tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Detection of right ventricular dysfunction by tissue Doppler imaging in asymptomatic patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis
Authors: E. Gialafos, A. Rapti, V. Kouranos, K. Aggeli, T.G. Papaioannou, A. Kallianos, G. Siasos, C. Kostopoulos, C. Stefanadis
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2010)

To the Editors:

Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a relatively new ultrasound modality in echocardiography, which is used to detect left and right ventricular functional abnormalities early and accurately by recording systolic and diastolic velocities of the mitral and tricuspidal annulus, respectively. The value of this method has been corroborated on numerous studies describing right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in a variety of systemic diseases with pulmonary and/or cardiovascular involvement 1.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown aetiology characterised by cardiorespiratory manifestations, among others. RV dysfunction is often apparent but not clinically recognised until pulmonary hypertension has been developed 2. The purpose of this study was to evaluate RV function in patients with sarcoidosis by the use of ultrasound, including the TDI modality, and correlate it with clinical, respiratory and cardiac parameters.

We conducted an observational case–control study. Consecutive sarcoidosis patients were recruited from the outpatient Sarcoidosis Clinic of the General Hospital of Chest Diseases of Athens, Athens, Greece between October 2007 and June 2008. The primary criterion for enrolment was the presence of biopsy-proven pulmonary sarcoidosis without the presence of cardiac involvement, according to the modified criteria of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare 3. The exclusion criterion was the presence of any associated disease that could influence systolic and/or diastolic properties of the heart. Subgroup analyses were performed with the patients divided in two groups based on the therapy administered: a subgroup with patients who did not receive any therapy and a subgroup with patients who received any kind of therapy (cortisone, etc .). Those who did not receive any medication were further classified into groups according to the disease stage at which the patients originally presented. All patients were compared to healthy volunteers. The two groups (patients and healthy controls) were age-, …
Significance of effect of beta blockade on ventilatory function in normal and asthmatic subjects
Authors: R. S. Jones
Journal: Thorax (1972)

The lability index was examined in 45 normal subjects between 17 and 45 years and also in six patients with asthma, five with a history of asthma in childhood but no clinical attacks, and three with hay fever. The measurements were repeated after β blockade with propranolol. Fifteen per cent of the normal subjects exhibited a degree of lability after propranolol which has been previously found only in asthma. It is suggested that a constrictor mechanism exists in normal subjects on exercise but that β receptor activity protects them from bronchiolar constriction; post-exercise bronchoconstriction in the asthmatic may be explained in terms of this mechanism. It is also suggested that a proportion of `normal9 subjects are potentially more labile than the remainder of the population and that it is these who may develop clinical asthma if they also happen to be atopic subjects.
Enhanced Efferocytosis of Apoptotic Cardiomyocytes Through Myeloid-Epithelial-Reproductive Tyrosine Kinase Links Acute Inflammation Resolution to Cardiac Repair After Infarction
Authors: Elaine Wan, Xin Yi Yeap, Shirley Dehn, Rachael Terry, Margaret Novak, Shuang Zhang, Shinichi Iwata, Xiaoqiang Han, Shunichi Homma, Konstantinos Drosatos, Jon Lomasney, David M. Engman, Stephen D. Miller, Douglas E. Vaughan, John P. Morrow, Raj Kishore, Edward B. Thorp
Journal: Circulation Research (2013)

Rationale: Efficient clearance of apoptotic cells (efferocytosis) is a prerequisite for inflammation resolution and tissue repair. After myocardial infarction, phagocytes are recruited to the heart and promote clearance of dying cardiomyocytes. The molecular mechanisms of efferocytosis of cardiomyocytes and in the myocardium are unknown. The injured heart provides a unique model to examine relationships between efferocytosis and subsequent inflammation resolution, tissue remodeling, and organ function. Objective: We set out to identify mechanisms of dying cardiomyocyte engulfment by phagocytes and, for the first time, to assess the causal significance of disrupting efferocytosis during myocardial infarction. Methods and Results: In contrast to other apoptotic cell receptors, macrophage myeloid-epithelial-reproductive tyrosine kinase was necessary and sufficient for efferocytosis of cardiomyocytes ex vivo. In mice, Mertk was specifically induced in Ly6c LO myocardial phagocytes after experimental coronary occlusion. Mertk deficiency led to an accumulation of apoptotic cardiomyocytes, independently of changes in noncardiomyocytes, and a reduced index of in vivo efferocytosis. Importantly, suppressed efferocytosis preceded increases in myocardial infarct size and led to delayed inflammation resolution and reduced systolic performance. Reduced cardiac function was reproduced in chimeric mice deficient in bone marrow Mertk ; reciprocal transplantation of Mertk +/+ marrow into Mertk −/− mice corrected systolic dysfunction. Interestingly, an inactivated form of myeloid-epithelial-reproductive tyrosine kinase, known as solMER, was identified in infarcted myocardium, implicating a natural mechanism of myeloid-epithelial-reproductive tyrosine kinase inactivation after myocardial infarction. Conclusions: These data collectively and directly link efferocytosis to wound healing in the heart and identify Mertk as a significant link between acute inflammation resolution and organ function.
The enhancement of bone regeneration by gene activated matrix encoding for platelet derived growth factor
Authors: Satheesh Elangovan, Sheetal R. D'Mello, Liu Hong, Ryan D. Ross, Chantal Allamargot, Deborah V. Dawson, Clark M. Stanford, Georgia K. Johnson, D. Rick Sumner, Aliasger K. Salem
Journal: Biomaterials (2013)
NASAL DIPHTHERIA AFTER ENUCLEATION OF THE TONSILS
Authors: B. S. Jones
Journal: BMJ (1922)

TIITTL a spoon and fork.It was -tlen too late to take an x-ray photograph, so the operation was proceeded witl.-Anincision was made in the right linea semilunaris, anid on opening the peritoneum the caecum was exposed witlh a teaspoon ini- pacted in the ileo-caecal valve.An incision :vas made in the smnall intesti-ne, the spoan was extracted, and tlhe aporture closed with two layers of catgut suttire.The appenidix was acutely inflamned and perforated at thje apex, but was not adherent.This was removed and the stump dealt witlh in the usual way; the appendix contained no foreign body.The pelvis contained very offensive purulent flLid; a coil of the ileum was adherent to the back of the uterus, and more foreign odies could be felt in this portion of the intestine.The abdominal incision was enlarged down to the pubis to gain access to thisloop of bowel.Tllis was separated from the uterus, and was brought up to the surface and packed off from the rest of the abdomeni.Tlle intestinal.wall was acutely inflamed, coveied witlh lymplh, and perforated in several places.-Withla pair of scissors a 5-inclh incision was made to include-all visible perforations, and tlhrough: this the following foreign bodies were removed: three pennies, three halfpennies, three pieces of spoon, the handle of a fork, one screw, one darning needle (broken), tWo tacks, one trouser
Pleuropneumonia-Like Organisms and Arthritis
Authors: G. M. Findlay
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1946)

Investigations into rheumatic diseases in man have to some extent been handicapped by the absence of spontaneous and easily reproducible arthropathies in animals.Certain strains of pleuropneumonialike organisms now provide a means of setting up an infectious arthritis in rodents, which, though possibly unrelated to rheumatic fever and rheumatoid arthritis in man, may well serve to throw fresh light on human joint infections.A brief summary of our present knowledge of pleuropneumonia-like organisms may not be without interest.The Pleuropneumonia-like Organisms The first member of this group was described by Nocard and his colleagues as long ago as 1898, when they cultivated but were unable to see the causal agent of bovine pleuropneumonia.In 1910 Bordet stained the organisms by Giemsa's method and described their pleomorphism, as also did Borrel and his colleagues (1910) who, in view of the morphology which they observed, gave them the name Asterococcus.The fact that Berkefeld and Chamberland filtrates were infective gave grounds for believing that these organisms could be classified among the filtrable viruses.The second filtrable organism of the group, derived from sheep suffering from contagious agalactia, was first seen by Celli and de Blasi in 1906: it was later cultivated by Bridre and Donatien (1923 and 1925).Both these organisms can be grown in a variety of media provided that a high concentration of animal protein is present.* This paper was read before a meeting of the Heberden Society on October 25, 1946.Owing to non-delivery of paper supplies and a consequent long delay in the publication of the September issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, it became possible to include in it this paper, and also the account of the Heberden Society meeting held on October 25 (see p. 17 7).on Asterococcus canis, leave no doubt that these organisms from dogs belong to the pleuropneumonialike group: it is, however, very doubtful whether they play anything more than a secondary r6le in the aetiology of canine distemper.In 1935 Klieneberger reported that a pleuropneumonia-like organism, now known as L1, existed as a symbiont of Streptobacillus monilifornzis (Actinomyces muris), with which it was found growing in culture.Since then a number of these those other members of the group which have no relation to, or association with, organisms such as Streptobacillus moniliformis.
CpG methylation profiling in VHL related and VHL unrelated renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Fiona E McRonald, Mark R Morris, Dean Gentle, Laura Winchester, Dilair Baban, Jiannis Ragoussis, Noel W Clarke, Michael D Brown, Takeshi Kishida, Masahiro Yao, Farida Latif, Eamonn R Maher
Journal: Molecular Cancer (2009)

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is histopathologically heterogeneous with clear cell and papillary the most common subtypes. The most frequent molecular abnormality in clear cell RCC is VHL inactivation but promoter methylation of tumour suppressor genes is common in both subtypes of RCC. To investigate whether RCC CpG methylation status was influenced by histopathology and VHL status we performed high-throughput epigenetic profiling using the Illumina Goldengate Methylation Array in 62 RCC (29 RCC from von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease patients, 20 sporadic clear cell RCC with wild type VHL and 13 sporadic papillary RCC).43 genes were methylated in >20% of primary RCC (range 20-45%) and most (37/43) of these had not been reported previously to be methylated in RCC. The distribution of the number of methylated CpGs in individual tumours differed from the expected Poisson distribution (p < 0.00001; log-likelihood G test) suggesting that a subset of RCC displayed a CpG Island Methylator Phenotype. Comparison of RCC subtypes revealed that, on average, tumour specific CpG methylation was most prevalent in papillary RCC and least in VHL RCC. Many of the genes preferentially methylated in pRCC were linked to TGFbeta or ERK/Akt signalling.These findings demonstrate differing patterns of tumour-specific CpG methylation in VHL and non VHL clear cell RCC and papillary RCC, and identify multiple novel potential CpG methylation biomarkers for RCC.
Discontinuation of long-term NA therapy in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B
Authors: Stephanos Hadziyannis, Yun-Fan Liaw
Journal: Gut (2014)

We read the article of Seto et al 1 and we were really surprised by a very high rate of virological relapse (91%), much higher than 58% in a similar study by Jeng et al ,2 and their conclusion that “the high rates of virologic relapse suggest that nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy should be continued indefinitely until the recognised treatment endpoint of HBsAg seroclearance”.

However, in hitherto conducted studies in Asian and Western patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B, virological relapses alone defined as HBV DNA >2000 IU/mL with normal ALT levels, have first been monitored at frequent intervals while initiation of NA therapy again was considered only if ALT levels also increased >2× upper limit of …
Phase II Trial of Erlotinib in Gastroesophageal Junction and Gastric Adenocarcinomas: SWOG 0127
Authors: Tomislav Dragovich, Sheryl McCoy, Cecilia M. Fenoglio-Preiser, Jiang Wang, Jacqueline K. Benedetti, Amanda F. Baker, Christopher B. Hackett, Susan G. Urba, Ken S. Zaner, Charles D. Blanke, James L. Abbruzzese
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2006)

A phase II trial of the oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor erlotinib in patients with gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas stratified according to primary tumor location into two groups: gastroesophageal junction (GEJ)/cardia and distal gastric adenocarcinomas.Patients with a histologically proven diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the GEJ or stomach (ST) that was unresectable or metastatic; presence of measurable disease; no prior chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic cancer; Zubrod performance status (PS) of 0 to 1; and adequate renal, hepatic, and hematologic function were treated with erlotinib 150 mg/d orally. Patient characteristics were median age, GEJ-63 years, ST-64 years; sex, GEJ-84% male and 16% female, ST-60 male and 40 female; Zubrod PS, GEJ-25 had a PS of 0 and 18 had a PS 1, ST-13 had a PS of 0 and 12 had a PS of 1.Percentage of common toxicities were skin rash, 86% and 72%; fatigue, 51% and 44%; and AST/ALT elevation, 28% and 28%, respectively for GEJ and ST. There has been one confirmed complete response, three confirmed partial responses (PRs) and one unconfirmed PR for an overall response probability of 9% confirmed (95% CI, 3% to 22%), all occurring in GEJ stratum. No responses were observed in ST stratum. The median survival was 6.7 months in GEJ and 3.5 months in ST stratum. Neither intratumoral EGFR, transforming growth factor-alpha or phosphorylated Akt kinase expression nor plasma proteomic analyses were predictive of clinical outcome. No somatic mutations of the EGFR exons 18, 19, or 21 were detected and there was no gross amplification of EGFR by fluorescence in situ hybridization.Erlotinib is active in patients with GEJ adenocarcinomas, but appears inactive in gastric cancers. The molecular correlates examined were not predictive of the patient therapeutic response.
Left Ventricular Geometry in Children with Mild to Moderate Chronic Renal Insufficiency
Authors: Maria Chiara Matteucci, Elke Wühl, Stefano Picca, Antonio Mastrostefano, Gabriele Rinelli, Carmela Romano, Gianfranco Rizzoni, Otto Mehls, Giovanni de Simone, Franz Schaefer
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2005)

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the most important independent marker of cardiovascular risk in adults with chronic kidney disease. Cardiovascular morbidity seems increased even in children with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI), but the age and stage of CRI when cardiac alterations become manifest are unknown. For assessing the prevalence and factors associated with abnormal LV geometry in children with CRI, echocardiograms, ambulatory BP monitoring, and biochemical profiles were obtained in 156 children aged 3 to 18 yr with stages 2 through 4 chronic kidney disease (GFR 49 ± 19 ml/min per 1.73 m2) and compared with echocardiograms obtained in 133 healthy children of comparable age and gender. LV mass was indexed to height2.7. Concentric LV remodeling was observed in 10.2%, concentric LVH in 12.1%, and eccentric LVH in 21% of patients. LVH was more common in boys (43.3 versus 19.4%; P < 0.005). Probability of LVH independently increased with male gender (odds ratio [OR] 2.62; P < 0.05) and standardized body mass index (OR 1.56; P = 0.01). Low hemoglobin, low GFR, young age, and high body mass index were independent correlates of LV mass index (0.005 < P < 0.05). LV concentricity (relative wall thickness) was positively associated with serum albumin (P < 0.05). Probability of abnormal LV geometry increased with C-reactive protein >10 mg/dl (OR 26; P < 0.001). In conclusion, substantial cardiac remodeling of both concentric and eccentric type is present at young age and early stages of CRI in children. Prevalence of LVH is related to male gender, anemia, and ponderosity but not to BP. Additional effects of volume status and inflammation on cardiac geometry are also evident.
Compensating Children with Vaccine-Related Injuries
Authors: John K. Iglehart
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1987)

The federal immunization program, by virtually all economic, medical, and political measures, is a stunning success story because of its record of protecting millions of children against the common infectious diseases of the young. But in recent years the program has come under a legal cloud that is threatening its stability, slowing the development of new vaccines, and sending vaccine prices sharply upward. To address these problems, Congress has created a new federal program to compensate children who suffer vaccine-related injuries, but how it will be funded and whether it will achieve its goals remain open questions.The legal cloud . . .
Temozolomide-Mediated Radiosensitization of Human Glioma Cells in a Zebrafish Embryonic System
Authors: Geoffrey A. Geiger, Weili Fu, Gary D. Kao
Journal: Cancer Research (2008)

Abstract The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a popular vertebrate model for biomedical research. The rapid development, transparency, and experimental accessibility of the embryo offer opportunities for assessing the developmental effects of anticancer treatment strategies. We therefore systematically investigated parameters for growing U251 human glioma cells expressing red fluorescent protein (U251-RFP) in zebrafish embryos. Factors optimized include injection volume, number of cells injected, anatomic site of injection, age of the embryo at the time of injection, and postinjection incubation temperature. After injection into the embryos, the U251-RFP cells proliferated and the resultant tumors, and even individual cells, could be visualized in real-time via fluorescence microscopy without the need for sacrifice. These tumors recruited host zebrafish vasculature, suggesting cancer cell–host tissue interactions. Having optimized parameters for introducing and growing these human cells in the zebrafish embryos, we exposed both embryos and transplanted cancer cells to ionizing radiation and temozolomide, either alone or in combination. The human tumors in each embryo were substantially diminished following exposure to ionizing radiation and the decrease was further enhanced by pretreatment with temozolomide. In contrast, temozolomide had no discernible effects on embryonic development. These results together support the relative safety of temozolomide during embryonic development, as well as its anticancer efficacy when combined with radiation. These results suggest the value of the zebrafish model for in vivo testing of the efficacy and safety of anticancer strategies, especially on the very young. [Cancer Res 2008;68(9):3396–404]
Sensory level electrical muscle stimulation: effect on markers of muscle injury
Authors: T J McLoughlin, A R Snyder, P G Brolinson, F X Pizza
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2004)

Background: Monophasic high voltage stimulation (MHVS) is widely prescribed for the treatment of inflammation associated with muscle injury. However, limited scientific evidence exists to support its purported benefits in humans. Objective: To examine the efficacy of early initiation of MHVS treatment after muscle injury. Methods: In a randomised, cross over design, 14 men performed repetitive eccentric contractions of the elbow flexor muscles followed by either MHVS or control treatment. MHVS treatments were applied five minutes and 3, 6, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours after eccentric contractions. Results: MHVS resulted in a significant reduction (p&lt;0.05) in delayed onset muscle soreness 24 hours after eccentric exercise compared with controls. Elbow extension was significantly increased immediately after administration of MHVS compared with controls. No significant differences were observed between MHVS treatment and controls for maximal isometric strength, flexed arm angle, or arm volume. Conclusions: Early and frequent application of MHVS may provide transient relief from delayed onset muscle soreness and short term improvements in range of motion after injurious exercise. However, MHVS treatment may not enhance recovery after muscle injury because of lack of improvements in strength and active range of motion.
Management of gastrointestinal and liver diseases during pregnancy
Authors: C Janneke van der Woude, Herold J Metselaar, Silvio Danese
Journal: Gut (2014)

In the majority of patients with chronic gastrointestinal and liver diseases, maintenance therapy is required during pregnancy to control the disease, and disease follow-up or disease control might necessitate endoscopy. Evidence on the safety of drugs and imaging techniques during pregnancy is scarce and sometimes difficult to interpret. In this review we summarise existing literature with the aim of optimising counselling of patients with common chronic gastrointestinal and liver diseases who want to conceive.