tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Relapse in young paranoid schizophrenic patients: a prospective study of stressful life events, P300 measures, and coping
Authors: S Pallanti, L Quercioli, A Pazzagli
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1997)

The authors investigated the relationship of cognitive and coping characteristics to stressful life events at the time of relapse in patients with recent-onset paranoid schizophrenia.Over 6 years, the authors collected data on 41 schizophrenic outpatients aged 18-28 years at recruitment. The patients were rated prospectively every 2 weeks with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, and life events measures. The Frankfurt Questionnaire of Complaints was used to analyze subjective complaints regarding cognitive and coping abilities. The P300 auditory event-related potential was measured at recruitment to provide an index of information-processing capability.Patients without severe life events during the 1 month before relapse had a smaller P300, more subjective complaints, and less coping capacity than did relapsed schizophrenic subjects who had severe life events in the month before relapse.Relapses in subjects without severe life events were associated with fewer cognitive resources and less coping ability. Patients with normal P300 and adequate coping resources seemed to be able to deal better with stressful life events.
Carboxypeptidase G2 rescue after high-dose methotrexate.
Authors: L M DeAngelis, W P Tong, S Lin, M Fleisher, J R Bertino
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1996)

PURPOSE This study was a pilot project to assess the safety and efficacy of carboxypeptidase G2 (CPG2) rescue from high-dose (HD) methotrexate (MTX) in patients with recurrent cerebral lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS Four patients with recurrent primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) were studied. Patients received 3.0 g/m2 MTX infused over 2 hours. Twelve hours after the start of MTX, 50 U/kg CPG2 was infused; a second dose of CPG2 was given 6 hours after the first. Blood and CSF were collected and assayed for levels of MTX, CPG2, and 2,4-diamino-N10-methylpteroic acid (DAMPA), a cleavage product of MTX after CPG2. Serum was collected for at least 2 weeks after administration of MTX-CPG2 to assess anti-CPG2 activity antibodies. RESULTS All patients had at least a 2-log decline in plasma MTX levels to the subtherapeutic range within 5 minutes of CPG2 administration. The second dose of CPG2 did not further diminish the already low plasma MTX level. DAMPA appeared and was detected as the plasma MTX concentration decreased. CSF MTX concentration remained elevated for 4 hours after CPG2, and its decline followed first-order kinetics. Anti-CPG2 activity antibodies were not detected in any patient. No MTX or CPG2 toxicity was observed. CONCLUSION CPG2 rescue is a safe, effective alternative to leucovorin rescue after HD MTX and may prove particularly useful for the treatment of MTX-sensitive CNS tumors, as it does not affect CSF MTX levels.
Nitric oxide (NO) in exhaled breath helps to distinguish the origin of lung infiltrate
Authors: Natalja Voskresenska, Julia Voicehovska, Grigorij Orlikovs
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Introduction . Determination of pulmonary infiltrates is necessary not only to evaluate the general condition of a patient, but also to determine needs and duration of antibiotic therapy. Well-recognized methods of diagnosis (physical examination, blood tests and x-rays) are not enough helpful in determination of the pulmonary infiltrate9s origin.   Objective . To distinguish the origin of lung infiltrate using NO in the exhaled breath.   Materials and methods . Prospective non-randomized study was carried out in the Centre of pulmonology and allergology, Paul Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia. The study is approved by Riga Stradins University Ethics Committee. Patients with lung infiltrate of inflammatory (due to pneumonia) and congestion (heart failure) origin were involved into the study. Community-acquired Pneumonia(CAP) was confirmed in 6 (from 10) patients. Heart failure (HF) with small blood circuit congestion and lung infiltration was confirmed in 4 patients. Exhaled NO, X-Ray, clinical pattern were processed. The NO level was measured by chemiluminescence9s analyzer (Aerocrine). The data were processed under SPSS 20.0 for Mac.   Results . CAP patients (n=6) demonstrated 24,67 ppb. HF patients (n=4) demonstrated 3,65 ppb (p   Conclusion . The data show that there is increased NO production in pneumonia patient. The lung infiltrate origin might be evaluated using NO in the exhaled breath.
Predictors of mortality in patients with bloodstream infections caused by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and impact of appropriate antimicrobial treatment
Authors: O. Zarkotou, S. Pournaras, P. Tselioti, V. Dragoumanos, V. Pitiriga, K. Ranellou, A. Prekates, K. Themeli-Digalaki, A. Tsakris
Journal: Clinical Microbiology and Infection (2011)
Site-Specific Amino Acid Preferences Are Mostly Conserved in Two Closely Related Protein Homologs
Authors: Michael B. Doud, Orr Ashenberg, Jesse D. Bloom
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2015)

Evolution drives changes in a protein's sequence over time. The extent to which these changes in sequence lead to shifts in the underlying preference for each amino acid at each site is an important question with implications for comparative sequence-analysis methods, such as molecular phylogenetics. To quantify the extent that site-specific amino acid preferences shift during evolution, we performed deep mutational scanning on two homologs of human influenza nucleoprotein with 94% amino acid identity. We found that only a modest fraction of sites exhibited shifts in amino acid preferences that exceeded the noise in our experiments. Furthermore, even among sites that did exhibit detectable shifts, the magnitude tended to be small relative to differences between nonhomologous proteins. Given the limited change in amino acid preferences between these close homologs, we tested whether our measurements could inform site-specific substitution models that describe the evolution of nucleoproteins from more diverse influenza viruses. We found that site-specific evolutionary models informed by our experiments greatly outperformed nonsite-specific alternatives in fitting phylogenies of nucleoproteins from human, swine, equine, and avian influenza. Combining the experimental data from both homologs improved phylogenetic fit, partly because measurements in multiple genetic contexts better captured the evolutionary average of the amino acid preferences for sites with shifting preferences. Our results show that site-specific amino acid preferences are sufficiently conserved that measuring mutational effects in one protein provides information that can improve quantitative evolutionary modeling of nearby homologs.
Working long hours is associated with higher risk of stroke, study shows
Authors: Susan Mayor
Journal: BMJ (2015)

Working 55 hours or more a week is associated with a 33% higher risk of stroke and a small increase in coronary heart disease than a standard 35 to 40 hour week, shows a comprehensive study to investigate the effects of longer working hours on cardiovascular health.

The study, published in the Lancet ,1 reviewed 25 studies in 24 cohorts of people in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Previous studies have found that long working hours may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, but they have been limited by potential bias, a lack of prospective data, and …
Naloxone in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Effect on Weight Gain and Lipolysis
Authors: Ray Moore, Ivor H Mills, Alison Forster
Journal: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (1981)

The effects of a constant intravenous infusion of naloxone in doses ranging from 3.2 to 6.4 mg/day were studied in a group of patients with anorexia nervosa. Patients showed a significantly greater weight gain during the infusion compared with the periods before and after naloxone. Plasma β-hydroxybutyrate and non-esterified fatty acid levels fell during the infusion. It is suggested that, in man, naloxone has an antilipolytic effect in vivo.
Effects of oral N-acetylcysteine on cell content and macrophage function in bronchoalveolar lavage from healthy smokers
Authors: M Linden, E Wieslander, A Eklund, K Larsson, R Brattsand
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (1988)

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed in fourteen healthy non-smokers and eleven healthy smokers. In smokers BAL was performed before and after eight weeks' treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC; 200 mg t.i.d.). Cell number, composition and viability were determined in the BAL fluid. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) were cultured before examination of their phagocytic capacity and their ability to produce leukotriene B4 (LTB4). BAL fluid from smokers contained more cells than that from non-smokers (p less than 0.001). This was mainly attributable to increases in both proportion and absolute number of AMs (p less than 0.001) and to an increase in absolute number of neutrophils (p less than 0.05). However, there was a decrease in proportion of lymphocytes in BAL fluid from smokers (p less than 0.001). Phagocytic capacity of adherent cells and capacity of AMs to generate LTB4 after stimulation with opsonized zymosan (OZy) were decreased in smokers (p less than 0.05 and p less than 0.01 respectively). NAC treatment of smokers did not affect cell number but resulted in an increased proportion of lymphocytes in BAL fluid (p less than 0.05). The phagocytic capacity of AMs was not significantly altered but was improved in five of eleven smokers after NAC treatment. NAC also enhanced the decreased LTB4 secretion by smokers' AMs (p less than 0.05). We conclude that smoking leads to reduced phagocytic capacity and LTB4 secretion of AMs and that oral NAC treatment may improve the function of AMs.
Doctors' awareness of the Gold standard framework (GSF) for palliation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Authors: M.J. Naveed, N. Garner, M. Gautam, D.C. Lees, H. Burhan, J.F. O'Reilly
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background:  The GSF aims to improve the quality of patient care in the final year of life, to reduce hospitalisation by reducing length of stay, to facilitate rapid discharge and admission avoidance thereby reduce costs and improving cost effectiveness.  Aims:  To assess the awareness of the GSF programme in COPD amongst the doctors and nurses working in two University hospitals.  Methods:  An anonymous questionnaire was administered to doctors and nurses of various grades from February 2011 to February 2012 in two University hospitals.  Results:  60 randomly selected doctors (5 consultants, 20 specialist registrars, 20 senior house officers, 15 house officers) and 20 nurses of different grades completed the questionnaire. 39 (49%) healthcare professionals had previous palliative care experience. Only a small proportion (14%) of them understood the GSF. 12 (15%) healthcare professionals were aware of prognostic indicators guidance.  The majority of doctors and nurses (86%) considered COPD a terminal disease and were aware of the potential for palliation depending on the severity of the disease.  Conclusions:  This survey demonstrates that most doctors and nurses realise the need to consider palliation in severe COPD, though only a minority are aware of the framework designed to facilitate this in clinical practice.  We suggest education and training of healthcare professionals on the GSF to increase awareness and thereby improve the quality of care for COPD patients receiving hospital care in the final year of life. Through organisational change, the GSF may enable better teamwork, leading to more coordinated cross boundary care.  Reference  National GSF centre overview paper.
Monitoring the Therapy of Human Tumor Xenografts in Nude Mice by the Use of Lactate Dehydrogenase&lt;xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn2"&gt;2&lt;/xref&gt;
Authors: L DiPersio, A P Kyriazis, J G Michael, A J Pesce
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1979)

With the use of circulating human lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as a tumor marker, growth and remission of human tumor lines SW480, HEp-2, and Clouser, implanted into female BALB/c athymic nude mice, were followed during therapy. Three types of therapy were used: X-radiation, cyclophosphamide, and diphtheria toxin. After therapy tumor sizes were measured with calipers and compared to changes in the levels of circulating human LDH. Changes in LDH levels paralleled changes in tumor size, but the enzyme fluctuations were more pronounced. Mice bearing intraperitoneally growing SW480 and HEp-2 tumors were effectively treated with diphtheria toxin, and the measurement of circulating LDH was examined as a parameter for gauging the effectiveness of chemotherapy on tumors that could not be visualized. Circulating human LDH can be used to detect intraperitoneal tumor growth and/or remission and to predict death of the animal due to the tumor.
Effect of inhaled beclomethasone and nedocromil sodium on bronchial hyperresponsiveness to histamine and distilled water
Authors: CA Groot, JW Lammers, J Molema, J Festen, CL van Herwaarden
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (1992)

In a randomized, cross-over study we compared the effects of inhaled nedocromil sodium, 4 mg q.i.d., with inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate, 200 micrograms q.i.d. in 23 atopic asthmatic patients. After a 3 week single-blind placebo period, regarded as the baseline, and after 4 and 8 weeks of active treatment, drug effects were assessed with regard to bronchial hyperresponsiveness to histamine and distilled water, lung function and beta 2-agonist use. After 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, nedocromil sodium reduced the histamine responsiveness (p < 0.005 and p < 0.0005), but not the distilled water responsiveness, and did not improve lung function and peakflow measurements compared to baseline. After 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, beclomethasone caused a significant increase in lung function (p < 0.005) and decrease in bronchial hyperresponsiveness to histamine (p < 0.0005) and distilled water (p < 0.0005) as compared to baseline. beta 2-agonist use was significantly diminished after an 8 week treatment with beclomethasone, whereas nedocromil sodium had no effect. Treatment with beclomethasone was superior to treatment with nedocromil sodium with regard to bronchial hyperresponsiveness to histamine and distilled water (p < 0.0005 and p < 0.005), lung function (p = 0.003), peakflow measurements (p < 0.05) and beta 2-agonist use (p < 0.005).
Human Serum and the Growth of Human Mammary Cells<xref ref-type="fn" rid="FN2">2</xref>
Authors: E V Gaffney, D A Pigott, M A Grimaldi
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1979)

Human serum from a pool of normal donors, in the presence of fetal bovine serum, inhibited the growth of the major epithelial cell type observed in primary cultures established from biopsy samples of breast carcinoma. In contrast, the growth of cells from nonmalignant mammary tissues removed during reduction mammoplasty and from fibroadenoma was not inhibited. The replication of MCF-7 cells, an established line from a metastatic breast lesion, was also inhibited, whereas the growth of HBL-100 cells, originally derived from a presumably normal source of mammary tissue, was not inhibited by human serum in combination with fetal bovine serum. The growth of two additional cell lines, MDA 157 and MDA 231, was also not affected by human serum. Studies of growth in primary cultures were restricted primarily to direct microscopic observations of the number of cells per colony and the proportion labeled with [3H]thymidine. The results indicate the use of cell lines as adjuncts to primary cultures in future studies of this inhibitory activity.
The relationship between radiologic findings and lung function impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Virginija Šileikiene, Ingrida Zeleckiene, Mindaugas Mataciunas, Jolita Norkuniene, Edvardas Danila
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Objective  To evaluate prospectively the relationship between radiologic findings and lung function impairment in COPD.   Methods  The data of 38 consecutive patients with COPD were examined. All patients were divided into  group I  (GOLD I and II, n=20) and  group II  (GOLD III and IV, n=18) based on post-bronchodilator FEV 1 . The patients underwent CT scanning and comprehensive examination of the respiratory function.   Results  The difference of the amounts of pulmonary emphysema, cysts, bronchiectasis, and pneumofibrosis among the patient groups was not statistically significant. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences of TLC, VC, RV, DLCO indices between groups during disease remission. However, we have observed a significant increase of TLC, RV, and pCO 2  indices, as well as the decrease of DLCO, pO 2 , and sO 2  values of  group II  patients comparing to  group I  patients during exacerbation of the disease (p  Presence of bronchiectasis and emphysema had correlation with exacerbations rate (r = 0.4, p   Conclusions  Our study showed that relationship between radiologic findings and lung function impairment in COPD is variegated. Deterioration in DLCO values reflected emerging pneumofibrosis in COPD patients. Repeated exacerbations were associated with bronchiectasis and emphysema. The patients with more severe airflow obstruction ( group II ) during remission had more severe respiratory function status during exacerbation comparing to  group I  patients.
Tumor-Specific Humoral Antibodies Against Plasma Cell Tumors in Immunized BALB/c Mice
Authors: G Lespinats
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1970)

In BALB/c mice immunized with plasma cell tumors incubated in sodium iodoacetate, antibodies against plasma cell tumors were detected by the indirect fluorescent antibody test. Fluorescence indices were determined in individual sera of animals bled at different intervals. After completion of immunizing injections, the time of appearance, level, and duration of antibodies depended on the number of injections. Cross-reactions and cross-absorption of antisera with several transplant lines of plasma cell tumor detected antibodies against individual tumor antigens and antibodies against antigen common to several plasma cell tumors. A relationship between antibody level, as detected by the fluorescence index, and resistance of animals to tumor graft could not be established.
Pneumonia in Febrile Neutropenic Patients and in Bone Marrow and Blood Stem-Cell Transplant Recipients: Use of High-Resolution Computed Tomography
Authors: Claus Peter Heussel, Hans-Ulrich Kauczor, Gudula E. Heussel, Berthold Fischer, Markus Begrich, Peter Mildenberger, Manfred Thelen
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1999)

To obtain statistical data on the use of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) for early detection of pneumonia in febrile neutropenic patients with unknown focus of infection.One hundred eighty-eight HRCT studies were performed prospectively in 112 neutropenic patients with fever of unknown origin persisting for more than 48 hours despite empiric antibiotic treatment. Fifty-four of these studies were performed in transplant recipients. All patients had normal chest roentgenograms. If pneumonia was detected by HRCT, guided bronchoalveolar lavage was recommended. Evidence of pneumonia on chest roentgenograms during follow-up and micro-organisms detected during follow-up were regarded as documentation of pneumonia.Of the 188 HRCT studies, 112 (60%) showed pneumonia and 76 were normal. Documentation of pneumonia was possible in 61 cases by chest roentgenography or micro-organism detection (54%) (P < 10(-6)). Sensitivity of HRCT was 87% (88% in transplant recipients), specificity was 57% (67%), and the negative predictive value was 88% (97%). A time gain of 5 days was achieved by the additional use of HRCT compared to an exclusive use of chest roentgenography.The high frequency of inflammatory pulmonary disease after a suspicious HRCT scan (> 50%) proves that pneumonia is not excluded by a normal chest roentgenogram. Given the significantly longer duration of febrile episodes in transplant recipients, HRCT findings are particularly relevant in this subgroup. Patients with normal HRCT scans, particularly transplant recipients, have a low risk of pneumonia during follow-up. All neutropenic patients with fever of unknown origin and normal chest roentgenograms should undergo HRCT.
Different regions of latest electrical activation during left bundle‐branch block and right ventricular pacing in cardiac resynchronization therapy patients determined by coronary venous electro‐anatomic mapping
Authors: Masih Mafi Rad, Yuri Blaauw, Trang Dinh, Laurent Pison, Harry J. Crijns, Frits W. Prinzen, Kevin Vernooy
Journal: European Journal of Heart Failure (2014)
Dietary Fatty Acids and Their Potential for Controlling Metabolic Diseases Through Activation of FFA4/GPR120
Authors: Trond Ulven, Elisabeth Christiansen
Journal: Annual Review of Nutrition (2015)

It is well known that the amount and type of ingested fat impacts the development of obesity and metabolic diseases, but the potential for beneficial effects from fat has received less attention. It is becoming clear that the composition of the individual fatty acids in diet is important. Besides acting as precursors of potent signaling molecules, dietary fatty acids act directly on intracellular and cell surface receptors. The free fatty acid receptor 4 (FFA4, previously GPR120) is linked to the regulation of body weight, inflammation, and insulin resistance and represents a potential target for the treatment of metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes and obesity. In this review, we discuss the various types of dietary fatty acids, the link between FFA4 and metabolic diseases, the potential effects of the individual fatty acids on health, and the ability of fatty acids to activate FFA4. We also discuss the possibility of dietary schemes that implement activation of FFA4.