Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rheumatoid Arthritis Interstitial Lung Disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, autoimmune, inflammatory disorder affecting 0.51% of the North American population (Gabriel, 2001). It has a predilection for young women with an incidence rate of up to 130 per 100,000 compared with 70 per 100,000 in men [Minaur et al, 2004]. It is associated with a median survival decrease of up to 11 years compared to the general population (Minaur et al., 2004). The disease course may be complicated by extra-articular manifestations that confer an added burden of morbidity and mortality. RA-associated cardiovascular and infectious complications are commonly highlighted as major causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients (Maradit-Kremers et al., 2005). However, pulmonary involvement, the third leading extra-articular manifestation of RA, is now also recognized as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in RA patients. This was demonstrated in an autopsy study of 81 RA patients where the cause of death was determined to be infectious in 23.5%, cardiovascular in 17.3% and respiratory in 9.9% of patients (Suzuki et al., 1994). Pulmonary complications are the presenting manifestation of RA in up to 20% of patients (Brown, 2007). These complications include airway disease, pleural effusion, pulmonary nodules, and interstitial lung disease (ILD). This chapter will discuss the epidemiology, clinical features, management of RA-associated ILD (RA-ILD) and highlight the links between pulmonary involvement and autoimmunity.
CT angiography of the carotid arteries in trauma to the neck.

OBJECTIVES serious vascular injuries to the neck may be asymptomatic or masked by other life-threatening conditions. Angiography, the "gold standard" vascular imaging modality, is an invasive procedure. Moreover, it is time-consuming and thus may delay a needed vascular intervention. The results of screening angiography are negative in more than 80% of cases. Therefore other less invasive and faster screening tests, such as the Doppler ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography, have been tested. This retrospective study was done to evaluate the use of CT angiography (CTA) in suspected vascular injuries of the neck. METHODS from 1995 to 1998, 16 patients with suspected traumatic carotid artery injury underwent CTA. Twelve of these patients had penetrating injuries and four had blunt injuries to the neck. CTAs were obtained by Elscint Twin Flash Spiral Scanner, while MIP reconstructions were carried out on an Omnipro, Elscint (Indy, Silicon Graphics) work station and interpreted by a radiologist. RESULTS all the CTAs were diagnostic. Positive findings included one complete tear of the right common carotid artery (confirmed by surgery) due to a penetrating injury and one bilateral internal carotid artery thrombosis after blunt injury to the neck. In addition, three patients with multiple trauma were operated on, due to either proximity only or questionable neurological findings. Surgical exploration confirmed the negative findings seen on CTA. CONCLUSION CT angiography of the carotid arteries in cervical trauma may be used as an accurate decisive tool for a needed surgical intervention. More studies with larger number of patients and comparison with angiography are needed.
Human cytomegalovirus elevates levels of the cellular protein p53 in infected fibroblasts

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), like other DNA tumor viruses, induces morphological transformation of cells in vitro and stimulates host cell macromolecular synthesis in infected cells. Since other DNA tumor viruses, such as simian virus 40 and adenovirus, have previously been shown to interact with cellular protein p53, we investigated whether infection of cells by HCMV would modulate cellular p53 levels. Our results indicate that HCMV elevates cellular p53 levels on the order of 10- to 20-fold in infected fibroblasts. The induction of elevated p53 levels was dependent upon the presence of active virus and was prevented by neutralizing antibody. The induction of elevated p53 levels was determined not to be due to virus-receptor interactions or HCMV late events. The induction of elevated p53 levels commenced at immediate-early times of the HCMV multiplication cycle (6 h postinfection) and reached maximal levels by 24 h postinfection, before most of the HCMV DNA synthesis was initiated. HCMV immediate-early proteins were clearly shown to be responsible for elevating p53 levels in infected fibroblasts; expression of HCMV immediate-early region 1 and 2 proteins resulted in elevation of p53 levels in transfected human fibroblasts. This is the first report of increased p53 levels caused by HCMV in infected fibroblasts.
A Patatin-Like Protein Protects Toxoplasma gondii from Degradation in a Nitric Oxide-Dependent Manner

ABSTRACT Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that uses immune cells to disseminate throughout its host. T. gondii can persist and even slowly replicate in activated host macrophages by reducing the antimicrobial effects of molecules such as nitric oxide (NO). A T. gondii patatin-like protein called TgPL1 was previously shown to be important for survival in activated macrophages. Here we show that a T. gondii mutant with a deletion of the TgPL1 gene (ΔTgPL1) is degraded in activated macrophages. This degradation phenotype is abolished by the removal of NO by the use of an inducible NO synthase (iNOS) inhibitor or iNOS-deficient macrophages. The exogenous addition of NO to macrophages results in reduced parasite growth but not the degradation of ΔTgPL1 parasites. These results suggest that NO is necessary but not sufficient for the degradation of ΔTgPL1 parasites in activated macrophages. While some patatin-like proteins have phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity, recombinant TgPL1 purified from Escherichia coli does not have phospholipase activity. This result was not surprising, as TgPL1 contains a G-to-S change at the predicted catalytic serine residue. An epitope-tagged version of TgPL1 partially colocalized with a dense granule protein in the parasitophorous vacuole space. These results may suggest that TgPL1 moves to the parasitophorous vacuole to protect parasites from nitric oxide by an undetermined mechanism.
Correlation between molecular biomarkers and risk factors for the clinical progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia using tissue microarray immunostaining

Background The pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been widely studied, and several biomarkers are known to play roles in its development. This study aimed to investigate the possible role of cysteine‐rich protein 61 (CYR61), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), androgen receptor (AR), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), cytochrome c, caspase‐3, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the clinical progression of BPH. Methods Tissue specimens from 96 BPH cases who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate were processed and transferred to tissue microarrays. Patient age, prostate volume, serum prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) level, and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) of all BPH cases were collected before surgery. The expression of CYR61, VEGF, AR, IL‐6, cytochrome c, caspase‐3, and PCNA was examined by immunostaining in the BPH specimens, and any possible correlation between the different biomarkers and risk factors for BPH clinical progression was analyzed. Results The expression of CYR61, VEGF, AR, IL‐6, cytochrome c, caspase‐3, and PCNA in the BPH cases was 68.8% (66/96), 77.1% (74/96), 43.8% (42/96), 31.3% (30/96), 35.4% (34/96), 56.3% (54/96), and 29.2% (28/96), respectively. The expression of both CYR61 and VEGF was positively correlated with patient age, prostate volume, and serum PSA level (P <0.05). Furthermore, cytochrome c and caspase‐3 expression were inversely related to prostate volume (P <0.05), and AR expression was positively related to serum PSA level (P <0.05). Conclusion CYR61 and VEGF expression might serve as biomarkers for predicting the clinical progression of BPH due to effects on stromal cell proliferation and angiogenesis.
Vaccination and early protection against non-host-specific Salmonella serotypes in poultry: exploitation of innate immunity and microbial activity

A recent European Union Directive required member states to put monitoring and control programmes in place, of which vaccination is a central component. Live Salmonella vaccines generally confer better protection than killed vaccines, because the former stimulate both cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Administering Salmonella bacteria orally to newly hatched chickens results in extensive gut colonization and a strong adaptive immune stimulus but broiler chickens are immunologically immature. However, colonization exerts a variety of rapid (within 24 h) protective effects. These include specific colonization-inhibition (competitive exclusion) in which the protective bacteria exert a profound resistance to establishment and colonization by other related bacteria. This is thought to be primarily a metabolic attribute of the vaccinating bacteria but may also involve competition for attachment sites. The presence of large numbers of bacteria originating from a live Salmonella vaccine in the intestine can also induce infiltration of polymorphonuclear cells into the intestinal wall, which confers resistance to invasion and systemic spread by virulent Salmonella strains. This opens new perspectives for vaccine usage in broilers, layers and breeding poultry but also in other animals which show increased susceptibility to infection because of their young age or for other reasons, such as oral chemoprophylaxis or chemotherapy, where the lack of established normal gut flora is an issue. We recommend that all live vaccines considered for oral administration should be tested for their ability to induce the two protective effects described above. Further developments in live Salmonella vaccines are, however, currently hindered by fears associated with the use and release of live vaccines which may be genetically modified.
New Protein-Protein Interactions Identified for the Regulatory and Structural Components and Substrates of the Type III Secretion System of the Phytopathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis Pathovar citri

ABSTRACT We have initiated a project to identify protein-protein interactions involved in the pathogenicity of the bacterial plant pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri. Using a yeast two-hybrid system based on Gal4 DNA-binding and activation domains, we have focused on identifying interactions involving subunits, regulators, and substrates of the type III secretion system coded by the hrp (for hypersensitive response and pathogenicity), hrc (for hrp conserved), and hpa (for hrp associated) genes. We have identified several previously uncharacterized interactions involving (i) HrpG, a two-component system response regulator responsible for the expression of X. axonopodis pv. citri hrp operons, and XAC0095, a previously uncharacterized protein encountered only in Xanthomonas spp. ; (ii) HpaA, a protein secreted by the type III secretion system, HpaB, and the C-terminal domain of HrcV; (iii) HrpB1, HrpD6, and HrpW; and (iv) HrpB2 and HrcU. Homotropic interactions were also identified for the ATPase HrcN. These newly identified protein-protein interactions increase our understanding of the functional integration of phytopathogen-specific type III secretion system components and suggest new hypotheses regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying Xanthomonas pathogenicity.
Selective Depletion of Alveolar Macrophages in Polymicrobial Sepsis Increases Lung Injury, Bacterial Load and Mortality but Does Not Affect Cytokine Release

Background: Resident tissue macrophages exert important functions during severe systemic infection and contribute to changes in local as well as systemic immune responses. Alveolar macrophages (AM) play a crucial role in airway diseases and in the defense against microorganisms invading the body via the bronchopulmonary tract. It has been postulated that AM are involved in the development of acute local disorders as a consequence of extrapulmonary stimuli like pancreatitis, peritonitis, or trauma. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the local and systemic role of AM during sepsis using selective AM depletion in the murine colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP) model of polymicrobial sepsis. Methods: 48 h prior to CASP surgery, AM of female C57BL/6 mice were selectively depleted by intratracheal application of clodronate liposomes (Lipo-clod). For control purposes, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) liposomes (Lipo-PBS) were used. Results: CASP led to significantly elevated levels of local and systemic cytokines independent of the presence of AM. In contrast, levels of gut-derived bacteria in bronchoalveolar lavage and lung of septic mice were significantly higher in Lipo-clod-treated animals compared to Lipo-PBS-treated animals. After CASP-induced sepsis, local barrier dysfunction in the lung was detected; AM depletion resulted in severely enhanced development of acute lung injury. Consequently, Lipo-clod-treated animals showed strongly reduced survival rates after CASP. Conclusions: Contrarily to other macrophage populations, AM do not significantly contribute to local and systemic cytokine release during polymicrobial abdominal sepsis. AM have important protective functions for local clearance of gut-derived bacteria and attenuation of lung injury.
CCR5 Expression Correlates with Susceptibility of Maturing Monocytes to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection

ABSTRACT The chemokine receptor CCR5 and to a lesser extent CCR3 and CCR2b have been shown to serve as coreceptors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) entry into blood- or tissue-derived macrophages. Therefore, we examined the expression of the chemokine receptors CCR1, CCR2b, CCR3, CCR5, and CXCR4 as RNAs or as membrane-expressed antigens in monocytes maturing into macrophages and correlated these results with the susceptibility of macrophages to HIV-1 infection, as measured by their concentrations of extracellular p24 antigen and levels of intracellular HIV DNA by quantitative PCR. There was little change in levels of CCR1, CCR2b, and CCR5 RNAs. CCR3 RNA and surface antigen were undetectable throughout maturation of adherent monocytes over 10 days. CXCR4 RNA and membrane antigen were strongly expressed in newly adherent monocytes, but their levels declined at day 7. The amounts of CCR5 RNA remained stable, but the amounts of CCR5 antigen increased from undetectable to peak levels at day 7 and then declined slightly at day 10. Levels of susceptibility to laboratory (HIV-1BaL) and clinical strains of HIV-1 showed parallel kinetics, peaking at day 7 and then decreasing at days 10 to 14. The concordance of levels of HIV DNA and p24 antigen suggested that the changes in susceptibility with monocyte maturation were at or immediately after entry and correlated well with CCR5 expression and inversely with CXCR4 expression.
Effects of Maternal Age and Cohort of Birth on Incidence Time Trends of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Several studies report increasing trends in the incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Because ALL may generate in utero, this study investigated if maternal age and birth cohort influence ALL temporal trends. Data on 252 ALL cases in children ages 1 to 5 years were extracted from the population-based Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont, Italy. Information on cases' maternal age and year of birth was obtained from the registry, whereas population data were obtained for children born in 1980 to 1997. Incidence rates were analyzed using an age-period-cohort approach, in which the period effect was represented by the child year of birth, the age effect by the maternal age at the time of delivery, and the cohort effect by the maternal birth cohort. ALL incidence increased over the study period [annual percentage change 2.49%; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.09-4.93]. A linear effect of the maternal time variables (P = 0.012) was found, which was equally described by maternal age (direct association) and maternal birth cohort (inverse association). The annual percentage change was 1.83% (95% CI, −0.59-4.31), when maternal age was included in the model, and 5.72% (95% CI, 2.29-9.27), when maternal year of birth was included. In conclusion, maternal characteristics substantially affect temporal trends in childhood ALL incidence. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(2):347–51)
Wound Healing Plants of Jalgaon District of Maharashtra State, India

Jalgaon District of Maharashtra state (India) has a great heritage and rich in various green and semi evergreen species. Record of 3347 species from 201 families appeared in earlier literature from Jalgaon District. A list of 283 wound healing plants of Indian origin is compiled; out of these 224 plants are native of Maharashtra, a 131 plants among them occurred in Jalgaon District, which are in practice by local herbalist, Vaidyas and nonregistered medical practitioners and Mukhiya (Head) of tribal community. Taxonomical distribution showed 93.63% dicot and 6.37% monocot and a single aquatic plant. The investigation revealed that wound healing natural products usually localized in root (27% ) > leaves (20%) > stem > seed > whole plant > fruit > flower > rhizome > tuber > shoot > stamen > grain > gall > filament and plant product like latex (46%), oil (40%) , gum and resin (7%) as evident from this survey. Most of the remedies consisted of either single plant part or combination. Methods of preparation varies and they are species specific viz: plant parts applied as a paste, juice extracted from the fresh plant parts, powder made from fresh or dried plant parts, some fresh plant parts, and decoction. In this study the most dominant family was Leguminosae and roots were most frequently used for wound healing. Here an attempt has also been made to work out on plants belonging to Jalgaon District in order to exploit them for preparation of ointment that can be used both in human and domestic animals.
Outcome and relapse risks of thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura: an Egyptian experience

Background Thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura (TTP) is a rare life-threatening disease. Plasma exchange has signiﬁcantly decreased the mortality from this disease, which still tends to recur in a substantial proportion of patients. This study describes the clinical spectrum and response to treatment and explores the risks of relapse in a cohort of patients. Methods Patients treated for TTP at the Clinical Haematology Unit, Cairo University, Egypt, between 2000 and 2008 were identiﬁed. Complete demographic, clinical history and full clinical examination, laboratory, treatment modalities and duration, and outcome data were collected and analysed. The follow-up duration was 24 months. Results 30 patients; 13 men (43%) and 17 women (57%) with a median age of 42 years were treated for 46 episodes of TTP. The median duration of disease onset to diagnosis for the ﬁrst episode was 7 days. Twenty-three patients (76.66%) were diagnosed as idiopathic primary and seven patients (23.33%) were secondary TTP. Four patients died during the ﬁrst 24 h. Of the 26 patients, 22 (85.6%) achieved remission with an average of 7.55 plasma exchange sessions, Another nine patients had 25 relapses (mean 2.7). Splenectomy was performed in three patients (11.5%). The 24-month overall survival was 80%. The initial low platelet count and high LDH were the only two statistically signiﬁcant relapse predictors. Conclusions The current results conform to the reported literature on the outcome of TTP. The very early mortality due to late referral highlights the need of education about the disease among primary healthcare providers.
[Perception of pain in orthodontic treatment with thermoformed aligners].

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to assess pain generated during orthodontic treatment with aligners in terms of intensity, duration and characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample consisted of 106 patients. Pain was analyzed according to intensity and characteristics using the Saint Antoine Pain Questionnaire (French Mac Gill questionnaire). For statistical analysis, Student tests were performed. RESULTS 84% of patients experienced low to moderate pain, with a significantly higher intensity in women. Thirty-one per cent of patients consumed analgesics, although no established correlation was observed between intensity of pain and analgesics. For 53% of patients, duration of pain was ≤ 2 days; for 15% of patients, the pain lasted 7 days. Among patients aged ≥ 40 years, duration of pain was significantly lower than in those aged < 40 years. Ten characteristics of pain were selected as described by at least one third of patients. CONCLUSION Orthodontic treatments with aligners cause mild to moderate pain, which usually lasts 2 to 3 days, but may last 7 days. This pain is described as a sensation of "compression", "twinges", "squeezing", "tightness", "stretching", "cutting", and as being "tiresome", "bothersome", "unpleasant", or even "a nuisance".
Lactase Persistence, Dietary Intake of Milk, and the Risk for Prostate Cancer in Sweden and Finland

Prostate carcinoma is the most common cancer in men. Its primary pathogenesis is mostly unknown. Dairy products containing lactose have been suggested to be risk factors for prostate cancer. Digestion of lactose is dependent on lactase activity in the intestinal wall. A single nucleotide polymorphism C to T residing 13,910 bp upstream of the lactase gene has been shown to associate with the developmental down-regulation of lactase activity underlying persistence/nonpersistence trait. To find out whether lactase persistence is related to the risk for prostate cancer, we genotyped 1,229 Finnish and 2,924 Swedish patients and their 473 Finnish and 1,842 Swedish controls using solid-phase minisequencing. To explore if dairy products have an association with prostate cancer, we analyzed the milk consumption in the Swedish study consisting of 1,499 prostate cancer patients and 1,130 controls (Cancer Prostate in Sweden I study) using a questionnaire. Only the consumption of low-fat milk was found to be associated with increased risk of prostate cancer [odds ratio (OR), 1.73; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.16-2.39]. A statistically significantly higher (P < 0.01) lactose intake was observed among subjects with high lactase activity (C/T and T/T genotypes) compared with those with low lactase activity (C/C genotype). Lactase persistence did not associate with increased risk for prostate carcinoma in the Finnish (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.83-1.47; P = 0.488) or in the Swedish populations (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.91-1.46; P = 0.23). In conclusion, lactase persistence/nonpersistence contains no risk for prostate cancer. Analysis of different milk products showed some evidence for low-fat milk as a potential risk factor for prostate cancer. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(5):956–61)