tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Virtual and Augmented Medical Imaging Environments: Enabling Technology for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Interventional Guidance
Authors: Cristian A. Linte, James White, Roy Eagleson, Gérard M. Guiraudon, Terry M. Peters
Journal: IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering (2010)

Virtual and augmented reality environments have been adopted in medicine as a means to enhance the clinician's view of the anatomy and facilitate the performance of minimally invasive procedures. Their value is truly appreciated during interventions where the surgeon cannot directly visualize the targets to be treated, such as during cardiac procedures performed on the beating heart. These environments must accurately represent the real surgical field and require seamless integration of pre- and intra-operative imaging, surgical tracking, and visualization technology in a common framework centered around the patient. This review begins with an overview of minimally invasive cardiac interventions, describes the architecture of a typical surgical guidance platform including imaging, tracking, registration and visualization, highlights both clinical and engineering accuracy limitations in cardiac image guidance, and discusses the translation of the work from the laboratory into the operating room together with typically encountered challenges.
PWE-107 Accuracy Of Magnetic Resonance Enterograpgy In Predicting Anastomotic Stenosis In Recurrent Crohn’s Disease: Abstract PWE-107 Table 1
Authors: SS Poon, R Wiles, F Ammad, P Healey, S Subramanian
Journal: Gut (2014)

<h3>Introduction</h3> Up to 80% of patient with Crohn’s disease (CD) undergo intestinal resection, commonly an ileocaecal resection. Eighty percent of patients develop endoscopic recurrence at the anastamotic site at 1 year and 50% develop clinical recurrence at 3 years. The severity of endoscopic recurrence varies from no endoscopic lesions to anastamotic stenosis and/or diffuse inflammation. Direct endoscopic visualisation is recommended to detect recurrence but it is invasive. Magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) has become a standard imaging investigation for CD but only few studies have evaluated its utility in recurrent anastamotic stenosis. Accurate characterisation of recurrence grade is critical as strictures up to 5cms can be successfully treated with endoscopic balloon dilatation. We evaluated the utility of MRE in the assessment of anastamotic stenosis in recurrent CD. <h3>Methods</h3> This retrospective study was done at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and included all CD patients who underwent endoscopic balloon dilatation for anastomotic stenosis between 2009–2013. Patients who had an MRE done within 6 months of the endsocopic procedure were eligible for inclusion. MRE was done following administration of oral polyethylene glycol solution and sequences were analysed for the presence of stenosis, length of stenosis, pre-stenotic dilation and the presence of enhancement by an experienced gastrointestinal radiologist. The length and presence of stenosis was extracted from the endoscopy report and correlated against the MRE findings. <h3>Results</h3> 16 patients were included in the study (5 male, 11 female). There was good agreement between endoscopy and MRE for the presence of anastamotic stenosis. Using endoscopy as the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of MRE in detecting anastomotic stenosis was 86% and 100% respectively. A significant variation was noted in the length of stenosis as assessed by MRE (45 ± 12 mm, mean ± SE) and endoscopy (20 ± 3 mm, mean ± SE), two sided p &lt; 0.05. All patients underwent successful endoscopic dilatation. <h3>Conclusion</h3> MRE is an accurate tool for predicting the presence of anastomotic stenosis in recurrent CD. However, the discrepancy observed in the length of stenosis between the two modalities may mean suitable patients for endoscopic dilatation are missed. Therefore, endoscopy and MRE should be used as complementary tools in the assessment of anastamotic stenosis. <h3>Disclosure of Interest</h3> None Declared.
Normalization of Hemoglobin Level in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and Anemia
Authors: Tilman B. Drüeke, Francesco Locatelli, Naomi Clyne, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Iain C. Macdougall, Dimitrios Tsakiris, Hans-Ulrich Burger, Armin Scherhag
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2006)

Whether correction of anemia in patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease improves cardiovascular outcomes is not established.
[<sup>18</sup>F]FEBMP: Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of TSPO in a Model of Neuroinflammation in Rats, and <i>in vitro</i> Autoradiograms of the Human Brain
Authors: Anjani K. Tiwari, Bin Ji, Joji Yui, Masayuki Fujinaga, Tomoteru Yamasaki, Lin Xie, Rui Luo, Yoko Shimoda, Katsushi Kumata, Yiding Zhang, Akiko Hatori, Jun Maeda, Makoto Higuchi, Feng Wang, Ming-Rong Zhang
Journal: Theranostics (2015)

We evaluated the efficacy of 2-[5-(4-[ 18 F]fluoroethoxy-2-oxo-1,3-benzoxazol-3(2H)-yl)-N-methyl-N-phenylacetamide] ([ 18 F]FEBMP) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of translocator protein (18 kDa, TSPO).Dissection was used to determine the distribution of [ 18 F]FEBMP in mice, while small-animal PET and metabolite analysis were used for a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia.[ 18 F]FEBMP showed high radioactivity uptake in mouse peripheral organs enriched with TSPO, and relatively high initial brain uptake (2.67 ± 0.12% ID/g).PET imaging revealed an increased accumulation of radioactivity in the infarcted striatum, with a maximum ratio of 3.20 ± 0.12, compared to non-injured striatum.Displacement with specific TSPO ligands lowered the accumulation levels in infarcts to those on the contralateral side.This suggests that the increased accumulation reflected TPSO-specific binding of [ 18 F]FEBMP in vivo.Using a simplified reference tissue model, the binding potential on the infarcted area was 2.72 ± 0.27.Metabolite analysis in brain tissues showed that 83.2 ± 7.4% and 76.4 ± 2.1% of radioactivity was from intact [ 18 F]FEBMP at 30 and 60 min, respectively, and that this ratio was higher than in plasma (8.6 ± 1.9% and 3.9 ± 1.1%, respectively).In vitro autoradiography on postmortem human brains showed that TSPO rs6971 polymorphism did not affect binding sites for [ 18 F]FEBMP.These findings suggest that [ 18 F]FEBMP is a promising new tool for visualization of neuroinflammation.
Body-composition changes in patients who gain weight while receiving megestrol acetate.
Authors: C L Loprinzi, D J Schaid, A M Dose, N L Burnham, M D Jensen
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (1993)

Randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials have now established that megestrol acetate causes appetite stimulation and weight gain in patients with anorexia and/or cachexia. There is a paucity of available data to delineate the substance of this increased weight.Using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and tritiated body water methodologies, we performed body-composition measurements in 12 patients with advanced cancer before the institution of oral megestrol acetate (800 mg/d) and at subsequent 2-month intervals.Seven of the 12 patients gained weight (2.1 to 16.5 kg) and had repeat body-composition measurements performed at the time of maximum weight gain. The vast majority of the gained weight was clearly from an increase in adipose tissue, while there was a suggestion that an increase in body fluid was responsible for a minority of the weight gain.Megestrol acetate-induced weight gain is primarily the result of an increase in body mass.
<i>In Vitro</i> Performance Characteristics of High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilators
Authors: J. JANE PILLOW, MALCOLM H. WILKINSON, HEATHER L. NEIL, C. ANDREW RAMSDEN
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2001)

This study aimed to examine the performance characteristics of four high-frequency oscillatory-type ventilators, using an in vitro model of the intubated neonatal respiratory system. Each ventilator was examined across its operative range of settings and at varying model lung compliance (C) and resistance. The oscillatory pressure waveform was measured at the airway opening (Pao). Tidal volume (Vt) and flow were determined from pressure changes within the model lung ( Δ Pa). The spectral content of the Pao waveform differed between ventilators. The maximum ventilator Vt ranged from 3.7 to 11.1 ml at 15 Hz and a mean airway pressure (Paw) of 12 cm H2O to oscillate a model lung (C = 0.4 ml/cm H2O) through a 3.0-mm internal diameter (i.d.) endotracheal tube (ETT). A small drop in C was associated with a decrease in Vt and marked increase in Δ Pa from 0.1 to 0.8 ml/cm H2O. The influence of C on Vt and Δ Pa and the pressure cost of ventilation ( Δ Pa/f·Vt 2) was dependent on the oscillatory frequency, ETT inner diameter, and the specific ventilator used. Substantive differences exist between oscillatory ventilators that need to be considered in their clinical application. The rapid establishment of optimal lung volume and oscillatory frequency is important in minimizing barotrauma during high-frequency oscillatory ventilation.Keywords: compliance; high-frequency ventilation; newborn; respiratory distress syndrome; ventilator properties
Therapeutic Observations in MCF-7 Aromatase Xenografts
Authors: Angela Brodie, Danijela Jelovac, Luciana Macedo, Gauri Sabnis, Syreeta Tilghman, Olga Goloubeva
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2005)

In previous studies using a xenograft model with tumors of human estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cells transfected with aromatase (MCF-7Ca), we explored the antitumor efficacy of treatment combining the nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor letrozole with tamoxifen. However, treatment with this combination resulted in tumor suppression similar to tamoxifen alone but was less effective than letrozole alone. Clinical findings with the nonsteroidal inhibitor anastrozole in combination with tamoxifen (ATAC trial) were consistent with our results. Although letrozole was the most effective single agent in the model, tumors ultimately began to grow during continued treatment. To investigate the mechanisms by which tumors adapted to growth during letrozole treatment, we determined the expression of proteins in tumors during letrozole treatment compared with the tumors of control mice. We found that tumors initially up-regulated the ER, but subsequently receptor levels decreased in tumors unresponsive to letrozole. Adapter proteins (p-Shc and Grb-2) as well as all of the signaling proteins in the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade (p-Raf, p-MEK1/2, and p-MAPK) but not Akt were increased in tumors no longer responsive to letrozole. The results suggest that tumor cells adapt to estrogen deprivation during letrozole treatment by activation of alternate signaling pathways. When letrozole was combined with the pure antiestrogen fulvestrant, which down-regulates ER, the combination was extremely effective. Tumors regressed by 45% and were maintained without growth for the duration of the experiment (29 weeks). Thus, achieving more complete estrogen blockade may delay development of hormone-independent signaling pathways regulating proliferation.
Discriminant Analysis of 18F-Fluorothymidine Kinetic Parameters to Predict Survival in Patients with Recurrent High-Grade Glioma
Authors: Mirwais Wardak, Christiaan Schiepers, Magnus Dahlbom, Timothy Cloughesy, Wei Chen, Nagichettiar Satyamurthy, Johannes Czernin, Michael E. Phelps, Sung-Cheng Huang
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2011)

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether changes in 3'-deoxy-3'-[¹⁸F]fluorothymidine (¹⁸F-FLT) kinetic parameters, taken early after the start of therapy, could predict overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with recurrent malignant glioma undergoing treatment with bevacizumab and irinotecan.High-grade recurrent brain tumors were investigated in 18 patients (8 male and 10 female), ages 26 to 76 years. Each had 3 dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) studies as follows: at baseline and after 2 and 6 weeks from the start of treatment, ¹⁸F-FLT (2.0 MBq/kg) was injected intravenously, and dynamic PET images were acquired for 1 hour. Factor analysis generated factor images from which blood and tumor uptake curves were derived. A three-compartment, two-tissue model was applied to estimate tumor ¹⁸F-FLT kinetic rate constants using a metabolite- and partial volume-corrected input function. Different combinations of predictor variables were exhaustively searched in a discriminant function to accurately classify patients into their known OS and PFS groups. A leave-one-out cross-validation technique was used to assess the generalizability of the model predictions.In this study population, changes in single parameters such as standardized uptake value or influx rate constant did not accurately classify patients into their respective OS groups (<1 and ≥ 1 year; hit ratios ≤ 78%). However, changes in a set of ¹⁸F-FLT kinetic parameters could perfectly separate these two groups of patients (hit ratio = 100%) and were also able to correctly classify patients into their respective PFS groups (<100 and ≥ 100 days; hit ratio = 88%).Discriminant analysis using changes in ¹⁸F-FLT kinetic parameters early during treatment seems to be a powerful method for evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic regimens.
Regulation of angiogenesis and invasion by human Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) through increased expression and secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2).
Authors: Mohammad T Malik, Sham S Kakar
Journal: Molecular Cancer (2006)

Pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) is a novel oncogene that is expressed at higher level in most of the tumors analyzed to date compared to normal tissues. Existence of a relationship between PTTG levels and tumor angiogenesis and metastasis has been reported. However, the mechanisms by which PTTG achieve these functions remain unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effect of overexpression of PTTG on secretion and expression of metastasis-related metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in HEK293 cells, cell migration, invasion and tubule formation. Transient or stable transfection of HEK293 cells with PTTG cDNA showed a significant increase in secretion and expression of MMP-2 measured by zymography, reverse transcriptase (RT/PCR), ELISA, and MMP-2 gene promoter activity. Furthermore, in our studies, we showed that tumor developed in nude mice on injection of HEK293 cells that constitutively express PTTG expressed high levels of both MMP-2 mRNA and protein, and MMP-2 activity. Conditioned medium collected from the HEK293 cells overexpressing PTTG showed a significant increase in cell migration, invasion and tubule formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Pretreatment of conditioned medium with MMP-2-specific antibody significantly decreased these effects, suggesting that PTTG may contribute to tumor angiogenesis and metastasis via activation of proteolysis and increase in invasion through modulation of MMP-2 activity and expression. Our results provide novel information that PTTG contributes to cell migration, invasion and angiogenesis by induction of MMP-2 secretion and expression. Furthermore, we showed that tumors developed in nude mice on injection of HEK293 cells that constitutively express PTTG induce expression of MMP-2 and significantly increase its functional activity, suggesting a relationship between PTTG levels and MMP-2 which may play a critical role in regulation of tumor growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. Blocking of function of PTTG or down regulation of its expression in tumors may result in suppression of tumor growth and metastasis, through the down regulation of MMP-2 expression and activity. To our knowledge, this study is the first study demonstrating the modulation of MMP-2 expression and biological activity by PTTG.
Adjuvant treatment of early-stage melanoma by local i.d. administration of low-dose CpG-B and GM-CSF increases recurrence-free survival: long-term follow-up of three randomized clinical trials
Authors: Tanja D de Gruijl, Bas D Koster, Mari FCM van den Hout, Berbel JR Sluijter, Barbara G Molenkamp, Ronald JCLM Vuylsteke, Paul AM van Leeuwen, Rik J Scheper, Petrousjka van den Tol, Alfons van den Eertwegh
Journal: Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (2015)

Meeting abstracts Currently, there is no adjuvant treatment available that has been shown to reduce the chances of recurrence after surgical excision of localized melanoma. Between 2002 and 2007 we conducted three randomized and placebo (saline) controlled Phase II clinical trials in which we
THE INFLUENCE OF ERYTHROPHAGOCYTOSIS ON THE INTERACTION OF MACROPHAGES AND SALMONELLA IN VITRO
Authors: Fred A. Gill, Donald Kaye, Edward W. Hook
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1966)

Phagocytosis and killing of Salmonella typhimurium by mouse peritoneal macrophages was inhibited when the bacteria and antibody-coated homologous erythrocytes or heterologous erythrocytes were simultaneously exposed to macrophages in vitro. No inhibition of phagocytosis or killing was observed in experiments employing uncoated or disrupted antibody-coated homologous erythrocytes. Degradation of S. typhimurium as measured by the loss of fluorescence from intracellular salmonella coated with fluorescein-labeled antibody was inhibited in macrophages which had previously ingested antibody-coated homologous erythrocytes. Anti-mouse-erythrocyte serum was found to have a cytotoxic action on mouse macrophages. However, the viability of macrophages was not altered by phagocytosis of antibody-coated homologous erythrocytes or uncoated heterologous erythrocytes.
Exploring the Burden of Inpatient Readmissions After Major Cancer Surgery
Authors: Karyn B. Stitzenberg, YunKyung Chang, Angela B. Smith, Matthew E. Nielsen
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2014)

Travel distances to care have increased substantially with centralization of complex cancer procedures at high-volume centers. We hypothesize that longer travel distances are associated with higher rates of postoperative readmission and poorer outcomes.SEER-Medicare patients with bladder, lung, pancreas, or esophagus cancer who were diagnosed in 2001 to 2007 and underwent extirpative surgery were included. Readmission rates and survival were calculated using Kaplan-Meier functions. Multivariable negative binomial models were used to examine factors associated with readmission.Four thousand nine hundred forty cystectomies, 1,573 esophagectomies, 20,362 lung resections, and 2,844 pancreatectomies were included. Thirty- and 90-day readmission rates ranged from 13% to 29% and 23% to 43%, respectively, based on tumor type. Predictors of readmission were discharge to somewhere other than home, longer length of stay, comorbidities, higher stage at diagnosis, and longer travel distance (P < .001 for each). Patients who lived farther from the index hospital also had increased emergency room visits and were more likely to be readmitted to a hospital other than the index hospital (P < .001). Of readmitted patients, 31.9% were readmitted more than once. Long-term survival was worse and costs of care higher for patients who were readmitted (P < .001 for all).The burden of readmissions after major cancer surgery is high, resulting in substantially poorer patient outcomes and higher costs. Risk of readmission was most strongly associated with length of stay and discharge destination. Travel distance also has an impact on patterns of readmission. Interventions targeted at higher risk individuals could potentially decrease the population burden of readmissions after major cancer surgery.
PURE CULTURES OF LARGE MONONUCLEAR LEUCOCYTES
Authors: Alexis Carrel, Albert H. Ebeling
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1922)

1. Pure strains of mononuclear leucocytes were isolated from the blood of adult chickens and keptin active condition for nearly 3 months. 2. The cultures were composed of large mononuclear leucocytes which migrated and proliferated in vitro at a slower rate than fibroblasts. The cells had no tendency to form a tissue, as do fibroblasts and epithelial cells. They were much less resistant than fibroblasts. 3. Differentiation of the large mononuclears into cells assuming the appearance of fibroblasts took place under certain conditions. 4. The activity of the large mononuclears was increased by embryonic tissue juice and inhibited by homologous serum.
Role of Akt Signaling in Mitochondrial Survival Pathway Triggered by Hypoxic Preconditioning
Authors: Takamichi Uchiyama, Richard M. Engelman, Nilanjana Maulik, Dipak K. Das
Journal: Circulation (2004)

The signaling pathways that control ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis in heart have not been fully defined. In this study, we investigated whether Akt signaling has a role in the antiapoptotic pathways of preconditioning against hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R).Primary cultures of adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVMs) were subjected to preconditioning (PC) by exposing the cells to 10 minutes of hypoxia followed by 30 minutes of reoxygenation. Non-PC and PC myocytes were subjected to 90 minutes of hypoxia followed by 120 minutes of reoxygenation. Hypoxic-PC protected the myocytes from subsequent H/R injury, as evidenced by decreased apoptosis and LDH release and increased cell viability. H/R-induced cytochrome c release and activation of caspase-3 and -9 were blocked by PC. This protective effect was inhibited by treating the cells with LY294002 (50 micromol/L), a PI3 kinase inhibitor, for 10 minutes before and during PC. PC also induced phosphorylation of Akt and BAD. Protein levels of Bcl-2 in mitochondria were maintained in PC. ARVMs were infected with either a control adenovirus (Adeno lac-Z), an adenovirus expressing dominant-negative Akt, or an adenovirus expressing constitutively active Akt. Ectopic overexpression of constitutively active Akt protected ARVMs from apoptosis induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation compared with Adeno lac-Z. In contrast, dominant negative Akt overexpression abolished the antiapoptotic effect of PC.Our data demonstrated that in adult cardiomyocytes, the antiapoptotic effect of PC against H/R requires Akt signaling leading to phosphorylation of BAD, inhibition of cytochrome c release, and prevention of caspase activation.
The E2F-Regulated Gene <i>Chk1</i> Is Highly Expressed in Triple-Negative Estrogen Receptor−/Progesterone Receptor−/HER-2− Breast Carcinomas
Authors: Lieve Verlinden, Isabelle Vanden Bempt, Guy Eelen, Maria Drijkoningen, Ilse Verlinden, Kathleen Marchal, Christiane De Wolf-Peeters, Marie-Rose Christiaens, Luc Michiels, Roger Bouillon, Annemieke Verstuyf
Journal: Cancer Research (2007)

We previously showed that checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) and Claspin, two DNA-damage checkpoint proteins, were down-regulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3), a known inhibitor of cell proliferation. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the transcriptional regulation of Chk1 and Claspin and to study their expression levels in human breast cancer tissue. Transient transfection experiments in MCF-7 breast cancer cells showed that promoter activities of Chk1 and Claspin were regulated by the E2F family of transcription factors. Subsequently, transcript levels of Chk1, Claspin, and E2F1 were determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis in 103 primary invasive breast carcinomas and were compared with several clinicopathologic variables in breast cancer. A strong correlation was found between Chk1 and Claspin transcript levels. Transcript levels of Chk1, Claspin, and E2F1 were highest in histologic grade 3 tumors and in tumors in which the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) was lost. Moreover, Chk1 expression was significantly elevated in grade 3 breast carcinomas showing a triple-negative ER-/PR-/HER-2- phenotype compared with other grade 3 tumors. Further research is warranted to validate the use of Chk1 inhibitors in triple-negative breast carcinomas for which treatment strategies are limited at present.