tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Commentary: Cultural change is essential
Authors: V. Rao
Journal: BMJ (2011)

The contradiction between India’s reduced poverty plus high economic growth and the continuing high prevalence of childhood undernutrition is not as surprising as it might seem. Economic growth, mostly fuelled by the non-agricultural sector, has not reduced unemployment1; nor has it benefited the undernourished poor. Agricultural growth as a percentage of gross domestic product, per capita availability of food grains, and per capita consumption of food grains is declining.2 Double digit food inflation is further reducing nutritional intake by people who are already undernourished. Furthermore, additional income in poor households does not necessarily result in better nutrition; households may opt to spend money on …
Monovalent pertussis vaccine no longer available
Authors: R Joyce
Journal: BMJ (1994)

1985 House of Lords ruling in Gillick v DHSS, which still holds good today, may serve to remind doctors of the duty they owe to parents and to their profession.Lord Justice Fraser: "Nobody doubts that in the overwhelming majority of cases the best judges of a child's welfare are his or her parents.Nor do I doubt that any important medical treatment of a child under 16 would normally only be carried out with the parent's approval.That is why it would and should be 'most unusual' for a doctor to advise a child without the knowledge and consent of the parents on contraceptive matters."Lord Justice Scarman: "I accept that great responsibilities will lie on the medical profession.It is however a learned and highly trained profes- sion, regulated by statute and governed by a strict ethical code which is vigorously enforced.Abuse of the power to prescribe contraceptive treatment for girls under the age of 16 would render a doctor liable to severe professional penalty."
Fibrinolytic activity in multiple myeloma
Authors: Münci Yağcı, Gülsan Türköz Sucak, Rauf Haznedar
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (2003)

Abstract The incidence of thromboembolic events is high as a result of disease, disease‐related complications, and therapy in multiple myeloma (MM). In patients with hematologic tumors, impaired fibrinolysis may be present and may contribute to the development of thrombotic complications. Therefore, we designed a study to investigate fibrinolytic activity in MM. We compared plasma levels of interleukin (IL)‐6, C‐reactive protein (CRP), IL‐1β, IL‐11, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) activity, plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1) activity, and global fibrinolytic capacity (GFC) in patients with MM ( n = 66) and in control subjects ( n = 18). The prevalence of venous thromboembolism was 4.5%, with a median follow‐up period of 7 months in our myeloma group. Results are given as mean (median, range). Plasma levels of IL‐6 (8.27 ± 0.74 [9.65, 0.90–13.32] pg/mL versus 2.64 ± 0.66 [1.80, 0.10–11.86] pg/mL, P &lt; 0.001), CRP (45.57 ± 9.92 [21.00, 1.34–330.00] mg/L versus 1.96 ± 0.50 [1.05, 0.19–8.03] mg/L, P &lt; 0.001), PAI‐1 (7.40 ± 0.67 [5.57, 2.40–31.80] IU/mL versus 4.73 ± 0.65 [3.60, 2.32–11.00] IU/mL, P &lt; 0.01), GFC score (1.90 ± 0.02 [2, 1–3] versus 2.50 ± 0.14 [3, 1–3], P &lt; 0.001) were increased compared with controls. In patients with MM, the level of IL‐6 was positively correlated with CRP ( r = 0.66, P &lt; 0.001), IL‐1β ( r = 0.29, P &lt; 0.05), and PAI‐1 ( r = 0.35, P &lt; 0.01) and negatively correlated with GFC ( r = −0.37, P &lt; 0.01). CRP level was positively correlated with plasma PAI‐1 level ( r = 0.40, P &lt; 0.01) and negatively correlated with GFC ( r = −0.44, P &lt; 0.001). A significant negative correlation between PAI‐1 level and GFC ( r = −0.75, P &lt; 0.001) was also detected. IL‐1β levels were negatively correlated with tPA level ( r = −0.26, P &lt; 0.05). These results suggest that patients with myeloma have a decreased fibrinolytic activity mainly because of increased PAI‐1 activity. In MM, increased PAI‐1 activity seems to be related with elevated IL‐6 level. MM should be considered as a hypercoagulable state as a result of both increased procoagulant activity and decreased fibrinolytic activity. Achieving a plateau by means of conventional chemotherapies does not improve the decreased fibrinolytic activity. Am. J. Hematol. 74:231–237, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Venice from the air
Authors: G. Dunea
Journal: BMJ (1996)

A 14 hours journey by air provides an excellent opportunity to catch up with one's reading. I chose Lord Norwich's History of Venice—a 670 page detailed account of how this city state acquired a great Mediterranean empire that lasted almost 1000 years, growing by means of trade, free enterprise, warfare, and skilful diplomacy.

So progressive was Venice that by 1335 it already had a national health service. The doctors were salaried by the state. They took yearly continuing education courses, with dissection of corpses, and also attended monthly meetings and exchanged notes on new cases and treatments. At times …
STUDIES ON HOST-VIRUS INTERACTIONS IN THE CHICK EMBRYO-INFLUENZA VIRUS SYSTEM
Authors: Werner Henle, Oscar C. Liu, Norman B. Finter
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1954)

The period and rate of liberation of influenza virus from entodermal cells of the allantois have been studied by deembryonating eggs within a few minutes after infection, exchanging the medium thereafter at hourly intervals and assaying the virus concentration in the harvests thus obtained (differential growth curves). If the inoculum was sufficiently large, presumably all available cells immediately became infected and only 1 infectious cycle was expected to occur. If the inoculum was small, so that only a fraction of the cells adsorbed virus, the infectious process was held to 1 cycle by continuous exposure of the remaining susceptible cells to RDE. In either case, the results obtained indicate that once cells have been infected they produce and liberate virus at nearly constant rates for periods of 30 hours or longer before the yields decrease rapidly. Evidence has been presented which strongly suggests that such prolonged periods of liberation are observed not only in deembryonated eggs but also in the intact chick embryo. Attempts have been made in the discussion to reconcile these findings with previous estimates of the liberation period and to integrate them with histologic observations and electron micrographs of thin sections of infected allantoic membranes having a bearing on the mode of liberation.
Unrealistic Wishes and Physiological Change
Authors: Michael T. McGuire, Alfonso Troisi
Journal: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (1987)

This paper examines postulated relationships between physiological change and unrealistic wishes in a population of women with histories of depression. Findings are discussed within an evolutionary framework with emphasis on species-typical functions of imagining, and postulated interactions between behavior, imagining, unrealistic wishes and physiological systems. The ideas developed may be of interest to psychoanalysts in that they appear to increase the breadth and precision of psychoanalytic interpretations.
A survey of the prevalence of biting by the Blandford fly during 1993
Authors: H. INSKIP, L. CAMPBELL, K. GODFREY, D. COGGON
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1996)

Summary To assess the frequency of bites by the Blandford fly, a postal survey was carried out at the end of the1993 biting season. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 1500 people, selected from the lists of the two general practices in Blandford Forum, and satisfactory replies were obtained from 1203 (80%). Altogether, 194 (16%) of subjects reported one or more insect bites, during the 2-month season, that had led to skin swelling more than 2·5 cm across. Of these, more than a quarter had suffered associated systemic symptoms, in the form of fever or joint pain. One hundred and fortynine had used medications for bites, 20 had consulted a doctor, and seven had taken time off work or school. Bites were more common in females (22%) than males (9%). This difference was due largely to a higher frequency of bites on the legs. Risk might be reduced substantially in women by wearing trousers, especially in those who spend a lot of time outdoors.
Performance of Male and Female Medical Students in a Medicine Clerkship
Authors: Frederick F. Holmes
Journal: JAMA (1978)

Little has been published about objective evaluation and comparison of performance of female and male medical students in clinical clerkships. Data were collected on objective grading and examination results of a three-month medicine clerkship involving 269 medical students, 222 men and 47 women, during 1975 and 1976. There were no significant differences in final course grades between the two sexes. Performance in wards and clinics and on written and oral examinations was also without significant differences when the two sexes' scores were compared. Thus, gender would appear to have no relationship to medical student performance in this clinical clerkship.
Normal Cholescintigram in ln-111 WBC Positive Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis
Authors: THOMAS R. POUNDS, ROBERT S. HATTNER
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1994)

The authors report a case of a patient with acute acalculous cholecystitis whose cholescintigram was negative, but showed a pericholecystic photopenic halo. The diagnosis was confirmed by an ln-111 WBC scan and histopathology.
Defective DNA strand break repair causes chromosomal instability and accelerates liver carcinogenesis in mice
Authors: Narci C. Teoh, Yock Young Dan, Karen Swisshelm, Stacey Lehman, Jocelyn H. Wright, Jamil Haque, Yansong Gu, Nelson Fausto
Journal: Hepatology (2008)

Chromosomal instability is a characteristic feature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but its origin and role in liver carcinogenesis are undefined. We tested whether a defect in the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) DNA repair gene Ku70 was associated with chromosomal abnormalities and enhanced liver carcinogenesis. Male Ku70 NHEJ-deficient (Ku70-/-), heterozygote (Ku70 +/-), and wild-type (WT) mice were injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN), a liver carcinogen, at age 15 days. Animals were killed at 3, 6, and 9 months for assessment of tumorigenesis and hepatocellular proliferation. For karyotype analysis, primary liver tumor cell cultures were prepared from HCCs arising in Ku70 mice of all genotypes. Compared to WT littermates, Ku70-/- mice injected with DEN displayed accelerated HCC development. Ku70-/- HCCs harbored clonal increases in numerical and structural aberrations of chromosomes 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, and 19, many of which recapitulated the spectrum of equivalent chromosomal abnormalities observed in human HCC. Ku70-/- HCCs showed high proliferative activity with increased cyclin D1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression, Aurora A kinase activity, enhanced ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase and ubiquitination, and loss of p53 via proteasomal degradation, features which closely resemble those of human HCC.These findings demonstrate that defects in the NHEJ DNA repair pathway may participate in the disruption of cell cycle checkpoints leading to chromosomal instability and accelerated development of HCC.
Exposure to an abundance of cat (Fel d 1) and dog (Can f 1) allergens in Swedish farming households
Authors: S Parvaneh, M Kronqvist, E Johansson, M Van Hage‐Hamsten
Journal: Allergy (1999)

Background: Earlier studies have shown that farmers are to a low degree sensitized to animal allergens. We have measured the amount of cat (Fel d 1) and dog (Can f 1) in farm households and examined the relationship between exposure and sensitization to cat and dog allergens. Methods: Dust samples from the homes of 403 farmers who had participated in an epidemiologic follow‐up study on respiratory symptoms were analyzed for allergen content by two‐site ELISA methods. Results: Fel d 1 was detected in 99.5% of the farmers' households ranging from 0.055 to 1455 μg/g dust in mattresses (GM 13.2) and to 3775 μg/g dust in living‐room carpets (GM 17.1). Can f 1 was detected in 90.6% of the households from 0.2 to 116 μg/g dust in mattresses (GM 2.0) and to 504 μg/g dust in carpets (GM 4.3). Homes with pets present had the highest levels of the allergens ( P &lt;0.001). A total of 8.4% and 7.4% of the farmers were sensitized to cat and dog, respectively. A significant correlation was noted between exposure to the allergens and specific IgE to cat and dog, respectively ( P &lt;0.001). Sensitization to cat (OR=4.9) and dog (OR=17.8) was significantly associated with asthma. Conclusions: In spite of the abundance of Fel d 1 and Can f 1, farmers are only to a low degree sensitized to cats and dogs.
Heat shock protein induction in rat hearts. A role for improved myocardial salvage after ischemia and reperfusion?
Authors: T J Donnelly, R E Sievers, F L Vissern, W J Welch, C L Wolfe
Journal: Circulation (1992)

BACKGROUND To test the hypothesis that the heat shock response is associated with improved myocardial salvage after myocardial ischemia and reperfusion, rats treated with prior whole-body hyperthermia and 24 hours of recovery (n = 26) or 20 minutes of ischemic pretreatment and 8 hours of recovery (n = 24) and control rats (n = 27, n = 24, for hyperthermic and ischemic pretreatment, respectively) were subjected to 35 minutes of left coronary artery (LCA) occlusion and 120 minutes of reperfusion. METHODS AND RESULTS Although ventricular samples from rats subjected to either hyperthermia (n = 7) or ischemic pretreatment (n = 6) all showed induction of HSP72 (heat shock protein), Western blot analysis revealed significantly greater amounts of HSP72 in samples obtained from rats subjected to hyperthermia compared with those from rats subjected to ischemic pretreatment. Control rats (n = 7) showed no significant presence of myocardial HSP72. After 35 minutes of LCA occlusion and 2 hours of reperfusion, infarct size was significantly reduced in heat-shocked rats compared with controls (8.4 +/- 1.7%, n = 26 versus 15.5 +/- 1.9%, n = 27; p = 0.007; mean +/- SEM; infarct mass/left ventricular mass x 100). There were no significant differences in left ventricular (LV) systolic pressure, heart rate, LV dP/dt, or rate-pressure product between heat-shocked (n = 11) and control (n = 14) rats during the ischemic period. There were no differences in infarct size between ischemically pretreated and control rats subjected to 35 minutes of ischemia and reperfusion (9.7 +/- 2.1%, n = 23 versus 10.0 +/- 2.1, n = 24; p = NS). CONCLUSIONS In this model of ischemia and reperfusion, prior heat shock was associated with significantly improved myocardial salvage after 35 minutes of LCA occlusion and reperfusion. This improved salvage was correlated with marked HSP72 induction and was independent of the hemodynamic determinants of myocardial oxygen supply and myocardial oxygen demand during the ischemic period. In contrast, mild HSP72 induction by ischemic pretreatment was not associated with improved myocardial salvage after myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. Thus, the absolute levels of HSP72 may be important in conferring protection from ischemic injury in this animal model.
Amyloid at the cutting edge: activation of α-secretase prevents amyloidogenesis in an Alzheimer disease mouse model
Authors: Stefan F. Lichtenthaler, Christian Haass
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2004)

The amyloid β-peptide (Aβ peptide) is assumed to play a crucial and early role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. Thus, strategies for a pharmacotherapy aim at reducing Aβ peptide generation, which proteolytically derives from the amyloid precursor protein (APP). The main targets so far have been β- and γ-secretase, the two proteases that cleave APP at the N- and C-terminus of the Aβ peptide and are thus directly responsible for Aβ peptide generation. A different strategy, namely the activation of α-secretase, has barely been investigated for its therapeutic potential. α-Secretase cleaves within the Aβ peptide domain and thus precludes Aβ peptide generation. Now, new results demonstrate that activation of α-secretase indeed reduces Aβ peptide generation and toxicity in vivo.
Abstract 3276: A Phase 1 dose escalating study with ACE-041, a novel inhibitor of ALK1 mediated angiogenesis, in patients with advanced solid tumors
Authors: Johanna C. Bendell, Michael Gordon, Herbert Hurwitz, Yijun Yang, Dawn Wilson, Eric Haltom, Kenneth M. Attie, Carolyn H. Condon, Matthew L. Sherman, Sunil Sharma
Journal: Cancer Research (2011)

Abstract Background: Activin receptor-like kinase-1 (ALK1) is a type I receptor predominantly expressed on activated vascular endothelial cells that mediates signaling by members of the TGFß superfamily of proteins. ACE-041, a soluble receptor fusion protein consisting of the extracellular domain of ALK1 linked to the IgG1-Fc region, binds with high affinity to BMP9 and BMP10 but not TGFß1, 2, or 3, VEGF, or bFGF. ACE-041 is able to inhibit both VEGF- and bFGF-stimulated angiogenesis, indicating that ALK1 is downstream of VEGF and bFGF signaling. In a variety of murine tumors, ACE-041 has demonstrated the ability to decrease both tumor vascularity and growth. Methods: The primary objective of this ongoing phase 1 study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ACE-041. Secondary objectives include identifying MTD, PK, preliminary activity on PD markers, and antitumor activity by RECIST, PET-CT, and DCE-MRI. Cohorts of 3-6 patients were enrolled at escalating dose levels. Once the MTD has been determined, 12-24 additional patients may be enrolled at the MTD or lower dose levels. ACE-041 is administered SC every 3 weeks for a total of 4 doses or until disease progression. Patients with stable or responding disease may continue treatment for up to 12 months. Results: The dose escalation phase of the study has completed enrollment of 25 patients (13M/12F) at seven dose levels (0.1 to 4.8 mg/kg). An expansion cohort of 12 additional patients at1.6 mg/kg is currently being enrolled. The mean t½ was approximately 13 to 23 days and the mean Tmax was 4 to 7 days. ACE-041 was generally well-tolerated; preliminary data show that common treatment-related AEs included peripheral edema, fatigue, nausea, headache, anorexia, and anemia. Most AEs were Grade 1 or 2. Grade 3 congestive heart failure was reported in one patient as possibly related to drug. Based on preliminary results, stable disease lasting at least 6 cycles was observed in 4 patients having previously progressed on prior therapies. Several patients were noted to have had a positive 18-FDG-PET response with a decrease in metabolic activity approximately 2 weeks following the first dose. Conclusions: ACE-041 is a first-in-class angiogenesis inhibitor that targets the ALK1 pathway. Treatment by subcutaneous injection every 3 weeks has been generally well-tolerated to date and preliminary evidence of antitumor activity has been observed in this ongoing study. 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 3276. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3276
Isolated Antibody to Hepatitis B Core Antigen and the Immune Response to Hepatitis B Vaccination
Authors: D. R. Howell
Journal: JAMA (1988)

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> Draelos et al<sup>1</sup>"postulated that a serologic response to hepatitis B vaccine may discriminate between the various diagnostic possibilities associated with an isolated anti-HBc [antibody to hepatitis B core antigen] pattern." They studied 14 individuals who tested positive for anti-HBc but negative for antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and IgM anti-HBc. We suggest that antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe) may be a useful marker. At the North London Blood Transfusion Centre, where approximately 200 000 blood donations are tested annually for HBsAg, it is our routine policy to follow up those blood donors found to be HBsAg positive. Hence, we are able to document an example of a chronically infected individual with an HBsAg level that fell slowly until it became undetectable yet remained anti-HBc positive. <h3>Report of a Case.—</h3> A 19-year-old woman gave blood for the first
Serum hepatitis C virus RNA and hepatitis B virus DNA in non-A, non-B post-transfusional and sporadic chronic hepatitis
Authors: Colette Porchon, Dina Kremsdorf, Stanislas Pol, Françoise Lunel-Fabianni, Françoise Driss, Pierre Opolon, Pierre Berthelot, Christian Bréchot
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (1992)
Putting Descartes before the horse (again!)
Authors: Brendan McGonigle, Margaret Chalmers
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2008)

Abstract The “rational bubble” stance espoused in the target article confounds cultural symbolic achievements with individual cognitive competences. With no explicit role for learning, the core rationale for claiming a major functional discontinuity between humans and other species rests on a hybrid formal model LISA (Learning and Inference with Schemas and Analogies) now overtaken by new models of cognitive growth and new empirical studies within an embodied systems stance.
Neutropenia due to beta lactamine antibodies.
Authors: M F Murphy, R M Minchinton, P Metcalfe, P Grint, A H Waters
Journal: BMJ (1984)

increased attention to dietary intake for prolonged periods may influence the patient's eating habits.' Clinical details of patients were not included because of limitations of space but they have been reported elsewhere.'None had an ileostomy or colostomy or had undergone recent surgery; their treatment and weight had remained constant in the preceding two months.We agree with Mr Jourdan's observations that many thin patients with inactive Crohn's disease have healthy appetites, as shown in our study.This is in contrast to previous observations, in which inadequate oral intakes were thought to be the cause of weight loss, emaciation, and growth failure.
Reappraisal of DNR Orders in Long-term-Care Institutions-Reply
Authors: Stuart J. Youngner
Journal: JAMA (1989)

In Reply.—  Dr Kerr shares some important observations about the use of CPR in the patient population served in his own 120-bed nursing care facility. Like Dr Murphy, 1 he used his clinical experience and knowledge of the relevant literature to be  direct in counseling patients and families to forgo CPR when it was not medically indicated. As in the case in Dr Murphy's institution, the results were gratifying: the CPR rate dropped dramatically.  I would modify his comments in two respects. First, my suggestion that 5 more days of life might be valued by a patient (for example, to say good-byes) obviously would not apply to a severely demented patient incapable of social interaction. Second, Dr Kerr uses the term vanishingly rare as a means for identifying interventions for which a good outcome is sufficiently unlikely that they can be ruled out on medical grounds alone. Clinicians should
SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT OF TUMORS OF THE BLADDER.Read in the Section on Surgery and Anatomy, at the Forty-fifth Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association held at San Francisco, June 5-8, 1894.
Authors: C. F BUCKLEY
Journal: JAMA (1894)

The original intention which I entertained relative to this paper had to be abandoned, owing to the vastness of the subject. I considered it must involve too much of the Society's time, and lead in the main to rather inhospitable results, as the question of tumors of the bladder in their extensive bearings and differentiations is one affording more than the ordinary amount of learned and unlearned expressions of opinion to the gentlemen who devote their attention to this branch of medicine. Take, for example, the small matter of the cystoscope alone, and the opinions as to its value in diagnosis are certainly as diverse as the colors of the spectroscope, while such careful observers as Guyon of Paris, and Thompson of London, represent the extremes of divergence.  There is one very conspicuous fact, however, in relation to this whole subject, and that is a complete absence, among all the