tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Simplified assay for VWF cleaving protease (ADAMTS13) activity and inhibitor in plasma
Authors: Mary Ann Knovich, Karen Craver, Melissa D. Matulis, Heather Lawson, John Owen
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (2004)

The absence of VWF cleaving protease activity (VWFcp, ADAMTS13) has recently been identified as a central component in the pathogenesis of TTP. Several assays for the measurement of ADAMTS13 activity have been described, but most are cumbersome and employ techniques not easily adapted to routine laboratories. Thus, ADAMTS13 assays are available at only a few reference or research laboratories. Prompt identification of absent or impaired ADAMTS13 activity could prove invaluable to clinical decision-making regarding diagnosis and treatment of suspected TTP patients. We describe an assay for ADAMTS13 that uses a commercial source of VWF substrate and obviates dialysis for sample and substrate preparation. Patient and normal plasma are prepared by desalting over Micro-Spin columns, and barium is added to activate the cleaving protease. Humate-P(R) is prepared over a desalting column and reconstituted in urea prior to use as the exogenous VWF substrate. Desalted plasma is mixed with prepared substrate, and digestion is carried out at 37 degrees C. Maximum sensitivity to very low levels of enzyme activity is achieved by using undiluted plasma and allowing digestion to proceed for 14 hr. The extent of VWF multimer cleavage is then demonstrated by Western blot. We used this assay to analyze VWF cleaving protease activity in plasma samples from 30 patients treated at our institution for TTP. Plasma from patients lacking ADAMTS13 was incubated with PNP and then analyzed by the same methods to determine the presence of an inhibitor. Our results indicate that the assay is suitable for providing timely information regarding ADAMTS13 activity for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with suspected TTP.
ELECTRIC CONVULSIVE THERAPY IN STAMMERING
Authors: THELMA V. OWEN, MARGUERITE G. STEMMERMANN
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1947)

1. To illustrate the value of the pluralistic approach to the problem of stammering a case is reported in detail in which psychotherapy speech training, and electric convulsive therapy were utilized. 2. The dominant psychoneurotic traits were amenable to psychotherapy only after convulsive treatment released the patient's inner tension. 3. Electric convulsive therapy is recommended in the management of severe stammering to shorten the period of treatment and to induce a more suitable atmosphere for both psychotherapy and speech reeducation.
Oversized 'Bullseye' With Central Activity Testicle
Authors: EDDY K. DUNN, DANIEL L. ZINN, SALIL D. SARKAR, ARNOLD M. STRASHUN
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1993)

Tc-99m pertechnetate testicular scintigraphy and corresponding sonography were performed on a 31-year-old prisoner 9 days after he was kicked in the scrotum. Surgical exploration the following day revealed a hemorrhagic testicular infarct with rupture of the testicle. Unlike a vascular occlusive infarct of the testis secondary to torsion of the spermatic cord, the scintigraphic "bullseye" was much larger than usual and showed presence of some activity within or overlying its central zone of photopenia. Sonography revealed abnormal features highly suggestive of a traumatic testicular rupture. However, the extent of the infarct could not be as readily appreciated sonographically as with the scintigraphic images.
Epsilon-Aminocaproic Acid in the Treatment of Patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia and Acquired Alpha-2-Plasmin Inhibitor Deficiency
Authors: Bradford S. Schwartz, Eliot C. Williams, Maureen G. Conlan, Deane F. Mosher
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1986)

Patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia often develop bleeding diatheses during treatment. In seven patients who had this disease, the plasma level of alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor was the best predictor of severity of coagulopathy and bleeding. Clinical bleeding occurred when alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor levels measured less than 30% of normal levels. Patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia who had acquired deficiencies of alpha-2plasmin inhibitor were considered to have deficits similar to those in persons congenitally deficient in alpha-2plasmin inhibitor, and were assumed to be at increased risk for bleeding. Treatment with the fibrinolytic inhibitor, epsilon-aminocaproic acid, along with heparin resulted in prompt cessation of bleeding, reversal of laboratory evidence of fibrinolysis, and a decreased need for blood product support. The only thrombotic complication—thrombosis around a central venous catheter—resolved when treatment with epsilon-aminocaproic acid was discontinued. Epsilon-aminocaproic acid is a safe and effective therapy for those patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia who develop coagulopathy associated with low levels of alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor.
Development of lentigines within naevoid hypopigmentation
Authors: N.P. Khumalo, S. Huson, S. Burge
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2001)

Journal Article Development of lentigines within naevoid hypopigmentation Get access N.P. Khumalo, N.P. Khumalo Departments of Dermatology and Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar S. Huson, S. Huson Clinical Genetics, The Churchill Hospital, Oxford OX3 7LJ, U.K. Correspondence: Dr N.P.KhumaloE‐mail: n_khumalo@hotmail.com Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar S. Burge S. Burge Departments of Dermatology and Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 144, Issue 1, 1 January 2001, Pages 188–189, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2001.03975.x Published: 01 January 2001
Mucin Glycosylating Enzyme GALNT2 Regulates the Malignant Character of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Modifying the EGF Receptor
Authors: Yao-Ming Wu, Chiung-Hui Liu, Rey-Heng Hu, Miao-Juei Huang, Jian-Jr Lee, Chi-Hau Chen, John Huang, Hong-Shiee Lai, Po-Huang Lee, Wen-Ming Hsu, Hsiu-Chin Huang, Min-Chuan Huang
Journal: Cancer Research (2011)

Extracellular glycosylation is a critical determinant of malignant character. Here, we report that N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 2 (GALNT2), the enzyme that mediates the initial step of mucin type-O glycosylation, is a critical mediator of malignant character in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that acts by modifying the activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). GALNT2 mRNA and protein were downregulated frequently in HCC tumors where these events were associated with vascular invasion and recurrence. Restoring GALNT2 expression in HCC cells suppressed EGF-induced cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigations revealed that the status of the O-glycans attached to the EGFR was altered by GALNT2, changing EGFR responses after EGF binding. Inhibiting EGFR activity with erlotinib decreased the malignant characters caused by siRNA-mediated knockdown of GALNT2 in HCC cells, establishing the critical role of EGFR in mediating the effects of GALNT2 expression. Taken together, our results suggest that GALNT2 dysregulation contributes to the malignant behavior of HCC cells, and they provide novel insights into the significance of O-glycosylation in EGFR activity and HCC pathogenesis.
Carbomycin Therapy
Authors: Maxwell Finland, Elmer M. Purcell, Samuel S. Wright, Ben Del Love
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1953)

AMONG the many active antimicrobial agents constantly emerging as a result of the various antibiotic and chemotherapeutic screening programs that are being carried out in many laboratories, few have reached the stage of active and extensive clinical trials. One of the most recent is erythromycin,¶ an antibiotic derived from a strain of Streptomyces erythreus.1 This antibiotic was of particular interest because it was found to be highly active in vitro against gram-positive organisms, including various streptococci and staphylococci, of which increasing numbers of pathogenic strains now being isolated in many hospitals are found to be resistant to penicillin and . . .
Sydney medical dean apologises to relatives for misuse of body parts
Authors: Christopher Zinn
Journal: BMJ (2007)

One of Australia's leading universities has apologised to the families of people who said that their bodies could be used for medical research, after a damaging scandal about the abuse and mismanagement of human remains in its care.

The Sydney Morning Herald said that documents from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, showed that a member of staff had fondled breasts and vaginas of bodies and used the head of one body in a degrading way (www.smh.com.au, 6 Feb, “Police probe cadaver abuse”). It also claimed that coffins were filled with parts from several bodies.

The school of anatomy's licence to conduct anatomy …
STUDIES ON THE HISTOGENESIS OF AUTOPLASTIC THYMUS TRANSPLANTATIONS
Authors: Jessie M. Gottesman, Henry L. Jaffe
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1926)

1. The thymus gland of young rats autotransplants easily when inserted in the muscles of the abdominal wall. 2. Destructive changes take place during the first 48 hours, when regenerative changes set in. 3. The regeneration is usually complete by the 14th day, when the new formed thymic lobules show differentiation into cortical and medullary zones. 4. The small thymic cells arise from the reticular epithelium in the regeneration of the transplant.
Thinking Outside the Pillbox — Medication Adherence as a Priority for Health Care Reform
Authors: David M. Cutler, Wendy Everett
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2010)

Poor adherence to treatment regimens has long been recognized as a substantial roadblock to achieving better outcomes for patients. Data show that as many as half of all patients do not adhere faithfully to their prescription-medication regimens — and the result is more than $100 billion spent each year on avoidable hospitalizations.1 Nonadherence to medication regimens also affects the quality and length of life; for example, it has been estimated that better adherence to antihypertensive treatment alone could prevent 89,000 premature deaths in the United States annually.2 What is less clear is why adherence to the 3.8 billion prescriptions written . . .
Lipopolysaccharide binding protein and soluble CD14 catalyze exchange of phospholipids.
Authors: B Yu, E Hailman, S D Wright
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1997)

Lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) is a plasma protein known to facilitate the diffusion of bacterial LPS (endotoxin). LBP catalyzes movement of LPS monomers from LPS aggregates to HDL particles, to phospholipid bilayers, and to a binding site on a second plasma protein, soluble CD14 (sCD14). sCD14 can hasten transfer by receiving an LPS monomer from an LPS aggregate, and then surrendering it to an HDL particle, thus acting as a soluble "shuttle" for an insoluble lipid. Here we show that LBP and sCD14 shuttle not only LPS, but also phospholipids. Phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylcholine, and a fluorescently labeled derivative of phosphatidylethanolamine (R-PE) are each transferred by LBP from membranes to HDL particles. The transfer could be observed using recombinant LBP and sCD14 or whole human plasma, and the plasma-mediated transfer of PI could be blocked by anti-LBP and partially inhibited by anti-CD14. sCD14 appears to act as a soluble shuttle for phospholipids since direct binding of PI and R-PE to sCD14 was observed and because addition of sCD14 accelerated transfer of these lipids. These studies define a new function for LBP and sCD14 and describe a novel mechanism for the transfer of phospholipids in blood. In further studies, we show evidence suggesting that LBP transfers LPS and phospholipids by reciprocal exchange: LBP-catalyzed binding of R-PE to LPS x sCD14 complexes was accompanied by the exit of LPS from sCD14, and LBP-catalyzed binding of R-PE to sCD14 was accelerated by prior binding of LPS to sCD14. Binding of one lipid is thus functionally coupled with the release of a second. These results suggest that LBP acts as a lipid exchange protein.
Loeffler's syndrome and cutaneous larva migrans: a rare association
Authors: P. Del giudice, F. Desalvador, E. Bernard, E. Caumes, F .Vandenbos, P. Marty, Y. Le Fichoux, P. Dellamonica
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2002)

Sir, Loeffler's syndrome is characterized by migratory pulmonary infiltrates and peripheral eosinophilia.1, 2 It is caused by larvae of parasites such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Strongyloides stercoralis, Ancylostoma duodenale, Necator americanus and other helminths including pulmonary migration in their life‐cycle. We report a patient who had cutaneous larva migrans and Loeffler's syndrome after returning from Thailand. A 41‐year‐old‐man was referred for a spasmodic cough. From 18 September to 1 October he had visited the beach resorts of Southern Thailand. On 30 September a pruritus had started on his foot, followed by creeping skin lesions on 7 October. A few days later he complained of a cough, for which he received erythromycin then cefadroxil, without benefit. On admission (15 October), he had an intense non‐productive cough. He had no dyspnoea and cardiac function was normal. He had a pruritic cutaneous track located on the foot (Fig. 1a), with some bullous lesions on the sole. Examination was otherwise unremarkable, and his temperature was 37·8 °C. He had no relevant medical history, and was a non‐smoker.
Evaluating the performance of a screening test for depression in primary care
Authors: P. Sedgwick, K. Joekes
Journal: BMJ (2015)

The accuracy of asking patients two questions as a screening test for depression in primary care was evaluated. The first question focused on depressed mood: “During the past month have you often been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?” The second focused on pleasure: “During the past month have you often been bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things?” A cross sectional study was performed. In total, 670 consecutive patients attending their general practice who were not taking psychotropic drugs were invited to participate, of whom 421 agreed. Patients were asked the two questions at any time during their consultation, and if the response to either was yes, screening was considered “positive” and the patient deemed at “high risk” of depression; otherwise screening was considered “negative” and the patient was deemed at “low risk” of depression. A self completed, computerised, international diagnostic interview was used to diagnose depression.1

Overall, 29 of the 421 patients (6.9%) were diagnosed as having depression. The two questions had a sensitivity of 96.6%, specificity of 67.1%, positive predictive value of 17.8%, and negative predictive value of 99.6% as a screening test for depression.

Which of the following statements, if any, are true?

Statements b , c , and d are true, whereas a is false.

It is …
Membrane expansion as a mechanism explaining the antisickling action of ticlopidine observed in vitro
Authors: Magali Sablayrolles, Henri Wajcman, Jena-Paul Castaigne, Dominique Labie
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (1985)

Abstract Ticlopidine, a platelet antiaggregant, has shown some efficacity in a clinical trial in patients with sickle cell disease. We have studied this agent in vitro to evaluate its effects on sickle erythrocyte. Ticlopidine effects sickling in vitro not by direct interaction with hemoglobin, but via strong binding to the red cell membrane. The density of the whole cell population is decreased when cells are treated with 0.1 mM ticlopidine, which is higher than the concentrations of 1 μM potentially achievable in vivo. Since hemoglobin concentration influences the delay time for gelling, its decrease in the red cell could have a beneficial effect. Such a partial inhibition of the polymerization is shown by oxygen equilibrium studies at various ionic strengths.
Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b.
Authors: R C Beach, G S Clayden, S J Eykyn
Journal: BMJ (1979)

CommentThis demonstration of "pseudonormonatraemia" may be relevant to the interpretation of electrolyte concentrations in patients with severe lipaemia or paraporteinaemia.-Hypernatraemic states are associated with a high mortality,2 and it is important that they should not be missed or underestimated.
Food agency launches campaign to reduce salt intake
Authors: Lynn Eaton
Journal: BMJ (2004)

The Food Standards Agency, the United Kingdom's food safety watchdog, has launched a campaign to encourage people to reduce the amount of salt in their diet.

It recommends that individuals eat no more than 6 g of salt a day, a figure that is based on advice from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy in 1994 and endorsed last year by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in its report Salt and Health .

However, the agency says men are eating on average 11 g of salt a day while women eat an average of 8.1 g a day.

A high salt …
Reducing Ongoing Transmission of Tuberculosis
Authors: Peter F. Barnes
Journal: JAMA (1998)

Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to identify specific Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, in combination with epidemiologic investigation, has shattered old dogmas and yielded new insights into the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis. In several cities in the United States, RFLP studies and epidemiologic analysis have shown that 19% to 54% of tuberculosis cases probably result from recent infection. 1-4 Effective tuberculosis control measures should reduce this percentage. Yet, in this issue of THE JOURNAL, Bishai and colleagues 5 suggest that recent transmission accounted for 32% of tuberculosis cases in Baltimore, Md, where an excellent tuberculosis control program has used community-based directly observed therapy (DOT) since 1981. How can these results be explained? First, during the 5 years preceding the study period, 33% of patients diagnosed as having tuberculosis in Baltimore were not in the DOT program, 6 and suboptimal therapy for these patients may have contributed to continued disease transmission. Second, limiting transmission of tuberculosis requires a multifaceted program that includes timely identification of cases, isolation of contagious cases, aggressive contact investigation, and preventive therapy for persons infected with M tuberculosis .I t is difficult to assess these aspects of a tuberculosis control program, and suboptimal performance in these areas also may have contributed to ongoing tuberculosis transmission.
Smoking and Microalbuminuria
Authors: Kathryn A. Kohler, William M. McClellan, David C. Ziemer, David G. Kleinbaum, John R. Boring
Journal: Diabetes Care (2002)

African-Americans are at increased risk of diabetic nephropathy (1,2). Cigarette smoking has been shown to increase the risk of microalbuminuria in Caucasian populations with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (3,4,5,6). In contrast, despite their high risk of nephropathy, the association between cigarette smoking and microalbuminuria in African-Americans with diabetes has not previously been assessed. We conducted a case-control study to examine the association between lifetime cigarette smoking history and risk of prevalent microalbuminuria in patients with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Our study population was African-American patients with type 2 diabetes duration ≤2 years who had an initial visit to the Grady Diabetes Clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, between January 1994 and December 1996. The present study is partially based on secondary data from a cross-sectional analysis of this study population, which has been previously described in detail (7). We excluded patients missing urine albumin and/or urine creatinine measurements and patients with clinical nephropathy (urine albumin-to-creatine [Alb/Cr] ratio >250 μg/mg). Serum and urine creatinine were measured in a random morning urine specimen at the first clinic visit. Patients were divided into two groups based on Alb/Cr ratios: normoalbuminuria (Alb/Cr <25 μg/mg) or microalbuminuria (Alb/Cr from 25 to 250 μg/mg) (8). All 246 microalbuminuric patients were case subjects; based on a priori power calculations, 506 control subjects were randomly sampled from …
Whatever happened to the reform of American health policy?
Authors: M. M Rosenthal
Journal: BMJ (1994)

Whatever happened to the reform of American health policy?America 's special quality-rampant diversity-got in the way Keep two words in mind when trying to understand the reform of health policy in the United States: rampant diversity.The United States is a nation divided by busi- ness, ethnic, religious, social, and geographic interests.It has a difficult time agreeing on anything.Combine this with the historic weakening of the power of the presidency, the political parties' growing fractiousness, and increas- ingly sophisticated lobbying on behalf of special interests and the result, in 1994, is stalemate over the reform of health policy.
Effects of III-IV linker mutations on human heart Na+ channel inactivation gating.
Authors: H A Hartmann, A A Tiedeman, S F Chen, A M Brown, G E Kirsch
Journal: Circulation Research (1994)

Na+ channel inactivation, a critical determinant of refractoriness, differs in cardiomyocytes and neurons. In rat brain type IIa (rB2a) Na+ channels, a critical residue in the cytoplasmic linker between domains III and IV regulates fast inactivation such that a Phe--&gt;Gln substitution (F1489Q) inhibits inactivation by at least 85%. Since this residue is conserved in voltage-gated Na+ channels, we tested whether F1485Q, the analogous mutation in human heart (hH1a) Na+ channels, has a similar functional effect. We found that fast inactivation in wild-type (WT) channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes was complete within 15 milliseconds at a test potential of 0 mV, and its time course was biexponential with time constants of 0.4 and 2 milliseconds. But in contrast to rB2a, the FQ mutation inhibited inactivation by &lt; 50% and increased mean single-channel open time by only twofold. Residual fast inactivation was monoexponential, with a time constant similar to that of the slower phase of normal inactivation (2 milliseconds). In the mutant channels, unlike WT, null tracings were absent at holding potentials in the range of -140 to -120 mV, and the voltage range of steady-state inactivation coincided exactly with that of activation, suggesting that residual inactivation was tightly coupled to the open state. As in rB2a, simultaneous mutations of I1484Q and M1486Q, in addition to mutation F1485Q, completely inhibited fast inactivation. Our results show that in heart Na+ channels, the IFM cluster controls the stability of both open- and closed-channel inactivation in a manner qualitatively similar to that in the brain. Structural differences in the putative inactivation receptor may explain the distinct gating patterns in channel subtypes.