tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Urinary excretion of leukotriene E4 and eosinophil protein X in children with atopic asthma
Authors: C. Severien, A. Artlich, S Jonas, G Becher
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2000)

Measurement of leukotriene E4 (LTE4) in urine is a noninvasive method for assessing changes in the rate of total body cysteinyl leukotriene production. Eosinophil protein X (EPX) has been used to assess eosinophil activity and monitor inflammation in bronchial asthma. The aim of the study was to look for differences in urinary LTE4 and EPX concentrations between children with stable atopic asthma and healthy controls and to compare asthmatic children with different disease severity. In addition the relationship was evaluated between urinary LTE4 and EPX levels and lung function. LTE4 was also measured (enzyme immunoassay) together with EPX (radioimmunoassay) in urine and lung function tests were carried out in children with mild asthma (steroid-naive) (n=49), moderate to severe asthma (using inhaled steroids) (n=31) and healthy control subjects (n=28). Urinary leukotriene E4 (LTE4) was significantly higher in children with asthma than in controls (median [25-75 percentile] 238.5 (126.5-375.7) SD 191.8 versus 189 (51-253.2) SD 131.7 pg.mg(-1) creatinine; p=0.021). Urinary EPX was also significantly increased in asthmatic children compared with controls (85.5 [64-131.5] SD 76.2 versus 48.5 [43.2-90] 112.1 microg x mmol(-1) creatinine; p=0.006). There were no differences in urinary LTE4 and EPX between the group of mild and the group of moderate to severe asthmatic children. There were significant associations between the urinary LTE4 and intrathoracic gas volume (ITGV), residual volume (RV), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced expiratory capacity (FVC) and maximum expiratory flow rate at 25% of vital capacity (MEF25). Urinary EPX was only correlated with maximum expiratory flow rate at 75% of vital capacity (MEF75). Thus measurement of urinary LTE4 may predict the degree of airflow obstruction in asthmatic children. Urinary LTE4 and EPX are useful markers of airway inflammation and can be helpful in guiding asthma management. There was no correlation between LTE4 and EPX levels.
Critical care outreach team's effect on patient outcome: Authors' reply
Authors: Carol Ball, Margaret Kirkby, Susan Williams
Journal: BMJ (2004)

EDITOR—The significance for the relative risk ratio, for patients surviving to discharge, between the two groups was P = 0.0452.

In relation to our readmission data, the increase in survival and increase in median length of stay before and after the introduction of the outreach team might explain the published results. …
Tories trip up on health policy
Authors: J. Warden
Journal: BMJ (1999)

The British Conservative party's policy on health was thrown into confusion last week over proposed links between the NHS and the private sector.

The emerging policy line for a future Conservative government has been to harness the resources of the private sector to relieve pressure on the NHS because it “could not do everything.” This was the emphasis of policy speeches by the shadow health secretary Ann Widdecombe at the Tory conference last year and it was reiterated by her deputy Ian …
Cancer risk assessment, indicators, and guidelines for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ambient air.
Authors: Carl-Elis Boström, Per Gerde, Annika Hanberg, Bengt Jernström, Christer Johansson, Titus Kyrklund, Agneta Rannug, Margareta Törnqvist, Katarina Victorin, Roger Westerholm
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2002)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed during incomplete combustion. Domestic wood burning and road traffic are the major sources of PAHs in Sweden. In Stockholm, the sum of 14 different PAHs is 100-200 ng/m(3) at the street-level site, the most abundant being phenanthrene. Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) varies between 1 and 2 ng/m(3). Exposure to PAH-containing substances increases the risk of cancer in humans. The carcinogenicity of PAHs is associated with the complexity of the molecule, i.e., increasing number of benzenoid rings, and with metabolic activation to reactive diol epoxide intermediates and their subsequent covalent binding to critical targets in DNA. B[a]P is the main indicator of carcinogenic PAHs. Fluoranthene is an important volatile PAH because it occurs at high concentrations in ambient air and because it is an experimental carcinogen in certain test systems. Thus, fluoranthene is suggested as a complementary indicator to B[a]P. The most carcinogenic PAH identified, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, is also suggested as an indicator, although it occurs at very low concentrations. Quantitative cancer risk estimates of PAHs as air pollutants are very uncertain because of the lack of useful, good-quality data. According to the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines for Europe, the unit risk is 9 X 10(-5) per ng/m(3) of B[a]P as indicator of the total PAH content, namely, lifetime exposure to 0.1 ng/m(3) would theoretically lead to one extra cancer case in 100,000 exposed individuals. This concentration of 0.1 ng/m(3) of B[a]P is suggested as a health-based guideline. Because the carcinogenic potency of fluoranthene has been estimated to be approximately 20 times less than that of B[a]P, a tentative guideline value of 2 ng/m(3) is suggested for fluoranthene. Other significant PAHs are phenanthrene, methylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes and pyrene (high air concentrations), and large-molecule PAHs such as dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (high carcinogenicity). Additional source-specific indicators are benzo[ghi]perylene for gasoline vehicles, retene for wood combustion, and dibenzothiophene and benzonaphthothiophene for sulfur-containing fuels.
Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society
Authors: Richard C. Hermann
Journal: JAMA (1988)

As the title indicates,<i>Beyond the Ring</i>offers not a traditional, blow-by-blow history of boxing, but a scholarly social history of the sport. Jeffrey T. Sammons, an assistant professor at Rutgers University, focuses on the familiar figures of boxing's heavyweight division, but their famous bouts are secondary to their historical context and social impact. June 22 of this year marked the 50th anniversary of Joe Louis' knockout of Germany's Max Schmeling, an event that illustrates some of the racial, political, and economic themes of this work. Louis was only the second black permitted to contend for the heavyweight title. The reign of the first black champion, Jack Johnson, 22 years earlier, had incited a racist backlash that led to his conviction on morals charges. Sammons, also director of Rutgers' Afro--American studies program, demonstrates through writings of Louis' period a continued white concern that a black champion would undermine stereotypes of
International specialist meetings
Authors: S. Myint
Journal: BMJ (1991)

intensity of their pain?The current consensus among anaesthetists is that neonates do feel pain and therefore deserve adequate pain relief.5Dr Cohen and Mr Zoltie go on to describe their method of analgesia for infants between 8 and 12 weeks old.We believe that they are describing blocking the dorsal nerve of the penis.This technique is in common use among anaesthetists for surgery on the penis.It is a safe technique provided that the anaesthetist is meticulous in its use, in particular aspirating before injection and keeping to the recommended safe dose of the chosen local anaesthetic agent.There does not seem to be any reason for withholding this method of analgesia from infants below 8 weeks of age.We do not dispute that the practitioners of religious circumcisions are competent and skilled in their work, but we would emphasise that their patients probably undergo a very painful procedure and deserve adequate analgesia.
A separate language-interpretation resource: Premature fractionation?
Authors: Paul Whitney, Desiree Budd
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (1999)

The target article argues for the modularity of language interpretive processes without the usual criterion that a module be informationally encapsulated. It is the encapsulation criterion, however, that gives modularity most of its testability. Without the criterion of encapsulation, testing whether relatively automatic comprehension processes use their own unique resource is a very tricky matter.
Toxicokinetics of bone lead.
Authors: M B Rabinowitz
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1991)

This article discusses bone as a source of lead to the rest of the body and as a record of past lead exposure. Bone lead levels generally increase with age at rates dependent on the skeletal site and lead exposure. After occupational exposure, the slow decline in blood lead, a 5- to 19-year half-life, reflects the long skeletal half-life. Repeated measurements of bone lead demonstrate the slow elimination of lead from bone. Stable isotope ratios have revealed many details of skeletal uptake and subsequent release. The bulk turnover rates for compact bone are about 2% per year and 8% for spine. Turnover activity varies with age and health. Even though lead approximates calcium, radium, strontium, barium, fluorine, and other bone seekers, the rates for each are different. A simple, two-pool (bone and blood) kinetic model is presented with proposed numerical values for the changes in blood lead levels that occur with changes in turnover rates. Two approaches are offered to further quantify lead turnover. One involves a study of subjects with known past exposure. Changes in the ratio of blood lead to bone lead with time would reflect the course of bone lead availability. Also, stable isotopes and subjects who move from one geographical area to another offer opportunities. Sequential isotope measurements would indicate how much of the lead in blood is from current exposure or bone stores, distinct from changes in absorption or excretion.
Sudden Nocturnal Death in Southeast Asian Refugees-Reply
Authors: Friedrich A. O. Eckner
Journal: JAMA (1987)

<h3>In Reply.—</h3> Dr Coleman suggests sleep apnea syndrome as a cause of sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS) in Southeast Asian refugees. We found no evidence to suggest this etiology. As discussed in our article, the hearts that we examined were all from SUNDS victims whose deaths had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, and there was a thorough investigation of each case by the Centers for Disease Control. The epidemiologic aspects of this disorder have been previously reported,<sup>1</sup>and, specifically, evidence for sleep apnea syndrome was lacking. "Most were considered sound sleepers by their spouses, who reported no earlier episodes of respiratory distress or prolonged apnea during sleep, and none experienced daytime hypersomnolence."<sup>1</sup> Although cardiomegaly was a common finding at autopsy, there was no morphologic evidence for either pulmonary hypertension or systemic hypertension. Furthermore, no anatomic abnormality of the upper airways that might produce
Sulfonamide Plus Penicillin for Meningitis
Authors: Edward B. Shaw
Journal: JAMA (1964)

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> Those physicians who, earlier, treated<i>Neisseria meningitidis</i>infections with serum and who witnessed the great improvement when sulfonamides were introduced must have been dismayed to find that certain strains of this organism have been reported to be sulfonamide-resistant.<sup>1</sup>Until now, it has been comforting to regard all strains as best treated with sulfonamides, with the thought that penicillin might be used in addition against the possibility of sulfonamide-resistant organisms, but with repeated assurance that such resistant strains had not been isolated. Ample experience with other organisms makes it unsurprising that sulfonamide-resistant strains have emerged. Conventional dosage of procaine penicillin G has sometimes failed to arrest progressive disease after 48 to 72 hours of therapy. This comment is to emphasize that routine substitution of penicillin as the sole form of treatment for all cases of meningococcus disease may not be advisable and may prove disastrous unless very
A Retained Pharmacy
Authors: J P Ong, E A Achkar
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2001)

Figure 1. A 37-year-old man with Crohn's disease was referred because of an enterocutaneous fistula. He had been taking six tablets of mesalamine and 20 mg of prednisone a day for three months. Because of constant nausea and vomiting, he had been receiving intravenous hyperalimentation. An upper gastrointestinal series showed dilatation of the stomach (curved arrow) and duodenum (straight arrow) to the ligament of Treitz as a result of retained pills. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed ulcerations in the distal duodenum, a pinhole stricture distal to the third portion of the duodenum, and hundreds of retained pills. The patient underwent laparotomy, . . .
Abstract 4355: Inhibition of RNA Polymerase I as a strategy to treat cancer.
Authors: Megan J. Bywater, Katherine M. Hannan, Gretchen Poortinga, Jennifer R. Devlin, Carleen Cullinane, Denis Drygin, William G. Rice, Daniel Von Hoff, Ricky W. Johnstone, Grant A. McArthur, Ross D. Hannan, Richard B. Pearson
Journal: Cancer Research (2013)

Abstract Abnormalities of the nucleolus, the site of transcription of the ribosomal genes (rDNA) by RNA Polymerase I (Pol I), have been recognized as diagnostic for cancer for more then a century. However, a critical, unresolved question has been whether the accelerated ribosome biogenesis responsible for the nucleolar changes is required for malignancy. Here we show that the PI3K/AKT pathway, deregulated in a high proportion of human tumours, is a critical regulator of ribosome biogenesis. Active AKT is sufficient to drive rRNA synthesis and ribosome biogenesis. Furthermore, AKT cooperates with c-MYC to drive these processes identifying the AKT//MYC network as a master controller of cell growth. Consistent with this concept, AKT activity is required for maximal activation of rRNA synthesis and tumour formation in the Eμ-Myc mouse model of Burkitt's lymphoma (1). Our findings raise the possibility that cancers characterized by unrestrained cellular growth may be vulnerable to therapeutic strategies that target ribosome biogenesis. To directly test this hypothesis, we used a novel selective small molecule inhibitor of Pol I transcription (CX-5461) (2), to show that Pol I can be targeted in vivo to treat tumors in mouse models of lymphoma and leukemia through the activation of p53-dependent apoptosis, while sparing normal hematologic cells. Thus, selective inhibition of Pol I transcription can serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer (3). A Phase 1 trial of this first-in-class molecule begins in 2013 at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for patients with haematologic malignancies. Strikingly, allosteric inhibitors of AKT suppress rRNA synthesis independent of p53 and cooperate with CX-5461 in killing Eμ-Myc lymphomas providing a clear rationale for combining these agents in future trials. Citation Format: Megan J. Bywater, Katherine M. Hannan, Gretchen Poortinga, Jennifer R. Devlin, Carleen Cullinane, Denis Drygin, William G. Rice, Daniel Von Hoff, Ricky W. Johnstone, Grant A. McArthur, Ross D. Hannan, Richard B. Pearson. Inhibition of RNA Polymerase I as a strategy to treat cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4355. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4355
Studies on Melanoma
Authors: Laurens P. White
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1959)

THIS paper represents an attempt to demonstrate an important feature about the behavior of melanomas in human beings — namely, that the chances of five-year survival are distinctly greater in females than in males. Circumstantial evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that melanoma is a hormone-dependent tumor.The word melanoma is used here to denote the malignant tumor derived from the melanoblast (or melanogenoblast) that is capable of spread and metastasis and has elsewhere been known as malignant melanoma, melanocarcinoma or melanosarcoma.The present investigation was undertaken almost by chance. Through the generosity of Dr. F. C. Turner several . . .
Maintenance Therapy with 3-monthly Bacillus Calmette-Guérin for 3 Years is Not Superior to Standard Induction Therapy in High-risk Non–muscle-invasive Urothelial Bladder Carcinoma: Final Results of Randomised CUETO Study 98013
Authors: Luis Martínez-Piñeiro, José A. Portillo, Jesús M. Fernández, José A. Zabala, Iker Cadierno, José L. Moyano, Eduardo Solsona, Miguel Unda, Pastora Beardo, Jesús Rodríguez-Molina, Venancio Chantada, Joan Palou, Pedro Muntañola, José M. Alonso Dorrego, Franciso J. Pérez-Garcia, Juan M. Silva, Nicolás Chesa, Manuel Montesinos, Antonio Ojea, Rosario Madero, José A. Martínez-Piñeiro
Journal: European Urology (2015)
Molecular Basis for the Association of Group IIA Phospholipase A <sub>2</sub> and Decorin in Human Atherosclerotic Lesions
Authors: Peter Sartipy, Berit Johansen, Kathrine Gåsvik, Eva Hurt-Camejo
Journal: Circulation Research (2000)

Abstract —Group IIA secretory nonpancreatic phospholipase A 2 (snpPLA 2 ) is associated with collagen fibers in the extracellular matrix of human atherosclerotic plaques. Decorin, a small proteoglycan (PG) carrying chondroitin/dermatan sulfate glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), forms part of the collagen network in human arteries. To explore whether snpPLA 2 may be associated with collagen fibers via interaction with decorin, we performed (1) immunohistochemistry to compare the relative in vivo localization of snpPLA 2 and decorin in human atherosclerotic tissue and (2) in vitro experiments to study the interaction between snpPLA 2 and decorin. In atherosclerotic lesions, decorin was detected within the snpPLA 2 -positive part of the intima close to the media. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that snpPLA 2 binds to decorin synthesized by human fibroblasts. Native and GAG-depleted decorin enhanced the association of snpPLA 2 to collagen types I and VI in a solid-phase binding assay. Furthermore, snpPLA 2 bound efficiently to a recombinant decorin core protein fragment B/E (Asp45-Lys359). This binding was competed with soluble decorin and inhibited at NaCl concentrations &gt;150 mmol/L. The decorin core protein fragment B/E competed better than dermatan sulfate for binding of snpPLA 2 to decorin-coated microtiter wells. The enzymatic activity of snpPLA 2 increased 2- to 3-fold in the presence of decorin or GAG-depleted decorin. The results show that snpPLA 2 binds preferentially to the decorin protein core rather than to the GAG chain and that this interaction enhances snpPLA 2 activity. As a consequence, this active extracellular enzyme may contribute to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis by modifying lipoproteins and releasing inflammatory lipid mediators at places of lipoprotein retention in the arterial wall.
Seeding of Vascular Grafts With Genetically Modified Endothelial Cells
Authors: Peter F. Dunn, Kurt D. Newman, Michael Jones, Izumi Yamada, Vafa Shayani, Renu Virmani, David A. Dichek
Journal: Circulation (1996)

Background Seeding of small-diameter vascular grafts with endothelial cells (ECs) genetically engineered to secrete fibrinolytic or antithrombotic proteins offers the potential to improve graft patency rates. Methods and Results Sheep venous ECs were transduced with a retroviral vector encoding human tissue plasminogen activator (TPA). The ECs were seeded onto 4-mm-ID synthetic (Dacron) grafts. Retention of the seeded ECs was measured 2 hours after placement of the seeded grafts both in vitro in a nonpulsatile flow system and in vivo (in sheep) as femoral and carotid interposition grafts. On exposure to flow in vitro, ECs transduced with TPA were retained at a significantly lower rate (median, 67%) than either untransduced ECs (81%) or ECs transduced with a control retroviral vector producing β-galactosidase (β-Gal) (80%) ( P &lt;.05 for TPA versus either control). On implantation in vivo, ECs transduced with TPA were retained at a very low rate (median, 0%), significantly less than the retention of ECs transduced with the β-Gal vector (32%; P &lt;.00001). Decreased in vivo retention of ECs transduced with TPA correlated modestly with increased in vitro cellular passage level ( r 2 =.48; P &lt;.0001) but not with in vivo blood flow rate ( P =.45). Addition of the protease inhibitor aprotinin to the cell culture and graft perfusion media resulted in a significant ( P &lt;.05) increase in in vitro retention of ECs transduced with TPA. Conclusions Increased TPA expression significantly decreases seeded EC adherence in vitro and in vivo. Gene therapy strategies for decreasing graft thrombosis may require expression of antithrombotic molecules that lack proteolytic activity.
Congenital Aortopulmonary Septal Defect
Authors: ANDREW G. MORROW, LAZAR J. GREENFIELD, EUGENE BRAUNWALD
Journal: Circulation (1962)

The clinical, hemodynamic, and angiographic findings in six patients with aortopulmonary septal defect are described. A basal systolic murmur was present in each of the patients and in none was a continuous murmur audible or recordable. Five of the patients had experienced diminished cardiac reserve and at right heart catheterization a large left-to-right shunt and severe pulmonary hypertension were found. In the sixth patient the predominant circulatory shunt was right-to-left. The diagnosis was established preoperatively in all patients with the aid of indicator-dilution curves, injections of Kr 85 and selective angiography. The defect was successfully divided and closed at open operation in the five patients with predominant left-to-right shunts. Two of them were operated upon with the aid of general hypothermia and three with cardiopulmonary bypass. Postoperatively all patients have been improved and the pulmonary artery pressure has fallen markedly. The clinical picture, hemodynamic findings, and surgical results in 65 previously reported patients are also summarized.
IL28 variation affects expression of interferon stimulated genes and peg-interferon and ribavirin therapy
Authors: Hiromi Abe, C. Nelson Hayes, Hidenori Ochi, Toshiro Maekawa, Masataka Tsuge, Daiki Miki, Fukiko Mitsui, Nobuhiko Hiraga, Michio Imamura, Shoichi Takahashi, Michiaki Kubo, Yusuke Nakamura, Kazuaki Chayama
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2010)
N-ACETYLCYSTEINE OR ASCORBIC ACID VERSUS PLACEBO TO PREVENT CONTRAST-INDUCED NEPHROPATHY IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL INSUFFICIENCY UNDERGOING ELECTIVE CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION: A SINGLE CENTER, PROSPECTIVE, DOUBLE-BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, RANDOMIZED TRIAL
Authors: Martin Brueck, Huelya Cengiz, Andreas Boening
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2011)
Acute community-acquired bacterial meningitis in adults admitted to the intensive care unit: clinical manifestations, management and prognostic factors
Authors: Juan M. Flores-Cordero, Rosario Amaya-Villar, Maria D. Rincón-Ferrari, Santiago R. Leal-Noval, José Garnacho-Montero, Ana C. Llanos-Rodríguez, Francisco Murillo-Cabezas
Journal: Intensive Care Medicine (2003)
SPONTANEOUS CORONARY ARTERY DISSECTION IN YOUNG WOMEN PRESENTING WITH ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME: ANGIOGRAPHIC FINDINGS FROM THE GENESIS PRAXY STUDY
Authors: Asim N. Cheema, Hatim Al Lawati, Akshay Bagai, Mark Eisenberg, Avi Shimony, Derek So, Igor Karp, Louise Pilote
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2014)