Resisting Obsolescence: Polaroid Practices in the 'Digital Age'

This thesis looks at today’s Polaroid practice in order to explore questions of the materiality of media, its agency, and the possibilities of media technologies to challenge and resist processes of obsolescence. By approaching Polaroid from a perspective that encompasses the material and social realm of the practice, and drawing on a 12-month networked ethnography that focused on the online and offline sites the practice inhabits, this thesis looks at the social, material, and cultural meanings of Polaroid in relation to other photographic practices today. Through the analysis of online digital platforms, mainly Polaroid dedicated Facebook groups, and the offline sites where members of Polaroid-centred communities gather (London and Vienna), this thesis explores the way Polaroid as a practice is produced, consumed and circulated. In addition, this research seeks to contribute to the understanding of media technologies not only as transmitters of content but also as enablers of sociality, in a context in which this sociality (and by extension, materiality) is fundamental for the infrastructural maintenance of the practice. By reading Polaroid media technology in terms of both continuity and transformation, and tradition and innovation, this thesis proposes three main arguments. (1) Analogue and digital photographic practices do not stand in opposition to one another but in a supplementary relationship in which each practice informs the other. (2) It is through residual practices and the building of an informal infrastructure that so-called obsolete technologies can continue to intersect the present and challenge assumptions of technological progress. (3) Obsolescence is a mutable, variable category that is not necessarily related to the material dimensions of the media object, but to ideological discourses that see progress through material culture

Pasireotide can induce sustained decreases in urinary cortisol and provide clinical benefit in patients with Cushing’s disease: results from an open-ended, open-label extension trial

International audiencePurpose Report the efficacy and safety of pasireotide sc in patients with Cushing's disease during an open-ended, open-label extension to a randomized, double-blind, 12-month, Phase III study. Methods 162 patients entered the core study. 58 patients who had mean UFC B ULN at month 12 or were bene-fiting clinically from pasireotide entered the extension. Patients received the same dose of pasireotide as at the end of the core study (300–1,200 lg bid). Dose titration was permitted according to efficacy or drug-related adverse events. Results 40 patients completed 24 months' treatment. Of the patients who entered the extension, 50.0 % (29/58) and 34.5 % (20/58) had controlled UFC (UFC B ULN) at months 12 and 24, respectively. The mean percentage decrease in UFC was 57.3 % (95 % CI 40.7–73.9; n = 52) and 62.1 % (50.8–73.5; n = 33) after 12 and 24 months' treatment, respectively. Improvements in clinical signs of Cushing's disease were sustained up to month 24. The most frequent drug-related adverse events in patients who received C1 dose of pasireotide (n = 162) from core baseline until the 24-month cut-off were diarrhea (55.6 %), nausea (48.1 %), hyperglycemia (38.9 %), and cholelithi-asis (31.5 %). No new safety issues were identified during the extension. Conclusions Reductions in mean UFC and improvements in clinical signs of Cushing's disease were maintained over 24 months of pasireotide treatment. The safety profile of pasireotide is typical for a somatostatin analogue, except for the frequency and degree of hyperglycemia; patients should be monitored for changes in glucose homeostasis. Pasireotide represents the first approved pituitary-targeted treatment for patients with Cushing's disease.-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Efficacy and safety of omalizumab in nasal polyposis : 2 randomized phase 3 trials

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is characterized by IgE hyperproduction and eosinophilic inflammation. The anti-IgE antibody, omalizumab, has demonstrated efficacy in patients with CRSwNP and comorbid asthma previously. Objective: Our aim was to determine omalizumab safety and efficacy in CRSwNP in phase 3 trials (POLYP 1 and POLYP 2). Methods: Adults with CRSwNP with inadequate response to intranasal corticosteroids were randomized (1:1) to omalizumab or placebo and intranasal mometasone for 24 weeks. Coprimary end points included change from baseline to week 24 in Nasal Polyp Score (NPS) and Nasal Congestion Score. Secondary end points included change from baseline to week 24 in Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) score, University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test, sense of smell, postnasal drip, runny nose, and adverse events. Results: Patients in POLYP 1 (n = 138) and POLYP 2 (n = 127) exhibited severe CRSwNP and substantial quality of life impairment evidenced by a mean NPS higher than 6 and SNOT-22 score of approximately 60. Both studies met both the coprimary end points. SNOT-22 score, University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test score, sense of smell, postnasal drip, and runny nose were also significantly improved for omalizumab versus placebo. In POLYP 1 and POLYP 2, the mean changes from baseline at week 24 for omalizumab versus placebo were as follows: NPS, -1.08 versus 0.06 (P < .0001) and - 0.90 versus -0.31 (P = .0140); Nasal Congestion Score, -0.89 versus -0.35 (P = .0004) and -0.70 versus -0.20 (P = .0017); and SNOT-22 score, -24.7 versus -8.6 (P < .0001) and -21.6 versus - 6.6 (P < .0001). Adverse events were similar between groups. Conclusion: Omalizumab significantly improved endoscopic, clinical, and patient-reported outcomes in severe CRSwNP with inadequate response to intranasal corticosteroids, and it was well tolerated

Use of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors and the Reporting of Infections: A Disproportionality Analysis in the World Health Organization VigiBase

OBJECTIVE - Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are a new class of antidiabetic drugs. They inactivate incretin hormones but also have many other effects throughout the body, among which are effects on the immune system. This might result in an increased infection risk. This study assessed the association between use of DPP-4 inhibitors and the reporting of infections. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - A nested case-control was conducted using VigiBase, the World Health Organization-Adverse Drug Reactions (WHO-ADR) database. The base cohort consisted of ADRs for antidiabetic drugs (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical code A10). Cases were defined as ADRs of infection according to the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) classification system. All other ADRs were considered controls. Reporting odds ratios (RORs) were calculated to estimate the strength of the association between different classes of antidiabetic drugs and the reporting of infections. RESULTS - We identified 305,415 suspected ADRs involving antidiabetic drugs in 106,469 case reports, of which 8,083 involved DPP-4 inhibitors monotherapy. Overall, the reporting of infections was higher for patients using DPP-4 inhibitors compared with users of biguanides (ROR 2.3 [95% CI 1.9-2.7]). Reporting of upper respiratory tract infections (ROR 12.3 [95% CI 8.6-17.5]) was significantly associated with use of DPP-4 inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS - This study indicates an increased reporting of infections, in particular upper respiratory tract infections, for users of DPP-4 inhibitors compared with users of other antidiabetic drugs. However, the limitations of spontaneous reporting systems (e.g., underreporting, the Weber-effect, reporting bias) should be taken into account. Therefore, further research is needed to evaluate this suspicion and the underlying mechanism

Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibition by Vildagliptin and the Effect on Insulin Secretion and Action in Response to Meal Ingestion in Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism by which dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors lower postprandial glucose concentrations

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.