tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Expression of HLA class I molecules and the transporter associated with antigen processing in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: K Kurokohchi, M Carrington, D L Mann, T B Simonis, M A Alexander-Miller, S M Feinstone, T Akatsuka, J A Berzofsky
Journal: Hepatology (1996)

The expression of the HLA class I molecules on the cell surface was investigated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines using complement-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) and flow cytometric analysis. Although HLA-A antigens were detected by CMC in all cell lines tested, HLA-B and -C antigens were not detectable in six of seven HCC cell lines. These results were also confirmed by flow cytometric analysis focusing on HLA-Bw4 and Bw6 public antigens. Furthermore, complementary DNA (cDNA) from each cell line was tested for the expression of HLA-A, - B, -C and the transporter associated with antigen processing genes (TAP1 and TAP2). Two cell lines showed a reduced level of one or both of the TAP messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and one of these showed a reduction of HLA-B and -C gene expression as well, but the others had detectable mRNA levels. These results demonstrate that hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines tested in the current study lose or decrease the expression of HLA-B and -C alleles on the cell surface, even though mRNA encoding these alleles is present, suggesting that the loss of the HLA molecules might be caused by posttranscriptional events or failure to transport and load peptides necessary for HLA expression. The selective loss of HLA-B and -C, but not -A, molecules (which also excludes a β 2 -microglobulin defect) is intriguing, and may be attributable to the ability of some of the HLA-A molecules to load signal peptides not requiring TAP transport, or to natural selection of HLA-B or -C locus- specific immune surveillance.
Abnormal Myocardial Perfusion Imaging After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Without Obstructing Lesion
Authors: Ching-Chu Lu, Ruoh-Fang Yen, Mei-Fang Cheng, Lung-Chun Lin
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2008)

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stent implantation has been widely used in treating patients with coronary artery disease. Persistent post-PCI angina is a common symptom. We report on a 66-year-old man who had intense chest tightness after drug-eluting stent implantation in the left anterior descending artery and balloon dilatation in the OM1 branch of the left circumflex artery. Because the patient's myocardial perfusion imaging performed 16 days after PCI revealed much worse ischemic condition than the pre-PCI myocardial perfusion imaging did, he received an emergent cardiac catheterization the next day. However, no subacute stent thrombosis or intrastent restenosis was found.
Prognostic Value of Dobutamine–Atropine Stress Echocardiography Early After Acute Myocardial Infarction
Authors: Rosa Sicari, Eugenio Picano, Patrizia Landi, Alessandro Pingitore, Riccardo Bigi, Claudio Coletta, Joanna Heyman, Franco Casazza, Mario Previtali, Wilson Mathias, Claudio Dodi, Giovanni Minardi, Jorge Lowenstein, Xenya Garyfallidis, Lauro Cortigiani, Maria Aurora Morales, Mauro Raciti
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (1997)
Progressive Anemia and Left Upper Quadrant Pain in a Patient With Polycythemia Vera
Authors: Jordan A. Roberts, Mariela Morales, Lawrence Rice
Journal: JAMA (2014)

A 72-year-old man with a 23-year history of polycythemia vera presents with a 2-week history of left upper quadrant pain. Three years earlier, red cell scintigraphy documented a splenic hemangioma, which remained stable on periodic computed tomography (CT) scans.
Endocarditis with Negative Blood Cultures
Authors: Allan R. Tunkel, Donald Kaye
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1992)

The blood culture is the single most important laboratory test in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. Bacteria are discharged from endocardial vegetations and cleared from the blood at a relatively constant rate,1 which explains the continuous bacteremia and the high percentages of positive blood cultures reported in the literature. A study at New York Hospital—Cornell Medical Center reviewed 206 cases of culture-proved infective endocarditis that occurred from 1944 through 1960.2 The authors demonstrated that in the absence of antimicrobial therapy during the two weeks before hospitalization, 95 percent of 789 blood cultures were positive for the causative microorganism. The first . . .
Citizens' advice in general practice.
Authors: J A Paris, D Player
Journal: BMJ (1993)

To examine the introduction of citizens advice bureau sessions into general practice.Prospective survey of 150 consecutive attenders.10 Practices in south Birmingham that volunteered to participate.The social characteristics of the population attending, the problems presented, the social security and other payments obtained, and the health problems mentioned during the sessions.Advice requested covered the whole range offered by the citizens advice bureaus. Thirty nine of 150 attenders obtained payments totalling 58,300.58 pounds for year 1991-2, of which 54,929.58 pounds was recurring. People mentioning health problems were significantly more likely to be entitled to unclaimed benefits.The provision of citizens advice bureau sessions in general practice is an effective way of providing advice on life problems and securing proper payment of benefits, particularly to patients with health problems. This service complements rather than detracts from other citizens advice bureau activities.
THE DANGER OF ALLOWING WARTS AND MOLES TO REMAIN LEST THEY BECOME MALIGNANT.WITH TWENTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIVE CASES.
Authors: W. W. KEEN
Journal: JAMA (1904)

The title of this paper indicates its purpose. It is chiefly a clinical paper, intended to emphasize the danger of not removing warts and moles, and sometimes nevi, lest they should become malignant, with 25 cases of such malignant degeneration, 12 from my own patients and 13 histories kindly furnished me by friends. Of course, the great majority of such growths never do undergo malignant degeneration, but as one can never tell which will and which will not become malignant, it is of the utmost importance, unless circumstances render it inadvisable, that they should be removed before a malignant change occurs. Many moles and warts are congenital; others arise later in life, either in childhood or adult life, and still others frequently appear in elderly people. The ordinary warts which are so common on the hands of children, and which, as a rule, disappear as the child grows older, are
Lung volume and its subdivisions in normal and asthmatic males
Authors: M. I. Blackhall, R. S. Jones
Journal: Thorax (1973)

Measurements of lung volume and its subdivisions were made in 89 asthmatic children and adults and 58 normal subjects. The asthmatics were divided into three groups according to the classification of Jones (1966). In this the FEV<sub>1</sub> is used as an index of airways resistance which is divided into labile and fixed components. The compartment of lung volume showing the largest increase was the residual volume in subjects with a predominantly fixed increase of airways resistance (group 3) and this was true of both the children and adults. This compartment was also significantly enlarged in the labile subjects (groups 1 and 2). Significant increases in functional residual capacity were demonstrated in all three groups, especially in the children. Total lung capacity was significantly increased in the two labile groups of children but not in the adults. Even a low level of lability (group 1) may be associated with highly significant abnormalities in lung volume compartments which may be more evident in the child than in the adult.
Medical Discipline: The Professional Conduct Jurisdiction of the General Medical Council, 1858-1990
Authors: C. Crawford
Journal: BMJ (1996)

Russell G Smith Clarendon Press, pounds sterling50, pp 397 ISBN 0 19 825795 3

At its creation in 1858 the General Medical Council was charged with maintaining a register of named practitioners whom the public could trust. The council's obligation to remove the unworthy from this list has evolved into a complex quasi-judicial system of medical regulation. Russell Smith, a lawyer, has investigated the practice of this system with unprecedented thoroughness. As well as analysing the more than 2000 cases heard up to 1990, Smith sat in on all the GMC's relevant public proceedings for more than a year during the late 1980s. The result is an illuminating study of how the disciplinary system has operated; where it works well; and where, why, and how it could be improved.

Smith identifies …
BMA to ballot on industrial action over pensions in May
Authors: H. Jaques
Journal: BMJ (2012)

The BMA has announced that it will “very reluctantly” ballot its members on whether they are willing to provide only urgent and emergency care for a day should the government fail to reopen talks on the NHS pension scheme.

In the ballot on 14 to 29 May the association will ask doctors whether they are prepared to take industrial action by going into work as scheduled but not undertaking duties that could safely be postponed. 

The BMA has planned a series of actions but will firstly hold a 24 hour period of industrial action, after which the effect on patients would be reviewed before …
Selectivity of Connexin 43 Channels Is Regulated Through Protein Kinase C–Dependent Phosphorylation
Authors: Jose F. Ek-Vitorin, Timothy J. King, Nathanael S. Heyman, Paul D. Lampe, Janis M. Burt
Journal: Circulation Research (2006)

Coordinated contractile activation of the heart and resistance to ischemic injury depend, in part, on the intercellular communication mediated by Cx43-composed gap junctions. The function of these junctions is regulated at multiple levels (assembly to degradation) through phosphorylation at specific sites in the carboxyl terminus (CT) of the Cx43 protein. We show here that the selective permeability of Cx43 junctions is regulated through protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent phosphorylation at serine 368 (S368). Selective permeability was measured in several Cx43-expressing cell lines as the rate constant for intercellular dye diffusion relative to junctional conductance. The selective permeability of Cx43 junctions under control conditions was quite variable, as was the open-state behavior of the comprising channels. Coexpression of the CT of Cx43 as a distinct protein, treatment with a PKC inhibitor, or mutation of S368 to alanine, all reduced (or eliminated) phosphorylation at S368, reduced the incidence of 55- to 70-pS channels, and reduced by 10-fold the selective permeability of the junctions for a small cationic dye. Because PKC activation during preischemic conditioning is cardioprotective during subsequent ischemic episodes, we examined no-flow, ischemic hearts for Cx43 phosphorylated at S368 (pS368). Consistent with early activation of PKC, pS368-Cx43 was increased in ischemic hearts; despite extensive lateralization of total Cx43, pS368-Cx43 remained predominantly at intercalated disks. Our data suggest that the selectivity of gap junction channels at intercalated disks is increased early in ischemia.
Abstract 5381: Curcumin induces chemo/radio-sensitization in ovarian cancer cells and curcumin nanoparticles inhibit ovarian cancer cell growth
Authors: Diane Maher, Murali M. Yallapu, Vasudha Sundram, Maria C. Bell, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Background: Chemo/radio-resistance is a major obstacle in treating advanced ovarian cancer. The efficacy of current treatments may be improved by increasing the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemo/radiation therapies. Curcumin is a naturally occurring compound with anti-cancer activity in multiple cancers; however, its chemo/radio-sensitizing potential is not well studied in ovarian cancer. Herein, we demonstrate the chemo/radio-sensitizing potential of curcumin in a cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cell line model. Additionally, due to suboptimal pharmacokinetics and low uptake of curcumin in tumors in vivo, we developed a curcumin nanoparticle formulation to improve its therapeutic efficacy. Methods: Cisplatin resistant A2780CP ovarian cancer cells were pre-treated with curcumin followed by exposure to cisplatin or radiation and the effect on cell growth was determined by MTS and colony formation assays. The effect of curcumin pre-treatment on the expression of apoptosis related proteins and β-catenin was determined by Western blotting or Flow Cytometry. A luciferase reporter assay was used to determine the effect of curcumin on β-catenin transcription activity. The poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticle formulation of curcumin (Nano-CUR) was developed by a modified nano-precipitation method and physico-chemical characterization was performed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering methods. Results: Curcumin pre-treatment considerably reduced the dose of cisplatin and radiation required to inhibit the growth of cisplatin resistant ovarian cancer cells. During the 6 hrs pre-treatment, curcumin down regulated the expression of Bcl-XL and Mcl-1 pro-survival proteins. Curcumin pre-treatment followed by exposure to low doses of cisplatin increased apoptosis as indicated by annexin V staining and cleavage of caspase 9 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Additionally, curcumin pre-treatment lowered β-catenin expression and transcriptional activity. Physico-chemical characterization of Nano-CUR indicated an average particle size of ∼70 nm, steady release of curcumin over a period of 18 days and antibody conjugation characteristics. The Nano-CUR formulation also effectively inhibited the growth of ovarian cancer cells. Conclusion: Curcumin pre-treatment enhances chemo/radio-sensitization in A2780CP ovarian cancer cells through multiple molecular mechanisms. Therefore, curcumin pre-treatment may effectively improve ovarian cancer therapeutics. A targeted PLGA nanoparticle formulation of curcumin is feasible and may improve the in vivo therapeutic efficacy of curcumin. 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 5381.
Detection of Splenomegaly on Meckel’s Diverticulum Scan
Authors: Sahar Mirpour, Ali Gholamrezanezhad, Kianoush Ansari-Gilani, Mohsen Saghari
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2009)

A 16-year-old boy was seen with the complaint of intermittent lower gastrointestinal bleeding and was referred for a radionuclide Meckelogram. Although Tc-99m pertechnetate scintigraphy failed to reveal heterotopic gastric mucosa, focal accumulation of radiotracer in a large area involving the left side of the abdomen and liver were seen. Both areas of activity cleared gradually, but the first one remained longer and based on its configuration, raised the possibility of splenomegaly. Further ultrasonographic evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of splenomegaly, which was subsequently determined to be secondary to noncirrhotic portal fibrosis. The findings of radionuclide Meckelograms can be more than detecting heterotopic gastric mucosa.
Abstract 2198: Possible circadian modulation of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase by mir-27a and mir-27b.
Authors: Gabriel L. Butterfield, Steven M. Offer, Robert B. Diasio
Journal: Cancer Research (2013)

Abstract 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a commonly administered chemotherapy drug used for the treatment of various aggressive cancers. Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD, encoded by the DPYD gene) is the rate limiting enzyme of the 5-flourouracil (5-FU) catabolic pathway, and as such limits the amount of drug available for conversion into active metabolites. Reduced expression of DPD has been linked to severe adverse toxicity to 5-FU, including mucositis, diarrhea, hematological toxicities, and, in extreme cases, death. DPD has been previously shown to follow circadian patterns of expression in rodent models and in humans. Many microRNAs also exhibit circadian variations in expression and have been suggested to control oscillations in target protein expression. Using in silico prediction, we identified two putative binding domains for the microRNAs mir-27a and mir-27b within the DPYD gene. One of these sites is located in the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) and the other is located within the coding region just upstream from the stop codon. Using a reporter system, we show that mir-27a and mir-27b are able to bind to both predicted binding sites. Furthermore, over-expression of either microRNA reduced endogenous DPD protein levels in the HT-29 colon cancer cell line. To investigate mir-27a/b as a potential circadian regulator of DPD expression, expression was measured in livers collected at 4-hour intervals from chrono-synchronized mice. As expected, the circadian pattern of DPD enzyme activity closely matched that of DPD expression. The expression patterns for mir-27a and mir-27b were inverse of those for DPD expression and activity. These data suggest that mir-27a and mir-27b may direct circadian variations in DPD enzyme activity. Citation Format: Gabriel L. Butterfield, Steven M. Offer, Robert B. Diasio. Possible circadian modulation of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase by mir-27a and mir-27b. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2198. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2198
Exposure Intimacy: A New Metric for Assessing Chemical Intake
Authors: Kellyn S. Betts
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2012)

A new way to efficiently estimate human intake of a chemical based on its production and how it is used demonstrates that people's "exposure intimacy" with widely used chemicals varies dramatically [EHP 120(12):1678-1683; Nazaroff et al.].For example, the plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the world's most heavily used chemicals, but its U.S. intake-to-production ratio (IPR) is over 100,000 times less than that of methyl paraben, a food preservative and antifungal agent.IPR estimates for human exposure to five commonly used phthalate plasticizers, the disinfectant p-dichlorobenzene, and the antibacterial agent triclosan fall in between these two extremes.The IPR, reported as ppm, quantifies the fraction of the total amount of a chemical used in a country each year that gets into the country's population.The metric is calculated by dividing the population's estimated total intake of a chemical by the rate at which that chemical is produced or imported.So, for example, diethyl phthalate's rating of 7,700 ppm indicates that for every 1 million g of the chemical entering U.S. commerce, approximately 7,700 g is taken up by the aggregate population.The metric does not reflect the distribution of exposures within the population.For this study, intake estimates for the nine chemicals assessed were based on urinary excretion data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The chemical manufacture and import data came from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chemical Data Reporting system.The nine chemicals yielded a broad span of IPRs, which the researchers believe is a result of the variable opportunities for exposure associated with different chemical uses.For example, although the presence of BPA in the linings of food cans has a high potential for human exposure, its low IPR of 0.6 ppm likely reflects the fact that most BPA is used in polycarbonate plastics, where its potential for transfer to humans is relatively low.In contrast, methyl paraben's IPR of over 180,000 ppm is consistent with its presence in products with which people have close contact-foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.The authors acknowledge that the limited availability of biomonitoring data currently hinders widespread use of the IPR.They nonetheless foresee that the metric could contribute to a framework for rapidly estimating human exposure to untested chemicals based on the chemicals' intended uses and anticipated production volumes.For more than a dozen years Kellyn S. Betts has written about environmental contaminants, hazards, and technology for solving environmental problems for publications including EHP and Environmental Science & Technology.
Bactericidal Activity of Streptomycin and Isoniazid Against Tubercle Bacilli
Authors: B. Singh, D. A. Mitchison
Journal: BMJ (1954)

MBwIrc JOURNAL (Barnett et al., 1953b) and in rabbits (Domagk, quoted by Klee, 1953) it would seem probable that they would be of low virulence in man.However, patients in the Medical Research Council (1952) trials who developed resistant strains (growth on Lowenstein slopes containing 1 pAg. of isoniazid per ml.) benefited less from treatment with isoniazid than did those whose strains remained sensitive.There seem to be three possible explanations for the apparent contradiction.In the first place, even the most highly resistant strains set up large abscesses at the site of inoculation and usually mninimal regressive lesions in the spleen, liver, or lungs.Thus these strains are not com- pletely avirulent.Secondly, when strains from patients appear highly resistant in sensitivity tests there may be bacilli with a lower degree of resistance, and therefore higher virulence, in areas of the lungs containing progres- sive tuberculous lesions.Thirdly, the virulence of resistant strains may be increased by treatment with isoniazid; this may have occurred in the guinea-pigs infected with strains *L, H, and Fy, although the numbers of animals were too small to allow a firm conclusion.It has also been reported in mice in three out of four experiments (Barnett et al., 1953b).Strains growing on Lowenstein slopes containing 1 Ag. of isoniazid per ml.did not respond to 4 mg.per kg.per day.The serum isoniazid concentrations of guinea-pigs receiving this dose were similar to those of patients on the same dosage, used in the Medical Research Council (1952) trials.Thus it is reasonable to assume that such strains would also not respond to treatment with isoniazid when present in human lesions.Unfortunately some of the strains growing
Chemotherapy in drug-induced leucopenia.
Authors: R. N. Gruneberg, D. E. Theile
Journal: BMJ (1969)

flow rate without alkalinization the flow rate should be at least 12 ml./min;and (3) if the urine is weakly alkaline a flow rate of over 9 ml./min. is still required.If the case is not very severe-for example, peak plasma salicylate level not exceeding 80 mg./100 ml.-it is probably immaterial whether one adopts simple diuretic therapy, or alkalinization, or both, provided that the treatment is vigorous.However, in very severe cases it is desirable to remove salicylate from the body at the maximum possible rate, and this means com- bining very high flow rates with high urine alkalinity.Mean Salicylate Clearance* in ml. per Minute Classified According to Urine Flow Rate and Urine pH Urine Flow Rate
Review of Imagine What It's Like: A Literature and Medicine Anthology<sup>1</sup>
Authors: Judy Schaefer
Journal: The American Journal of Bioethics (2009)

"Review of Imagine What It's Like: A Literature and Medicine Anthology 1 ." , 9(4), pp. 63–64 Notes 1. Nadelhaft, R., ed. with Bonebakker, V., Honolulu: U of Hawai'I P, 2008.