tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Effects of Intravitreal Ranibizumab on Retinal Hard Exudate in Diabetic Macular Edema
Authors: Amitha Domalpally, Michael S. Ip, Jason S. Ehrlich
Journal: Ophthalmology (2015)

To evaluate the effect of monthly intravitreal ranibizumab on hard exudate (HE) area and the impact of HE on visual acuity (VA) outcomes in diabetic macular edema (DME) patients using data from 2 phase III clinical trials.Exploratory analyses of phase III, randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled, multicenter clinical trials.Adults with DME, baseline best-corrected VA 20/40 to 20/320 Snellen equivalent, and central foveal thickness of ≥275 μm.Between the 2 studies, 759 patients with DME were randomized to receive monthly 0.3 or 0.5 mg intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis; Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA) or sham injections.Hard exudate area was assessed from color fundus stereophotographs both on an ordinal scale and using continuous estimates of areas within the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grid.Data from 739 eyes were available for analysis. Mean baseline HE area was similar across treatment groups, ranging from 0.65 to 0.82 mm(2). Through month 24, the percentage of eyes without HE increased from 20.9% to 36.3% in the sham group and from 22.1% to 61.3% and 23.6% to 62.0% in the ranibizumab 0.3-mg and 0.5-mg groups, respectively. Resolution of HE became apparent sometime after month 6 in ranibizumab-treated eyes. At baseline, there was no meaningful correlation between VA and presence or absence of HE. After baseline, there also was no consistent correlation between presence or absence of HE and change in VA over time.In this exploratory analysis, monthly intravitreal ranibizumab resulted in significantly greater reduction of HE area compared with sham (P < 0.0001). In contrast to the rapid effects of ranibizumab on macular edema, changes in HE area were more gradual. Contrary to prior expectations, the presence and area of HE did not increase as DME resolved (either in the ranibizumab or sham groups). Importantly, baseline VA was not correlated with presence of HE, nor was the therapeutic benefit of ranibizumab on VA affected negatively by the presence of HE. These data suggest that in the context of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, the presence of HE is not a prognostic indicator of poor visual outcomes.
Harnessing the Power of the Immune System to Target Cancer
Authors: Gregory Lizée, Willem W. Overwijk, Laszlo Radvanyi, Jianjun Gao, Padmanee Sharma, Patrick Hwu
Journal: Annual Review of Medicine (2012)

For many years, immunotherapeutic approaches for cancer held more promise than actual clinical benefit for the majority of patients. However, several recent key advances in tumor immunology have now turned the tide in favor of immunotherapy for the treatment of many different cancer types. In this review, we describe four of the most effective immunotherapeutic approaches currently used in the clinic: cancer vaccines, immunostimulatory agents, adoptive T cell therapy, and immune checkpoint blockade. In addition, we discuss some of the most promising future strategies that aim to utilize multiple immunotherapies or combine them with other approaches to more effectively target cancer.
Postprandial Hypertriglyceridemia Increases Circulating Levels of Endothelial Cell Microparticles
Authors: Alexandre C. Ferreira, Arley A. Peter, Armando J. Mendez, Joaquín J. Jimenez, Lucia M. Mauro, Julio A. Chirinos, Reyan Ghany, Salim Virani, Santiago Garcia, Lawrence L. Horstman, Joshua Purow, Wenche Jy, Yeon S. Ahn, Eduardo de Marchena
Journal: Circulation (2004)

Background— This study evaluated a possible relationship between levels of endothelial microparticles (EMPs), known to be a sensitive indicator of endothelial disturbance, and changes in postprandial lipid levels in healthy volunteers after a low- or high-fat meal. Methods and Results— Eighteen healthy subjects without known cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated. Lipid and EMP levels were measured before and 1 and 3 hours after a single low- or high-fat isocaloric meal. The low-fat meal had no significant postprandial effect on EMPs or lipids compared with fasting levels. In contrast, a single high-fat meal significantly increased EMP levels after 1 and 3 hours, from 389±54 (thousands per milliliter) when fasting to 541±139 ( P =0.0002) and 677±159 ( P &lt;0.0001), respectively, and correlated with a postprandial elevation in serum triglycerides. Conclusions— A single high-fat meal led to a significant elevation of plasma EMP levels in healthy, normolipidemic subjects and correlated with a postprandial elevation of serum triglycerides. EMPs may be an indirect marker of endothelial dysfunction or injury induced by postprandial triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.
The influence of consulting primary care on knee pain in older people: a prospective cohort study
Authors: M Blagojevic, C Jinks, K P Jordan
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2008)

<h3>Objective:</h3> To investigate whether consulting a general practicioner (GP) in the 3 years after reporting knee pain is linked to better knee pain outcomes (reduced presence or severity of knee pain) at the end of the 3 year period. <h3>Methods:</h3> We undertook a population-based cohort study linking baseline (2000) and follow-up (2003) surveys to primary care medical records. The cohort comprised 1577 adults aged 50 and over registered at 3 general practices in North Staffordshire, UK, who reported knee pain in a baseline survey. The main outcome measures were self-reported prevalence of knee pain and severity of knee pain in the follow-up survey. The relationship between consultation and future knee pain status was adjusted for an individual's propensity to consult given related demographic and health-related factors. <h3>Results:</h3> In persons who consulted for knee pain, 91% reported knee pain at 3 years, compared with 73% of those who did not consult (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.25; 95% CI 1.56 to 3.26). Among persons reporting severe knee pain or disability at baseline (n = 669), those who consulted for knee pain were more likely to report severe knee pain or disability at 3 years than those who did not consult (82% v 65%, adjusted OR 1.93; 95% CI 1.27 to 2.93). <h3>Conclusions:</h3> Older adults with knee pain continue to have persistent problems regardless of whether they consult primary care or not. Further research is needed to identify more effective means of reducing the burden of knee pain in the community.
Syngeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells that are genetically modified to express factor VIII in platelets restores hemostasis to hemophilia A mice with preexisting FVIII immunity
Authors: Qizhen Shi, Scot A. Fahs, David A. Wilcox, Erin L. Kuether, Patricia A. Morateck, Nicole Mareno, Hartmut Weiler, Robert R. Montgomery
Journal: Blood (2008)
Intrapericardial, Intrapleural, and Intracardiac Pressures during Acute Heart Failure in Dogs Studied without Thoracotomy
Authors: HARRIS M. KENNER, EARL H. WOOD
Journal: Circulation Research (1966)

Pressures at multiple sites in the thorax of supine anesthetized dogs were recorded simultaneously with fluid-filled catheters inserted percutaneously. Pleural and pericardial pressures were corrected to the level of their respective recording catheter tips as determined by roentgenograms. Intracardiac pressures were referred to the midthoracic coronal plane or to the vertical level of the pericardial catheter tip. Pericardial pressures at end-expiration averaged -5.0 cm H 2 O (range 0 to - 13) and varied with the vertical position of the catheter tip, becoming less negative as the height above the midthoracic coronal plane diminished. Acute right heart failure was produced by partial obstruction of the pulmonary artery by a catheter-tip balloon. Although mean right atrial pressure increased by an average of 26 cm H 2 O, consistent increases in pericardial pressure did not occur. Similarly, during acute obstruction to left ventricular outflow by inflation of a balloon within the thoracic aorta, left atrial end-diastolic pressure increased by an average of 14.5 cm H 2 O, but no consistent increase in pericardial pressure was recorded. No systematic changes in pleural pressure were detected in either case. Thus there was no evidence of pericardial restriction of cardiac dilatation during acute heart failure under these experimental conditions.
Reevaluating the imaging definition of tumor progression: perfusion MRI quantifies recurrent glioblastoma tumor fraction, pseudoprogression, and radiation necrosis to predict survival
Authors: L. S. Hu, J. M. Eschbacher, J. E. Heiserman, A. C. Dueck, W. R. Shapiro, S. Liu, J. P. Karis, K. A. Smith, S. W. Coons, P. Nakaji, R. F. Spetzler, B. G. Feuerstein, J. Debbins, L. C. Baxter
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2012)

INTRODUCTION: Contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) represents the current mainstay for monitoring treatment response in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), based on the premise that enlarging lesions reflect increasing tumor burden, treatment failure, and poor prognosis. Unfortunately, irradiating such tumors can induce changes in CE-MRI that mimic tumor recurrence, so called post treatment radiation effect (PTRE), and in fact, both PTRE and tumor re-growth can occur together. Because PTRE represents treatment success, the relative histologic fraction of tumor growth versus PTRE affects survival. Studies suggest that Perfusion MRI (pMRI)–based measures of relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) can noninvasively estimate histologic tumor fraction to predict clinical outcome. There are several proposed pMRI-based analytic methods, although none have been correlated with overall survival (OS). This study compares how well histologic tumor fraction and OS correlate with several pMRI-based metrics. METHODS: We recruited previously treated patients with GBM undergoing surgical re-resection for suspected tumor recurrence and calculated preoperative pMRI-based metrics within CE-MRI enhancing lesions: rCBV mean, mode, maximum, width, and a new thresholding metric called pMRI–fractional tumor burden (pMRI-FTB). We correlated all pMRI-based metrics with histologic tumor fraction and OS. RESULTS: Among 25 recurrent patients with GBM, histologic tumor fraction correlated most strongly with pMRI-FTB (r = 0.82; P < .0001), which was the only imaging metric that correlated with OS (P<.02). CONCLUSION: The pMRI-FTB metric reliably estimates histologic tumor fraction (i.e., tumor burden) and correlates with OS in the context of recurrent GBM. This technique may offer a promising biomarker of tumor progression and clinical outcome for future clinical trials.
Is Physician Gender Associated With the Quality of Diabetes Care?
Authors: Catherine Kim, Laura N. McEwen, Robert B. Gerzoff, David G. Marrero, Carol M. Mangione, Joseph V. Selby, William H. Herman
Journal: Diabetes Care (2005)

OBJECTIVE—This study examines the association between physician gender and diabetes quality of care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We examined the association between the gender of primary care physicians (n = 1,686) and the quality of diabetes care they provided to their patients participating in the Translating Research Into Action for Diabetes (TRIAD) study. Main outcome measures were diabetes processes of care including receipt of dilated retinal exams, urine microalbumin/protein testing, foot exams, lipid and HbA1c (A1C) testing, recommendation to take aspirin, and influenza vaccination over 1 year. Intermediate outcomes included blood pressure, A1C, LDL levels, and patient satisfaction. Hierarchical regression models accounted for clustering within provider groups and health plans and adjusted for patient age, gender, race, income, education, diabetes treatment and duration, and health status, along with physician age, years of practice, and specialty. RESULTS—Compared with male physicians (n = 1,213), female physicians (n = 473) were younger, had more recently completed training, and were more often internists. Patients of female physicians (n = 4,585) were more often women and younger than patients of male physicians (n = 1,783). In adjusted analyses, patients of female physicians were slightly more likely to receive lipid measurements (predicted probability 1.09 [95% CI 1.02–1.15]) and A1C measurements (1.02 [1.00–1.05]) and were slightly more likely to have an LDL &amp;lt;130 mg/dl (1.05 [1.00–1.10]). CONCLUSIONS— Patients of female physicians received similar quality of care compared with patients of male physicians.
The Continuous Glucose Monitoring System Is Useful for Detecting Unrecognized Hypoglycemias in Patients With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes but Is Not Better Than Frequent Capillary Glucose Measurements for Improving Metabolic Control
Authors: Ana Chico, Pablo Vidal-Ríos, Montserrat Subirà, Anna Novials
Journal: Diabetes Care (2003)

OBJECTIVE—To evaluate whether the continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS; MiniMed, Sylmar, CA) is useful for investigating the incidence of unrecognized hypoglycemias in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients and for improving metabolic control in type 1 diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A total of 70 diabetic subjects (40 type 1 and 30 type 2 subjects) were monitored using the CGMS. The number of unrecognized hypoglycemias was registered. Furthermore, the 40 type 1 diabetic patients whose treatment was modified in accordance with the information obtained from the CGMS were compared with a control group of 35 different type 1 diabetic patients using intensive capillary glucose measurements. HbA1c levels were measured before the monitoring period and 3 months later. RESULTS—The CGMS detected unrecognized hypoglycemias in 62.5% of the type 1 diabetic patients and in 46.6% of the type 2 diabetic patients. We found that 73.7% of all events occurred at night. HbA1c concentrations decreased significantly in both the group of type 1 diabetic subjects monitored with the CGMS (from 8.3 ± 1.6 to 7.5 ± 1.2%, P &amp;lt; 0.01) and the control group (from 8.0 ± 1.4 to 7.5 ± 0.8%, P &amp;lt; 0.01). The greatest reduction was observed in the subgroup of patients who started continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion therapy, both in the CGMS-monitored and control groups (from 9.4 ± 2 to 7.2 ± 1.4% and from 8.1 ± 1.8 to 7.1 ± 0.6%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS—The CGMS is useful for detecting unrecognized hypoglycemias in type 1 and type 2 diabetic subjects; however, it is not better than standard capillary glucose measurements for improving metabolic control of type 1 diabetic subjects, regardless of the therapeutic regimen.
Improved Activity of an Actin-resistant DNase I Variant on the Cystic Fibrosis Airway Secretions
Authors: JEAN-MARIE ZAHM, CÉLINE DEBORDEAUX, CYRIL MAURER, DOMINIQUE HUBERT, DANIEL DUSSER, NOEL BONNET, ROBERT A. LAZARUS, EDITH PUCHELLE
Journal: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2001)

In cystic fibrosis (CF), actin and DNA originating from inflammatory cells contribute to the thickness of airway secretions. Actin can bind to DNA-rich fibers and potently inhibit the enzymatic activity of rhDNase. The in vitro effects of the actin-resistant rhDNase variant (A114R) were analyzed and compared with those of the wild-type rhDNase. Frozen and thawed CF airway secretions were incubated for 30 min with different concentrations (0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, or 10 μ g/ml) of either actin-resistant rhDNase or wild-type rhDNase. We observed that both the wild-type and the actin-resistant rhDNase significantly decreased (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively) the airway secretion viscosity. The decrease in airway secretion viscosity was significant even at low concentrations (0.1 μ g/ml) of the actin-resistant variant. Incubation with the actin-resistant variant resulted in a significant decrease (p < 0.02) of the airway secretion contact angle and cough transport. A significantly higher (p < 0.01) increase in contact angle and cough transport of airway secretions was observed at 10 μ g/ml with the actin-resistant variant as compared with the wild-type rhDNase. The present study had demonstrated that the actin-resistant rhDNase variant (A114R) has an enhanced capacity to improve the physical properties and cough transport of airway secretions from patients with cystic fibrosis.
Effect of ciclesonide dose and duration of therapy on exercise-induced bronchoconstriction in patients with asthma
Authors: Padmaja Subbarao, Mylinh Duong, Ellinor Adelroth, Joceline Otis, George Obminski, Mark Inman, Soren Pedersen, Paul M. O'Byrne
Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2006)
Starling resistor versus compliance. Which explains the zero-flow pressure of a dynamic arterial pressure-flow relation?
Authors: S Magder
Journal: Circulation Research (1990)

Arterial pressure at zero flow (Pz = 0) that is higher than venous pressure (Pv) in dynamic pressure-flow relations has been explained by the presence of an arteriolar Starling resistor (SR) mechanism (i.e., vascular waterfall) or the discharge of vascular capacitance. To determine which was predominant, I studied in vivo hind limbs of 18 anesthetized dogs in which femoral arteries were cannulated with in-line electromagnetic flow probes to measure inflow (Qin), Pv was controlled, and collateral flow was eliminated with a tourniquet. Pz = 0 was obtained by turning flow to zero. Three tests were applied: 1) Pv was raised in steps with either constant Qin or constant arterial pressure (Pa) to determine the pressure at which upstream vascular characteristics were affected by a change in Pv, 2) the time to reach Pz = 0 was varied to determine compliance effects, and 3) an equation was developed to determine if experimentally derived parameters could explain Pz = 0 without invoking an SR. With constant Qin and a Pz = 0 of 56.9 +/- 11.7 mm Hg (time to Pz = 0, 3 seconds), Pv could be raised by 9.6 +/- 6.2 to 16.3 +/- 6.0 mm Hg before Pa increased, and with constant Pa, Pv could be raised by 6.8 +/- 7.3 to 14.0 +/- 8.0 mm Hg before Qin decreased. With increasing times to reach Pz = 0, Pz = 0 initially dropped precipitously, but then decreased by only a small amount over the next 5-10 seconds even though arterial pressure was much above Pv. This could be explained by an SR mechanism with a critical pressure of 42.3 +/- 11.4 mm Hg and an arterial compliance of 0.0104 +/- 0.0023 ml.mm Hg-1 (n = 6). There was no value for the compliance that described the results when the arterial outflow pressure was Pv. Thus, this study supports the hypothesis that an SR mechanism is present in the vascular system. It is most likely precapillary, and in the resting limb, it has a value of 40-50 mm Hg. However, Pz = 0 in dynamic pressure-flow studies of less than 4 seconds is also greatly influenced by capacitance effects and the initial Pa.
Cardiac Energy Metabolism: Models of Cellular Respiration
Authors: M. Saleet Jafri, Stephen J. Dudycha, Brian O'Rourke
Journal: Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering (2001)

▪ Abstract The heart requires a large amount of energy to sustain both ionic homeostasis and contraction. Under normal conditions, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production meets this demand. Hence, there is a complex regulatory system that adjusts energy production to meet this demand. However, the mechanisms for this control are a topic of active debate. Energy metabolism can be divided into three main stages: substrate delivery to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, the TCA cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. Each of these processes has multiple control points and exerts control over the other stages. This review discusses the basic stages of energy metabolism, mechanisms of control, and the mathematical and computational models that have been used to study these mechanisms.
THE BACTERIOLOGY OF SOME CASES OF INTERTRIGO.
Authors: M. A. SMITH, PAMELA M. WATERWORTH
Journal: British Journal of Dermatology (1962)

Journal Article THE BACTERIOLOGY OF SOME CASES OF INTERTRIGO. Get access M. A. SMITH, M. A. SMITH Department of Dermatology Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar PAMELA M. WATERWORTH PAMELA M. WATERWORTH Department of Bacteriology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, E.C.I Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 74, Issue 8-9, 1 August 1962, Pages 323–325, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1962.tb13519.x Published: 01 August 1962
Second-Hand Smoke As a Predictor of Smoking Cessation Among Lung Cancer Survivors
Authors: Lawson Eng, Jie Su, Xin Qiu, Prakruthi R. Palepu, Henrique Hon, Ehab Fadhel, Luke Harland, Anthony La Delfa, Steven Habbous, Aidin Kashigar, Sinead Cuffe, Frances A. Shepherd, Natasha B. Leighl, Andrew F. Pierre, Peter Selby, David P. Goldstein, Wei Xu, Geoffrey Liu
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2014)

Second-hand smoke (SHS; ie, exposure to smoking of friends and spouses in the household) reduces the likelihood of smoking cessation in noncancer populations. We assessed whether SHS is associated with cessation rates in lung cancer survivors.Patients with lung cancer were recruited from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada. Multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models evaluated the association of sociodemographics, clinicopathologic variables, and SHS with either smoking cessation or time to quitting.In all, 721 patients completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires with a mean follow-up time of 54 months. Of the 242 current smokers at diagnosis, 136 (56%) had quit 1 year after diagnosis. Exposure to smoking at home (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 6.18; 95% CI, 2.83 to 13.5; P < .001), spousal smoking (aOR, 6.01; 95% CI, 2.63 to 13.8; P < .001), and peer smoking (aOR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.33 to 4.66; P = .0043) were each associated with decreased rates of cessation. Individuals exposed to smoking in all three settings had the lowest chances of quitting (aOR, 9.57; 95% CI, 2.50 to 36.64; P < .001). Results were similar in time-to-quitting analysis, in which 68% of patients who eventually quit did so within 6 months after cancer diagnosis. Subgroup analysis revealed similar associations across early- and late-stage patients and between sexes.SHS is an important factor associated with smoking cessation in lung cancer survivors of all stages and should be a key consideration when developing smoking cessation programs for patients with lung cancer.
Twenty Years Already?
Authors: Vivian Siegel, Raymond Harris, Eric G. Neilson
Journal: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (2009)

With this issue JASN completes its 20th year of continuous publication. JASN's origin was no accident. Many members of the American Society of Nephrology had long sought to compete in the scientific and clinical marketplace of ideas and, although its birth back in 1990 was not painless, JASN was their answer. In this issue, Jared Grantham, the founding editor, reminisces about JASN's birth and early development. Since its beginning, JASN has witnessed many elegant contributions to the science of renal medicine, and the JASN repository of knowledge has strengthened tremendously the field of nephrology. Although two decades is still relatively young by most publishing standards, we felt some celebration and acknowledgment of its accomplishment to be in order—on the cover of this volume we have added a small medallion of attribution to mark this anniversary of JASN's founding. JASN has been a leader in nephrology publishing since inception, and we thank all of the authors, reviewers, and editors who have worked so hard over the years to make our journal such a remarkable success. Happy anniversary to our readers.
Signaling pathways in schizophrenia: emerging targets and therapeutic strategies
Authors: Caline S. Karam, Jacob S. Ballon, Nancy M. Bivens, Zachary Freyberg, Ragy R. Girgis, José E. Lizardi-Ortiz, Sander Markx, Jeffrey A. Lieberman, Jonathan A. Javitch
Journal: Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (2010)