tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Physical activity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness: European Community Respiratory Health Survey II
Authors: R. Shaaban, B. Leynaert, D. Soussan, J. M Anto, S. Chinn, R. de Marco, J. Garcia-Aymerich, J. Heinrich, C. Janson, D. Jarvis, J. Sunyer, C. Svanes, M. Wjst, P. G Burney, F. Neukirch, M. Zureik
Journal: Thorax (2006)

<b>Background:</b> Identification of the risk factors for bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) would increase the understanding of the causes of asthma. The relationship between physical activity and BHR in men and women aged 28.0–56.5 years randomly selected from 24 centres in 11 countries participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II was investigated. <b>Methods:</b> 5158 subjects answered questionnaires about physical activity and performed BHR tests. Participants were asked about the frequency and duration of usual weekly exercise resulting in breathlessness or sweating. BHR was defined as a decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s of at least 20% of its post-saline value for a maximum methacholine dose of 2 mg. <b>Results:</b> Both frequency and duration of physical activity were inversely related to BHR. The prevalence of BHR in subjects exercising ⩽1, 2–3 and ⩾4 times a week was 14.5%, 11.6% and 10.9%, respectively (p&lt;0.001). The corresponding odds ratios were 1.00, 0.78 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.99) and 0.69 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.94) after controlling for potential confounding factors. The frequency of BHR in subjects exercising &lt;1 h, 1–3 h and ⩾4 h a week was 15.9%, 10.9% and 10.7%, respectively (p&lt;0.001). The corresponding adjusted odds ratios were 1.00, 0.70 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.87) and 0.67 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.90). Physical activity was associated with BHR in all studied subgroups. <b>Conclusions:</b> These results suggest that BHR is strongly and independently associated with decreased physical activity. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying this association.
Abstract 2663: How Do Cardiologists and Cardiothoracic Surgeons Treat Asymptomatic Mitral Regurgitation in Clinical Practice? An International Survey
Authors: Kevin M Harris, Catherine A Pastorius, Eileen M Harwood, Sue Duval, Alan T Hirsch, Blase A Carabello
Journal: Circulation (2007)

Background: Severe mitral regurgitation (MR) is known to be associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Thus, consensus-derived, evidence-based practice standards (e.g., ACC/AHA Guidelines for Management of Valvular Heart Disease) have been published. Yet, no data exist to describe whether physicians follow such standards in clinical practice for asymptomatic pts with MR. Methods: A random sample of cardiovascular specialists were surveyed by email and asked to complete 26 items that encompassed MR-related practice patterns. Results: 1035 physicians completed the survey (68% response rate) and the sample included adult cardiologists (95%) and cardiac surgeons (5%) who practice in the USA (84%), Canada (6%), and other nations (10%). When asked ``Do you refer asymptomatic patients with severe MR and normal LV function for MV repair?”, 28% responded yes/almost always, and 11% responded no/ rarely. There was geographic &amp; specialty-dependent variation in practice (Table ). Patient referral for mitral surgery was based on risk markers, such as atrial fibrillation (18%) and pulmonary hypertension (17%) and anatomic factors (e.g., flail valve, 18%) and clinical variables (e.g., increased likelihood of repair, 19%). Most physicians (65%) use medications to delay progression of MR, with ACE-inhibitors utilized by 57%. Isolated posterior prolapse repair was repaired successfully &gt;85% at their hospital by 61% (60% for cardiologists vs. 82% for surgeons, p=0.004). 28% of respondents almost always quantitate MR using effective regurgitant orifice area, while 30% rarely or never do so. Conclusions: Cardiologists frequently refer asymptomatic MR patients for mitral reparative surgery, but referral is often prompted by factors beyond those included in current guidelines. Practice patterns vary by physician type and by geographical location. Medications are frequently used to treat asymptomatic individuals with MR, in the absence of documented evidence of efficacy.
Antimicrobial resistance is now widespread, warns WHO
Authors: A. Gulland
Journal: BMJ (2014)

Widespread resistance to antimicrobial drugs is not a future threat—it is happening now in hospitals and in the community, a report from the World Health Organization warns.1

The report looked at data from 114 countries and found that antimicrobial resistance was occurring in every region of all the countries.

Keiji Fukuda, WHO’s assistant director general for health security, said that though this was a global threat it affected developing countries disproportionately.

He added, “Antimicrobial drugs are one of the foundations of modern healthcare. There are certain infections for which we have maintained targeted health efforts to control—infections like HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. Much of our ability to address these infections is going to become eroded.”

The report found high rates of …
P571Irradiation of thorax triggers signaling with potential acute cardioprotective benefits in rats
Authors: C Viczenczova, B Bacova, T Benova, B Kura, C Yin, R Kukreja, J Slezak, N Tribulova
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2014)

Objectives: Myocardial synchronization and proper heart function depends on the expression and subcellular distribution of intercellular connexin-43 (Cx43) channels that are essential for electrical coupling and direct cell-to-cell communication. Radiotherapy is applied to treat cancer but chest irradiation can induce heart disease. We hypothesized that irradiation on thorax triggers endogenous compensatory mechanisms including the increased expression of Cx43, protein kinase C (PKC)-delta/epsilon, and microRNAs that may potentially modulate cardiac function. Methods: Healthy adult, male Wistar rats were irradiated with a single 25 Gray (Gy) dose on thorax. Six weeks later, the animals were anesthetized and hearts were excised. Left ventricular tissue was isolated for determination of Cx43 distribution and expression of Cx43, PKC-delta, PKC-epsilon, miRNA-1 and miR-21 using immunohisto-chemistry, western blotting and real-time PCR respectively. Results: Body and heart mass were decreased in irradiated rats when compared to the controls. There were no changes in cardiomyocyte Cx43 localization between groups. Total Cx-43 protein and its functional phosphorylated forms were significantly increased in left ventricle of rats exposed to irradiation. In parallel, the level of miR-1 that down-regulates Cx43, was suppressed and expression of PKC-epsilon that phosphorylates Cx-43, was increased in those animals. Irradiation also induced increase in PKC-delta and miR-21 expression suggesting activation of pro-hypertrophic and pro-fibrotic pathways. Conclusions: Irradiation of thorax triggers up-regulation of myocardial Cx43, PKC signaling and decrease miR-1 but increase miR-21 levels in the heart. Some of these endogenous compensatory mechanisms may be potentially important in acute preservation heart function following irradiation.
Transcapillary Escape Rate of Albumin in Type II Diabetic Patients: The relationship with microalbuminuria and hypertension
Authors: Monica Nannipieri, Giuseppe Penno, Loredana Rizzo, Laura Pucci, Simona Bandinelli, Paola Mattei, Stefano Taddei, Antonio Salvetti, Renzo Navalesi
Journal: Diabetes Care (1997)

OBJECTIVE To study why in type II diabetes, microalbuminuria, a marker of generalized vascular dysfunction, and hypertension have been linked with both renal and cardiovascular organ damage. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS To investigate the effect of moderately elevated blood pressure on vascular damage, the transcapillary escape rate of albumin (TERalb) was measured by intravenous injection of purified 125I-human serum albumin in 9 healthy control subjects (group 1), 9 nondiabetic hypertensive subjects (group 2), and 73 nonobese type II diabetic patients stratified as follows: group 3: 17 normoalbuminuric-normotensive subjects; group 4: 22 normoalbuminuric-hypertensive subjects (systolic blood pressure [sBP] ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure [dBP] ≥ mmHg or both); group 5: 16 normotensive subjects with microalbuminuria (albumin excretion rate [AER]: 20–200 μg/min); and group 6: 18 microalbuminuric-hypertensive subjects. RESULTS Groups 3–6 had similar age, sex, duration of diabetes (group 3: 7.8 ± 5.5; group 4: 9.7 ± 8.7; group 5: 12.1 ± 8.1; and group 6: 10.7 ± 8.3 years), BMI, HbA1c (7.8 ± 1.1, 7.5 ± 1.5, 8.7 ± 1.5, and 7.7 ± 1.1%, respectively), blood glucose, and lipid profile. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure did not differ in the three hypertensive group (group 2: 154 ± 3/99 ± 6; group 4: 149 ± 13/95 ± 6; group 6: 154 ± 15/91 ± 9 mmHg) and were significantly lower (P &amp;lt; 0.001) in group 3 (126 ± 12/76 ± 7), group 5 (128 ± 11/77 ± 5), and healthy control subjects (group 1: 133 ± 7/81 ± 4). TERalb was similar in control subjects (5.77 ± 1.06%/h) and in normoalbuminuric-normotensive subjects (5.81 ± 1.51%/h) but significantly higher (P &amp;lt; 0.0001) in microalbuminuric subjects with or without hypertension (9.11 ± 1.65 and 8.60 ± 1.50%/h, respectively) as well as in normoalbuminuric diabetic patients with hypertension (8.10 ± 2.27%/h) and in essential hypertensive subjects (8.12 ± 1.68%/h). CONCLUSIONS By stepwise regression, TERalb was related (step 1) to log-AER (r = 0.30) or to the presence of microalbuminuria (r = 0.36) and (step 2) to dBP (multiple r = 0.40) or to the presence of hypertension (multiple r = 0.51) in the whole diabetic cohort (groups 3–6). TERalb was related to dBP (r = 0.47) or to the presence of hypertension (r = 0.56) only in normoalbuminuric diabetic patients (groups 3 and 4) and to log-AER (r = 0.56) or the presence of microalbuminuria (r = 0.68) only in normotensive patients (groups 3 and 5). In type II diabetic patients, TERalb was elevated in subjects with increased albuminuria, irrespective of blood pressure levels, but also was independently related to the presence of mild-to-moderate systemic hypertension.
Getting Serious about Cholera
Authors: David A. Sack, R. Bradley Sack, Claire-Lise Chaignat
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2006)

Deaths from cholera are again making news, this time in Angola. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Angola had reported 46,758 cases of cholera, including 1893 deaths, as of June 19, 2006.1 The outbreak has affected 14 of 18 provinces, but nearly half the cases were reported in the coastal capital, Luanda, and another 17 percent in Benguela provinces. The overall case fatality rate is about 4 percent, although in some provinces, it has reached 30 percent. This outbreak represents another in a series of cholera epidemics in this country,2 which is among the poorest in the world and . . .
Lateral Cervical Myelography
Authors: Warren R. Sisson
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1954)

T7 VER since Brain and his co-workers,1 called attention to the condition described under the name of spondylosis cervicalis, this department has felt the need for a method of taking lateral cervical myelograms that gives a consistently good lateral view of the boundaries and contents of the cervical spinal canal, that is relatively easy to carry out and that reduces to a minimum the chance of getting the Pantopaque above the foramen magnum. The last requirement is believed to be particularly important because of experiences with several cases in which the Pantopaque, which had escaped from the control of the . . .
How Does Medical Device Regulation Perform in the United States and the European Union? A Systematic Review
Authors: Daniel B. Kramer, Shuai Xu, Aaron S. Kesselheim
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2012)

Policymakers and regulators in the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) are weighing reforms to their medical device approval and post-market surveillance systems. Data may be available that identify strengths and weakness of the approaches to medical device regulation in these settings.We performed a systematic review to find empirical studies evaluating medical device regulation in the US or EU. We searched Medline using two nested categories that included medical devices and glossary terms attributable to the US Food and Drug Administration and the EU, following PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. We supplemented this search with a review of the US Government Accountability Office online database for reports on US Food and Drug Administration device regulation, consultations with local experts in the field, manual reference mining of selected articles, and Google searches using the same key terms used in the Medline search. We found studies of premarket evaluation and timing (n = 9), studies of device recalls (n = 8), and surveys of device manufacturers (n = 3). These studies provide evidence of quality problems in pre-market submissions in the US, provide conflicting views of device safety based largely on recall data, and relay perceptions of some industry leaders from self-surveys.Few studies have quantitatively assessed medical device regulation in either the US or EU. Existing studies of US and EU device approval and post-market evaluation performance suggest that policy reforms are necessary for both systems, including improving classification of devices in the US and promoting transparency and post-market oversight in the EU. Assessment of regulatory performance in both settings is limited by lack of data on post-approval safety outcomes. Changes to these device approval and post-marketing systems must be accompanied by ongoing research to ensure that there is better assessment of what works in either setting.
A Revised Probabilistic Estimate of the Maternal Methyl Mercury Intake Dose Corresponding to a Measured Cord Blood Mercury Concentration
Authors: Alan H. Stern
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2004)

In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a revised reference dose (RfD) for methyl mercury (MeHg) of 0.1 μg/kg/day. The RfD is based on neurologic developmental effects measured in children associated with exposure in utero to MeHg from the maternal diet. The RfD derivation proceeded from a point of departure based on measured concentration of mercury in fetal cord blood (micrograms per liter). The RfD, however, is a maternal dose (micrograms per kilogram per day). Reconstruction of the maternal dose corresponding to this cord blood concentration, including the variability around this estimate, is a critical step in the RfD derivation. The dose reconstruction employed by the U.S. EPA using the one-compartment pharmacokinetic model contains two areas of significant uncertainty: It does not directly account for the influence of the ratio of cord blood:maternal blood Hg concentration, and it does not resolve uncertainty regarding the most appropriate central tendency estimates for pregnancy and third-trimester–specific model parameters. A probabilistic reassessment of this dose reconstruction was undertaken to address these areas of uncertainty and generally to reconsider the specification of model input parameters. On the basis of a thorough review of the literature and recalculation of the one-compartment model including sensitivity analyses, I estimated that the 95th and 99th percentiles (i.e., the lower 5th and 1st percentiles) of the maternal intake dose corresponding to a fetal cord blood Hg concentration of 58 μg/L are 0.3 and 0.2 μg/kg/day, respectively. For the 99th percentile, this is half the value previously estimated by the U.S. EPA.
SPONTANEOUS RUPTURE OF ACHILLES TENDON WITH VICIOUS HEALING TO TIBIA AND ANKLE JOINT
Authors: Edgar D. Oppenheimer
Journal: JAMA (1925)

M. H., a man, aged 32, in his younger days a prizefighter, was well built and athletic. His history and examination as to any disease or local condition having any bearing on this accident was negative. The Wassermann reaction was negative. While engaged in a swimming pool as attendant, he slipped on the tiled floor and felt a severe, sharp pain in the back of the heel, which was very disabling, so that he could walk only with extreme difficulty. The chiropodist came to his assistance and strapped his foot. He compressed the heel-cord with a tight adhesive dressing against the tibia, because this was the seat of the pain. In spite of the severe disability and inability to contract the gastrocnemius, he kept at his work, although he had to walk 3 miles in open country each day. Had he not been used to severe physical punishment, he would
Gadolinium Attenuates the Upward Shift of the Left Ventricular Diastolic Pressure-Volume Relation During Pacing-Induced Ischemia in Dogs
Authors: Hiroshi Takano, Stanton A Glantz
Journal: Circulation (1995)

Background The mechanism of the reversible upward shift of the left ventricular diastolic pressure-volume relation during demand ischemia is controversial. To assess the possibility that cation influx through stretch-activation channels may contribute to the upward shift, we asked whether gadolinium, a blocker of the stretch-activated channels, attenuates the upward shift of the diastolic pressure-volume relation during pacing-induced ischemia in 5 dogs. Methods and Results To produce pacing-induced ischemia, we constricted the left anterior descending and circumflex coronary arteries to reduce their flows by approximately 30% and paced the left atrium at 150 to 180 beats per minute for 3 minutes. We measured left ventricular pressure, volume, and two segment lengths with micromanometers, a conductance catheter, and ultrasonic crystals, respectively. We recorded these variables during baseline, coronary stenosis, and pacing-induced ischemia (immediately after rapid pacing). After injecting 20 mg/kg (76 μmol/kg) gadolinium, we repeated the measurements during coronary stenosis (gadolinium experiment) and pacing-induced ischemia (pacing-induced ischemia plus gadolinium experiment). For each measurement, we recorded the variables in steady state to obtain diastolic pressure-volume and pressure–segment length loops and then during a brief (within 25 seconds) inferior vena caval occlusion to obtain the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure-volume relation. We found that left ventricular diastolic pressure-volume and pressure–segment length loops in steady-state beats shifted upward from coronary stenosis to pacing-induced ischemia. After injection of gadolinium, the upward shift from gadolinium to pacing-induced ischemia plus gadolinium was smaller than the shift from coronary stenosis to pacing-induced ischemia. Similarly, the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure-volume relation obtained during vena caval occlusion shifted upward (by 2.2±0.6 [SE] mm Hg) from coronary stenosis to pacing-induced ischemia. After injection of gadolinium, the upward shift from gadolinium to pacing-induced ischemia plus gadolinium was smaller (by −2.1±0.4 mm Hg). Conclusions These results indicate that gadolinium, a blocker of stretch-activated channels, attenuates the upward shift of the diastolic pressure-volume relation during pacing-induced ischemia, suggesting that the cation influx through stretch-activated channels may contribute to this upward shift.
Amyloid PET/MRI in the Differential Diagnosis of Dementia
Authors: José L. Vercher-Conejero, Christian Rubbert, Andrés A. Kohan, Sasan Partovi, James K. O’Donnell
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2013)

The potential of brain imaging has grown rapidly with new modalities, hybrid combinations of existing modalities, and novel metabolic tracers. 18F-florbetapir is an amyloid plaque-binding molecule labeled to 18F that allows positron imaging of the amyloid deposition in the brain. This protein deposition is known to be one of the features in Alzheimer disease and therefore can be of interest in the differential diagnosis of dementia. We present 2 cases combining the new hybrid imaging modality PET/MRI, which offers molecular and morphological information, with 18F-florbetapir in the differential diagnosis of dementia.
Leukemia inhibitory factor is synthesized and released by human eosinophils and modulates activation state and chemotaxis☆☆☆★
Authors: Xueyan Zheng, Darryl A. Knight, Danyi Zhou, Tracey D. Weir, Craig Peacock, R.Robert Schellenberg, Tony R. Bai
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (1999)
Bcl-2-Dependent Modulation of Swelling-Activated Cl− Current and ClC-3 Expression in Human Prostate Cancer Epithelial Cells
Authors: Loïc Lemonnier, Yaroslav Shuba, Alexandre Crepin, Morad Roudbaraki, Christian Slomianny, Brigitte Mauroy, Bernd Nilius, Natalia Prevarskaya, Roman Skryma
Journal: Cancer Research (2004)

Abstract Cell shrinkage is an integral part of apoptosis. However, intimate mechanisms linking apoptotic events to the alterations in cell volume homeostasis remain poorly elucidated. We investigated how overexpression of Bcl-2 oncoprotein, a key antiapoptotic regulator, in lymph node carcinoma of the prostate (LNCaP) prostate cancer epithelial cells interferes with the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC), a major determinant of regulatory volume decrease. Bcl-2 overexpression resulted in the doubling of VRAC-carried swelling-activated Cl− current (ICl,swell) and weakened ICl,swell inhibition by store-operated Ca2+ channel (SOC)-transported Ca2+. This also was accompanied by substantial up-regulation of ClC-3 protein, a putative molecular candidate for the role of VRAC. ClC-3-specific antibody suppressed ICl,swell in the wild-type and Bcl-2-overexpressing LNCaP cells. Epidermal growth factor treatment of wild-type LNCaP cells, promoting their proliferation, resulted in the enhancement of endogenous Bcl-2 expression and associated increases in ClC-3 levels and ICl,swell magnitude. We conclude that Bcl-2-induced up-regulation of ICl,swell, caused by enhanced expression of ClC-3 and weaker negative control from SOC-transported Ca2+, would strengthen the ability of the cells to handle proliferative volume increases and thereby promote their survival and diminish their proapoptotic potential.