tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis
Authors: Carmine Zoccali, Francesca Mallamaci, Pietro Finocchiaro
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2002)

ABSTRACT. Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis is the most common primary disease of the renal arteries, and it is associated with two major clinical syndromes, ischemic renal disease and hypertension. The prevalence of this disease in the population is undefined because there is no simple and reliable test that can be applied on a large scale. Renal artery involvement in patients with coronary heart disease and/or heart failure is frequent, and it may influence cardiovascular outcomes and survival in these patients. Suspecting renal arterial stenosis in patients with recurrent episodes of pulmonary edema is justified by observations showing that about one third of elderly patients with heart failure display atherosclerotic renal disease. Whether interventions aimed at restoring arterial patency may reduce the high mortality in patients with heart failure is still unclear because, to date, no prospective study has been carried out in these patients. Increased awareness of the need for cost containment has renewed the interest in clinical cues for suspecting renovascular hypertension. In this regard, the DRASTIC study constitutes an important attempt at validating clinical prediction rules. In this study, a clinical rule was derived that predicted renal artery stenosis as efficiently as renal scintigraphy (sensitivity: clinical rule, 65% versus scintigraphy, 72%; specificity: 87% versus 92%). When tested in a systematic and quantitative manner, clinical findings can perform as accurately as more complex tests in the detection of renal artery stenosis. E-mail: [email protected]
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibition Alters the Fibrinolytic Response to Cardiopulmonary Bypass
Authors: Mias Pretorius, Laine J. Murphey, Julie A. McFarlane, Douglas E. Vaughan, Nancy J. Brown
Journal: Circulation (2003)

Increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) concentrations after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are associated with increased risk of vein graft occlusion. Because angiotensin II stimulates PAI-1 expression, we tested the hypothesis that preoperative angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition decreases PAI-1 expression after CABG.We measured the effects of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on PAI-1 antigen and tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) antigen and activity in 31 patients taking an ACE inhibitor (ACEI) who were randomized to continue ACEI until the morning of surgery (ACEI group, n=19) or to discontinue it 48 hours before surgery (No-ACEI group, n=12). Arterial blood samples were taken at baseline before CPB, twice during CPB, after separation from CPB, and on postoperative day 1 (POD1). CPB caused an early decrease in PAI-1 antigen, followed by an increase in PAI-1 antigen on POD1 (P<0.001 for effect of time). ACE inhibition attenuated the increase in PAI-1 antigen such that both PAI-1 antigen on POD1 (P=0.013) and the change in PAI-1 antigen from baseline to POD1 (P=0.009) were higher in the No-ACEI group (from 17.0+/-5.0 to 48.7+/-8.8 ng/mL) versus the ACEI group (from 19.9+/-3.4 to 33.1+/-6.2 ng/mL). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in intraoperative tPA activity (P=0.259); however, the increase in tPA activity was significantly greater in the ACEI group than in the No-ACEI group (P=0.030).Preoperative ACEI attenuates the increase in PAI-1 after CABG, suggesting a role for ACE inhibition in reducing the risk of acute graft thrombosis.
DNA haemagglutination test in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus.
Authors: E J Jokinen, H Julkunen
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1965)

Theoccurrence ofdeoxyribonucleic acid(DNA) antibodies intheseraofpatients withsystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)hasbeenestablished by several authorsby different techniques. Their diagnostic value hasbeenstudied inmoreextensive series ofpatients byJokinen andMakitalo (1960: passive haemagglutination andcomplement-fixation), Kayhoe, Nasou,andBozicevich (1960: bentonite flocculation), Rothfield, Phythyon, McEwenand Miescher (1961: conglutinin-complement-fixation) , andSeligmann (1963: precipitation, complementfixation, andbentonite flocculation). Lawlis (1958) described apassive haemagglutinationmethodusing formalinized erythrocytes sensitized withDNA. Thismethodwasusedindiagnosis byOliveira Lima,FragaandSeabra (1961) andLachmann (1964). Using thesamemethodit istheaimofthepresent paper tothrowlight onthe clinical significance oftheoccurrence ofDNA antibodies within anextensive anddiversified series of hospital patients.
Surface localisation of photosensitisers on intraocular lens biomaterials for prevention of infectious endophthalmitis and retinal protection
Authors: Colin P. McCoy, Rebecca A. Craig, Seana M. McGlinchey, Louise Carson, David S. Jones, Sean P. Gorman
Journal: Biomaterials (2012)

Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly-practiced surgical procedures in Western medicine, and, while complications are rare, the most serious is infectious postoperative endophthalmitis. Bacteria may adhere to the implanted intraocular lens (IOL) and subsequent biofilm formation can lead to a chronic, difficult to treat infection. To date, no method to reduce the incidence of infectious endophthalmitis through bacterial elimination, while retaining optical transparency, has been reported. In this study we report a method to optimise the localisation of a cationic porphyrin at the surface of suitable acrylate copolymers, which is the first point of contact with potential pathogens. The porphyrin catalytically generates short-lived singlet oxygen, in the presence of visible light, which kills adherent bacteria indiscriminately. By restricting the photosensitiser to the surface of the biomaterial, reduction in optical transparency is minimised without affecting efficacy of singlet oxygen production. Hydrogel IOL biomaterials incorporating either methacrylic acid (MAA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA) co-monomers allow tuning of the hydrophobic and anionic properties to optimise the localisation of porphyrin. Physiochemical and antimicrobial properties of the materials have been characterised, giving candidate materials with self-generating, persistent anti-infective character against Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Importantly, incorporation of porphyrin can also serve to protect the retina by filtering damaging shortwave visible light, due to the Soret absorption (λmax 430 nm).
“First, we assume a spherical cow ... ”
Authors: Lera Boroditsky, Michael Ramscar
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2001)

There is an old joke about a theoretical physicist who was charged with figuring out how to increase the milk production of cows. Although many farmers, biologists, and psychologists had tried and failed to solve the problem before him, the physicist had no trouble coming up with a solution on the spot. “First,” he began, “we assume a spherical cow ... ” [Tenenbaum &amp; Griffiths]
Comparative Effectiveness of Revascularization Strategies
Authors: William S. Weintraub, Maria V. Grau-Sepulveda, Jocelyn M. Weiss, Sean M. O'Brien, Eric D. Peterson, Paul Kolm, Zugui Zhang, Lloyd W. Klein, Richard E. Shaw, Charles McKay, Laura L. Ritzenthaler, Jeffrey J. Popma, John C. Messenger, David M. Shahian, Frederick L. Grover, John E. Mayer, Cynthia M. Shewan, Kirk N. Garratt, Issam D. Moussa, George D. Dangas, Fred H. Edwards
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2012)

Questions persist concerning the comparative effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG). The American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) collaborated to compare the rates of long-term survival after PCI and CABG.We linked the ACCF National Cardiovascular Data Registry and the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database to claims data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the years 2004 through 2008. Outcomes were compared with the use of propensity scores and inverse-probability-weighting adjustment to reduce treatment-selection bias.Among patients 65 years of age or older who had two-vessel or three-vessel coronary artery disease without acute myocardial infarction, 86,244 underwent CABG and 103,549 underwent PCI. The median follow-up period was 2.67 years. At 1 year, there was no significant difference in adjusted mortality between the groups (6.24% in the CABG group as compared with 6.55% in the PCI group; risk ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90 to 1.00). At 4 years, there was lower mortality with CABG than with PCI (16.4% vs. 20.8%; risk ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.82). Similar results were noted in multiple subgroups and with the use of several different analytic methods. Residual confounding was assessed by means of a sensitivity analysis.In this observational study, we found that, among older patients with multivessel coronary disease that did not require emergency treatment, there was a long-term survival advantage among patients who underwent CABG as compared with patients who underwent PCI. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.).
A Phase I Trial of Bortezomib with Temozolomide in Patients with Advanced Melanoma: Toxicities, Antitumor Effects, and Modulation of Therapeutic Targets
Authors: Yingjun Su, Katayoun I. Amiri, Linda W. Horton, Yingchun Yu, Gregory D. Ayers, Elizabeth Koehler, Mark C. Kelley, Igor Puzanov, Ann Richmond, Jeffrey A. Sosman
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2009)

Preclinical studies show that bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, blocks NF-kappaB activation and, combined with temozolomide, enhances activity against human melanoma xenografts and modulates other critical tumor targets. We initiated a phase I trial of temozolomide plus bortezomib in advanced melanoma. Objectives included defining a maximum tolerated dose for the combination, characterizing biomarker changes reflecting inhibition of both proteasome and NF-kappaB activity in blood (if possible tumor), and characterizing antitumor activity.Cohorts were enrolled onto escalating dose levels of temozolomide (50-75 mg/m(2)) daily, orally, for 6 of 9 weeks and bortezomib (0.75-1.5 mg/m(2)) by i.v. push on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 every 21 days. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were assayed at specified time points for proteasome inhibition and NF-kappaB biomarker activity.Bortezomib (1.3 mg/m(2)) and temozolomide (75 mg/m(2)) proved to be the maximum tolerated dose. Dose-limiting toxicities included neurotoxicity, fatigue, diarrhea, and rash. Nineteen melanoma patients were enrolled onto four dose levels. This melanoma population (17 M1c, 10 elevated lactate dehydrogenase, 12 performance status 1-2) showed only one partial response (8 months) and three with stable disease >or=4 months. A significant reduction in proteasome-specific activity was observed 1 hour after infusion at all bortezomib doses. Changes in NF-kappaB electrophoretic mobility shift assay and circulating chemokines in blood failed to correlate with the schedule/dose of bortezomib, inhibition of proteasome activity, or clinical outcome.We have defined phase II doses for this schedule of temozolomide with bortezomib. Although proteasome activity was inhibited for a limited time in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we were unable to show consistent effects on NF-kappaB activation.
Prevalence of latent and manifest suprascapular neuropathy in high-performance volleyball players.
Authors: M Holzgraefe, B Kukowski, S Eggert
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (1994)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of latent and manifest suprascapular neuropathy in high-level male volleyball players. Thirty subjects were examined clinically and electrophysiologically. Suprascapular neuropathy, most probably at the level of the suprascapular notch, was demonstrated in 12 subjects, being latent in eight. Taking into account our clinical findings in a further 36 international-level players, a remarkably high overall prevalence of suprascapular nerve lesion of 33% (22 of 66 subjects) was found. All cases involved the side of the body with the player's smashing arm. These findings suggest that careful monitoring of suprascapular nerve function may be useful in high-performance volleyball players, as early diagnosis is essential to prevent more severe damage.
Are radiological joint space widths of normal hips asymmetrical?
Authors: P. Reis, R. Nahal-Said, P. Ravaud, M. Dougados, B. Amor
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1999)

To be certain that the joint space width is abnormal in the case of hip joint pain when compared with the contralateral hip requires knowledge of physiological dissymmetry.To assess interindividual variability and dissymmetry in pelvic radiological joint space width.Pelvic radiographs of subjects without hip joint disease. Measurement with a 0.1 mm graduated magnifying glass and 0.5 mm graduated flat ruler at the hip superointermediate site (vertical going through the femoral head centre). After randomisation of the side to measure, analysis of nine groups of 19 plain films by one investigator blind for the result of the contralateral side.The difference between the left and right hip was plotted against the corresponding mean for all 171 normal subjects. This shows the frequency and the limits of the asymmetry at each measurement site. The asymmetry is independent of interindividual variability of the joint space width and greater than the measurement error in most subjects.This study confirms the interindividual variability of hip joint space width, shows the frequency of hip joint space asymmetry and defines its limit.
Levofloxacin to Prevent Bacterial Infection in Patients with Cancer and Neutropenia
Authors: Giampaolo Bucaneve, Alessandra Micozzi, Francesco Menichetti, Pietro Martino, M. Stella Dionisi, Giovanni Martinelli, Bernardino Allione, Domenico D'Antonio, Maurizio Buelli, A. Maria Nosari, Daniela Cilloni, Eliana Zuffa, Renato Cantaffa, Giorgina Specchia, Sergio Amadori, Francesco Fabbiano, Giorgio Lambertenghi Deliliers, Francesco Lauria, Robin Foà, Albano Del Favero
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2005)

The prophylactic use of fluoroquinolones in patients with cancer and neutropenia is controversial and is not a recommended intervention.
Multicenter Trial to Evaluate Vascular Magnetic Resonance Angiography of the Lower Extremity
Authors: Richard A. Baum
Journal: JAMA (1995)

<h3>Objectives.</h3> —To assess the value of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in presurgical evaluation of patients with severe lower limb atherosclerotic occlusive disease and to assess the feasibility of rapidly conducting rigorous technology assessment. <h3>Design.</h3> —Blinded, prospective study of consecutive patients with signs or symptoms of severe infrainguinal peripheral vascular disease who were candidates for percutaneous or surgical intervention. Using both descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic analyses, MRA was compared with contrast arteriography (CA) (the current technique) for imaging 15 arterial segments of the leg and foot. Intraoperative contrast angiography was the "gold" standard. Also studied was the effect of adding MRA to the information used in planning treatment. <h3>Setting.</h3> —Six US hospitals, one a community hospital. <h3>Patients.</h3> —A total of 155; 84% with either rest pain or tissue loss. <h3>Results.</h3> —Sensitivity in distinguishing patent segments from completely occluded segments was 83% for CA and 85% for MRA; both had 81% specificity. For distinguishing near-normal segments (suitable as bypass graft termini), CA was less sensitive than MRA (77% vs 82%), but more specific (92% vs 84%). After adjusting for same-reader effects, odds of correctly distinguishing patent segments were 1.6 times as great for MRA as for CA (<i>P</i>&lt;.01); for distinguishing near-normal segments, the odds for CA were 1.5 times as great as for MRA (<i>P</i>&lt;.05). The addition of MRA changed the treatment plan in 13% of patients; in 86% of these cases, the surgery actually performed indicated that the MRA-inclusive plan was superior. <h3>Conclusions.</h3> —Individually, MRA and CA are approximately equivalent in diagnostic accuracy. The addition of MRA to treatment plans based only on CA and other diagnostic information clearly improves the plans. Completed in 15 months (as planned), our study demonstrates the feasibility of conducting rigorous technology assessment rapidly enough to be timely even in fields in which diagnostic and treatment techniques are rapidly changing. (<i>JAMA</i>. 1995;274:875-880)
Predictors of Inaccurate Coronary Arterial Stenosis Assessment by CT Angiography
Authors: Raymond T. Yan, Julie M. Miller, Carlos E. Rochitte, Marc Dewey, Hiroyuki Niinuma, Melvin E. Clouse, Andrea L. Vavere, Jeffrey Brinker, Joăo A.C. Lima, Armin Arbab-Zadeh
Journal: JACC. Cardiovascular imaging (2013)
Comparison of the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index and a modified version of the index in assessing disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis without peripheral manifestations
Authors: I H Song, M Rudwaleit, J Listing, J Sieper
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2008)

To compare the original Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) with a modified BASDAI without questions about peripheral arthritis (question 3) and enthesitis (question 4), here termed the mini-BASDAI, as an instrument to assess disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) without peripheral manifestations.The mini-BASDAI was calculated by omitting questions 3 and 4. The correlation of the original BASDAI and the mini-BASDAI with patient global and other disease parameters was assessed in a total of 692 patients from three AS cohorts including one observational AS cohort and two clinical trial populations treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitors. Sensitivity to change was assessed by calculating effect sizes.Up to 70% of AS patients did not have peripheral involvement. Patients with peripheral involvement had higher disease activity in all activity parameters. The mini-BASDAI had higher values compared with the original BASDAI, also in the subgroup with peripheral manifestations. However, the mini-BASDAI did not correlate better with other markers of disease activity compared with the original BASDAI. Furthermore, effect sizes of the original BASDAI and mini-BASDAI were comparable in the treatment trials. Interestingly, approximately 5% of active AS patients with pure axial disease manifestation were identified whose disease activity was underestimated by the original BASDAI.On a group level using the mini-BASDAI did not result in an advantage to assess disease activity or in the subgroup without peripheral involvement. In only approximately 5% of AS patients was the mini-BASDAI superior to the original BASDAI.
Efficacy and safety of topical WBI-1001 in patients with mild to severe atopic dermatitis: results from a 12-week, multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trial
Authors: R. Bissonnette, Y. Poulin, Y. Zhou, J. Tan, H.C. Hong, J. Webster, W. Ip, L. Tang, M. Lyle
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2011)

There is a need for the development of novel nonsteroidal topical drugs for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD).The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of WBI-1001 over 6 weeks of treatment of mild to severe AD. Patients with AD affecting 3-20% of their body surface area and with an Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) of 2-4 were randomized (1 : 1 : 1) to receive placebo, WBI-1001 0·5% or WBI-1001 1·0% in a cream formulation applied twice daily for 6 weeks. At the end of this phase, patients receiving WBI-1001 continued the same treatment for an additional 6 weeks. Patients receiving placebo entered into a 6-week double-blind phase with re-randomization (1 : 1) to WBI-1001 0·5% or 1·0% cream. The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of WBI-1001 over 6 weeks of treatment of mild to severe AD. The primary endpoint was the mean change from baseline in IGA at day 42 (week 6).In total, 148 patients were randomized and analysed in the placebo (51), WBI-1001 0·5% (50) and WBI-1001 1·0% (47) groups. There was a decrease of 1·3 [43%; P < 0·001; 95% confidence interval (CI) -1·2 to -0·5] and 1·8 (56·3%; P < 0·001; 95% CI -1·6 to -0·9) in IGA at day 42 in the WBI-1001 0·5% and 1·0% groups, respectively, as compared with a decrease of 0·5 (14·7%) in the placebo group. Adverse drug reactions included a few cases of folliculitis and contact dermatitis.WBI-1001 is an efficacious novel topical anti-inflammatory molecule for the treatment of AD.
Transcriptional Control of Epithelial Differentiation during Kidney Development
Authors: David Ribes, Evelyne Fischer, Ame[Combining Acute Accent]lie Calmont, Jerome Rossert
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2003)

In Mammals, kidney development proceeds in three stages (reviewed in [1][1]). The first two stages lead to the formation of transient structures, the pronephros and the mesonephros, and the third stage gives rise to the metanephros, which is the permanent kidney. However, similar pathways seem to be
Comparing Models of Evolution for Ordered and Disordered Proteins
Authors: C. J. Brown, A. K. Johnson, G. W. Daughdrill
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2009)

Most models of protein evolution are based upon proteins that form relatively rigid 3D structures. A significant fraction of proteins, the so-called disordered proteins, do not form rigid 3D structures and sample a broad conformational ensemble. Disordered proteins do not typically maintain long-range interactions, so the constraints on their evolution should be different than ordered proteins. To test this hypothesis, we developed and compared models of evolution for disordered and ordered proteins. Substitution matrices were constructed using the sequences of putative homologs for sets of experimentally characterized disordered and ordered proteins. Separate matrices, at three levels of sequence similarity (>85%, 85–60%, and 60–40%), were inferred for each type of protein structure. The substitution matrices for disordered and ordered proteins differed significantly at each level of sequence similarity. The disordered matrices reflected a greater likelihood of evolutionary changes, relative to the ordered matrices, and these changes involved nonconservative substitutions. Glutamic acid and asparagine were interesting exceptions to this result. Important differences between the substitutions that are accepted in disordered proteins relative to ordered proteins were also identified. In general, disordered proteins have fewer evolutionary constraints than ordered proteins. However, some residues like tryptophan and tyrosine are highly conserved in disordered proteins. This is due to their important role in forming protein–protein interfaces. Finally, the amino acid frequencies for disordered proteins, computed during the development of the matrices, were compared with amino acid frequencies for different categories of secondary structure in ordered proteins. The highest correlations were observed between the amino acid frequencies in disordered proteins and the solvent-exposed loops and turns of ordered proteins, supporting an emerging structural model for disordered proteins.