Rhabdocline pseudotsugae Sydow : oorzaak eener ziekte van Douglasspar

The fungus Rhabdocline pseudotsugae Syd. on Pseudotsuga douglasii Carr. and Ps. glauca. Mayr. was studied in detail.The fungus is biotrophic. Invaded cells remain intact. Flecking of the needles occurred after winter killing of invaded host cells. Apothecia on diseased needles were only formed when needles remained attached to plant.Resistant or partially resistant trees were found. The disease was widely dispersed by selling young plants infected in the nursery

Cyclosporin in atopic dermatitis: A multicentre placebo-controlled study

The efficacy of cyclosporin (Sandimmun®) given in a daily dose of 5 mg/kg for 6 weeks in severe atopic dermatitis was confirmed in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, short-term study. Of the 46 patients included in the study, 23 were randomized to receive cyclosporin and 23 to receive placebo. Four of the 23 patients (17%) on cyclosporin, and 14 of the 23 patients (61%) who received placebo, discontinued the trial because of inefficacy. All patients who discontinued the trial were assessed following the principle the principle of ‘intention to treat’. Compared with the baseline, the mean scores for disease severity [6-area, total body severity assessment (TBSA)] improved by 55%, and the mean scores for extent of disease [rule-of-nines area assessment (RoNAA)] improved by 40%, in patients treated with cyclosporin. Nine of the patients who received cyclosporin and completed the study (n=14) had an individual reduction of disease severity (TBSA) of 75% or more, and in three patients this reduction was nearly 100%. In the placebo group, a mean worsening of disease severity (4%) and of extent of the disease (25%), compared with the baseline, was observed al week 6. Patients' and investigators' mean scores for the overall efficacy were similar, and showed a statistically significant difference in favour of cyclosporin. Two patients on cyclosporin developed hypertension during therapy, and one of these withdrew from the study. At the end of the trial, no statistically significant differences in the systolic or diastolic blood pressures were observed between the two groups. In the cyclosporin group, the increases in the values of serum creatinine and bilirubin at week 6, compared with the respective values at the baseline, were statistically significantly different from those in the placebo group, but all values normalized in the post-treatment period. Cyclosporin can be a safe and very effective treatment in episodes of severe atopic dermatitis, provided that the recommended guidelines for its administration are strictly observed

Rothamsted Conference RC No 4 : The culture and manuring of sugar beet

RESP-49

Cells with UV-Specific DNA Damage Are Present in Murine Lymph Nodes After In Vivo UV Irradiation

Ultraviolet radiation is absorbed in the skin, especially in the epidermis. After ultraviolet irradiation the number of major histocompatibility complex class II+, adenosine triphosphatase+ Langerhans cells and Thy-1+ dendritic epidermal cells in the epidermis decreases. Whether this decrease is due to migration of these cells or to loss of membrane markers is not clear. To address this question we have used the monoclonal antibody H3 directed against cyclobutyl thymine dimers – a form of DNA damage that is specifically induced by ultraviolet radiation – to investigate whether H3+ cells are present in the draining lymph nodes of the skin after ultraviolet irradiation of hairless, inbred mice (HRA/Skh). After a single dose of ultraviolet radiation (Westinghouse FS40, 1.5 kJ/m2), H3+ cells were present in the paracortex of the draining lymph nodes. No positive cells were found in t:he blood of irradiated mice. These results suggest that the H3+ cell in the lymph nodes originate from the skin. The number H3+ cells in the draining lymph nodes increased the first 24 h after irradiation and then stabilized. Immunohistochemical double staining revealed that all H3+ cells were major histocompatibility complex II+, and that only a fraction of the cells were NLDC-145 positive. No Vγ3-cell receptor bearing cells could be found in the lymph nodes after UV irradiation of the skin

Підручник зі слов’янського фольклору в Канаді

Рецензія на підручник: Kononenko N. Slavic Folklore: a Handbook. - Westport (Connecticut); London: Greenwood Press, 2007. - 209 pp

UVB phototherapy in an outpatient setting or at home: a pragmatic randomised single-blind trial designed to settle the discussion. The PLUTO study

BACKGROUND: Home ultraviolet B (UVB) treatment is a much-debated treatment, especially with regard to effectiveness, safety and side effects. However, it is increasingly being prescribed, especially in the Netherlands. Despite ongoing discussions, no randomised research has been performed, and only two studies actually compare two groups of patients. Thus, firm evidence to support or discourage the use of home UVB phototherapy has not yet been obtained. This is the goal of the present study, the PLUTO study (Dutch acronym for "national trial on home UVB phototherapy for psoriasis"). METHODS: We designed a pragmatic randomised single-blind multi-centre trial. This trial is designed to evaluate the impact of home UVB treatment versus UVB phototherapy in a hospital outpatient clinic as to effectiveness, quality of life and cost-effectiveness. In total 196 patients with psoriasis who were clinically eligible for UVB phototherapy were included. Normally 85% of the patients treated with UVB show a relevant clinical response. With a power of 80% and a 0.05 significance level it will be possible to detect a reduction in effectiveness of 15%. Effectiveness will be determined by calculating differences in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and the Self Administered PASI (SAPASI) scores. Quality of life is measured using several validated generic questionnaires and a disease-specific questionnaire. Other outcome measures include costs, side effects, dosimetry, concomitant use of medication and patient satisfaction. Patients are followed throughout the therapy and for 12 months thereafter. The study is no longer recruiting patients, and is expected to report in 2006. DISCUSSION: In the field of home UVB phototherapy this trial is the first randomised parallel group study. As such, this trial addresses the weaknesses encountered in previous studies. The pragmatic design ensures that the results can be well generalised to the target population. Because, in addition to effectiveness, aspects such as quality of life and cost-effectiveness are also taken into consideration, this study will produce valuable evidence to either support or discourage prescription of home UVB phototherapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current controlled trials/Nederlands Trial register: ISRCTN83025173. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT0015093

Oncolytic virotherapy induced CSDE1 neo-antigenesis restricts VSV replication but can be targeted by immunotherapy

In our clinical trials of oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus expressing interferon beta (VSV-IFNβ), several patients achieved initial responses followed by aggressive relapse. We show here that VSV-IFNβ-escape tumors predictably express a point-mutated CSDE1P5S form of the RNA-binding Cold Shock Domain-containing E1 protein, which promotes escape as an inhibitor of VSV replication by disrupting viral transcription. Given time, VSV-IFNβ evolves a compensatory mutation in the P/M Inter-Genic Region which rescues replication in CSDE1P5S cells. These data show that CSDE1 is a major cellular co-factor for VSV replication. However, CSDE1P5S also generates a neo-epitope recognized by non-tolerized T cells. We exploit this predictable neo-antigenesis to drive, and trap, tumors into an escape phenotype, which can be ambushed by vaccination against CSDE1P5S, preventing tumor escape. Combining frontline therapy with escape-targeting immunotherapy will be applicable across multiple therapies which drive tumor mutation/evolution and simultaneously generate novel, targetable immunopeptidomes associated with acquired treatment resistance