nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Childhood optic neuritis clinical features and outcome.

To describe clinical features and outcome of a series of children with first-episode optic neuritis investigated in three paediatric neurology centres.



Databases were searched to identify children (<16 years) with optic neuritis and life table analysis was used.



44 children (female/male ratio 1.8) median age 10.9 years were followed up for median 1 year. Optic neuritis was unilateral in 43%. Maximal visual deficit was severe (<6/60) in 77%, with full recovery in 70%. Cumulative probability of developing MS (11/44) or NMO (3/44) at 2 years was 0.45. Relapsing optic neuritis was a strong predictor for development of MS or NMO. A positive MRI (>1 brain T2 hyperintense lesion) was a strong predictor for development of MS.



Childhood optic neuritis is associated with severe visual deficit with good recovery. An initial abnormal MRI brain scan or relapsing optic neuritis should alert the clinician to MS or NMO diagnosis.
Metacognitive training for young subjects (MCT young version) in the early stages of psychosis: Is the duration of untreated psychosis a limiting factor?

The treatment program 'Metacognitive training for patients with schizophrenia' (MCT) addresses cognitive biases assumed to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of delusions (e.g., jumping to conclusions, theory of mind deficits). The aim of our study was to examine the effectiveness and the feasibility of this intervention targeted to early phases of psychosis (MCT young version).



An experimental design included two groups of subjects on the basis of their duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) 'short' (less or equal than 12 months) and 'long' DUP (longer than 12 months), assessed at baseline and after the 4-month intervention.



Fifty-six young subjects affected by early psychosis were assessed on psychopathology, social functioning, neurocognitive, and metacognitive measures. The primary outcome was the reduction of psychopathology. Secondary outcomes included reduction of cognitive and emotional dysfunction and improvement of social functioning.



At the end of the 4-month MCT, both groups showed significant improvements in many variables: positive symptoms, cognitive functions, as verbal memory, attention and mental flexibility, and metacognitive functions, as cognitive insight. Significant and positive changes were found in theory of mind abilities and social perception.



The difference in DUP between the two groups of young subjects of our sample did not seem to influence the intervention outcomes, still taking into account that the average difference between the two groups in terms of DUP is 12.6 months.



Metacognition refers to the general ability 'to think about thinking,' that is, the ability to think about one's mental state and the mental states of others. Persons with schizophrenia experience different metacognitive impairments. The metacognitive training for patients with schizophrenia - young version can be applied to young people affected by psychosis and seems to improve symptomatology, social functioning, cognitive, and metacognitive abilities, independently by their Duration of Untreated Psychosis over a 2-year period.
Growth, systemic safety, and efficacy during 1 year of asthma treatment with different beclomethasone dipropionate formulations: an open-label, randomized comparison of extrafine and conventional aerosols in children.

To assess the long-term safety of hydrofluoroalkane 134a (HFA)-beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) extrafine aerosol administered by the Autohaler compared with chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-BDP administered by a press-and-breathe metered-dose inhaler (pMDI) and spacer (+S) in the treatment of children with asthma.



This 12-month, open-label, randomized, multicenter study enrolled 300 children who were aged 5 to 11 years and had well-controlled asthma on inhaled CFC-BDP or budesonide; 256 patients were using doses within the recommended range (200-400 microg) and were analyzed separately. Patients were randomized in a 1:3 ratio to continue on CFC-BDP+S at approximately the same dose as they were using before study entry or switch to HFA-BDP at half the daily dose.



Asthma control was well maintained in the HFA-BDP group as evidenced by lung function tests and asthma symptoms compared with CFC-BDP+S at approximately twice the dose. There were no significant differences between the HFA-BDP 100 to 200 microg and CFC-BDP+S 200 to 400 microg treatment groups in mean change from baseline in height (5.23 cm vs 5.66 cm at month 12, respectively) or mean growth velocity from day 1 to month 12 (5.27 cm/y vs 5.71 cm/y, respectively). There were no significant differences between groups in adrenal function tests or markers of bone metabolism.



In this long-term study in children with asthma, extrafine HFA-BDP provided long-term maintenance of asthma control at approximately half the dose compared with CFC-BDP+S. There were no clinically meaningful differences between HFA-BDP extrafine aerosol and conventional CFC-BDP+S with regard to growth or other systemic effects.
Rationale and methodology for a multicentre randomised trial of fibrinolysis for pulmonary embolism that includes quality of life outcomes.

Submassive pulmonary embolism (PE) has a low mortality rate but can degrade functional capacity.



The present study aims to provide rationale, methodology, and initial findings of a multicentre, randomised trial of fibrinolysis for PE that used a composite end-point, including quality of life measures.



This investigator-initiated study was funded by a contract between a corporate partner and the investigator's hospital (the prime site). The investigator was the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sponsor. The prime site subcontracted, indemnified, and trained consortia members. Consenting, normotensive patients with PE and right ventricular strain (by echocardiography or biomarkers) received low-molecular-weight heparin and random assignment to a single bolus of tenecteplase or placebo in double-blinded fashion. The outcomes were: (i) in-hospital rate of intubation, vasopressor support, and major haemorrhage, or (ii) at 90 days, death, recurrent PE, or composite that defined poor quality of life (echocardiography, 6 min walk test and surveys). The planned sample size was n = 200.



Eight sites enrolled 87 patients over 5 years. The ratio of patients screened for each enrolled was 7.4 to 1, equating to 11 h screening time per patient enrolled. Primary barrier to enrolment was the cost of screening. Two patients died (2.5%, 95%CI [0-8%]), one developed shock, but 18 (22%, 95%CI: [13-30%]) had a poor quality of life.



An investigator-initiated, FDA-regulated, multicentre trial of fibrinolysis for submassive PE was conducted, but was limited by screening costs and a low mortality rate. Quality of life measurements might represent a more important patient-centred end-point.
In vitro testing of chemotherapeutic drug combinations in acute myelocytic leukaemia using the fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay (FMCA).

The fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay (FMCA) was employed for analysing the effect of different chemotherapeutic drug combinations and their single constituents in 44 cases of acute myelocytic leukaemia (AML). A large heterogeneity with respect to cell kill was observed for all combinations tested, the interactions ranging from antagonistic to synergistic in terms of the multiplicative concept for drug interactions. However, an 'additive' model provided a significantly better fit of the data compared to the effect of the most active single agent of the combination (Dmax) for several common antileukaemic drug combinations. When the two interaction models were related to treatment outcome 38% of the non-responders showed preference for the additive model whereas the corresponding figure for responders was 80%. Overall, in 248 of 290 (85%) tests performed with drug combinations, there was an agreement between the effect of the combination and that of the most active single component. Direct comparison of Dmax and the combination for correlation with clinical outcome demonstrated only minor differences in the ability to predict drug resistance. The results show that FMCA appear to report drug interactions in samples from patients with AML in accordance with clinical experience. Furthermore, testing single agents as a substitute for drug combinations may be adequate for detection of clinical drug resistance to combination therapy in AML.
Atorvastatin, etidronate, or both in patients at high risk for atherosclerotic aortic plaques: a randomized, controlled trial.

Statins are not effective in reducing atherosclerotic plaques of the abdominal aorta, and accumulating evidence suggests that bisphosphonates have the potential to induce the regression of atherosclerotic plaques of the abdominal aorta.



A prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded-end-point trial involving 108 participants with hypercholesterolemia was conducted. Participants received 20 mg atorvastatin daily, 400 mg etidronate daily, or both drugs daily. The primary end point was the percent change in maximal vessel wall thickness of atherosclerotic plaques in the thoracic and abdominal aortas as measured by magnetic resonance imaging after 12 months of treatment. In both the combination therapy and atorvastatin groups, maximal vessel wall thickness of the thoracic aorta was reduced by 13.8% (95% confidence interval, -16.4 to -11.3) and 12.3% (95% confidence interval, -14.9 to -9.7), respectively. These reduction rates were comparable between groups (P=0.61). Meanwhile, in the etidronate group, maximal vessel wall thickness of the thoracic aorta remained unchanged (2.2%; 95% confidence interval, -0.3 to 4.8). Conversely, maximal vessel wall thickness of the abdominal aorta was reduced more effectively in the combination therapy group (-11.4%) than in the atorvastatin group (-0.9%; P<0.001) and the etidronate group (5.5%; P=0.006).



Atorvastatin plus etidronate combination therapy for 12 months significantly reduced both thoracic and abdominal aortic plaques, whereas atorvastatin monotherapy reduced only thoracic aortic plaques and etidronate monotherapy reduced only abdominal aortic plaques. The effectiveness of combination therapy in reducing atherosclerotic plaques in the abdominal aorta was significantly greater than for both atorvastatin and etidronate monotherapy.
Incidence and Prognostic Significance of Depressive Symptoms in Peripheral Artery Disease

We compared the incidence of depression, defined by a Geriatric Depression Score (GDS) ≥6, between people with versus without peripheral artery disease (PAD). We determined whether depressive symptoms were associated with increased mortality in people with and without PAD.



Nine hundred and fifty-one PAD patients and 478 non-PAD patients were recruited from Chicago medical centers and followed prospectively. At baseline and annually, participants completed the GDS (0-15 scale, score ≥6=depression) and 6-minute walk. Cause of death was confirmed with death certificates. The prevalence of a GDS ≥6 at baseline was 186/951 (19.6%) among PAD versus 63/478 (13.2%) among non-PAD participants (P=0.003). During a mean follow-up of 2.7±1.2 years, 122/712 (17.1%) of participants with PAD versus 51/403 (12.7%) without PAD developed a GDS ≥6 (P=0.047). Adjusting for age, sex, race, comorbidities, and other confounders, PAD participants had an increased rate of developing a GDS ≥6 compared to non-PAD participants (hazard ratio=1.54 (95% CI=1.05-2.25, P=0.026). This association was not statistically significant after adjusting for 6-minute walk (P=0.258). Among PAD participants, a baseline GDS ≥6 was associated with increased all-cause mortality, adjusting for confounders (hazard ratio=1.57, 95% CI=1.12-2.21, P=0.009). This association was not significant after adjusting for 6-minute walk (P=0.224).



People with PAD have a higher incidence of depressive symptoms than people without PAD. In PAD, depressive symptoms are associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. These associations are explained in part by poorer 6-minute walk among people with PAD and among depressed people with PAD, respectively.
Quality of life several years after myocardial infarction: comparing the MONICA/KORA registry to the general population.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of myocardial infarction (MI) on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in MI survivors measured by EuroQol (EQ-5D) and to compare it with the general population.



A follow-up study of all MI survivors included in the MONICA/KORA registry was performed. About 2950 (67.1%) patients responded. Moderate or severe problems were most frequent in EQ-5D dimension pain/discomfort (55.0%), anxiety/depression (29.2%), and mobility (27.9%). Mean EQ VAS score was 65.8 (SD 18.5). Main predictors of lower HRQL included older age, diabetes, increasing body mass index, current smoking, and experience of re-infarction. Type of revascularizational treatment showed no impact on HRQL. Compared with the general population, adjusted EQ VAS was 6.2 (95% confidence interval 3.4-8.9) points lower in 45-year-old MI patients converging with growing age up to the age of 80. With regard to HRQL dimensions, MI survivors had a significantly higher risk of incurring problems in the dimension pain/discomfort, usual activities, and especially in anxiety/depression which was more pronounced in younger age. Mobility was the single dimension, in which MI showed an inverse effect.



MI is combined with significant reduction in HRQL compared with the general population. The main impairments occur in the dimension pain/discomfort, usual activities, and particularly anxiety/depression. The relative impairment decreases with higher ages.
Computing with continuous-time Liapunov systems

We establish a fundamental result in the theory of computation by continuous-time dynamical systems, by showing that systems corresponding to so called continuous-time symmetric Hopfield nets are capable of general computation. More precisely, we prove that any function computed by a discrete-time asymmetric recurrent network of <italic>n</italic> threshold gates can also be computed by a continuous-time symmetrically-coupled Hopfield system of dimension 18<italic>n</italic>+7. Moreover, if the threshold logic network has maximum weight <italic>w</italic>_{\max} and converges in discrete time <italic>t</italic>^*, then the corresponding Hopfield system can be designed to operate in continuous time &THgr;(<italic>t</italic>^*/ε), for any value 0<ε<0.0025 such that <italic>w</italic>_{\max}2^{3<italic>n</italic>}\leq\ε 2^{1/ε}.
The result appears at first sight counterintuitive, because the dynamics of any symmetric Hopfield system is constrained by a <italic>Liapunov</italic>, or <italic>energy function</italic> defined on its state space. In particular, such a system always converges from any initial state towards some stable equilibrium state, and hence cannot exhibit nondamping oscillations, i.e. strictly speaking cannot simulate even a single alternating bit. However, we show that if one only considers <italic>terminating</italic> computations, then the Liapunov constraint can be overcome, and one can in fact embed arbitrarily complicated computations in the dynamics of Liapunov systems with only a modest cost in the system's dimensionality.
In terms of standard discrete computation models, our result implies that any polynomially space-bounded Turing machine can be simulated by a family of polynomial-size continuous-time symmetric Hopfield nets.
Efficacy and validity of radiofrequency neurotomy for chronic lumbar zygapophysial joint pain.

A prospective audit.



To establish the efficacy of lumbar medial branch neurotomy under optimum conditions.



Previous reports of the efficacy of lumbar medial branch neurotomy have been confounded by poor patient selection, inaccurate surgical technique, and inadequate assessment of outcome.



Fifteen patients with chronic low back pain whose pain was relieved by controlled, diagnostic medial branch blocks of the lumbar zygapophysial joints, underwent lumbar medial branch neurotomy. Before surgery, all were evaluated by visual analog scale and a variety of validated measures of pain, disability, and treatment satisfaction. Electromyography of the multifidus muscle was performed before and after surgery to ensure accuracy of the neurotomy. All outcome measures were repeated at 6 weeks, and 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery.



Some 60% of the patients obtained at least 90% relief of pain at 12 months, and 87% obtained at least 60% relief. Relief was associated with denervation of the multifidus in those segments in which the medial branches had been coagulated. Prelesion electrical stimulation of the medial branch nerve with measurement of impedance was not associated with outcome.



Lumbar medial branch neurotomy is an effective means of reducing pain in patients carefully selected on the basis of controlled diagnostic blocks. Adequate coagulation of the target nerves can be achieved by carefully placing the electrode in correct position as judged radiologically. Electrical stimulation before lesioning is superfluous in assuring correct placement of the electrode.
Friendship prediction and homophily in social media

Social media have attracted considerable attention because their open-ended nature allows users to create lightweight semantic scaffolding to organize and share content. To date, the interplay of the social and topical components of social media has been only partially explored. Here, we study the presence of homophily in three systems that combine tagging social media with online social networks. We find a substantial level of topical similarity among users who are close to each other in the social network. We introduce a null model that preserves user activity while removing local correlations, allowing us to disentangle the actual local similarity between users from statistical effects due to the assortative mixing of user activity and centrality in the social network. This analysis suggests that users with similar interests are more likely to be friends, and therefore topical similarity measures among users based solely on their annotation metadata should be predictive of social links. We test this hypothesis on several datasets, confirming that social networks constructed from topical similarity capture actual friendship accurately. When combined with topological features, topical similarity achieves a link prediction accuracy of about 92%.
Impact of the Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonist, Losartan, on Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease: Assessment by Ultrasonic Integrated Backscatter and Biochemical Markers

Myocardial fibrosis commonly occurs in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and has proven to be an important predictor for cardiovascular events. In experimental settings, angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1-R) antagonists have been shown to have anti-fibrotic effects on the myocardium independent of their antihypertensive effects. In this study, to investigate whether the AT1-R antagonist losartan would have such anti-fibrotic effects in patients, we administered losartan or, for purpose of comparison, the angiotensin-converting enzyme enalapril or Ca2+-antagonist amlodipine to patients with ESRD. Thirty-nine ESRD patients with hypertension were randomly assigned to receive losartan (n=13), enalapril (n=13), or amlodipine (n=13). Ultrasonic integrated backscatter (IBS) and serological markers of collagen type I synthesis and degradation were used to assess the degree of myocardial fibrosis just before and after 6 months of treatment. There were no significant differences in antihypertensive effects among the three agents. In the enalapril- and amlodipine-treated groups, the mean calibrated IBS values increased significantly after 6 months of treatment (enalapril: −31.6±1.3 to −29.4±1.2 dB, p=0.011; . However, the mean calibrated IBS values in the losartan-treated group did not increase after 6 months of treatment (−31.2±1.7 to −31.3±1.4 dB, p=0.88). The ratio of the serum concentration of procollagen type I carboxy-terminal peptide to the serum concentration of collagen type I pyridinoline cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptide was significantly reduced in the losartan-treated group (42.6±4.6 to 34.4±3.6, p=0.038). The present study indicates that losartan more effectively suppresses myocardial fibrosis in patients with ESRD than does enalapril or amlodipine despite a comparable antihypertensive effect among the three drugs.
Multicenter prospective trial of hypofractionated radiation treatment, toceranib, and prednisone for measurable canine mast cell tumors.

Mast cell tumors (MCT) are common cutaneous tumors in dogs and when not amenable to surgical excision can present a therapeutic challenge. New treatment protocols for unresectable MCT are needed.



The combination of toceranib, prednisone, and hypofractionated radiation treatment (RT) will be well tolerated and efficacious.



Seventeen client-owned dogs with measurable MCT amenable to RT.



Prospective clinical trial. All dogs received prednisone, omeprazole, diphenhydramine, and toceranib. Toceranib was administered for 1 week before initiating RT, consisting of 24 Gy delivered in 3 or 4 fractions.



On an intent-to-treat basis, the overall response rate was 76.4%, with 58.8% of dogs achieving a complete response and 17.6% a partial response. The median time to best response was 32 days, and the median progression-free interval was 316 days. The overall median survival time was not reached with a median follow-up of 374 days. The most common toxicoses were gastrointestinal and hepatic.



The combination of hypofractionated RT, toceranib, and prednisone was tolerated and efficacious in the majority of dogs. Response rates and durations were higher than those reported for toceranib as a single-agent treatment for MCT. This combination is a viable treatment option for unresectable MCT.