tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Effects of global longitudinal strain and total scar burden on response to cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Antonello D'Andrea, Pio Caso, Raffaella Scarafile, Lucia Riegler, Gemma Salerno, Francesca Castaldo, Rita Gravino, Rosangela Cocchia, Luca Del Viscovo, Giuseppe Limongelli, Giovanni Di Salvo, Luigi Ascione, Raffaele Iengo, Sergio Cuomo, Lucio Santangelo, Raffaele Calabrò
Journal: European Journal of Heart Failure (2009)
Abstract 4862: Whole genome amplification allows for testing of valuable specimens by array comparative genomic hybridization
Authors: Daniel C. Edelman, Holly Stevenson, Miiia Suuriniemi, Parvati Singh, Jamie Rodriguez-Canales, Jeffery C. Hanson, Robert Walker, Michael R. Emmert-Buck, Paul Meltzer
Journal: Cancer Research (2011)

Abstract Many cancer clinical specimens are obtained in minute quantities and in varying states of degradation; for example, when they are formalin or ethanol fixed. In addition, many investigators seek tests on multiple genomic analytes and frequently insufficient DNA remains for all inquiries after the initial priority testing. To accommodate all clinical scientific inquiries, the Sigma GenomePlex whole genome amplification (WGA) protocol has been evaluated as a means to produce sufficient genomic material for array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) downstream testing. However previous studies, including our own, have shown that testing degraded samples with WGA coupled to oligo CGH arrays resulted in decreased data quality. We contend this could be due to unequal genomic representation in the WGA product. Our objective was to assess the importance and efficacy of using correctly matched reference DNA and to compensate for the WGA amplification bias, potentially improving aCGH results. We obtained DNA from ethanol-fixed prostate tissues in which both tumor and normal tissue compartments were separately isolated by laser capture microdissection or by directed needle-core sampling from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded blocks. We sought to optimize the Sigma WGA protocol by testing the following parameters: source of reference DNA (commercial versus matched normal), WGA cycle number, and the use of size-exclusion columns post-WGA. Quality control measures for the purified WGA product included electrophoresis (gel and Agilent Bioanalyzer), and a multiplex PCR to determine the extent of DNA genomic representation across the WGA product. ChromaSpin columns were used to reduce the number of smaller WGA amplicons prior to aCGH. WGA products were assayed with Agilent 8×60K CGH microarrays and chromosomal aberrations and data quality were assessed using BioDiscovery Nexus software. Data will be presented comparing the effectiveness of using sheared reference DNA as opposed to matched normal DNA, the use of QC methods prior to hybridization, any benefit in removing small WGA DNA products, and varying the WGA cycle number. We continue to evaluate how these modifications can bring improvement to WGA when coupled to aCGH, because there is promise that this method could expand the genomic testing opportunities for valuable and rare clinical specimens. 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 4862. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4862
Presence of α-fetoprotein mRNA in blood correlates with outcome in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Masayuki Matsumura, Yasushi Shiratori, Yasuro Niwa, Torao Tanaka, Keiji Ogura, Takehito Okudaira, Masatoshi Imamura, Ken-ichi Okano, Shuichiro Shiina, Masao Omata
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (1999)
Visceral pain perception is determined by the duration of colitis and associated neuropeptide expression in the mouse
Authors: M. Verma-Gandhu, E. F Verdu, P. Bercik, P. A Blennerhassett, N. Al-Mutawaly, J.-E. Ghia, S. M Collins
Journal: Gut (2006)

Even though inflammation is a traditional tool for the induction of hyperalgesia in many tissues, recent observations suggest that not all inflammatory processes produce this change. Tolerance to colorectal distension (CRD) is reduced in patients with acute ulcerative colitis but is increased in patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. This suggests that the nature of the inflammatory infiltrate influences visceral perception.To test this hypothesis by assessing responses to CRD in mice with mild, acute or chronic colitis.CRD responses were measured in mice with mild non-specific colitis, and dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced acute and chronic colitis. Responses were compared with tissue infiltrate and damage, interleukin (IL)1beta and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and substance P, beta-endorphin and micro opioid receptor (MOR) expression.Mild and acute colitis were associated with increased responsiveness to CRD. In contrast, CRD responses were not increased in mice with chronic colitis and this difference was not due to altered colonic wall compliance. MPO and IL1beta levels were greater in acute than in chronic colitis. Larger increases in tissue substance P were seen in acute than in chronic DSS, whereas CD4 T cells, beta-endorphin and MOR expression were evident only in chronic colitis. An inverse correlation was seen between substance P and MOR in these tissues.Acute colitis increased responsiveness to CRD and is accompanied by an acute inflammatory infiltrate and increased tissue substance P. Chronic DSS is accompanied by an increase in beta-endorphin and MOR expression, and CD4 T cells, but no change in compliance or CRD responses. We conclude that acute inflammation generates hyperalgesia, whereas chronic inflammation involves infiltration by lymphocytes accompanied by MOR and beta-endorphin up regulation, and this provides an antinociceptive input that restores normal visceral perception.
Users of SSRIs face risk of abnormal bleeding
Authors: Scott Gottlieb
Journal: BMJ (2004)

Users of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) face an increased risk of abnormal bleeding, which increases with the potency of their serotonin reuptake inhibition ( Arch Intern Med 2004;164:2367-70).

Serotonin has long been known to play a role in platelet aggregation. Because antidepressants influence blood serotonin levels, some researchers have postulated that their use may lead to an increased risk of abnormal bleeding, but the previous studies that looked at this question were inconclusive.

To test this hypothesis, researchers from the department of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacotherapy at the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and their …
Thyroid lymphomas in human thyroid tissue with autoimmune thyroid disease xenografted in severe combined immunodeficient mice
Authors: Tetsuya Morita, Norio Yoshikawa, Fumito Akasu, Sylvia L. Asa, Naomi Miller, Erika Resetkova, Guillermo Arreaza, Toshio Mukuta, Christopher Jamieson, Robert Volpé
Journal: Endocrine Pathology (1994)
Tumor Microenvironmental Conversion of Natural Killer Cells into Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells
Authors: Young-Jun Park, Boyeong Song, Yun-Sun Kim, Eun-Kyung Kim, Jung-Mi Lee, Ga-Eun Lee, Jae-Ouk Kim, Yeon-Jeong Kim, Woo-Sung Chang, Chang-Yuil Kang
Journal: Cancer Research (2013)

Abstract How myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) emerge in the tumor environment remains unclear. Here, we report that GM-CSF can convert natural killer (NK) cells into MDSCs. When transferred into tumor-bearing mice, adoptively transferred NK cells lost their NK phenotype and were converted into Ly6ChighLy6Ghigh MDSC. This conversion was abolished by exposure to IL-2 either in vitro or in vivo. Notably, we found that of the 4 maturation stages based on CD11b/CD27 expression levels, only the CD11bhighCD27high NK cells could be converted into CD11b+Gr1+ MDSC ex vivo. Transfer of CD27high NK cells from tumor-bearing mice into tumor-bearing recipients was associated with conversion to MDSC in a manner associated with reduced numbers of CD11bhighCD27high and CD11bhighCD27low NK cell populations in the recipients. Our results identify a pathway of MDSC development from immature NK cells in tumor-bearing hosts, providing new insights into how tumor cells modulate their host immune microenvironment to escape immune surveillance. Cancer Res; 73(18); 5669–81. ©2013 AACR.
IS THERE A MORTALITY BENEFIT WITH RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN SYSTEM (RAS) INHIBITION IN AFRICAN AMERICANS (AA) WITH HEART FAILURE WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION (HFPEF)?
Authors: Ravinder R. Valadri, Emir Veledar, radhika gadesam, Saumeth Cardona, Jo Ann Cross, Gregory Strayhorn, Heather Bloom, Adefisayo Oduwole, David De Lurgio, Javed Butler, Elizabeth Ofili, Anekwe Onwuanyi
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2012)
Migration of health workers from less developed countries needs urgent solution, say experts
Authors: John Zarocostas
Journal: BMJ (2006)

The global shortage of healthcare workers needs to be tackled urgently, agreed experts on health, labour, and migration from 63 countries and specialised agencies during an international workshop last week.

“Greater investment in human resource development in the developing and/or developed worlds is required,” delegates summed up at the end of a two day international workshop on migration and human resources for health.

Brunson McKinley, the director general of the International Origination for Migration told the BMJ that ethical recruitment should be part of the package of measures …
Myc confers androgen-independent prostate cancer cell growth
Authors: David Bernard, Albin Pourtier-Manzanedo, Jesús Gil, David H. Beach
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2003)

Prostate cancer is one of the most diagnosed and mortal cancers in western countries. A major clinical problem is the development of androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC) during antihormonal treatment. The molecular mechanisms underlying the change from androgen dependence to independence of these tumors are poorly understood and represent a challenge to develop new therapies. Based on genetic data showing amplification of the c-myc gene in AIPC, we studied the ability of c-myc to confer AIPC cell growth. Human androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells overexpressing c-myc grew independently of androgens and presented tumorigenic properties in androgen-depleted conditions. Analysis of signalling pathways by pharmacological inhibitors of the androgen receptor (AR) or by RNA interference directed against AR or c-myc showed that c-myc acted downstream of AR through multiple growth effectors. Thus c-myc is required for androgen-dependent growth and following ectopic expression can induce androgen-independent growth. Moreover, RNA interference directed against c-myc showed that growth of human AIPC cells, AR-positive or -negative, required c-myc expression. Furthermore, we showed that c-myc–overexpressing cells retain a functional p53 pathway and thus respond to etoposide.
Little green men
Authors: T. Smith
Journal: BMJ (1996)

Since the start of the National Lottery people have become more familiar with remote chances—though the number still buying tickets indicates that few make a rational assessment.

Anyone looking for really long odds should, however, examine what the New Yorker has recently called the “oldest question on earth”—is there intelligent life elsewhere in the universe? Discussion of this possibility requires the handling of numbers that make winning the National Lottery seem a commonplace event. Biologist Richard Dawkins has suggested that when thinking about this question we should start by developing a mental picture of a scale of improbable events including such rarities as being dealt a …
Histamine enhances interleukin (IL)-1-induced IL-1 gene expression and protein synthesis via H2 receptors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Comparison with IL-1 receptor antagonist.
Authors: E Vannier, C A Dinarello
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1993)

Histamine and IL-1 have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases, such as pulmonary allergic reactions and rheumatoid arthritis. We therefore investigated whether histamine modulated the synthesis of IL-1 beta. Human PBMC were stimulated with IL-1 alpha (10 ng/ml) in the absence or presence of histamine (10(-9)-10(-4) M). Histamine alone did not induce protein synthesis or mRNA accumulation for IL-1 beta. IL-1 alpha-induced IL-1 beta synthesis was enhanced two to threefold by histamine concentrations from 10(-6)-10(-4) M. Cimetidine, an H2 receptor antagonist, reversed the histamine (10(-5) M)-mediated increase in IL-1 alpha-induced IL-1 beta synthesis. Diphenhydramine, an H1 receptor antagonist, had no effect. Indomethacin, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, significantly reduced IL-1 alpha-induced IL-1 beta synthesis, but had no effect on the histamine-mediated increase in IL-1 alpha-induced IL-1 beta synthesis. Histamine (10(-5) M) enhanced and sustained IL-1 beta mRNA levels in IL-1 alpha-stimulated PBMC. However, histamine reduced IL-1 beta mRNA half-life (2.4 vs 1.2 h), suggesting that histamine enhances IL-1 alpha-induced IL-1 beta synthesis at the level of transcriptional activation. On the other hand, histamine (10(-5) M) did not affect IL-1 alpha-induced synthesis of IL-1 receptor antagonist. These results suggest that mast cells may sustain chronic inflammatory processes by upregulating self-induction of IL-1 through histamine release.
Child abuse laws--are they enough?
Authors: L. B. Silver
Journal: JAMA (1967)

The physicians in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area were questioned to assess their knowledge of the battered child syndrome, their awareness of the community procedures available, and their attitude toward reporting such cases under the protection of the new child abuse laws. Results suggest that methods of communication between medical and community organizations and the physician have not been completely effective in familiarizing the physician with the battered child syndrome or with the community procedures to be used for reporting. Several considerations appear to inhibit the physician from reporting suspected cases of child abuse.
The elixir of youth
Authors: C G D Brook
Journal: BMJ (1995)

You want your children to be taller and yourself to be leaner, fitter, and sexually more active? You need growth hormone every night, if you listen to siren voices. Adam Bullmore, the director of “Too Big Too Soon,” did a good job balancing the loonier assertions (the BBC trailer called them “compelling anecdotal evidence”) with the consumer view represented by the American consumer activist, Jeremy Rifkin. It was a pity not to report the randomised double blind placebo controlled trials of growth hormone, but that's not a story.

Growth hormone has been with us in supplies limited only by cost for nearly 10 years and it is looking for a market; it …
Termination of the Case of Miss H. Martineau
Authors: T. M. Greenhow
Journal: BMJ (1877)

the nervous structures in correspondence with the affected parts.The case I mentioned in my last lecture would be readily explained on this supposition.The sensitiveness of the vaso-motor nerves, as well as the sympathetic, would lead us to expect that we should find woman more liable to the phenomena which follow both contraction (irritation) and dilatation (relaxation) of the vessels ; and this is borne out by every- day experience.The majority of the cases where errors occur in these functions never come on the post miortent table, and probably, if they did so, we should find nothing, the actioni being vital, leaving no sign.
NIH moves towards open access
Authors: Bob Roehr
Journal: BMJ (2004)

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has taken the first step to requiring that all published papers that are based on research it supports financially will be made freely available to the public.

Notice of the regulatory changes was published on 3 September, opening a 60 day period for public comment. The process is likely to be concluded and to take effect early next year.

The NIH intends to request that wherever research is supported in whole or in part by NIH funding it should be provided …
Leprosy in Norway.
Authors: Albert S. Ashmead
Journal: JAMA (1898)

New York, Jan. 8, 1898. <h3>To the Editor:</h3> —Under "Leprosy in Norway," Dr. W. S. Caldwell writes to theJournal of the American Medical Association, Dec. 18, 1897: "Speaking to my host (Hansen's first assistant) in a congratulatory tone of our almost entire exception from the disease in the United States, he answered me warmly and decidedly, saying: 'You have plenty of lepers in your country, but your physicians do not recognize the disease, and allow the patients to run at large, while here in Norway we diagnose the malady in its early stages and isolate the patients.' In a late visit of Dr. Hansen to the United States, he told me that the Doctor found three cases in the hospitals in Chicago, and twice as many in New York, as well as encountered several cases of true leprosy upon the streets of each city, all of whom were being
Beating Atrial Septal Defect Closure Monitored by Epicardial Real-Time Three-Dimensional Echocardiography Without Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Authors: Yoshihiro Suematsu, Shinichi Takamoto, Yukihiro Kaneko, Toshiya Ohtsuka, Hiroo Takayama, Yutaka Kotsuka, Arata Murakami
Journal: Circulation (2003)

We assessed the feasibility of beating atrial septal defect (ASD) closure monitored by real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE).RT3DE was developed with prototype ultrasound equipment consisting of a high-speed 3D rendering unit with a frame rate of 5 to 10 frames/s. We also developed a prototype semiautomatic suture device and suture cutting system. In the experiment, 12 mongrel dogs were anesthetized, and after median sternotomy, the echo probe was applied directly to the surface of the right atrium. Three surgical maneuvers (balloon atrial septectomy, enlargement of the ASD, and ASD closure) were performed through the atrial port inserted into the right atrial appendage. The heart was then excised, and the area of the ASD measured by RT3DE was compared with its area measured directly. The ASD was successfully closed in all experimental animals except the first 2. Examination of the excised heart showed that none of the sutures were loose. The mean area of the ASD was 82.5+/-38.6 mm(2) when measured by RT3DE and 81.6+/-38.2 mm(2) when measured directly, and there was a significant correlation between the areas measured by RT3DE and those measured directly (echo measurements=1.007xdirect measurements+0.337; P<0.0001). A Bland-Altman analysis revealed close agreement between the results obtained by the 2 methods (7.807 mm(2) upper and -6.024 mm(2) lower limit of agreement).Introduction of RT3DE, a semiautomatic suture device, and a suture cutting system made beating ASD closure without cardiopulmonary bypass possible.
Novel Insights in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Are We Getting Closer to Understanding the Pathogenesis of the Disease?
Authors: Federico Caligaris-Cappio, Paolo Ghia
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2008)

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has unique epidemiologic, biologic, and clinical features. The progressively emerging picture leads us to consider that the critical genes for malignant CLL cells are those regulated by a number of microRNAs revealed by refined cytogenetic and molecular studies, and that the key molecule is the B-cell receptor (BCR). The hypothesis that CLL cells might be selected by some sort of antigenic pressure is strengthened by numerous findings indicating that a BCR-mediated stimulation plays a relevant role in the natural history of the disease and that autoantigens, as well as molecular structures instrumental in eliminating and scavenging apoptotic cells and pathogenic bacteria, may be relevant in triggering and/or facilitating the evolution of CLL. An important question is whether the tiny monoclonal B-cell populations phenotypically similar to CLL (that occur in the peripheral blood of about 3.5% of healthy individuals and are termed monoclonal B lymphocytosis) might be a critical step in the development of CLL. All relevant events of CLL occur in tissues in which a number of cellular and molecular interactions shape a microenvironment conducive to the accumulation of malignant cells and favor the organization of proliferating cells in focal aggregates of variable size that form the pseudofollicular proliferation centers. Given the impact that understanding the pathogenesis of CLL might have on the development of new treatments, the purposes of this review are to discuss whether the novel insights in CLL are leading us closer to understanding the tenet of the disease; to define the emerging new, stimulating questions; and to unfold the major challenges that still need to be addressed.
Reconstruction of fetal brain MRI with intensity matching and complete outlier removal
Authors: Maria Kuklisova-Murgasova, Gerardine Quaghebeur, Mary A. Rutherford, Joseph V. Hajnal, Julia A. Schnabel
Journal: Medical Image Analysis (2012)

We propose a method for the reconstruction of volumetric fetal MRI from 2D slices, comprising super-resolution reconstruction of the volume interleaved with slice-to-volume registration to correct for the motion. The method incorporates novel intensity matching of acquired 2D slices and robust statistics which completely excludes identified misregistered or corrupted voxels and slices. The reconstruction method is applied to motion-corrupted data simulated from MRI of a preterm neonate, as well as 10 clinically acquired thick-slice fetal MRI scans and three scan-sequence optimized thin-slice fetal datasets. The proposed method produced high quality reconstruction results from all the datasets to which it was applied. Quantitative analysis performed on simulated and clinical data shows that both intensity matching and robust statistics result in statistically significant improvement of super-resolution reconstruction. The proposed novel EM-based robust statistics also improves the reconstruction when compared to previously proposed Huber robust statistics. The best results are obtained when thin-slice data and the correct approximation of the point spread function is used. This paper addresses the need for a comprehensive reconstruction algorithm of 3D fetal MRI, so far lacking in the scientific literature.
Bisphosphonates and Osteoporosis
Authors: Caren G. Solomon
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2002)

Osteoporosis affects millions of postmenopausal women in the United States alone. For white women who reach 50 years of age, the lifetime risk of vertebral fracture is about one in three, and that for hip fracture is one in six. One tenth to one fifth of the women who have a hip fracture die within a year after it occurs, and one quarter must move permanently to a nursing home.Although potentially devastating, osteoporotic fractures can be prevented. Adequate calcium intake (at least 1200 mg daily for postmenopausal women) and vitamin D intake (400 to 800 IU daily) and regular . . .