tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Correlation of oesophageal acid exposure with Barrett's oesophagus length
Authors: R Fass, R W Hell, H S Garewal, P Martinez, G Pulliam, C Wendel, R E Sampliner
Journal: Gut (2001)

<h3>BACKGROUND</h3> Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) plays a major role in the development of Barrett9s oesophagus. However, it has yet to be elucidated what factors determine the length of Barrett9s mucosa in each individual patient. <h3>AIMS</h3> To determine if there is a correlation between oesophageal acid exposure and the length of Barrett9s mucosa. We also compared the extent of oesophageal acid exposure between patients with short segment (SSBE) and long segment (LSBE) Barrett9s oesophagus. <h3>METHODS</h3> Twenty seven patients with Barrett9s oesophagus were recruited prospectively into the study from the outpatient gastroenterology clinic at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. Diagnosis of Barrett9s oesophagus and its anatomical characteristics were determined during upper endoscopy. Ambulatory 24 hour oesophageal pH monitoring assessed the extent of oesophageal acid exposure. <h3>RESULTS</h3> There was a significant correlation between per cent total time pH less than 4 and length of Barrett9s mucosa (<i>r</i>=0.6234, p=0.0005). In addition, there was a significant correlation between per cent upright and supine time pH less than 4 and length of Barrett9s mucosa (<i>r</i>=0.5847, p=0.0014 and<i>r</i>=0.6265 p=0.0006, respectively). Patients with SSBE had significantly less oesophageal acid exposure than patients with LSBE, in terms of both per cent total time and per cent supine time pH less than 4 (p&lt;0.05). <h3>CONCLUSIONS</h3> The length of Barrett9s mucosa correlated with the duration of oesophageal acid exposure. Patients with LSBE experienced significantly more oesophageal acid exposure than patients with SSBE. Duration of oesophageal acid exposure appears to be an important contributing factor in determining the length of Barrett9s mucosa.
FDA approves genetic test for women with breast cancer
Authors: D. Josefson
Journal: BMJ (1998)

The Food and Drug Administration in the United States has recently approved a gene based test that may help to predict the recurrence of breast cancer. The test detects levels of Her2/neu, a gene on chromosome 17 which is amplified in a subset of breast cancers.

The test will be manufactured by Oncor under the name Inform and is expected to be commercially available for a cost of about $200 (£125) within three months. This is the first time a gene based test for cancer has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The predictive value of the test, however, is controversial.

About 180 000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, and 44 000 die of the …
Increase of Cytokeratin D During Liver Regeneration: Association With the Nuclear Matrix
Authors: Ricardo Bastos, Pablo Engel, Cristina Pujades, Rocco Falchetto, Rosa Aligué, Oriol Bachs
Journal: Hepatology (1992)

An increase of a 45 kD protein (p45) in the nuclear matrix has been observed when rat liver cells were proliferatively activated in vivo by a partial hepatectomy. The maximal levels of the association of p45 with the nuclear matrix have been detected 24 hr after hepatectomy just at the time when DNA replication is also maximal. By amino acid sequence analysis, immunoblotting and immunocytochemical methods, it has been demonstrated that p45 is identical to rat cytokeratin D. Immunogold staining of nuclear matrix-intermediate filament preparations from cultured hepatocytes indicated that p45 is associated with cytoskeletal filaments that are strongly interconnected to the lamina, whereas no intranuclear localization of the protein has been detected. With an overlay assay a specific binding of labeled p45 to two nonidentified high-molecular weight proteins and also to lamin B has been observed. Northern blot analysis revealed a biphasic pattern of expression of the messenger RNA for cytokeratin D during liver regeneration. A sharp increase in the messenger RNA levels occurred in the prereplicative phase of liver regeneration a few hours before the accumulation of the protein in the nuclear matrix fraction, and a second peak occurred 48 hr after partial hepatectomy.
Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated With First-Trimester Fetal Growth Restriction
Authors: Dennis O. Mook-Kanamori
Journal: JAMA (2010)

Context Adverse environmental exposures lead to developmental adaptations in fetal life.The influences of maternal physical characteristics and lifestyle habits on firsttrimester fetal adaptations and the postnatal consequences are not known.Objective To determine the risk factors and outcomes associated with firsttrimester growth restriction.Design, Setting, and Participants Prospective evaluation of the associations of maternal physical characteristics and lifestyle habits with first-trimester fetal crown to rump length in 1631 mothers with a known and reliable first day of their last menstrual period and a regular menstrual cycle.Subsequently, we assessed the associations of first-trimester fetal growth restriction with the risks of adverse birth outcomes and postnatal growth acceleration until the age of 2 years.The study was based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Mothers were enrolled between 2001 and 2005.Main Outcome Measures First-trimester fetal growth was measured as fetal crown to rump length by ultrasound between the gestational age of 10 weeks 0 days and 13 weeks 6 days.Main birth outcomes were preterm birth (gestational age Ͻ37 weeks), low birth weight (Ͻ2500 g), and small size for gestational age (lowest fifth birth centile).Postnatal growth was measured until the age of 2 years. ResultsIn the multivariate analysis, maternal age was positively associated with firsttrimester fetal crown to rump length (difference per maternal year of age, 0.79 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 to 1.18 per standard deviation score increase).Higher diastolic blood pressure and higher hematocrit levels were associated with a shorter crown to rump length (differences, -0.40 mm; 95% CI, -0.74 to -0.06 and -0.52 mm; 95% CI, -0.90 to -0.14 per standard deviation increase, respectively).Compared with mothers who were nonsmokers and optimal users of folic acid supplements, those who both smoked and did not use folic acid supplements had shorter fetal crown to rump lengths (difference, -3.84 mm; 95% CI, -5.71 to -1.98).Compared with normal first-trimester fetal growth, first-trimester growth restriction was associated with increased risks of preterm birth (4.0% vs 7.2%; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.12; 95% CI, 1.24 to 3.61), low birth weight (3.5% vs 7.5%; adjusted OR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.41 to 4.16), and small size for gestational age at birth (4.0% vs 10.6%; adjusted OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.64 to 4.25).Each standard deviation decrease in firsttrimester fetal crown to rump length was associated with a postnatal growth acceleration until the age of 2 years (standard deviation score increase, 0.139 per 2 years; 95% CI, 0.097 to 0.181).Conclusions Maternal physical characteristics and lifestyle habits were independently associated with early fetal growth.First-trimester fetal growth restriction was associated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes and growth acceleration in early childhood.
Evidence for the Involvement of Na/Ca Exchange in Glucose-induced Insulin Release from Rat Pancreatic Islets
Authors: Eberhard G. Siegel, Claes B. Wollheim, Albert E. Renold, Geoffrey W. G. Sharp
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1980)

Glucose-induced inhibition of Ca++ extrusion from the β-cell may contribute to the rise in cytosol Ca++ that leads to insulin release. To study whether interference with Na/Ca exchange is involved in this inhibition the effects of glucose were compared to those of ouabain. This substance inhibits Na/K ATPase, decreases the transmembrane Na+ gradient in islets, and thus interferes with Na/Ca exchange. Collagenase isolated rat islets were maintained for 2 d in tissue culture with a trace amount of 45Ca++. Insulin release and 45Ca++ efflux were then measured during perifusion. In Ca++-deprived medium (to avoid changes in tissue specific radioactivity) 16.7 mM glucose inhibited 45Ca++ efflux. Initially 1 mM ouabain inhibited 45Ca++ efflux in a similar fashion, the onset being even faster than that of glucose. The effects of 16.7 mM glucose and ouabain were not additive, indicating that both substances may interfere with Na/Ca exchange. In the presence of Ca++, 16.7 mM glucose induced biphasic insulin release. Ouabain alone caused a gradual increase of insulin release. Again, the effects of ouabain and 16.7 mM glucose were not additive. In contrast, at a submaximal glucose concentration (7 mM) ouabain enhanced both phases of release. An important role for Na/Ca exchange is suggested from experiments in which Ca++ was removed at the time of glucose-stimulation (16.7 mM). The resulting marked inhibition of insulin release was completely overcome during first phase by ouabain added at the time of Ca++ removal; second phase was restored to 60%. This could be due to the rapid inhibitory action of ouabain on Ca++ efflux thereby preventing loss of cellular calcium critical for glucose to induce insulin release. It appears, therefore, that interference with Na/Ca exchange is an important event in the stimulation of insulin release by glucose.
Studies on the chronic phase of adjuvant arthritis: effect of SR 41319, a new diphosphonate.
Authors: A Barbier, J C Breliere, B Remandet, R Roncucci
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1986)

We studied the course of adjuvant arthritis in rats by measuring clinical, biochemical, and histological parameters on day 36 after induction (representing the secondary reaction) and on day 171, which is at the stage of permanent deformity. The effect of SR 41319, a new diphosphonate, was evaluated on days 36 and 171, after three weeks of treatment (days 14-35 inclusive). In the absence of treatment all the measured parameters were markedly abnormal on day 36, indicating the presence of lesions that were still evolving. On day 171 clinical parameters and the lesion histological index remained the same, whereas the biochemical parameters and disease activity histological index had returned to normal, indicating that the lesions at this stage although severe were not inflammatory and consequently not progressing. SR 41319 treatment reduced the severity and progression of the disease both on day 36 and on day 171. We conclude that SR 41319 may be a potentially useful drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Theodore David Fountain Money
Authors: Francis Rutter
Journal: BMJ (2004)

Former general practitioner Norwich (b Norwich 1907; q Cambridge/St Thomas's Hospital, London, 1932; MA), d 31 January 2004.​2004.




Figure 1




David Money first entered general practice in Reedham, Norfolk. Following the loss of his first wife in childbirth he left for south eastern Nigeria, where he had been asked to start a leprosy settlement. After studying tropical medicine in Calcutta he returned to Nigeria for 10 years. In 1947 he came back to England, eventually joining a practice in Norwich. In 1958 he went half time in practice and worked half time for the Public Health Laboratory Service, developing the virology service for Norfolk. In retirement he taught himself Greek so as to be able to read the New Testament in the original. He revived services in Tibenham church. He leaves a wife, Margaret; twin daughters; and six grandchildren.
Café-au-lait ascites in encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis
Authors: Fan-Chi Chang, Tao-Min Huang, Wen-Yi Li, Shuei-Liong Lin
Journal: Kidney International (2011)

A 56-year-old man with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease who had received continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis for 10 years presented with fever and abdominal pain. He had been switched to hemodialysis 2 years ago for recurrent peritonitis and ultra-filtration failure. Clinical symptoms and radiological investigations were suggestive of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (Figure 1). Diagnostic paracentesis revealed café-au-lait appearance of ascites (Figure 2), with a white cell count of 334,600/μl (neutrophils 98%). He was treated with pigtail catheter drainage and systemic antibiotics. The ascites culture yielded Escherichia coli. Subsequent abdominal sonography showed only minimal ascites. Encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis is a rare but serious complication of peritoneal dialysis. We report the case of a patient with intra-peritoneal abscess formation 2 years after discontinuing peritoneal dialysis.Figure 2Café-au-lait appearance of ascites.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload (PPT) Grants from the National Science Council (99-2628-B-002-013-MY3), Ta-Tung Kidney Foundation, and Hsiu-Chin Lee Kidney Research Foundation made this publication possible.
Woman loses final round of battle to use her frozen embryos
Authors: Clare Dyer
Journal: BMJ (2007)

A British woman who waged a five year legal battle for the right to try to conceive using her own frozen embryos reached the end of the road this week when the 17-judge grand chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled against her by 13-4.

Natallie Evans took her case through the UK courts and on to Strasbourg after her former partner, Howard Johnston, refused to consent to her implantation with embryos created from his sperm and her eggs.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, which governs in vitro fertilisation treatment, states that both partners must consent to the …
Eighth international congress on peer review in biomedical publication
Authors: D. Rennie, A. Flanagin, F. Godlee, T. Bloom
Journal: BMJ (2015)

A call for research

Everyone has a stake in the quality of the biomedical literature. With that in mind, we announce our intention to hold the eighth international congress on peer review in biomedical publication on 10-12 September 2017, in Chicago, Illinois. As with the previous congresses, our aim will be to improve the quality and credibility of biomedical information and to help advance the efficiency, effectiveness, and equitability of dissemination of scientific information throughout the world.

We announced in 1986 that we would sponsor and hold a conference to present the results of research into the process of editorial selection and improvement of scientific manuscripts, constituting peer review.1 Each of these congresses, held every four years since 1989 and organised by JAMA and The BMJ , have been devoted to three days of presentations of original research into editorial processes. A successful feature of the congresses is our insistence on giving members of the audience ample time to debate the research presented.

We soon realised that the actual process whereby editors sent manuscripts to reviewers before they reached their decision was only one factor affecting the quality of published papers. The research presented at the congresses, which had started as studies of the mechanics of peer review, gradually began to concentrate on the product of the process. Biases of every sort were documented,2 …
Spontaneous Regression of Cancer
Authors: J. M. Fullerton, R. D. Hill
Journal: BMJ (1963)

dren over 7 who have life-long nocturnal enuresis.without symptoms of emotional disturbance.We encountered the following snags even then:1.The child slept so heavily that the buzzer failed to wake him.2. The child woke and lay screaming, apparently too frightened to move or turn off the bell, or became too frightened to use the hell after one or two tries.3. The child was difficult about using the
Correction: Locations of Legionnaires' Disease Clusters
Authors: Theodore F. Tsai, David W. Fraser, Charles M. Helms, John P. Viner, Walter J. Hierholzer, Robert J. Corry, Edward D. Renner, Laverne A. Wintermeyer
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1979)

To the editor: In the editorial, "The Diagnosis of Legionnaires' Disease," in the September issue (1), Iowa was incorrectly listed as a location of a Legionnaires' disease cluster in renal-homograft recipients. The correct list is Kansas, Ohio, and Vermont, in addition to Los Angeles. Case reviews at the University of Iowa Hospitals, the state's only transplantation center, have discovered no cluster. However, three isolated cases of Legionnaires' disease in renal-homograft recipients in the past 3 years have been identified.
Phase II study of sunitinib in men with advanced prostate cancer
Authors: M. Dror Michaelson, M.M. Regan, W.K. Oh, D.S. Kaufman, K. Olivier, S.Z. Michaelson, B. Spicer, C. Gurski, P.W. Kantoff, M.R. Smith
Journal: Annals of Oncology (2009)
A novel deletion mutation of the DSRAD gene in a Taiwanese patient with dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria
Authors: S-C. Chao, J.Y-Y. Lee, H-M. Sheu, M-H. Yang
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2005)

Conflicts of interest: None declared. Dyschromatosis symmetrica hereditaria (DSH; reticulate acropigmentation of Dohi,1 symmetric dyschromatosis of the extremities, leucopathia punctata et reticularis symmetrica,2 acropigmentatio symmetrica Dohi–Komaya;3 OMIM 127400) is a pigmentary genodermatosis characterized by onset in infancy or early childhood of a mixture of hyperpigmented and hypopigmented macules of various sizes on the dorsal aspects of the extremities, and freckle‐like macules on the face. This condition was first described by Toyama4 in a Japanese family and was coined DSH in 1929.5 DSH has been reported mainly in Japan and China but also in many other ethnic groups.6 DSH generally shows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with high penetrance, but sporadic cases have been reported. Recently, two groups of researchers7, 8 reported pathogenic mutations in the gene of double‐stranded RNA‐specific adenosine deaminase (DSRAD), one of the RNA‐editing enzymes, among Japanese and Chinese patients with DSH. We report the identification of a Taiwanese boy with DSH and seizure, mental retardation and autistic disorder, in whom a novel deletion mutation (2645delG) in the DSRAD gene was demonstrated.
Molecular characterization of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer
Authors: Minna Allinen, Rameen Beroukhim, Li Cai, Cameron Brennan, Jaana Lahti-Domenici, Haiyan Huang, Dale Porter, Min Hu, Lynda Chin, Andrea Richardson, Stuart Schnitt, William R Sellers, Kornelia Polyak
Journal: Cancer Cell (2004)
Who Develops Acute Stress Disorder after Accidental Injuries?
Authors: Annette Kjær Fuglsang, Hanspeter Moergeli, Sofia Hepp-Beg, Ulrich Schnyder
Journal: Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (2002)

&lt;i&gt;Background:&lt;/i&gt; Acute stress disorder (ASD) is still a much discussed diagnosis, and research on predictors of ASD is sparse. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ASD in a random sample of accident victims and to investigate the associations between different independent variables and ASD symptomatology with the objective to find a regression model best explaining the variance in ASD symptom level. &lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt; We collected a randomized sample of hospitalized accident victims (n = 323). ASD was assessed using the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire and the Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale. Correlations and multiple regression analyses were computed with four groups of variables. This yielded the variables entered into a final multiple regression analysis. &lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt; Thirteen patients (4.0%) met all criteria for a diagnosis of ASD. Thirty-two patients (9.9%) met the criteria for a diagnosis of subsyndromal ASD. Thirty-eight percent of the variance in ASD symptom level was explained with a regression model including stay at the intensive care unit, preexisting psychiatric disorder, sense of coherence, sense of death threat, appraisal of accident severity, preventability of the accident by others, pain and appraisal of coping ability regarding physical recovery. &lt;i&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/i&gt; This study furthers the discussion about the requirements for the ASD diagnosis. It also points to the importance of not only assessing objective accident-related variables in the aftermath of an accident but also of giving more consideration to the subjective experience and appraisal of the accident in the prevention of ASD.
Left ventricular ejection fraction, enzyme release, and stent implantation are independent predictors of late clinical outcome after late opening of infarct-related occlusion
Authors: Francois Schiele, Lionel Thebault, Pradip Sewoke, Pierre Legalery, Marie-France Seronde, Nicolas Meneveau, Jean-Pierre L. Bassand
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2003)
Cardiac Exercise Program
Authors: Frank P. Cardello
Journal: JAMA (1978)

To the Editor.—  The report Ventricular Fibrillation in a Medically Supervised Cardiac Exercise Program: Clinical, Angiographic, and Surgical Correlations by Fletcher and Cantwell (238:2627, 1977) brings out some pertinent information. It would be valuable to know the most important predictor of arrhythmia during exertion: the smoking history.  Three of the five patients exercised in excess of their prescribed heart rates. The precise mode of exercise prescription was not given, although completion of a 1.6-km jog was mentioned for one of the subjects.  This suggests that short bursts of anaerobic activity are being used. If these episodes of arrhythmia have occurred in smokers in oxygen debt, correction of these two factors should take precedence over bypass surgery.  The study of Tilkian et al 1 shows that coronary surgery improves exercise capacity without decreasing associated ventricular arrhythmia. Three of the five patients had myocardial revascularization and were presumably able to continue the
Darfuri refugees in Chad have no escape from sexual violence
Authors: P. Moszynski
Journal: BMJ (2009)

Refugee women from Darfur in Sudan continue to face rape and other violence on a daily basis in eastern Chad, despite the presence of international security forces, says a new report by Amnesty International. The agency has called for increased protection of civilians in the country, an end to a prevailing culture of impunity, and sufficient finance for a fully operational United Nations mission.

Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty’s Africa programme deputy director, said, “The rape that countless women and girls experienced in Darfur continues to haunt them in eastern Chad. These women fled Darfur hoping that the international community and Chadian authorities would offer them some measure of safety and protection. That protection has …
Indirect payments from drug companies to doctors for CME courses will be exempt from database
Authors: N. Hawkes
Journal: BMJ (2014)

A new US database designed to show how much money has been paid to doctors by drug and device manufacturers will exclude a wide range of payments made indirectly through companies that organize continuing medical education (CME) courses.

Critics say that the rule change, announced this week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,1 will dilute the benefits of transparency that the database was designed to bring. It means that companies can provide money to intermediaries who organize CME events, who can in turn pay doctors to give talks, without disclosing the …