tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Liver iron concentration and distribution in chronic hepatitis C before and after interferon treatment.
Authors: E Boucher, A Bourienne, P Adams, B Turlin, P Brissot, Y Deugnier
Journal: Gut (1997)

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested that, in patients with chronic hepatitis C, elevated iron stores are predictive of a poor response to interferon. AIMS: To assess liver iron concentration and distribution before and after interferon treatment in patients with hepatitis C in order to evaluate further the role of iron in the pathogenesis of hepatitis C. PATIENTS: Fifty-five patients with hepatitis C treated with alpha interferon for six months. METHODS: Patients were evaluated for liver iron concentration (normal value &lt; 36 mumol/g), and liver iron distribution before and six months after therapy. RESULTS: At entry: liver iron concentration was elevated in 16/55 patients (29%); iron staining (Perls9 staining) was found in 31/55 patients (56%) mainly within Kupffer and endothelial cells. Iron load was significantly higher in patients with the most histological inflammatory activity. Following treatment: liver iron concentration decreased significantly (40 (24) to 30 (17) mumol/g, p = 0.001); this was related to iron depletion in mesenchymal cells. Iron depletion occurred regardless of the response to therapy. Elevated liver iron concentration was not found to be a predictive factor of failure of interferon. CONCLUSION: Although liver iron stores were usually normal or only slightly elevated in patients with chronic hepatitis C, biochemical and histological liver iron content decreased following treatment due to the diminution in mesenchymal iron deposits. Iron depletion was interpreted as both a consequence of the anti-inflammatory effect of treatment and a factor of improvement in liver histology.
Psoriasis in the community: prevalence, severity and patients' beliefs and attitudes towards the disease
Authors: G.J. NEVITT, P.E. HUTCHINSON
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1996)

The prevalence of psoriasis in a defined semi-urban general practice population of 5395 was estimated by means of a postal questionnaire, describing the features of psoriasis followed by physical examination of positive responders, and by a practice disease register, which directly identified psoriatic patients. A point prevalence of 1.48% was found based on examination at the time of study with an equal sex distribution. The mean age of development of the disease was 33 years. At the time of examination, the disease was mild in most patients (mean PASI 2.87). However, there was evidence of marked variability in severity within individuals with time. At some stage, 60% of individuals had required referral to a consultant dermatologist, and approximately 50% of these had received second-line, i.e. non-topical, treatments. Approximately 25% of patients had been in remission at some stage. Forty-one per cent of patients were aware that psoriasis was a genetically determined disease and 37% thought that stress was an exacerbating factor. Seventy per cent of patients were aware that the condition was not curable, but 63% thought that treatment was worthwhile. Fifty-three per cent described themselves as 'bothered' by the appearance of the condition. This concern was positively (and inversely) related to current age, and to stress as an exacerbating factor, but not to sex, PASI, duration of psoriasis, previous hospital referral, or the presence of pruritus. In this study of psoriasis in the community, the findings, particularly in relation to patients' attitude to the disease, disease severity, fluctuation in severity and referral requirements, are of potential interest in health care planning.
Effects of the Sauna-Reply
Authors: Ward Dean
Journal: JAMA (1982)

<h3>In Reply.—</h3> While I do not have any data on the caloric intake of persons living in tropical zones, Guyton<sup>1</sup>points out that the basal metabolic rate of those living in tropical zones is substantially less than that of those living in colder climates, owing in part to decreased thyroxine secretion. The effects of a sauna can probably be much better determined by studying persons exposed to a sauna, rather than comparing the caloric consumption of persons residing in different climatological zones. Using whole-body gradient calorimetry Benzinger<sup>2</sup>found that a dramatic increase in metabolic rate occurred as the core temperature was increased. Also, Kleiber<sup>3</sup>shows that at temperatures greater than 37 °C, there is a steep increase in metabolic rate. In a study to determine the effectiveness of a sauna as a conditioning device, Pribil and Matousek<sup>4</sup>found that after seven weeks of only two sauna
Restraining Infarct Expansion Preserves Left Ventricular Geometry and Function After Acute Anteroapical Infarction
Authors: Richard J. Edwards, Michael S. Marber
Journal: Circulation (1999)

Expansion of an acute myocardial infarction predicts progressive left ventricular (LV) dilatation, functional deterioration, and early death. This study tests the hypothesis that restraining expansion of an acute infarction preserves LV geometry and resting function.In 23 sheep, snares were placed around the distal left anterior descending and second diagonal coronary arteries. In 12 sheep, infarct deformation was prevented by Marlex mesh placed over the anticipated myocardial infarct. Snared arteries were occluded 10 to 14 days later. Serial hemodynamic measurements and transdiaphragmatic quantitative echocardiograms were obtained up to 8 weeks after anteroapical infarction of 0.23 of LV mass. In sheep with mesh, circulatory hemodynamics, stroke work, and end-systolic elastance return to preinfarction values 1 week after infarction and do not change subsequently. Ventricular volumes and ejection fraction do not change after the first week postinfarction. Control animals develop large anteroapical ventricular aneurysms, increasing LV dilatation, and progressive deterioration in circulatory hemodynamics and ventricular function. At week 8, differences in LV end-diastolic pressure, cardiac output, end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, ejection fraction, stroke work, and end-systolic elastance are significant (P<0.01) between groups.Preventing expansion of acute myocardial infarctions preserves LV geometry and function.
Traumatic Ventricular Aneurysms
Authors: David Selman
Journal: JAMA (1976)

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> The study by Singh et al (234:412,1975) of two young people in whom traumatic myocardial infarctions and ventricular aneurysms developed in the absence of angiographically demonstrated coronary arterial disease could be affected by the findings in two articles that recently appeared in the<i>American Journal of Cardiology</i>(36:468, 474, 1975). The former describes a modification of ordinary coronary cineangiographic technique in which the roentgen beam may be rotated through a wide arc while the patient is rotated on a horizontal plane in a cephalad or caudad direction. This is shown to disclose many lesions that would be missed by ordinary methods. In the second article, findings show a considerable degree of interobserver discrepancy in cineangiographic reporting, which may substantially reduce the sensitivity results of the examination unless the angiograms are read by at least two physicians. Of course, the same reservations would apply to the many previous
Structural consequences of traumatizing articular cartilage.
Authors: N D Broom
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1986)

Articular cartilage-on-bone has been subjected to repeated impact loading in vitro and the associated structural changes occurring in the general matrix examined by optical and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The study shows that repeated trauma transforms the pseudorandom arrangement of fibrils comprising the general matrix of normal articular cartilage into a structural configuration strongly aligned in the radial direction and displaying a prominent waveform or crimp. This stress-induced structural transformation can be predicted from the application of a recently developed structural model of articular cartilage. Further, this altered structure bears a close resemblance to that commonly observed in articular cartilage exhibiting both non-progressive degeneration and osteoarthritic changes.
F-18 FDG PET/CT Findings of Primary Carcinoma of the Fallopian Tube
Authors: Kentaro Takanami, Tomohiro Kaneta, Shogo Yamada, Hiroshi Fukuda, Shoki Takahashi
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2009)

We report the F-18 FDG PET findings of a patient with primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube. A 65-year-old woman who was suspected to have an ovarian tumor with a history of breast cancer 5 years previously was referred to our hospital. FDG-PET demonstrated intense uptake in the left adnexa. The histopathologic findings obtained by adnexectomy revealed primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube. This case report, therefore, indicates that fallopian tube cancer should be considered in the differential diagnosis of adnexal lesions demonstrating intense FDG uptake.
Biogeochemical processes governing exposure and uptake of organic pollutant compounds in aquatic organisms.
Authors: J W Farrington
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1991)

This paper reviews current knowledge of biogeochemical cycles of pollutant organic chemicals in aquatic ecosystems with a focus on coastal ecosystems. There is a bias toward discussing chemical and geochemical aspects of biogeochemical cycles and an emphasis on hydrophobic organic compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and chlorinated organic compounds used as pesticides. The complexity of mixtures of pollutant organic compounds, their various modes of entering ecosystems, and their physical chemical forms are discussed. Important factors that influence bioavailability and disposition (e.g., organism-water partitioning, uptake via food, food web transfer) are reviewed. These factors include solubilities of chemicals; partitioning of chemicals between solid surfaces, colloids, and soluble phases; variables rates of sorption, desorption; and physiological status of organism. It appears that more emphasis on considering food as a source of uptake and bioaccumulation is important in benthic and epibenthic ecosystems when sediment-associated pollutants are a significant source of input to an aquatic ecosystem. Progress with mathematical models for exposure and uptake of contaminant chemicals is discussed briefly.
Maternal and child health: is South Asia ready for change?
Authors: Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Indu Gupta, Harendra de'Silva, Dharma Manandhar, Shally Awasthi, S M Moazzem Hossain, M A Salam
Journal: BMJ (2004)

Increased awareness of the contributions of nonpoint source runoff to the degradation of water quality in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the need to increase conservation practices that reduce nutrient export from agricultural lands. To achieve long-term conservation goals in agricultural landscapes, it is important to understand farmers9 perspectives on what practices are effective, practical, and economically attainable. We conducted a series of surveys, interspersed with focused outreach, of farmers in two agricultural watersheds in central Illinois in an attempt to better understand how outreach influenced their views on and adoption of conservation practices. Programs differed between the two watersheds in terms of the levels of intensity at which outreach efforts were conducted. Survey results suggest that more intensive outreach efforts, such as one-on-one landowner visits, localized workshops, and tours, can increase adoption of conservation practices associated with cost-share programs. Technical and financial assistance provided in a timely manner that did not interfere with planting and harvesting were major incentives among farmers in both watersheds to participate in cost-share conservation programs. Primary disincentives among farmers to enroll in cost-share programs were associated with multiple programmatic changes and complex application processes. Results indicate that there remains a need for outreach that increases awareness and implementation of conservation and best management practices specific to reducing agricultural runoff from tile-drained sources. Mitigation of nonpoint runoff will also require more effective management of nitrogen application rates and timing in order to conserve freshwater resources in Midwest agricultural landscapes and downstream waters. Integrated outreach teams comprised of stakeholders and local conservation agencies may lead to successful outreach efforts and reduce demands on limited conservation agency staff time.
Suicide and the Communication of Rage: A Cross-Cultural Case Study
Authors: FREDERICK D. MCCANDLESS
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1968)

The author reports the study of 36 attempted suicides in Guyana, an emerging nation where suicide attempts are a major public health problem. The incidence of suicide is lower among persons of African descent, which reflects the fact that there are a number of culturally sanctioned techniques for acting out hostile affects in this group. The East Indian, without a culturally accepted means for the discharge of aggression, can communicate his rage by directing it against himself.
First report of human psittacosis in Vietnam
Authors: Ta Thi Dieu Ngan, Sherine Thomas, Mattias Larsson, Peter Horby, Nguyen Ngoc Diep, Vu Quoc Dat, Nguyen Vu Trung, Nguyen Hong Ha, H. Rogier van Doorn, Nguyen Van Kinh, Heiman F.L. Wertheim
Journal: Journal of Infection (2012)
Abstract 5250: The effect of introducing a C118S mutation into the endogenous Kras gene on early tumorigenesis
Authors: Lu Huang, Christopher M. Counter
Journal: Cancer Research (2014)

Abstract The Ras family of small GTPase, comprised of HRAS, NRAS, and KRAS, have been found mutated to remain in an active oncogenic state in many different human cancers, which is well established to promote tumorigenesis. All three RAS isoforms contain a conserved C118, of which the thiol group can be post-translationally modified by processes such as S-nitrosylation, which have been reported to promote RAS activation. To investigate the effect of blocking such modifications on RAS function in vivo, a C118S mutation, which lacks the reactive thiol group, was knocked into the endogenous Kras gene in mice. We now report that KrasC118S/C118S mice were born at the expected ratio with no overt phenotypes. To explore the effect of this mutation on early tumorigenesis, Kras+/+, KrasC118S/+, and KrasC118S/C118S mice were treated with the carcinogen urethane to induce oncogenic mutations in Kras and lung lesions. Interestingly, both KrasC118S/+ and KrasC118S/C118S mice developed fewer and smaller lung tumors than control Kras+/+ mice, suggesting that KrasC118S impairs lung tumorigenesis. Such a reduction in tumorigenesis could be the consequence of the C118S mutation on either the unaffected Kras allele or the Kras allele with the oncogenic mutation. To evaluate the first possibility, we tested and found that mice harboring a Cre-activated LSL-KrasG12D allele formed a similar number and size of lung tumors after activation of this allele when the remaining Kras allele was wild-type or C118S mutant. These data indicate that the reduction in tumor lesions observed in KrasC118S/+ and KrasC118S/C118S mice treated with urethane was unlikely to be the consequence of the C118S mutation on the non-oncogenic Kras allele. To evaluate the second possibility, we tested and found that oncogenic mutations occurred preferentially in the native compared to the C118S mutant Kras allele in KrasC118S/+ mice treated with urethane, suggesting a selection against oncogenic mutations on the KrasC118S allele. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that post-translational modifications such as S-nitrosylation on C118 enhance the oncogenic activity of Kras in vivo, and demonstrate for the first time that blocking the ability of a protein to be modified by processes like S-nitrosylation has a biological consequence in vivo. Citation Format: Lu Huang, Christopher M. Counter. The effect of introducing a C118S mutation into the endogenous Kras gene on early tumorigenesis. [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 5250. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5250
Abstract 3340: Expansion of human breast cancer stem /progenitor cell subpopulation through histone deacetylase inhibitors
Authors: Bisrat G. Debeb, Lara Lacerda, Wei Xu, Fredika Robertson, Naoto T. Ueno, Anthony Lucci, James M. Reuben, Thomas A. Buchholz, Wendy A. Woodward
Journal: Cancer Research (2011)

Abstract We recently demonstrated that valproic acid, an histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, radiosensitized breast cancer cells grown on plastic with serum while it radioprotected cells grown in stem cell promoting culture conditions (Debeb et al., 2010) and recently, it has been shown that differentiated cancer cells can de-differentiate into the cancer stem cell phenotype (Meyers et al., 2009; Gupta et al., 2009). Based on these data, we hypothesized that HDAC inhibitors can increase the cancer stem cell population via dedifferentiation of differentiated cancer cells. To examine our hypothesis, Sum159 breast cancer cells were FACS-sorted based on ALDH activity and subsequently treated with one of two known HDAC inhibitors, valproic acid or SAHA. After sorting, ALDH-negative cells were treated either with valproic acid, SAHA, or vehicle. After a week, the percentage of ALDH-positive cells (passage 0, P0) was examined with flow cytometry while the remaining cells were passaged and incubated with and without valproic acid or SAHA for a week and the percentage of ALDH-positive cells again evaluated (P1). This was repeated for the third time (P2). Samples from each generation were also used to assay for, mammosphere formation efficiency, cell cycle analysis as well as to assess RNA and protein expression. In P0 cells, a 3-fold increase in ALDH positive cells was seen in valproic acid-treated cells (35.6% vs.12.6%) and a 1.5-fold increase in SAHA-treated cells (41% vs. 28%) compared to vehicle-treated controls. Moreover, HDAC inhibitors significantly increased primary and secondary mammosphere formation by 3.1 to 13.4-fold. Also, while the percentage of cells in the G0/G1 phase is increased with treatment, the percentage of cells in the S-phase of the cell cycle is significantly reduced. These effects were maintained through multiple passages. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein expression of Beta-catenin and EMT associated genes like vimentin, fibronectin and n-cadherin was significantly increased with treatment in initial and passaged cells. Further functional endpoint studies are being conducted in-vivo to validate these findings. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3340. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3340
WHO calls for a health domain name to help consumers
Authors: P. Brown
Journal: BMJ (2002)

The California based body that oversees the creation of “top level” internet domains such as .com and .org is coming under renewed pressure to agree a new domain that would signal legitimate health information websites.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is being asked by the World Health Organization and others to set out a clear timetable for agreeing new domain names after rejecting a proposed “.health” domain in late 2000. The issue is likely to be discussed when the corporation's …
Between hope and acceptance: the medicalisation of dying
Authors: D. Clark
Journal: BMJ (2002)

Palliative care has encouraged medicine to be gentler in its acceptance of death, yet medical services in general continue to regard death as something to be resisted, postponed, or avoided. David Hart examines the challenge facing doctors to balance technical intervention with a humanistic approach to their dying patients

We have grown used to speaking of medicalisation as a byword for all things negative about the influence of modern medicine on life and society. The term has become synonymous with the sense of a profession reaching too far: into the body, the mind, and even the soul itself. Its use is now almost always pejorative, negative, and antagonistic. When Ivan Illich developed his original critique of medicalisation in the mid-1970s, he highlighted its particular impact upon the dying process in modern culture and could claim that modern medicine had “brought the epoch of natural death to an end” (box 1).1

#### Summary points

In the mid-1970s, Ivan Illich launched a powerful attack on the “medicalisation” of dying

The rise of palliative care has been one response to calls for greater dignity at the end of life

Yet the wider medical system continues to regard death as something to be resisted, postponed, or avoided

The charge of creeping medicalisation has also been levelled at palliative care

All physicians face the problem of balancing technical intervention with a humanistic orientation to their dying patients RETURN TO TEXT

Yet well before Illich a climate of concern was already developing about contemporary means of dying and medicine's part in them. The emergence of terminal and hospice care, and subsequent endorsement of the specialty of palliative medicine, is a clear expression of this.

Concerns about improving care at the end of life began to surface on both sides of the Atlantic during the 1950s. In Britain attention focused on …
Adverse Effects of Sodium Colistimethate
Authors: JAN KOCH-WESER
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1970)

Two hundred and eighty-eight hospitalized patients were monitored during and after 317 courses of sodium colistimethate therapy to determine incidence and manifestations of adverse reactions. Adverse renal reactions occurred during 20.2% of colistin utilizations and were generally reversible. Acute tubular necrosis occurred during 1.9% of utilizations, manifestations of colistin neurotoxicity developed during 7.3%. Respiratory insufficiency and apnea were seen in 2.1% of patients. Adverse effects of colistin therapy contributed to the death of 13 (4.5%) patients. Adverse effects of colistin therapy contributed to the death of 13 (4.5%) patients treated with the drug. Sixty-four percent of adverse reactions to colistin became manifest during the first 4 days of therapy, and 95% occurred in patients who received no more than the recommended dose. For any given mean daily dose per pound, reaction rates increased markedly with patient weight. Colistin dosage proportional to the square root of patient weight might avoid the excess reaction rate in heavy patients and produce more effective blood levels in light patients.
THE LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PHYSICIAN FOR THE UNBORN CHILD.CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS IN THE SECTION ON OBSTETRICS AND DISEASES OF WOMEN, AT THE FIFTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL SESSION OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. BOSTON, 1906.
Authors: C. S BACON
Journal: JAMA (1906)

<h3>INTRODUCTORY.</h3> Since the last session of the Association in Portland, our Section has lost by death two of its Ex-chairmen, Drs. Dudley and Dunning, both of whom were members of the Executive Committee of the Section. Dr. Augustus Palmer Dudley was born at Phillipsburg, Me., July 4, 1853, and died in Liverpool, England, July, 15, 1905, of tuberculosis, at the age of 53. After completing a high school course he served an apprenticeship in an iron and steel manufactory, where he became a skilled mechanic. Then he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Seth Gordon and graduated at the Dartmouth Medical School, in 1877. After practicing four years in Portland, Me., he took the course of an interne in the Woman's Hospital, of New York. After a short service as assistant surgeon in the Woman's Hospital, in San Francisco, he returned to New York in 1884;