tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Abdominal Fat and Sleep Apnea
Authors: Giora Pillar, Naim Shehadeh
Journal: Diabetes Care (2008)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome is a disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of upper airway obstruction that occur during sleep. Associated features include loud snoring, fragmented sleep, repetitive hypoxemia/hypercapnia, daytime sleepiness, and cardiovascular complications. The prevalence of OSA is 2–3% and 4–5% in middle-aged women and men, respectively. The prevalence of OSA among obese patients exceeds 30%, reaching as high as 50–98% in the morbidly obese population. Obesity is probably the most important risk factor for the development of OSA. Some 60–90% of adults with OSA are overweight, and the relative risk of OSA in obesity (BMI &amp;gt;29 kg/m2) is ≥10. Numerous studies have shown the development or worsening of OSA with increasing weight, as opposed to substantial improvement with weight reduction. There are several mechanisms responsible for the increased risk of OSA with obesity. These include reduced pharyngeal lumen size due to fatty tissue within the airway or in its lateral walls, decreased upper airway muscle protective force due to fatty deposits in the muscle, and reduced upper airway size secondary to mass effect of the large abdomen on the chest wall and tracheal traction. These mechanisms emphasize the great importance of fat accumulated in the abdomen and neck regions compared with the peripheral one. It is the abdomen much more than the thighs that affect the upper airway size and function. Hence, obesity is associated with increased upper airway collapsibility (even in nonapneic subjects), with dramatic improvement after weight reduction. Conversely, OSA may itself predispose individuals to worsening obesity because of sleep deprivation, daytime somnolence, and disrupted metabolism. OSA is associated with increased sympathetic activation, sleep fragmentation, ineffective sleep, and insulin resistance, potentially leading to diabetes and aggravation of obesity. Furthermore, OSA may be associated with changes in leptin, ghrelin, and orexin levels; increased appetite and caloric intake; and again exacerbating obesity. Thus, it appears that obesity and OSA form a vicious cycle where each results in worsening of the other.
Maternal Energy Stores and Diet Composition During Pregnancy Program Adolescent Blood Pressure
Authors: Linda S. Adair, Christopher W. Kuzawa, Judith Borja
Journal: Circulation (2001)

Background Fetal undernutrition is hypothesized to program blood pressure (BP) later in life. Human epidemiological studies that use birth weight as a proxy for fetal malnutrition fail to identify specific aspects of maternal nutrition responsible for programming. Methods and Results We examined how maternal nutrition during pregnancy and infant birth weight relate to systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) in 2026 Filipino adolescents. Data were collected prospectively during the Cebu (Philippines) Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. Women were assessed at ≈30 weeks gestation, and children were followed from birth through adolescence. Regression models were used to examine how the mothers’ total energy intake, percentage of energy from protein and fat, triceps skinfold thickness during pregnancy, and infant birth weight relate to adolescent BP, controlling for current age, height, and body mass index and other potential confounders. Maternal triceps skinfold thickness was significantly inversely related to SBP among boys and to DBP in boys and girls. Maternal nutrition variables attenuated but did not eliminate an inverse birth weight–SBP relationship in boys. SBP was significantly inversely related to the mothers’ percent of dietary energy from protein in boys. Among girls, SBP and DBP were inversely related to the mothers’ percentage of calories from fat. There was no evidence of confounding of these relationships by current diet, maturation status, physical activity, or socioeconomic status. Conclusions Maternal diet composition and energy stores in the form of subcutaneous fat have long-term effects on offspring BP in adolescence.
MPs hear that PCTs may benefit from losing commissioning role
Authors: A. O'Dowd
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Primary care trusts might do better to lose their commissioning role and focus on provision and organisation in order to improve local services, MPs have been told.

A leading expert on health economics has suggested that the commissioning aspect of primary care trusts’ work has meant that their attention has too often been diverted from ensuring that primary care services are actually improving patients’ health.

MPs on the parliamentary health select committee, as part of their inquiry into commissioning last week, heard that it was time for the government to consider the “radical option” of taking commissioning away from primary care trusts and handing that responsibility to a central body.

Andrew Street, professor of health economics at the University of …
THE VALUE OF MALLORY'S CONNECTIVE TISSUE STAIN FOR THE DEMONSTRATION OF VARIATION IN THYROID COLLOID
Authors: A. P. Jones
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1913)

1. Mallory's connective tissue stain used in connection with fixation of tissue by Zenker's fluid or bichloride of mercury demonstrates the presence or absence of iodin in the thyroid colloid, as is evidenced by parallel chemical determinations, iodin feeding, and test-tube experiments. 2. Greatly increased activity of the heart is accompanied by a loss of thyro-iodin from the colloid of the thyroid. 3. This method, while apparently not adaptable to clinical use, may prove of value in further experimental work on the thyroid.
Pregnancy Outcomes After Maternal Exposure to Topical Corticosteroids
Authors: Ching-Chi Chi, Shu-Hui Wang, Richard Mayon-White, Fenella Wojnarowska
Journal: JAMA Dermatology (2013)

Topical corticosteroids are indicated for pregnant women with skin conditions, but their safety in pregnancy is not fully understood.To investigate whether maternal exposure to topical corticosteroids results in adverse pregnancy outcomes.Retrospective cohort study.United Kingdom National Health Service.A total of 2658 pregnant women exposed to topical corticosteroid and 7246 unexposed pregnant women.Topical corticosteroids dispensed during pregnancy.Orofacial cleft, low birth weight, preterm delivery, fetal death, low Apgar score, and mode of delivery.No associations of maternal topical corticosteroid exposure with orofacial cleft, low birth weight, preterm delivery, fetal death, low Apgar score, and mode of delivery were found in the primary analysis (adjusted risk ratio [RR], 1.85 [95% CI, 0.22-15.20] [P = .57]; 0.97 [95% CI, 0.78-1.19] [P = .75]; 1.20 [95% CI, 0.73-1.96] [P = .48]; 1.07 [95% CI, 0.56-2.05] [P = .84]; 0.84 [95% CI, 0.54-1.31] [P = .45]; and P = .76, respectively). Stratified analyses based on potency did not reveal any significant associations in most of these categories either, but an exploratory analysis showed a significantly increased risk of low birth weight when the dispensed amount of potent or very potent topical corticosteroids exceeded 300 g during the entire pregnancy (adjusted RR, 7.74 [95% CI, 1.49-40.11]; P = .02).This study reassuringly showed no associations of maternal topical corticosteroid exposure with orofacial cleft, preterm delivery, fetal death, low Apgar score, and mode of delivery. With this study and all available evidence taken together, the risk of low birth weight seems to correlate with the quantity of topical corticosteroid exposure.
Respiratory Uncoupling in Skeletal Muscle Delays Death and Diminishes Age-Related Disease
Authors: Allison C. Gates, Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, Sharon L. Chinault, Chu Feng, Jochen G. Schneider, Trey Coleman, James P. Malone, R. Reid Townsend, Manu V. Chakravarthy, Clay F. Semenkovich
Journal: Cell Metabolism (2007)
Targeted Muscle Reinnervation for Real-time Myoelectric Control of Multifunction Artificial Arms
Authors: Todd A. Kuiken, Guanglin Li, Blair A. Lock, Robert D. Lipschutz, Laura A. Miller, Kathy A. Stubblefield, Kevin B. Englehart
Journal: JAMA (2009)

Improving the function of prosthetic arms remains a challenge, because access to the neural-control information for the arm is lost during amputation. A surgical technique called targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) transfers residual arm nerves to alternative muscle sites. After reinnervation, these target muscles produce electromyogram (EMG) signals on the surface of the skin that can be measured and used to control prosthetic arms.To assess the performance of patients with upper-limb amputation who had undergone TMR surgery, using a pattern-recognition algorithm to decode EMG signals and control prosthetic-arm motions.Study conducted between January 2007 and January 2008 at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago among 5 patients with shoulder-disarticulation or transhumeral amputations who underwent TMR surgery between February 2002 and October 2006 and 5 control participants without amputation. Surface EMG signals were recorded from all participants and decoded using a pattern-recognition algorithm. The decoding program controlled the movement of a virtual prosthetic arm. All participants were instructed to perform various arm movements, and their abilities to control the virtual prosthetic arm were measured. In addition, TMR patients used the same control system to operate advanced arm prosthesis prototypes.Performance metrics measured during virtual arm movements included motion selection time, motion completion time, and motion completion ("success") rate.The TMR patients were able to repeatedly perform 10 different elbow, wrist, and hand motions with the virtual prosthetic arm. For these patients, the mean motion selection and motion completion times for elbow and wrist movements were 0.22 seconds (SD, 0.06) and 1.29 seconds (SD, 0.15), respectively. These times were 0.06 seconds and 0.21 seconds longer than the mean times for control participants. For TMR patients, the mean motion selection and motion completion times for hand-grasp patterns were 0.38 seconds (SD, 0.12) and 1.54 seconds (SD, 0.27), respectively. These patients successfully completed a mean of 96.3% (SD, 3.8) of elbow and wrist movements and 86.9% (SD, 13.9) of hand movements within 5 seconds, compared with 100% (SD, 0) and 96.7% (SD, 4.7) completed by controls. Three of the patients were able to demonstrate the use of this control system in advanced prostheses, including motorized shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands.These results suggest that reinnervated muscles can produce sufficient EMG information for real-time control of advanced artificial arms.
The Salmonella typhimurium locus mviA regulates virulence in Itys but not Ityr mice: functional mviA results in avirulence; mutant (nonfunctional) mviA results in virulence.
Authors: W H Benjamin, J Yother, P Hall, D E Briles
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1991)

The virulent Salmonella typhimurium strain WB600 carries the mviA allele of the gene mouse virulence A. As shown here, the virulent phenotype of WB600 is the result of a nonfunctional mviA gene. As compared to the functional allele mviA+, mviA increases virulence in Itys mice, but not in Ityr mice. A specific BglII site, mviA4185, between osmZ and galU, located at approximately 35 min on the salmonella chromosome, was within mviA. Insertion of an antibiotic cassette in the mviA4185 site of mviA+ or the homologous mviA4093 site of mviA DNA resulted in virulence when either cassette was recombined into the chromosome. When mviA and mviA+ were both expressed in the same strain with one carried in the chromosome and the other on a plasmid, avirulence was dominant. Replacement of the mviA allele of strain WB600 using P22 transductions of linked antibiotic cassettes cloned into the chromosome of virulent S. typhimurium strains (SR-11, TML, SL1344, C5, ATCC14028, W118-2, and WB600) showed that all but WB600 contained the avirulent mviA+ allele. Southern hybridizations provided no evidence for a second mviA allele anywhere in the genome of the six non-WB600 strains.
Development of Schizoaffective Psychosis in the Course of a Long-Term Occupation as Spiritual Healer: Coincidence or Causality?
Authors: Julia Sadzio, Henning Vieker, Oliver Gruber, David Zilles
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (2014)

Psychotic reactions in the context of meditation and esoteric practices have been described in the psychiatric literature. In most cases, these psychotic conditions are transient and do not lead to functional impairment. The authors present the case of a 46-year-old woman who had worked as a spiritual healer for several years and, in the course of this occupation, increasingly developed a highly specific configuration of psychotic symptoms (all of which could be convincingly traced back to the formerly used spiritual techniques) along with depressive symptoms and severe functional impairment. The differential diagnosis was initially complicated by the relative conformity of the patient’s psychotic symptoms with her occupational practices and the absence of other, more typical, symptoms of schizophrenia. Only a thorough anamnesis with another spiritual healer and precise identification of psychopathology helped to disentangle the merely uncommon from the pathologic features of this case. Possible mechanisms of psychotogenesis are discussed in light of the literature and the specific features of the presented case. Although a single case report cannot prove a causal link between spiritual healing and development of psychosis, the patient’s specific psychopathology, with preeminently disturbed self-experience, and its consistency with the patient’s spiritual practices suggest at least a contributory role in this case.
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF SHOCK WAVES RESULTING FROM THE IMPACT OF HIGH VELOCITY MISSILES ON ANIMAL TISSUES
Authors: E. Newton Harvey, J. Howard McMillen
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1947)

The spark shadowgram method of studying shock waves is described. It has been used to investigate the properties of such waves produced by the impact of a high velocity missile on the surface of water. The method can be adapted for study of behavior of shock waves in tissue by placing the tissue on a water surface or immersing it in water. Spark shadowgrams then reveal waves passing from tissue to water or reflected from tissue surfaces. Reflection and transmission of shock waves from muscle, liver, stomach, and intestinal wall are compared with reflection from non-living surfaces such as gelatin gel, steel, plexiglas, cork, and air. Because of its heterogeneous structure, waves transmitted by tissue are dispersed and appear as a series of wavelets. When the accoustical impedance (density x wave velocity) of a medium is less than that in which the wave is moving, reflection will occur with inversion of the wave; i.e., a high pressure wave will become a low pressure wave. This inversion occurs at an air surface and is illustrated by shadowgrams of reflection from stomach wall, from a segment of colon filled with gas, and from air-filled rubber balloons. Bone (human skull and beef ribs) shows good reflection and some transmission of shock waves. When steel is directly hit by a missile, clearly visible elastic waves pass from metal to water, but a similar direct hit on bone does not result in elastic waves strong enough to be detected by a spark shadowgram.
Right ventricular functional reserve measured by an implanted hemodynamic monitor correlates with exercise BNP levels
Authors: Wael S. Abo-Auda, Brian A. Foley, Barbro M. Kjellstrom, Tom D. Bennett, Mathew Cavender, Raymond L. Benza, Barry K. Rayburn, Jose A. Tallaj, Laura Pinderski, Philip Johnson, Robert C. Bourge
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2003)
Adverse reactions to piperacillin in adults with cystic fibrosis.
Authors: R J Stead, H G Kennedy, M E Hodson, J C Batten
Journal: Thorax (1985)

Nine adult patients with cystic fibrosis, nearly a quarter of the 38 patients with this disease who were treated with piperacillin (59 courses in all) during 1981-3 at the Brompton Hospital, developed a swinging pyrexia after a mean of 13.5 days9 treatment with this antibiotic. The fever resolved shortly after the piperacillin treatment was stopped, as did the widespread rashes in the two patients who developed them. Three of four patients who had probable reactions to azlocillin may have been sensitised by piperacillin. As piperacillin does not appear to be any more effective than other antipseudomonal penicillins in cystic fibrosis, it is no longer used at the hospital for treating bronchopulmonary exacerbations in such patients.
A randomised control trial of short term efficacy of in-shoe foot orthoses compared with a wait and see policy for anterior knee pain and the role of foot mobility
Authors: Kathryn Mills, Peter Blanch, Priya Dev, Michael Martin, Bill Vicenzino
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2011)

Objectives To investigate the short-term clinical efficacy of in-shoe foot orthoses over a wait-and-see policy in the treatment of anterior knee pain (AKP) and evaluate the ability of foot posture measures to predict outcome. Design Single-blind, randomised control trial. Participants Forty participants (18–40 years) with clinically diagnosed AKP of greater than 6-week duration, who had not been treated with orthoses in the previous 5 years. Intervention Prefabricated orthoses perceived as most comfortable from a selection of 3 different hardness values compared with a wait-and-see control group. Outcome measures Participant-perceived global improvement, Kujala Patellofemoral Score, usual and worst pain severity over the previous week and the Patient Specific Functional Scale measures at 6 weeks. Results Foot orthoses produced a significant global improvement compared with the control group (p = 0.008, relative risk reduction = 8.47%, numbers needed to treat = 2). Significant differences also occurred in measures of function (standardised mean difference = 0.71). Within the intervention group, individuals who exhibited a change in midfoot width from weight bearing to non-weight bearing of &gt;11.25 mm were more likely to report a successful outcome (correct classification 77.8%). Conclusion This is the first study to show orthoses provide greater improvements in AKP than a wait-and-see approach. Individuals with greater midfoot mobility are more likely to experience success from treatment. Trial Registration ACTRN12611000492954
Role of oxygen derived free radicals in platelet activating factor induced bowel necrosis.
Authors: J P Cueva, W Hsueh
Journal: Gut (1988)

The mechanism of tissue and cell injury in ischaemic bowel necrosis is unclear. The present study investigated the role of oxygen derived free radicals in the development of bowel necrosis using injections of platelet activating factor (PAF) into the mesenteric vasculature. Animals were pretreated with allopurinol or superoxide dismutase together with catalase, before administration of PAF. Superoxide dismutase/catalase markedly improved the PAF-induced lesions, indicating that most of the intestinal damage after PAF injection is because of the release of oxygen radicals. The major source of oxygen radicals is xanthine oxidase, as allopurinol ameliorated small bowel lesions. Pretreatment with allopurinol produced a significant (p less than 0.01) preventive effect on PAF induced hypotension. In contrast, superoxide dismutase/catalase did not alter PAF induced hypotension. Superoxide dismutase/catalase pretreatment improved PAF induced haemoconcentration and leucopenia, while allopurinol showed no effect.
Treatment of Epstein-Barr-virus-positive post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease with partly HLA-matched allogeneic cytotoxic T cells
Authors: Tanzina Haque, Gwen M Wilkie, Clare Taylor, Peter L Amlot, Parvez Murad, Angela Iley, Dilani Dombagoda, Kate M Britton, Anthony J Swerdlow, Dorothy H Crawford
Journal: The Lancet (2002)
Cell Mechanics: Dissecting the Physical Responses of Cells to Force
Authors: Brenton D. Hoffman, John C. Crocker
Journal: Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering (2009)

It is now widely appreciated that normal tissue morphology and function rely upon cells' ability to sense and generate forces appropriate to their correct tissue context. Although the effects of forces on cells have been studied for decades, our understanding of how those forces propagate through and act on different cell substructures remains at an early stage. The past decade has seen a resurgence of interest, with a variety of different micromechanical methods in current use that probe cells' dynamic deformation in response to a time-varying force. The ability of researchers to carefully measure the mechanical properties of cells subjected to a variety of pharmacological and genetic interventions, however, currently outstrips our ability to quantitatively interpret the data in many cases. Despite these challenges, the stage is now set for the development of detailed models for cell deformability, motility, and mechanosensing that are rooted at the molecular level.
RNA-Binding Proteins Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein A1, E1, and K Are Involved in Post-Transcriptional Control of Collagen I and III Synthesis
Authors: Bernd-Joachim Thiele, Anke Doller, Thilo Kähne, Reinhard Pregla, Roland Hetzer, Vera Regitz-Zagrosek
Journal: Circulation Research (2004)

Collagen types I and III, coded by COL1A1/COL1A2 and COL3A1 genes, are the major fibrillar collagens produced by fibroblasts, including cardiac fibroblasts of the adult heart. Characteristic for different cardiomyopathies is a remodeling process associated with an upregulation of collagen synthesis, which leads to fibrosis. We report identification of three mRNA-binding proteins, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprote (hnRNP) A1, E1, and K, as positive effectors of collagen synthesis acting at the post-transcriptional level by interaction with the 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTRs) of COL1A1, 1A2, and 3A1 mRNAs. In vitro, binding experiments (electromobility shift assay and UV cross-linking) reveal significant differences in binding to CU- and AU-rich binding motifs. Reporter gene cell transfection experiments and RNA stability assays show that hnRNPs A1, E1, and K stimulate collagen expression by stabilizing mRNAs. Collagen synthesis is activated via the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor. We demonstrate that transforming growth factor-beta1, a major product of stimulated AT1 receptor, does not activate solely collagen synthesis but synergistically the synthesis of hnRNP A1, E1, and K as well. Thus, post-transcriptional control of collagen synthesis at the mRNA level may substantially be caused by alteration of the expression of RNA-binding proteins. The pathophysiological impact of this finding was demonstrated by screening the expression of hnRNP E1 and K in cardiovascular diseases. In the heart muscle of patients experiencing aortic stenosis, ischemic cardiomyopathy, or dilatative cardiomyopathy, a significant increase in the expression of hnRNP E1, A1, and K was found between 1.5- and 4.5-fold relative to controls.