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Lillian Barra,1 Patrick Liang,2 Susanne M Benseler,3 David A Cabral,4 Aurore Fifi-Mah,5 Yueyang Li,1 Nataliya Milman,6 Marinka Twilt,3 Elaine Yacyshyn,7 Christian Pagnoux8 1Division of Rheumatology, The University of Western Ontario, St Joseph’s Health Care, London, Ontario, 2Division of Rheumatology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, 3Division of Rheumatology, Department of Paediatrics, Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, 4Division of Rheumatology, BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, 5Division of Rheumatology, South Health Campus, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, 6Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 7Division of Rheumatology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, 8Department of Rheumatology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Objective: Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a large vessel vasculitis that predominately affects young women and can cause severe ischemic complications. Given the rarity of TAK, the management of this condition is challenging. We aim to describe current rheumatologist practices for the management of TAK and identify discrepancies and gaps in knowledge. Methods: An online survey (developed by the Canadian Vasculitis Network and approved by the Canadian Rheumatology Association) containing 48 questions with regard to the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of TAK was distributed to 495 Canadian adult and pediatric rheumatologists by email. Results: Sixty-six rheumatologists completed the survey (13% response rate): the majority (73%) were from academic centers and ≤25% reported managing more than ten patients in their career. For establishing the diagnosis of TAK, they relied on a combination of signs and symptoms of ischemia, elevations of inflammatory markers and vascular imaging (typically computed tomography and magnetic resonance angiography). The frequency of monitoring for disease activity and the methods employed (clinical, laboratory or imaging) were variable. All physicians used corticosteroids for the treatment of TAK, but 42% would treat for at least 6–12 months, 26% for 12–24 months and 23% would never stop corticosteroids. Fifty-three percent would always use an immunosuppressant (most commonly methotrexate or azathioprine) in addition to corticosteroids and the remainder would only start an immunosuppressant in patients with refractory or relapsing disease. Conclusion: Physician practices for the management of TAK are variable, suggesting that there are knowledge gaps, which may impact outcomes in patients with TAK. Keywords: Takayasu arteritis, physician practice patterns, practice guidelines, large vessel vasculitis, aortitis

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The present R&D approach to new renewable energy sources includes a drawback which could negate their environmental significance. New renewable energies are affected by a technical limitation because of the random intermittent nature of their power generation which hinders them from fully expanding into the electricity market. As a consequence, the contribution which renewable electric energy sources make is just significant in terms of world electricity generation and only marginal in terms of total energy consumption. Thus, in spite of expectations, the practical achievable amount of environmental benefits arising from new renewable energy would not be enough to counteract the environmental crisis. It is known that the intermittence of energy supply can be removed by implementing grid-tied power systems, adding a further stage aimed to chemically store the intermittent solar energy by producing clean synthetic fuels. Until now this chance was considered of little importance, on the contrary, it should become a compulsory solution so that renewable energy can acquire an actual and environmentally consistent significance.

A method to evaluate the room temperature effect in deteriorating the performance of flat plate PV systems is investigated. The calculations, applied to crystalline Silicon arrays, show a significant energy loss with respect to reference temperature conditions, especially in correspondence to the sites with highest insolation, in which the effect can amount up to about 15%. As a consequence, the previous projections about kW h cost for large scale PV power stations should be rectified by introducing a correction factor accounting for thermal effects. The calculations were carried out for 64 zones, particularly suitable for siting PV plants and distributed among 15 countries over a latitude belt ranging from about 40 degrees North to 15 degrees South. For each zone, it was accounted both for room temperature and insolation historical data. The final results show a linear correlation between yearly global sun radiation density and room temperature effect, which appears quite general, so that, for any other site within the same latitude belt, it is possible to account for thermal effect on PV kW h cost simply by knowing the global sun radiation density on horizontal surface (usually the only experimental available datum).

Objective: Antibodies to citrullinated and homocitrullinated (also known as carbamylated) proteins, specific for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Immune complexes containing these proteins have been identified in the atherosclerotic plaque of CVD patients. In mice, homocitrullinated low-density lipoprotein (HomoCitLDL) promotes foam cell formation, which is critical in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate the atherogenic potential of HomoCitLDL and citrullinated low-density lipoprotein (CitLDL) in RA. Method: Human LDL was homocitrullinated in potassium cyanate and citrullinated by rabbit skeletal muscle peptidyl arginine deiminase-2. The modifications were confirmed by mass spectrometry. Primary human monoctyes from healthy subjects (N = 8) were differentiated to macrophages using macrophage colony-stimulating factor and incubated with modified LDL. Foam cells were visualized using Oil Red O staining. Serum from RA patients (N = 101) and controls (N = 32) was tested for immunoglobulin G antibodies to modified LDL using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: HomoCitLDL and CitLDL strongly induced foam cell production (> 90%) versus unmodified LDL (11%) (p < 0.0001). The characteristics of the RA subjects were: 73% females, median age 60 [interquartile range (IQR) 17] years and disease duration 7.5 (IQR 13) years; 11% had a prior major cardiovascular event, 66% were ever smokers, 32% had hypertension, 33% dyslipidaemia, and 14% diabetes. Antibodies to HomoCitLDL were detected in 18% of RA patients; they were significantly associated with dyslipidaemia [odds ratio (OR) 3.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22, 12.17] and antibodies to other homocitrullinated antigens (OR 10.61; 95% CI 1.31, 86.11). Conclusions: HomoCitLDL and CitLDL have atherogenic properties in vitro. Antibody responses to HomoCitLDL, but not CitLDL, were detected in RA patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) prevalence in early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) is conflicting. The impact of sex, including menopause, has not been described. We estimated the prevalence and factors associated with MetS in men and women with ERA. Methods: A cross‐sectional study of the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH) was performed. Participants with baseline data to estimate key MetS components were included. Sex‐stratified logistic regression identified baseline variables associated with MetS. Results: The sample included 1543 participants; 71% were female and the mean age was 54 (SD 15) years. MetS prevalence was higher in men 188 (42%) than women 288 (26%, P < 0.0001) and increased with age. Frequent MetS components in men were hypertension (62%), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT, 40%), obesity (36%), and low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (36%). Postmenopausal women had greater frequency of hypertension (65%), IGT (32%), and high triglycerides (21%) compared with premenopausal women (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, MetS was negatively associated with seropositivity and pulmonary disease in men. Increasing age was associated with MetS in women. In postmenopausal women, corticosteroid use was associated with MetS. Psychiatric comorbidity was associated with MetS in premenopausal women. MetS status was not explained by disease activity or core RA measures. Conclusion: The characteristics and associations of MetS differed in men and women with ERA. Sex differences, including postmenopausal status, should be considered in comorbidity screening. With this knowledge, the interplay of MetS, sex, and RA therapeutic response on cardiovascular outcomes should be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heart failure is a major and costly problem in public health, which, in certain cases, may lead to death. The failing heart undergo a series of electrical and structural changes that provide the underlying basis for disturbances like arrhythmias. Computer models of coupled electrical and mechanical activities of the heart can be used to advance our understanding of the complex feedback mechanisms involved. In this context, there is a lack of studies that consider heart failure remodeling using strongly coupled electromechanics. We present a strongly coupled electromechanical model to study the effects of deformation on a human left ventricle wedge considering normal and hypertrophic heart failure conditions. We demonstrate through a series of simulations that when a strongly coupled electromechanical model is used, deformation results in the thickening of the ventricular wall that in turn increases transmural dispersion of repolarization. These effects were analyzed in both normal and failing heart conditions. We also present transmural electrograms obtained from these simulations. Our results suggest that the waveform of electrograms, particularly the T-wave, is influenced by cardiac contraction on both normal and pathological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY Mechanical deformation affects the electrical activity of the heart through multiple feedback loops. The purpose of this work is to study the effect of deformation on transmural dispersion of repolarization and on surface electrograms using an in silico human ventricular wedge. To achieve this purpose, we developed a strongly coupled electromechanical cell model by coupling a human left ventricle electrophysiology model and an active contraction model reparameterized for human cells. This model was then embedded in tissue simulations on the basis of bidomain equations and nonlinear solid mechanics. The coupled model was used to evaluate effects of mechanical deformation on important features of repolarization and electrograms. Our results indicate an increase in the T-wave amplitude of the surface electrograms in simulations that account for the effects of cardiac deformation. This increased T-wave amplitude can be explained by changes to the coupling between neighboring myocytes, also known as electrotonic effect. The thickening of the ventricular wall during repolarization contributes to the decoupling of cells in the transmural direction, enhancing action potential heterogeneity and increasing both transmural repolarization dispersion and T-wave amplitude of surface electrograms. The simulations suggest that a considerable percentage of the T-wave amplitude (15%) may be related to cardiac deformation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to critically explore and understand the ways both RuPaul’s star persona and its program, RuPaul’s Drag Race, are distributed in Italy, circulate across, and impact on the Italian television industry and media culture, it also aims to show how many forms of national mediation, professional negotiation and audience reception deeply modify, and re-shape the TV product. To tackle the manifold facets of this case, four aspects will be analyzed: (trans)national distribution; adaptation and dubbing; global/local stardom; reception and cultural impact. Over a decade, the Italian edition and distribution of the show have changed, together with the national media landscape and its audiences.

This issue on the History of Private and Commercial Television in Europe may help deepen our understanding of how the commercialization of television has shaped media culture in Europe. It offers a scholarly view on the history of private and commercial television in Europe, addressing institutional, technological, political, and cultural perspectives, and their entanglement, so as to allow for transnational comparison.

In recent years, the Italian television scenario has become fully convergent, and social TV is an activity – and a hip buzzword – indicating both a rich set of possibilities for the audience to engage with TV shows, and an important asset developed by the television industry to provide such engagement, with promotional and economic goals. Mainly adopting the perspective of the production cultures of Italian broadcasters, the essay will explore the “Italian way to social television”, highlighting the strategies adopted by networks and production companies to encourage online television discourse and to exploit it as a content, a marketing device or a source of supplementary income.

With the increasing global circulation of media products, professionals devoted to the process of audiovisual translation and ‘national mediation’ for foreign ready-made programmes have gained a central role in contemporary TV. Presenting the results of an ethnographical study, this essay explores the ‘invisible art’ of TV adaptation and dubbing, explaining its procedures, traditions and challenges. Adaptation has to consider both the technical necessities of the audio-visual and cross-cultural aspects of translation, while dubbing involves extremely intricate production routines, professionals with different skills, written and unwritten rules, a range of different workplaces, economic investments and traditions. The result is a new text, modified following contrasting linguistic, cultural and professional goals.

In the last 20 years, Italian television has discovered the richness and profitability of its enormous archives. Many new programmes have been broadcast on public and commercial television, making extensive use of historical fragments taken from previously aired shows. This essay explores the rationale behind the commercial re-use of TV archives in four different programmes: the “variety show made of variety shows” Da Da Da, the militant pastiche Blob, the commercial programming remix Super Show, the comedy history rewritten by La Super Storia On the basis of these programmes, the consequences and risks of putting de-contextualized pieces taken from the past into the contemporary TV flow will be explored.