tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Experimental study into forearm compartmental pressures
Authors: A Ardolino, N Zeineh, D O'Connor
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2011)

Introduction Chronic compartment syndrome is well recognised, although rare in the forearm. In our chronic compartment syndrome clinic, we successfully identified and treated four cases. This prompted a literature review searching for normal ranges of forearm compartmental pressures. Existing normal forearm pressure ranges are based on lower limb measurements. This study aimed to establish normal pre- and postexercise forearm pressures. Methods Using a Stryker intracompartmental pressure monitor, 41 participants underwent pressure measurements of the superficial extensor and flexor forearm compartments before and after exercise. Results Normal ranges for pre-exercise extensor compartment (2–27 mm Hg, upper CI 18.8 to 25.2 mm Hg), postexercise extensor compartment (2–24 mm Hg, upper CI 16.8 to 22.8 mm Hg), pre-exercise flexor compartment (1–19 mm Hg, upper CI 13.3 to 17.4 mm Hg) and postexercise flexor compartment (0–19 mm Hg, upper CI 16–21.4 mm Hg) pressures were established. No significant pressure difference was found after exercise (extensor pressures; p=0.41, flexor pressures; p=0.21). There was no correlation between whether pressures increased or decreased following exercise. There was significant sex difference (extensor pressures; p=0.04, flexor pressures; p=0.008). Normal ranges for the extensor compartment were; 0–25.2 mm Hg and for the flexor compartment; 0–21.4 mm Hg. Conclusions This study showed a significant difference in normal forearm compartment pressures between sexes. A normal reference range of forearm compartment pressures to aid diagnosis of chronic compartment syndrome has been determined. This may also prove useful in aiding diagnosis of acute forearm compartment syndrome.
Downregulation of cardiac guanosine 5'-triphosphate-binding proteins in right atrium and left ventricle in pacing-induced congestive heart failure.
Authors: D A Roth, K Urasawa, G A Helmer, H K Hammond
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1993)

The extent to which congestive heart failure (CHF) is dependent upon increased levels of the cardiac inhibitory GTP-binding protein (Gi), and the impact of CHF on the cardiac stimulatory GTP-binding protein (Gs) and mechanisms by which Gs may change remain unexplored. We have addressed these unsettled issues using pacing-induced CHF in pigs to examine physiological, biochemical, and molecular features of the right atrium (RA) and left ventricle (LV). CHF was associated with an 85 +/- 20% decrease in LV segment shortening (P < 0.001) and a 3.5-fold increase (P = 0.006) in the ED50 for isoproterenol-stimulated heart rate responsiveness. Myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor number was decreased 54% in RA (P = 0.004) and 57% in LV (P < 0.001), and multiple measures of adenylyl cyclase activity were depressed 49 +/- 8% in RA (P < 0.005), and 44 +/- 9% in LV (P < 0.001). Quantitative immunoblotting established that Gi and Gs were decreased in RA (Gi: 59% reduction; P < 0.0001; Gs: 28% reduction; P < 0.007) and LV (Gi: 35% reduction; P < 0.008; Gs: 28% reduction; P < 0.01) after onset of CHF. Reduced levels of Gi and Gs were confirmed by ADP ribosylation studies, and diminished function of Gs was established in reconstitution studies. Steady state levels for Gs alpha mRNA were increased in RA and unchanged in LV, and significantly more GS alpha was found in the supernatant (presumably cytosolic) fraction in RA and LV membrane homogenates after CHF, suggesting that increased Gs degradation, rather than decreased Gs synthesis, is the mechanism by which Gs is downregulated. We conclude that cardiac Gi content poorly predicts adrenergic responsiveness or contractile function, that decreased Gs is caused by increased degradation rather than decreased synthesis, and that alterations in beta-adrenergic receptors, adenylyl cyclase, and GTP-binding proteins are uniform in RA and LV in this model of congestive heart failure.
Fungal antioxidant pathways promote survival against neutrophils during infection
Authors: Sixto M. Leal, Chairut Vareechon, Susan Cowden, Brian A. Cobb, Jean-Paul Latgé, Michelle Momany, Eric Pearlman
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2012)

Filamentous fungi are a common cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide. Using both murine model systems and in vitro human neutrophils, we found that NADPH oxidase produced by neutrophils was essential to control the growth of Aspergillus and Fusarium fungi in the cornea. We demonstrated that neutrophil oxidant production and antifungal activity are dependent on CD18, but not on the β-glucan receptor dectin-1. We used mutant A. fumigatus strains to show that the reactive oxygen species-sensing transcription factor Yap1, superoxide dismutases, and the Yap1-regulated thioredoxin antioxidant pathway are each required for protection against neutrophil-mediated oxidation of hyphae as well as optimal survival of fungal hyphae in vivo. We also demonstrated that thioredoxin inhibition using the anticancer drug PX-12 increased the sensitivity of fungal hyphae to both H2O2- and neutrophil-mediated killing in vitro. Additionally, topical application of PX-12 significantly enhanced neutrophil-mediated fungal killing in infected mouse corneas. Cumulatively, our data reveal critical host oxidative and fungal anti-oxidative mediators that regulate hyphal survival during infection. Further, these findings also indicate that targeting fungal anti-oxidative defenses via PX-12 may represent an efficacious strategy for treating fungal infections.
Integrating Information From Novel Risk Factors With Calculated Risks
Authors: Albertus J. Kooter, Piet J. Kostense, Jan Groenewold, Abel Thijs, Naveed Sattar, Yvo M. Smulders
Journal: Circulation (2011)

a 60-year-old man visits his physician for assessment of his 10-year cardiovascular risk.On the basis of his systolic blood pressure, lipid profile, smoking status, and the fact that he is nondiabetic, the Framingham risk score estimates his risk to be 8%.The physician wonders if he could further specify the patients risk by performing an additional test like coronary calcium score or microalbuminuria (MA).For matters of convenience and costs he decides to test MA, which turns out positive.Assuming that MA has an invariable and exact relative risk (RR), independent from the aforementioned classical risk factors, of 2.0, what would this man's estimated risk become?
Comparison of three types of full-body compression garments on throwing and repeat-sprint performance in cricket players
Authors: Rob Duffield, Marc Portus
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2007)

Objective: To compare the effects of three types of full-body compression garments (Skins, Adidas and Under Armour) on repeat-sprint and throwing performance in cricket players. Methods: Following familiarisation, 10 male cricket players performed four randomised exercise sessions (3 garments and a control). Each session involved a 30 min repeat-sprint exercise protocol comprising 20 m sprints every minute, separated by submaximal exercise. Throwing tests included a pre-exercise and a postexercise maximal distance test and accuracy throwing tests. During each session, measures of heart rate, skin temperature, change in body mass, rate of perceived exertion and perceived muscle soreness were recorded. Capillary blood samples were analysed before and after exercise for lactate, pH, O 2 saturation and O 2 partial pressure, and 24 h after exercise for creatine kinase (CK). Ratings of perceived muscle soreness were also obtained 24 h after exercise. Results: No significant differences (p&gt;0.05) were evident in repeat-sprint performance (10 m, 20 m time or total submaximal distance covered) or throwing performance (maximum distance or accuracy). No significant differences (p&gt;0.05) were observed in heart rate, body mass change or blood measures during exercise. Significant differences (p&lt;0.05) were observed by way of higher mean skin temperature, lower 24 h postexercise CK values and lower 24 h postexercise ratings of muscle soreness when wearing compression garments. Analysis between respective brands of compression garments revealed no statistical differences (p&gt;0.05). Conclusions: No benefit was noted when wearing compression garments for repeat-sprint or throwing performance; however, the use of the garments as a recovery tool, when worn after exercise, may be beneficial to reduce postexercise trauma and perceived muscle soreness.
Instrumental perforations of the oesophagus and their management.
Authors: K Moghissi, D Pender
Journal: Thorax (1988)

The records of 39 patients who had developed a perforation of the oesophagus after instrumentation were reviewed. Ten (group A) had cervical and 29 (group B) thoracic oesophageal perforation. Twenty three perforations occurred during dilatation of an oesophageal stricture, 10 during oesophagoscopic removal of a foreign body, and six during diagnostic oesophagoscopy. Of the 21 patients treated within 36 hours (early treatment group), four (19%) died; of the 18 treated more than 36 hours after the perforation (late treatment group), nine (50%) died. None of the 10 patients in group A had strictures and only two presented late. After drainage of the neck and mediastinum the outcome was successful in all patients. Thirteen of the 29 in group B were treated early and four of these died; nine of the 16 treated late died, the total mortality for thoracic perforation being 48%. An oesophageal stricture was present in 23 patients. Twelve of these underwent various forms of conservative surgery and there were 10 deaths. This contrasts with the 11 who received radical treatment with resection and reconstruction, only two of whom died. The six patients with no pre-existing stricture were treated with conservative forms of surgery, with one death.
Transcriptional and Epigenetic Control of T Helper Cell Specification: Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Commitment and Plasticity
Authors: Yuka Kanno, Golnaz Vahedi, Kiyoshi Hirahara, Kentner Singleton, John J. O'Shea
Journal: Annual Review of Immunology (2012)

T helper cell differentiation occurs in the context of the extracellular cytokine milieu evoked by diverse microbes and other pathogenic stimuli along with T cell receptor stimulation. The culmination of these signals results in specification of T helper lineages, which occurs through the combinatorial action of multiple transcription factors that establish distinctive transcriptomes. In this manner, inducible, but constitutively active, master regulators work in conjunction with factors such as the signal transducer and activator of transcriptions (STATs) that sense the extracellular environment. The acquisition of a distinctive transcriptome also depends on chromatin modifications that impact key cis elements as well as the changes in global genomic organization. Thus, signal transduction and epigenetics are linked in these processes of differentiation. In this review, recent advances in understanding T helper lineage specification and deciphering the action of transcription factors are summarized with emphasis on comprehensive views of the dynamic T cell epigenome.
Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: G. Ellis, M. A. Whitehead, D. Robinson, D. O'Neill, P. Langhorne
Journal: BMJ (2011)

To evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive geriatric assessment in hospital for older adults admitted as an emergency.We searched the EPOC Register, Cochrane's Controlled Trials Register, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Medline, Embase, CINAHL, AARP Ageline, and handsearched high yield journals.Randomised controlled trials of comprehensive geriatric assessment (whether by mobile teams or in designated wards) compared with usual care. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is a multidimensional interdisciplinary diagnostic process used to determine the medical, psychological, and functional capabilities of a frail elderly person to develop a coordinated and integrated plan for treatment and long term follow-up.Three independent reviewers assessed eligibility and trial quality and extracted published data. Two additional reviewers moderated.Twenty two trials evaluating 10,315 participants in six countries were identified. For the primary outcome "living at home," patients who underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment were more likely to be alive and in their own homes at the end of scheduled follow-up (odds ratio 1.16 (95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.28; P = 0.003; number needed to treat 33) at a median follow-up of 12 months versus 1.25 (1.11 to 1.42; P < 0.001; number needed to treat 17) at a median follow-up of six months) compared with patients who received general medical care. In addition, patients were less likely to be living in residential care (0.78, 0.69 to 0.88; P < 0.001). Subgroup interaction suggested differences between the subgroups "wards" and "teams" in favour of wards. Patients were also less likely to die or experience deterioration (0.76, 0.64 to 0.90; P = 0.001) and were more likely to experience improved cognition (standardised mean difference 0.08, 0.01 to 0.15; P = 0.02) in the comprehensive geriatric assessment group.Comprehensive geriatric assessment increases patients' likelihood of being alive and in their own homes after an emergency admission to hospital. This seems to be especially true for trials of wards designated for comprehensive geriatric assessment and is associated with a potential cost reduction compared with general medical care.
Single-channel properties of L-type calcium channels from failing human ventricle
Authors: Renate Handrock, Frank Schröder, Stephan Hirt, Axel Haverich, Clemens Mittmann, Stefan Herzig
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (1998)

Objective: The aim of our study was to analyse the single-channel properties of L-type calcium channels from failing human heart and to compare them to the respective animal data. Furthermore, we intended to evaluate the feasibility of future single-channel studies on the role of calcium channels in the pathophysiology of heart failure. Methods: Single L-type calcium channels were recorded in ventricular myocytes from explanted failing human heart, using the cell-attached configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Results: One or more successful registrations of calcium channels could be obtained in 11 of 19 cell isolations. Determination of single-channel conductance yielded a mean value of 16.6±1.2 pS (70 mM Ba2+ as the charge carrier) under control conditions and 23.7±2.8 pS in presence of the calcium-channel agonist FPL 64176. The rapid gating process could be described by a C↔C↔O gating scheme. Slow gating analysis revealed a highly significant clustering of active and non-active sweeps. Conclusion: Single-channel measurements of L-type calcium channels in human failing ventricle are feasible and reproducible despite the varying patient characteristics. Their channel properties are qualitatively comparable to those found in other mammals. Whether there are quantitative differences due to the underlying heart failure can be elucidated in further studies.
Points: You may die from "old age," but if you do you may not be cremated
Authors: M K. Williams
Journal: BMJ (1982)

August, p 421), any doctor interested in relieving the dire poverty and hunger in the Third World might be interested in joining the World Development Movement, Bedford Chambers, Covent Gar- den, London WC2E 8HA.This is an organisa- tion which campaigns for a fairer deal for the Third World through activities including lobbying MPs on the implementations of the Brandt Report....
Characterization and partial purification of a factor from uremic human serum that induces insulin resistance.
Authors: M L McCaleb, M S Izzo, D H Lockwood
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1985)

We have previously shown that the incubation of normal rat adipose tissue with sera from nondialyzed, nondiabetic uremic patients reduces the transport and metabolism of glucose, in the absence and presence of insulin. In this study insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism by normal rat adipocytes was used as a bioassay to identify the resistance activity, assess the effect of chemical modification on it, and the clinical states associated with its production. The resistance activity was trypsin-labile and had an apparent isoelectric point between 6 and 7, but was not retained by either protein A or concanavalin A columns. The insulin resistance activity was decreased by coincubation with the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. Purification to greater than 200,000-fold was attained by heating (100 degrees C) uremic serum, subjecting the supernatant to Sephadex G-25 chromatography and subsequent adsorption to DEAE at pH 7.8 and elution at pH 6.5. The partially purified resistance activity was retained within dialysis tubing of 1,000-mol wt cutoff but not within 2,000-mol wt cutoff. Hemodialysis of patients over 1 wk to 18 mo reduced significantly the amount of resistance activity in their sera. The resistance activity, present in most uremic patients, was not found in the sera of individuals with normal renal function but who were either obese, fasted, elderly or had type II diabetes mellitus. Thus, a circulating small molecular weight peptide, unique to uremia, induced insulin resistance by a protein synthesis-dependent mechanism.
Peripheral ulcerative keratitis in rheumatoid arthritis: successful use of intravenous cyclophosphamide and comparison of clinical and serological characteristics
Authors: A R Clewes
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2005)

Peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK) is a devastating complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that can lead to rapid corneal destruction (corneal melt) and perforation with loss of vision (fig 1). It is well reported to herald systemic vasculitis and carries a high mortality rate if not aggressively treated.1 There is a paucity of information concerning the clinical and serological characteristics of these patients and no clear consensus about treatment.



 Figure 1  
 Note the peripheral circumferential damage from corneal ulceration (arrows).



We report the successful management of seven such patients with the use of intravenous cyclophosphamide and compare the serological and clinical characteristics with a comparative group of 150 rheumatoid patients without associated PUK, who attended an outpatient clinic.

All patients received systemic immunosuppressive treatment with intravenous cyclophosphamide and the …
Worldwide patterns of mitochondrial DNA differentiation in the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
Authors: H. F. Stanley, S. Casey, J. M. Carnahan, S. Goodman, J. Harwood, R. K. Wayne
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (1996)

The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) has one of the broadest geographic distributions of any pinniped, stretching from the east Baltic, west across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to southern Japan. Although individuals may travel several hundred kilometers on annual feeding migrations, harbor seals are generally believed to be philopatric, returning to the same areas each year to breed. Consequently, seals from different areas are likely to be genetically differentiated, with levels of genetic divergence increasing with distance. Differentiation may also be caused by long-standing topographic barriers such as the polar sea ice. We analyzed samples of 227 harbor seals from 24 localities and defined 34 genotypes based on 435 bp of control region sequence. Phylogenetic analysis and analysis of molecular variance showed that populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and east and west coast populations of these oceans are significantly differentiated. Within these four regions, populations that are geographically farthest apart generally are the most differentiated and often do not share genotypes or differ in genotype frequency. The average corrected sequence divergence between populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is 3.28% +/- 0.38% and those among populations within each of these oceans are 0.75% +/- 0.69% and 1.19% +/- 0.65%, respectively. Our results suggest that harbor seals are regionally philopatric, on the scale of several hundred kilometers. However, genetic discontinuities may exist, even between neighboring populations such as those on the Scottish and east English coasts or the east and west Baltic. The mitochondrial data are consistent with an ancient isolation of populations in both oceans, due to the development of polar sea ice. In the Atlantic and Pacific, populations appear to have been colonized from west to east with the European populations showing the most recent common ancestry. We suggest the recent ancestry of European seal populations may reflect recolonization from Ice Age refugia after the last glaciation.
Rodent Evolution: Back to the Root
Authors: Gennady Churakov, Manoj K. Sadasivuni, Kate R. Rosenbloom, Dorothée Huchon, Jürgen Brosius, Jürgen Schmitz
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2010)

Some 70 Ma, rodents arose along a branch of our own mammalian lineage. Today, about 40% of all mammalian species are rodents and are found in vast numbers on almost every continent. Not only is their proliferation extensive but also the rates of DNA evolution vary significantly among lineages, which has hindered attempts to reconstruct, especially the root of, their evolutionary history. The presence or absence of rare genomic changes, such as short interspersed elements (SINEs), are, however, independent of high molecular substitution rates and provide a powerful, virtually homoplasy-free source for solving such phylogenetic problems. We screened 12 Gb of rodent genomic information using whole-genome three-way alignments, multiple lineage-specific sequences, high-throughput polymerase chain reaction amplifications, and sequencing to reveal 65 phylogenetically informative SINE insertions dispersed over 23 rodent phylogenetic nodes. Eight SINEs and six indels provide significant support for an early association of the Mouse-related and Ctenohystrica (guinea pig and relatives) clades, the Squirrel-related clade being the sister group. This early speciation scenario was also evident in the genomewide distribution pattern of B1-related retroposons, as mouse and guinea pig genomes share six such retroposon subfamilies, containing hundreds of thousands of elements that are clearly absent in the ground squirrel genome. Interestingly, however, two SINE insertions and one diagnostic indel support an association of Ctenohystrica with the Squirrel-related clade. Lineage sorting or a more complex evolutionary scenario that includes an early divergence of the Squirrel-related ancestor and a subsequent hybridization of the latter and the Ctenohystrica lineage best explains such apparently contradictory insertions.