tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Within- and Between-Child Variation in Repeated Urinary Pesticide Metabolite Measurements over a 1-Year Period
Authors: Kathleen R. Attfield, Michael D. Hughes, John D. Spengler, Chensheng Lu
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2013)

Children are exposed to pesticides from many sources and routes, including dietary and incidental ingestion, dermal absorption, and inhalation. Linking health outcomes to these exposures using urinary metabolites requires understanding temporal variability within subjects to avoid exposure misclassification.We characterized the within- and between-child variability of urinary organophosphorus and pyrethroid metabolites in 23 participants of the Children's Pesticide Exposure Study-Washington over 1 year and examined the ability of one to four spot urine samples to categorize mean exposures.Each child provided urine samples twice daily over 7- to 16-day sessions in four seasons in 2003 and 2004. Samples were analyzed for five pyrethroid and five organophosphorus (OP) metabolites. After adjusting for specific gravity, we used a customized maximum likelihood estimation linear mixed-effects model that accounted for values below the limit of detection to calculate intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and conducted surrogate category analyses.Within-child variability was 2-11 times greater than between-child variability. When restricted to samples collected during a single season, ICCs were higher in the fall, winter, and spring than in summer for OPs, and higher in summer and winter for pyrethroids, indicating an increase in between-person variability relative to within-person variability during these seasons. Surrogate category analyses demonstrated that a single spot urine sample did not categorize metabolite concentrations well, and that four or more samples would be needed to categorize children into quartiles consistently.Urinary biomarkers of these short half-life pesticides exhibited substantial within-person variability in children observed over four seasons. Researchers investigating pesticides and health outcomes in children may need repeated biomarker measurements to derive accurate estimates of exposure and relative risks.
Virus Infection of Grass can Alter the Allergenic Potency of Pollen
Authors: E. Soh, D.W. Pallett, K. Bodey, L.C.K. Lau, H. Whitworth, A. Page, M. Edwards, P.H. Howarth, J.I. Cooper, H. Wang, A.F. Walls
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2010)
Prednisolone increases enterohepatic cycling of bile acids by induction of Asbt and promotes reverse cholesterol transport
Authors: Carolien Out, Arne Dikkers, Anke Laskewitz, Renze Boverhof, Claude van der Ley, Ido P. Kema, Henk Wolters, Rick Havinga, Henkjan J. Verkade, Folkert Kuipers, Uwe J.F. Tietge, Albert K. Groen
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (2014)
A GABP-binding element in the Robo4 promoter is necessary for endothelial expression in vivo
Authors: Yoshiaki Okada, Enjing Jin, Vesna Nikolova-Krstevski, Kiichiro Yano, Ju Liu, David Beeler, Katherine Spokes, Mie Kitayama, Nobuaki Funahashi, Takefumi Doi, Lauren Janes, Takashi Minami, Peter Oettgen, William C. Aird
Journal: Blood (2008)
Chemical composition of human femoral and head cartilage: influence of topographical position and fibrillation.
Authors: M F Venn
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (1979)

Topographical variations in the composition of cartilage have been described in post-mortem femoral head cartilage. Weight bearing cartilage of the superior region was considerably thicker and had a higher glycosaminoglycan content and lower water and collagen content than cartilage at the periphery and below the fovea. These topographical variations in composition may result both from variations in thickness of the cartilage and from regional areas of degeneration. The composition of cartilage at different depths and with different surface characteristics from different areas of the femoral head was measured. Fibrillated cartilage both from the inferior and superior perifoveal areas had a reduced glycosaminoglycan content and higher water content than intact post-mortem specimens. Cartilage adjacent to fibrillated areas from the superior region did not differ in composition from intact areas of cartilage from the zenith of the femoral head.
Prevalence and Determinants of Troponin T Elevation in the General Population
Authors: Thomas W. Wallace, Shuaib M. Abdullah, Mark H. Drazner, Sandeep R. Das, Amit Khera, Darren K. McGuire, Frank Wians, Marc S. Sabatine, David A. Morrow, James A. de Lemos
Journal: Circulation (2006)

Background— The prevalence and determinants of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) elevation in the general population are unknown, and the significance of minimally increased cTnT remains controversial. Our objective was to determine the prevalence and determinants of cTnT elevation in a large, representative sample of the general population. Methods and Results— cTnT was measured from stored plasma samples in 3557 subjects of the Dallas Heart Study, a population-based sample. cTnT elevation (≥0.01 μg/L) was correlated with clinical variables and cardiac MRI findings. The sample weight-adjusted prevalence of cTnT elevation in the general population was 0.7%. In univariable analyses, cTnT elevation was associated with older age, black race, male sex, coronary artery calcium by electron beam CT, a composite marker of congestive heart failure (CHF), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), diabetes mellitus (DM), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) ( P &lt;0.001 for each). Subjects with minimally increased (0.01 to 0.029 μg/L) and increased (≥0.03 μg/L) cTnT had a similar prevalence of these characteristics. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, LVH, CHF, DM, and CKD were independently associated with cTnT elevation. Conclusions— In the general population, cTnT elevation is rare in subjects without CHF, LVH, CKD, or DM, suggesting that the upper limit of normal for the immunoassay should be &lt;0.01 μg/L. Even minimally increased cTnT may represent subclinical cardiac injury and have important clinical implications, a hypothesis that should be tested in longitudinal outcome studies.
A Prospective Natural-History Study of Coronary Atherosclerosis
Authors: Gregg W. Stone, Akiko Maehara, Alexandra J. Lansky, Bernard de Bruyne, Ecaterina Cristea, Gary S. Mintz, Roxana Mehran, John McPherson, Naim Farhat, Steven P. Marso, Helen Parise, Barry Templin, Roseann White, Zhen Zhang, Patrick W. Serruys
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2011)

Atherosclerotic plaques that lead to acute coronary syndromes often occur at sites of angiographically mild coronary-artery stenosis. Lesion-related risk factors for such events are poorly understood.In a prospective study, 697 patients with acute coronary syndromes underwent three-vessel coronary angiography and gray-scale and radiofrequency intravascular ultrasonographic imaging after percutaneous coronary intervention. Subsequent major adverse cardiovascular events (death from cardiac causes, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, or rehospitalization due to unstable or progressive angina) were adjudicated to be related to either originally treated (culprit) lesions or untreated (nonculprit) lesions. The median follow-up period was 3.4 years.The 3-year cumulative rate of major adverse cardiovascular events was 20.4%. Events were adjudicated to be related to culprit lesions in 12.9% of patients and to nonculprit lesions in 11.6%. Most nonculprit lesions responsible for follow-up events were angiographically mild at baseline (mean [±SD] diameter stenosis, 32.3±20.6%). However, on multivariate analysis, nonculprit lesions associated with recurrent events were more likely than those not associated with recurrent events to be characterized by a plaque burden of 70% or greater (hazard ratio, 5.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.51 to 10.11; P<0.001) or a minimal luminal area of 4.0 mm(2) or less (hazard ratio, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.61 to 6.42; P=0.001) or to be classified on the basis of radiofrequency intravascular ultrasonography as thin-cap fibroatheromas (hazard ratio, 3.35; 95% CI, 1.77 to 6.36; P<0.001).In patients who presented with an acute coronary syndrome and underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, major adverse cardiovascular events occurring during follow-up were equally attributable to recurrence at the site of culprit lesions and to nonculprit lesions. Although nonculprit lesions that were responsible for unanticipated events were frequently angiographically mild, most were thin-cap fibroatheromas or were characterized by a large plaque burden, a small luminal area, or some combination of these characteristics, as determined by gray-scale and radiofrequency intravascular ultrasonography. (Funded by Abbott Vascular and Volcano; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00180466.).
QT Dispersion Before and After Hemodialysis
Authors: SCOTT T. W. MORRIS, EFTYCHIA GALIATSOU, GRAHAM A. STEWART, R. STUART C. RODGER, ALAN G. JARDINE
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (1999)

Abstract. Sudden cardiac death is common in patients on hemodialysis, and may occur in the immediate postdialysis period, when ventricular premature complexes are common. Elevated QT dispersion (Maximum — Minimum QT interval on standard 12-lead electrocardiogram) is associated with increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias following myocardial infarction, but has not previously been assessed in patients with chronic renal failure. We studied electrocardiograms recorded in 50 patients before and after a single hemodialysis session, and in 20 control subjects. QT dispersion was significantly higher in patients (63.1 ± 20.6 ms) compared with control subjects (36.0 ± 13.7 ms; P &lt; 0.001) and rose significantly after hemodialysis to levels comparable to those seen following myocardial infarction (76.6 ± 27.0 ms; P &lt; 0.01). Because QT dispersion reflects nonhomogeneous recovery of ventricular excitability, hemodialysis patients may be at significantly greater risk of reentrant arrhythmias and sudden death in the postdialysis period.
Inhaled mannitol for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: a randomised, controlled trial
Authors: Diana Bilton, Gregory Tino, Alan F Barker, Daniel C Chambers, Anthony De Soyza, Lieven J A Dupont, Conor O'Dochartaigh, Eric H J van Haren, Luis Otero Vidal, Tobias Welte, Howard G Fox, Jian Wu, Brett Charlton
Journal: Thorax (2014)

<h3>Rationale</h3> Bronchiectasis is characterised by excessive production of mucus and pulmonary exacerbations. Inhaled osmotic agents may enhance mucociliary clearance, but few long-term clinical trials have been conducted. <h3>Objectives</h3> To determine the impact of inhaled mannitol on exacerbation rates in patients with non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis. Secondary endpoints included time to first exacerbation, duration of exacerbations, antibiotic use for exacerbations and quality of life (QOL) (St George9s Respiratory Questionnaire, SGRQ). <h3>Methods</h3> Patients with non-CF bronchiectasis and a history of chronic excess production of sputum and ≥2 pulmonary exacerbations in the previous 12 months were randomised (1:1) to 52 weeks treatment with inhaled mannitol 400 mg or low-dose mannitol control twice a day. Patients were 18–85 years of age, baseline FEV<sub>1</sub> ≥40% and ≤85% predicted and a baseline SGRQ score ≥30. <h3>Main results</h3> 461 patients (233 in the mannitol and 228 in the control arm) were treated. Baseline demographics were similar in the two arms. The exacerbation rate was not significantly reduced on mannitol (rate ratio 0.92, p=0.31). However, time to first exacerbation was increased on mannitol (HR 0.78, p=0.022). SGRQ score was improved on mannitol compared with low-dose mannitol control (−2.4 units, p=0.046). Adverse events were similar between groups. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Mannitol 400 mg inhaled twice daily for 12 months in patients with clinically significant bronchiectasis did not significantly reduce exacerbation rates. There were statistically significant improvements in time to first exacerbation and QOL. Mannitol therapy was safe and well tolerated. <h3>Trial registration number</h3> NCT00669331.
Surgeons urged to prepare for changes in cosmetic surgery regulation
Authors: Ingrid Torjesen
Journal: BMJ (2015)

The Royal College of Surgeons has set out what cosmetic surgeons will have to do to prepare for certification to show that they are qualified and competent to perform specific cosmetic procedures.

In the wake of the Poly Implant Prothese breast implant scandal, Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS in England, recommended tighter regulation of cosmetic procedures after a review.1 The Department of Health for England asked the Royal College of Surgeons to establish a Cosmetic Surgery Interspecialty Committee to …
Limited polyarteritis nodosa of the male and female reproductive systems: diagnostic and therapeutic approach
Authors: M Fraenkel-Rubin
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2002)

Background: Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a multisystem necrotising small and medium sized vasculitis that when left untreated carries a grave prognosis, with a five year survival of 10–15%. Prolonged immunosuppressive treatment with cyclophosphamide and steroids leads to high remission rates while carrying the risk of life threatening complications. The diagnostic and therapeutic approach for patients with isolated genital tract PAN is not well defined. Objective: To present the management and follow up of two patients with limited PAN localised to the male and female reproductive system. Case reports: A 26 year old man presented with an "acute scrotum". He was afebrile and had no other sign or symptom. Laboratory tests, including complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, liver and renal function tests, C reactive protein, antinuclear antibody, cryoglobulins, complement levels, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, and hepatitis B surface antigen, were all normal. His left testis was excised. Histopathology disclosed PAN of medium sized arteries with testicular infarction but no signs of torsion or infection. The other patient was a 51 year old woman who had had a total hysterectomy for a uterine myoma; incidentally PAN of the uterus and fallopian tubes was discovered. Neither patient received any immunosuppressive treatment after surgical removal of the affected organ. On prolonged follow up (clinical and laboratory evaluation) both patients are healthy with no sign of local recurrence or systemic PAN.
Endothelium-dependent inhibition of Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity in rabbit aorta by hyperglycemia. Possible role of endothelium-derived nitric oxide.
Authors: S Gupta, I Sussman, C S McArthur, K Tornheim, R A Cohen, N B Ruderman
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1992)

Hyperglycemia has been shown to diminish Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity in rabbit aorta. To examine the basis for this effect, aortic rings were incubated for 3 h in Krebs-Henseleit solution containing 5.5 or 44 mM glucose, and Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity was then quantified on the basis of ouabain-sensitive (OS) 86Rb-uptake. Incubation with 44 mM glucose medium caused a 60% decrease in Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity in rings with intact endothelium (from 0.22 +/- 0.01 to 0.091 +/- 0.006 nmol/min per mg dry wt; P less than 0.01). Similar decreases (45%; P less than 0.01) in Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity were seen when rings incubated with 5.5 mM glucose were exposed to NG-monomethyl L-arginine (300 microM), an inhibitor of endothelium-derived nitric oxide (EDNO) synthesis or when the endothelium was removed (43% decrease). The decrease in Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity induced by hyperglycemia was totally reversed upon adding to the medium either L-arginine, a precursor of EDNO biosynthesis or sodium nitroprusside, which bypasses endothelium and directly activates the soluble guanylate cyclase in vascular smooth muscle. A decrease in Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity (42%; P less than 0.05), only seen in the presence of endothelium, was also observed in aortas taken directly from alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits. These studies suggest that the decrease in vascular Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity induced by hyperglycemia is related, at least in part, to a decrease in the basal release of EDNO. They also suggest that alterations in basal EDNO release and possibly Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity contribute to the impairment in vascular relaxation caused by hyperglycemia and diabetes.
A Multidomain Adhesion Protein Family Expressed in<i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>Is Essential for Transmission to the Mosquito
Authors: Gabriele Pradel, Karen Hayton, L. Aravind, Lakshminarayan M. Iyer, Mitchell S. Abrahamsen, Annemarie Bonawitz, Cesar Mejia, Thomas J. Templeton
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2004)

The recent sequencing of several apicomplexan genomes has provided the opportunity to characterize novel antigens essential for the parasite life cycle that might lead to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic markers. Here we have screened the Plasmodium falciparum genome sequence for genes encoding extracellular multidomain putative adhesive proteins. Three of these identified genes, named PfCCp1, PfCCp2, and PfCCp3, have multiple adhesive modules including a common Limulus coagulation factor C domain also found in two additional Plasmodium genes. Orthologues were identified in the Cryptosporidium parvum genome sequence, indicating an evolutionary conserved function. Transcript and protein expression analysis shows sexual stage-specific expression of PfCCp1, PfCCp2, and PfCCp3, and cellular localization studies revealed plasma membrane-associated expression in mature gametocytes. During gametogenesis, PfCCps are released and localize surrounding complexes of newly emerged microgametes and macrogametes. PfCCp expression markedly decreased after formation of zygotes. To begin to address PfCCp function, the PfCCp2 and PfCCp3 gene loci were disrupted by homologous recombination, resulting in parasites capable of forming oocyst sporozoites but blocked in the salivary gland transition. Our results describe members of a conserved apicomplexan protein family expressed in sexual stage Plasmodium parasites that may represent candidates for subunits of a transmission-blocking vaccine.
Ripped from the headlines: how can we harness communications to control TB?
Authors: G. B. Migliori, D. M. Cirillo, A. Spanevello, L. R. Codecasa
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2007)

Even 125 yrs after Robert Koch discovered the tuberculosis (TB) bacillus and 63 yrs since the discovery of streptomycin, the first anti-TB drug, TB, the “white plague”, still causes ∼9 million incidents of illness and claims >1.6 million lives annually. Yet, little attention has been paid to TB by decision-makers, the media or the general public, contributing to a lack of political will and public action to solve this global health emergency. With the recent rekindling of media and popular interest in the emerging threat of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), the health community has a critical opportunity to leverage more coordinated and purposeful communications as an important weapon in the fight against TB. Data gathered through the study described below are a starting point for developing a communications strategy and key messages to strengthen Europe's response to the TB epidemic.

TB traditionally receives little media attention; coverage is often limited to large exposures ( e.g. cases in schools and workplaces) and dramatic events, such as the high-mortality XDR-TB outbreak among HIV-positive individuals in South Africa 1. At the start of 2007, Le Iene (the Ienas 2; a popular evening television broadcast with a high market share in Italy) reviewed coverage of various health issues and “discovered” that the media had in the past given priority and much more relevance to hot-button issues, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian flu and HIV/AIDS (without mentioning its association with TB), than to TB. The Ienas journalists charged one of the Italian national television channels with having forgotten TB, with the effect of raising discussion on this previously neglected disease.

At around the same time, the European Respiratory Journal published a paper describing the threat of XDR-TB 1. In March 2007, following the publication of a scientific report on 11 XDR-TB cases in Europe (three …
In Vivo Biosafety Model to Assess the Risk of Adverse Events From Retroviral and Lentiviral Vectors
Authors: Gerhard Bauer, Mo A Dao, Scott S Case, Todd Meyerrose, Louisa Wirthlin, Ping Zhou, Xiuli Wang, Phillip Herrbrich, Jesusa Arevalo, Susie Csik, Dianne C Skelton, Jon Walker, Karen Pepper, Donald B Kohn, Jan A Nolta
Journal: Molecular Therapy (2008)

Serious adverse events in some human gene therapy clinical trials have raised safety concerns when retroviral or lentiviral vectors are used for gene transfer. We evaluated the potential for generating replication-competent retrovirus (RCR) and assessed the risk of occurrence of adverse events in an in vivo system. Human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transduced with two different Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV)-based vectors were cotransplanted into a total of 481 immune-deficient mice (that are unable to reject cells that become transformed), and the animals were monitored for 18 months. Animals with any signs of illness were immediately killed, autopsied, and subjected to a range of biosafety studies. There was no detectable evidence of insertional mutagenesis leading to human leukemias or solid tumors in the 18 months during which the animals were studied. In 117 serum samples analyzed by vector rescue assay there was no detectable RCR. An additional 149 mice received HSCs transduced with lentiviral vectors, and were followed for 2-6 months. No vector-associated adverse events were observed, and none of the mice had detectable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) p24 antigen in their sera. Our in vivo system, therefore, helps to provide an assessment of the risks involved when retroviral or lentiviral vectors are considered for use in clinical gene therapy applications.
Right ventricular reverse remodelling after balloon pulmonary angioplasty
Authors: Shigefumi Fukui, Takeshi Ogo, Yoshiaki Morita, Akihiro Tsuji, Emi Tateishi, Kumi Ozaki, Yoshihiro Sanda, Tetsuya Fukuda, Satoshi Yasuda, Hisao Ogawa, Norifumi Nakanishi
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2014)

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has been reported to improve haemodynamics and functional capacity, with an acceptable risk, in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) who are not candidates for pulmonary endarterectomy. However, right ventricular (RV) function, an important predictor in CTEPH, remains to be elucidated. We aimed to examine the impact of BPA on RV remodelling and dysfunction relative to haemodynamic improvements in patients with inoperable CTEPH. 20 consecutive patients with inoperable CTEPH who underwent BPA with cardiovascular magnetic resonance before and after BPA were retrospectively studied. BPA led to significant amelioration of the mean pulmonary arterial pressure, cardiac index and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), without death or major complications. Furthermore, BPA significantly ameliorated right-sided heart failure symptoms and signs, and exercise capacity. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance revealed a marked improvement in RV end-diastolic and end-systolic volume index, with concomitant improvements in RV ejection fraction, mass and interventricular septal bowing after BPA. Changes in RV volumes strongly correlated with changes in cardiac index and PVR. BPA induced RV reverse remodelling and improved systolic dysfunction safely by ameliorating haemodynamics in patients with inoperable CTEPH. Evaluating RV function with cardiovascular magnetic resonance may be effective for noninvasively monitoring BPA efficacy.