tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Diabetic impotence: studies of nocturnal erection during REM sleep.
Authors: D J Hosking, T Bennet, J R Hampton, D F Evans, A J Clark, G Robertson
Journal: BMJ (1979)

Nocturnal erections were studied in 30 diabetic patients who complained of impotence and in 11 healthy volunteers. The maximum increase in penile circumference was measured by a penile strain-gauge and recorded on a portable tape-recorder; an external oculogram was recorded simultaneously to identify periods of rapid-eye-movement sleep. The technique gave reproducible results, was acceptable to patients, and was suitable for use in an oridnary hospital ward. Only six diabetics showed a maximum increase in penile circumference of under 15 mm, whereas all but one of the healthy subjects showed maximum increases above this value. Of the six diabetics, five complained of total impotence and had other features of autonomic neuropathy that suggested an organic basis for their impotence. The other patient complained of partial importence, which was probably caused by psychological factors. These findings suggest that the prevalence of organic impotence among diabetics has been overestimated.
Recent advances: Paediatrics
Authors: A. Jain
Journal: BMJ (2001)

During the past century, advances in hygiene, antibiotic development, and immunisations have resulted in cures for most childhood infections.Because access to medical care is not universally available, however, infectious diseases continue to be the main source of childhood mortality and morbidity.Increasingly, disparities in the health of children are linked to differences in socioeconomic status between industrialised and developing countries and between lower and higher income families within those countries.For example, diseases that are preventable by vaccination, such as polio, continue to flourish in parts of the world, and children are still becoming infected with HIV because identifying infected mothers and delivering effective drugs to them are formidable tasks.In this review, we examine four prominent health issues influenced by social or economic conditions: vertical transmission of HIV, vaccines, obesity, and teenage smoking.The advances made in these areas are relevant to both industrialised and developing countries. MethodsWe searched Medline for relevant articles published since 1 January 1999 and reviewed recent government documents where relevant.We also identified additional educational resources related to each of the four topics that may be of interest to doctors and families.
Abstract 1920: Chemo-resistant regulatory T cells inhibit the augmentation of antitumor immunity during homeostatic T cell proliferation
Authors: Junko Baba, Satoshi Watanabe, Kosuke Ichikawa, Jun Koshio, Takao Miyabayashi, Junta Tanaka, Hiroshi Tanaka, Hiroshi Kagamu, Hirohisa Yoshizawa, Ichiei Narita
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract It has been demonstrated that lymphodepletion by cytotoxic regimens, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, augments antitumor immune response. Although the mechanism underlying this stimulation of antitumor immunity remains unclear, possible explanations have been proposed; depletion of suppressor cells, improvement of tumor-antigen presentation, and elimination of lymphocytes competing activation cytokines. We previously reported that CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells were increasing in sublethally (500 rad) irradiated mice. Those radio-resistant regulatory T cells inhibited the development of antitumor immunity during recovery from lymphopenia. Depletion of regulatory T cells after irradiation enhanced generation of antitumor effector T cells and significantly suppressed tumor progression. We hypothesized that chemotherapy-resistant, as well as radio-resistant, regulatory T cells inhibited antitumor immune response. In this study, C57/BL6 mice were administered 200 or 400 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide to deplete lymphocytes. On the same day, naïve spleen T cells were transferred intravenously followed by subcutaneous injection of MCA205 tumor cells. We found that the percentage of regulatory T cells increased from 4-5% in normal mice to 16% in lymphopenic mice injected with cyclophosphamide. Transfer of naïve T cells into cyclophosphamide injected lymphopenic mice showed some antitumor effects, and further elimination of regulatory T cells by anti-CD25 antibodies (PC61) following administration of cyclophosphamide significantly inhibited skin-tumor growth. It is well known that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is critical differentiation cytokine for regulatory T cells. Thus, we examined the effects of anti-TGF-beta antibodies (1D11) on regulatory T cells during recovery from lymphopenia. Injection of anti-TGF-beta antibodies after lymphodepletion stimulated antitumor immune responses and delayed tumor progression. The results indicate that regulatory T cells are resistant to cytotoxic regimens. The combination of cytotoxic therapy and inhibition of regulatory T cells efficiently increases antitumor immune response. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1920.
Sugar's web of influence 4: Mars and company: sweet heroes or villains?
Authors: J. Gornall
Journal: BMJ (2015)

What really lies behind food companies’ willingness to downsize their products in the name of calorie reduction? Jonathan Gornall reports

Global confectioner Mars signed up to the government’s public health responsibility deal in 2011 and has since complied with pledges to reduce salt in its pasta sauces and lower the saturated fat content of some of its chocolate bars.

In 2013 the company announced that as part of its public health commitment it was going to cut the energy content in all of its single serving products to less than 250 calories by reducing their size. It was a move that Anna Soubry, former public health minister, described as “absolutely brilliant.” The company, she told The Grocer , “don’t have to do it but are doing it for all the right reasons.”1

But were they? Perhaps something else lay behind the company’s eagerness to reduce the size of its bars in all of its markets, not just the United Kingdom—much easier than reformulating—while keeping the price the same.

As The Grocer noted, the company had reduced the size of its bars before, without making any public health claims, “in the wake of big hikes in the cost of chocolate-making over the past decade.” In 2008, it had cut Mars and Snicker bars from 62.5 g to 58 g—again, while keeping the price the same.1

Prevailing economic conditions continue to favour such strategic cost cutting. At the end of 2013 Rabobank, a leading bank in the food and agriculture sectors, predicted correctly that sugar prices would increase by more than 8% in 2014. This, reported Confectionery News , would mean “confectioners will be dealt a double blow in 2014 as cocoa prices are also expected to surge as cocoa production fails to keep up with consumption.”2 In September …
Will a Matchmaker Kill the Match?
Authors: H. L. Weinberger, F. A. Oski
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1982)

ON March 17, 1982, fourth-year medical students throughout the United States received the results of the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). This system has worked effectively for 30 years, and more than 90 per cent of senior students participate in it.The NRMP has provided a format whereby both students and institutions can make mutually satisfactory choices. The procedure was designed to eliminate premature promises by either party — promises often made under subtle and not-so-subtle pressures.The effectiveness of the matching process is now threatened, ironically, by another form of matching: the pairing of male and female applicants.Under . . .
Back Pain in a Young Man
Authors: Ronald A. Seltzer
Journal: JAMA (1966)

Dr. William J. Otto: An 18-year-old white boy entered the hospital complaining of back pain of seven months' duration. The pain was constant but was relieved by mild analgesics. It radiated into the left leg to the lateral malleolus. He was seen at another hospital four months previously where a myelogram was said to be normal. There was no history of trauma or sudden strain. Physical examination revealed tenderness over the fourth lumbar vertebra posteriorly and limitation of straight-leg raising on the left. Results of neurological examination were normal. All laboratory findings were within normal limits. <h3>Discussion</h3> Dr. Jack R. Dreyfuss: There is a lucent area, 11 mm in diameter, located in the superior aspect of the left lamina of the fifth lumbar vertebra (Figure,<i>left</i>). A laminagram (Figure,<i>right</i>) shows a small zone of sclerosis surrounding the defect and a suggestion of a small area of increased density within
Public Reporting of Antibiotic Timing in Patients with Pneumonia: Lessons from a Flawed Performance Measure
Authors: Robert M. Wachter, Scott A. Flanders, Christopher Fee, Peter J. Pronovost
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2008)

The administration of antibiotics within 4 hours to patients with community-acquired pneumonia has been criticized as a quality standard because it pressures clinicians to rapidly administer antibiotics despite diagnostic uncertainty at the time of patients' initial presentations. The measure was recently revised (to 6 hours) in response to this criticism. On the basis of the experience with the 4-hour rule, the authors make 5 recommendations for the development of future publicly reported quality measures. First, results from samples with known diagnoses should be extrapolated cautiously, if at all, to patients without a diagnosis. Second, for some measures, "bands" of performance may make more sense than "all-or-nothing" expectations. Third, representative end users of quality measures should participate in measure development. Fourth, quality measurement and reporting programs should build in mechanisms to reassess measures over time. Finally, biases, both financial and intellectual, that may influence quality measure development should be minimized. These steps will increase the probability that future quality measures will improve care without creating negative unintended consequences.
Medical groups fight to stop doctors working for months without registration
Authors: R. Watson
Journal: BMJ (2003)

British medical organisations will continue their fight against new European Union legislation that they believe poses a danger to patients, despite losing the first battle in their campaign.

Under the proposal now being examined by the European parliament healthcare professionals from any EU country would be able to work for up to four months a year, every year, in another member state without being registered with the host country's regulator.

The BMA, the General Medical Council, and the Royal College of Physicians, along with other health regulators …
Abdominal Pain and Slipping-Rib Syndrome
Authors: FREDERICK M. VINCENT
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1978)

Letters and Corrections1 January 1978Abdominal Pain and Slipping-Rib SyndromeFREDERICK M. VINCENT, M.D.FREDERICK M. VINCENT, M.D.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-88-1-129_3 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the editor: The article "Abdominal Pain Caused by Diabetic Radiculopathy" (Ann Intern Med86:166-168, 1977) brings to light another seemingly uncommon disorder, which should be added to the list of differential diagnoses of abdominal pain. It is often the obscure causes of pain in the abdominal region that tax physicians' diagnostic acumen, and certainly many discomforts go undiagnosed for a long time. I wish to call attention to a disorder that also causes anterior abdominal discomfort, one not widely recognized as a clinical entity. This is the so-called rib-tip, or slipping-rib, syndrome (1, 2). The following case report illustrates...References1. HEINZ G and ZAVALA D: Slipping rib syndrome: diagnosis using the "hooking maneuver." JAMA 237:794-795, 1977 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. MCBEATH A and KEENE J: The rib-tip syndrome. J Bone Joint Surg 57-A:795-797, 1975 CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: FREDERICK M. VINCENT, M.D.Affiliations: Division of Neurology Department of Medicine Dartmouth Medical School Hanover, NH 03755 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited bySurgical Management of the Slipping Rib SyndromeSlipping Rib Syndrome: Solving the Mystery of the Shooting PainPeripheral neuropathic mimics of visceral abdominal pain: Can physical examination limit diagnostic testing?Musculoskeletal Problems of the Chest Wall in AthletesSlipping Rib Syndrome as a Cause of Chest Pain in Children 1 January 1978Volume 88, Issue 1Page: 129-130KeywordsAbdominal painTaxes ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 January 1978 PDF downloadLoading ...
Relationship of Degree of Atherosclerosis of Internal Carotid System in the Brain of Women to Age and Coronary Atherosclerosis
Authors: MALCOLM D. WINTER, GEORGE P. SAYRE, CLARK H. MILLIKAN, NELSON W. BARKER
Journal: Circulation (1958)

Cerebral infaretion currently is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Since atherosclerosis of the cerebral arteries is the basis for the majority of strokes, the authors undertook to define more accurately the distribution of such atherosclerosis, its relation to coronary atherosclerosis, and its relation to such other factors as hypertension, obesity, and cerebral infarction. The results of their study are presented here.
A comparison of the effect of narrow-band ultraviolet B in the treatment of psoriasis after salt-water baths and after 8-methoxypsoralen baths
Authors: W.P. Arnold, P. van Andel, D. de Hoop, L. de Jong-Tieben, M. Visser-van Andel
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2001)

Sir, There is a disparity between the absorption spectrum of 8‐methoxypsoralen (8‐MOP) and the ultraviolet (UV) action spectrum for psoralen‐sensitized erythema. In an action spectrum corrected for unsensitized reaction, 313‐ and 365‐nm UV radiation have similar efficacies.1–4 Ortel et al. therefore evaluated the relative erythemogenic and antipsoriatic efficacy of narrow‐band (311‐nm) UVB with and without prior psoralen exposure.5 They discovered that the efficacy of 311‐nm UVB could be enhanced by psoralen taken orally or delivered topically by bath water. Sakuntabhai et al. described a pilot study in which they showed that psoriatic lesions on the arms in eight of nine patients disappeared faster after taking 8‐MOP followed by 311‐nm UVB compared with 311‐nm UVB only.6 The same group then compared (oral) psoralen‐UVB (311 nm) and psoralen‐UVA photochemotherapy (PUVA) in the treatment of 100 patients with psoriasis.7 After 15 treatments with UVB, 43 of 50 patients were without psoriatic lesions and after a mean of 16·5 treatments with UVA, 37 of 50 patients had cleared
Environmental complex mixture toxicity assessment.
Authors: H S Gardner, L M Brennan, M W Toussaint, A B Rosencrance, E M Boncavage-Hennessey, M J Wolfe
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1998)

Trichloroethylene (TCE) was found as a contaminant in the well supplying water to an aquatic testing laboratory. The groundwater was routinely screened by a commercial laboratory for volatile and semivolatile compounds, metals, herbicides, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency methods. Although TCE was the only reportable peak on the gas chromatograph, with average concentrations of 0.200 mg/l, other small peaks were also present, indicating the possibility that the contamination was not limited to TCE alone. A chronic 6-month carcinogenicity assay was conducted on-site in a biomonitoring trailer, using the Japanese medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) in an initiation-promotion protocol, with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) as the initiator and the TCE-contaminated groundwater as a promoter. Study results indicated no evidence of carcinogenic potential of the groundwater without initiation. There was, however, a tumor-promotional effect of the groundwater after DEN initiation. A follow-up laboratory study was conducted using reagent grade TCE added to carbon-filtered groundwater to simulate TCE concentrations comparable to those found in the contaminated groundwater. Study results indicated no promotional effects of TCE. These studies emphasize the necessity for on-site bioassays to assess potential environmental hazards. In this instance, chemical analysis of the groundwater identified TCE as the only reportable contaminant, but other compounds present below reportable limits were noted and may have had a synergistic effect on tumor promotion observed with the groundwater exposure. Laboratory toxicity testing of single compounds can produce toxicity data specific to that compound for that species but cannot take into account the possible toxic effects of mixtures of compounds.
Oxygen-induced constriction of rabbit ductus arteriosus occurs via inhibition of a 4-aminopyridine-, voltage-sensitive potassium channel.
Authors: M Tristani-Firouzi, H L Reeve, S Tolarova, E K Weir, S L Archer
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1996)

The ductus arteriosus is a vital fetal structure allowing blood ejected from the right ventricle to bypass the pulmonary circulation in utero. Closure of the ductus arteriosus at birth, essential for postnatal adaptation, is initiated by an increase in oxygen (O2) tension. We recently demonstrated the presence of O2-sensitive potassium channels in the fetal and adult pulmonary circulation which regulate vascular tone in response to changes in O2 tension. In this study, we assessed the cellular mechanisms underlying O2-induced constriction of the ductus arteriosus in late-gestation fetal rabbits. We report that O2 reversibly inhibits a 58-pS voltage- and 4-aminopyridine-sensitive potassium channel, causing membrane depolarization, an increase in intracellular calcium through L-type voltage-gated calcium channels, and constriction of the ductus arteriosus. We conclude that the effector mechanism for O2 sensing in the ductus arteriosus involves the coordinated action of delayed rectifier potassium channels and voltage-gated calcium channels.
Inactivation of the DCC tumor suppressor gene in a B‐cell lymphoma cell line with the alteration of chromosome 18
Authors: Takayuki Ikezoe, Tatsushi Miyagi, Tetsuya Kubota, Takahiro Taguchi, Yuji Ohtsuki, Koichi Miyake, Koiti Inokuchi, Takeo Nomura, H. Phillip Koeffler, Isao Miyoshi
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (1995)

Abstract A B‐cell lymphoma cell line, designated KML‐1, was established from pleural effusion of a patient with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma of large‐cell type. The lymphoma arose in the pelvis and ran an aggressive clinical course. Chromosome analysis of the cell line exhibited a complex karyotype including the loss of chromosome 18. To evaluate the molecular events in the cell line that may be associated with the development of the lymphoma, we investigated the expression and/or alterations of several classes of human genes, including oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and cytokine genes. The expression of the DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) gene, located on the chromosome 18q21, was extremely reduced in KML‐1 cell line, as compared with that in a normal spleen tissue and other 4 lymphoma cell lines by the reverse transcription‐polymerase‐chain‐reaction (RT‐PCR) method. This finding suggests that inactivation of the DCC gene might play a role in the pathogenesis of the case of lymphoma.
On the subject of perceptual illusions, and the ambiguity of perceptual information
Authors: Arve Vorland Pedersen, Hermundur Sigmundsson
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2004)

Stoffregen &amp; Bardy (S&amp;B) make the point that the statement “I am moving” made by subjects in a “swinging room” cannot be explained as an illusion of motion, and there is thus no perceptual illusion. In this they are correct. There is in fact motion, but of the environment. We argue that the subjects misinterpret this because the information to the visual system is ambiguous and also deceiving.
Association of echocardiography before major elective non-cardiac surgery with postoperative survival and length of hospital stay: population based cohort study
Authors: D. N. Wijeysundera, W. S. Beattie, K. Karkouti, M. D. Neuman, P. C. Austin, A. Laupacis
Journal: BMJ (2011)

To determine the association of resting echocardiography before elective intermediate to high risk non-cardiac surgery with survival and length of hospital stay.Population based retrospective cohort study.Acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada, between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2008.Patients aged over 40 years who had elective intermediate to high risk non-cardiac surgery.Resting echocardiography within 6 months before surgery.Postoperative survival (30 days and 1 year) and length of hospital stay; postoperative surgical site infection as an outcome for which no association with echocardiography would be expected.Of the 264,823 patients in the entire cohort, 15.1% (n = 40,084) had echocardiography. After use of propensity score methods to assemble a matched cohort (n = 70,996) that reduced differences between patients who had or had not had echocardiography, echocardiography was associated with increases in 30 day mortality (relative risk 1.14, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.27), 1 year mortality (1.07, 1.01 to 1.12), and length of hospital stay but no difference in surgical site infections (1.03, 0.98 to 1.06). The association with mortality was influenced (P = 0.02) by whether patients had had stress testing or had risk factors for cardiac complications. No association existed between echocardiography and mortality among patients who had stress testing (relative risk 1.01, 0.92 to 1.11) or among patients at high risk who had not had stress testing (1.00, 0.87 to 1.13). However, echocardiography was associated with mortality in patients at low risk (relative risk 1.44, 1.14 to 1.82) and intermediate risk (1.10, 1.02 to 1.18) who had not had stress testing.Preoperative echocardiography was not associated with improved survival or shorter hospital stay after major non-cardiac surgery. These findings highlight the need for further research to guide better use of this common preoperative test.
Pick's Disease: Kymography
Authors: G. L. S. Konstam, F. G. Wood
Journal: BMJ (1939)

Background: The nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), first described by Gorlin and Goltz in 1960, is a hereditary autosomal dominant disease with high penetrance and variable expressivity. Almost 70% of patients with NBCCS have some degree of craniofacial anomaly. Among these, the presence of ectopic calcification have been reported but Atlanto-occipital ligament calcification has never been described. Therefore this investigation was carried out to determine the prevalence of atlanto-occipital ligament calcification on lateral x-ray of NBCCS patients aiming to assess the effectiveness of this sign in NBCCS diagnosis. Patients and Methods: Lateral and frontal cephalometric radiographs of 18 patients (11 males and 7 females), aged 8-61 years, with the diagnosis of NBCCS were evaluated for the presence of intracranial calcifications (diaphragma sellae and falx cerebri) and or calcification of the atlanto-occipital ligament. Results: A total of 11 patients presented calcification of atlanto-occipital ligament to various degrees and in three cases this represented the only sign of ectopic calcification. When compared to the other two sites of ossification, atlanto-occipital ligament calcification had a similar prevalence. Conclusion: The calcification of the atlanto-occipital ligament should be considered in addition to the other major criteria for NBCCS diagnosis.