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Background The global prison population has grown by 5% since 2020, intensifying existing challenges to inmate health and well-being. Incarcerated individuals experience disproportionately high levels of sedentary behaviour (SB), which increases their risk of physical and mental health problems. Although regular physical activity (PA) can mitigate these risks, correctional settings often present environmental and institutional barriers that limit opportunities for movement. While modifying built environments has shown promise for promoting PA in community settings, limited research has explored these strategies in prisons. This study applied a community science, co-creation approach to identify inmate-informed, context-specific solutions to reduce SB and enhance PA within a prison setting. Methods The study was conducted in a Spanish male prison with 26 adult inmates. Based on facility-use records and self-reported activity/sedentary levels, 13 highly active and 13 inactive inmates were purposively selected to capture diverse perspectives. Participants took part in structured workshops using the Our Voice community science framework. With the Our Voice Discovery Tool mobile app, they documented environmental barriers and facilitators to PA through geo-tagged photos and audio or text comments while moving through prison spaces. Data sources included workshop transcripts, facilitator notes, and app-generated digital content, which were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s codebook thematic approach. Participants then proposed and ranked potential solutions using an Eisenhower Matrix, and these were later refined with input from prison staff and policymakers. Results Six major themes influencing movement opportunities emerged: (1) activities, (2) spaces, (3) equipment and materials, (4) staff and support, (5) regulation-related limitations, and (6) scheduling. In total, 39 inmate-generated strategies were identified, 31 of which were rated as high priority. Low-difficulty actions included improved maintenance of activity areas, expanded access to equipment, and more flexible use of existing spaces. Participants emphasized that socially supportive environments were essential to motivation, adherence, and mental well-being. Conclusions The study demonstrates the feasibility and value of participatory community science in correctional settings. Involving incarcerated individuals in designing PA solutions generates practical, context-appropriate strategies and supports greater health equity. This approach offers a scalable model for institutions aiming to reduce SB and promote PA through built-environment improvements.

BackgroundInterstitial lung disease (ILD) related to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) significantly impacts on quality of life and survival of the patients. Data about prevalence and natural history of RA-ILD are only partially known and mainly based on retrospective studies. The recent introduction of antifibrotic drugs have allowed for the first time the opportunity to treat ILD in RA patients; in fact, INBUILD study demonstrated the efficacy of nintedanib in the treatment of progressive fibrosing ILD different than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), including RA-ILD, but the prevalence of RA-ILD patients that may potentially benefit from nintedanib therapy remain unknown.ObjectivesAim of the present multicenter Italian study was to investigate the prevalence of fibrosing progressive patterns in a cross-sectional cohort of non-selected RA-ILD patients.MethodsWe enrolled in the study all RA patients according to 2010 EULAR/ACR classification criteria, with an ILD confirmed at high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and with a follow-up of at least 24 months.According to the current indication of nintedanib, patients were defined as having a progressive fibrosing ILD in case of a relative decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) ≥10% predicted and/or an increased extent of fibrotic changes on chest imaging in a 24 month-period. Respiratory symptoms were excluded to reduce possible bias due to the retrospective interpretation of cough and dyspnoea.ResultsOne hundred and thirty-four RA-ILD patients were enrolled in the study (males/females 54/80, mean age 72±9.5 years, mean RA and ILD duration 13.1±9.5 and 4.6±4.1 years, respectively. Anticitrullinated peptides antibodies (ACPA) and rheumatoid factor (RF) were recorded in 76.2% and 87.6% of cases, respectively.According to radiologic features, ILD was classified as probable or definite usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) in 50.7% of patients, NSIP in 19.4% and other patterns in 29.8%. A fibrosing pattern was reported in 73.9% of cases (all patients with UIP pattern, 57.7% of patients with NSIP and 40% with other pattern). A relative decline of 6.8% of forced vital capacity (FVC) was recorded during the follow-up, without significant difference between fibrosing and non-fibrosing ILD (6.3%±13.8 vs 5.9%±21.3, respectively). A relative FVC decline ≥ 10% and/or a progression of radiologic fibrotic involvement was observed in 38.8% of patients. As expected, a significant difference in relative decline of FVC was recorded between progressive and non-progressive ILD (15.7%±16.4 vs -1.3%±8.3, respectively). Globally, a fibrosing progressive pattern was recorded in 35.8% of patients (48/134, 48.5% of patients with fibrosing pattern). Of interest, also 11.4% of patients with a non-fibrosing pattern showed a progressive behavior of disease (see Figure 1).ConclusionThe recent introduction of nintedanib for the treatment of fibrosing progressive ILD different by IPF has potentially changed the paradigm for the treatment of RA-ILD. In fact, for the first time, rheumatologist has a therapy available with efficacy on RA related lung involvement.This study shows some limitations. The retrospective design and the need of serial HRCT and FVC could induce an overestimation of progressive disease (pulmonary function could not have been properly evaluated in asymptomatic patients). On the other hand, the exclusion of symptoms, such as a worsening of dyspnea and cough, might underestimate the prevalence of progressive lung disease. Finally, some patients were already treated with antifibrotic drugs, possibly influencing the evolution of lung disease in the last 2 years.In conclusion, about a third of RA-ILD patients shows a fibrosing progressive pattern of ILD and might benefit of antifibrotic treatment, alone or in combination with anti-rheumatic drugs. For RA patients with progressive non-fibrosing ILD, we need more studies to establish the best therapeutic approach.References[1] Flaherty KR et al. N Engl J Med 2019;381:1718-1727[2] Manfredi A, et al. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2021;17:485-97Figure 1.AcknowledgementsI have no acknowledgement to declare.Disclosure of InterestsAndreina Manfredi Speakers bureau: BMS, Lilly, and.Boehringer-Ingelheim, Vincenzo Venerito: None declared, Massimiliano Cazzato: None declared, Stefano Gentileschi: None declared, Laura La Corte: None declared, Anna Maria Iuliano: None declared, Giulia Cassone: None declared, Caterina Vacchi: None declared, Caterina Tomassini: None declared, Alessandra Rai: None declared, Marlea Lavista: None declared, Dario Andrisani: None declared, Elenia Laurino: None declared, Claudia Canofari: None declared, elisa pedrollo: None declared, Fabiola Atzeni: None declared, Gian Domenico Sebastiani: None declared, Bruno Frediani: None declared, Marta Mosca: None declared, Florenzo Iannone: None declared, Marco Sebastiani Speakers bureau: BMS, Pfizer, and Boehringer-Ingelheim, Consultant of: Lilly, Grant/research support from: BMS, Pfizer.

Helium implantation in surfaces is of interest for plasma-facing materials and other nuclear applications. Vanadium as both a representative bcc material and a material relevant for fusion applications is implanted using a Helium ion beam microscope, and the resulting swelling and nanomechanical properties are quantified. These values are put in correlation to data obtained from micro-residual stress measurements using a focused ion beam-based ring-core technique. We found that the swelling measured is similar to literature values. Further, we are able to measure the surface stress caused by the implantation and find that it approaches the yield strength of the material at blistering doses. The simple calculations performed in the present work, along with several geometrical considerations deduced from experimental results confirm the driving force for blister formation comes from bulging resulting mainly from gas pressure buildup, rather than solely stress-induced buckling. Graphic abstract

Background Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a severe systemic manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) represents the gold standard for the diagnosis of ILD, but its routine use for screening programs is not advisable because of both high cost and X-ray exposure. Velcro crackles at lung auscultation occur very early in the course of interstitial pneumonia, and their detection is an indication for HRCT. Recently, we developed an algorithm (VECTOR) to detect the presence of Velcro crackles in pulmonary sounds and showed good results in a small sample of RA patients. The aim of the present investigation was to validate the diagnostic accuracy of VECTOR in a larger population of RA patients, compared with that of the reference standard of HRCT, from a multicentre study. Methods To avoid X-ray exposure, we enrolled 137 consecutive RA patients who had recently undergone HRCT. Lung sounds of all patients were recorded in 4 pulmonary fields bilaterally with a commercial electronic stethoscope (ES); subsequently, all HRCT images were blindly evaluated by a radiologist, and audio data were analysed by means of VECTOR. Results Fifty-nine of 137 patients showed ILD (43.1%). VECTOR correctly classified 115/137 patients, showing a diagnostic accuracy of 83.9% and a sensitivity and specificity of 93.2 and 76.9%, respectively. Conclusions VECTOR may represent the first validated tool for the screening of RA patients who are suspected for ILD and who should be directed to HRCT for the diagnosis. Moreover, early identification of RA-ILD could contribute to the design of prospective studies aimed at elucidating unclear aspects of the disease.

BackgroundPatients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) have increased mortality compared to the general population and factors capable of predicting RA-ILD long-term clinical outcomes are lacking. In oncology, radiomics allows the quantification of tumour phenotype by analysing the characteristics of medical images [2]. The hypothesis of radiomics is that the distinctive imaging features between disease forms may help make a prognosis and predict the therapeutic response for various conditions, thus providing valuable information for personalised therapy and patient management. Using specific software, it is possible to segment organs on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images and extract many features that may uncover disease characteristics that are not detected by the naked eye.ObjectivesWe aimed to investigate whether features from whole lung radiomic analysis of HRCT may.alone predict mortality in RA-ILD patients.MethodsHRCTs of RA patients from January 2012 to March 2022 were analyzed. The time between the first available HRCT and the last follow-up visit or ILD-related death was recorded. We performed a volumetric analysis in 3D Slicer, automatically segmenting the whole lungs and trachea via the Lung CT Analyzer.The PyRadiomics platform (version 3.01) can extract radiomic data from medical imaging, calculate features and return results as continuous variables. In a Python 3.9 environment, we extracted 120 features for segmented regions.A LASSO-Cox model was carried out by considering ILD-related death as the outcome variable and extracting radiomic features as exposure variables.ResultsWe retrieved the HRCTs of 30 RA-ILD patients. The median survival time (interquartile range) was 48 months (36–120 months). Thirteen out of 30 (43.33%) patients died during the observation period. Demographics and clinical features have been reported in Table 1. Whole line segmentation was fast and reliable. The model included either the median grey level intensity within the whole lung segmentation (HR 9.35, 95% CI 1.56–v55.86) as a positive predictor of death and the 10th percentile of the number of included voxels (HR 0.20, 95% CI 0.05–0.84), the voxel-based pre-processing information (HR 0.23, 95% CI 0.06–0.82) and the flatness (HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.18–0.98), negatively correlating to mortality. The correlation of grey level values to their respective voxels (HR 1.52 95% CI 0.82–2.83) was also retained as a confounder. We observed that the hazard function followed the 45-degree line very closely except for huge values of time, demonstrating goodness-of-fit (Figure 2, Panel. B).ConclusionRadiomics may predict RA-ILD patients’ mortality and may promote HRCT as a digital biomarker regardless of the clinical characteristics of the disease.References[1]Huang S, Kronzer VL, Dellaripa PF, Deane KD, Bolster MB, Nagaraja V, et al. Rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease: current update on prevalence, risk factors, and pharmacologic treatment. Curr Treatm Opt Rheumatol. (2020) 6:337–53. doi: 10.1007/s40674-020-00160-z[2]van Griethuysen JJM, Fedorov A, Parmar C, Hosny A, Aucoin N, Narayan V, et al. Computational radiomics system to decode the radiographic phenotype. Cancer Res. (2017) 77:e104–7. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-0339Table 1.Patient Characteristics.Available ObservationsMale, n (%)3011 (36.67)Age at HRCT, years, median (IQR)3072 (65-78)RA disease duration, month, median (IQR)30132 (65-278)RF positivity, n (%)2918 (62.07)ACPA positivity n (%)3025 (83.33)ILD pattern at HRCT, (n%)30UIP18 (60)NSIP2 (2.67)LIP1 (3.33)OP1 (3.33)Unclassifiable8 (26.67)Figure 1.Panel A. Survival function displayed using Kaplan-Meier Estimate, with at-risk table. Deaths have been reported in parentheses. Panel B. Cox-Snell residuals plotted against the Nelson-Aalen cumulative hazard rate function to test the reliability of the model. Hazard function followed the 45-degree line very closely except for huge values of time. Panel C. Automated whole lungs and trachea segmentation using 3D Slicer.Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.

Surface Free Energy (SFE) has become a relevant design parameter to produce materials and devices with controlled wettability. The non-destructive measurement of SFE in nanopatterned super-hydrophobic hard surfaces is a challenge in both research and industry since in most cases time-consuming contact angle measurements are not feasible. In this work, we present a novel nanoindentation based method for the measurement of pull-off adhesive forces by carefully controlling environmental and instrumentation issues. The method is found to measure SFE over five orders of magnitude, covering hydrophilic to super-hydrophobic surfaces, and has been validated with contact angle measurements. Its limitations and shortcomings are critically discussed, with a specific focus on the experimental issues that could affect the reliability and reproducibility of the results. Finally, the potential applications of the newly developed methodology include fast non-destructive mapping of SFE over heterogeneous surfaces with spatially controlled wettability. Graphic abstract

Inflammatory myopathies (IM) are a group of muscle diseases occurring both in children and adults. Nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) alterations are described in IM, but available data are discordant, including differences between polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM). The aim of this study was to describe the capillaroscopic differences between PM and DM patients and possible correlation with clinical and serological features. We analyzed 52 unselected patients with IM in a cross-sectional study in a 6-month period. NVC findings of 29 DM and 23 PM patients were compared with those of 52 patients with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon. Tortuosities, capillary loss, enlarged and giant capillaries, microhemorrhages, and ramified capillaries were scored by a semiquantitative rating; disorganization of the vascular array, avascular areas, and scleroderma pattern were scored as presence/absence. Sex, mean age, and mean disease duration were similar in both groups. Disorganization of the vascular array, enlarged and giant capillaries, capillary loss, and scleroderma-like pattern were observed almost only in IM patients. Significant differences were observed between PM and DM with higher frequency and mean score of NVC changes in DM. In DM patients with disease duration ≤6 months (14/29 patients), capillary density was significantly reduced ( P  = 0.039) and giant capillaries more frequent ( P  = 0.027), compared with patients with longer disease duration, while a scleroderma pattern tended to be more frequent in patients with a disease duration of less than 6 months. On the contrary, no differences were observed for ramified capillaries with regard to disease duration. Capillaroscopic alterations are identified only in DM patients as expression of diffuse microangiopathy; surprisingly, more severe changes were associated with shorter disease duration, while persistence of ramified capillaries with long-standing disease.

Various kinds of fumed silica nanoparticles, different in terms of specific surface area and surface functionalization, were melt compounded with a poly(lactic acid) biodegradable matrix, with the aim to investigate the thermo-mechanical and optical properties of the resulting materials. Untreated nanoparticles at elevated surface area resulted to be effective in increasing elastic modulus, because of the extended filler–matrix interaction, while the finer dispersion of silica aggregates at the nanoscale obtained with surface treated nanoparticles led to noticeable improvements of the tensile properties at yield and at break, both under quasi-static and impact conditions. Also the fracture toughness and the creep stability were substantially enhanced by nanosilica addition, without impairing the original optical transparency of the matrix.

BackgroundThe treatment to adopt when (Interstitial Lung Disease)ILD is detected in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients has always been a matter of debate. The management and treatment of RA-ILD is challenging because there is still little information available on this topic, and the main literature comes from observational studies. No clinical trials have been dedicated to this topic, however its consideration is increasing in guidelines. There is relatively limited data on the use of JAKi in patients with RA-associated ILD.ObjectivesThe aim of this multicenter retrospective study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the available JAKi in patients with RA-ILD.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed patients with classified RA and RA-ILD undergoing JAKi in 6 Italian tertiary centres from April 2018 to June 2022. We included patients with at least 6 months of active therapy and one high-resolution chest tomography (HRCT) carried out within 3 months before the start of JAKi treatment. The HRCT was then compared to the most recent one carried out within 3 months before the last available follow-up appointment. We also kept track of the pulmonary function tests.ResultsWe included 43 patients with RA-ILD, 23 males (53.48%) with median age (interquartile range, IQR) of 68.87 (61.46-75.78) treated with JAKi. Clinical and disease characteristics have been reported in Table 1. The median follow-up was 19.1 months (11.03–34.43). The forced vital capacity remained stable in 22/28 (78.57%) patients, improved in 3/28 (10.71%) and worsened in 3/28 (10.71%). The diffusing Capacity of Lung for Carbon Monoxide showed a similar trend, remaining stable in 18/25 (72%) patients, improving in 2/25 (8%) and worsening in 5/25 (20%). The HRCT remained stable in 37/43 (86.05) cases, worsened in 4/43 (9.30%) and improved in the last 2 (4.65%) (Figure 1).ConclusionThis study seems to confirm that JAKi therapy might be a safe therapeutic option for patients with RA-ILD.References[1]Manfredi, A.; Cassone, G.; Luppi, F.; Atienza-Mateo, B.; Cavazza, A.; Sverzellati, N.; González-Gay, M.A.; Salvarani, C.; Sebastiani, M. Rheumatoid Arthritis Related Interstitial Lung Disease. Expert Rev Clin Immunol 2021, 17, 485–497, doi:10.1080/1744666X.2021.1905524.[2]Holroyd, C.R.; Seth, R.; Bukhari, M.; Malaviya, A.; Holmes, C.; Curtis, E.; Chan, C.; Yusuf, M.A.; Litwic, A.; Smolen, S.; et al. The British Society for Rheumatology Biologic DMARD Safety Guidelines in Inflammatory Arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford) 2019, 58, e3–e42, doi:10.1093/rheumatology/key208.Table 1.Patient characteristics at Treatment BaselineAv Obs.BaselineAge, years, median (IQR)4368.87 (61.46-75.78)Male, n (%)4323 (53.48)Disease Duration, years, median (IQR)4312.66 (7.61)ILD duration, years, median (IQR)435.55 (5.13)Follow-up, months, median (IQR)4319.1 (14.92)Rheumatoid factor positivity, n (%)4338 (88.37)ACPA positivity, n (%)4335 (81.40)HRCT pattern, n (%)43UIP25 (58.14)NSIP5 (11.62)LIP2 (4.65)CPFE1 (2.33)Indeterminate10 (23.26)Baseline DLCO, mean (SD)2765.81 (16.92)Baseline FVC, mean (SD)3088.76 (24.03)Prescribed JAKi, n/%)43Baricitinib28 (65.12)Filgotinib3 (6.98)Tofacitinib9 (20.93)Upadacitinib3 (6.98)Use of DMARD before JAKi, n (%)43Methotrexate32 (74.41)Leflunomide3 (6.97)TNFalpha inhibitors19 (44.19)Rituximab12 (27.91)Abatacept16 (38.10)Tocilizumab13 (30.23)JAKi + Methotrexate, n (%)4316 (37.21)Glucorticoids n(%)4326 (60.47)Figure 1.Pulmonary Function Tests and High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) evolution. Upper Panel: ILD evolution at HRCT, Middle Panel:.Diffusing Capacity of Lung for Carbon Monoxide (DLCO). Lower Panel: Forced vital Capacity (FVC).Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.

BackgroundHuman SARS-CoV-2 infection is responsible for a large variety of clinical manifestations related to Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) [1]. SARS-CoV-2 can induce microvascular damage, that can be safely detected by nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC), as recently demonstrated [2-4]. Virus-induced endothelial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both active infection and long-COVID clinical manifestations (the last as persistence of disease symptoms after at least three months from onset) [5]. The study group on capillaroscopy and microcirculation in rheumatic diseases of the Italian Society of Rheumatology (CAPSIR) carried out an internal survey on the interest of the Italian Centers that perform NVC in participating in a detailed capillaroscopic and clinical data collection in long-COVID patients.ObjectivesTo carry out an Italian multicenter cognitive survey on the interest in collecting NVC and clinical data of patients affected by long-COVID with or without previous rheumatological diseases.MethodsThe steering committee of the CAPSIR study group formulated a cognitive questionnaire, entitled “Study on the role of capillaroscopy in patients with long-COVID” (CAPSIR_2 Study), consisting of 27 open or multiple-choice questions. A Google Form of the questionnaire was emailed to all the member of the study group between September and October 2022. Data are reported with a descriptive analysis.ResultsThe online questionnaire was completed by 41 CAPSIR members, belonging to 33 different Italian centers. Of note, 63% of participants had already experienced NVC in patients with long-COVID. The primary indication to perform the NVC was the onset of a new Raynaud’s phenomenon (46% of cases) and the requests come mainly from General Practitioners (33% of cases). In 2/3 of the cases, patients with long-COVID and previous rheumatic diseases, who underwent NVC examination, represented less than 20% of the total. It should be noted that always in 2/3 of the cases there was no preferential channel for the study of the microcirculation in patients affected by long-COVID nor a NVC investigation prior to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. According to the previous experience of the participants in the interview, the most important NVC parameters considered to be evaluated in long-COVID patients were number of capillaries per linear millimeter (24% of cases), presence of hemorrhages (34% of cases) and giant capillaries (22% of capillaries). All participants (100%) therefore agreed to participate in a further collection of NVC and clinical data in this cohort of patients.ConclusionThis survey highlighted the interest of Italian Rheumatologists in assessing by NVC the COVID-related microvascular involvement. A consensus has emerged that future research is needed. After this pilot survey, the second part of the CAPSIR_2 Study will concern the collection/analysis before and after the SARS-CoV-2 infection of NVC and clinical data in patients with primary and secondary (to rheumatic diseases) Raynaud’s phenomenon and affected by long-COVID versus adequate controls. The aim is to investigate if the presence/severity of the microvascular damage might be involved in the pathogenesis of the clinical manifestations observed in COVID-19 patients after the active infection. CAPSIR_2 Study will be open to all Italian rheumatological centers that participated in the previous national CAPSIR_1 Project [6].References[1]Fernandes Q et al. Ann Med. 2022;54:524-540.[2]Cutolo M et al. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2021;17:665-677.[3]Sulli A et al. Microvasc Res 2022;142:104361.[4]Natalello G et al. Microvasc Res. 2021;133:104071.[5]Charfeddine S et al. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2021;8:745758.[6]Ingegnoli F et al. Reumatismo. 2022;74.AcknowledgementsAuthors wrote the abstract on behalf of the study group on capillaroscopy and microcirculation in rheumatic diseases of the Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) - CAPSIR.CAPSIR Study Group thanks the EULAR Study Group of Microcirculation in Rheumatic Diseases for the continuous cultural support.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.