tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Multidrug-Resistant &lt;EMPH TYPE="ITAL"&gt;Salmonella&lt;/EMPH&gt; Serotype Typhimurium DT104 Infections Linked to Raw-Milk Cheese in Washington State
Authors: Rodrigo G. Villar
Journal: JAMA (1999)

Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 has recently emerged as a cause of human and animal illness in Europe and North America. In early 1997, health officials in Yakima County, Washington, noted a 5-fold increase in salmonellosis among the county's Hispanic population.To characterize bacterial strains and identify risk factors for infection with Salmonella Typhimurium in Yakima County.Laboratory, case-control, and environmental investigations.Patients with culture-confirmed Salmonella Typhimurium infection living in Yakima County and age- and neighborhood-matched control subjects.Food vehicle implication based on case-control study and outbreak control.Between January 1 and May 5, 1997, 54 culture-confirmed cases of Salmonella Typhimurium were reported. The median age of patients was 4 years and 91% were Hispanic. Patients reported diarrhea (100%), abdominal cramps (93%), fever (93%), bloody stools (72%), and vomiting (53%); 5 patients (9%) were hospitalized. Twenty-two patients and 61 control subjects were enrolled in the case-control study. Seventeen case patients (77%) reported eating unpasteurized Mexican-style soft cheese in the 7 days before onset of illness compared with 17 control subjects (28%) (matched odds ratio, 32.3; 95% confidence interval, 3.0-874.6). All case-patient isolates were phage definitive type 104 (DT104) (n = 10) or DT104b (n = 12), and 20 (91%) were resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline. The cheese produced and eaten by 2 unrelated patients was made with raw milk traced to the same local farm. Milk samples from nearby dairies yielded Salmonella Typhimurium DT104. The incidence of Salmonella Typhimurium infections in Yakima County returned to pre-1992 levels following interventions based on these findings.Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 emerged as a cause of salmonellosis in Yakima County, and Mexican-style soft cheese made with unpasteurized milk is an important vehicle for Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 transmission. We postulate that recent increases in human salmonellosis reflect the emergence of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 among dairy cows in the region. Continued efforts are needed to discourage consumption of raw milk products, promote healthier alternatives, and study the ecology of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium.
Correction of abnormal renal blood flow response to angiotensin II by converting enzyme inhibition in essential hypertensives.
Authors: J Redgrave, S Rabinowe, N K Hollenberg, G H Williams
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1985)

In 40-50% of patients with essential hypertension, a high sodium intake does not increase renal blood flow (RBF). These patients have been defined as nonmodulators because sodium intake does not modulate renal and adrenal responsiveness to angiotensin II (AII). To define the role of AII in mediating this altered responsiveness, we assessed the effect of a converting enzyme inhibitor (enalapril) on RBF and its responsiveness to AII in 25 patients with essential hypertension--10 modulators and 15 nonmodulators--and 9 normotensive controls. After 5 d of a 200-meq sodium intake, the nonmodulators did not increase RBF, whereas the normotensives (79 +/- 28 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and modulators (75 +/- 26 ml/min per 1.73 m2) did (P less than 0.025). Arterial blood pressure did not change in the modulators with the salt loading, whereas in the nonmodulators, blood pressure rose (P less than 0.004). After enalapril administration for 66 h, there was a significant difference (P less than 0.01, Fisher Exact Test) in the blood pressure response in the two hypertensive subgroups. In the modulators, there was no change; in the nonmodulators, despite the high salt diet, a blood pressure reduction occurred. In parallel, basal RBF and RBF responsiveness to AII were not changed after converting enzyme inhibition in the normotensive control (n = 9) or the hypertensive modulators (n = 10). Conversely, in the nonmodulators (n = 14), the basal RBF increased significantly (83 +/- 25 ml/min per 1.73 m2; P = 0.01), the increment being indistinguishable from the response to salt loading in normal subjects. Furthermore, renovascular responsiveness to infused AII was also significantly enhanced (P = 0.027) in the nonmodulators, suggesting that enalapril-induced increase in RBF reflected a fall in intrarenal AII levels, and not an increase in prostaglandins or kinins, which would have blunted the renal response to AII. Thus, short-term converting enzyme inhibition corrected abnormalities in sodium-mediated modulation of renal vascular responsiveness to AII. The close quantitative relation of the increase in RBF with sodium loading in normal subjects and modulators, and with converting enzyme inhibition in nonmodulators, viewed in the context of the effectiveness of enalapril only in the latter, and parallel shifts in sensitivity to AII, raises the intriguing possibility that converting enzyme inhibition reversed the failure of the renal blood supply to respond to sodium loading. Thus, converting enzyme inhibitors may reduce blood pressure specifically in this subset of patients with essential hypertension, who are sodium sensitive by way of mechanisms more closely related to local than systemic activity of the renin-angiotensin system.
Low and Very Low Birth Weight in Infants Conceived with Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology
Authors: Laura A. Schieve, Susan F. Meikle, Cynthia Ferre, Herbert B. Peterson, Gary Jeng, Lynne S. Wilcox
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2002)

The increased risk of low birth weight associated with the use of assisted reproductive technology has been attributed largely to the higher rate of multiple gestations associated with such technology. It is uncertain, however, whether singleton infants conceived with the use of assisted reproductive technology may also have a higher risk of low birth weight than those who are conceived spontaneously.
INTEGRATION OF A NOVEL ROBOTIC LASSO-CATHETER MANIPULATION SYSTEM INTO REMOTE MAGNETIC ABLATION OF PERSISTENT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION: A COMPARISON TO MANUAL LASSO MANIPULATION
Authors: Georg Noelker, Klaus Gutleben, Johannes Heintze, Bogdan Muntean, Juergen Vogt, Dieter Horstkotte
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2012)
Congenital Absence of the Spleen in an Adult
Authors: Ralph M. Myerson, Winifred A. Koelle
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1956)

CONGENITAL absence of the spleen is a rare and interesting anomaly that has been reported in both infants and adults. The infantile cases are almost invariably associated with serious congenital malformations of the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and pulmonary systems that are incompatible with long life. These include atrioventricularis communis, pulmonary stenosis or atresia, anomalies of the aorta and great vessels, complete or partial situs inversus, anomalies of the mesentery and accessory lobes of the lungs. In the adult, splenic agenesis is usually an isolated and unexpected finding.In a comprehensive review of the literature up to 1952, Polhemus and Schafer1 found . . .
Electron microscopy of myenteric nerves in Hirschsprung's disease and in normal bowel
Authors: E. R. Howard, J. R. Garrett
Journal: Gut (1970)

The ultrastructure of the myenteric nerves of colon and rectum removed from 10 children with Hirschsprung's disease has been studied and compared with normal infant bowel. Distal aganglionic (Hirschsprung) bowel often showed a rich supply of nerves within the muscle layers and there was no obvious morphological abnormality of constituent axons. The numbers of nerves diminished as more proximal parts of the bowel were examined and the fewest nerves were found where ganglia first appeared. These ganglia were similar in structure to the ganglia of normal bowel, and a striking feature of them all was the absence of collagen between constituent neuronal units. The larger nerve trunks of aganglionic bowel frequently contained myelinated axons and these have been observed within the myenteric plexus of normal rectum. This study supports previous histochemical investigations of the nerves in bowel from patients with Hirschsprung's disease and indicates that the condition is due to a complex and variable abnormality of the arrangement of the nervous tissue of the bowel wall, involving myenteric nerves as well as ganglia.
An Outbreak of Congenital Rubella in Chicago
Authors: Catherine Lamprecht, Victoria Schauf, Dora Warren, Kenrad Nelson, Robert Northrop, Mary Christiansen
Journal: JAMA (1982)

After an outbreak of rubella in Chicago in 1978, an intensive survey of local health care personnel and hospital records identified 31 infants with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Rubella virus was isolated from 11 infants; rubella-IgM antibodies were demonstrated in seven infants; ten babies had persistent high rubella hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) titers. The incidence of CRS in Chicago between July 1978 and June 1979 was 48.9 per 100,000 live births. Mothers of babies with CRS frequently remembered a rash-illness during pregnancy (56%), were unmarried (74%), and were primigravidas (64%). No mother had received rubella vaccine. Review of prenatal rubella HI testing and follow-up immunization in one hospital showed that only eight (10.8%) of 74 seronegative women received rubella vaccine after delivery. This outbreak of CRS, a preventable disease, indicates that physicians need to place increased emphasis on detection and vaccination of susceptible adult women. (<i>JAMA</i>1982;247:1129-1133)
What should doctors wear?
Authors: K. K Turaga, G. Bhagavatula
Journal: BMJ (2008)

Clostridium difficile and meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have shifted the focus of infection prevention from the specialists in infectious diseases to the wider public realm. The attire of physicians and surgeons is being posited as a carrier of these infections, and politicians are calling for doctors’ clothing to be changed as a measure to fight the spread of infection.

Last September’s move by the UK health secretary, Alan Johnson, to get rid of the long sleeved white coat raised many eyebrows (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6998195.stm). A few studies have shown the white coat to be a carrier of bacteria, although the quality of the evidence is low. Cultures grown from samples taken from medical students’ coats have shown bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus , especially on the sleeves and in the pockets.1 But, as can be expected, similar cultures could be obtained from scrubs or even street clothes. Two assumptions lie behind the targeting of the white coat as a source of infection: that it is not washed as often as other clothing; and that the long sleeves act as barriers …
Erythroblastic transformation of chronic granulocytic leukemia: A clinical and cytogenetic case study
Authors: F. M. O'Malley, O. M. Garson, K. M. McGrath, P. J. Elliott, M. G. Whiteside
Journal: American Journal of Hematology (1983)

Abstract A 33‐year‐old male with Philadelphia chromosome‐positive chronic granulocytic leukemia developed an erythroblastic transformation of the disease that was characterized cytogenetically by marked hyperdiploidy with multiple numerical and structural abnormalities. It is suggested that such bizarre chromosome abnormalities may be helpful in the diagnosis of this variety of transformation.
Phosphodiesterase IV inhibitors as therapy for eosinophil-induced lung injury in asthma.
Authors: T J Torphy, M S Barnette, D W Hay, D C Underwood
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1994)

Asthma is a complex, multifactorial disease that is underpinned by airway inflammation. A variety of cytotoxic substances are released into the airway from infiltrating inflammatory cells, especially the eosinophil. These cytotoxic substances, including reactive oxygen metabolites, produce damage to the airway epithelium, a histologic feature of chronic asthma. Damage to the airway epithelium, in turn, is thought to be a major factor responsible for the development of airway hyperreactivity, a hallmark of asthma. One notable molecular target for novel antiasthmatic drugs is the cyclic AMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE) or PDE IV. This isozyme is the predominant form of cyclic nucleotide PDE activity in inflammatory cells. Thus, in view of the putative role of cyclic AMP as an inhibitory second messenger in these cells, PDE IV inhibitors have been shown to suppress inflammatory cell activity. The purpose of the present experiments was to examine the effect of the PDE IV inhibitor, R-rolipram, on three key functions of the guinea pig eosinophil: a) superoxide anion (O2-) production, b) adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and c) infiltration into the airway. R-rolipram-elevated eosinophil cyclic AMP content (EC50 = 1.7 microM) and inhibited fMLP-induced O2- production in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 = 0.3 microM). In contrast, neither siguazodan, a PDE III inhibitor, nor zaprinast, a PDE V inhibitor, had an appreciable effect. R-rolipram (30 microM) also reduced by 25 to 40% the adhesion of eosinophils to HUVECs stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate or tumor necrosis factor-alpha, particularly under conditions in which both cell types were simultaneously exposed to the PDE IV inhibitor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effect of thrombin on calcium homeostasis in chick embryonic heart cells. Receptor-operated calcium entry with inositol trisphosphate and a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein as second messengers.
Authors: W W Chien, R Mohabir, W T Clusin
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1990)

Thrombin increases intracellular calcium ([Ca++]i) in several cell types and causes a positive inotropic effect in the heart. We examined the mechanism of the thrombin-induced [Ca++]i increase in chick embryonic heart cells loaded with the fluorescent calcium indicator, indo-1. Thrombin (1 U/ml) increased both systolic and diastolic [Ca++]i from 617 +/- 62 and 324 +/- 46 to 1041 +/- 93 and 587 +/- 38 nM, respectively. An initial rapid [Ca++]i increase was followed by a more sustained increase. There were associated increases in contraction strength, beat frequency, and action potential duration. The [Ca++]i increase was not blocked by tetrodotoxin or verapamil, but was blocked by pretreatment with pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml). The thrombin-induced [Ca++]i increase was partly due to intracellular calcium release, since it persisted after removal of external calcium. The [Ca++]i increase in zero calcium was more transitory than in normal calcium and was potentiated by 10 mM Li+. Thrombin also induced influx of calcium across the surface membrane, which could be monitored using Mn++ ions, which quench indo-1 fluorescence when they enter the cell. Thrombin-induced Mn++ entry was insensitive to verapamil, but was blocked by 2 mM Ni++. Thrombin increased inositol trisphosphates by 180% at 90 s and this effect was also blocked by pretreatment with pertussis toxin. Conclusion: thrombin promotes calcium entry and release in embryonic heart cells even when action potentials are inhibited. Both modes of [Ca++]i increase may be coupled to the receptor by pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins.
Nasal and bronchial response to exercise in patients with asthma and rhinitis: the role of nitric oxide
Authors: A. Valero, C. Serrano, J. L. Valera, A. Barberá, A. Torrego, J. Mullol, C. Picado
Journal: Allergy (2005)

Background: Physical exercise is associated with a decrease in nasal resistance in rhinitis and an increase in bronchial resistance in asthma. The objective was to evaluate the relationship between the levels of nasal nitric oxide (nNO) and exhaled bronchial nitric oxide (eNO) with bronchial responses to exercise in patients with rhinitis and asthma. Methods: We submitted 24 subjects with asthma and rhinitis to an exercise test. A decrease in FEV 1 ≥15% was considered positive. The volume of the nasal cavity and the minimal cross‐sectional area (MCA) was evaluated by means of acoustic rhinometry (AR), and nNO and eNO were evaluated by chemoluminiscence. The measurements were recorded at baseline, 15 and 50 min after the end of the exercise test. Results: The exercise test was positive in 17 cases. Fifteen minutes after exercise test, the nasal volume increased by 57% ( P &lt; 0.0001) and was still increased by 30% after 50 min ( P &lt; 0.0001). There was no correlation between decrease in FEV 1 and increase in nasal volume. The baseline value of nNO was 1185 ± 439 ppb, and the value at 15 and 50 min was 1165 ± 413 and 1020 ± 368 ppb, the latter value being significantly lower ( P &lt; 0.01) than the baseline. The baseline value of eNO was 21 ± 19 ppb, with no significant differences at 15 and 50 min. There was no significant correlation between either the decrease in FEV 1 and the nasal response, or the baseline eNO and nNO values. Conclusions: The nasal and bronchial response to exercise is completely different in rhinitis and asthma; in the former, an increase in nasal volume occurs, while in the latter there is a drop in FEV 1 . There is no relationship between the values of nasal or exhaled NO and the nasal and bronchial response after exercise.
Polymorphisms of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes in patients with allergic diseases in the Czech population
Authors: L. I. Holla, A. Stejskalova, A. Vasku
Journal: Allergy (2006)

Background: Allergic diseases belong to the most common chronic disorders affecting mankind and their prevalence in population is increasing. Several studies have indicated that oxidative stress impairs pulmonary function and makes existing asthma worse. Members of the glutathione‐ S ‐transferase (GST) superfamily of genes are important in protection of cells from reactive oxygen species. Aims of the study: Relationships among allergic diseases including asthma and variations in the GST mu (GSTM1) and GST theta (GSTT1) genes were investigated in 1006 Caucasian subjects. Methods: The multiplex polymerase chain reaction protocol was used for simultaneous amplification of both genes for molecular analysis. Genotype frequencies among patients and controls were assessed and the associations of the genotypes with intermediary phenotypes of allergy were statistically determined. Results: The frequencies of GST null genotypes did not differ significantly between patients with allergic diseases (or asthma alone) and healthy controls. However, when compared with patients homozygous or heterozygous for GSTM1 functional allele, asthmatics carrying both GSTM1 null alleles displayed significantly worse lung function, assessed by forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity (FEV 1 /FVC) ratio (Tiffenau index), ( P &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: Genetic polymorphisms of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes, both individually and in combination, were not associated with the development of allergic diseases including asthma in the Czech population, the GSTM1 gene variability, however, may influence lung functions in our asthmatics.
Comparison of Streptokinase and Heparin in Treatment of Isolated Acute Massive Pulmonary Embolism
Authors: G. A. H. Miller, G. C. Sutton, I. H. Kerr, R. V. Gibson, M. Honey
Journal: BMJ (1971)

Massive pulmonary embolism was confirmed by pulmonary arteriography in 23 patients. All were seen between 2 and 48 hours after the onset of embolism and none had pre-existing cardiorespiratory disease. Fifteen were treated with streptokinase and eight with heparin. Factors which might influence prognosis and rate of resolution were similar in the patients in each group, and there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of pretreatment haemodynamic or arteriographic findings. Haemodynamic and arteriographic findings after treatment for 72 hours provided an objective measurement of resolution, which was significantly greater in the streptokinase-treated patients. There was no mortality in either group, but treatment had to be changed in two heparin-treated patients because of clinical deterioration. The principal complication of treatment, seen more often in the streptokinase-treated patients, was bleeding from cut-down or operation sites.
Apolipoprotein C-II Deficiency Revisited
Authors: Antonio M. Gotto
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1984)

In 1978, Breckenridge et al. described a patient with a deficiency of apolipoprotein C-II, the activator of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase.1 It was predicted that the newly discovered disorder would provide additional understanding of the relation between the metabolism of the triglyceride-rich lipoproteins — the chylomicrons and very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) — and the low-density and high-density lipoproteins (LDL and HDL). It was anticipated that studies of first-degree relatives would yield important information about the inheritance of the disorder and contribute to an understanding of the pathophysiology induced by a deficiency of apolipoprotein C-II or lipoprotein lipase. It was also hoped . . .
Effect of timolol plus hydrochlorothiazide plus hydralazine on essential hypertension.
Authors: W S Aronow, R Van Herick, R Greenfield, H Alimadadian, D Burwell, W Mann
Journal: Circulation (1978)

The effect on hypertension of hydrochlorothiazide 100 mg daily plus timolol 20-60 mg daily versus hydrochlorothiazide plus placebo and of hydrochlorothiazide plus timolol plus hydralazine 40-200 mg daily versus hydrochlorothiazide plus placebo plus hydralazine was evaluated in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study in 38 patients with hypertension. Hydrochlorothiazide plus timolol was more effective than hydrochlorothiazide plus placebo in lowering both supine and standing systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Hydrochlorothiazide plus timolol plus hydralazine was a very effective regimen in lowering both supine and standing systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The patients tolerated this regimen well with greater hypotensive activity and a lower incidence of side effects than on hydrochlorothiazide plus placebo plus hydralazine.