tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus umbrosus Antigens in Serological Tests of Farmer's Lung
Authors: T. H. Ojanen, E. O. Terho, R. A. Mäntyjärvi
Journal: Allergy (1982)

A comparison was made between Aspergillus fumigatus and A. umbrosus antigens regarding their usefulness in serological tests of farmer's lung. Mycelial and culture fluid antigens of both microbes were used to test sera of 30 Finnish farmer's lung patients for antibodies in the ELISA and in the gel precipitation (GP) test. Antibodies to A. umbrosus were more common than to A. fumigatus ; this was especially evident in ELISA. ELISA gave more positive results with all lour antigens than GP. Mycelial antigens showed more positive reactions in ELISA than the corresponding culture fluid antigens. The situation was reversed in GP. Selection of antigens in the diagnostic panel of farmer's lung requires careful consideration. Our results suggest that other Aspergilli (in the Finnish population A. umbrosus ) might be preferable to A. fumigatus in the antigen panel.
Pressure-flow characteristics of the coronary collateral circulation during cardiopulmonary bypass. Effects of ventricualr fibrillation.
Authors: L H Kleinman, A S Wechsler
Journal: Circulation (1978)

Even though ventricular fibrillation is used frequently during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), the effects of fibrillation on myocardial regions supplied by collateral vessels have not been determined. To study these effects, nine dogs with left ventricles (ameroid model) consisting of a region of myocardium supplied by collateral vessels (CR) and a region supplied by normal coronary arteries (NR) were subjected to normothermic CPB at two perfusion pressures. In both the empty beating heart (EBH) and empty fibrillating heart (EFH) regional myocardial flow was determined by tracer microspheres. Retrograde coronary pressure was measured via cannulation of the circumflex artery distal to the ameroid induced occlusion. When perfusion pressure was maintained at 80 mm Hg, retrograde coronary pressure was similar in the EBH (46 +/- 4 mm Hg) and in the EFH (48 +/- 3 mm Hg). During fibrillation subendocardial flow in the CR was unchanged, while flow in the NR increased (P less than 0.02). In addition, the endo/epi was greater in the NR than in the CR (P less than 0.01), a difference which did not exist in the EBH. The flow response to fibrillation in the CR could be produced in the NR by reducing the perfusion pressure to 50 mm Hg. These data suggest that during CPB, fibrillation exaggerates existing subendocardial perfusion deficits in collateral regions and the impaired flow response appears to be related to a low regional intravascular pressure.
Tobacco Smoking as a Possible Etiologic Factor in Bronchiogenic Carcinoma
Authors: Ernest L. Wynder
Journal: JAMA (1985)

<h3>General Increase.—</h3> There is rather general agreement that the incidence of bronchiogenic carcinoma has greatly increased in the last half-century. Statistical studies at the Charity Hospital of New Orleans (Ochsner and DeBakey),<sup>1</sup>the St. Louis City Hospital (Wheeler)<sup>2</sup>and the Veterans Administration Hospital of Hines, Ill. (Avery)<sup>3</sup>have revealed that at these hospitals cancer of the lung is now the most frequent visceral cancer in men. Autopsy statistics throughout the world show a great increase in the incidence of bronchiogenic carcinoma in relation to cancer in general. Kenneway and Kenneway,<sup>4</sup>in a careful statistical study of death certificates in England and Wales from 1928 to 1945, have presented undoubted evidence of a great increase in deaths from cancer of the lung. In this country statistics compiled by the American Cancer Society show a similar trend during the past two decades.<sup>5</sup> <h3>Tobacco as a Possible Cause</h3>
C5 chemotactic fragment induces leukocyte production of tissue factor activity: a link between complement and coagulation.
Authors: T W Muhlfelder, J Niemetz, D Kreutzer, D Beebe, P A Ward, S I Rosenfeld
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1979)

Complement-activated human plasma causes generation of tissue factor in human leukocytes. This phenomenon appears to be related to the fifth component of complement (C5) as demonstrated by the use of C5 deficient-plasma and suppression of activity with antibody to C5. Isolation of the chemotactic factor from activated serum or trypsinization of purified C5 reproduces the phenomenon. These data provide evidence for a direct link between complement products and activation of the coagulation system. Because chemotactic peptides from C5 can be generated by a variety of enzymes, our findings suggest a relationship between complement, coagulation, and inflammation.
Reduction of Thyroid Irradiation From 131I by Potassium Iodide
Authors: Manfred Blum
Journal: JAMA (1967)

The prophylactic administration of 100 to 200 mg of potassium iodide in anticipation of radioactive iodine exposure will largely prevent uptake by the thyroid gland, thereby reducing the irradiation dose delivered by more than 98%. The same amount given at intervals after<sup>131</sup>I absorption is progressively less effective, but still reduces uptake to less than half after a delay of three hours. The suppressive effect of one dose is of short duration and daily readministration of the agent is required for prolonged protection. The extent of uptake blockade may be estimated by measuring serum inorganic iodide; concentrations of greater than 10μg /100 cc correlate with marked uptake arrest. Toxicity is negligible for a single ingestion, as is required in this temporary measure for the reduction of the immediate thyroid irradiation hazard, but the drug must be avoided by those allergic to it.
NHS trust chairwoman wins libel case
Authors: C. Dyer
Journal: BMJ (1996)

The Department of Health in Britain agreed last week to pay pounds sterling250000 ($375000) in legal costs to settle an unprecedented libel action by a former chairwoman of an NHS trust against five non-executive directors of the trust. The payment to Abigail Kirby-Harris, former chairwoman of Cornwall Healthcare Trust, has rescued the former health secretary Virginia Bottomley and former health minister Brian Mawhinney from the threat of court subpoenas to appear …
Dilatation of the azygos vein simulating a mediastinal tumour.
Authors: J A Siddorn, L Worsornu
Journal: Thorax (1979)

A mediastinal tumour was simulated by gross dilatation of the azygos vein resulting from compression by enlarged hilar lymph nodes at the point where it crossed the right main bronchus to enter the superior vena cava. This cause of dilatation of the azygos vein has not previously been reported. Published reports are reviewed and attention drawn to the large proportion of patients (11/19) with this condition who had needless thoracotomies. The possibility of making a diagnosis by means of clinical observation and simple radiological techniques and thus avoiding surgical intervention is discussed.
Ocular Pathology: A Text and Atlas
Authors: Bonnie Lynn Nickel
Journal: JAMA (1982)

The first edition of<i>Ocular Pathology: A Text and Atlas</i>, published seven years ago, was a monumental work. Now we have the second edition of that prestigious volume, which includes multiple revisions and additions to the original text. Fortunately, the authors have retained the expanded outline form, which conveys the information in an organized, succinct manner. The first five chapters review the basic principles of pathology, congenital anomalies, nongranulomatous inflammation, granulomatous inflammation, and trauma. Thereafter, the topics are grouped in the traditional manner by ocular tissue types. Although the format is unchanged, revisions have been made in the immunopathology section, the corneal dystrophy section, and the retina chapter. New topics also have been added, including Menkes' kinky hair disease, superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis, Leber's congenital amaurosis, and bilateral acute retinal necrosis, to name a few. All of the additions are welcome. Specifically, the section on humoral and cell-mediated immunity defines the
Stenting of Aortopulmonary Collaterals in Complex Pulmonary Atresia
Authors: Andrew N. Redington, Jane Somerville
Journal: Circulation (1996)

The optimal treatment of patients with complex pulmonary atresia remains controversial. Surgical unifocalization programs are increasing popular but have not previously or currently gained universal acceptance. Furthermore, not all patients are suitable for attempts at biventricular correction. These patients may become increasingly symptomatic and require palliation.We attempted to palliate 12 patients with progressive symptomatic hypoxemia. Each had at least one stenotic but balloon-dilatable collateral supplying at least three lung segments. It was impossible to traverse the stenotic area with the stent in 1 patient, despite two attempts. Twelve stents were thus deployed in 11 patients. There was no effect in 1 patient who had multiple stenoses distal to the stented area. There was excellent palliation in the remainder, arterial oxygen saturation 45% to 79% before stenting (mean, 64 +/- 12%) rising to 67% to 90% (mean, 78 +/- 10%, P < .01) at discharge from hospital. One patient was referred for surgery to secure blood flow to a nearly totally occluded side branch to the right upper lobe traversed by the stent. There was an excellent symptomatic response in the remainder, with an early increase in exercise duration (P < .01). Late arterial desaturation occurred in 2 patients. In 1, there was pulmonary arterial hypertension in the lung segments supplied by the stented vessel. A stenosis had developed within the stent in the other patient, who was noncompliant with anticoagulation therapy.Stenting of stenotic aortopulmonary collaterals can achieve excellent palliation in the majority of this highly selected subgroup of patients with complex pulmonary atresia.
Abstract A23: HER2 levels affect sensitivity and resistance to EGFR inhibition in EGFR mutant lung cancer
Authors: Ken Takezawa, Mary Ann Melnick, Greg Riely, Mark Kris, Vincent Miller, Marc Ladanyi, Katerina Politi, William Pao, Valentina Pirazzoli, Xiaoling Song, Maria Arcila, Elisa De Stanchina, Kadoaki Ohashi, Yelena Janjigian, Paula Spitzler, Caroline Nebhan
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2012)

Abstract EGFR mutant lung cancers eventually become resistant to treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as erlotinib. The combination of an irreversible EGFR TKI, afatinib, and the anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody, cetuximab, depletes both phosphorylated and total EGFR and can overcome resistance in mouse lung tumor models and human patients with acquired resistance. Since afatinib is also a potent HER2 inhibitor, here we investigated the role of HER2 in EGFR mutant tumor cells. We show in vitro and in vivo that afatinib plus cetuximab or the related antibody, panitumumab, significantly inhibits HER2 phosphorylation. HER2 overexpression or knockdown confers resistance or sensitivity, respectively, in all studied cell line models. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis revealed that HER2 was amplified in 3 of 26 (12%) tumors with acquired resistance versus only 1 of 99 (1%) untreated lung adenocarcinomas (p=0.03 Fisher's exact test). Notably, HER2 amplification and EGFR T790M were mutually exclusive (0 of 17 T790M-positive versus 3 of 9 T790M-negative cases (p=0.02 Fisher's exact test)). Collectively, these results reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism of resistance to EGFR TKIs and provide a rationale to assess the status and possibly target HER2 in EGFR mutant tumors with acquired resistance to EGFR TKIs.
Moscow smog and nationwide heat wave claim thousands of lives
Authors: A. Osborn
Journal: BMJ (2010)

An unprecedented heat wave, combined with a deadly outbreak of fierce forest fires, has sparked a public health crisis in Moscow, the Russian capital, where the daily death rate has doubled in recent weeks.

At least 52 people across Russia have died in the fires, and Moscow has been shrouded in a thick layer of smog, caused by scores of forest and peat bog fires ringing the Russian capital, which has made being outdoors hazardous.

Carbon monoxide levels have, at times, exceeded the acceptable level by almost seven times. City residents have complained …
Phenothiazine-Induced T-Wave Abnormalities
Authors: Sergio C. Alvarez-Mena
Journal: JAMA (1973)

Effects of overnight fasting and potassium salts given orally (10 gm) on phenothiazine-induced repolarization abnormalities were evaluated in 100 psychiatric patients. Overnight fasting resulted in complete normalization of the electrocardiograms of 57 patients, while the remainder were corrected by potassium administration. The mean serum potassium level was significantly higher for the group that normalized with fasting alone. These results are explainable by a combined phenothiazine- and glucose-induced increase in the intracellular-extracellular ratio of potassium, an important factor in the genesis of repolarization abnormalities.
Arachidonic Acid Metabolites and the Interactions between Platelets and Blood-Vessel Walls
Authors: S. Moncada, J. R. Vane
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1979)

PROSTAGLANDINS are potent vasoactive agents with a wide variety of other actions that depend on the species and organ tested and the prostaglandin used. They are synthesized from 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids containing three, four or five double bonds. These fatty acids are present in the phospholipids of the cell membranes of all mammalian tissues. The main precursor of prostaglandins in man is eicosatetraenoic or arachidonic acid (four double bonds), which gives rise to the prostaglandins (PG's) containing two double bonds (PGE2, PGF2α, PGD2, prostacyclin and thromboxane A2). PGE2 and PGF . . .
FDA committee votes for warning labels on stimulant drugs
Authors: Fred Charatan
Journal: BMJ (2006)

An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration voted by 8-7 last week to require drug companies to display a “black box” warning label on several stimulant drugs used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The drugs are methylphenidate hydrochloride (sold as Ritalin and Concerta) and the amphetamine formulation sold in the United States as Adderall.

The committee, whose recommendation was unexpected, said the warning was …
ACTION OF DIPHTHERIA TOXIN IN THE GUINEA PIG
Authors: Joel B. Baseman, A. M. Pappenheimer, D. M. Gill, Annabel A. Harper
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1970)

The blood clearance and distribution in the tissues of 125I after intravenous injection of small doses (1.5–5 MLD or 0.08–0.25 µg) of 125I-labeled diphtheria toxin has been followed in guinea pigs and rabbits and compared with the fate of equivalent amounts of injected 125I-labeled toxoid and bovine serum albumin. Toxoid disappeared most rapidly from the blood stream and label accumulated and was retained in liver, spleen, and especially in kidney. Both toxin and BSA behaved differently. Label was found widely distributed among all the organs except the nervous system and its rate of disappearance from the tissues paralleled its disappearance from the circulation. There was no evidence for any particular affinity of toxin for muscle tissue or for a "target" organ. Previous reports by others that toxin causes specific and selective impairment of protein synthesis in muscle tissue were not confirmed. On the contrary, both in guinea pigs and rabbits, a reduced rate of protein synthesis was observed in all tissues that had taken up the toxin label. In tissues removed from intoxicated animals of both species there was an associated reduction in aminoacyl transferase 2 content. It is concluded that the primary action of diphtheria toxin in the living animal is to effect the inactivation of aminoacyl transferase 2. The resulting inhibition in rate of protein synthesis leads to morphologic damage in all tissues reached by the toxin and ultimately to death of the animal.
Perinatal Transmission of HIV in Women Receiving Zidovudine
Authors: Lynne M. Mofenson
Journal: JAMA (1998)

ObjectivesTo evaluate the impact of perinatal zidovudine use on the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV and to determine risk factors for transmission among women using perinatal zidovudine.DesignProspective cohort study of 1533 children born to HIV-infected women between 1985 and 1995 in four US cities.MethodsThe association of potential risk factors with perinatal HIV transmission was assessed with univariate and multivariate statistics.ResultsThe overall transmission risk was 18% [95% confidence interval (CI), 16-21]. Factors associated with transmission included membrane rupture &gt;4 h before delivery [relative risk (RR), 2.1; 95% CI, 1.6-2.7], gestational age &lt;37 weeks (RR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.4-2.2), maternal CD4+ lymphocyte count &lt;500 ×106 cells/l (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3-2.2), birthweight &lt;2500 g (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3-2.1), and antenatal and neonatal zidovudine use (RR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9). For infants exposed to zidovudine antenatally and neonatally, the transmission risk was 13% overall but was significantly lower following shorter duration of membrane rupture (7%) and term delivery (9%). The transmission risk declined from 22% before 1992 to 11% in 1995 (P&lt; 0.001) in association with increasing zidovudine use and changes in other risk factors.ConclusionsPerinatal HIV transmission risk has declined with increasing perinatal zidovudine use and changes in other factors. Further reduction in transmission for women taking zidovudine may be possible by reducing the incidence of other potentially modifiable risk factors, such as long duration of membrane rupture and prematurity.
Pulmonary Hypertension in Sickle Cell Disease
Authors: Elliott P. Vichinsky
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2004)

Sickle cell disease was first described in 1910 by Herrick and Irons. The irregularly shaped blood cells observed by Irons were those of Walter Clement Noel, a dental student with symptoms that included joint pain and shortness of breath. After graduation, Dr. Noel returned to his native Grenada, where he died suddenly at 32 years of age. Although the cause of death was recorded as pneumonia, his death was most likely the result of sudden, undetected pulmonary hypertension.Today, we know that pulmonary hypertension and chronic lung disease are two of the most common causes of death among patients with . . .
The bad news and the bad news
Authors: Mark Taubert
Journal: BMJ (2005)

I recently saw a 64 year old man with a skin lesion on his knee that had been intermittently weeping pus over the past four weeks and had been growing in size. The lesion was well demarcated, granulomatous, and about 2x2 cm in size. He had had it for over a year, but it had never bothered him until recently. The lesion did not look infected, so I decided to remove it and send it for histology.

Four days later, I was called by a consultant pathologist, who started quizzing me about this patient. Specifically he wanted to know the patient's sexual orientation and whether he was an intravenous drug user. The patient was homosexual, and when I told the consultant …
Progressive hyperpigmentation in a Taiwanese child due to an inborn error of vitamin B12 metabolism (cblJ)
Authors: T. Takeichi, C.-K. Hsu, H.-S. Yang, H.-Y. Chen, T.-W. Wong, W.-L. Tsai, S.-C. Chao, J.Y.-Y. Lee, M. Akiyama, M.A. Simpson, J.A. McGrath
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2014)

The physiology of human skin pigmentation is varied and complex, with an extensive melanogenic paracrine network involving mesenchymal and epithelial cells, contributing to the regulation of melanocyte survival and proliferation and melanogenesis. Mutations in several genes, involving predominantly the KIT ligand/c-Kit and Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathways, have been implicated in a spectrum of diseases in which there is hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation or both. Here, we report on a 12-year-old girl from Taiwan with a 6-year history of diffuse progressive skin hyperpigmentation resulting from a different aetiology: an inborn metabolic disorder of vitamin B12 (cobalamin), designated cblJ. Using whole-exome sequencing we identified a homozygous mutation in ABCD4 (c.423C>G; p.Asn141Lys), which encodes an ATP-binding cassette transporter with a role in the intracellular processing of cobalamin. The patient had biochemical and haematological evidence of cobalamin deficiency but no other clinical abnormalities apart from a slight lightening of her previously black hair. Of note, she had no neurological symptoms or signs. Treatment with oral cobalamin (3 mg daily) led to metabolic correction and some reduction in the skin hyperpigmentation at the 3-month follow-up. This case demonstrates that defects or deficiencies of cobalamin should be remembered in the differential diagnosis of diffuse hyperpigmentary skin disorders.
A New Device to Clarify the Position of the Endoscope Tip during Endoscopic Diagnosis and Therapeutic Procedures
Authors: F. Salameh
Journal: Endoscopy (2005)

In our practice of gastrointestinal endoscopy we have noticed that the use of internal landmarks to determine the anatomical position of the endoscope tip can be inaccurate. This was especially the case during colonoscopy [1]; sometimes it has been required to spray water through the endoscope channel and watch how it fell because this was the only way to confirm the gravitational vertical direction, which does not necessarily match the upper and lower orientation of the video endoscopy monitor.
Isolation of Cladonema Pax-B Genes and Studies of the DNA-Binding Properties of Cnidarian Pax Paired Domains
Authors: Hongmin Sun, Douglas P. Dickinson, John Costello, Wen-Hsiung Li
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2001)

Pax genes encode nuclear transcription factors that are involved in developmental control. They contain a conserved DNA-binding domain, the paired domain. The DNA-binding specificity of paired domains is directly related to the gene regulation function of Pax proteins. Pax genes were previously divided into five groups on the basis of a phylogenetic analysis of paired domains. In this study, two highly similar cnidarian Pax-B genes from Cladonema californicum, a jellyfish with eyes, were found and sequenced. In an effort to understand the function of the cnidarian Pax genes isolated in this and a previous study, we characterized the consensus DNA sequences bound by the cnidarian paired domains using a PCR-based method and electrophoretic mobility shift assays. The consensus DNA sequences obtained are very similar to those bound by mammalian Pax proteins. Comparison of known consensus sequences indicates that they are all partially palindromic, but this characteristic is most prominent in cnidarians, which suggests that the DNA sequences bound by the ancestral paired domain could have been palindromic. Also, cnidarian paired domains, like those of Pax-2/5/8, possess a broader binding specificity than other paired domains, which implies that the common ancestor of Pax-2/5/8 and Pax-4/6 paired domains could also have had a similar broad DNA-binding specificity. Thus far, a definitive Pax-6 gene has not been found in several cnidarian species examined, which is consistent with a later origin of the Pax-6 gene and raises two possibilities: the Pax genes of cnidarians are multifunctional and control two or more developmental pathways, including eye development, or they use a Pax-independent pathway for eye development. Whether this pathway does exist and is unique to cnidarians or it whether it represents a true master control under which Pax-6 was later included remains to be determined.