tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Human CD8 + T Cell Responses to EBV EBNA1: HLA Class I Presentation of the (Gly-Ala)–Containing Protein Requires Exogenous Processing
Authors: Neil Blake, Steven Lee, Irina Redchenko, Wendy Thomas, Neil Steven, Alison Leese, Patty Steigerwald-Mullen, Michael G Kurilla, Lori Frappier, Alan Rickinson
Journal: Immunity (1997)
Does Cardiopulmonary Bypass Alone Elicit Myoprotective Preconditioning?
Authors: Paul G. Burns, Irvin B. Krukenkamp, Christopher A. Caldarone, Glenn R. Gaudette, Emad A. Bukhari, Sidney Levitsky
Journal: Circulation (1995)

Brief episodes of ischemia can precondition myocardium. Ischemic preconditioning (PC) has been proposed as an adjuvant method of improving myocardial protection during cardiac surgery. It is unknown whether CPB without an episode of ischemia generates the PC response.To prove that PC occurs in sheep, groups 1 (non-CPB control) and 2 (non-CPB ischemic PC, three 5-minute episodes of normothermic regional ischemia) were studied. Groups 3 (CPB alone), 4 (CPB-alpha receptor blockade, phentolamine 5 mg/kg), and 5 (CPB-adenosine receptor blockade, 8-sulfophenyltheophylline 5 mg/kg) were placed on CPB for 30 minutes and subsequently weaned. All groups underwent 60 minutes of normothermic regional ischemia and 150 minutes of reperfusion. The area at risk (AR) was delineated by Monastryl blue pigment, whereas the infarct size (IS) was determine by tetrazolium staining. Body mass, left ventricular mass, and AR were not different between groups. Ischemic PC was demonstrated in this ovine model by a 54% reduction of IS relative to AR (group 1 versus group 2, P < .01). CPB alone produced a similar percentage IS reduction without ischemia (group 3 versus group 1, P < .01) that was prevented by either alpha-adrenergic receptor (group 4 versus group 3, P < .01) or adenosine receptor (group 5 versus group 3, P < .01) blockade.CPB alone appears sufficient to elicit the PC response important for myocardial protection during cardiac surgery. These data suggest that myocardial alpha-adrenergic receptor and adenosine receptor stimulation are involve in initiating CPB-induced PC.
Former head of legal services at Mid Staffordshire wins 103 000 award from trust
Authors: C. Dyer
Journal: BMJ (2012)

Kate Levy, the former board secretary and head of legal services at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, has won £103 000 (€124 000; $163 000) in a settlement with the trust, which acknowledged this week that she was unfairly dismissed.

The trust agreed the settlement, the maximum the tribunal could have awarded to Ms Levy, on Monday as an employment tribunal in Birmingham was about to start a four day hearing into her case.

She was sacked for failing to disclose to the local coroner a report into the death of 20 year old John Moore-Robinson, who died from a ruptured spleen a day after he visited the accident and emergency department at Stafford Hospital as a …
Hydatid Complement-fixation Test: Influence of Intermediate Host Protein on Specificity of Sheep Hydatid Fluid Antigen
Authors: H. J. Bensted, J. D. Atkinson
Journal: BMJ (1958)

CONGENITAL DEAF-MUTISM Jo_ 203 the result of congenital maldevelopment of the middle ear and not of the inner ear, as is generally supposed.In order to stimulate and improve the residual hearing in these children treatment should therefore begin at the earliest possible age with the use of a bone-conducting hearing-aid.I am greatly indebted to Professor R. D. Lockhart for his encouragement and advice during this investigation, to Mr. I.
The Quality of Care and the Quality of Measuring It
Authors: Jerome P. Kassirer
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1993)

Underlying the expectation that physicians, health plans, and other organizations will soon be competing on the basis of the quality as well as the cost of medical care1 is the fundamental assumption that we know what quality is and how to measure it, monitor it, and ensure it. This is a proposition devoutly to be wished, and one to which millions of dollars will be devoted. But how accurate is it?A large industry is developing standards of quality against which physicians and health care organizations will be judged. These standards, or practice guidelines, are based on existing controlled clinical . . .
The Neuromedin U-Growth Hormone Secretagogue Receptor 1b/Neurotensin Receptor 1 Oncogenic Signaling Pathway as a Therapeutic Target for Lung Cancer
Authors: Koji Takahashi, Chiyuki Furukawa, Atsushi Takano, Nobuhisa Ishikawa, Tatsuya Kato, Satoshi Hayama, Chie Suzuki, Wataru Yasui, Kouki Inai, Saburo Sone, Tomoo Ito, Hitoshi Nishimura, Eiju Tsuchiya, Yusuke Nakamura, Yataro Daigo
Journal: Cancer Research (2006)

Abstract Using a genome-wide cDNA microarray to search for genes that were specifically up-regulated in non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), we identified an abundant expression of neuromedin U (NMU) in the great majority of lung cancers. Immunohistochemical analysis showed a significant association of NMU expression with poorer prognosis of patients with NSCLC. Treatment of NSCLC cells with short interfering RNA against NMU suppressed its expression and inhibited the growth of the cells; on the other hand, the induction of exogenous expression of NMU conferred growth-promoting activity and enhanced cell mobility in vitro. We found that two G protein–coupled receptors, growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1b and neurotensin receptor 1, were also overexpressed in NSCLC cells, and that a heterodimer complex of these receptors functioned as an NMU receptor. The NMU-receptor interaction subsequently induced the generation of a second messenger, cyclic AMP, to activate its downstream genes including transcription factors and cell cycle regulators. Treatment of NSCLC cells with short interfering RNAs for growth hormone secretagogue receptor or neurotensin receptor 1 suppressed the expression of those genes and the growth of NSCLC cells. These data strongly implied that targeting the NMU signaling pathway would be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of lung cancers. (Cancer Res 2006; 66(19): 9408-19)
Tretinoin for Photoaging Skin: North Carolina vs New York
Authors: Gloria F. Graham
Journal: JAMA (1988)

<h3>To the Editor. —</h3> In a double-blind, vehicle-controlled study of the use of topical tretinoin in the treatment of photoaging, Weiss et al<sup>1</sup>showed that the application of 0.1% tretinoin cream once a day for 16 weeks was effective in repairing ultraviolet-induced damage to the skin. After having observed treatment with topical tretinoin for photoaging for more than ten years in North Carolina and five years in New York, we wish to make the point that the indications and routines for treatment are variable. The patients in North Carolina are fishermen and farmers who have severely sun-damaged skin caused by occupational exposure, while the patients in New York have milder photoaging caused by winter and summer recreation. The former patients require treatment for their clinical and subclinical actinic keratoses. We recommend a dose of 0.05% tretinoin cream twice a day. We explain to the patients that they must tolerate
Lichen planus and the liver
Authors: Jorge J. Gumucio, Frank C. Powell, Roy S. Rogers, Rolland E. Dickson
Journal: Hepatology (1991)

Objective- To assess the association of lichen planus with liver complaints and with known etiological factors of liver diseases. Design- A multicentre case-control study. Interviews were conducted by trained medical investigators on the basis of a structured questionnaire. At the interview patients and controls were asked for consent to blood samples being taken to determine transaminase activities and the presence of hepatitis B virus surface antigen. Setting- Outpatient departments of 27 Italian general and teaching hospitals that were collaborating in the Gruppo Italiano Studi Epidemiologici in Dermatologia (GISED). Subjects- Incident cases and controls were eligible. A total of 577 patients with lichen planus and 1031 controls with dermatological diseases other than lichen planus were interviewed. Less than 1% of the people contacted refused to participate. Patients and controls were matched for sex and age in 5 year intervals. Results- The risk of lichen planus was higher in patients with a history of liver diseases requiring hospital admission or specialist consultation (relative risk = 1.6; 95% confidence interval = 1.2 to 2.2), those who had had liver biopsy (5.5; 1.9 to 15.6) and those with a history of viral hepatitis (1.9; 1.1 to 3.1). High activities of liver enzymes and positive results of tests for hepatitis B virus surface antigen were also associated with lichen planus. The association with alcohol consumption was not clearly confirmed by a dose-risk relationship. Conclusion- This study adds quantitative epidemiological evidence to the clinical observation that liver disease is a risk factor for lichen planus although not a specific marker of it.
Defective in vivo expression and apparently normal in vitro expression of a newly identified 105-kDa lower lamina lucida protein in dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa
Authors: L. S. CHAN, J.-D. FINE, C. HAMMERBERG, E. A. BAUER, K. D. COOPER
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2006)

We have previously identified a novel 105-kDa lower lamina lucida protein detected by the autoantibodies from a group of patients who developed a unique immune-mediated subepidermal bullous dermatosis. We sought to determine if this novel basement membrane zone (BMZ) protein is normally expressed in the skin of patients with various subsets of epidermolysis bullosa (EB). Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy performed on non-lesional skin sections from patients with three major EB subsets revealed absence or significantly reduced expression of this novel BMZ protein in 20 out of 23 skin sections from patients with generalized dominant and recessive dystrophic EB. However, immunoblot analyses with the autoantibodies on Western-blotted proteins revealed that a comigrating 105-kDa protein is present in both cytosol extracts (n=6) and conditioned media (n=3) of cultured dermal fibroblasts derived from patients with dystrophic EB, as well as those cultured from two healthy individuals. Although the reason for such disparate findings is not known, the defective in vivo expression of this novel 105-kDa protein in dystrophic EB is presumably not due to a failure of fibroblasts to synthesize or secrete the protein. It is possible, however, that the 105-kDa protein may be unable to incorporate into the BMZ because it is produced in a dysfunctional form, or its BMZ binding site is missing. It is also possible that other structural alterations in skin BMZ, which occur in dystrophic EB, result in masking of the antigenic binding by the autoantibody when intact BMZ is probed. In any case, the reduced in vivo expression of the 105-kDa protein represents additional evidence for a defect in BMZ composition in dystrophic EB which extends to a number of molecular components.
Concordance of phenprocoumon dosage in married couples
Authors: T. W van Haeften, J. de Vries, J. J Sixma
Journal: BMJ (1997)

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an antismoking campaign conducted by the Health Education Board for Scotland.Design: Descriptive survey of adult callers to a telephone helpline (Smokeline) for stopping smoking; panel study of a random sample of adult callers; assessment of changes in prevalence of smoking in Scotland before and after introduction of the helpline Setting: Telephone helpline.Subjects: Callers to Smokeline over the initial one year period.Detailed information was collected on a 10% sample (n = 8547).A cohort of adult smokers who called Smokeline (total n = 848) was followed up by telephone interview three weeks, six months, and one year after the initial call.Main outcome measures: Numbers of adult smokers calling helpline; changes in smoking behaviour, especially stopping smoking among cohort members; and changes in prevalence of smoking in the general population.Results: An estimated 82 782 regular adult smokers made genuine contact with Smokeline over the year, representing about 5.9% of all adult smokers in Scotland.At one year 143 of the cohort of 848 callers (23.6%; 95% confidence interval 20.2% to 27.0%) reported that they had stopped smoking, and 534 (88.0%; 85.4% to 90.6%) reported having made some change.About 19 500 (16 700 to 22 350) adult smokers, equivalent to 1.4% (1.2% to 1.6%) of the mean adult smoking population, stopped smoking with direct help from Smokeline.During the second year of the campaign (1994) smoking prevalence among 25-65 year olds in Scotland was 6% (2.0% to 10.0%) lower than it had been before the start of the campaign. Conclusion:The Health Education Board for Scotland's antismoking campaign reached a high number of adult smokers, was associated with a highly acceptable quit rate among adults given direct help through Smokeline, and contributed considerably to an accelerated decline in smoking prevalence in Scotland.
NF-κB–inducing kinase controls lymphocyte and osteoclast activities in inflammatory arthritis
Authors: Kunihiko Aya, Muhammad Alhawagri, Amanda Hagen-Stapleton, Hideki Kitaura, Osami Kanagawa, Deborah Veis Novack
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2005)

NF-(kappa)B is an important component of both autoimmunity and bone destruction in RA. NF-(kappa)B-inducing kinase (NIK) is a key mediator of the alternative arm of the NF-(kappa)B pathway, which is characterized by the nuclear translocation of RelB/p52 complexes. Mice lacking functional NIK have no peripheral lymph nodes, defective B and T cells, and impaired receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand-stimulated osteoclastogenesis. We investigated the role of NIK in murine models of inflammatory arthritis using Nik-/- mice. The serum transfer arthritis model is initiated by preformed antibodies and required only intact neutrophil and complement systems in recipients. While Nik-/- mice had inflammation equivalent to that of Nik+/+ controls, they showed significantly less periarticular osteoclastogenesis and less bone erosion. In contrast, Nik-/- mice were completely resistant to antigen-induced arthritis (AIA), which requires intact antigen presentation and lymphocyte function but not lymph nodes. Additionally, transfer of Nik+/+ splenocytes or T cells to Rag2-/- mice conferred susceptibility to AIA, while transfer of Nik-/- cells did not. Nik-/- mice were also resistant to a genetic, spontaneous form of arthritis, generated in mice expressing both the KRN T cell receptor and H-2. Thus, NIK is important in the immune and bone-destructive components of inflammatory arthritis and represents a possible therapeutic target for these diseases.
l-Carnitine is an osmotic agent suitable for peritoneal dialysis
Authors: Mario Bonomini, Assunta Pandolfi, Lorenzo Di Liberato, Sara Di Silvestre, Yvette Cnops, Pamela Di Tomo, Mario D'Arezzo, Maria P. Monaco, Annalisa Giardinelli, Natalia Di Pietro, Olivier Devuyst, Arduino Arduini
Journal: Kidney International (2011)
Interferon Alfa-2a Combined With Phototherapy in the Treatment of Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
Authors: T. M. Kuzel, K. Gilyon, E. Springer, D. Variakojis, K. Kaul, P. A. Bunn, L. Evans, H. H. Roenigk, S. T. Rosen
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1990)

Escalating doses of recombinant interferon alfa-2a (Roferon-A), administered intramuscularly three times weekly, combined with psoralen plus ultraviolet light irradiation (PUVA), were tested in a phase I trial for the therapy of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). Interferon doses were escalated in groups of three patients from 6 million to 30 million IUs three times weekly. Disease stages ranged from IB to IVB. Eighty percnt of the patients entered in this trial had failed at least one prior therapy. Complete remissions were obtained in 12 of 15 patients, and partial responses were seen in two of 15 patients, for an overall response rate of 93%. The median duration of response exceeded 13 months (range, 3−15+). All patients who responded have been maintained on therapy. The dose-limiting toxic effects were constitutional symptoms such as fevers and malaise (93.3%), leukopenias (40.0%), mental status changes consisting of depression and confusion (33.3%), and photosensitivity (26.6%). These side effects were reversible with a decrement in dose or discontinuation of the interferon. No patient tolerated 30 million IU of the interferon for extended periods; the maximally tolerated dose was 18 million IU. Interferon plus PUVA appears to be a highly effective regimen for the treatment of patients with CTCL. Phase II studies investigating this combination, using 18 million IU of interferon alfa-2a three times weekly, should be undertaken to expand these findings, and to attempt to reduce the toxic effects associated with this therapy. [J Natl Cancer Inst 82: 203–207, 1990]
A Lament for Invalids
Authors: Clifton K. Meador
Journal: JAMA (1991)

The invalids have disappeared. And most of us didn't even notice. As best I can determine, I'm the only person who noticed the passing. A sociological event of that magnitude deserves at least some comment. My Great Aunt Sis was an invalid. She lived with her widowed niece and her bachelor nephew. Aunt Sis was a spinster, a common but by no means necessary condition to be an invalid. She lived until she was 89 years old, then died quietly in her sleep at home. When I was in medical school in the early 1950s, in the middle of the pathology course, I began to wonder what specific disease had killed each family member. Aunt Sis came to mind. What dreadful disease could keep a woman in bed for 20 years, yet could remit, even vanish for periods? On most of our visits Aunt Sis would sit in her room
Microbiology of Deep Tissue in Diabetic Gangrene
Authors: Charles S Sharp, Alice N Bessman, F William Wagner, Douglas Garland
Journal: Diabetes Care (1978)

Information on the incidence and nature of the causative organisms in the infected tissues of patients with diabetic gangrene is scanty. Studies in which material for culture was obtained from the presenting lesion reveal multiple organisms in host isolates. No data are available regarding the bacterial flora of the deep infected tissue itself, uncontaminated by surface organisms. In this investigation 58 specimens from 52 patients were obtained utilizing aerobic and anaerobic culture techniques. In the surgical theater, material was obtained from the infected deep tissues using careful aseptic dissection techniques. All patients had been on antibiotic therapy from 2 to 10 days before the study. An average of 2.3 organisms per specimen was found. The predominant organisms were Proteus sp. Enterococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, and other enterobacteriacae in that order. Anaerobes were isolated in 27 per cent of cases, but never as the only organism. Prior antibiotic therapy did not eradicate infection in infected diabetic gangrene.
Histologic, Immunohistochemical, and Ultrastructural Findings in Human Blast Lung Injury
Authors: Michael Tsokos, Friedrich Paulsen, Susan Petri, Burkhard Madea, Klaus Püschel, Elisabeth E. Türk
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2003)

The objective of this autopsy-based study was to investigate the pathology of human blast lung injury using histology, Fat Red 7B staining, immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopy on lung specimens from eight medicolegal autopsy cases of fatal close-range detonations of chemical explosives. The micromorphologic equivalents of human blast lung injury can be summarized as follows: diffuse alveolar overdistension, circumscribed interstitial hemorrhages showing a cufflike pattern around pulmonary vessels, venous air embolism, bone marrow embolism, and pulmonary fat embolism. Hemorrhages within the lung parenchyma that were present in this study in blast victims without coexisting blunt or penetrating chest trauma must be regarded as potentially life-threatening intrapulmonary bleeding sites in survivors. In addition, the potential clinical importance of the presence of massive pulmonary fat embolism, which has, to the best of our knowledge, not been described previously in human blast lung injury, must be emphasized because pulmonary fat embolism may be a leading cause of the rapid respiratory deterioration with progressive hypoxia and development of acute respiratory distress syndrome in blast victims who survive. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that air embolism presenting in blast victims is not a mere ventilation-induced artifact.
Specific frequency properties of renal and superior mesenteric arterial beds in rats
Authors: S. T YOUNG, W. K WANG, L. S CHANG, T. S KUO
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1989)

In order to investigate the effects of arterial beds on pressure waveforms in arteries, the pressure waves observed in the rat tail artery were resolved into their Fourier moduli before and during ligation of the left renal artery and the superior mesenteric artery. Consistently different patterns of waveform changes in the tail artery were seen on occlusion of these vessels. Ligation of the renal artery reduced, and of the superior mesenteric artery increased, the pressure harmonics over most of the spectra. These results imply that to study the changes in the pressure contours as the observation point is moved downstream, one may have to account separately for the contributions of individual arterial beds. This is relevant in considering the degree to which it is appropriate for data to be amalgamated in models of the systemic arterial bed.
An Analysis of DNA Repair as a Determinant of Survival in Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Authors: C. H. Bosken
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2002)

Background: Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is frequently resistant to chemotherapy, and this resistance has been associated with elevated nucleotide excision repair (NER) in tumor tissue. We hypothesized that patients with NSCLC who had effective systemic (host) NER would have poorer survival than patients with suboptimal NER and that the association between NER effectiveness and survival would be most marked in patients receiving chemotherapy. Methods: 375 patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC were accrued for a case–control study between July 1995 and December 1999. NER activity was estimated as the DNA repair capacity (DRC) measured in the patient's peripheral lymphocytes by the host cell reactivation assay. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between DRC and survival. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: For every unit (percentage) increase in DRC, the relative risk (RR) of death was 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00 to 1.10; P = .05) for the 345 patients for whom weight loss information was available and 1.06 (95% CI = 1.00 to 1.12; P = .03) for the 275 patients with complete follow-up information. In 86 patients treated with chemotherapy only, the RR of death increased to 1.11 (95% CI = 1.02 to 1.21; P = .01) for every unit (percentage) increase in DRC. Of those 86 patients, patients in the top quartile of the DRC distribution were at twice the RR of death as those in the lowest quartile (RR = 2.72; 95% CI = 1.24 to 5.95; P = .01). Effective DRC was not a risk factor for death in patients who were not treated with chemotherapy. Conclusions: Our data suggest that effective host DRC may be associated with poorer survival in patients with NSCLC who are treated with chemotherapy.