tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Relationships between MELD scoring system, Child-Pugh's score, and residual liver function in a European series of cirrhotic patients
Authors: Federica Botta, Edoardo Giannini, Paola Romagnoli, Alberto Fasoli, Federica Malfatti, Bruno Chiarbonello, Emanuela Testa, Simone Polegato, Alessandra Fumagalli, Domenico Risso, Giuliano Colla, Roberto Testa
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2002)
Myosin, Transgelin, and Myosin Light Chain Kinase
Authors: Renaud Léguillette, Michel Laviolette, Celine Bergeron, Nedjma Zitouni, Paul Kogut, Julian Solway, Linda Kachmar, Qutayba Hamid, Anne-Marie Lauzon
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2008)

Airway smooth muscle (SM) of patients with asthma exhibits a greater velocity of shortening (Vmax) than that of normal subjects, and this is thought to contribute to airway hyperresponsiveness. A greater Vmax can result from increased myosin activation. This has been reported in sensitized human airway SM and in models of asthma. A faster Vmax can also result from the expression of specific contractile proteins that promote faster cross-bridge cycling. This possibility has never been addressed in asthma.We tested the hypothesis that the expression of genes coding for SM contractile proteins is altered in asthmatic airways and contributes to their increased Vmax.We quantified the expression of several genes that code for SM contractile proteins in mild allergic asthmatic and control human airway endobronchial biopsies. The function of these contractile proteins was tested using the in vitro motility assay.We observed an increased expression of the fast myosin heavy chain isoform, transgelin, and myosin light chain kinase in patients with asthma. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated the expression of these genes at the protein level. To address the functional significance of this overexpression, we purified tracheal myosin from the hyperresponsive Fisher rats, which also overexpress the fast myosin heavy chain isoform as compared with the normoresponsive Lewis rats, and found a faster rate of actin filament propulsion. Conversely, transgelin did not alter the rate of actin filament propulsion.Selective overexpression of airway smooth muscle genes in asthmatic airways leads to increased Vmax, thus contributing to the airway hyperresponsiveness observed in asthma.
Increase in Activated Treg in TIL in Lung Cancer and In Vitro Depletion of Treg by ADCC Using an Antihuman CCR4 mAb (KM2760)
Authors: Koji Kurose, Yoshihiro Ohue, Eiichi Sato, Akira Yamauchi, Shingo Eikawa, Midori Isobe, Yumi Nishio, Akiko Uenaka, Mikio Oka, Eiichi Nakayama
Journal: Journal of Thoracic Oncology (2014)
A new technique for producing myocardial infarction using coronary artery balloon occlusion
Authors: D. GARNER, L. E GINZTON, G. JAGELS, M. M LAKS
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1988)

Many techniques for producing myocardial infarction have required the potential physiological altering effects of a thoracotomy. Previous techniques have used the variable and therefore unpredictable effects of coronary artery injection of occlusive agents, intravascular plugs, and externalised coronary balloon catheters. Previous investigators have reported a survival rate of 50–70%. In the present study a new closed chest dog technique was used in which a catheter with an inflatable detachable balloon was placed in the aorta via the carotid artery. The catheter could be readily lodged into any portion of the right, left anterior, or circumflex coronary artery. The proximal left anterior descending and circumflex arteries were occluded in 15 dogs. This new coronary artery balloon occlusion technique may be used to produce a chronic myocardial infarction with a high survival rate of 90% through the use of short acting anaesthesia and rapid reversal of the effect of morphine with naloxone hydrochloride. The rapid recovery of the dog permits earlier study of haemodynamic variables and arrhythmia due to myocardial infarction in the best physiological state.
Use of F-18 Fluoride PET to Differentiate Septic From Aseptic Loosening in Total Hip Arthroplasty Patients
Authors: Naomi Kobayashi, Yutaka Inaba, Hyonmin Choe, Hiroyuki Ike, Hiroshi Fujimaki, Taro Tezuka, Yasuhide Hirata, Ukihide Tateishi, Tomio Inoue, Tomoyuki Saito
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2011)

Purpose: The preoperative differentiation of aseptic and septic loosening following a total hip arthroplasty (THA) remains a challenging issue for clinicians to which several molecular imaging techniques have been applied. In our current study, we used F-18 fluoride positron emission tomography (PET) to evaluate THA cases with stable, septic or septic loosened implants to assess the possibility of differentiating these clinical settings using a novel uptake-type classification approach. Materials and Methods: A total of 65 joints were enrolled in this prospective study comprising 27 asymptomatic stable hips (control group), 11 painful hips conservatively treated after THA due to a suspicion of loosening, and 27 painful hips surgically treated after THA. PET imaging was classified into 3 types according to the uptake pattern. The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was then measured for each joint. A final diagnosis was made via tissue examinations of surgically treated cases, and by serological and radiographic findings in conservatively treated cases. Results: There were significant differences found between the SUVmax values for the aseptic and septic loosening THA cases. In the diagnosis of infection with type 3 pattern, the sensitivity and specificity were measured at 0.95 and 0.98 for all cases, and 0.95 and 0.88 for surgically treated cases, respectively. Conclusions: The results of our current study demonstrate that F-18 fluoride PET has considerable potential as a method for differentiating septic from aseptic loosening following a THA. The type classification of the uptake pattern can be performed relatively simply, and quantifications using the SUVmax values can then provide an objective evaluation.
Estimating Incidence of HIV Infection in Uganda
Authors: Timothy Hallett
Journal: JAMA (2009)

To the Editor: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) surveillance is in need of a practical and valid method to measure recent HIV incidence rates and the BED test (a test developed for HIV subtypes B E and D) is increasingly being used for this purpose. However we are greatly concerned over claims of validity given the confusing results this test generates. In their study of risk factors for recent HIV infection in Uganda Dr Mermin and colleagues used this test to estimate incidence in Uganda as 1.8 per 100 personyears at risk (pyar) among 15- to 59-year-olds. The greatest incidence rates were for 35- to 39-year-old women (3.5/ 100 pyar) and 30- to 34-year-old men (2.8/100 pyar). The most recent direct empirical estimate of incidence in Uganda is 0.25 per 100 pyar in 2005 for a rural southwest region with a prevalence level similar to that observed nationally. 3 In these data the age groups with the highest incidence are 10 years younger. The study by Mermin et al points to the agreement between observed incidence in the Rakai cohort (1.7/100 pyar) and the corresponding BED estimate for the region. But although this is an atypically high prevalence area the BED incidence estimate is slightly lower than that for the whole country. To explore their results the authors used a lowerthreshold optical density (OD) to increase specificity at the expense of sensitivity identifying similar risk factors for recent infections. However for both analyses the comparison group included a vast majority of uninfected individuals. Perhaps a more telling analysis would be to compare the risk factors for HIV infections categorized as recent by the BED test with those infected with HIV but not identified as recent infections. Incidence in Uganda may have increased due to changes in risky sexual behavior3 but we would be surprised if it had almost tripled compared with rates that likely existed immediately prior to this study. While we accept the limitations inherent in tracking HIV epidemics through measures of prevalence we are concerned that implausible BEDderived estimates of incidence are being published and that that this could lead to mistaken assessments of the state of the HIV epidemic and trends in risk.  (full-text)
Chondromyxoid Fibroma of the Rib Initially Seen as a Pulmonary Lesion
Authors: Stuart C. Zeman
Journal: JAMA (1979)

CHONDROMYXOID fibroma, which is a relatively late addition to the family of bone tumors, is a rare lesion that occurs in less than 1% of bone tumors and tumor-like lesions.<sup>1</sup>Furthermore, the tumor is encountered most often in the lower extremity, particularly in the lower metaphysis of the femur, the upper metaphysis of the tibia, and the lower end of the fibula. This report describes a patient with a chondromyxoid fibroma of the chest wall with a clinical and roentgenographic picture interpreted as an intrapulmonary lesion. <h3>Report of a Case</h3> A 53-year-old woman stated that in 1975, in her homeland, India, she had been kicked in the left side of the chest by a horse. She was hospitalized for several weeks for this injury and treated conservatively. One year later, she immigrated to this country, where a routine chest roentgenogram was performed on arrival. The initial interpretation was a
Identification of viable myocardium in patients with chronic coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Comparison of thallium scintigraphy with reinjection and PET imaging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose.
Authors: R O Bonow, V Dilsizian, A Cuocolo, S L Bacharach
Journal: Circulation (1991)

In patients with chronic coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction, the distinction between ventricular dysfunction arising from myocardial fibrosis and ischemic, but viable, myocardium has important clinical implications. By positron emission tomography (PET), enhanced fluorine-18-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in myocardial segments with impaired function and reduced blood flow is evidence of myocardial viability. Reinjection of thallium-201 at rest immediately after stress-redistribution imaging may also provide evidence of myocardial viability by demonstrating thallium uptake in regions with apparently "irreversible" defects. To compare these two methods, we studied 16 patients with chronic coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction, 27 +/- 9%), all of whom had irreversible defects on standard exercise-redistribution thallium single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. Thallium was reinjected immediately after the redistribution study, and SPECT images were reacquired. The patients also underwent PET imaging with FDG and oxygen-15-labeled water. A total of 432 myocardial segments were analyzed from comparable transaxial tomograms, of which 166 (38%) had irreversible thallium defects on redistribution images before reinjection. FDG uptake was demonstrated in 121 (73%) of these irreversible defects. Irreversible defects were then subgrouped according to the degree of thallium activity, relative to peak activity in normal regions. Irreversible defects with only mild (60-85% of peak activity) or moderate (50-59% of peak) reduction in thallium activity were considered viable on the basis of FDG uptake in 91% and 84% of these segments, respectively. In contrast, in irreversible defects with severe reduction in thallium activity (less than 50% of peak), FDG uptake was present in 51% of segments. In such severe defects, an identical number of segments (51%) demonstrated enhanced uptake of thallium after reinjection. In these severe "irreversible" defects, data on myocardial viability were concordant by the two techniques in 88% of segments, with 45% identified as viable and 43% identified as scar on both PET and thallium reinjection studies. These observations suggest that thallium imaging can be used to identify viable myocardium in patients with chronic coronary artery disease and left ventricular dysfunction. Most irreversible defects with only mild or moderate reduction in thallium activity represent viable myocardium as confirmed by FDG uptake.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Electrobrasion vs. manual dermabrasion: a randomized, double-blind, comparative effectiveness trial
Authors: R. Kleinerman, A.W. Armstrong, O.A. Ibrahimi, T.H. King, D.B. Eisen
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2014)

Electrobrasion, like dermabrasion, is a method of surgical planing that is purported to improve postoperative scarring. Data regarding its benefits and harms relative to dermabrasion are absent.To compare the efficacy and potential harms of electrobrasion and dermabrasion.This was a pragmatic, randomized, double-blind, split-scar intervention in patients with suboptimal surgical outcomes. Half of the wound was randomized to treatment with dermabrasion and half to electrobrasion. At 3-month follow-up, both the patient and a blinded investigator evaluated the wound.Electrobrasion and dermabrasion reduced the mean scores of the Manchester Scar Scale 1·6 and 1·3 points from baseline, respectively (P = 0·0003). The difference between treatments was not significant (P = 0·08). Global cosmetic improvement by physician and patient assessment indicated clinical improvement for both procedures but did not demonstrate statistical significance between treatments (P = 0·57, P = 0·32 for physician and patient, respectively).Both dermabrasion and electrobrasion improved scars, but there was no significant difference between the outcomes of the two procedures on several measures. Procedure time and bleeding time were significantly lower for electrobrasion.
Papular Dermatitis of Pregnancy
Authors: Arthur S. Spangler
Journal: JAMA (1962)

A generalized eruption, characterized by widely scattered, intensely itching, erythematous papules, that occur only during pregnancy is described. Among the 12 patients reported, there were 37 previous pregnancies, with fetal loss in 10 (27%). However, with corticosteroid therapy, in 11 cases there was no fetal loss; one stillbirth occurred in a patient treated only with progesterone. Biochemical changes associated with the dermatitis included elevated urinary chorionic gonodotropin during the last trimester, lowered plasma hydrocortisone level, and shortened hydrocortisone half-life.
Insights into channel function via channel dysfunction
Authors: John F. Leite, Nivalda Rodrigues-Pinguet, Henry A. Lester
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2003)

The nicotinic synapse has been a touchstone for advances in neuroscience ever since Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal, sent some tobacco seeds home to Paris in 1550 with a note that the New World plant had interesting effects when smoked. Now the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is a well-studied example of ligand-gated ion channels. After a motor neuron is stimulated, the nerve impulse reaches the presynaptic terminal, where it evokes release of acetylcholine (ACh) into the synapse. The nAChR depolarizes the postsynaptic muscle and triggers muscle action potentials; muscle contraction follows. To date, several nAChR subtypes have been successfully isolated, purified, imaged, and expressed, and unitary currents have been recorded from these channels (1). Researchers continue to unravel the molecular mechanisms of these macromolecules that are embedded in membranes at vertebrate nerve-muscle synapses, at invertebrate nicotinic synapses (which explains why nicotine-producing tobacco plants have a select advantage against invertebrate pests), and in the vertebrate central system (which explains Jean Nicot’s fascination with those leaves). However, the precise structural events that trigger channel opening or gating remain mostly unknown.
An Intervention for Moving Long Overdue Women To Get a Mammogram.
Authors: M. Costanza, R. Luckmann, M. White, M. Rosal, N. LaPelle, C. Cranos
Journal: Cancer Research (2009)

Abstract Background: While there is substantial evidence that mammography screening decreases breast cancer mortality, as many 15 million American women are overdue for a biennial mammogram. This pilot study addressed the usefulness of a computer-assisted telephone counseling program in motivating reluctant or resistant women to get a mammogram.Methods: 127 women, aged 45-79, enrolled in primary care practices and without a documented mammogram for &amp;gt;=27 months were identified, approved by providers and eligible for study. All women had adequate health insurance and all had received a screening recommendation from their provider. The intervention included a mailed educational booklet followed by tailored counseling call, motivational interviewing and facilitated short-interval test scheduling. Using a computer-assisted telephone counseling program, the counselor identified the subject's stage of readiness to get a mammogram, reviewed the booklet in detail, clarified any misinformation and discussed specific barriers. At the conclusion of counseling, the counselor used motivational interviewing techniques to reconcile subjects' stated values with their stage of readiness. Outcome measures included stage change and completed mammograms within 12 months of the call as documented in the claims data.Results: Of the 127 eligible women, 45 (35%) agreed to counseling. 11% of these women had never had a mammogram, 7% had not had one in 48-59 months; 62% had not had one in&amp;gt;=60 months. At the start of the call, 11% had decided not to get mammograms, 16% were undecided about whether to get one, 44% were planning to get one but had no specific appointment and 4% had a mammogram appointment. Of these 45 women, 73% moved 1 or more stages closer to getting a mammogram. Of 13 women initially not planning to get a mammogram, 3 scheduled a mammogram and 3 stated an intention to get one. 75 % of women who scheduled a mammogram with the counselor went on to complete the test. 58% of the 45 counseled women actually got a mammogram. Of the 82 eligible women who refused to be in the study or did not respond to the telephone calls, only 21% got a mammogram. (57.8% vs. 21.3%, p&amp;lt;.001)Conclusions: It is possible to reach mammogram-reluctant women and to move them to complete a mammogram. Many of the counseled women were not against having mammograms but had no definite plans to get one. Women who schedule a mammogram are likely to keep the appointment. Given the low rate of mammography in those refusing to participate or not answering our calls, we suspect this group held a large number of mammogram-resistant women.For these women, additional interventions, such a monetary enhancement might prove useful. A prospective controlled trial to evaluate this intervention is currently underway. Supportedby NIH R21-100286 Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6076.
Dermatologic Relationships Between the United States and German-Speaking Countries
Authors: Walter H. C. Burgdorf, David R. Bickers
Journal: JAMA Dermatology (2013)

Following World War II, dermatology in German-speaking Europe faced enormous challenges, including the need to rebuild damaged or destroyed facilities, the replacement of the loss of many prewar leaders, and a raging venereal disease epidemic. Restoration of academic excellence and leadership required that young German-speaking dermatologists had to seek additional training in the United States, thereby reversing the historical trends of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of the initial visitors included Herbert Goldschmidt, Egon Macher, Gerd Steigleder, and Klaus Wolff. By the 1970s, there were numerous German-speaking scholars coming to the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, with Albert Kligman and then to the Dermatology Branch at the National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, and subsequently many other centers. Today, most of the leaders of German-speaking departments of dermatology have had some training in the United States.
Determinants of Coronary Artery and Aortic Calcification in the Old Order Amish
Authors: Wendy Post, Lawrence F. Bielak, Kathleen A. Ryan, Yu-Ching Cheng, Haiqing Shen, John A. Rumberger, Patrick F. Sheedy, Alan R. Shuldiner, Patricia A. Peyser, Braxton D. Mitchell
Journal: Circulation (2007)

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease; little is known, however, about thoracic aortic calcification (AC). Our goal was to characterize risk factors for CAC and AC and to estimate the genetic contribution to their variation.
The arsenic-based cure of acute promyelocytic leukemia promotes cytoplasmic sequestration of PML and PML/RARA through inhibition of PML body recycling
Authors: Emma Lång, Amra Grudic, Serhiy Pankiv, Øystein Bruserud, Anne Simonsen, Rolf Bjerkvig, Magnar Bjørås, Stig Ove Bøe
Journal: Blood (2012)
Increased risk of malignant mesothelioma of the pleura after residential or domestic exposure to asbestos: a case-control study in Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Authors: C Magnani, P Dalmasso, A Biggeri, C Ivaldi, D Mirabelli, B Terracini
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2001)

The association of malignant mesothelioma (MM) and nonoccupational asbestos exposure is currently debated. Our study investigates environmental and domestic asbestos exposure in the city where the largest Italian asbestos cement (AC) factory was located. This population-based case-control study included pleural MM (histologically diagnosed) incidents in the area in 1987-1993, matched by age and sex to two controls (four if younger than 60). Diagnoses were confirmed by a panel of five pathologists. We interviewed 102 cases and 273 controls in 1993-1995, out of 116 and 330 eligible subjects. Information was checked and completed on the basis of factory and Town Office files. We adjusted analyses for occupational exposure in the AC industry. In the town there were no other relevant industrial sources of asbestos exposure. Twenty-three cases and 20 controls lived with an AC worker [odds ratio (OR) = 4.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8-11.1)]. The risk was higher for the offspring of AC workers (OR = 7.4; 95% CI, 1.9-28.1). Subjects attending grammar school in Casale also showed an increased risk (OR = 3.3; 95% CI, 1.4-7.7). Living in Casale was associated with a very high risk (after selecting out AC workers: OR = 20.6; 95% CI, 6.2-68.6), with spatial trend with increasing distance from the AC factory. The present work confirms the association of environmental asbestos exposure and pleural MM, controlling for other sources of asbestos exposure, and suggests that environmental exposure caused a greater risk than domestic exposure.