tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Connective tissue disease related fibrotic lung disease: high resolution computed tomographic and pulmonary function indices as prognostic determinants
Authors: Simon L F Walsh, Nicola Sverzellati, Anand Devaraj, Gregory J Keir, Athol U Wells, David M Hansell
Journal: Thorax (2013)

To determine high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) patterns and pulmonary function indices which are associated with increased mortality in patients with connective tissue disease related fibrotic lung disease (CTD-FLD).HRCTs from 168 patients with CTD-FLD were scored by 2 observers for a variety of HRCT patterns and traction bronchiectasis. A radiological diagnosis of usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), fibrotic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) or indeterminate was also assigned. Using Cox regression analysis, associations with mortality were identified. Honeycombing and traction bronchiectasis scores were converted to binary absence/presence scores and also tested. A subgroup analysis of patients with biopsy material (n=51) was performed by classifying patients according to radiological and histopathological diagnoses, as concordant UIP, discordant UIP and fibrotic NSIP. The prognostic separation of this classification was also evaluated.Severity of traction bronchiectasis (HR 1.10, p=0.001, 95% CIs 1.04 to 1.17), increasing extent of honeycombing (HR 1.08, p=0.021, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.13) and reduction in DLco (HR 0.97, p=0.013, 95% CI 0.95 to 0.99) were independently associated with increased mortality. Interobserver agreement and prognostic strength were higher for binary traction bronchiectasis scores (weighted κ (κw)=0.69, HR 4.00, p=0.001, 95%CI 1.19 to 13.38), than binary honeycombing scores (κw=0.50, HR 2.87, p=0.022, 95% CI 1.53 to 5.43). The radiological-histopathological classification was strongly associated with increased mortality (HR 2.74, p<0.001, 95% CI 1.57 to 4.77) and patients with discordant UIP had a better prognosis than concordant UIP but worse prognosis than fibrotic NSIP.Severity of traction bronchiectasis, extent of honeycombing and DLco are strongly associated with mortality in CTD-FLD. Interobserver agreement for traction bronchiectasis is higher than for honeycombing. In CTD-FLD, radiological diagnosis has survival implications in biopsy proven UIP.
Audit of knee injuries seen in a sports medicine clinic.
Authors: G J Packer, G R McLatchie, W Bowden, C M Lennox
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (1993)

In order to assess the management of knee injuries in a sports medicine clinic, an audit was performed of all new patients who attended the clinic over a 12-month period. Of the 167 new patients seen, 76 (46%) had sustained knee injuries. Of these, 43 (57%) were treated in the sports medicine clinic and 33 (43%) were referred for arthroscopic assessment. The maximum waiting time from the time of referral was 3 weeks, with 85% of patients seen within 1 week and 92% within 2 weeks. Arthroscopy was performed on 28 (85%) of the 33 patients referred, and the positive correlation between the sports clinic diagnosis and the arthroscopic diagnosis was 64%. Of the 33 patients referred for arthroscopy, 28 (85%) had sustained acute knee injuries while five (15%) had been treated at other hospitals before referral to the sports medicine clinic. A National Health Service sports medicine clinic is an effective means of treating knee injuries, provided that access to arthroscopy is readily available.
Human MicroRNAs Originated from Two Periods at Accelerated Rates in Mammalian Evolution
Authors: Hisakazu Iwama, Kiyohito Kato, Hitomi Imachi, Koji Murao, Tsutomu Masaki
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2012)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, noncoding RNAs that modulate genes posttranscriptionally. Frequent gains and losses of miRNA genes have been reported to occur during evolution. However, little is known systematically about the periods of evolutionary origin of the present miRNA gene repertoire of an extant mammalian species. Thus, in this study, we estimated the evolutionary periods during which each of 1,433 present human miRNA genes originated within 15 periods, from human to platypus–human common ancestral branch and a class "conserved beyond theria," primarily using multiple genome alignments of 38 species, plus the pairwise genome alignments of five species. The results showed two peak periods in which the human miRNA genes originated at significantly accelerated rates. The most accelerated rate appeared in the period of the initial phase of hominoid lineage, and the second appeared shortly before Laurasiatherian divergence. Approximately 53% of the present human miRNA genes have originated within the simian lineage to human. In particular, approximately 28% originated within the hominoid lineage. The early phase of placental mammal radiation comprises approximately 28%, while no more than 15% of human miRNAs have been conserved beyond placental mammals. We also clearly showed a general trend, in which the miRNA expression level decreases as the miRNA becomes younger. Intriguingly, amid this decreasing trend of expression, we found one significant rise in the expression level that corresponded to the initial phase of the hominoid lineage, suggesting that increased functional acquisitions of miRNAs originated at this particular period.
Shared help seeking behaviour within families: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: M Cardol, P P Groenewegen, D H de Bakker, P Spreeuwenberg, L van Dijk, W van den Bosch
Journal: BMJ (2005)

<h3>Abstract</h3> <b>Objective</b> To examine the extent to which the family influences individual use of general practitioner care. <b>Design</b> Retrospective cohort study of all consultations in one calendar year. Multilevel modelling was used to analyse contact frequencies of individuals within families within practices. <b>Setting</b> General practice in the Netherlands. <b>Participants</b> 42 262 families with children aged 2-21 years registered in 96 practices. <b>Main outcome measures</b> Family influence on individual frequency of contact with general practice and correlation in frequency of contacts between parents and children. <b>Results</b> After correction for patients9 age and sex, analysis of siblings indicates that 22% of the variance in frequencies of contact can be ascribed to influence of the family. This means that contact frequencies of family members within families resemble each other, whereas differences in contact frequencies exist between families. Almost 6% of the variance refers to differences between practices and 73% of the variance refers to individual differences. The strongest correlations were found between mothers and children and between children. <b>Conclusions</b> The extent of shared help seeking behaviour within families has considerable implications in the context of the practice.
Hemostatic efficacy of a novel, PEG-coated collagen pad in clinically relevant animal models
Authors: Kevin M. Lewis, Alexandra Schiviz, Hans-Christian Hedrich, Johannes Regenbogen, Andreas Goppelt
Journal: International Journal of Surgery (2014)

Purpose: Currently available hemostatic pads are effective in treating oozing bleeds, but otherwise ineffective in more severe bleeding. This study investigates the hemostatic efficacy of a new hemostatic pad with advanced sealing properties using protein-reactive polyethylene glycol-coated collagen (PCC, Hemopatch) versus an oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC, Tabotamp/Surgicel Original) in a leporine arterial bleeding model of vascular reconstruction and a porcine hepatic model of general surgery. Methods: In both models, paired lesions were created and treated according to a randomized scheme and evaluated up to 10 min after application (40 lesions/group/model). Arterial needle holes were created in the femoral arteries of anesthetized rabbits and hepatic lesions were created into hepatic parenchyma of anesthetized pigs. Both models were heparinized to mimic clinical comorbidity. Results: In the leporine vascular surgical model, PCC provided superior hemostatic success compared to ORC at 2 min (Odds Ratio of Success: 85, 95% CI: 25.8–282) and similar hemostatic success at 10 min. In the porcine hepatic model, PCC provided superior hemostatic success compared to ORC at 2 (98 vs 55%, P < 0.001), 3 (93 vs 65%, P < 0.001), 4 (98 vs 68%, P < 0.001) and 5 min (95 vs 80%, P < 0.001), but similar hemostatic success at 8 and 10 min. Discussion: PCC provided 75.4% greater hemostatic success at 2 min in the arterial model and was at least 100 times more likely to be hemostat effective at 2 min in the hepatic model than ORC. Conclusions: PCC provided faster hemostasis than ORC in a vascular and hepatic surgical model with impaired coagulation.
Effects of inhibition of transsarcolemmal calcium influx by nickel on force of postrest contraction and on contracture induced by rapid cooling
Authors: H. Komai, B. F Rusy
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1993)

Journal Article Effects of inhibition of transsarcolemmal calcium influx by nickel on force of postrest contraction and on contracture induced by rapid cooling Get access Hirochika Komai, Hirochika Komai Department of Anesthesiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53792-3273, USA: H. Komai, B F Rusy. Correspondence to Dr Komai. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Ben F Rusy Ben F Rusy Department of Anesthesiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53792-3273, USA: H. Komai, B F Rusy. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Cardiovascular Research, Volume 27, Issue 5, May 1993, Pages 801–806, https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/27.5.801 Published: 01 May 1993 Article history Received: 14 April 1992 Accepted: 25 September 1992 Published: 01 May 1993
Regulatory functions of hapten-reactive helper and suppressor T lymphocytes. III. Amplification of a generation of tumor-specific killer T-lymphocyte activities by suppressor T-cell-depleted hapten-reactive T lymphocytes.
Authors: T Hamaoka, H Fujiwara, K Teshima, H Aoki, H Yamamoto, M Kitagawa
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1979)

2,4.6-trinitrophenyl (TNP)-reactive T-cell activities were raised in mice by immunization with TNP-isologous mouse gamma globulin. After establishing that TNP-reactive T lymphocytes can serve as amplifier cells for induction of killer T lymphocytes in allogeneic system, we explored the possibility of this hapten-reactive T-cell system to amplify tumor-specific killer T-lymphocyte activity in the syngeneic system. We utlized relatively weak immunogenic syngeneic plasmacytoma X5563 in C3H/He mice. Analysis of the TNP-reactive T-cell activities revealed that such T lymphocytes express the biological functions of both major subtypes of regulatory T cells, namely suppressors and helpers, and that TNP-reactive suppressor and helper T lymphocytes, respectively, differ in their relative susceptibility to specific inactivation by TNP conjugates of the nonimmunogenic D-amino acid copolymer, D-glutamic acid, and D-lysine (D-GL). By taking advantage of the relative susceptibility-difference to TNP-D-GL, selective inactivation of TNP-reactive suppressor T cells was induced by appropriate treatment with TNP-D-GL, and the generation of TNP-reactive helper T-cell activity was amplified. The supplement of augmented TNP-reactive helper T-cell activity to the system at the immunization with syngeneic X5563 with TNP-haptenation, resulted in a striking augmentation of induction of tumor-specific killer T-lymphocyte activity, and a considerable number of hosts survived after the challenge with lethal dose of viable tumor cells. Thus, appropriate manipulations designed to induce potent hapten-reactive helper T-lymphocytes provided the potential for a very effective mode of immunoprophylaxis against tumor.
Strategies for improving the reporting of human immunophenotypes by flow cytometry
Authors: Michael P Gustafson, Yi Lin, Mabel Ryder, Allan B Dietz
Journal: Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (2014)

Flow cytometry is the gold standard for phenotyping and quantifying immune cells. New technologies have greatly increased our capacity to measure both routine and complex immunophenotypes. The reporting of immunophenotype data is not consistent in human studies yet it is quite critical for understanding disease specific changes, responses to immunotherapies, and normal immune homeostasis. Here we examine the barriers that hinder cross comparisons of flow cytometry data collected from human studies and clinical trials.We demonstrate that phenotypes reported as percentages within a cell compartment (i.e. myeloid derived suppressor cells as a percent of mononuclear cells) without providing data on the parent population may contribute to misleading conclusions. The enumeration of phenotypes as cell counts (cells/μl) provides a basis to more accurately compare the relationships among phenotypes. Finally, we provide evidence that density gradient centrifugation, which eliminates the ability to measure phenotypes as cell counts, can affect the expression of surface markers and consequently alter the distribution of particular immunophenotypes.We propose that by measuring immunophenotypes as cell counts from minimally manipulated samples (whole blood) will improve the reporting of flow data and facilitate more direct comparisons of data across human studies.
Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Infection in Man
Authors: N J Ehrenkranz, A K Ventura
Journal: Annual Review of Medicine (1974)

Postpartum depression (PPD) is common, disabling, and treatable. The strongest risk factor is a history of mood or anxiety disorder, especially having active symptoms during pregnancy. As PPD is one of the most common complications of childbirth, it is ...Read More
Insulin and hypertension: a causal relationship?
Authors: S. Bhanot, J. H. McNeill
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1996)

Although considerable evidence lends credence to the association between insulin and hypertension, the precise nature of this link remains elusive. Recent observations indicating that insulin may modulate vascular smooth muscle contractility has given yet another interesting twist to this intriguing association. The finding that insulin can directly alter smooth muscle calcium transients as well as attenuate the effect of other vasoconstrictor amines suggests that this metabolic hormone may also play an important hemodynamic role under pathophysiologic conditions. However, the independent contribution of insulin resistance toward an increase in BP is probably smaller and more complex than is often emphasized and to assume that insulin is directly linked to a rise in BP in hypertensive subjects is perhaps oversimplistic and incorrect. Future research efforts should be targeted at examining the effects of insulin on vascular smooth muscle contractility in hypertensive subjects and the interaction of insulin with other vasoactive peptides.
Formation of S-adenosylhomocysteine in the heart. II: A sensitive index for regional myocardial underperfusion.
Authors: A Deussen, M Borst, K Kroll, J Schrader
Journal: Circulation Research (1988)

Rate of accumulation of myocardial S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) was used in an open-chest dog preparation as an index of free cytosolic adenosine levels. Following 30 minutes of coronary artery ligation and infusion of L-homocysteine thiolactone (10 mumol/kg/min i.v.) SAH levels increased from 1.3 (control) to 3.3 nmoles/g in the nonischemic and to values over 100 nmoles/g in the ischemic region. Compared with regional myocardial blood flow the enhanced rate of SAH accumulation was strictly confined to the ischemic area. As long as blood flow was 0.6-1.2 ml/min/g, SAH levels remained unchanged. However, they steeply increased when regional myocardial blood flow decreased below 60% of control. Tissue levels of adenine nucleotides, adenosine, and lactate were not significantly affected in the flow range of 0.4-0.6 ml/min/g but rate of SAH accumulation was enhanced by 400%. In the nonischemic myocardium, SAH accumulation was 60% higher in the subendocardium than in the subepicardium. Decreasing coronary perfusion pressure from 110 to 60, 45, and 35 mm Hg was associated with an exponential increase in coronary venous adenosine release only when perfusion pressure was below 60 mm Hg. Transmural mapping of SAH revealed that at 110 mm Hg SAH was homogeneously distributed, while at a perfusion pressure of 60 mm Hg SAH accumulation was enhanced only in the subendocardial layers. Decreasing perfusion pressure further to 40 and 30 mm Hg not only enhanced subendocardial SAH levels to 120 and 170 nmoles/g, respectively, but also considerably steepened the transmural gradient of SAH. SAH-hydrolase exhibited a broad pH-optimum and its activity in different parts of ventricular myocardium was identical. Our findings provide evidence that 1) measurement of SAH accumulation is a sensitive metabolic index for the assessment of regional myocardial ischemia, 2) significant formation of SAH occurs only when regional myocardial blood flow is less than 0.6 ml/min/g, and 3) transmural SAH gradient, a measure of free cytosolic adenosine, and coronary venous adenosine release significantly increase only when the autoregulatory reserve is exhausted.
MIKC* MADS-Box Proteins: Conserved Regulators of the Gametophytic Generation of Land Plants
Authors: O. Zobell, W. Faigl, H. Saedler, T. Munster
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2010)

Land plants (embryophytes) are characterized by an alternation of two generations, the haploid gametophyte and the diploid sporophyte. The development of the small and simple male gametophyte of the flowering plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) critically depends on the action of five MIKC* group MCM1-AGAMOUS-DEFICIENS-SRF-box (MADS-box) proteins. In this study, these MIKC* MADS-box genes were isolated from land plants with relatively large and complex gametophyte bodies, namely the bryophytes. We found that although the gene family expanded in the mosses Sphagnum subsecundum, Physcomitrella patens, and Funaria hygrometrica, only a single homologue, Marchantia polymorpha MADS-box gene 1 (MpMADS1), has been retained in the liverwort M. polymorpha. Liverworts are the earliest diverging land plants, and so a comparison of MpMADS1 with its angiosperm homologues addresses the molecular evolution of an embryophyte-specific transcription factor over the widest phylogenetic distance. MpMADS1 was found to form a homodimeric DNA-binding complex, which is in contrast to the Arabidopsis proteins that are functional only as heterodimeric complexes. The M. polymorpha homodimer, nevertheless, recognizes the same DNA sequences as its angiosperm counterparts and can functionally replace endogenous MIKC* complexes to a significant extent when heterologously expressed in Arabidopsis pollen. The 11 MIKC* homologues from the moss F. hygrometrica are highly and almost exclusively expressed in the gametophytic generation. Taken together, these findings suggest that MIKC* MADS-box proteins have largely preserved molecular roles in the gametophytic generation of land plants.
The Risk Associated with Aprotinin in Cardiac Surgery
Authors: Dennis T. Mangano, Iulia C. Tudor, Cynthia Dietzel
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2006)

The majority of patients undergoing surgical treatment for ST-elevation myocardial infarction receive antifibrinolytic therapy to limit blood loss. This approach appears counterintuitive to the accepted medical treatment of the same condition--namely, fibrinolysis to limit thrombosis. Despite this concern, no independent, large-scale safety assessment has been undertaken.In this observational study involving 4374 patients undergoing revascularization, we prospectively assessed three agents (aprotinin [1295 patients], aminocaproic acid [883], and tranexamic acid [822]) as compared with no agent (1374 patients) with regard to serious outcomes by propensity and multivariable methods. (Although aprotinin is a serine protease inhibitor, here we use the term antifibrinolytic therapy to include all three agents.)In propensity-adjusted, multivariable logistic regression (C-index, 0.72), use of aprotinin was associated with a doubling in the risk of renal failure requiring dialysis among patients undergoing complex coronary-artery surgery (odds ratio, 2.59; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.36 to 4.95) or primary surgery (odds ratio, 2.34; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.27 to 4.31). Similarly, use of aprotinin in the latter group was associated with a 55 percent increase in the risk of myocardial infarction or heart failure (P<0.001) and a 181 percent increase in the risk of stroke or encephalopathy (P=0.001). Neither aminocaproic acid nor tranexamic acid was associated with an increased risk of renal, cardiac, or cerebral events. Adjustment according to propensity score for the use of any one of the three agents as compared with no agent yielded nearly identical findings. All the agents reduced blood loss.The association between aprotinin and serious end-organ damage indicates that continued use is not prudent. In contrast, the less expensive generic medications aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid are safe alternatives.
Immediate effect of ultraviolet-B radiation on epidermal lysosomal hydrolases
Authors: G. VOLDEN
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1982)

The immediate effect of ultraviolet-B radiation on epidermal lysosomal enzymes in vivo was studied by irradiating the roof of suction blisters. The activities of ten lysosomal hydrolases were determined in the blister fluid and in the epidermal homogenates. The enzyme values were decreased in the irradiated epidermis compared with the non-irradiated epidermis of control suction blisters, but the values found in the fluid of irradiated blisters were not decreased compared with control fluid.