tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Community Health Workers in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Countries: An Overview of Their History, Recent Evolution, and Current Effectiveness
Authors: Henry B. Perry, Rose Zulliger, Michael M. Rogers
Journal: Annual Review of Public Health (2014)

Over the past half-century, community health workers (CHWs) have been a growing force for extending health care and improving the health of populations. Following their introduction in the 1970s, many large-scale CHW programs declined during the 1980s, but CHW programs throughout the world more recently have seen marked growth. Research and evaluations conducted predominantly during the past two decades offer compelling evidence that CHWs are critical for helping health systems achieve their potential, regardless of a country's level of development. In low-income countries, CHWs can make major improvements in health priority areas, including reducing childhood undernutrition, improving maternal and child health, expanding access to family-planning services, and contributing to the control of HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis infections. In many middle-income countries, most notably Brazil, CHWs are key members of the health team and essential for the provision of primary health care and health promotion. In the United States, evidence indicates that CHWs can contribute to reducing the disease burden by participating in the management of hypertension, in the reduction of cardiovascular risk factors, in diabetes control, in the management of HIV infection, and in cancer screening, particularly with hard-to-reach subpopulations. This review highlights the history of CHW programs around the world and their growing importance in achieving health for all.
RhoB Differentially Controls Akt Function in Tumor Cells and Stromal Endothelial Cells during Breast Tumorigenesis
Authors: Shiva Kazerounian, Damien Gerald, Minzhou Huang, Y. Rebecca Chin, Durga Udayakumar, Ningning Zheng, Rebekah K. O'Donnell, Carole Perruzzi, Lee Mangiante, Jacob Pourat, Thuy L. Phung, Arturo Bravo-Nuevo, Sharon Shechter, Stephanie McNamara, James B. DuHadaway, Olivier N. Kocher, Lawrence F. Brown, Alex Toker, George C. Prendergast, Laura E. Benjamin
Journal: Cancer Research (2012)

Tumors are composed of cancer cells but also a larger number of diverse stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. Stromal cells provide essential supports to tumor pathophysiology but the distinct characteristics of their signaling networks are not usually considered in developing drugs to target tumors. This oversight potentially confounds proof-of-concept studies and increases drug development risks. Here, we show in established murine and human models of breast cancer how differential regulation of Akt by the small GTPase RhoB in cancer cells or stromal endothelial cells determines their dormancy versus outgrowth when angiogenesis becomes critical. In cancer cells in vitro or in vivo, RhoB functions as a tumor suppressor that restricts EGF receptor (EGFR) cell surface occupancy as well as Akt signaling. However, after activation of the angiogenic switch, RhoB functions as a tumor promoter by sustaining endothelial Akt signaling, growth, and survival of stromal endothelial cells that mediate tumor neoangiogenesis. Altogether, the positive impact of RhoB on angiogenesis and progression supercedes its negative impact in cancer cells themselves. Our findings elucidate the dominant positive role of RhoB in cancer. More generally, they illustrate how differential gene function effects on signaling pathways in the tumor stromal component can complicate the challenge of developing therapeutics to target cancer pathophysiology.
Circulatory assistance by intrathoracic pressure variations: optimization and mechanisms studied by a mathematical model in relation to experimental data.
Authors: R Beyar, H R Halperin, J E Tsitlik, A D Guerci, D Kass, M L Weisfeldt, N C Chandra
Journal: Circulation Research (1989)

The hemodynamic effects of phasic variations in intrathoracic pressure (ITP) timed to the cardiac cycle were predicted by a mathematical model and were compared with data from canine experimental studies. The model was used to predict the hemodynamic effects of changing the onset of the ITP rise relative to the start of cardiac systole, as well as the hemodynamic effects of changes in the duration and amplitude of the ITP rise. The predictions of the model were compared with hemodynamic data from seven anesthetized dogs. Cardiac function was depressed with large doses of verapamil and propranolol, and the hearts were atrioventricular sequentially paced at a rate of 72 beats/min. Phasic ITP variations were generated by a perithoracic vest and were electronically timed to the cardiac cycle. The model predicted, and the experimental data confirmed, that phasic intrathoracic pressure variations generated by vest inflation, timed to the cardiac cycle, can augment both peak and mean aortic flow. The following predictions of the model were also confirmed by the experimental data: 1) Maximum flow augmentation occurs when the onset of the ITP rise is simultaneous with the onset of left ventricular isovolumic contraction, and the ITP rise has a duration of 400 msec. 2) The magnitude of the flow augmentation is a function of the amplitude of the ITP rise. The experimental data showed that there was little further flow augmentation when the ITP rise was greater than 30-40 mm Hg. 3) The magnitude of flow augmentation was inversely proportional to the peak left ventricular elastance (Emax). The best fit between the measured and predicted flow augmentations was obtained for an assumed Emax of 0.5 mm Hg/ml, while Emax measurements in three dogs, using a volume conductance catheter and transient vena caval occlusion, yielded values of 0.4-1.6 mm Hg/ml. Thus, both the mathematical model and canine experiments showed that relatively low-amplitude ITP variations, rising synchronously with the onset of cardiac systole and having an optimal duration, assist the failing heart by augmentation of aortic flow. The degree of cardiac assistance decreases if the ITP variations do not rise synchronously with the onset of systole, or if their duration is not optimal. Thus, properly applied ITP variations may be used as an efficient, noninvasive method to temporarily assist the failing heart.
The Tension between Needing to Improve Care and Knowing How to Do It
Authors: Andrew D. Auerbach, C. Seth Landefeld, Kaveh G. Shojania
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2007)

The authors argue that interventions to improve health care quality should be held to the same standards that we apply to medical treatments. They believe quality-improvement initiatives should not be widely disseminated unless studies have demonstrated that they are safe and effective.
Continued vitality of the Freudian theory of dreaming
Authors: Howard Shevrin, Alan S. Eiser
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2000)

A minority position is presented in which evidence will be cited from the Hobson, Solms, Revonsuo, and Nielsen target articles and from other sources, supporting major tenets of Freud's theory of dreaming. Support is described for Freud's view of dreams as meaningful, linked to basic motivations, differing qualitatively in mentation, and wish-fulfilling. [Hobson et al.; Nielsen; Revonsuo; Solms]
Most nocturnal asthma symptoms occur outside of exacerbations and associate with morbidity
Authors: Caroline C. Horner, David Mauger, Robert C. Strunk, Nora J. Graber, Robert F. Lemanske, Christine A. Sorkness, Stanley J. Szefler, Robert S. Zeiger, Lynn M. Taussig, Leonard B. Bacharier
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2011)
THE RAPID PRODUCTION OF ANTIDYSENTERIC SERUM
Authors: Simon Flexner, Harold L. Amoss
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1915)

Antidysenteric serum can be safely prepared in the horse by the method of three successive intravenous injections of living cultures or toxin with intervening rest periods of seven days. When this method of immunization is employed, the specific antibodies responsible for agglutination and protection appear early and rise rapidly. By inoculating alternately living dysentery bacilli belonging to the Shiga and Flexner groups a polyvalent serum of high titer may be prepared. A polyvalent serum so produced should be suitable for the therapeutic treatment of acute bacillary dysentery, irrespective of the particular strain or strains of the dysentery bacillus causing the infection. An effective antidysentery serum suitable for therapeutic employment in man can be prepared in the horse in about ten weeks.
Non-Newtonian Rheology of Human Blood - Effect of Fibrinogen Deduced by "Subtraction"
Authors: EDWARD W. MERRILL, GILES C. COKELET, ANTHONY BRITTEN, ROE E. WELLS
Journal: Circulation Research (1963)

A study of the rheological properties of human blood, from donors in normal health, was carried out by means of a coaxial cylinder viscometer designed to measure very small levels of stress under conditions of "creeping" flow. It was found that under these conditions of measurement the rheological properties could be conveniently presented by plotting the square root of shear stress against square root of shear rate. For normal blood, a nearly linear relation is found on such a plot, and the intercept on the stress axis at zero shear rate represents the square root of yield stress, separate determination of which is made by other means. Similar plots for (i) defibrinated blood and (ii) suspensions of red cells in isotonic saline solution reveal no yield stress. Thus it is concluded that fibrinogen is essential for the existence of yield stress in human blood. Furthermore, the approximate linearity, for normal blood, of the square root of shear stress with square root of shear rate, and the yield stress intercept, are of great interest inasmuch as mathematically identical relations ensue according to an equation developed by Casson based on a physical model in which the elementary particles of a suspension are capable of reversible association into rod-like structures, the length of which is controlled by the shear rate. It is of interest to consider the Casson model in the light of rouleaux formation and the relation of fibrinogen to rouleaux formation.
Immediate Results of Percutaneous Mitral Commissurotomy
Authors: Bernard Iung, Bertrand Cormier, Pierre Ducimetie`re, Jean-Marc Porte, Olivier Nallet, Pierre-Louis Michel, Jean Acar, Alec Vahanian
Journal: Circulation (1996)

The wide use of percutaneous mitral commissurotomy (PMC) underlines the need to identify the predictive factors of the results. Using a large series allowed us to develop a multivariate model that can be applied to improve patient selection.Between 1986 and 1995. PMC was undertaken in 1514 patients. Mean age was 45 +/- 15 years. Echocardiography showed that 245 patients (16%) had pliable valves and mild chordal thickening (group 1), 886 (59%) had extensive subvalvular disease (group 2), and 383 (25%) had calcified valves (group 3). PMC failed in 22 patients; it was performed with a single balloon in 30 patients, a double balloon in 586, and the Inoue balloon in 876. Good immediate results were defined as a valve area > or = 1.5 cm2 with mitral regurgitation Sellers' grade < or = 2 and were obtained in 1348 patients (89%). A logistic model developed from the first 1088 cases identified the following predictors of immediate results: age (P = .004), echocardiographic group (P < .0001), valve area (P < .0001), and effective balloon dilating area (EBDA) (P = .03). Two interactions were significant: age at previous commissurotomy (P = .013) and EBDA by initial mitral regurgitation (P = .034). The type of balloon was of borderline significance (P = .09). The model was validated on an independent sample comprising the subsequent 426 procedures. For a threshold of probability of good results of .75, sensitivity was 92%, specificity 25%, and predictive accuracy 87%.Prediction of the immediate results of PMC is multifactorial. The predictive model developed and validated can be contributive in decision making for individual patients.
The Upper Respiratory Tract as a Microbial Source for Pulmonary Infections in Cystic Fibrosis. Parallels from Island Biogeography
Authors: Katrine L. Whiteson, Barbara Bailey, Megan Bergkessel, Douglas Conrad, Laurence Delhaes, Ben Felts, J. Kirk Harris, Ryan Hunter, Yan Wei Lim, Heather Maughan, Robert Quinn, Peter Salamon, James Sullivan, Brandie D. Wagner, Paul B. Rainey
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2014)

A continuously mixed series of microbial communities inhabits various points of the respiratory tract, with community composition determined by distance from colonization sources, colonization rates, and extinction rates. Ecology and evolution theory developed in the context of biogeography is relevant to clinical microbiology and could reframe the interpretation of recent studies comparing communities from lung explant samples, sputum samples, and oropharyngeal swabs. We propose an island biogeography model of the microbial communities inhabiting different niches in human airways. Island biogeography as applied to communities separated by time and space is a useful parallel for exploring microbial colonization of healthy and diseased lungs, with the potential to inform our understanding of microbial community dynamics and the relevance of microbes detected in different sample types. In this perspective, we focus on the intermixed microbial communities inhabiting different regions of the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis.
Expression of Interleukin-10 in Intestinal Lymphocytes Detected by an Interleukin-10 Reporter Knockin tiger Mouse
Authors: Masahito Kamanaka, Sean T. Kim, Yisong Y. Wan, Fayyaz S. Sutterwala, Maria Lara-Tejero, Jorge E. Galán, Ed Harhaj, Richard A. Flavell
Journal: Immunity (2006)
The diagnostic yield of ultrasound-assisted closed pleural biopsy in pleural effusions following non-diagnostic thoracocentesis
Authors: Coenraad F.N. Koegelenberg, Chris T. Bolliger, Elvis M. Irusen, Florian von Groote-Bidlingmaier, Pawel T. Schubert, Mercia Louw, Colleen A. Wright, Andreas H. Diacon
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background:  Unaided (“blind”) pleural biopsy is prone to sampling error and has a modest yield. We assessed the safety and yield of ultrasound (US)-assisted closed pleural biopsy in the setting of undiagnosed effusions, and investigated how pleural morphology could guide the selection and execution of closed pleural biopsy.   Methods:  Patients with an exudative effusion who had had a non-diagnostic thoracocentesis were prospectively stratified on imaging as having (A) an associated mass lesion (>10mm) abutting the chest wall; (B) diffuse pleural thickening (>10mm) and/or nodularity or (C) insignificant/no pleural thickening. US-assisted repeat thoracocentesis and transthoracic fine-needle aspiration (TTFNA) were performed on patients stratified to (A),and if non-diagnostic on on-site analysis, followed by a Tru-Cut biopsy. US-assisted thoracocentesis and Abrams needle biopsies were performed on all others aiming at the region(s) of interest (B) or low supra-diaphragmatic pleura (C).   Results:  Final diagnoses in 41 consecutive patients (30 males, 47+/-18 years) included pleural TB (n=21), malignancy (n=16) and other causes (n=4). Accurate diagnoses were obtained in 34 (82.9%) with US-assisted biopsy; thoracoscopy (n=6, 14.6%) or bronchoscopy (n=1) were required in the rest. The yield of US-assisted biopsy was higher for TB (19/21, 90.48%) than malignancy (12/16, 75.0%, p=0.37). One patient experienced mild haemoptysis following TTFNA.   Conclusion:  A diagnostic algorithm based on pleural morphology and US-assisted pleural biopsy has a high diagnostic yield and offers a safe first-line approach in the setting of undiagnosed pleural exudates.
Radiation-induced cognitive impairment-from bench to bedside
Authors: D. Greene-Schloesser, M. E. Robbins
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2012)

Approximately 100 000 patients per year in the United States with primary and metastatic brain tumor survive long enough (>6 months) to develop radiation-induced brain injury. Before 1970, the human brain was thought to be radioresistant; the acute central nervous system (CNS) syndrome occurs after single doses of ≥30 Gy, and white matter necrosis can occur at fractionated doses of ≥60 Gy. Although white matter necrosis is uncommon with modern radiation therapy techniques, functional deficits, including progressive impairments in memory, attention, and executive function have become increasingly important, having profound effects on quality of life. Preclinical studies have provided valuable insights into the pathogenic mechanisms involved in radiation-induced cognitive impairment. Although reductions in hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal-dependent cognitive function have been observed in rodent models, it is important to recognize that other brain regions are affected; non–hippocampal-dependent reductions in cognitive function occur. Neuroinflammation is viewed as playing a major role in radiation-induced cognitive impairment. During the past 5 years, several preclinical studies have demonstrated that interventional therapies aimed at modulating neuroinflammation can prevent/ameliorate radiation-induced cognitive impairment independent of changes in neurogenesis. Translating these exciting preclinical findings to the clinic offers the promise of improving the quality of life in patients with brain tumors who receive radiation therapy.
Deficient type I protein kinase A isozyme activity in systemic lupus erythematosus T lymphocytes.
Authors: G M Kammer, I U Khan, C J Malemud
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1994)

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder of indeterminate etiology characterized by a dysfunctional cellular immune response. We have previously identified a metabolic disorder of the adenylate cyclase/cAMP/protein kinase A (AC/cAMP/PKA) pathway characterized by impaired cAMP-inducible, PKA-catalyzed protein phosphorylation in intact T lymphocytes from subjects with severe SLE disease activity. Because this metabolic disorder may contribute to abnormal T cell immune effector functions, we tested the hypothesis that impaired PKA-dependent protein phosphorylation is the result of a PKA isozyme deficiency in SLE T lymphocytes. Compared with healthy and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) controls, subjects with severe SLE activity exhibited reduced PKA-catalyzed phosphorylation of proteins in the T lymphocyte plasma membrane where the type I isozyme of PKA (PKA-I) is predominantly localized. Both silver staining and biosynthetic labeling of membrane-associated proteins with [35S]methionine demonstrated that reduced protein phosphorylation was not due to either an altered distribution of or absence of proteins. Moreover, phosphorylation of SLE membrane-associated proteins with the PKA catalytic (C) subunit showed a similar distribution and extent of phosphorylation compared with membrane proteins from healthy T cells, suggesting that SLE T cell membrane proteins could be phosphorylated. Sequential column chromatography of the type I and type II isozymes of PKA (PKA-I, PKA-II) demonstrated a deficiency of PKA-I isozyme activity. Compared with a ratio of PKA-I to PKA-II activity of 4.2:1 in healthy T cells, the activity ratio in T cells from subjects with severe SLE disease activity was 0.99:1 (P = 0.01, SLE versus healthy controls for PKA-I). The deficient PKA-I activity was associated with a significant increase of free C-subunit activity (P = 0.04, SLE versus healthy controls for C-subunit). T cells from subjects with mild/moderate SLE disease activity also exhibited diminished PKA-I activity, yielding a ratio of PKA-I to PKA-II activity of 2.4:1. By contrast, T cells from RA controls possessed increased PKA-I, PKA-II, and free C-subunit activities compared with healthy controls, resulting in a ratio of PKA-I to PKA-II activity of 3.6:1. We conclude that the reduced PKA-catalyzed protein phosphorylation in the plasma membrane of SLE T cells is the result of deficient PKA-I isozyme activity. This is the first identification of a deficiency of PKA activity in SLE T lymphocytes; the deficiency, resulting in diminished protein phosphorylation, may alter cellular homeostasis, contributing to the cellular immune dysfunctions observed in SLE.
Association Between Estrogen Receptor α Gene Variation and Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Amanda M. Shearman, L. Adrienne Cupples, Serkalem Demissie, Inga Peter, Christopher H. Schmid, Richard H. Karas, Michael E. Mendelsohn, David E. Housman, Daniel Levy
Journal: JAMA (2003)

<h3>Context</h3> Estrogen and related hormone therapies activate estrogen receptors, which in turn regulate genes for several cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Relatively little is known, however, about the impact of genetic variation in estrogen receptor α (<i>ESR1</i>) on CVD risk. <h3>Objective</h3> To investigate whether the<i>ESR1 c.454-397T&gt;C</i>polymorphism is associated with CVD risk. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> Prospective study of 1739 unrelated men and women from the population-based offspring cohort of the Framingham Heart Study, who were followed up from 1971 to 1998. <h3>Main Outcome Measures</h3> Total atherosclerotic CVD events, defined as recognized or unrecognized myocardial infarction (MI), angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency, intermittent claudication, coronary heart disease death, or atherothrombotic stroke (n = 178); major atherosclerotic CVD, defined as recognized acute MI, coronary insufficiency, coronary heart disease death, or atherothrombotic stroke (n = 83); and recognized acute MI (n = 59). <h3>Results</h3> Twenty percent of participants (n = 352) were homozygous for the<i>ESR1 c.454-397C</i>allele. After adjustment for covariates (age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and cigarette smoking), the<i>CC</i>genotype was significantly associated with major atherosclerotic CVD, with an odds ratio of 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-3.2;<i>P</i>= .004) compared with individuals with the<i>CT</i>or<i>TT</i>genotypes. Participants with the<i>CC</i>genotype had 3.0-fold greater odds of MI (95% CI, 1.7-5.2;<i>P</i>&lt;.001) compared with those with the<i>CT</i>or<i>TT</i>genotype. The results remained significant when analyses were restricted to men; too few women had events to study them separately. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Individuals with the common<i>ESR1 c.454-397CC</i>genotype have a substantial increase in risk of MI. Whether<i>ESR1 c.454-397T&gt;C</i>is causally related to MI risk or in linkage disequilibrium with 1 or more causal variants remains to be determined. These findings support the importance of estrogen receptors in CVD susceptibility, especially in men. Estrogen receptor variation also has potential to explain recent conflicting data regarding the effects of hormone therapy on CVD susceptibility in women.
Guidelines for the management of cutaneous warts
Authors: J.C. Sterling, S. Handfield-Jones, P.M. Hudson
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2001)

Journal Article Guidelines for the management of cutaneous warts Get access J.C. Sterling, J.C. Sterling Department of Dermatology, Addenbrooke's Hospital. Cambridge, U.K. Dr Jane C. Sterling, Department of Dermatology, Box 46, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ, U.K.E‐mail: jcs12@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar S. Handfield‐Jones, S. Handfield‐Jones West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, U.K. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar P.M. Hudson P.M. Hudson Peterborough District Hospital, Peterborough, U.K. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 144, Issue 1, 1 January 2001, Pages 4–11, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2001.04066.x Published: 01 January 2001