tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) responses to bovine colostrum supplementation during regular training in physically active young healthy adolescents
Authors: Mahenderan Appukutty, Ammu Radhakrishnan, Kalavathy Ramasamy, Abu Bakar Abdul Majeed, Karuthan Chinna, Ismail Mohd Noor, Nik Shanita Safii, Poh Bee Koon
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2010)

Immunoglobulin (Ig) is an essential soluble mediator of humoral immunity to prevent infectious agents that invades the host. Secretory IgA is the main effecter in mucosal immunity and acts as a first line of defence in the host immunity system. Exercise is known to modulate the production of specific antibody and it is anticipated that dietary intervention such as bovine colostrum may modulate the mucosal immunity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of nutritional supplementation of bovine colostrum on salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA). The subjects comprise adolescent school boys from Bukit Jalil Sports School that are actively involved on regular physical training. The subjects were randomly assigned into experimental (colostrum; n=20) or control (skimmed milk; n=20) group. The experimental and control groups were not significantly different in terms of age and body mass index. The former consumed 20 g of bovine colostrum supplement, and the latter 20 g of skimmed milk, daily for 6 weeks. sIgA measurement was conducted pre- (day 0) and post-supplementation (day 42). Bovine colostrum supplementation significantly increase saliva IgA (p&lt;0.001) in the experimental group as compared to the control group. It was concluded that 6 weeks of bovine colostrum supplementation increases sIgA concentration in active young adolescents during training. Further studies are needed to investigate the mechanistic basis of sIgA and colostrum interaction.
Probiotics and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Daisy Jonkers, Reinhold Stockbrügger
Journal: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (2003)

Probiotics are defined as ‘mono- or mixed cultures of live micro-organisms which, when applied to animal or man, beneficially affect the host by improving the properties of the indigenous microflora’.1 Both Lactobacilli spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. are frequently applied as probiotics. Probiotic bacteria for humans are preferably of human origin: they have to be safe for the host, genetically stable, and capable of surviving passage through the gastrointestinal tract.2 Among the effects claimed for probiotics are beneficial immunomodulation, reduction of serum cholesterol, improved lactose digestion and protection against colon cancer.2,3 Probiotics have also been studied in infectious diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease and pouchitis.3,4 In this review we focus on the possible value of probiotics in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Proteinase Activity in Human and Murine Saliva as a Biomarker for Proteinase Inhibitor Efficacy
Authors: Barbara Fingleton, Ramkumar Menon, Kathy J. Carter, P. Dawn Overstreet, David L. Hachey, Lynn M. Matrisian, J. Oliver McIntyre
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2004)

Abstract As molecularly targeted agents reach the clinic, there is a need for assays to detect their presence and effectiveness against target molecules in vivo. Proteinase inhibitors are one example of a class of therapeutic agent for which satisfactory methods of identifying successful target modulation in vivo are lacking. This is of particular importance while these drugs are in clinical trials because standard maximum-tolerated dose-finding studies often are not suitable due to lack of toxicity. Saliva represents a readily accessible bodily fluid that can be repeatedly sampled and used for assaying in vivo effects of systemic drugs. Here we show the development of a simple assay that can be used to measure proteinase activity in saliva and proteinase inhibition after systemic treatment with three different proteinase inhibitors. A variety of gelatinolytic activities present in human and murine saliva have been assayed with a fluorescent dye-labeled substrate and assigned to different proteinase categories by inclusion of specific classes of inhibitors. Treatment of mice with either matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors or a urokinase inhibitor for a period as short as 48 hours results in levels of the drugs that can be detected in saliva by mass spectrometry and concomitant decreases in salivary proteinase activity, thus demonstrating that these inhibitors successfully modulate their targets in vivo.
Association of plasma uric acid with ischaemic heart disease and blood pressure: mendelian randomisation analysis of two large cohorts
Authors: T. M. Palmer, B. G. Nordestgaard, M. Benn, A. Tybjaerg-Hansen, G. Davey Smith, D. A. Lawlor, N. J. Timpson
Journal: BMJ (2013)

<b>Objectives</b> To assess the associations between both uric acid levels and hyperuricaemia, with ischaemic heart disease and blood pressure, and to explore the potentially confounding role of body mass index. <b>Design</b> Mendelian randomisation analysis, using variation at specific genes (<i>SLC2A9</i> (rs7442295) as an instrument for uric acid; and <i>FTO</i> (rs9939609), <i>MC4R</i> (rs17782313), and <i>TMEM18</i> (rs6548238) for body mass index). <b>Setting</b> Two large, prospective cohort studies in Denmark. <b>Participants</b> We measured levels of uric acid and related covariables in 58 072 participants from the Copenhagen General Population Study and 10 602 from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, comprising 4890 and 2282 cases of ischaemic heart disease, respectively. <b>Main outcome</b> Blood pressure and prospectively assessed ischaemic heart disease. <b>Results</b> Estimates confirmed known observational associations between plasma uric acid and hyperuricaemia with risk of ischaemic heart disease and diastolic and systolic blood pressure. However, when using genotypic instruments for uric acid and hyperuricaemia, we saw no evidence for causal associations between uric acid, ischaemic heart disease, and blood pressure. We used genetic instruments to investigate body mass index as a potentially confounding factor in observational associations, and saw a causal effect on uric acid levels. Every four unit increase of body mass index saw a rise in uric acid of 0.03 mmol/L (95% confidence interval 0.02 to 0.04), and an increase in risk of hyperuricaemia of 7.5% (3.9% to 11.1%). <b>Conclusion</b> By contrast with observational findings, there is no strong evidence for causal associations between uric acid and ischaemic heart disease or blood pressure. However, evidence supports a causal effect between body mass index and uric acid level and hyperuricaemia. This finding strongly suggests body mass index as a confounder in observational associations, and suggests a role for elevated body mass index or obesity in the development of uric acid related conditions.
The recurrent SET-NUP214 fusion as a new HOXA activation mechanism in pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Authors: Pieter Van Vlierberghe, Martine van Grotel, Joëlle Tchinda, Charles Lee, H. Berna Beverloo, Peter J. van der Spek, Andrew Stubbs, Jan Cools, Kyosuke Nagata, Maarten Fornerod, Jessica Buijs-Gladdines, Martin Horstmann, Elisabeth R. van Wering, Jean Soulier, Rob Pieters, Jules P. P. Meijerink
Journal: Blood (2008)
CLINICAL EVALUATION OF UNILATERAL EST
Authors: WINSTON L. MARTIN, HAMILTON F. FORD, EUGENE C. McDANALD, MARTIN L. TOWLER
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1965)

This study was an attempt to determine clinically the therapeutic efficacy and degree of memory impairment of unilateral ECT as compared to bilateral ECT. Two groups of 20 patients were given a course of 10 EST, one group unilaterally and the other bilaterally. The comparison of these two groups would indicate that the desirable benefit of ECT is the same for both types of treatment but with considerably less memory impairment with unilateral treatment. If these results are valid, unilateral ECT might be employed more effectively in the treatment of outpatients, patients who depend upon their memory to function professionally, patients wth some organic memory impairment, patients who show marked confusion and memory loss, or paranoid and phobic patients who become upset because of the memory loss and confusion of bilateral treatment. Possibly, with unilateral treatment, patients could be treated more rapidly and thus decrease time required in the hospital and time for the convalescence period necessitated by bilateral ECT. EEGs done before and after ECT disclosed unilateral cerebral dysrhythmia on those patients who received unilateral EST and bilateral dysrhythmia in those patients who were treated bilaterally. This finding is probably related to the difference in memory function between the two groups.
Variation in the Incidence and Proportion of Diabetes-Related Amputations in Minorities
Authors: Lawrence A Lavery, Hisham R Ashry, William Van Houtum, Jacqualine A Pugh, Lawrence B Harkless, Srabashi Basu
Journal: Diabetes Care (1996)

OBJECTIVE To identify the age-adjusted and level-specific incidence of amputations associated with diabetes in Hispanics, African-Americans, and non-Hispanic whites. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We used a database from the Office of Statewide Planning and Development in California that identified all hospitalizations for lower-extremity amputations in the state in 1991. Amputation level was defined by ICD-9-CM codes 84.11–84.18 and were categorized as toe, foot, leg, and thigh amputations. RESULTS The age-adjusted incidence of diabetes-related amputation per 10,000 persons with diabetes in 1991 was 95.25 in African-Americans, 55.98 in non-Hispanic whites, and 44.43 in Hispanics. Hispanics had a higher proportion of amputations (82.7%) associated with diabetes than did African-Americans (61.6%) or non-Hispanic whites (56.8%) (P &amp;lt; 0.001). African-Americans had the highest age-adjusted incidence rate for each level in people with and without diabetes. African-Americans underwent more proximal amputations compared with non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics (P &amp;lt; 0.001). Diabetes-related amputations were 1.72 and 2.17 times more likely in African-Americans compared with non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Hispanics had proportionally more amputations associated with diabetes than did African-Americans or non-Hispanic whites. A significant excess incidence of both diabetes- and non-diabetes-related amputations and proportionally more proximal amputations were identified in African-Americans compared with Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. A possible explanation could be the higher prevalence of peripheral vascular disease in African-Americans. Public health initiatives, which have been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of diabetes-related lower-extremity amputations, should be implemented, and additional work should focus on minority groups.
Temperature Entrainment of Drosophila's Circadian Clock Involves the Gene nocte and Signaling from Peripheral Sensory Tissues to the Brain
Authors: Hana Sehadova, Franz T. Glaser, Carla Gentile, Alekos Simoni, Astrid Giesecke, Joerg T. Albert, Ralf Stanewsky
Journal: Neuron (2009)
Epigenetic Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Gene Expression
Authors: Charles C. Matouk, Philip A. Marsden
Journal: Circulation Research (2008)

Epigenetics refers to chromatin-based pathways important in the regulation of gene expression and includes 3 distinct, but highly interrelated, mechanisms: DNA methylation, histone density and posttranslational modifications, and RNA-based mechanisms. Together, they offer a newer perspective on transcriptional control paradigms in vascular endothelial cells and provide a molecular basis for how the environment impacts the genome to modify disease susceptibility. This review provides an introduction to epigenetic concepts for vascular biologists. Using endothelial nitric oxide synthase (NOS3) as an example, we examine the growing body of evidence implicating epigenetic pathways in the control of vascular endothelial gene expression in health and disease.
Hemoglobin A1c Values in Children with Overt Diabetes Maintained in Varying Degrees of Control
Authors: Robert L Jackson, Randall L Hess, Jack D England
Journal: Diabetes Care (1979)

The concentration of hemoglobin A1c has been found to be elevated in patients with uncontrolled diabetes. HbA1c levels change at a slow rate so that a single measurement is believed to reflect the overall degree of control achieved by a patient for about the previous 2 mo. Using the Trivelli method, we determined HbA1c levels in 81 children with overt insulin-dependent diabetes and in 14 healthy children and young adults who served as controls. Five of the diabetic children with recent onset had sequential HbA1c determinations at 3–6-wk intervals. Each had a rapid decline in HbA1c level to near normal values after the patient was kept essentially euglycemic for about 60 days. Before the HbA1c determination, each diabetic child was given an overall control rating for the previous 2 mo or more based on criteria defined in our clinic. HbA1c values increased progressively as diabetic control declined. There was a statistically significant correlation between the clinical control ratings and HbA1c levels (P &amp;lt; 0.01 between all subgroups). Although there was a positive correlation between duration of diabetes and insulin requirement per kilogram of body weight in all groups combined, there was no significant difference when each subgroup was compared separately. These observations document the validity of our criteria for classifying patients in higher degrees of metabolic control.
Brief Communication: Possible Increased Risk of Lung Cancer Among Beauticians
Authors: Joseph Garfinkel, Steve Selvin, Stephen M. Brown
Journal: JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute (1977)

Death certificates of residents of Alameda County, California (1958-1962) with any mention of cancer were examined to determine the risk of cancer among beauticians. Twenty-four female beauticians were found among 3,460 adult females who died with cancer; four female beauticians were found in a sample of 1,000 females who died from causes other than cancer. The case and control certificates were matched for age and race. The resulting odds ratio (i.e., approximate relative risk of a cancer death) was slightly elevated (1.73) but was not statistically significant. Although a possible increase in the risk of cancer was found for several organ sites, the increase in risk for lung cancer was most striking. Analysis of pairs of death certificates, in which female controls dying of causes other than cancer were matched to female lung cancer cases for age, race, and date of death, yielded an odds ratio of 6.0. This finding suggested that the risk of lung cancer may be substantially increased among female beauticians.
Air toxics: sources and monitoring in Texas.
Authors: D R Pendleton
Journal: Environmental Health Perspectives (1995)

Since the late 1980s, federal legislation has required industries to publicly report their annual emissions of toxic compounds. Industry reports show the largest contributor to toxic emission levels in Texas is the massive concentration of petrochemical industries along the Gulf Coast. It is interesting to note that although Texas produces over 50% of the nation's synthetic chemicals, it discharges less than 8% of the nation's toxic emissions. However, in response to growing concerns about the effects of these toxic emissions, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) initiated a long-term program for monitoring toxic chemicals in the air. This article provides details of this monitoring program as well as industry-funded toxic monitoring networks in Texas. This includes information on the technology currently being used for sample collection and analysis as well as plans for implementing methods that are on the technological horizon. Finally, details of some key measurements from the state's air toxics monitoring network will be provided along with an explanation of how they impact current air quality trends in Texas.
APRIL modulates B and T cell immunity
Authors: Jens V. Stein, Marta López-Fraga, Fernando A. Elustondo, Carla E. Carvalho-Pinto, Dolores Rodríguez, Ruth Gómez-Caro, Joan de Jong, Carlos Martínez-A, Jan Paul Medema, Michael Hahne
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2002)

The TNF-like ligands APRIL and BLyS are close relatives and share the capacity to bind the receptors TACI and BCMA. BLyS has been shown to play an important role in B cell homeostasis and autoimmunity, but the biological role of APRIL remains less well defined. Analysis of T cells revealed an activation-dependent increase in APRIL mRNA expression. We therefore generated mice expressing APRIL as a transgene in T cells. These mice appeared normal and showed no signs of B cell hyperplasia. Transgenic T cells revealed a greatly enhanced survival in vitro as well as enhanced survival of staphylococcal enterotoxin B-reactive CD4+ T cells in vivo, which both directly correlate with elevated Bcl-2 levels. Analysis of humoral responses to T cell-dependent antigens in the transgenic mice indicated that APRIL affects only IgM but not IgG responses. In contrast, T cell-independent type 2 (TI-2) humoral response was enhanced in APRIL transgenic mice. As TACI was previously reported to be indispensable for TI-2 antibody formation, these results suggest a role for APRIL/TACI interactions in the generation of this response. Taken together, our data indicate that APRIL is involved in the induction and/or maintenance of T and B cell responses.
A multicentre, cross-sectional study on quality of life in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus
Authors: R. Vasquez, D. Wang, Q. P. Tran, B. Adams-Huet, M. M. Chren, M. I. Costner, J. B. Cohen, V. P. Werth, Benjamin F. Chong
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (2012)

A study at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Medical Center demonstrated that quality of life in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is negatively impacted. Whether patients with CLE in other geographic locations have similar quality of life is unknown. We sought to compare quality of life indicators between patients with CLE at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center at Dallas and those at UPenn. Patients with CLE (total n=248) at UTSW (n=91) and UPenn (n=157) completed the Skindex-29 +3 and Short Form-36 (SF-36) surveys related to quality of life. Additional information, including demographics, presence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and disease severity, was collected from UTSW patients with CLE. Most Skindex-29 + 3 and SF-36 subdomain scores between UTSW and UPenn patients with CLE were similar. However, UTSW patients with CLE were significantly more affected in the functioning and lupus-specific Skindex-29 + 3 domains, and physical functioning, role-physical and general health SF-36 subscales than UPenn patients with CLE (P<0·05). Factors related to poor quality of life in UTSW patients with CLE include sex, income, education, presence of SLE, and skin disease activity. Most quality of life indicators were similar between the two CLE populations. Differences in psychosocial behaviour, and a larger proportion of patients with SLE and females in the UTSW group likely attributed to differences in a minority of Skindex-29+3 and SF-36 subdomains. Capturing data from CLE populations in different locations provides a more thorough picture of the quality of life that patients with CLE experience on a daily basis with special attention to quality of life issues in select patients with CLE.
Enhanced insulin-like growth factor molecules in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Authors: C Aston, J Jagirdar, T C Lee, T Hur, R L Hintz, W N Rom
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (1995)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by activated alveolar macrophages (AM), alveolar epithelial cell proliferation and interstitial matrix, and immune complex deposition. Spontaneous release of competence and progression-type growth factors and their associated binding proteins may contribute to the pathologic features of IPF. To study the role of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) molecules in IPF we evaluated spontaneous release of IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in bronchoalveolar lavage cells from control subjects and from patients with IPF. IGF-I levels were similar compared with those in control subjects. In contrast, IGFBP-3 was significantly increased in IPF. In situ hybridization of open lung biopsies showed IGF-I to be abundant in IPF lung tissue in alveolar macrophages, interstitial mesenchymal cells, and epithelial cells. Northern, Western ligand blotting, reverse transcription PCR, and radioimmunoassay suggested that immune complexes stimulate expression of IGFBP-3 in mononuclear phagocytes in a time- and dose-dependent manner bearing strong similarities to stimulation by LPS. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that IGFBP-3 increases the bioactivity of IGF-I derived from a variety of lung tissues contributing to the fibrosis and remodeling seen in IPF.
A prospective, multicenter, randomized trial of percutaneous transmyocardial laser revascularization in patients with nonrecanalizable chronic total occlusions
Authors: Gregg W. Stone, Paul S. Teirstein, Ronald Rubenstein, Dwayne Schmidt, Patrick L. Whitlow, Edward J. Kosinski, Gregory Mishkel, John A. Power
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2002)
Conformity to clinical practice guidelines, multidisciplinary management and outcome of treatment for soft tissue sarcomas
Authors: I. Ray-Coquard, P. Thiesse, D. Ranchère-Vince, F. Chauvin, J.-Y. Bobin, M.-P. Sunyach, J.-P. Carret, B. Mongodin, P. Marec-Bérard, T. Philip, J.-Y. Blay
Journal: Annals of Oncology (2004)
Risk of Developing Retinopathy in Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Type 1 Diabetic Patients With Good or Poor Metabolic Control
Authors: LiYing Zhang, Georges Krzentowski, Adelin Albert, Pierre J. Lefebvre
Journal: Diabetes Care (2001)

OBJECTIVE—The study goal was to assess and predict the risk of developing retinopathy in type 1 diabetic patients with extreme metabolic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Based on material from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) study (n = 1,441 patients), patients without retinopathy at baseline (DCCT primary cohort) were considered under good or poor metabolic control if the mean HbA1c level (until the last visit) fell in the lower or upper 20% of the overall HbA1c distribution, respectively. Retinopathy was recorded as either absent or present. Logistic regression was used to predict retinopathy from covariates used in the DCCT retinopathy study. RESULTS—Among the 153 DCCT patients with “good metabolic control” (mean HbA1c ≤6.87%), three-step change retinopathy developed in 15 (9.8%), and 138 (90%) remained free of retinopathy. Conversely, among the 166 patients with “poor metabolic control” (mean HbA1c ≥9.49%), the complication did not develop in 71 (43%) and did develop in 95 (57%). Whereas occurrence of diabetic retinopathy was primarily due to metabolic control (P &amp;lt; 0.0001) and duration of participation in the study (P &amp;lt; 0.0001), two other covariates were found to be significant prognostic factors of the complication: HbA1c at baseline (OR 1.37, P &amp;lt; 0.001) and BMI (OR 1.11, P &amp;lt; 0.05). CONCLUSIONS—This study confirms that retinopathy develops in ∼10% of patients with type 1 diabetes under good metabolic control, whereas &amp;gt;40% of patients with type 1 diabetes remain free of retinopathy despite poor metabolic control. After adjusting for metabolic control and duration of participation in the study, it was found that previous glycemic exposure (HbA1c) and BMI may provide a possible explanation to such paradoxical clinical situations.