nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Visual Assessment of Relative Apical Sparing Pattern Is More Useful Than Quantitative Assessment for Diagnosing Cardiac Amyloidosis in Borderline or Mildly Increased Left Ventricular Wall Thickness.

Relative apical sparing pattern of longitudinal strain (RapSP-LS) was suggested in advanced cardiac amyloidosis (CA). It is unclear whether it is present in less advanced CA.



Patients with presumptive diagnosis of CA and mean left ventricular wall thickness (LVWT) ≤14 mm were recruited. Apart from RapSP-LS visually identified, relative apical longitudinal strain index (RapLSI) was defined as [average apical LS/(average basal LS+average mid-ventricle LS)]. Among 119 patients included, 47 were finally diagnosed with CA. RapLSI was higher in the CA group compared to other causes of increased mean LVWT (P<0.001), but with a significant range of overlap noted. In contrast, RapSP-LS visually assessed was noted in most CA patients (31/47, 66.0%) except in those with preserved LV ejection fraction, normal LVWT, and mildly decreased global LS, suggesting least advanced CA. On multivariate analysis of the added diagnostic role of RapSP-LS or RapLSI on top of clinical, electrocardiographic, and conventional echocardiographic parameters, addition of RapLSI produced only borderline increase in area under the curve of the multivariate model (P=0.05), whereas addition of RapSP-LS significantly increased it (P<0.001).



Visual identification of RapSP-LS is useful in terms of added diagnostic value compared with quantitative calculation of RapLSI. Its clinical application, however, should be used with caution in patients with less advanced CA.
Effects of challenge with a virulent genotype II strain of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus on piglets vaccinated with an attenuated genotype I strain vaccine.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is endemic in most parts of Asia, where genotype I and II strains of diverse virulence may coexist. This study evaluated the outcome of infection with a highly virulent Asian genotype II PRRSV isolate in piglets vaccinated with a genotype I vaccine. Twenty-one 3-week-old piglets were divided in three groups: Pigs in group V (n=8) were vaccinated with an attenuated genotype I commercial PRRSV vaccine, while pigs in group U (n=8) and a control group (group C; n=5) were unvaccinated; 6 weeks later, pigs in groups V and U were challenged intranasally with a highly virulent strain of genotype II PRRSV (1×10(5) 50% tissue culture infectious doses/mL), while pigs in group C received a placebo. Over a period of 21 days after challenge, vaccinated pigs had significantly lower mortality (0/8 versus 2/8), fewer days of fever, a lower frequency of catarrhal bronchopneumonia, higher weight gains (13.4 versus 6.6 kg) and lower levels of viraemia compared to unvaccinated challenged pigs. Immunisation with a genotype I attenuated PRRSV vaccine provided partial protection against challenge with a highly virulent genotype II strain.
Effect of hepatic or renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics of evacetrapib

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of hepatic or renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics of a single 130-mg evacetrapib dose. Two open-label, parallel-design studies in males and females with normal hepatic function or Child-Pugh mild, moderate, or severe hepatic impairment, or with normal renal function or severe renal impairment. Non-compartmental pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated from plasma concentration-time data. Evacetrapib safety and tolerability were assessed. Pharmacokinetic parameter estimates were comparable between controls and mildly hepatically impaired subjects. Geometric mean area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was greater, half-life (t1/2) was longer, and maximum concentration (Cmax) was lower in subjects with moderate and severe hepatic impairment than in controls. Apparent clearance (CL/F) did not differ between controls and those with mild hepatic impairment, but CL/F decreased for moderate and severe impairment. Spearman correlation coefficient showed no relationship between CL/F and Child-Pugh score. In the renal study, AUC and t1/2 were similar between groups, while Cmax was 15 % lower in subjects with severe impairment. CL/F in severely renally impaired subjects differed by <6 % from that in controls. Spearman correlation coefficient showed no apparent relationship between CL/F and estimated creatinine clearance or glomerular filtration rate. Neither study noted changes in clinical laboratory parameters or clinically significant findings. Adverse event incidence was low, and all were mild or moderate in severity. Evacetrapib exposure did not differ between mild hepatic impairment and normal hepatic function, but increased along the progression from mild to moderate to severe hepatic impairment. Severe renal impairment did not affect evacetrapib exposure.
Inferior clinical outcome of the CD4+ cell count-guided antiretroviral treatment interruption strategy in the SMART study: role of CD4+ Cell counts and HIV RNA levels during follow-up.

The SMART study compared 2 strategies for using antiretroviral therapy-drug conservation (DC) and viral suppression (VS)-in 5,472 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with CD4+ cell counts >350 cells/microL. Rates and predictors of opportunistic disease or death (OD/death) and the relative risk (RR) in DC versus VS groups according to the latest CD4+ cell count and HIV RNA level are reported.



During a mean of 16 months of follow-up, DC patients spent more time with a latest CD4+ cell count <350 cells/microL (for DC vs. VS, 31% vs. 8%) and with a latest HIV RNA level >400 copies/mL (71% vs. 28%) and had a higher rate of OD/death (3.4 vs. 1.3/100 person-years) than VS patients. For periods of follow- up with a CD4+ cell count <350 cells/microL, rates of OD/death were increased but similar in the 2 groups (5.7 vs. 4.6/100 person-years), whereas the rates were higher in DC versus VS patients (2.3 vs. 1.0/100 person-years; RR, 2.3 [95% confidence interval, 1.5-3.4]) for periods with the latest CD4+ cell count >or= 350 cells/microL-an increase explained by the higher HIV RNA levels in the DC group.



The higher risk of OD/death in DC patients was associated with (1) spending more follow-up time with relative immunodeficiency and (2) living longer with uncontrolled HIV replication even at higher CD4+ cell counts. Ongoing HIV replication at a given CD4+ cell count places patients at an excess risk of OD/death.
A self-adaptive system architecture to address transistor aging

As semiconductor manufacturing enters advanced nanometer design paradigm, aging and device wear-out related degradation is becoming a major concern. Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) is one of the main sources of device lifetime degradation. The severity of such degradation depends on the operation history of a chip in the field, including such characteristics as temperature and workloads. In this paper, we propose a system level reliability management scheme where a chip dynamically adjusts its own operating frequency and supply voltage over time as the device ages. Major benefits of the proposed approach are (i) increased performance due to reduced frequency guard banding in the factory and (ii) continuous field adjustments that take environmental operating conditions such as actual room temperature and the power supply tolerance into account. The greatest challenge in implementing such a scheme is to perform calibration without a tester. Much of this work is performed by a hypervisor like software with very little hardware assistance. This keeps both the hardware overhead and the system complexity low. This paper describes the entire system architecture including hardware and software components. Our simulation data indicates that under aggressive wear-out conditions, scheduling interval of days or weeks is sufficient to reconfigure and keep the system operational, thus the run time overhead for such adjustments is of no consequence at all.
Predicting "About-to-Eat" Moments for Just-in-Time Eating Intervention

Various wearable sensors capturing body vibration, jaw movement, hand gesture, etc., have shown promise in detecting when one is currently eating. However, based on existing literature and user surveys conducted in this study, we argue that a Just-in-Time eating intervention, triggered upon detecting a current eating event, is sub-optimal. An eating intervention triggered at "About-to-Eat" moments could provide users with a further opportunity to adopt a better and healthier eating behavior. In this work, we present a wearable sensing framework that predicts "About-to-Eat" moments and the "Time until the Next Eating Event". The wearable sensing framework consists of an array of sensors that capture physical activity, location, heart rate, electrodermal activity, skin temperature and caloric expenditure. Using signal processing and machine learning on this raw multimodal sensor stream, we train an "About-to-Eat" moment classifier that reaches an average recall of 77%. The "Time until the Next Eating Event" regression model attains a correlation coefficient of 0.49. Personalization further increases the performance of both of the models to an average recall of 85% and correlation coefficient of 0.65. The contributions of this paper include user surveys related to this problem, the design of a system to predict about to eat moments and a regression model used to train multimodal sensory data in real time for potential eating interventions for the user.
Monopolar versus bipolar transurethral resection of bladder tumors: a single center, parallel arm, randomized, controlled trial.

We compared the safety and efficacy of bipolar transurethral resection and monopolar resection for bladder tumors.



A single center, parallel arm, randomized, controlled trial was performed from May 2011 to August 2012. All patients with suspected bladder tumors were eligible for study inclusion. Those who refused consent and those undergoing routine restaging transurethral resection of bladder tumor were excluded from analysis. The primary end point was the incidence of obturator jerk. Secondary study outcomes included the decrease in hematocrit, rates of recoagulation and transfusion, bladder perforation, decrease in sodium, resection syndrome and resection time. Pathological quality was assessed by comparing deep muscle and the degree of severe cautery artifact in the 2 arms.



A total of 257 transurethral resections were performed during the study period. After exclusion 147 patients were randomized, including 75 in the monopolar arm and 72 in the bipolar arm. There were 6 and 4 protocol violations in the monopolar and bipolar arms, respectively. Intent to treat and per protocol analyses were performed. The incidence of obturator jerk was greater in the bipolar arm (60% vs 49.2%, p=0.27). There was no significant difference between secondary outcomes. The only significant difference was a significantly lower incidence of severe cautery artifact in the bipolar arm (25% vs 46.7%, p=0.0096).



Bipolar transurethral resection of bladder tumor was not superior to monopolar resection with respect to obturator jerk, bladder perforation and hemostasis. There was a significantly lower incidence of severe cautery artifact after bipolar resection.
Prevalence of symptoms of eczema in Latin America: results of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase 3.

The aim of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) was to evaluate the prevalence of symptoms of eczema among children living in different parts of Latin America. Data were from centers that participated in ISAAC Phase 3.



This was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 93,851 schoolchildren (6 to 7 years old) from 35 centers in 14 Latin American countries and 165,917 adolescents (13 to 14 years old) from 56 centers in 17 Latin American countries.



The mean prevalence of current flexural eczema in schoolchildren was 11.3%, ranging from 3.2% in Ciudad Victoria (Mexico) to 25.0% in Barranquilla (Colombia). For adolescents, the prevalence varied from 3.4% in Santo André (Brazil) to 30.2% in Barranquilla (mean prevalence, 10.6%). The mean prevalence of current symptoms of severe eczema among schoolchildren was 1.5%, ranging from 0.3% in Ciudad Victoria, Toluca, and Cuernavaca (Mexico) to 4.9% in La Habana (Cuba). For adolescents, the mean prevalence was 1.4%, ranging from 0.1% in Mexicali Valley (Mexico) to 4.2% in Santa Cruz (Bolivia). These prevalence values are among the highest observed during ISAAC Phase 3. In general, the prevalence of current symptoms of eczema was higher among the Spanish-speaking centers for both schoolchildren and adolescents.



Environmental risk factors must be evaluated in order to identify potential causes for the differences observed, even in centers from the same country.
Stability of health status measurement in rheumatoid arthritis.

Health status measures in rheumatoid arthritis that have been extensively validated for use in clinical trials are generally used also in correlative studies, e.g. to predict future health status. This application requires stability (repeatability of measurements). The purpose of our study was to determine the stability of commonly used health status measures. Two measurements at an interval of 6 months were then in 99 patients. High stability (alpha = 0.78 to 0.94) was observed for five biomedical measures (grip strength, walking time, platelet count, haemoglobin and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and five self-report measures (mobility, self care, impact daily activities, anxiety and cheerful mood). Moderate stability (alpha = 0.65 to 0.72) was observed for joint scores, pain, C-reactive protein and depressive mood. The highly stable measures most adequately reflect individual differences, may be applied most reliably in correlative studies and appear to have the largest clinical utility with regard to long-term prediction of health status.
Opioids Switching with Transdermal Systems in Chronic Cancer Pain

Due to tolerance development and adverse side effects, chronic pain patients frequently need to be switched to alternative opioid therapy



To assess the efficacy and tolerability of an alternative transdermally applied (TDS) opioid in patients with chronic cancer pain receiving insufficient analgesia using their present treatment.



A total of 32 patients received alternative opioid therapy, 16 were switched from buprenorphine to fentanyl and 16 were switched from fentanyl to buprenorphine. The dosage used was 50% of that indicated in equipotency conversion tables. Pain relief was assessed at weekly intervals for the next 3 weeks



Pain relief as assessed by VAS, PPI, and PRI significantly improved (p < 0.0001) in all patients at all 3 follow up visits. After 3 weeks of treatment, the reduction in the mean VAS, PPI, and PRI scores in the fentanyl and buprenorphine groups was 68, 77, 74, and 69, 79, and 62%, respectively. Over the same time period the use of oral morphine as rescue medication was reduced from 27.5 +/- 20.5 (mean +/- SD) to 3.75 +/- 8.06, and 33.8 +/- 18.9 to 3.75 +/- 10.9 mg/day in the fentanyl and buprenorphine groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in either pain relief or rescue medication use between the two patient groups The number of patient with adverse events fell during the study. After the third week of the treatment the number of patients with constipation was reduced from 11 to 5, and 10 to 4 patients in the fentanyl and buprenorphine groups, respectively. There was a similar reduction in the incidence of nausea and vomiting. No sedation was seen in any patient after one week of treatment.



Opioid switching at 50% of the calculated equianalgesic dose produced a significant reduction in pain levels and rescue medication. The incidence of side effects decreased and no new side effects were noted. Further studies are required to provide individualized treatment for patients according to their different types of cancer.
Effect of endurance versus resistance training on quadriceps muscle dysfunction in COPD: a pilot study

Exercise is an important countermeasure to limb muscle dysfunction in COPD. The two major training modalities in COPD rehabilitation, endurance training (ET) and resistance training (RT), may both be efficient in improving muscle strength, exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life, but the effects on quadriceps muscle characteristics have not been thoroughly described.



Thirty COPD patients (forced expiratory volume in 1 second: 56% of predicted, standard deviation [SD] 14) were randomized to 8 weeks of ET or RT. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained before and after the training intervention to assess muscle morphology and metabolic and angiogenic factors. Symptom burden, exercise capacity (6-minute walking and cycle ergometer tests), and vascular function were also assessed.



Both training modalities improved symptom burden and exercise capacity with no difference between the two groups. The mean (SD) proportion of glycolytic type IIa muscle fibers was reduced after ET (from 48% [SD 11] to 42% [SD 10], P<0.05), whereas there was no significant change in muscle fiber distribution with RT. There was no effect of either training modality on muscle capillarization, angiogenic factors, or vascular function. After ET the muscle protein content of phosphofructokinase was reduced (P<0.05) and the citrate synthase content tended increase (P=0.08) but no change was observed after RT.



Although both ET and RT improve symptoms and exercise capacity, ET induces a more oxidative quadriceps muscle phenotype, counteracting muscle dysfunction in COPD.
A predictive model for the treatment approach to community-acquired pneumonia in patients needing ICU admission

To create a predictive model for the treatment approach to community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in patients needing Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Multicenter prospective study Twenty-six Spanish ICUs. One hundred seven patients with CAP, all of them with accurate etiological diagnosis, divided in three groups according to their etiology in typical (bacterial pneumonia),Legionella and other atypical (Mycoplasma, Chlamydia spp. and virus). For the multivariate analysis we groupedLegionella and other atypical etiologies in the same category. We recorded 34 variables including clinical characteristics, risk factors and radiographic pattern. We used a multivariate logistic regression analysis to find out a predictive model. We have the complete data in 70 patients. Four variables: APACHE II, (categorized as a dummy variable) serum sodium and phosphorus and “length of symptoms” gave an accurate predictive model (c=0.856). From the model we created a score that predicts typical pneumonia with a sensitivity of 90.2% and specificity 72.4%. Our model is an attempt to help in the treatment approach to CAP in ICU patients based on a predictive model of basic clinical and laboratory information. Further studies, including larger numbers of patients, should validate and investigate the utility of this model in different clinical settings.
Beyond clicks: query reformulation as a predictor of search satisfaction

To understand whether a user is satisfied with the current search results, implicit behavior is a useful data source, with clicks being the best-known implicit signal. However, it is possible for a non-clicking user to be satisfied and a clicking user to be dissatisfied. Here we study additional implicit signals based on the relationship between the user's current query and the next query, such as their textual similarity and the inter-query time. Using a large unlabeled dataset, a labeled dataset of queries and a labeled dataset of user tasks, we analyze the relationship between these signals. We identify an easily-implemented rule that indicates dissatisfaction: that a similar query issued within a time interval that is short enough (such as five minutes) implies dissatisfaction. By incorporating additional query-based features in the model, we show that a query-based model (with no click information) can indicate satisfaction more accurately than click-based models. The best model uses both query and click features. In addition, by comparing query sequences in successful tasks and unsuccessful tasks, we observe that search success is an incremental process for successful tasks with multiple queries.
Liquid-based cervical cytology using ThinPrep technology: weighing the pros and cons in a cost-effectiveness analysis

Cervical cancer screening with liquid-based cytology (LBC) has been developed as an alternative to the conventional Papanicolaou (CP) smear. Cost-effectiveness is one of the issues when evaluating LBC. Based on the results of a Dutch randomised controlled trial, we conducted cost-effectiveness threshold analyses to investigate under what circumstances manually screened ThinPrep LBC is cost-effective for screening. The MISCAN-Cervix microsimulation model and data from the Dutch NETHCON trial (including 89,784 women) were used to estimate the costs and (quality-adjusted) life years ((QA)LYs) gained for EU screening schedules, varying cost-effectiveness threshold values. Screening strategies were primary cytological screening with LBC or CP, and triage with human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. Threshold analyses showed that screening with LBC as a primary test can be cost-effective if LBC is less than €3.2 more costly per test than CP, if the sensitivity of LBC is at least 3–5 % points higher than CP, if the quality of life for women in triage follow-up is only 0.39, or if the rate of inadequate CP smears is at least 16.2 %. Regarding test characteristics and costs of LBC and CP, only under certain conditions will a change from CP to manually screened ThinPrep LBC be cost-effective. If none of these conditions are met, implementation of manually screened ThinPrep LBC seems warranted only if there are advantages other than cost-effectiveness. Further research is needed to establish whether other LBC systems will be more favorable with regard to cost-effectiveness.
Incidence of disability pension and associations with socio-demographic factors in a Swedish twin cohort

The incidence of disability pension (DP), especially due to mental diagnoses, has increased in many countries, but knowledge of socio-demographic risk factors for DP is limited. Further, the influences of genetics and early-life factors (jointly called familial factors) on these associations remain to be studied. The aims were to study incidence of DP (due to all and mental diagnoses) and associations with socio-demographic factors, and also to establish whether associations differ with DP diagnosis and sex, and are influenced by familial factors. A prospective cohort study of all twins born in 1928–1958 (n = 52,609) in Sweden was conducted. The twins were followed from 1993 to 2008 regarding DP. Cox proportional hazard models were applied. The cumulative incidence of DP was 17 %. Of all the DP diagnoses 20 % were mental. Higher age (≥45 years), being a woman or unmarried, and/or living in a semi-urban area were risk factors for DP. Low education, being a blue-collar worker or being self-employed predicted either higher (all diagnoses) or lower (mental diagnoses) risk of DP. Rural areas were associated with DP due to mental diagnoses. The estimates varied for men and women. After adjustment for familial factors the associations of DP with education and marital status were attenuated and no longer significant. Similar results were apparent for DP due to mental diagnoses and socioeconomic status. Familial factors may select individuals into some of the established risk environments for DP. Studies investigating the causes of DP need to take such confounding into account.