tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Spin Immunoassay of Opiate Narcotics in Urine and Saliva
Authors: Richard Leute
Journal: JAMA (1972)

Free-radical technology can be combined with immunoassay to yield an entirely new system for detection and assay of small molecules in biologic fluids. The method, called "spin immunoassay," has substantial advantages over radioimmunoassay and standard procedures such as thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography. The assay requires only a very small volume of the unknown solution (eg, urine, saliva), no chemical manipulations are needed, and the result is obtained by an instantaneous readout on the electron spin resonance spectrometer. This technique can be applied to the quantitative determination of opiate narcotics in urine and saliva.
More than third of world's population has been infected with hepatitis B virus
Authors: A J Zuckerman
Journal: BMJ (1999)

EDITOR—The news items on the prevalence of hepatitis B infection is incorrect and the accompanying artificially coloured photograph is misleading.1 Electron micrographs are usually negatively stained (figure).



Electron micrograph of hepatitis B virus (double shelled particle) and excess surface antigen protein (tubular forms and small spherical particles) (magnification ×252 000)



More than a …
E-cigarettes may work as well as nicotine patches in reducing and quitting smoking, but evidence is limited
Authors: N. Hawkes
Journal: BMJ (2014)

The first Cochrane review of electronic (e) cigarettes has concluded that people who use them can stop or reduce their smoking and that the devices may be roughly equivalent in efficacy to nicotine patches. But the evidence base was very limited—two randomised controlled trials and 11 observational studies—so the size of the benefit is uncertain.

The results1 showed that smokers were 31% more likely to reduce smoking when using an e-cigarette rather than a placebo e-cigarette that delivered no nicotine (odds ratio 1.31 (95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.58)). For quitting smoking, again measured against placebo, the odds ratio was 2.29 (1.05 to 4.96). Only a …
The UCR Boondoggle
Authors: Benson B. Roe
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1981)

Medical economics underwent a major metamorphosis when physicians' principal source of income shifted from the modest means of the average patient to the seemingly limitless insurance funds or tax dollars dispensed by an impersonal third-party bureaucracy. The method of payment resulting from this change has turned out to be a financially unsound approach and a virtual invitation to abuse.BackgroundIn the process of becoming financially dependent on third-party payers, physician lobbyists recognized the likelihood of being locked into a schedule of fixed fees, which they feared would not keep pace with costs and new development. To forestall that problem, . . .
[702] CAN DISEASE PROGRESSION IN NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE BE PREDICTED BY METABOLIC BIOMARKERS OF LIPID ACCUMULATION AND PEROXIDATION?
Authors: J.F. Cobbold, Q.M. Anstee, R.D. Goldin, R.D. Cox, M.R. Thursz, H.C. Thomas, S.D. Taylor-Robinson, I.J. Cox
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2007)
Electrophysiological Effects of Flecainide on Anisotropic Conduction and Reentry in Infarcted Canine Hearts
Authors: James Coromilas, Adam E. Saltman, Bernd Waldecker, Stephen M. Dillon, Andrew L. Wit
Journal: Circulation (1995)

Background The class IC antiarrhythmic drug flecainide has been shown to be ineffective for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias in some patients who have had a prior myocardial infarction and sometimes even provoke arrhythmias (proarrhythmic effect). Since some ventricular tachycardias may be caused by anisotropic reentry, we determined the effects of flecainide on this mechanism for reentry in infarcted canine hearts in order to determine possible causes for its clinical effects. Methods and Results The effects of flecainide were determined on ventricular tachycardia induced by programmed electrical stimulation in dogs with healing myocardial infarction 4 days after coronary artery occlusion. Activation in the reentrant circuits causing tachycardia was mapped with a 196-channel computerized mapping system. We found that flecainide converted inducible unsustained ventricular tachycardia to inducible sustained ventricular tachycardia by modifying conduction in the reentrant circuit. In general, by slowing conduction, the reentrant wave front did not block after flecainide, leading to perpetuation of reentrant excitation. When sustained ventricular tachycardia could be induced before the drug, flecainide prolonged the coupling interval of premature impulses necessary to induce tachycardia by lengthening the line of block and slowing conduction around it. Flecainide also slowed the rate of the tachycardia but did not terminate it. The anisotropic reentrant circuits were modified so that the central common pathway of “figure-of-eight” circuits was narrowed and lengthened due to extension of the lines of block that bounded the pathways. Extension of the lines of block resulted from depression of conduction in the direction transverse to the long axis of the myocardial fiber bundles caused by flecainide. Flecainide also slowed conduction in the longitudinal direction in part of the circuits. The depressant effects of flecainide on both longitudinal and transverse anisotropic conduction were quantified by pacing from the center of the electrode array and it was found, contrary to predictions, that transverse conduction was depressed as much as longitudinal conduction. Conclusions Flecainide slows conduction in both the longitudinal and transverse direction relative to the orientation of the myocardial fibers. This enables sustained reentry to occur more easily. Flecainide does not cause conduction block in crucial regions of reentrant circuits (central common pathway) and therefore does not prevent reentrant tachycardia in healing infarcts.
Prognostic Indicators in Metastatic Prostate Cancer-Reply
Authors: Gerald W. Chodak
Journal: JAMA (1991)

<h3>In Reply. —</h3> The comment by Dr Powers is most appropriate regarding the possible relationship between tumor grade and prognosis for patients with metastatic disease. Our initial analysis did not include tumor grade because there was no centralized pathology review and this raised the potential for significant variability. Nevertheless, we have now reviewed all of the data and found in a univariate analysis that, indeed, tumor grade was prognostic. However, in the multivariate analysis, the addition of tumor grade did not add any significant predictability for prognosis. The four parameters presented in our paper remain the most important within our own study population.
But Not Alone
Authors: Nancy Bradney
Journal: JAMA (1986)

Anyone wishing to help infertile couples must recognize that the most intractable problem of infertility is living indefinitely with an uncertainty that may never be resolved until that moment when you decide, finally, to let go of all hope and stop trying to become pregnant. I have come to believe what others have told me: that anything can be endured more easily than experiencing profound sadness on every painstakingly regulated day of every carefully monitored menstrual cycle without ever knowing whether it is time to grieve for the child you will never have. Trying to conceive, for me, was a source of hope but also of protracted agony, because it meant I could never leave my sadness behind me. My husband and I struggled with infertility for a blessedly brief time—2 1/2 years. Even so, I am moved to share my thoughts because I was particularly bad at learning to
344 ELEVATED LEVELS OF FETUIN A IN NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE
Authors: J.W. Haukeland, Z. Konopski, E. Aasheim, O.E. Johansen, E.M. Løberg, T. Haaland, I. Gladhaug, T. Dahl, A. Yndestad, P. Aukrust, B. Halvorsen, K.I. Birkeland
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2010)
Site-Specific Labeling of scVEGF with Fluorine-18 for Positron Emission Tomography Imaging
Authors: Hui Wang, Haokao Gao, Ning Guo, Gang Niu, Ying Ma, Dale O. Kiesewetter, Xiaoyuan Chen
Journal: Theranostics (2012)

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is one of the most important mediators of angiogenesis. Single-chain (sc)-VEGF protein containing an N-terminal Cys-tag has been designed for site-specific modification with a variety of imaging and therapeutic moieties. Site-specific labeling of scVEGF with thiol-reactive prosthetic group, N-[2-(4-(18)F-fluorobenzamido) ethyl] maleimide ([(18)F]FBEM) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of VEFGR may provide a new tracer which has great potential for clinical translation.[(18)F]FBEM-scVEGF was synthesized by site-specific conjugation of (18)F-FBEM to a thiol group in Cys-tag of scVEGF at room temperature. The functional activity after labeling was tested by immunofluorescence staining, cellular uptake and efflux. The tumor targeting and in vivo properties were evaluated by biodistribution and microPET studies in tumor-bearing mice.The radiolabeling yield and specific activity of [(18)F]FBEM-scVEGF were 20.6 ± 15.1% (based on starting [(18)F]FBEM, uncorrected, n = 5) and 58.8 ± 12.4 GBq/µmol, respectively. Noninvasive microPET and direct tissue sampling experiments demonstrated that [(18)F]FBEM-scVEGF had VEGFR specific tumor uptake in MDA-MB-435, U87MG and 4T1 xenograft models. The optimal tumor uptake was achieved at 2 h p.i., which can be partially, but significantly blocked by co-injection of non-labeled scVEGF protein. Overall, [(18)F]FBEM-scVEGF showed VEGFR specific tumor uptake.The scVEGF was site-specifically labeled with (18)F via [(18)F]FBEM prosthetic group and the tracer [(18)F]FBEM-scVEGF exhibited high receptor binding affinity and tumor targeting efficacy. Further study of [(18)F] FBEM-scVEGF to evaluate angiogenesis in cancer and other disease types is warranted.
Hibernating Myocardium Has Reduced Blood Flow at Rest That Increases With Low-Dose Dobutamine
Authors: Shahbudin H. Rahimtoola
Journal: Circulation (1996)

The study of Sun and coworkers is important because (1) it provides additional data that HM has an inotropic and an attenuated coronary vasodilator reserve. They also provided data that support the conclusion that with dobutamine, the improvement of abnormal LV wall motion is real in many patients. (2) It emphasizes the possibility of a deleterious effect (infarction) of dobutamine in HM and thus the need for appropriate caution during its use. (3) It provides additional data that confirm that areas of perfusion-metabolism mismatch on PET imaging (HM) are associated with a reduced MBF at rest. However, their conclusions about areas of LV dysfunction with "normal" MBF in coronary artery disease are problematic; therefore, one must be extremely cautious about these conclusions on the basis of the data that are presented.
Lying to Military Physicians About Risk Factors for HIV Infections
Authors: John J. Potterat
Journal: JAMA (1987)

<h3>To the Editor. —</h3> About 30 percent of men with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) evaluated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC reportedly acquire the disease heterosexually, according to a study published inThe Journal.<sup>1</sup>The authors conclude that risk factors for military patients differ substantially from those of patients reported to the Centers for Disease Control. Years of experience in the epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases among military men in Colorado Springs, Colo, (a region hosting about 30 000 active duty personnel, of whom 92% are men) remind us that infected men are likelier to reveal histories of homosexual or drug abuse activity to civilian rather than to military case-investigators. An opportunity to test our anecdotal impressions presented itself a few days after publication of the aforementioned article: Colorado became the first state to add HIV infection to its list of notifiable diseases on Nov 1,
Evaluation of resynchronization of contractile function following biventricular pacing using colour tissue doppler imaging
Authors: Jeroen J. Bax, T. Marwick, L. van Erven, S. Molhoek, C. Adriaansche, R. de Melker, P. Voogd, E. van der Wall, M. Schalij
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2002)
A MEMORABLE PATIENT
Authors: B. Singh
Journal: BMJ (1996)

On a windy and chilly December morning our jeep was heading towards a small village for my supervisory visit to the health centre there, attached to my primary health centre. The men and women were busy working in the wheat fields, which promised to give a good crop in a few months. Seeing me getting down from the jeep with my health supervisor, all the men abandoned their work and started running, giving us very suspicious looks. I was perplexed.

I asked my health worker, a local man, about this. With a sheepish smile, he explained, “Sir, seeing your jeep, they must have mistaken you for the bank employees. These villagers, most of them quite rich, took out loans from the government banks on various pretexts a …
The Loss of Nf1 Transiently Promotes Self-Renewal but Not Tumorigenesis by Neural Crest Stem Cells
Authors: Nancy M. Joseph, Jack T. Mosher, Johanna Buchstaller, Paige Snider, Paul E. McKeever, Megan Lim, Simon J. Conway, Luis F. Parada, Yuan Zhu, Sean J. Morrison
Journal: Cancer Cell (2008)
Effect of 2,4 Dinitrophenol on Electrical Activity in Purkinje and Ventricular Muscle Fibers of Hog Heart
Authors: MORRIS KLEINFELD, JOHN MAGIN, BERNARD MURPHY, EDWARD STEIN
Journal: Circulation Research (1963)

DNP (2,4 dinitrophenol), in concentrations of 2 to 5 x 10 -5 M produced changes in transmembrane action potential in both the Purkinje and ventricular muscle fibers of the isolated perfused hog heart; however, the time of initiation and rate of change of the different phases of the action potential in the two fibers varied. In the Purkinje fiber, the earliest and most pronounced alteration was a loss in overshoot resulting in a decrease in amplitude of the action potential. Shortly thereafter, the action potential duration shortened, and membrane resting potential decreased. In the ventricular muscle fiber, the earliest and most prominent change was a shortening of action potential duration. This was followed by loss in overshoot and decrease in amplitude of action potential. The membrane resting potential declined but was not significantly different from that noted in Purkinje fiber. The changes in both fibers were reversed completely by washing with Tyrode's solution. The earlier and more pronounced shortening of action potential duration in ventricular muscle fiber as compared to Purkinje is attributed to a greater need of the former for metabolic energy. It may also be conjectured that the greater shortening of action potential duration in ventricular fiber is due to a more marked inhibitory effect of K + influx by 2,4 dinitrophenol in this fiber with the K + influx coupled to metabolic energy. To account for the more enhanced loss in overshoot in Purkinje fiber, it is suggested that 2,4 dinitrophenol has a greater modifying effect on Purkinje fiber membrane or on its Na + carrying system. This results in an earlier and more pronounced decrease in Na + influx in this fiber as compared with ventricular muscle fiber.
FLUORIMETRIC ASSAY OF CARBOXYLIC ESTER HYDROLASES IN GUINEA-PIG SKIN AND THE EFFECTS OF PROPRANOLOL
Authors: D. W. K. COTTON, JOSE J. M. A. HURK
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1972)

Summary.— The application of a continuous fluorimetric assay technique to carboxylic ester hydrolases (including the cholinesterases) in skin is described. The kinetic properties of guinea‐pig skin preparations from different anatomical sites are reported. The in vitro and in vivo effects of propranolol and some other pharmacological compounds on carboxylic ester hydrolases from guinea‐pig skin are described. The results are discussed in relation to atopy.
Out of hours care scrutinised as inquest begins into deaths of two patients
Authors: C. Dyer
Journal: BMJ (2010)

A coroner’s inquest into the death of a patient who was given a fatal dose of diamorphine by an agency doctor from Germany on his first shift in the United Kingdom is expected to highlight serious shortcomings in out of hours care provided by GPs.

Daniel Ubani, 66, a Nigerian born doctor practising in Witten, near Dortmund in Germany, had only three hours rest after flying in from Germany and undergoing coaching before beginning his first shift in Cambridgeshire in February 2008.

He was called to the Manea, Cambridgeshire, home of David Gray, 70, who was in pain from kidney stones, and administered 100 mg of diamorphine. Nat Carey, a forensic pathologist, told the inquest: “It is …
Blood Vessels of Gastric Ulcer
Authors: J. A. Key
Journal: BMJ (1950)

It is no new idea that acute ischaemia can cause necrosis of the gastric mucosa.Disse (1904) claimed that the arteries supplying the gastric mucosa in man are virtually end-arteries, each one supplying 4 mm.2 of surface mucosa, and that blockage of one or more of these vessels would cause local necrosis.Various theories have been suggested by Hofmann and Nather (1921) on how such a block may be produced.They present a long list from which to choose, including compression from without by the muscle coats of the stomach, spasm of the arteries, and thrombosis and emb'olism.Recent work by Barlow (in the press) shows, however, that the vessels of the gastric submucosa and mucosa are not anatomical end-arteries, but that they anastomose freely with each other.Examination of Barlow's dissections suggests that it would require an extensive vascular block to render a patch of mucosa ischaemic.It is true, never- theless, that the vessels in and around a chronic gastric ulcer show widespread occlusions; but in an acute ulcer this is by no means the case.During the past year specimens of gastric ulcer removed at operation in our department have been examined by the methods of microangiography, designed to show the vessels without impedance of other tissues.
Exhaled Nitric Oxide in Children with Asthma and Short-Term PM <sub>2.5</sub> Exposure in Seattle
Authors: Therese F. Mar, Karen Jansen, Kristen Shepherd, Thomas Lumley, Timothy V. Larson, Jane Q. Koenig
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2005)

The objective of this study was to evaluate associations between short-term (hourly) exposures to particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters < 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and the fractional concentration of nitric oxide in exhaled breath (FeNO) in children with asthma participating in an intensive panel study in Seattle, Washington. The exposure data were collected with tapered element oscillation microbalance (TEOM) PM2.5 monitors operated by the local air agency at three sites in the Seattle area. FeNO is a marker of airway inflammation and is elevated in individuals with asthma. Previously, we reported that offline measurements of FeNO are associated with 24-hr average PM2.5 in a panel of 19 children with asthma in Seattle. In the present study using the same children, we used a polynomial distributed lag model to assess the association between hourly lags in PM2.5 exposure and FeNO levels. Our model controlled for age, ambient NO levels, temperature, relative humidity, and modification by use of inhaled corticosteroids. We found that FeNO was associated with hourly averages of PM2.5 up to 10–12 hr after exposure. The sum of the coefficients for the lag times associated with PM2.5 in the distributed lag model was 7.0 ppm FeNO. The single-lag-model FeNO effect was 6.9 [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.4 to 10.6 ppb] for a 1-hr lag, 6.3 (95% CI, 2.6 to 9.9 ppb ) for a 4-hr lag, and 0.5 (95% CI, −1.1 to 2.1 ppb) for an 8-hr lag. These data provide new information concerning the lag structure between PM2.5 exposure and a respiratory health outcome in children with asthma.
Inferior Vena Cava Filters: The Harms Are Clear, the Benefits Less So
Authors: Mitchell H. Katz
Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine (2013)

Richard H. White, MD; Estella Marie Geraghty, MD, MS, MPH; Ann Brunson, MS; Susan Murin, MD, MSc; Ted Wun, MD; Fred Spencer, MD; Patrick S. Romano, MD, MPH
Tension-Type Headache: Psychosomatic Clinical Assessment and Treatment
Authors: Massimo Biondi, Giovanni Portuesi
Journal: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (1994)

Tension-type headache (TTH) is an ill-defined nosographic entity. The classification of headaches according to the Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society is closer to clinical reality with respect to the past classification. From an aetiopathological standpoint, hypotheses trying to explain primary headache disorders in a unified way are interesting. The treatment of this disorder requires a thorough diagnostic framing, which should take into account its psychosomatic aspects, focusing on the individual patient and his history. In fact, the many studies which aimed at characterising the disorder from a psychological viewpoint are not able to provide generalisable indications. In the same way, as it appears that none of the currently available treatments (drugs, biofeedback and psychotherapy) demonstrates clear superiority over the others, the choice should involve an intervention targeted on those factors which are held to be most important in an individual patient. Finally, as for acupuncture and other physical therapies, although interesting results are reported, these treatments are difficult to assess and should be reserved to particular cases.
Poor recruitment to lung cancer trials
Authors: R. T Penson, R. M Rudd
Journal: BMJ (1997)

Editor–The Sheffield Lymphoma Group's recent audit confirms that a “positive attitude” enables high rates of recruitment (45%) to clinical trials.1 It was frustrating to have no further information about the 7% of eligible patients who were considered for, but not entered on, studies. Why are one in seven patients not entered if less than 1% refuse, and did this ratio come closer to one in four in 1992 if, as is apparent, recruitment fell at a faster …
Big Brother's Scrutiny
Authors: J. B. Brierley, D. M. Shaw
Journal: BMJ (1971)

<h3>Abstract</h3> Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global cause of cancer-related mortality driven by genetic and environmental factors which influence therapeutic outcomes. The emergence of next-generation sequencing technologies enables the rapid and extensive collection and curation of genetic data for each cancer type into clinical gene expression biobanks. In this study we used a combination of bioinformatics tools to investigate the expression patterns and prognostic significance of two genes, adenomatous polyposis coli (<i>APC</i>) and B-Raf proto-oncogene (<i>BRAF</i>), that are commonly dysregulated in colon cancer. Subsequently, we investigated the pathways and biomolecular effectors implicated in <i>APC</i> and <i>BRAF</i> function. Our results show mutation types, frequency, anatomical location and differential expression patterns for <i>APC</i> and <i>BRAF</i> between colorectal tumour and matched healthy tissue. The prognostic values of <i>APC</i> and <i>BRAF</i> was investigated as a function of expression level in CRC and other cancer types. In the era of precision medicine and with significant advancements in biobanking and data curation, there is significant scope to use existing clinical datasets for evaluating the role of mutational drivers in carcinogenesis. This offers the potential for studying combinations of less well-known genes and the discovery of novel biomarkers or studying the association between various effector proteins and pathways.