Urban land surface schemes have been developed to model the distinct features of the urban surface and the associated energy exchange processes. These models have been developed for a range of purposes and make different assumptions related to the inclusion and representation of the relevant processes. Here, the first results of Phase 2 from an international comparison project to evaluate 32 urban land surface schemes are presented. This is the first large-scale systematic evaluation of these models. In four stages, participants were given increasingly detailed information about an urban site for which urban fluxes were directly observed. At each stage, each group returned their models' calculated surface energy balance fluxes. Wide variations are evident in the performance of the models for individual fluxes. No individual model performs best for all fluxes. Providing additional information about the surface generally results in better performance. However, there is clear evidence that poor choice of parameter values can cause a large drop in performance for models that otherwise perform well. As many models do not perform well across all fluxes, there is need for caution in their application, and users should be aware of the implications for applications and decision making.

IL-23p19 is over-expressed in RA synovial fibroblasts and IL-17 appears to up-regulate the expression of IL-23p19 in RA synovial fibroblasts via PI3-kinase/Akt, NF-kappaB- and p38-MAPK-mediated pathways. These results suggest that a disruption of interaction between IL-17 and IL-23p19 may provide a new therapeutic approach in the treatment of RA.

About 74% of AS patients have reduced BMD and this change reflects disease activity. Serum sRANKL levels and sRANKL/OPG ratios are up-regulated in patients with AS and have relationship with BMD and radiological changes. These results suggest that the imbalance between RANKL and OPG might be involved in the pathogenesis and clinical courses of osteoporosis in AS.

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In patients with knee OA, SPECT findings are well correlated with clinical findings, such as pain scores and physical examinations, and SPECT appears to be a sensitive tool for early detection of knee OA. SPECT information could be useful for determining clinical severity of knee OA and for diagnosing early OA more effectively.

Some departments tend to undertreat when prescribing statins. However, to reach to the target LDL-C levels, physicians must overcome their tendency to undertreat with statins. We believe that the target achievement rate will increase if doctors are more actively aware of a patient's individual status and related risk factors before prescribing statins.

Background:Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients (pts) with RA are at increased risk for herpes zoster (HZ) and this risk is further increased with tofacitinib treatment.1 Objectives:To evaluate the effect of live zoster vaccination (LZV) on HZ rates in a subset of methotrexate inadequate responder (MTX-IR) pts with RA who received tofacitinib with or without MTX, or adalimumab (ADA) with MTX in the ORAL Strategy randomised controlled trial (RCT).2 Methods:ORAL Strategy (NCT02187055) was a Phase 3b/4, 1-year, triple-dummy active-comparator-controlled RCT. Pts were randomised 1:1:1 to receive tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily (BID; tofa mono), tofacitinib 5 mg BID+MTX (tofa+MTX), or subcutaneous ADA 40 mg every other week + MTX (ADA+MTX); target MTX dose was 15–25 mg/week. In countries where LZV was available, pts aged ≥50 years received LZV at the investigator’s discretion, 28 days before the first dose of study drug. HZ incidence rates (IR; pts with events per 100 pt-years) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for each treatment arm and for vaccinated vs non-vaccinated pts.Table 1IRs and 95% CIs of HZ (serious and non-serious), and demographic characteristics among patients vaccinated and not vaccinated against HZ in the ORAL Strategy RCTResults:Of 1146 pts who received study drug (mean age: 50.1 years), 216 received LZV (proportion of pts who received LZV by treatment group: tofa mono: 18.0%; tofa+MTX: 19.9%; ADA+MTX: 18.7%) 28 days before randomisation in this RCT; 30 pts self-reported prior vaccination (Table). No pts had zoster-like lesions within 42 days of vaccination; 1 pt had vaccination site erythema. In the overall study population, HZ IR was similar between tofa mono and ADA+MTX and numerically higher (overlapping CI) with tofa+MTX. IRs were generally similar for pts who received LZV (18.8% of pts were vaccinated) vs those who did not (81.2%) (Table). Overall, 18/1146 pts had HZ. Among vaccinated pts, 3 (1.4%) had HZ: no events were serious and 1 (0.5%) event was multidermatomal (tofa mono). Among pts not vaccinated, 15 (1.6%) had HZ: there were 2 (0.2%) serious HZ events (tofa+MTX: n=1; ADA+MTX: n=1), 2 (0.2%) multidermatomal events (tofa mono: n=1; ADA+MTX: n=1) and 1 (0.1%) disseminated event (ADA+MTX).Conclusions:In MTX-IR pts with RA, LZV was well-tolerated. HZ IR was numerically similar between tofa mono and ADA+MTX and higher with tofa+MTX. HZ rates were generally similar in pts who received LZV vs those not vaccinated. LZV has shown efficacy in prevention of HZ in 51% (pts ≥60 years old) and 70% (50–59 years old) of immunocompetent adults.3 Efficacy of LZV could not be fully evaluated as a minority (<20%) of pts received LZV and not all geographic regions studied in other tofacitinib studies were represented.References[1]Winthrop, et al. Arthritis Rheumatol2014;66:2675–84.[2]Fleischmann, et al. Lancet2017;390:457–68.[3]Hales, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep2014;63:729–31.Acknowledgements:Study sponsored by Pfizer Inc. Med...

BackgroundMacrophage migration inhibitory factor is a proinflammatory, chemotactic, and tissue destructive cytokine.ObjectivesThis study determined monosodium urate crystal-induced macrophage migration inhibitory factor production and its interaction with interleukin-8 in gout.MethodsPeripheral blood, synovial fluid, and clinical data were obtained from 98 patients with gout. Synovial fluid and serum concentrations of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and interleukin-8 were measured. Synovial fluid monocytes and neutrophils were cultured with monosodium urate crystals and the cytokine production was determined. The signalling pathways involved were determined using signal inhibitors. The interaction between macrophage migration inhibitory factor and interleukin-8 was investigated.ResultsSynovial fluid macrophage migration inhibitory factor was higher in acute gout and that in serum was higher in patients with intercritical gout compared with controls. Synovial fluid macrophage migration inhibitory factor was positively correlated with synovial fluid leukocyte and neutrophil counts and interleukin-8. The expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor was similar in synovial fluid neutrophils and monocytes, while interleukin-8 was higher in monocytes. Monosodium urate crystals induced macrophage migration inhibitory factor production in monocytes and interleukin-8 production in neutrophils. This effect was decreased by inhibiting Fc-gamma receptor 1 and toll-like receptor 4. Interleukin-8 increased macrophage migration inhibitory factor production in monocytes while macrophage migration inhibitory factor increased interleukin-8 production in neutrophils.ConclusionsMacrophage migration inhibitory factor and interleukin-8 are highly produced in acute gout. Monosodium urate crystals induced macrophage migration inhibitory factor production in monocytes and interleukin-8 production in neutrophils with a reciprocal interaction between the two cytokines.AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by Konkuk University Medical Centre Research Grant 2016.Disclosure of InterestNone declared