Slow release antibiotics for treatment of septic arthritis in large animals

The search for an effective treatment for septic arthritis is ongoing. Current therapies are expensive since they require repeated joint lavage and long term antibiotic treatment. Local application of antimicrobial drugs is advantageous because high concentrations can be attained at the infection site, although repeated injections increase the risk of superinfection of the joint. Thus, slow release formulations, which have the advantage of local treatment yet single application of the drug, are appealing. Antibiotics used in slow release formulations are selected for tissue compatibility, an appropriate antibacterial spectrum, and stability both during the mixing procedure and within the carrier during the release period. Ideally the carriers should be bioresorbable. Promising reports on the clinical use of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) mixed with several different antibiotics, and of collagen sponges impregnated with gentamicin, should encourage the search for formulations optimally adapted to veterinary medical requirements.

Inhibition of hepatic tumor cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo by taltobulin, a synthetic analogue of the tripeptide hemiasterlin

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effects of taltobulin (HTI-286), a synthetic analogue of natural hemiasterlin derived from marine sponges, on hepatic tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: The potential anti-proliferative effects of HTI-286 on different hepatic tumor cell lines in vitro and in vivo were examined. RESULTS: HTI-286 significantly inhibited proliferation of all three hepatic tumor cell lines (mean IC50 = 2 nmol/L +/- 1 nmol/L) in vitro. Interestingly, no decrease in viable primary human hepatocytes (PHH) was detected under HTI-286 exposure. Moreover, intravenous administration of HTI-286 significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo (rat allograft model). CONCLUSION: HTI-286 might be considered a potent promising drug in treatment of liver malignancies. HTI-286 is currently undergoing clinical evaluation in cancer patients.

10001 manuscripts in practice: Perl, XML, medieval chronicles, and why Unicode rocks‎

I work in the field of Armenian historiography. This means I get to play with medieval manuscripts. The things I'm doing with the manuscripts are theoretically interesting, but pretty boring in practice, so I'm using Perl to program away the most boring bits. I will talk about the problems of text criticism in general, what sorts of things can and can't be done by the computer, my initial aversion to XML, how I was shown (some of) the error of my ways, and how I'm combining a bunch of isolated pieces of technology that were mostly already in use to achieve fame and fortune in the world of Armenian studies.

Emotions and Values

There are close links between emotions and values, or at least this is what our ordinary ways of talking suggest. For many, if not all, types of emotion it is thus possible to find a corresponding evaluative term, one often derived from the name of the emotion in question. These are for example evaluative terms such as ‘shameful’, ‘offensive, ‘annoying’, ‘dangerous’, ‘contemptible’, ‘admirable’, ‘amusing’, ‘exciting’, ‘boring’, and the like. Starting perhaps from these linguistic observations, the philosophical task is of course to elucidate the nature of the links between emotions and values, and attempts at doing so have traditionally revolved around the following three questions: first, what is the role of emotions in elucidating the nature of value? For example, should dangerousness be understood in term of the fear response? Second, what is the role of emotions in our getting access to values? For example, what may be the role of fear in becoming aware that a given animal is dangerous? Third, what value do emotions have? For example, is fear of special value because it helps behaving appropriately towards its object? We hall take up these questions in turn and survey the most important answers they have received in the literature. As we shall discover, answering the first question amounts to surveying a variety of theories according to which there is an ontological relation between values and emotions since the former should be elucidated in terms of the latter (Sec. 1). Addressing the second question consists in reviewing theories according to which there is an intentional relation between emotions and values because the former are apprehensions of value or evaluations (Sec. 2). Grappling with the third question, we shall explore some reasons for thinking that emotions can exemplify values (Sec. 3).

Total Synthesis of Aignopsanes, A Class of Sesquiterpenes: (+)-Aignopsanoic Acid A, (−)-Methyl Aignopsanoate A, and (−)-Isoaignopsanoic A

A general strategy for the synthesis of aignopsanes, a new family of sesquiterpene natural products of marine origin, is presented. The total synthesis of (+)-aignopsanoic acid A (1), (−)-methyl aignopsanoate A (2), and (−)-isoaignopsanoic A (3) has been achieved and their absolute configuration confirmed. (+)-Microcionin-1 (4), a structurally related furanosesquiterpene isolated in both enantiomeric forms from marine sponges, was also synthesized and its absolute configuration established in an unambiguous way. Interestingly, we report that (+)-microcionin-1 (4), can be converted by a simple oxidation process to aignopsanoic acid A (1). This transformation supports the hypothesis that (+)-microcionin-1 (4) may be an intermediate in the biosynthesis of aignopsanes.