tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Experience of European intensive care physicians with infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, 2009
Authors: A Lepape, D L Monnet, None on behalf of participating members
Journal: Eurosurveillance (2009)

A survey was performed among European intensive care physicians to obtain information about their perception and experience with selected antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Seventy-eight out of 95 (82%) participants considered having to deal with infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the intensive care unit where they work was a major or significant problem. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae were the most frequently reported antibiotic-resistant bacteria with 69 (73%) and 67 (71%) participants reporting having treated at least one patient with such an infection during the preceding six months, respectively. Antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, were more frequently reported than any selected antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive bacteria, with the exception of MRSA. Fifty (53%) participants declared having treated at least one patient infected with a bacterium totally or almost totally resistant to available antibiotics during the past six months, with 8 participants having treated more than 10 such patients and 13 having treated from 3 to 10 such patients.
Genetic Diversity and Population History of the Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) as Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Variations
Authors: Bing Su, Yunxin Fu, Yingxiang Wang, Li Jin, Ranajit Chakraborty
Journal: Molecular Biology and Evolution (2001)

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is one of the flagship species in worldwide conservation and is of special interest in evolutionary studies due to its taxonomic uniqueness. We sequenced a 236-bp fragment of the mitochondrial D-loop region in a sample of 53 red pandas from two populations in southwestern China. Seventeen polymorphic sites were found, together with a total of 25 haplotypes, indicating a high level of genetic diversity in the red panda. However, no obvious genetic divergence was detected between the Sichuan and Yunnan populations. The consensus phylogenetic tree of the 25 haplotypes was starlike. The pairwise mismatch distribution fitted into a pattern of populations undergoing expansion. Furthermore, Fu's FS test of neutrality was significant for the total population (FS = −7.573), which also suggests a recent population expansion. Interestingly, the effective population size in the Sichuan population was both larger and more stable than that in the Yunnan population, implying a southward expansion from Sichuan to Yunnan.
Facilitated Psychiatric Advance Directives: A Randomized Trial of an Intervention to Foster Advance Treatment Planning Among Persons with Severe Mental Illness
Authors: Jeffrey Swanson
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (2006)

Objective: Studies show a high potential demand for psychiatric advance directives but low completion rates. The authors conducted a randomized study of a structured, manualized intervention to facilitate completion of psychiatric advance directives. Method: A total of 469 patients with severe mental illness were randomly assigned to a facilitated psychiatric advance directive session or a control group that received written information about psychiatric advance directives and referral to resources in the public mental health system. Completion of an advance directive, its structure and content, and its short-term effects on working alliance and treatment satisfaction were recorded. Results: Sixty-one percent of participants in the facilitated session completed an advance directive or authorized a proxy decision maker, compared with only 3% of control group participants. Psychiatrists rated the advance directives as highly consistent with standards of community practice. Most participants used the advance directive to refuse some medications and to express preferences for admission to specific hospitals and not others, although none used an advance directive to refuse all treatment. At 1-month follow-up, participants in the facilitated session had a greater working alliance with their clinicians and were more likely than those in the control group to report receiving the mental health services they believed they needed. Conclusions: The facilitation session is an effective method of helping patients complete psychiatric advance directives and ensuring that the documents contain useful information about patients’ treatment preferences. Achieving the promise of psychiatric advance directives may require system-level policies to embed facilitation of these instruments in usual-care care settings.
Depletion of CD4+ T cells abrogates post-peak decline of viremia in SIV-infected rhesus macaques
Authors: Alexandra M. Ortiz, Nichole R. Klatt, Bing Li, Yanjie Yi, Brian Tabb, Xing Pei Hao, Lawrence Sternberg, Benton Lawson, Paul M. Carnathan, Elizabeth M. Cramer, Jessica C. Engram, Dawn M. Little, Elena Ryzhova, Francisco Gonzalez-Scarano, Mirko Paiardini, Aftab A. Ansari, Sarah Ratcliffe, James G. Else, Jason M. Brenchley, Ronald G. Collman, Jacob D. Estes, Cynthia A. Derdeyn, Guido Silvestri
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2011)

CD4+ T cells play a central role in the immunopathogenesis of HIV/AIDS, and their depletion during chronic HIV infection is a hallmark of disease progression. However, the relative contribution of CD4+ T cells as mediators of antiviral immune responses and targets for virus replication is still unclear. Here, we have generated data in SIV-infected rhesus macaques (RMs) that suggest that CD4+ T cells are essential in establishing control of virus replication during acute infection. To directly assess the role of CD4+ T cells during primary SIV infection, we in vivo depleted these cells from RMs prior to infecting the primates with a pathogenic strain of SIV. Compared with undepleted animals, CD4+ lymphocyte-depleted RMs showed a similar peak of viremia, but did not manifest any post-peak decline of virus replication despite CD8+ T cell- and B cell-mediated SIV-specific immune responses comparable to those observed in control animals. Interestingly, depleted animals displayed rapid disease progression, which was associated with increased virus replication in non-T cells as well as the emergence of CD4-independent SIV-envelopes. Our results suggest that the antiviral CD4+ T cell response may play an important role in limiting SIV replication, which has implications for the design of HIV vaccines.
Risk of venous thromboembolism among users of third generation oral contraceptives compared with users of oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel before and after 1995: cohort and case-control analysis
Authors: H. Jick
Journal: BMJ (2000)

To compare the risk of idiopathic venous thromboembolism among women taking third generation oral contraceptives (with gestodene or desogestrel) with that among women taking oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel.Cohort and case-control analyses derived from the General Practice Research Database.UK general practices, January 1993 to December 1999.Women aged 15-39 taking third generation oral contraceptives or oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel.Relative incidence (cohort study) and odds ratios (case-control study) as measures of the relative risk of venous thromboembolism.The adjusted estimates of relative risk for venous thromboembolism associated with third generation oral contraceptives compared with oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel was 1.9 (95% confidence interval 1.3 to 2.8) in the cohort analysis and 2.3 (1.3 to 3.9) in the case-control study. The estimates for the two types of oral contraceptives were similar before and after the warning issued by the Committee on Safety of Medicines in October 1995. A shift away from the use of third generation oral contraceptives after the scare was more pronounced among younger women (who have a lower risk of venous thromboembolism) than among older women. Fewer cases of venous thromboembolism occurred in 1996 and later than would have been expected if the use of oral contraceptives had remained unchanged.These findings are consistent with previously reported studies, which found that compared with oral contraceptives with levonorgestrel, third generation oral contraceptives are associated with around twice the risk of venous thromboembolism.
Infectious Mononucleosis, Autoimmunity, and Vasculitis
Authors: Gary S. Hoffman
Journal: JAMA (1979)

EPSTEIN-BARR virus (EBV) has a wide range of effects on its human hosts, the best known being infectious mononucleosis (IM). In most instances, this infection is subclinical. The typical features of fever, sore throat, lymph node enlargement, and hepatitis are present in only 25% to 50% of persons with detectable antibody to EBV. Some patients may chronically harbor EBV in their saliva without apparent ill effects. 1   There is evidence that many of the clinical features of mononucleosis are mediated by the effects of immune complexes on serum and the various tissues in which they are deposited. Mixed cryoglobulins, cold agglutinins, antinuclear antibodies, and rheumatoid factors have been demonstrated in more than half of the cases surveyed for these abnormalities. 2,3 As many as one third have been found to be hypocomplementemic early in the course of the illness. 4 Wands et al 5 have described a patient with IM
Preventive Effects of Ramelteon on Delirium
Authors: Kotaro Hatta, Yasuhiro Kishi, Ken Wada, Takashi Takeuchi, Toshinari Odawara, Chie Usui, Hiroyuki Nakamura
Journal: JAMA Psychiatry (2014)

<h3>Importance</h3> No highly effective interventions to prevent delirium have been identified. <h3>Objective</h3> To examine whether ramelteon, a melatonin agonist, is effective for the prevention of delirium. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> A multicenter, rater-blinded, randomized placebo-controlled trial was performed in intensive care units and regular acute wards of 4 university hospitals and 1 general hospital. Eligible patients were 65 to 89 years old, newly admitted due to serious medical problems, and able to take medicine orally. Patients were excluded from the study if they had an expected stay or life expectancy of less than 48 hours. <h3>Interventions</h3> Sixty-seven patients were randomly assigned using the sealed envelope method to receive ramelteon (8 mg/d; 33 patients) or placebo (34 patients) every night for 7 days. <h3>Main Outcomes and Measures</h3> Incidence of delirium, as defined by the<i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i>(Fourth Edition). <h3>Results</h3> Ramelteon was associated with a lower risk of delirium (3% vs 32%;<i>P</i> = .003), with a relative risk of 0.09 (95% CI, 0.01-0.69). Even after risk factors were controlled for, ramelteon was still associated with a lower incidence of delirium (<i>P</i> = .01; odds ratio, 0.07 [95% CI, 0.008-0.54]). The Kaplan-Meier estimates of time to development of delirium were 6.94 (95% CI, 6.82-7.06) days for ramelteon and 5.74 (5.05-6.42) days for placebo. Comparison by log-rank test showed that the frequency of delirium was significantly lower in patients taking ramelteon than in those taking placebo (χ<sup>2</sup> = 9.83;<i>P</i> = .002). <h3>Conclusions and Relevance</h3> Ramelteon administered nightly to elderly patients admitted for acute care may provide protection against delirium. This finding supports a possible pathogenic role of melatonin neurotransmission in delirium. <h3>Trial Registration</h3> University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry Identifier:UMIN000005591
Unraveling the relationship between microbial translocation and systemic immune activation in HIV infection
Authors: Liang Shan, Robert F. Siliciano
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2014)

Chronic immune activation is a key factor in HIV-1 disease progression. The translocation of microbial products from the intestinal lumen into the systemic circulation occurs during HIV-1 infection and is associated closely with immune activation; however, it has not been determined conclusively whether microbial translocation drives immune activation or occurs as a consequence of HIV-1 infection. In an important study in this issue of the JCI, Kristoff and colleagues describe the role of microbial translocation in producing immune activation in an animal model of HIV-1 infection, SIV infection of pigtailed macaques. Blocking translocation of intestinal bacterial LPS into the circulation dramatically reduced T cell activation and proliferation, production of proinflammatory cytokines, and plasma SIV RNA levels. This study directly demonstrates that microbial translocation promotes the systemic immune activation associated with HIV-1/SIV infection.
The physiological demands of Gaelic football.
Authors: G Florida-James, T Reilly
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (1995)

Match-lay demands of Gaelic football and fitness profiles were assessed at club competitive level. English Gaelic football club championship players (n = 11) were assessed for anthropometry, leg strength and time to exhaustion on a treadmill run. A similar test battery was administered to a reference group of University competitive soccer players (n = 12). Heart rate was recorded during match-play using radio telemetry and blood lactate concentrations were determined at half-time and after full-time. No differences (p > 0.05) were observed between the Gaelic and soccer players in: body mass (70.7 +/- 10.3 vs 76.6 +/- 10.3 kg); height (176 +/- 5.9 vs 177.7 +/- 6.4 cm); leg to trunk ratio (0.53 +/- 0.01 vs 0.54 +/- 0.03); adiposity (12.2 +/- 2.1 vs 13.5 +/- 3.2% body fat); mean somatotype (2.8 - 4.3-2.0 vs 2.4-4.2-2.4); leg strength measures; and performance on the treadmill. The percentage muscle mass values were lower for the Gaelic players compared to the soccer players (41.9 +/- 5.4 vs 47.3 +/- 5.2%; p > 0.005). For the Gaelic and soccer players, respectively, mean heart rate recorded during each half of match-play were (157 +/- 10 and 158 +/- 12 beats/min) and (164 +/- 10 and 157 +/- 11 beats/min), whilst blood lactates measured at the end of each half, were (4.3 +/- 1 and 3.4 +/- 1.6 mmol/l) and (4.4 +/- 1.2 and 4.5 +/- 2.1 mmol/l). Gaelic footballers at English club championship level seem to exhibit similar fitness profiles, and are subject to broadly similar physiological demands as University-level competitive soccer players.
The impact of low-frequency and rare variants on lipid levels
Authors: Ida Surakka, Momoko Horikoshi, Reedik Mägi, Antti-Pekka Sarin, Anubha Mahajan, Vasiliki Lagou, Letizia Marullo, Teresa Ferreira, Benjamin Miraglio, Sanna Timonen, Johannes Kettunen, Matti Pirinen, Juha Karjalainen, Gudmar Thorleifsson, Sara Hägg, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, Aaron Isaacs, Claes Ladenvall, Marian Beekman, Tõnu Esko, Janina S Ried, Christopher P Nelson, Christina Willenborg, Stefan Gustafsson, Harm-Jan Westra, Matthew Blades, Anton J M de Craen, Eco J de Geus, Joris Deelen, Harald Grallert, Anders Hamsten, Aki S Havulinna, Christian Hengstenberg, Jeanine J Houwing-Duistermaat, Elina Hyppönen, Lennart C Karssen, Terho Lehtimäki, Valeriya Lyssenko, Patrik K E Magnusson, Evelin Mihailov, Martina Müller-Nurasyid, John-Patrick Mpindi, Nancy L Pedersen, Brenda W J H Penninx, Markus Perola, Tune H Pers, Annette Peters, Johan Rung, Johannes H Smit, Valgerdur Steinthorsdottir, Martin D Tobin, Natalia Tsernikova, Elisabeth M van Leeuwen, Jorma S Viikari, Sara M Willems, Gonneke Willemsen, Heribert Schunkert, Jeanette Erdmann, Nilesh J Samani, Jaakko Kaprio, Lars Lind, Christian Gieger, Andres Metspalu, P Eline Slagboom, Leif Groop, Cornelia M van Duijn, Johan G Eriksson, Antti Jula, Veikko Salomaa, Dorret I Boomsma, Christine Power, Olli T Raitakari, Erik Ingelsson, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Lude Franke, Elina Ikonen, Olli Kallioniemi, Vilja Pietiäinen, Cecilia M Lindgren, Kari Stefansson, Aarno Palotie, Mark I McCarthy, Andrew P Morris, Inga Prokopenko, Samuli Ripatti
Journal: Nature Genetics (2015)
<i>CDX2</i> Polymorphisms, RNA Expression, and Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Laura S. Rozek, Steven M. Lipkin, Eric R. Fearon, Samir Hanash, Thomas J. Giordano, Joel K. Greenson, Rork Kuick, David E. Misek, Jeremy M.G. Taylor, Julie A. Douglas, Gad Rennert, Stephen B. Gruber
Journal: Cancer Research (2005)

In adult mammals, CDX2 acts as a transcription factor and is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Down-regulation of CDX2 is frequently observed in colorectal cancer, suggesting its loss may cause dedifferentiation of gastrointestinal epithelial cells. However, it is not clear whether inherited variants of CDX2 are associated with risk of colorectal cancer. Using epidemiologic data and tumors from a population-based case-control study in Israel, we identified novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by resequencing 35 cases, compared genotype and haplotype frequencies in 455 matched pairs, and characterized the tumor characteristics of all 455 cases by microsatellite instability analysis, in addition to a partially overlapping set of 201 frozen tumors with expression profiling data (82/201) from the same study. Nine polymorphisms were identified in the 35 cases, and none of the SNPs or haplotypes were associated with risk of colorectal cancer in the 455 matched pairs. These variants were not associated with CDX2 expression in the 83 subjects with expression data. We evaluated subject and tumor characteristics in the 201 subjects with CDX2 tumor expression data. Reduced CDX2 expression was associated with tumor location (right sided), poor differentiation, high microsatellite instability status, and a positive first-degree family history. We conclude that it is unlikely that common CDX2 variants account for a measurable fraction of susceptibility to colorectal cancer in this population. However, CDX2 expression levels were strongly associated with microsatellite instability and tumor location in the gastrointestinal tract, consistent with a possible role in the specification of gastrointestinal epithelial cell fate in humans.
More than nine in 10 Chinese cities exceeded air pollution targets in 2014, says Greenpeace
Authors: S. D. L. Xu
Journal: BMJ (2015)

Over 90% of the 190 Chinese cities that reported pollution levels in 2014 exceeded the national standard, a report by Greenpeace has found. Cities in the north of China were the worst polluters—seven of the top 10 most polluted cities were in Hebei Province and three were in Shandong Province.

The report found that in 2014 the average emission of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5) in 190 Chinese cities was 60.8 μg/m3. A total of 49 cities recorded over double the …
Electromyography of the parasternal intercostal muscles in bronchial hyperresponsiveness testing
Authors: Victoria MacBean, Ashraf Ali, Claire Wood, Tracey Fleming, Anne Greenough, Gerrard F. Rafferty, John Moxham
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2012)

Background: Bronchial hyperresponsiveness testing (BHT) can be used to support or refute a diagnosis of asthma, but requires technically-acceptable spirometry to be performed. Parasternal intercostal muscle electromyography (EMGpara) provides a non-invasive, effort-independent method to assess load on the respiratory system. The relationship between EMGpara and spirometry in adults undergoing BHT is unknown. Methods: 16 subjects (mean (SD) age 29.5 (7.4) years) underwent methacholine challenge testing, performed in accordance with ATS guidelines. Surface EMGpara was recorded bilaterally from the 2nd intercostal space, at baseline and between consecutive methacholine doses. EMGpara was converted to root-mean-square (RMS) and mean peak RMS EMGpara per breath calculated. Results: Significant relationships were observed between methacholine concentration, EMGpara and FEV1 (all p
Therapeutic platelet transfusion versus routine prophylactic transfusion in patients with haematological malignancies: an open-label, multicentre, randomised study
Authors: Hannes Wandt, Kerstin Schaefer-Eckart, Knut Wendelin, Bettina Pilz, Martin Wilhelm, Markus Thalheimer, Ulrich Mahlknecht, Anthony Ho, Markus Schaich, Michael Kramer, Martin Kaufmann, Lothar Leimer, Rainer Schwerdtfeger, Roland Conradi, Gottfried Dölken, Anne Klenner, Mathias Hänel, Regina Herbst, Christian Junghanss, Gerhard Ehninger
Journal: The Lancet (2012)
FACTORS DETERMINING PATHOGENICITY OF VARIANTS OF ECHO 9 VIRUS FOR NEWBORN MICE
Authors: Hans J. Eggers, Albert B. Sabin
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1959)

While some strains of ECHO 9 virus were found to be completely incapable of multiplying in newborn mice or even of being adsorbed by their tissues (e.g., the prototype Hill strain), other naturally occurring strains readily multiplied even after inoculation of as little as 3 TCD(50) of virus. With the multiplying strains, the infection remained clinically inapparent except after inoculation of very large doses, usually in the range of 10(5) to 10(7.5) TCD(50). Investigation of the question why such large doses were required to produce paralysis indicated that for paralysis to occur virus multiplication had to reach a level of 10(8) TCD(50) or more within 4 days after inoculation of mice less than 1 day old. The reason for this was found in the fact that at 5 to 6 days of age the mice lost their susceptibility to paralysis even when multiplication was capable of progressing to the indicated high level. Thus, speed of multiplication and extent of muscle involvement before the 5th day of life were the determining factors. Passage in tissue culture had no effect except to yield a larger dose for inoculation, while serial propagation in mice resulted in a gradual enrichment of virus particles capable of more rapid multiplication in mice and in a concurrent greater paralytogenic activity of smaller doses.
Morphology and Metabolism of Intact Muscle Cells Isolated from Adult Rat Heart
Authors: MICHAEL N. BERRY, DANIEL S. FRIEND, JAMES SCHEUER
Journal: Circulation Research (1970)

Morphologically intact muscle cells were prepared by perfusing adult rat hearts with a balanced salt medium containing 0.1% collagenase and 0.2% hyaluronidase. Yields of intact cells representing up to 25% of the weight of the heart were obtained. The cells separated along the line of the intercalated discs, with cleavage of desmosomes but with tearing of the plasma membrane in the region of the gap junction, so that when two contiguous cells were parted, the gap junction was retained intact attached to one of the cells. The fine structure of undamaged cells was indistinguishable from that of normal myocardial cells in situ, whereas damaged cells characteristically revealed numerous cytoplasmic vacuoles, clumping of myofilaments, and blebbing of the cell membrane, but morphologically normal mitochondria. The earliest lesion detected was a dilatation of the T (transverse tubular) system. Respiration in the intact cells was linear for 30 to 60 minutes and approximately two to three times the rate observed with heart muscle slices or the arrested isolated perfused heart. Oxygen uptake was stimulated by pyruvate but not by lactate. These observations demonstrate the feasibility of preparing intact isolated cells from adult rat heart and their potential value in histologic, pharmacologic, and metabolic studies.
Clinic of murdered Kansas abortion doctor will not reopen
Authors: J. Hopkins Tanne
Journal: BMJ (2009)

The family of George Tiller, the murdered Kansas doctor who provided late abortions, have said that they will not reopen his clinic in Wichita.

Now only two doctors in the United States and a small number of hospitals, which do not want their names mentioned, treat US women who need late abortions, usually after 21 weeks, for fetal abnormalities or their own severe health problems.

Dr Tiller, aged 67, who operated Women’s Health Care Services, was shot to death on 31 May ( BMJ 2009; 338:b2237, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2237). He was serving as an usher at his Reformed Lutheran Church in Wichita while his wife was …