Search

The heart is one of the major organs commonly involved in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Myocardial fibrosis has been identified in a high percentage of these patients. Most SSc patients with cardiac involvement (CI) are subclinical, especially early on in the course of their disease. To accurately identify CI and improve diagnosis and treatment, imaging techniques should be implemented on a regular basis following diagnosis. In this review, we discuss the up-to-date pathophysiologic basis of CI, the cardiac manifestations, and the diagnostic methods that have been published in the literature. Recent studies have shown that tissue Doppler imaging is a promising evaluation technique in the bedside detection of CI. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance is an operator-independent method used for detecting SSc CI. It is an especially useful tool in the early stages of the disease when patients may be asymptomatic. At present, it is the most promising imaging technique for the diagnosis, follow-up, and response to therapy in clinical practice.

Aim:The study was aimed at investigation of several gene variants of folate pathway enzymes for their potential association with methotrexate (MTX) treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients & methods:Four hundred and twenty two Caucasian patients were classified as good or poor responders, and subsequently genotyped for common SNPs in DHFR, FPGSand ATICgenes. Results:No significant differences were observed in case of DHFRand FGPSSNPs. As for ATICrs2372536 (Thr116Ser), GG minor genotype was significantly associated with good response to MTX (OR: 2.40; 95 CI: 1.30–4.42; p 0.005), which was confirmed by multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that ATICmissense rs2372536 SNP may influence response to MTX therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The year 2010, which is the main focus of this report, must surely appear in the Academy annals as beyond imagination. The passage of the Arizona immigration law (SB 1070), and also an Arizona law on ethnic studies, created consternation and confusion as the Academy looked ahead to the scheduling of this meeting. The question was whether or not the Academy should hold the meeting as planned or seek other arrangements, if not cancellation. As tension was building throughout the country, the Academy began to receive advice and more from a variety of sources, including individuals who were not members of the Academy but sought to speak as medievalists through the Academy. For the first time ever the officers and Council held a telephone conference, on June 18, which led to a decision to conduct a poll soliciting from the membership its views on the main issue of holding the meeting in Arizona. The new Academy distribution list registered 1,025 opinions out of a total possible of 3,881. The solicitation of members' views in this direct way was also a first. By about a 4.5 percent margin the poll favored a decision to stay in Arizona.

Background: There is evidence supporting the use of ketamine in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, there are some safety and tolerability concerns associated with ketamine. This study aimed to investigate ketamine’s safety and tolerability to the central nervous system and to assess the relationship between dissociative symptomology and psychometric outcomes during and after intravenous ketamine treatment concurrent with treatment by varying psychotropic medications in treatment-refractory inpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BP).Methods: A total of 49 patients with MDD and BP were included in this study. The subjects were administered ketamine and were assessed for changes using an observational protocol.Results: No antidepressants were associated with psychomimetic symptomatology except for citalopram (p= 0.019). Patients treated with citalopram showed a higher intensity of psychomimetic symptomatology. The use of classic mood-stabilizers was significantly associated with an increase in psychomimetic symptomatology according to the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS; lamotrigine p= 0.009, valproate p= 0.048, lithium p= 0.012). No sequelae were observed.Conclusions: Despite the limitations that this study may be underpowered due to the small sample size, the sample consisted of a heterogeneous TRD population in a single site, and there no blinding of who underwent only acute ketamine administration, our observations indicate ketamine use requires close safety and tolerability monitoring with regards to psychomimetic and dissociative symptoms in TRD-BP and careful management for MDD patients. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier:NCT04226963

Several letters to the editor are presented including a response to the article "Is Pakistan a Friend or a Foe?," in the September 29, 2003 issue and about Pakistan's role in helping the United States in fighting with terrorism and former president of the U.S. Ronald Reagan's letters to his children.

An Hand eines größeren Untersuchungsgutes wurde noch einmal die Histopathologie der Tuberkulinreaktion dargelegt, um die aus der Literatur erkennbaren noch bestehenden Meinungsverschiedenheiten zu beseitigen. Die vorgestellten Untersuchungsergebnisse wurden im Hinblick auf die Befunde anderer Autoren und in bezug auf die Spezifität der Reaktion besprochen.

Previous research into the sources of the Vercelli Homilieshas established that Caesarius of Arles is an influence on some of the pieces in the collection. Rudolph Willard has shown that a Caesarian homily on the last judgment is a source for a part of Homily VIII(untitled) and that Homily XI(spel to forman gangdaege) is for the most part dependent on Caesarius' De natale sancti Feliciswith the opening statement based on one of the bishop's Rogationtide sermons. Prof. Willard has also noted that although no specific source has been found, Homily XII(spel to ðam oðrum gangdaege) may very well have been written with one of the homilies of Caesarius in mind. J. E. Cross has demonstrated that a part of Homily XIII(spel to priddan gangdaege)is a close rendering of a paragraph in Caesarius' De elemosinis.Caesarian influence, however, is not limited to these homilies and can be seen in several of the Vercelli Homiliesnot yet published.

The year 2010 was the first year in the five-year publishing agreement between Cambridge University Press (CUP) and the Medieval Academy of America on behalf of Speculum,volumes 85 (2010) through 89 (2014). As might be expected, the conjointureof an eighty-five-year-old journal and a publishing house of more than five hundred years crossed many a traditional line and some new ones. For example, every contribution to the journal now has to be copyrighted, even this report and those that accompany it. One crucial matter is the distinction between subscribers and members. Subscribers are institutions that pay for and receive Speculum,while members are individuals who receive Speculumas a perquisite of membership in the Medieval Academy (along with other perquisites). In other words, CUP manages institutions; the Academy still works with individuals.

One of the great historical enterprises of modern scholarship on the Middle Ages is the edition and publication of works of medieval philosophers and theologians. Unlike the great nationalist-inspired projects like the Monumenta Germaniae Historica or the Rolls Series or the well-defined projects of the Maurists and Bollandists, the editors of the great medieval thinkers usually labor alone or in small teams dependent on small government grants or the wavering sponsorship of religious or national organizations. And there is much to do given how few medieval theological works exist in adequate critical editions, even for such central figures as Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham. Rescuing and making accessible the monuments of medieval philosophy has been the life work of Girard J. Etzkorn, professor emeritus of the Franciscan Institute, St. Bonaventure University, for which the Medieval Academy of America is honoring him with the 2011 Robert L. Kindrick–CARA Award for Outstanding Service to Medieval Studies.