tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Current practice for determining pulmonary capillary wedge pressure predisposes to serious errors in the classification of patients with pulmonary hypertension
Authors: John Ryan, Jonathan Rich, Thejasvi Thiruvoipati, Gene Kim, Stuart Rich
Journal: European Respiratory Journal (2011)

Background:  Accurate measurement of left ventricular filling pressure (LVEDP) is important to distinguish between Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and Group 2 pulmonary hypertension from diastolic heart failure (PH-HFpEF).   Methods:  We prospectively performed cardiac catheterization on 62 patients referred for evaluation of PH and compared the LVEDP at end-expiration to: a) the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure manually determined at end-expiration (PCWP-EXP) and b) the PCWP determined electronically (PCWP-digital).   Results:  The PCWP-EXP was a more reliable measure of the LVEDP (mean 13mmHg vs 12.4mmHg, p=NS) than the PCWP-digital (mean 8mmHg vs 12.4mmHg, p   Conclusions:  The common practice of using PCWP-digital measurements instead of PCWP-EXP measurements results in significant underestimation of the LVEDP. In our study, this translated to almost 20% of patients being misclassified as having PAH rather than PH-HFpEF. Thus, reliance on PCWP-digital measurements should be avoided as this may lead to the inappropriate use of pulmonary vasodilators.
Reversal of experimental pulmonary hypertension by PDGF inhibition
Authors: R. T. Schermuly
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2005)

Progression of pulmonary hypertension is associated with increased proliferation and migration of pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells. PDGF is a potent mitogen and involved in this process. We now report that the PDGF receptor antagonist STI571 (imatinib) reversed advanced pulmonary vascular disease in 2 animal models of pulmonary hypertension. In rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension, therapy with daily administration of STI571 was started 28 days after induction of the disease. A 2-week treatment resulted in 100% survival, compared with only 50% in sham-treated rats. The changes in RV pressure, measured continuously by telemetry, and right heart hypertrophy were reversed to near-normal levels. STI571 prevented phosphorylation of the PDGF receptor and suppressed activation of downstream signaling pathways. Similar results were obtained in chronically hypoxic mice, which were treated with STI571 after full establishment of pulmonary hypertension. Moreover, expression of the PDGF receptor was found to be significantly increased in lung tissue from pulmonary arterial hypertension patients compared with healthy donor lung tissue. We conclude that STI571 reverses vascular remodeling and cor pulmonale in severe experimental pulmonary hypertension regardless of the initiating stimulus. This regimen offers a unique novel approach for antire-modeling therapy in progressed pulmonary hypertension.
Proliferative effects of urogastrone-EGF on the intestinal epithelium.
Authors: R A Goodlad, T J Wilson, W Lenton, H Gregory, K G McCullagh, N A Wright
Journal: Gut (1987)

The effects of B-urogastrone/human epidermal growth factor on intestinal epithelial cell proliferation were studied in rats in which intestinal cell proliferation was reduced to a steady state basal level (by maintaining the rats on total parenteral nutrition). Increasing doses of urogastrone progressively raised the two hour collection of metaphases and intestinal weights. The crypt cell production rate was measured in animals maintained parenterally with or without urogastrone, and in rats fed a standard laboratory ration. Continuous infusion of 15 micrograms per rat per day of recombinant beta urogastrone (a dose which has a minimal effect on gastric acid secretion) significantly increased cell proliferation and intestinal tissue weights throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Intravenous infusion of urogastrone was also effective in restoring cell proliferation when it was infused after the intestine had become hypoproliferative. Urogastrone administered through an intragastric cannula thrice daily had no significant effect on either intestinal weight, crypt cell production rate, or metaphase collection.
THE SYNTHESIS OF HEME AND GLOBIN IN THE MATURING HUMAN ERYTHROID CELL*
Authors: David G. Nathan, Sergio Piomelli, Frank H. Gardner
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1961)

This report describes observations on the rate of heme and globin synthesis within the maturation period of human marrow erythroid cells. Such studies have been designed to examine the hypothesis that heme and globin are synthesized with temporal independence during erythroid cell maturation and to establish the normal relationship of heme and globin synthesis. With such data it is hoped that further work may lead to a definition of some of the effects of certain hormones and drugs upon heme and globin synthesis and to closer examination of certain refractory anemias with particular emphasis on abnormalities of globin synthesis. The rates of synthesis of heme and globin within the erythroid cell maturation period are defined in these studies by the daily incremental incorporation of glycine-2-C14 into peripheral blood hemin and globin and of Fe59 into red cells following intravenous administration of these precursors to four healthy male volunteers.
Progression of Cerebral Atrophy and White Matter Hyperintensities in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Jeroen de Bresser, Audrey M. Tiehuis, Esther van den Berg, Yael D. Reijmer, Cynthia Jongen, L. Jaap Kappelle, Willem P. Mali, Max A. Viergever, Geert Jan Biessels
Journal: Diabetes Care (2010)

OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes is associated with a moderate degree of cerebral atrophy and a higher white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume. How these brain-imaging abnormalities evolve over time is unknown. The present study aims to quantify cerebral atrophy and WMH progression over 4 years in type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 55 patients with type 2 diabetes and 28 age-, sex-, and IQ-matched control participants had two 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging scans with a 4-year interval. Volumetric measurements of total brain, peripheral cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), lateral ventricles, and WMH were performed with k-nearest neighbor–based probabilistic segmentation. All volumes were expressed as percentage of intracranial volume. Linear regression analyses, adjusted for age and sex, were performed to compare brain volumes between the groups and to identify determinants of volumetric change within the type 2 diabetic group. RESULTS At baseline, patients with type 2 diabetes had a significantly smaller total brain volume and larger peripheral CSF volume than control participants. In both groups, all volumes showed a significant change over time. Patients with type 2 diabetes had a greater increase in lateral ventricular volume than control participants (mean adjusted between-group difference in change over time [95% CI]: 0.11% in 4 years [0.00 to 0.22], P = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS The greater increase in lateral ventricular volume over time in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with control participants shows that type 2 diabetes is associated with a slow increase of cerebral atrophy over the course of years.
STUDIES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMOTIONAL FACTORS AND RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
Authors: RALPH M. PATTERSON, JAMES B. CRAIG, RAYMOND W. WAGGONER, RICHARD FREYBERG
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1943)

Twenty-five rheumatoid arthritics and 25 control patients were subjected to studies of skin temperature changes under induced emotional stress. Suggestive but inconclusive differences were noted. Emotional stress was found to produce a drop in skin temperature indicative of changes in circulation. The importance of such a mechanism in the development of arthritis could not be conclusively evaluated but its influence appeared to be greater in producing exacerbations or in influencing the course of the illness. The significance of emotional stress and its method of action in regard to rheumatoid arthritis remain unsettled but the field is worthy of further investigation.
Taste Receptor Genes
Authors: Alexander A. Bachmanov, Gary K. Beauchamp
Journal: Annual Review of Nutrition (2007)

In the past several years, tremendous progress has been achieved with the discovery and characterization of vertebrate taste receptors from the T1R and T2R families, which are involved in recognition of bitter, sweet, and umami taste stimuli. Individual differences in taste, at least in some cases, can be attributed to allelic variants of the T1R and T2R genes. Progress with understanding how T1R and T2R receptors interact with taste stimuli and with identifying their patterns of expression in taste cells sheds light on coding of taste information by the nervous system. Candidate mechanisms for detection of salts, acids, fat, complex carbohydrates, and water have also been proposed, but further studies are needed to prove their identity.
Health and sanitary status in 1970 of Tubu nomads dwelling in Northeastern Niger
Authors: Jean-François Magnaval, Christian Oosterbosch, Michel Mandl
Journal: Military Medical Research (2014)

The Tubu are nomadic people who live in remote parts of the central Sahara, primarily in the Tibesti massif (Chad), and in both Northeastern Niger and Southern Libya. No data about the Tubu’s health and sanitary status are currently available. In 1970, the “Mission Anthropologique Belge au Niger” (MABN) investigated a Tubu tribe named Broaya that lived on the northeastern rim of the Tenere desert. One hundred and fifty-one adult volunteers were investigated. The environmental fauna of medical importance was also studied. Albeit 43 year-old, these results have not been previously published. The estimated age of death for fathers was approximately 56 years, and that for mothers was 60 years. The overall perinatal mortality rate was 232%, the overall infant mortality rate was 153%, and the overall child mortality rate was 99%. The physical examination found 6 cases of blindness (4.0%). Five subjects presented with an elevated blood pressure (3.3%), and 5 (3.3%) displayed an abnormal thoracic auscultation evocative of tuberculosis or of an acute lung infection. In the field, no blood-fluke eggs were found in the urine samples. The blood thin films and stool samples were preserved then subsequently examined in Toulouse. The search for blood parasites was negative. Three subjects (2%) passed E. histolytica/E. dispar cysts in stools, 16 (10.6%) were parasitized with Giardia sp. and 4 (2.65%) were parasitized with Hymenolepis nana. Two specimens of scorpions captured in the camp were subsequently identified as belonging to the harmful genus Androctonus or Leiurus. An investigation into the freshwater fauna was conducted in the marshy ponds surrounding the ghost city of Djado, and no intermediate snail hosts for schistosomiasis haematobium were found. Larvae and nymphs, of Anopheles hispaniola and of An. multicolor, which are not efficient vectors for malaria, were collected. Infection-related blindness and trachoma, along with acute pulmonary infections and probably tuberculosis were the major health burden in this tribe. The harsh dry and hot climate may explain the low prevalence of soil-transmitted protozoan diseases or helminthiases.
Caspases determine the vulnerability of oligodendrocytes in the ischemic brain
Authors: Mamoru Shibata, Shin Hisahara, Hideaki Hara, Takemori Yamawaki, Yasuo Fukuuchi, Junying Yuan, Hideyuki Okano, Masayuki Miura
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2000)

Although oligodendrocytes (OLGs) are thought to be vulnerable to hypoxia and ischemia, little is known about the detailed mechanism by which these insults induce OLG death. From the clinical viewpoint, it is imperative to protect OLGs as well as neurons against ischemic injury (stroke), because they are the only myelin-forming cells of the central nervous system. Using the Cre/loxP system, we have established a transgenic mouse line that selectively expresses p35, a broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, in OLGs. After hypoxia, cultured OLGs derived from wild-type mice exhibited significant upregulation of caspase-11 and substantial activation of caspase-3, which led to cell loss. Expression of p35 or elimination of caspase-11 suppressed the caspase-3 activation and conferred significant protection against hypoxic injury. Expression of p35 in OLGs in vivo resulted in significant protection from ischemia-induced cell injury, thus indicating that caspases are involved in the ischemia-induced cell death of OLGs. Furthermore, the induction of caspase-11 was evident in the ischemic brains of wild-type mice, and OLGs exhibited resistance to brain ischemia in mice deficient in caspase-11, suggesting that caspase-11 is critically implicated in the mechanism(s) underlying ischemia-induced OLG death. Caspases may therefore offer a good therapeutic target for reducing ischemia-induced damage to OLGs.
Letter by Eastwood et al Regarding Article, “Association Between Postresuscitation Partial Pressure of Arterial Carbon Dioxide and Neurological Outcome in Patients With Post–Cardiac Arrest Syndrome”
Authors: Glenn M. Eastwood, Satoshi Suzuki, Rinaldo Bellomo
Journal: Circulation (2014)

We read the article by Roberts and colleagues 1 with interest.Although we agree that hypocapnia has been demonstrated to be common and is a predictor of poor neurological outcome after cardiac arrest, we are concerned that the findings may lack external validity.In a recent study involving 16 542 patients admitted to 125 Australian and New Zealand intensive care units after cardiac arrest between 2000 and 2011, 2 we found that hypocapnia and hypercapnia were common.Importantly, we also found that compared with normocapnia, hypercapnia was associated with a greater likelihood of discharge home among survivors.Such findings suggest that mild hypercapnia may actually have neuroprotective properties during the immediate postresuscitation phase.We note that the median number of Paco 2 measurements assessed per patient was only 2 (interquartile range, 1-4) and that 83% of cardiac arrests occurred in hospital. 1In our institution, the median number of arterial blood gas tests per patient is 9 (interquartile range, 7-10) during the first intensive care unit day, and our proportion of in-hospital cardiac arrest is only 35%, suggesting a much greater level of physiological monitoring and management of a very different population in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units.Moreover, mortality in the US cohort was 68% compared with 55.6% in Australia and New Zealand, and unfavorable neurological outcome was seen in 74% of survivors compared with only 35.3% of patients failing to be discharged home in Australia and New Zealand. 2 Thus, the findings of Roberts and colleagues may reflect local clinical management practices that differ profoundly from other settings internationally and should be interpreted with great caution.Although we agree that hypocapnia should be avoided, we urge caution in implementing policies of deliberate avoidance of hypercapnia in the immediate postresuscitation phase.Moreover, we believe that there is sufficient evidence to justify phase 1 pilot randomized, controlled trials of therapeutic hypercapnia in patients who survive cardiac arrest and require mechanical ventilation.We have now initiated such a trial (Australian New Zealand clinical Trial Registry No. AcTRN1262000690853).
Echocardiographic characteristics of male athletes of different age
Authors: G Pavlik, Z Olexó, P Osváth, Z Sidó, R Frenkl
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2001)

Two dimensionally guided M mode and Doppler echocardiographic data for 578 male subjects (106 non-athletic and 472 athletes) were analysed from two aspects: (a) in the young adult category (19--30 years of age), competitors in different groups of sports were studied; (b) in the different age groups (children, 10--14 years; adolescent juniors, 15--18 years; young adults, 19--30 years; adults, 31--44 years; older adults 45--60 years), data for athletes and non-athletes were compared. Morphological variables were related to body size by indices in which the exponents of the numerator and denominator were matched. Morphological signs of athletic heart were most consistently evident in the left ventricular muscle mass: in the young adult group, the highest values were seen in the endurance athletes, followed by the ball game players, sprinters/jumpers, and power athletes. A thicker muscular wall was the main reason for this hypertrophy. Internal diameter was only increased in the endurance athletes, and this increase was more evident in the younger groups. The E/A quotient (ratio of peak velocity during early and late diastole) indicated more effective diastolic function in the endurance athletes. The values for E/A quotient also suggested that regular physical activity at an older age may protect against age dependent impairment of diastolic function.
Gene Copy Number Change Events at Chromosome 20 and Their Association with Recurrence in Gastric Cancer Patients
Authors: Sang Hwa Yang, Min Young Seo, Ha Jin Jeong, Hei-Cheul Jeung, Jihye Shin, Sang Chul Kim, Sung Hoon Noh, Hyun Cheol Chung, Sun Young Rha
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2005)

This study examined the gene copy number change events at chromosome 20 in gastric cancer, and their possible relationship with recurrence using cDNA microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization.Thirty pairs of gastric tumor and normal gastric tissues were used in the cDNA microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization. The cDNA microarrays containing 17,000 sequence-verified human gene probes were used in a direct comparison design, where genomic DNAs from the normal and tumor tissues were labeled with fluorescent dyes Cy3 and Cy5, respectively, and cohybridized. Genes with log(2) (Cy5/Cy3) > or = 0.58 in at least one case were selected as the amplified genes. In order to search for the association between gene copy number changes and the recurrence status, patients were grouped according to their recurrence status. Gene selection between the two groups was done, and each patient was given a score based on the sum of the selected genes' ratios. Logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to determine if the score of a group of patients was correlated with a recurrence.A group of genes including NCOA6, CYP24A1, PTPN1, and ZNF217 was amplified in gastric cancer. Another group of 39 genes, whose sum of copy number change levels was significantly associated with a poor prognosis for recurrence, was selected (P < 0.05).Ninety-six amplified genes at chromosome 20 of gastric cancer are reported. A scoring system based on gene copy changes at chromosome 20 can provide an independent patient grouping system that can distinguish patient recurrence status and survival.
On the richness and limitations of dimensional models of social perception
Authors: Alexander Todorov
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2009)

Abstract The two-dimensional model of social relations outlined in the target article has striking convergence with empirically derived dimensional models of interpersonal perception, inter-group perception, and face evaluation. All these models posit two-dimensional structures related to perceptions of valence/affiliation and power/status. Although these models are parsimonious, they may be insufficient to account for behaviors in specific contexts.
Positive Inotropic Effects of Dibutyryl Cyclic Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate
Authors: C. LYNN SKELTON, GERALD S. LEVEY, STEPHEN E. EPSTEIN
Journal: Circulation Research (1970)

The positive inotropic effects of catecholamines have been postulated to result from an increase in the intracellular level of cyclic AMP (adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate) produced by activation of adenyl cyclase. Although lack of an inotropic effect by exogenously administered cyclic AMP has cast doubt on this hypothesis, cardiac cells are not readily permeable to cyclic AMP. The N 6 -2'-O-dibutyryl derivative of cyclic AMP is thought to enter cells more readily and is resistant to enzymatic degradation by phosphodiesterase. We examined the effects of cyclic AMP and its dibutyryl derivative on the contractile performance of isolated cat right ventricular papillary muscles. Cyclic AMP (1 x 10 -4 to 5 x 10 -3 M) had no effect on papillary muscle function. However, dibutyryl cyclic AMP caused a concentration-dependent increase in isometric tension and rate of tension development, the threshold concentration being 5 x 10 -4 M. The increments in tension (4.5 ± 0.4 g/mm 2 ) and rate of tension development (58.4 ± 5.4 g/mm 2 /sec) at peak concentration (3 x 10 -3 M) were similar to those found at peak norepinephrine concentration (10 -5 M). Dibutyryl cyclic AMP (10 -3 M) also caused a marked shift of the force-velocity curve upward and to the right. Although 10 -6 M propranolol depressed the inotropic effects of norepinephrine, it did not alter the contractile response to dibutyryl cyclic AMP. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the positive inotropic effects of catecholamines are mediated by cyclic AMP.
House dust mite control measures in the management of asthma: meta-analysis
Authors: P. C Gotzsche, C. Hammarquist, M. Burr
Journal: BMJ (1998)

<h3>Abstract</h3> <b>Objective</b> To determine whether patients with asthma who are sensitive to mites benefit from measures designed to reduce their exposure to house dust mite antigen in the home. <b>Design</b> Meta-analysis of randomised trials that investigated the effects on asthma patients of chemical or physical measures to control mites, or both, in comparison with an untreated control group. All trials in any language were eligible for inclusion. <b>Subjects</b> Patients with bronchial asthma as diagnosed by a doctor and sensitisation to mites as determined by skin prick testing, bronchial provocation testing, or serum assays for specific IgE antibodies. <b>Main outcome measures</b> Number of patients whose allergic symptoms improved, improvement in asthma symptoms, improvement in peak expiratory flow rate. Outcomes measured on different scales were combined using the standardised effect size method (the difference in effect was divided by the standard deviation of the measurements). <b>Results</b> 23&nbsp;studies were included in the meta-analysis; 6&nbsp;studies used chemical methods to reduce exposure to mites, 13&nbsp;used physical methods, and 4&nbsp;used a combination. Altogether, 41/113 patients exposed to treatment interventions improved compared with 38/117 in the control groups (odds ratio 1.20,&nbsp;95% confidence interval 0.66&nbsp;to 2.18). The standardised mean difference for improvement in asthma symptoms was −0.06 (95% confidence interval −0.54 to 0.41). For peak flow rate measured in the morning the standardised mean difference was −0.03 (−0.25 to 0.19). As measured in the original units this difference between the treatment and the control group corresponds to −3&nbsp;l/min (95% confidence interval −25&nbsp;l/min to 19&nbsp;l/min). The results were similar in the subgroups of trials that reported successful reduction in exposure to mites or had long follow up times. <b>Conclusion</b> Current chemical and physical methods aimed at reducing exposure to allergens from house dust mites seem to be ineffective and cannot be recommended as prophylactic treatment for asthma patients sensitive to mites.