DSMB. 1. What role, what responsibilities?

In addition to the IRB (Institutional review board), the DSMB (data safety and monitoring board) takes an increasing role in the monitoring of clinical trials, especially in large multicenter trials. The DSMB is a an expert committee, independent from the investigators and the sponsor of the trial, which periodically examines the safety data accumulated during progress of the trial and ensures that the benefit/risk ratio remains acceptable for participating patients. The DSMB is also a safeguard for the scientific integrity of the trial. It is the only committee which can have access to unblinded data from the trial. The DSMB may recommend termination of the trial in three situations : (1) occurrence of unanticipated adverse events which may pose a serious risk for participating patients; (2) demonstration of efficacy before the planned accrual \; (3) and because of "futility" (the most difficult situation), i.e. in absence of a reasonable probability that the trial may reach a conclusion within its planned frame.     

Forgotten fantasies? Modernity, reenchantment, and dream consciousness.

Why are dreams easily forgotten or difficult to remember? Dream memory is usually attributed to stored fantasies and imaginations in sleep that have distant or no relevance to waking consciousness. Lack of dream recall suggests the modern emphasis on the significance of waking realities at the expense of oneiric experiences. Yet, in the ancient West and many contemporary non-Western societies, dreaming constitutes an unbroken chain of memory to the organization of everyday life. However, reenchantment in the modern context has given new importance to dream consciousness as vital to the development of the creative self. Emphasis on dream practices or dreamwork as leading to various forms of dream control suggests a quest for mastery of inner space. In this regard, training and motivation in dream recall provide an essential tool for advancing the self's well-being. Dreams are not treated as forgotten fantasies but dynamic pathways to new meanings of the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

M?ssbauer investigations of high-spin ferrous heme proteins. II. Chloroperoxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and hemoglobin.

Reduced samples of chloroperoxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and deoxyhemoglobin were studied by M?ssbauer spectroscopy in strong magnetic fields. The intricate paramagnetic spectra of chloroperoxidase were evaluated in detail in the framework of a spin Hamiltonian pertinent to high-spin ferrous iron. The studies strongly suggest that, in their reduced states, chloroperoxidase from Caldariomyces fumago and cytochrome P-450 from Pseudomonas putida have similar, if not identical ligand structures of the heme iron. The spectral similarities of these two proteins, noted in an earlier M?ssbauer investigation, are further explored and substantiated. Reduced horseradish peroxidase and deoxyhemoglobin, on the other hand, show high-field M?ssbauer spectra that differ considerably from each other and, in particular, from those of the P-450 type, suggesting a different ligand arrangement of the heme iron for each case.     

Lethal,neonatal, short-limbed platyspondylic dwarfism. A further variant?

Summary A stillborn short-limbed platyspondylic dwarf is described. Detailed analysis of the X-ray and histological characteristics of bone and cartilage suggest that this infant represents a previously unreported variant of short-limbed platyspondylic dwarfism. The designation Luton variant is suggested.     

?Kenyaichthyidae fam. nov. and ?Kenyaichthys gen. nov. – First Record of a Fossil Aplocheiloid Killifish (Teleostei,Cyprinodontiformes)

The extant Cyprinodontiformes (killifishes) with their two suborders Cyprinodontoidei and Aplocheiloidei represent a diverse and well-studied group of fishes. However, their fossil record is comparatively sparse and has so far yielded members of the Cyprinodontoidei only. Here we report on cyprinodontiform fossils from the upper Miocene Lukeino Formation in the Tugen Hills of the Central Rift Valley of Kenya, which represent the first fossil record of an aplocheiloid killifish. A total of 169 specimens - mostly extraordinarily well preserved - and a sample of ten extant cyprinodontiform species were studied on the basis of morphometrics, meristics and osteology. A phylogenetic analysis using PAUP was also conducted for the fossils. Both the osteological data and the phylogenetic analysis provide strong evidence for the assignment of the fossils to the Aplocheiloidei, and justify the definition of the new family †Kenyaichthyidae, the new genus †Kenyaichthys and the new species †K. kipkechi sp. nov. The phylogenetic analysis unexpectedly places †Kenyaichthys gen. nov. in a sister relationship to the Rivulidae (a purely Neotropical group), a probable explanation might be lack of available synapomorphies for the Rivulidae, Nothobranchiidae and Aplocheilidae. The specimens of †K. kipkechi sp. nov. show several polymorphic characters and large overlap in meristic traits, which justifies their interpretation as a species flock in statu nascendi. Patterns of variation in neural and haemal spine dimensions in the caudal vertebrae of †Kenyaichthys gen. nov. and the extant species studied indicate that some previously suggested synapomorphies of the Cyprinodontoidei and Aplocheiloidei need to be revised.