tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Physiological and Computed Tomographic Predictors of Outcome from Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
Authors: George R. Washko, Fernando J. Martinez, Eric A. Hoffman, Stephen H. Loring, Raúl San José Estépar, Alejandro A. Diaz, Frank C. Sciurba, Edwin K. Silverman, MeiLan K. Han, Malcolm DeCamp, John J. Reilly
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2009)

Previous investigations have identified several potential predictors of outcomes from lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). A concern regarding these studies has been their small sample size, which may limit generalizability. We therefore sought to examine radiographic and physiologic predictors of surgical outcomes in a large, multicenter clinical investigation, the National Emphysema Treatment Trial.To identify objective radiographic and physiological indices of lung disease that have prognostic value in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being evaluated for LVRS.A subset of the subjects undergoing LVRS in the National Emphysema Treatment Trial underwent preoperative high-resolution computed tomographic (CT) scanning of the chest and measures of static lung recoil at total lung capacity (SRtlc) and inspiratory resistance (Ri). The relationship between CT measures of emphysema, the ratio of upper to lower zone emphysema, CT measures of airway disease, SRtlc, Ri, the ratio of residual volume to total lung capacity (RV/TLC), and both 6-month postoperative changes in FEV(1) and maximal exercise capacity were assessed.Physiological measures of lung elastic recoil and inspiratory resistance were not correlated with improvement in either the FEV(1) (R = -0.03, P = 0.78 and R = -0.17, P = 0.16, respectively) or maximal exercise capacity (R = -0.02, P = 0.83 and R = 0.08, P = 0.53, respectively). The RV/TLC ratio and CT measures of emphysema and its upper to lower zone ratio were only weakly predictive of postoperative changes in both the FEV(1) (R = 0.11, P = 0.01; R = 0.2, P < 0.0001; and R = 0.23, P < 0.0001, respectively) and maximal exercise capacity (R = 0.17, P = 0.0001; R = 0.15, P = 0.002; and R = 0.15, P = 0.002, respectively). CT assessments of airway disease were not predictive of change in FEV(1) or exercise capacity in this cohort.The RV/TLC ratio and CT measures of emphysema and its distribution are weak but statistically significant predictors of outcome after LVRS.
Il-13 Receptor Alpha 1 Is Expressed On T Cells In Vivo And Il-13 Regulates RSV-Induced Il-17A Production In STAT1-/- Mice
Authors: M.G. Boswell, D.C. Newcomb, M.M. Huckabee, K. Goleniewska, S.S. Reiss, R.S. Peebles Jr.
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2011)
Analgesia and the acute abdomen.
Authors: W A Hamilton
Journal: BMJ (1979)

Obstetric anaesthetic and analgesic services in Wales SIR,-We agree with Dr D J Bowen and his colleagues (20 October, p 1002) that epidural analgesia should be available in every consultant obstetric unit as part of the pain relief service.However, there are considerable logistic difficulties to overcome in imple- menting this policy, such as the size and location of the unit and, not least, a shortage of trained anaesthetists.Unless the service can be safely offered mortality and morbidity are inevitable.It will take time to achieve this aim and our survey in Wales showed that the present deficiencies are substantial.We believed that our suggestions might go some way towards improving the situation.Dr Bowen and his colleagues are puzzled because we stated that there were few medical indications for epidural block and feel that breech deliveries, pre-eclamptic toxaemia, forceps deliveries, etc, are indications.However, there are no controlled trials to support their views.
Inhibition of Pim1 kinase reduces viral replication in primary bronchial epithelial cells
Authors: Maaike de Vries, Natalie P. Smithers, Peter H. Howarth, Martijn C. Nawijn, Donna E. Davies
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2015)

Respiratory viral infections are responsible for 85% of asthma exacerbations, which in turn lead to increased morbidity and mortality, causing a high societal and economic burden [1, 2]. Asthma patients have been found to be more susceptible to viral infections compared with non-asthmatic individuals [3]. It has been postulated that a reduced induction of apoptosis in virally infected airway epithelial cells from asthmatic patients might play a role in this increased susceptibility to viral infections [4]. Building on the role of apoptosis in respiratory viral infections, we tested whether the inhibition of a well-known survival pathway active in airway epithelial cells could reduce viral replication. To this end, we used an in vitro approach and infected primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBECs) from healthy volunteers with human rhinovirus (HRV)-16 in the absence or presence of a highly specific pharmacological inhibitor for Pim1 kinase [5]. Pim1 kinase is a constitutively active serine/threonine kinase known to be involved in cell survival by increasing the threshold for apoptosis [6, 7]. We have shown previously that Pim1 kinase is highly expressed in the bronchial airway epithelium and that pharmacological inhibition of Pim1 kinase increases the sensitivity of bronchial epithelial cells to cell death upon challenge with cigarette smoke extract [8]. Therefore, we hypothesised that inhibition of Pim1 kinase activity in virally infected PBECs would enhance the onset of cell death, resulting in reduced viral replication. Inhibition of Pim1 kinase activity reduces viral replication by inducing the onset of bronchial epithelial cell death <http://ow.ly/IJWGD> The authors would like to thank Juerg Schwaller (University Children's Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland) and Andrew Kraft (Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA) for providing the Pim1 inhibitors K00135 and SMI-4a, respectively, and Robert Ridley and Graham Berreen (University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, UK) for the technical assistance with the primary bronchial epithelial cell cultures.
The Glomerulopathy of Congenital Syphilis
Authors: A. Munire Yuceoglu
Journal: JAMA (1974)

<b>Renal complications were found in three infants, aged 2 to 3 months, who had clinical and laboratory evidence of congenital syphilis. Studies of kidney biopsy specimens identified the renal lesion as an immune glomerulopathy by the presence of coarse granular deposition of IgG and</b>β<sub>1</sub><b>C on the glomerular basement membrane. On electron microscopic examination, this identification was supported by the presence of subepithelial and intramembranous electron-dense deposits. A therapeutic course of penicillin resulted in resolution of both clinical manifestations and abnormal laboratory findings. Renal biopsies were performed on two of the three infants at intervals of three and six months after completion of therapy. At that time, all findings, including immunohistologic, were normal</b>. (<i>JAMA</i>229:1085-1089, 1974)
Accelerated Longitudinal Decline of Aerobic Capacity in Healthy Older Adults
Authors: Jerome L. Fleg, Christopher H. Morrell, Angelo G. Bos, Larry J. Brant, Laura A. Talbot, Jeanette G. Wright, Edward G. Lakatta
Journal: Circulation (2005)

The ability of older persons to function independently is dependent largely on the maintenance of sufficient aerobic capacity and strength to perform daily activities. Although peak aerobic capacity is widely recognized to decline with age, its rate of decline has been estimated primarily from cross-sectional studies that may provide misleading, overly optimistic estimates of aging changes.To determine longitudinal rate of change in aerobic capacity and the influence of age, gender, and physical activity on these changes, we performed serial measurements of peak treadmill oxygen consumption (peak VO2) in 375 women and 435 men ages 21 to 87 years from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, a community-dwelling cohort free of clinical heart disease, over a median follow-up period of 7.9 years. A linear mixed-effects regression model was used to calculate the predicted longitudinal 10-year rate of change in peak VO2, expressed in milliliters per minute, for each age decade from the 20s through the 70s after adjustment for self-reported leisure-time physical activity. A longitudinal decline in peak VO2 was observed in each of the 6 age decades in both sexes; however, the rate of decline accelerated from 3% to 6% per 10 years in the 20s and 30s to >20% per 10 years in the 70s and beyond. The rate of decline for each decade was larger in men than in women from the 40s onward. Similar longitudinal rates of decline prevailed when peak VO2 was indexed per kilogram of body weight or per kilogram of fat-free mass and in all quartiles of self-reported leisure-time physical activity. When the components of peak VO2 were examined, the rate of longitudinal decline of the oxygen pulse (ie, the O2 utilization per heart beat) mirrored that of peak VO2, whereas the longitudinal rate of heart rate decline averaged only 4% to 6% per 10 years, and accelerated only minimally with age.The longitudinal rate of decline in peak VO2 in healthy adults is not constant across the age span in healthy persons, as assumed by cross-sectional studies, but accelerates markedly with each successive age decade, especially in men, regardless of physical activity habits. The accelerated rate of decline of peak aerobic capacity has substantial implications with regard to functional independence and quality of life, not only in healthy older persons, but particularly when disease-related deficits are superimposed.
Experience of endobronchial ultrasound - transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in granulomatous disease
Authors: Adam Marshall, Leila Ahmed, George Chalmers
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2014)

Background 

Recent data has confirmed the diagnostic utility of EBUS/EUS in sarcoidosis, but combined EBUS/EUS is not available in all centres (von Bartheld, MB et al . JAMA 2013; 309:2457-64)

Aims 

To identify the influence of disease type, nodal station and sampling method on diagnostic yield in EBUS investigation of granulomatous disorders.

Methods 

Two year retrospective review of all patients with a diagnosis of granulomatous disease undergoing EBUS in our hospital.

Results

We performed EBUS on 88 nodes in 49 patients. Mean age 54 years (range 27-74), 53% male. Diagnosis: 39 sarcoidosis, 7 tuberculosis, 1 hypersensitivity pneumonitis(HP), 1 vasculitis and 2 unknown diagnoses suspicious of granulomatous disease.

View this table:



View this table:

Results by nodal station





7 patients had both EBUS and endobronchial biopsy (EBB). Of these 43% had positive EBUS, 57% had positive EBB but combining EBUS and EBB was positive in 86%.

7 patients had tuberculosis, with 3 EBUS samples culture positive, 1 of which was positive for auramine. 3 EBUS samples showed granulomata, 2 necrosis only and 2 no abnormality.

Conclusions 

EBUS-TBNA is effective in the diagnosis of granulomatous disease but concomitant EBB may improve yield. EBUS allowed sampling of nodes not accessible with EUS, with a high yield (50-83%).
Tumour necrosis factor upregulates platelet CD40L in patients with heart failure
Authors: P. Pignatelli, R. Cangemi, A. Celestini, R. Carnevale, L. Polimeni, A. Martini, D. Ferro, L. Loffredo, F. Violi
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2008)

Patients with heart failure (HF) have elevated values of the pro-inflammatory protein CD40L but the underlying mechanism is unclear. This study was performed to evaluate the interplay between tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) and CD40L in HF. In patients with HF (n = 86) and healthy subjects (HS, n = 43), plasma levels of soluble CD40L (sCD40L), TNFα, soluble receptors of TNFα such as soluble TNF receptors I and II (sTNFR1 and sTNFR2), and 8OH-dG, a marker of oxidative stress, were determined. Also, an in vitro study was performed by determining platelet CD40L regulation upon platelet stimulation with TNFα. Compared with HS, HF patients had higher plasma values of sCD40L, TNFα, sTNFR1 and sTNFR2, and higher platelet expression of TNFR1 and TNFR2 with a progressive increase from NYHA I to NYHA IV classification. sCD40L significantly correlated with TNFα, sTNFR1, and sTNFR2; plasma levels of TNFα significantly correlated with sCD40L. Incubation of platelets from HF patients with a TNFα receptor inhibitor significantly decreased platelet CD40L expression. The in vitro study demonstrated that TNFα significantly increased CD40L expression, an effect weakly influenced by aspirin but significantly reduced by AACOCF3, an inhibitor of PLA2, apocynin, an inhibitor of NADPH oxidase, or staurosporine, an inhibitor of PKC. The study shows that in HF patients, platelet CD40L is upregulated by TNFα via a cyclooxygenase-1-independent, arachidonic acid-mediated oxidative stress mechanism.
Circulating Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer Risk: Individual Participant Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies
Authors: Francesca L. Crowe, Paul N. Appleby, Ruth C. Travis, Matt Barnett, Theodore M. Brasky, H. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita, Veronique Chajes, Jorge E. Chavarro, Maria-Dolores Chirlaque, Dallas R. English, Robert A. Gibson, Graham G. Giles, Gary E. Goodman, Susanne M. Henning, Rudolf Kaaks, Irena B. King, Lawrence N. Kolonel, Alan R. Kristal, Marian L. Neuhouser, Song-Yi Park, Gianluca Severi, Afshan Siddiq, Meir J. Stampfer, Pär Stattin, Catherine M. Tangen, Anne Tjønneland, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Rosario Tumino, Lynne R. Wilkens, Timothy J. Key, Naomi E. Allen
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2014)

BackgroundIndividual studies have suggested that some circulating fatty acids are associated with prostate cancer risk, but have not been large enough to provide precise estimates of associations, particularly by stage and grade of disease.
Recommended Patient-Reported Core Set of Symptoms and Quality-of-Life Domains to Measure in Ovarian Cancer Treatment Trials
Authors: Kristine A. Donovan, Heidi S. Donovan, David Cella, Martha E. Gaines, Richard T. Penson, Steven C. Plaxe, Vivian E. von Gruenigen, Deborah Watkins Bruner, Bryce B. Reeve, Lari Wenzel
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2014)

There is no consensus as to what symptoms or quality-of-life (QOL) domains should be measured as patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in ovarian cancer clinical trials. A panel of experts convened by the National Cancer Institute reviewed studies published between January 2000 and August 2011. The results were included in and combined with an expert consensus-building process to identify the most salient PROs for ovarian cancer clinical trials. We identified a set of PROs specific to ovarian cancer: abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, fear of recurrence/disease progression, indigestion, sexual dysfunction, vomiting, weight gain, and weight loss. Additional PROs identified in parallel with a group charged with identifying the most important PROs across cancer types were anorexia, cognitive problems, constipation, diarrhea, dyspnea, fatigue, nausea, neuropathy, pain, and insomnia. Physical and emotional domains were considered to be the most salient domains of QOL. Findings of the review and consensus process provide good support for use of these ovarian cancer–specific PROs in ovarian cancer clinical trials.
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF CIRCUMSCRIBED DILATION OF AN ARTERY IMMEDIATELY DISTAL TO A PARTIALLY OCCLUDING BAND, AND ITS BEARING ON THE DILATION OF THE SUBCLAVIAN ARTERY OBSERVED IN CERTAIN CASES OF CERVICAL RIB
Authors: W. S. Halsted
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1916)

1. A partially occluded artery may dilate distal to the site of constriction. 2. The dilation is circumscribed. 3. When the constriction has been either slight in amount or complete, dilation has not been observed. 4. The dilation was greatest when the lumen of the artery (the aorta) was reduced to one-third or perhaps one-fourth of its original size (Figs. 8 and 11). 5. Dilation or aneurysm of the subclavian artery has been observed twenty-seven or more times in cases of cervical rib. 6. The dilation of the subclavian is circumscribed, is distal to the point of constriction, and strikingly resembles the dilation which we have produced experimentally. 7. The genesis of the experimental dilation and of the subclavian dilation occurring with cervical rib is probably the same. 8. When the lumen of the aorta is considerably constricted the systolic pressure may be permanently so lowered and the diastolic pressure so increased that the pulse pressure is greatly diminished. 9. The experimentally produced dilations and the aneurysms of the subclavian artery in cases of cervical rib are probably not due to vasomotor paralysis, trauma, or sudden variations in blood pressure. 10. The abnormal, whirlpool-like play of the blood in the relatively dead pocket just below the site of the constriction, and the lowered pulse pressure may be the chief factors concerned in the production of the dilations. 11. Intimal surfaces brought, however gently, in contact by bands or ligatures do not, in our experience, unite by first intention, for the force necessary to occlude the artery is sufficient to cause necrosis of the arterial wall. 12. Bands, rolled ever so tightly, do not rupture the intima. 13. The death of the arterial wall having been brought about by the pressure of the band, a gradual substitution of the necrotic tissue takes place, the new vessels penetrating it from both ends. It is, I believe, in this manner that an artery becomes occluded, and it is thus that a fibrous cord forms within the constricting band.
Introduction of mutant p53 into a wild-type p53-expressing glioma cell line confers sensitivity to Ad-p53-induced apoptosis
Authors: Julie A. Cerrato, W.K. Alfred Yung, Ta-Jen Liu
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2001)

Transient expression of the tumor suppressor gene p53 via adenoviral-mediated gene transfer induces apoptosis in glioma cells expressing mutant p53, while causing cell cycle arrest in cells with wild-type p53.To determine whether a change in p53 status of a wild-type p53expressing cell line such as U-87 MG would alter its apoptotic resistant phenotype in response to Ad-p53 infection, we generated cell lines U-87-175.4and U-87-175.13via retroviral-mediated gene transfer of the p53 (175H) mutant into the U-87 MG parental line.Control cell lines U-87-Lux.6 and U-87-Lux.8were also generated and express the reporter gene luciferase.Both U-87-175.4and U-87-175.13,but not control cell lines, exhibited morphology characteristic of apoptosis after Ad-p53 infection.Furthermore, expression of other p53 mutants (248W, 273H) in U-87 MG also sensitized cells to Ad-p53-induced apoptosis.Apoptosis was con rmed by TUNEL and cell cycle analysis.Several p53 response genes were examined in cells infected with Ad-p53, and among these, BCL2, p21 WAF1/CIP1 , CPP32/caspase 3, and PARP showed differences in expression between U87-175 and U87-Lux cell lines.Taken together, our data demonstrate that the introduction of p53 mutants in U-87 MG promotes an apoptotic response in association with adenoviral-mediated wild-type p53 gene transfer.These results underscore the importance of glioma p53 genotype for predicting tumor response to p53-based gene therapy.
Risk Factors for Inflammatory Breast Cancer and Other Invasive Breast Cancers
Authors: Catherine Schairer, Yan Li, Peter Frawley, Barry I. Graubard, Robert D. Wellman, Diana S. M. Buist, Karla Kerlikowske, Tracy L. Onega, William F. Anderson, Diana L. Miglioretti
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2013)

We investigated risk factors for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a rare, aggressive, and poorly understood breast cancer that is characterized by diffuse breast skin erythema and edema. We included 617 IBC case subjects in a nested case–control study from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium database (1994–2009). We also included 1151 noninflammatory, locally advanced, invasive breast cancers with chest wall/breast skin involvement (LABC), 7600 noninflammatory invasive case subjects without chest wall/breast skin involvement (BC), and 93 654 control subjects matched to case subjects on age and year at diagnosis and mammography registry. We present estimates of rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from conditional logistic regression analyses for each case group vs control subjects based on multiply imputed datasets. First-degree family history of breast cancer and high mammographic breast density increased risk of IBC, LABC, and BC. High body mass index (BMI) increased IBC risk irrespective of menopausal status and estrogen receptor (ER) expression; rate ratios for BMI 30 and greater vs BMI less than 25 were 3.90 (95% CI = 1.50 to 10.14) in premenopausal women and 3.70 (95% CI = 1.98 to 6.94) in peri/postmenopausal women not currently using hormones. BMI 30 and greater slightly increased risk of ER-positive BC (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.76). Statistically significant reductions in risk of ER-negative IBC with older age at first birth and of ER-positive IBC with higher education were not seen for LABC and BC of the same ER status. Different associations with BMI, age at first birth, and education between IBC and/or LABC and BC suggest a distinct etiology for IBC.
Design of a novel quantitative PCR (QPCR)-based protocol for genotyping mice carrying the neuroprotective Wallerian degeneration slow (Wlds) gene
Authors: Thomas M Wishart, Stephen HF MacDonald, Philip E Chen, Michael J Shipston, Michael P Coleman, Thomas H Gillingwater, Richard R Ribchester
Journal: Molecular Neurodegeneration (2007)

Mice carrying the spontaneous genetic mutation known as Wallerian degeneration slow (Wld s ) have a unique neuroprotective phenotype, where axonal and synaptic compartments of neurons are protected from degeneration following a wide variety of physical, toxic and inherited disease-inducing stimuli. This remarkable phenotype has been shown to delay onset and progression in several mouse models of neurodegenerative disease, suggesting that Wld s -mediated neuroprotection may assist in the identification of novel therapeutic targets. As a result, cross-breeding of Wld s mice with mouse models of neurodegenerative diseases is used increasingly to understand the roles of axon and synapse degeneration in disease. However, the phenotype shows strong gene-dose dependence so it is important to distinguish offspring that are homozygous or heterozygous for the mutation. Since the Wld s mutation comprises a triplication of a region already present in the mouse genome, the most stringent way to quantify the number of mutant Wld s alleles is using copy number. Current approaches to genotype Wld s mice are based on either Southern blots or pulsed field gel electrophoresis, neither of which are as rapid or efficient as quantitative PCR (QPCR). We have developed a rapid, robust and efficient genotyping method for Wld s using QPCR. This approach differentiates, based on copy number, homozygous and heterozygous Wld s mice from wild-type mice and each other. We show that this approach can be used to genotype mice carrying the spontaneous Wld s mutation as well as animals expressing the Wld s transgene. We have developed a QPCR genotyping method that permits rapid and effective genotyping of Wld s copy number. This technique will be of particular benefit in studies where Wld s mice are cross-bred with other mouse models of neurodegenerative disease in order to understand the neuroprotective processes conferred by the Wld s mutation.