We investigated the potential therapeutic effect of denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against RANKL, on tumour-cell survival and growth in patients with GCT.\n\nMethods In this open-label, single-group study, 37 patients with recurrent or unresectable GCT were enrolled and received subcutaneous denosumab 120 mg monthly (every 28 days),

with loading doses on days 8 and 15 of month 1. The primary endpoint was tumour response, defined as elimination of at least 90% of giant cells or no radiological progression of the target lesion up to week 25. Study recruitment is closed; patient treatment and follow-up are ongoing. The study is registered with Clinical Trials.gov, NCT00396279.\n\nFindings Two patients had insufficient

histology or radiology data for efficacy assessment. 30 of 35 AL3818 (86%; 95% Cl 70-95) of evaluable patients had a tumour response: 20 of 20 assessed by histology CCI-779 molecular weight and 10 of 15 assessed by radiology. Adverse events were reported in 33 of 37 patients; the most common being pain in an extremity (n=7), back pain (n=4), and headache (n=4). Five patients had grade 3-5 adverse events, only one of which (grade 3 increase in human chorionic gonadotropin concentration not related to pregnancy) was deemed to be possibly treatment related. Five serious adverse events were reported although none were deemed treatment related.\n\nInterpretation Further investigation of denosumab as a therapy for GCT is warranted.”
“With the help of the nonequilibrium Green’s function method, we have investigated the Josephson current properties of a triple quantum dot molecule. It is found that the sign of the Josephson current can be changed from positive to negative with increasing the spin-flip scattering, which leads

to the pi-junction transition. By tuning the system parameters, such as the gate voltage, the interdot coupling, and spin-flip strength, it is manifested that the pi-junction not only can be controlled, but also the oscillation of the Josephson current versus magnetic flux can be changed. The pi-junction is explained in terms of the picture of the current carrying density of states. These results provide the ways of manipulating the selleck Josephson current. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3525996]“
“Objectives: To describe trends in admissions to English hospitals and 30-day in-hospital mortality associated with a primary diagnosis of burns.\n\nDesign: Descriptive population-based study.\n\nSetting: England.\n\nParticipants: Patients admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of burns between 1991 and 2010.\n\nMain outcome measures: Age-specific and age-standardised admission rates, and 30-day in-hospital mortality percentages.\n\nResults: During 1991-2010, there were 188,597 admissions to hospitals in England with a primary diagnosis of burns.