tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Inequalities in maternal health: national cohort study of ethnic variation in severe maternal morbidities
Authors: M. Knight, J. J Kurinczuk, P. Spark, P. Brocklehurst
Journal: BMJ (2009)

<b>Objective</b> To describe on a national basis ethnic differences in severe maternal morbidity in the United Kingdom. <b>Design</b> National cohort study using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS). <b>Setting</b> All hospitals with consultant led maternity units in the UK. <b>Participants</b> 686 women with severe maternal morbidity between February 2005 and February 2006. <b>Main outcome measures</b> Rates, risk ratios, and odds ratios of severe maternal morbidity in different ethnic groups. <b>Results</b> 686 cases of severe maternal morbidity were reported in an estimated 775 186 maternities, representing an estimated incidence of 89 (95% confidence interval 82 to 95) cases per 100 000 maternities. 74% of women were white, and 26% were non-white. The estimated risk of severe maternal morbidity in white women was 80 cases per 100 000 maternities, and that in non-white women was 126 cases per 100 000 (risk difference 46 (27 to 66) cases per 100 000; risk ratio 1.58, 95% confidence interval 1.33 to 1.87). Black African women (risk difference 108 (18 to 197) cases per 100 000 maternities; risk ratio 2.35, 1.45 to 3.81) and black Caribbean women (risk difference 116 (59 to 172) cases per 100 000 maternities; risk ratio 2.45, 1.81 to 3.31) had the highest risk compared with white women. The risk in non-white women remained high after adjustment for differences in age, socioeconomic and smoking status, body mass index, and parity (odds ratio 1.50, 1.15 to 1.96). <b>Conclusions</b> Severe maternal morbidity is significantly more common among non-white women than among white women in the UK, particularly in black African and Caribbean ethnic groups. This pattern is very similar to reported ethnic differences in maternal death rates. These differences may be due to the presence of pre-existing maternal medical factors or to factors related to care during pregnancy, labour, and birth; they are unlikely to be due to differences in age, socioeconomic or smoking status, body mass index, or parity. This highlights to clinicians and policy makers the importance of tailored maternity services and improved access to care for women from ethnic minorities. National information on the ethnicity of women giving birth in the UK is needed to enable ongoing accurate study of these inequalities.
THE BACTERICIDAL PROPERTY OF COW'S MILK
Authors: F. S. Jones, Ralph B. Little
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1927)

The bactericidal activity of fresh raw milk from a number of cows has been tested with the non-hemolytic mastitis streptococcus. By using this organism and other means we were able to rule out the action of agglutinin. The milk of all cows examined inhibited the growth of the streptococcus for definite periods. The length of the inhibition period varied; the milk from some cows prevented growth for 8 hours, that of others for only 4 or 6 hours. The inhibitory action may be as strong in the milk of a young cow in its first lactation period as in that of an old cow known to be resistant to udder infection. It is possible to absorb the streptococcus inhibitory substance by first inoculating the milk with B. bovisepticus. We were unable to show that the substance was increased by artificial immunization of cows with the streptococcus. Whey obtained by the action of sterile rennet solution inhibited the growth of the streptococcus to about the same extent as the milk from which it was obtained. We infer that the substance originates in the udder since it differs from blood alexin in its resistance to heat, it is not increased in the whey although the blood proteins are more concentrated, and it is not increased in the milk when the cows are artificially immunized or repeatedly exposed to natural infection.
Book: The Cloning Sourcebook
Authors: T. Jenkins
Journal: BMJ (2001)

Ed Arlene Judith Klotzko Oxford University Press, £27.50, pp 328 ISBN 0 19 512882 6 Rating: ![Graphic][1]</img> ![Graphic][2]</img> ![Graphic][3]</img> Any decision to proceed with human cloning ought to be taken by society and not by the enthusiastic scientists who devise and perfect the necessary techniques. Those, including the scientists, who doubt the capability of the public to make wise decisions, would do well to recall the opinion of Thomas Jefferson: “I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise that control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education” ( Thomas Jefferson on Democracy , Mentor Books, New York, 1939). [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [3]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif
The Inured Heart
Authors: Henry Schneiderman
Journal: JAMA (1986)

Nothing that matters escapes my wife Rosemaria. I came home one evening last week and told her about a perinatal autopsy that showed definite congenital syphilis, and she misted over and said, "That poor little baby." There it was. Syphilis had fascinated me since college, when I learned in History of Medicine about Fracastoro's poem and the 15th-century epidemics whose grip on contemporaneous public imagination, I think, compared with that of AIDS today (right down to a hypothesis about a Haitian connection). The first two patients I saw in Institutional Neurology both had general paresis of the insane, a form of advanced tertiary neurosyphilis. This was in 1974, and I didn't know why Dr Schwartz, the preceptor, jumped up and down with excited interest after the patients had left. I did notice his gentleness with the two timid, demented ladies, and later modeled several career decisions on such behavior. On
Relation between echocardiographically determined left atrial size and atrial fibrillation.
Authors: W L Henry, J Morganroth, A S Pearlman, C E Clark, D R Redwood, S B Itscoitz, S E Epstein
Journal: Circulation (1976)

In an attempt to define quantitatively the relation between left atrial size and atrial fibrillation, echocardiography was used to study 85 patients with isolated mitral valve disease, 50 patients with isolated aortic valve disease, and 130 patients with asymmetric septal hypertrophy. In all three groups of patients, atrial fibrillation was rare when left atrial dimension was below 44 mm (3 of 117 or 3%) but common when this dimension exceeded 40 mm (80 of 148 or 54%). In addition, when left atrial dimension exceeds 45 mm, cardioversion, while initially successful, is unlikely to produce sinus rhythm that can be maintained at least six months. These data suggest that left atrial size is an important factor in the development of atrial fibrillation and in determining the long term result of cardioversion. The pathophysiologic mechansim most consistent with this is that a chronic hemodynamic burden initially produces left atrial enlargement which in turn predisposes to atrial fibrillation. Only prospective studies will determine definitively whether these observations will be useful in decisions concerning prophylactic anticoagulation and elective cardioversion.
Tumor Suppressor Gene Inactivation during Cadmium-Induced Malignant Transformation of Human Prostate Cells Correlates with Overexpression of <i>de Novo</i> DNA Methyltransferase
Authors: Lamia Benbrahim-Tallaa, Robert A. Waterland, Anna L. Dill, Mukta M. Webber, Michael P. Waalkes
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2007)

BackgroundAberrant DNA methylation is common in carcinogenesis. The typical pattern appears to involve reduced expression of maintenance DNA methyltransferase, DNMT1, inducing genomic hypomethylation, whereas increased expression of de novo DNMT3a or 3b causes gene-specific hypermethylation.ObjectivesDuring cadmium-induced malignant transformation, an unusual pattern of genomic hypermethylation occurred that we studied to provide insight into the roles of specific DNMTs in oncogenesis.MethodsGene expression and DNA methylation were assessed in control and chronic cadmium-transformed prostate epithelial cells (CTPE) using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot analysis, methylation-specific PCR, and methyl acceptance assay.ResultsDuring the 10-weeks of cadmium exposure that induced malignant transformation, progressive increases in generalized DNMT enzymatic activity occurred that were associated with over-expression of DNMT3b without changes in DNMT1 expression. Increased DNMT3b expression preceded increased DNMT enzymatic activity. Procainamide, a specific DNMT1 inhibitor, reversed cadmium-induced genomic DNA hypermethylation. Reduced expression of the tumor suppressor genes, RASSF1A and p16, began about the time DNMT3b overexpression first occurred and progressively decreased thereafter. RASSF1A and p16 promoter regions were heavily methylated in CTPE cells, indicating silencing by hypermethylation, while the DNA demethylating agent, 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine, reversed this silencing. DNMT1 inhibition only modestly increased RASSF1A and p16 expression in CTPE cells and did not completely reverse silencing.ConclusionsThese data indicate that DNMT3b overexpression can result in generalized DNA hypermethylation and gene silencing but that DNMT1 is required to maintain these effects. The pattern of genomic DNA hypermethylation together with up-regulation of DNMT3b may provide a unique set of biomarkers to specifically identify cadmium-induced human prostate cancers.
Effectiveness of oseltamivir on disease progression and viral RNA shedding in patients with mild pandemic 2009 influenza A H1N1: opportunistic retrospective study of medical charts in China
Authors: H. Yu, Q. Liao, Y. Yuan, L. Zhou, N. Xiang, Y. Huai, X. Guo, Y. Zheng, H. R. van Doorn, J. Farrar, Z. Gao, Z. Feng, Y. Wang, W. Yang
Journal: BMJ (2010)

<b>Objective</b> To describe the clinical features and effectiveness of oseltamivir on disease progression and viral RNA shedding in patients with mild pandemic 2009 influenza A(H1N1) virus infection. <b>Design</b> Opportunistic retrospective review of medical charts of patients with confirmed 2009 H1N1 identified through the national surveillance system in China from May to July 2009. <b>Setting</b> Under coordination of the Ministry of Health, local health departments were asked to collect medical records of confirmed patients and send them to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention on a voluntary basis as part of the public health response. <b>Population</b> 1291 patients with confirmed 2009 H1N1 infection and available data for chart review. <b>Main outcome measures</b> Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, symptoms and signs, laboratory tests, findings on chest radiography, antiviral treatment, duration of fever, and duration of viral RNA shedding. <b>Results</b> The median age of 1291 patients was 20 years (interquartile range 12-26); 701 (54%) were male. The most common symptoms were fever (820, 64%), cough (864, 67%), sore throat (425, 33%), sputum (239, 19%), and rhinorrhoea (228, 18%). Of 920 patients who underwent chest radiography, 110 (12%) had abnormal findings consistent with pneumonia. Some 983 (76%) patients were treated with oseltamivir from a median of the third day of symptoms (2-4). No patients required admission to the intensive care unit or mechanical ventilation. 2009 H1N1 was shed from one day before onset of symptoms to up to eight days after onset in most (91%) patients, with a median of 5 (3-6) days of shedding after onset. Treatment with oseltamivir significantly protected against subsequent development of radiographically confirmed pneumonia (odds ratio 0.12, 95% confidence interval 0.08 to 0.18), and treatment started within two days of symptom onset reduced the duration of fever and viral RNA shedding. <b>Conclusions</b> Chinese patients with 2009 H1N1 infection predominantly presented with features of uncomplicated, self limiting acute respiratory illness. 2009 H1N1 might be shed longer than seasonal influenza virus. Treatment with oseltamivir was associated with a significantly reduced development of radiographically confirmed pneumonia and a shorter duration of fever and viral RNA shedding. Though these patients benefited from treatment, the findings should be interpreted with caution as the study was retrospective and not all patients underwent chest radiography.
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in Patients with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-Related Complex
Authors: Jagadamma M.G. Nair
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1988)

Immune thrombocytopenia has been reported with increased incidence in high-risk persons such as intravenous drug addicts and homosexual men who have serologic evidence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, generally regarded as a rare disorder, has also been seen in association with exposure to HIV. Two patients had classical symptoms and laboratory findings of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related complex. Both patients belong to high-risk groups. They were treated with conventional therapy for thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and followed for 3 months. Their response to treatment was no different from that of other groups of patients with this syndrome. This article alerts physicians to the possible association of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, AIDS, and AIDS-related complex.
Qualitative differences in faecal alpha-1-antitrypsin in patients with Crohn's disease.
Authors: J F Colombel, C Mizon, M Balduyck, A Cortot
Journal: Gut (1989)

A 23-year-old man had Prinzmetal9s variant angina. After strenuous exercise and isoprenaline infusion the electrocardiogram remained normal and the patient asymptomatic. Coronary angiography gave normal results which remained normal after administration of ergometrine. An injection of methacholine induced an attack.
Summary of North American Hair Research Society (NAHRS)-sponsored Workshop on Cicatricial Alopecia, Duke University Medical Center, February 10 and 11, 2001
Authors: Elise A. Olsen, Wilma F. Bergfeld, George Cotsarelis, Vera H. Price, Jerry Shapiro, Rodney Sinclair, Alvin Solomon, Leonard Sperling, Kurt Stenn, David A. Whiting
Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2003)
Engineering of living autologous human umbilical cord cell-based septal occluder membranes using composite PGA-P4HB matrices
Authors: Benedikt Weber, Roman Schoenauer, Francesca Papadopulos, Peter Modregger, Silvia Peter, Marco Stampanoni, Arabella Mauri, Edoardo Mazza, Julia Gorelik, Irina Agarkova, Laura Frese, Christian Breymann, Oliver Kretschmar, Simon P. Hoerstrup
Journal: Biomaterials (2011)
<i>Glioma Pathogenesis-Related Protein 1</i> Exerts Tumor Suppressor Activities through Proapoptotic Reactive Oxygen Species–c-Jun–NH2 Kinase Signaling
Authors: Likun Li, ElMoataz Abdel Fattah, Guangwen Cao, Chengzhen Ren, Guang Yang, Alexei A. Goltsov, A. Craig Chinault, Wei-Wen Cai, Terry L. Timme, Timothy C. Thompson
Journal: Cancer Research (2008)

Abstract Glioma pathogenesis-related protein 1 (GLIPR1), a novel p53 target gene, is down-regulated by methylation in prostate cancer and has p53-dependent and -independent proapoptotic activities in tumor cells. These properties suggest an important tumor suppressor role for GLIPR1, yet direct genetic evidence of a tumor suppressor function for GLIPR1 is lacking and the molecular mechanism(s), through which GLIPR1 exerts its tumor suppressor functions, has not been shown. Here, we report that the expression of GLIPR1 is significantly reduced in human prostate tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal prostate tissues and in multiple human cancer cell lines. Overexpression of GLIPR1 in cancer cells leads to suppression of colony growth and induction of apoptosis. Mice with an inactivated Glipr1 gene had significantly shorter tumor-free survival times than either Glipr1+/+ or Glipr1+/− mice in both p53+/+ and p53+/− genetic backgrounds, owing to their development of a unique array of malignant tumors. Mechanistic analysis indicated that GLIPR1 up-regulation increases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to apoptosis through activation of the c-Jun–NH2 kinase (JNK) signaling cascade. Thus, our results identify GLIPR1 as a proapoptotic tumor suppressor acting through the ROS-JNK pathway and support the therapeutic potential for this protein. [Cancer Res 2008;68(2):434–43]
Global Epidemiology of Pediatric Severe Sepsis: The Sepsis Prevalence, Outcomes, and Therapies Study
Authors: Scott L. Weiss, Julie C. Fitzgerald, John Pappachan, Derek Wheeler, Juan C. Jaramillo-Bustamante, Asma Salloo, Sunit C. Singhi, Simon Erickson, Jason A. Roy, Jenny L. Bush, Vinay M. Nadkarni, Neal J. Thomas
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2015)

Limited data exist about the international burden of severe sepsis in critically ill children.To characterize the global prevalence, therapies, and outcomes of severe sepsis in pediatric intensive care units to better inform interventional trials.A point prevalence study was conducted on 5 days throughout 2013-2014 at 128 sites in 26 countries. Patients younger than 18 years of age with severe sepsis as defined by consensus criteria were included. Outcomes were severe sepsis point prevalence, therapies used, new or progressive multiorgan dysfunction, ventilator- and vasoactive-free days at Day 28, functional status, and mortality.Of 6,925 patients screened, 569 had severe sepsis (prevalence, 8.2%; 95% confidence interval, 7.6-8.9%). The patients' median age was 3.0 (interquartile range [IQR], 0.7-11.0) years. The most frequent sites of infection were respiratory (40%) and bloodstream (19%). Common therapies included mechanical ventilation (74% of patients), vasoactive infusions (55%), and corticosteroids (45%). Hospital mortality was 25% and did not differ by age or between developed and resource-limited countries. Median ventilator-free days were 16 (IQR, 0-25), and vasoactive-free days were 23 (IQR, 12-28). Sixty-seven percent of patients had multiorgan dysfunction at sepsis recognition, with 30% subsequently developing new or progressive multiorgan dysfunction. Among survivors, 17% developed at least moderate disability. Sample sizes needed to detect a 5-10% absolute risk reduction in outcomes within interventional trials are estimated between 165 and 1,471 [corrected] patients per group.Pediatric severe sepsis remains a burdensome public health problem, with prevalence, morbidity, and mortality rates similar to those reported in critically ill adult populations. International clinical trials targeting children with severe sepsis are warranted.
Essential role of Notch signaling in effector memory CD8+ T cell–mediated airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation
Authors: Masakazu Okamoto, Katsuyuki Takeda, Anthony Joetham, Hiroshi Ohnishi, Hiroyuki Matsuda, Christina H. Swasey, Bradley J. Swanson, Koji Yasutomo, Azzeddine Dakhama, Erwin W. Gelfand
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2008)

Adoptive transfer of in vivo–primed CD8+ T cells or in vitro–generated effector memory CD8+ T (TEFF) cells restores airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airway inflammation in CD8-deficient (CD8−/−) mice. Examining transcription levels, there was a strong induction of Notch1 in TEFF cells compared with central memory CD8+ T cells. Treatment of TEFF cells with a γ-secretase inhibitor (GSI) strongly inhibited Notch signaling in these cells, and after adoptive transfer, GSI-treated TEFF cells failed to restore AHR and airway inflammation in sensitized and challenged recipient CD8−/− mice, or to enhance these responses in recipient wild-type (WT) mice. These effects of GSI were also associated with increased expression of the Notch ligand Delta1 in TEFF cells. Treatment of sensitized and challenged WT mice with Delta1-Fc resulted in decreased AHR and airway inflammation accompanied by higher levels of interferon γ in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. These results demonstrate a role for Notch in skewing the T cell response from a T helper (Th)2 to a Th1 phenotype as a consequence of the inhibition of Notch receptor activation and the up-regulation of the Notch ligand Delta1. These data are the first to show a functional role for Notch in the challenge phase of CD8+ T cell–mediated development of AHR and airway inflammation, and identify Delta1 as an important regulator of allergic airway inflammation.
Nitric oxide inhibition of coxsackievirus replication in vitro.
Authors: C Zaragoza, C J Ocampo, M Saura, A McMillan, C J Lowenstein
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1997)

Nitric oxide is a radical molecule with antibacterial, -parasitic, and -viral properties. We investigated the mechanism of NO inhibition of Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) replication in vitro by determining the effect of NO upon a single replicative cycle of CVB3 grown in HeLa cells. Transfection of inducible NO synthase cDNA into HeLa cells reduces the number of viral particles produced during a single cycle of growth. Similarly, a noncytotoxic concentration of the NO donor S-nitroso-amino-penicillamine reduces the number of viral particles in a dose-dependent manner. To explore the mechanisms by which NO exerts its antiviral effect, we assayed the attachment, replication, and translation steps of the CVB3 life cycle. NO does not affect the attachment of CVB3 to HeLa cells. However, NO inhibits CVB3 RNA synthesis, as shown by a [3H]uridine incorporation assay, reverse transcription-PCR, and Northern analysis. In addition, NO inhibits CVB3 protein synthesis, as shown by [35S]methionine protein labeling and Western blot analysis of infected cells. Thus, NO inhibits CVB3 replication in part by inhibiting viral RNA synthesis by an unknown mechanism.
Ackerman's Resolving Quandaries in Dermatology, Pathology, and Dermatopathology
Authors: E. Dorinda Shelley
Journal: JAMA (1996)

As a clinician rather than dermatopathologist, I found it difficult to review this book. It is vintage Ackerman—a man many regard as the world-class pathologist of the skin—written in a dogmatic, condescending, colorful style. The aim appears to be to tear down the existing system of dermpath nomenclature, "dermatopathobabel," developed higgledy-piggledy over the past century, which consists of "muddled ideas that have become established but have yet to be elucidated." Whether you agree with him or not, you will find this an interesting book. "This work is about ideas," in which "concepts were allowed to play freely, undistracted by clinical photographs and photomicrographs." The format is unique, as the book is developed around the Socratic method, with trainees in dermatology and dermatopathology posing questions to Dr Ackerman about "niggling problems that seemed to defy comprehension." His answers on 100 subjects are "not conventional; readers will decide whether [they are] edifying."