All available TNF-inhibitors showed similar treatment responses with or without csDMARDs. Adalimumab was associated with better drug survival when compared to infliximab.

A ␤1,6N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (␤1-6GnT) responsible for the formation of the ␤1,6-branched poly-Nacetyllactosamine structure has been purified 210,000-fold in 2.4% yield from a homogenate of hog small intestine by successive column chromatographies involving CM-Sepharose FF, Ni 2؉ -chelating Sepharose FF, and UDP-hexanolamine-agarose, using an assay wherein pyridylaminated lacto-N-neotetraose (Gal␤1-4GlcNAc␤1-3Gal␤1-4Glc-PA) was used as an acceptor substrate, and the reaction product was Gal␤1-4Glc-NAc␤1-3(GlcNAc␤1-6)Gal␤1-4Glc-PA. The apparent molecular weight of the purified enzyme was 76,000 under nonreducing conditions. The enzyme has a pH optimum at 7.0 and has no requirement for any divalent metal ions. The K m values for pyridylaminated lacto-Nneotetraose and UDP-GlcNAc were 0.96 and 2.59 mM, respectively. For its activity, this enzyme was shown to have an absolute requirement of at least a complete LacNAc (LacNAc ‫؍‬ Gal␤1-4GlcNAc) residue bound to position 3 of the acceptor Gal residues, i.e. it is capable of acting only on the Gal residues of internal LacNAc units. The data strongly suggest that this enzyme could be involved in generating branches to central positions of preformed as well as growing polylactosamine chains, but not in synthesizing the distal branches to growing polylactosamine chains.

Intra-articular glucocorticoid injections are the recommended treatment for active arthritis, but accurate positioning of the needle may be challenging. Inexperienced physicians might decide not to inject because an unsuccessful injection impairs clinical outcome and may lead to complications; however, choosing not to inject may impair or delay the best possible treatment. Here, we address this problem by introducing a novel Bioimpedance Probe (BIP) Needle-guidance method that was tested in a clinical study. The BIP Needle was utilized for detection of synovial fluid. It measures real-time bioimpedance spectra and identifies when the needle tip is in contact with the synovial fluid. Injections into 80 joints with active arthritis were performed by an experienced rheumatologist using the BIP Needle. The location of the BIP Needle was ensured by aspiration of synovial fluid, absence of resistance during injection, and/or using real-time ultrasound imaging. Sensitivity and specificity of the device for synovial fluid detection were 86 % (CI 75-93 %) and 85 % (CI 74-92 %), respectively. The BIP Needles showed high spatial resolution and differentiated the synovial fluid from the surrounding tissues. However, lack of synovial fluid, anatomic variability, and intra-articular structures challenged the technology. The BIP Needles provided adequate results in intra-articular injections. Performance of the device was good even in small joints, which may be the most difficult for inexperienced physicians. Further performance improvement can be expected when more data is collected for mathematical models. Overall, this novel method showed potential to be used in real-time needle guidance.

We report here on in vitro acceptor and site specificity of recombinant ␣3-fucosyltransferase V (Fuc-TV) with 40 oligosaccharide acceptors. Gal␤1-4GlcNAc (LN) and GalNAc␤1-4GlcNAc (LDN) reacted rapidly; Gal␤1-3Glc-NAc (LNB) reacted moderately, and GlcNAc␤1-4GlcNAc (N,N-diacetyl-chitobiose) reacted slowly yet distinctly. In neutral and terminally ␣3-sialylated polylactosamines of i-type, the reducing end LN unit reacted rapidly and the distal (