LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Control of high-dose-cisplatin-induced emesis with an all-oral three-drug antiemetic regimen

 In this pilot trial, the antiemetic efficacy and tolerability of an all-oral antiemetic combination in the prevention of both acute and delayed nausea and vomiting following high-dose cisplatin was evaluated. Fifty-two patients receiving cisplatin (median dose 100 mg/m2) were entered. Patients received (1) 60 min prior to cisplatin: prochlorperazine spansule 15 mg, dexamethasone 20 mg, granisetron 2 mg; (2) 12 h after cisplatin: prochlorperazine spansule 15 mg, dexamethasone 10 mg; (3) on days 2 and 3: prochlorperazine spansule 15 mg b.i.d., dexamethasone 8 mg b.i.d.; (4) on days 4 and 5: dexamethasone 4 mg b.i.d. All antiemetics were administered orally. The study period was the 120 h after cisplatin administration. The primary efficacy end-point was complete control (no vomiting, retching or antiemetic rescue) of delayed emesis (24–120 h after cisplatin). Complete control of delayed emesis was achieved in 26 patients (53%). Nineteen patients (39%) noted no delayed nausea. Complete control of acute emesis (24 h after cisplatin) was attained in 44 patients (86%). The no nausea rate during the first 24 h was 74%. Overall, 39 patients (80%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their outcome. Treatment was well tolerated with infrequent and minor adverse events. In conclusion, an all-oral combination of granisetron, dexamethasone and prochlorperazine is a highly effective and well-tolerated regimen for preventing acute cisplatin-induced emesis. Control of delayed emesis was not better than with current standard treatment, and more effective approaches are needed.
Simulating the effects of higher speed passenger trains in single track freight networks

North American freight railroads are expected to experience increasing capacity constraints across their networks. To help plan for this increased traffic, railroads use simulation software to analyze the benefits of capacity expansion projects. Delay increases exponentially with volume as individual lines and the network become more saturated with traffic. Simultaneous operation of heterogeneous traffic further increases delay relative to additional homogenous traffic. Running higher speed passenger trains with higher priorities amplifies heterogeneity. Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) was used to run simulations with varying mixes of unit freight and passenger trains operating at various speeds ranging from 50 to 110 mph. Additional passenger trains delay freight trains more than additional freight trains will. Higher speed trains also introduce more variation to the delay. These analyses will help planners improve their understanding of the tradeoff in capacity due to operation of trains at different priorities and speeds.
Total Body Metabolic Tumor Response in ALK Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated with ALK Inhibition

BACKGROUND
In ALK-positive advanced NSCLC, crizotinib has a high response rate and effectively increases quality of life and survival. CT measurement of the tumor may insufficiently reflect the actual tumor load changes during targeted therapy with crizotinib. We explored whether 18F-FDG PET measured metabolic changes are different from CT based changes and studied the impact of these changes on disease progression.


METHODS
18F-FDG PET/CT was performed prior to and after 6 weeks of crizotinib treatment. Tumor response on CT was classified with RECIST 1.1, while 18F-FDG PET response was assessed according to the 1999 EORTC recommendations and PERCIST criteria. Agreement was assessed using McNemars test. During follow-up, patients received additional PET/CT during crizotinib treatment and second generation ALK inhibition. We assessed whether PET was able to detect progression earlier then CT.


RESULTS
In this exploratory study 15 patients were analyzed who were treated with crizotinib. There was a good agreement in the applicability of CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT using the EORTC recommendations. During first line crizotinib and subsequent second line ALK inhibitors, PET was able to detect progression earlier then CT in 10/22 (45%) events of progression and in the others disease progression was detected simultaneously.


CONCLUSION
In advanced ALK positive NSCLC PET was able to detect progressive disease earlier than with CT in nearly half of the assessments while both imaging tests performed similar in the others.
The faster potassium-lowering effect of high dialysate bicarbonate concentrations in chronic haemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND
Hyperkalaemia is common in patients with advanced renal disease. In this double-blind, randomized, three-sequence, crossover study, we compared the effect of three dialysate bicarbonate concentrations ([HCO3-]) on the kinetics of serum potassium (K+) reduction during a conventional haemodialysis (HD) session in chronic HD patients.


METHODS
We studied eight stable HD patients. The choice of dialysate [HCO3-] followed a previously assigned treatment protocol and the [HCO3-] used were low bicarbonate (LB; 27 mmol/l), standard bicarbonate (SB; 35 mmol/l) and high bicarbonate (HB; 39 mmol/l). Polysulphone dialysers and automated machines provided blood flow rates of 300 ml/min and dialysis flow rates of 500 ml/min for each HD session. Blood samples were drawn at 0 (baseline), 15, 30, 60 and 240 min from the arterial extracorporeal line to assess blood gases and serum electrolytes. In three of the eight patients, we measured serum K+ 1 h post-dialysis as well as K+ removal by the dialysis. The same procedures were followed until the completion of the three arms of the study, with a 1 week interval between each experimental arm.


RESULTS
Serum K+ decreased from 5.4+/-0.26 (baseline) to 4.96+/-0.20, 4.90+/-0.19, 4.68+/-0.13 and 4.24+/-0.15 mmol/l at 15, 30, 60 and 240 min, respectively, with LB; from 5.38+/-0.21 to 5.01+/-0.23, 4.70+/-0.25, 4.3+/-0.15 and 3.8+/-0.19 mmol/l, respectively, with SB; and from 5.45+/-0.25 to 4.79+/-0.17, 4.48+/-0.17, 3.86+/-0.16 and 3.34+/-0.11 mmol/l, respectively, with HB (P<0.05 for high vs standard and low [HCO3-] at 60 and 240 min). The decrease in serum K+ correlated with the rise in serum [HCO3-] in all but LB (P<0.05). Potassium rebound was 3.9+/-10.2%, 5.2+/-6.6% and 8.9+/-4.9% for LB, SB and HB dialysates, respectively (P=NS), while total K+ removal (mmol/dialysis) was 116.4+/-21.6 for LB, 73.2+/-12.8 for SB and 80.9+/-15.4 for HB (P=NS).


CONCLUSIONS
High dialysate [HCO3-] was associated with a faster decrease in serum K+. Our results strongly suggest that this reduction was due to the enhanced shifting of K+ from the extracellular to the intracellular fluid compartment rather than its removal by dialysis. This finding could have an impact for those patients with life-threatening pre-HD hyperkalaemia.
Evaluation and prevention of diabetic neuropathy.

Diabetic neuropathy is a debilitating disorder that occurs in nearly 50 percent of patients with diabetes. It is a late finding in type 1 diabetes but can be an early finding in type 2 diabetes. The primary types of diabetic neuropathy are sensorimotor and autonomic. Patients may present with only one type of diabetic neuropathy or may develop combinations of neuropathies (e.g., distal symmetric polyneuropathy and autonomic neuropathy). Distal symmetric polyneuropathy is the most common form of diabetic neuropathy. Diabetic neuropathy also can cause motor deficits, silent cardiac ischemia, orthostatic hypotension, vasomotor instability, hyperhidrosis, gastroparesis, bladder dysfunction, and sexual dysfunction. Strict glycemic control and good daily foot care are key to preventing complications of diabetic neuropathy.
A novel feature selection based on information gain using WordNet

Text Classification and Feature Selection are mostly used for organizing the text document in the digitized form. Due to the enormous increased in number of documents in digitized form, text categorization and feature selection approach becomes most important and promising in the last decades. The problem arises for text categorization is the large number of features available in the document. Now a day, with the rapid speed in development of web large numbers of documents are available on the internet. Digital libraries, news article, magazines, World Wide Web and large companies surge more and more. However the major problem is the high dimensionality of data. Most of the features are noisy, redundant which misleads for classifier. Therefore to reduce the dimensionality of the feature space and improve the performance and accuracy of text categorization, feature selection becomes an important parameter. In this paper we discuss how document preprocessing and feature selection approaches are useful for dimensionality reduction. To deal with the massive amount of data, document preprocessing and feature selection methods become an important parameter for dimensionality reduction. Until now large number of methods deals with feature selection approaches. Still the problems arise of attribute reduction, therefore to improve the performance a hybrid method has been designed for feature selection. Our approaches is on document preprocessing and selects the important feature with information gain based on entropy and calculate the probability of class to reduce the high dimensionality of the feature.
Clinic- and hospital-based sentinel influenza surveillance, Uganda 2007-2010.

BACKGROUND
To assess the epidemiology and seasonality of influenza in Uganda, we established a sentinel surveillance system for influenza in 5 hospitals and 5 outpatient clinics in 4 geographically distinct regions, using standard case definitions for influenzalike illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI).


METHODS
Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimens were collected from April 2007 through September 2010 from patients with ILI and SARI aged ≥ 2 months, tested for influenza A and B with real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and subtyped for seasonal A/H1, A/H3, A/H5, and 2009 pandemic influenza A (pH1N1).


RESULTS
Among the 2758 patients sampled, 2656 (96%) enrolled with ILI and 101 (4%) with SARI. Specimens from 359 (13.0%) were positive for influenza; 267 (74.4%) were influenza A, and 92 (25.6%) were influenza B. The median age of both patients with ILI and patients with SARI was 4 years (range, 2 months to 67 years); patients aged 5-14 years had the highest influenza-positive percentage (19.6%), and patients aged 0-4 years had the lowest percentage (9.1%). Influenza circulated throughout the year, but the percentage of influenza-positive specimens peaked during June-November, coinciding with the second rainy season.


CONCLUSIONS
Continued and increased surveillance is needed to better understand the morbidity and mortality of influenza in Uganda.
Effects of a Sigh on the Respiratory Mechanical Properties in Ali Patients

Objectives. The application of sighs during baseline ventilation was found to improve alveolar recruitment and oxygenation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The present investigation evaluates if respiratory mechanics can be modified by a sigh. Methods. Ten consecutive patients with acute lung injury (ALI) admitted to the University Hospital Intensive Care Unit the were studied during mechanical ventilation. Three sighs were administered to sedated-paralyzed patients during the measurement period. Respiratory mechanics were studied in regular breaths immediately before and after a sigh provided that a steady-state had been reached and by the airway pressure-time curve profile to evaluate the lung recruitment. Viscoelastic constants (elastic, resistive, and time), as well as elastance and resistances, were determined by the single breath method. Arterial blood gases were also determined pre- and post-sigh. Results: Elastic and resistive components of viscoelasticity decreased after a sigh (20 and 21%, respectively). As a result, the pressure required to overcome viscoelasticity and mechanical inhomogeneities also decreased in these patients (17%). The mechanical changes were associated with alterations in PaO2. Conclusions The sigh is useful to diminish viscoelastic impedance in ALI patients, thus allowing a smaller inflation pressure. Under the present experimental conditions it seems that viscoelastic mechanical alterations precede their elastic and resistive counterparts.
Esophageal pH-Impedance Monitoring in Patients With Therapy-Resistant Reflux Symptoms: ‘On’ or ‘Off’ Proton Pump Inhibitor?

BACKGROUND:In patients with proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-resistant symptoms, ambulatory 24-h pH-impedance monitoring can be used to assess whether a relationship exists between symptoms and reflux episodes. Until now, it is unclear whether combined pH-impedance monitoring in these patients should be performed on or off PPI.METHODS:Thirty patients with symptoms of heartburn, chest pain, and/or regurgitation despite PPI twice daily underwent ambulatory 24-h pH-impedance monitoring twice, once on PPI and once after cessation of the PPI for 7 days. The order of the measurements was randomized. Reflux episodes were identified and classified as acid, weakly acidic, or weakly alkaline reflux. In addition, the symptom association probability (SAP) was calculated for each measurement.RESULTS:The total number of reflux episodes and proximal extent were not affected by PPI therapy. On PPI, there were fewer acid reflux episodes (49 ± 34 off PPI vs 20 ± 25 on PPI) while more weakly acidic reflux episodes were identified (24 ± 17 off PPI vs 48 ± 31 on PPI). Symptom association analysis identified 15 and 11 patients with a positive SAP in the measurement off and on PPI, respectively, the difference in yield of the SAP not being statistically significant. Eight of the 19 patients who had no symptoms or a negative SAP during measurement on PPI had a positive SAP off PPI therapy. In contrast, only 4 patients with a positive SAP on PPI were missed in the measurement off PPI therapy.CONCLUSIONS:In order to demonstrate or exclude GERD in patients with PPI-resistant symptoms, ambulatory 24-h pH-impedance monitoring should preferably be performed after cessation of PPI therapy because this approach seems to offer the best chance to assess a relationship between symptoms and reflux episodes.
A contribution to the kinetics of γ → αm transformation in Fe

Abstract The kinetics of γ → α m transformation in pure Fe have been determined in relation to the transformation interface velocity V and the driving force P (i.e. the difference in Gibbs free energy between parent and product phases) associated with the structural transformation. An experimental device for the implementation of the unidirectional transformation technique was constructed to measure V as a function of the interface temperature T . Velocities calculated with the Turnbull equation and an estimated value for the diffusion coefficient at the migrating interface are in good agreement with the measured velocity values.
Effects of reactors on the deposition of DLC films using liquid electrochemical technique

Abstract Carbon films were deposited on silicon substrates by liquid electrochemical technique at low temperature (60 °C) in ambient atmosphere. Glass reactor, glass reactor with PTFE-coating inside, glass reactor with quartz-coating inside and quartz reactor were used with the same experimental setup to compare the effects of reactors on the deposition of carbon films. The applied potential, the distance between anode and substrate and the deposition time were fixed at 900 V (4.2 kHz, 50%), 6 mm and 5 h, respectively. The morphology and microstructure of the films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX) was used to measure the composition of the films. The SEM observations showed that the films deposited using glass reactor were composed of crystals of several micrometers which contained nearly 10 at.% of Ca. Raman spectroscopy analysis confirmed that DLC films have been deposited, but with an obvious sharp peak at 1085 cm − 1 which is assigned to calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) crystals. The glass reactor is the possible source of Ca because the electrolyte was composed of analytically pure acetone and deionized water with the proportion of Ca below the determination of AAS (atomic absorption emission spectrophotometer AA-6200). Using glass reactor with PTFE-coating inside could successfully avoid the impurity of Ca from the glass reactor, but new non-metallic impurities coming from the PTFE-coating made the films rough. Continuous and smooth films were deposited by using a glass reactor with quartz-coating inside and quartz reactor, which could avoid both Ca ( 3 . It can be concluded that the materials of the reactors could play an important role not only in the composition, but also the morphology and microstructure of films deposited by liquid electrochemical technique.
Priority Setting and Influential Factors on Acceptance of Pharmaceutical Recommendations in Collaborative Medication Reviews in an Ambulatory Care Setting – Analysis of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (WestGem-Study)

BACKGROUND
Medication reviews are recognized services to increase quality of therapy and reduce medication risks. The selection of eligible patients with potential to receive a major benefit is based on assumptions rather than on factual data. Acceptance of interprofessional collaboration is crucial to increase the quality of medication therapy.


OBJECTIVE
The research question was to identify and prioritize eligible patients for a medication review and to provide evidence-based criteria for patient selection. Acceptance of the prescribing general practitioner to implement pharmaceutical recommendations was measured and factors influencing physicians' acceptance were explored to obtain an impression on the extent of collaboration in medication review in an ambulatory care setting.


METHODS
Based on data of a cluster-randomized controlled study (WestGem-study), the correlation between patient parameters and the individual performance in a medication review was calculated in a multiple logistic regression model. Physician's acceptance of the suggested intervention was assessed using feedback forms. Influential factors were analyzed.


RESULTS
The number of drugs in use (p = 0.001), discrepancies between prescribed and used medicines (p = 0.014), the baseline Medication Appropriateness Index score (p<0.001) and the duration of the intervention (p = 0.006) could be identified as influential factors for a major benefit from a medication review, whereas morbidity (p>0.05) and a low kidney function (p>0.05) do not predetermine the outcome. Longitudinal patient care with repeated reviews showed higher interprofessional acceptance and superior patient benefit. A total of 54.9% of the recommendations in a medication review on drug therapy were accepted for implementation.


CONCLUSIONS
The number of drugs in use and medication reconciliation could be a first rational step in patient selection for a medication review. Most elderly, multimorbid patients with polymedication experience a similar chance of receiving a benefit from a medication review. Longitudinal patient care should be preferred over confined medication reviews. The acceptance of medication reviews by physicians supports further implementation into health care systems.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN ISRCTN41595373.
Traction alopecia.

An otherwise healthy 22-year-old Caucasian woman was referred regarding a 6-year history of bifrontotemporal hair loss. Previously, she was treated with topical minoxidil with slight improvement. In addition, upon questioning, the patient described using a ponytail hair style daily since adolescence. Physical examination revealed two ovoid-shaped alopecic patches on both frontotemporal regions (Fig. 1). Fringe sign was present (Fig. 1, arrows). There were no pustules, erythema, or scale. Hair pull test was negative. On the basis of these findings, a clinical diagnosis of traction alopecia was made. Traction alopecia is a form of trauma-induced alopecia that results from prolonged or repeated pulling of hair shafts related to various types of hairstyles or occupational uniforms (nurses0caps or nuns0coifs).1–4 It is a reversible condition, but if the cause persists, permanent scarring alopecia may be developed. African-American women have a higher prevalence of traction alopecia than Caucasian women. In a pilot study, it was found in 37% of women who visited a primary care health center in Cape Town. Cornrows and other cultural hair care practices have been implicated as risk factors for traction alopecia in African-American patients. Traction alopecia is a diagnostic challenge when the external factor is not suspected or admitted, and it could be misdiagnosed as alopecia areata or trichotillomania. The fringe sign, persistence of residual hairs along the frontotemporal rim, may be a useful clinical marker of this condition. Dermoscopy can also be helpful in the diagnostic work-up process. Trichoscopy examination usually reveals white hair casts encircling the proximal portion of the hair shafts. The differential diagnosis of traction alopecia includes alopecia areata, trichotillomania, frontal fibrosing alopecia, and triangular temporal alopecia. Prompt investigation is important to avoid unnecessary treatments and to reverse hair loss. We recommended that the patient stop using the ponytail style. Partial regrowth was observed 6 months later.
Ability of Self-Reported Frailty Components to Predict Incident Disability, Falls, and All-Cause Mortality: Results From a Population-Based Study of Older British Men

BACKGROUND
Frailty is a state of increased vulnerability to disability, falls, and mortality. The Fried frailty phenotype includes assessments of grip strength and gait speed, which are complex or require objective measurements and are challenging in routine primary care practice. In this study, we aimed to develop a simple assessment tool based on self-reported information on the 5 Fried frailty components to identify older people at risk of incident disability, falls, and mortality.


METHODS
Analyses are based on a prospective cohort comprising older British men aged 71-92 years in 2010-2012. A follow-up questionnaire was completed in 2014. The discriminatory power for incident disability and falls was compared with the Fried frailty phenotype using receiver operating characteristic-area under the curve (ROC-AUC); for incident falls it was additionally compared with the FRAIL scale (fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and loss of weight). Predictive ability for mortality was assessed using age-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models.


RESULTS
A model including self-reported measures of slow walking speed, low physical activity, and exhaustion had a significantly increased ROC-AUC [0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63-0.72] for incident disability compared with the Fried frailty phenotype (0.63, 95% CI 0.59-0.68; P value of ΔAUC = .003). A second model including self-reported measures of slow walking speed, low physical activity, and weight loss had a higher ROC-AUC (0.64, 95% CI 0.59-0.68) for incident falls compared with the Fried frailty phenotype (0.57, 95% CI 0.53-0.61; P value of ΔAUC < .001) and the FRAIL scale (0.56, 95% CI 0.52-0.61; P value of ΔAUC = .001). This model was also associated with an increased risk of mortality (Harrell's C = 0.73, Somer's D = 0.45; linear trend P < .001) compared with the Fried phenotype (Harrell's C = 0.71; Somer's D = 0.42; linear trend P < .001) and the FRAIL scale (Harrell's C = 0.71, Somer's D = 0.42; linear trend P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Self-reported information on the Fried frailty components had superior discriminatory and predictive ability compared with the Fried frailty phenotype for all the adverse outcomes considered and with the FRAIL scale for incident falls and mortality. These findings have important implications for developing interventions and health care policies as they offer a simple way to identify older people at risk of adverse outcomes associated with frailty.