tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Implications of Rising Prediabetes Prevalence
Authors: Tobin M. Abraham, Caroline S. Fox
Journal: Diabetes Care (2013)

Given the burden of type 2 diabetes and its complications, much attention has been given to prevention, beginning with identifying at-risk individuals prior to diagnosis. This has led to the designation of “prediabetes,” which is an intermediate form of dysglycemia on a spectrum ranging from normal to overt diabetes. The American Diabetes Association defines prediabetes as a fasting glucose of 100 to <126 mg/dL (impaired fasting glucose [IFG]), a 2-h plasma glucose of 140 to <200 mg/dL after a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (impaired glucose tolerance [IGT]), or HbA1c 5.7% (39 mmol/mol) to <6.5% (48 mmol/mol) (1). Fasting glucose ≥100 mg/dL portends an increased risk of diabetes (2,3), cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women (2), and mortality (4). HbA1c levels 5.5% (37 mmol/mol) to <6.5% (48 mmol/mol) are associated with an increased risk of diabetes and CVD compared with levels <5.5% (37 mmol/mol) even after adjustment for fasting glucose and key CVD risk factors (3). Because of these associated risks, surveillance of prediabetes allows better prediction of diabetes trends and of the resources that will be required to treat rising diabetes.

In the current issue of Diabetes Care , Bullard et al. (5) review secular trends in U.S. prediabetes prevalence using National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) data from 1999 to 2010. Prediabetes was defined as HbA1c 5.7% (39 mmol/mol) to <6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or fasting glucose 100 to < 126 mg/dL; oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) were not used. Participants completed a household interview followed by physical examination at mobile centers. A total of 19,182 participants ages ≥12 years were included in …
Quantal Release of Glutamate Generates Pure Kainate and Mixed AMPA/Kainate EPSCs in Hippocampal Neurons
Authors: Rosa Cossart, Jérôme Epsztein, Roman Tyzio, Hélène Becq, June Hirsch, Yehezkel Ben-Ari, Valérie Crépel
Journal: Neuron (2002)
Half bottle or half cut?
Authors: Trish Groves
Journal: BMJ (2008)

Banning supersize meal portions may help to cut obesity rates. Tax hikes, fewer happy hours, and better education may help to cut harmful drinking. But where’s the debate on supersize portions of wine? Why does wine have to come in 75 cl bottles?

I like a glass of good wine with my supper. But, once two of us have had a glass each, it’s hard to know what to do with the rest. The fridge door is already full of milk bottles, the wine stoppers leak if you lay the bottle on a shelf, and although whites and roses may not mind sitting in the fridge for another day or two, most reds don’t keep well once open. It’s all too tempting to finish the bottle there and then to avoid waste. Coupled with the news that wine is getting stronger, with 8 or 9 units in a bottle, it’s no wonder Britain’s middle aged middle classes are getting wasted.

The North West Public Health Observatory, at Liverpool John Moores University, reported last year that wealthy …
Case of Meningo-Encephalocele Treated by Excision of the Mass
Authors: A. Fullerton
Journal: BMJ (1901)

finger.There is no eczema or excoriation of the anus or perineum, nor is there any evidence tbat th,e rectum resents the presence of the urine moreen les, perha than that of anyother flid.The frequency of defaecation depends lely upon the -amount of fluid ingested, and upon the degree of activity of the lad.Whieni playing about he requires to evacuate the urine at intervals of one.two, or tihree liours, but in bed at
THE CYTOLOGY OF THE DIARRHEAL STOOL
Authors: JOHN ZAHORSKY
Journal: JAMA (1926)

In a previous paper, 1 I offered a clinical study of the stool as evidence that summer diarrhea is more than the direct effect of heat on the organism. The conclusion was that most cases of summer diarrhea are characterized by an enormous discharge of cells in the stools which can rationally be explained only by an inflammatory reaction due to a local infection. The examination of the fresh diarrheal stool for cells has been a routine in my office for several years, and more than a thousand such examinations have been made.  My first efforts were directed almost entirely to a comparison of the number of cells and the clinical symptoms. In general, a liquid stool that showed more than ten cells to the field (diluted two-thirds with water), under the ordinary low power of a microscope, was regarded as strong evidence of a local infectious process. If, as
Letter: Teaching and the patient.
Authors: H Hodgson
Journal: BMJ (1975)

Patients ToxicNon-toxic Controls (n = 9) (n = 71) (n = 22) Plasma digoxin 2-91 i 090 1-42 ±0-82 (nmol/l) Plasma magnesium 0-885 ± 011 0-83 ± 011 0-855 0-06 (mmol/l) Erythrocyte magnesium 2-215 0-345 2-32 ± 0-365 2-085 0-225 (mmol/l) Conversion: SI to Traditional Units-Plasma digoxin: 1 nmol/l 0-78 ng/ml.Plasma and erythrocyte magnesium: 1 mmol/l 2 mEq/l.
968 IMPACT OF GADOXETIC ACID (GD-EOB-DTPA)-ENHANCED MAGNETIC RESONANCE ON THE NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSIS OF SMALL HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA
Authors: A. Granito, M. Galassi, F. Piscaglia, A. Borghi, V. Lucidi, R. Golfleri, L. Bolondi
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2011)
Serum Bactericidal Activity as a Monitor of Antibiotic Therapy
Authors: John S. Wolfson, Morton N. Swartz
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1985)

THE serum bactericidal-activity test has been used for many years to monitor antibiotic therapy in the treatment of patients with infective endocarditis, osteomyelitis, bacteremia, or other serious bacterial infections. This test determines the greatest dilution (in twofold steps) of a serum sample, obtained while the patient is receiving antibiotic treatment, that kills ≥99.9 per cent of an inoculum of the infecting pathogen in vitro over 18 to 24 hours.1 2 3 4 5 Types of serum antibacterial tests were used as long ago as 1912 by Wright6 and 1917 by Moore and Chesney7 , 8 in the evaluation of the quinine derivative optochin (ethylhydrocupreine) for the . . .
The politics of alcoholism in India
Authors: V. Patel
Journal: BMJ (1998)

At a recent meeting in Goa organised by the National Commission for Women, its chairwoman, the vibrant and outspoken Ms Mohini Giri, exhorted the women of Goa to join hands with millions of women in other Indian states to demand that prohibition be implemented to reduce the appalling damage resulting from alcohol misuse by men.

The use of prohibition in India has a long history. Gujarat, the home state of Mahatma Gandhi, declared prohibition soon after the British left and has stuck to this policy ever since. More recently, however, prohibition became a major vote winner in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. Alcohol misuse has become such an enormous problem that it is now the main issue on which elections are being fought and won.

Alcohol misuse is one of the main killers of young men in India today. But its real impact is on the social and family dynamics that underlie our communities. Domestic violence and an exacerbation of poverty have made alcohol misuse the single most important problem for women …
Article makes simple errors and could cause unnecessary deaths
Authors: C. Baigent
Journal: BMJ (2002)

<h3>Abstract</h3> The mammalian endothelium which lines all blood vessels responds to soluble factors which control vascular development and sprouting. Endothelial cells bind to vascular endothelial growth factor A via two different receptor tyrosine kinases (VEGFR1, VEGFR2) which regulate such cellular responses. The integration of VEGFR signal transduction and membrane trafficking is not well understood. Here, we used a yeast-based membrane protein screen to identify VEGFR-interacting factor(s) which modulate endothelial cell function. By screening a human endothelial cDNA library, we identified a calcium-binding protein, S100A6, which can interact with either VEGFR. We found that S100A6 binds in a calcium-dependent manner to either VEGFR1 or VEGFR2. S100A6 binding was mapped to the VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase domain. Depletion of S100A6 impacts on VEGF-A-regulated signaling through the canonical mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Furthermore, S100A6 depletion caused contrasting effects on biosynthetic VEGFR delivery to the plasma membrane. Co-distribution of S100A6 and VEGFRs on tubular profiles suggest the presence of transport carriers that facilitate VEGFR trafficking. We propose a mechanism whereby S100A6 acts as a calcium-regulated switch which facilitates biosynthetic VEGFR trafficking from the TGN-to-plasma membrane. VEGFR-S100A6 interactions thus enable integration of signaling and trafficking pathways in controlling the endothelial response to VEGF-A.
Transitional countries best at reducing greenhouse gases
Authors: Grainger Laffan
Journal: BMJ (2005)

The world's production of climate changing greenhouse gasses has fallen in the past 15 years but is still not meeting all the targets set by the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, says the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Greenhouse gas emissions from the developed countries that were signatories to the Kyoto protocol fell by 5.9% between 1990 and 2003, the secretariat of the convention announced. Many of the countries with economies in a transitional phase have done the best.

Announcing the data ahead of the 11th annual UN climate change conference in Montreal next week, the secretariat said that although most of the countries were exceeding their targets, …
Appearance of Breast Attenuation Artifacts with Thallium Myocardial SPECT Imaging
Authors: PAUL R. GARVER, RICHARD D. WASNICH, ALISON M. SHIBUYA, FRANCES YEH
Journal: Clinical Nuclear Medicine (1985)

The appearance of breast attenuation artifacts is described as the artifacts occur with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of the heart using TI-201 thallous chloride.
Nasal Spray Desmopressin (DDAVP) for Mild Hemophilia A and von Willebrand Disease
Authors: Esther H. Rose, Louis M. Aledort
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1991)

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a nasal spray preparation of desmopressin (DDAVP) on levels of factor VIII activity, ristocetin cofactor activity, and von Willebrand antigen as well as the length of bleeding time in patients with mild hemophilia A and von Willebrand disease; to determine whether effective hemostatic levels can be attained; and to compare the effect of this spray with that of standard intravenous desmopressin treatment. Design: Before-and-after trial in patients known to respond to intravenous desmopressin. Setting: Regional, comprehensive, hemophilia diagnosis and treatment center. Patients: A total of 22 patients, including 11 patients with von Willebrand disease, 8 patients with mild hemophilia A, and 3 symptomatic hemophilia carriers. Interventions: Patients were infused with desmopressin, 0.3 μg/kg body weight. At least 1 week later, they were taught to self-administer desmopressin nasal spray, 150 μg to each nostril. Measurements: In patients with hemophilia, the level of factor VIII activity was measured; in patients with von Willebrand disease, levels of factor VIII activity, ristocetin cofactor activity, and von Willebrand antigen as well as bleeding time were measured before and after each administration of desmopressin. Main Results: Desmopressin, when administered intravenously or intranasally, elevated levels of factor VIII, ristocetin cofactor, and von Willebrand antigen in both mildly hemophiliac patients and patients with von Willebrand disease when compared with baseline measures (P < 0.05). Factor VIII levels adequate for hemostasis were achieved by 82% of the hemophiliac patients. An abnormal bleeding time was corrected in the majority (62%) of patients with von Willebrand disease. Conclusion: A nasal spray preparation of desmopressin apparently was effective both in treating bleeding episodes and when used prophylactically for minor surgical procedures in several patients.
Rehabilitation of patients with stroke: summary of SIGN guidance
Authors: L. N. Smith, R. James, M. Barber, S. Ramsay, D. Gillespie, C. Chung
Journal: BMJ (2010)

Stroke is the third most common cause of death and the most frequent cause of severe adult disability in Scotland.1 Despite considerable advances in organised stroke care over recent years, improvements are still needed,2 because patients have been reported to spend up to 50% of their time in bed3 and only 20% of their time in treatment.4 Since publication of the previous Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline on rehabilitation after stroke (SIGN 64), several small studies have shown the effectiveness of new therapeutic techniques and technologies.5 This guideline supersedes the earlier guideline and summarises the most recent recommendations from SIGN on rehabilitation after stroke.6 It also complements SIGN guidelines 119 and 108 on other aspects of the management of stroke.7 8 SIGN recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. The strength of the evidence is graded as A, B, C, or D (figure⇓), but the grading does not reflect the clinical importance of the recommendations. Recommended best practice ("good practice points"), based on the clinical experience of the guideline development group, is also indicated (as GPP). Explanation of SIGN grades of recommendations ### Arranging appropriate care
Soluble HLA class I induces NK cell apoptosis upon the engagement of killer-activating HLA class I receptors through FasL-Fas interaction
Authors: Grazia Maria Spaggiari, Paola Contini, Alessandra Dondero, Roberta Carosio, Francesco Puppo, Francesco Indiveri, Maria Raffaella Zocchi, Alessandro Poggi
Journal: Blood (2002)
The Hospital "Dumping Syndrome": Causes and Treatment
Authors: J. F. WILDER, BYRAM KARASU, DEBORAH KLIGLER
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1972)

The authors describe a network of factors that produce and perpetuate the dumping of patients by the local hospital on the slate hospital system. A change in policy, placing local and state wards under the same administrative authority, alters the feedback process and reduces dumping. This improvement may be achieved not by adding resources but by understanding and by altering the structure of the current system.
G-protein alpha subunit Gi(alpha)2 mediates erythropoietin signal transduction in human erythroid precursors.
Authors: B A Miller, L Bell, C A Hansen, J D Robishaw, M E Linder, J Y Cheung
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1996)

Erythropoietin induces a dose-dependent increase in cytosolic calcium in human erythroblasts that is mediated by a voltage-independent Ca2+ channel. Inhibition of this response to erythropoietin by pertussis toxin suggests involvement of guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G-proteins). The role of G-proteins in regulation of the erythropoietin-modulated Ca2+ channel was delineated here by microinjection of G-protein modulators or subunits into human erythroid precursors. This is the first report on the use of microinjection to study erythropoietin signal transduction in normal precursor cells. Fura-2 loaded day-10 burst-forming units-erythroid-derived erythroblasts were used for microinjection and free intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(i)]) was measured with digital video imaging. BCECF (1,2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5-(and -6-)-carboxyfluorescein) was included in microinjectate, and an increase in BCECF fluorescence was evidence of successful microinjection. Cells were microinjected with nonhydrolyzable analogues of GTP, GTPgammaS or GDPbetaS, which maintain the alpha subunit in an activated or inactivated state, respectively. [Ca(i)] increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner after microinjection of GTPgammaS. However, injection of GDPbetaS blocked the erythropoietin-induced calcium increase, providing direct evidence that activation of a G-protein is required. To delineate which G-protein subunits are involved, alpha or betagamma transducin subunits were purified and microinjected as a sink for betagamma or alpha subunits in the erythroblast, respectively. Transducin betagamma, but not alpha, subunits eliminated the calcium response to erythropoietin, demonstrating the primary role of the alpha subunit. Microinjected antibodies to Gi(alpha)2, but not Gi(alpha)1 or Gi(alpha)3, blocked the erythropoietin-stimulated [Ca(i)] rise, identifying Gi(alpha)2 as the subunit involved. This was confirmed by the ability of microinjected recombinant myristoylated Gi(alpha)2, but not Gi(alpha)1 or Gi(alpha)3 subunits, to reconstitute the response of pertussis toxin-treated erythroblasts to erythropoietin. These data directly demonstrate a physiologic function of G-proteins in hematopoietic cells and show that Gi(alpha)2 is required in erythropoietin modulation of [Ca(i)] via influx through calcium channels.
Abstract B49: The role of LKB1 as a tumor suppressor in esophageal squamous cell cancer
Authors: Ching Tzao, An-Li Hsueh, Ban-Hen Chen, Yaw-Wen Guo, Guang-Guan Sun, Shih-Chun Lee
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract Background: LKB1, also known as STK11, encodes serine/threonine kinase 11 that is frequently mutated in the Peutz- Jeghers syndrome. LKB1 functions as a tumor suppressor in a variety of human cancers, including colon and lung. We investigated the functional role of LKB1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: Resected ESCC tumors from 65 patients were used for immunohistochemistry to determine LKB1 expression. Cytotoxicity (MTT) assay was used to test chemosensitivity to common chemotherapeutic agents for ESCC, including cisplatin, 5-FU and taxol, along with migration assay in selected ESCC cell lines (KYSE 170 and KYSE 510, kindly provided by Dr. Yutaka Shimada at University of Toyama, Japan). LKB1 was overexpressed in KYSE 170 cells and was knocked down in KYSE 510 cells using human LKB1 (pCMV6-XL5- cDNA, OriGene) and its shRNA (OriGene), respectively. Expression of LKB1, E-cadherin and p53 pathway-related proteins (ie p21 and PUMA) in LKB1-overexpessed or knock-down cells and its vector controls by Western blot analysis. Mice tumor xenografts with LKB1- overexpressed KYSE 170 cell line were used to test tumor growth and their chemosensitivity in vivo with comparisions to the vector controls. Pearson's correlation was used to correlate clinicopathologic variables with LKB1 expression along with survival analyses by log-rank test, Kaplan-Meier survivial analysis and multivariate analysis with Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: LKB1 expression correlated inversely with tumor staging (P = 0.003). Patients with high expression of LKB1 showed better survival compared to those with low expression (P = 0.0002). When further examined by multivariate analysis, LKB1 expression correlated positively with patients’ survival (P = 0.004) with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.415. Compared with vector control and LKB1 knockdown KYSE 510 cell line, cell proliferation was significantly suppressed in LKB1 overexpressed KYSE 170 cells with an upregulation of p21 and p53-upregulated modifier of apoptosis (PUMA). LKB1 overexpression increased E-cadherin expression in KYSE 170 cells with an inihibition in their migration. LKB1 overexpressed KYSE 170 cells were more sensitive to chemotherapeutic agents in vitro and in vivo compared to the vector controls. Conclusions: LKB1 expression in resected ESCC predicted patients’ outcome and it served as an independent survival predictor. LKB1 overexpression increased chemosensitivity with a decrease in cell proliferation and migration while upregulating p53-pathway related suppressors and E-cadherin in ESCC cells. Our results suggested a role of LKB1 as a tumor suppressor gene in ESCC. Citation Information: Clin Cancer Res 2010;16(14 Suppl):B49.
Genetically inherited heart disease may not show until mid-life
Authors: S. Gottlieb
Journal: BMJ (2001)

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which usually becomes apparent by early adulthood, may in some cases not show up until mid-life, researchers have confirmed.

Experts had suspected that in some people the genetic mutations that cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may not manifest themselves as disease until well into adulthood.

In the current study researchers examined 119 individuals from seven families affected by mutations in a gene called cardiac myosin binding protein C (MyBPC). After first determining which …
Adenocarcinoma of the Duodenum and the Gardner Syndrome
Authors: Paul L. Schnur
Journal: JAMA (1973)

A father and his daughter, both suffering from the Gardner syndrome, came to our attention at the same time with symptoms produced by primary carcinoma of the duodenum. Duodenal polyps were also present. Studies of these and other patients with similar features strongly suggest that these lesions may be a part of this inherited condition. Roentgenographic examination of the upper portion of the gastrointestinal tract should be a routine part of the follow-up of patients with this syndrome.
Disturbances of Heart Rate, Rhythm and Conduction
Authors: Richard Gorlin
Journal: JAMA (1962)

This book represents another in the long list of texts devoted to arrhythmias of the heart. The book is aimed primarily at students and practitioners; to this end, it is written clearly, succinctly, and with little equivocation. The number of visual aids is prodigious and, in the main, of high quality and purpose. The authors have successfully blended electrophysiologic events with their mechanical counterparts, and the emphasis on functional or hemodynamic consequences of arrhythmias is refreshing. In particular, I approve of the distinction between benign and malignant ventricular tachycardia. The latter occurs when the impulse originates in a fashion so as to compromise effective contraction with consequent fall in blood pressure and output. The mechanism is altered contractility here and not solely a function of rate which may actually be normal. On the deficit side of the ledger, any text aimed at tl._ student should have a more extensive and
Technical Failure of Biliary Metal Stent Deployment in a Series of 116 Applications
Authors: N. Bethge, H. J. Wagner, K. Knyrim, H. B. Zimmermann, E. Starck, J. Pausch, N. Vakil
Journal: Endoscopy (1992)

Biliary metal stents are thought to offer improved long-term palliation of malignant biliary obstruction due to a lower incidence of migration and clogging. Placement of these stents is technically more complicated than that of plastic endoprostheses and requires two experienced physicians. We report the incidence and reasons for apparent malfunction of expandable metal stent deployment (Wallstents® and Strecker® stents). In 116 applications of 82 Wallstents® (endoscopic approach: n = 33, transhepatic approach: n = 49), we observed 19 cases of stent malfunction due to technical problems of stent delivery. In 13 cases (15.8 %), the restraining membrane of the Wallstent® could not be retracted sufficiently to deliver the stent. There were 6 (17.6 %) failures in 34 cases of Strecker® stent deployment. In 3 cases, we noted difficult balloon removal, including avulsion of the balloon catheter shaft within the endoscope during attempted balloon removal in one case. In one case, the Strecker® stent could only be released partially, requiring subsequent endoscopic extraction. In two patients, only partial expansion of one end of the Strecker® stent could be achieved. Given the significant malfunction rate of expandable metal stents during stent delivery, further improvements in the delivery system of the metal stents are required.