tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
The Inflammatory Syndrome
Authors: Brent E. Wisse
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2004)

The metabolic effects of obesity have made this highly prevalent disease one of the most common risk factors for diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, the leading causes of end-stage renal failure. However, obesity per se, as defined by body mass index, is less predictive of the development of these diseases than is the presence of a constellation of obesity-related abnormalities now known as the metabolic syndrome. Recognition of this syndrome, which can readily be identified in clinical settings using defined threshold values for waist circumference, BP, fasting glucose, and dyslipidemia, allows for earlier intervention in these high-risk patients. Systemic insulin resistance has been implicated as one possible factor that links visceral obesity to adverse metabolic consequences; however, the mechanism whereby adipose tissue causes alterations in insulin sensitivity remains unclear. Infection and inflammation are commonly associated with insulin resistance, and visceral obesity is associated with a chronic, low-grade inflammatory state, suggesting that inflammation may be a potential mechanism whereby obesity leads to insulin resistance. Moreover, adipose tissue is now recognized as an immune organ that secretes numerous immunomodulatory factors and seems to be a significant source of inflammatory signals known to cause insulin resistance. Therefore, inflammation within white adipose tissue may be a crucial step contributing to the emergence of many of the pathologic features that characterize the metabolic syndrome and result in diabetes and atherosclerosis. This review describes the role of proinflammatory cytokines and hormones released by adipose tissue in generating the chronic inflammatory profile associated with visceral obesity.
Kinanthropometric backup to core group probables of 2010 CWG
Authors: Rajdeep Kaur Talwar
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2010)

Kinanthropometry is the basic sports science, knowledge of which is extremely important to find out the performance excellence in the competitions. Requirement of body structure with regard to suitability of the sport is pre-requisite for being an athlete. In the present article, complete kinanthropometric backup provided to various core group probables of 2010, in the sport disciplines of track and field, boxing, cycling and wrestling will be discussed and efforts will be made to present the normative values of various anthropometric parameters pertaining to these elite level Indian athletes.
Screening for Suicide Risk in Adolescents, Adults, and Older Adults in Primary Care: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement
Authors: Michael L. LeFevre
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Update of the 2004 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for suicide risk.The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the accuracy and reliability of instruments used to screen for increased suicide risk, benefits and harms of screening for increased suicide risk, and benefits and harms of treatments to prevent suicide.This recommendation applies to adolescents, adults, and older adults in the general population who do not have an identified psychiatric disorder.The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for suicide risk in adolescents, adults, and older adults in a primary care setting. (I statement).
Practice and principles of pharmacodynamic determination of HISS‐dependent and HISS‐independent insulin action: Methods to quantitate mechanisms of insulin resistance
Authors: W. Wayne Lautt
Journal: Medicinal Research Reviews (2002)

Abstract Injection of insulin causes release of HISS (hepatic insulin sensitizing substance) from the liver in the fed state. HISS action accounts for 50–60% of the glucose disposal produced by a wide range of insulin doses (5–100 mU/kg). Although the chemical nature of HISS is unknown, precluding pharmacokinetic studies, the pharmacodynamics of HISS has advanced because of the use of the rapid insulin sensitivity test (RIST) which is a transient euglycemic clamp used following a bolus of insulin. HISS action can be blocked by hepatic denervation and restored by intraportal but not intravenous infusion of acetylcholine or a nitric oxide donor. HISS release is prevented by blockade of hepatic muscarinic receptors, nitric oxide synthase blockers, indomethacin, and animal models of insulin resistance, including chronic liver disease, sucrose feeding, hypertension, aging, obesity, and fetal alcohol exposure. HISS acts on skeletal muscle but not liver, gut, or adipose tissue. HISS is released by insulin in the fed state but decreases to insignificance after 24‐hr fasting in rats. Cats and dogs appear to require a longer period of fasting to prevent HISS action. Lack of HISS action is suggested to be the cause of post‐meal hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in type 2 diabetes and other disease states with similar metabolic dysfunction. The RIST can be carried out up to six times in the same animal, is not affected by pentobarbital anesthesia, and can readily differentiate HISS‐dependent and HISS‐independent insulin action. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 23, No. 1, 1–14, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/med.10022
PROPERTIES OF THE CAUSATIVE AGENT OF A CHICKEN TUMOR
Authors: F. Duran-Reynals, James B. Murphy
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1929)

Ground muscle from susceptible chickens fixes in vitro in a proportion of instances the agent of the filterable Chicken Tumor I, and in a lesser degree inactivates it, whereas the muscle from resistant animals such as rabbit and pigeon, is without effect. It is shown that the power of fixation of the chicken muscle is far greater than its inactivating properties. Brain and liver from chicken, rabbit and pigeon seem devoid of any action on the agent. The desiccated chicken muscle tissue shares the properties of the fresh organ; and the process of desiccation does not release the agent from the inactive or slightly active mixture of fresh muscle and filtrate.
Effect of Verapamil on the Normal Action Potential and on a Calcium Dependent Slow Response of Canine Cardiac Purkinje Fibers
Authors: PAUL F. CRANEFIELD, RONALD S. ARONSON, ANDREW L. WIT
Journal: Circulation Research (1974)

The effect of verapamil on normal sodium (Na)-dependent and slow calcium (Ca)-dependent action potentials recorded from canine cardiac Purkinje fibers was studied. The Ca-dependent slow response was obtained in fibers exposed to solutions in which all NaCl was replaced by tetraethylammonium chloride and in which Ca ranged from 4 m M to 16.2 m M . Verapamil (0.25-2 mg/liter) had little or no effect on the upstroke of the normal action potential, but such concentrations of verapamil suppressed rhythmic activity and depressed excitability in fibers that showed Ca-dependent slow responses. Spontaneous activity and rhythmic activity evoked by long depolarizing pulses were depressed. Verapamil decreased the amplitude and the upstroke velocity and shifted the threshold potential toward zero in fibers that showed Ca-dependent slow responses. The effectiveness of verapamil varied with the level of Ca; 0.25 mg/liter of verapamil was as effective in suppressing activity in fibers exposed to 4 m M Ca as was 2 mg/liter of verapamil in fibers exposed to 16.2 m M Ca. Although verapamil did not alter the upstroke of the normal Na-dependent action potential, it did depress the plateau and prolong the action potential of fibers exposed to normal Tyrode's solution.
The national database of the German Collaborative Arthritis Centres: II. Treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: A Zink
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2001)

To describe current treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in German rheumatology.Data from the German rheumatological database of 1998, comprising clinical and patient questionnaire data of 12 992 outpatients with RA seen at 24 collaborative arthritis centres in Germany, were analysed.At the time of documentation, 88% of the patients with RA were undergoing disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment. Methotrexate (MTX) was prescribed to 56% of the patients (61% with seropositive and 45% with seronegative RA). Combination treatment was used in 15%. MTX was the drug of first choice even in patients with up to one year's disease duration (49%), followed by antimalarial drugs (21%). Patients treated by non-rheumatologists within the previous year had received DMARD treatment in only 33% of the cases. In steroid treatment, low doses (< or = 7.5 mg/day) were used by rheumatologists much more often (44%) than higher doses (12%). 16% of the patients had been inpatients during the previous year, with a median length of stay accumulated over the year of 21 days. Together with stays in inpatient rehabilitation, 22% of all patients had had some form of inpatient treatment. Comprehensive measures such as occupational therapy and patient education were prescribed to fewer than 12% of the patients, mostly during their hospital stay.German rheumatologists do follow recent recommendations about early and effective treatment. However, there are still deficits in outpatient care with non-medicinal measures like occupational therapy and patient education, which may partly explain the high hospital admission rates.
Cumulative and Single-dose Design to Assess the Bronchodilator Effects of β<sub>2</sub>-Agonists in Individuals with Asthma
Authors: DAVID FISHWICK, LISA BRADSHAW, CLAIRE MACDONALD, RICHARD BEASLEY, DIANA GASH, THOMAS BENGTSSON, EVA BONDESSON, LARS BORGSTRÖM
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2001)

With the development of different chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free metered dose aerosol and dry powder devices, it is necessary to study and validate the methods used for assessing and comparing their efficacy. This study evaluated the cumulative dose design by determining the bronchodilator response to salbutamol given according to either a high or a low cumulative dose regimen. Adults with asthma (n = 24) were studied in a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, cross-over design. On separate days, cumulative doses of salbutamol (50 + 50 + 100 + 200 or 100 + 100 + 200 + 400 or 400 + 0 + 0 + 0 or 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 μ g) were given via Turbuhaler with 30 min between doses. The two cumulative dose regimens produced almost identical bronchodilator responses at each time point. The relative dose-potency between the 800- and 400- μ g cumulative dose regimens was 0.7 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.5–1.0, excluding the true value of 2. The 400- μ g cumulative dose regimen resulted in a higher FEV1 at 115 min than the 400- μ g single-dose regimen. There was no difference in the bronchodilator response to the single dose of 50, 100, or 400 μ g of salbutamol after either 5 or 25 min. Thus, care should be exercised when using either a cumulative or single-dose design for comparing different β2-agonists, or different inhalation devices, with respect to their relative dose-potency. In addition, this study provides further evidence that for short-acting β2-agonists such as salbutamol, lower doses than those normally recommended may be used, and that repeated self-administration of low doses over a period of 60 min may give a better bronchodilator response than a single administration of a high dose.
PHARMACOLOGIC SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT) IMAGING OR PHARMACOLOGIC ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY? A META ANALYSIS OF PHARMACOLOGIC TESTING FOR DIAGNOSIS OF HIGH-RISK CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE.
Authors: Nitin Mahajan, Amit Sagar, Vipin Khetarpal, Ashok Kondur, Sinan Sarsam, Latha Polavaram, Hema Venkalaya, Yun Wang, Joel Agar, Luis Afonso
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2010)
The effect of estrogen and tamoxifen on hepatocyte proliferationin Vivo andin Vitro
Authors: Antonio Francavilla, Lorenzo Polimeno, Alfredo Dileo, Michele Barone, Peter Ove, Mona Coetzee, Patricia Eagon, Leonard Makowka, Giovanni Ambrosino, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Thomas E. Starzl
Journal: Hepatology (1989)

We have previously shown that changes in estrogen-hepatocyte interaction occur during liver regeneration. Following 70% hepatectomy, estrogen levels in the blood were elevated, the number of estrogen receptors in the liver was increased and there was an active translocation of estrogen receptors from the cytosol to the nucleus. The injection of tamoxifen, an estrogen antagonist, inhibits hepatocyte proliferation following partial hepatectomy. The administration of 1 μg tamoxifen per gm body weight at zero time or 6 hr after the operation resulted in a significant inhibition both of DNA synthesis and of the number of cells in mitosis. Injections of tamoxifen 12 hr or later after the operation had no effect. Concomitant injections of equimolar amounts of estrogen abolished the inhibition by tamoxifen. The effects of estrogen and tamoxifen were also tested on hepatocytes in primary culture. Estrogens in the presence of 5% normal rat serum stimulated hepatocyte DNA synthesis as determined by [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation and the labeling index, whereas epidermal growth factor-induced DNA synthesis in the absence of normal rat serum was strongly inhibited. Tamoxifen, in contrast, inhibited DNA synthesis of hepatocytes in the presence of 5% normal rat serum and reversed the stimulatory effect of estrogen in the same system. Attempts to elucidate the mechanism of tamoxifen inhibition in vitro indicated that one effect of tamoxifen is to prevent the amiloride-sensitive Na + influx necessary to initiate hepatocyte proliferation.
A for Effort: Learning From the Application of the GRADE Approach to Cancer Guideline Development
Authors: Melissa C. Brouwers, Mark R. Somerfield, George P. Browman
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2008)

Few would argue against a methodology that facilitates more explicit and transparent judgments about health care research evidence and the link to practice and policy decisions. In this issue of the JournalofClinicalOncology,DePalmaetal 1 describetheapplicationof one such method, the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach, for the development of clinical practice guidelines for breast, colorectal, and lung cancer treatment. The GRADE approach has emerged in response to concerns about the glut of competing grading systems, their limitations, and the confusion resulting from lack of a common rubric. GRADE (http://www.gradeworkinggroup.org/) provides an explicit method for arriving at recommendations classified according to the quality of supporting evidence. 2-8
Myositis associated autoantibodies detected using a novel recombinant protein blotting: clinical associations
Authors: P J Charles, I E Lundberg, E Paterson, L Ekholm, K Danko, I Putova, J Vencovsky
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2010)

Purpose Screening for autoantibodies associated with idiopathic infl ammatory myopathies (IIM) has conventionally been performed using radio-immunoprecipitation techniques which are not suitable for use in routine diagnostic laboratories.The authors have therefore investigated the use of lineimmunoassay technology employing recombinant antigens as an alternative for this purpose.Methods Sera and clinical data were collected on 486 patients (256 PM,183 DM, 20 JDM, 9 IBM, 18 overlap syndrome) with IIM, according to Bohan and Peter or Grigg's criteria, from three European `s as part of the EUMyogen study.These were tested using a line-immunoassay system (Euroimmun, Lubeck, Germany).The system tested was able to detect 10 myositis associated antibodies (Jo-1, PL-7, PL-12, EJ, OJ, SRP, PM-Scl, Ku, Mi-2β, U1-RNP).Patients were assesed for the presence of joint disease, interstitial lung disease (ILD), Gottron's papules, heliotrope rash and cancer(±3 years of diagnosis).Results Anti Jo-1 was the commonest antibody detected in the cohort (12.6%).Antibodies to PM-Scl (3.7%); U1-RNP (5.5%); SRP (2.6%); Mi-2β (2.6%); Ku (1.6%); EJ, were also detected in the cohort.Anti-Jo-1 (p=0.0001;OR10.25).Anti-PM-Scl (p=0.04;OR 5.8) and Anti-SRP (p=0.04;OR 5.6) were associated with the presence of ILD.Anti-Mi-2β (p=0.001;OR 12.57) was associated with the presence of Gottron's papules.
Of UFOs and other thoughts
Authors: P McCrory
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2002)

Iwas recently whiling away a few joyful hours in transit in yet another anonymous airport on the way to another conference.After contemplating why in American airports it is physically impossible to get any sort of food that is capable of sustaining a healthy life, I felt the need to search for something to read.At a news stand, I found a copy of the Worst Case Survival Handbook (by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht, Hardie Grant Books) to re-read.I was of course immediately taken by the instructions on how to foil an alien abduction.Some of you may think this is somewhat farfetched however I draw your attention to a recent survey that suggested 4 million Americans have been the victims of such events.Forearmed with that knowledge and with one eye looking for flying saucers, I was entranced.
Air Pollution Exposure and Lung Function in Children: The ESCAPE Project
Authors: Ulrike Gehring, Olena Gruzieva, Raymond M. Agius, Rob Beelen, Adnan Custovic, Josef Cyrys, Marloes Eeftens, Claudia Flexeder, Elaine Fuertes, Joachim Heinrich, Barbara Hoffmann, Johan C. de Jongste, Marjan Kerkhof, Claudia Klümper, Michal Korek, Anna Mölter, Erica S. Schultz, Angela Simpson, Dorothea Sugiri, Magnus Svartengren, Andrea von Berg, Alet H. Wijga, Göran Pershagen, Bert Brunekreef
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2013)

There is evidence for adverse effects of outdoor air pollution on lung function of children. Quantitative summaries of the effects of air pollution on lung function, however, are lacking due to large differences among studies.We aimed to study the association between residential exposure to air pollution and lung function in five European birth cohorts with a standardized exposure assessment following a common protocol.As part of the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) we analyzed data from birth cohort studies situated in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom that measured lung function at 6-8 years of age (n = 5,921). Annual average exposure to air pollution [nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx), mass concentrations of particulate matter with diameters < 2.5, < 10, and 2.5-10 μm (PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse), and PM2.5 absorbance] at the birth address and current address was estimated by land-use regression models. Associations of lung function with estimated air pollution levels and traffic indicators were estimated for each cohort using linear regression analysis, and then combined by random effects meta-analysis.Estimated levels of NO2, NOx, PM2.5 absorbance, and PM2.5 at the current address, but not at the birth address, were associated with small decreases in lung function. For example, changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) ranged from -0.86% (95% CI: -1.48, -0.24%) for a 20-μg/m3 increase in NOx to -1.77% (95% CI: -3.34, -0.18%) for a 5-μg/m3 increase in PM2.5.Exposure to air pollution may result in reduced lung function in schoolchildren.
Fenfluramine-like cardiovascular side-effects of benfluorex
Authors: K. Boutet, I. Frachon, Y. Jobic, C. Gut-Gobert, C. Leroyer, D. Carlhant-Kowalski, O. Sitbon, G. Simonneau, M. Humbert
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2009)

Since 1976, benfluorex has been approved in Europe as a hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic drug, and is commonly used in the treatment of the metabolic syndrome. As a derivative of fenfluramine with an appetite suppressant action, benfluorex is preferentially used in overweight patients. In contrast to fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, to date, benfluorex has not been reported to be associated with frequent cardiovascular side-effects. The present study reports five cases of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension and one case of valvular heart disease occurring in patients exposed to benfluorex. These individuals were middle age, diabetic females with a body mass index ranging 24.2–49 kg·m<sup>−2</sup>. No definite causal effect for cardiovascular disease with benfluorex can be drawn from such case reports. However, as benfluorex, like dexfenfluramine and fenfluramine, is metabolised into active metabolite norfenfluramine, further extensive assessment of drug exposure in newly diagnosed pulmonary arterial hypertension or valvular heart disease patients is warranted.
Bone Marrow X Kinase–Mediated Signal Transduction in Irradiated Vascular Endothelium
Authors: Tianxiang Tu, Dinesh Thotala, Ling Geng, Dennis E. Hallahan, Christopher D. Willey
Journal: Cancer Research (2008)

Abstract Radiation-induced activation of the phosphatidyl inositol-3 kinase/Akt signal transduction pathway requires Akt binding to phosphatidyl-inositol phosphates (PIP) on the cell membrane. The tyrosine kinase bone marrow X kinase (Bmx) binds to membrane-associated PIPs in a manner similar to Akt. Because Bmx is involved in cell growth and survival pathways, it could contribute to the radiation response within the vascular endothelium. We therefore studied Bmx signaling within the vascular endothelium. Bmx was activated rapidly in response to clinically relevant doses of ionizing radiation. Bmx inhibition enhanced the efficacy of radiotherapy in endothelial cells as well as tumor vascular endothelium in lung cancer tumors in mice. Retroviral shRNA knockdown of Bmx protein enhanced human umbilical vascular endothelial cell (HUVEC) radiosensitization. Furthermore, pretreatment of HUVEC with a pharmacologic inhibitor of Bmx, LFM-A13, produced significant radiosensitization of endothelial cells as measured by clonogenic survival analysis and apoptosis as well as functional assays including cell migration and tubule formation. In vivo, LFM-A13, when combined with radiation, resulted in significant tumor microvascular destruction as well as enhanced tumor growth delay. Bmx therefore represents a molecular target for the development of novel radiosensitizing agents. [Cancer Res 2008;68(8):2861–9]