tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
C-glycosylflavones from the leaves of Iris tectorum Maxim.
Authors: Yuhan Ma, Huan Li, Binbin Lin, Guokai Wang, Minjian Qin
Journal: Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B (2012)

A new C-glycosylflavone, 5-hydroxyl-4′,7-dimethoxyflavone-6-C-[O-(α-l-3′′′-acetylrhamnopyranosyl)-1→2-β-d-glucopyranoside] (1), along with five known C-glycosylflavones, 5-hydroxy-4′,7-dimethoxyflavone-6-C-[O-(α-l-2′′′-acetylrhamnopyranosyl)-1→2-β-d-glucopyranoside] (2), embinin (3), embigenin (4), swertisin (5) and swertiajaponin (6) were isolated from the leaves of Iris tectorum Maxim. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive NMR experiments and spectral methods and their cytotoxic activities against A549 (lung cancer) human cell lines were determined.
A novel superantigen isolated from pathogenic strains of Streptococcus pyogenes with aminoterminal homology to staphylococcal enterotoxins B and C.
Authors: J A Mollick, G G Miller, J M Musser, R G Cook, D Grossman, R R Rich
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1993)

Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus) has re-emerged in recent years as a cause of severe human disease. Because extracellular products are involved in streptococcal pathogenesis, we explored the possibility that a disease isolate expresses an uncharacterized superantigen. We screened culture supernatants for superantigen activity with a major histocompatibility complex class II-dependent T cell proliferation assay. Initial fractionation with red dye A chromatography indicated production of a class II-dependent T cell mitogen by a toxic shock-like syndrome (TSLS) strain. The amino terminus of the purified streptococcal superantigen was more homologous to the amino termini of staphylococcal enterotoxins B, C1, and C3 (SEB, SEC1, and SEC3), than to those of pyrogenic exotoxins A, B, C or other streptococcal toxins. The molecule, designated SSA, had the same pattern of class II isotype usage as SEB in T cell proliferation assays. However, it differed in its pattern of human T cell activation, as measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction with V beta-specific primers. SSA activated human T cells that express V beta 1, 3, 15 with a minor increase of V beta 5.2-bearing cells, whereas SEB activated V beta 3, 12, 15, and 17-bearing T cells. Immunoblot analysis of 75 disease isolates from several localities detected SSA production only in group A streptococci, and found that SSA is apparently confined to only three clonal lineages as defined by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis typing. Isolates of one of these lineages, (electrophoretic type 2) are strongly associated with TSLS. The data identify SSA as a novel streptococcal superantigen that appears to be more related structurally to staphylococcal enterotoxins than to streptococcal exotoxins. Because abundant SSA production is apparently confined to only three streptococcal clonal lineages, the data also suggest that the SSA gene has only recently been acquired by S. pyogenes.
Ejection Fraction and Risk of Thromboembolic Events in Patients With Systolic Dysfunction and Sinus Rhythm: Evidence for Gender Differences in the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction Trials
Authors: Daniel L. Dries, Yves D. Rosenberg, Myron A. Waclawiw, Michael J. Domanski
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (1997)

The aims of this study were to describe the incidence and spectrum of thromboembolic events experienced by patients with moderate to severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction in normal sinus rhythm and to study the association between ejection fraction and thromboembolic risk.The annual incidence of thromboembolic events in patients with heart failure is estimated to range from 0.9% to 5.5%. Previous studies demonstrating a relation between worsening left ventricular systolic function and thromboembolic risk are difficult to interpret because of the prevalence of atrial fibrillation, an independent risk factor for thromboembolism, in the patients with a lower ejection fraction.This is a retrospective analysis of the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction prevention and treatment trials data base. Patients with atrial fibrillation were excluded, resulting in 6,378 participants in sinus rhythm at the time of randomization. Thromboembolic events include strokes, pulmonary emboli and peripheral emboli. Separate analyses were conducted in each gender because there was evidence of a significant interaction between ejection fraction and gender on the risk of thromboembolic events (p = 0.04).The overall annual incidence of thromboembolic events was 2.4% in women and 1.8% in men. On univariate analysis, a decline in ejection fraction was [corrected] associated with thromboembolic risk in women (relative risk [RR] per 10% decrease in ejection fraction 1.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10 to 2.26, p = 0.01), but not in men. On multivariate analysis, a decline in ejection fraction remained independently associated with thromboembolic risk in women (RR per 10% decrease 1.53, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.20, p = 0.02), but no relation was demonstrated in men.In patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and sinus rhythm, the annual incidence of thromboembolic events is low. Ejection fraction appears to be independently associated with thromboembolic risk in women, but not in men.
Occupational Exposure to <i>Pfiesteria</i> Species in Estuarine Waters Is Not a Risk Factor for Illness
Authors: J. Glenn Morris, Lynn M. Grattan, Leslie A. Wilson, Walter A. Meyer, Robert McCarter, Holly A. Bowers, J. Richard Hebel, Diane L. Matuszak, David W. Oldach
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2006)

Exposure to the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria has, under certain circumstances, been associated with deficits in human learning and memory. However, uncertainties remain about the health risk of chronic, low-level exposures (as seen among occupationally exposed commercial fishermen), particularly in light of studies suggesting that Pfiesteria strains are widespread in the estuarine environment in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.We selected an initial cohort of 152 persons, including 123 persons with regular, occupational exposure to the Chesapeake Bay ; 107 of the cohort members were followed for the full four summer "seasons" of the study. Cohort members were questioned biweekly about symptoms, and data were collected about the areas of the bay in which they worked. These latter data were matched with data on the presence or absence of Pfiesteria in each area, based on polymerase chain reaction analysis of > 3,500 water samples. Cohort members underwent neuropsychological testing at the beginning and end of each summer season.No correlation was found between work in an area where Pfiesteria was identified and specific symptomatology or changes on neuropsychological tests.Although high-level or outbreak-associated exposure to Pfiesteria species (or specific strains within a species) may have an effect on health, routine occupational exposure to estuarine environments in which these organisms are present does not appear to pose a significant health risk.
Quantitative IgE inhibition experiments with purified recombinant allergens indicate pollen-derived allergens as the sensitizing agents responsible for many forms of plant food allergy
Authors: Lili Kazemi-Shirazi, Gabrielle Pauli, Ashok Purohit, Susanne Spitzauer, Renate Fröschlc, Karin Hoffmann-Sommergruber, Heimo Breiteneder, Otto Scheiner, Dietrich Kraft, Rudolf Valenta
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2000)
The NHS is heading down a hole--should we stop digging?
Authors: F. Godlee
Journal: BMJ (2012)

A few weeks ago Martin McKee asked “Does anyone understand the government’s plan for the NHS?” ( BMJ 2012;344:e399, doi:10.1136/bmj.e399). McKee had three questions: why were the reforms necessary, what exactly did they consist of, and why were changes happening before the legislation has been passed? Emails he received, as well as rapid responses on bmj.com, suggest that many of you share his confusion. So we invited the architect of the reforms, Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley, to explain. In his reply (doi:10.1136/bmj.e789) he says the reforms will safeguard the NHS for the future, put patients first, focus efforts on overall results delivered to …
Immune and inflammatory processes in cutaneous tissues. Mechanisms and speculations.
Authors: T S Kupper
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1990)

PerspectivesEpithelial tissues in general (and skin in particular) define boundaries between inside and outside, host and environment.Mammalian skin and its appendages are poised at the critical interface between the delicately balanced internal milieu ofthe host and the mercurial forces of the outside world.Human skin diseases characterized by histopathologically distinct pat- terns of infiltration by T cells, B cells, monocytes, and granu- locytes (referred to collectively as leukocytes) number quite literally in the hundreds.To state that the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in the evolution of such unique inflam- matory infiltrates are poorly understood is to euphamize; yet, recent advances have begun to allow for the construction of hypothetical paradigms that address the issue of mechanism in cutaneous immune and inflammatory processes.While skin was once considered the inert canvas upon which immune and inflammatory processes were painted by the bone marrow-derived host defense system, it is becoming apparent that resident sessile cells of skin are perhaps no less important in the generation ofa cutaneous immune or inflam- matory response.This contention is based upon two broad classes of observation.The first is that nonhematopoieticallyderived cells resident to skin (including dermal fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and epidermal keratinocytes and melano- cytes) can produce various cytokines upon appropriate stimu- lation (reviewed in reference 1) that affect decisively the behav- ior and function of lymphocytes, granulocytes, and mono- cytes.The second class of observation is that several of these cytokines influence the expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial and epithelial cells (1, 2).Taken to their logical conclusions, these observations suggest that nonhematopoietically-derived cells of skin, by virtue of their potential for cyto- kine production, have the indirect capacity to trap appropriate classes of leukocytes within microvasculature at precise ana- tomical sites, guide them through vessel walls and through dermal tissue along chemotactic gradients, and then activate them in situ.This article will review some of the evidence for this special immunocompetence of the skin, especially with regard to newer observations relating to cytokine production. Cytokines in cutaneous tissuesIt is axiomatic that cells ofdistinct lineages must communicate during the successful localization and evolution of an inflam- matory response, and cytokines comprise an important part of
Group a streptococcal toxic shock syndrome with severe necrotizing fasciitis following hysterectomy — a case report
Authors: M. Loscar, G. Schelling, M. Haller, J. Polasek, C. Stoll, U. Kreimeier, U. Finsterer, J. Briegel, H. O. Steitz, R. Baumeister, R. Kimmig, B. Grabein
Journal: Intensive Care Medicine (1998)
Entecavir vs Lamivudine for Prevention of Hepatitis B Virus Reactivation Among Patients With Untreated Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Receiving R-CHOP Chemotherapy
Authors: He Huang, Xueying Li, Jun Zhu, Sheng Ye, Hongyu Zhang, Wei Wang, Xiangyuan Wu, Jiewen Peng, Bing Xu, Yingcheng Lin, Yabing Cao, Haoran Li, Suxia Lin, Qing Liu, Tongyu Lin
Journal: JAMA (2014)

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is a serious complication for patients with lymphoma treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapies, despite lamivudine prophylaxis treatment. An optimal prophylactic antiviral protocol has not been determined.To compare the efficacy of entecavir and lamivudine in preventing HBV reactivation in patients seropositive for the hepatitis B surface antigen with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma receiving chemotherapy treatment with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP).Randomized, open-label, phase 3 study conducted from February 2008 through December 2012 at 10 medical centers in China. This study was a substudy of a parent study designed to compare a 3-week with a 2-week R-CHOP chemotherapy regimen for untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Patients enrolled in the parent study who were seropositive for the hepatitis B surface antigen and had normal liver function, serum HBV DNA levels of less than 103 copies/mL, and no prior antiviral therapy were randomized to entecavir (n = 61) or lamivudine (n = 60).Daily entecavir (0.5 mg) or lamivudine (100 mg) beginning 1 week before the initiation of R-CHOP treatment to 6 months after completion of chemotherapy.The primary efficacy end point was the incidence of HBV-related hepatitis. The secondary end points included rates of HBV reactivation, chemotherapy disruption due to hepatitis, and treatment-related adverse events.There were 121 patients randomly assigned to receive entecavir (n = 61) or lamivudine (n = 60). The date of last patient follow-up was May 25, 2013. The rates were significantly lower for the entecavir group vs the lamivudine group for HBV-related hepatitis (0% vs 13.3%, respectively; difference between groups, 13.3% [95% CI, 4.7% to 21.9%]; P = .003), HBV reactivation (6.6% vs 30%; difference, 23.4% [95% CI, 10.2% to 36.6%]; P = .001), and chemotherapy disruption (1.6% vs 18.3%; difference, 16.7% [95% CI, 6.4% to 27.0%]; P = .002). Of the 61 patients in the entecavir group, 15 (24.6%) experienced treatment-related adverse events. Of 60 patients in the lamivudine group, 18 (30%) experienced treatment-related adverse events (difference between entecavir and lamivudine groups, 5.4% [95% CI, -10.5% to 21.3%]; P = .50).Among patients seropositive for the hepatitis B surface antigen with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma undergoing R-CHOP chemotherapy, the addition of entecavir compared with lamivudine resulted in a lower incidence of HBV-related hepatitis and HBV reactivation. If replicated, these findings support the use of entecavir in these patients.clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01793844; Chinese Clinical Trial Registry Identifier: CTR-TRC-11001687.
Medical community may be partly responsible for cancer misery
Authors: P Chaturvedi
Journal: BMJ (2003)

EDITOR—The article by Murray et al prompts me to highlight a less quoted cause of misery of patients with advanced cancer.1

The World Health Organization estimated that in 2020, 20 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed each year and 75% of these will occur in nations that between them have only 5% of resources. India, …
1020-73 Veterans information systems &amp; technology architecture-computerized patient record system (CPRS-VistA) provides an accurate and feasible means for remote interpretion and widespread access to cine echocardiographic image data within the veterans affairs healthcare system
Authors: Michael D Greenberg, Ross Fletcher, Ismat Pervin, Tokzhan Clay, Devika Hanumara, Peter Kokkinos, Chiao Wu, Erin Goheen, Vivek Bahl
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2004)
Distribution of polybrominated biphenyls after dietary exposure in pregnant and lactating rats and their offspring.
Authors: D E Rickert, J G Dent, S Z Cagen, K M McCormack, P Melrose, J E Gibson
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1978)

Female rats were fed PBBs in the diet (50 ppm) from day 8 of gestation to day 21 of gestation, from day 1 postpartum to day 14 postpartum or from day 8 of gestation through day 14 postpartum. Levels of PBBs were measured in various tissues. Small concentrations of PBBs (less than 5 microgram/g) were found in the brain, heart, lung, liver, small intestine, placenta, and gravid uterus. Larger concentrations (less than 30 microgram/g) were found in kidneys, the nongravid uterus, skin, mammary tissue, and fat. Lactation did not significantly alter the concentrations of PBBs found in tissues other than mammary tissue. Offspring were subjected to several exposure regimens by cross-fostering. Concentrations of PBBs in the neonatal livers were higher than in the adults nursing them. Transfer of PBBs via the milk appears to be much more important to appearance of PBBs in newborns than does placental transfer.
Hematopoietic microenvironment. Origin, lineage, and transplantability of the stromal cells in long-term bone marrow cultures from chimeric mice.
Authors: S Perkins, R A Fleischman
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1988)

Studies of bone marrow transplant patients have suggested that the stromal cells of the in vitro hematopoietic microenvironment are transplantable into conditioned recipients. Moreover, in patients with myeloproliferative disorders, all of the stromal cells, which include presumptive endothelial cells, appear to be derived from hematopoietic precursors. To confirm these findings, we have constructed two chimeric mouse models: (a) traditional radiation chimeras, and (b) fetal chimeras, produced by placental injection of bone marrow into genetically anemic Wx/Wv fetuses, a technique that essentially precludes engraftment of nonhematopoietic cells. Using two-color indirect immunofluorescence, the stromal cells in long-term bone marrow culture derived from these chimeras were analyzed for donor or host origin by strain-specific H-2 antigens, and for cell lineage by a variety of other specific markers. 75-95% of the stromal cells were shown to be hematopoietic cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage, based upon donor origin, phagocytosis, and expression of specific hematopoietic surface antigens. The remaining 5-25% of the stromal cells were exclusively host in origin. Apart from occasional fat cells, these cells uniformly expressed collagen type IV, laminin, and a surface antigen associated with endothelial cells. Since these endothelial-like cells are not transplantable into radiation or fetal chimeras, they are not derived from hematopoietic stem cells. The contrast between our findings and human studies suggests either unexpected species differences in the origin of stromal lineages or limitations in the previous methodology used to detect nonhematopoietic stromal cells.
Direct-to-Patient Laboratory Test Reporting
Authors: Michael J. Young, Ethan Scheinberg, Harold Bursztajn
Journal: JAMA (2014)

In February 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a landmark ruling allowing patients direct access to completed medical laboratory reports.1 The ruling took effect April 7, 2014, and gives laboratories 180 days from that date to comply. Although this recent change to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) empowers patients by removing access barriers to personal health information, it raises a variety of clinical and ethical questions involving practitioners, patients, and society. To capture the benefits of the change and to minimize potential challenges, clinicians will need to proactively counsel patients to ensure that patients do not engage in detrimental self-interpretation of test results, especially because of the abundance of information and misinformation made available through the Internet and other sources.2
THE EFFECT OF TRIMETHOPRIM- SULPHAMETHOXAZOLE* ON SEBUM EXCRETION RATE AND BIOCHEMISTRY IN ACNE VULGARIS
Authors: J. A. COTTERILL, W. J. CUNLIFFE, B. WILLIAMSON
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1971)

SUMMARY.— The sebum excretion rate and skin surface liquid composition were determined before and after 1 and 2 months of therapy in patients taking a trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole combination for acne vulgaris. Trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole caused a significant reduction in skin surface free fatty acid and a significant rise in skin surface triglyceride after 1 and 2 mionths of therapy. There were no significant changes in sebum excretion rate, squalene or wax ester.
Desperate patients turn to DCA
Authors: David Holmes
Journal: Nature reviews. Cancer (2007)

The emotive issue of whether terminally ill patients should have access to unapproved drugs has been brought to the fore, after reports that cancer patients are self medicating with a compound called dichloroacetate (DCA), which has yet to receive formal clinical approval.DCA came to prominence in January this year, when Evangelos Michelakis and colleagues at the University of Alberta in Canada, writing in Cancer Cell, reported that DCA was able to shrink tumours in rats without any appreciable side effects.The compound has already been in clinical trials as a treatment for mitochondrial diseases, and it is thought that the anticancer effect of DCA hinges on its ability to reactivate suppressed mitochondria in cancer cells, resulting in apoptosis.However, because DCA has been in the public domain for so long it cannot be patented, meaning there is little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in the lengthy and costly process of trialling DCA as a cancer therapy.Michelakis plans to raise enough money to begin a small trial in the near future.However, despite warnings and fears of potentially lethal interactions with other cancer therapies, some terminally ill patients are using the internet as a means of obtaining the drug, and this is "…destroying efforts to do this right," Michelakis says (http:// www.nature.com/news,
Urine Drug Testing—Watch What You Eat!
Authors: James L. Abelson
Journal: JAMA (1991)

<h3>To the Editor.</h3> —Discussions in<i>JAMA</i>have raised concerns about false-negative<sup>1</sup>and false-positive<sup>2</sup>results of urine drug screening. Exposure to a potentially common source of an innocently positive screening test for opiates has increased my awareness of these issues and suggested to me that information about this source should be disseminated. <h3>Report of a Case.</h3> —A 26-year-old woman presented to us in response to an advertisement seeking normal subjects for research. Her medical history was significant only for chemocautery of a cervical wart. She was receiving no medications and denied use of alcohol or other drugs. Findings on physical examination were normal. Routine blood tests were conducted and revealed no significant abnormalities. Preliminary urine drug screening was positive for opiates. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy confirmed the presence of morphine and codeine. The subject convincingly denied any known ingestion of opiates. Review of oral intake revealed that she had eaten
Heroin clinics reduce street drug use and crime, shows study
Authors: N. Siva
Journal: BMJ (2009)

Medically supervised heroin clinics have helped substantially to cut crime and the use of street heroin among the UK’s most difficult to treat heroin users, early results of a study show.

Researchers who conducted the first randomised controlled trial of its kind in the UK say the government should set up further clinics. They presented their results at a conference at the Royal College of Physicians, London, organised by the charity Action on Addiction.

Paul Hayes, chief executive of the National Treatment Agency of Substance Misuse, which is overseeing the study, said, “No-one is suggesting that this should be the frontline treatment for heroin addiction.

“Heroin has been available on prescription since the 1920s to a very limited number of addicts, and these pilots …