tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
A Prognostic Index for Systemic AIDS-Related Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treated in the Era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
Authors: Mark Bower, Brian Gazzard, Sundhiya Mandalia, Tom Newsom-Davis, Christina Thirlwell, Tony Dhillon, Anne Marie Young, Tom Powles, Andrew Gaya, Mark Nelson, Justin Stebbing
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2005)

Background: The established International Prognostic Index for lymphomas has not included patients with systemic AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Objective: To establish the most appropriate prognostic index for use in patients with systemic AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Design: A prospective study involving univariate and multivariable analyses of patients with AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma whose data were used to examine standard and new criteria for survival after diagnosis. Setting: The Chelsea and Westminster cohort of HIV-1–infected persons. Patients: 9621 HIV-positive patients, 111 in whom AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma was treated after 1996, in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Intervention: Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to determine the prognostic significance of multiple clinicopathologic variables. Results: Survival of patients with AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma has increased in the HAART era (log-rank chi-square, 9.23; P = 0.002). Univariate analyses using the established International Prognostic Index factors of age, tumor stage, lactate dehydrogenase level, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and number of extranodal sites were confirmed to be significant variables. Regression modeling for patients in whom disease was diagnosed after 1996 revealed only 2 independent predictors of death: International Prognostic Index risk group and CD4 cell count. These predictors yielded 4 internally validated risk strata with predicted 1-year survival rates of 82%, 47%, 20%, and 15% (P < 0.001). Prognostic risk scores in the highest quartile yielded a likelihood ratio for death of 7.90 (hazard ratio, 1.0), whereas a prognostic score less than 1.0 yielded a likelihood ratio of 0.23 (hazard ratio, 0.15 [95% CI, 0.06 to 0.33]). Limitations: The sample was small, and different HAART regimens were used. Conclusions: For patients with AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma that was diagnosed in the era of HAART, application of the International Prognostic Index remains useful. The addition of CD4 cell count provides further independent prognostic information. Patients who present with AIDS-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a low CD4 cell count have a poor prognosis; this information can be used to guide therapeutic options.
Africa revisited: a distressing experience
Authors: A W Logie
Journal: BMJ (2001)

Seven years ago I was infected with HIV in Zambia. Returning to Britain, I continued working as a physician, with the permission of my local health board and following the guidelines of the government's Expert Advisory Group on AIDS, but keeping my HIV secret. Three years later, I wrote to the BMJ explaining the reasons for ending this self imposed secrecy ( BMJ 1996;312:1679).

Recently my wife and I returned to Zambia under the auspices of Christian Aid to visit some of their AIDS outreach and orphan support projects. Some of these projects are based at the hospital in eastern Zambia where I had worked six years ago. A strong longing to go back there to work was tempered by the reluctant realisation that this was wholly impractical, a view reinforced by my later succumbing to an unpleasant gut infection. Coexisting coeliac disease contributes to my susceptibility to such infections and to …
Two Epidemiological Inquiries Into the Incidence of Bladder Tumors in Industrial Workers
Authors: C. A. Veys
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1969)

Two epidemiological studies of the incidence of bladder tumors in industrial workers are described. The first study outlines the dynamics of 33 tumors of the bladder which were registered for 30 members of the male population of a rubber factory between 1948 and 1967. Account was taken of risk criteria related to time and place of work. Of the tumors, 22 were carcinomas; 11 were papillomas. For 15 of the 30 individuals in whom tumors were registered, there was conclusive evidence of exposure to a known carcinogenic rubber antioxidant. Control data from bladder tumor registrations at a Regional Cancer Registry were compared to those from 1,400 men exposed to the chemical before 1949 when it was withdrawn; 10 cases of carcinoma of the bladder(3.5 expected) and 6 cases of papilloma (1.4 expected) were found. These differences between the observed and expected numbers of tumors are statistically significant. The second study outlines the results of a Coroner's Notification Scheme for all bladder tumors occurring in a county borough within a 5-year period. In total, 49 cases of bladder tumors were notified, whereas 39 could have been expected in the same period of time; this difference is not statistically significant. In 16 cases (33%), a potentially significant occupational history was apparent—this according to criteria adopted in an industry and occupation checklist used. A plea is made for more epidemiological studies to be carried out at factory level, where it is known that a potential hazard of developing an occupationally induced bladder tumor has existed.
KrasG12D and Smad4/Dpc4 Haploinsufficiency Cooperate to Induce Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms and Invasive Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas
Authors: Kamel Izeradjene, Chelsea Combs, Melissa Best, Aarthi Gopinathan, Amary Wagner, William M. Grady, Chu-Xia Deng, Ralph H. Hruban, N. Volkan Adsay, David A. Tuveson, Sunil R. Hingorani
Journal: Cancer Cell (2007)
Subjects With Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Show Defective Activation of the Skeletal Muscle PGC-1α/Mitofusin-2 Regulatory Pathway in Response to Physical Activity
Authors: María Isabel Hernández-Alvarez, Hood Thabit, Nicole Burns, Syed Shah, Imad Brema, Mensud Hatunic, Francis Finucane, Marc Liesa, Chiara Chiellini, Deborah Naon, Antonio Zorzano, John J. Nolan
Journal: Diabetes Care (2009)

OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes is associated with insulin resistance and skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction. We have found that subjects with early-onset type 2 diabetes show incapacity to increase Vo2max in response to chronic exercise. This suggests a defect in muscle mitochondrial response to exercise. Here, we have explored the nature of the mechanisms involved. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Muscle biopsies were collected from young type 2 diabetic subjects and obese control subjects before and after acute or chronic exercise protocols, and the expression of genes and/or proteins relevant to mitochondrial function was measured. In particular, the regulatory pathway peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ coactivator (PGC)-1α/mitofusin-2 (Mfn2) was analyzed. RESULTS At baseline, subjects with diabetes showed reduced expression (by 26%) of the mitochondrial fusion protein Mfn2 and a 39% reduction of the α-subunit of ATP synthase. Porin expression was unchanged, consistent with normal mitochondrial mass. Chronic exercise led to a 2.8-fold increase in Mfn2, as well as increases in porin, and the α-subunit of ATP synthase in muscle from control subjects. However, Mfn2 was unchanged after chronic exercise in individuals with diabetes, whereas porin and α-subunit of ATP synthase were increased. Acute exercise caused a fourfold increase in PGC-1α expression in muscle from control subjects but not in subjects with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate alterations in the regulatory pathway that controls PGC-1α expression and induction of Mfn2 in muscle from patients with early-onset type 2 diabetes. Patients with early-onset type 2 diabetes display abnormalities in the exercise-dependent pathway that regulates the expression of PGC-1α and Mfn2.
Sudden Cardiac Death Risk Stratification
Authors: Marc W. Deyell, Andrew D. Krahn, Jeffrey J. Goldberger
Journal: Circulation Research (2015)

Arrhythmic sudden cardiac death (SCD) may be caused by ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation or pulseless electric activity/asystole. Effective risk stratification to identify patients at risk of arrhythmic SCD is essential for targeting our healthcare and research resources to tackle this important public health issue. Although our understanding of SCD because of pulseless electric activity/asystole is growing, the overwhelming majority of research in risk stratification has focused on SCD-ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. This review focuses on existing and novel risk stratification tools for SCD-ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. For patients with left ventricular dysfunction or myocardial infarction, advances in imaging, measures of cardiac autonomic function, and measures of repolarization have shown considerable promise in refining risk. Yet the majority of SCD-ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation occurs in patients without known cardiac disease. Biomarkers and novel imaging techniques may provide further risk stratification in the general population beyond traditional risk stratification for coronary artery disease alone. Despite these advances, significant challenges in risk stratification remain that must be overcome before a meaningful impact on SCD can be realized.
Rapid Evolution of Female-Biased, but Not Male-Biased, Genes Expressed in the Avian Brain
Authors: Judith E. Mank, Lina Hultin-Rosenberg, Erik Axelsson, Hans Ellegren
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2007)

The powerful pressures of sexual and natural selection associated with species recognition and reproduction are thought to manifest in a faster rate of evolution in sex-biased genes, an effect that has been documented particularly for male-biased genes expressed in the reproductive tract. However, little is known about the rate of evolution for genes involved in sexually dimorphic behaviors, which often form the neurological basis of intrasexual competition and mate choice. We used microarray data, designed to uncover sex-biased expression patterns in embryonic chicken brain, in conjunction with data on the rate of sequence evolution for >4,000 coding regions aligned between chicken and zebra finch in order to study the role of selection in governing the molecular evolution for sex-biased and unbiased genes. Surprisingly, we found that female-biased genes, defined across a range of cutoff values, show a higher rate of functional evolution than both male-biased and unbiased genes. Autosomal male-biased genes evolve at a similar rate as unbiased genes. Sex-specific genomic properties, such as heterogeneity in genomic distribution and GC content, and codon usage bias for sex-biased classes fail to explain this surprising result, suggesting that selective pressures may be acting differently on the male and female brain.
Late potentials detected after myocardial infarction: natural history and prognostic significance.
Authors: D L Kuchar, C W Thorburn, N L Sammel
Journal: Circulation (1986)

The risk of developing spontaneous ventricular tachycardia (VT) and/or sudden death ("arrhythmic events") was prospectively assessed in 165 patients who survived acute myocardial infarction. Signal-averaged electrocardiograms (ECGs) were performed before hospital discharge and then serially at regular intervals over the following year. In addition, 24 hr Holter monitoring was performed and left ventricular ejection fraction was determined. Sixty-five patients (group 1) had abnormal signal-averaged ECGs (voltage in the last 40 msec of the filtered QRS less than 20 microV or filtered QRS duration greater than 120 msec), 92 had normal signal-averaged ECGs (group 2), and eight had bundle branch block (excluded from analysis). In group 1, spontaneous normalization of the voltage in the last 40 msec of the QRS complex occurred in 30% of patients after 12 months, although total filtered QRS duration did not change overall. During follow-up of up to 20 months (median 11), seven patients died suddenly and six presented again with spontaneous, symptomatic VT. Eleven of 65 (17%) group 1 patients had an arrhythmic event compared with one of 92 patients (1%) in group 2 (p less than .001). The sensitivity of the signal-averaged ECG as a predictor of arrhythmic events was 92% with a specificity of 62%. Patients with subsequent arrhythmic events had considerably lower voltage in the last 40 msec of the QRS (11.0 +/- 8.3 vs 32.0 +/- 21.9 microV; p less than .001) than those without such events, and longer filtered QRS complexes (121 +/- 14 vs 105 +/- 12 msec; p less than .001). Multivariate logistic regression determined that the signal-averaged ECG provided independent prognostic information from the presence of complex ventricular ectopy and the degree of left ventricular dysfunction assessed at the time of hospital discharge. Signal-averaged ECGs provide important prognostic information in identifying patients at risk of arrhythmic events after myocardial infarction. Dynamic changes in the terminal QRS voltage are observed during the first year after myocardial infarction.
Malaria in Pregnancy: What Can the Social Sciences Contribute?
Authors: Joan Muela Ribera, Susanna Hausmann-Muela, Umberto D'Alessandro, Koen Peeters Grietens
Journal: PLoS Medicine (2007)

Funding: This article is part of the "New approaches to improve coverage and compliance of antimalarial treatment for pregnant women in rural Africa" study fi nanced by the European
Microscopic activity in ulcerative colitis: what does it mean?
Authors: S A Riley, V Mani, M J Goodman, S Dutt, M E Herd
Journal: Gut (1991)

To determine the prognostic importance of microscopic rectal inflammation we followed up 82 patients (aged 21 to 78 years, 44 men) with chronic quiescent ulcerative colitis over 12 months. At trial entry each patient underwent a rectal biopsy and sections were graded independently by two histopathologists. A chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate of varying severity was present in all biopsy specimens, and 58% had crypt architectural irregularities. In addition, 32% had evidence of acute inflammatory activity: 28% acute inflammatory cell infiltrate, 11% crypt abscesses, and 22% mucin depletion. Agreement between the two histopathologists for the presence of each of these features was 94% (90-98%). During the 12 month follow up 27 patients (33%) relapsed after a mean interval of 18 weeks (range 3-44 weeks). Relapse rates were unrelated to duration or extent of disease or to the type of maintenance drug treatment. In patients with an acute inflammatory cell infiltrate 52% relapsed, whereas in the absence of such an infiltrate only 25% relapsed (p = 0.02). Similarly, relapse rates were higher in the presence of crypt abscesses (78% v 27%, p less than 0.005), mucin depletion (56% v p less than 0.02), and breaches in the surface epithelium (75% v 31%, p = 0.1). The presence of a chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate or crypt architectural irregularities, however, bore no relation to the frequency of colitis relapse.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection among Employees in an African Hospital
Authors: Bosenge N'Galy, Robert W. Ryder, Kapita Bila, Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa, Robert L. Colebunders, Henry Francis, Jonathan M. Mann, Thomas C. Quinn
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1988)

To define the prevalence and course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, we examined prospectively a cohort of 2002 adult hospital workers in Kinshasa, Zaire. From 1984 to 1986 the prevalence of HIV infection increased from 6.4 percent to 8.7 percent. Over the two years there was a cumulative incidence of new HIV infection of 3.2 percent. The prevalence was higher among women (16.9 percent) and men (9.3 percent) under the age of 30 than among women (9.0 percent) and men (6.2 percent) over 30. Prevalence rates were similar among physicians (5.6 percent), laboratory workers (2.9 percent), and clerical workers (7.9 percent), but they were higher among female nurses (11.4 percent) and manual workers (11.8 percent). Despite marked differences in the intensity of nosocomial exposure, female nurses had similar infection rates on the female internal medicine ward (9.9 percent), in pediatrics (10.8 percent), and in the delivery room (10.7 percent). The attributable risk of HIV infection from a transfusion was 5.9 percent. Neither medical injections nor scarification was a risk factor for HIV infection. Of the 101 seropositive asymptomatic employees in the 1984 survey, 16 percent had AIDS-related complex, 3 percent had AIDS, and 12 percent had died of AIDS by 1986. Previous studies have revealed a seroprevalence of 8.4 percent among women attending an antenatal clinic near the hospital in 1984 and 1986, and of 5.8 percent (in 1984) and 6.5 percent (in 1986) among men donating blood at the hospital's blood bank. We conclude that there is a continuing high prevalence of HIV infection among hospital workers in Kinshasa, Zaire, which appears to be representative of that in the community and not nosocomial. (N Engl J Med 1988; 319:1123–7.)
Hes1 promotes blast crisis in chronic myelogenous leukemia through MMP-9 upregulation in leukemic cells
Authors: Fumio Nakahara, Jiro Kitaura, Tomoyuki Uchida, Chiemi Nishida, Katsuhiro Togami, Daichi Inoue, Toshihiro Matsukawa, Yuki Kagiyama, Yutaka Enomoto, Kimihito C. Kawabata, Lai Chen-Yi, Yukiko Komeno, Kumi Izawa, Toshihiko Oki, Genta Nagae, Yuka Harada, Hironori Harada, Makoto Otsu, Hiroyuki Aburatani, Beate Heissig, Koichi Hattori, Toshio Kitamura
Journal: Blood (2014)
Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for Exposure Tracking: Experiences from Washington State
Authors: Denise M. Laflamme, James A. VanDerslice
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2004)

One of the goals of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is to link environmental data with chronic disease data as a means of improving our understanding of the environmental determinants of disease. Such efforts will rely on the ongoing collection of population exposure information, and there are few systems in place to track population exposures. In many cases, exposures can be estimated by combining environmental contaminant data with data about human behaviors. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) provides a good opportunity to implement tracking of exposure-related behaviors. Washington State has used the BRFSS to collection information on environmentally related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. In this article we present case studies of modules covering drinking water, perceptions of environmental risk, and radon awareness and testing. Data on exposure-related behaviors have been useful for population exposure assessments and program evaluation. Questions about knowledge and attitudes and perceptions of environmental issues were not as useful because they lacked sufficient detail from which to modify existing education efforts. In some cases these data had not been used at all, indicating that the need for the data had not been well established. National development efforts should focus on compiling existing questions and developing questions on topics that are a priority at the state and national levels to be included as core questions and optional modules in future BRFSS surveys.
Spontaneous Cure of an Ovarian Cyst
Authors: W. J. Cummins
Journal: BMJ (1875)

THE BRITISH MEDICAL 70URNAL.671of the patient, and also flexion of the thigh on the abdomen, but with no benefit, excepting, no doubt, in developing to some extent the col- lateral circulation, and thus assisting much in the future treatment.On November 24th, the aneurism measured four and a half inches longitudinally, and four anid a quarter inches transversely, the increase having taken place chiefly on its proximal side ; and I then performed the fol-
The conditions of primary infection define the load of latent viral genome in organs and the risk of recurrent cytomegalovirus disease.
Authors: M J Reddehase, M Balthesen, M Rapp, S Jonjić, I Pavić, U H Koszinowski
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1994)

Recurrence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) from latency is a frequent cause of disease in immunocompromised patients. To date, there is no explanation for the diversity in the clinical manifestations. Primary infection can occur perinatally or later in life, and inevitably results in latent infection. Seropositivity for antibodies against CMV is indicative of latent infection, but is insufficient as a predictor for the risk of recurrence. As a model for this important medical problem, we compared the risks of murine CMV recurrence from latency established after neonatal primary infection and after infection at adult age. The risk of CMV recurrence was high only after neonatal infection. The copy number of latent viral genome in tissues was identified as the key parameter that determines the overall and organ-specific risks of recurrence. Latent CMV burden and risk of recurrence were related to the extent of virus multiplication during primary infection. The presence of latent CMV in multiple organs provides the molecular basis for stochastic events of recurrence in single organs or in any combination thereof. These findings are discussed as a concept of multifocal CMV latency and recurrence. It provides a rationale for the diversity in the clinical outcome of CMV disease.
Ex Vivo Isolation and Characterization of Cd4+Cd25+ T Cells with Regulatory Properties from Human Blood
Authors: Detlef Dieckmann, Heidi Plottner, Susanne Berchtold, Thomas Berger, Gerold Schuler
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2001)

It has been known for years that rodents harbor a unique population of CD4+CD25+ “professional” regulatory/suppressor T cells that is crucial for the prevention of spontaneous autoimmune diseases. Here we demonstrate that CD4+CD25+CD45RO+ T cells (mean 6% of CD4+ T cells) are present in the blood of adult healthy volunteers. In contrast to previous reports, these CD4+CD25+ T cells do not constitute conventional memory cells but rather regulatory cells exhibiting properties identical to their rodent counterparts. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen (CTLA)-4 (CD152), for example, which is essential for the in vivo suppressive activity of CD4+CD25+ T cells, was constitutively expressed, and remained strongly upregulated after stimulation. The cells were nonproliferative to stimulation via their T cell receptor for antigen, but the anergic state was partially reversed by interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-15. Upon stimulation with allogeneic (but not syngeneic) mature dendritic cells or platebound anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28 the CD4+CD25+ T cells released IL-10, and in coculture experiments suppressed the activation and proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Suppression proved IL-10 independent, yet contact dependent as in the mouse. The identification of regulatory CD4+CD25+ T cells has important implications for the study of tolerance in man, notably in the context of autoimmunity, transplantation, and cancer.