tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Early Treatment Failure in Intermediate-Risk Rhabdomyosarcoma: Results From IRS-IV and D9803—A Report From the Children's Oncology Group
Authors: A. Yuriko Minn, Elizabeth R. Lyden, James R. Anderson, Lynn Million, Carola A. Arndt, Kenneth Brown, Douglas S. Hawkins, Sarah S. Donaldson
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2010)

Purpose The goal of this study was to determine the frequency and clinical features of early treatment failure during induction chemotherapy before protocol radiation therapy for children with intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). Patients and Methods Patients with intermediate-risk RMS enrolled onto the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study-IV and the Children's Oncology Group D9803 study were reviewed for an early treatment failure. Early failure was defined as failure caused by progressive disease, death as a result of progressive disease, or death as a result of other causes occurring fewer than 120 days from study entry. Patients with parameningeal site RMS with high-risk features who received radiation therapy at week 1 were excluded from analysis. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Fisher's exact test was used to compare differences between groups. Cumulative incidence of progression was estimated. Results Of 916 patients, 20 (2.2%) were found to have an early disease progression and did not receive planned protocol radiotherapy. Three additional early failures resulted from treatment-related death without progression. Median time to failure was 48 days (range, 7 to 106 days). Nineteen (95%) of the 20 patients experienced progression at their primary site. Five-year OS was 32% (95% CI, 12% to 54%) for patients experiencing an early progression. Conclusion A small proportion of patients with intermediate-risk RMS suffer an early failure as a result of early progression (2.2%) or treatment-related mortality (0.3%). The majority of patients with early progression had a local failure. Earlier radiotherapy could potentially improve outcome by preventing early local progression.
Diagnostic and Prognostic Significance of Serum Transaminase Levels in Coronary Occlusive Disease
Authors: A. A. KATTUS, R. WATANABE, C. SEMENSON, Joe Yamashita
Journal: Circulation (1957)

Clinical and experimental studies of acute myocardial infarction suggest that serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGO-T) levels may have both diagnostic and prognostic significance. The authors report their experience in 255 patients hospitalized because of chest pain strongly suggestive of acute myocardial infarction. The results of serial determinations are compared with the clinical data and the electrocardiographic findings. The data indicate that abnormally high levels have both diagnostic and prognostic significance.
The heart requires glycerol as an energy substrate through aquaporin 7, a glycerol facilitator
Authors: T. Hibuse, N. Maeda, H. Nakatsuji, Y. Tochino, K. Fujita, S. Kihara, T. Funahashi, I. Shimomura
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2009)

Cardiomyocytes require fatty acids and glucose for energy production. However, other nutrients and substrates that may serve as possible candidates for a cardiac energy source have not been fully studied. Several reports showed that a moderate expression of aquaporin 7 (AQP7), a member of the aquaglyceroporin family that is permeated by glycerol and water, is observed in heart tissue. However, the functional role of cardiac AQP7 is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of glycerol as a cardiac energy substrate and to clarify the role of cardiac AQP7.Heart function and morphology were examined in AQP7-knockout (KO) mice under basal conditions and during pressure overload [isoproterenol infusion and transverse aortic constriction (TAC)]. Glycerol uptake and glycerol-dependent ATP production were measured in AQP7-knockdown cardiac cells. Cardiac glycerol consumption was analysed in ex vivo beating hearts. Cardiac morphology and function in KO mice were similar to those of wild-type (WT) mice under basal conditions, although low glycerol and ATP content were noted in hearts of KO mice. In H9c2 cardiomyotubes, knockdown of AQP7 was associated with a significant reduction of glycerol uptake. The ex vivo heart study demonstrated that cardiac glycerol consumption levels in KO mice were significantly lower than those of WT mice. Furthermore, isoproterenol challenge induced severe left ventricular hypertrophy in KO mice, and TAC resulted in a higher mortality rate in KO mice than in WT mice.The results indicate that AQP7 acts as a glycerol facilitator in cardiomyocytes and that glycerol is a substrate for cardiac energy production.
A new formula for calculating standard liver volume for living donor liver transplantation without using body weight
Authors: Takashi Kokudo, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, Emilie Uldry, Yutaka Matsuyama, Junichi Kaneko, Nobuhisa Akamatsu, Taku Aoki, Yoshihiro Sakamoto, Nicolas Demartines, Yasuhiko Sugawara, Norihiro Kokudo, Nermin Halkic
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2015)
DAMBE5: A Comprehensive Software Package for Data Analysis in Molecular Biology and Evolution
Authors: Xuhua Xia
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2013)

Since its first release in 2001 as mainly a software package for phylogenetic analysis, data analysis for molecular biology and evolution (DAMBE) has gained many new functions that may be classified into six categories: 1) sequence retrieval, editing, manipulation, and conversion among more than 20 standard sequence formats including MEGA, NEXUS, PHYLIP, GenBank, and the new NeXML format for interoperability, 2) motif characterization and discovery functions such as position weight matrix and Gibbs sampler, 3) descriptive genomic analysis tools with improved versions of codon adaptation index, effective number of codons, protein isoelectric point profiling, RNA and protein secondary structure prediction and calculation of minimum folding energy, and genomic skew plots with optimized window size, 4) molecular phylogenetics including sequence alignment, testing substitution saturation, distance-based, maximum parsimony, and maximum-likelihood methods for tree reconstructions, testing the molecular clock hypothesis with either a phylogeny or with relative-rate tests, dating gene duplication and speciation events, choosing the best-fit substitution models, and estimating rate heterogeneity over sites, 5) phylogeny-based comparative methods for continuous and discrete variables, and 6) graphic functions including secondary structure display, optimized skew plot, hydrophobicity plot, and many other plots of amino acid properties along a protein sequence, tree display and drawing by dragging nodes to each other, and visual searching of the maximum parsimony tree. DAMBE features a graphic, user-friendly, and intuitive interface and is freely available from http://dambe.bio.uottawa.ca (last accessed April 16, 2013).
Edema-producing activity of group A streptococcal polysaccharide and its possible role in the pathogenesis of cell wall-induced polyarthritis.
Authors: C Chetty, R R Brown, J H Schwab
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1983)

Edematous responses were induced in the limbs of Sprague-Dawley rats by intravenous, intraperitoneal, or intra-articular injections of group-specific polysaccharide (PS) isolated from the cell walls of group A streptococci. After intravenous injection of the edema-producing PS, vascular permeability increase (measured by 125I-human serum albumin) was detected in the limbs, but not in the heart, lungs, spleen, liver, thymus, kidney, skin, skeletal muscle, submandibular lymph nodes, mesenteric lymph nodes, or ascending colon. This indicates a selective effect on vascular endothelium of the joints. Evidence to suggest that the edema-producing activity of the PS might play an important role in the pathogenesis of cell wall-induced polyarthritis included the following: (a) the presence of edema-producing activity in arthropathogenic cell wall preparations; (b) cell wall preparations without edema-producing activity were significantly less active in inducing arthritis than were those which contained edema-producing activity; and (c) the addition of edema-producing PS to cell wall preparations increased both the incidence and the severity of arthritis.
IL-1β-driven neutrophilia preserves antibacterial defense in the absence of the kinase IKKβ
Authors: Li-Chung Hsu, Thomas Enzler, Jun Seita, Anjuli M Timmer, Chih-Yuan Lee, Ting-Yu Lai, Guann-Yi Yu, Liang-Chuan Lai, Vladislav Temkin, Ursula Sinzig, Thiha Aung, Victor Nizet, Irving L Weissman, Michael Karin
Journal: Nature Immunology (2010)
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
Authors: Aruna V. Sarma, John T. Wei
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2012)

Lower urinary tract symptoms affect more than half of older men. Options for bothersome symptoms include α-adrenergic-receptor blockers, 5α-reductase inhibitors, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor therapy, and antimuscarinic therapy.
Glioma-derived versican promotes tumor expansion via glioma-associated microglial/macrophages Toll-like receptor 2 signaling
Authors: Feng Hu, Omar Dildar Dzaye, Alexander Hahn, Yong Yu, Rick Joey Scavetta, Gunnar Dittmar, Adrian Kamil Kaczmarek, Kylie R Dunning, Carmela Ricciardelli, Jan L Rinnenthal, Frank L Heppner, Seija Lehnardt, Michael Synowitz, Susanne A Wolf, Helmut Kettenmann
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2014)

Accumulation and infiltration of microglia/brain macrophages around and into glioma tissue promote tumor invasion and expansion. One tumor-promoting mechanism of microglia/brain macrophages is upregulation of membrane type 1 matrix metalloprotease (MT1-MMP), which promotes the degradation of extracellular matrix. MT1-MMP upregulation is induced by soluble factors released by glioma cells activating microglial Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Versican identified by proteomics was silenced in glioma cells by short interference RNA and short hairpin RNA approaches and studied in vitro and after injection into mouse brains or organotypic brain slices. The splice variants V0/V1 of the endogenous TLR2 ligand versican are highly expressed in mouse and human glioma tissue. Versican-silenced gliomas induced less MT1-MMP expression in microglia both in vitro and in vivo, which resulted in smaller tumors and longer survival rates as compared with controls. Recombinant versican V1 induced significantly higher levels of MT1-MMP in wild-type microglia compared with untreated and treated TLR2 knockout microglial cells. Using glioma-injected organotypic brain slices, we found that the impact of versican signaling on glioma growth depended on the presence of microglia. Moreover, we found that TLR2 expression is upregulated in glioma-associated microglia but not in astrocytes. Additionally, an established TLR2 neutralizing antibody reduced glioma-induced microglial MT1-MMP expression as well as glioma growth ex vivo. Our results show that versican released from glioma promotes tumor expansion through glioma-associated microglial/macrophage TLR2 signaling and subsequent expression of MT1-MMP. This signaling cascade might be a novel target for glioma therapies.
The Danish study on cost effectiveness in sleep related breathing disorders - a possible example for Europe
Authors: I. Fietze
Journal: Thorax (2011)

Procedures for the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disordered breathing have been well established in healthcare systems for quite some time and effective management of patients with sleep disordered breathing is established in many healthcare settings.1 However, there remain many unanswered questions, not only in relation to pathophysiology, prevalence and management but also in relation to cost of the condition and the cost-effectiveness of treatments. These questions have come into sharper focus with the current economic pressures. Healthcare payers may accept evidence that treatment reduces comorbidities, costs for physician service and drug treatment, lost working days, stays at hospitals and accidents caused by sleepiness but they could legitimately ask a number of other questions. Which patient has to be treated with which treatment and when should it be started? Are there identifiable patients where a more conservative treatment strategy suffices and others where alternative treatment methods are needed? And do these treatments increase life expectancy and quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs? We have to convince the national reimbursement agencies in every country that sleep medicine does provide cost-effective treatment so that they provide us with sufficient resources to effectively diagnose and treat obstructive sleep disordered breathing.

There is good evidence that untreated sleep apnoea is associated with reduced life expectancy2 and high comorbidity. Important comorbid disorders include arterial hypertension, atrial fibrillation, stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis and depression. As a consequence, patients with obstructive sleep disorders consume around 70% more healthcare resources than matched control patients.3 In this issue of Thorax , …
Antigenic variation of a cysteine-rich protein in Giardia lamblia.
Authors: R D Adam, A Aggarwal, A A Lal, V F de La Cruz, T McCutchan, T E Nash
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1988)

The WB isolate of Giardia lamblia expresses a cysteine-rich 170-kD surface antigen (CRP170) that undergoes antigenic variation. An (6E7), cytotoxic for isolates expressing CRP170, was used in another study to select antigenic variants from clones of the WB isolate of Giardia. CRP170 was replaced by surface-labeled bands ranging in size from approximately 50 to 170 kD. In this study, mAb 6E7 was used to isolate a 1-kb portion of the CRP170 gene (M2-1) from a lambda gt 11 expression library. The M2-1 clone hybridized to a 5.4-kb transcript from isolates expressing CRP170 but did not hybridize to RNA from antigenic variants. Evidence was found for frequent rearrangements at the CRP170 gene locus. DNA sequencing of the M2-1 clone revealed the presence of long tandem repeats. The putative amino acid sequence of M2-1 reveals a 12% cysteine content, and CRP170 is readily labeled in vivo with cysteine.
Comfort scores in colonoscopy performance
Authors: V. E. Ekkelenkamp, I. Shaw, R. Valori, P. Dunckley
Journal: Gut (2011)

<h3>Introduction</h3> The principle indicator for assessing competence in colonoscopy is caecal intubation rate (CIR). Comfort is a key auditable outcome for colonoscopy but there are no standards for patient comfort during colonoscopy and no reports of comfort scores in relation to other quality indicators. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of different factors in determining an individual9s performance in colonoscopy and to explore the significance of patient comfort scores in colonoscopist performance. <h3>Methods</h3> All colonoscopies performed in our endoscopy centres are recorded in customised reporting systems (SQLscope and Unisoft), which log all key performance indicators. Data was extracted between 2007 and 2010. The following variables were measured: CIR, nurse-reported comfort levels (NRCL) on a 5-point scale (1 = no discomfort, 2 = minimal discomfort, 3 = mild discomfort, 4 = moderate discomfort, 5 = severe discomfort), polyp detection rate (PDR) (hyperplastic and adenomatous), patient9s experience (PE) of the procedure (better than expected, as expected, worse than expected) and use of sedation. Significant discomfort was defined as a NRCL of 4 or 5 or a PE of worse than expected. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 12561 colonoscopies were recorded with NRCL and PE. NRCL of 4 or 5 was measured in 1181 cases (9.4%). The average number of procedures performed per endoscopist per year was 146 (range 11–483). Figure 1 shows the relation between CIR and NRCL (4–5). There was a significant negative correlation (R = −0.57 ; p &lt; 0.005). A positive correlation was found between PDR and CIR (R = 0.57; p &lt; 0.005). The amount of midazolam given during the procedure was negatively correlated with CIR (R = −0.39; p = 0.055). Finally, fewer than one in 20 patients rated their experience worse than expected and a worse than expected PE of colonoscopy showed a negative correlation with CIR (R = -0.54; p &lt; 0.01). Table 1 shows the outcome of the different variables per year (2007 and 2010 are only partial years). CIR, PDR and NRCL have collectively improved year on year. <h3>Conclusion</h3> This study shows that endoscopists with a high CIR perform colonoscopies with less patient discomfort than those with lower CIRs, use less midazolam and see and remove more polyps. Thus achieving a high CIR and high PDR does not need to be associated with more pain and more sedation. Comfort scores should be included in the assessment of overall performance in colonoscopy to provide a fuller picture of performance.
Development of phosphonate-terminated magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles for pH-controlled release of doxorubicin and improved tumor accumulation
Authors: Erxi Che, Long Wan, Ying Zhang, Qinfu Zhao, Xiling Han, Jia Li, Jia Liu, Siling Wang
Journal: Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2014)

In this study, phosphonate-terminated magnetic mesoporous nanoparticles (pMMSNs) was designed by incorporation of MNPs in the center of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and followed by grafting phosphonate group on to the surface of MMSNs. The carrier exhibited a typical superparamagnetic feature and the saturation magnetization was 4.89 emu/g measured by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). pMMSNs had a spherical morphology and a pore size of 2.2 nm. From N2 adsorption-desorption analysis, pMMSNs had a surface area of 613.4 m2/g and a pore volume of 0.78 cm3/g. Phosphonate modification improved the colloidal stability of MMSNs, and the hydrodynamic diameter of pMMSNs was around 175 nm. The hydrophilic phosphonate group significantly enhanced the negative surface charge of MMSNs from −19.3 mV to −28.8 mV pMMSNs with more negative surface charge had a 2.3-fold higher drug loading capacity than that of MMSNs. In addition, the rate and amount of release of doxorubicin (DOX) from DOX/pMMSNs was pH-dependent and increased with the decrease of pH. At pH 7.4, the release amount was quite low and only approximately 17 wt% of DOX was released in 48 h. At pH 5.0 and 3.0, the release rate increased significantly and the release amount achieved 31 wt% and 60 wt% in 48 h, respectively. To evaluate the magnetic targeting performance of pMMSNs, FITC labeled pMMSNs was injected into mice bearing S180 solid tumor. FITC labeled pMMSNs controlled by an external magnetic field showed higher tumor accumulation and lower normal tissue distribution.
Association of Mycoplasma pneumoniae antigen with initial onset of bronchial asthma.
Authors: T Yano, Y Ichikawa, S Komatu, S Arai, K Oizumi
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (1994)

Although mycoplasmal airway infection frequently exacerbates bronchial asthma, the cause of the initial onset of asthma remains unclear at present. In this report, we describe a patient in whom a previous acute mycoplasmal respiratory infection led to an initial onset of bronchial asthma. One month after the onset of the illness, cough and wheezing appeared. Pulmonary function studies revealed an airway obstructive dysfunction. Oral administration of bronchodilators resulted in a marked improvement of the asthmatic symptoms. An airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine was demonstrated even 2 yrs after the initial onset of the illness, and IgE antibody specific to Mycoplasma pneumoniae was detected in the serum by use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An immediate skin test for M. pneumoniae was positive in addition to multiple positive skin tests. A bronchial inhalation challenge test with M. pneumoniae antigen also yielded a positive result. We conclude that the effects of mycoplasmal respiratory infections on the airway are multifactorial and involve a complex interplay of airway inflammation and IgE-mediated hypersensitivity.
Chronic predominant interstitial nephritis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: a follow up of three years and review of the literature.
Authors: H Gur, Y Kopolovic, D J Gross
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1987)

Predominant interstitial nephritis is a rare manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus. Only seven cases have been reported in the literature. Owing to the rarity of this entity, the natural history of predominant interstitial nephritis in lupus has not been adequately recorded and an appropriate therapeutic approach has yet to be defined. In this report we present the case of a 25 year old woman with active systemic lupus erythematosus complicated by kidney failure and renal tubular acidosis due to predominant interstitial nephritis. We describe the course of her disease over a three year period. Seven additional patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and predominant interstitial nephritis are reviewed.
Simvastatin Decreases Lipopolysaccharide-induced Pulmonary Inflammation in Healthy Volunteers
Authors: Murali Shyamsundar, Scott T. W. McKeown, Cecilia M. O'Kane, Thelma R. Craig, Vanessa Brown, David R. Thickett, Michael A. Matthay, Clifford C. Taggart, Janne T. Backman, J. Stuart Elborn, Daniel F. McAuley
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2009)

Simvastatin inhibits inflammatory responses in vitro and in murine models of lung inflammation in vivo. As simvastatin modulates a number of the underlying processes described in acute lung injury (ALI), it may be a potential therapeutic option.To investigate in vivo if simvastatin modulates mechanisms important in the development of ALI in a model of acute lung inflammation induced by inhalation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in healthy human volunteers.Thirty healthy subjects were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects were randomized to receive 40 mg or 80 mg of simvastatin or placebo (n = 10/group) for 4 days before inhalation of 50 microg LPS. Measurements were performed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) obtained at 6 hours and plasma obtained at 24 hours after LPS challenge. Nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) was measured in monocyte-derived macrophages.Pretreatment with simvastatin reduced LPS-induced BALF neutrophilia, myeloperoxidase, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, matrix metalloproteinases 7, 8, and 9, and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as plasma CRP (all P < 0.05 vs. placebo). There was no significant difference between simvastatin 40 mg and 80 mg. BALF from subjects post-LPS inhalation induced a threefold up-regulation in nuclear NF-kappaB in monocyte-derived macrophages (P < 0.001); pretreatment with simvastatin reduced this by 35% (P < 0.001).Simvastatin has antiinflammatory effects in the pulmonary and systemic compartment in humans exposed to inhaled LPS.
Target-like skin lesions in primary amyloidosis
Authors: S. G. BREAR, M. RADEMAKER, P. HASLETON, L. DOYLE
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1985)

A case of primary amyloidosis is described, during the course of which transient, purpuric haloes appeared around long‐standing Campbell de Morgan spots, forming target‐like lesions of the skin.