Measuring metacarpal cortical bone by digital x-ray radiogrammetry: a step forward?

Changes in metacarpal cortical bone mineral density (BMD) using digital x-ray radiogrammetry were studied in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. After 1, 2, and 5 years, large BMD losses were found: -1.7%, -2.8%, and -5.6%, respectively. Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide levels were independent predictors of bone loss, indicating that the largest amount of bone loss was found in patients with severe inflammation and high production of auto-antibodies, who are known to be at the highest risk of developing radiological bone damage. Studies are needed about the spatial and time relationship between erosions and juxta-articular and metacarpal bone los

In search of authority: Young muslims females and eligious knowledge in Madrid

Este artículo analiza cómo construye su religiosidad un grupo de jóvenes musulmanas madrileñas. Se trata de un colectivo femenino interesado, entre otras cuestiones, en ampliar sus conocimientos sobre el islam. Dicho análisis se ha llevado a cabo partiendo de las tesis que defienden la existencia de una práctica islámica europea individualizada, que se aleja de las fuentes tradicionales de autoridad religiosa. Mediante las técnicas de la observación participante, la entrevista en profundidad y el estudio de datos secundarios, el trabajo de campo se ha centrado en indagar a qué fuentes acuden estas mujeres en el proceso de su formación religiosaThe article discusses the way in which a group of young Spanish Muslim women in Madrid construct their religiosity. This group of women is interested in, among other matters, increasing their knowledge on Islam. The analysis has been carried out based on the theories that defend the existence of an individualized European Islamic practice, which is moving away from the traditional sources of religious authority. Applying the social research techniques of participant observation, in-depth interview and the study of secondary data, the fieldwork has focused on the sources to which these women address themselves in the process of their religious trainin

Fighting subalternity: Claims among the muslim population in Madrid

En el contexto actual de islamofobia generalizada y proliferación de organizaciones de lucha contra la misma, este artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la predisposición de las personas musulmanas a participar en algún tipo de iniciativa común centrada o no en la lucha contra la discriminación. El objetivo es averiguar si existe entre la población musulmana de Madrid una conciencia colectiva subalterna basada en la musulmaneidad que articule cualquier expresión de reivindicaciones organizadas o no colectivamente. Mediante la aplicación del modelo del estatus de Fraser (2000) y a partir del material de seis grupos de discusión celebrados en octubre 2016, en este artículo analizamos la naturaleza de dichas reivindicacionesIn the current context of generalized Islamophobia and the proliferation of anti-discrimination organizations, this article aims to analyze the willingness of Muslims to participate in some kind of common initiative, focused or not on the fight against discrimination. The objective is to find out if there exists a common awareness of subalternity among Madrid’s Muslims, based on their Muslimness as a base to structure any expression of organized or non-collective claims. The nature of these claims is questioned through the application of Fraser’s status model (2000) to the materials obtained from six discussion groups held in October 201

Construyendo sujetos musulmanes subalternos: La institucionalización de la islamofobia

The purpose of this special issue is to go beyond the terminological debate on Islamophobia and to focus on the practices, which are involved in, and cause, the construction of subaltern Muslim subjects within the Spanish state. The six articles of this monograph attempt to shed some light on the dynamics and extent of the processes of exclusion through which persons and groups (self-)identified as Muslim are being stigmatized and discriminated against in a structural manner, as a result of different kinds of institutionalized IslamophobiaEl objetivo de este monográfico es ir más allá de los debates terminológicos sobre islamofobia, para centrar nuestra atención en las prácticas que causan y están implicadas en la construcción de sujetos subalternos musulmanes en el seno del Estado español. Con los seis artículos del monográfico se busca profundizar en la comprensión de las dinámicas y el alcance de los procesos de exclusión a través de los cuales las personas, y los grupos, (auto)identificados como musulmanes son estigmatizados y discriminados de un modo estructural, por medio de diferentes tipos de islamofobia institucionalizad

De inhoud van ‘burgerschap’ in de inburgeringscursus en burgerschapsonderwijs

The recent scholarly debate on policies and discourses with regard to citizenship in the Netherlands point to a moralization or culturalization of citizenship. This article aims to contribute to this debate by zooming into the current contents of citizenship education. We make a comparative analysis of the contents of textbooks for citizenship education that are used for civic integration courses for migrants and for primary and secondary school students in the Netherlands. Our findings show that citizenship has indeed gained a moral content in both contexts but that the difference lies in the norms that are stressed and how they are conveyed to the target population of future citizens. Whereas civic integration books for migrants emphasize the importance of learning local procedures and habits in order to belong to the Dutch national community, primary and secondary school books underscore the importance of dealing with cultural diversity in the multicultural society

Relationship between serum trough infliximab levels, pretreatment C reactive protein levels, and clinical response to infliximab treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Objective: To investigate the relationship between serum trough infliximab levels and clinical response to infliximab treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Disease activity and serum trough infliximab levels before and 2, 6, and 14 weeks after initiation of infliximab treatment at a dose of 3 mg/kg in a cohort of 105 patients with RA were assessed. Serum trough infliximab levels in responders and non-responders were compared. Additionally, the clinical responses of patients with high, intermediate, and low serum trough infliximab levels at 14 weeks were compared. Results: After 14 weeks of treatment non-responders had lower serum trough levels of infliximab than responders ( median (interquartile range) 0.5 (0.2 - 2.2) v 3.6 (1.4 - 8.2) mg/l; p <0.01)). Patients with low serum trough infliximab levels at 14 weeks had significantly less improvement in the 28 joint count Disease Activity Score (DAS28) score than patients with intermediate or high serum trough infliximab levels at 14 weeks. Pretreatment C reactive protein (CRP) levels correlated negatively with serum trough infliximab levels at 14 weeks after the start of treatment ( Spearman rank correlation r(s) = -.43, p <0.001). Conclusion: Serum trough levels of infliximab correlate with the clinical response to treatment with infliximab and pretreatment CRP levels. This study indicates that patients with high pretreatment CRP levels might benefit from higher dosages of infliximab or shorter dosing interval

Alendronate or alfacalcidol in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis

BACKGROUND: Treatment with glucocorticoids is associated with bone loss starting soon after therapy is initiated and an increased risk of fracture. METHODS: We performed a randomized, double-placebo, double-blind clinical trial of 18 months' duration among patients with a rheumatic disease who were starting glucocorticoids at a daily dose that was equivalent to at least 7.5 mg of prednisone. A total of 201 patients were assigned to receive either alendronate (10 mg) and a placebo capsule of alfacalcidol daily or alfacalcidol (1 mu g) and a placebo tablet of alendronate daily. The primary outcome was the change in bone mineral density of the lumbar spine in 18 months; the secondary outcome was the incidence of morphometric vertebral deformities. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients received alendronate, and 101 received alfacalcidol; 163 patients completed the study. The bone mineral density of the lumbar spine increased by 2.1 percent in the alendronate group (95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.1 percent) and decreased by 1.9 percent in the alfacalcidol group (95 percent confidence interval, -3.1 to -0.7 percent). At 18 months, the mean difference of change in bone mineral density between the two groups was 4.0 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 2.4 to 5.5 percent). Three patients in the alendronate group had a new vertebral deformity, as compared with eight patients in the alfacalcidol group (of whom three had symptomatic vertebral fractures) (hazard ratio, 0.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.1 to 1.4). CONCLUSIONS: During this 18-month trial in patients with rheumatic diseases, alendronate was more effective in the prevention of glucocorticoid-induced bone loss than was alfacalcidol