Defekt und post-defekt

Ich habe vor einigen Tagen über einen Post-Defekt berichtet, und zwar schrieb ich über die argentinische Post. Das ist aber eine ganz andere Geschichte ...

Meine Geschichte beginnt mit einem Bild. Ja, Sie sehen richtig, Auf dem Zettel steht "defekt" - und das ist durchgestrichen. Unschwer ist zu erkennen, dass es sich um die Tür einer Toilette handelt. Und da war ein Defekt. Und der wurde behoben. Aber dann reißt man den Zettel nicht einfach ab, sondern streicht das Defekt durch, da sich die Toilette nun in post-defektem, also reparierten Zustand befindet. Sie mögen das verrückt finden, ich nenne es umsichtig ... allerdings finde ich es auch verrückt.

Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques No. 18 Yugen

A pendulum clock

Aching with every tick-

Tock tick-tock tick-tock

After the harvest

The fields are left for resting

What about scarecrows?

In the netherworld

The pink Spring cherry blossoms

Will also be pink

http://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.de/2015/11/carpe-diem-haiku-writing-techniques-18.html

Carpe Diem Special Haiku No. 181 "a maple leaf" Ese's second haiku

The maple tree

Red leaves in the bright sun

No need for shame

Empty street

Lonely face behind curtains

Despite the rich colours

http://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.de/2015/11/carpe-diem-special-181-maple-leaf-eses.html

Mavrilimumab at the ACR 2015 Meeting in San Francisco

I have been following the development of mavrilimumab, a human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor-α (GM–CSFR-α) monoclonal antibody, for a while now …

At the ACR 2015 meeting two studies on mavrilimumab were presented. The study by A.C. Bay-Jensen and colleagues is on a novel biomarker of macrophage activity called vicm. Interesting, but won’t get mavrilimumab much further on the way to approval.

G. Burmester presented an open label extension of the EARTH EXPLORER 1 and 2 (NCT01715896) phase IIb studies. In the conclusion the authors state: “Mavrilimumab continues to demonstrate a sustained efficacy and safety profile in pts with moderate to severe RA, over the 74 week treatment duration reported.”

So, what keeps mavrilimumab from approval. Still no phase 3 study and still no data on inhibiting radiographic progression. My guess is, that we have to wait for 104 weeks data to be published. But I have been sceptical and as time passes on and on, I grow even more sceptical that we’ll see mavrilimumab on the market.

And we haven’t heard anything about MOR103, another human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor-α (GM–CSFR-α) monoclonal antibody. Appearance at the ACR 2012 Meeting in Washington as a late breaking poster.

I would like this concept working, as we lack biologics with alternative modes of action, but I’m still not convinced. I hope that this will change next year.

Studies presented at the ACR 2015 Meeting in San Francisco:

Bay-Jensen AC, Guo X, Mortensen JH, Karsdal MA, White W. Vicm Is a Novel Biomarker of Macrophage Activity Evaluated in a Phase IIb Clinical Trial of Mavrilimumab [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). http://acrabstracts.org/abstract/vicm-is-a-novel-biomarker-of-macrophage-activity-evaluated-in-a-phase-iib-clinical-trial-of-mavrilimumab/. Accessed November 10, 2015.

Burmester G, McInnes I, Kremer J, Miranda P, Vencovský J, Godwood A, Albulescu M, Close D, Weinblatt M. Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Mavrilimumab, a Fully Human Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Receptor-α (GM–CSFR-α) Monoclonal Antibody, in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015; 67 (suppl 10). http://acrabstracts.org/abstract/long-term-safety-and-efficacy-of-mavrilimumab-a-fully-human-granulocyte-macrophage-colony-stimulating-factor-receptor-gmcsfr-monoclonal-antibody-in-patients-with-rheumatoid/. Accessed November 10, 2015.

Links:

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2014/06/mavrilimumab-at-eular-2014-meeting-in.html

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2013/11/mavrilimumab-at-acr-2013-meeting-in-san.html

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2013/06/mavrilimumab-at-eular-2013-meeting.html 

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2013/03/mavrilimumab.html 

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2012/07/mavrilimumab-at-eular-2012.html 

Carpe Diem Haiku No. 855 Meadow(s)

Snow piling on roof

Snow covering the meadows

Where are bats and mice?

Naked meadows

Now dressed in bridal white

Stains soon to come

The snow is melting

Dark meadow in the morning

Nightingale is back

Morning moving on

Dewdrops on the meadow

Evanescing

Spring goes off to sleep

Mists rising from the meadow

Lonely star, twinkling

Sunny meadow

A picnic on the ground

And ants joining

I do not summon

The cat in the meadow

Still keeps sitting

This burning sunrise

A quiet meadow in green

The chasing rabbits  

The dimming daylight

Cut meadow in straw yellow

Bats come out to hunt

This has been more reminiscing for me as I have already written some haiku with the prompt meadows. I hope you like this selection.

http://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.de/2015/11/carpe-diem-855-meadows.html

On sending postcards from Argentina

I like to write postcards. While I’m travelling these postcards slowly travel back. Sending a picture via WhatsApp, SMS, or using Facebook isn’t the same. Being far away should not look like you’re around the corner.

This year in Argentina I’ve written quite a lot of postcards. Then I needed to get stamps and …

Getting stamps for the postcard proved to be a real hard task. I arrived in some of the smaller towns only in the evening, which means far beyond business hours. But then in Cafayate I had the chance. I went to the post office (Correo Argentino) and met an old gentleman behind the counter. We had a very nice conversation and I nearly expected him to offer me a coffee, but he could not sell stamps as his office had been sold out.

The next city was a bigger one: Salta. But alas! I arrived on a Saturday afternoon and the office was closed.

Next chance had been Buenos Aires. As I couldn’t cross the Paso de Jama, I had to fly back to Buenos Aires and from there to Santiago de Chile. There’s a post office at Terminal A of Ezeiza Airport, which is the international airport of Buenos Aires. I’ve been close to the end of the opening hours, but still there were 9 minutes left. The clerk sure wasn’t a gentleman. He’s sent me to Terminal C to get stamps, but there wasn’t another office at Terminal C. I’ve got back in time (!), but he had already and prematurely closed the office.

Correo Argentino at Terminal A (before leaving)

I’ve already written an email to Correo Argentino:

¿Es posible obtener estampillas en Argentina? Yo había tenido dificultades en mi viaje. La oficina de correos en Cafayate no tenía estampillas. En otras oficinas de correos llegué demasiado tarde, ya que han horarios de apertura muy limitada. Pero lo más repulsivo experiencia del viaje viene a la oficina de correos Terminal A del aeropuerto de Ezeiza en Buenos Aires. Entré en la oficina de correos allí el 10/20/2015 a las 16:51 y exigí 30 estampillas para postales. El recepcionista me dijo que sólo habría estampillas en la Terminal C. Mientras caminaba a la terminal C, y encontré que no hay una oficina de correos allí, él tiene la oficina de correos cerrada. ¿Por qué entretenido una oficina de correos, si no se lleva a cabo su trabajo? Tal vez usted quiere comentar sobre eso, sí, antes de poner la en la red.

Atentamente! Dr. med. Lothar M. Kirsch

They haven’t answered to this email and they also didn’t comment on Twitter. Maybe they’ll do later (mañana).

So, what did I do? I went to a post office in Viña del Mar (Chile) and posted my postcards from Argentina from there.

Did I learn something? Of course! I improved my Spanish (Castellano). 

Links:
http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2015/11/aconcagua.html
http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2015/11/some-haiku-from-south-america.html

10.11.2015:
Today I received an answer to my twitter posts:

11.11.2015:
And here is on of the postcards from Purmamarca, Argentina, which I've posted in Chile:

And here's the corresponding tweet:

Aconcagua

The Aconcagua is the highest mountain of America and also of the Southern hemisphere. At 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft) it is only 40 m short of being a 7,000 m summit. Yet some climbers think it's harder to climb Aconcagua than a summit above the 7,000 m mark in the Himalayas. Maybe it’s true because of the rather sudden drop from the high Andes to the Pacific Ocean. Aconcagua is a Quechua word in origin and means Sentinel of Stone (for more factual information please look it up on Wikipedia, see link below).

This year I travelled in South America. I’ll tell you more about my bus ride from from Santiago de Chile to Mendoza passing the Aconcagua. From Santiago you pass vineyards. Then you go all along a countryside, where people engage in agricultural pursuits. Route 57 passing Los Azules, Alto de la Posada, on to Portillo. Don’t fall asleep now, because you soon go on a road winding up in 32 sharp bends.

Oh, no, not the Aconcagua, 

still before crossing the border at about the 32nd bend.

On top you’ll soon reach the border control. It had been cold and windy, when we lined up for inspection. Being the first bus there, we had less waiting time. But still, it had been cold. They do a mutual check there, which means you hand over your passport to the Chilean border officer, who hands it further to his/her colleague from Argentine, who gives it back to you. After the custom’s control of the bus we went on. On Route 7.

The bus driver was praising our good luck as we were passing the scenery in very good weather conditions. He hadn’t seen the mountain as clear as today for years – and he drives there regularly.

Aconcagua

What a beautiful sight! And in the sun I didn’t feel any cold any more.

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconcagua

http://rheumatologe.blogspot.de/2015/11/some-haiku-from-south-america.html