tbuckley/cabot-search huggingface dataset:
Measuring human capital: a systematic analysis of 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016
Authors: Stephen S Lim, Rachel L Updike, Alexander S Kaldjian, Ryan M Barber, Krycia Cowling, Hunter York, Joseph Friedman, R Xu, Joanna L Whisnant, Heather J Taylor, Andrew T Leever, Yesenia Roman, Miranda F Bryant, Joseph Dieleman, Emmanuela Gakidou, Christopher J L Murray
Journal: The Lancet (2018)

BackgroundHuman capital is recognised as the level of education and health in a population and is considered an important determinant of economic growth. The World Bank has called for measurement and annual reporting of human capital to track and motivate investments in health and education and enhance productivity. We aim to provide a new comprehensive measure of human capital across countries globally.MethodsWe generated a period measure of expected human capital, defined for each birth cohort as the expected years lived from age 20 to 64 years and adjusted for educational attainment, learning or education quality, and functional health status using rates specific to each time period, age, and sex for 195 countries from 1990 to 2016. We estimated educational attainment using 2522 censuses and household surveys; we based learning estimates on 1894 tests among school-aged children; and we based functional health status on the prevalence of seven health conditions, which were taken from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016). Mortality rates specific to location, age, and sex were also taken from GBD 2016.FindingsIn 2016, Finland had the highest level of expected human capital of 28·4 health, education, and learning-adjusted expected years lived between age 20 and 64 years (95% uncertainty interval 27·5–29·2); Niger had the lowest expected human capital of less than 1·6 years (0·98–2·6). In 2016, 44 countries had already achieved more than 20 years of expected human capital; 68 countries had expected human capital of less than 10 years. Of 195 countries, the ten most populous countries in 2016 for expected human capital were ranked: China at 44, India at 158, USA at 27, Indonesia at 131, Brazil at 71, Pakistan at 164, Nigeria at 171, Bangladesh at 161, Russia at 49, and Mexico at 104. Assessment of change in expected human capital from 1990 to 2016 shows marked variation from less than 2 years of progress in 18 countries to more than 5 years of progress in 35 countries. Larger improvements in expected human capital appear to be associated with faster economic growth. The top quartile of countries in terms of absolute change in human capital from 1990 to 2016 had a median annualised growth in gross domestic product of 2·60% (IQR 1·85–3·69) compared with 1·45% (0·18–2·19) for countries in the bottom quartile.InterpretationCountries vary widely in the rate of human capital formation. Monitoring the production of human capital can facilitate a mechanism to hold governments and donors accountable for investments in health and education.FundingInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Abstract 11569: Activation of cAMP/CREB/PGC-1α Pathway Plays a Key Role for a Novel Adenosine-like Angiogenic Agent COA-Cl to Induce Production of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in Cultured Human Fibroblasts
Authors: Ryuji Okamoto, Junsuke Igarashi, Takeshi Hashimoto, Tetsuo Yamashita, Kazuyo Shoji, Yasuo Kubota, Norikazu Sakakibara, Ikuko Tsukamoto, Ryoji Konishi, Katsuya Hirano
Journal: Circulation (2015)

COA-Cl is a recently developed pro-angiogenic agent (Figure) that promotes tube forming activity of human umbilical vein endothelial cells that are co-cultured with fibroblasts. Recently, a metabolic stress-related co-transcription factor termed PGC-1α was identified as a novel activator of VEGF gene, a key regulator of angiogenesis. In skeletal muscle, the cAMP/CREB signaling pathway plays a central role in inducing PGC-1α expression. We therefore hypothesized that COA-Cl induces PGC-1α to promote VEGF production by elevating cAMP and activating CREB in fibroblasts. COA-Cl (100 μM for 48 h) augmented VEGF secretion into culture medium of normal human dermal fibroblasts from below the level of detection to 54±4 pg/mL (ELISA, p&lt;0.01 vs. basal). This enhancement of VEGF secretion was associated with up-regulation of mRNA encoding VEGF and PGC-1α (RT-PCR, 2.1±0.3 and 9.9±0.8 fold, p&lt;0.05, respectively). Induction of PGC-1α expression by COA-Cl was attenuated by 49±4% (p&lt;0.01 vs. COA-Cl alone) by H-89 (100 μM), an inhibitor of PKA. Conversely, forskolin (25 μM), a direct stimulator of adenylyl cyclase that increases cAMP, increased VEGF production (423±20 pg/mL, p&lt;0.01 vs. basal) and expression of mRNA encoding both VEGF and PGC-1α. COA-Cl induced an increase in cAMP content (ELISA) and phosphorylation of CREB at Ser133 (immunoblot), a PKA site associated with an increased transcriptional activity of CREB, in a time- and dose-dependent manner (4.4±0.3 and 2.3±0.2 fold at 100 μM COA-Cl for 20 min, p&lt;0.05, respectively). In COS-7 fibroblast-like cells, COA-Cl elevated luciferase activity of transfected reporter construct driven by CRE, which is regulated by cAMP/CREB (2.4±0.1 fold at 200 μM COA-Cl for 24 h). Collectively, our results demonstrate that COA-Cl elevates cAMP and activates CREB in human fibroblasts to induce PGC-1α expression, thereby promoting VEGF transcription and secretion, potentially identifying a novel way to induce therapeutic angiogenesis.
Influenza and Tdap Vaccination Coverage Among Pregnant Women — United States, April 2018
Authors: Katherine E. Kahn, Carla L. Black, Helen Ding, Walter W. Williams, Peng-Jun Lu, Amy Parker Fiebelkorn, Fiona Havers, Denise V. D’Angelo, Sarah Ball, Rebecca V. Fink, Rebecca Devlin
Journal: MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2018)

Vaccinating pregnant women with influenza and tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccines can reduce the risk for influenza and pertussis for themselves and their infants. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that all women who are or might be pregnant during the influenza season receive influenza vaccine, which can be administered any time during pregnancy (1). The ACIP also recommends that women receive Tdap during each pregnancy, preferably from 27 through 36 weeks' gestation (2). To assess influenza and Tdap vaccination coverage among women pregnant during the 2017-18 influenza season, CDC analyzed data from an Internet panel survey conducted during March 28-April 10, 2018. Among 1,771 survey respondents pregnant during the peak influenza vaccination period (October 2017-January 2018), 49.1% reported receiving influenza vaccine before or during their pregnancy. Among 700 respondents who had a live birth, 54.4% reported receiving Tdap during their pregnancy. Women who reported receiving a provider offer of vaccination had higher vaccination coverage than did women who received a recommendation but no offer and women who did not receive a recommendation. Reasons for nonvaccination included concern about effectiveness of the influenza vaccine and lack of knowledge regarding the need for Tdap vaccination during every pregnancy. Provider offers or referrals for vaccination in combination with patient education could reduce missed opportunities for vaccination and increase vaccination coverage among pregnant women.
Clinically relevant thresholds for ultrasensitive HIV drug resistance testing: a multi-country nested case-control study
Authors: Seth C Inzaule, Raph L Hamers, Marc Noguera-Julian, Maria Casadellà, Mariona Parera, Cissy Kityo, Kim Steegen, Denise Naniche, Bonaventura Clotet, Tobias F Rinke de Wit, Roger Paredes, Akin Osibogun, Carole L. Wallis, Cathy Nalubwama, Esrom Letsoalo, Fred Senono, Hameed Adelabu, Hanipha Kakooza, Harriet Namata, Ian Sanne, Immaculate Nankya, Jack Menke, Joep M.A. Lange, Kim C.E. Sigaloff, Kishor Mandaliya, Margaret Hardman, Margaret Siwale, Marleen de Jager, Marian Dolan, Mariette E. Botes, Martin O'Mello, Maureen Wellington, Miiro Mutebi, Miriam Nakitto, Moheb Labib, Nadine Pakker, Pascale Ondoa, Peter Mugyenyi, Prudence Ive, Ritah Nakanjako, Rob Schuurman, Ruedi Lüthy, Sheila N. Balinda, Sulaimon Akanmu, T. Sonia Boender, Titilope A. Adeyemo, Tope Rodoye, Wendy S. Stevens, Winnie Namala
Journal: The Lancet HIV (2018)
Defining a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) selection process: What criteria should be considered when choosing a PROM for routine symptom assessment in clinical practice?
Authors: Nicole Montgomery, Susan J Bartlett, Michael Donald Brundage, Denise Bryant-Lukosius, Doris Howell, Zahra Ismail, Monika K. Krzyzanowska, Lesley Moody, Claire Frances Snyder, Monica Staley Liang, Lisa Barbera
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2018)

187 Background: PROMs capture the patient’s perspective on their health status and thus improve person-centred care. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System has been the standard PROM used for all patients in Ontario. Recently, Cancer Care Ontario has chosen to expand the use of PROMs by adding cancer specific tools. The objective of this work was to develop a process to systematically evaluate and select PROMs for routine use in clinical practice. Methods: The development of the PROM selection process included several steps: 1) a literature scan to identify existing PROM selection guidelines and considerations; 2) development of clinically relevant criteria by a panel of methodological experts and patient advisors; and 3) use of a case study to test the process and identify gaps. In the case study, disease-site experts and patients were given the opportunity to review the PROMs and provide feedback. Results: The literature scan highlighted six resources endorsing three common considerations for PROM selection: symptom coverage, usability, and psychometric properties. The expert panel further developed criteria for each consideration. Symptom coverage criteria include percentage of prevalent, bothersome and expert endorsed symptoms addressed by the PROM. Usability criteria include: reference time-frame, scale, time to complete, scoring, plain language and translations. Psychometric criteria are: internal consistency, reliability, responsiveness, discrimination ability, meaningful change and translation validity. Each consideration is scored as weak, average or good based on how well the criteria are met. A summary matrix illustrates the overall assessment. In the case study, the selection process identified two top-performing PROMs; disease-specific patient focus groups were held to inform the final decision. Conclusions: This rigorous evaluation of candidate measures resulted in the selection of a PROM that was accepted by methodological experts, clinical advisors and patients. The case study demonstrated the value of disease-specific patient input on PROM selection.
Splenic Metastases: Diagnostic Methods
Authors: Eva Compérat, Frédéric Charlotte
Journal: Liver Cancer (2009)

Metastases from solid tumors to the spleen due to hematogenous dissemination are confined to the splenic parenchyma, and should not be confused with small superficial subcapsular foci associated with peritoneal dissemination observed in ovarian cancers (Tserkezoglou et al., 2005). According to this definition, splenic metastases were thought to be excep tional but the incidence of reported cases has been increasing due to the improvement of medical imaging and the long-term follow-up of patients with cancer. Metastases to the spleen generally occur in the context of mul-tivisceral metastatic cancer at terminal stage. Solitary metastases have also been reported (Compérat et al., 2007), and are becoming a diagnostic dilemma with primary tumors of the spleen. After a brief description of epi demiology, pathologic features, pathogenesis and clinical aspects of splenic metastases, this review will outline diagnostic procedures and the differential diagnoses.
Death, Readmissions, and Getting Policy Right
Authors: Ashish K. Jha
Journal: JAMA Network Open (2018)

Rohan Khera, MD; Kumar Dharmarajan, MD, MBA; Yongfei Wang, MS; Zhenqiu Lin, PhD; Susannah M. Bernheim, MD, MHS; Yun Wang, PhD; Sharon-Lise T. Normand, PhD; Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM
Long-term therapy with thiazolidinediones and the risk of bladder cancer: A cohort study.
Authors: Ronac Mamtani, Kevin Haynes, Warren B. Bilker, David J. Vaughn, Brian L. Strom, Karen Glanz, James D. Lewis
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2012)

1503 Background: The US Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory agencies recently warned prescribers that use of pioglitazone, a thiazolidinedione (TZD), may increase the risk of bladder cancer. France and Germany removed the drug from their markets, although the rest of Europe did not. However, no information was available about the risk from alternative TZDs. We aimed to compare bladder cancer risk over time with use of TZDs relative to sulfonylureas (SUs), and between pioglitazone and rosiglitazone. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of patients with type 2 diabetes who initiated treatment with a TZD or SU using The Health Improvement Network (2000-2010), a UK general practitioner medical record database. Incident cancers within the database were identified. We computed hazard ratios (HRs) of bladder cancer for TZDs in comparison to the reference group of SU users. Results: There were 60 incident diagnoses of bladder cancer in the TZD cohort (n=18,459) and 137 in the SU cohort (n=41,396). There was no significant difference in bladder cancer risk between the cohorts (HR 0·93, [95% CI 0·68-1·29]), but most use was short-term use. In contrast, the risk of bladder cancer increased with increasing time since initiation of TZD versus SU therapy (HRs 1·15, 1·40, and 1·72 for 3-4, 4-5, and ≥ 5 years, respectively; P-trend=0·033). Bladder cancer risk also increased with increasing time since initiation of pioglitazone (P-trend&lt;0·001) and rosiglitazone (P-trend=0·006). Direct comparison of pioglitazone to rosiglitazone did not demonstrate significant differences in cancer risk with increasing time since initiation (P-trend=0·12) or duration of therapy (P-trend=0·75). Conclusions: Long-term TZD therapy is associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, which appears to be a class effect.
Précis of <i>Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking</i>
Authors: Cecilia Heyes
Journal: Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2018)

Abstract Cognitive gadgets are distinctively human cognitive mechanisms – such as imitation, mind reading, and language – that have been shaped by cultural rather than genetic evolution. New gadgets emerge, not by genetic mutation, but by innovations in cognitive development; they are specialised cognitive mechanisms built by general cognitive mechanisms using information from the sociocultural environment. Innovations are passed on to subsequent generations, not by DNA replication, but through social learning: People with new cognitive mechanisms pass them on to others through social interaction. Some of the new mechanisms, like literacy, have spread through human populations, while others have died out, because the holders had more students, not just more babies. The cognitive gadgets hypothesis is developed through four case studies, drawing on evidence from comparative and developmental psychology, experimental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. The framework employed – cultural evolutionary psychology, a descendant of evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory – addresses parallel issues across the cognitive and behavioural sciences. In common with evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) and the extended evolutionary synthesis, cultural evolutionary psychology underlines the importance of developmental processes and environmental factors in the emergence of human cognition. In common with computational approaches (deep learning, predictive coding, hierarchical reinforcement learning, causal modelling), it emphasises the power of general-purpose mechanisms of learning. Cultural evolutionary psychology, however, also challenges use of the behavioural gambit in economics and behavioural ecology, and rejects the view that human minds are composed of “innate modules” or “cognitive instincts.”
Pay rise for doctors in Wales
Authors: Abi Rimmer
Journal: BMJ (2018)

Doctors in Wales will receive a larger pay rise than their colleagues in England, the Welsh government has announced.

All doctors will receive a 2% increase to their base pay, backdated to 1 April 2018, with GPs receiving a further 2% increase and specialty and associate specialist doctors an additional 1.5%.

Announcing the decision on 25 September, Vaughan Gething, health secretary for Wales, said that the Welsh government had agreed …
Infant growth and childhood respiratory health: how long is the road to preventive measures?
Authors: Maja Popovic
Journal: Thorax (2018)

Over the past several decades, longitudinal studies, and especially more recent birth cohorts, have made landmark contributions toward clarifying the association between obesity and asthma. Several possible biological mechanisms have been suggested and the consistency of the association with the temporal and dose-response link have been replicated in a wide variety of settings, including different age groups, cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds. Nowadays, it is largely recognised that obesity is implicated in asthma development,1 but the road to the identification of environmental and behavioural modifiable risk factors and quantification of health benefits related to obesity prevention is still steep and long.

As asthma is a complex and heterogeneous disease that usually begins in early childhood, and in line with ‘fetal origins’ hypothesis,2 the current research has moved the interest to exposures during prenatal and early postnatal period, and in particular to fetal and infant weight and growth. It was reasonable to assume that biologically plausible mechanisms proposed for childhood and adulthood obesity1 could be extended also to the effect of fetal and infant weight on lung development and its later function. These include inflammatory and immune responses, obesity-related reductions in pulmonary compliance and limitations in airflow, and, more recently, disrupted microbiota.1

Almost 30 years ago, Barker et al 3 reported low birth weight to be associated with reduced adult lung function, and since then this association has been replicated in children and in adults. Low birth weight, which is the most commonly used proxy of intrauterine growth restriction and a strong predictor of fast postnatal growth, is a well-established risk factor for childhood and adulthood respiratory morbidity. However, some disagreement still exists on how much of this association is explained by gestational age.4 5 Interestingly, current evidence supporting the associations of fetal growth …
Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients Treated With Entecavir vs Tenofovir for Chronic Hepatitis B
Authors: Jonggi Choi, Hyo Jeong Kim, Jayoun Lee, Songhee Cho, Min Jung Ko, Young-Suk Lim
Journal: JAMA Oncology (2018)

<h3>Importance</h3> Entecavir and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate have comparable efficacy in achieving surrogate end points, including virologic response, and are equally recommended as first-line treatments for patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, it is unclear whether treatment with these drugs is associated with equivalent clinical outcomes, especially development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). <h3>Objective</h3> To compare entecavir and tenofovir in terms of the risk of HCC and death or liver transplant in patients with CHB infection. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> A nationwide historical population cohort study involving treatment-naive adult patients with CHB who started treatment with entecavir (n = 11 464) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (n = 12 692) between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014, using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. As validation, a hospital cohort of patients with CHB treated with entecavir (n = 1560) or tenofovir (n = 1141) in a tertiary referral center between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016, were analyzed. Nationwide cohort data were retrieved from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2016, and hospital cohort data from January 1, 2010, to October 31, 2017. <h3>Main Outcomes and Measures</h3> Cumulative incidence rates of HCC and death and transplant rates. <h3>Results</h3> Among the population cohort of 24 156, the mean (SD) age was 48.9 (9.8) years, and 15 120 patients (62.6%) were male. Among the hospital cohort of 2701, the mean (SD) age was 48.8 (10.5) years and 1657 patients (61.3%) were male. In the population cohort, the annual incidence rate of HCC was significantly lower in the tenofovir group (0.89 per 100 person-years [PY]) than in the entecavir group (1.19 per 100 PY). By multivariable-adjusted analysis, tenofovir therapy was associated with a significantly lower risk of HCC (hazard ratio [HR], 0.68; 95% CI, 0.59-0.77) and no significantly different risk of all-cause mortality or transplant (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.73-1.07) compared with entecavir. The tenofovir group also showed a significantly lower risk of HCC in the 10 923-pair propensity score–matched population cohort (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.60-0.78) and 869-pair propensity score–matched hospital cohort (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.46-0.99) compared with the entecavir group. <h3>Conclusions and Relevance</h3> This study suggests that tenofovir treatment was associated with a significantly lower risk of HCC compared with entecavir treatment in a population-based cohort of adults with CHB, but there was no statistically significant difference in mortality. These findings were validated in a hospital cohort. Given the poor prognosis of patients with HCC, these findings may have considerable clinical implications in prevention of this cancer in patients with CHB infection.
Sexual Inequality in the Cancer Cell
Authors: Arthur P. Arnold, Christine M. Disteche
Journal: Cancer Research (2018)

Abstract Investigating sex differences in cancer will improve therapy for both sexes and discover sex-specific protective mechanisms. Two recent analyses by Lopes-Ramos and colleagues and Li and colleagues point to specific gene regulatory networks and genomic alterations associated with sex differences in tumor incidence and progression. Integrating this information with emerging concepts about sex biases in the genome may help focus attention on factors that shift the odds for tumor growth. Cancer Res; 78(19); 5504–5. ©2018 AACR. See related articles by Li et al., p. 5527, and Lopes-Ramos et al., p. 5538.
Adverse outcomes after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy: a study of 700 000 procedures in the national Hospital Episode Statistics database for England
Authors: Simon G F Abram, Andrew Judge, David J Beard, Andrew J Price
Journal: The Lancet (2018)

Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is one of the most common orthopaedic procedures worldwide. Clinical trial evidence published in the past 6 years, however, has raised questions about the effectiveness of the procedure in some patient groups. In view of concerns about potential overuse, we aimed to establish the true risk of serious complications after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy.