Five Relief Agencies of the Negro Welfare League Participating in the Community Chest

Leaflet soliciting donations to the Community Chest to benefit Brewster’s Hospital, Traveler’s Aid, Home for the Aged, Sunshine Day Nursery and the Negro Welfare League. No date given

Did You Say You Were Tired of Giving?

Leaflet soliciting donations for the Community Chest from the Members of the Drive Committee of the Colored Division, Mr. A. L. Lewis -Chairman. The donations helped several affiliated agencies: Old Folks Home, Sunshine Day Nursery, Provisional work of Colored Y. W. C. A., Traveler’s Aid Society, Clara White Mission, and Jacksonville Negro Welfare League. Leaflet printed by The Florida Sentinel Print. No date given

Receipt, Community Chest of Duval County

Payment of payment: Community Chest of Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida, received $15.00 of the$25.00 pledge by Mrs. R.H. Walker. Balance of $10.00. Receipt signed by Thelma Pleasant. Date: January 14, 192

Transcriptional profile of c-kit positive cardiac stem-progenitor cells (c-kitpos eCSCs) isolated from the four chambers of the adult human heart

Introduction: Our findings and those of others show that the adult myocardium, including human, harbours a population of resident (endogenous) cardiac stem cells (eCSCs). They express the stem cell factor receptor c-kit, are distributed throughout the myocardium, are clonogenic, self-renewing and multi-potent, in that they differentiate into the 3 main cardiac lineages; cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle and endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. The objective of this study is to determine whether c-kitpos eCSCs isolated from the different cardiac chambers have a distinct transcriptional profile depending on the chamber of origin. Methods: Pieces of myocardium have been obtained from all the 4 chambers of the adult human heart. All patients were fully consented before undergone open heart surgery. They were suffered of various cardiac pathologies such as ischemic heart disease, aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve insufficiency or stenosis, and various aortic pathologies. Ethical approval for these procedures has been given by NREC (08/H1306/91).c-kitpos eCSCs were isolated by enzymatic digestion and purified by Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (MACS) from samples taken from the right and left atria (RA, LA), right and left ventricle (RV, LV) of the adult human heart. mRNA was isolated using Qiagen® mRNA kit, and reverse transcribed using first strand cDNA synthesis with random hexamers. qRT-PCR was performed using SYBR Green on a MyIQ thermocycler Bio-Rad® of specific genes representative of the primary and secondary heart field, and the developmental program of their chamber of origin. Results: c-kitpos eCSCs isolated from 15 human samples (5LA, 1RV, 4LV, 5RA) were processed. c-kitpos eCSCs are distributed throughout the human myocardium and in all 4 chambers of the heart. Transmitted light microscopic observations of c-kitpos eCSCs revealed that the c-kitpos cells from the human biopsies were generally small and rounded, consistent with a stable c-kitpos eCSCs phenotype, regardless of the chamber of origin. The eCSCs c-kitpos cells could be cultured under hypoxic conditions between 7 and 12 days to attain full confluency. Expression of transcripts for c-kit, Foxh1, Hand1, Hand2, Pitx2, Tbx5, Tbx20, Hrt1, Hrt2, Fgf8, Fgf10, and Isl1 were found at differential levels in c-kitpos CSCs isolated from the four cardiac chambers. Conclusion: This study is the first to show that c-kitpos eCSCs derived from human adult cardiac samples, do not appear to have a ‘chamber-specific’ transcript footprint, and are therefore potentially interchangeable between cardiac chambers, raising the potential of their therapeutic application

Management of Children With Chronic Wet Cough and Protracted Bacterial Bronchitis CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report

BACKGROUND: Wet or productive cough is common in children with chronic cough. We formulated recommendations based on systematic reviews related to the management of chronic wet cough in children (aged METHODS: We used the CHEST expert cough panel\u27s protocol for systematic reviews and the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) methodologic guidelines and GRADE framework (the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). Data from the systematic reviews in conjunction with patients\u27 values and preferences and the clinical context were used to form recommendations. Delphi methodology was used to obtain consensus for the recommendations/suggestions made. RESULTS: Combining data from the systematic reviews, we found high-quality evidence in children aged 4 weeks\u27 duration) wet/productive cough that using appropriate antibiotics improves cough resolution, and further investigations (eg, flexible bronchoscopy, chest CT scans, immunity tests) should be undertaken when specific cough pointers (eg, digital clubbing) are present. When the wet cough does not improve following 4 weeks of antibiotic treatment, there is moderate-quality evidence that further investigations should be considered to look for an underlying disease. New recommendations include the recognition of the clinical diagnostic entity of protracted bacterial bronchitis. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the 2006 Cough Guidelines, there is now high-quality evidence for some, but not all, aspects of the management of chronic wet cough in specialist settings. However, further studies (particularly in primary health) are required

Riociguat for the treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Riociguat, a member of a new class of compounds (soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators), has been shown in previous clinical studies to be beneficial in the treatment of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. METHODS: In this phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we randomly assigned 261 patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension or persistent or recurrent pulmonary hypertension after pulmonary endarterectomy to receive placebo or riociguat. The primary end point was the change from baseline to the end of week 16 in the distance walked in 6 minutes. Secondary end points included changes from baseline in pulmonary vascular resistance, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level, World Health Organization (WHO) functional class, time to clinical worsening, Borg dyspnea score, quality-of-life variables, and safety. RESULTS: By week 16, the 6-minute walk distance had increased by a mean of 39 m in the riociguat group, as compared with a mean decrease of 6 m in the placebo group (least-squares mean difference, 46 m; 95% confidence interval [CI], 25 to 67; P<0.001). Pulmonary vascular resistance decreased by 226 dyn · sec · cm-5in the riociguat group and increased by 23 dyn · sec · cm-5in the placebo group (least-squares mean difference, -246 dyn · sec · cm-5; 95% CI, -303 to -190; P<0.001). Riociguat was also associated with significant improvements in the NT-proBNP level (P<0.001) and WHO functional class (P = 0.003). The most common serious adverse events were right ventricular failure (in 3% of patients in each group) and syncope (in 2% of the riociguat group and in 3% of the placebo group). CONCLUSIONS: Riociguat significantly improved exercise capacity and pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. (Funded by Bayer HealthCare; CHEST-1 and CHEST-2 ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00855465 and NCT00910429, respectively.) Copyright © 2013 Massachusetts Medical Society

Disease severity adversely affects delivery of dialysis in acute renal failure

Background/Aims: Methods of intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) dose quantification in acute renal failure (ARF) are not well defined. This observational study was designed to evaluate the impact of disease activity on delivered single pool Kt/V-urea in ARF patients. Methods: 100 patients with severe ARF (acute intrinsic renal disease in 18 patients, nephrotoxic acute tubular necrosis in 38 patients, and septic ARF in 44 patients) were analyzed during four consecutive sessions of IHD, performed for 3.5-5 h every other day or daily. Target IHD dose was a single pool Kt/V-urea of 1.2 or more per dialysis session for all patients. Prescribed Kt/V-urea was calculated from desired dialyzer clearance (K), desired treatment time (t) and anthropometric estimates for urea distribution volume (V). The desired clearance (K) was estimated from prescribed blood flow rate and manufacturer's charts of in vivo data obtained in maintenance dialysis patients. Delivered single pool Kt/V-urea was calculated using the Daugirdas equation. Results: None of the patients had prescription failure of the target dose. The delivered IHD doses were substantially lower than the prescribed Kt/V values, particularly in ARF patients with sepsis/septic shock. Stratification according to disease severity revealed that all patients with isolated ARF, but none with 3 or more organ failures and none who needed vasopressive support received the target dose. Conclusion: Prescription of target IHD dose by single pool Kt/V-urea resulted in suboptimal dialysis dose delivery in critically ill patients. Numerous patient-related and treatment-immanent factors acting in concert reduced the delivered dose. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Concurrent Silicosis and Pulmonary Mycosis at Death

To examine risk for mycosis among persons with silicosis, we examined US mortality data for 1979–2004. Persons with silicosis were more likely to die with pulmonary mycosis than were those without pneumoconiosis or those with more common pneumoconioses. Health professionals should consider enhanced risk for mycosis for silica-exposed patients

The efficacy of unsupervised home-based exercise regimens in comparison to supervised lab-based exercise training upon cardio-respiratory health facets

Supervised high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can rapidly improve cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). However, the effectiveness of time-efficient unsupervised home-based interventions is unknown. Eighteen volunteers completed either: laboratory-HIIT (L HIIT); home-HIIT (H-HIIT) or home-isometric hand-grip training (H-IHGT). CRF improved significantly in L-HIIT and H-HIIT groups, with blood pressure improvements in the H-IHGT group only. H-HIIT offers a practical, time-efficient exercise mode to improve CRF, away from the laboratory environment. H-IHGT potentially provides a viable alternative to modify blood pressure in those unable to participate in whole-body exercise