tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Retinal Arterial Tone Is Controlled by a Retinal-Derived Relaxing Factor
Authors: Christophe Delaey, Johan Van de Voorde
Journal: Circulation Research (1998)

Abstract —The present study provides evidence that retinal tissue may profoundly influence the retinal arterial smooth muscle cell tone by releasing an unknown retinal relaxing factor. Isolated bovine retinal arteries with and without adhering retinal tissue were mounted in a wire myograph for isometric tension recordings. The maximal contraction induced by prostaglandin F 2α was 0.95±0.7 mN (n=6) in the presence and 5.15±0.76 mN (n=6) in the absence of adhering retinal tissue. The contractions induced by U-46619, serotonin, and endothelin-1 were similarly blocked in the presence of retinal tissue. The K + 120 mmol/L-induced contraction was not significantly affected (2.8±0.7 mN, n=6, in the presence and 3.6±0.7 mN, n=6, in the absence of retinal tissue). Placing a piece of bovine retinal tissue in the proximity of a contracted (ie, with prostaglandin F 2α ) retinal artery induced a complete relaxation of the retinal vessel, suggesting the involvement of a diffusible chemical vasorelaxant. Also porcine, canine, and ovine retinal tissue completely relaxed the contracted (with prostaglandin F 2α ) bovine retinal artery. Other smooth muscle preparations, including rat mesenteric and renal arteries and rat main bronchi, also relaxed with the application of a piece of bovine retinal tissue. Incubation of bovine retinas in a Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution yielded a solution that relaxed isolated precontracted bovine retinal arteries, confirming the involvement of a diffusible chemical messenger. Hexane extraction, heating the solution to 70°C, or treatment with trypsin did not alter the relaxing properties of the incubation solution. The characteristics of the retinal relaxing factor do not correspond with those of nitric oxide, prostanoids, adenosine, acetylcholine, or any other of the known vasoactive neurotransmitters released from the retina. Our results suggest that retinal arterial tone is controlled by a diffusible, hydrophilic, and heat-stable relaxing factor that does not correspond with a known vasoactive molecule formed within the retina.
Decreased Selenium-Binding Protein 1 Enhances Glutathione Peroxidase 1 Activity and Downregulates HIF-1α to Promote Hepatocellular Carcinoma Invasiveness
Authors: Cheng Huang, Guangyu Ding, Chengyu Gu, Jian Zhou, Ming Kuang, Yuan Ji, Yifeng He, Tadashi Kondo, Jia Fan
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2012)

We aimed to characterize the role of selenium-binding protein 1 (SBP1) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) invasiveness and underlying clinical significance.SBP1 expression was measured in stepwise metastatic HCC cell lines by Western blotting. The role of SBP1 in HCC was investigated using siRNA. Immunofluorescence analyses were used to detect the interaction between SBP1 and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1). Nineteen fresh tumor tissues and 323 paraffin-embedded samples were used to validate in vitro findings and to detect the prognostic significance of SBP1, respectively.Inhibition of SBP1 effectively increased cell motility, promoted cell proliferation, and inhibited apoptosis only under oxidative stress; it also greatly enhanced GPX1 activity without altering GPX1 expression and downregulated hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression. SBP1 and GPX1 formed nuclear bodies and colocalized under oxidative stress. In freshly isolated clinical HCC tissues, decreased SBP1 was linked with increased GPX1 activity and correlated with vascular invasion. Tumor tissue microarrays indicated that SBP1 was an independent risk factor for overall survival and disease recurrence; patients with lower SBP1 expression experienced shorter overall survival periods and higher rates of disease recurrence (P < 0.001). Further analyses indicated that the predictive power of SBP1 was more significant for patients beyond the Milan criteria than patients within the Milan criteria.Decreased expression of SBP1 could promote tumor invasiveness by increasing GPX1 activity and diminishing HIF-1α expression in HCC; SBP1 could be a novel biomarker for predicting prognosis and guiding personalized therapeutic strategies, especially in patients with advanced HCC.
Cesarean Delivery and the Risk–Benefit Calculus
Authors: Jeffrey L. Ecker, Fredric D. Frigoletto
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2007)

Interview with Jeffrey Ecker on the contributors to the increase in cesarean deliveries. (07:20)Download In 1937, an article in the Journal describing 10 years of births at Boston City Hospital revealed an overall rate of cesarean delivery of about 3%.1 Recently released 2005 data on cesarean deliveries show that contemporary rates are 10 times as high, having climbed above 30% (see graph).2 Indeed, of the 20th century's many changes in obstetrical care — the wholesale move from home to hospital delivery, increasing use of anesthesia, the advent of in vitro fertilization — few have generated more attention and debate or had a greater effect on the process of delivery than this seemingly inexorable rise. . . .
Socioeconomic and psychosocial factors influence pain or physical function in Asian patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis
Authors: J Thumboo
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2002)

To determine factors influencing pain or physical function in Asian patients with osteoarthritis (OA).126 consecutive Chinese (110), Malays (two), Indians (10), or other races (four) with knee or hip OA and a median age of 60.5 years were seen at a tertiary referral centre; 103 were women. Subjects underwent a structured assessment including the Short Form-36 (SF-36) bodily pain (BP) and physical functioning (PF) scales and assessing demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and other characteristics. Factors influencing BP or PF were identified using separate multiple linear regression models.The index joint (that is, the most symptomatic joint) was the knee in 118 (94%) and the hip in eight (6%) patients. The median duration of pain and limitation of normal activities were three years and one year, respectively. The mean BP and PF scores of 57.7 and 56.2 points for the patients were substantially lower than the expected scores of 79.3 and 80.8 points for the general Singapore population. Multiple regression analysis showed that less pain was associated with a younger age, shorter duration of symptoms, more years of education, working, and Chinese ethnicity. Better physical function was associated with more years of education, less learned helplessness, less bodily pain, and less severe OA.Socioeconomic status and psychosocial factors, some of which are potentially modifiable, influence pain or physical function in Asian patients with OA in Singapore.
Airborne acidity: estimates of exposure and human health effects.
Authors: M Lippmann
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1985)

Human health effects have resulted from the inhalation of ambient acidic aerosols, and there is suggestive evidence that current North American levels of exposure are producing excesses in respiratory morbidity. Annual mean mortality rates have been correlated with ambient aerosol concentration indices, with SO4(2-), FP, IP, and TSP having a descending order as predictive coefficients. These pollutant indices also contain H+ in descending mass ratios, and may all be surrogates for H+ as an active agent. Controlled exposure studies in humans and animals provide evidence that acidic aerosols produce greater changes in respiratory mechanical function and rates of particle clearance than other constituents of ambient particulate matter. The strong acid content of the ambient aerosol has not been measured in any of the population based pollutant effects studies in which it is a likely causal factor. The absence of direct measurement data on acidic aerosol in these studies, and their reliance on surrogate indices such as SO2 and SO4(2-), precludes firm conclusions about exposure-response relationships. High priority areas for further investigation include systematic investigation of the spatial and temporal distribution of population exposures; extension and refinement of population response studies in relation to acid aerosol exposures; responses of normal healthy and asthmatic human volunteers to mixtures of acidic aerosols and oxidant vapors under controlled conditions of exposure and exercise intensity; and progression of changes in lung epithelia during repetitive daily exposures of experimental animals to acidic aerosols, oxidants, and their mixtures, with concurrent measurements of particle clearance and respiratory function.
Clinical outcomes of rectal neuroendocrine tumors ≤ 10 mm following endoscopic resection
Authors: Gwang-Un Kim, Kyung-Jo Kim, Seung-Mo Hong, Eun-Sil Yu, Dong-Hoon Yang, Kee Jung, Byong Ye, Jeong-Sik Byeon, Seung-Jae Myung, Suk-Kyun Yang, Jin-Ho Kim
Journal: Endoscopy (2013)

This study was conducted to determine the clinical outcome of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs)≤ 10 mm following conventional endoscopic resection.A total of 107 patients who underwent conventional endoscopic treatment for rectal NETs (median size 5.0 mm [range 1.0-10.0]) were followed up for a median of 31 months (range 13-121). The following data were analyzed: lesion characteristics, clinical outcomes, and histological features determined using tissue microarray analysis (TMA), including the mitotic count and the Ki-67 index.En bloc removal was achieved for all tumors, and the complete resection rate was 49.5% (53/107). Resection margin status was indeterminate in 37 patients (34.6%) and positive in 17 (15.9%). Rectal NETs in 71 patients demonstrated a score of ≤2 % on the Ki-67 index and<2 for mitotic count on TMA. In another 28 tumors that did not undergo TMA, the mitotic count was 0-1 per 10 high-power fields. Neither recurrence nor metastasis was noted during the follow-up period following resection.Rectal NETs (≤10 mm in size) appear to demonstrate benign behavior based on the mitotic count and the Ki-67 index. These results suggest that the outcome of rectal NETs (≤10 mm in size) following conventional endoscopic resection might be comparatively excellent, regardless of the resection margin status. However, long term follow-up data are required to confirm this.
Stimulation of Prostaglandin Synthesis in Cultured Liver Cells by Ccl4
Authors: D E Johnston, C Kroening
Journal: Hepatology (1996)

The contribution of hepatocytes to liver prostaglandin synthesis is controversial, partly because hepatocytes of varying purity have been studied. In this study, prostaglandin synthesis was examined in conventional and ricin–purified rat hepatocytes that were incubated with gaseous carbon tetrachloride as a model stimulus for lipid peroxidation and prostaglandin synthesis. Hepatocytes that were incubated for 2 hours with 1 ml, of liquid CCl4/5 L gas volume showed no evidence of cell death or injury. However, twice this volume of CCl4 caused total cell death. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) failed to detect prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis in hepatocyte cultures after the first day in culture, under a variety of cell culture conditions. Conventional hepatocyte cultures, but not ricin–purified hepatocytes, synthesized thromboxane B2 (approximately 300 pg/mg protein) and prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) (range, 1,000–6,000 pg/mg protein). Conventional hepatocyte cultures released prostaglandin F2α; (PGF2α) immunoreactivity (ranging from approximately 900 to 1,800 pg/mg protein). Ricin–purified hepatocyte cultures made at least half as much PGF2α immunoreactivity as did corresponding conventional hepatocytes. However, cyclooxygenase inhibitors did not inhibit the portion of PGF2α immunoreactivity made by ricin–purified hepatocytes. PGF2α immunoreactivity released by ricin–purified hepatocytes cochromatographed with PGF2 α, and probably represents F2–isoprostanes resulting from lipid peroxidation in hepatocytes. F2– isoprostane release was detected by immunoassay. Conventional cultures of rat hepatocytes contain Kupffer and endothelial cells, which can synthesize significant amounts of cyclooxygenase products. Highly purified hepatocytes do not produce cyclooxygenase products, even with a maximal stimulus to lipid peroxidation. CCl4 causes the release of F2–isoprostanes from hepatocytes with or without observable cell injury, as detected by Trypan blue exclusion or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release.
Multimodal imaging of sustained drug release from 3-D poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) scaffolds
Authors: Jonghoon Choi, Kyobum Kim, Taeho Kim, Guanshu Liu, Amnon Bar-Shir, Taeghwan Hyeon, Michael T. McMahon, Jeff W.M. Bulte, John P. Fisher, Assaf A. Gilad
Journal: Journal of Controlled Release (2011)
Extent of Clinical Improvement After Surgical Treatment of Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Robert B. McCully, Rick A. Nishimura, A. Jamil Tajik, Hartzell V. Schaff, Gordon K. Danielson
Journal: Circulation (1996)

A subgroup of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy remain severely symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy. Septal myectomy reduces or eliminates left ventricular outflow obstruction and produces marked symptomatic improvement. With the recent advent of alternative methods for treatment of this disorder, such as dual-chamber pacing, it is necessary to establish the risks and benefits of septal myectomy in the modern surgical era.The clinical, ECG, echocardiographic, cardiac catheterization, and surgical data were analyzed for 65 patients 20 to 70 years old with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy who had surgical treatment between 1986 and 1992. Specific symptoms and overall functional status were evaluated before surgery and at the end of the first postoperative year. Subsequent long-term clinical postoperative follow-up was also obtained. The extent of postoperative improvement was measured by the presence and severity of persistent symptoms, overall New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, and patients' self-perceptions of overall improvement. Of the patients, 95% were in NYHA functional class III or IV before surgery: 95% had dyspnea, 62% had angina, 63% had near-syncope, and 23% had syncope. The overall early mortality rate was 4.6%; there was no mortality among the 45 patients who underwent isolated septal myectomy. At the 1-year postoperative evaluation, 89% of survivors were in NYHA functional class I or II, and 47% believed that they had 100% improvement. Significant improvement (as defined) was seen in 67% of patients with dyspnea, 90% with angina, 86% with near-syncope, and 100% with syncope. The 5-year survival rate was 92%.The results of the present study reaffirm the efficacy of surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy in patients who are severely symptomatic despite optimal medical therapy and serve as a useful reference by which the surgical approach can be compared with new and potentially promising treatment alternatives.
Impaired acetaldehyde metabolism in patients with non-alcoholic liver disorders.
Authors: K Matthewson, H Al Mardini, K Bartlett, C O Record
Journal: Gut (1986)

In order to determine the specificity of abnormalities of alcohol metabolism in patients with alcoholic liver disease, blood acetaldehyde concentrations after oral ethanol challenge and the activities of alcohol metabolising enzymes in liver biopsy samples have been determined in patients with alcoholic liver disease and a wide variety of non-alcoholic liver disorders. Significant decreases in hepatic cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase activity were associated with significant increases in acetaldehyde concentrations after ethanol in both patient groups compared with control subjects. There was a significant correlation between hepatic cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase and mean blood acetaldehyde concentration 30-180 min after ethanol ingestion (y = 17.4-0.45x; r = -0.56; p less than 0.01) confirming the importance of this enzyme in controlling blood acetaldehyde concentrations. These findings suggest that disturbances in alcohol metabolism in patients with alcoholic liver disease are the consequence of liver damage rather than a specific abnormality predisposing to alcohol induced liver injury.
Type of wine and risk of lung cancer: a case-control study in Spain
Authors: A Ruano-Ravina
Journal: Thorax (2004)

<b>Background:</b> Few epidemiological studies have examined the effect of wine on the risk of lung cancer. A study was therefore undertaken to estimate the effect of wine consumption, both overall and by type of wine, on the risk of developing lung cancer. <b>Methods:</b> A hospital based case-control study was conducted on 319 subjects (132 cases, 187 controls) in 1999–2000. All subjects were interviewed about their lifestyles with particular reference to alcohol consumption and tobacco use. The results were analysed using non-parametric logistic regression. The main outcome measure was the risk of lung cancer associated with consumption of wine and its individual types. <b>Results:</b> A very slight but significant association was observed between the risk of lung cancer and white wine consumption (odds ratio (OR) 1.20 for each daily glass). Red wine consumption, on the other hand, had an OR of 0.43 (95% CI 0.19 to 0.96), with each daily glass of red wine having an inverse association with the development of lung cancer (OR 0.87 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.99)). There was no apparent association between lung cancer and consumption of beer or spirits. <b>Conclusions:</b> These results suggest that the consumption of red wine is negatively associated with the development of lung cancer. Further studies are needed to test this finding in cancer induced laboratory animals.
There is now a place to grieve
Authors: H. Armstrong
Journal: BMJ (1995)

One October many years ago I gave birth to a stillborn baby boy. It was a profound, wild grief which too quickly had to be restrained, contained, eventually smothered. I had left the hospital emptyhanded, in a daze, and simply gone back to my empty flat.

Although I was single and my relationship with the father was bad, there were promises of another baby. Being the only one to cry, I could allow myself only as much mourning as I could bear. I had to be positive. Indeed, I quickly had a second child, a girl. But despite my delight I was not well. Stomach cramps and pains often incapacitated me, but laparoscopic and ultrasound examinations showed nothing abnormal.

I went to see a therapist who encouraged me to describe and visualise my pains. They felt like contractions and working on that theme I finally screamed out, “A baby. It's a baby crying, he is in pain because he can't breathe.” When I finally calmed down I could say for the first time, “and his name is Thomas.”

From then on it all went very quickly. I rang the hospital where he was born, wanting to …
Doctors criticise proposal for community practitioners in rural India
Authors: Ganapati Mudur
Journal: BMJ (2007)

The proposal of an Indian health ministry panel to create a parallel stream of medical practitioners to improve the delivery of health care in rural areas has triggered a debate across the nation's medical community. 

The panel, which includes senior doctors and health administrators, has proposed a three year training course to produce community health practitioners who would be deployed in rural areas that have an acute shortage of graduate doctors. 

However, officials of the Indian Medical Association said that any such move would be “dangerous” and urged the government to develop alternative solutions to address the shortage of rural doctors. 

The …
An Unusual Acquired Coagulation Defect
Authors: Mustafa Karaca
Journal: JAMA (1962)

COMBINED deficiencies of prothrombin, plasma thromboplastin component (PTC), Stuart factor (10), and stable factor (7) are found in a number of acquired defects of the clotting mechanism. Parenchymal liver disease, malabsorption syndromes, and hemorrhagic disease of the newborn are typical examples. A similar deficiency is also found during treatment with the coumarins. In this instance, however, the fall in activity of the 4 factors is not simultaneous. Stable factor and Stuart factor are affected first, followed quickly by prothrombin, and somewhat later by PTC.  Thus, for example, in the course of treatment with bishydroxycoumarin (Dicumarol), variable laboratory findings are observed because of varying degrees of depression of the coagulation factors involved. During the stage of recovery from bishydroxycoumarin administration under the influence of the administration of vitamin K1; further dissociation may be observed in the behavior of the clotting agents affected by the anticoagulant. Johnson et al. have shown that
Absorption of hydrocortisone from the skin reservoir in atopic dermatitis
Authors: M. TURPEINEN
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1991)

Percutaneous absorption of hydrocortisone was measured in four children and three adults with atopic dermatitis after the application of 1% hydrocortisone cream and again 12 h alter the application of a moisturizer containing 80% water and 5% propylene glycol to the same areas. A significant increase in the level of the plasma cortisol was observed after both applications and these levels were still elevated at 24 h. Topically applied hydrocortisone. Stored in eczematous skin, could be released from this reservoir by a moisturizer containing propylene glycol.
The cellular immune system in myelomagenesis: NK cells and T cells in the development of MM and their uses in immunotherapies
Authors: T Dosani, M Carlsten, I Maric, O Landgren
Journal: Blood Cancer Journal (2015)

As vast strides are being made in the management and treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), recent interests are increasingly focusing on understanding the development of the disease. The knowledge that MM develops exclusively from a protracted phase of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance provides an opportunity to study tumor evolution in this process. Although the immune system has been implicated in the development of MM, the scientific literature on the role and status of various immune components in this process is broad and sometimes contradictory. Accordingly, we present a review of cellular immune subsets in myelomagenesis. We summarize the current literature on the quantitative and functional profiles of natural killer cells and T-cells, including conventional T-cells, natural killer T-cells, γδ T-cells and regulatory T-cells, in myelomagenesis. Our goal is to provide an overview of the status and function of these immune cells in both the peripheral blood and the bone marrow during myelomagenesis. This provides a better understanding of the nature of the immune system in tumor evolution, the knowledge of which is especially significant considering that immunotherapies are increasingly being explored in the treatment of both MM and its precursor conditions.