tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Multicentre trial evaluating alveolar NO fraction as a marker of asthma control and severity
Authors: B. Mahut, L. Trinquart, M. Le Bourgeois, M.‐H. Becquemin, N. Beydon, F. Aubourg, M. Jala, B. Bidaud‐Chevalier, A.‐T. Dinh‐Xuan, O. Randrianarivelo, A. Denjean, J. De Blic, C. Delclaux
Journal: Allergy (2009)

Exhaled NO can be partitioned in its bronchial and alveolar sources, and the latter may increase in the presence of recent asthmatic symptoms and in refractory asthma. The aim of this multicentre prospective study was to assess whether alveolar NO fraction and FE(NO) could be associated with the level of asthma control and severity both at the time of measurement and in the subsequent 3 months.Asthma patients older than 10 years, nonsmokers, without recent exacerbation and under regular treatment, underwent exhaled NO measurement at multiple constant flows allowing its partition in alveolar (with correction for back-diffusion) and bronchial origins based on a two-compartment model of NO exchange; exhaled NO fraction at 50 ml/s (FE(NO,0.05)) was also recorded. On inclusion, severity was assessed using the four Global initiative for asthma (GINA) classes and control using Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ). Participants were followed-up for 12 weeks, control being assessed by short-ACQ on 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th week.Two-hundred patients [107 children and 93 adults, median age (25th; 75th percentile) 16 years (12; 38)], 165 receiving inhaled corticosteroid, were included in five centres. The two-compartment model was valid in 175/200 patients (87.5%). Alveolar NO and FE(NO,0.05) did not correlate to control on inclusion or follow-up (either with ACQ /short-ACQ values or their changes), nor was influenced by severity classes. Alveolar NO negatively correlated to MEF(25-75%) (rho = -0.22, P < 0.01).Alveolar and exhaled NO fractions are not indexes of control or severity in asthmatic children and adults under treatment.
Intracranial Arteries of Human Fetuses Are More Resistant to Hypercholesterolemia-Induced Fatty Streak Formation Than Extracranial Arteries
Authors: Claudio Napoli, Joseph L. Witztum, Filomena de Nigris, Giuseppe Palumbo, Francesco P. D’Armiento, Wulf Palinski
Journal: Circulation (1999)

Atherosclerotic lesions in intracranial arteries occur later and are less extensive than in extracranial arteries. To investigate potential mechanisms responsible for this difference, in particular the atherogenic response to hypercholesterolemia and LDL oxidation, we compared the extent of fatty streak formation and the composition of these very early lesions in intracranial arteries of human fetuses from normocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic mothers with those in extracranial arteries.Lesions were quantified by computer-assisted image analysis of 30 oil red O-stained sections, each from the middle cerebral, basilar, and common carotid arteries and the abdominal aorta of human fetuses (spontaneous abortions and premature newborns who died within 12 hours of birth; both of fetal age 6.2+/-1.3 months) from 43 hypercholesterolemic mothers and 34 normocholesterolemic mothers. Macrophages, apolipoprotein B, and 2 epitopes of oxidized LDL in lesions were determined immunocytochemically. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in the arterial wall were also determined. Lesion numbers and sizes were dramatically greater in the abdominal aorta (area of the largest lesion per section: 66.5+/-10.9 x10(3) microm2) and the carotid (11. 6+/-5.3 x10(3) microm2) than in the basilar and middle cerebral artery (0.4+/-0.1 and 0.8+/-0.2 x10(3) microm2, respectively; P<0. 0001). Hypercholesterolemia resulted in a significant increase of lesion size in extracranial arteries but only a marginal increase in intracranial arteries. In analogy, hypercholesterolemia induced a much greater increase in the intimal presence of macrophages, apolipoprotein B, and oxidized LDL (oxidation-specific epitopes) in extracranial than in intracranial arteries. Immunocytochemistry did not indicate that lesions of intracranial arteries contain relatively less oxidized LDL than similar-size lesions of extracranial arteries. Activities of Mn-superoxide dismutase but not of Zn-superoxide dismutase, catalase, or glutathione peroxidase were significantly higher in both intracranial arteries.Exposure to hypercholesterolemia during fetal development results in extensive formation of fatty streaks in extracranial but not intracranial arteries. The fact that such a difference in lesion formation occurs in the absence of many other atherogenic risk factors found later in life suggests that differences in the atherogenic response to hypercholesterolemia are an important contributor to the slower onset of the disease in intracranial vessels in adults. Fetal arteries may allow elucidation of the mechanisms responsible, for example, better protection of intracranial arteries against free radical-mediated atherogenic processes.
Association of human papillomavirus 7 with warts in toe webs
Authors: C. Sun, K. Chen, H. Gu, B. Chang, M. Jiang
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2009)

There have been no studies on the prevalence of types of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cutaneous warts that focus on warts in toe webs (WTW). There is no documented association between HPV 7 and WTW.To explore the clinical and histopathological features of WTW, and the distribution of HPV genotypes in patients with WTW.The study group consisted of 20 patients with WTW; 31 patients with typical verruca vulgaris (VV) were enrolled as the disease control group, and 53 patients with tinea pedis and 48 healthy volunteers were enrolled as the disease-negative control group. Tissue specimens were analysed for clinical and histological features and distribution of HPV genotypes. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based direct sequencing, TA cloning and type-specific PCR (TS-PCR) were performed in the WTW and VV groups. Interdigital scale specimens from patients with tinea pedis and from healthy volunteers were analysed for HPV DNA by nested PCR and TS-PCR (HPV 7).All the patients with WTW were male and nearly all were immunocompetent; their mean age was 41 +/- 10 years. The lesions presented mainly as soft, friable and vegetating clusters. HPV 7 was the predominant genotype in WTW with a frequency of 80% (16/20). Fourteen specimens were taken for histopathological examination. The most frequent histological results (seven out of 14) revealed characteristics of HPV 7 infections such as heavily stained cells containing medium-sized keratohyaline granules and a pronounced hyperkeratosis with parakeratosis. TA cloning showed that the sequence shared 90% or more homology with the HPV genotype in direct sequencing. No HPV 7 DNA was found in the scales taken from toe webs without warts.This is the first study evaluating the prevalence of HPV types in WTW and the first report of the association between HPV 7 and specific subgroups of patients with warts.
Of ants and academics: The computational power of external representation
Authors: Jon Oberlander
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (1997)

Clark &amp; Thornton speculate that intervening in the real world might be a way of transforming type-2 problems into type-1, but they state that they are not aware of any definite cases. It is argued that the active construction of external representations often performs exactly this function, and that recoding via the real world is therefore common, if not ubiquitous.
The pharmacological variability of crude coal tar
Authors: N.J. LOWE, J. BREEDING, M.S. WORTZMAN
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1982)

Although crude coal tar is a mixture of approximately 10,000 components, few attempts have been made to assess the pharmacological activity of individual components of purified tar products or of different coal tars themselves. The hairless mouse epidermal DNA synthesis suppression assay, which has been shown to be useful for predicting the antiproliferative activity of topical agents, has recently been used to assess the activity of crude coal tar, coal tar extracts and tar based shampoos. Using this assay, great variation in effectiveness (0–90%) was found among tar distillate fractions, suggesting that one source of potential variation of activity in commercial coal tar products is the non‐standard composition of crude coal tar itself.
Angiopoietin-2 in patients requiring renal replacement therapy in the ICU: relation to acute kidney injury, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and outcome
Authors: Philipp Kümpers, Carsten Hafer, Sascha David, Hartmut Hecker, Alexander Lukasz, Danilo Fliser, Hermann Haller, Jan T. Kielstein, Robert Faulhaber-Walter
Journal: Intensive Care Medicine (2009)
Rise in reports of safety incidents shows heightened awareness, says agency
Authors: J. Wise
Journal: BMJ (2010)

A fall last year in the number of reported patient safety incidents that resulted in death, along with a rise in the total number of reported incidents, shows an improved patient safety culture in the NHS in England, says the National Patient Safety Agency.

The organisational patient safety incident reports for each trust show that 1160 incidents resulting in death were reported in the six months from 1 April to 30 September 2009, down from 1856 in the same period in 2008. 

The number of reported incidents that resulted in severe harm to the patient also fell, from 3643 to 2412. At the same time the total number of patient safety incidents reported to the agency rose sharply, from 379 345 to 473 162, reflecting an increase in reporting of incidents resulting in no or low harm.

The agency’s director of patient safety, Suzette Woodward, said, “These latest data provide real evidence of an improved patient safety culture in the NHS, with a decrease in the severity of incidents reported and a corresponding, real …
The rise and rise of vitamin D testing
Authors: K. Bilinski, S. Boyages
Journal: BMJ (2012)

Moynihan and colleagues’ report highlights the increasing trend for overdiagnosis, particularly of endocrine disorders.1

Similar concerns exist for overdiagnosis and overtreatment of vitamin D deficiency.2 3 Currently, the appropriate timing and frequency of testing for the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency is unclear. The cost of testing in …
SPSS for psychologists, 3rd edn
Authors: R S Hinman
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2006)

Nicola Brace, Richard Kemp, Rosemary Snelgar. Published by Palgrave Macmillan, Australia, 2006, £17.99, pp 450 (softcover). ISBN 1403987874

For many undergraduate students and clinical researchers, statistical computing packages are a necessary evil that goes with the job. A plethora of books abound that use longwinded and complicated explanations of statistics with little emphasis on the “how to”. Rather than enlighten the reader, they serve only to confuse him or her further! Happily, this book is not one of those. This text is a practical guide to performing statistical tests with SPSS for Windows (versions 12 and 13) and is aimed at the undergraduate or novice …
Small Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
Authors: Janet T. Powell, Roger M. Greenhalgh
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2003)

A 68-year-old man with a 50-year history of smoking presented with amaurosis fugax and was found to have an incidental intrarenal aortic dilatation, with a maximal diameter of 3.2 cm. After five years of routine follow-up, the aortic diameter has increased to 4.8 cm. What is the appropriate follow-up for and management of this case?
Effects of Sustained-Release Bupropion and Supportive Group Therapy on Cigarette Consumption in Patients With Schizophrenia
Authors: Elaine Weiner, M. Patricia Ball, Ann Summerfelt, James Gold, Robert W. Buchanan
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (2001)

OBJECTIVE: The study examined the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of supportive group psychotherapy and adjunctive sustained-release bupropion for nicotine addiction in patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: Eight patients participated in a 14-week open-label trial. End expired breath carbon monoxide level, symptom levels, neuropsychological performance, and suppression of the P50 event-related potential were measured before and after the 14-week trial. RESULTS: Patients showed a decrease in carbon monoxide levels that was not associated with any worsening in symptom, neuropsychological, or P50 suppression measures. CONCLUSIONS: Use of sustained-release bupropion in combination with supportive group therapy may help patients with schizophrenia decrease their cigarette consumption.
Pitressin Diagnosis of Idiopathic Epilepsy
Authors: W. Blyth
Journal: BMJ (1943)

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about The BMJ.NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address. Username * Your Email * Send To * You are going to email the following Pitressin Diagnosis of Idiopathic Epilepsy Your Personal Message CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
B7-H1 Expression on Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells and Its Relationship with Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes and Their PD-1 Expression
Authors: Jun Konishi, Koichi Yamazaki, Miyuki Azuma, Ichiro Kinoshita, Hirotoshi Dosaka-Akita, Masaharu Nishimura
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2004)

B7-H1/PD-L1 (B7-H1) and B7-DC/PD-L2 (B7-DC) are ligands for the receptor PD-1, which is known to negatively regulate T-cell activation. In the present study, we investigated the expression of B7-H1 and B7-DC in tumor specimens of non-small cell lung cancer and their relationships with clinicopathological variables and postoperative survival. Furthermore, we examined the correlation between B7-H1 expression on tumor cells and the number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) or PD-1 expression on TILs.The expression of B7-H1 and B7-DC in 52 surgically resected specimens of non-small cell lung cancer was evaluated immunohistochemically.Expression of B7-H1 and B7-DC was focally observed in all non-small cell lung cancer tumor specimens. No relationship was found between the expression of B7-H1 or B7-DC and clinicopathological variables or postoperative survival. However, in the same sections evaluated, significantly fewer TILs were identified in B7-H1-positive tumor regions than in B7-H1-negative tumor regions in a subset of five patients (P = 0.01). Moreover, the percentage of TILs expressing PD-1 was significantly lower in B7-H1-positive tumor regions than in B7-H1-negative tumor regions (P = 0.02).The expression of B7-H1 on tumor cells in local areas reciprocally correlated with the number of TILs, and this may contribute to negative regulation in antitumor immune responses in non-small cell lung cancer.
EXPERIMENTAL LIVER NECROSIS; I. THE HEXON BASES
Authors: Holmes C. Jackson, Richard M. Pearce
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1907)

1. The liver of the dog in which necrosis has been produced by injection of haematoxic immune sera is characterized in the less marked forms by a storing up of nitrogen in the persisting living cells, while in the diffuse forms the total nitrogen content is but slightly above the normal. This last is to be explained by the great diminution in persisting liver substance which limits the power of nitrogen accumulation. 2. In all forms of necrosis there occurs an absolute increase of nitrogen precipitable by phosphotungstic acid (hexon bases) but the percentage increase, in relation to total nitrogen, diminishes in those forms (focal) in which the products of autolysis may be readily carried off by the blood stream and greatly increases in the diffuse form with large areas in which the circulation is seriously impaired. 3. Although the absolute amount of nitrogen representing arginin and histidin varies, a relative increase is evident when this fraction is compared with the total diamino-nitrogen. This increase corresponds to the degree of necrosis and attendant circulatory disturbance and indicates that in necrosis as opposed to degeneration (Wakeman) arginin is not split up by arginase. The lysin also bears a definite relation to the total hexon nitrogen. 4. The diamino-nitrogen of the normal liver after autolysis in vitro shows a slight variable increase over that of the unautolyzed, while the necrotic livers showed a decided decrease. 5. The diamino-acid nitrogen of normal horse liver is only about one half of that of the dog; the relative proportion of the bases is about the same. In necrotic livers with amyloid the diamino-nitrogen is markedly increased which is in accord with Neuberg's observations on the high hexon base content of amyloid.
Chemokine Cxcl9 attenuates liver fibrosis-associated angiogenesis in mice
Authors: Hacer Sahin, Erawan Borkham-Kamphorst, Christoph Kuppe, Mirko Moreno Zaldivar, Christoph Grouls, Muhammad Al-samman, Andreas Nellen, Petra Schmitz, Daniel Heinrichs, Marie-Luise Berres, Dennis Doleschel, David Scholten, Ralf Weiskirchen, Marcus J. Moeller, Fabian Kiessling, Christian Trautwein, Hermann E. Wasmuth
Journal: Hepatology (2012)

Recent data suggest that the chemokine receptor CXCR3 is functionally involved in fibroproliferative disorders, including liver fibrosis. Neoangiogenesis is an important pathophysiological feature of liver scarring, but a functional role of angiostatic CXCR3 chemokines in this process is unclear. We therefore investigated neoangiogenesis in carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver fibrosis in Cxcr3(-/-) and wildtype mice by histological, molecular, and functional imaging methods. Furthermore, we assessed the direct role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) overexpression on liver angiogenesis and the fibroproliferative response using a Tet-inducible bitransgenic mouse model. The feasibility of attenuation of angiogenesis and associated liver fibrosis by therapeutic treatment with the angiostatic chemokine Cxcl9 was systematically analyzed in vitro and in vivo. The results demonstrate that fibrosis progression in Cxcr3(-/-) mice was strongly linked to enhanced neoangiogenesis and VEGF/VEGFR2 expression compared with wildtype littermates. Systemic VEGF overexpression led to a fibrogenic response within the liver and was associated with a significantly increased Cxcl9 expression. In vitro, Cxcl9 displayed strong antiproliferative and antimigratory effects on VEGF-stimulated endothelial cells and stellate cells by way of reduced VEGFR2 (KDR), phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, identifying this chemokine as a direct counter-regulatory molecule of VEGF signaling within the liver. Accordingly, systemic administration of Cxcl9 led to a strong attenuation of neoangiogenesis and experimental liver fibrosis in vivo.The results identify direct angiostatic and antifibrotic effects of the Cxcr3 ligand Cxcl9 in a model of experimental liver fibrosis. The amelioration of liver damage by systemic application of Cxcl9 might offer a novel therapeutic approach for chronic liver diseases associated with increased neoangiogenesis.
Pharyngitis and Decision Analysis
Authors: DAVID F. RANSOHOFF
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1977)

Letters and Corrections1 August 1977Pharyngitis and Decision AnalysisDAVID F. RANSOHOFF, M.D.DAVID F. RANSOHOFF, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-87-2-249_1 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the editor: The paper about the cost-effectiveness of therapy for pharyngitis by Tompkins, Burnes, and Cable (Ann Intern Med86:481-492, 1977) is certain to arouse controversy both about how to treat sore throats and about whether to use the decision analysis strategy in clinical medicine. The accompanying editorials have paid great attention to the problem of choosing the numerical quantities for the probability values at the branch points in the decision tree; however, neither the authors nor the editorialists sufficiently stress an even greater problem that is inherent in the strategy of decision analysis and that cannot be resolved...References1. BROWN R: Do managers find decision theory useful? Harvard Bus Rev 48:78, 1970 Google Scholar2. RANSOHOFFFEINSTEIN DA: Is decision analysis useful in clinical medicine? Yale J Biol Med 49:165-168, 1976 MedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 1 August 1977Volume 87, Issue 2Page: 249-249KeywordsBurnsDecision analysisDecision treesPharyngitis Issue Published: 1 August 1977 PDF downloadLoading ...
Evaluation of the Tyrer-Cuzick Model in Women with Atypical Hyperplasia.
Authors: J. Boughey, L. Hartmann, S. Anderson, A. Degnim, R. Vierkant, M. Frost, C. Reynolds, V. Pankratz
Journal: Cancer Research (2009)

Abstract Background: Risk prediction models are important clinical tools for counseling and decision making for women with an elevated risk of breast cancer, such as women with atypical lobular or ductal hyperplasia (atypia). The Gail model has been shown to underestimate the risk of breast cancer in women with atypia. We sought to evaluate the performance of the Tyrer-Cuzick model in a well-defined cohort of women with atypia.Methods: The Mayo Benign Breast Disease (BBD) Cohort includes 9,376 women aged 18 to 85 who had an open breast biopsy with benign pathological findings between 1967 and 1991. The subset of women with atypia was identified by our study pathologists. Risk factor data required by the Tyrer-Cuzick model were collated for each woman, and the model was used to predict each woman's risk of developing invasive breast cancer within ten years. The predicted numbers of breast cancers were compared to the observed numbers to assess overall model calibration, and the concordance between breast cancer outcomes and predicted probabilities was used to measure the accuracy of the model on the individual level. Subset analysis of women with strong family history was performed. Strong family history was defined as: at least one first-degree relative with breast cancer before the age of 50 years or two or more relatives with breast cancer, at least one being a first degree relative.Results: Three hundred and thirty one women with atypia were identified. Over a mean follow up of 13.7 years, 62 (19%) women have developed invasive breast cancer. Thirty one women developed invasive cancer in the first ten years after biopsy. The Tyrer-Cuzick model predicted that 64.6 invasive breast cancers would occur in the first ten years after biopsy. Thus, the predicted to observed ratio was 2.08 [95% CI: 1.47 – 2.96], p &amp;lt; 0.001).The concordance statistic was 0.51, revealing that the Tyrer-Cuzick model did not accurately distinguish, on an individual level, between women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer within ten years of biopsy and those who were not.Performance was somewhat better in the subset of 68 women with a strong family history of breast cancer. The model predicted 12.3 invasive breast cancers, and 7 were observed, for a predicted to observed ratio of 1.76 [95% CI: 0.84 – 3.70]. The concordance statistic was 0.57.Conclusion: The Tyrer-Cuzick model significantly overestimated the risk of breast cancer in the first ten years after biopsy for this group of women with atypia. Individual risk estimates showed poor concordance. Performance was slightly improved in women with a strong family history of breast cancer. Physicians should be cautious when using the Tyrer-Cuzick model to predict ten-year risk in patients with atypia. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6063.