Publications

The purpose of this study was to develop a three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis based anatomical wrist joint coordinate system for measurement of in-vivo wrist kinematics. The convergent validity and reliability of the 3D motion analysis implementation was quantified and compared with manual and electrogoniometry techniques on 10 cadaveric specimens. Fluoroscopic measurements were used as the reference. The 3D motion analysis measurements (mean absolute difference [MAD] = 3.6°) were significantly less different (P < .005) than manual goniometry (MAD = 5.7°) but not (P = .066, power = 0.45) electrogoniometry (MAD = 5.0°) compared with fluoroscopy. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC[2,1]) was highest for 3D motion analysis compared with manual and electrogoniometry, suggesting better reliability for this technique. To demonstrate the utility of this new wrist joint coordinate system, normative data from 10 healthy subjects was obtained while throwing a dart.

We assessed the effect of mass azithromycin treatment on malaria parasitemia in a trachoma trial in Niger. Twenty-four study communities received treatment during the wet, high-transmission season. Twelve of the 24 communities were randomized to receive an additional treatment during the dry, low-transmission season. Outcome measurements were conducted at the community-level in children < 1-72 months of age in May-June 2011. Parasitemia was higher in the 12 once-treated communities (29.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 21.5-40.0%) than in the 12 twice-treated communities (19.5%, 95% CI = 13.0-26.5%, P = 0.03). Parasite density was higher in once-treated communities (354 parasites/μL, 95% CI = 117-528 parasites/μL) than in twice-treated communities (74 parasites/μL, 95% CI = 41-202 parasites/μL, P = 0.03). Mass distribution of azithromycin reduced malaria parasitemia 4-5 months after the intervention. The results suggest that drugs with antimalaria activity can have long-lasting impacts on malaria during periods of low transmission.

OBJECTIVES

Although process measures to assess quality of care in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are available, their relationship to long-term outcomes has not been studied. Using a prospective, longitudinal cohort study, we examined the associations between high-quality care and two important SLE outcomes, disease activity and damage.

METHODS

Data were derived from the University of California, San Francisco Lupus Outcomes Study. Participants were followed from 2009 through 2013, responding to yearly surveys. Primary outcomes in this study were clinically meaningful increases in disease activity and damage, assessed by the Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) and the Brief Index of Lupus Damage (BILD), respectively. Using multivariable regression, we examined the relationship between high performance on 13 validated quality measures (receipt of ≥85% of quality measures), and disease outcomes, adjusting for disease status, sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare services and follow-up time.

RESULTS

The 737 participants were eligible for a mean of five quality measures (SD 2, range 2-12). There were 155 and 162 participants who had clinically meaningful increases in SLAQ and BILD, respectively. In our models, we found no statistically significant relationship between performance on quality measures and changes in SLAQ. However, receiving higher-quality SLE care was significantly protective against increased disease damage (adjusted OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.7), even after adjusting for covariates.

DISCUSSION

In this community-based cohort, we illustrate for the first time a strong link between processes of care, defined by SLE quality measures, and the subsequent accumulation of disease damage, an important outcome.

Elucidating genetic causes of cholestasis has proved to be important in understanding the physiology and pathophysiology of the liver. Here we show that protein-truncating mutations in the tight junction protein 2 gene (TJP2) cause failure of protein localization and disruption of tight-junction structure, leading to severe cholestatic liver disease. These findings contrast with those in the embryonic-lethal knockout mouse, highlighting differences in redundancy in junctional complexes between organs and species.