tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Should Children With Isolated Anti-HBs or Anti-HBc Be Immunized Against Hepatitis B Virus?
Authors: Bernard Duval
Journal: JAMA (1997)

<h3>To the Editor.</h3> —The desirability of universal immunization of young adolescents against hepatitis B virus (HBV) has recently been reemphasized by the National Coalition for Adult Immunization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<sup>1</sup>On occasion, HBV serology is available in an unvaccinated child scheduled for immunization. If only 1 of the HBV antibodies is positive, a decision has to be made whether this is likely to be a false-positive result. In Quebec City, approximately 7000 fourth-grade children are immunized each year in the provincial program of universal immunization. In 1995, we conducted a prevaccination seroprevalence survey in these children. All children were eligible. Parents were called sequentially to participate in the study as soon as the consent form they had to sign to have their child immunized in the provincial program was received. The required sample size of 1200 was reached after calling 2014 parents. Among those
Reply to Regarding the mechanism of action of a proposed peptide agonist of the bone morphogenetic protein receptor activin-like kinase 3
Authors: Hikaru Sugimoto, Valerie S LeBleu, Dattatreyamurty Bosukonda, Peter Keck, Gangadhar Taduri, Wibke Bechtel, Hirokazu Okada, William Carlson, Philippe Bey, Mary Rusckowski, Björn Tampe, Desiree Tampe, Keizo Kanasaki, Michael Zeisberg, Raghu Kalluri
Journal: Nature Medicine (2013)
Cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of specific carcinogen-DNA adducts in diploid human fibroblasts.
Authors: J J McCormick, V M Maher
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1985)

A comparison of the cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of a series of carcinogens in normal diploid human fibroblasts and in cells deficient in one or more DNA repair processes has provided insight into the specific DNA adduct(s) responsible for these biological effects. The carcinogens tested include ultraviolet radiation; reactive derivatives of structurally related aromatic amides; metabolites of benzo(a)pyrene; the simple alkylating agents N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea; and aflatoxin B1 dichloride, a model for the reactive 2,3-epoxide of aflatoxin B1. Exponentially growing cells were exposed to agents and assayed for mutations (induction of 6-thioguanine resistance) and cell killing (loss of colony-forming ability). Cells deficient in repair of particular DNA adducts or lesions proved more sensitive to the agent causing those lesions than did normally repairing cells. Many of the carcinogens were compared for their mutagenic and/or cytotoxic effect, not only as a function of dose administered, but also as a function of the initial number of adducts or photoproducts induced in DNA and the number remaining at critical times posttreatment. Density-inhibited cultures were exposed to cytotoxic and mutagenic doses. Immediately after treatment, or after various lengths of time in confluence, the cells were harvested and analyzed for the number of lesions remaining in DNA. A portion was plated at lower densities and assayed for mutations and/or for survival. In several instances, the adducts were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. As an alternative approach, cells were synchronized and treated at various times prior to the onset of DNA synthesis and analyzed for survival and/or the frequency of mutations. The results demonstrated a high correlation between the number of DNA lesions remaining unexcised at the time the DNA was replicated and the frequency of mutations induced. Comparative studies of the frequency of UV-induced transformation (to anchorage independence) of normal and repair-deficient cells showed this also to be true for transformation.
Therapeutic HER2/Neu DNA Vaccine Inhibits Mouse Tumor Naturally Overexpressing Endogenous Neu
Authors: Chi-Chen Lin, Ching-Wen Chou, Ai-Li Shiau, Cheng-Fen Tu, Tai-Ming Ko, Yi-Ling Chen, Bei-Chang Yang, Mi-Hua Tao, Ming-Derg Lai
Journal: Molecular Therapy (2004)

The therapeutic efficacy of HER2/c-erbB-2/neu DNA immunization on mouse tumor cells expressing exogenous human or rat p185neu but not on mouse tumor cells naturally expressing mouse p185neu has been demonstrated. We investigated the feasibility of using N-terminal rat neu DNA immunization on mouse tumor overexpressing endogenous p185neu and enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of this vaccine by fusion to various cytokine genes, including interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL-4), or granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor. In a therapeutic model, N′-neu-IL-2 DNA vaccine was significantly better than N′-neu DNA vaccine, and N′-neu DNA vaccine was significantly better than control DNA or N′-neu-IL-4 DNA vaccine. The therapeutic efficacy of DNA vaccines was correlated with tumor infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Depletion of CD8+ T cells completely abolished the therapeutic effects of N′-neu-IL-2 DNA vaccine and N′-neu DNA vaccine. Depletion of CD4+ T cells after tumor implantation had no influence on N′-neu-IL-2 DNA vaccine, but enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of N′-neu DNA vaccine. Our results demonstrate that rat N′-neu DNA vaccine has a therapeutic effect on established tumor through the CD8+ T-cell-dependent pathway. Depletion of CD4+ T cells or fusion to the IL-2 gene can thus further enhance the therapeutic effects of N′-neu DNA immunization on mouse tumor expressing endogenous p185neu.
Centers for Disease Control's Survey Succumbs
Authors: Marsha F. Goldsmith
Journal: JAMA (1991)

PLANS to conduct a random population survey that would allow the Centers for Disease Control (Atlanta, Ga) to better grasp the rate of spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States have been abandoned after 5 years.  The agency's decision came just 2 weeks before it announced that 100 777 persons in this country had died of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) between June 1981 and the end of 1990. Nearly one third of these deaths took place in the last year, and the federal agency said that in the next 3 years as many as 215 000 more will die.  Beset from the beginning by the problem of nonresponders, the proposed National Household Seroprevalence Study was designed to provide a more precise estimate of the number of Americans infected with HIV than the oft-cited 1 million. That figure, derived from mathematical models, has remained unchanged even
Human Plague in the United States
Authors: Palmer Beasley
Journal: JAMA (1969)

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> The Aug 5, 1962 issue ofThe Journalcarried a cover picture of a painting by Arnold Böcklin entitled "Plague" and an article entitled "Human Plague in the United States" by Caten and Kartman. This article and the caption next to the cover picture carry misleading statements which I would like to call to your attention. Discussing the distribution of wild-rodent plague in the United States, Caten and Kartman state, "The reason why plague does not extend beyond the 100th meridian is poorly understood." While it is true that all human cases associated with wild rodents for which adequate data are available have been acquired west of the 100th meridian, and this corresponds quite well to the known distribution of wild-rodent plague, as shown by Caten and Kartman, very limited surveys of wild rodents and fleas for plague have been conducted east of the 100th meridian.<sup>1</sup>Many investigators believe that wild-rodent plague does not extend into the eastern states, largely on the basis of the distribution of human cases associated with wild rodents. On the other hand, plague-infected wild rodents or their ectoparasites have been identified from over 130 counties in the western
Abstract P3-09-03: microRNAs and Target Gene Networks in Breast Cancer Cell Lines
Authors: L Santarpia, L Diao, K Baggerly, D Boulbes, A Di Leo, GA Calin, FW Symmans, F Esteva, GN Hortobagyi, L. Pusztai
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small endogenous RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally inhibit gene expression. Several miRNAs have been involved in the regulation of several cellular processes during oncogenesis. Objective: We simultaneously analyzed 18 different breast cancer cell lines (BCC) for miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in order to identify regulatory miRNA target gene networks and novel miRNA-directed therapeutic targets. Materials and Methods: We preprocessed the mRNA and miRNA expression data using R software (justRMA) and performed quantile normalization using background-subtracted log ratio distributions across arrays. We identified 39 hsa-miRNAs with the largest variation across samples and examined the Spearman correlations of miRNAs with the Affymetrix probesets. We calculated false discovery rates for probe sets with stringent correlation coefficients. We performed hierarchical clustering using the 39 miRNAs and correlated dendograms branches with basal/luminal classes. Potential miRNA target genes were identified. We performed pathway analyses by using all 39 miRNA target genes. Western blot analyses were performed to confirm regulation of specific proteins. Results: We demonstrated 39 deregulated miRNAs and 10612 mRNA targets genes in BCC. Twenty-three miRNAs were upregulated in basal and downregulated in the luminal groups targeting 6790 genes, and 16 miRNAs downregulated in basal and upregulated in luminal cells, targeting 3822 genes. The first direct comparison screening for the 39 miRNAs and all mRNAs identified 29 direct pairs where the correlation magnitude was above 0.9. MiR-221/222, -31, -143/145, -34a, -200 were the most and consistently deregulated miRNAs in all luminal and basal like BCC. We identified genes, such as CD59, PDGF-β and discoidin domain receptor tyrosine kinase 1-DDR1 and different cancer network pathways, such as cell cycle and cell surface markers, potentially regulated by a subset of these miRNAs. Interestingly, we found that the expression of single genes might be regulated by several miRNAs. Conclusions: We found a specific miRNA signature and respective genome targets that well defined different clusters of BCC. Breast cancer cell lines are associated with changes in expression of multiple miRNAs that, in turn, disrupt a network of genes that either activate or inhibit important cellular functions. A better understanding of the network of genes and cellular pathways regulated by these miRNAs will enable to understand breast cancer pathogenesis and miRNA based breast cancer therapy. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-09-03.
Stirrups or no stirrups for routine speculum examinations?: Patient comfort is secondary to cervical smear quality…
Authors: Anne Spaar, Milo A Puhan
Journal: BMJ (2006)

Editor-The report from the chief medical officer for England has implications for all UK doctors and needs to be considered very carefully. 1Its aim is a system of medical regulation that puts patients' safety first through the early detection, and where possible, remediation, of poor performance.If the report contributes to that aim, and commands public and professional support, it should be welcomed by everyone involved in health care.The Merrison report was the collective effort of Sir William Merrison and the other 14 members of his committee of inquiry, who took both oral and written evidence. 2A different process has been followed in this case.The government, sensibly, has therefore decided on a period of consultation during which the recommendations can be properly debated, tested, and costed.We have already said that we believe that the recommendations to divorce oversight of medical education from the other regulatory functions of standards, registration, and fitness to practise are not in patients' best interests.We will now be consulting widely with our partners before we submit our considered response.It may be another 30 years before there is another opportunity such as this.We must seize it so that future generations of patients can say that we did not fail them.
Neonatal capsaicin treatment does not prevent splanchnic vasodilatation in portal-hypertensive rats
Authors: Mercedes Fernández, Maria Casadevall, Rufina Schuligoi, Pilar Pizcueta, Julián Panés, M. Dolores Barrachina, Josef Donnerer, Josep M. Piqué, Juan V. Esplugues, Jaume Bosch M.D., Juan Rodés, Peter Holzer
Journal: Hepatology (1994)

It has been suggested that the peripheral sensory neurons are involved in the splanchnic hemodynamic changes of portal hypertension. Therefore the influence of permanent ablation of sensory neurons by neonatal capsaicin pretreatment (50 mg/kg, subcutaneously) on the development of the hyperdynamic splanchnic circulation in portal-hypertensive rats was studied. In adulthood, portal hypertension was induced with partial portal vein ligation. In study 1, systemic and splanchnic hemodynamics were measured by means of a radiolabeled-microsphere technique in portal-hypertensive rats, under ketamine anesthesia, pretreated with capsaicin or vehicle. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, cardiac index, systemic and splanchnic vascular resistance, portal pressure, portal venous inflow, portal-collateral resistance and portalsystemic shunting were not significantly different between capsaicin-pretreated and vehicle-pretreated rats. In study 2, gastric mucosal blood flow, measured by means of hydrogen gas clearance, and the hemoglobin and oxygen content of the gastric mucosa, as assessed with reflectance spectrophotometry, were not significantly different in the two groups of anesthetized portal-hypertensive rats pretreated with capsaicin or vehicle. In study 3, we confirmed the effectiveness of neonatal capsaicin pretreatment by measuring calcitonin gene—related peptide content of the gastric corpus wall. Capsaicin pretreatment caused a depletion of calcitonin gene—related peptide by at least 98% compared with that in vehicle-pretreated rats. These results do not support a role of capsaicin-sensitive sensory neurons that innervate the gastrointestinal tract in the development of the splanchnic vasodilatation characteristically observed in chronic portal hypertension. (Hepatology 1994;20:1609–1614).
Increased levels of soluble serum interleukin-2 receptor in extrinsic allergic alveolitis correlate with interleukin-2 receptor expression on alveolar macrophages
Authors: Almuth Pforte, Angela Brunnera, Peter Gais, Marion Ströbel, Georg Burger, Gerhard Breyer, Karl Häussinger, Löms Ziegler-Heitbrock
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (1994)
Research network aims to tackle chronic disease in developing world
Authors: J. Wise
Journal: BMJ (2009)

A worldwide network of research and training centres that aims to reduce the increasing burden of chronic disease has been set up in 11 low and middle income countries.

The Centers of Excellence research network is the result of collaboration between the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), one of the National Institutes of Health, and UnitedHealth Group, the Minnesota based managed healthcare company.

“There is a pandemic of chronic disease sweeping through lower income countries but so far most of the aid …
Associations With Smoking and Shared Epitope Differ Between IgA‐ and IgG‐Class Antibodies to Cyclic Citrullinated Peptides in Early Rheumatoid Arthritis
Authors: Anna Svärd, Thomas Skogh, Lars Alfredsson, Anna Ilar, Lars Klareskog, Camilla Bengtsson, Alf Kastbom
Journal: Arthritis & Rheumatology (2015)

Smoking and HLA-DRB1/shared epitope (SE) alleles are risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) characterized by seropositivity for antibodies targeting citrullinated proteins (ACPAs)/cyclic citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP). Previously, mainly IgG-class antibodies have been studied. IgA-class antibodies are to a great extent related to mucosal immunity. The aim of this study was to explore interrelations between cigarette smoking, presence of SE, and seropositivity for circulating IgA and/or IgG anti-CCP antibodies among patients with early RA, to determine whether ACPAs of the IgA subclass are regulated by different mechanisms than those of the IgG subclass.Two cohorts of patients with early RA, from the first Epidemiological Investigations of RA trial (n = 1,663) and the second Early Intervention in RA trial (n = 199), were grouped into 4 subsets based on anti-CCP subclass status (IgG-/IgA-, IgG-/IgA+, IgG+/IgA-, and IgG+/IgA+), and each subset was compared with regard to associations with smoking (current and former) and presence of SE. Interaction between smoking and SE was calculated using the attributable proportion (AP) due to interaction (assessing deviation from additivity of effects).Smoking was overrepresented among IgA anti-CCP-positive RA patients, regardless of whether IgG anti-CCP were present, whereas in patients with IgG anti-CCP alone, no association with smoking was found. SE alleles were overrepresented among IgG anti-CCP-positive patients, regardless of IgA anti-CCP status, and was not seen in patients with IgA anti-CCP alone. An interaction between ever smoking and SE was found with regard to the risk of IgG+/IgA+ RA (AP 0.5, 95% confidence interval 0.4, 0.6). No significant interaction was observed with regard to the risk of IgG-/IgA+ RA or IgG+/IgA- RA.In patients with RA, a history of ever smoking was associated with seropositivity for IgA anti-CCP antibodies, whereas presence of SE was associated with seropositivity for IgG anti-CCP antibodies. An interaction between ever smoking and the SE was limited to the RA subset characterized by seropositivity for both IgG and IgA anti-CCP. These findings provide novel evidence that anti-CCP-positive RA can be divided into at least 3 serologically distinct subsets associated with different risk factors, indicating different modes of pathogenesis in RA.
TV: Trial by video
Authors: A. Ferriman
Journal: BMJ (1999)

Someone to Watch Over Me , ITV, 12January

Few people attract as much sympathy as parents “wrongly” accused of child abuse. Some members of the public believe that doctors and social workers accuse parents of abuse at the drop of a hat and on the flimsiest of evidence. So it was salutary to see hard evidence of abuse during a television programme last week, even though it made grim watching.

Yorkshire Television's documentary Someone to Watch Over Me , which tackled the controversial subject of covert video surveillance of parents suspected of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, produced footage showing apparently normal parents inflicting various forms of abuse in a cool, calm, and collected way. Viewers saw men and women trying to smother their babies by covering their children's mouths and noses with their hands or bodies. The babies squirmed and kicked as they tried to wrest their faces away from the obstruction.

You might imagine that health workers would welcome the showing of such evidence, because it should increase the public's understanding of the issue and strengthen the …
Pennsylvania's<i>Focus on Heart Attack</i>— Grading the Scorecard
Authors: James G. Jollis, Patrick S. Romano
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1998)

The era of "scorecard" cardiovascular medicine has arrived.1 New York was a pioneer in this field with its annual reports on mortality rates among patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery performed by various providers. In Pennsylvania, Colorado, and California, state agencies have compared hospital-specific mortality rates among patients with acute myocardial infarction. Regional coalitions of purchasers of health insurance have published, or are preparing to publish, similar reports in Cleveland, St. Louis, and Detroit. As managed-care organizations negotiate lower prices for medical services, report cards will become increasingly important to ensure that the quality of care does not suffer. These reports . . .
A fetally expressed immunoglobulin VH1 gene belongs to a complex set of alleles.
Authors: E H Sasso, K Willems van Dijk, A P Bull, E C Milner
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1993)

The immunoglobulin VH gene 51p1, a member of the large VH1 gene family, is preferentially expressed by B cells in the fetus and in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and appears to be the source for many cryoglobulin rheumatoid factors. Polymorphism of 51p1 may therefore be functionally important. We have studied the germline representation of 51p1 and closely related VH elements to establish their prevalence and allelic relationship. A panel of oligonucleotide probes directed to the complementarity determining regions (CDR1 and CDR2) of 51p1 and a similar gene, hv1263, was used in restriction fragment polymorphism analysis of 48 unrelated individuals and six families. 13 VH alleles to the 51p1 locus were identified, each distinguished by its restriction fragment size, hybridization profile, or both. On some haplotypes the locus was duplicated. Null alleles were not seen. The 13 alleles were cloned, yielding nine distinct nucleotide sequences that were > 98.2% identical and included 51p1 and hv1263. These germline variations could influence specificity for antigen, because the corresponding protein sequences differed by up to five amino acids, including three nonconservative changes in the CDR. Two of the most prevalent variants contained 51p1. These findings expand the spectrum of polymorphism seen among human VH genes and elucidate the germline origin of VH1 sequences frequently expressed in autoantibodies and CLL. We conclude that the 51p1 locus is polymorphic, and that the 51p1 element is the predominant member of a complex set of alleles.
Arteriovenous Fistula Masquerading as Valvular Heart Disease
Authors: Nancy L. Cantelmo, Joseph S. Alpert, Bruce S. Cutler, Joel S. Neuschatz, Luis Romero, Ira S. Ockene
Journal: JAMA (1981)

ARTERIOVENOUS (AV) fistula in a patient after laminectomy is a well-recognized cause of congestive heart failure.<sup>1,2</sup> In most patients with this surgical complication, the clinical syndrome of high-output heart failure is recognized and the diagnosis made without difficulty. We recently cared for a woman with this condition in whom the diagnosis of AV fistula was not made despite examination by numerous physicians. The patient had a loud systolic murmur, which misled her physicians into thinking that severe, acute mitral regurgitation was the cause of her heart failure. <h3>Report of a Case</h3> A 54-year-old woman with no history of cardiac problems reported having seven months of dyspnea on exertion, ankle swelling, and weight gain. The patient had undergone a lumbar laminectomy at the L5-S1 level six years previously. On physical examination, blood pressure was 150/55 mm Hg; there was no jugular venous distention. The point of maximal impulse was in