tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Availability of an Alcohol Solution Can Improve Hand Disinfection Compliance in an Intensive Care Unit
Authors: ERIC MAURY, MARC ALZIEU, JEAN LUC BAUDEL, NORREDINE HARAM, FRÉDÉRIC BARBUT, BERTRAND GUIDET, GEORGES OFFENSTADT
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2000)

We investigated whether rubbing with an alcohol solution increases compliance with hand disinfection in a medical intensive care unit (MICU). During a first period (P1), hand disinfection was achieved only through conventional washing, whereas during a second period (P2), hand disinfection could be achieved either through conventional washing or rubbing with an alcohol solution. There were 621 opportunities for hand disinfection during P1 and 905 opportunities during P2. General compliance during P1 was 42.4%, and reached 60.9% during P2 (p < 0.001). This improvement was observed among nurses (45.3% versus 66.9%, p < 0.001), senior physicians (37. 2% versus 55.5%, p < 0.001), and residents (46.9% versus 59.1%, p = 0.03). Acceptability and tolerance were evaluated through the answers to an anonymous questionnaire distributed to all 53 health care workers in the MICU. Rubbing with alcohol solution was an easy procedure (100% of responses) and induced mild side effects in less than 10% of respondents. In a complementary study conducted 3 mo after the first one, compliance remained better than during P1 (51. 3% versus 42.4%, p = 0.007). These findings suggest that rubbing with alcohol solution increases compliance with hand disinfection, and that it could be proposed as an alternative to conventional handwashing in the MICU.
Perioral dermatitis and inadvertent topical corticosteroid exposure
Authors: A. Yung, A.S. Highet
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2002)

Journal Article Perioral dermatitis and inadvertent topical corticosteroid exposure Get access A. Yung, A. Yung Department of Dermatology, Leeds General Infirmary, Great George Street, Leeds LS1 3EX, U.K Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar A.S. Highet A.S. Highet York District General Hospital, Wigginton Road, *York YO31 8HE, U.K. E‐mail: ants_ange@hotmail.com Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 147, Issue 6, 1 December 2002, Pages 1279–1280, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2002.05000_14.x Published: 01 December 2002
Therapy With Cardiac Contractility Modulation Electrical Signals Improves Left Ventricular Function and Remodeling in Dogs With Chronic Heart Failure
Authors: Makoto Imai, Sharad Rastogi, Ramesh C. Gupta, Sudhish Mishra, Victor G. Sharov, William C. Stanley, Yuval Mika, Benny Rousso, Daniel Burkhoff, Shlomo Ben-Haim, Hani N. Sabbah
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2007)
Primary care for patients at genetic risk
Authors: R. Harris, H. J Harris
Journal: BMJ (1995)

A priority for the European Union's concerted action on genetics services

Gone are the days when general practitioners could believe thatgenetics had little relevance to patients in their practice.Molecular genetics has thrown up opportunities for prevention,screening, and diagnosis, and the public is keen to have accessto them. Indeed, the forces driving community genetics may proveto be the catalysts to a general change in primary care in the21st century.

The clinical use of genetics should begin with general practitioners,backed by specialists in medical genetics. Primary care teamswill need further education, supported by specialist advice,if they are to bring the benefits of genetic advances to theirpatients. The jargon of risks and probabilities makes medicalgenetics seem complex and confusing, so the task is challenging.

How,for example, does a general practitioner counsel a womanwho has been told in the antenatal clinic that the serum testfor Down's syndrome gives her risk of having an affected babyas being 1 in 190, the risk being quoted in multiples of themedian? The vision of the genetic prediction of the risk ofcommon disease implies that general practitioners will be ableto answer questions from large …
High-Dose Acetylcysteine in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Authors: Maurits Demedts, Juergen Behr, Roland Buhl, Ulrich Costabel, Richard Dekhuijzen, Henk M. Jansen, William MacNee, Michiel Thomeer, Benoit Wallaert, François Laurent, Andrew G. Nicholson, Eric K. Verbeken, Johny Verschakelen, Christopher D.R. Flower, Frédérique Capron, Stefano Petruzzelli, Paul De Vuyst, Jules M.M. van den Bosch, Eulogio Rodriguez-Becerra, Giuseppina Corvasce, Ida Lankhorst, Marco Sardina, Mauro Montanari
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2005)

We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter study that assessed the effectiveness over one year of a high oral dose of acetylcysteine (600 mg three times daily) added to standard therapy with prednisone plus azathioprine. The primary end points were changes between baseline and month 12 in vital capacity and in single-breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO).
A peaceful death
Authors: J O'Neill
Journal: BMJ (1999)

Six years ago at the age of 68 my father in law was diagnosed as having prostate cancer. A bone scan confirmed disseminated bony metastases.

Hormonal treatment meant that he could enjoy my wedding five months later, and we hoped for several years of good quality existence for him Four months later, his backache became more troublesome, the disease was failing to respond to medical hormonal treatment, and his surgeon recommended orchidectomy. An anxious telephone call from his wife the day after the operation, telling us that he had weakness of his arms, set alarm bells ringing. Computed tomography confirmed spinal cord compression. During, or shortly after his operation, he had developed cervical compression of the cord, possibly precipitated by the necessary manipulation of the neck during intubation for the general anaesthetic. He was confined to strict bed rest, unable to sit up owing to the tenuous stability of his cervical spine. A course of radiotherapy failed to improve his condition. A neurosurgeon offered a …
Use of a Validated Algorithm to Judge the Appropriateness of Total Knee Arthroplasty in the United States: A Multicenter Longitudinal Cohort Study
Authors: Daniel L. Riddle, William A. Jiranek, Curtis W. Hayes
Journal: Arthritis & Rheumatology (2014)

Objective In previous studies conducted outside the US, ∼20% of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgeries were judged to be inappropriate. The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence rates of TKA surgeries classified as appropriate, inconclusive, and inappropriate in a knee osteoarthritis population in the US. Methods We used a modification of a validated appropriateness classification system and applied it to patients in the Osteoarthritis Initiative data set who underwent TKA. A variety of preoperative data were used in the classification, including Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index pain and physical function scores, radiographic features, knee motion and laxity measures, and age. Results Data on 205 patients who underwent TKA were examined. The prevalence rates for classification of the procedure as appropriate, inconclusive, and inappropriate were 44.0% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 37–51%), 21.7% (95% CI 16–28%), and 34.3% (95% CI 27–41%), respectively. Conclusion Approximately one‐third of TKA surgeries were judged to be inappropriate. Variation in the characteristics of patients undergoing TKA was extensive. These data support the need for consensus development of criteria for patient selection among US practitioners treating patients who are potential candidates for TKA. Among the important issues, consensus development needs to address variation in patient characteristics and the relative importance of preoperative status and subsequent outcome.
Evaluation of asthma knowledge and quality of life in Hungarian asthmatics
Authors: A. Meszaros, M. Orosz, P. Magyar, A. Mesko, Z. Vincze
Journal: Allergy (2003)

Background: The objective was to develop an educational instrument, to assess its impact as an intervention instrument and to examine quality of life (QoL). Methods: 119 asthmatics were randomized (64 in the intervention and 55 in the reference group). The education instrument was developed based on the EuroPharm‐Forum Guidelines and its impact assessed by a self‐developed questionnaire. Patients’ QoL, asthma knowledge was assessed twice, once before and after the education seminar, education was only provided for the intervention group. QoL was measured with the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and a visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: We found significant differences in answers to the asthma questions, by 40% improvement, but no changes in the control group. In inhaler‐use technique, we could not find significant changes neither in the intervention nor in the control group. There were no significant differences between the results of the two visits neither with the VAS nor with the SGRQ on the QoL data. Conclusion: The results indicate that asthmatics experience lower QoL. As the subjects were regularly controlled asthmatics they had better general knowledge and inhaler‐use technique was expected. The results suggest that it is necessary to regularly refresh asthma knowledge, to assess patients’ self‐management plans to achieve long‐term effectiveness of asthma management.
An immunoepidemiological approach to asthma: identification of in-vitro T cell response patterns associated with different wheezing phenotypes in children
Authors: T Heaton, J Rowe, S Turner, RC Aalberse, N de Klerk, D Suriyaarachchi, M Serralha, BJ Holt, E Hollams, S Yerkovich, K Holt, PD Sly, J Goldblatt, PLe Souef, PG Holt
Journal: The Lancet (2005)
Separation of periportal and perivenous rat hepatocytes by fluorescence-activated cell sorting: Confirmation with colloidal gold as an exogenous marker
Authors: Ineke Braakman, Jan Keij, Machiel J. Hardonk, Dirk K. F. Meijer, Geny M. M. Groothuis
Journal: Hepatology (1991)

Periportal and perivenous hepatocytes are known to display various functional differences. In this study we present a new method to separate periportal and perivenous cells: after selectively loading zone 1 or zone 3 with the fluorescent label acridine orange in an antegrade or retrograde perfusion, respectively, we separated the isolated hepatocytes on a fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The common way to check on proper separation is to estimate activities of enzymes known to exhibit a heterogeneous acinar distribution. Using enzyme histochemistry, however, we found that already on short collagenase perfusion, some enzymes displayed a more shallow gradient than in vivo, making enzyme activities less suitable as zonal markers. We therefore used colloidal gold granules (17 nm) injected intravenously (2.5 mg) into the rat 2 to 3 hr before cell isolation. The gold is taken up predominantly by perivenous hepatocytes, probably because of the efficient removal of gold granules in zone 1 by competing Kupffer cells. We compared acridine orange fluorescence, presence of gold particles and activities of six marker enzymes, three biochemically and three histochemically determined. Acridine orange and gold both pointed to a high enrichment of the fractions, whereas most enzyme activities were more randomly distributed among the cells as a result of the isolation procedure. Our separation procedure yielded fractions highly enriched in either viable periportal or perivenous cells, both from one liver. The use of colloidal gold as a marker to monitor separation is a valuable alternative to the more risky estimation of enzyme activities.
Changes in the Proliferative Activity of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells in NOD/SCID Mice and Enhancement of Their Transplantability after In Vivo Treatment with Cell Cycle Inhibitors
Authors: J. Cashman, B. Dykstra, I. Clark-Lewis, A. Eaves, C. Eaves
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2002)

Human hematopoietic tissue contains rare stem cells with multilineage reconstituting ability demonstrable in receptive xenogeneic hosts. We now show that within 3 wk nonobese diabetic severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice transplanted with human fetal liver cells regenerate near maximum levels of daughter human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) able to repopulate secondary NOD/SCID mice. At this time, most of the human HSCs (and other primitive progenitors) are actively proliferating as shown by their sensitivity to treatments that kill cycling cells selectively (e.g., exposure to high specific-activity [3H]thymidine in vitro or 5-fluorouracil in vivo). Interestingly, the proliferating human HSCs were rapidly forced into quiescence by in vivo administration of stromal-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and this was accompanied by a marked increase in the numbers of human HSCs detectable. A similar result was obtained when transforming growth factor-β was injected, consistent with a reversible change in HSCs engrafting potential linked to changes in their cell cycle status. By 12 wk after transplant, most of the human HSCs had already entered Go and treatment with SDF-1 had no effect on their engrafting activity. These findings point to the existence of novel mechanisms by which inhibitors of HSC cycling can regulate the engrafting ability of human HSCs executing self-renewal divisions in vivo.
Plasma-Advanced Oxidation Protein Products Are Potent High-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Antagonists In Vivo
Authors: Gunther Marsche, Sasa Frank, Andelko Hrzenjak, Michael Holzer, Sabine Dirnberger, Christian Wadsack, Hubert Scharnagl, Tatjana Stojakovic, Akos Heinemann, Karl Oettl
Journal: Circulation Research (2009)

Advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) are carried by oxidized plasma proteins, especially albumin and accumulate in subjects with renal disease and coronary artery disease. AOPPs represent an excellent novel marker of oxidative stress and their roles in the development of cardiovascular disease might be of great importance. Here, we show that in vitro-generated AOPP-albumin binds with high affinity to the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI). Already an equimolar concentration of AOPP-albumin to HDL blocked HDL association to SR-BI and effectively inhibited SR-BI-mediated cholesterol ester (CE) uptake. Interestingly, albumin extensively modified by advanced glycation end products (AGE-albumin), which is an established SR-BI ligand known to accumulate in renal disease, only weakly interfered with HDL binding to SR-BI. Furthermore, AOPP-albumin administration increased the plasma half-life of [ 3 H]CE-HDL in control mice 1.6-fold ( P =0.01) and 8-fold ( P =0.0003) in mice infected with adenoviral vectors encoding human SR-BI. Moreover, albumin isolated from hemodialysis patients, but not albumin isolated from healthy controls, markedly inhibited SR-BI-mediated HDL-CE transfer in vitro dependent on the AOPP content of albumin. These results indicate that AOPP-albumin effectively blocks SR-BI in vitro and in vivo. Thus, depressed plasma clearance of HDL-cholesterol may contribute to the abnormal composition of HDL and the high cardiovascular risk observed in patients with chronic renal failure.
Measurement of Cord Insulin and Insulin-Related Peptides Suggests That Girls Are More Insulin Resistant Than Boys at Birth
Authors: Beverley M. Shields, Bridget Knight, Heather Hopper, Anita Hill, Roy J. Powell, Andrew T. Hattersley, Penelope M. Clark
Journal: Diabetes Care (2007)

OBJECTIVE— We aimed to examine sex differences in insulin and insulin propeptide concentrations at birth using validated cord blood collection. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— We tested the impact on insulin and insulin propeptides of taking 13 cord blood samples in heparin and EDTA and then centrifuging and separating plasma after 1, 2, 24, or 48 h at room temperature (heparin) or 4°C (EDTA). Cord plasma insulin and insulin propeptides concentrations were measured in 440 babies and correlated with offspring anthropometry measured at birth. RESULTS— Cord insulin concentrations significantly decreased (74% those at baseline by 24 h; P = 0.01) in the samples taken in heparin and stored at room temperature, but those taken on EDTA and refrigerated remained stable for up to 48 h. Insulin propeptides were stable in both. Cord plasma insulin and insulin propeptides measured in EDTA were related to all measures of birth size and maternal glycemia and BMI (r &amp;gt; 0.11; P &amp;lt; 0.03 for all) and were higher in those delivered via caesarean section. Girls were lighter (3,497 vs. 3,608 g; P = 0.01) but had higher cord insulin (46.7 vs. 41.2 pmol/l; P = 0.031), total proinsulin (34.1 vs. 25.8 pmol/l; P &amp;lt; 0.001), and intact proinsulin (9.5 vs. 8.3 pmol/l; P = 0.004) concentrations than boys; this was further confirmed when cord insulin concentrations of boys and girls were compared after pair matching for birth weight (insulin 49.7 vs. 42.1 pmol/l; P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS— When using appropriate sample collection methods, female newborns have higher insulin concentrations than male newborns, despite being smaller, suggesting intrinsic insulin resistance in girls.
Inhibiting Lung Elastase Activity Enables Lung Growth in Mechanically Ventilated Newborn Mice
Authors: Anne Hilgendorff, Kakoli Parai, Robert Ertsey, Noopur Jain, Edwin F. Navarro, Joanna L. Peterson, Rasa Tamosiuniene, Mark R. Nicolls, Barry C. Starcher, Marlene Rabinovitch, Richard D. Bland
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2011)

Rationale: Mechanical ventilation with O2-rich gas (MV-O2) offers life-saving treatment for respiratory failure, but also promotes lung injury. We previously reported that MV-O2 of newborn mice increased lung elastase activity, causing elastin degradation and redistribution of elastic fibers from septal tips to alveolar walls. These changes were associated with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β activation and increased apoptosis leading to defective alveolarization and lung growth arrest, as seen in neonatal chronic lung disease.Objectives: To determine if intratracheal treatment of newborn mice with the serine elastase inhibitor elafin would prevent MV-O2–induced lung elastin degradation and the ensuing cascade of events causing lung growth arrest.Methods: Five-day-old mice were treated via tracheotomy with recombinant human elafin or vehicle (lactated-Ringer solution), followed by MV with 40% O2 for 8–24 hours; control animals breathed 40% O2 without MV. At study's end, lungs were harvested to assess key variables noted below.Measurements and Main Results: MV-O2 of vehicle-treated pups increased lung elastase and matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity when compared with unventilated control animals, causing elastin degradation (urine desmosine doubled), TGF-β activation (pSmad-2 tripled), and apoptosis (cleaved-caspase-3 increased 10-fold). Quantitative lung histology showed larger and fewer alveoli, greater inflammation, and scattered elastic fibers. Elafin blocked these MV-O2–induced changes.Conclusions: Intratracheal elafin, by blocking lung protease activity, prevented MV-O2–induced elastin degradation, TGF-β activation, apoptosis, and dispersion of matrix elastin, and attenuated lung structural abnormalities noted in vehicle-treated mice after 24 hours of MV-O2. These findings suggest that elastin breakdown contributes to defective lung growth in response to MV-O2 and might be targeted therapeutically to prevent MV-O2–induced lung injury.
Megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDF)-induced acute leukemia cell proliferation and clonal growth is associated with functional c-mpl
Authors: W Piacibello, F Sanavio, MF Brizzi, L Garetto, A Severino, MG Aronica, G Dragonetti, M Aglietta, L Pegoraro
Journal: Leukemia (1997)
Cystatin C as a Risk Factor for Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Vandana Menon, Michael G. Shlipak, Xuelei Wang, Josef Coresh, Tom Greene, Lesley Stevens, John W. Kusek, Gerald J. Beck, Allan J. Collins, Andrew S. Levey, Mark J. Sarnak
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

No study has compared cystatin C level, serum creatinine concentration, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as risk factors for outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD), and none has compared measured GFR with CKD in any population.To compare cystatin C level with serum creatinine concentration and iothalamate GFR as risk factors for death and kidney failure.Observational study using serum cystatin C assayed from baseline samples of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (1989-1993).15 clinical centers in the United States that participated in the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study.825 trial participants with stage 3 or 4 nondiabetic CKD who had measurements of serum cystatin C.All-cause mortality, cardiovascular (CVD) mortality, and kidney failure until December 2000.Mean cystatin C level, creatinine concentration, and GFR were 2.2 mg/L (SD, 0.7), 212.16 micromol/L (SD, 88.4) (2.4 mg/dL [SD, 1.0]), and 33 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (SD, 12), respectively. Median follow-up was 10 years. Twenty-five percent of patients (n = 203) died of any cause, 15% (n = 123) died of CVD, and 66% (n = 548) reached kidney failure. In multivariate-adjusted models, 1-SD decreases in 1/creatinine, GFR, and 1/cystatin C were associated with increased risks for all-cause mortality of 1.27 (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.49), 1.27 (CI, 1.08 to 1.49), and 1.41 (CI, 1.18 to 1.67), respectively. For CVD mortality, the increased risks were 1.32 (CI, 1.05 to 1.64), 1.28 (CI, 1.04 to 1.59), and 1.64 (CI, 1.28 to 2.08), respectively. For kidney failure, the increased risks were 2.81 (CI, 2.48 to 3.18), 2.41 (CI, 2.15 to 2.70), and 2.36 (CI, 2.10 to 2.66), respectively.The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study cohort may not be representative of all patients with nondiabetic CKD because participants were more likely to reach kidney failure than death in follow-up.The association of cystatin C level with all-cause and CVD mortality was as strong as or perhaps stronger than that of iothalamate GFR with these outcomes in stage 3 or 4 CKD.
Hippo Pathway Effector Yap Is an Ovarian Cancer Oncogene
Authors: Chad A. Hall, Runsheng Wang, Jiangyong Miao, Esther Oliva, Xiaoyun Shen, Thomas Wheeler, Susan G. Hilsenbeck, Sandra Orsulic, Scott Goode
Journal: Cancer Research (2010)

Abstract The Hippo pathway regulates organ size and tumorigenesis in Drosophila and mammals and is altered in a variety of human cancers, yet it remains unclear if the Hippo pathway is of prognostic significance to cancer patients. Here we show that the key targets of Hippo signaling, transcriptional coactivators Yki and Yap, play a conserved role in promoting ovarian cancer in flies and humans, respectively. Whereas studies linking Yap to cancer in other tissues have focused on overall Yap levels, we show for the first time that subcellular levels of Yap show an exceptionally strong association with poor patient survival. Specifically, high levels of nuclear Yap (nYap), or low levels of cytoplasmic phosphorylated Yap (cpYap), associated with poor survival from ovarian cancer. Patients with both high nYap and low cpYap had ∼50% lower 5-year survival, and this combination is an independent prognostic marker for survival, with an exceptionally high hazard ratio of 7.8. We find that Yap2 is the predominantly expressed Yap isoform in both the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) and epithelial ovarian cancers. Overexpression of Yap2 and phosphorylation-defective Yap2-5SA in immortalized OSE cells resulted in increased cell proliferation, resistance to cisplatin-induced apoptosis, faster cell migration, and anchorage-independent growth, whereas Yap knockdown resulted in increased sensitivity to cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Findings argue that the Hippo signaling pathway defines an important pathway in progression of ovarian cancer. Cancer Res; 70(21); 8517–25. ©2010 AACR.