CiteULike: Author Giannetti

Proactive treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults with 0.1% tacrolimus ointment.

A Wollenberg — 2008-07-03T07:11:37-00:00

Allergy, Vol. 63, No. 7. (July 2008), pp. 742-750.

BACKGROUND: Long-term treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD) using low dose, intermittent, topical anti-inflammatory agents may control acute disease and prevent relapses. This 12-month, European, multicentre, randomized study investigated whether the proactive use of 0.1% tacrolimus ointment applied twice weekly can keep AD in remission and reduce the incidence of disease exacerbations (DE). METHODS: During the initial open-label period, 257 adults with AD applied 0.1% tacrolimus ointment twice daily (b.i.d.) for up to 6 weeks to affected areas. When an Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) score of <or=2 was achieved, the patient entered the disease control period (DCP) and was randomized to either proactive tacrolimus (n = 116) or vehicle ointment (n = 108) twice weekly for 12 months. Exacerbations were treated with 0.1% tacrolimus ointment b.i.d. until an IGA <or=2 was regained, then randomized treatment was restarted. The primary endpoint was the number of DEs during the DCP that required a substantial therapeutic intervention. RESULTS: Proactive tacrolimus 0.1% ointment application significantly reduced the number of DEs requiring substantial therapeutic intervention (median difference 2; P < 0.001; Wilcoxon rank sum test), the percentage of DE treatment days (median difference: 15.2%; P < 0.001; Wilcoxon rank sum test) and increased the time to first DE (median 142 vs 15 days; P < 0.001; stratified log-rank test). The adverse event profile was similar for the two treatment approaches. CONCLUSION: A 12-month, twice weekly proactive tacrolimus ointment application was an effective treatment in most study patients which prevented, delayed and reduced the occurrence of AD exacerbations

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with psoriasis: a hospital-based casecontrol study

Gisondi — 2007-06-20T04:30:01-00:00

British Journal of Dermatology, Vol. 157, No. 1. (July 2007), pp. 68-73.

Proactive treatment of atopic dermatitis in adults with 0.1 tacrolimus ointment

Wollenberg — 2008-04-29T06:24:00-00:00

Allergy, Vol. 63, No. 6. (June 2008), pp. 742-750.

Early coding of reaching: frontal and parietal association connections of parieto-occipital cortex

Roberto Caminiti — 2008-04-29T02:30:57-00:00

European Journal of Neuroscience (September 1999), pp. 3339-3345.

The ipsilateral association connections of the cortex of the dorsal part of the rostral bank of the parieto-occipital sulcus and of the adjoining posterior part of the superior parietal lobule were studied by using different retrograde flourescent tracers. Fluoro-Ruby, Fast blue and Diamidino yellow were injected into visual area V6A, and dorso-caudal (PMdc, F2) and dorso-rostral (PMdr, F7) premotor cortex, respectively. The parietal area of injection had been previously characterized physiologically in behaving monkeys, through a variety of oculomotor and visuomanual tasks. Area V6A is mainly linked by reciprocal projections to parietal areas 7m, MIP (medial intraparietal) and PEa, and, to a lesser extent, to frontal areas PMdr (rostral dorsal premotor cortex, F7) and PMdc (F2). All these areas project to that part of the dorsocaudal premotor cortex that has a direct access to primary motor cortex. V6A is also connected to area F5 and, to a lesser extent, to 7a, ventral (VIP) and lateral (LIP) intraparietal areas. This pattern of association connections may explain the presence of visually-related and eye-position signals in premotor cortex, as well as the influence of information concerning arm position and movement direction on V6A neural activity. Area V6A emerges as a potential ‘early’ node of the distributed network underlying visually-guided reaching. In this network, reciprocal association connections probably impose, through re-entrant signalling, a recursive property to the operations leading to the composition of eye and hand motor commands.

Thermodynamics of calmodulin trapping by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II: subpicomolar Kd determined using competition titration calorimetry.

JK Tse — 2008-02-19T22:01:54-00:00

Biochemistry, Vol. 46, No. 13. (3 April 2007), pp. 4017-4027.

Calmodulin (CaM) trapping by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a phenomenon whereby the affinity of CaM for CaMKII increases >1000-fold following CaMKII autophosphorylation. The molecular basis of this effect is not entirely understood. Binding of CaM to the phosphorylated and the unphosphorylated states of CaMKII is well mimicked by the interaction of CaM with two different length peptides taken from the CaM-binding region of CaMKII, peptides we refer to as the long and intermediate peptides. To better understand the conformational change accompanying CaM trapping, we have used isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to compare the binding thermodynamics of CaM to these peptides as well as to a shorter CaMKII-based peptide. Calorimetric analysis revealed that the enthalpy, rather than the entropy, distinguished binding of these three peptides. Furthermore, the heat capacity change was found to be similar for the long and intermediate peptides but smaller in magnitude for the short peptide. Direct titration of CaM with peptide provided the Kd value for the short peptide (Kd = 5.9 +/- 2.4 microM), but a novel, two-phased competitive binding strategy was necessary to ascertain the affinities of the intermediate (Kd = 0.17 +/- 0.06 nM) and long (Kd = 0.07 +/- 0.04 pM) peptides. To our knowledge, the Kd for the long peptide is the most potent measured to date using ITC. Together, the findings reported here support a model whereby the final conformational change accompanying CaM trapping buries little additional surface area but does involve formation of new hydrogen bonds and van der Waals contacts that contribute to formation of the high-affinity, CaM-trapped state.

Understanding Movies

Louis Giannetti — 2007-07-20T23:47:22-00:00

(07 February 2007)

 Helps readers understand how the many languages of film work together to create meaning. Louis Giannetti organizes Understanding Movies around the key elements of filmmaking, including cintematography, Mise en Scène, movement, editing, sound, acting, drama, casting, story, screenwriting, ideology, and theory. He synthesizes every element through a complete case study: Citizen Kane. This book's ideas are illuminated with hundreds of high-quality still photos, more than 70 in full color, taken from movies such as The Matrix, Almost Famous, jackass the movie, Chicago, Lord of the Rings, Mystic River, and Traffic</D>. New in this edition: a full section on contemporary special effects and computer generated imagery (CGI); up-to-the-minute information on new developments in film technology; more coverage of recent films and filmmakers; more ethnic diversity (including new material on the Islamic cinema); and more lavish use of color and high-quality paper. An updated Companion Website contains animations, video clips from interviews with movie professionals, and Research Navigator access to New York Times film reviews. For everyone who wants to understand the artistry and meaning of the movies.

Integrated use of satellite images, DEMs, soil and substrate data in studying mountainous lands.

F Giannetti — 2007-05-11T13:09:19-00:00

International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Vol. 3, No. 1. (2001), pp. 25-29.

A method based on the integration into a GIS of satellite images of different spatial resolution (Landsat TM and SPOT), Digital Elevation Models, geo-lithological maps and some soil-landscape data was developed and applied to a test area on a sector of the Italian northwestern Alps in the Piemonte region (Pellice, Po, Varaita and Maira valleys southwest of Torino). The main working steps performed (using GIS software) in this area were: (1) acquisition of geo-lithological and geomorphological maps available and a first definition of homogeneous zones obtained by joining different classes with pedogenic criteria; (2) processing and classification of satellite images to define homogeneous areas with reference to prevailing land cover, land use pattern, relief shape and spectral characters; (3) integration of the previous two layers to obtain a first set of cartographic units showing a distinctive and often repetitive pattern of land form, land cover and parent material; and (4) processing DEMs (slope and aspect), soil or soil-landscape data in order to refine data and characterise the units. The resulting cartographic units were superimposed on a soil-landscape map realised by means of stereoscopic interpretation of aerial photographs by IPLA at the same scale (1:250,000). This comparison was used to verify the correctness of the satellite image processing steps and consistency with the map scale used. A larger scale application was also developed for grassland at 1:50,000 scale to demonstrate the practical use of remote sensing and GIS data in assisting mountainous land development.

Diclofenac patch for topical treatment of acute impact injuries: a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, multicentre study

HG Predel — 2005-10-27T04:38:37-00:00

Br J Sports Med, Vol. 38, No. 3. (1 June 2004), pp. 318-323.

Objectives: To investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of a newly developed diclofenac patch in the topical treatment of blunt impact injuries. Methods: This was a randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, multicentre study in 120 patients with traumatic blunt soft tissue injury. Within 3 h of the injury participants of sport competitions and training camps were enrolled and treated twice daily with the diclofenac or a placebo patch over a period of 7 days. Patients were randomised (1:1) to two parallel groups. Tenderness produced by pressure was measured twice daily during the first 3 days after enrolment as well as at day 7. Tenderness was defined as the amount of pressure (measured by a calibrated caliper at the centre of the injury) that first produced a pain reaction as reported by the patient. Results: The primary efficacy variable was the area under the curve for tenderness over the first 3 days. The diclofenac patch was significantly more effective than placebo (p<0.0001). The treatment effect was 64.7 kp h/cm2 (95% confidence interval 48.7 to 80.9) between diclofenac and placebo patches. These results were supported by all secondary efficacy variables. The diclofenac patch produced rapid pain relief as reflected by the time to reach resolution of pain at the injured site which was significantly shorter compared to placebo (p<0.0001). The diclofenac patch was well tolerated. The most frequently observed adverse events were local cutaneous adverse reactions (pruritus, rash) of minor severity occurring with the same frequency as in the placebo group. Conclusions: A newly developed diclofenac patch is effective and safe for the treatment of blunt impact injuries.