tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Cardiac anaphylaxis. Complement activation as an amplification system.
Authors: U del Balzo, M J Polley, R Levi
Journal: Circulation Research (1989)

Complement is activated, and C3a and C5a anaphylatoxins are generated during hypersensitivity reactions clinically associated with cardiopulmonary collapse. The administration of C3a or C5a to nonsensitized isolated guinea pig hearts mimics the events caused by antigen challenge of sensitized hearts (i.e., cardiac anaphylaxis) in the absence of complement. Thus, complement-derived anaphylatoxins may participate in immediate hypersensitivity reactions in which the heart is a target organ. To assess the contribution of complement activation and anaphylatoxin generation to cardiac dysfunction, we have elicited anaphylaxis in isolated guinea pig hearts in the presence of complement and found that the ensuing dysfunction is markedly enhanced. This amplification is most likely attributable to anaphylatoxin formation because 1) inactivation of C3 or selective C3 depletion, i.e., the loss of the component responsible for the formation of the anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a, prevents complement-induced exacerbation of cardiac anaphylaxis, whereas reconstitution with C3 and C5, or even only C3, restores it; in fact, the greater the C3 content at the time of antigen challenge, the more intense the anaphylactic crisis; and 2) the severity of cardiac anaphylaxis is markedly reduced by preexposure to C3a, and this reduction is directly related to the dose of C3a injected and to the amount of endogenous cardiac histamine depleted by C3a before antigen challenge. Complement-derived anaphylatoxins appear to promote the same mediator release that has been initiated by the antigen-antibody reaction; thus, complement activation functions as an amplification system in cardiac anaphylaxis.
Prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in children and adolescents from Belarus exposed to the Chernobyl radioactive fallout
Authors: Furio Pacini, Tatiana Vorontsova, Eleonora Molinaro, Elvira Kuchinskaya, Laura Agate, Elena Shavrova, Larisa Astachova, Luca Chiovato, Aldo Pincheia
Journal: The Lancet (1998)
Robert Hugh Cawley John David Ebsworth Anne Lydia Evans Howard Brinley Jenkins Kenneth Arthur Latter Martin Lawrence Ann Moran James Robinson Rowell Anne Spoerrey Kenneth Eric Warren Leslie Andrew Wilson
Authors: W A Lishman, L. Kaufman, P. Willis, M. Jenkins, A. B. Shaw, G. Fowler, J. Moore, D. McCartney, N. Rowell, A. Savage, M. Hall-Smith, I. Lawson
Journal: BMJ (1999)

Bob was judged too frail to study medicine, but after obtaining a zoology degree
Activity and Safety of the Antiestrogen EM-800, the Orally Active Precursor of Acolbifene, in Tamoxifen-Resistant Breast Cancer
Authors: Fernand Labrie, Pierre Champagne, Claude Labrie, Jean Roy, Jacques Laverdière, Louise Provencher, Martin Potvin, Yvan Drolet, Michael Pollak, Lawrence Panasci, Bernard L'Espérance, Jean Dufresne, Jean Latreille, Jean Robert, Benoît Samson, Jacques Jolivet, Louise Yelle, Lionel Cusan, Pierre Diamond, Bernard Candas
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2004)

To determine the efficacy and safety of EM-800 (SCH-57050), the precursor of acolbifene, a new, highly potent, orally active, pure antiestrogen in the mammary gland and endometrium, for the treatment of tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer.Forty-three post menopausal/ovariectomized women with breast cancer who had received tamoxifen, either for metastatic disease or as adjuvant to surgery for > or = 1 year, and had relapsed were treated in a prospective, multicenter, phase II study with EM-800 (20 mg/d [n = 21] or 40 mg/d [n = 22] orally). Results Thirty-seven patients had estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors (>10 fmol/mg; mean, 146 fmol/mg cytosolic protein), three patients had ER-negative/progesterone receptor-positive tumors, and three patients had undetermined ER status. The objective response rate to EM-800 was 12%, with one complete response and four partial responses. Ten patients (23%) had stable disease for > or = 3 months, and 7 patients (16%) had stable disease for > or = 6 months. With a median follow-up of 29 months, median duration of response was 8 months (range, 7 to 71+ months). Treatment with EM-800 was well tolerated. No significant adverse events related to the study drug were observed clinically or biochemically.EM-800 produced responses in a significant proportion of patients with tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer, thus showing that this highly potent, selective estrogen receptor modulator, which lacks estrogenic activity in the mammary gland and endometrium, has incomplete cross-resistance with tamoxifen, thus suggesting additional benefits in the treatment of breast cancer.
Active inference and free energy
Authors: Karl Friston
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2013)

Abstract Why do brains have so many connections? The principles exposed by Andy Clark provide answers to questions like this by appealing to the notion that brains distil causal regularities in the sensorium and embody them in models of their world. For example, connections embody the fact that causes have particular consequences. This commentary considers the imperatives for this form of embodiment.
The Effect of Menopause on the Metabolic Syndrome Among Korean Women
Authors: Hee Man Kim, Jong Park, So Yeon Ryu, Jongoh Kim
Journal: Diabetes Care (2007)

This study examined the effect of menopausal status on the risk of the metabolic syndrome in Korean women.Data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2001. A total of 2,671 women who did not receive hormone replacement therapy (1,893 premenopausal women and 778 postmenopausal women) were included in the analysis. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III.Postmenopausal women had significantly higher mean waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels than premenopausal women after adjusting for age (P = 0.018, P = 0.001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, and P = 0.006, respectively). Among postmenopausal women, the age-adjusted odds ratio was 1.61 (95% CI 1.15-2.25) for abdominal obesity, 1.11 (0.76-1.61) for elevated blood pressure, 1.24 (0.90-1.72) for low HDL cholesterol, 1.28 (0.89-1.83) for high triglycerides, and 1.07 (0.69-1.65) for high fasting glucose compared with premenopausal women. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome was 1.60 (95% CI 1.04-2.46) among postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women.Postmenopausal status is associated with an increased risk of the metabolic syndrome independent of normal aging in Korean women.
FOR-PROFIT CONVERSION OF BLUE CROSS PLANS: Public Benefit or Public Harm?
Authors: Mark A. Hall, Christopher J. Conover
Journal: Annual Review of Public Health (2005)

Conversions of Blue Cross plans to for-profit status have the potential to remake the corporate landscape of health care finance. Absent regulatory intervention, current trends could easily result in more than half of Blue Cross subscribers being in for-profit plans, a phenomenon far more significant than the conversion of nonprofit hospitals. Therefore, regulators' deliberations over conversion proposals are beginning to focus on the health policy impacts. This chapter surveys the full range of health policy implications by analyzing all existing studies of Blue Cross conversions and reporting on the authors' own case studies of conversion impacts. These studies conclude that conversions have not caused major negative impacts on the availability or accessibility of health care in the states in which conversions have occurred so far. However, a great deal of uncertainty exists about the actual effects of previous conversions, and each state is unique; therefore, even if the historical record were clear, it is difficult to predict with great certainty what the actual effects will be in another state undergoing a Blue conversion.
Observations on the Mechanism of Emetine Poisoning of Myocardial Tissue
Authors: BARRY M. BELLER, Stephen Mongillo
Journal: Circulation Research (1968)

The effect of emetine hydrochloride on protein synthesis in rat myocardium was studied. Emetine inhibited incorporation of tritiated leucine into soluble proteins and actomyosin in an in vitro system using minced rat myocardium in a supporting medium. Fifty percent inhibition of incorporation of the isotope into soluble proteins and actomyosin occurred at an emetine concentration of 5 x 10 -7 M. Incorporation was also significantly inhibited when animals were treated with emetine for three days. The data suggest that emetine toxicity in the myocardium may be mediated through its effects on protein biosynthesis.
Structural and Functional Profiling of Environmental Ligands for Estrogen Receptors
Authors: Vanessa Delfosse, Marina Grimaldi, Vincent Cavaillès, Patrick Balaguer, William Bourguet
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2014)

Background: Individuals are exposed daily to environmental pollutants that may act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), causing a range of developmental, reproductive, metabolic, or neoplastic diseases. With their mostly hydrophobic pocket that serves as a docking site for endogenous and exogenous ligands, nuclear receptors (NRs) can be primary targets of small molecule environmental contaminants. However, most of these compounds are chemically unrelated to natural hormones, so their binding modes and associated hormonal activities are hardly predictable.Objectives: We conducted a correlative analysis of structural and functional data to gain insight into the mechanisms by which 12 members of representative families of pollutants bind to and activate the estrogen receptors ERα and ERβ.Methods: We used a battery of biochemical, structural, biophysical, and cell-based approaches to characterize the interaction between ERs and their environmental ligands.Results: Our study revealed that the chemically diverse compounds bound to ERs via varied sets of protein–ligand interactions, reflecting their differential activities, binding affinities, and specificities. We observed xenoestrogens binding to both ERs—with affinities ranging from subnanomolar to micromolar values—and acting in a subtype-dependent fashion as full agonists or partial agonists/antagonists by using different combinations of the activation functions 1 and 2 of ERα and ERβ.Conclusions: The precise characterization of the interactions between major environmental pollutants and two of their primary biological targets provides rational guidelines for the design of safer chemicals, and will increase the accuracy and usefulness of structure-based computational methods, allowing for activity prediction of chemicals in risk assessment.Citation: Delfosse V, Grimaldi M, Cavaillès V, Balaguer P, Bourguet W. 2014. Structural and functional profiling of environmental ligands for estrogen receptors. Environ Health Perspect 122:1306–1313; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408453
Abnormalities of High Density Lipoproteins in Abetalipoproteinemia*
Authors: John W. Jones, Peter Ways
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1967)

DETAILED STUDIES OF THE HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS FROM THREE PATIENTS WITH ABETALIPOPROTEINEMIA HAVE REVEALED THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPAL ABNORMALITIES: 1) High density lipoprotein 3 (HDL3) is reduced in both absolute and relative concentration, although HDL2 is present in normal amounts. 2) The phospholipid distribution of both HDL fractions is abnormal, with low concentrations of lecithin and an increased percentage (though normal absolute quantity) of sphingomyelin. 3) In both HDL fractions, lecithin contains less linoleate and more oleate than normal. The cholesteryl esters are also low in linoleic acid, and the sphingomyelin is high in nervonic acid. Dietary intake influences the linoleic acid concentration within 2 weeks, and perhaps sooner, but the elevated sphingomyelin nervonic acid is little affected by up to 6 months of corn oil supplementation. Qualitatively similar changes in fatty acid composition, but not phospholipid distribution, are also found in other malabsorption states. The available evidence suggests that the abnormally low levels of HDL3 and the deranged phospholipid distribution are more specific for abetalipoproteinemia than the fatty acid abnormalities. However, the absence of these abnormalities in obligate heterozygous subjects makes their relationship to the primary defect of abetalipoproteinemia difficult to assess.
Heart rate variability by sleep stage at different parts of the night in obstructive sleep apnea
Authors: Renata Trimer, Fernando Sousa Melo Costa, Renata Gonçalves Mendes, Antonio Delfino, Luciana Maria Malosa Sampaio, Audrey Borghi-Silva
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a respiratory disorder characterized by recurrent airflow obstruction caused by total or partial collapse of the upper airway. It is well known that HRV are diminished in patients with OSA. However, the analysis of different parts of the night and of the evolution within sleep stages in OSA patients has not yet been investigated.  Objectives: Evaluate and compare HRV in 3 intervals of each sleep stage in overnight polysomnographies in OSA and matched healthy controls.  We studied overnight polysomnographies of 6 untreated OSA patients (mean age 50[+-]14 yr, apnea-hypopnea index [AHI]= 9.4 [+-]6 events per/hour) and 6 matched healthy controls. Time and non-linear analysis of R-R intervals (RRi) was performed of the minimum of 3 central 5-minute sample of stage II, III and REM sleep that was free of stage shifts, artifacts, arousals and apneas. Subsequently, we analyzed the average of these stages between OSA and controls.  Results: Comparing the 3 parts of each stage, we did not observed any difference intragroup (P>0.05). In addition, we only observed significant difference of RMSSD index between OSA and controls (P  Conclusion: The preliminary results showed that despite of any change in the HRV evolution through 3 intervals of each stage, the number of samples analyzed during the night may influence the results of HRV in overnight polysomnography.  Financial Support: FAPESP.
Endothelial Progenitor Cells Restore Renal Function in Chronic Experimental Renovascular Disease
Authors: Alejandro R. Chade, Xiangyang Zhu, Ronit Lavi, James D. Krier, Sorin Pislaru, Robert D. Simari, Claudio Napoli, Amir Lerman, Lilach O. Lerman
Journal: Circulation (2009)

Background— Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) promote neovascularization and endothelial repair. Renal artery stenosis (RAS) may impair renal function by inducing intrarenal microvascular injury and remodeling. We investigated whether replenishment with EPCs would protect the renal microcirculation in chronic experimental renovascular disease. Methods and Results— Single-kidney hemodynamics and function were assessed with the use of multidetector computed tomography in vivo in pigs with RAS, pigs with RAS 4 weeks after intrarenal infusion of autologous EPCs, and controls. Renal microvascular remodeling and angiogenic pathways were investigated ex vivo with the use of micro–computed tomography, histology, and Western blotting. EPCs increased renal expression of angiogenic factors, stimulated proliferation and maturation of new vessels, and attenuated renal microvascular remodeling and fibrosis in RAS. Furthermore, EPCs normalized the blunted renal microvascular and filtration function. Conclusions— The present study shows that a single intrarenal infusion of autologous EPCs preserved microvascular architecture and function and decreased microvascular remodeling in experimental chronic RAS. It is likely that restoration of the angiogenic cascade by autologous EPCs involved not only generation of new vessels but also acceleration of their maturation and stabilization. This contributed to preserving the blood supply, hemodynamics, and function of the RAS kidney, supporting EPCs as a promising therapeutic intervention for preserving the kidney in renovascular disease.
CONTROL PROBLEMS IN GROUP THERAPY WITH AGGRESSIVE ADOLESCENT BOYS IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL
Authors: BELINDA STRAIGHT, SIDNEY L. WERKMAN
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1958)

This paper deals with group therapy of 8 adolescent boys in a mental hospital. The group was dominated by the impulse-ridden acting out destructive members. How to keep the group going with these boys who were bent on destroying it became the therapists' central problem. The theme of most of the sessions was "I just care about my own self." Pillars of treatment were 1. sameness of meeting place, time and therapists and attendant; 2. relatively bare room with strong furniture; 3. individualization of limits; 4. active intervention in fights and withdrawals from the group; 5. the use of tangible incentives for remaining in the group, that is, extra activities planned such as games and parties with the girls. Special difficulties for the therapists in working with such a group were discussed.
Pharmacokinetics of Sunitinib in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Biolato Marco, Basso Michele, Strocchi Elena, Amoruso Alessia, Miele Luca, Campitiello Marco, Pompili Maurizio, Grieco Antonio, Barone Carlo
Journal: Annals of Oncology (2014)
Long-term benefits of biventricular pacing in congestive heart failure: results from the MUltisite STimulation in cardiomyopathy (MUSTIC) study
Authors: Cecilia Linde, Christophe Leclercq, Steve Rex, Stephane Garrigue, Thomas Lavergne, Serge Cazeau, William McKenna, Melissa Fitzgerald, Jean-Claude Deharo, Christine Alonso, Stuart Walker, Frieder Braunschweig, Christophe Bailleul, Jean-Claude Daubert
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2002)
Nutritional enhancement of exercise performance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: M C Steiner
Journal: Thorax (2003)

<b>Background:</b> Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective in improving exercise performance and health status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the role of nutritional support in the enhancement of the benefits of exercise training has not been explored. A double blind, randomised, controlled trial of carbohydrate supplementation was undertaken in patients attending outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation. <b>Methods:</b> 85 patients with COPD were randomised to receive a 570 kcal carbohydrate rich supplement or a non-nutritive placebo daily for the duration of a 7 week outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation programme. Primary outcome measures were peak and submaximal exercise performance using the shuttle walk tests. Changes in health status, body composition, muscle strength, and dietary macronutrient intake were also measured. <b>Results:</b> Patients in both the supplement and placebo groups increased shuttle walking performance and health status significantly. There was no statistically significant difference between treatment groups in these outcomes. Patients receiving placebo lost weight whereas supplemented patients gained weight. In well nourished patients (BMI &gt;19 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) improvement in incremental shuttle performance was significantly greater in the supplemented group (mean difference between groups: 27 (95% CI 1 to 53) m, p&lt;0.05). Increases in incremental shuttle performance correlated with increases in total carbohydrate intake. <b>Conclusions:</b> When universally prescribed, carbohydrate supplementation does not enhance the rehabilitation of patients with COPD. This study suggests that exercise training results in negative energy balance that can be overcome by supplementation and that, in selected patients, this may improve the outcome of training. The finding of benefit in well nourished patients may suggest a role for nutritional supplementation beyond the treatment of weight loss in COPD.
Gain of OGP, an Estrogen-Regulated Oviduct-Specific Glycoprotein, Is Associated with the Development of Endometrial Hyperplasia and Endometrial Cancer
Authors: Michelle M. M. Woo, Abdulmohsen Alkushi, Harold G. Verhage, Anthony M. Magliocco, Peter C. K. Leung, C. Blake Gilks, Nelly Auersperg
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2004)

Abstract Purpose: Lesions in the endometrium are difficult to differentially diagnose. The present study examined whether oviduct-specific glycoprotein is differentially expressed in normal, hyperplastic, and malignant endometrium. Experimental Design: The expression of oviduct-specific glycoprotein was characterized by immunohistochemical methods with whole sections of endometrium from 90 women. An endometrial cancer tissue microarray with 200 cases of endometrial cancer was also assessed for oviduct-specific glycoprotein, estrogen receptor, and PTEN expression. Results: In normal endometrium, there was focal oviduct-specific glycoprotein expression in the basalis layer, where the stem cells reside, in 10 of 15 cases. On average, atypical hyperplastic endometria stained more intensely than hyperplastic endometria (P = 0.017), whereas the percentage of positively stained cells was not significantly different. The mean staining indices (intensity × percentage of positive cells score) for hyperplasia and atypical hyperplastic were 4.7 and 5.5 and were significantly higher than staining indices seen in normal cycling endometria or well-differentiated endometrioid endometrial carcinomas (P &amp;lt; 0.0001 and P &amp;lt; 0.001, respectively). The endometrial cancer tissue microarray showed that of 139 endometrioid endometrial carcinomas, 11 cases were strongly oviduct-specific glycoprotein positive, whereas the other 128 cases were negative or weakly positive. Analysis of Kaplan-Meier curves with log-rank statistics showed a trend toward significance, with strong oviduct-specific glycoprotein staining serving as a predictor of good prognosis (P = 0.1). There was a significant positive correlation between oviduct-specific glycoprotein staining and loss of PTEN in the cases of endometrial cancer (P = 0.004). Conclusions: Oviduct-specific glycoprotein may be a useful diagnostic adjunct to more accurately classify premalignant and early malignant change in the endometrium, improving on the current irreproducible histologic classification system.
WHO raises level of alert on flu pandemic
Authors: A. O'Dowd
Journal: BMJ (2009)

Fears that swine influenza, which seems to have caused the deaths of around 150 people in Mexico, could become a full pandemic have prompted action across the globe.

As the BMJ went to press on Tuesday Mexico’s health minister, Jose Angel Cordova, was putting the number of deaths from the outbreak of A/H1N1 swine flu in his country at about 150.

The World Health Organization said that only 26 cases in that country had been confirmed and that seven people had died. The United States had reported 40 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine flu there, with no deaths, while Canada had reported six cases of infection, Spain two, Israel one, and New Zealand three—none of which had resulted in death.

In the United Kingdom the Scottish Government said it had two confirmed cases of swine flu in people admitted to Monklands Hospital in Lanarkshire after they returned from a holiday in Mexico.

The Department of Health in …