tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
High-Resolution Spiral Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography in Patients Referred for Diagnostic Conventional Coronary Angiography
Authors: Nico R. Mollet, Filippo Cademartiri, Carlos A.G. van Mieghem, Giuseppe Runza, Eugène P. McFadden, Timo Baks, Patrick W. Serruys, Gabriel P. Krestin, Pim J. de Feyter
Journal: Circulation (2005)

The diagnostic performance of the latest 64-slice CT scanner, with increased temporal (165 ms) and spatial (0.4 mm3) resolution, to detect significant stenoses in the clinically relevant coronary tree is unknown.We studied 52 patients (34 men; mean age, 59.6+/-12.1 years) with atypical chest pain, stable or unstable angina pectoris, or non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction scheduled for diagnostic conventional coronary angiography. All patients had stable sinus rhythm. Patients with initial heart rates > or =70 bpm received beta-blockers. Mean scan time was 13.3+/-0.9 seconds. The CT scans were analyzed by 2 observers unaware of the results of invasive coronary angiography, which was used as the standard of reference. All available coronary segments, regardless of size, were included in the evaluation. Lesions with > or =50 luminal narrowing were considered significant stenoses. Invasive coronary angiography demonstrated the absence of significant disease in 25% (13 of 52), single-vessel disease in 31% (16 of 52), and multivessel disease in 45% (23 of 52) of patients. One unsuccessful CT scan was classified as inconclusive. Ninety-four significant stenoses were present in the remaining 51 patients. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of CT for detecting significant stenoses on a segment-by-segment analysis were 99% (93 of 94; 95% CI, 94 to 99), 95% (601 of 631; 95% CI, 93 to 96), 76% (93 of 123; 95% CI, 67 to 89), and 99% (601 of 602; 95% CI, 99 to 100), respectively.Noninvasive 64-slice CT coronary angiography accurately detects coronary stenoses in patients in sinus rhythm and presenting with atypical chest pain, stable or unstable angina, or non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Resources, indicators, data management, dissemination and use in health information systems in sub-Saharan Africa: results of a questionnaire-based survey
Authors: Peter Ebongue Mbondji, Derege Kebede, Edoh William Soumbey-Alley, Chris Zielinski, Wenceslas Kouvividila, Paul-Samson Lusamba-Dikassa
Journal: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (2014)

To describe the status of health information systems in 14 sub-Saharan African countries of the World Health Organization African Region.A questionnaire-based survey.Fourteen sub-Saharan African countries of the African Region.Key informants in the ministries of health, national statistics offices, health programmes, donors and technical agencies.State of resources, indicators, data sources, data management, information products, dissemination and use of health information.The highest average score was in the identification and harmonisation of indicators (73%), reflecting successful efforts to identify priority indicators and reach international consensus on indicators for several diseases. This was followed by information products (63%), which indicated the availability of accurate and reliable data. The lowest score (41%) was in data management, the ability to collect, store, analyse and distribute data, followed by resources - policy and planning, human and financial resources, and infrastructure (53%). Data sources (e.g. censuses, surveys) were on average inadequate with a score of 56%. The average score for dissemination and use of health information was 57%, which indicated limited or inadequate use of data for advocacy, planning and decision-making.National health information systems are weak in the surveyed countries and much more needs to be done to improve the quality and relevance of data, and their management, sharing and use for policy-making and decision-making.
GLIOMA OF THE DIENCEPHALON IN A MANIC PATIENT
Authors: KARL STERN, TRAVIS E. DANCEY
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1942)

A physically healthy young woman who suffered from a prolonged attack of mania increasing in severity, died a sudden clinically unexplained death. Post-mortem examination revealed a circumscribed glioma (spongioblastoma polare) in the right diencephalo-mesencephalic area. The case is discussed in the light of similar previous observations. Certain points in the technique of the examination of the central nervous system in cases of sudden unexplained death are stressed.
AIR Inhaled Insulin Versus Subcutaneous Insulin
Authors: Michael Wolzt, Amparo de la Peña, Pierre-Yves Berclaz, Fabián S. Tibaldi, Jeffrey R. Gates, Douglas B. Muchmore
Journal: Diabetes Care (2008)

This study evaluated pharmacokinetic and glucodynamic responses to AIR inhaled insulin relative to subcutaneous insulin lispro, safety, pulmonary function, and effects of salbutamol coadministration.Healthy, mildly asthmatic, and moderately asthmatic subjects (n = 13/group, aged 19-58 years, nonsmoking, and nondiabetic) completed this phase I, open-label, randomized, crossover euglycemic clamp study. Subjects received 12 units equivalent AIR insulin or 12 units subcutaneous insulin lispro or salbutamol plus AIR insulin (moderate asthma group only) before the clamp.AIR insulin exposure was reduced 34 and 41% (both P < 0.01) in asthmatic subjects (area under the curve(0-t'), 24.0 and 21.1 nmol x min x l(-1) in mild and moderate asthma subjects, respectively) compared with healthy subjects (35.2 nmol x min x l(-1)), respectively. Glucodynamic (G) effects were similar in healthy and mildly asthmatic subjects (G(tot) = 38.7 and 23.4 g, respectively; P = 0.16) and were reduced in moderately asthmatic subjects (G(tot) = 10.7 g). Salbutamol pretreatment (moderately asthmatic subjects) improved bioavailability. AIR insulin had no discernable effect on pulmonary function. AIR insulin adverse events (cough, headache, and dizziness) were mild to moderate in intensity and have been previously reported or are typical of studies involving glucose clamp procedures.This study suggests that pulmonary disease severity and asthma treatment status influence the metabolic effect of AIR insulin in individuals with asthma but do not affect AIR insulin pulmonary safety or tolerability. In view of the potential interactions between diabetes treatment and pulmonary status, it is prudent to await the results of ongoing clinical trials in diabetic patients with comorbid lung disease before considering the use of inhaled insulin in such patients.
Plasma-derived proteins in airway defence, disease and repair of epithelial injury
Authors: CG Persson, JS Erjefalt, L Greiff, M Andersson, I Erjefalt, RW Godfrey, M Korsgren, M Linden, F Sundler, C Svensson
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (1998)

One significant characteristic of the airway mucosa in vivo, that cannot easily be mimicked in vitro, is its microcirculation, which generates a highly dynamic, biologically active milieu of plasma-derived molecules that may pass to the airway lumen in vivo. New data on the mechanisms of airway mucosal exudation indicate that the protein systems of circulating plasma may contribute significantly to the biology and immunology of the lamina propria, its surface epithelium and the luminal surface, not only in injured airways, but also in airways that are activated but display no sign of oedema, epithelial disruption, or increased absorption capacity. We suggest that present knowledge of the mechanisms of plasma exudation, together with rapidly emerging information (not detailed herein) on receptors, target cells and cellular responses to the plasma-derived molecules, must be considered in any realistic model that investigates "immuno-inflammatory" mechanisms of the airway mucosa.
Relation between Shunt, Aeration, and Perfusion in Experimental Acute Lung Injury
Authors: Guido Musch, Giacomo Bellani, Marcos F. Vidal Melo, R. Scott Harris, Tilo Winkler, Tobias Schroeder, Jose G. Venegas
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2008)

In a pulmonary process characterized by spatially heterogeneous loss of aeration, the impairment of gas exchange is expected to depend on the regional distribution of perfusion relative to that of aeration.To investigate how regional aeration, shunt, and perfusion are interrelated at different levels of end-expiratory pressure and how their interplay relates to global shunt fraction in acute lung injury.Regional shunt and perfusion were assessed by imaging with positron emission tomography the pulmonary kinetics of [(13)N]nitrogen infused in saline solution in five sheep after lung lavage. The lung field was divided in six horizontal regions.Each animal showed an inverse relation between regional shunt (Fs) and gas (Fg) fractions: Fs = -m . Fg + Fs(0). This relation was similar among animals (m = 1.25 +/- 0.14, Fs(0) = 0.75 +/- 0.15) and invariant with end-expiratory pressure, despite lack of correlation between global shunt and gas fractions and large interanimal variability in global shunt fraction. When this relation was used to estimate global shunt fraction as a perfusion-weighted average of the estimates of regional shunt fraction derived from regional gas fraction, 72% of the interanimal variability in global shunt fraction could be explained.Despite large interanimal variability in global shunt fraction, there was a consistent inverse relation between regional shunt and gas fractions, independent of end-expiratory pressure. Most of the interanimal variability in global shunt fraction could be explained by the combined effect of this relation and the distribution of perfusion on regional shunt, rather than by differences in global aeration.
Renovascular Status After Renal Surgery for Hypertension
Authors: Paulo P. de Mendonca
Journal: JAMA (1967)

Twenty-nine patients who are asymptomatic after surgical treatment of renovascular hypertension have been followed with renal function studies for periods of three months to six years. Fifteen of the patients are normotensive, five after vascular repair and ten after nephrectomy. Six of the patients remained hypertensive, while ten others showed labile hypertension. No consistent correlation of renal function, changes in ocular fundi, or renal biopsy with blood pressure and symptomatic response is apparent in this series. The lack of improvement of renal function in some, with remission of blood pressure and symptoms is of interest. Four patients, who were normotensive after surgery, showed a renal plasma flow (RPF) of less than 200 ml/min in the contralateral kidney preoperatively.
Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock
Authors: Derek C. Angus, Tom van der Poll
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2013)

epsis is one of the oldest and most elusive syndromes in medicine.Hippocrates claimed that sepsis (σ ήψις) was the process by which flesh rots, swamps generate foul airs, and wounds fester. 1 Galen later considered sepsis a laudable event, necessary for wound healing. 2 With the confirmation of germ theory by Semmelweis, Pasteur, and others, sepsis was recast as a systemic infection, often described as "blood poisoning," and assumed to be the result of the host's invasion by pathogenic organisms that then spread in the bloodstream.However, with the advent of modern antibiotics, germ theory did not fully explain the pathogenesis of sepsis: many patients with sepsis died despite successful eradication of the inciting pathogen.Thus, researchers suggested that it was the host, not the germ, that drove the pathogenesis of sepsis. 3n 1992, an international consensus panel defined sepsis as a systemic inflammatory response to infection, noting that sepsis could arise in response to multiple infectious causes and that septicemia was neither a necessary condition nor a helpful term. 4Instead, the panel proposed the term "severe sepsis" to describe instances in which sepsis is complicated by acute organ dysfunction, and they codified "septic shock" as sepsis complicated by either hypotension that is refractory to fluid resuscitation or by hyperlactatemia.In 2003, a second consensus panel endorsed most of these concepts, with the caveat that signs of a systemic inflammatory response, such as tachycardia or an elevated white-cell count, occur in many infectious and noninfectious conditions and therefore are not helpful in distinguishing sepsis from other conditions. 5Thus, "severe sepsis" and "sepsis" are sometimes used interchangeably to describe the syndrome of infection complicated by acute organ dysfunction. Incidence a nd C ause sThe incidence of severe sepsis depends on how acute organ dysfunction is defined and on whether that dysfunction is attributed to an underlying infection.Organ dysfunction is often defined by the provision of supportive therapy (e.g., mechanical ventilation), and epidemiologic studies thus count the "treated incidence" rather than the actual incidence.In the United States, severe sepsis is recorded in 2% of patients admitted to the hospital.Of these patients, half are treated in the intensive care unit (ICU), representing 10% of all ICU admissions. 6,7The number of cases in the United States exceeds 750,000 per year 7 and was recently reported to be rising. 8However, several factors -new International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) coding rules, confusion over the distinction between septicemia and severe sepsis, the increasing capacity to provide intensive care, and increased awareness and surveillance -confound the interpretation of temporal trends.Studies from other high-income countries show similar rates of sepsis in the ICU. 9 The incidence of severe sepsis outside modern ICUs, especially in parts of
Mucosal dominant pemphigus vulgaris with anti-desmoplakin autoantibodies
Authors: Daniel Mimouni, Dagmar Foedinger, Dave J Kouba, Seth J Orlow, Klemens Rappersberger, James J Sciubba, Olga V Nikolskaia, Bernard A Cohen, Grant J Anhalt, Carlos H Nousari
Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2004)
Multidetector CT-generated virtual bronchoscopy: an illustrated review of the potential clinical indications
Authors: W. De Wever, V. Vandecaveye, S. Lanciotti, J.A. Verschakelen
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2004)

Multidetector computed tomography-generated virtual bronchoscopy (VB) is a recent technical development that allows visualisation of the lumen and wall of the trachea and proximal part of the bronchial tree. A dynamic image is produced that resembles what is seen with fibreoptic bronchoscopy (FB). Although the technique has not yet reached daily clinical practice and it can never replace FB, performing VB can be useful in well-defined clinical situations. In this paper, the value and limitations of virtual bronchoscopy will be reviewed, to illustrate the potential role of virtual bronchoscopy in the evaluation of trachea and bronchial tree pathology.
Comparative effect of interval and continuous training on walking gait of stroke patients
Authors: Venkateswarlu Kankanala, Eraz A Gunen, Igara E Ikenna
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2010)

Walking gait dysfunction has been a major problem among stroke survivors in Nigeria. Several training methods have been used to promote recovery from walking dysfunction among the patients. One of the most widely used methods is stair climbing. It is, however, not clear as to which of the methods of stair climbing has better recovery from walking gait dysfunction among stroke patients. This study was therefore conducted to find out and to compare the effects of 12 week continuous and interval training by stair climbing of walking gait of stroke patients. To achieve this purpose, a total of 12 volunteer stroke patients attending physiotherapy clinics of Ahmadu Bello University, Teaching Hospital, Zaria, were divided into two groups of six subjects each. Group 1 was the interval training group, which has three repetitions of stair climbing of two sets with 5 min of resting interval between sets and 2 min of resting interval between repetitions. Group 2 was the continuous training group, which has eight repetitions of continuous stair climbing without rest. Both groups underwent their respective training modes on alternate days (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) for a period of 12 weeks. The number of repetitions was increased by 2 after every 4 weeks of training in both groups to reach 12 repetitions by the 12th week. Both groups were tested with Tinnati Gait Evaluation Test in walking gait before the commencement of training, after 4th, 8th and 12th week of training. However, the interval group showed significant improvement even after 8 weeks of training, whereas the continuous group showed such improvement after 12 weeks of training. It was concluded that interval training was a better mode of training to restore walking gait of stroke patients as more workload can be given with this mode of training.
IL-2 therapy promotes suppressive ICOS+ Treg expansion in melanoma patients
Authors: Geok Choo Sim, Natalia Martin-Orozco, Lei Jin, Yan Yang, Sheng Wu, Edwina Washington, Deborah Sanders, Carol Lacey, Yijun Wang, Luis Vence, Patrick Hwu, Laszlo Radvanyi
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2013)

High-dose (HD) IL-2 therapy in patients with cancer increases the general population of Tregs, which are positive for CD4, CD25, and the Treg-specific marker Foxp3. It is unknown whether specific subsets of Tregs are activated and expanded during HD IL-2 therapy or whether activation of any particular Treg subset correlates with clinical outcome. Here, we evaluated Treg population subsets that were induced in patients with melanoma following HD IL-2 therapy. We identified a Treg population that was positive for CD4, CD25, Foxp3, and the inducible T cell costimulator (ICOS). This Treg population increased more than any other lymphocyte subset during HD IL-2 therapy and had an activated Treg phenotype, as indicated by high levels of CD39, CD73, and TGF-β. ICOS+ Tregs were the most proliferative lymphocyte population in the blood after IL-2 therapy. Patients with melanoma with enhanced expansion of ICOS+ Tregs in blood following the first cycle of HD IL-2 therapy had worse clinical outcomes than patients with fewer ICOS+ Tregs. However, there was no difference in total Treg expansion between HD IL-2 responders and nonresponders. These data suggest that increased expansion of the ICOS+ Treg population following the first cycle of HD IL-2 therapy may be predictive of clinical outcome.
STUDIES ON THE FORMATION OF COLLAGEN
Authors: Jerome Gross
Journal: The Journal of Experimental Medicine (1958)

Precipitation (or gelation) of collagen from cold neutral salt solution induced by warming was shown to be reversible on subsequent cooling. The degree of reversibility of heat precipitation rapidly diminished with time of incubation at 37°C. For calf skin collagen (acetic acid-extracted) and guinea pig skin collagen (crude NaCl extract) in neutral salt solutions (Γ/2 = 0.45) roughly 90 per cent of newly formed gel redissolved on cooling at 2°C.; less than 20 per cent redissolved on cooling gels previously maintained at 37°C. for 24 hours. At physiologic ionic strength the same preparations exhibited much more rapid development of irreversible precipitation, but the same time dependence was clearly evident. Highly purified collagen from crude saline extracts of guinea pig skin exhibited the same phenomenon although the quantitative aspects were somewhat different.
Loss of NF1 in Cutaneous Melanoma Is Associated with RAS Activation and MEK Dependence
Authors: Moriah H. Nissan, Christine A. Pratilas, Alexis M. Jones, Ricardo Ramirez, Helen Won, Cailian Liu, Shakuntala Tiwari, Li Kong, Aphrothiti J. Hanrahan, Zhan Yao, Taha Merghoub, Antoni Ribas, Paul B. Chapman, Rona Yaeger, Barry S. Taylor, Nikolaus Schultz, Michael F. Berger, Neal Rosen, David B. Solit
Journal: Cancer Research (2014)

Melanoma is a disease characterized by lesions that activate ERK. Although 70% of cutaneous melanomas harbor activating mutations in the BRAF and NRAS genes, the alterations that drive tumor progression in the remaining 30% are largely undefined. Vemurafenib, a selective inhibitor of RAF kinases, has clinical utility restricted to BRAF-mutant tumors. MEK inhibitors, which have shown clinical activity in NRAS-mutant melanoma, may be effective in other ERK pathway-dependent settings. Here, we investigated a panel of melanoma cell lines wild type for BRAF and NRAS to determine the genetic alteration driving their transformation and their dependence on ERK signaling in order to elucidate a candidate set for MEK inhibitor treatment. A cohort of the BRAF/RAS wild type cell lines with high levels of RAS-GTP had loss of NF1, a RAS GTPase activating protein. In these cell lines, the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 inhibited ERK phosphorylation, but also relieved feedback inhibition of RAS, resulting in induction of pMEK and a rapid rebound in ERK signaling. In contrast, the MEK inhibitor trametinib impaired the adaptive response of cells to ERK inhibition, leading to sustained suppression of ERK signaling and significant antitumor effects. Notably, alterations in NF1 frequently co-occurred with RAS and BRAF alterations in melanoma. In the setting of BRAF(V600E), NF1 loss abrogated negative feedback on RAS activation, resulting in elevated activation of RAS-GTP and resistance to RAF, but not MEK, inhibitors. We conclude that loss of NF1 is common in cutaneous melanoma and is associated with RAS activation, MEK-dependence, and resistance to RAF inhibition.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Mortality in Diesel-Exposed RailroadWorkers
Authors: Jaime E. Hart, Francine Laden, Marc B. Schenker, Eric Garshick
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (2006)

Diesel exhaust is a mixture of combustion gases and ultrafine particles coated with organic compounds. There is concern whether exposure can result in or worsen obstructive airway diseases, but there is only limited information to assess this risk. U.S. railroad workers have been exposed to diesel exhaust since diesel locomotives were introduced after World War II, and by 1959, 95% of the locomotives were diesel. We conducted a case-control study of railroad worker deaths between 1981 and 1982 using U.S. Railroad Retirement Board job records and next-of-kin smoking, residential, and vitamin use histories. There were 536 cases with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 1,525 controls with causes of death not related to diesel exhaust or fine particle exposure. After adjustment for age, race, smoking, U.S. Census region of death, vitamin use, and total years off work, engineers and conductors with diesel-exhaust exposure from operating trains had an increased risk of COPD mortality. The odds of COPD mortality increased with years of work in these jobs, and those who had worked >/= 16 years as an engineer or conductor after 1959 had an odds ratio of 1.61 (95% confidence interval, 1.12-2.30) . These results suggest that diesel-exhaust exposure contributed to COPD mortality in these workers. Further study is needed to assess whether this risk is observed after exposure to exhaust from later-generation diesel engines with modern emission controls.