Asymmetric dimethylarginine correlates with worsening peripheral microangiopathy in systemic sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized primarily by micro-angiopathy and endothelial dysfunction which stimulate a fibrotic process. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous nitric oxide (NO) inhibitor and represents a novel biomarker for vascular dysfunction. Nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) represents a non-invasive and reliable technique for the evaluation of microvasculopathy in SSc. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the possible association between ADMA and microvascular involvement in patients with SSc. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study including consecutive SSc patients attending the Scleroderma Outpatient Clinic. ADMA was measured in serum samples using a commercial enzyme immunoassay. Participants underwent NVC with qualitative and semi-quantitative assessment and all NVC parameters were measured in the distal row of each finger. The findings were classified in one of the three qualitative NVC patterns: early, active, and late. RESULTS: Eighty-one (92,6 % women) SSc individuals with mean age 55.44 ± 13.4 years were included in this analysis. Within-groups comparisons revealed a trend between higher ADMA levels and progressive micro-vasculopathy (1,29 [2,1] vs 1,57 [1,95] vs 2,41 [3,87]; for early, active and late patterns respectively, p = 0.039). Furthermore, ADMA concentration was significantly associated with the number of capillaries/mm (r = -0.235; p = 0.035). CONCLUSIONS: Serum ADMA levels were significantly associated with advancing stages of microcirculatory abnormalities suggesting that ADMA may have a role in promoting microvascular endothelial dysfunction in SSc individuals.

Mapping audiovisual content providers and resources in Greece.

In Greece, there are many audiovisual resources available on the Internet that interest scientists and the general public. Although freely available, finding such resources often becomes a challenging task, because they are hosted on scattered websites and in different types/formats. These websites usually offer limited search options; at the same time, there is no aggregation service for audiovisual resources, nor a national registry for such content. To meet this need, the Open AudioVisual Archives project was launched and the first step in its development is to create a dataset with open access audiovisual material. The current research creates such a dataset by applying specific selection criteria in terms of copyright and content, form/use and process/technical characteristics. The results reported in this paper show that libraries, archives, museums, universities, mass media organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations are the main types of providers, but the vast majority of resources are open courses offered by universities under the "Creative Commons" license. Providers have significant differences in terms of their collection management capabilities. Most of them do not own any kind of publishing infrastructure and use commercial streaming services, such as YouTube. In terms of metadata policy, most of the providers use application profiles instead of international metadata schemas.

Association Between Uric Acid and Worsening Peripheral Microangiopathy in Systemic Sclerosis.

Objective: The key element in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) is microcirculatory changes in several vascular beds. Uric acid is associated with endothelial dysfunction and therefore, microvascular damage. The aim of this study was to examine the association between uric acid (UA) and peripheral microvascular involvement in patients with SSc. Methods: We included consecutive, consenting patients with SSc. Serum UA, urea and creatinine were measured, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated with CKD-EPI. All participants underwent nailfold video-capillaroscopy (NVC) to evaluate the microcirculation. Results: A total of 64 patients (95.3% women) were included in the study. UA levels were significantly associated with the number of avascular areas (r = 0.290; p = 0.020), whereas no correlation was shown for the GFR (r = -0.065; p = 0.609). A significant trend of UA in the three capillaroscopic patterns was shown (3.90 ± 1.52 vs. 4.15 ± 0.98 vs. 5.38 ± 2.26; for early, active, and late patterns respectively, p = 0.028). Multivariate analysis showed that male gender (ß = 3.049; 95% CI = 0.997-5.101) and UA (ß = 0.352; 95% CI = 0.117-0.588) were independently associated with the number of avascular areas. Conclusion: These data suggest that UA levels are significantly associated with the capillaroscopic patterns, reflecting a progressive microvasculopathy.