tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
T’ai chi for individuals with COPD: an ancient wisdom for a 21st century disease?
Authors: Martijn A. Spruit, Michael I. Polkey
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2013)

ven when receiving optimal medical treatment, individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) commonly experience daily symptoms of dyspnoea and fatigue [1,2].Consequently exercise intolerance may render activities of daily life problematic, leading to a downward spiral in which there is a progressive reduction in physical activity [3][4][5][6][7][8].Thus, individuals with COPD can end up in a vicious circle of physical deconditioning, including loss of lower limb muscle mass and strength, loss of balance and osteoporosis [8][9][10][11].
Division of Autonomic Nerves Within the Neurovascular Bundles Distally into Corpora Cavernosa and Corpus Spongiosum Components: Immunohistochemical Confirmation with Three-Dimensional Reconstruction
Authors: Bayan Alsaid, Thomas Bessede, Djibril Diallo, David Moszkowicz, Ibrahim Karam, Gérard Benoit, Stéphane Droupy
Journal: European Urology (2011)
Injuries and illnesses of football players during the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Authors: Jiri Dvorak, Astrid Junge, Wayne Derman, Martin Schwellnus
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2011)

Background The incidence and characteristics of football injuries during matches in top-level international tournaments are well documented, but training injuries and illnesses during this period have rarely been studied. Aim To analyse the incidence and characteristics of injuries and illnesses incurred during the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. Methods The chief physicians of the 32 finalist teams reported daily all newly incurred injuries and illnesses of their players on a standardised medical report form. Results Out of 229 injuries reported, 82 match and 58 training injuries were expected to result in time loss, equivalent to an incidence of 40.1 match and 4.4 training injuries per 1000 h. Contact with another player was the most frequent cause of match (65%) and of training (40%) injuries. The most frequent diagnoses were thigh strain and ankle sprain. 99 illnesses of 89 (12%) players were reported. Illnesses were mainly infections of the respiratory or the digestive system. Most illnesses did not result in absence from training or match. The incidence of time-loss illnesses was 3.0 per 1000 player days. Conclusion The incidence of match injuries during the 2010 FIFA World Cup was significantly lower than in the three proceeding World Cups. This might be a result of more regard to injury prevention, less foul play and stricter refereeing. Tackling skills and fair play need to be improved to prevent contact injuries in training and matches. Prevention of illness should focus on reducing the risk of infections by considering the common modes of transmission and environmental conditions.
Occupational asthma evaluation
Authors: D Fishwick
Journal: Thorax (2003)

We read with interest the paper by Baldwin et al 1 on the level of agreement between expert clinicians and OASYS software when making a diagnosis of occupational asthma. Our clinical unit uses OASYS plotting regularly, and finds it of great use as one element of the diagnostic toolkit available for the confirmation of a diagnosis of occupational asthma.

We were interested to note that there was a low level of agreement between experts and OASYS when peak expiratory flow (PEF) records were interpreted, but agreement within experts was better. We would be interested to know whether the information provided to the experts on the nature of the work was used in determining their final outcome—that is, if an individual was working with a known sensitiser or was in a perceived high risk job, did this influence the outcome more than the graphical and mathematical data?

In the clinical setting a decision is made to perform regular PEF monitoring in those patients who are thought to have a reasonable chance of having occupational asthma, as judged …
Totally drug-resistant tuberculosis strains: evidence of adaptation at the cellular level
Authors: A. A. Velayati, P. Farnia, M. R. Masjedi, T. A. Ibrahim, P. Tabarsi, R. Z. Haroun, H. O. Kuan, J. Ghanavi, P. Farnia, M. Varahram
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2009)

and reliable laboratory detection of drug-resistant TB cases.
Upregulation of basic fibroblast growth factor in smokers with chronic bronchitis
Authors: F. Guddo, A. M. Vignola, M. Saetta, S. Baraldo, L. Siena, E. Balestro, R. Zuin, A. Papi, P. Maestrelli, L. M. Fabbri, G. Bonsignore, G. Turato
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2006)

The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and its receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)-1, in the central airways of smokers with chronic bronchitis. The lobar bronchi from 17 subjects undergoing thoracotomy for solitary nodules were examined. All had a history of cigarette smoking, nine had symptoms of chronic bronchitis and airflow limitation, and eight were asymptomatic with normal lung function. Using immunohistochemical methods, bFGF and FGFR-1 expression in the total airway wall and the different airway compartments, i.e. bronchial glands, submucosal vessels and smooth muscle, was quantified. Moreover, to investigate the role of bFGF in angiogenesis, the number of submucosal vessels was quantified. Smokers with chronic bronchitis had an increased bFGF expression in the total airway wall compared with asymptomatic smokers, which was mainly due to bFGF upregulation in bronchial glands. By contrast, the expression of FGFR-1 and the number of submucosal vessels was similar in the two groups of subjects examined. In conclusion, smokers with chronic bronchitis have an increased expression of basic fibroblast growth factor in the central airways, which is mainly due to an increased expression in bronchial glands, suggesting the involvement of this growth factor in the pathogenesis of chronic bronchitis.
Drug Abuse in African American and Hispanic Adolescents: Culture, Development, and Behavior
Authors: José Szapocznik, Guillermo Prado, Ann Kathleen Burlew, Robert A. Williams, Daniel A. Santisteban
Journal: Annual Review of Clinical Psychology (2007)

An understanding of African American and Hispanic adolescent drug abuse occurs at the intersection of context, development, and behavior. The focus of this review is on the impact of racial/ethnic culture as one of the important contexts that influence adolescent development toward or away from prosocial behaviors. Because family plays a major role in both African American and Hispanic cultures, it is also a centerpiece of any discussion of adolescent development in these groups. This review on the state of the science in drug abuse for African American and Hispanic adolescents focuses on epidemiology, culturally specific risk and protective processes, and prevention and treatment research. From the perspective of a broad lens, specific minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics would appear to have more in common than not. However, each of these groups encompasses considerable genetic, historical, social, and cultural heterogeneity. Investigation across such diversity will yield a more complete picture of the human condition.
An Address ON THE PART OF THE PRACTITIONER IN THE TREATMENT OF THE PRE-OPERATIVE STAGE OF ENLARGED PROSTATE
Authors: J. W. T. Walker
Journal: BMJ (1921)

IN surgery it is always easy to be wise after the event.Prostatic surgery supplies us with many examples of this truth, and anyone who thinks out the cause of post-opera- tive disappointments and failures must at times regret that more care was not taken in pre-operative treatment.The greater the experience I gain in prostatectomy the more I am impressed bv the fact that many of the com.plications of prostatectomy are preventable by pre-opera- tive treatment.There are complications against which no provision can give immunity.We cannot, for instance, avoid the occurrence of pulmonary embolism in a prac- tically clean case.We cannot avoid cardiac failure whiclh occurs days or weeks after the operation, or renal failure wlhere the kidneys have been destroyed beyond the point of recovery.But we can prevent or modify some of the bowel complications or kidney complications and some of the other complications by careful pre-operative examina- tion and preliminary treatment.And it is along these lines that the practitioner can do so much to help 'in reducing the mortality of prostatie enlargement.The risks to which a patient suffering from enlarged prostate, wlhether he be submitted to operation or treated without operation, is exposed, are not confined entirely to the urinary organs.They may be arranged for discuission under different systems:1. Gastro-intestinal risks.2. Pulmonary risks.3-.Circulatory risks.4. Nervous systemn risks.5. Urinary risks.GASTRO-INTESTINAL RIsKs.will first relate a case of gastro-intestinal complication following operation, and then discuss the subject.A. S. B., aged 60, complained of frequent micturition and neuritis of the right arm.He was known to have a high blood pressure (180), and had had hiis teeth removed as a possible soturce of infection for his neuritis.There had been several attacks of retention of urine during the past two y-ears.He was a stout, short-necked man with a predominant abdomen.The frequency of micturition amounted to twentyminutes during the day and five or six tines at night.There was urgency,hiesitation at the commencement and difficulty in the act.The urinewas clear, and there was about oine ounce of residualurine.The urine contained only ] per cent. of urea, but thl e quantity was normal.The prostate was large, elastic, movable and prominent in the rectum.The kidneys were not palpable or tender.He showed no clinical signs of uraemia.His appetite sias large, and there was a tendency to constipation.Flatulent distension of the abdomen was common after meals.Apart from the enlarged prostate, bowel distension, the high blood
Carbonic Anhydrase IX Expression and Tumor Oxygenation Status Do Not Correlate at the Microregional Level in Locally Advanced Cancers of the Uterine Cervix
Authors: Arnulf Mayer, Michael Höckel, Peter Vaupel
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2005)

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) can be induced by hypoxia in vitro and shows an immunohistochemical expression pattern that is predominantly found in perinecrotic tumor areas and correlates with exogenous markers of hypoxia, such as pimonidazole. CA IX might therefore serve as an endogenous marker of tumor hypoxia, although comparisons of CA IX immunostaining with direct oxygenation measurements using pO2 microsensors have thus far yielded contradictory results.Because tumor heterogeneity may be among the factors responsible for the discrepancy between the two methods, CA IX expression in tissue samples originating from oxygen microelectrode tracks of locally advanced cervical cancers was assessed in this study. Seventy-seven biopsy specimens were analyzed immunohistochemically using an anti-CA IX rabbit polyclonal antibody and semiquantitative scoring.CA IX expression showed no correlation with the oxygenation variables median pO2 and hypoxic fraction 2.5, 5, or 10. Cases with higher International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages (IIb-IVa) exhibited stronger expression of CA IX (P = 0.035) and CA IX expression tended to be more prevalent in node-positive patients (P = 0.051).These data indicate that CA IX cannot be recommended as a substitute for oxygen microelectrode measurements. That the expression of CA IX does not correlate with the oxygenation status may be due to the degree to which other factors, such as nutrient (e.g., glucose) deficiency or the action of oncogenic mutations, can modulate the in vivo expression of this protein, rendering a strict association with tumor hypoxia too unreliable for clinical use.
Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE): explanation and elaboration.
Authors: Jan P Vandenbroucke, Erik von Elm, Douglas G Altman, Peter C Gøtzsche, Cynthia D Mulrow, Stuart J Pocock, Charles Poole, James J Schlesselman, Matthias Egger
Journal: International Journal of Surgery (2014)

Much medical research is observational. The reporting of observational studies is often of insufficient quality. Poor reporting hampers the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a study and the generalisability of its results. Taking into account empirical evidence and theoretical considerations, a group of methodologists, researchers, and editors developed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) recommendations to improve the quality of reporting of observational studies. The STROBE Statement consists of a checklist of 22 items, which relate to the title, abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion sections of articles. Eighteen items are common to cohort studies, case-control studies and cross-sectional studies and four are specific to each of the three study designs. The STROBE Statement provides guidance to authors about how to improve the reporting of observational studies and facilitates critical appraisal and interpretation of studies by reviewers, journal editors and readers. This explanatory and elaboration document is intended to enhance the use, understanding, and dissemination of the STROBE Statement. The meaning and rationale for each checklist item are presented. For each item, one or several published examples and, where possible, references to relevant empirical studies and methodological literature are provided. Examples of useful flow diagrams are also included. The STROBE Statement, this document, and the associated Web site (http://www.strobe-statement.org/) should be helpful resources to improve reporting of observational research.
International Variation in Screening Mammography Interpretations in Community-Based Programs
Authors: J. G. Elmore, C. Y. Nakano, T. D. Koepsell, L. M. Desnick, C. J. D'Orsi, D. F. Ransohoff
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2003)

Background: Variations in mammography interpretations may have important clinical and economic implications. To evaluate international variability in mammography interpretation, we analyzed published reports from community-based screening programs from around the world. Methods: A total of 32 publications were identified in MEDLINE that fit the study inclusion criteria. Data abstracted from the publications included features of the population screened, examination technique, and clinical outcomes, including the percentage of mammograms judged to be abnormal, positive predictive value of an abnormal mammogram (PPVA), positive predictive value of a biopsy performed (PPVB), and percentages of breast cancer patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and minimal disease (DCIS and/or tumor size ≤10 mm). North American screening programs were compared with those from other countries using meta-regression analysis. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Wide ranges were noted for the percentage of mammograms judged to be abnormal (1.2%–15.0%), for PPVA (3.4%–48.7%), for PPVB (5.0%–85.2%), for percentage diagnosed with DCIS (4.3%–68.1%), and for percentage diagnosed with minimal disease (14.0%–80.6%). The percentage of mammograms judged to be abnormal were 2–4 percentage points higher in North American screening programs than they were in programs from other countries, after adjusting for covariates such as percentage of women who were less than 50 years of age and calendar year in which the mammogram was performed. The percentage of mammograms judged to be abnormal had a negative association with PPVA and PPVB (both P<.001) and a positive association with the frequency of DCIS cases diagnosed (P = .008) and the number of DCIS cases diagnosed per 1000 screens (P = .024); no consistent relationship was observed with the proportion of breast cancer diagnoses reported as having minimal disease or the number of minimal disease cases diagnosed per 1000 screens. Conclusion: North American screening programs appear to interpret a higher percentage of mammograms as abnormal than programs from other countries without evident benefit in the yield of cancers detected per 1000 screens, although an increase in DCIS detection was noted.
Reconstitution of Ancestral Green Visual Pigments of Zebrafish and Molecular Mechanism of Their Spectral Differentiation
Authors: A. Chinen
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2005)

We previously reported that zebrafish have four tandemly duplicated green (RH2) opsin genes (RH2-1, RH2-2, RH2-3, and RH2-4). Absorption spectra vary widely among the four photopigments reconstituted with 11-cis retinal, with their peak absorption spectra (lambda(max)) being 467, 476, 488, and 505 nm, respectively. In this study, we inferred the ancestral amino acid (aa) sequences of the zebrafish RH2 opsins by likelihood-based Bayesian statistics and reconstituted the ancestral opsins by site-directed mutagenesis. The ancestral pigment (A1) to the four zebrafish RH2 pigments and that (A3) to RH2-3 and RH2-4 showed lambda(max) at 506 nm, while that (A2) to RH2-1 and RH2-2 showed a lambda(max) at 474 nm, indicating that a spectral shift had occurred toward the shorter wavelength on the evolutionary lineages A1 to A2 by 32 nm, A2 to RH2-1 by 7 nm, and A3 to RH2-3 by 18 nm. Pigment chimeras and site-directed mutagenesis revealed a large contribution (approximately 15 nm) of glutamic acid to glutamine substitution at residue 122 (E122Q) to the A1 to A2 and A3 to RH2-3 spectral shifts. However, the remaining spectral differences appeared to result from complex interactive effects of a number of aa replacements, each of which has only a minor spectral contribution (1-3 nm). The four zebrafish RH2 pigments cover nearly an entire range of lambda(max) distribution among vertebrate RH2 pigments and provide an excellent model to study spectral tuning mechanisms of RH2 in vertebrates.
Clinical efficacy of sublingual and subcutaneous birch pollen allergen‐specific immunotherapy: a randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, double‐dummy study
Authors: M. S. Khinchi, L. K. Poulsen, F. Carat, C. André, A. B. Hansen, H.‐J. Malling
Journal: Allergy (2003)

Background: Both sublingual allergen‐specific immunotherapy (SLIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) have a documented clinical efficacy, but only few comparative studies have been performed. Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of SLIT vs SCIT and secondary to compare SLIT and SCIT with placebo and to evaluate the relative clinical efficacy in relation to systemic side‐effects. Methods: A 3‐year randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, double‐dummy study including 71 adult birch pollen hay fever patients treated for two consecutive years after a baseline year. Allocation to treatment groups was based on disease severity in the baseline season, gender and age. Results: Clinical efficacy was estimated in 58 patients completing the first treatment year by subtracting baseline data and by calculating the ratio first treatment season vs baseline. SLIT diminished the median disease severity to one‐half and SCIT to one‐third of placebo treatment. No statistical significant difference between the two groups was observed. Both for symptoms and medication scores actively treated patients showed statistically significant and clinical relevant efficacy compared with placebo. SLIT treatment only resulted in local mild side‐effects, while SCIT resulted in few serious systemic side‐effects. Conclusion: Based on the limited number of patients the clinical efficacy of SLIT was not statistically different from SCIT, and both treatments are clinically effective compared with placebo in the treatment of birch pollen rhinoconjunctivitis. The lack of significant difference between the two treatments does not indicate equivalent efficacy, but to detect minor differences necessitates investigation of larger groups. Due to the advantageous safety profile SLIT may be favored.
Effects of Postmenopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy on HbA1c Levels
Authors: Mayumi Okada, Seiji Nomura, Yoko Ikoma, Eiko Yamamoto, Tomomi Ito, Takashi Mitsui, Koji Tamakoshi, Shigehiko Mizutani
Journal: Diabetes Care (2003)

Estrogen seems to contribute to glucose homeostasis in women. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on HbA(1c) levels in Japanese postmenopausal women and to determine whether the effects varied with age.We studied 99 postmenopausal women taking HRT (mean +/- SD age 56.5 +/- 6.9 years, BMI 21.5 +/- 2.3 kg/m(2)) and 101 postmenopausal women not on HRT (51.4 +/- 6.1 years, 21.3 +/- 2.4 kg/m(2)). HRT consisted of continuous conjugated equine estrogen (CEE; 0.625 mg/day) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA; 2.5 mg/day) for >2 years.HbA(1c) levels are positively associated with age and BMI in women who use HRT as well as in those who do not use HRT. After adjusting for age and BMI, HRT showed no effects on HbA(1c) levels. However, HbA(1c) levels were significantly lower in postmenopausal women aged 40-49 years who were taking HRT than in women of similar age who were not taking HRT (mean +/- SE 4.776 +/- 0.092 vs. 5.096 +/- 0.078%, P < 0.05). No differences in HbA(1c) levels between women who did and did not use HRT were observed in those older than 50 years.Oral HRT involving CEE combined with MPA may decrease HbA(1c) levels in women aged 40-49 years and is likely to have no adverse effects on HbA(1c) levels in women older than 50 years.
Noninvasive Detection of Clinically Occult Lymph-Node Metastases in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Mukesh G. Harisinghani, Jelle Barentsz, Peter F. Hahn, Willem M. Deserno, Shahin Tabatabaei, Christine Hulsbergen van de Kaa, Jean de la Rosette, Ralph Weissleder
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2003)

Accurate detection of lymph-node metastases in prostate cancer is an essential component of the approach to treatment. We investigated whether highly lymphotropic superparamagnetic nanoparticles, which gain access to lymph nodes by means of interstitial–lymphatic fluid transport, could be used in conjunction with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to reveal small nodal metastases.