tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall questionnaire as a screening tool for physical inactivity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Benjamin Garfield, Jane Canavan, Cayley Smith, Karen Ingram, Ria Fowler, Amy Clark, Michael Polkey, William Man
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Background: Quantification of daily physical activity (PA) is of clinical interest in COPD as low levels are associated with increased hospital admissions and mortality. Objective measurements require motion sensors (e.g. SenseWear Armband: SWA), but several days are needed to obtain reliable data. We evaluated a previously unstudied tool in COPD, the Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall questionnaire (PAR), as a screening test for physical inactivity. As a control, three self-completed PA questionnaires were simultaneously evaluated.

Methods: 45 COPD patients wore the SWA for 7 days. Patients, blinded to the armband output, then completed the PAR and 3 other questionnaires in randomised order. Spearman rank correlation and ROC curves were used to assess the relationship between questionnaires output and SWA-derived physical activity indices, and the ability of the questionnaires to predict very inactive COPD patients.

Results: With the PAR, total energy expenditure (r=0.83, p<0.001), physical activity level (r=0.52, p<0.001) and time spent in at least moderate physical activity (r=0.54, p<0.001) correlated significantly with equivalent measure from SWA. No relationship was seen between the other questionnaires' output and any SWA-derived PA index. The PAR compared favourably with the other questionnaires in predicting very inactive COPD patients with an area under the curve of 0.79 (95%CI 0.63-0.94). A PAR-derived PAL < 1.40 had a sensitivity of 0.65 and a specificity of 0.89 in predicting very inactive COPD patients.

Conclusion: The PAR is a useful screening tool to predict physical inactivity in COPD patients.
Regional distribution of nosocomial infections due to ESBL-positive Enterobacteriaceae in Germany: data from the German National Reference Center for the Surveillance of Nosocomial Infections (KISS)
Authors: R. Leistner, C. Schröder, C. Geffers, A.-C. Breier, P. Gastmeier, M. Behnke
Journal: Clinical Microbiology and Infection (2014)
A case of HIV-associated multicentric Castleman disease with pulmonary involvement
Authors: Anne-Sophie Lemay, Philippe Lachapelle, Bernard Lemieux, Claude Poirier
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder that is increasingly diagnosed in patients with HIV infection. The course of the disease is unpredictable, ranging from a rapidly progressive form that can be fatal within weeks to a long course of a remitting and relapsing disease. Its principal manifestations are diverse but almost always include fever, malaise, lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly. Pulmonary manifestations are rare.  We report a case of HIV-associated MCD that relapsed after being on remission for 10 years. The patient presented with recurrent “attacks” of classical symptoms (fever, night sweats, polyadenopathy), accompanied by rhinorrhea, shortness of breath and cough. A diffuse interstitial pneumonitis was found on CT-scan of the chest, described as a ground-glass infiltrate with peri-lymphatic micronodules and interlobular thickening that affected mostly the inferior third of both lungs. A slight bilateral pleural effusion was also noted. Lung function tests were normal. Final diagnosis of MCD was made on lymph node biopsy. We first treated this patient with Rituximab alone which led to a rapid relief of his symptoms and radiologic improvement. However, as he relapsed twice following this treatment, each time with systemic symptoms accompanied by a radiologic progression of the diffuse interstitial pneumopathy, we opted for a combined regimen of Rituximab and chemotherapy (CHOP). He is still on remission (6 months) and a follow-up CT-scan shows an almost complete regression of the pulmonary interstitial anomalies. The long term management of MCD presenting with pulmonary involvement has yet to be defined, as long term prognosis.
Targeting the IL-1β - IL-17A inflammatory axis for the treatment of viral-induced exacerbations of COPD
Authors: Anke Sichelstiel, Aurélien Trompette, Koshika Yadava, Laurent P. Nicod, Benjamin J. Marsland
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the world9s leading respiratory diseases, projected to be the 3rd leading cause of death by 2030. Acute worsening of the disease can be caused by bacterial and viral infections and is often associated with hospitalization. Although COPD exacerbations have been linked to enhanced recruitment of inflammatory cells, such as neutrophils, and to dysregulation of several inflammatory mediators, treatment predominantly relies on corticosteroid therapy with no therapeutic options available to stop disease progression. IL-1β levels are increased in COPD patients during acute exacerbation (Gessner, C. et al. Respir Med 2005; vol. 99 (10) pp. 1229-40); however, it remains to be determined if this is causative of lung dysfunction and exaggerated inflammation or simply associated with the disease.  We found that the severity of COPD exacerbations, characterized by influx of neutrophils to the bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) and by measurement of lung function, was reduced in mice lacking IL-1β. At early time points after infection this protective effect was mediated by decreased production of IL-17A by Th17 and γδ T cells. However, at the peak of viral infection, neutrophilic inflammation was independent of IL-17A but dependent on IL-1β signaling. Indeed, neutrophil recruitment at late time points during infection could be abrogated by treatment with the IL-1R antagonist Anakinra (Kineret). These data highlight IL-17A and IL-1β as targets for therapeutic intervention during viral-induced exacerbations of COPD.
Endovascular stent thrombectomy: the new standard of care for large vessel ischaemic stroke
Authors: Bruce C V Campbell, Geoffrey A Donnan, Kennedy R Lees, Werner Hacke, Pooja Khatri, Michael D Hill, Mayank Goyal, Peter J Mitchell, Jeffrey L Saver, Hans-Christoph Diener, Stephen M Davis
Journal: The Lancet Neurology (2015)
Neoplasia in Fast Neutron-Irradiated Beagles&lt;xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn2"&gt;2&lt;/xref&gt;&lt;xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn3"&gt;3&lt;/xref&gt;
Authors: E W Bradley, B C Zook, G W Casarett, J A Deye, L M Adoff, C C Rogers
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1981)

One hundred fifty-one beagle dogs were irradiated with either photons or fast neutrons (15 MeV) to one of three dose-limiting normal tissues--spinal cord, lung, or brain. The radiation was given in four fractions per week for 5 weeks (spinal cord), 6 weeks (lung), or 7 weeks (brain) to total doses encompassing those given clinically for cancer management. To date, no nonirradiated dogs or photon-irradiated dogs have developed any neoplasms. Seven dogs receiving fast neutrons have developed 9 neoplasms within the irradiated field. Of the neutron-irradiated dogs at risk, the incidence of neoplasia was 15%. The latent period for radiation-induced cancers has varied from 1 to 4 1/2 years at this time in the study.
Patterns of disease in patients with middle lobe predominant non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis
Authors: Mohammed Ahmed, Melissa McDonnell, Carol Donagh, Deidre Wall, Micahael O'Mahony, David Breen, John Joseph Gilmartin, John Bruzzi, Anthony O'Regan, Robert Rutherford
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

Background: Right middle lobe and lingular bronchiectasis is classically described in an asthenic female phenotype where prevalence of chest wall and thoracic spine abnormalities is high and there is an association with non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection.  Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyse the frequency and clinical characteristics of patients with middle lobe / lingular predominant bronchiectasis in a cohort of Irish patients in order to compare with the classical phenotype.  Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 81 consecutive bronchiectasis patients over an 18 month period was performed. Data was collected on baseline demographics, microbiology, and lung function. All scans were reviewed by an independent thoracic radiologist and scored according to the modified Bhalla system.  Results: Of the 81 patients, 24 (29.6%) (18FM) were confirmed to have isolated middle lobe/ lingular disease on HRCT (12 RML, 5 lingula, 7 both). Of those, 3/24 (12.5%) were associated with NTM, all females, with none in the non-middle lobe / lingular group (p=0.023). In the middle lobe disease group cultures were positive for S aureus in 1/24 and pseudomonas in 0/24 compared to 11/57 (p=0.09) and 4/57 (p=0.31) respectively in the other group. FEV1% was significantly better in the middle lobe/ lingular disease group (p=0.049) and these patients were also younger (56.1 versus 65.2 years, p=0.009).  Conclusions: Our cohort shows middle lobe / lingular predominant disease in younger patients than classically described. Only 12.5% had NTM infection. Lung function in this patient group is relatively normal, perhaps suggesting a milder phenotype in patients with this form of the disease.
Long-term effect of hepatocyte growth factor in the normal lung: A stereological assessment
Authors: Alexandra Leuenberger, Lars Knudsen, Amiq Gazdhar, Thomas Geiser, Matthias Ochs
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Background:  Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene transfer attenuates bleomycin induced lung fibrosis. Being a multifunctional pleiotropic factor, HGF is a potent mitogen for alveolar epithelial cells and shows antiapoptotic properties. Thus, we hypothesize that HGF might lead to remodelling processes within the alveolar walls in normal rat lungs.   Material and methods:  Adult male Fisher rats F344 were instilled with 350μl of pSpChHGF plasmid (Human HGF under control of surfactant protein C promoter), followed by extracorporal electroporation at eight electric pulses of 200v/cm, at 10ms interval. One month after HGF gene transfer, animals were sacrificed and the tissue samples were collected. Stereological assessment was performed on light and electron microscopic level to study structural changes of lung architecture and septal wall tissue. Untreated normal adult male rat lungs served as controls.   Results:  Stereology revealed that hHGF transfer increased alveolar surface area and decreased the blood-gas barrier thickness (0.48±0.06μm vs. 0.35±0.04μm, p = 0.0159), mainly attributed to a decrease of total basal membrane volume (118.99±11.74mm 3  vs. 35.63±8.32mm 3 , p  3  vs. 108.04±12.17 mm 3 , p    Conclusion:  Structural parameters with respect to alveolar surface area and blood-gas barrier suggest a further augmentation of gas exchange capacity after HGF-gene transfer, being a consequence of a septal wall remodelling leading to a decrease in total volume of interstitial cells and basement membrane within the septal walls. An emphysema-like phenotype was not observed.
Recrudescence of Neuroblastoma After Apparent Cure12
Authors: Norman Jaffe
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1976)

Many years after apparent cure recrudescence of neuroblastoma was reported in 2 patients. In 1 patient, two recurrences occurred 5 and 10 years after apparent disappearance of tumor. Factors contributing to the extraordinary clinical course are unknown. Speculation rests on tumor characteristics, environmental influences, immunity, or the development of a second primary tumor.
TNF-α induced septic shock is attenuated in acid sphingomyelinase-deficient mice
Authors: Lucy Kathleen Reiss, Yang Yang, Dieter Adam, Stefan Uhlig
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

TNF-α plays a major role as mediator of acute inflammation and apoptosis. Surprisingly, little is known about the effects of high plasma levels of TNF-α on the lung. Previous studies revealed that TNF-α causes lethal depression of systemic circulation including hypothermia. The aim of this study was to investigate the pulmonary effects of TNF-α in mechanically ventilated mice. Further, the role of caspases and acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) was examined.

C57BL/6 wild type and ASMase-/- mice received TNF-α intravenously; in addition, half of the animals were treated with the caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk. All mice were ventilated for 6h at VT=8mL/kg and f=180min-1 with FiO2=0.3 and PEEP=2cmH2O while lung functions were followed by the forced oscillation technique. In order to reduce mortality due to septic shock, saline was given via an arterial catheter and body temperature was stabilized at 37°C. Blood gases, lung histopathology, pro-inflammatory mediators and microvascular permeability were examined.

Fluid support and stabilization of body temperature were sufficient to avoid lethal septic shock. Sepsis was indicated by high serum levels of pro-inflammatory mediators and metabolic acidosis. TNF-α decreased blood pressure and increased heart rate in wild type mice. ASMase-/- mice were protected from the cardiovascular effects, but caspase inhibition had no influence. Although high levels of TNF-α were detected in the lung, no severe pulmonary inflammation or alteration of lung functions was found.

We conclude that septic shock caused by high circulating levels of TNF-α is partly mediated by ASMase. However, TNF-α alone is not sufficient to cause acute lung injury in ventilated mice.
Dry Powder versus Intravenous and Nebulized Gentamicin in Cystic Fibrosis and Bronchiectasis
Authors: N. RENÉE CROWTHER LABIRIS, ANNE M. HOLBROOK, HENRY CHRYSTYN, STUART M. MACLEOD, MICHAEL T. NEWHOUSE
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (1999)

Aminoglycosides are a mainstay of therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or non-CF bronchiectasis who are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Psa). Traditionally, aerosolized antibiotics are delivered by liquid nebulization. The objective of this study was to determine whether a gentamicin dry powder inhaler (DPI) is as microbiologically active and potentially safe as gentamicin inhaled via a small-volume nebulizer (SVN) or given intravenously. The study was done according to a randomized, single-dose, and triple crossover protocol. Ten patients with CF or non-CF bronchiectasis and chronically infected with Psa were recruited. Patients received a single dose of either gentamicin 160 mg via DPI or SVN, or gentamicin at 5 mg/kg by intravenous infusion. In seven of the 10 patients, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was achieved in sputum after DPI and SVN, with mean (95% confidence interval) gentamicin concentrations at 2 h after administration of 13.1 microgram/g sputum (range: 2.2 to 23.9 microgram/g) and 97.2 microgram/g sputum (range: 0.3 to 194.2 microgram/g), respectively, whereas gentamicin levels in the sputum after intravenous administration failed to reach the MIC. Gentamicin given by DPI and SVN significantly decreased the sputum Psa density (p < 0.05), by almost one order of magnitude. No significant decline in bacterial counts was observed after intravenous gentamicin. When gentamicin was inhaled, blood concentrations were minimal, and were below concentrations known to cause systemic toxicity. For treatment of Psa infections susceptible to gentamicin, gentamicin administration by DPI appeared to be as efficient as by SVN, despite the delivery of a 7-fold lower dose to the airways.
Physiological and inflammatory phenotypic comparisons between non-smoking and smoking COPD
Authors: Neha Iyer, Bill Brashier, Sapna Madas, Jyoti Londhe, Sundeep Salvi, Peter Barnes
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

There is paucity of information on how lung physiology and cellular inflammation differs between non-smoking-COPD (NS-COPD) and smoking-COPD (S-COPD). Aim: To evaluate and compare physiological and induced sputum cellular inflammatory profiles of NS-COPD and S-COPD. Methods: 47 NS-COPD and 39 S-COPD subjects underwent spirometry, Impulse-oscillometry (IOS), body plethysmography and lung-diffusion (single breath), and sputum-induction to measure the cellular-inflammatory profile. Normally distributed and non-normally distributed data were compared using means (SD) and medians (IQR), using parametric and non-parametric tests respectively. Results: There were no differences in % predicted values for FEV1, FVC, FEF25-75/FVC, SRaw, SGaw, RV, TLC, RV/TLC, ITGV, FRC, R5Hz, R20Hz, and DLCO SB and DLCO/VA between NS-COPD and S-COPD (all p values>0.05). The only physiological difference observed was in median % predicted X5Hz values on IOS; S-COPD had higher X5 compared to NS-COPD [1908.3Hz (1308.3, 2987.5), vs 983.3Hz (461.1, 2091.7), p=0.002]. S-COPD had greater median total inflammatory cells/gm sputum and absolute neutrophils/gm sputum compared to NS-COPD [7.2(3.6, 10.3)x106/gm vs 4.1(2.3, 6.9)x106/gm, p=0.01] and [5.5(2.8, 8.7)x106/gm vs 2.8(1.6, 6.0)x106/gm, p=0.01] respectively. No differences were observed between numbers of lymphocytes, eosinophils and macrophages in S-COPD and NS-COPD (all p values>0.05). Conclusion: S-COPD and NS-COPD show similar lung function derangements as measured by lung volumes, airway resistance and lung-diffusion, apart from an increased airway reactance and greater total and neutrophil cell counts in the induced sputum in S-COPD compared to NS-COPD.
Cardiopulmonary and Laboratory Profiling of Patients with Thalassemia At Risk for Pulmonary Hypertension: Report From the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network.
Authors: Claudia R. Morris, Hae-Young Kim, John C Wood, Felicia Trachtenberg, Elizabeth S Klings, John B. Porter, Nancy Sweeters, Nancy F Olivieri, Janet L. Kwiatkowski, Sylvia Titi Singer, Ali T Taher, Ellis J. Neufeld, Alexis A. Thompson, Sandra K Larkin, Jung H Suh, Elliott Vichinsky, Frans A Kuypers
Journal: Blood (2012)
Artificial neural networks: a potential role in osteoporosis
Authors: Sarah A Rae, Wen Jia Wang, Derek Partridge
Journal: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (1999)

Artificial neural networks are computer software systems that recognize patterns in complex data sets. A recent development in neural computing, multiversion systems (MVS), has led to enhanced analytical power, and this was harnessed to demonstrate the value of risk factors in predicting the result of osteoporosis investigations by quantitative ultrasound. 274 women were screened in an open-access osteoporosis service. A conventional risk factor questionnaire was completed for each patient by the osteoporosis specialist nurse. An MVS was trained on 180 randomly selected data sets and tested on the remaining 94. The results were compared with those from logistic regression analysis in predictive power, both from the selected 20-item questionnaire and for a limited 5-item questionnaire comprising age, height, height loss, weight and years since the menopause. The MVS approach predicted the T-score categorization of the patients from the 20-item questionnaire with 83.0% accuracy, whereas logistic regression yielded an accuracy of only 72.8% (P=0.04). From the 5-item database the MVS yielded a best prediction accuracy of 73.1%, whereas the logistic regression prediction accuracy was 60% (P=0.04). These results suggest that 20 risk factors can be used by an MVS to predict the outcome of osteoporosis investigations with a power that outperforms conventional statistical methods. Use of this system may improve the selection of patients for osteoporosis investigations, since even with only 5 risk factors the system performs nearly as well as that based on the full 20 factors.
TrACEing Angiotensin II Type 1 to Right Ventricular Hypertrophy
Authors: Daniel Ranayhossaini, Patrick J. Pagano
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2012)

Comparison of scores at two different testing periods for the groups showed good test-retest reliability with correlations of 0.86 for the BSTAT and 0.85 for the BSET.Mean BSTAT performance scores by level of experience were significantly lower for the novice group, 9.94 (of 24) versus fellow and faculty scores, 20.56 and 21.67, respectively.Novices were significantly lower on the BSET (47.00 of 100) versus fellows (83.13) and faculty (92.21).The fellow group had lower scores than the faculty group, but this difference was not statistically significant.Competency-based tests of bronchoscopic knowledge have not yet been developed and validated beyond anatomy and image recognition questions on the EBUS-STAT, BSTAT, and BSET.Physicians from the University of California, Irvine and the Instituto Lanari at the University of Buenos Aires are developing a set of multiple-choice questions that have promise to assess trainee bronchoscopic knowledge (13, 14).Bronchoscopy procedural competence is currently judged by arbitrary numbers of observed procedures and by certification of the fellowship program director based on subjective evaluations.We argue that it is time to change this approach.Bronchoscopic competence should be evaluated in a more formalized, objective fashion.Pulmonary and critical care educators and evaluators must have the tools and training to perform such assessments.Davoudi and colleagues have laid a foundation for the bronchoscopy skill assessment toolbox by development and initial validation studies of the EBUS-STAT.Ongoing validation research about the EBUS-STAT is needed before its widespread adoption.The BSTAT and BSET have been available for several years, but there has only been one validation study.Additional studies should be done using these instruments.Given more validity evidence, the routine use of these instruments to assess trainee progress will be justified.In addition, development of test materials to assess bronchoscopy cognitive knowledge is warranted.
Pharmacogenetic Study of Cabazitaxel in Advanced or Metastatic Transitional Cell Carcinoma (Tcc): the Sogug 2011-04 Trial
Authors: I. Duran, C. Hagen, J.A. Arranz Arija, M. Apellaniz, B. Pérez-Valderrama, N. Sala Gonzalez, N. Lainez, X. Garcia Del Muro, E. Nogueron, M. Climent, P. Maroto, A. Font, J. Garcia-Donas, E. Gallardo, P. Lopez Criado, A. Gonzalez Del Alba, M.I. Saez, S. Vazquez, R. Luque, C. Rodriguez-Antona
Journal: Annals of Oncology (2014)
Earthquakes lead to boom in Nepal's unregulated surrogacy industry
Authors: S. Howard
Journal: BMJ (2015)

The recent earthquakes in Nepal have led to a rise in the number of young women entering the country’s unregulated surrogacy industry, aid agencies and policy researchers have reported.

The earthquakes on 25 April and 12 May were the deadliest in the Himalayan country’s history, killing 8786 people and injuring 22 303. Early indications of the ongoing effects of the disasters point to increases in human trafficking and child marriages and a rise in the number of young women signing on to carry babies for overseas couples at Kathmandu’s proliferating surrogacy clinics.

Anand Tamang, a researcher at the Nepalese non-profit research organisation Center for Research on Environment Health and Population Activities, said that there had been a spike in …