nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Changing preventive practice: a controlled trial on the effects of outreach visits to organise prevention of cardiovascular disease.

To assess the effects of outreach visits by trained nurse facilitators on the organisation of services used to prevent cardiovascular disease. To identify the characteristics of general practices that determined success.



A non-randomised controlled trial of two methods of implementing guidelines to organise prevention of cardiovascular disease: an innovative outreach visit method compared with a feedback method. The results in both groups were compared with data from a control group.



95 general practices in two regions in The Netherlands.



Trained nurse facilitators visited practices, focusing on solving problems in the organisation of prevention. They applied a four step model in each practice. The number of visits depended on the needs of the practice team. The feedback method consisted of the provision of a feedback report with advice specific to each practice and standardised instructions.



The proportion of practices adhering to 10 different guidelines. Guidelines were on the detection of patients at risk, their follow up, the registration of preventive activities, and teamwork within the practice.



Outreach visits were more effective than feedback in implementing guidelines to organise prevention. Within the group with outreach visits, the increase in the number of practices adhering to the guidelines was significant for six out of 10 guidelines. Within the feedback group, a comparison of data before and after intervention showed no significant differences. Partnerships and practices with a computer changed more.



Outreach visits by trained nurse facilitators proved to be effective in implementing guidelines within general practices, probably because their help was practical and designed for the individual practice, guided by the wishes and capabilities of the practice team.
Record media used by primary care providers in medically underserved regions of upstate New York was not pivotal to clinical result in the Informatics for Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) project.

To examine integration of electronic medical records (EMRs) by primary care providers (PCPs) in a diabetes telemedicine project (IDEATel) in medically underserved rural areas and assess if access to digital records is associated with diabetes intermediate outcomes.



PCPs (n=61) with patients in IDEATel participated in structured interviews to determine current (2006 to 2007) and projected (2007 to 2008) use of paper and/or electronic medical data. T-tests examined group differences.



28% (17/61) of PCPs had comprehensive EMRs, but most electronic data were non-interoperative between offices; 6% of PCPs solely used paper; 92% of PCPs used mixed paper/electronic records. Half of 61 PCPs anticipated no migration within one year to an electronic record for common patient data, while one third anticipated that function would become greatly more electronic. Among 31 PCPs interviewed in depth in person, 70% (7/10) in private practice and 69% (9/13) in networks anticipated greater electronic media migration through system change, whereas 100% of responding academic PCPs (n=6) expected only system modifications. PCPs were most interested in data exchange for chronic disease management (94%), regional benchmarking (84%) and quality improvement (87%). Patient personal electronic health records were rarely mentioned. IDEATel patients of PCPs with or without access to comprehensive EMRs achieved similar haemoglobin A1c, blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, and body mass index, but the small number invokes cautious interpretation.



Our findings suggest an effective and complementary element of national health information technology (HIT) strategy, telemedicine, can be implemented by PCPs with success despite the lack of a concurrent EMR for efficient data exchange.
Association of CYP2C19 polymorphisms and lansoprazole-associated respiratory adverse effects in children.

To determine whether cytochrome P450 (CYP)2C19 haplotype associates with lansoprazole-associated adverse event frequency.



Respiratory adverse events from a clinical trial of lansoprazole in children with asthma were analyzed for associations with extensive or poor metabolizer (PM) phenotype based on CYP2C19 haplotypes. Carriers of CYP2C19*2, *3, *8, or *9 alleles were PMs; carriers of 2 wild-type alleles were extensive metabolizers (EMs). Plasma concentrations of lansoprazole were determined in PM and EM phenotypes.



The frequency of upper respiratory infection among PMs (n = 45) was higher than that among EMs (n = 91), which in turn was higher than that in placebo subjects (n = 135; P = .0039). The frequency of sore throat (ST) was similarly distributed among EMs and PMs (P = .0015). The OR (95% CI) for upper respiratory infections in PMs was 2.46 (1.02-5.96) (P = .046); for EMs, the OR (95% CI) was 1.55 (0.86-2.79). The OR (95% CI) for ST in EMs and PMs was 2.94 (1.23-7.05, P = .016) vs 1.97 (1.09-3.55, P = .024), respectively. Mean ± SD plasma concentrations of lansoprazole were higher in PMs than in EMs: 207 ± 179 ng/mL vs 132 ± 141 ng/mL (P = .04).



Lansoprazole-associated upper respiratory infections and ST in children are related in part to CYP2C19 haplotype. Our data suggest that lansoprazole-associated adverse events in children may be mitigated by adjusting the conventional dose in PMs. Additional studies are required to replicate our findings.
[Study the effects of neuroplasticity on major depression disorder in rTMS combined with antidepressant treatments].

To explore the effects of neuroplasticity on major depression disorder (MDD) with event related potentials (ERPs) of mismatch negativity (MMN) and sensory gating potentials P50 for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with antidepressant treatments.



A total of 159 patients with MDD randomly divided into two groups: 75 patients in group A was administrated rTMS treatment for 2 weeks (15 days), and continues to give antidepressant of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) regularly. 84 patients in group B was consistently administered the similar antidepressant. The 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24), MMN latency, S1-P50 amplitude, S2-P50 amplitude and S2-P50/S1-P50 amplitude ratio, and the percentages of abnormal P50 (S2-P50/S1-P50 > or = 0.5) were assessed and measured before treatment, at the 2nd and the 10th weekend after treatment in two treatment groups. Meanwhile, 90 normal control cases was set up as control group (group C).  At 2th and 10th week after treatment, the HAMD-24 scores were reduced remarkably than those before treatment in group A and B (P < 0.001), and the scores in group A was lower than that in group B (P < 0.001). MMN latencies and S-P50 amplitudes after treatment in group A were significant shorter and lower than those before treatment in group A and after treatment in group B (P < 0.05) (except for intergroup comparison of S2-P50, amplitude after treatment weeks). No significant difference was found in S2-P50/S1-P50 ratio ( except for after treatment 2 weeks ) and percentage of abnormal P50 between group A after treatment and group C (P > 0.05). There were no statistical significance difference of ERPs between after treatment 2 weeks and 10 weeks in group A (P > 0.05). No statistical differences of ERPs between before and after treatment in group B (P > 0.05) was observed.



rTMS combined with antidepressant therapy was superior to single antidepressant treatment, and marked improved automatic processing and sensory gating of the brain senior functional electrical physiological index. rTMS might induce effects of long-term potentiation/long-term depression like plasticity on brain, and keep brain function in a dynamic stability and balance. MMN and P50 maybe become neuroplasticity index reflecting relevant the brain senior function.
The effect of photobiomodulation on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of cancer therapy with few efficacious treatments.



We enrolled 70 patients with CIPN in a randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled, cross-over trial to determine if photobiomodulation (PBM)±physiotherapy reduced the symptoms of neuropathy compared to sham treatment. At the conclusion of follow-up, sham-arm patients could cross-over into a third arm combining PBM and physiotherapy to determine if multimodal treatment had additive effects. Treatment included 30minute sessions 3-times weekly for 6weeks using either PBM or sham therapy. Neuropathy was assessed using the modified total neuropathy score (mTNS) at initiation and 4, 8, and 16weeks after initiating treatment.



Sham-treated patients experienced no significant change in mTNS scores at any point during the primary analysis. PBM patients experienced significant reduction in mTNS scores at all time points. Mean changes in mTNS score (and corresponding percent drop from baseline) for sham and PBM-group patients respectively were -0.1 (-0.7%) and -4.2 (-32.4%) at 4weeks (p<0.001), 0.2 (0.0%) and -6.8 (-52.6%) at 8weeks (p<0.001), and 0.0 (0.1%) and -5.0 (-38.8%) at 16weeks (p<0.001). Patients who crossed over into the PBM/PT-group experienced similar results to those treated primarily; changes in mTNS score from baseline were -5.5 (-40.6%) 4weeks (p<0.001), -6.9 (-50.9%) at 8weeks (p<0.001), and -4.9 (-35.9%) at 16weeks (p<0.001). The addition of physiotherapy did not improve outcomes over PBM alone.



Among patients with CIPN, PBM produced significant reduction in neuropathy symptoms.
Effects of Nutritional Supplementation on Fatigue, and Autonomic and Immune Dysfunction in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial

Fatigue is a predictor of cardiovascular events in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis treatment. We hypothesized that multinutritional support would improve quality of life, fatigue symptoms, and potential quantitative measures including endocrine, immune and autonomic functions in patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis.



Two hundred and two hemodialysis patients were randomly assigned to receive active treatment (containing vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin C, carnitine, coenzyme Q10, naïve galacto-oligosaccharide, and zinc) or placebo after each dialysis session for 12 weeks. The patients and attending physicians were blinded to the treatment, and 172 patients (86 in each group) completed the study. Fatigue was evaluated via fatigue questionnaire at 0, 4, and 12 weeks. To assess human herpes virus (HHV) 6 and 7 reactivation, numbers of viral DNA copies were determined in saliva by polymerase chain reaction at weeks 0 and 12. Autonomic function was determined via measurement of beat-to-beat variation by using acceleration plethysmography.



Clinical characteristics, changes in fatigue, quality of life score, endocrine functions, and laboratory data did not differ significantly between the two groups. Several parameters of heart rate variability significantly increased after nutritional treatment compared to placebo. Nutritional drink for 12 weeks significantly suppressed HHV7 DNA copy numbers. Similarly, HHV6 DNA copy numbers tended to be decreased by treatment but without reaching statistical significance.



Nutritional supplementation may modulate immune and autonomic dysfunction in ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis.
Effect of Desensitising Laser Treatment on the Bond Strength of Full Metal Crowns: An In Vitro Comparative Study

Dentinal hypersensitivity is a very common complaint of patients undergoing crown and bridge restorations on vital teeth. Of the many desensitizing agents used to counter this issue, desensitizing laser treatment is emerging as one of the most successful treatment modality. However, the dentinal changes brought about by the desensitizing laser application could affect the bond strength of luting cements.



Freshly extracted 48 maxillary first premolars, which were intact and morphologically similar were selected for the study. The specimens were divided into two groups, an untreated the control group and a desensitizing laser-treated group, which were exposed to Erbium, Chromium: Yttrium, Selenium, Galium, Garnet laser at 0.5 W potency for 15 s. Each of the above two groups were again randomly divided into two subgroups, on to which full veneer metal crowns, which were custom fabricated were luted using glass-ionomer and resin luting cements, respectively. Tensile bond strength of the luting cements was evaluated with the help of a Universal Testing Machine. Statistical analysis of the values were done using descriptive, independent samples' test, and two-way ANOVA test.



The tensile bond strength of crowns luted on desensitizing laser treated specimens using self-adhesive resin cement showed a marginal increase in bond strength though it was not statistically significant.



The self-adhesive resin cements could be recommended as the luting agent of choice for desensitizing laser treated abutment teeth, as it showed better bond strength.
Self-help and community mental health agency outcomes: a recovery-focused randomized controlled trial.

Self-help agencies (SHAs) are consumer-operated service organizations managed as participatory democracies. Members are involved in all aspects of organizational management, because a premise of SHAs is that organizationally empowered individuals become more empowered in their own lives, which promotes recovery. The study sought to determine the effectiveness of combined SHA and community mental health agency (CMHA) services in assisting recovery for persons with serious mental illness.



A weighted sample of new clients seeking CMHA services was randomly assigned to regular CMHA services or to combined SHA-CMHA services at five proximally located pairs of SHA drop-in centers and county CMHAs. Member-clients (N=505) were assessed at baseline and at one, three, and eight months on five recovery-focused outcome measures: personal empowerment, self-efficacy, social integration, hope, and psychological functioning. Scales had high levels of reliability and independently established validity. Outcomes were evaluated with a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of covariance.



Overall results indicated that combined SHA-CMHA services were significantly better able to promote recovery of client-members than CMHA services alone. The sample with combined services showed greater improvements in personal empowerment (F=3.99, df=3 and 491, p<.008), self-efficacy (F=11.20, df=3 and 491, p<.001), and independent social integration (F=12.13, df=3 and 491, p<.001). Hopelessness (F=4.36, df=3 and 491, p<.005) and symptoms (F=4.49, df=3 and 491, p<.004) dissipated more quickly and to a greater extent in the combined condition than in the CMHA-only condition.



Member-empowering SHAs run as participatory democracies in combination with CMHA services produced more positive recovery-focused results than CMHA services alone.
Identification and validation of argininosuccinate synthase as a candidate urinary biomarker for major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a debilitating psychiatric mood disorder. However, no objective laboratory-based test is yet available to aid in the diagnosis of this disorder.



In order to identify urinary protein biomarker candidates for MDD, the differential proteomic analysis of urine samples from first-episode drug-naïve MDD subjects and healthy controls (HC) was carried out by using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis separation followed by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS/MS identification. Then, the differential expression levels of some candidate proteins were further validated by immunoblot analysis.



Through mass spectrometry and database searching, a total of 27 differential proteins were identified, primarily including enzymes, plasma proteins, serpins, and adhesion molecules. Five proteins were selected for subsequent validation by Western blotting. One arginine recycling enzyme - argininosuccinate synthase (ASS1) - was further confirmed to be significantly downregulated in the urine of 30 depressed subjects while remaining unchanged in the plasma. Importantly, receiver-operator curve analyses revealed that ASS1 displayed strong efficacy in distinguishing MDD subjects from HC.



The present study provides a range of urinary protein biomarker candidates for MDD, and further demonstrates that ASS1 has a potential for clinical diagnosis of this disorder.
Smoking and severity of hepatic fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Although many predictors of disease severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been proposed, studies of the potential effects of specific environmental exposures on human NAFLD are lacking. Smoking increases insulin resistance. Given the pathophysiological role of insulin resistance in NAFLD, characterization of the influence of smoking in NAFLD is warranted. The aim of this paper was to study the potential association between cigarette smoking and advanced fibrosis in NAFLD.



All adults enrolled in the NASH CRN studies, between October 2004 and February 2008, who had liver biopsies, were included (n=1091). Advanced fibrosis was defined as stages 3-4. Analyses were performed.



Significant bivariate associations were demonstrated between advanced fibrosis and age, gender, ethnicity, diabetes, and smoking history. History of smoking ≥ 10 pack-years was more common (p <0.0001) among patients with advanced fibrosis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated an association between smoking history of ≥ 10 pack-years and advanced fibrosis (OR=1.63). Among non-diabetics, history of ≥ 10 pack-years was associated with an OR of 2.48 for advanced fibrosis. High frequencies of advanced fibrosis were observed among diabetics (with or without ≥ 10 pack-years history) and non-diabetics with ≥ 10 pack-years history as compared to non-diabetics without significant smoking history.



Smoking history was associated with advanced liver fibrosis in this large multicenter cohort of NAFLD patients. The results indicate that smoking may enhance the progression of NAFLD partly through its effect on insulin resistance. Our results are consistent with recent animal studies suggesting that cigarette smoke may aggravate fatty liver. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that cigarette smoking is associated with increased fibrosis severity in human NALFD, suggesting it may accelerate disease progression. These results may support a formal recommendation of smoking cessation in patients with NAFLD.
Disinhibition of the sleep state-dependent p1 potential in Parkinson's disease-improvement after pallidotomy.

We previously reported that the P1 or P50 midlatency evoked potential underwent decreased habituation or disinhibition in patients with Parkinson's Disease. This sleep state-dependent response appears to be generated by cholinergic elements of the reticular activating system. We attempted to determine if the decreased habituation or disinhibition of the P1 potential would be altered by bilateral pallidotomy. Twenty-three patients who met inclusion criteria for surgery underwent pre- and post-operative evaluation using a Modified United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and P1 potential recordings. Decreased habituation of the P1 potential was determined using a paired stimulus paradigm in which click stimuli were presented at 250, 500 and 1000 msec interstimulus intervals (ISI). Pre-operatively, patients showed disinhibition of the P1 potential at the 250 msec ISI (60 37% vs. 21 20%) and 500 msec ISI (78 47% vs. 43 31%) compared to age-matched control subjects. Post-operatively, the same patients showed a significant improvement in habituation of the P1 potential at the same ISIs (250 msec 37 21%; 500 msec 43 32%). UPDRS scores for these patients pre-operatively were 59 18 and 24 11 post-operatively, resulting in a significant reduction in symptom severity. We conclude that bilateral pallidotomy resulted in a significant improvement in symptom ratings and reduced the disinhibition of the P1 midlatency evoked response.
A school-based obesity control programme: Project Energize. Two-year outcomes.

Through-school nutrition and physical activity interventions are designed to help reduce excess weight gain and risk of chronic disease. From 2004 to 2006, Project Energize was delivered in the Waikato Region of New Zealand as a longitudinal randomised controlled study of 124 schools (year 1-6), stratified by rurality and social deprivation, and randomly assigned to intervention or control. Children (686 boys and 662 girls) aged 5 (1926) and 10 (1426) years (692 interventions and 660 controls) had height, weight, body fat (by bioimpedance) and resting blood pressure (BP) measured at baseline and 2 years later. Each intervention school was assigned an 'Energizer'; a trained physical activity and nutrition change agent, who worked with the school to achieve goals based on healthier eating and quality physical activity. After adjustment for baseline measures, rurality and social deprivation, the intervention was associated with a reduced accumulation of body fat in younger children and a reduced rate of rise in systolic BP in older children. There was some evidence that the pattern of change within an age group varied with rurality, ethnicity and sex. We conclude that the introduction of an 'Energizer led' through-school programme may be associated with health benefits over 2 years, but the trajectory of this change needs to be measured over a longer period. Attention should also be paid to the differing response by ethnicity, sex, age group and the effect of rurality and social deprivation.
Symptomatic remission and patient quality of life in an observational study of schizophrenia: Is there a relationship?

This analysis aimed to examine the association between remission and quality of life (QOL) in schizophrenia. In post-hoc analyses of the 3-year, prospective, observational Schizophrenia Outpatients Health Outcomes (SOHO) study, we compared the QOL of patients who achieved symptomatic and clinical remission with those who did not, and the factors associated. Symptomatic remission was defined as achieving a score of ≤3 on the Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia (CGI-SCH) scale, maintained for 6 months and without hospitalization. QOL was patient self-rated using the European-QOL. Of the 6516 patients analyzed, 38% were in symptomatic remission 12 months post-baseline and 52% at 36 months. Functional remission remained fairly constant from 12 months to 36 months (22.4% at both time points). At all visits from 12 to 36 months, patient QOL and social functioning were significantly higher for patients in symptomatic remission. QOL was higher in patients in functional remission. Patients with maintained symptomatic remission over the 3-year follow-up had a much greater improvement in QOL than patients with no symptomatic remission or symptomatic remission for part of the period. Factors associated with a better QOL also included paid employment, socially active, a higher CGI-SCH cognitive score, good compliance, and a better baseline QOL.