tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
New Information for Authors — And Readers
Authors: Arnold S. Relman
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1990)

IN this issue we publish a revised "Information for Authors" page, including three changes that should interest readers as well as authors.First, we are adopting a new, structured format for abstracts. Journal abstracts will henceforth consist of four paragraphs labeled Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Sometimes, when appropriate, two of the first three paragraphs will be combined in one. The object is to enable readers to grasp the essence of an article quickly by providing a framework that will present the work in a logical, complete, yet concise fashion. For many years we have been advising authors to organize . . .
Heredity of Endothelin Secretion
Authors: Elizabeth O. Lillie, Manjula Mahata, Srikrishna Khandrika, Fangwen Rao, Richard A. Bundey, Gen Wen, Yuqing Chen, Laurent Taupenot, Douglas W. Smith, Sushil K. Mahata, Michael G. Ziegler, Myles Cockburn, Nicholas J. Schork, Daniel T. O’Connor
Journal: Circulation (2007)

Endothelial dysfunction predisposes to vascular injury in association with hypertension. Endothelin (ET-1) is a potent vasoactive peptide that is synthesized and released by the vascular endothelium and is a marker of endothelial function. Chromogranin A (CHGA) regulates the storage and release of catecholamines and may have direct actions on the microvasculature. CHGA, a candidate gene for intermediate phenotypes that contribute to hypertension, shows a pattern of single nucleotide polymorphism variations that alter the expression and function of this gene both in vivo and in vitro.In a study of twins (n=238 pairs), plasma ET-1 was 58+/-5% (P<0.0001) heritable. Plasma ET-1 was both correlated and associated with chromogranin fragment levels, and the 2 were influenced by shared genetic determination (pleiotropy [rhoG]; for the CHGA precursor, rhoG=0.318+/-0.105; P=0.0032). We therefore hypothesized that variation in the CHGA gene may influence ET-1 secretion. Carriers of the CHGA promoter -988G, -462A, and -89A minor alleles showed significantly higher mean plasma ET-1 than their major allele homozygote counterparts (P=0.02, P=0.006, P=0.03, respectively). Analysis of a linkage disequilibrium block that spans these 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms showed a significant association between the GATACA haplotype and plasma ET-1 (P=0.0075). In cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, CHGA caused dose-dependent secretion of ET-1 over a brief (<1 hour) time course at relatively low concentrations of CHGA (10 to 100 nmol/L) with a threshold concentration (10 nmol/L) in the range found circulating in humans in vivo.These results suggest that common, heritable variation in expression of the human CHGA gene influences endothelial ET-1 secretion in vivo, explained by a CHGA stimulus/ET-1 secretion coupling in endothelial cells in vitro. The findings document a previously unsuspected interaction between the sympathochromaffin system and the endothelium and suggest novel genetic and cell biological approaches to the prediction, diagnosis, and mechanism of endothelial dysfunction in human disease.
Pediatric Readmission Prevalence and Variability Across Hospitals
Authors: Jay G. Berry, Sara L. Toomey, Alan M. Zaslavsky, Ashish K. Jha, Mari M. Nakamura, David J. Klein, Jeremy Y. Feng, Shanna Shulman, Vincent W. Chiang, William Kaplan, Matt Hall, Mark A. Schuster
Journal: JAMA (2013)

Readmission rates are used as an indicator of the quality of care that patients receive during a hospital admission and after discharge.To determine the prevalence of pediatric readmissions and the magnitude of variation in pediatric readmission rates across hospitals.We analyzed 568,845 admissions at 72 children's hospitals between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, in the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions Case Mix Comparative data set. We estimated hierarchical regression models for 30-day readmission rates by hospital, accounting for age and Chronic Condition Indicators. Hospitals with adjusted readmission rates that were 1 SD above and below the mean were defined as having "high" and "low" rates, respectively.Thirty-day unplanned readmissions following admission for any diagnosis and for the 10 admission diagnoses with the highest readmission prevalence. Planned readmissions were identified with procedure codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification.The 30-day unadjusted readmission rate for all hospitalized children was 6.5% (n = 36,734). Adjusted rates were 28.6% greater in hospitals with high vs low readmission rates (7.2% [95% CI, 7.1%-7.2%] vs 5.6% [95% CI, 5.6%-5.6%]). For the 10 admission diagnoses with the highest readmission prevalence, the adjusted rates were 17.0% to 66.0% greater in hospitals with high vs low readmission rates. For example, sickle cell rates were 20.1% (95% CI, 20.0%-20.3%) vs 12.7% (95% CI, 12.6%-12.8%) in high vs low hospitals, respectively.Among patients admitted to acute care pediatric hospitals, the rate of unplanned readmissions at 30 days was 6.5%. There was significant variability in readmission rates across conditions and hospitals. These data may be useful for hospitals' quality improvement efforts.
A NON-INVASIVE MR SPECKLE TRACKING STUDY OF MYOCARDIAL STRAIN AND ROTATIONAL VELOCITY IN PATIENTS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE
Authors: David J. Sahn, Petra S. Niemann, Helene Houle, Craig S. Broberg, Michael Silberbach, Zhiwen Zhou, Muhammad Ashraf
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2010)
<i>Clinical Cancer Research</i>: The 20th Anniversary
Authors: Kenneth C. Anderson, Jesse Potash
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2015)

This year marks a milestone for Clinical Cancer Research ( CCR )—we are celebrating our 20th anniversary. CCR was launched in January 1995 by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and at the time it was the third journal to join AACR's family of publications (following Cancer
Pre-existing AAV Capsid-specific CD8+ T Cells are Unable to Eliminate AAV-transduced Hepatocytes
Authors: Hua Li, Samuel L Murphy, Wynetta Giles-Davis, Shyrie Edmonson, Zhiquan Xiang, Yan Li, Marcio O Lasaro, Katherine A High, Hildegund CJ Ertl
Journal: Molecular Therapy (2007)

The goal of these studies was to test whether adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid-specific CD8+ T cells cause loss of hepatic AAV-mediated gene expression in experimental animals. Mice immunized with adenoviral vectors expressing AAV capsid or with AAV vectors developed CD8+ T cells in blood, lymphatic tissues, and liver to epitopes shared between AAV2 and AAV8, and serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies. At the height of the T cells' effector phase, mice were infused with a heterologous AAV vector expressing human factor IX under a hepatocyte-specific promoter. Despite the presence of lytic CD8+ T cells in the liver, hepatic Factor IX expression was sustained and comparable in AAV-preimmune and naïve animals. These results suggest that, in mice, pre-existing CD8+ T cells to AAV capsid do not affect the longevity of AAV-mediated hepatic gene transfer. These results are in contrast to the outcome of a recent gene therapy trial of hemophilia B patients who were treated by hepatic gene transfer of AAV2 vectors expressing Factor IX. The loss of Factor IX expression, accompanied by a rise in liver enzymes and detectable frequencies of circulating AAV capsid-specific T cells, suggested T-cell-mediated destruction of transduced hepatocytes following reactivation of AAV-specific T cells upon AAV transfer. The goal of these studies was to test whether adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid-specific CD8+ T cells cause loss of hepatic AAV-mediated gene expression in experimental animals. Mice immunized with adenoviral vectors expressing AAV capsid or with AAV vectors developed CD8+ T cells in blood, lymphatic tissues, and liver to epitopes shared between AAV2 and AAV8, and serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies. At the height of the T cells' effector phase, mice were infused with a heterologous AAV vector expressing human factor IX under a hepatocyte-specific promoter. Despite the presence of lytic CD8+ T cells in the liver, hepatic Factor IX expression was sustained and comparable in AAV-preimmune and naïve animals. These results suggest that, in mice, pre-existing CD8+ T cells to AAV capsid do not affect the longevity of AAV-mediated hepatic gene transfer. These results are in contrast to the outcome of a recent gene therapy trial of hemophilia B patients who were treated by hepatic gene transfer of AAV2 vectors expressing Factor IX. The loss of Factor IX expression, accompanied by a rise in liver enzymes and detectable frequencies of circulating AAV capsid-specific T cells, suggested T-cell-mediated destruction of transduced hepatocytes following reactivation of AAV-specific T cells upon AAV transfer.
Bedside Scoring System to Predict the Risk of Developing Pancreatitis Following ERCP
Authors: S. Friedland, R. M. Soetikno, J. Vandervoort, H. Montes, T. Tham, D. L. Carr-Locke
Journal: Endoscopy (2002)

Pancreatitis is the most common significant complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The aim of the present study was to develop a simple scoring system that clinicians can use to predict the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis.We analyzed a prospectively assembled database of 1835 ERCP procedures at a single referral hospital. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors for pancreatitis and determine their relative contributions. From these results, a scoring system was constructed. The performance of the scoring system was assessed on the entire procedure database and in selected subgroups.Multivariate analysis yielded four risk factors: pain during the procedure, cannulation of the pancreatic duct (PD), previous post-ERCP pancreatitis, and number of cannulation attempts. Based on the regression model, the scoring system was: 4 points for pain, 3 points for PD cannulation, 2 points for a history of post-ERCP pancreatitis, and 1 - 4 points depending on the number of cannulation attempts. A total score of 1 - 4 points was associated with a low risk of pancreatitis (< 2 %), while a score of 5 - 8 points had an intermediate risk (7 %), and a score of 9 or above had a high risk (28 %).This simple scoring system may enable clinicians to stratify patients into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk groups for the development of post-ERCP pancreatitis. In addition, when patients with suspected sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and patients who underwent minor papilla cannulation were analyzed separately, the scoring system was able to predict accurately the pancreatitis risk of these patients as well.
Autonomic dysfunction in women with mitral valve prolapse syndrome.
Authors: F A Gaffney, E S Karlsson, W Campbell, J E Schutte, J V Nixon, J T Willerson, C G Blomqvist
Journal: Circulation (1979)

Autonomic cardiovascular regulation was evaluated in 35 women, 19 with mitral valve prolapse and 16 healthy controls. Heart rate responses to the diving reflex and to phenylephrine infusion were diminished in patients. Noninvasive measures of cardiac output, heart rate, blood pressure, forearm flow and leg volume during lower body negative pressure (LBNP) showed that patients had less lower extremity pooling of blood and had lower forearm conductance. Blood pressures during LBNP rose or remained unchanged despite decreases in cardiac output of 20--25%. These data indicate that mitral valve prolapse patients have an increased venous and arterial vasoconstrictor activity. Cardiac output at rest and echocardiographic indices of contractility were normal. Patients with a history of significant ventricular arrhythmias had higher heart rates and lower forward stroke volumes than the other patients or controls. The combined data demonstrate autonomic dysfunction in women with the mitral valve prolapse syndrome and suggest decreased parasympathetic, increased alpha- and normal beta-adrenergic tone and responsiveness.
Nonlymphomatous Malignant Tumors Complicating Hodgkin's Disease
Authors: J. C. Arseneau, R. W. Sponzo, D. L. Levin, L. E. Schnipper, H. Bonner, R. C. Young, G. P. Canellos, R. E. Johnson, V. T. DeVita
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1972)

Abstract Case records of 425 patients with Hodgkin's disease treated at the NIH were reviewed. Note of all biopsy-proved malignant tumors other than Hodgkin's disease was made. Cases were divided into subgroups on the basis of treatment received, and expected incidences of malignant tumors were calculated for each subgroup on the basis of age, sex, and mean follow-up period from the time of diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. Significantly increased risks of development of second malignant tumors were found in the entire 425 patients (ratio of observed to expected, 3.5) and in the subgroups treated with both radiotherapy and chemotherapy (ratio, 3.3) and with intensive radiotherapy without intensive chemotherapy (ratio, 3.8). The greatest increase in risk was observed in 35 patients who received both intensive radiotherapy and intensive chemotherapy (ratio, 29).
ABC of psychological medicine: Chest pain
Authors: C. Bass
Journal: BMJ (2002)

Chest pain is one of the commonest reasons for consultation in primary care. Chest pain is usually mild and transient, but further management is required in some cases. These are of two main types—acute severe pain and persistent pain associated with distress and functional limitation. Acute central chest pain accounts for 20-30% of emergency medical admissions. Chronic chest pain is the commonest reason for referral to cardiac outpatient clinics.
Dangers of placebo
Authors: Jean-Claude Grange
Journal: BMJ (2008)

<h3>Purpose</h3> To describe our initial experience with the novel 5 F SOFIA (Soft Torqueable catheter Optimized For Intracranial Access) intermediate and aspiration catheter for endovascular treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke. <h3>Methods</h3> A retrospective review was performed in three centers of prospectively collected data of all stroke patients who underwent endovascular therapy using the SOFIA catheter. Patients were enrolled between November 2013 and December 2014. The primary endpoint of the study was accessibility of the thrombus with the SOFIA catheter. As a secondary endpoint, the study assessed recanalization success (Thrombolysis In Cerebral Infarction (TICI) ≥2b). Clinical presentation on admission and discharge was also documented. In addition, catheter- and procedure-related complications (particularly thromboembolic complications) were recorded. <h3>Results</h3> The SOFIA catheter was used in 115 acute stroke procedures. In 110 cases (96%) the catheter could be advanced to the occlusion site. After mechanical thrombectomy, successful recanalization (TICI ≥2b) was documented in 86.9%. There were no complications related to positioning of the catheter. Distal thrombus migration into a new vascular territory occurred in three patients following thrombectomy with a stent retriever (2.6%). The mean NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score on admission was 16.8±6 and at discharge the mean NIHSS score was 8.2±7.7. Sixteen patients died. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The SOFIA catheter is a safe and efficient catheter for endovascular stroke therapy.
Drug Sensitivity Prediction by CpG Island Methylation Profile in the NCI-60 Cancer Cell Line Panel
Authors: Lanlan Shen, Yutaka Kondo, Saira Ahmed, Yanis Boumber, Kazuo Konishi, Yi Guo, Xinli Chen, Jill N. Vilaythong, Jean-Pierre J. Issa
Journal: Cancer Research (2007)

Aberrant promoter hypermethylation and associated gene silencing are epigenetic hallmarks of tumorigenesis. It has been suggested that aberrant DNA methylation can affect the sensitivity of cancers to antineoplastic agents by altering expression of genes critical to drug response. To study this issue, we used bisulfite PCR to assess DNA methylation of 32 promoter-associated CpG islands in human cancer cell lines from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) drug-screening panel (NCI-60 panel). The frequency of aberrant hypermethylation of these islands ranged from 2% to 81% in NCI-60 cancer cells, and provided a database that can be analyzed for the sensitivity to approximately 30,000 drugs tested in this panel. By correlating drug activity with DNA methylation, we identified a list of methylation markers that predict sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs. Among them, hypermethylation of the p53 homologue p73 and associated gene silencing was strongly correlated with sensitivity to alkylating agents. We used small interfering RNA to down-regulate p73 expression in multiple cell lines, including the resistant cell lines TK10 (renal cancer) and SKMEL28 (melanoma). Down-regulating p73 substantially increased sensitivity to commonly used alkylating agents, including cisplatin, indicating that epigenetic silencing of p73 directly modulates drug sensitivity. Our results confirm that epigenetic profiles are useful in identifying molecular mediators for cancer drug sensitivity (pharmaco-epigenomics).
External Pancreatic Fistulas Resistant to Conventional Endoscopic Therapy: Endoscopic Closure With N-Butyl-2-Cyanoacrylate (Glubran 2)
Authors: M. Mutignani, A. Tringali, E. Khodadadian, L. Petruzziello, C. Spada, G. Spera, P. Familiari, G. Costamagna
Journal: Endoscopy (2004)

External pancreatic fistulas may follow abdominal surgery or injury. While most respond to conservative management or endoscopic intervention, others might require surgery for complete healing. We report four cases of patients with external pancreatic fistulas that failed to respond to conservative management and drainage. N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate surgical glue (Glubran 2) was directly injected into the fistulous tract. The fistulas closed within 24 hours of the Glubran 2 injection in three cases (75 %). In patients with external pancreatic fistulas that fail to respond to conservative and endoscopic drainage, injection of Glubran 2 directly into the fistulous tract may lead to closure, thus avoiding the need for surgical intervention.
Second hospital is evacuated as New York struggles to recover from hurricane
Authors: E. Davies
Journal: BMJ (2012)

The National Guard has been called in to help evacuate a second hospital in Manhattan, two days after Hurricane Sandy first hit New York.

Bellevue Hospital, one of New York City’s flagship public hospitals, shut down on Wednesday after fuel pumps for its backup power generators failed. 

Flood damage at the hospital is so extensive that a full evacuation …
Expression of the Mouse Pre-T Cell Receptor α Gene Is Controlled by an Upstream Region Containing a Transcriptional Enhancer
Authors: Boris Reizis, Philip Leder
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1999)

The pre-T cell receptor α (pTα) protein is a critical component of the pre-T cell receptor complex in early thymocytes. The expression of the pTα gene is one of the earliest markers of the T cell lineage and occurs exclusively in pre-T cells. To investigate the molecular basis of thymocyte-specific gene expression, we searched for the genomic elements regulating transcription of the mouse pTα gene. We now report that expression of the pTα gene is primarily controlled by an upstream genomic region, which can drive thymocyte-specific expression of a marker gene in transgenic mice. Within this region, we have identified two specific DNase-hypersensitive sites corresponding to a proximal promoter and an upstream transcriptional enhancer. The pTα enhancer appears to function preferentially in pre-T cell lines and binds multiple nuclear factors, including YY1. The enhancer also contains two G-rich stretches homologous to a critical region of the thymocyte-specific lck proximal promoter. Here we show that these sites bind a common nuclear factor and identify it as the zinc finger protein ZBP-89. Our data establish a novel experimental model for thymocyte-specific gene expression and suggest an important role for ZBP-89 in T cell development.
Outcomes with Abiraterone Acetate in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Patients Who Have Poor Performance Status
Authors: Arun A. Azad, Bernhard J. Eigl, Raya Leibowitz-Amit, Renee Lester, Christian Kollmannsberger, Nevin Murray, Ravinder Clayton, Daniel Y.C. Heng, Anthony M. Joshua, Kim N. Chi
Journal: European Urology (2014)
Dowsing for Cancer
Authors: G. G. Liddle
Journal: JAMA (1965)

<h3>To the Editor:—</h3> I was led to attend the annual convention of the American Society of Dowsers a few weeks ago, at which the principal theme was "Science and Dowsing." Much impressed by the enthusiasm of those convinced of the practical values of good dowsing, and of the vast untouched reservoirs of scientific applications, I elected to experiment. Traditionally, dowsers use forked sticks, held pointing skyward. When passing over water, the stem of the "Y" swings downward. An obvious experimental approach came to mind. Dowsers use hard wooden forks to locate water. By reversing the process, using a polyethylene tubing filled with water, should I not be able to locate hard cancers buried in the human body? Before filing my application for a research grant from the National Cancer Institute, I conducted a pilot study. <h3>Methods and Materials.—</h3> A Yshaped dowsing stick was bifurcated from two pieces of clear flexible
Cryopreservable neutrophil surrogates. Stored cytoplasts from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes retain chemotactic, phagocytic, and microbicidal function.
Authors: S E Malawista, G Van Blaricom, M G Breitenstein
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1989)

Cryopreservation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) has largely failed, probably because of their rich content of granular (lysosomal) enzymes. We have been developing granule-poor cytoplasts (anucleate fragments) from PMN which retain motile functions of the parent cell. The two types studied here were induced either by brief heating on surfaces (cytokineplasts) or by discontinuous gradient centrifugation (Ficoll) without heat or drugs (U-cytoplasts). Freshly made, these cytoplasts respond chemotactically to formyl peptide (fMet-Leu-Phe), and they take up and kill roughly half as many Staphylococcus aureus as their (larger, granular) parent PMN. Unlike their parent cells, after cryopreservation both cytoplasts remain chemotactic, and in matched experiments they take up and kill staphylococci with undiminished avidity. These findings are the first indications that PMN cytoplasts suitable for clinical use may be feasible.
A Classification for Biomedical Research Reports
Authors: John C. Bailar, Thomas A. Louis, Philip W. Lavori, Marcia Polansky
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1984)

Biomedical research uses a wide range of designs applied to problems in laboratory, clinical, and population settings. Whatever the nature of the study, a few key features--such as the admission rule, the method of allocating subjects to treatments, and the use of controls--largely determine the strength of scientific inferences. We used these and other features to classify the 332 Original Articles published in the New England Journal of Medicine during 1978-1979. This classification directs attention to critical aspects of study design and performance and can help in the choice of suitable research approaches and protocols. It emphasizes the critical role of the investigators' intent in performing and analyzing a study, and it alerts readers to important aspects of interpretation. We recommend that authors always report enough detail about their work for readers to apply this or a similar classification. Omission of such detail may limit the interpretation of a research study because a study that cannot be classified has probably been incompletely reported.