tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Targeted noninvasive near-infrared fluorescence imaging of pancreas: Appropriate arsenal for the deliveryman.
Authors: Rao Papineni, Tao Ji, William McLaughlin, Gilbert Feke, Sean Orton
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2008)

B20   To enhance targeted molecular diagnostic efficacy and therapeutics, the carrier’s nonspecific interactions need to be minimal. Apart from the stability issues, easy conjugation chemistries and sensitive reporter detection system are essential. Here we exploited the high affinity between the neutravidin and biotin for  in vivo  near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRF imaging) of pancreas. Dyes that have a large stokes shift (LSS-Dye) (>80 nm) in the near infrared range was conjugated to neutravidin and utilized for targeted molecular imaging. Biotinylated exendin-4, a potent glucagons-like peptide 1 (GLP1) receptor antagonist was linked to the LSS conjugated neutravidin to target the GLP-1 rich pancreas. LSS dyes attached delivery system enabled maximal fluorescence signal while overcoming autofluorescence issues and minimizing nonspecific binding. NIRF imaging of the target positioned through various axial rotation angles obtained using a novel animal rotation stage further exemplifies the potential for LSS Dye-neutravidin scaffold as an efficient  in vivo  imaging agent. Apart from insulinomas, GLP-1 receptors are enriched in other tumors. Further, such a diagnostic and therapy monitoring system can be easily applied with emerging cancer biomarkers.
Does early diagnosis and treatment of the childhood asthma reduce excessive antibiotics usage
Authors: Ahmet Hakan Gedik, Erkan Cakir, Emin Ozkaya, Mustafa Nursoy
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

Introduction: Despite the fact that asthmatic patients present with transient airway obstruction or respiratory distress episodes, they are usually diagnosed the upper or lower respiratory tract infections and often use antibiotics.

Aim: To compare the number of asthma episodes and the frequency of antibiotic usage before and after treatment in patients who were diagnosed with asthma and given treatment.

Method: The patients over 2 years-old who were diagnosed with asthma and followed for at least one year in our clinic were included. The frequency of asthma episodes and antibiotics usage in one year before diagnosis and one year after treatment was compared.

Results: Sixty one percent of the patients were male and the total number was 151. The mean age was 83±41 months, their diagnosis age was 55±39 months. 64% of the patients was still attending in school or day-care centre. Smoking in house was 43% of the patients. There was atopy and asthma family history in 65% of patients. While the mean number of asthma episodes before diagnosis of asthma was 5,3±5,1, it was detected that the mean number of asthma episodes decreased to 1,1±2 in one year after treatment (p<0,01). While the patients were using 7,4±4,4 antibiotics in one year before diagnosis of asthma, it was determined that the mean number of antibiotics was 2,1±2,4 one year after treatment (p<0,01).

Conclusion: Our study determined that the early diagnosis and treatment of childhood asthma reduces significantly the number of episodes and the frequency of antibiotics usage.
A human airway mucosa tissue model to investigate whooping cough
Authors: Maria Steinke, Roy Gross, Susanne Bauer, Thorsten Walles, Heike Walles
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

The pathomechanism of human obligate Bordetella pertussis eliciting whooping cough is not completely elucidated, yet. Tissue-engineered human airway models (TAM) are promising tools to investigate interrelations between B. pertussis and the airway mucosa. Our aim was to generate a TAM that closely resembles natural airway mucosa and to establish optimal conditions for infections studies with B. pertussis. Human bronchial epithelial cells (hBEC) and fibroblasts (Fb) obtained from surgical specimen were grown on a collagen scaffold derived from a porcine jejunum segment and cultivated in an airlift environment for two weeks. To establish optimal conditions for infection studies pieces of human bronchus biopsies were incubated with B. pertussis with varying incubation time, whereas untreated biopsy pieces served as controls. All samples were prepared for light and transmission electron microscopic analyses. Histologic evaluation of TAM sections revealed a pseudostratified respiratory epithelium consisting of ciliated, mucus-producing and basal cells. Kinocilia, cell-cell contacts and a continuous basement membrane were verified by ultrastructural analyses. Whereas hBEC remained at the apical side of the collagen scaffold, Fb migrated into the scaffold. Infection of bronchus pieces with B. pertussis led to cytoplasmatic vacuoles, damaged mitochondria, cell extrusions and completely destroyed epithelial cells, which were not detected in controls. With respect to morphology and barrier characteristics, TAM highly represents natural human airway mucosa. Infection studies with B. pertussis on natural human bronchus tissue reproduced morphologic changes as observed elsewhere (Wilson, R. et al. Infect Immun 1991; 337-345).
A new classification of onychomycosis
Authors: None Baran, None Hay, None Tosti, None Haneke
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1998)

This new classification of onychomycosis is a development of previous schemes and depends on the recognition of different clinical patterns of nail plate involvement associated with fungal infection as well as histopathology. The main types are distal and lateral subungual onychomycosis, superficial onychomycosis, proximal subungual onychomycosis, endonyx onychomycosis and total dystrophic onychomycosis. In addition, patients may show different combinations of these patterns. The identification of clinical patterns of disease may be useful in defining differences in clinical behaviour, treatment response and associated disease.
Small airway obstruction involvement in COPD severity
Authors: Eya Tangour, Samira Mhamdi, Zied Moatameri, Salsabil Dabboussi, Amira Sellami, Haifa Zaibi, Alaa Jary, Chiraz Aichaouia, Mohsen Khadhraoui, Rezaieg Cheikh
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

The inflammatory process in COPD affects the whole respiratory tract, from central to peripheral airways, the so-called small airways. To assess the small airway obstruction involvement in COPD and its relationship with the severity of the disease, we report a retrospective study including 55 COPD patients managed between 2010 and 2013. Eighty-five per cent of our patients were men with an average age of 62,45 years, mainly smokers (90%). COPD was diagnosed at an advanced stage in 79% of cases (Stage III or IV) and at an early stage in only 19% of cases (stage I or II). Spirometric data showed that an involvement of the small airways was present in all cases. Considering the stage of the disease, we found that the average MEF 25%, MEF 50% and MEF 75% for stage I patients were respectively 0.65 L (52% of predicted values: pred), 1.44 L(41% of pred) and 3.11 L (48% of pred). For stage II patients, the mean MEF 25 % was at 0.47 L (37% of pred), the average MEF 50% was at 0.97 L (27% of pred) and the mean DEM 75 % was at 1.15 L (34%). For stage III and IV patients, the small airway’s obstruction was more important: average MEF 25 % was respectively at 0.32 L (26% of pred) and 0.2 L (16% of pred), the average MEF 50% was respectively at 0.84 L (19% of pred) and 0.45 L (8.6% of pred). The mean MEF 75% was at 1.36 L (26% of pred) in stage III patients and at 0.61 L (12% of pred) in stage IV patients. We found a positive association between small airways obstruction importance and COPD stage.(p=0.03). The reversibility after B2 agonist of the small airways was inversely proportional to disease severity. Inhaled bronchodilatators with small particles can have an important role in improving the pulmonary function of these patients.
Genotyping, local prevalence and international dissemination of β-lactamase-producing Kingella kingae strains
Authors: R. Basmaci, S. Bonacorsi, P. Bidet, N.V. Balashova, J. Lau, C. Muñoz-Almagro, A. Gene, P. Yagupsky
Journal: Clinical Microbiology and Infection (2014)

β-lactamase production has been sporadically reported in the emerging Kingella kingae pathogen but the phenomenon has not been studied in-depth. We investigated the prevalence of β-lactamase production among K. kingae isolates from different geographical origins and genetically characterized β-lactamase-producing strains. Seven hundred and seventy-eight isolates from Iceland, the USA, France, Israel, Spain and Canada were screened for β-lactamase production and, if positive, were characterized by PFGE and MLST genotyping, as well as rtxA, por, blaTEM and 16S rRNA sequencing. β-lactamase was identified in invasive strains from Iceland (n=4/14, 28.6%), the USA (n=3/15, 20.0%) and Israel (n=2/190, 1.1%) and in carriage strains in the USA (n=5/17, 29.4%) and Israel (n=66/429, 15.4%). No French, Spanish or Canadian isolates were β-lactamase producers. Among β-lactamase producers, a perfect congruency between the different typing methods was observed. Surprisingly, all US and Icelandic β-lactamase-producing isolates were almost indistinguishable, belonged to the major international invasive PFGE clone K/MLST ST-6, but differed from the four genetically unrelated Israeli β-lactamase-producing clones. Representative strains of different genotypes produced the TEM-1 enzyme. K. kingae β-lactamase producers exhibit a clear clonal distribution and have dissimilar invasive potential. The presence of the enzyme in isolates belonging to the major worldwide invasive clone K/ST-6 highlights the possible spread of β-lactam resistance, and emphasizes the importance of routine testing of all K. kingae clinical isolates for β-lactamase production.
Sleep Medicine in Clinical Practice
Authors: H. Hein
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2005)

Sleep Medicine in Clinical Practice     Edited by M.H. Silber, L.E. Krahn and T.I. Morgenthaler     Published by Taylor & Francis, London/NewYork     Pages: 392. Price: £65.00, \#8364;94.00. ISBN 1-84214-190-2

This is a short textbook covering the wide field of sleep medicine written by renowned scientists and clinicians for clinicians rather than scientists. All the relevant aspects of sleep medicine are discussed in four well-structured sections: Basics of sleep medicine, The sleepy patient, The patient who cannot sleep and The patient with …
Toward a more complete understanding of the association between a hepatitis C sustained viral response and cause‐specific outcomes
Authors: Hamish A. Innes, Scott A. McDonald, John F. Dillon, Sam Allen, Peter C. Hayes, David Goldberg, Peter R. Mills, Stephen T. Barclay, David Wilks, Heather Valerio, Ray Fox, Diptendu Bhattacharyya, Nicholas Kennedy, Judith Morris, Andrew Fraser, Adrian J. Stanley, Peter Bramley, Sharon J. Hutchinson
Journal: Hepatology (2015)

Sustained viral response (SVR) is the optimal outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy, yet more detailed data are required to confirm its clinical value. Individuals receiving treatment in 1996‐2011 were identified using the Scottish HCV clinical database. We sourced data on 10 clinical events: liver, nonliver, and all‐cause mortality; first hospitalisation for severe liver morbidity (SLM); cardiovascular disease (CVD); respiratory disorders; neoplasms; alcohol‐intoxication; drug intoxication; and violence‐related injury (note: the latter three events were selected a priori to gauge ongoing chaotic lifestyle behaviours). We determined the association between SVR attainment and each outcome event, in terms of the relative hazard reduction and absolute risk reduction (ARR). We tested for an interaction between SVR and liver disease severity (mild vs. nonmild), defining mild disease as an aspartate aminotransferase‐to‐platelet ratio index (APRI) &lt;0.7. Our cohort comprised 3,385 patients (mean age: 41.6 years), followed‐up for a median 5.3 years (interquartile range: 3.3‐8.2). SVR was associated with a reduced risk of liver mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 0.24; P &lt; 0.001), nonliver mortality (AHR, 0.68; P = 0.026), all‐cause mortality (AHR, 0.49; P &lt; 0.001), SLM (AHR, 0.21; P &lt; 0.001), CVD (AHR, 0.70; P = 0.001), alcohol intoxication (AHR, 0.52; P = 0.003), and violence‐related injury (AHR, 0.51; P = 0.002). After 7.5 years, SVR was associated with significant ARRs for liver mortality, all‐cause mortality, SLM, and CVD (each 3.0%‐4.7%). However, we detected a strong interaction, in that ARRs were considerably higher for individuals with nonmild disease than for individuals with mild disease. Conclusions : The conclusions are 3‐fold: (1) Overall, SVR is associated with reduced hazard for a range of hepatic and nonhepatic events; (2) an association between SVR and behavioral events is consistent with SVR patients leading healthier lives; and (3) the short‐term value of SVR is greatest for those with nonmild disease. (H epatology 2015;62:355–364
Abstract 8888: Statin Therapy In Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Interventions Is Associated with Better One Year Outcomes. An Analysis from the Evaluation of Drug Eluting Stents and Ischemic Events (EVENT) Registry
Authors: Tarun W Dasari, David J Cohen, Neal S Kleiman, Michelle J Keyes, Elias B Hanna, Jorge F Saucedo
Journal: Circulation (2011)

Background: Primary and secondary prevention trials have shown that statin therapy reduces cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. However, there has been a paucity of data concerning the benefits of statin use in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) since they have been excluded from most trials. Methods and results: Of 10,148 patients entered into EVENT, a multicenter registry of unselected patients undergoing attempted PCI from July 2004- December 2007, we studied 2313 patients with advanced CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt; 60 mL/min based on the Modified Diet in Renal Disease calculation). Patients were stratified into those discharged on statins (n=1837, 79%) or not receiving statins at discharge (n=476, 21%). Patients discharged on statins were more often male and had higher prevalence of hypertension, recent myocardial infarction (MI) and greater use of beta blockers. One year mortality was 5.7% among statin users vs. 8.7% among non-users (HR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.45-0.93). When adjusted for covariates (age, gender, hypertension, recent MI (&lt; 7 days), ejection fraction, NYHA Class and medical therapy differences at discharge (warfarin, beta blockers, ACEi), one year all-cause mortality and composite end point of death/MI/repeat revascularization favored statin (HR 0.55 [0.34, 0.88] and 0.71 [0.51, 0.99] respectively). Conclusion: The proportion of patients with advanced CKD not discharged on statins post PCI is still high (21%). The current registry analysis showed favorable one year survival in patients discharged on statins following percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with advanced CKD, suggesting the need to investigate broader statin use in this clinical setting.
Tamoxifen in premenopausal patients with metastatic breast cancer: a review.
Authors: M C Sunderland, C K Osborne
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1991)

The antiestrogen tamoxifen is the most widely used hormonal therapy for breast cancer. The drug exerts its antiproliferative effects primarily through estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated mechanisms, although other cellular actions may augment tumor inhibition. Clinically, tamoxifen has been less well studied in premenopausal than in postmenopausal patients. The drug has complex endocrine effects that are dependent on the treatment duration and dose, menopausal status, and target organ. In postmenopausal women receiving tamoxifen, serum estrogen levels remain low, and the normally elevated gonadotropin levels decrease. In contrast, serum estrogen levels are strikingly elevated in many premenopausal women, and gonadotropin concentrations are either unchanged or slightly increased. Large systematic trials in metastatic breast cancer have established tamoxifen as the recommended hormonal therapy for postmenopausal women with ER-positive tumors. Tamoxifen is also an active agent for premenopausal metastatic disease, and response rates are comparable to those reported for oophorectomy. Clinical experience with tamoxifen in this younger age group, however, is more limited. Few premenopausal women (less than 400) have been included in phase II and phase III trials. Two randomized trials (total of 160 patients) comparing oophorectomy with tamoxifen do not definitively establish therapeutic equivalence, and a survival advantage for either treatment cannot be excluded. Many questions remain concerning the appropriate role for tamoxifen in premenopausal patients. Still, tamoxifen has an attractive toxicity profile, and it offers a favorable therapeutic alternative for premenopausal women with ER-positive metastatic breast cancer who wish to avoid surgical or radiation castration.
The origins of American nephrology (1800-1850).
Authors: J F Maher
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (1991)

Within a few years of its occurrence, American clinicians became aware of the discovery by Bright in 1827 that albuminuria in edematous patients was associated with granular degeneration of the kidney. Yet, there was a paucity of important original observations in nephrology from American in the first half of the 19th century. By the mid-19th century, however, the primitive concepts of clinical nephrology, renal physiology, and renal pathology were becoming established in the United States, after enlightenment from Europe. Because of the dreadful course of anasarca and uremia and stimulated by the advantages of innovations in microscopy, renal disease began at that time to attract the attention of eminent American clinician-pathologists. Their early observations would add to the knowledge base on which later developments such as bacteriology, radiology, clinical chemistry, and other scientific advances would build.
Burnout syndrome in the practice of oncology: results of a random survey of 1,000 oncologists.
Authors: D A Whippen, G P Canellos
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1991)

Burnout, the end result of stress, can occur in any profession. We set out to determine the extent of burnout among a representative group of American oncologists. A questionnaire with 12 specific points was designed and prepared by the authors. It was mailed to 1,000 randomly selected physician subscribers to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Five hundred ninety-eight completed surveys (60%) were returned before the cut-off date and included in the analysis. Overall, 56% of the respondents reported experiencing burnout in their professional life. No significance was found between the incidence of burnout and specialty within oncology, year medical training ended, or practice location. Significance was found, however, between type of practice and the incidence of burnout; institution- or university-based oncologists reported a lower incidence of burnout (47%) versus all other types of practice (66% burnout rate for oncology plus internal medicine, 63% for private adult oncology only, 39% for pediatric oncologists [there were too few pediatric oncologists for this rate to be significant], and 64% for others; P = .0003). Frustration or a sense of failure was the most frequently chosen (56%) description of burnout, and insufficient personal and/or vacation time was the most frequent reason (57%) chosen to explain the existence of burnout. To alleviate burnout, the majority (69%) of respondents indicated the need for more vacation or personal time. Administering palliative or terminal care, reimbursement issues, and a heavy work load were identified as contributing factors to burnout. Given the high response to the questionnaire and a 56% incidence of burnout in the surveyed population, it is concluded that further research on this issue is required.
Clinicopathologic Characterization of Herpesvirus saimiri Malignant Lymphoma in New Zealand White Rabbits2
Authors: R.D. Hunt, M.D. Daniel, R. B. Baggs, B. J. Blake, D. Silva, D. DuBose, L. V. Meléndez
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1975)

Twenty-two of 39 rabbits inoculated with Herpesvirus saimiri developed malignant lymphoma and either died or were killed between 17 and 165 days after inoculation. No clinical signs were present in animals developing the disease before 46 days, but all other rabbits had a severe conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, and dyspnea resulting from a lymphocytic invasion of the ocular and nasal tissues. Four rabbits developed terminal leukemia. Pathologically, the disease resembled H. saimiri malignant lymphoma in nonhuman primates; there was extensive diffuse infiltration of most organs and tissues with either a lymphocytic or lymphoblastic infiltrate. Tumor nodules or masses seen in some forms of malignant lymphoma were not present. In contrast to nonhuman primates, all affected rabbits showed invasion of the skin of the nose and eyelids, conjunctiva, iris, ciliary body, and choroid. In 3 rabbits there was slight infiltration into the brain, not noted in nonhuman primates. The susceptibility of rabbits extended the host range of H. saimiri beyond the order Primates.
HiCPlotter integrates genomic data with interaction matrices
Authors: Kadir Caner Akdemir, Lynda Chin
Journal: Genome biology (2015)

Metazoan genomic material is folded into stable non-randomly arranged chromosomal structures that are tightly associated with transcriptional regulation and DNA replication. Various factors including regulators of pluripotency, long non-coding RNAs, or the presence of architectural proteins have been implicated in regulation and assembly of the chromatin architecture. Therefore, comprehensive visualization of this multi-faceted structure is important to unravel the connections between nuclear architecture and transcriptional regulation. Here, we present an easy-to-use open-source visualization tool, HiCPlotter, to facilitate juxtaposition of Hi-C matrices with diverse genomic assay outputs, as well as to compare interaction matrices between various conditions. https://github.com/kcakdemir/HiCPlotter.
Evaluating outcomes after therapeutic rigid bronchoscopy using impulse oscillometry in patients with tracheal stenosis
Authors: Hiroshi Handa, Hiroki Nishine, Seiichi Nobuyama, Masamichi Mineshita, Teruomi Miyazawa
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background: Previously impulse oscillometry (IOS) provided useful data for monitoring respiratory mechanics through the endotracheal tube.

Objective: To confirm that IOS monitoring can assess the efficacy of interventional procedures in patients with tracheal stenosis.

Methods: IOS was performed on 14 patients with tracheal stenosis in the endoscopic suite between April 2009 and December 2011. After patients were intubated with a rigid bronchoscope (EFER, La Ciotat, France), IOS (CareFusion, Hochberg, Germany) was attached to the tube of the rigid bronchoscope. IOS was performed in real time during interventional procedures under spontaneous breathing. Resistance at 5Hz (R5) and 20Hz (R20) measurements were recorded during inspiration and expiration. The cross-sectional area (CSA) at the narrowest segment was recorded using ziostation (Ziosoft, Tokyo, Japan) before bronchoscopic intervention.

Results: Prior to stenting, IOS measurements using rigid bronchoscopy revealed R5 was 1.24±0.92 kPa/l/s and R20 was 1.31±0.79 kPa/l/s. After stenting, R5 and R20 showed significant improvements (R5 was 0.60±0.33kPa/l/s, R20 was 0.64±0.28kPa/l/s p<0.05). There was little difference between R5 and R20 during inspiration and expiration.

R5 on inspiration revealed the strongest correlation with the narrowest segment of the cross-sectional area (r=-0.61, p <0.05).

Conclusion: IOS could evaluate airway narrowing in real time during interventional bronchoscopy.