Clinical presentations and outcomes of Filipino juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Juvenile Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) varies by location and ethnicity. This study describes the clinical, laboratory profile and outcome of juvenile SLE seen at Philippine General Hospital (PGH) from 2004-2008.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Medical charts of all Filipino Juvenile SLE cases admitted at PGH during the 5-year period were reviewed collecting demographic profile, clinical and laboratory manifestations and treatment during disease course.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-eight cases of juvenile SLE were reviewed. There were 7 boys and 71 girls. The mean age at diagnosis was 14 years (SD 2.7) with a range of 8-18 years. Fever (52.5%) and malar rash (41.0%) were the most common features at disease onset. At the time of diagnosis, the most common features were malar rash (65.3%), renal involvement (62.8%) and photosensitivity (55.1%). Mucocutaneous (92.3%), renal (71.7%) and hematologic (69.2%) involvement were the most common features during the entire course of illness. Infection (34.5%) and neurologic (19.0%) complications were observed most frequently. Corticocosteroid treatment was given in most of the patients in the form of prednisone (97.4%) and concomitant methylprednisolone intravenous pulses (29.4%). Nine patients died during the study period. The overall 5-year mortality rate was 11.5%. Infection (77.0%) was the most frequent cause of death.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Malar rash was a common feature at disease onset and at diagnosis among Filipinos with juvenile SLE. Throughout the disease course, renal involvement occurs in 71.7% of patients. Infection was the leading cause of complication and death. The clinical presentations of Filipinos with juvenile SLE were similar to juvenile SLE in other countries.</p

Temperature/Doping-Dependency of the Electrical Properties of the Nickel Doped Copper Oxide Thin Films

The electrical properties of the Nickel doped cupric oxide Ni-CuO thin films with various doping concentrations of Ni (0, 20, 30, 70, and 80%) are investigated at two different annealing temperatures; 200 and 400 °C. The electrical properties of the films; namely thermal activation energy and electrical energy gap are calculated and compared. We find that for the non-annealed Ni-CuO films, both thermal activation energy and electrical energy gap are decreased by increasing the doping concentration, while for the annealed films, the increase in the Ni doping results in the increase in thermal activation energy and electrical energy gap for most of the Ni-CuO films. We also observe that for a particular concentration, the annealing at 200 °C produces lower thermal activation energy and electrical energy gap than the annealing at 400 °C. We obtained two values of the activation energy varying from -5.52 to -0.51 eV and from 0.49 to 3.36 eV, respectively, for the annealing at 200 and 400 °C. We also obtained two values of the electrical bandgap varying from -11.05 to -1.03 eV and from 0.97 to 6.71 eV, respectively, for the annealing at 200 and 400 °C. It is also noticeable that the increase in the doping concentration reduces the activation energy, and hence the electrical bandgap energies.</jats:p

FURANIC COPOLYMERS WITH SYNTHETIC AND NATURAL PHENOLIC MATERIALS FOR WOOD ADHESIVES - A MALDI TOF STUDY

International audienceThe structure of traditional, linear phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins and phenol-furfural (P-Furan) resins has been investigated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectroscopy. The structure of a variety of oligomers has been obtained and the structures present in each of the two types of resins related to the reagent used either formaldehyde or furfural. The oligomers type and species distribution appeared rather different for each case. Comparison of a P-Furan resin with a Mimosa tannin-Furan resin showed some differences. This latter shows a greater proportion of self-condensed fuanic oligomers due to the manner in which it is prepared starting from furfuryl alcohol. Several different Tannin-Furan oligomers were also observed by MALDI TOF analysis

Doping and Annealing Effects on the Optical Bandgap of the Nickel Doped Copper Oxide Thin Films

In this work, we study the optical properties of the Nickel doped cupric oxide Ni-CuO thin films with Ni various doping concentrations (0, 20, 30, 50, 70, and 80%), at two different annealing temperatures; 200 and 400 °C. The absorbance and optical bandgap for the films are calculated and compared. We find that all films exhibit clear peaks in the visible range, with the increase in the absorptivity via increasing both annealing and Ni concentration. We also find that the annealing affects the shape of the absorbance peaks to be narrowed and blue shifted. Investigation on the direct bandgap energy shows that all films exhibit large direct gap; ranging from 3.87 to 4.01 eV. For non-annealed films, direct bandgap increases with increasing the Ni concentration, while for the annealed samples, the direct bandgap generally decreases by annealing, and with increasing the doping concentration. For the indirect bandgap analysis, the calculated values of the bandgap are ranging from 0.62 to 1.96 eV. We find that for non-annealed films, the indirect bandgap increases with increasing the doping concentration, while after annealing, the bandgap decreases with increasing the doping concentration for the annealing at 200 and 400 °C, with more decreasing in the gap at 400 °C.</jats:p

Stratigraphic Trap in the Permian Unayzah Formation, Central Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT The recent discovery in Central Saudi Arabia of Arabian Super Light oil in 'Usaylah-1 confirms stratigraphic trap potential of the Permian Unayzah Formation. The trap is an updip pinch-out of an upper Unayzah sandstone along the eastern flank of the north-south trending Hawtah anticline. The seal is the basal shales and siltstones of the Khuff and Unayzah formations and the source rock is the Lower Silurian Qusaiba Shale. The well encountered an oil column of 31 feet in an upper Unayzah eolian dune facies. The areal distribution of the prospect was mapped with a 3-D seismic survey. Seismic horizon slices and relative amplitude maps at the target reflection clearly delineate the trap. The oil-productive Unayzah sandstone is imaged as a high-amplitude reflection in an isolated area of approximately 8 square kilometers. Seismic isochron maps are proving effective in focusing future exploration to areas of similar stratigraphic trap potential in the region.</jats:p