tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Hospital volume, proportion resected and mortality from oesophageal and gastric cancer: a population-based study in England, 2004–2008
Authors: Victoria H Coupland, Jesper Lagergren, Margreet Lüchtenborg, Ruth H Jack, William Allum, Lars Holmberg, George B Hanna, Neil Pearce, Henrik Møller
Journal: Gut (2012)

<h3>Objective</h3> This study assessed the associations between hospital volume, resection rate and survival of oesophageal and gastric cancer patients in England. <h3>Design</h3> 62 811 patients diagnosed with oesophageal or gastric cancer between 2004 and 2008 were identified from a national population-based cancer registration and Hospital Episode Statistics-linked dataset. Cox regression analyses were used to assess all-cause mortality according to hospital volume and resection rate, adjusting for case-mix variables (sex, age, socioeconomic deprivation, comorbidity and type of cancer). HRs and 95% CIs, according to hospital volume, were evaluated for three predefined periods following surgery: &lt;30, 30–365, and &gt;365 days. Analysis of mortality in relation to resection rate was performed among all patients and among the 13 189 (21%) resected patients. <h3>Results</h3> Increasing hospital volume was associated with lower mortality (p<sub>trend</sub>=0.0001; HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.95 for hospitals resecting 80+ and compared with &lt;20 patients a year). In relative terms, the association between increasing hospital volume and lower mortality was particularly strong in the first 30 days following surgery (p<sub>trend</sub>&lt;0.0001; HR 0.52, (0.39 to 0.70)), but a clinically relevant association remained beyond 1 year (p<sub>trend</sub>=0.0011; HR 0.82, (0.72 to 0.95)). Increasing resection rates were associated with lower mortality among all patients (p<sub>trend</sub>&lt;0.0001; HR 0.86, (0.84 to 0.89) for the highest, compared with the lowest resection quintile). <h3>Conclusions</h3> With evidence of lower short-term and longer-term mortality for patients resected in high-volume hospitals, this study supports further centralisation of oesophageal and gastric cancer surgical services in England.
Cognitive Correlates of Obsessive and Compulsive Symptoms in Huntington’s Disease
Authors: K E Anderson, E D Louis, Y Stern, K S Marder
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (2001)

The authors' goal was to examine the frequency and type of obsessive and compulsive symptoms in Huntington's disease.The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was used to assess obsessive and compulsive symptoms in 27 patients with Huntington's disease. The neuropsychological test performance of the 14 patients with at least one obsessive symptom and the seven patients with at least one compulsive symptom was compared with the performance of the patients without such symptoms.More than half of the patients with Huntington's disease endorsed obsessive or compulsive symptoms on the Yale-Brown scale. Patients with obsessive or compulsive symptoms showed significantly greater impairment on neuropsychological tests measuring executive function than those without such symptoms.Basal ganglia pathology in Huntington's disease may contribute to production of obsessive and compulsive symptoms and to executive performance deficits in these patients.
Loss of Heterozygosity at D8S298 Is a Predictor for Long-term Survival of Patients with Tumor-Node-Metastasis Stage I of Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Jin-Zhong Pang, Lun-Xiu Qin, Ning Ren, Zhen-Yu Hei, Qing-Hai Ye, Wei-Dong Jia, Bing-Sheng Sun, Guo-Ling Lin, Dao-Yong Liu, Yin-Kun Liu, Zhao-You Tang
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2007)

Abstract Purpose: Our previous studies have shown that chromosome 8p deletion correlates with metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was to determine whether 8p deletion could be used in predicting the prognosis of patients with HCC, particularly in those with early stage of HCC. Experimental Design: A total of 131 patients with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage I of HCC who underwent curative liver resection were enrolled. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was examined using 10 microsatellite markers at chromosome 8p, as well as 14 microsatellites at chromosome 1p, 17p, 4q, 13q, and 16q, and their association with 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of patients was analyzed. Results: In the entire cohort of patients, the mean LOH frequency at these 24 loci was 43.2%; LOH frequencies at D8S298 and D1S199 were 31.5% and 33.7%, respectively. LOH at D8S298 was associated with a worse 5-year OS (P = 0.008) and DFS (P = 0.038) in patients with TNM stage I of HCC. Likewise, the patients with LOH at D1S199 had a worse 5-year OS (P &amp;lt; 0.001) and DFS (P = 0.014) compared with those without LOH at D1S199. In multivariate analyses, LOH at D8S298 was an independent predictor of decreased DFS (hazard ratio, 0.372; 95% 95% confidence interval, 0.146-0.948; P = 0.038), whereas LOH at D1S199 was an independent predictor of decreased OS (hazard ratio, 0.281; 95% confidence interval, 0.123-0.643; P = 0.003). Conclusions: LOH at D8S298 and D1S199 is independently associated with a worse survival in patients with TNM stage I of HCC after curative resection and could serve as novel prognostic predictors for this subgroup of patients.
The Association of eGFR Reporting with the Timing of Dialysis Initiation
Authors: Manish M. Sood, Paul Komenda, Claudio Rigatto, Brett Hiebert, Navdeep Tangri
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2014)

Automated reporting of eGFR by laboratories has been widely implemented during the last decade. Over this same period, a steady increase in eGFR at dialysis initiation has been reported. This study examined trends in eGFR at dialysis initiation over time among incident dialysis patient populations before and after eGFR reporting. All patients who initiated dialysis between January of 2001 and December of 2010 in four Canadian provinces that implemented province-wide automated eGFR reporting and had an eGFR measure at dialysis initiation were included in the study (n=22,208). The primary outcome was change over time in eGFR among patients at dialysis initiation. An interrupted time series and adjusted multilevel regression models were used to determine the differences in eGFR at dialysis initiation before and after reporting. We observed a linear increase in the mean eGFR at dialysis initiation from 9.1 to 10.8 ml/min per m(2) during the study period. There was no change in the trajectory of the eGFR at dialysis initiation before or after eGFR reporting in crude or adjusted models accounting for case mix and facility characteristics. These findings were consistent among age and sex strata and when the proportions of patients with an eGFR≥10.5 or ≥12 ml/min per m(2) were examined. In conclusion, automated laboratory-based eGFR reporting did not influence eGFR at dialysis initiation among incident dialysis patient populations. Concerns that widespread eGFR reporting leads to earlier dialysis initiation are not supported by this study.
The Stem-Cell Market — Patents and the Pursuit of Scientific Progress
Authors: Fiona Murray
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (2007)

University of Wisconsin researcher James Thomson and his colleagues wowed the scientific community when they reported in November 1998 that they had isolated and cultured human embryonic stem cells.1 They also precipitated intense debate. Although moral dilemmas and federal funding of stem-cell research have received the most media attention, behind-the-scenes concern has centered on the market for stem cells — the ownership, control, pricing, and availability of stem-cell lines. For many academic researchers hoping to build on Thomson's discovery, the difficulty of obtaining stem cells was immensely frustrating.This difficulty arose because not only did Wisconsin have material rights to . . .
The Immune Response in Tuberculosis
Authors: Anne O'Garra, Paul S. Redford, Finlay W. McNab, Chloe I. Bloom, Robert J. Wilkinson, Matthew P.R. Berry
Journal: Annual Review of Immunology (2013)

There are 9 million cases of active tuberculosis reported annually; however, an estimated one-third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and remains asymptomatic. Of these latent individuals, only 5–10% will develop active tuberculosis disease in their lifetime. CD4 + T cells, as well as the cytokines IL-12, IFN-γ, and TNF, are critical in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but the host factors that determine why some individuals are protected from infection while others go on to develop disease are unclear. Genetic factors of the host and of the pathogen itself may be associated with an increased risk of patients developing active tuberculosis. This review aims to summarize what we know about the immune response in tuberculosis, in human disease, and in a range of experimental models, all of which are essential to advancing our mechanistic knowledge base of the host-pathogen interactions that influence disease outcome.
Effect of neonatal vitamin A supplementation on mortality in infants in Tanzania (Neovita): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Honorati Masanja, Emily R Smith, Alfa Muhihi, Christina Briegleb, Salum Mshamu, Julia Ruben, Ramadhani Abdallah Noor, Polyna Khudyakov, Sachiyo Yoshida, Jose Martines, Rajiv Bahl, Wafaie W Fawzi
Journal: The Lancet (2014)
Housekeeping genes tend to show reduced upstream sequence conservation
Authors: Domènec Farré, Nicolás Bellora, Loris Mularoni, Xavier Messeguer, M Mar Albà
Journal: Genome biology (2007)

Abstract Background Understanding the constraints that operate in mammalian gene promoter sequences is of key importance to understand the evolution of gene regulatory networks. The level of promoter conservation varies greatly across orthologous genes, denoting differences in the strength of the evolutionary constraints. Here we test the hypothesis that the number of tissues in which a gene is expressed is related in a significant manner to the extent of promoter sequence conservation. Results We show that mammalian housekeeping genes, expressed in all or nearly all tissues, show significantly lower promoter sequence conservation, especially upstream of position -500 with respect to the transcription start site, than genes expressed in a subset of tissues. In addition, we evaluate the effect of gene function, CpG island content and protein evolutionary rate on promoter sequence conservation. Finally, we identify a subset of transcription factors that bind to motifs that are specifically over-represented in housekeeping gene promoters. Conclusion This is the first report that shows that the promoters of housekeeping genes show reduced sequence conservation with respect to genes expressed in a more tissue-restricted manner. This is likely to be related to simpler gene expression, requiring a smaller number of functional cis -regulatory motifs.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome after convalescent plasma use: treatment of a patient with Ebola virus disease contracted in Madrid, Spain
Authors: Marta Mora-Rillo, Marta Arsuaga, Germán Ramírez-Olivencia, Fernando de la Calle, Alberto M Borobia, Paz Sánchez-Seco, Mar Lago, Juan C Figueira, Belén Fernández-Puntero, Aurora Viejo, Anabel Negredo, Concepción Nuñez, Eva Flores, Antonio J Carcas, Victor Jiménez-Yuste, Fátima Lasala, Abelardo García-de-Lorenzo, Francisco Arnalich, Jose R Arribas
Journal: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (2015)
Blockade of C5a and C5b-9 generation inhibits leukocyte and platelet activation during extracorporeal circulation.
Authors: C S Rinder, H M Rinder, B R Smith, J C Fitch, M J Smith, J B Tracey, L A Matis, S P Squinto, S A Rollins
Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation (1995)

Complement activation contributes to the systemic inflammatory response induced by cardiopulmonary bypass. At the cellular level, cardiopulmonary bypass activates leukocytes and platelets; however the contribution of early (3a) versus late (C5a, soluble C5b-9) complement components to this activation is unclear. We used a model of simulated extracorporeal circulation that activates complement (C3a, C5a, and C5b-9 formation), platelets (increased percentages of P-selectin-positive platelets and leukocyte-platelet conjugates), and neutrophils (upregulated CD11b expression). to specifically target complement activation in this model, we added a blocking mAb directed at the human C5 complement component and assessed its effect on complement and cellular activation. Compared with a control mAB, the anti-human C5 mAb profoundly inhibited C5a and soluble C5b-9 generation and serum complement hemolytic activity but had no effect on C3a generation. Additionally, the anti-human C5 mAb significantly inhibited neutrophil CD11b upregulation and abolished the increase in P-selectin-positive platelets and leukocyte-platelet conjugate formation compared to experiments performed with the control mAb. This suggests that the terminal components C5a and C5b-9, but not C3a, directly contribute to platelet and neutrophil activation during extracorporeal circulation. Furthermore, these data identify the C5 component as a site for therapeutic intervention in cardiopulmonary bypass.
Clinical and radiographic outcomes at 2 years and the effect of tocilizumab discontinuation following sustained remission in the second and third year of the ACT-RAY study
Authors: T W J Huizinga, Philip G Conaghan, Emilio Martin-Mola, Georg Schett, Howard Amital, Ricardo M Xavier, Orrin Troum, Maher Aassi, Corrado Bernasconi, Maxime Dougados
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2014)

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) plus methotrexate/placebo (MTX/PBO) over 2 years and the course of disease activity in patients who discontinued TCZ due to sustained remission. Methods ACT-RAY was a double-blind 3-year trial. Patients with active rheumatoid arthritis despite MTX were randomised to add TCZ to ongoing MTX (add-on strategy) or switch to TCZ plus PBO (switch strategy). Using a treat-to-target approach, open-label conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), other than MTX, were added from week 24 if Disease Activity Score in 28 joints based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) &gt;3.2. Between weeks 52 and 104, patients in sustained clinical remission (DAS28-ESR &lt;2.6 at two consecutive visits 12 weeks apart) discontinued TCZ and were assessed every 4 weeks for 1 year. If sustained remission was maintained, added csDMARDs, then MTX/PBO, were discontinued. Results Of the 556 randomised patients, 76% completed year 2. Of patients entering year 2, 50.4% discontinued TCZ after achieving sustained remission and 5.9% achieved drug-free remission. Most patients who discontinued TCZ (84.0%) had a subsequent flare, but responded well to TCZ reintroduction. Despite many patients temporarily stopping TCZ, radiographic progression was minimal, with differences favouring add-on treatment. Rates of serious adverse events and serious infections per 100 patient-years were 12.2 and 4.4 in add-on and 15.0 and 3.7 in switch patients. In patients with normal baseline values, alanine aminotransferase elevations &gt;3×upper limit of normal were more frequent in add-on (14.3%) versus switch patients (5.4%). Conclusions Treat-to-target strategies could be successfully implemented with TCZ to achieve sustained remission, after which TCZ was stopped. Biologic-free remission was maintained for about 3 months, but most patients eventually flared. TCZ restart led to rapid improvement. Trial registration number NCT00810199.
Cap-Assisted Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in a Patient with a Billroth II Gastrectomy
Authors: Y. T. Lee
Journal: Endoscopy (2004)

A 73-year-old man was admitted with cholangitis. He had undergone a Billroth II gastrectomy 20 years before. His liver function tests showed an obstructive pattern of abnormalities and ultrasound revealed a dilated common bile duct with stones at the distal end. Emergency endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was commenced but the papilla could not be identified with the duodenoscope in the afferent loop. An end-viewing gastroscope was used to repeat the examination, and the papilla was found to be situated very close to the stump of the afferent loop and the opening was facing backwards, which made cannulation of the bile duct impossible (Figure [1] a). A transparent cap (Olympus Distal Attachments MH-593; Olympus Tokyo, Japan) was then attached to the gastroscope and the examination was repeated. The side wall of the papilla was pushed with the cap and the opening was turned to face the scope (Figure [1] b). The bile duct was then cannulated and a stent was inserted for drainage (Figure [2]). The cholangiogram showed three 1-cm stones at the distal end of the common bile duct.
Inhibin B and anti-Mullerian hormone as markers of persistent spermatogenesis in men with non-obstructive azoospermia: a meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies
Authors: Konstantinos A Toulis, Paschalia K Iliadou, Christos A Venetis, Christos Tsametis, Basil C Tarlatzis, Ioannis Papadimas, Dimitrios G Goulis
Journal: Human Reproduction Update (2010)

A non-invasive test, which could predict the presence of sperm during a testicular sperm extraction (TESE) procedure in men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), would be of profound clinical importance. Inhibin B (Inh-B) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) have been proposed as direct markers of Sertoli cell function and indirect markers of spermatogenesis.A search was conducted in the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from inception through June 2009. Thirty-six different studies reported data on the predictive value of one or more index markers (serum Inh-B: 32 studies, seminal Inh-B: 5 studies, serum AMH: 2 studies, seminal AMH: 4 studies) and were included in the systematic review. Nine studies, which had serum Inh-B as index marker, met the predefined criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.Serum Inh-B demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56-0.74) and a specificity of 0.83 (CI: 0.64-0.93) for the prediction of the presence of sperm in TESE. When the pre-test probability of 41% was incorporated in a Fagan's nomogram, resulted in a positive post-test probability of 73% and a negative post-test probability of 23% for the presence of sperm in TESE.Serum Inh-B cannot serve as a stand-alone marker of persistent spermatogenesis in men with NOA. Although limited, evidence on serum AMH and serum/seminal AMH do not support their diagnostic value in men with NOA.
The repeatability and criterion related validity of the 20 m multistage fitness test as a predictor of maximal oxygen uptake in active young men
Authors: S-M Cooper, J S Baker, R J Tong, E Roberts, M Hanford
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2005)

Objective: To investigate the repeatability and criterion related validity of the 20 m multistage fitness test (MFT) for predicting maximal oxygen uptake (Vo 2max ) in active young men. Methods: Data were gathered from two phases using 30 subjects (x̄±s; age = 21.8±3.6 years, mass = 76.9±10.7 kg, stature = 1.76±0.05 m). MFT repeatability was investigated in phase 1 where 21 subjects performed the test twice. The MFT criterion validity to predict Vo 2max was investigated in phase 2 where 30 subjects performed a continuous incremental laboratory test to volitional exhaustion to determine Vo 2max and the MFT. Results: Phase 1 showed non-significant bias between the two applications of the MFT (x̄ diff ±s diff = −0.4±1.4 ml kg −1 min −1 ; t = −1.37, p = 0.190) with 95% limits of agreement (LoA) ±2.7 ml kg −1 min −1 and heteroscedasticity 0.223 (p = 0.330). Log transformation of these data reduced heteroscedasticity to 0.056 (p = 0.808) with bias −0.007±0.025 (t = −1.35, p = 0.190) and LoA±0.049. Antilogs gave a mean bias on the ratio scale of 0.993 and random error (ratio limits) ×/÷1.050. Phase 2 showed that the MFT significantly underpredicted Vo 2max (x̄ diff ±s diff = 1.8±3.2 ml kg −1 min −1 ; t = 3.10, p = 0.004). LoA were ±6.3 ml kg −1 min −1 and heteroscedasticity 0.084 (p = 0.658). Log transformation reduced heteroscedasticity to −0.045 (p = 0.814) with LoA±0.110. The significant systematic bias was not eliminated (x̄ diff ±s diff = 0.033±0.056; t = 3.20, p = 0.003). Antilogs gave a mean bias of 1.034 with random error×/÷1.116. Conclusions: These findings lend support to previous investigations of the MFT by identifying that in the population assessed it provides results that are repeatable but it routinely underestimates Vo 2max when compared to laboratory determinations. Unlike previous findings, however, these results show that when applying an arguably more appropriate analysis method, the MFT does not provide valid predictions of Vo 2max .
Evaluation of the Ohmeda 3700 pulse oximeter.
Authors: A R Warley, J H Mitchell, J R Stradling
Journal: Thorax (1987)

<h3>SUMMARY</h3> Axonal swellings (AS) are the neuropathological hallmark of axonal injury in several disorders from trauma to neurodegeneration. Current evidence proposes a role of perturbed Ca<sup>2+</sup> homeostasis in AS formation, involving impaired axonal transport and focal distension of the axons. Mechanisms of AS formation, in particular moments following injury, however, remain unknown. Here we show that AS form independently from intra-axonal Ca<sup>2+</sup> changes, which are required primarily for the persistence of AS in time. We further show that the majority of axonal proteins undergoing de/phosphorylation immediately following injury belong to the cytoskeleton. This correlates with an increase in the distance of the actin/spectrin periodic rings and with microtubule tracks remodeling within AS. Observed cytoskeletal rearrangements support axonal transport without major interruptions. Our results demonstrate that the earliest axonal response to injury consists in physiological adaptations of axonal structure to preserve function rather than in immediate pathological events signaling axonal destruction.
CREG promotes a mature smooth muscle cell phenotype and reduces neointimal formation in balloon-injured rat carotid artery
Authors: Y. Han, J. Deng, L. Guo, C. Yan, M. Liang, J. Kang, H. Liu, A. M. Graham, S. Li
Journal: Cardiovascular Research (2008)

We previously showed that cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes (CREG) is up-regulated during serum starvation-induced vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation. The aim of this study was to determine the role of CREG in maintaining the quiescent, differentiated phenotype of SMCs both in culture and in balloon-injured rat carotid artery. In cultured SMCs recombinant virus-mediated CREG expression enhanced cellular differentiation, inhibited proliferation, and reduced synthesis of extracellular matrix component fibronectin. In contrast, CREG knockdown via retroviral transfer of short hairpin RNAs abrogated serum starvation-induced SMC differentiation and growth arrest. Both immunostaining and Western analysis demonstrated marked down-regulation of CREG in the vascular media after balloon injury to the rat carotid artery. Retrovirus-mediated CREG transfer to the injured artery inhibited SMC dedifferentiation and proliferation, and reduced neointimal hyperplasia. These results suggest that CREG participates in the maintenance of quiescent mature SMC phenotype in the arterial media by promoting SMC differentiation and growth arrest and that CREG gene transfer has therapeutic potential for vascular diseases associated with neointimal hyperplasia.