Methods: Patients with asthma or COPD (n = 198), who were hepatit

Methods: Patients with asthma or COPD (n = 198), who were hepatitis B surface antigen-seropositive and

had been treated with ICS, were identified retrospectively. To evaluate the additional effects of SCS, the SCS group was divided into those who received intermittent or continuous SCS (>= 3 months of continuous SCS treatment), and into those who received low-dose (<= 20 mg/day of prednisolone) or medium-to-high-dose SCS. The study outcome was HBV reactivation.

Results: HBV reactivation occurred in 11.1% of patients in the SCS group, which was significantly higher than the reactivation rate in the ICS group. HBV reactivation was more frequent in the SCS group compared with the ICS group

Selleck GDC-0032 (OR 3.813, 95% CI: 1.106-13.145, P = 0.032), and in the selleck inhibitor continuous and medium-to-high-dose SCS subgroups compared with the ICS group (OR 5.719, 95% CI: 1.172-27.905, P = 0.048 and OR 4.884, 95% CI: 1.362-17.511, P = 0.014, respectively).

Conclusions: These results suggest that addition of SCS to ICS increases the risk of HBV reactivation, especially when SCS are administered chronically or at high doses.”
“Temporomandibular dysfunction involves osteoarthritis of the TMJ, including degeneration and morphologic changes of the mandibular condyle. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of novel 3D-UTE MRI versus micro-CT (mu CT) for quantitative evaluation of mandibular condyle morphology.

Nine TMJ condyle specimens were harvested from cadavers (2 M,

3 F; age 85 +/- 10 years, mean +/- SD). 3D-UTE MRI (TR = 50 ms, TE = 0.05 ms, 104-mu m isotropic-voxel) was performed using a 3-T MR scanner and mu CT (18-mu m isotropic-voxel) was also performed. MR datasets were spatially registered with a mu CT dataset. Two observers segmented bony contours of the condyles. Fibrocartilage was segmented on the MR dataset. Using a custom program, bone and fibrocartilage surface coordinates, Gaussian curvature, volume of segmented regions, and fibrocartilage thickness were determined for quantitative evaluation of joint morphology. Agreement between techniques (MRI vs. mu CT) and observers Birinapant mouse (MRI vs. MRI) for Gaussian curvature, mean curvature, and segmented volume of the bone were determined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analysis.

Between MRI and mu CT, the average deviation of surface coordinates was 0.19 +/- 0.15 mm, slightly higher than the spatial resolution of MRI. Average deviation of the Gaussian curvature and volume of segmented regions, from MRI to mu CT, was 5.7 +/- 6.5 % and 6.6 +/- 6.2 %, respectively. ICC coefficients (MRI vs. mu CT) for Gaussian curvature, mean curvature, and segmented volumes were 0.892, 0.893, and 0.972, respectively. Between observers (MRI vs. MRI), the ICC coefficients were 0.998, 0.999, and 0.997, respectively. Fibrocartilage thickness was 0.55 +/- 0.

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