nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Validation of the Spanish Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scales: A Comparative Validation Study

Depressive disorders are leading contributors to burden of disease in developing countries. Research aiming to improve their diagnosis and treatment is fundamental in these settings, and psychometric tools are widely used instruments to support mental health research. Our aim is to validate and compare the psychometric properties of the Spanish versions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS).



A Spanish version of the CES-D was revised by 5 native Spanish speaking psychiatrists using as reference the English version. A locally standardized Spanish version of the ZSDS was used. These Spanish versions were administered to 70 patients with a clinical diagnosis of DSM-IV Major Depressive Episode (MDE), 63 without major depression but with clinical diagnosis of other psychiatric disorders (OPD), and 61 with no evidence of psychiatric disorders (NEP). For both scales, Cronbach's alpha (C-α) and Hierarchical McDonald Omega for polychoric variables (MD-Ω) were estimated; and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis performed. For the CES-D and ZSDS scales, C-α was 0.93 and 0.89 respectively, while MD-Ω was 0.90 and 0.75 respectively. The area under the ROC curve in MDE+OPD was 0.83 for CES-D and 0.84 for ZSDS; and in MDE+NEP was 0.98 for CES-D and 0.96 for ZSDS. Cut-off scores (co) for the highest proportions of correctly classified (cc) individuals among MDE+OPD were ≥29 for CES-D (sensitivity (ss) = 77.1/specificity (sp) = 79.4%/(cc) = 78.2%) and ≥47 for ZSDS (ss = 85.7%/sp = 71.4%/cc = 78.9%). In the MDE+NEP, co were ≥24 for the CES-D (ss = 91.4%/sp = 96.7%/cc = 93.9%) and ≥45 for the ZSDS (ss = 91.4%/sp = 91.8%/cc = 91.6%).



Spanish versions of the CES-D and ZSDS are valid instruments to detect depression in clinical settings and could be useful for both epidemiological research and primary clinical settings in settings similar as those of public hospitals in Lima, Peru.
Hyper osmolality does not modulate natriuretic peptide concentration in patients after coronary artery surgery.

The heart secretes natriuretic peptides (NPs) in response to myocardial stretch. Measuring NP concentrations is a helpful tool in guiding treatment. It has been suggested that sodium ion and hyperosmolality could affect NP excretion. If this is true, peri-operative NP measurements could be inconsistent when hypertonic solutions are used. With different osmolalities but equal volumes of hydroxyethyl starch (HES)--and hypertonic saline (HS)--infusions, this double-blinded study tested the hypothesis that osmolality modulates the excretion of NPs.



Fifty coronary surgery patients were randomized to receive within 30 min 4 ml/kg either HS or HES post-operatively. Samples for analysis of atrial NP (ANP), brain NP (BNP), plasma and urine sodium and osmolality and urine oxygen tension were obtained before and 60 min after starting the infusions and on the first post-operative morning. The haemodynamic parameters were measured at the same time points.



Plasma osmolality and sodium increased only in the HS group. Changes in plasma BNP and ANP levels did not differ between the groups (P=0.212 and 0.356). There were no correlations between NP levels and osmolality or sodium at any time point. In the HS group, urine volume was higher (3295 vs. 2644 ml; P<0.05) and the need for furosemide treatment was less (0.4 vs. 3.8 mg; P<0.01) than in the HES group.



The absence of effects of plasma sodium content or hyperosmolality on NP release validates the value of NPs as a biomarker in peri-operative patients.
Denosumab in treatment-naïve and pre-treated with zoledronic acid postmenopausal women with low bone mass: Effect on bone mineral density and bone turnover markers.

To compare denosumab-induced changes in lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) bone mineral density (BMD), bone markers and free soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand (sRANKL) between treatment naïve postmenopausal women with low bone mass (naïve group) and those who were previously treated with a single zoledronic acid infusion (post-Zol group).


PROCEDURES
Procollagen type 1N-terminal propeptide (P1NP), C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTx) and sRANKL levels were measured in serum samples obtained at baseline and 3, 6 and 12months after denosumab initiation. LS and FN BMD were measured at baseline and 12months.



LS and FN BMD increased significantly in both naïve and post-Zol group (p<0.001 and p=0.025 vs. p<0.001 and p=0.017, respectively). Despite the higher P1NP and CTx levels in naïve patients at baseline (both p<0.001), denosumab caused comparable decreases in both groups at month 3, which returned to post-Zol group baseline levels at month 6 and 12 in all patients. Similarly, sRANKL levels decreased significantly at month 3 in both groups and returned to baseline levels at months 6 and 12.



In patients previously treated with zoledronic acid, sequential denosumab treatment is effective in terms of BMD increases and bone turnover suppression. Despite the lower baseline levels in patients pre-treated with zoledronic acid, bone markers are similarly decreased in both groups following denosumab administration and maintain their reversibility. Denosumab reversibly suppresses endogenous free sRANKL levels in both naïve and zoledronic acid pre-treated patients.
Multidisciplinary care in patients with prostate cancer: room for improvement

New multimodality treatment approaches for prostate cancer require multidisciplinary management of patients. We aimed to assess the current practices of multidisciplinarity and their possible implications in treatment management in Switzerland. In a survey, urologists and medical oncologists in Switzerland were asked to include at least 25 or 15 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of prostate cancer, respectively. Information about treatment patterns and multidisciplinary parameters of these patients was collected retrospectively. Thirty-seven urologists and 20 oncologists from the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland representing 7 out of 11 non-university tertiary centres and 20/10 % of all office-based urologists/oncologists in Switzerland collected data on 1,184 patients. Sixty-five percent of the office-based (16/24 urologists; 6/10 oncologists) and 95 % of the hospital-based (10/11 urologists; 8/8 oncologists) physicians participate in multidisciplinary tumour boards (MTBs). However, only 1.5 % of patients with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer (13 of 883) are discussed at a MTB. Overall, second opinions at diagnosis are requested in 23 % of patients, mainly from radiation oncologists (8.4 %) or fellow urologists (7.4 %). Second opinions are more often requested by urologists who participate at MTBs and in case of advanced stage. Participation at MTBs is high among Swiss urologists and oncologists in private practice and at non-university tertiary centers. In spite of that only a small minority of patietns with prostate cancer are presented at MTBs.
Optimal scan delays for multiphasic renal multidetector row computed tomography performed with fixed injection duration of contrast medium.

The purpose of our study was to prospectively determine optimal scan delays for multiphasic imaging of the kidney performed with multidetector row computed tomography (CT) and fixed injection duration of intravenous contrast medium.



One hundred ninety-eight patients underwent 3-phase CT of the kidney with 8-slice CT after receiving 2 mL/kg of an intravenous contrast medium of 300 mg I/mL for a fixed duration of 30 seconds. The patients were prospectively randomized into 4 groups according to different scan delays from the start of injection: group 1 (25, 45, 65 seconds), group 2 (30, 50, 70 seconds), group 3 (35, 55, 75 seconds), and group 4 (40, 60, 80 sec). Mean CT values (Hounsfield units [HU]) of the abdominal aorta, renal arteries, veins, cortexes, and medulla were measured. Increases in CT values from precontrast to postcontrast CT (deltaHU) and renal artery-to-vein and renal cortex-to-medulla differential contrasts (deltaHU) were assessed. Qualitative analysis was also performed.



Abdominal aorta and renal artery enhancements peaked at 35 seconds (305 DeltaHU; 253 DeltaHU) after injection start, and renal veins peaked at 45 seconds (196 DeltaHU). Renal cortexes peaked at 40 seconds (197 DeltaHU), and renal medullae peaked at 75 seconds (152 DeltaHU). Renal artery-to-vein differential contrasts were high (95-137 deltaHU) at 25 to 30 seconds, and cortex-to-medulla contrasts were high (79-130 deltaHU) at 30 to 55 seconds and then decreased to less than 10 deltaHU at 75 seconds. Qualitative results were in good agreement with quantitative results.



With a fixed 30-second injection, estimated optimal scan delays for multiphasic imaging the kidney were, from the start of injection, 25 to 30 seconds for renal arterial CT angiography, 35 to 45 seconds for the corticomedullary, and 75 seconds for the nephrographic phase.
A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, multicenter study to assess the effects of dronedarone 400 mg twice daily for 12 weeks on atrial fibrillation burden in subjects with permanent pacemakers

Dronedarone is a benzofuran derivative with a pharmacological profile similar to amiodarone but has a more rapid onset of action and a much shorter half-life (13–19 h). Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of dronedarone in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients using dual-chamber pacemakers capable of quantifying atrial fibrillation burden. Pacemakers were adjusted to optimize AF detection. Patients with AF burden >1 % were randomized to dronedarone 400 mg twice daily (BID) or placebo. Pacemakers were interrogated after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. The primary endpoint was the change in AF burden from baseline over the 12-week treatment period. Patients with permanent AF, severe/recently decompensated heart failure, and current use of antiarrhythmic drugs were excluded. AF burden was assessed by a core laboratory blinded to treatment assignment. From 285 patients screened, 112 were randomized (mean age 76 years, 60 % male, 84 % hypertensive, 65 % with sick sinus syndrome, 26 % with diabetes mellitus type II, 15 % with heart failure). Baseline mean (SEM) AF burden was 8.77 % (0.16) for placebo and 10.14 % (0.17) for dronedarone. Over the 12-week study period, AF burden compared to baseline decreased by 54.4 % (0.22) (P = 0.0009) with dronedarone and trended higher by 12.8 % (0.16) (P = 0.450) with placebo. The absolute change in burden was decreased by 5.5 % in the dronedarone group and increased by 1.1 % in the placebo group. Heart rate during AF was reduced to approximately 4 beats/min with dronedarone (P = 0.285). Adverse events were higher with dronedarone compared to placebo (65 vs 56 %). Dronedarone reduced pacemaker-assessed the relative AF burden compared to baseline and placebo by over 50 % during the 12-week observation period.
Detecting psychological distress: can general practitioners improve their own performance?

Many studies have suggested that general practitioners fail to detect a substantial minority of their patients who are psychologically distressed, and there is concern about the possible sequelae of this. Individual patients may suffer unresolved problems, and there are potential costs to the health service in consequent recurrent consultations, inappropriate referrals or treatment. Educational interventions based on small groups led by facilitators have been shown to alter the consultation behaviours of general practitioners that are known to be related to accurate detection of psychological distress.



This controlled study aimed to show that, by utilizing a brief self-directed educational intervention focusing on detection of psychological distress, general practitioners can improve their performance significantly. For this purpose, a new educational intervention was designed: the second aim of the study was thus to assess the effectiveness of this specific intervention.



An educational intervention was designed which focused on skills relevant to detecting psychological distress, using the principles of reflection on general practitioner performance and consultation skill work. It was designed to be used by individual general practitioners without outside support, using a combination of written background material, feedback on performance and analysis of video material. The effectiveness of the intervention was tested by comparing a trial and control cohort of general practitioners, using detection rates as an outcome measure.



The detection rate of the general practitioners who underwent the intervention improved significantly compared with their performance before intervention and with that of the control group.



General practitioners can improve their ability to detect psychological distress in their patients utilizing this self-directed educational approach.
Tai Chi improves balance and mobility in people with Parkinson disease.

This pilot study examines the effects of Tai Chi on balance, gait and mobility in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Thirty-three people with PD were randomly assigned to either a Tai Chi group or a control group. The Tai Chi group participated in 20 1-h long training sessions completed within 10-13 weeks; whereas, the control group had two testing sessions between 10 and 13 weeks apart without interposed training. The Tai Chi group improved more than the control group on the Berg Balance Scale, UPDRS, Timed Up and Go, tandem stance test, six-minute walk, and backward walking. Neither group improved in forward walking or the one leg stance test. All Tai Chi participants reported satisfaction with the program and improvements in well-being. Tai Chi appears to be an appropriate, safe and effective form of exercise for some individuals with mild-moderately severe PD.
Risk factors for stomach cancer in Brazil (II): a case-control study among Japanese Brazilians in São Paulo.

Although stomach cancer is the most frequent cancer among Japanese Brazilians, the risk factor of this cancer has not been investigated among them.



A case-control study was conducted among Japanese residents in the city of São Paulo. Ninety-six consecutive cases of histologically confirmed stomach cancer were matched to 192 controls admitted for non-neoplastic diseases or healthy volunteer (n = 80) by age (+/-5 years) and gender. The socio-demographic characteristics, personal and family medical history, lifetime history of tobacco use and dietary habits were probed using a structured questionnaire.



Frequent consumption of beef was associated with increased risk: odds ratio (OR) = 4.0 and 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.9-8.4 for daily consumption, OR = 2.1 and 95% CI = 1.0-4.3 for 3-4 days/week) when compared with the category of lower consumption (<3 days/week) after adjustment for country of birth (Japan or Brazil), showing a dose-response pattern (P for trend = 0.001). These ORs became higher after further adjusted for fruit consumption: OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 2.1-9.4 and OR = 2.4 and 95% CI = 1.1-5.0, respectively. Daily consumption of fruit was associated with a reduction in risk (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3-1.0) after adjustment for country of birth and became statistically significant further adjusted for beef consumption (OR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.9). There were no statistically significant associations with smoking or any other factors tested. Although some attenuation was observed in beef consumption, the observed associations were similar after excluding volunteer controls.



The introduction of the habit of daily beef consumption among Japanese immigrants and their descendants may be associated with stomach cancer risk. The protective effect of fruit consumption was confirmed in this population.
Sacral nerve stimulation for faecal incontinence following a rectosigmoid resection for colorectal cancer

Following recto-sigmoid resection some patients may become faecally incontinent and remain so despite conservative treatment. This multicentre prospective study assessed the use of sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) in this group. All patients had more than or equal to 4 days of faecal incontinence for solid or liquid stools over a 21-day period following recto-sigmoid resection for colorectal carcinoma. The operation had to have been deemed curative. They had to have failed pharmacological and biofeedback treatment. Three male patients met these criteria. One had had a colo-anal and two a colo-rectal anastomosis for rectal carcinoma. All patients had intact internal and external anal sphincters. Two patients had a successful temporary stimulation period and proceeded to permanent implantation. Pre-operative symptom duration was 1 year in the permanently implanted patients. They were followed up for 12 months. SNS improved the number of faecally incontinent episodes in both patients. Ability to defer was improved in both patients from 0–5 min to 5–15 min. The faecal incontinence-specific ASCRS quality of life assessment improved in all four subcategories. This study demonstrates that SNS may be effective in the treatment of patients with faecal incontinence following recto-sigmoid resection if conservative treatment has failed.
Phase II study evaluating lapatinib in combination with nab-paclitaxel in HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer patients who have received no more than one prior chemotherapeutic regimen

Lapatinib, an oral, reversible inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) tyrosine kinase, has proven antitumor activity in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is indicated for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. This was an open-label, single-arm, multicenter, Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel plus lapatinib in women with HER2 over-expressing MBC who had received no more than one prior chemotherapeutic regimen. The primary efficacy endpoint was the overall response rate (ORR). This was defined as the percentage of patients having either a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR). Secondary efficacy endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, duration of response (DoR), time to response (TTR), and time to progression (TTP). Investigator-assessed ORR was 53 % (n = 32, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 40.7–66.0) with the majority of patient responses demonstrating a PR (47 %). Four (7 %) patient responses demonstrated a CR, and ten (17 %) a stable disease. The median Kaplan–Meier estimate of investigator-assessed PFS, DoR, TTR, and TTP was 39.7 weeks (95 % CI 34.1–63.9), 48.7 weeks (95 % CI 31.7–57.1), 7.8 weeks (95 % CI 7.4–8.1), and 41 weeks (95 % CI 39.1–64.6), respectively. Lapatinib 1,000 mg with nab-paclitaxel 100 mg/m2 IV is feasible with manageable and predictable toxicity and an ORR of 53 % comparing favorably with other HER2-based combinations in this setting.
Validation of tissue microarray technology in ovarian cancer: results from the Nurses' Health Study.

Tissue microarrays (TMAs) allow high-throughput evaluation of protein expression from archived tissue samples. We identified characteristics specific to ovarian cancer that may influence TMA interpretation.



TMAs were constructed using triplicate core samples from 174 epithelial ovarian cancers. Stains for p53, Ki-67, estrogen receptor-alpha, progesterone receptor, Her-2, WT-1, cytokeratin 7, and cytokeratin 20 were evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients, Spearman correlation coefficients, the effect of sample age, and tumor histology on the ability to score the cores, and inter-rater reliability.



The interclass correlation coefficient and the mean Spearman correlation coefficients among 3 cores were > or = 0.91 and 0.87, respectively. Tissue age and tumor histology were not predictive of an inability to evaluate stains, but borderline tumors had a 2 to 4-fold increase in the risk of having uninterpretable cores over invasive tumors. There was moderate to substantial concordance between the two pathologists for estrogen receptor-alpha [Cohen's Kappa (kappa), 0.79] and Ki-67 (kappa, 0.52). The prevalence of positive staining cells by histologic type was comparable with previous studies.



TMA is a valid method for evaluating antigen expression in invasive ovarian cancer but should be used with caution for borderline tumors. We suggest several methods of quality control based on intercore comparisons and show that some antigens may be affected by age of the samples.
Von Willebrand factor and the right ventricle (the MESA-Right Ventricle Study).

Elevation in plasma activity of von Willebrand factor (vWF) reflects endothelial dysfunction and predicts death in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Higher vWF activity is also associated with a lower right ventricular (RV) ejection fraction in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Little is known about the relation between vWF and RV structure and function in adults without cardiovascular disease. The present investigation included 1,976 participants with magnetic resonance imaging assessment of RV structure and function and measurement of vWF activity from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate the associations between vWF activity and measures of RV structure and function after adjusting for demographics, anthropometrics, smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and the corresponding left ventricular parameter. The average vWF activity was 140.7 ± 57.2%. Elevated vWF activity was independently associated with lower RV mass, RV end-diastolic volume, and RV stroke volume in models with and without adjustment for the corresponding left ventricular parameter (all p values <0.05). There was no association observed between vWF activity and the RV ejection fraction. In conclusion, higher vWF activity is associated with lower RV mass, RV end-diastolic volume, and RV stroke volume. These associations are independent of common cardiovascular risk factors and left ventricular morphologic changes.
Is there a difference in clinical efficacy of bright light therapy for different types of depression? A pilot study.

There is growing interest in the possible applications of Bright Light Therapy (BLT). BLT might be a valid alternative or add-on treatment for many other psychiatric disorders beyond seasonal affective disorder. This pilot study aims to examine whether the efficacy of Bright Light Therapy (BLT) is similar for different subtypes of mood disorders.



Participants were 48 newly admitted outpatients with major depressive disorder with either melancholic features (n=20) or atypical features (n=28). Morning BLT was administered daily for 30 min at 5.000-10.000 lx on working days for up to 3 consecutive weeks.



Participants' depressive symptoms improved significantly after BLT (p<.05, d=-.53). The effects of BLT remained stable across a 4 week follow-up. There were no significant differences in efficacy of BLT between groups (p>.05). No effect of seasonality on the improvement in depressive symptoms after BLT was found, (p=.781).



The study had a small sample size and lacked a control condition.



This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that BLT could be a promising treatment for depression, regardless of the melancholic or atypical character of the depressive symptoms.