tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Association of Pediatric Psoriasis Severity With Excess and Central Adiposity
Authors: Amy S. Paller, Katherine Mercy, Mary J. Kwasny, Siew Eng Choon, Kelly M. Cordoro, Giampiero Girolomoni, Alan Menter, Wynnis L. Tom, Anne M. Mahoney, Annet M. Oostveen, Marieke M. B. Seyger
Journal: JAMA Dermatology (2012)

To investigate the relationship of excess and central adiposity with pediatric psoriasis severity.Multicenter, cross-sectional study of 409 psoriatic children. Psoriasis was classified as mild (worst Physician's Global Assessment score ≤3 with body surface area ≤10%) or severe (worst Physician's Global Assessment score ≥3 with body surface area >10%). Children were enrolled from 9 countries between June 19, 2009, and December 2, 2011.Excess adiposity (body mass index percentile) and central adiposity (waist circumference percentile and waist to height ratio).Excess adiposity (body mass index ≥85th percentile) occurred in 37.9% of psoriatic children (n=155) vs 20.5% of controls (n=42) but did not differ significantly by severity. The odds ratio (95% CI) of obesity (body mass index ≥95th percentile) overall in psoriatic children vs controls was 4.29 (1.96-9.39) and was higher with severe (4.92; 2.20-10.99) than with mild (3.60; 1.56-8.30) psoriasis, particularly in the United States (7.60; 2.47-23.34, and 4.72; 1.43-15.56, respectively). Waist circumference above the 90th percentile occurred in 9.3% of the control (n=19), 14.0% of the mild psoriasis (n=27), and 21.2% of the of severe psoriasis (n=43) participants internationally; this incidence was highest in the United States (12.0% [n=13], 20.8% [16], and 31.1% [32], respectively). Waist to height ratio was significantly higher in psoriatic (0.48) vs control (0.46) children but was unaffected by psoriasis severity. Children with severe psoriasis at its worst, but mild at enrollment, showed no significant difference in excess or central adiposity from children whose psoriasis remained severe.Globally, children with psoriasis have excess adiposity and increased central adiposity regardless of psoriasis severity. The increased metabolic risks associated with excess and central adiposity warrant early monitoring and lifestyle modification.clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00879944
Injuries in elite and recreational snowboarders
Authors: Coen A Wijdicks, Brandon S Rosenbach, Troy R Flanagan, Gillian E Bower, Kelly E Newman, Thomas O Clanton, Lars Engebretsen, Robert F LaPrade, Tom R Hackett
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2013)

Background The relatively young sport of snowboarding exhibits high injury rates. The current efforts to characterise the injury pattern of snowboarders focus largely on the general snowboard population and upper extremity injuries, the most common injury site in snowboarders as a whole. Methods In an effort to describe the current published information available on snowboarding injuries in the elite-level population, a literature search was performed and the articles related to snowboarding injuries were analysed. Additionally, the literature pertaining to biomechanical analyses of injury and injury prevention was included. Results Studies rarely stratify the snowboarders by skill level, a classification which has a profound effect on the riding activities of snowboarders and the resultant injury patterns. Elite-level snowboarders are often injured when performing difficult manoeuvres at high velocities and with amplified levels of force to the lower limbs. Consequently, elite-level snowboarders suffer from injuries that are of higher severity and have decidedly greater lower extremity injury rates. Conversely, injuries to the upper extremities are decreased in the elite snowboarders. Furthermore, little has been published regarding the biomechanical analyses and injury prevention for the protection of the lower extremities in snowboarding. Conclusions Snowboarding continues to evolve as a sport. This includes a steady progression in the degree of difficulty of the manoeuvres conducted by athletes and an increase in the number of snowboarders attempting such manoeuvres. The injury patterns across the skill levels are markedly different, and it is imperative that the research directed towards understanding the disparate lower extremity injury pattern of elite-level snowboarders is increased.
Access To Essential Maternal Health Interventions and Human Rights Violations among Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Burma
Authors: Luke C Mullany, Catherine I Lee, Lin Yone, Palae Paw, Eh Kalu Shwe Oo, Cynthia Maung, Thomas J Lee, Chris Beyrer
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2008)

Health indicators are poor and human rights violations are widespread in eastern Burma. Reproductive and maternal health indicators have not been measured in this setting but are necessary as part of an evaluation of a multi-ethnic pilot project exploring strategies to increase access to essential maternal health interventions. The goal of this study is to estimate coverage of maternal health services prior to this project and associations between exposure to human rights violations and access to such services.Selected communities in the Shan, Mon, Karen, and Karenni regions of eastern Burma that were accessible to community-based organizations operating from Thailand were surveyed to estimate coverage of reproductive, maternal, and family planning services, and to assess exposure to household-level human rights violations within the pilot-project target population. Two-stage cluster sampling surveys among ever-married women of reproductive age (15-45 y) documented access to essential antenatal care interventions, skilled attendance at birth, postnatal care, and family planning services. Mid-upper arm circumference, hemoglobin by color scale, and Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia by rapid diagnostic dipstick were measured. Exposure to human rights violations in the prior 12 mo was recorded. Between September 2006 and January 2007, 2,914 surveys were conducted. Eighty-eight percent of women reported a home delivery for their last pregnancy (within previous 5 y). Skilled attendance at birth (5.1%), any (39.3%) or > or = 4 (16.7%) antenatal visits, use of an insecticide-treated bed net (21.6%), and receipt of iron supplements (11.8%) were low. At the time of the survey, more than 60% of women had hemoglobin level estimates < or = 11.0 g/dl and 7.2% were Pf positive. Unmet need for contraceptives exceeded 60%. Violations of rights were widely reported: 32.1% of Karenni households reported forced labor and 10% of Karen households had been forced to move. Among Karen households, odds of anemia were 1.51 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95-2.40) times higher among women reporting forced displacement, and 7.47 (95% CI 2.21-25.3) higher among those exposed to food security violations. The odds of receiving no antenatal care services were 5.94 (95% CI 2.23-15.8) times higher among those forcibly displaced.Coverage of basic maternal health interventions is woefully inadequate in these selected populations and substantially lower than even the national estimates for Burma, among the lowest in the region. Considerable political, financial, and human resources are necessary to improve access to maternal health care in these communities.
Obesity, Tamoxifen Use, and Outcomes in Women With Estrogen Receptor-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Authors: J. J. Dignam
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2003)

Background: Obesity is associated with both increased breast cancer risk and poorer prognosis after disease onset. However, little is known about the effect of obesity on treatment efficacy. We evaluated the association of obesity with outcomes and with tamoxifen efficacy in women with early-stage, hormone-responsive breast cancer participating in a multicenter cancer cooperative group clinical trial. Methods: The cohort consisted of 3385 women enrolled in National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) protocol B-14, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating tamoxifen for lymph node–negative, estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer. Hazards of breast cancer recurrence, contralateral breast tumors, other new primary cancers, and several mortality endpoints were evaluated in relation to body mass index (BMI), using statistical modeling to adjust for other prognostic factors. Median follow-up time was 166 months. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: The hazard of breast cancer recurrence was the same among obese (BMI ⩾30.0 kg/m2) women as compared with underweight and normal-weight women (BMI <25.0; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.80 to 1.18). Contralateral breast cancer hazard was higher in obese women than in underweight/normal-weight women (HR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.10 to 2.25), as was the risk of other primary cancers (HR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.16 to 2.24). Compared with normal-weight women, obese women had greater all-cause mortality (HR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.12 to 1.54) and greater risk of deaths due to causes unrelated to breast cancer (HR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.15 to 1.92). Breast cancer mortality was not statistically significantly increased for obese women (HR = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.97 to 1.49). Tamoxifen reduced breast cancer recurrence and mortality, regardless of BMI. Conclusions: For women with lymph node–negative, ER-positive breast cancer, obesity was not associated with a material increase in recurrence risk or a change in tamoxifen efficacy. However, because obesity was associated with increased risks of contralateral breast cancer, of other primary cancers, and of overall mortality, it may influence long-term outcomes for breast cancer survivors.
Dietary Assessment and the Reliability of Nutritional Epidemiology Research Reports
Authors: R. L. Prentice
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2010)

It is a pleasure to comment on the valuable article by Dahm et al.(1) in this issue of the Journal and to provide my perspective on research needs and opportunities for progress in the challenging nutritional epidemiology research area.In doing so, I would like to first offer a tribute to the late Dr Sheila Rodwell (Bingham), senior author of the article by Dahm et al.For some decades, Dr Bingham provided cutting-edge research on nutritional biomarkers and dietary assessment methodologies and on related epidemiological associations.Her diverse contributions have been vital to progress in the nutritional epidemiological research area, and her leadership will be much missed.Dahm et al.(1) revisit the association between dietary fiber and risk of colorectal
Isotope kinetics of human skin cholesterol secretion.
Authors: T Nikkari, P H Schreibman, E H Ahrens
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1975)

Specific radioactivity (SA) time curves of plasma and skin surface cholesterol collected at several skin areas were recorded in 10 patients on formula diets after single intravenous injections of radioactive cholesterol. Earliest detectable radioactivity on skin surface was found in 4-6 days; depending on the skin site, SA's peaked in 13-75 days. SA's of free cholesterol were almost always higher than those of esterified cholesterol. The general forms of the SA time curves were in keeping with the idea that plasma cholesterol is carried to the skin surface in association with the epidermal and sebaceous cells, whereby (a) cholesterol synthesized de novo is mixed with derived from plasma and (b) appearances of plasma cholesterol on the skin surface is delayed by a time factor that corresponds to the movement of epidermal and sebaceous cells from the basal layer to the skin surface. The shorter mean transit times of plasma cholesterol on skin areas rich in sebaceous glands (22-24 days on the head) than on those poor in these glands (38 days on forearms and 72 days on feet) suggest that cholesterol passes faster through the sebaceous glands than through the epidermis, and faster through thin than thick epidermis. The fraction of skin surface cholesterol (f) that is derived from plasma cholesterol was estimated by three independent methods, and comparable results were obtained. Values of f were lower on skin areas rich in sebaceous glands (0.29-0.46 on forehead) than on areas poor in these glands (0.41-0.70 for forearms; 0.60 on feet) and lower for esterified (0.27-0.33) than for free (0.39-0.48) cholesterol. These data suggest that higher proportions of sebaceous gland and of esterified cholesterol, respectively, are synthesized de novo than epidermal and of free cholesterol. In two patients it was possible to calculate that f of total skin surface cholesterol was 0.49 and 0.37, respectively, and that the maximum amount of plasma cholesterol lost through the skin was 29 and 22 mg/day, respectively. Knowing the total daily excretion of total neutral and acidic steroids in feces in these patients, and assuming a total daily urinary steroid excretion 50 mg, we estimated that no more than 3.2% of total steroid excretion occurred via the skin.
Intracellular NAMPT–NAD+–SIRT1 cascade improves post-ischaemic vascular repair by modulating Notch signalling in endothelial progenitors
Authors: Pei Wang, Hui Du, Can-Can Zhou, Jie Song, Xingguang Liu, Xuetao Cao, Jawahar L. Mehta, Yi Shi, Ding-Feng Su, Chao-Yu Miao
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2014)

AimsIntracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is the rate-limiting enzyme for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthesis. This study investigated the role of NAMPT-mediated NAD+ signalling in post-ischaemic vascular repair.
Step 3 of the asthma guidelines
Authors: A E TATTERSFIELD, T W HARRISON
Journal: Thorax (1999)

Asthma may cause anything from trivial symptoms to intractable breathlessness and treatment needs to be tailored accordingly. To provide a rational and easily applicable approach to prescribing for asthma, most clinical guidelines on asthma management rank the drugs available in hierarchical order, simplified in a series of steps.1 2 For the British guidelines these range from a β agonist as required (step 1) to the need for oral corticosteroids (step 5).1 Patients can be started at any step and, indeed, if their asthma is poorly controlled may well be advised to start on oral corticosteroids and reduce treatment when control is achieved. The guidelines do not mean that all patients with asthma of a given severity should be treated in an identical fashion, since patients clearly vary in their response to drugs. What the stepped approach is attempting to do is to suggest a hierarchy in which treatment is most likely to provide the best value for a patient with asthma of a given severity.

Fortunately most patients lie towards the mild end of the asthma spectrum and can be managed with an occasional β agonist or regular prophylactic treatment with low dose inhaled corticosteroid or a cromone. In a recent community survey in Nottinghamshire only 16% of patients were on step 3 or above,3 a relatively small proportion of the asthmatic population but still some three quarters of a million people in the UK. Furthermore, these are the patients with most morbidity and hospital admissions and who consume the most medical time and resources,4 5 and the figure quoted may well be an underestimate of the number of patients who should have been on step 3 or above. Determining which options should be available at step 3 has implications for a large number of patients, …
Intracoronary infusion of prostaglandin I2 attenuates arterial baroreflex control of heart rate in conscious dogs.
Authors: M J Panzenbeck, W Tan, M A Hajdu, I H Zucker
Journal: Circulation Research (1988)

Prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) is known to stimulate ventricular C fiber receptors resulting in a Bezold-Jarisch-like reflex. Also, cardiac receptor stimulation is known to interact with the expression of arterial baroreflexes. Therefore, experiments were performed to determine the effects of left circumflex coronary artery infusion of PGI2 on the baroreflex control of heart rate in conscious instrumented dogs. Dogs were instrumented chronically with an aortic catheter for the measurement of mean aortic pressure, hydraulic occluder cuffs on the descending aorta and inferior vena cava, a left ventricular catheter for the measurement of left ventricular pressure and heart rate, and a nonocclusive catheter in the left circumflex coronary artery. At the time of experimentation, arterial pressure was altered randomly in steps by partially inflating the occluders. Mean arterial pressure-heart curves (baroreflex curves) were constructed by fitting the data to a logistic curve by nonlinear regression. PGI2 infused into the left circumflex coronary artery at doses of 10, 20, and 50 ng/kg/min caused significant (p less than 0.05) inhibition of the maximum heart rate, heart rate range, and maximum slope of the curve compared to the control baroreflex curve obtained during intracoronary infusion of PGI2 vehicle. PGI2 had no significant effect on the minimum heart rate during hypertension. Since PGI2 is known to stimulate left ventricular receptors, these effects were most likely produced via stimulation of cardiac receptors. In additional experiments using beta 1-blockade with metoprolol or cholinergic blockade with atropine methyl bromide, it was shown that PGI2 attenuates baroreflex-mediated tachycardia by preventing parasympathetic withdrawal completely and by attenuating sympathetic stimulation by approximately 50%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Actin expression in smooth muscle cells of rat aortic intimal thickening, human atheromatous plaque, and cultured rat aortic media.
Authors: G Gabbiani, O Kocher, W S Bloom, J Vandekerckhove, K Weber
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1984)

Actin of smooth muscle cells of rat and human aortic media shows a predominance of the alpha-isoform. In experimental rat aortic intimal thickening, in human atheromatous plaque, and in cultured aortic smooth muscle cells, there is a typical switch in actin expression with a predominance of the beta-form and a noticeable amount of gamma-form. This pattern of actin expression represents a new reliable protein-chemical marker of experimental and human atheromatous smooth muscle cells.
Evidence for Multiple Independent Origins of trans-Splicing in Metazoa
Authors: V. Douris, M. J. Telford, M. Averof
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2009)

In contrast to conventional splicing, which joins exons from a single primary transcript, trans-splicing links stretches of RNA from separate transcripts, derived from distinct regions of the genome. Spliced leader (SL) trans-splicing is particularly well known in trypanosomes, nematodes, and flatworms, where it provides messenger RNAs with a leader sequence and cap that allow them to be translated efficiently. One of the largest puzzles regarding SL trans-splicing is its evolutionary origin. Until now SL trans-splicing has been found in a small and disparate set of organisms (including trypanosomes, dinoflagellates, cnidarians, rotifers, nematodes, flatworms, and urochordates) but not in most other eukaryotic lineages, including well-studied groups such as fungi, plants, arthropods, and vertebrates. This patchy distribution could either suggest that trans-splicing was present in early eukaryotes/metazoans and subsequently lost in multiple lineages or that it evolved several times independently. Starting from the serendipitous discovery of SL trans-splicing in an arthropod, we undertook a comprehensive survey of this process in the animal kingdom. By surveying expressed sequence tag data from more than 70 metazoan species, we show that SL trans-splicing also occurs in at least two groups of arthropods (amphipod and copepod crustaceans), in ctenophores, and in hexactinellid sponges. However, we find no evidence for SL trans-splicing in other groups of arthropods and sponges or in 15 other phyla that we have surveyed. Although the presence of SL trans-splicing in hydrozoan cnidarians, hexactinellid sponges, and ctenophores might suggest that it was present at the base of the Metazoa, the patchy distribution that is evident at higher resolution suggests that SL trans-splicing has evolved repeatedly among metazoan lineages. In agreement with this scenario, we discuss evidence that SL precursor RNAs can readily evolve from ubiquitous small nuclear RNAs that are used for conventional splicing.
Effects of long-term inhaled corticosteroids on skin collagen synthesis and thickness in asthmatic patients
Authors: K Haapasaari, O Rossi, J Risteli, A Oikarinen
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (1998)

There are only a few studies on the adverse effects of inhaled corticosteroids on the skin in asthmatic patients. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of inhaled corticosteroids on de novo collagen synthesis of skin and bone, skin thickness and the total amount of skin collagen. Twenty seven consecutive new asthmatic patients, on a moderate dose of budesonide or beclomethasone dipropionate, were invited to take part in this prospective study. Radioimmunological analyses of aminoterminal propeptides of type I and III procollagens (PINP, PIIINP, respectively) in suction blister fluid (SBF) of skin and in serum and carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP) and cross-linked carbox terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) in serum were performed at entry and after 3 and 6 months of inhaled corticosteroid treatment. Ultrasound measurements of skin thickness at two sites were performed at entry, at 3 and 6 months and after 1-2 yrs of inhaled corticosteroid treatment in 20 patients, six of whom had been prescribed one or more courses of oral corticosteroids. Skin hydroxyproline of punch biopsies was determined to measure the total amount of skin collagen (males, at entry and at 6 months). Skin thickness and the total amount of skin collagen on the abdomen were unchanged after 1-2 yrs of inhaled corticosteroid use. A slight decrease was observed in the upper arm skin thickness, especially in those subjects who had received inhaled plus oral corticosteroids. The procollagen propeptide concentrations (PINP, PIIINP) were markedly decreased in SBF at 3 months and remained at this level at 6 months. In serum, a slight decrease was seen in the PINP, PIIINP and ICTP concentrations at 3 and 6 months. In conclusion, inhaled corticosteroids decrease the collagen synthesis of skin and bone, but skin thickness and the total amount of collagen in skin are not changed markedly after 1-2 yrs of treatment.
Systemic Giant-Cell Arteritis With Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Authors: E. Rolland Dickson
Journal: JAMA (1973)

Nine patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and biopsy-proved, systemic, giant-cell arteritis had significant abnormalities of liver function. The abnormalities were reversible with steroid suppression of the arteritis activity. Awareness of this association should enable the clinician to recognize and diagnose this condition and to facilitate prompt and appropriate treatment of the underlying arteritis.