tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Baruch S Blumberg
Authors: N. Stafford
Journal: BMJ (2011)

Discovered hepatitis B virus and a diagnostic test



Baruch “Barry” Blumberg learnt a primary mission of medical research while caring for poor and chronically ill people in the crowded wards of New York City’s Bellevue Hospital. It was the early 1950s, and the young intern saw scenes that he would later describe as “reminiscent of [William] Hogarth’s woodcuts of the public institutions of 18th century London,” adding, “Anyone who has been immersed in the world of a busy city hospital, a world of wretched lives, of hope destroyed by devastating illness, cannot easily forget that an objective of big medical research is, in the end, the prevention and cure of disease.”

Blumberg never forgot that objective. After he discovered the elusive cancer causing hepatitis B virus in blood serum from an infected Australian aborigine and described it in a 1967 paper, he developed a diagnostic test to screen for the virus in blood, eliminating the virus from US blood banks ( Ann Intern Med 1967;66:924-31). He then helped develop a hepatitis B vaccine, now widely used around the world and credited with saving millions of lives.

Jonathan Chernoff, chief scientific officer at Fox Chase Cancer Center in …
Manifestations of pseudoxanthoma elasticum in childhood
Authors: M. Naouri, C. Boisseau, P. Bonicel, P. Daudon, D. Bonneau, N. Chassaing, L. Martin
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2009)

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) affects the skin, retina and cardiovascular system. Most cases are related to mutations in the ABCC6 gene. The diagnosis is most often made late in the second or third decade of life.To describe the manifestations of PXE before the age of 15 years.Children under age 15 years with definite PXE were evaluated at a PXE referral centre, as were adult patients in whom serious manifestations of PXE had occurred before the age of 15 years.Our series included 96 patients; 15 (16%) had paediatric onset of the disease. Nine children were diagnosed at a mean age of 10 years, a mean of 2.5 years after the presenting symptoms. Cutaneous lesions were the presenting symptoms in eight. None had cardiovascular or ophthalmological symptoms. Six adult patients had had severe cutaneous and/or cardiovascular manifestations before the age of 15 years. Both adult patients with early extensive skin lesions had the PXE-like condition related to the GGCX gene. No ocular symptoms were recorded during childhood.Cutaneous manifestations of PXE are the same in children as in young adults. Absence of complications is common in childhood, but severe complications are unpredictable. The frequency of complications was retrospectively estimated to be 7% in the adults of our series, although this figure was probably an overestimate because of the recruitment bias in a referral centre. It is, however, important to consider PXE in the paediatric setting, as early diagnosis may be important to provide accurate information and discuss lifestyle adjustments in order to improve the prognosis of the disease.
LAW, THE FOUNDATION OF STATE MEDICINE.ORATION ON STATE MEDICINE, DELIVERED AT THE FIFTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL SESSION OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, ATLANTIC CITY, JUNE, 1907.
Authors: SAMUEL G. DIXON
Journal: JAMA (1907)

If I seek for a justification of your action in assigning to so humble an individual as myself the distinguished honor of delivering the oration on state medicine on the present occasion, I find it in the fact, perhaps known to many of you, that the state which I represent has recently placed on its statute book the most comprehensive and effective legislation for the protection of the public health ever enacted in any state in this country, and that, armed with these strong and well-conceived laws, we in Pennsylvania have been able to accomplish certain definite results which have attracted the attention of sanitarians in all parts of the United States. The advances which have been made in Pennsylvania have undoubtedly had their counterpart all over the land, although not in so striking a degree. Everywhere the people, and therefore the legislatures, which are but the reflection of the
Epigastric Bruits in Patients with and Without Celiac Axis Compression
Authors: William C. Watson, Penelope Brook Williams, Gerard Duffy
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1973)

The prevalence of epigastric bruits in an inpatient population of 161 psychiatric patients was 31% and in 200 consecutive ambulant patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, 27%. "Innocent" murmurs are localised, of short duration, midsystolic, usually faint but slightly louder and longer during expiration. There is equal distribution between the sexes, and the frequency is higher in the younger age groups. In patients with celiac axis compression, on the other hand, the murmurs are louder, longer (mean maximum duration, 0.50 seconds), begin in early or midsystole, and extend into early diastole. Murmurs do not always disappear after surgical relief of the arterial compression, probably because of persistence of poststenotic dilatation. The phonoarteriographic properties of an epigastric bruit may be useful for selecting patients for abdominal aortography.
The Risk of Interrupting Long-Term Anticoagulant Treatment
Authors: HERBERT S. SISE, CHRISTOS B. MOSCHOS, JACQUES GAUTHIER, ROBERT BECKER
Journal: Circulation (1961)

From a series of 310 patients on long-term anticoagulant treatment for various conditions 136 instances were collected in which treatment was interrupted. This was because of bleeding in 45 instances, for permanent reasons in 53 instances, and for temporary reasons in 38 instances. Rebound thromboembolic complications were observed significantly more frequently in those who stopped treatment for bleeding. The cause of the rebound effect could not be ascribed to vitamin K 1 administration, transfusions, or overt ischemic effects from blood loss although the latter might have been contributory to a small extent. The observations suggested a hypercoagulable state induced directly in some obscure way as a result of the bleeding. Interruption of treatment for reasons other than bleeding was not associated with early complications. The risk of interruption of treatment for short periods was relatively small (three nonfatal complications in 38 instances). In those who stopped permanently, complications were most often seen after 2 months.
Ileal Resection and Bile Salt Metabolism
Authors: David Alpers
Journal: JAMA (1971)

Dr. Kent Kreisman, Senior Assistant Resident, Jewish Hospital of St. Louis and Assistant in Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine: A 34-year-old woman was admitted for evaluation of diarrhea. This symptom first began in 1956, and consisted of four to five loose, watery, and occasionally bloody stools daily. The patient continued to have intermittent episodes of diarrhea over the subsequent four years, and in 1960, a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis was made. In 1964, the patient was admitted to another hospital and the terminal 4 feet of ileum, ascending colon, and half of the transverse colon were resected. The remaining distal portion of the ileum was anastomosed to the distal transverse colon. Numerous fistulae were found at the time of surgery and a diagnosis of "regional enteritis" was made. Following surgery, her weight, which had been 45.4 kg (100 lb), fell to 22.7 kg (50 lb). It subsequently returned to
'Mini-Med Schools' Offer Lay Public Lessons in the Science of Medicine
Authors: Joan Stephenson
Journal: JAMA (1996)

MEDICAL SCHOOLS, long accustomed to the yearnings of prospective students vying for admission, are now finding themselves ardently pursued by a new group of supplicants: a public hungry for knowledge about the science behind modern medical discoveries. To their surprise and delight, a number of medical schools and other biomedical institutions that have established "mini-med schools"—classes aimed at teaching the public about the process and discoveries of medical science—are overwhelmed with applicants of all ages and backgrounds who are eager to learn more about medical science. The University of Chicago Medical Center, for example, quickly filled the 300 slots in its first mini-med class last year and put more than 700 people on a waiting list, who were given first dibs on the unadvertised fall series. Demand for the university's third run of the mini-med program, which kicked off its first lecture on a frigid Chicago evening this month, again
The Effect of Epilepsy or Diabetes Mellitus on the Risk of Automobile Accidents
Authors: Phiroze Hansotia, Steven K. Broste
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1991)

Previous studies of possible associations between chronic medical conditions and traffic safety have been inconsistent and subject to bias because of the incomplete identification of affected persons. Recent advances in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy and diabetes mellitus have improved the control of these disorders and suggest a need to reexamine the risk of traffic mishaps among patients with these conditions.
Influence of Body Weight on the Severity of Dyspnea in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Authors: HAMID SAHEBJAMI, EAKACHAI SATHIANPITAYAKUL
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2000)

A substantial number of patients with COPD are underweight (UW); they comprise the clinical subtype of "dyspneic" or emphysematous. To determine whether these patients are more dyspneic than normal weight (NW) patients with COPD, we quantitated the severity of dyspnea, using a modified Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale, in 33 UW and 57 NW patients and compared their pulmonary function tests (PFTs), arterial blood gases (ABGs), and respiratory muscle strength as estimated by maximum static inspiratory (PI(max)) and expiratory (PE(max)) mouth pressures (all as means +/- SEM). Body mass index was 18.7 +/- 1.2 and 24.5 +/- 1.8 kg/m(2) in UW and NW patients, respectively (p < 0.0001). The MRC dyspnea scale was 3. 1 +/- 0.9 in UW and 2.5 +/- 1.2 in NW groups (p = 0.035). All PFT and ABG parameters were similar in the two groups except for DCO (36 +/- 11% in UW and 57 +/- 17% in NW, p < 0.001) and PI(max) (55 +/- 18 mm Hg in UW and 66 +/- 19 mm Hg in NW, p = 0.020). In a stepwise multiple regression model, %DCO and %MVV combined were the best predictors of dyspnea severity (R(2) = 0.30, p = 0.001). We conclude that UW patients with COPD are more dyspneic than NW patients. Although the origin of dyspnea in COPD is multifactorial, changes in DCO and respiratory muscle strength may contribute to its intensity.
Pay for Performance at the Tipping Point
Authors: Arnold M. Epstein
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2007)

It is hard to dispute the rationale behind realigning payment incentives in health care to encourage higher quality and more efficient care. Indeed, across the country and beyond, the number of "pay for performance" programs, as such realignment is called, has reached a tipping point. In the United States, more than half the health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the private sector have now initiated such programs, covering more than 80% of the country's HMO enrollees.1 Congress has mandated that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) develop plans to introduce a pay-for-performance program into Medicare.2 The British have gone . . .
Panel ponders organ procurement problem
Authors: P. Gunby
Journal: JAMA (1983)

About 40 individuals and representatives of organizations involved in organ transplantation attended the June "Surgeon General's Workshop on Solid Organ Procurement for Transplantation: Educating the Physician and the Public." Workshop discussion groups focused on such issues as guidelines for multiple-organ harvesting from cadavers, overcoming barriers to donation of organs for small children, physician and public education programs, systems for minimizing organ wastage, and other ways to increase the supply of badly needed donor organs.
EXPERIMENTAL GLOMERULONEPHRITIS
Authors: Dietrich K. Hammer, Frank J. Dixon
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1963)

The primary phase of nephrotoxic serum nephritis produced by rabbit nephrotoxic serum appears to be dependent to a great extent, but not completely, upon the participation of serum complement. On the other hand, duck nephrotoxic serum produces its primary renal injury without detectable utilization of or dependence upon serum complement. The secondary phase of nephrotoxic serum nephritis appears to be largely or entirely dependent upon the host's antibody response to the heterologous gamma globulin fixed in the glomeruli. No evidence could be obtained for the existence of an autoimmune antikidney response by the host in this experimental model.
Decreased Tc-99m Sestamibi Uptake in a Sternal Brown Tumor Indicating Response to Anti Metabolic Therapy for Secondary Hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Elgin Ozkan, Nuri Arslan, Atilla Arslanoglu, Alper Ozgur Karacalioglu
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2007)

Brown tumors are rare but serious complications of renal osteodystrophy, and can be treated by parathyroidectomy or by pharmacological treatment of hyperparathyroidism. In addition to parathyroid lesions such as adenoma, hyperplasia, and carcinoma, brown tumors have been detected effectively by using dual phase Tc-99m sestamibi and Tl-201 chloride. We describe an unusual case of brown tumor at the manibrium sterni which shows marked increased Tc-99m sestamibi uptake on the initial scan, with decreasing tracer activity on follow-up scan indicating a response to antimetabolic therapy.
Genetic Algorithms and Parallel Processing in Maximum-Likelihood Phylogeny Inference
Authors: Matthew J. Brauer, Mark T. Holder, Laurie A. Dries, Derrick J. Zwickl, Paul O. Lewis, David M. Hillis
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2002)

We investigated the usefulness of a parallel genetic algorithm for phylogenetic inference under the maximum-likelihood (ML) optimality criterion. Parallelization was accomplished by assigning each "individual" in the genetic algorithm "population" to a separate processor so that the number of processors used was equal to the size of the evolving population (plus one additional processor for the control of operations). The genetic algorithm incorporated branch-length and topological mutation, recombination, selection on the ML score, and (in some cases) migration and recombination among subpopulations. We tested this parallel genetic algorithm with large (228 taxa) data sets of both empirically observed DNA sequence data (for angiosperms) as well as simulated DNA sequence data. For both observed and simulated data, search-time improvement was nearly linear with respect to the number of processors, so the parallelization strategy appears to be highly effective at improving computation time for large phylogenetic problems using the genetic algorithm. We also explored various ways of optimizing and tuning the parameters of the genetic algorithm. Under the conditions of our analyses, we did not find the best-known solution using the genetic algorithm approach before terminating each run. We discuss some possible limitations of the current implementation of this genetic algorithm as well as of avenues for its future improvement.
Abstract 5300: Acetylation of alteration/deficiency in activation 3 (Ada3) is essential for its stability and function
Authors: Shashank Srivastava, Shakur Mohibi, Hamid Band, Vimla Band
Journal: Cancer Research (2014)

Abstract In eukaryotes histone acetylation is one of the major epigenetic modifications by which gene expression is regulated. Acetylation of histones is mediated by histone acetyl transferases (HATs) that exist as multisubunit complex. The alteration/deficiency in activation 3 (Ada3) protein was discovered as an essential component of various HAT complexes and later on we identified Ada3 as a novel human papilloma virus E6 oncoprotein binding protein. We have previously demonstrated that Ada3 regulates the function of p53 by mediating its acetylation and recent findings from our laboratory show that Ada3 is a novel cell cycle regulator and is crucial for maintaining the genomic stability. Although Ada3 is an essential mediator of histone acetylation it does not have HAT activity per se and how Ada3 performs its function remains unresolved. Our recent studies demonstrate that Ada3 itself is acetylated by GCN5 and p300 both in in-vitro and in-vivo assays. Significantly, inhibition of acetylation by garcinol dramatically decreases Ada3 protein levels, suggesting that acetylation stabilizes Ada3 protein. Current studies are directed towards identification of potential acetylation sites in Ada3 through mutational analyses. Notably, inhibition of class III but not class I and II histone deacetylases (HDACs) enhanced Ada3 acetylation. Further investigation reveals that Ada3 specifically interacts with SIRT1, a member of class III HDAC, indicating that SIRT1 might deacetylate Ada3. Overall our findings suggest that Ada3 exists in dynamic balance of acetylation and deacetylation, and its cell cycle regulatory function may depend on Ada3 acetylation and deacetylation. Citation Format: Shashank Srivastava, Shakur Mohibi, Hamid Band, Vimla Band. Acetylation of alteration/deficiency in activation 3 (Ada3) is essential for its stability and function. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5300. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5300
Observations ON HUMAN GLANDERS: WITH A STUDY OF SIX CASES AND A DISCUSSION OF THE METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS
Authors: J. M. Bernstein, E. R. Carling
Journal: BMJ (1909)

some of the pustules, however, had become contaminated (see Fig. 7).It must be stated that, with a modified with staphylococci., From the deeper abscesses pure cul-Romanowski's stain, the bacteria were found just as readily, tures were obtainedon potato and glycerine-agar of an and the general appearance of the sections was more pleasing.organism morphologically and culturally resembling B. malles and these inoculated into guinea-pigs gave positive results, CASE II1.though the animals died too rapidly in thirty-six hours) to A. A., aged 45, horsekeeper.Admitted under the care of allow of "1characteristic "1 changes Mr. Spencer, July 14th, 1905.suggesting that the organism was of Illness commenced seven weeks, exceptionally high virulence.Typical since with severe frontal headache, B. mallei were obtained from the pains in the muscles of calf and bodies of the guinea-pigs, folrearm, and prostration.No his- Post-mortem Appearanc'es (eighteen tory of infection could be obtained, hours after death).-Body well and no initial lesion was discovered.
Paying for Cancer Care Under the Diagnosis-Related Group Reimbursement
Authors: Morris J. Wizenberg
Journal: JAMA (1985)

To the Editor.—  Drs Yarbro and Mortenson in their COMMENTARY in the Feb 1 issue of JAMA  1 have correctly identified a critical issue in the care of cancer patients. Unfortunately, they did not stress that many of those patients who are in formal clinical trials are there precisely because the conventional treatment has either already failed or shows little promise of being successful. If those patients cannot be treated either as members of the study population in a clinical trial or with that same treatment in some other context, they may very well receive no effective treatment at all.  Dr Davis' 2 reply begs the issue. If she will merely take a look, for example, at the diagnosis-related groups' (DRGs) reimbursement for the treatment of acute leukemia, she must immediately recognize that no patient can receive any modern course of treatment with the aim of producing a complete remission without
The Opening Sentence
Authors: Lester S. King
Journal: JAMA (1967)

In any writing the opening sentence has a heavy responsibility. It must seize the reader's attention and make him want to continue, indicate the general subject matter, and impart its information in a pleasing and attractive form. Students in journalism courses are taught a formula for writing the opening sentence—the who-where-when-what-how approach. This will tell who did what, where and when he did it, and will give whatever attendant circumstances can fit into a single sentence. But medical writing is different from a newspaper report. The first sentence has a dual function: it must carry some essential information, particularly the problem under consideration, and at the same time gently translate the reader into the body of the article. There is no need to crowd all the specific information that the news reporter tries to express, nor yet to provide a setting or background such as a short story writer might
Mfge8 promotes obesity by mediating the uptake of dietary fats and serum fatty acids
Authors: Amin Khalifeh-Soltani, William McKleroy, Stephen Sakuma, Yuk Yin Cheung, Kevin Tharp, Yifu Qiu, Scott M Turner, Ajay Chawla, Andreas Stahl, Kamran Atabai
Journal: Nature Medicine (2014)
PUBLIC PROVISION FOR ADVANCED CASES OF TUBERCULOSIS.
Authors: EDWARD O. OTIS
Journal: JAMA (1907)

From the activity now manifested in this country by state and municipal authorities and by private philanthropy it seems assured that in the near future the incipient cases of pulmonary tuberculosis will be measurably well provided for. Sanatoria for such cases are now springing up in the various states with increasing rapidity, and one can prophesy with considerable assurance from what has already been accomplished that in no distant future the majority of the states will have one or more sanatoria for incipient cases. The outlook is not so hopeful, however, with regard to the advanced, the hopeless cases. Provision for them is sadly lacking, and yet they are the most numerous, and probably the most dangerous, to the community and to their immediate neighborhood. "It is admitted on all hands," says Phillip,<sup>1</sup>"that it is the advanced or dying cases of consumption which constitute the greatest source of infection
Covers of BMJ need to be strengthened
Authors: J. Norstein
Journal: BMJ (1998)

Outcome of pregnancy in women with insulin dependent diabetes Centralisation of care leads to better outcomeEditor-The finding of a persistently poor outcome of pregnancy in women with insulin dependent diabetes in two (northern) English regions is an important statement of the problem. 1 2 Both studies provide figures and show outcomes that are no different from those widely reported in the past.Unfortunately, neither give evidence of any degree of centralisation of obstetric or diabetic care, with on-site neonatal intensive care, although this is a proved means of improving the outcome of pregnancy for diabetic mothers. 3 The St Vincent declaration guidelines on the outcome of pregnancy, referred to in the accompanying editorial (p 263), are based on the Scandinavian reports held up as examples of good practice and state that "an interdisciplinary team should provide centralized diabetic pregnancy care in a hospital treating at least 20-30 cases a year.Pregnant diabetic