tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Modulation by Chinese herbal therapy of immune mechanisms in the skin of patients with atopic eczema
Authors: X-J. XU, P. BANERJEE, M.H.A. RUSTIN, L.W. POULTER
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1997)

Ten patients with atopic eczema (AE) received treatment with Chinese herbal therapy (CHT; Zemaphyte) for 2 months. The severity of the eczema was recorded and skin biopsies were taken from lesional (L) and non-lesional (NL) skin before and after treatment. The skin biopsies were stained to detect T-cell subsets (CD4, CD8, CD45Ro and CD25), macrophage subsets (RFD7), dendritic cells (RFD1). Langerhans cells (CD1), HLA-DR, low-affinity IgE receptors (CD23) and high-affinity IgE receptors (15A5, 22H7). A quantitative assessment of the numbers of positively stained cells was made. Monoclonal antibody binding specifically to CD23(Fc epsilon RII) was used, in combination with cell subset monoclonal antibodies to quantify the cellular distribution of CD23 antigen in the skin. Following 2 months of treatment with CHT, erythema was reduced by 53%. There was also a significant reduction in HLA-DR expression. The numbers of RFD1 + CD23 +, RFD7 + CD23 +, CD1 + CD23+ and CD25 + cells in lesional skin decreased significantly after treatment (RFD1 + CD23 + from 0.39 to 0.21, RFD7 + CD23 + from 0.29 to 0.16. CD1 + CD23 + from 0.24 to 0.09, CD25 + from 0.84 to 0.31 in epidermis and from 1.62 to 0.94 in dermis (mean cells numbers per unit area). No significant change in cell numbers in NL skin or expression of Fc epsilon RI in either L or NL samples was observed after treatment. This study confirms that CHT is clinically efficacious and that clinical improvement is associated with a significant reduction in antigen-presenting cells expressing CD23.
Mechanisms by which epinephrine augments cerebral and myocardial perfusion during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in dogs.
Authors: J R Michael, A D Guerci, R C Koehler, A Y Shi, J Tsitlik, N Chandra, E Niedermeyer, M C Rogers, R J Traystman, M L Weisfeldt
Journal: Circulation (1984)

The goals of this study were to quantify the effects of epinephrine on myocardial and cerebral blood flow during conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and CPR with simultaneous chest compression-ventilation and to test the hypothesis that epinephrine would improve myocardial and cerebral blood flow by preventing collapse of intrathoracic arteries and by vasoconstricting other vascular beds, thereby increasing perfusion pressures. Cerebral and myocardial blood flow were measured by the radiolabeled microsphere technique, which we have previously validated during CPR. We studied the effect of epinephrine on established arterial collapse during CPR with simultaneous chest compression-ventilation with the abdomen bound or unbound. Epinephrine reversed arterial collapse, thereby eliminating the systolic gradient between aortic and carotid pressures and increasing cerebral perfusion pressure and cerebral blood flow while decreasing blood flow to other cephalic tissues. Epinephrine produced higher cerebral and myocardial perfusion pressures during CPR with simultaneous chest compression-ventilation when the abdomen was unbound rather than bound because abdominal binding increased intracranial and venous pressures. In other experiments we compared the effect of epinephrine on blood flow during 1 hr of either conventional CPR or with simultaneous chest compression-ventilation with the abdomen unbound. Epinephrine infusion during conventional CPR produced an average cerebral blood flow of 15 ml/min . 100 g (41 +/- 15% of control) and an average myocardial blood flow of 18 ml/min . 100 g (15 +/- 8% of control). In our previous studies, cerebral and myocardial blood flow were less than 3 +/- 1% of control during conventional CPR without epinephrine. Although flows during CPR with simultaneous chest compression-ventilation without epinephrine were initially higher than those during conventional CPR, arterial collapse developed after 20 min, limiting cerebral and myocardial blood flow. The use of epinephrine throughout 50 min of CPR with simultaneous chest compression-ventilation maintained cerebral blood flow at 22 +/- 2 ml/min . 100 g (73 +/- 25% control) and left ventricular blood flow at 38 +/- 9 ml/min . 100 g (28 +/- 8% control). The improved blood flows with epinephrine correlated with improved electroencephalographic activity and restoration of spontaneous circulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Virtual politics in the new NHS
Authors: B. Salter
Journal: BMJ (1998)

Neither the white paper for England, The New NHS: modern, dependable, nor its subsequent guidance has done anything to address the real political problem of the health service:the apparently irreconcilable collision between the ever growing demand for health care and the finite resources available. What it has done, and herein lies its considerable political skill, is to transport us into another dimension of virtual politics. It was indeed “a triumph of style over content,” as Rudolf Klein and Alan Maynard have observed, but that, after all, was its ambition and not merely the unfortunate consequence of incompetent drafting.

The purpose of virtual politics is to create a parallel world where belief in the difficult reality of change in a particular policy arena is suspended and all becomes possible. In virtual politics, it is the immediate symbolism of the policy illusions which is of paramount importance, rather than the practicality of the content. If successful, …
WHAT SHOULD BE THE RELATIONS OF PHARMACISTS AND PHYSICIANS?
Authors: J. N. McCORMACK
Journal: JAMA (1907)

Hailing from the state which gave Lawrence Smith, Shaffer and C. Lewis Deihl to the pharmaceutical world, I feel it to be a distinguished honor to present myself as a fraternal delegate from the American Medical Association to this, the leading pharmaceutical organization in this country, and to be the bearer to you of its most cordial greetings. But this does not include all of my mission; I am here in a dual capacity, with duties more important and delicate, as I understand them, than the pleasant and more or less perfunctory ones of a mere fraternal delegate. I am here by special invitation of your secretary to explain and to give the reasons for certain criticisms of your fraternity embraced in my official report to our Association at its recent meeting in Atlantic City. In other words, as he so kindly and courtesly expresses it, "For a heart-to-heart talk
Circumferential deformation and shear stress induce differential responses in saphenous vein endothelium exposed to arterial flow.
Authors: J Golledge, R J Turner, S L Harley, D R Springall, J T Powell
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1997)

Adaptation of saphenous vein to the hemodynamic stresses of the arterial circulation is critical to the maturation of vein bypass grafts. We have investigated early adaptive responses of venous endothelium by placing excised human saphenous vein in a bypass circuit with either venous or arterial flow conditions, using external stenting to resolve the effects of longitudinal (shear) from circumferential stress. Endothelial protein concentrations were assessed by immunostaining area (ratio of protein/CD31) and Western blotting of endothelial cell lysates (staining ratio protein/vWf). In both unstented and stented veins nitric oxide synthase increased after 90 min of arterial flow: twofold increase of immunostaining area (P = 0.001), four- to fivefold increase by Western blotting (P = 0.02), and increased A23187mediated maximum endothelium-dependent relaxation of vein rings (P = 0.01). In unstented veins, ICAM-1 concentration was increased after 45 min of arterial flow: twofold increase by immunostaining (P = 0.001) and Western blotting (P = 0.038), with maximum fibrinogen-mediated endothelium-dependent relaxation increasing from 55.9+/-4.9 to 97+/-2.1% (P = 0.01). In contrast, in unstented veins there was a threefold decrease of VCAM-1 and no change in P-selectin after arterial flow for 45 and 90 min, respectively. However, no changes in ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were observed in stented veins. The flow-induced alterations in nitric oxide synthase, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 were abolished when 3 mM tetraethylammonium ion (K+ channel blocker) was included in the vein perfusate. The very rapid changes in ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression are a response to circumferential stress, whereas the slower upregulation of nitric oxide synthase is a response to longitudinal (shear) stress. Similar changes could influence the adhesiveness of endothelium in newly implanted saphenous vein bypass grafts.
Hepatitis C is an independent predictor of non-accidental mortality among a population-based cohort of HIV-infected individuals initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)
Authors: P. Braitstein, V. Montessori, B. Yip, J.S.G. Montaner, M.T. Schechter, M.V. O'Shaughnessy, P.R. Harrigan, R.S. Hogg
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2003)
A novel approach for the intravenous delivery of leuprolide using core-cross-linked polymeric micelles
Authors: Qizhi Hu, Ethlinn V B van Gaal, Paul Brundel, Hans Ippel, Tilman Hackeng, Cristianne J F Rijcken, Gert Storm, Wim E Hennink, Jai Prakash
Journal: Journal of Controlled Release (2015)
How helpful is disability label?
Authors: Anthony N Williams
Journal: BMJ (2008)

I write with reference to Verbeek and van Dijk.1 For incapacity benefit, where no “factual evidence” is available, the assessment is based entirely on what the claimant states in a questionnaire, and how they perform on the day of the assessment.1 2 In other words, they have an incapacity if they say they do and if they perform …
Abstract LB-363: Inhibition of placental growth factor (PlGF) leads to regression of medulloblastoma
Authors: Matija Snuderl, Nathaniel D. Kirkpatrick, Elisa C. Walsh, Euiheon Chung, Walid S. Kamoun, Teresa E. Peterson, Lance L. Munn, Dan G. Duda, Dai Fukumura, Peter Carmeliet, Lei Xu, Rakesh K. Jain
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Introduction: Medulloblastoma contains a rich and abnormal vascular network offering a potential target for anti-angiogenic treatment. However, in pediatric patients anti-VEGF treatments may have serious adverse effects and other antiangiogenic drugs have not shown efficacy. Placental growth factor (PlGF) is a mediator of post-natal pathological angiogenesis, and its inhibition may not be associated with significant side effects. Here, we examine the role of PlGF in medulloblastoma growth and as a target for therapy in this pediatric brain tumor. Methods: Tissues collected from 5 pediatric medulloblastomas and 4 adult cerebelli were screened for 96 genes associated with angiogenesis using a commercially available PCR array. Immunohistochemistry was performed on 14 formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) medulloblastoma samples. D283Med and D341Med human medulloblastoma cells were transfected with Gaussia luciferase cDNA and implanted orthotopically into cerebelli of SCID mice. Tumor growth was followed by whole body imaging and blood Gluc assay. Tumor-derived PlGF was blocked by anti-PlGF antibody (PL5D11D4, ThromboGenics) or silenced by siRNA. WST-1 Cell Proliferation Assay was performed to explore direct effects of anti-PlGF Ab in vitro. Results: PlGF was not expressed in adult cerebelli and was overexpressed in all medulloblastomas tissues and cell lines by PCR. Twelve of fourteen (85%) FFPE medulloblastomas showed expression of PlGF by immunohistochemistry. Mice with implanted medulloblastoma cells with PlGF silenced by siRNA or blocked by the antibody from the day of implantation showed a significant delay in tumor growth (p &amp;lt; 0.0001) and prolonged survival (p = 0.003) when compared to control IgG-treated mice. Treatment of established tumors with anti-PlGF antibody - started at ∼3 weeks post-implantation - showed stabilization of disease and regression of medulloblastomas (p = 0.017) by Gluc and whole body imaging measurements, and prolongation of survival (p = 0.0009). However, in vitro we found no direct effect of anti-PlGF treatment on tumor cells. Further mechanistic findings will be presented at the meeting. Conclusion: PlGF is highly expressed in medulloblastomas. Mice bearing orthotopic tumors showed significantly delayed tumor growth and longer survival after PlGF inhibition. Thus, PlGF targeting in these tumors may provide a safe and efficient therapy for pediatric medulloblastoma. 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 LB-363.
Risks and Benefits of Green Spaces for Children: A Cross-Sectional Study of Associations with Sedentary Behavior, Obesity, Asthma, and Allergy
Authors: Payam Dadvand, Cristina M. Villanueva, Laia Font-Ribera, David Martinez, Xavier Basagaña, Jordina Belmonte, Martine Vrijheid, Regina Gražulevičienė, Manolis Kogevinas, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2014)

Green spaces have been associated with both health benefits and risks in children; however, available evidence simultaneously investigating these conflicting influences, especially in association with different types of greenness, is scarce.We aimed to simultaneously evaluate health benefits and risks associated with different types of greenness in children, in terms of sedentary behavior (represented by excessive screen time), obesity, current asthma, and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.We conducted a cross-sectional study of a population-based sample of 3,178 schoolchildren (9-12 years old) in Sabadell, Spain, in 2006. Information on outcomes and covariates was obtained by questionnaire. We measured residential surrounding greenness as the average of satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in buffers of 100 m, 250 m, 500 m, and 1,000 m around each home address. Residential proximity to green spaces was defined as living within 300 m of a forest or a park, as separate variables. We used logistic regression models to estimate associations separately for each exposure-outcome pair, adjusted for relevant covariates.An interquartile range increase in residential surrounding greenness was associated with 11-19% lower relative prevalence of overweight/obesity and excessive screen time, but was not associated with current asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Similarly, residential proximity to forests was associated with 39% and 25% lower relative prevalence of excessive screen time and overweight/obesity, respectively, but was not associated with current asthma. In contrast, living close to parks was associated with a 60% higher relative prevalence of current asthma, but had only weak negative associations with obesity/overweight or excessive screen time.We observed two separable patterns of estimated health benefits and risks associated with different types of greenness.
Patients are urged to boycott trials that do not guarantee publication
Authors: Z. Kmietowicz
Journal: BMJ (2013)

Campaigners for the publication of the results of all clinical trials have launched a public petition to increase pressure on researchers, funding bodies, and institutions to take action.

They are also urging people who are thinking of taking part in a clinical trial to agree to participate only in those trials that have been registered and that promise to publish the results in full.

The initiative (alltrials.net) is backed by the charity Sense About Science, the BMJ , the Cochrane Collaboration, the James Lind Alliance (an alliance of patients and clinicians set up to identify priorities for research), Bad Science author Ben Goldacre, and the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at Bond University, Queensland. 

Tracey Brown, director of Sense …
Prolonged Hyperamylasemia in Diabetic Ketoacidosis
Authors: Eric vanSonnenberg
Journal: JAMA (1976)

SOMOGYI'S pioneer report on blood diastase, associating diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with low serum amylase, has been modified by subsequent studies to the extent that the converse is now commonly accepted to be true. Several reports have repeatedly demonstrated 1,2 —and others subsequently analyzed 3 —the importance of an elevated serum amylase level and its relation to the pancreas in DKA. We report a case with many similarities to the aforementioned, but unique in its prolonged hyper-amylasemia with minimal to no abdominal findings in a patient with DKA and coma, lactic acidosis, hypothermia, and hypotension.  Report of a Case  A 54-year-old nonalcoholic woman, a known diabetic for three years who was taking chlorpropamide and phenformin hydrochloride, awakened dizzy on the morning of admission. She had mild nausea, vomited once, and then became increasingly lethargic over the next six to eight hours, with semistupor and Kussmaul respirations. She had no abdominal pain
Support for Physician Deception of Insurance Companies among a Sample of Philadelphia Residents
Authors: G Caleb Alexander, Rachel M. Werner, Angela Fagerlin, Peter A. Ubel
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2003)

Background: Some physicians seem to be willing to sanction deception of insurance companies. Little is known about public attitudes regarding this practice. Objective: To assess public attitudes regarding physician deception of insurance companies. Design: Cross-sectional survey using clinical vignettes. Setting: Philadelphia County Courthouse, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Participants: Convenience sample of 700 prospective jurors. Measurements: Participants were asked whether, in response to restriction of health care, a physician should 1) accept restriction, 2) appeal restriction, or 3) misrepresent a patient's condition to obtain the desired service. The proportion of respondents reporting that the physician should misrepresent a patient's condition was determined. Results: 26% of respondents sanctioned deception, 70% supported appealing, and 4% supported accepting the insurance company decision. Among the 27% of respondents believing physicians have inadequate time to appeal coverage decisions, 50% sanctioned deception. Conclusions: Sanctioning of deception was substantial in this sample of prospective jurors. Preferences regarding insurance company deception are related to perceptions of physician workload and may further pressure physicians struggling to balance advocacy with honesty.
440 KLF12 POLYMORPHISM rs9543524 PREDICTS ANEMIA IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C TREATED WITH PEGINTERFERON AND RIBAVIRIN
Authors: J. Ampuero, I. De la Paz, P. Ferrero, L. Rojas, L. Ortíz-Fernández, J.R. García-Lozano, R. Solá, X. Forns, R. Millán, M. González- Escribano, M. Romero-Gómez
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2013)
Albumin infusion in patients undergoing large-volume paracentesis: A meta-analysis of randomized trials
Authors: Mauro Bernardi, Paolo Caraceni, Roberta J. Navickis, Mahlon M. Wilkes
Journal: Hepatology (2011)

Abstract Albumin infusion reduces the incidence of postparacentesis circulatory dysfunction among patients with cirrhosis and tense ascites, as compared with no treatment. Treatment alternatives to albumin, such as artificial colloids and vasoconstrictors, have been widely investigated. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine whether morbidity and mortality differ between patients receiving albumin versus alternative treatments. The meta-analysis included randomized trials evaluating albumin infusion in patients with tense ascites. Primary endpoints were postparacentesis circulatory dysfunction, hyponatremia, and mortality. Eligible trials were sought by multiple methods, including computer searches of bibliographic and abstract databases and the Cochrane Library. Results were quantitatively combined under a fixed-effects model. Seventeen trials with 1,225 total patients were included. There was no evidence of heterogeneity or publication bias. Compared with alternative treatments, albumin reduced the incidence of postparacentesis circulatory dysfunction (odds ratio [OR], 0.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27–0.55). Significant reductions in that complication by albumin were also shown in subgroup analyses versus each of the other volume expanders tested (e.g., dextran, gelatin, hydroxyethyl starch, and hypertonic saline). The occurrence of hyponatremia was also decreased by albumin, compared with alternative treatments (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39–0.87). In addition, mortality was lower in patients receiving albumin than alternative treatments (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.41–0.98). Conclusions: This meta-analysis provides evidence that albumin reduces morbidity and mortality among patients with tense ascites undergoing large-volume paracentesis, as compared with alternative treatments investigated thus far. (Hepatology 2012)
Two Staffordshire hospitals to remain open under rescue plan
Authors: C. Dyer
Journal: BMJ (2013)

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, hit by a scandal over failings in care and hundreds of excess deaths between 2005 and 2008, is to be dissolved, but its two hospitals will remain open under new management.

The trust has been in administration since April, when the watchdog Monitor deemed it clinically and financially unsustainable.1 It had struggled since the Healthcare Commission uncovered a catalogue of “appalling” care at Stafford Hospital.

Three special administrators sent in to deal with its burgeoning deficit and to deliver clinical and financial stability said that their final plan, published on 17 December, would see …
Cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies of follicular and papillary thyroid cancers.
Authors: M A Herrmann, I D Hay, D H Bartelt, S R Ritland, R J Dahl, C S Grant, R B Jenkins
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1991)

Cytogenetic studies have shown frequent clonal abnormalities in papillary carcinoma (PTC) and follicular carcinoma (FTC). Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) may suggest the presence of tumor suppressor genes and has not been reported in these neoplasms. These studies were undertaken to determine if consistent chromosomal abnormalities are associated with thyroid cancer, to determine likely regions for molecular genetic investigations, and to determine if there is allelic loss in thyroid tumors. Cytogenetic analysis of 26 PTC and 5 FTC showed clonal abnormalities in 9 and included -Y, +5, or inv(10)(q11.2q21.2) in PTC, and -Y or near haploidy in FTC. Using DNA probes specific for chromosomes 1, 3, 10, 16, and 17, we carried out restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis on 6 FTC, 3 follicular adenomas (FA), and 12 PTC. LOH of all informative loci on chromosome 3p was observed in all 6 FTC, but not in FA or PTC. No LOH was observed for loci mapped to chromosome 10 in PTC. Our results suggest: cytogenetic abnormalities of chromosome 10q are associated with PTC; cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities of chromosome 3 are associated with FTC; and a tumor suppressor gene may be present on the short arm of chromosome 3 important for the development or progression of FTC.
Number of deaths from volatile substance misuse is falling
Authors: H. Barratt
Journal: BMJ (2001)

The number deaths in England and Wales associated with the misuse of volatile substances has gradually dropped over the past 10 years, latest figures have shown.

The total number of deaths annually fell from a record high of 152 in 1990 to 73 in 1999. Deaths due to gases, aerosols, and similar substances account for 1 in 60 of all deaths in teenagers aged 15 …
Genome-wide genetic changes during modern breeding of maize
Authors: Yinping Jiao, Hainan Zhao, Longhui Ren, Weibin Song, Biao Zeng, Jinjie Guo, Baobao Wang, Zhipeng Liu, Jing Chen, Wei Li, Mei Zhang, Shaojun Xie, Jinsheng Lai
Journal: Nature Genetics (2012)