tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
FRI0580 Novel Technique for Precise Calculation of Bone Erosion Volume in RA Patients Using HR-PQCT
Authors: C. Figueiredo, D. Simon, F. Stemmler, J. Rech, A.J. Hueber, J. Haschka, G. Schett, A. Kleyer
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2015)

<h3>Background</h3> Bone erosion is a central feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While the detection and semi-qualtitiative evaluation of erosion size is well established, the quantitative assessment of erosion size is less developed, but essential for precisely determining potential longitudinal changes in erosions <h3>Objectives</h3> To develop a new method to precisely calculate the volume of erosions using High Resolution-peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT) <h3>Methods</h3> HR-pQCT (XtremeCT, Scanco, Switzerland) scans of ACPA positive RA patients were assessed. Erosions were defined as previously described. [1] Additionally we distinguished between regular shaped erosions, defined as having an uninterrupted surface (Fig 1a) and irregular erosions, those with multiple excrescences creating different sections (Fig 1b). After identification, erosions were contoured automatically using the XtremeCT evaluation program (Fig 1c). This allows a segmentation of the erosion, which means 3D reconstruction and volume calculation (Fig 2a-c). This method was applied by two, blinded, independent assessors. To validate the volume erosion measurement, 125 mm<sup>3</sup> cubes were printed using a high resolution 3D printer (Stratasys Objet30) and the same segmentation technique was applied in this geometric printed figure. The statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS V.21.0. Categorical variables were presented as numbers and percentages, continuous variables are provided as mean ± standard deviation. Cohen9s kappa coefficient was used to determine the image reading agreement of the two independent and blinded readers. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 65 RA patients (45 female; 20 male), all ACPA positive, were included and 101 erosions were analyzed. The mean age of all patients was 54.46±12.56 years and the disease duration was 8.4±8.3 years.Inter-reader reliability for the method was 0.997 (CI: 0.996-0.998). The mean erosion volume of all erosions was 30.7±59.6 mm<sup>3</sup>. Irregular shape of erosions was found in 61.39% of all evaluated erosions. When erosions were separated by their shape (regular/irregular) the mean volume for regular erosions was different compared to the irregular with regular erosions being smaller (5.99±7.00 vs. 46.29±71.89mm<sup>3</sup>, p&lt;0.001). Using the 3D printed cube for validation our method we detected an average deviation of 2.9%. <h3>Conclusions</h3> This method allows to measure the exact erosion volume in a feasible way. We achieved high inter-reader reliability and good agreement with the gold-standard, which was the direct measurement of erosion in a 3D print of the erosion. <h3>References</h3> Stach, C.M., et al., Periarticular bone structure in rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy individuals assessed by high-resolution computed tomography. Arthritis Rheum, 2010. 62(2): p. 330-9. <h3>Disclosure of Interest</h3> None declared
243PD Phase 3 study of radium-223 dichloride (Ra-223) in Asian patients (pts) with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and symptomatic bone metastases (mets)
Authors: Y. Sun, H. Shi, C.-H. Chen, J.L. Lee, T.W. Kang, S.H. Park, T.L. Wu, Q.S. Ng, B. Keam, S.C.A. Wong, M.H. Tay, Q. Ding, F. Li, D.C.E. Ng, X. Liu, Z. Zhang, J. Guo
Journal: Annals of Oncology (2015)
Meningococcal infection in Scotland, 1995 to 1997
Authors: S. J. O’Brien, L. E. Smart
Journal: Eurosurveillance (1997)

The incidence of meningococcal infection in Scotland was 4.1 cases per 100 000 population in 1996 compared with 3.8/100 000 in 1995 (210 cases reported in 1996 compared with 193 in 1995). There were 14 deaths, representing a crude case fatality rate of 6.
Update son<i>in Vitro</i>Fertilization
Authors: GEORGEANNA SEEGAR JONES
Journal: Endocrine Reviews (1984)

THE TECHNIQUE for in vitro fertilization was originally devised by Edwards and Steptoe (1) for the relief of otherwise uncorrectable tubal infertility. Oocytes are retrieved surgically from the Graafian follicles and fertilized in the laboratory with the husband's sperm. The conceptus is cultured for 40 h, at which time it is transferred into the uterus at the four-cell stage. A program for in vitro fertilization, therefore, involves the marriage of three major disciplines: reproductive surgery, embryology, and endocrinology; with surgery for the retrieval and transfer of the oocyte and conceptus; embryology for the oocyte culture and fertilization; and endocrinology for stimulation of multiple follicle development. The importance of surgical skills is self-evident, as laparoscopic oocyte retrieval may be difficult in patients who have had multiple operative procedures. Because the procedures are done under anesthesia, hospital facilities, at least on an outpatient basis, are a requirement.
THU0171 Breastfeeding is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis Among Korean Women: Table 1.
Authors: Y.-J. Ha, Y.J. Lee, S.W. Chung, E.H. Kang, Y.W. Song
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2015)

<h3>Background</h3> Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis with female-predominance, and is 2-4 times more likely to develop in women than in man. Hence, researchers have suggested that immunological aspects of sex hormones may influence the induction of autoimmunity, and several epidemiological studies have tried to find relevant reproduction factors on the development of RA. However, results of these studies are inconsistent and most study populations were Caucasian. <h3>Objectives</h3> To investigate the contributions of breastfeeding and other reproductive factor in relation to RA in Korean population. <h3>Methods</h3> From the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES V) (2010-2012) dataset, we identified 279 female patients who were diagnosed as RA by physician and ten age-matched female controls for every cases were randomly selected. Data on reproductive factors were derived from a self-administered questionnaire. The relationship between potential risk factors, including smoking, socioeconomic status, breastfeeding, parity, age at first birth, age at menarche, use of oral contraceptives, and use of postmenopausal hormones and RA was estimated using logistic regression models. <h3>Results</h3> Two hundred and seventy-nine women with RA were compared with 2790 age-matched controls. The mean age of RA diagnosis was 47.9±15.3 years. Female patients with RA were significantly more likely to have low waist circumference and multiparity. There was no difference in the age at menarche, age at menopause, use of oral contraceptives, and use of postmenopausal hormones between those with and without RA. Among women who had at least one live birth, those who ever breastfed were associated with low risk of having RA after adjusting related risk factors (odds ratio 0.211; 95% CI 0.127-0.349). Also, RA risk was significantly decreased with increasing duration of breastfeeding (Table 1). Neither parity nor use of female hormone drugs had any significant effect on the risk of RA. <h3>Conclusions</h3> In this study, breastfeeding was inversely related to having RA, and this effect was significantly related to the duration of breastfeeding in Korean population. Other reproductive factors were not associated with RA risk. <h3>References</h3> Karlson EW, Mandl LA, Hankinson SE, Grodstein F. Do breast-feeding and other reproductive factors influence future risk of rheumatoid arthritis? Results from the Nurses9 Health Study. Arthritis Rheum 2004;50:3458-67. Marder W, Somers EC. Is pregnancy a risk factor for rheumatic autoimmune diseases? 2014;26:321-8. <h3>Disclosure of Interest</h3> None declared
Soundings: Good morning Iraq
Authors: James Owen Drife
Journal: BMJ (2005)

The Hilton Resort Kuwait is posh. It has expensive shops, a palm-fringed beach, and electric buggies to ferry guests to their villas. Well out of the city centre, it feels secure. The guards at the fortified gate use mirrors to look under your taxi.

We were running a training course on obstetric emergencies and trauma. The ballroom was full of doctors from Kuwait and Iraq, some from places familiar from news bulletins. It hadn't been an easy drive, they told us, but clearly they felt it was worth the trouble.

You might think that doctors from a recent war zone had little to learn about trauma. Our young British team was part of an initiative that has raised emergency training to a new level (I learnt a lot) but perhaps the delegates had been attracted more by the chance to make contact with international medicine.

Our hand luggage had contained latex female torsos which, as it turned out, shortened the airport security checks. As the delegates sat round them in small groups, rapport came easily. They soon realised we had seen action in the labour ward and we realised they were academically gifted people.

During the 1990s maternal mortality in Iraq rose to medieval levels as a result of sanctions. Many women and babies died for want of drugs and transfusions. A hidden tragedy, as always. Maternal death, unlike bombing or gassing, never makes the front page.

The doctors were matter of fact about the war but critical of the failure to plan for its aftermath, though only when asked. Their conversation was courteous and guarded. Looking into their eyes you sensed a depth of life experience that you couldn't fully understand and didn't really want to.

There were surprises. Some Iraqi doctors were fluent in catch phrases from Little Britain. A sponsor had placed two gleaming Range Rovers beside the podium. The trip was organised by a charity, Baby Lifeline, and at the front desk the British ambassador's wife was helping out and selling her own marmalade to raise funds.

The delegates' hunger for knowledge was inspiring. Home again, the trainers began emailing one another about how to improve their manual. You don't often see pure altruism these days but when you do, it's a beautiful sight.
LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP OF EORTC 26951, A RANDOMIZED TRIAL ON ADJUVANT PCV CHEMOTHERAPY IN ANAPLASTIC OLIGODENDROGLIAL TUMORS. A REPORT OF THE EORTC BTG.
Authors: Martin J. van den Bent, Alba A. Brandes, Martin J. Taphoorn, Johan M. Kros, Mathilde C. Kouwenhoven, Jean-Yves Delattre, Hans J. Bernsen, Marc Frenay, Cees C. Tijssen, Wolfgang Grisold, Laslo Sipos, Roelien H. Enting, Pim J. French, Winand N. Dinjens, Charles J. Vecht, Anouk Allgeier, Denis Lacombe, Thierry Gorlia, Khe Hoang Xuan
Journal: Neuro-Oncology (2012)
Living Language
Authors: Lewis Thomas
Journal: New England Journal of Medicine (1973)

STIGMERGY is a new word, invented recently by Grassé to explain the nest-building behavior of termites, perhaps generalizable to other complex activities of social animals.1 , 2 The word is made of Greek roots meaning "to incite to work," and Grassé's intention was to indicate that it is the product of work itself that provides both the stimulus and instructions for further work. He arrived at this after long observation of the construction of termite nests, which, except perhaps for a man-made city, are the most formidable edifices in nature. When you consider the size of an individual termite, photographed standing alongside . . .
Efficacy of antipsychotic medications in behaviorally disturbed dementia patients
Authors: R Barnes, R Veith, J Okimoto, M Raskind, G Gumbrecht
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1982)

This study compared the therapeutic efficacy of thioridazine, loxapine, and a placebo in the treatment of behavioral disturbances in nursing home patients with dementia. Antipsychotic medications were effective for the specific behavioral problems of anxiety, excitement, emotional lability, and uncooperativeness. Subjects with the most severe symptoms at baseline assessment derived the greatest benefit from treatment. Sedation, extrapyramidal symptoms, and decreased blood pressure were common side effects among patients treated with the antipsychotic drugs. The authors conclude that antipsychotic medication has a definite but limited therapeutic role in the treatment of behavioral disturbances in nursing home patients with dementia.
Treatment of Pure Aortic Regurgitation Using a Second-Generation Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation System
Authors: Da Zhu, Lai Wei, Anson Cheung, Yingqiang Guo, Yucheng Chen, Liming Zhu, Huan Liu, Ye Yang, Ji Zhang, Chunsheng Wang
Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2016)
The adult psychiatrist in the medical environment
Authors: G L Moore
Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry (1978)

To function effectively in the medical environment a psychiatrist must be comfortable with the skills and values of medicine. He or she must nurture his or her original knowledge in this area with an ongoing learning program. Certain problems are uniquely encountered in this environment. The psychiatrist must understand that various psychiatric disorders may be masked by or may mask somatic complaints. He or she must expect to deal with threatened and threatening patients. Most important, the psychiatrist must understand that to be effective he or she must make a commitment to involvement.
In vivo efficacy of B43 (anti-CD19)-pokeweed antiviral protein immunotoxin against human pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency
Authors: FM Uckun, C Manivel, D Arthur, LM Chelstrom, D Finnegan, L Tuel-Ahlgren, JD Irvin, DE Myers, R Gunther
Journal: Blood (1992)
AB0340 Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Cardiovascular Risk by 4 Scores in a Mexican Mestizo Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort
Authors: D.A. Galarza-Delgado, I.J. Colunga-Pedraza, J.R. Azpiri, R. Vera-Pineda, J.A. Cardenas-de la Garza, G. Serna-Peña, M.A. Garza-Elizondo, G.E. Ornelas-Cortinas, J. García-Colunga, G. Elizondo, P.R. Colunga-Pedraza, F. Gόngora-Rivera
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2015)

<h3>Background</h3> Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with accelerated atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular risk (CVR). There is no specific CVR score in RA population. Scores developed for general population inaccurately estimate this risk. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurement by ultrasound (US) is a non-invasive method that identifies subclinical atherosclerosis and strongly predicts future cardiovascular disease. <h3>Objectives</h3> Correlate carotid intima-media thickness and the result of 4 different risk scores (Framingham lipids, Framigham BMI, QRisk II, and Omnibus 2013 ACC/AHA cardiovascular risk score) in a cohort of patients with RA. <h3>Methods</h3> Observational, cross-sectional study based on a cohort of 87 Mexican Mestizo patients with RA who fulfilled the 1987/ 2010 ACR classification criteria who attended our referral center. Clinical assessment of cardiovascular comorbidities, disease activity, anthropometry, lipid profiles, and carotid Doppler US for measurement of intima-media thickness and plaque were performed. Simple bivariate correlations for cardiovascular risk by the 4 models were analyzed against CIMT by Spearman9s correlation coefficient. To determine difference between each of the correlations, bivariate correlations comparison was performed by Steiger9s Z-test. <h3>Results</h3> 87 patients were included in the analysis. Demographic characteristics and correlations are shown on Table 1. Plaque was recorded in 38 patients (43.67%). CIMT median was 0.08cm (IQR 0.07-0.09). A positive correlation was found between all CVR scores evaluated and CIMT (p&lt;.01). All of the correlations showed no statistically significant difference between themselves. <h3>Conclusions</h3> All 4 scales positively correlated with CIMT. QRisk II incorporates RA into its CVR calculation and showed a trend toward a better performance than the other 3 scales, although this difference was not statistically significant. A specific CVR score designed for RA patients could improve the prediction of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease in this population. <h3>References</h3> Arts EE, Popa C, Den Broeder AA, et al. Performance of four current risk algorithms in predicting cardiovascular events in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2014; 0:1-7. Lorenz MW, Markus HS, Bots ML, et al. Prediction of clinical cardiovascular events with carotid intima-media thickness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation 2007;115:459-67. <h3>Disclosure of Interest</h3> None declared
Comprehensive analysis of promoter-proximal RNA polymerase II pausing across mammalian cell types
Authors: Daniel S. Day, Bing Zhang, Sean M. Stevens, Francesco Ferrari, Erica N. Larschan, Peter J. Park, William T. Pu
Journal: Genome biology (2016)

For many genes, RNA polymerase II stably pauses before transitioning to productive elongation. Although polymerase II pausing has been shown to be a mechanism for regulating transcriptional activation, the extent to which it is involved in control of mammalian gene expression and its relationship to chromatin structure remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze 85 RNA polymerase II chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing experiments from 35 different murine and human samples, as well as related genome-wide datasets, to gain new insights into the relationship between polymerase II pausing and gene regulation. Across cell and tissue types, paused genes (pausing index > 2) comprise approximately 60 % of expressed genes and are repeatedly associated with specific biological functions. Paused genes also have lower cell-to-cell expression variability. Increased pausing has a non-linear effect on gene expression levels, with moderately paused genes being expressed more highly than other paused genes. The highest gene expression levels are often achieved through a novel pause-release mechanism driven by high polymerase II initiation. In three datasets examining the impact of extracellular signals, genes responsive to stimulus have slightly lower pausing index on average than non-responsive genes, and rapid gene activation is linked to conditional pause-release. Both chromatin structure and local sequence composition near the transcription start site influence pausing, with divergent features between mammals and Drosophila. Most notably, in mammals pausing is positively correlated with histone H2A.Z occupancy at promoters. Our results provide new insights into the contribution of RNA polymerase II pausing in mammalian gene regulation and chromatin structure.
Inhibition of SOAT1 Suppresses Glioblastoma Growth via Blocking SREBP-1–Mediated Lipogenesis
Authors: Feng Geng, Xiang Cheng, Xiaoning Wu, Ji Young Yoo, Chunming Cheng, Jeffrey Yunhua Guo, Xiaokui Mo, Peng Ru, Brian Hurwitz, Sung-Hak Kim, Jose Otero, Vinay Puduvalli, Etienne Lefai, Jianjie Ma, Ichiro Nakano, Craig Horbinski, Balveen Kaur, Arnab Chakravarti, Deliang Guo
Journal: Clinical Cancer Research (2016)

Elevated lipogenesis regulated by sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), a transcription factor playing a central role in lipid metabolism, is a novel characteristic of glioblastoma (GBM). The aim of this study was to identify effective approaches to suppress GBM growth by inhibition of SREBP-1. As SREBP activation is negatively regulated by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) cholesterol, we sought to determine whether suppression of sterol O-acyltransferase (SOAT), a key enzyme converting ER cholesterol to cholesterol esters (CE) to store in lipid droplets (LDs), effectively suppressed SREBP-1 and blocked GBM growth.
Impact of Endoscopic Ultrasound Combined with Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy in the Management of Esophageal Cancer
Authors: K J Chang, R M Soetikno, D Bastas, C Tu, P T Nguyen
Journal: Endoscopy (2003)

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in combination with fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) is a highly accurate method for the preoperative staging of esophageal cancer. Its impact on medical decision-making and the cost of care is unknown. This prospective case series was undertaken in order to determine the impact of EUS in combination with FNA on patients' choice of therapy and on the cost of care.Sixty consecutive patients with esophageal cancer, referred for preoperative EUS staging in a large tertiary-care academic medical center, were enrolled. The accuracy of EUS, the impact of EUS-based staging on the patients' choice of therapy, and costs were studied.The accuracy rates for EUS combined with FNA in tumor and lymph-node staging were 83 % and 89 %, respectively. Twenty-five patients (42 %) had EUS stage I and II and were candidates for curative surgery. Twenty-eight patients (47 %) had stage III, and seven (12 %) had stage IV. All patients with stage I had surgery, while all patients with stage IV had medical therapy. The majority (62 %) of patients with stage II had surgery, while only a minority (25 %) of patients with stage III had surgery. Thirty-six patients (60 %) underwent medical therapy. Patients' medical decisions in favor of surgical or medical therapy correlated strongly with the results of their EUS staging ( P = 0.005), but not with age, sex, or referring physicians (surgeons vs. nonsurgeons). EUS-guided therapy potentially decreased the cost of care by $ 740 424 ($ 12 340/patient) by reducing the number of thoracotomies.Patients' decisions regarding therapy correlated with their overall tumor staging, suggesting that the information provided by EUS played a significant role in patients' decision-making. The use of EUS in combination with FNA reduces the cost of managing patients with esophageal cancer.
Moves app: a digital diary to track physical activity and location
Authors: Kelly R Evenson, Robert D Furberg
Journal: British Journal of Sports Medicine (2016)

The aspartic proteinase cathepsin D was purified from human spleen and localised in various formalin fixed paraffin embedded human tissues using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique. Cathepsin D was shown not only in macrophages but also in other connective tissue cells, and in epithelium. It was present in spleen (littoral cells and cells within Malpighian bodies), liver (hepatocytes and Kupffer cells), lung (alveolar macrophages and bronchial epithelium), brain (neurones), lymph nodes (histiocytes in germinal centres, sinusoid lining cells) and stomach (parietal and mucous neck cells). Cathepsin D was also found in carcinomas of bronchus, stomach, colon, kidney, breast, ovary, bladder and pancreas, both in neoplastic epithelium and in stromal cells, but was seldom present in connective tissue neoplasms. A group of malignant lymphomas also contained the enzyme within scattered cells. The distribution of cathepsin D seems to be much wider than that of the structurally related aspartic proteinases pepsin, gastricsin, and renin.