tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Desloratadine improves quality of life and symptom severity in patients with allergic rhinitis
Authors: A. Pradalier, C. Neukirch, I. Dreyfus, P. Devillier
Journal: Allergy (2007)

Background: Desloratadine is associated with decreased signs and symptoms and improved nasal airflow in multiple clinical trials in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR). The effect of desloratadine on quality of life (QOL) in AR has not been widely reported to date. We compared the effects of desloratadine and placebo on QOL in seasonal AR using validated, disease‐specific measures. Methods: This was a multicenter, double‐blind, randomized, parallel‐group study of desloratadine 5 mg or placebo daily for 2 weeks in patients with symptomatic seasonal AR. QOL was assessed at baseline and at day 14 using the Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ). AR signs/symptoms and the global response to therapy were measured at baseline and at day 14; signs/symptoms were also rated AM/PM in patient diaries. Adverse events (AE) were recorded. Results: Overall 234 patients received desloratadine and 249 received placebo. At day 14 desloratadine was associated with a significantly larger improvement from baseline in the mean total RQLQ score vs placebo ( P = 0.0003). Desloratadine also led to significant improvements from baseline in all RQLQ sub‐domains ( P ≤ 0.043). At day 14 significant decreases from baseline were noted in the desloratadine group for total nasal ( P = 0.0003), total non‐nasal ( P = 0.001) and total symptoms scores ( P = 0.0001). Morning AR symptoms were significantly decreased in the desloratadine group after 1 day of treatment. Desloratadine was well tolerated, with an AE rate similar to placebo. Conclusion: Significant reductions in signs and symptoms of AR with desloratadine treatment were accompanied by improved disease‐specific QOL measures.
Publishing research supported by the tobacco industry
Authors: J. Roberts, R. Smith
Journal: BMJ (1996)

The tobacco industry's behaviour is as noxious as its products. During the past year, tobacco executives have denied that nicotine is addictive, spent heavily to stop antismoking laws in the American Congress and states, prosecuted their own former executives who have tried to speak out, and even threatened the media's attempts at investigations.1 So it is not surprising that the American Thoracic Society, the scientific arm of the American Lung Association, decided last month that it would no longer accept any medical research that is funded by the tobacco industry in its two peer reviewed journals (6 January, p 11.)2 The decision was a step further in the medical society's laudable fight against tobacco, but it was a misguided one.

Tobacco accounts for a third of deaths in the developed world3 and about 10% of medical costs in the United States result directly from tobacco use. More perniciously tobacco advertising has been shown to be aimed successfully at young people.4 In Washington, the industry spends millions to maintain its own livelihood by being, according to one congressman, “the most pervasive lobbyist in politics today.”5 The tobacco industry also promotes itself through research grants. In 1994 in the United States it distributed $19.5 million for research, which resulted in 375 scientific papers. Nearly 1100 …
Tunisian endemic pemphigus foliaceus is associated with the HLA-DR3 gene: anti-desmoglein 1 antibody-positive healthy subjects bear protective alleles
Authors: O. Abida, M. Zitouni, M. Kallel-Sellami, N. Mahfoudh, A. Kammoun, M. Ben Ayed, A. Masmoudi, M. Mokni, B. Fezzaa, A. Ben Osman, M.R. Kammoun, H. Turki, H. Makni, D. Gilbert, P. Joly, F. Tron, S. Makni, H. Masmoudi
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2009)

Background Pemphigus foliaceus is an autoimmune blistering skin disease that partly results from genetic factors, especially human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class II genes. Objectives The aim of the study was to determine the HLA DR/DQ markers of susceptibility and protection in the Tunisian endemic form. Methods Genomic DNA from 90 patients with pemphigus foliaceus recruited from all parts of the country and matched by age, sex and geographical origin with 270 healthy individuals, was genotyped. Results Firstly, when the whole patient population was studied, DRB1*03, DQB1*0302 and DRB1*04 alleles were significantly associated with the disease while a significant decrease of, in particular, DRB1*11 and DQB1*0301 was observed in patients compared with controls. DRB1*0301 was the dominant allele in DR3-positive patients and controls, while DRB1*0402 was found in 42% of DR4-positive patients. Secondly, when the HLA DR/DQ allele distribution was studied after dividing patients according to their geographical origin, the southern group, which consisted exclusively of patients with the endemic form of the disease, showed the same associations as the whole pemphigus foliaceus population, particularly with DRB1*03. In the northern group, only the DRB1*04 and DQB1*0301 alleles were found to be associated. Interestingly, anti-desmoglein 1 antibody-positive healthy controls did not carry susceptibility alleles but, in contrast, most carried negatively associated alleles. Conclusions These observations indicate that a particular genetic background characterizes the Tunisian endemic form of pemphigus foliaceus and that HLA class II genes control the pathogenic properties of the autoimmune response rather than the initial breakage of B-cell tolerance.
Developing a Vasopressor Combination in a Pig Model of Adult Asphyxial Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Viktoria D. Mayr, Volker Wenzel, Wolfgang G. Voelckel, Anette C. Krismer, Tilko Mueller, Keith G. Lurie, Karl H. Lindner
Journal: Circulation (2001)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of vasopressin versus epinephrine, and both drugs combined, in a porcine model of simulated adult asphyxial cardiac arrest.At approximately 7 minutes after the endotracheal tube had been clamped, cardiac arrest was present in 24 pigs and remained untreated for another 8 minutes. After 4 minutes of basic life support cardiopulmonary resuscitation, pigs were randomly assigned to receive, every 5 minutes, either epinephrine (45, 200, or 200 microgram/kg; n=6); vasopressin (0.4, 0.8, or 0.8 U/kg; n=6); or epinephrine combined with vasopressin (high-dose epinephrine/vasopressin combination, microgram/kg and U/kg: 45/0.4, 200/0.8, or 200/0.8; n=6; optimal-dose epinephrine/vasopressin combination, 45/0.4, 45/0.8, or 45/0.8; n=6). Mean+/-SEM coronary perfusion pressure was significantly (P<0.05) higher 90 seconds after high- or optimal-dose epinephrine/vasopressin combinations versus vasopressin alone and versus epinephrine alone (37+/-10 versus 25+/-7 versus 19+/-8 versus 6+/-3 mm Hg; 42+/-6 versus 40+/-5 versus 21+/-5 versus 14+/-6 mm Hg; and 39+/-6 versus 37+/-4 versus 9+/-3 versus 12+/-4 mm Hg, respectively). Six of 6 high-dose, 6 of 6 optimal-dose vasopressin/epinephrine combination, 0 of 6 vasopressin, and 1 of 6 epinephrine pigs had return of spontaneous circulation (P<0.05).Epinephrine combined with vasopressin, but not epinephrine or vasopressin alone, maintained elevated coronary perfusion pressure during cardiopulmonary resuscitation and resulted in significantly higher survival rates in this adult porcine asphyxial model.
The mutation rates of di-, tri- and tetranucleotide repeats in Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: M. D. Schug, C. M. Hutter, K. A. Wetterstrand, M. S. Gaudette, T. F. Mackay, C. F. Aquadro
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (1998)

In a recent study, we reported that the combined average mutation rate of 10 di-, 6 tri-, and 8 tetranucleotide repeats in Drosophila melanogaster was 6.3 x 10(-6) mutations per locus per generation, a rate substantially below that of microsatellite repeat units in mammals studied to date (range = 10(-2)-10(-5) per locus per generation). To obtain a more precise estimate of mutation rate for dinucleotide repeat motifs alone, we assayed 39 new dinucleotide repeat microsatellite loci in the mutation accumulation lines from our earlier study. Our estimate of mutation rate for a total of 49 dinucleotide repeats is 9.3 x 10(-6) per locus per generation, only slightly higher than the estimate from our earlier study. We also estimated the relative difference in microsatellite mutation rate among di-, tri-, and tetranucleotide repeats in the genome of D. melanogaster using a method based on population variation, and we found that tri- and tetranucleotide repeats mutate at rates 6.4 and 8.4 times slower than that of dinucleotide repeats, respectively. The slower mutation rates of tri- and tetranucleotide repeats appear to be associated with a relatively short repeat unit length of these repeat motifs in the genome of D. melanogaster. A positive correlation between repeat unit length and allelic variation suggests that mutation rate increases as the repeat unit lengths of microsatellites increase.
The Editor, 'The British Journal of Dermatology'. Contracture in atavistic muscles.
Authors: G. H. Findlay
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1967)

Journal Article The Editor, ‘The British Journal of Dermatology’. Contracture in atavistic muscles. Get access G. H. Findlay G. H. Findlay Section of Dermatology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 79, Issue 12, 1 December 1967, Pages 724–726, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1967.tb11450.x Published: 01 December 1967
CYR61/CCN1 overexpression in the myeloma microenvironment is associated with superior survival and reduced bone disease
Authors: Sarah K. Johnson, James P. Stewart, Rakesh Bam, Pingping Qu, Bart Barlogie, Frits van Rhee, John D. Shaughnessy, Joshua Epstein, Shmuel Yaccoby
Journal: Blood (2014)
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria Cells in Patients with Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes
Authors: Daniel E. Dunn, Patcharin Tanawattanacharoen, Piernicola Boccuni, Shoichi Nagakura, Spencer W. Green, Martha R. Kirby, Mysore S. Anil Kumar, Stephen Rosenfeld, Neal S. Young
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1999)

Background: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is an acquired hematopoietic stem-cell disorder in which the affected cells are deficient in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria is frequently associated with aplastic anemia, although the basis of this relation is unknown. Objective: To assess the PNH status of patients with diverse marrow failure syndromes. Design: Correlation of cytofluorometric data with clinical features. Setting: Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. Patients: 115 patients with aplastic anemia, 39 patients with myelodysplasia, 28 patients who had recently undergone bone marrow transplantation, 18 patients with cancer that was treated with chemotherapy, 13 patients with large granular lymphocytosis, 20 controls who had received renal allografts, and 21 healthy participants. Intervention: Patients with aplastic anemia, myelodysplasia, or renal allografts received antithymocyte globulin. Measurements: Flow cytometry was used to assess expression of GPI-anchored proteins on granulocytes. Results: Evidence of PNH was found in 25 of 115 (22%) patients with aplastic anemia. No patient with normal GPI-anchored protein expression at presentation developed PNH after therapy (n = 16). Nine of 39 (23%) patients with myelodysplasia had GPI-anchored protein-deficient cells. Abnormal cells were not detected in patients with constitutional or other forms of bone marrow failure or in renal allograft recipients who had received antithymocyte globulin. Aplastic anemia is known to respond to immunosuppressive therapy; in myelodysplasia, the presence of a PNH population was strongly correlated with hematologic improvement after administration of antithymocyte globulin (P = 0.0015). Conclusions: Flow cytometric analysis is superior to the Ham test and permits concomitant diagnosis of PNH in about 20% of patients with myelodysplasia (a rate similar to that seen in patients with aplastic anemia). The presence of GPI-anchored protein-deficient cells in myelodysplasia predicts responsiveness to immunosuppressive therapy. Early emergence of GPI-anchored protein-deficient hematopoiesis in a patient with marrow failure may point to an underlying immune pathogenesis.
Haemoconcentration, renal function, and post‐discharge outcomes among patients hospitalized for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the EVEREST trial
Authors: Stephen J. Greene, Mihai Gheorghiade, Muthiah Vaduganathan, Andrew P. Ambrosy, Robert J. Mentz, Haris Subacius, Aldo P. Maggioni, Savina Nodari, Marvin A. Konstam, Javed Butler, Gerasimos Filippatos
Journal: European Journal of Heart Failure (2013)
Nonsurgical Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancy
Authors: Gary H. Lipscomb, Thomas G. Stovall, Frank W. Ling
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2000)

In the United States, the annual incidence of ectopic pregnancy increased from 0.37 percent of pregnancies in 1948 to 1.97 percent in 1992.1 Despite the continued increase in incidence, the rate of death from ectopic pregnancy declined almost 90 percent from 1979 to 1992.2 This decrease is primarily the result of earlier diagnosis, before tubal rupture. Earlier diagnosis is made possible by the availability of sensitive and specific radioimmunoassays for human chorionic gonadotropin, serum progesterone screening, high-resolution transvaginal ultrasonography, and laparoscopy. The earlier diagnosis of unruptured ectopic pregnancy also allows the use of more conservative treatment options that preserve the . . .
Glycoside conjugation in microsomes from hepatic and renal carcinoma of man
Authors: Heidrun Matern, Heinz-Herbert Fiebig, Siegfried Matern
Journal: Hepatology (1987)

Human hepatoma which had been xenografted into nude mice have been estimated for their ability to catalyze glucuronic acid and glucose conjugation of endogenous compounds and p -nitrophenol. The xenobiotic p -nitrophenol was glucuronidated with a comparable rate in microsomes from human hepatoma, human liver and host liver. With regard to glucuronic acid or glucose conjugation of the endogenous compounds of bile acids, bilirubin and steroid hormones, glucosidation of bile acids was the only conjugation mechanism that was not decreased or deficient in microsomes from hepatoma, but showed about a 2-fold increase in reaction rate compared to normal human liver. Human hepatoma and host liver were shown to respond to phenobarbital treatment which led to about a 2-fold increase in UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activity toward bilirubin in hepatoma and in host liver. Compared to normal tissues, alterations in the pattern of glycoside conjugating enzymes were not only observed in microsomes from human hepatoma, but also in microsomes from human adenocarcinoma of the kidney, exhibiting negligible UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities toward bile acids and steroid hormones. Bile acid glucoside formation was measurable in kidney adenocarcinoma with an activity which was similar to the activity observed in hepatoma. In comparison to normal renal tissue, glucose-conjugating activity toward bile acids decreased about 2-fold in kidney adenocarcinoma.
What is the standard error of the mean?
Authors: P. Sedgwick
Journal: BMJ (2013)

A cluster randomised double blind controlled trial investigated the effects of micronutrient supplements during pregnancy. A trial with three treatment arms was used. Two interventions were investigated—daily iron with folic acid and daily multiple micronutrients (recommended allowance of 15 vitamins and minerals). Control treatment was daily folic acid. The setting was 327 villages in two rural counties in northwest China. In total, 5828 pregnant women were recruited. Villages were randomised to treatment group, stratified by county, with a fixed ratio of treatments (1:1:1).1 Outcome measures included birth weight. Birth weight was available for analysis for 4421 live births. Mean birth weight was 3153.7 g (n=1545; 95% confidence interval 3131.5 to 3175.9, standard deviation 444.9, standard error 11.32) in the control group, 3173.9 g (n=1470; 3152.2 to 3195.6, 424.4, 11.07,) in the iron-folic acid group, and 3197.9 g (n=1406; 3175.0 to 3220.8, 438.0, 11.68) in the multiple micronutrients group. Average birth weight was significantly higher in the multiple micronutrients group than in the control (folic acid) group (difference 42.3 g; P=0.019). Although average birth weight was higher in the iron-folic acid group than in the control group, the difference was not significant (24.3 g; P=0.169). Which of the following statements, if any, are true?
Serving Two Masters: Medical Practice vs Administrative Ethics
Authors: Gregory Webster
Journal: JAMA (1999)

A PATIENT'S DIAGNOSIS falsely ina medical record to gain benefits for the patient?The small amount of empirical research available suggests that many physicians do indeed choose to deceive third-party payers.In a decade-old survey, 70% of a sample of clinicians stated that hypothetically, they would write "rule out cancer" to secure funding for screening mammography if the patient's insurance would not otherwise fund it. 1 Nearly half the physicians in a more recent survey admitted to exaggerating the severity of patients' conditions to get the care they felt the patient needed. 2 In another study, in 1998, 39% of the physician sample admitted to exaggerating the severity of patients' conditions, changing official billing diagnoses, and documenting nonexistent symptoms-all to gain additional benefits for patients. 3 Several approaches to such a dilemma have been articulated.One consider the ethics of lying.Sissela Bok champions the "principle of veracity," which emphasizes the intrinsic moral undesirability of a lie because no one likes to be deceived. 4 Others worry about the effect lying would have on trust on the patient-physician relationship. 5 Still others worry that exaggerated and inaccurate diagnoses may frighten patients and compromise their future clinical care. 6 Alternatively, the question may be interpreted as one of distributive justice.The reimbursement boundaries set by third-party payers are a de facto resource allocation mechanism.Much has been written about whether physicians should ever withhold available interventions because of a high cost-to-benefit ratio. 7,8 The same reasoning applies to the question of whether physicians should ever transgress reimbursement boundaries to secure benefits not covered by insurance plans.Entrants in the 1999 John Conley Ethics Essay Contest for Medical Students were asked: "Suppose a potentially useful procedure is available that is not covered by a patient's medical insurance.Under what circumstances, if any, would you consider it appropriate to miscode (and thereby make available) the needed procedure?"Peter Ubel, MD, frames the issue as a question of distributive justice.Then, from opposed perspectives, the winners of this year's contest argue that miscoding is unethical because of its effect on the "medical commons" (Dena Rifkin) and that miscoding is sometimes justifiable based on the role society accords physicians (Greg Webster).On reading these essays, we hope readers will be better equipped to answer this question for themselves.
THE TREATMENT OF PEPTIC ULCER WITHOUT ALKALIS
Authors: GEORGE F. DICK
Journal: JAMA (1942)

The use of alkaline substances in the management of peptic ulcer is almost universal, and such treatment is recommended in nearly all the current textbooks dealing with the subject.<sup>1</sup>It is commonly assumed that complete neutralization of gastric acidity represents the ideal condition for ulcer healing, although no proof of this assumption exists. Furthermore, it is not certain that the highly alkaline stomach content obtained periodically in the course of alkali therapy is conducive to healing. That the conventional methods of treatment are not entirely satisfactory is manifest by the fact that scarcely a year passes without one or more new "ulcer treatments" being advocated. At frequent intervals new kinds of neutralizing agents, supposedly with better virtues or fewer evils, are recommended. The disadvantages of alkali therapy, which have been commonly recognized during its wide use, are: Alkalis may produce secondary acid secretion. Crohn and Reiss<sup>2</sup>state
The treatment of intrabony defects with bone grafts
Authors: PAUL S. ROSEN, MARK A. REYNOLDS, GERALD M. BOWERS
Journal: Periodontology 2000 (2000)

There is substantial clinical and histological evidence that support the concept that extraoral and intraoral autogenous bone grafts and demineralized freeze-dried bone allografts are effective regenerative materials in the treatment of intrabony defects. Moreover, long-term evaluations currently available suggest that the regenerative gains achieved remain clinically stable. Synthetic grafts may result in improved probing depths and clinical attachment levels but have yet to demonstrate the ability to initiate or enhance the formation of a new attachment apparatus.
Stealth CD44-targeted hyaluronic acid supramolecular nanoassemblies for doxorubicin delivery: Probing the effect of uncovalent pegylation degree on cellular uptake and blood long circulation
Authors: Xiaopeng Han, Zhenbao Li, Jin Sun, Cong Luo, Lin Li, Yuhai Liu, Yuqian Du, Shuhong Qiu, Xiaoyu Ai, Chunnuan Wu, He Lian, Zhonggui He
Journal: Journal of Controlled Release (2014)
Geoffrey Cheadle Myddelton
Authors: A J Myddelton
Journal: BMJ (2002)

King's College Hospital 1949), died from prostate cancer on 9 March.To those of us who knew him since the early 1940s he was nicknamed "Jive" because of his addiction to the "big band" sound of the time.After posts in Manchester and at the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, he moved to Southampton, where he spent time at the Royal South Hants and Southampton General Hospitals.His last and most enjoyable appointment
Use of postmenopausal hormones and risk of myocardial infarction.
Authors: C Bain, W Willett, C H Hennekens, B Rosner, C Belanger, F E Speizer
Journal: Circulation (1981)

Information was collected by mail survey about myocardial infarction (MI), use of female hormones after menopause, and coronary risk factors 121,964 registered nurses ages 30-55 years. One hundred twenty-three women with a known type of prior menopause reported hospitalization for MI. Overall, use of female hormones by these women was very similar to that of control women matched for age and type of menopause. Compared with nonusers, the relative risk (RR) for women who had ever taken female hormones was 0.9 (95% confidence limits 0.6-1.2), and for current users the RR was 0.7 (0.5-1.1). For women with bilateral oophorectomy, the RR for current users was 0.4 (0.2-0.8). These data imply that, at present, a decision to prescribe postmenopausal hormones should be based primarily on weighing possible benefits from the relief of menopausal symptoms against unknown or suspected risks of other diseases, particularly uterine cancer in women with an intact uterus.