Infliximab for the treatment of plaque psoriasis

Infliximab is a monoclonal antibody that targets tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα). It is used in the treatment of a number of inflammatory disorders including severe plaque psoriasis. TNFα is thought to have a major role in psoriasis by promoting an inflammatory infiltrate into the skin and inducing keratinocyte proliferation and preventing keratinocyte apoptosis, which directly contributes to the characteristic plaque skin lesions. Based on four randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials and nine open-label uncontrolled trials of the use of infliximab in plaque psoriasis, it was found that infliximab is a highly efficacious, rapid, sustainable, and relatively safe therapy. Yet as with any biologic, caution is recommended in its use as infusion reactions, lupus-like syndromes, infections, malignancies including lymphomas, as well as other rare events have been reported

Laments in Transition: The Irish-Australian songs of Sally Sloane (1894-1982)

Irish music in Australia has a strong tradition though it is less thoroughly documented and less frequently the subject of scholarly inquiry than in Ireland, the British Isles and North America. From the earliest days of white settlement in Australia, the Irish represented a significant proportion of total immigrants. One in three convicts transported to Australia from Great Britain after 1798 was Irish. About 20 per cent of these were connected with political and agrarian unrest in England and Ireland and many who survived transportation and incarceration continued rebellious activities directed at the ruling class in Australia. Irish immigration continued to increase in the nineteenth century as a result not only of the famine of the 1840s, but also because of growing persecution from English landlords who raised rents to levels resulting in mass evictions. After 1840, emigration became a vast, relentless national phenomenon. Between 1789 and 1921 about half a million Irish people set sail for Australia. Those leaving Ireland turned towards an unknown future half a world away beyond perilous oceans, not expecting to see their homeland again. Oliver MacDonagh, in his book 'Sharing the Green: A modern Irish history for Australians', asks

Redefining the tradition : the role of women in the evolution and transmission of Australian folk music

This dissertation undertakes an examination of the truth of the assertion that Australian folk music represents a predominantly masculine, working class genre - the view expressed in the official Commonwealth Government description of Australian folk music, the publications of the academy and promoted by the media. In this thesis, the women who have played a key role in the history of Australian folk music are restored from obscurity, highlighting the need for a root - and - branch revision of the history of Australian folk music. I argue that the evidence of primary sources confirms the role of women as integral to the evolution and transmission of Australian folk music. The way in which oral and written traditions interact in the music of Australian women is explained; traditional boundaries of class which have been used in the past to delineate who owns folk music are challenged; and it is argued that the piano must be admitted into the category of bush instrument, thus expanding the range of the accepted Australian folk music repertoire. Australian women's folk music, as distinct from Australian indigenous women's music, has its origins in the social, political and economic upheavals of the eighteenth century. It embodies the dislocation experienced by pioneering women who travelled to Australia from the British Isles and other European countries, either as convicts or free settlers. Emergence of new post-industrial forms of folk music is also prominent. Songs and tunes preserved through oral transmission and the development of homegrown Australian songs represent the dichotomy of old world and new world cultural values. Published broadside ballad sheets and piano arrangements of folk songs and dance tunes were embraced by Australian women and shared widely through oral and hand-written transmission. Diaries, letters, newspaper accounts, archival music collections and field recordings provide evidence that women from a broad range of economic, educational and social backgrounds performed folk music from the earliest days of settlement in a way that was unique to Australia. Analysis in this thesis is structured by the chronological sequence of case studies spanning the 1840s to the present. Case studies covering this extended period demonstrate the diversity of women musician's lives, their place in the evolution of Australian folk music from early settlement to contemporary times and the changing manifestations of transmission affecting each generation. Both the items in the repertoires of the women studied and aspects of their identity (indicated in their choice of songs) are regenerated by performance of their music. Investigation of this process concludes with examination of the contemporary operation of transmission in the case study of my own participation in the evolving tradition of Australian women's folk music

Does ethnicity affect how older adults deal with stressors at home?

Numerous studies have examined stress in older adults but little research has examined the specific relationship between ethnicity and home stressors. We used a micro-longitudinal eight day daily diary study to examine reactivity to home stressors in older adults. 42 participants reported on 337 days from the Greater Raleigh Area all between the ages of 60 to 96 representing European-Americans and African-Americans. Participants reported their daily home stressor resolution (resolved or unresolved) and daily physical symptoms (e.g., joint pain, fatigue, headache). We found that European-Americans had a significantly higher number of physical symptoms on days with an unresolved home stressor than that of their African-American counterparts. Findings suggest ethnicity differences in the physical effects of home stressor resolution among older adults. Awareness of disparity is an important first step in closing the health gap and ethnicity should be included in future assessments of home stressors in older adults

The Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS) in frontotemporal dementia

To examine the usefulness of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Screen (ECAS) as a cognitive screening tool for the detection of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). A secondary aim was to determine whether people with FTD combined with ALS (ALS-FTD) exhibit a similar ECAS profile to that of people with bvFTD alone. Methods: Patients with ALS-FTD and bvFTD and healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the ECAS, which comprises tests of language, verbal fluency, executive functions, memory, and visual-spatial functions. They also carried out analogous, full-length cognitive tests that examine naming, spelling, sentence completion, and social cognition skills. Results: The study cohort comprised 20 ALS-FTD patients, 23 with bvFTD, and 30 controls. Highly significant group differences were elicited for all cognitive domains, reflecting poorer performance in patients compared to controls. No significant differences in overall test scores were found between ALS-FTD and bvFTD patients, although ALS-FTD patients showed a higher frequency of impairment on verbal fluency. Correlative analyses revealed inter-relationships in patients (but not controls) between scores in different domains, most marked in bvFTD. There were strong correlations between performance on ECAS subtests and analogous cognitive tasks. Conclusion: The ECAS is a sensitive and valuable tool for the assessment of FTD. Executive, language and behavioral breakdown may, however, compromise performance in other cognitive domains, reducing the specificity of the ‘frontotemporal’ cognitive profile. Subtle differences observed between ALS-FTD and bvFTD raise questions regarding the precise relationship between bvFTD with and without ALS

Kinetochore Microtubule Dynamics and Attachment Stability Are Regulated by Hec1

Mitotic cells face the challenging tasks of linking kinetochores to growing and shortening microtubules and actively regulating these dynamic attachments to produce accurate chromosome segregation. We report here that Ndc80/Hec1 functions in regulating kinetochore microtubule plus-end dynamics and attachment stability. Microinjection of an antibody to the N terminus of Hec1 suppresses both microtubule detachment and microtubule plus-end polymerization and depolymerization at kinetochores of PtK1 cells. Centromeres become hyperstretched, kinetochore fibers shorten from spindle poles, kinetochore microtubule attachment errors increase, and chromosomes severely mis-segregate. The N terminus of Hec1 is phosphorylated by Aurora B kinase in vitro, and cells expressing N-terminal nonphosphorylatable mutants of Hec1 exhibit an increase in merotelic attachments, hyperstretching of centromeres, and errors in chromosome segregation. These findings reveal a key role for the Hec1 N terminus in controlling dynamic behavior of kinetochore microtubules

A phase II study for metabolic in vivo response monitoring with sequential 18FDG-PET-CT during treatment with the EGFR-monoclonal-antibody cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer: the Heidelberg REMOTUX trial

BACKGROUND: The epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody cetuximab has proven activity in metastatic colorectal cancer. To date, the mechanisms of action are not completely understood. Especially the impact on tumor glucose metabolism, or tumor vascularization remains largely unclear. The understanding of mechanisms such as early changes in tumor metabolism is of clinical importance since there may be a substantial influence on choice and sequence of drug combinations. Early signals of response to cetuximab may prove useful to identify patients having a relevant clinical treatment benefit. The objective of this trial is to evaluate the predictive relevance of the relative change in (18 )F-Fluorodeoxyglucose tumor uptake for early clinical response during short-term single agent treatment with cetuximab. Early clinical response will be routinely measured according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors. Accompanying research includes cytokine immune monitoring and analysis of tumor proteins and tumor genes. METHODS/DESIGN: The REMOTUX trial is an investigator-initiated, prospective, open-label, single-arm, single-center early exploratory predictive study. The first (18 )F-FDG PET-CT is conducted at baseline followed by the run-in phase with cetuximab at days 1 and 8. At day 14, the second (18 )F-FDG PET-CT is performed. Subsequently, patients are treated according to the Folfiri-cetuximab regimen as an active and approved first-line regimen for metastatic colorectal carcinoma. At day 56, clinical response is evaluated with a CT-scan compared to the baseline analysis. Tracer uptake is assessed using standardized uptake values (SUVs). The main hypothesis to be tested in the primary analysis is whether or not the relative change in the SUV from baseline to day 14 has any predictive relevance for early clinical response determined at day 56. Patients are followed until death from any cause or until 24 months after the last patient has ended trial treatment. DISCUSSION: The aim of this trial is to evaluate metabolic changes in metastatic colorectal cancer during short-term single agent treatment with cetuximab and to analyse their potential of predicting early clinical response. This could be helpful to answer the question if early identification of patients not responding to cetuximab is possible. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT200811021020; EudraCT 20090132792

The Grizzly, October 9, 1987

Sororities Sing for Sisterhood: Welcome Pledges • The Tradition Continues • Letter: Student Defends Administration • U.C.: Phone Home • It Will be Dry and Cloudy • Student Adds up to Scholarship • Evening School Promotes Image • East Asian Studies Continue • Injuries Plague Hockey • Bears Ride the Tide • Athlete of the Week: Volleyball\u27s Donna Mignemi • Baseball Numbers Add Up • Soccer Successful vs. Lebanon • O\u27Donahue Cruisin\u27 to the Top • Malone Fills Void • ProTheatre • Jewish Information Offeredhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1195/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, November 9, 1987

proTheatre Perfects Production • Balloon Bombings Banned • Norman Pearlstine Addresses Problems Associated with the U.S. Free Press • Letters: Beautifying Campus?; In One Ear, Out the Other • Rolling Stone Celebrates 20th Year • Iran Source of Conflict in Dialogue Discussion • Calix Relates Salvadorian Horrors • Notes: Room Policy Changed; Apartheid Subject of Forum; Discussion Includes Pretzels!; Myths to be Explained • Ursinus Not Affected by Stock Market Crash: Others Not as Lucky • Pray TV Damages Churches • UC Robs Team of Championship • Error Prone Bears Drop Another • Early Bowl Picture Thickens • Bears Battle Tough Season • Ursinus \u27Mers Open Season • Bear Pack Finishes Strong • Tri Lambda: Organization for Life Long Learners • Musser: The Year After • Get in The Real World Get the Grizzly Network • Busie Bodys Display Fancy Bodies • Welcome to the Greek Life: Congratulations 1987 Pledges • Phonathons Prove Successful: $30,000 Raised • Student Applauds Washington Semester • Seniors: Where Are You? • November Red and Gold Days • Eshbach Awards Winners • CAB Learns New Ideas • New Equipment Upgrades Dept.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1198/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, September 25, 1987

Wild Weekend: Tippler Topples, Vandals Varnish, Class Cutters Cavort • Sororities to Begin Formal Rushing Season • Freshmen Find Fun on Campus • Letters: Unholy Parent\u27s Day Irks Jews; Old Men\u27s Life Bad News; Students Have Bills to Pay, Too • Freshman AIDS Orientation • Domestic Violence an Issue • Cameron a Pro Habla-ing • House Bill 749 • Victorious Volleyballers • Soccer\u27s Hoover Earns Athlete of the Week • Football Falls to F&M • Scabs to Score for NFL? • Cross Country Running to the Top • Hockey Lashes LaSalle • Busie Bodys Rehearse • Lantern Announces Deadline • All Greeks Not Geeks • Nautical Natives Sailing with Club Revival • Fat Fear: Freshman Fifteen Thickens Frosh • Ills a Problem Already • E-burg Offers Basic Grub • It\u27s Your Future • CAB Gets Some Public Relations • As Members Drop, the Show Must Go On • Entertainment: Ursinus Stylehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1193/thumbnail.jp