tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Association Between Reduced Extraversion and Right Posterior Fusiform Gyrus Gray Matter Reduction in Chronic Schizophrenia
Authors: Toshiaki Onitsuka, Paul G. Nestor, Ronald J. Gurrera, Martha E. Shenton, Kiyoto Kasai, Melissa Frumin, Margaret A. Niznikiewicz, Robert W. McCarley
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (2005)

The authors examined the association between volume of the fusiform gyrus, a region involved in face processing, and the personality trait of extraversion in patients with schizophrenia.Male patients (N=24) and age-matched male comparison subjects (N=26) completed NEO Five-Factor Inventory personality measures of extraversion and underwent high-spatial-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of anterior and posterior fusiform gyrus gray matter.Low extraversion scores were significantly correlated with gray matter volume reductions in the right posterior fusiform gyrus for patients but not comparison subjects.Reduced right posterior fusiform gyrus volume may contribute to disease-related social disturbances, characterized by both low extraversion and reduced sensitivity to human faces.
Phased-Array Intracardiac Echocardiography Monitoring During Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Nassir F. Marrouche, David O. Martin, Oussama Wazni, A. Marc Gillinov, Allan Klein, Mandeep Bhargava, Eduardo Saad, Dianna Bash, Hirotsugu Yamada, Wael Jaber, Robert Schweikert, Patrick Tchou, Ahmad Abdul-Karim, Walid Saliba, Andrea Natale
Journal: Circulation (2003)

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) on the long-term success and complications in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF).Three hundred fifteen patients underwent PVI for treatment of AF. Each patient underwent ostial isolation of all PVs using a cooled-tip ablation catheter. PVI was performed using circular mapping (CM) alone (group 1, 56 patients), CM and ICE (group 2, 107 patients), and CM and ICE with titration of radiofrequency energy based on visualization of microbubbles by ICE (group 3, 152 patients). After a mean follow-up time of 417+/-145 days, 19.6% (11 of 56), 16.8% (18 of 107), and 9.8% (15 of 152) of patients in groups 1, 2, and 3 experienced recurrence of AF, respectively. Moreover, whereas no group 3 patient experienced severe (>70%) PV stenosis, severe PV stenosis was documented in 3 (3.5%) of 56 patients in group 1 and in 2 (1.8%) of 107 patients in group 2 (P<0.05). No embolic events were detected in group 3 patients.Intracardiac echocardiography improves the outcome of cooled-tip PVI. Power adjustment guided by direct visualization of microbubble formation reduces the risk of PV stenosis and improves long-term cure.
Retinoic acid induces the differentiation of B cell hybridomas from patients with common variable immunodeficiency.
Authors: E Sherr, D C Adelman, A Saxon, M Gilly, R Wall, N Sidell
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1988)

Human-human B cell hybridomas constructed from B lymphocytes of common variable immunodeficiency (CVI) patients and the nonsecreting cell line WIL2/729 HF consistently secrete low levels of Ig and appear to retain a defect characteristic of the CVI patient's B cells. We assessed the differentiative capacity of retinoic acid (RA) on these hybridomas, as well as on hybridomas constructed from normal B cells and from patients with selective IgA deficiency. RA at concentrations varying between 10(-5) and 10(-9) M augmented IgM secretion 4-20-fold from four of four CVI hybridomas tested, but did not affect Ig secretion from normal or IgA-deficiency hybridomas. In support of this elevated Ig secretion, RA enhanced the de novo synthesis of biosynthetically labeled light (kappa) and heavy (mu) Ig (up to 4- and 15-fold, respectively) in the CVI hybridoma line JK32.1. The increase in IgM synthesis/secretion could not be accounted for by RA-induced alteration in the cell cycle. In inducing this increase in IgM production, RA was found to affect two aspects of Ig gene expression: (a) the steady-state levels of heavy and light chain mRNAs were enhanced, and (b) the processing of mu heavy chain transcripts to the secreted mRNA form became favored over the membrane mRNA form. We also show that expression of Leu-17 (CD38), a surface marker that is re-expressed in the late pre-plasma stage of B cell development, was increased by RA from less than 20% to greater than 90% of the total cell population, with a concomitant 4-10-fold augmentation in the mean fluorescence intensity. Changes in both Leu-17 expression and de novo Ig synthesis were prominent by 24 h, but could be observed as early as 8 h after induction. Taken together, our study demonstrates that RA affects a marked alteration in the differentiated state of the CVI hybridoma clones. This finding suggests that retinoids can enhance the functional capabilities of B cells with defects in maturation and support further studies to evaluate their clinical potential in CVI.
Variability in clinicians’ opinions regarding fitness to drive in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS): Table 1
Authors: A Dwarakanath, M Twiddy, D Ghosh, S L Jamson, P D Baxter, M W Elliott
Journal: Thorax (2014)

We evaluated clinicians' current practice for giving advice to patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Clinicians were invited to complete a web-based survey and indicate the advice they would give to patients in a number of scenarios about driving; they were also asked what they considered to be residual drowsiness and adequate compliance following CPAP treatment. In the least contentious scenario, 94% of clinicians would allow driving; in the most contentious a patient had a 50% chance of being allowed to drive. Following treatment with CPAP, clinicians' interpretation of what constituted residual drowsiness was inconsistent. In each vignette the same clinician was more likely to say 'yes' to 'excessive' than to 'irresistible' (71%±12% vs 42%±10%, p=0.0045). There was also a lack of consensus regarding 'adequate CPAP compliance'; 'yes' responses ranged from 13% to 64%. There is a need for clearer guidance; a recent update to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency guidance, and a statement from the British Thoracic Society, making it clear that sleepiness while driving is the key issue, may help.
Airway clearance techniques (ACT): A retrospective study in 188 patients, 96 of which with respiratory failure (RF)
Authors: Francesco D'Abrosca, Barbara Garabelli, Lorenzo Appendini, Gloria Savio, Agnese Barison, Nadia Buschini, Paola Baiardi, Bruno Balbi
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

ACT comprise PEP-Mask and ELTGOL (PE) commonly used in our clinical practice and a recently introduced device, Temporary PEP (T-PEP®, UNIKO®). The aim of this observational retrospective 4 yrs study is to give a first overview on possible effects and specific indications of T-PEP compared with PE. We re-evaluated data from 188 patients (113 males, mean 70±10 yrs) including 96 patients with RF (i.e. in LTOT and/or mechanical ventilation, MV), 97 COPD and 75 COPD and/or bronchiectasis patients, with or without exacerbation consecutively treated with ACT. 55 subjects were treated with T-PEP, 133 with PE. Demographic, clinical and physiological characteristics between ACT groups were similar. Repeated measures analysis of variance were used. After ACT, significant improvements in all physiological measures were found with no difference between groups: p
Is serum cholesterol a risk factor for asthma
Authors: Srikanth Krishnamurthy, Anupama Murthy Kaza, Karthikeyan Ramaraju, Nithilavalli Balasubramanian, M. Smirthi
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background: Proinflammatory role of serum cholesterol in asthma has been recently explored with contradicting results. Clarity on the link between serum cholesterol and asthma may lead to newer options in planning management strategies. The objective of our study was to examine the relationship between serum cholesterol, asthma and its characteristics.  Method: Forty asthmatics and 40 normal subjects were examined cross-sectionally and their serum fasting cholesterol and serum highly sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP) levels were measured along with other baseline investigations. All subjects were non smokers.  Results: Serum total cholesterol (mean ± SD) among asthmatics was 176.45 ± 30.77 mgs / dL as compared to 163.33 ± 26.38 mgs / dL among normal subjects (P   Conclusion: Our study found a weak but statistically significant association between higher levels of serum cholesterol and asthma which is independent of age, gender, BMI, socioeconomic status and serum hsCRP. Future research is required in a larger population to substantiate above association and its clinical implications.
Clinical variables associated with PSA response to abiraterone acetate in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer
Authors: R Leibowitz-Amit, A J Templeton, A Omlin, C Pezaro, E G Atenafu, D Keizman, F Vera-Badillo, J-A Seah, G Attard, J J Knox, S S Sridhar, I F Tannock, J S de Bono, A M Joshua
Journal: Annals of Oncology (2014)
Aberrant Tubuloglomerular Feedback and HIF-1α Confer Resistance to Ischemia after Subtotal Nephrectomy
Authors: Prabhleen Singh, Roland C. Blantz, Christian Rosenberger, Francis B. Gabbai, Trenton R. Schoeb, Scott C. Thomson
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2012)

Nephron loss in a diseased kidney invokes adaptations in the remaining nephrons. Whether and how these adaptations condition the response of the kidney to injury is not known. We examined the susceptibility of the kidney after subtotal (5/6th) nephrectomy (STN) to ischemic injury in rats. GFR in STN kidneys did not significantly change after ischemia reperfusion (IR), whereas GFR fell by 70% after IR in unilateral nephrectomy controls. In micropuncture experiments, single-nephron GFR responses mirrored the whole-kidney responses: in STN, single-nephron GFR decreased by 7% after IR compared with 28% in controls. Furthermore, we found that tubuloglomerular feedback, a mechanism that links proximal tubular injury to a fall in GFR, was inoperative in STN but was normal in controls. Restoration of normal feedback in STN attenuated the functional resistance to IR. In addition to the functional resilience, the morphology of the kidney was better preserved in STN. In STN kidneys, the S3 segment of the proximal tubule, normally injured after ischemia, constitutively expressed hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), which is cytoprotective in ischemia. Inducing HIF before IR improved GFR in control animals, and inhibiting the HIF target heme-oxygenase-1 before IR reduced GFR in STN animals. Taken together, these data suggest that fewer functioning nephrons in a diseased kidney do not increase the susceptibility to injury, but rather, hemodynamic and molecular adaptations in the remnant nephrons precondition them against ischemic injury.
Severe Pulsus Alternans Associated with Primary Myocardial Disease in Children
Authors: LEONARD C. HARRIS, QUANG X. NGHIEM, MELVYN H. SCHREIBER, JOHN M. WALLACE
Journal: Circulation (1966)

Five children, including two siblings, with clinically similar primary myocardial disease, were studied. One of the siblings expired 3 years after the onset of symptoms, and autopsy showed features of "cardiovascular collagenosis (endocardiomyopathy)." Moderate-to-severe pulsus alternans was present in all cases and persisted even after control of cardiac failure and return to moderate physical activity. No electrical alternans or bigeminy was observed. Cardiac catheterizations were performed on all patients. Left ventricular volume was radiographically determined in the siblings. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume was calculated as greater, and end-systolic volume smaller, for large beats as compared with small beats. Though alternating, end-diastolic volume was abnormally large, preceding both small and large beats. End-diastolic pressure alternated in the same way. Beat to beat (R-R) interval, alternating by as much as 0.09 second, was equalized by pacing in the right atrium and right ventricle, with persistence of pulsus alternans to a lesser degree. Isovolumetric contraction time was prolonged preceding small beats in spite of the large preceding end-diastolic volumes. The data appear to be consistent with Starling's law but suggest that impaired contractility, possibly due to alternate deletion of contractile elements, is an additional etiological factor.
Role of Rho small GTP binding protein in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton in hepatic stellate cells
Authors: Masaki Kato, Hiroaki Iwamoto, Nobuhiko Higashi, Rie Sugimoto, Koutaro Uchimura, Seiya Tada, Hironori Sakai, Makoto Nakamuta, Hajime Nawata
Journal: Journal of Hepatology (1999)
A VALIDATION OF PIOTROWSKI'S ALPHA FORMULA WITH SCHIZOPHRENICS VARYING IN DURATION OF ILLNESS
Authors: STANLEY ABRAMS
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1964)

An attempt was made to determine if Piotrowski's alpha formula was, as he indicated, mainly applicable with early or mild psychotic states, or if it was equally effective with the more chronic disorders. Three groups of schizophrenics with mean lengths of hospitalization of 3 months, 4 years, and 13 years were tested on an individual Rorschach and a Shipley-Hartford. The results indicated that the formula was equally valid for all 3 groups and that a similar proportion of alpha Ss. was present in each of the groups. This suggests that the formula diagnoses a form of schizophrenia rather than a transient or mild stage of the disorder. Although the alpha score was applicable to only 25% of the Ss. studied, all patients exceeded the score necessary to indicate the presence of a psychotic condition.
Detection and Functional Analysis of CD8+ T Cells Specific for PRAME: a Target for T-Cell Therapy
Authors: Marieke Griffioen, Jan H. Kessler, Martina Borghi, Ronald A. van Soest, Caroline E. van der Minne, Jan Nouta, Sjoerd H. van der Burg, Jan Paul Medema, Peter I. Schrier, J.H. Frederik Falkenburg, Susanne Osanto, Cornelis J.M. Melief
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2006)

Preferentially expressed antigen on melanomas (PRAME) is an interesting antigen for T-cell therapy because it is frequently expressed in melanomas (95%) and other tumor types. Moreover, due to its role in oncogenic transformation, PRAME-negative tumor cells are not expected to easily arise and escape from T-cell immunity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the usefulness of PRAME as target for anticancer T-cell therapies.HLA-A*0201-subtyped healthy individuals and advanced melanoma patients were screened for CD8+ T cells directed against previously identified HLA-A*0201-binding PRAME peptides by IFN-gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assays and tetramer staining. PRAME-specific T-cell clones were isolated and tested for recognition of melanoma and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) cell lines. PRAME mRNA expression was determined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR.In 30% to 40% of healthy individuals and patients, PRA(100-108)-specific CD8+ T cells were detected both after in vitro stimulation and directly ex vivo after isolation by magnetic microbeads. Although CD45RA- memory PRA(100-108)-specific T cells were found in some individuals, the majority of PRA(100-108)-tetramer+ T cells expressed CD45RA, suggesting a naive phenotype. PRA(100-108)-tetramer+ T-cell clones were shown to recognize and lyse HLA-A*0201+ and PRAME+ melanoma but not ALL cell lines. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR showed significantly lower PRAME mRNA levels in ALL than in melanoma cell lines, suggesting that PRAME expression in ALL is below the recognition threshold of our PRA(100-108)-tetramer+ T cells.These data support the usefulness of PRAME and in particular the PRA(100-108) epitope as target for T-cell therapy of PRAME-overexpressing cancers.
Update in Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Disease 2010
Authors: Philipp Markart, Malgorzata Wygrecka, Andreas Guenther
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2011)

In 2010, important articles have been published in the field of diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLD). Many of those deal with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which is the most aggressive form of DPLD (1). With pirfenidone, the first drug has been approved for the specific treatment of IPF in the European Union. However, the FDA refused to approve pirfenidone for the U.S. market. We summarize articles from this and other journals that have provided important new findings in the field of DPLD, with a particular focus on the clinical and experimental advances in IPF.
A Multilocus Molecular Phylogeny of the Parrots (Psittaciformes): Support for a Gondwanan Origin during the Cretaceous
Authors: Timothy F. Wright, Erin E. Schirtzinger, Tania Matsumoto, Jessica R. Eberhard, Gary R. Graves, Juan J. Sanchez, Sara Capelli, Heinrich Müller, Julia Scharpegge, Geoffrey K. Chambers, Robert C. Fleischer
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2008)

The question of when modern birds (Neornithes) first diversified has generated much debate among avian systematists. Fossil evidence generally supports a Tertiary diversification, whereas estimates based on molecular dating favor an earlier diversification in the Cretaceous period. In this study, we used an alternate approach, the inference of historical biogeographic patterns, to test the hypothesis that the initial radiation of the Order Psittaciformes (the parrots and cockatoos) originated on the Gondwana supercontinent during the Cretaceous. We utilized broad taxonomic sampling (representatives of 69 of the 82 extant genera and 8 outgroup taxa) and multilocus molecular character sampling (3,941 bp from mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes cytochrome oxidase I and NADH dehydrogenase 2 and nuclear introns of rhodopsin intron 1, tropomyosin alpha-subunit intron 5, and transforming growth factor ß-2) to generate phylogenetic hypotheses for the Psittaciformes. Analyses of the combined character partitions using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian criteria produced well-resolved and topologically similar trees in which the New Zealand taxa Strigops and Nestor (Psittacidae) were sister to all other psittaciforms and the cockatoo clade (Cacatuidae) was sister to a clade containing all remaining parrots (Psittacidae). Within this large clade of Psittacidae, some traditionally recognized tribes and subfamilies were monophyletic (e.g., Arini, Psittacini, and Loriinae), whereas several others were polyphyletic (e.g., Cyclopsittacini, Platycercini, Psittaculini, and Psittacinae). Ancestral area reconstructions using our Bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis and current distributions of genera supported the hypothesis of an Australasian origin for the Psittaciformes. Separate analyses of the timing of parrot diversification constructed with both Bayesian relaxed-clock and penalized likelihood approaches showed better agreement between geologic and diversification events in the chronograms based on a Cretaceous dating of the basal split within parrots than the chronograms based on a Tertiary dating of this split, although these data are more equivocal. Taken together, our results support a Cretaceous origin of Psittaciformes in Gondwana after the separation of Africa and the India/Madagascar block with subsequent diversification through both vicariance and dispersal. These well-resolved molecular phylogenies will be of value for comparative studies of behavior, ecology, and life history in parrots.
The Leicester Cough Monitor: preliminary validation of an automated cough detection system in chronic cough
Authors: S. S. Birring, T. Fleming, S. Matos, A. A. Raj, D. H. Evans, I. D. Pavord
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2008)

Chronic cough is a common condition that presents to both primary and secondary care. Assessment and management are hampered by the absence of well-validated outcome measures. The present study comprises the validation of the Leicester Cough Monitor (LCM), an automated sound-based ambulatory cough monitor. Cough frequency was measured with the LCM and compared with coughs and other sounds counted manually over 2 h of a 6-h recording by two observers in nine patients with chronic cough in order to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the LCM. Automated cough frequency was also compared with manual counts from one observer in 15 patients with chronic cough and eight healthy subjects. All subjects underwent 6-h recordings. A subgroup consisting of six control and five patients with stable chronic cough underwent repeat automated measurements ≥3 months apart. A further 50 patients with chronic cough underwent 24-h automated cough monitoring. The LCM had a sensitivity and specificity of 91 and 99%, respectively, for detecting cough and a false-positive rate of 2.5 events·h −1 . Mean± sem automated cough counts·patient·h −1 was 48±9 in patients with chronic cough and 2±1 in the control group (mean difference 46 counts·patient·h −1 ; 95% confidence interval (CI) 20–71). The automated cough counts were repeatable (intra-subject sd 11.4 coughs·patient·h −1 ; intra-class correlation coefficient 0.9). The cough frequency in patients undergoing 24-h automated monitoring was 19 coughs·patient·h −1 ; daytime (08:00–22:00 h) cough frequency was significantly greater than overnight cough frequency (25 versus 10 coughs·patient·h −1 ; mean difference 15 coughs·patient·h −1 , 95% CI 8–22). The Leicester Cough Monitor is a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess 24-h cough frequency in patients with cough. It should be a useful tool to assess patients with cough in clinical trials and longitudinal studies.
Increased Hsp27 after Androgen Ablation Facilitates Androgen-Independent Progression in Prostate Cancer via Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription 3–Mediated Suppression of Apoptosis
Authors: Palma Rocchi, Eliana Beraldi, Susan Ettinger, Ladan Fazli, Robert L. Vessella, Colleen Nelson, Martin Gleave
Journal: Cancer Research (2005)

Abstract One strategy to improve therapies in prostate cancer involves targeting cytoprotective genes activated by androgen withdrawal to delay the emergence of the androgen-independent (AI) phenotype. The objectives of this study were to define changes in Hsp27 levels after androgen ablation and to evaluate the functional relevance of these changes in AI progression. Using a tissue microarray of 232 specimens of hormone-naïve and post-hormone ablation–treated prostate cancer, we found that Hsp27 levels increase after androgen ablation to become highly expressed (&amp;gt;4-fold, P ≤ 0.01) in AI tumors. Hsp27 overexpression rendered LNCaP cells highly resistant to androgen withdrawal both in vitro and in vivo. Tumor volume and serum prostate–specific antigen levels increased 4.3- and 10-fold faster after castration when Hsp27 was overexpressed. Treatment of LNCaP tumor cells in vitro with Hsp27 antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) or short-interfering RNA suppressed Hsp27 levels in a dose-dependent and sequence-specific manner increased the apoptotic sub–G0-G1 fraction and caspase-3 cleavage &amp;gt;2-fold, as well as decreased signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (Stat3) levels and its downstream genes, c-fos and sPLA-2. The cytoprotection afforded by Hsp27 overexpression was attenuated by Stat3 knockdown using specific Stat3 ASO. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence confirmed that Hsp27 interacts with Stat3 and that Stat3 levels correlated directly with Hsp27 levels. Hsp27 ASO treatment in athymic mice bearing LNCaP tumors significantly delayed LNCaP tumor growth after castration, decreasing mean tumor volume and serum prostate–specific antigen levels by 57% and 69%, respectively. These findings identify Hsp27 as a modulator of Stat3-regulated apoptosis after androgen ablation and as a potential therapeutic target in advanced prostate cancer.