OBJECTIVE ACPAs are associated with bone destruction in RA. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between ACPA and bone destruction in patients with a distinct inflammatory disorder, PsA. METHODS We used baseline data from a large observational study of PsA patients preparing to initiate treatment with adalimumab to analyse demographic and disease characteristics by ACPA statu...

BACKGROUND Improved understanding of the pattern of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) would be useful to assist primary care physicians in explaining AD progression to patients and caregivers. OBJECTIVE To identify the sequence in which cognitive abilities decline in community-dwelling patients with AD. METHODS Baseline data were analyzed from 1,495 patients diagnosed with proba...

BACKGROUND Herpes zoster (HZ) has a significant negative effect on the productive work life of individuals, and has been shown to be responsible for cases of absenteeism, presenteeism and decreased work effectiveness. The aim of this study was to evaluate health utility scores and associated predictors in an actively employed population of Herpes Zoster (HZ) patients with and without work time ...

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are usually the preferred strategy with which to generate evidence of comparative effectiveness, but conducting an RCT is not always feasible. Though observational studies and RCTs often provide comparable estimates, the questioning of observational analyses has recently intensified because of randomized-observational discrepancies regarding the effect of postm...

Comparative analyses of the characteristics of persons living with HIV infection (PLWH) in the United States (US) captured in surveillance and other observational databases are few. To explore potential joint data use to guide HIV treatment and prevention in the US, we examined three CDC-funded data sources in 2012: the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS), a multisite longitudinal cohort; the Medical M...

Rural firms have a higher survival rate than urban firms. Over the first 13 years after firm entry, the hazard rate for firm exits is persistently higher for urban firms. While differences in firm attributes explain some of the rural-urban gap in firm survival, rural firms retain a survival advantage 18.5% greater than observationally equivalent urban firms. We argue that in competitive markets...

abstract background: physical activities among adolescents affects health during pubescence and adolescence and decrease in physical activities among adolescents has become a global challenge. the aim of the present study was to define the relation between the level of physical activity among adolescent girls and their health beliefs as personal factor and level of observational learning as env...

muḥyī al-dīn maghribī is among the few astronomers of the middle ages whose astronomical system is entirely based on new measures of planetary parameters and whose measurement of the observational data and calculation processes for determining their amount have been carried out in maragha observatory. he has explained the details of his observations and calculations in a volume called talkhīṣ a...

BACKGROUND Little evidence about the effects of antenatal iron supplementation on infant anaemia is available. The aim was to compare effects on six-month-old infants' Haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and anaemia of daily iron-folic acid (IFA), twice-weekly IFA with or without other micronutrients (MMN) and usual antenatal care in rural Vietnam. METHODS AND FINDINGS Secondary data analysis from...

BACKGROUND Responding to older people's distress by acknowledging or encouraging further discussion of emotions is central to supportive, person-centred communication, and may enhance home care outcomes and thereby promote healthy aging. This observational study describes nursing staff's responses to older people's emotional distress, and identify factors that encourage further emotional disclo...