tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology of, and risk factors for, Helicobacter pylori infection among 3194 asymptomatic subjects in 17 populations. The EUROGAST Study Group.
Authors: D Forman, Gui De Backer, J Elder, H Moller, Lc Damotta, P Roy, L Abid, A Tjonneland, H Boeing, T Haubrich, J Wahrendorf, O Manousos, A Kafatos, H Tulinius, H Ogmundsdottir, D Palli, F Cipriani, A Fukao, S Tsugane, Y Miyajima, W Zatonski, J Tycznski, J Calheiros, Mp Zakelj, M Potocnik, P Webb, T Knight, A Wilson, S Kaye, J Potter, Dg Newell, Kj Hengels, S Kyrtopoulos, C Wild, D Newell, K Hengels, M Coleman
Journal: Gut (1993)

The cross sectional study describes the prevalence of infection with Helicobacter pylori as determined by a serodiagnostic assay in over 3000 asymptomatic subjects, in two age groups 25-34 years and 55-64 years, from 17 geographically defined populations in Europe, North Africa, North America, and Japan, using a common protocol for blood collection and serological testing. In all populations combined, the prevalence of infection was higher in the older age group (62.4%) than in the younger age group (34.9%). There was no difference in prevalence of infection between men and women. Subjects with higher education had considerably lower levels of infection (34.1%) compared with subjects with education up to secondary level (46.9%) or those with primary education only (61.6%). This trend was confined to the older of the two age groups. In contrast a trend of increasing prevalence of infection with increasing body mass index was confined to the younger of the two age groups. There was no effect of smoking or alcohol consumption on the prevalence of infection after adjusting for the other risk factors. There was considerable variation in the prevalence of infection between the 17 populations but, within populations, low education standard was consistently and positively associated with the prevalence of infection.
G7 leaders are urged to commit to health emergency response
Authors: A. Gulland
Journal: BMJ (2015)

The leaders of the world’s seven richest nations have been warned that the world is no better prepared to respond to the Ebola virus than it was a year ago.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the charity that was at the front line of the west Africa epidemic and was one of the first to urge the international community to respond, said that the global health system remains unprepared for mass disease outbreaks. It has urged …
Increased Functional Connectivity Between Subcortical and Cortical Resting-State Networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Leonardo Cerliani, Maarten Mennes, Rajat M. Thomas, Adriana Di Martino, Marc Thioux, Christian Keysers
Journal: JAMA Psychiatry (2015)

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit severe difficulties in social interaction, motor coordination, behavioral flexibility, and atypical sensory processing, with considerable interindividual variability. This heterogeneous set of symptoms recently led to investigating the presence of abnormalities in the interaction across large-scale brain networks. To date, studies have focused either on constrained sets of brain regions or whole-brain analysis, rather than focusing on the interaction between brain networks.To compare the intrinsic functional connectivity between brain networks in a large sample of individuals with ASD and typically developing control subjects and to estimate to what extent group differences would predict autistic traits and reflect different developmental trajectories.We studied 166 male individuals (mean age, 17.6 years; age range, 7-50 years) diagnosed as having DSM-IV-TR autism or Asperger syndrome and 193 typical developing male individuals (mean age, 16.9 years; age range, 6.5-39.4 years) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Participants were matched for age, IQ, head motion, and eye status (open or closed) in the MRI scanner. We analyzed data from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), an aggregated MRI data set from 17 centers, made public in August 2012.We estimated correlations between time courses of brain networks extracted using a data-driven method (independent component analysis). Subsequently, we associated estimates of interaction strength between networks with age and autistic traits indexed by the Social Responsiveness Scale.Relative to typically developing control participants, individuals with ASD showed increased functional connectivity between primary sensory networks and subcortical networks (thalamus and basal ganglia) (all t ≥ 3.13, P < .001 corrected). The strength of such connections was associated with the severity of autistic traits in the ASD group (all r ≥ 0.21, P < .0067 corrected). In addition, subcortico-cortical interaction decreased with age in the entire sample (all r ≤ -0.09, P < .012 corrected), although this association was significant only in typically developing participants (all r ≤ -0.13, P < .009 corrected).Our results showing ASD-related impairment in the interaction between primary sensory cortices and subcortical regions suggest that the sensory processes they subserve abnormally influence brain information processing in individuals with ASD. This might contribute to the occurrence of hyposensitivity or hypersensitivity and of difficulties in top-down regulation of behavior.
Targeting Cyclooxygenase-2 Reduces Overt Toxicity toward Low-Dose Vinblastine and Extends Survival of Juvenile Mice with Friend Disease
Authors: Dave Cervi, Giannoula Klement, Diana Stempak, Sylvain Baruchel, Alane Koki, Yaacov Ben-David
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2005)

To test the efficacy of selective therapy against cyclooxygenase-2 in combination with a low-dose regimen of a cytotoxic agent in the treatment of juvenile hematopoietic malignancies in the experimental model, Friend disease.Juvenile erythroleukemic mice (n = 8) received no treatment, celecoxib (1600 mg/kg/d), vinblastine (0.5 microg/g twice weekly), vehicle controls, or celecoxib + vinblastine combination (n = 9) over a 6-month period from time of tumor induction. Overt toxicity was assessed daily and recorded weekly.Among randomly selected mice from celecoxib treatment groups, plasma concentrations ranged from 2 to 6 micromol/L. As a single agent, celecoxib was not associated with any apparent toxicity. Monotherapy with vinblastine, however, caused early mortality marked by severe diarrhea, lethargy, and weight loss. At the tested doses, neither vinblastine nor celecoxib enhanced survival as monotherapies. Coadministration of these two drugs alleviated the overt toxicity associated with vinblastine and resulted in a significant increase in survival (P < 0.05). Survivors sampled throughout the study showed a trend to decreased weight loss and hematocrit levels among all groups, but significance was evidenced earlier in the vinblastine monotherapy group overall (P < 0.05). Despite similar degree of splenomegaly, histologic analysis revealed preserved splenic mantle architecture from mice given combination therapy compared with those sampled from mice on all other monotherapies, exhibiting a more diffuse burden of blasts and destruction of germinal centers.We propose that addition of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor to a modified low-dose conventional chemotherapeutic regimen protects juvenile mice with Friend disease from succumbing to low-dose cytotoxicity, in part, by neutralizing acute inflammatory responses.
First detection in Europe of the metallo-β-lactamase IMP-15 in clinical strains of Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: R. Gilarranz, C. Juan, J. Castillo-Vera, F.J. Chamizo, F. Artiles, I. Álamo, A. Oliver
Journal: Clinical Microbiology and Infection (2013)
Differences in Familial Segregation of FEV<sub>1</sub>between Asthmatic and Nonasthmatic Families
Authors: CATHARINE J. HOLBERG, WAYNE J. MORGAN, ANNE L. WRIGHT, FERNANDO D. MARTINEZ
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (1998)

Studies have demonstrated familial aggregation of lung function. This study employed segregation analysis to investigate the mode of inheritance of FEV1 using regressive models for continuous traits. The study population comprised 309 families (1,163 individuals) enrolled in the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study who had both parents and at least one child with FEV1 data. Results showed significant genetic heterogeneity among the 87 families (328 individuals) with at least one member with asthma and the 222 families (835 individuals) with no asthmatic members. In families with no asthmatic members, all statistical models were rejected, indicating the absence of a major gene controlling lung function. However, a significant familial component indicated a strong polygenic/multifactorial mode of inheritance. In families with asthmatic member(s), results suggested polygenic/multifactorial inheritance with weak evidence for a Mendelian component expressed in a recessive fashion. However, while both father–offspring and mother–offspring correlations were statistically significant in families with no asthmatic members, only the mother–offspring correlation was significant in families with asthmatic members. The data suggest that lung function is inherited as a polygenic/multifactorial trait, but in asthmatic families a major element of intergenerational correlation is associated with a maternal influence, which may be genetically or environmentally mediated.
Lessons learned from the epidemiology and natural history of asthma: Outcomes and treatment regimens (TENOR)
Authors: Bradley Chipps, Ashley Yegin, Larry Borish, Sally Wenzel, Scott Weiss, Mary Hayden, Dave Miller, Eugene Bleecker, Estelle Simons, Stan Szefler, Robert Zeiger, Tmirah Haselkorn
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Rationale: Patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma are an understudied population. The primary objective of The Epidemiology and Natural History of Asthma: Outcomes and Treatment Regimens (TENOR) study is to characterize the natural history of disease in the largest cohort of severe or difficult-to-treat asthma patients. We highlight the main findings of 25 research articles.

Methods: TENOR was a 3-year, multicenter, observational cohort study of N=4,756 patients (n=3,489 adults ≥18 years; n=627 adolescents 12-17 years; n=637 children 6-11 years). Data was collected semi-annually and annually.

Results: Regardless of age, patients demonstrated high rates of HCU, despite receiving multiple long-term controller medications. Uncontrolled asthma, per the NHLBI guidelines, is highly prevalent and predictive of future asthma exacerbations in children and adolescents/adults. Children have an increased exacerbation risk and asthma burden compared with adolescents/adults. Increased weight is associated with worse asthma related outcomes. Aspirin sensitivity is associated with increased asthma severity and possible remodeling of both the upper and lower airways. Also, the phenotypes of persistent airflow are described. IgE and allergy play an important role in severe or difficult-to-treat asthma. Quantitative results not listed due to space constraints.

Conclusions: Patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma demonstrate an unmet need. The characterization of this cohort has improved our understanding of asthma control and exacerbations.
Guidelines for statistical reporting in the<i>British Journal of Dermatology</i>
Authors: L.M. Hollestein, T. Nijsten
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2015)

... ... In this issue of the BJD, McClean and Silverberg report that that the quality of statistical reporting of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the dermatological literature is very low.1 This is a sad observation, because it concerns research involving humans. In article 36 of the Declaration of Helsinki it is stated that 'Researchers, authors, sponsors, editors and publishers all have ethical obligations with regard to the publication and dissemination of the results of research. Researchers have a duty to make publicly available the results of their research on human subjects and are accountable for the completeness and accuracy of their reports.'2 Participating patients are promised that their participation will be beneficial for others. Correct (statistical) reporting of the study is required in order to fulfil this promise. The statistical analysis should be thoroughly thought about before the start of the study. After the study has been performed, it should be described in such a way that researchers with access to the original data should be able to reproduce the study results with the information provided in the article.3
Study of isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis including outcomes in a high prevalence area in London
Authors: Guruprasad Bhat, Geoffrey Packe
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background: Isoniazid resistance is the most common form of mono drug resistance in tuberculosis (TB). There has been an outbreak of isoniazid-resistant TB in North London.An outbreak committee has made recommendations¹.  Aim: To study isoniazid resistant TB patients attending Newham community chest clinic.  Methods: The notes of 31 isoniazid-resistant TB patients treated between 2004 to 2009 were studied. The reference laboratory gave confirmation of resistance.  Results: The age range was 17 to 73 (median 32). Male: female - 2.1:1. 7(23%) patients had the North London outbreak strain. Of the 31 patients, 20(65%) had pulmonary involvement, 11(35%) had extensive disease and 8(26%) were sputum smear positive. The extra-pulmonary presentations were lymphadenopathy, abscesses and miliary TB. 10(32%) patients had risk factors for resistance - HIV, previous TB, alcohol, drug abuse and being in prison. 14(45%) patients with risk factors for non-adherence were given directly observed therapy. 17(55%) had treatment supervised weekly by community pharmacists. Patients received a 12month regime containing rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, or a 9-month regime that also included moxifloxacin. 7 (23%) patients had drug adverse effects. 30(97%) patients completed treatment successfully.  Conclusion: The majority of our patients were not associated with the outbreak. Treatment completion rates were satisfactory, and exceeded the target (90%) set by the TB outbreak control committee. There was no difference in treatment completion rates between the two regimes.  Reference:  1.Maguire H, Forrester S, Adam S. Progress report and updated recommendations of the London Outbreak Control Committee May 2006 1 .
Efficacy of neoadjuvant toremifene (TOR) and intratumor expression of estrogen receptor (ER) Α and Β in elderly breast cancer (BC) patients
Authors: R. Longarini, L. Celio, A. Martinetti, A. Denaro, V. Cappelletti, R. Giovanazzi, N. Zilembo, G. Bianchini, M. G. Daidone, E. Bajetta
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2004)

8164 Background: Endocrine therapy is effective in downstaging patients (pts) with primary BC and may be considered in elderly women. TOR is a triphenylethylene selective ER modulator differing from tamoxifen for the presence of a chlorine atom. Methods: A two-stage, phase II study was conducted to investigate efficacy of TOR (60 mg/day) as a short-term pre-operative therapy (3 months) in elderly pts with newly diagnosed, ERα+ operable or locally advanced (T2-T4b, N0–1) BC. The relationship of intratumor levels of mRNA ERα and β with objective responses was investigated, and serum markers of bone metabolism were also evaluated. Diagnosis was established by mammography and core-biopsy. A cut-off of 10% of stained cells was used to define ERα positivity. ER isoforms was assessed by RT-PCR. At baseline and monthly thereafter, tumor size was estimated clinically (by calipers). After 3 months of TOR, all pts were referred to the breast surgeon. Results: Forty-seven evaluable pts entered the study. Median age was 78 years (range, 65–90); median value of tumor diameter was 3.0 cm (range, 2.1–6.0). Most pts (72%) were classified as T2 without nodal involvement. By WHO criteria, we observed 20 regressions (4 CRs+16 PRs; response rate 42.6%; 95% CI, 28–58%), 25 stabilizations and 2 progressions. Among the 25 pts with stabilizations, 14 achieved initial reduction in tumor size (decrease ≥25% in the product of the largest diameters). In 38 assessable pts, ERα but not ER β mRNA levels were higher in responsive compared with unresponsive pts (median densitometric values: 549 vs 320 for ERα; 91 vs 84 for ERβ). Conclusions: This study indicates that, over a period of 3 months, pre-operative TOR induces a worthwhile response rate in elderly women with primary ER+ BC. ERβ mRNA was not predictive of response to TOR. Bone metabolism evaluation is in progress. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Fatty acid synthase is a metabolic oncogene targetable in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors
Authors: Ami V. Patel, Gunnar Johansson, Melissa C. Colbert, Biplab Dasgupta, Nancy Ratner
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2015)

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are soft tissue sarcomas with minimal therapeutic opportunities. We observed that lipid droplets (LDs) accumulate in human MPNST cell lines and in primary human tumor samples. The goal of this study was to investigate the relevance of lipid metabolism to MPNST survival and as a possible therapeutic target. Based on preliminary findings that MPNSTs accumulate LDs, we hypothesized that a deregulated lipid metabolism supports MPNST cell survival/proliferation rate. To test this, we examined respiration, role of fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and the enzyme fatty acid synthase involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis in MPNSTs using both genetic and pharmacological tools. We demonstrate that LDs accumulate in MPNST cell lines, primary human and mouse MPNST tumors, and neural crest cells. LDs from MPNST cells disappear on lipid deprivation, indicating that LDs can be oxidized as a source of energy. Inhibition of FAO decreased oxygen consumption and reduced MPNST survival, indicating that MPNST cells likely metabolize LDs through active FAO. FAO inhibition reduced oxygen consumption and survival even in the absence of exogenous lipids, indicating that lipids synthesized de novo can also be oxidized. Consequently, inhibition of de novo fatty acid synthesis, which is overexpressed in human MPNST cell lines, effectively reduced MPNST survival and delayed induction of tumor growth in vivo. Our results show that MPNSTs depend on lipid metabolic pathways and suggest that disrupting lipid metabolism could be a potential new strategy for the development of MPNST therapeutics.
Safety aspects of endobronchial valve application in the complex treatment of patients with cavitary drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis
Authors: Sergey Sklyuev, Denis Krasnov
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Aims: To evaluate the safety of endobronchial valve application in TB patients.  Methods: In total, 68 patients with drug-resistant destructive pulmonary tuberculosis were taken into the study, they were randomly divided on two groups - one for 33 patients for endobronchial-valve installation (EBV) and another – for 35 to receive standard treatment (control group).  Results: On Day 2 of the study, 12 (36.7%) patients from EBV-group had developed sparse, dry cough, in the control group - 2 (5.7%) patients (p = 0.0019). 3 (9.1%) of patients from EBV-group were with worsening of COPD symptoms and required symptomatic treatment, vs. 0 cases in the control group (p = 0.008). All these manifestations had been happened within 2 weeks of treatment. During assessment of the bronchial tree after 8 months in patients from EBV-group we revealed proliferation of granulation tissue in the targeted bronchi in 100% of the cases, of whom 24 (72.7%) granulations were big (closing over 50% of the lumen of the bronchus). After 10 months, during bronchoscopy in patients with EBV-group we found scars of the bronchus wall 100% of the cases, in 17 (51.5%) we revealed circular stenosis of the bronchi which reduced over 50% of the lumen of the bronchus, in 9 of these cases (27.3%) the lumen of the blocked bronchus was less than 1 mm in diameter. None of these changes were detected in the control group.  Conclusions: Endobronchial-valve treatment leads to the corrected without affecting the course of the disease complications in the first two weeks of treatment, and causes scar deformation of the targeted bronchus.
Prevalence of asthma and mean levels of air pollution: results from the French PAARC survey
Authors: I Baldi, J.F. Tessier, F Kauffmann, H Jacqmin-Gadda, C Nejjari, R Salamon
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (1999)

Among the possible explanations for the recent increase in the prevalence of asthma in several countries, air pollution is one of the foremost public health concerns. Data from the "Pollution Atmospherique et Affections Respiratoires Chroniques" (PAARC) survey collected in 24 areas of seven French towns during 1974-1976 were reanalysed to assess the relationship between the prevalence of asthma and the following air pollutants: sulphur dioxide (specific (SO2) and acidimetric methods), total suspended particles (TSP), black smoke (BS), nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide. Correlation coefficients between annual mean levels of pollution and prevalence of asthma in the different areas were first calculated. Random-effects models were then estimated. Of the 20,310 adults aged 25-59 yrs, 1,291 (6.4%) were found to be asthmatics as well as 195 (6.1%) of the 3,193 children aged 5-9 yrs. A geographical correlation between asthma and annual mean level of SO2 (ranging 17-85 microg x m(-3)) was found (r=0.45, p=0.01) in adults. No relationship was found in children. After controlling for age, educational level, smoking, and geographical clustering with a multivariate random-effects model, the relationship remained significant in adults for SO2 (odds ratio for a 50 microg x m(-3) increase=1.24, confidence interval 1.08-1.44, p=0.0035). It also remained significant when taking into account only the people reporting their last asthma attack occurring after settling in the study area. These results are consistent with the known short-term effects of SO2 in asthma and demonstrate the necessity for further studies on delayed effects of air pollution in respiratory diseases.
Task force on management and prevention of Acinetobacter baumannii infections in the ICU
Authors: José Garnacho-Montero, George Dimopoulos, Garyphallia Poulakou, Murat Akova, José Miguel Cisneros, Jan De Waele, Nicola Petrosillo, Harald Seifert, Jean François Timsit, Jordi Vila, Jean-Ralph Zahar, Matteo Bassetti
Journal: Intensive Care Medicine (2015)
Sarcomere Gene Mutations Are Associated With Increased Cardiovascular Events in Left Ventricular Hypertrophy
Authors: Takashi Fujita, Noboru Fujino, Ryuichiro Anan, Chuwa Tei, Toru Kubo, Yoshinori Doi, Shintaro Kinugawa, Hiroyuki Tsutsui, Shigeki Kobayashi, Masafumi Yano, Masanori Asakura, Masafumi Kitakaze, Issei Komuro, Tetsuo Konno, Kenshi Hayashi, Masa-aki Kawashiri, Hidekazu Ino, Masakazu Yamagishi
Journal: JACC Heart Failure (2013)
THE MEDIATOR OF CELLULAR IMMUNITY
Authors: D. D. McGregor, F. T. Koster, G. B. Mackaness
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1971)

Thoracic duct cells from rats which have survived an infection with Listeria monocytogenes can confer a high level of antimicrobial resistance upon normal recipients. The cells which confer protection appear in the thoracic duct during the 1st wk of the immunizing infection, at a time when newly formed lymphocytes are being added to the lymph in substantially increased numbers. The protective cells differ in at least two respects from the majority of small lymphocytes in central lymph: they have a rapid turnover rate and a short life-span in the circulation. Evidence was also obtained that lymphopoiesis affecting the long-lived small lymphocyte, which belongs to the recirculating pool, is not increased during an acute Listeria infection.