Measurement of carcass weight and/or lean meat yield may better reflect the true economic effects of parasitism in sheep. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose of review\n\nThe pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) involves aberrancy in multiple components of the immune system including B cells, T cells, cytokines and growth factors. Therapeutic agents targeting these mediators selectively have been tested for the treatment of SLE. This

review summarizes the recent advances in the fast expanding field of these biological therapies.\n\nRecent findings\n\nThe two large phase 2/3 randomized placebo-controlled trials of B-cell depletion, using anti-CD20 antibody, rituximab, in SLE, reported unexpected negative

MK-2206 purchase results. On the contrary, two large phase 3 trials of belimumab, the monoclonal antibody against B-lymphocyte GW-572016 in vitro stimulator (BLyS), showed significant clinical benefit. Response rates were 57.6 and 43.2% for 10 mg/kg belimumab, compared with 43.6 and 33.8% for placebo in BLISS-52 and BLISS-76, respectively. Studies of a co-stimulation blocker (abatacept), tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (infliximab), and interleukin-6 inhibitor (tocilizumab) were either negative (abatacept) or were associated with high rates of adverse events. Studies of T cell and interferon inhibition remain in the early development phase.\n\nSummary\n\nDespite the enthusiasm in the field of biologic therapies, the majority of these new modalities have fallen KPT-8602 short of expectations for various reasons. Only belimumab has recently met its primary outcome in two phase 3 trials.”
“Background: Previous schizophrenia research involving the “beads task” has suggested an association between delusions and 2 reasoning biases: (1) “jumping to conclusions” (JTC), whereby early, resolute decisions are formed on the basis of little evidence and (2) over adjustment of probability estimates following a single instance

of disconfirmatory evidence. In the current study, we used a novel JTC-style paradigm to provide new information about a cognitive operation common to these 2 reasoning biases. Methods: Using a task that required participants to rate the likelihood that a fisherman was catching a series of black or white fish from Lake A and not Lake B, and vice versa, we compared the responses of 4 groups (healthy, bipolar, nondelusional schizophrenia and delusional schizophrenia) when we manipulated 2 elements of the Bayesian formula: incoming data and prior odds. Results: Regardless of our manipulations of the Bayesian formula, the delusional schizophrenia group gave significantly higher likelihood ratings for the lake that best matched the colour of the presented fish, but the ratings for the nonmatching lake did not differ from the other groups.