Given a passage classify if the passage has a definite objective/aim/goal or not. Output '1' if the passage has a defininte objective/aim/goal and output '0' if the passage does not have a definite objective/aim/goal.
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Question: The purpose of this study was to compare the arterial response following implantation of a stainless-steel, balloon-expandable, tubular slotted stent with that of a novel computer-designed, multi-cellular stent in normal porcine coronary arteries.', 'Intracoronary stent placement has evolved into the primary strategy for percutaneous revascularization of symptomatic coronary arterial lesions. Presently there is intense interest in developing new stent designs to improve stent delivery and biocompatability.', 'Computer-assisted design was utilized to develop a balloon-expandable stent with symmetric expansion properties, uniform arterial wall coverage, longitudinal flexibility and radial strength. Quantitative coronary angiography and histological assessment of the stented arteries was used to evaluate the acute and chronic vascular responses to a stainless-steel, balloon-expandable, tubular slotted stent as compared to the computer-designed BX stent in the normolipemic swine.', 'Forty stents (24 BX, 16 tubular slotted) were implanted in 19 miniature swine at a mean inflation pressure of 9 atm using identical delivery systems. Eight of the BX and none of the tubular slotted stents were post-dilated with a non-compliant balloon at 12-14 atm. The mean stent-to-artery ratio was similar for the BX (1.03 +/- 0.06) and tubular slotted (1.04 +/- 0.11; p = 0.59) designs. Protrusion or asymmetric radial flaring of a strut at the stent margin was present in 1 of 23 BX stents (4.3%) and 10 of 15 tubular slotted stents (66.7%; p < 0.0001). The mean arterial injury score was significantly less for the BX stent (0.2 +/- 0.2) as compared with the tubular slotted stents (0.4 +/- 0.4; p = 0.025). At 3 days, thrombus area was similar for the BX and tubular slotted designs (0.42 +/- 0.16 mm2 versus 0.44 +/- 0.18 mm2, respectively; p = 0.88). The mean neointimal area was significantly less for the BX at 2 months (1.09 +/- 0.25 mm2 versus 2.93 +/- 2.26 mm2 in the tubular slotted stent) and at 6 months (1.10 +/- 0.26 mm2 versus 2.07 +/- 0.65 mm2 in the tubular slotted stent; p = 0.01), resulting in approximately 50% less in-stent stenosis.

Answer: 1


Question: With advances in medicine, the subjective assessment of patients on hemodialysis regarding their quality of life (QOL) is gaining importance. Clinicians cannot rely solely on objective markers, such as the rates of complications and mortality, when evaluating responses to dialysis. In clinical settings, laboratory values are used as measures of patients' health. However, the relationship between clinical laboratory values and QOL has not been elucidated yet. Therefore, the present study aimed to define the relationship of laboratory values and patient attributes to the QOL of outpatients on hemodialysis in order to obtain basic data for reevaluating nursing support for patients on hemodialysis in the future.", 'The participants were 44 outpatients receiving hemodialysis at Hospital B. The QOL was surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire, the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form. The following patient attributes and laboratory values were taken from the medical records: age; sex; primary disease; number of years on hemodialysis; complications; number of hours of hemodialysis per session; percentage weight gain; cardiothoracic ratio; blood pressure; hematocrit; and the serum levels of albumin, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.', 'The serum potassium level significantly affected mental health, social functioning, symptoms, and the effect of kidney disease, with the 3.5-5.0 mEq/L target range group scoring higher than the > or =5.1 mEq/L group.

Answer: 1


Question: Elevated levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but several questions remain outstanding. Firstly, it has not yet been determined whether an additional BNP sample at 7 weeks post ACS would enhance risk prediction. Secondly, we assessed whether the prognostic potential of BNP in ACS could be explained by echocardiographic abnormalities such as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).', 'We measured bedside BNP levels in 443 consecutive patients presenting with ACS and at 7 weeks outpatient follow-up. Main outcome measure was either all-cause mortality, readmission with ACS, or congestive heart failure) at 10 months from presentation.', 'Of the 443 patients, 120 patients presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (27%). There were 90 cardiovascular (CV) events at 10 months. Adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, renal dysfunction, left ventricular ejection fraction, and echocardiographic LVH elevated near patient BNP levels (>80 pg/mL) were still associated with subsequent CV events when measured on admission (adjusted relative risk [RR] 2.63 [95% CI 1.34-5.19)] and also at 7 weeks post ACS (adjusted RR 4.12 [95% CI 1.58-10.72]). Patients with persistent BNP elevation at 7 weeks were also at an increased risk of CV events compared to those with an initial high BNP which then fell (unadjusted RR 4.04 [95% CI 1.24-13.15]).

Answer:
0