( P = 0.008, 0.04 and 0.009, respectively). Anti- UI- RNP (ribonucleoprotein) antibody positivity was protective ( P = 0.022). In patients with WHO- FC III/ IV, patients who received vasodilators had lower mortality than those who did not ( P = 0.038). Conclusions In Korean patients with CTD- PH, the 3-year survival rate was 87%. Low diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide ( DLCO), pleural effusion and diabetes mellitus were independent poor prognostic factors. Anti- UI- RNP antibody was protective. Prompt PAH-specific vasodilator therapy may improve the survival of patients with severe CTD- PH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) in Korean patients. Methods A retrospective analysis evaluated 155 patients with nr-axSpA at a single tertiary hospital between January 2001 and January 2011. Baseline characteristics and clinical courses were reviewed and compared with those of patients with ankylosing spondylitis ( AS). Results The mean age at disease onset was 29.5 ± 10.8 years and 52 (33.5%) patients were female. The mean age at symptom onset was older (29.5 ± 10.8 vs 25.9 ± 9.2, respectively, P < 0.001) and the male-to-female ratio was lower (2 : 1 vs 5 : 1, respectively, P = 0.001) in patients with nr-axSpA compared with patients with AS. The proportion of females was higher among patients with late onset SpA than early-onset nr-axSpA (55.0% vs 30.1%, respectively, P = 0.029). Among 74 patients with nr-axSpA, whose follow-up duration was more than 1.5 years, 29 (39.2%) patients progressed to AS during the follow-up period. The proportion of females was lower in progressors that that of non-progressors (13.8% vs 44.4%, respectively, P = 0.010). Presence of syndesmophyte and minimal X-ray changes at baseline were frequently observed in progressors compared with non-progressors (26.7% vs 0.0%, P = 0.006 and 69.0 vs 35.6%, P = 0.005, respectively). Conclusions The predominance of male patients is more prominent among Korean patients with SpA compared with Caucasians. Female nr-axSpA patients had late symptom onset and less progression to AS. X-ray changes at baseline were associated with radiographic progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To investigate the effects of Tubastatin A, a selective histone deacetylase-6 inhibitor, on synovial inflammation and joint destruction in a collagen antibody-induced arthritis ( CAIA) mouse model. Methods Collagen antibody-induced arthritis mice were given daily intraperitoneal injections of various concentrations of Tubastatin A (0, 10, 50, 100 mg/kg). The clinical score and paw thickness were measured. Mice were sacrificed on day 15, and the expression of tumor necrosis factor ( TNF)-α, interleukin ( IL)-1 and IL-6 in the serum were analyzed using enyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA). Two pathologists independently measured the synovitis score. Micro-computed tomography ( CT) scans of the joints were performed to quantify joint destruction. The expression of IL-6 from human fibroblast-like synoviocytes ( FLSs) after incubation with various doses of Tubastatin A (0, 0.75, 1.5, 3 μmol/L) was measured using ELISA. Results The clinical arthritis score was significantly attenuated and paw thickness was lower in the group treated with 100 mg/kg Tubastatin A compared with those treated with vehicle alone. The synovitis score was significantly reduced in the 100 mg/kg Tubastatin A-treated group compared with the control group. Micro- CT showed that quantitative measures of joint destruction were significantly attenuated in the 100 mg/kg Tubastatin A-treated group compared with the control. The expression of IL-6 in the sera was lower in the mice treated with Tubastatin A compared with the control. The expression of IL-6 in human FLSs decreased dose-dependently after incubation with Tubastatin A without affecting cell viability. Conclusions Tubastatin A successfully ameliorated synovial inflammation and protected against joint destruction in CAIA mice, at least in part, by modulating IL-6 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Establishing explicit mappings between features and their implementation elements in code is one of the critical factors to maintain and evolve software systems successfully. This is especially important when developers have to evolve program families, which have evolved from one single core system to similar but different systems to accommodate various requirements from customers. Many techniques and tools have emerged to assist developers in the feature mapping activity. However, existing techniques and tools for feature mapping are limited as they operate on a single program version individually. Additionally, existing approaches are limited to recover features on demand, that is, developers have to run the tools for each family member version individually. In this paper, we propose a cohesive suite of five mapping heuristics addressing those two limitations. These heuristics explore the evolution history of the family members in order to expand feature mappings in evolving program families. The expansion refers to the action of automatically generating the feature mappings for each family member version by systematically considering its previous change history. The mapping expansion starts from seed mappings and continually tracks the features of the program family, thus eliminating the need of on demand algorithms. Additionally, we present the MapHist tool that provides support to the application of the proposed heuristics. We evaluate the accuracy of our heuristics through two evolving program families from our industrial partners. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To evaluates the pregnancy outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE) patients in South Korea and determine the predictive factors for adverse fetal and maternal outcomes. Methods All pregnancies in SLE patients who were seen at the Samsung Medical Center between November 1994 and December 2010 were included and retrospectively analyzed. SLE flares were determined by the Lupus Activity Index-Pregnancy ( LAI-P) score. Results Sixty-two pregnancies were observed in 50 patients. Fifty-one (82.3%) live births and 11 (17.7%) fetal losses were observed. Thirty-eight of the live births (74.5%) were full-term and 13 (25.5%) were preterm births. Fetal losses included three spontaneous abortions, two stillbirths and six therapeutic abortions. Proteinuria during pregnancy was a predictive factor for adverse fetal outcomes (adjusted odds ratio [ OR] 12.50; P = 0.032). An LAI-P score was obtained in 36 pregnancies, and SLE flares occurred in 12 pregnancies (33.3%), primarily during the second trimester (46.2%). Renal involvement (69.2%) was the most common SLE flare during pregnancy. All flares were classified as severe flare according to LAI-P scores. SLE flares during pregnancy were strongly affected by proteinuria prior to pregnancy (adjusted OR 30.28; P = 0.024) and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (adjusted OR 6.62; P = 0.047). Conclusion Our study demonstrated a rate of live births and of flares in pregnant lupus patients comparable to recent reports in Western countries. Proteinuria during and prior to pregnancy and presence of antiphospholipid antibodies were predictive factors for poor pregnancy outcome. Preserved renal function prior to pregnancy resulted in favorable outcomes even in patients with a history of lupus nephritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To evaluate the clinical courses and outcomes of patients with monoarthritis and to investigate the predictive factors of clinical outcomes. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed of 171 patients with chronic monoarthritis at a single tertiary hospital between January 2001 and January 2011. Baseline characteristics, radiographic findings and the clinical course were reviewed. Results The most commonly involved joints were the knees (24.0%), followed by the wrists (22.8%) and ankles (18.7%). A final diagnosis was established in 74 (43.3%) patients. Thirty-one (18.1%) patients were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis ( RA), 23 (13.5%) with peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA), and 19 (11.1%) with Behçet's disease ( BD). Among 108 patients who were initially undiagnosed, 85 (78.7%) patients remained with undiagnosed monoarthritis, with relatively shorter symptom durations and requiring less treatment. The initially involved joint was a predictive factor for the final diagnosis: the wrist joint for RA (odds ratio [ OR] 11.58, P < 0.001), the ankle joint for SpA ( OR 6.19, P < 0.001), and the knee joint for BD ( OR 3.43, P = 0.014). Bony erosion at baseline was associated with progression to oligo- or polyarthritis ( OR 2.88, P = 0.030) and with radiographic progression. Conclusions In patients presenting with monoarthritis, a final diagnosis was established in less than half of the patients, and a majority of undiagnosed patients showed benign clinical courses. The initially involved joint and the presence of erosion at baseline were predictors of the final diagnosis and of clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depth maps are used in many 3D video applications. Often, depth map is available at a lower resolution compared to the corresponding color images. To match the resolution, depth maps must be scaled up to the color image resolution. In this paper, we present an interpolation method of depth maps. The proposed idea is based on the observation that the depth map is highly correlated to the color image and the big correlation offers the reliable knowledge. For this purpose, we develop a trilateral filter that interpolates the low resolution depth map by the temporary high resolution depth map and the high resolution color image. Accordingly, evaluation using the MPEG 3D videos shows that significant improvement of depth quality and rendered view quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]