tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Reduced Melanoma After Regular Sunscreen Use: Randomized Trial Follow-Up
Authors: Adèle C. Green, Gail M. Williams, Valerie Logan, Geoffrey M. Strutton
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2010)

Regular sunscreen use prevents cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma long term, but the effect on melanoma is highly controversial. We evaluated whether long-term application of sunscreen decreases risk of cutaneous melanoma.In 1992, 1,621 randomly selected residents of Nambour, a township in Queensland, Australia, age 25 to 75 years, were randomly assigned to daily or discretionary sunscreen application to head and arms in combination with 30 mg beta carotene or placebo supplements until 1996. Participants were observed until 2006 with questionnaires and/or through pathology laboratories and the cancer registry to ascertain primary melanoma occurrence.Ten years after trial cessation, 11 new primary melanomas had been identified in the daily sunscreen group, and 22 had been identified in the discretionary group, which represented a reduction of the observed rate in those randomly assigned to daily sunscreen use (hazard ratio [HR], 0.50; 95% CI, 0.24 to 1.02; P = .051). The reduction in invasive melanomas was substantial (n = 3 in active v 11 in control group; HR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.97) compared with that for preinvasive melanomas (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.29 to 1.81).Melanoma may be preventable by regular sunscreen use in adults.
Association of a new cationic trypsinogen gene mutation (V39A) with chronic pancreatitis in an Italian family
Authors: C Arduino, P Salacone, B Pasini, A Brusco, P Salmin, E Bacillo, A Robecchi, L Cestino, S Cirillo, D Regge, N Cappello, E Gaia
Journal: Gut (2005)

Plexiform neurofibroma mimicking a pancreatic cystic tumourPancreatic neurogenic tumours are extremely rare. 1-3Among benign neurogenic tumours, schwannoma is more frequently encountered. 2 3We report here the case of a plexi- form neurofibroma, a type of neurogenic tumour in the pancreas, to our knowledge previously unreported.
Physician Leadership in Preventing AIDS
Authors: C. Everett Koop
Journal: JAMA (1987)

This week's<i>JAMA</i>includes "Prevention and Control of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome [AIDS]: An Interim Report,"<sup>1</sup>a report from the American Medical Association's (AMA) Board of Trustees. This report is part of the continuing joint efforts of the AMA, the Public Health Service, other health professional organizations, and the community at large to prevent and contain the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The AMA is to be commended for its foresight and progressive approach. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is not like any disease or syndrome we have faced before. By its nature, AIDS raises unnecessary fear and unwarranted complacency at the same time. Its complexity causes misunderstandings. However, in the area of prevention, the prevention message of the Surgeon General's report on AIDS<sup>2</sup>is as valid now as when it was issued almost a year ago. The report of the AMA Board of Trustees reinforces and expands on these
Author's response
Authors: Dirk Haller
Journal: Gut (2011)

We have shown that a diet that is deprived of iron prevents ileitis in a mouse model of Crohn's disease (TNFdeltaARE mice).1 In his comment, Buchman was concerned that we misinterpreted our findings, as he supposed that sulphate may be more important than iron in the development of colitis in our rodent experiments. Most importantly, according to the composition of the experimental diets used in our studies (diet C1000 and C1038, Altromin GmbH, Lage, Germany), the total amount of sulphate salts (magnesium sulphate, iron sulphate, manganese sulphate and copper sulphate) in the control diet is comparable with the amount added to the low iron-sulphate diet …
Cosmetic camouflage advice improves quality of life
Authors: S.A. Holme, P.E. Beattie, C.J. Fleming
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2002)

Summary Background The subjective benefit of attendance at cosmetic clinics has not previously been reported. Objectives To assess the effect on perceived quality of life (QoL) of cosmetic camouflage advice. Methods In a three‐centre study, 135 individuals were invited to complete a dermatology‐specific QoL measure, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), before and 1 month after their first visit to a cosmetic camouflage clinic. Results Eighty‐two completed DLQI questionnaires were returned before the camouflage clinic appointment, and 56 corresponding questionnaires were returned 1 month after. The mean age of responders was 50 years, and the mean duration of their skin conditions was 15 years. The main conditions seen were pigmentary disorders (29%), scars (22%) and vascular disorders (13%). There was a significant difference in mean DLQI scores before and after the clinic visit (9·1 vs. 5·8, P = 0·0001). Conclusions When assessed at 1 month, attendance at a cosmetic camouflage clinic appears to improve QoL significantly.
The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming
Authors: Antti Revonsuo
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2000)

Several theories claim that dreaming is a random by-product of REM sleep physiology and that it does not serve any natural function. Phenomenal dream content, however, is not as disorganized as such views imply. The form and content of dreams is not random but organized and selective: during dreaming, the brain constructs a complex model of the world in which certain types of elements, when compared to waking life, are underrepresented whereas others are over represented. Furthermore, dream content is consistently and powerfully modulated by certain types of waking experiences. On the basis of this evidence, I put forward the hypothesis that the biological function of dreaming is to simulate threatening events, and to rehearse threat perception and threat avoidance. To evaluate this hypothesis, we need to consider the original evolutionary context of dreaming and the possible traces it has left in the dream content of the present human population. In the ancestral environment human life was short and full of threats. Any behavioral advantage in dealing with highly dangerous events would have increased the probability of reproductive success. A dream-production mechanism that tends to select threatening waking events and simulate them over and over again in various combinations would have been valuable for the development and maintenance of threat-avoidance skills. Empirical evidence from normative dream content, children's dreams, recurrent dreams, nightmares, post traumatic dreams, and the dreams of hunter-gatherers indicates that our dream-production mechanisms are in fact specialized in the simulation of threatening events, and thus provides support to the threat simulation hypothesis of the function of dreaming.
What is publication?
Authors: R. Smith
Journal: BMJ (1999)

Just as in the modern world there is more than one way of being dead, so there is more than one way of being published. Publication is not a dichotomous event: rather it is a continuum. And the academic community should accept this, not resist it. This was one of the main conclusions of a recent workshop in Paris, organised by Unesco, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Council of Scientific Unions, on developing practices and standards for electronic publishing in science.

Traditionally a scientific paper has been deemed to be published once it appears in a paper journal. Publication might even be defined to the moment by the lifting of an embargo: the BMJ , for example, lifts its embargo at 00.01am (London time) on Fridays. But even in the old, predigital world publication was not precise. Authors often circulated drafts of their papers to colleagues, presented their findings at meetings, and published abstracts months or even years before publishing their papers in peer reviewed journals. The invisible college thus often knew of important research results …
Arsenic increased lipid peroxidation in rat tissues by a mechanism independent of glutathione levels.
Authors: O Ramos, L Carrizales, L Yáñez, J Mejía, L Batres, D Ortíz, F Díaz-Barriga
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1995)

The role of lipid peroxidation in the mechanism of arsenic toxicity was investigated in female rats pretreated with N-acetylcysteine (NAC, a glutathione [GSH] inducer) or with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, a GSH depletor). Rats were challenged with sodium arsenite, and sacrificed 1 hr after this treatment. Results showed that arsenic decreased GSH levels and increased lipid peroxidation in liver, kidney, and heart, with a larger effect at 18.2 mg/kg than at 14.8 mg/kg for lipid peroxidation induction. In the liver of rats treated with arsenic, pretreatment with NAC increased the levels of GSH and decreased lipid peroxidation. In kidney and heart, NAC pretreatment protected the tissues against arsenic-induced depletion of GSH levels, but the same degree of protection was not found for lipid peroxidation induction. In its turn, BSO had an additive effect with arsenic in lowering the levels of GSH in the liver and kidney, but an inverse correlation between GSH levels and lipid peroxidation was found only in liver. Arsenic content in tissues of rats pretreated with NAC was lower than in rats treated only with arsenic. In rats with depleted levels of GSH (BSO-pretreated rats), a shift in arsenic tissue distribution was found, with higher levels in skin and lower levels in kidney. A clear tendency for a positive correlation between arsenic concentration and lipid peroxidation levels was found in liver, kidney, and heart.
The Difficulty of Targeting Cancer Stem Cell Niches
Authors: Mark A. LaBarge
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2010)

Normal stem cell niches typically are identified by their distinctive anatomical features and by association with tissue-specific stem cells. Identifying cancer stem cell (CSC) niches presents a special problem because there are few if any common anatomical features among tumors, and the physical phenotypes that reportedly describe the CSCs as entities may be subject to the host's microenvironment, sex, and tumor stage. Irrespective of a niche's location, the occupant's phenotype, or the precise molecular composition, all niches must do basically the same thing: maintain the activities in a stem cell that define it as such. Therefore, a potentially successful strategy, both for elaborating a molecular and cellular portrait of a CSC niche, and for therapeutically targeting them, is to identify components in the tumor microenvironment that are required for maintaining the functions of self-renewal, differentiation, and quiescence in the face of cytotoxic therapeutic regimens.
Frequency of the S65C mutation of HFE and iron overload in 309 subjects heterozygous for C282Y
Authors: Daniel F. Wallace, Ann P. Walker, Antonello Pietrangelo, Michael Clare, Adrian B. Bomford, Jeannette L. Dixon, Lawrie W. Powell, V.Nathan Subramaniam, James S. Dooley
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2002)
Systemic effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: A.G.N. Agustí, A. Noguera, J. Sauleda, E. Sala, J. Pons, X. Busquets
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2003)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by an inappropriate/excessive inflammatory response of the lungs to respiratory pollutants, mainly tobacco smoking. Recently, besides the typical pulmonary pathology of COPD ( i.e. chronic bronchitis and emphysema), several effects occurring outside the lungs have been described, the so-called systemic effects of COPD. These effects are clinically relevant because they modify and can help in the classification and management of the disease. The present review discusses the following systemic effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: 1) systemic inflammation; 2) nutritional abnormalities and weight loss; 3) skeletal muscle dysfunction; and 4) other potential systemic effects. For each of these, the potential mechanisms and clinical implications are discussed and areas requiring further research are highlighted.
Adenovirus Tumor Targeting and Hepatic Untargeting by a Coxsackie/Adenovirus Receptor Ectodomain Anti–Carcinoembryonic Antigen Bispecific Adapter
Authors: Hua-Jung Li, Maaike Everts, Larisa Pereboeva, Svetlana Komarova, Anat Idan, David T. Curiel, Harvey R. Herschman
Journal: Cancer Research (2007)

Abstract Adenovirus vectors have a number of advantages for gene therapy. However, because of their lack of tumor tropism and their preference for liver infection following systemic administration, they cannot be used for systemic attack on metastatic disease. Many epithelial tumors (e.g., colon, lung, and breast) express carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). To block the natural hepatic tropism of adenovirus and to “retarget” the virus to CEA-expressing tumors, we used a bispecific adapter protein (sCAR-MFE), which fuses the ectodomain of the coxsackie/adenovirus receptor (sCAR) with a single-chain anti-CEA antibody (MFE-23). sCAR-MFE untargets adenovirus-directed luciferase transgene expression in the liver by &amp;gt;90% following systemic vector administration. Moreover, sCAR-MFE can “retarget” adenovirus to CEA-positive epithelial tumor cells in cell culture, in s.c. tumor grafts, and in hepatic tumor grafts. The sCAR-MFE bispecific adapter should, therefore, be a powerful agent to retarget adenovirus vectors to epithelial tumor metastases. [Cancer Res 2007;67(11):5354–61]
Short chain fatty acids dilate isolated human colonic resistance arteries.
Authors: F V Mortensen, H Nielsen, M J Mulvany, I Hessov
Journal: Gut (1990)

Colonic biopsy specimens were obtained from patients undergoing surgery for carcinoma of the rectum. Colonic resistance arteries (internal diameter 178-345 microns) were dissected out under the microscope and mounted in a microvascular myograph capable of measuring isometric tension development. Experiments were designed to test compounds trophic to the gastrointestinal tract--namely, glutamine and the three short chain fatty acids, acetic, propionic, and butyric acid, for effects on vascular tone. Glutamine in concentrations up to 30 mM neither constricted nor dilated the resistance arteries. The three short chain fatty acids alone and in combination, however, caused a concentration-dependent (range 0.1-30 mM) dilatation of resistance arteries preconstricted with 50 mM K+, and this relaxant effect was unaffected by removal of the endothelium, presence of indomethacin, and preconstriction with vasopressin. These data suggest that the trophic effect of glutamine on intestinal mucosa cannot be explained through actions of this compound on the resistance vasculature. In contrast, the relaxant effect of short chain fatty acids on resistance arteries in vitro suggests that these compounds may be able to improve the colonic microcirculation in vivo, thereby providing an explanation for their trophic effect on intestinal mucosa.
Fluticasone induces apoptosis in peripheral T-lymphocytes: a comparison between asthmatic and normal subjects
Authors: M. Melis, L. Siena, E. Pace, M. Gjomarkaj, M. Profita, A. Pirazzoli, M. Todaro, G. Stassi, G. Bonsignore, A.M. Vignola
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2002)

Apoptosis is an important mechanism allowing inflammation to be limited. Glucocorticoids are the most effective anti-inflammatory agents in asthma therapy and induce cell apoptosis. Since T-lymphocytes are critically involved in airway inflammation in asthma, the effects of fluticasone propionate (FP) on apoptosis in unstimulated and in interleukin (IL)-2 stimulated peripheral blood T-lymphocytes (PBTs) isolated from 14 normal and 19 mild-to-moderate asthmatic subjects were evaluated. Apoptosis was evaluated by: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation electrophoresis, DNA content, annexin V binding, apoptosis related markers (Fas, B-cell lymphona leukaemia-2 (Bcl-2), Bax, and CD25), and by electron microscopy. FP induced apoptosis in unstimulated PBTs of normal and asthmatic subjects in a time-dependent fashion. In asthma, this effect was associated with a significant decrease of Bcl-2 expression, and with an increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. In PBTs of asthmatics, FP also reduced Fas and CD25 expression. Moreover, in IL-2-stimulated PBTs from both asthmatics and normal subjects, FP was able to induce apoptosis and to reduce Bcl-2, Fas and CD25 expression, whereas negligible effects were detected on Bax expression. This study shows that the glucocorticosteroid, fluticasone, increases apoptosis and modulates expression of apoptosis-related markers in unstimulated and in interleukin-2 stimulated T-lymphocytes. This points towards a potential mechanism by which fluticasone exerts its anti-inflammatory effects.
Quantitation of CD8+ T Cell Responses to Newly Identified HLA-A*0201–restricted T Cell Epitopes Conserved Among Vaccinia and Variola (Smallpox) Viruses
Authors: Masanori Terajima, John Cruz, Gregory Raines, Elizabeth D. Kilpatrick, Jeffrey S. Kennedy, Alan L. Rothman, Francis A. Ennis
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2003)

Immunization with vaccinia virus resulted in long-lasting protection against smallpox and was the approach used to eliminate natural smallpox infections worldwide. Due to the concern about the potential use of smallpox virus as a bioweapon, smallpox vaccination is currently being reintroduced. Severe complications from vaccination were associated with congenital or acquired T cell deficiencies, but not with congenital agammaglobulinemia, suggesting the importance of T cell immunity in recovery from infection. In this report, we identified two CD8+ T cell epitopes restricted by the most common human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I allele, HLA-A*0201. Both epitopes are highly conserved in vaccinia and variola viruses. The frequency of vaccinia-specific CD8+ T cell responses to these epitopes measured by interferon (IFN)-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay and HLA/peptide tetramer staining peaked 2 wk after primary immunization and then declined, but were still detectable 1 to 3 yr after primary immunization. 2 wk after immunization, IFN-gamma-producing cells specific to these two epitopes were 14% of total vaccinia virus-specific IFN-gamma-producing cells in one donor, 35% in the second donor, and 6% in the third donor. This information will be useful for studies of human T cell memory and for the design and analyses of the immunogenicity of experimental vaccinia vaccines.
The ALIEN study: incidence and outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome in the era of lung protective ventilation
Authors: Jesús Villar, Jesús Blanco, José Manuel Añón, Antonio Santos-Bouza, Lluís Blanch, Alfonso Ambrós, Francisco Gandía, Demetrio Carriedo, Fernando Mosteiro, Santiago Basaldúa, Rosa Lidia Fernández, Robert M. Kacmarek
Journal: Intensive Care Medicine (2011)
Enhancing cardiac stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes
Authors: S. A.J. Chamuleau, E. van Belle, P. A. Doevendans
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2009)

Myocardial infarction results in the loss of cardiomyocytes, scar formation, ventricular remodelling, and eventually heart failure. In recent years, cell therapy has emerged as a potential new strategy for patients with ischaemic heart disease. Cell therapy potentially includes embryonic and bone marrow-derived stem cells.1 Recently, the existence of cardiac stem cells that reside in the heart itself was demonstrated. The discovery of cardiac stem cells has sparked intense hope for myocardial regeneration with cells that are obtained from the heart itself and are thereby inherently programmed to reconstitute cardiac tissue. These cardiac stem cells can be detected by several surface markers (e.g. c-kit, Sca-1, MDR1, and Isl-1).2 Both in vitro and in vivo differentiation into cardiomyocytes, endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells has been demonstrated. Early animal studies showed promising results on improvement or preservation of left ventricular function after cell injections.

Gaetani et al. 3 present their interesting results in this issue of Cardiovascular Research , introducing a new strategy to enhance cardiac differentiation of stem cells without any pharmacological or genetic manipulation. Studies on stem cell transplantation therapy are mainly focused on the use of undifferentiated stem cells. However, it has been postulated that some degree of cardiomyogenic differentiation of stem cells in vitro , prior to transplantation, would yield better results.4 This approach … 

*Corresponding author. Tel: +31 88 7559801; fax: +31 30 2516396. E-mail address : p.doevendans{at}umcutrecht.nl
Specifically decreased collagen biosynthesis in scurvy dissociated from an effect on proline hydroxylation and correlated with body weight loss. In vitro studies in guinea pig calvarial bones.
Authors: M Chojkier, R Spanheimer, B Peterkofsky
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1983)

The question whether ascorbate regulates collagen production solely through its direct role in proline hydroxylation was investigated. Proteins in calvarial bones from control and scorbutic weanling guinea pigs were labeled in short-term cultures with radioactive proline. Proteins were digested with purified bacterial collagenase to distinguish between effects on collagen polypeptide production and hydroxyproline formation. There was a preferential decrease in the absolute rate of collagen biosynthesis beginning after 2 wk of ascorbate deficiency, and this effect was temporally dissociated from decreased proline hydroxylation. There were no significant changes in the absolute rates of collagen degradation or noncollagen protein production. In vitro inhibition of proline hydroxylation in normal bone with alpha, alpha'-dipyridyl did not affect the relative rate of collagen synthesis, further dissociating these functions. Ascorbate added to scorbutic bone cultures reversed defective proline hydroxylation but not defective collagen synthesis, suggesting that the latter was an indirect effect of scurvy. There was a linear correlation between the extent of body weight lost during the 3rd and 4th wk of scurvy and the rate of collagen synthesis in scorbutic bone. This correlation also applied to control animals receiving ascorbate, but with weight loss induced by food restriction. These studies establish for the first time that ascorbate deficiency in guinea pigs leads to a specific decrease in collagen polypeptide synthesis and suggest that this decrease results from the reduced food intake and/or weight-loss characteristic of scurvy.