nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Regional Variation in Postoperative Myocardial Infarction in Patients Undergoing Vascular Surgery in the United States.

The aim of this study is to assess for regional variation in the incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction (POMI) following nonemergent vascular surgery across the United States to identify potential areas for quality improvement initiatives.



We evaluated POMI rates across 17 regional Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) groups that comprised 243 centers with 1,343 surgeons who performed 75,057 vascular operations from 2010 to 2014. Four procedures were included in the analysis: carotid endarterectomy (CEA, n = 39,118), endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair (EVAR, n = 15,106), infrainguinal bypass (INFRA, n = 17,176), and open infrarenal AAA repair (OAAA, n = 3,657). POMI was categorized by the method of diagnosis as troponin-only or clinical/ECG and rates were investigated in regions with ≥100 consecutive cases. Regions with significantly different POMI rates were defined as those >1.5 interquartile lengths beyond the 75th percentile of the distribution. Risk-adjusted rates of POMI were assessed using the VQI Cardiac Risk Index all-procedures prediction model to compare the observed versus expected rates for each region.



Overall rates of POMI varied by procedure type: CEA 0.8%, EVAR 1.1%, INFRA 2.7%, and OAAA 4.2% (P < 0.001). Significant variation in POMI rates was observed between regions, resulting in differing ranges of POMI rates for each procedure: CEA 0.5-2.0% (P = 0.001), EVAR 0.3-3.1% (P < 0.001), INFRA 1.1-4.8% (P < 0.001), and OAAA 2.2-10.0% (P < 0.001). A single region in 3 of the 4 procedure-specific datasets was identified as a statistical outlier with a significantly higher POMI rate after CEA, EVAR, and OAAA; this region was identical for the EVAR and OAAA datasets but was a different region for the CEA dataset. No significant variation in POMI was noted between regions after INFRA. Procedure-specific clinical POMI rates (mean; range) were significantly different between regions for EVAR (0.4%; 0-1.1%, P = 0.01) and INFRA (1.4%; 0.5-2.9%, P = 0.01), but not for CEA (0.4%; 0-0.8%, P = 0.53) or OAAA (1.6%; 0-3.8%, P = 0.23). Procedure-specific troponin-only POMI rates (mean; range) were significantly different between regions for all procedures: CEA (0.4%; 0.1-1.2%, P < 0.001), EVAR (0.7%; 0-2.1%, P < 0.001), INFRA (1.3%; 0.4-2.5%, P = 0.001), and OAAA (2.5%; 0-8.5%, P < 0.001). After risk adjustment, regional variation was again noted with 3 regions having higher and 4 regions having lower than expected rates of POMI.



Significant variation in POMI rates following major vascular surgery exists across VQI regions even after risk adjustment. These findings may present an opportunity for focused regional quality improvement efforts.
Intrahospital transport of patients on invasive ventilation: cardiorespiratory repercussions and adverse events.

To determine the occurrence of cardiorespiratory alterations and to identify adverse events during the intrahospital transport of patients on invasive ventilation.



A prospective observational non-randomized study was conducted at two tertiary hospitals between April of 2005 and December of 2006. We included patients on invasive ventilation who required intrahospital transport during the study period. Exclusion criteria were as follows: being under suspicion of brain death; being submitted to alternate periods of mechanical ventilation/nebulization via a T-piece; and being transported to the operating room. Prior to and after transport, we evaluated blood gas analysis results, vital signs, use of medications by means of a continuous infusion pump, parameters regarding the mechanical ventilator, duration of transport, transport distance and number of professionals involved.



We included 48 patients in a total of 58 intrahospital transports. Relevant cardiorespiratory alterations were identified in 39 transports, totaling 86 episodes, as well as 16 adverse events related to equipment or personnel failure, such as problems related to batteries and to miscommunication.



During the intrahospital transport of patients on invasive ventilation, cardiorespiratory alterations were common (67.2%), and adverse events occurred in 75.7% of the transports.
Low-power design methodology for an on-chip bus with adaptive bandwidth capability

This paper describes a low-power design methodology for a bus architecture based on hybrid current/voltage mode signaling for deep sub-micrometer on-chip interconnects that achieves high data transmission rates while minimizing the number of repeaters by nearly 1/3. The technique uses low-impedance current-mode sensing to increase the data throughput and minimizes the static power dissipation inherent to current-mode signaling by adaptively changing the interconnection bandwidth given a change in input signal activity. Since bandwidth is related to power dissipation, the adaptive bus attains energy efficient data transmission by expending minimum power required to support the bus signal activity.The design method is based on statistical analysis of address streams extracted for typical benchmark programs using a microprocessor time-based simulator in combination with circuit-level power analysis. Simulation results indicate improvements in power dissipation of up to 65% and 40% over current and voltage mode signaling schemes, respectively.
Unrelated donor allogeneic transplantation after failure of autologous transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia: a study from the center for international blood and marrow transplantation research.

The survival of patients with relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HCT) is very poor. We studied the outcomes of 302 patients who underwent secondary allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) from an unrelated donor (URD) using either myeloablative (n = 242) or reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC; n = 60) regimens reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Research. After a median follow-up of 58 months (range, 2 to 160 months), the probability of treatment-related mortality was 44% (95% confidence interval [CI], 38%-50%) at 1-year. The 5-year incidence of relapse was 32% (95% CI, 27%-38%), and that of overall survival was 22% (95% CI, 18%-27%). Multivariate analysis revealed a significantly better overal survival with RIC regimens (hazard ratio [HR], 0.51; 95% CI, 0.35-0.75; P <.001), with Karnofsky Performance Status score ≥90% (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.47-0.82: P = .001) and in cytomegalovirus-negative recipients (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.44-0.94; P = .022). A longer interval (>18 months) from auto-HCT to URD allo-HCT was associated with significantly lower riak of relapse (HR, 0.19; 95% CI, 0.09-0.38; P <.001) and improved leukemia-free survival (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.34-0.84; P = .006). URD allo-HCT after auto-HCT relapse resulted in 20% long-term leukemia-free survival, with the best results seen in patients with a longer interval to secondary URD transplantation, with a Karnofsky Performance Status score ≥90%, in complete remission, and using an RIC regimen. Further efforts to reduce treatment-related mortaility and relapse are still needed.
Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum Accelerates Colonic Transit Time and Improves Symptoms in Adults with Chronic Constipation

Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) is a water-soluble, non-gelling dietary fiber with a wide range of uses in clinical nutrition. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the effect of guar gum on colonic transit time (CTT) and symptoms of chronic constipation. We enrolled patients fulfilling Rome III criteria for chronic constipation. CTT was measured before and at the end of treatment. After a 2-week run-in period, patients received 5 mg PHGG daily for 4 weeks. During study period, patients kept daily symptoms, stool and laxative usage diaries. They also recorded their symptom-related satisfaction weekly and treatment adverse events. Forty-nine patients received treatment; 39 (80 %) completed the study. Treatment significantly reduced colon transit time, from 57.28 ± 39.25 to 45.63 ± 37.27 h (p = 0.026), a reduction more prominent in slow transit patients (from 85.50 ± 27.75 to 63.65 ± 38.11 h, p = 0.016). Overall, the weekly number of complete spontaneous and spontaneous bowel movements increased significantly (p < 0.001); the latter correlated significantly with the acceleration of CTT in the overall population and in slow transit patients (B = 0.382; p = 0.016 and B = 0.483; p = 0.023, respectively). In addition, the number of bowel movements with straining decreased (p < 0.001) and stool form improved (p < 0.001), while days with laxative intake and days with abdominal pain decreased (p = 0.001 and p = 0.027, respectively). Four-week PHGG use accelerates colon transit time in patients with chronic constipation, especially in those with slow transit, and improves many of their symptoms including frequency of bowel movements.
Psychiatric treatment following participation in the CapOpus randomized trial for patients with comorbid cannabis use disorder and psychosis

Randomized trials targeting cannabis use disorders in patients with psychosis have generally been unsuccessful. One of the largest such trials was the CapOpus trial, which had an impact on the number of monthly joints used, but not on the number of days with cannabis use or positive or negative symptoms.



To investigate the effects of CapOpus on psychiatric treatment.



Six-month randomized trial on participants meeting ICD-10 criteria for cannabis use disorder and schizophrenia-spectrum psychosis. Participants were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU, n=51) alone versus TAU plus CapOpus (n=52) consisting of motivational interviewing and cognitive behavior therapy. Data regarding psychiatric treatment was obtained from complete nationwide registers. Analyses were intention-to-treat. Cox and poisson regression were used as appropriate.



Compared with treatment as usual, participants in the CapOpus group had an overall higher risk of having a psychiatric emergency room contact (hazard ratio 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.22-3.34). Participants in CapOpus also had more contacts with psychiatric emergency rooms (incidence rate ratio 3.47 (2.64-4.57)) and more admissions to psychiatric hospitals (incidence rate ratio 2.24 (1.65-3.03)); conversely, CapOpus-participants spent fewer days admitted to psychiatric hospitals than treatment-as-usual participants (incidence rate ratio 0.72 (0.68-0.75)).



CapOpus led to earlier and more psychiatric emergency room contacts and admissions that, however, were of fewer days. This pattern could indicate that participants receiving treatment as usual were inadequately treated. However, it cannot be excluded that the differences might be an adverse reaction to the psychosocial intervention.
RAPSTROM™ first-in-man study long-term results of a biodegradable polymer sustained-release sirolimus-eluting stent in de novo coronary stenoses.

Durable polymers used for first-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) potentially contribute to persistent inflammation and late DES thrombosis. We report the first real-life human experience with the rapamycin-eluting biodegradable polymer-coated Rapstrom stent.



All consecutive patients with single de novo native coronary stenosis (<30 mm and between 2.5 and 4.0 mm) were enrolled. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 1 year (cardiac death, myocardial infarction [Q and non-Q], or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization) were the primary end-point.



A total of 123 patients were enrolled. The stent was implanted without complications in all patients, and no MACE were recorded at 30 days. At 12-month follow-up 9 patients (7.3%) experienced a MACE and 4 (3.2%) required a target lesion revascularization, while 1 (1%) stent thrombosis was recorded. A planned angiographic follow-up (FU) was performed in 73 patients (59%) at 9.4 ± 2.6 months following the index procedure. In-stent late loss was 0.16 ± 0.09 mm, and in-segment late loss was 0.18 ± 0.8 mm.



The Rapstrom biodegradable polymer rapamycin-eluting stent appeared safe and efficacious in this first real-life human experience, due to a low late lumen loss. Larger randomized studies are required to confirm these preliminary results.
Global and regional left ventricular function and tomographic radionuclide perfusion: the Western Washington Intracoronary Streptokinase In Myocardial Infarction Trial.

The Western Washington Intracoronary Streptokinase In Myocardial Infarction Trial enrolled 250 patients with acute myocardial infarction. After the coronary angiographic diagnosis of thrombosis, patients were randomly assigned to receive either conventional therapy with heparin or intracoronary streptokinase followed by heparin. Of the 232 patients who survived at least 60 days, 207 (89%) underwent radionuclide ventriculographic determination of global and regional ejection fraction at a single institution at 62 +/- 35 days after infarction. In the first 100 patients, infarct size was also determined by quantitative single-photon emission tomographic imaging with thallium-201 (201Tl) and expressed as a percentage of the left ventricle with a perfusion defect. Overall, global ejection fraction did not differ between patients treated with streptokinase (45.9 +/- 13.9%; n = 115) and control patients (46.1 +/- 14.4%; n = 92, p = NS). Similarly, the regional posterolateral, inferior, and anteroseptal ejection fraction did not differ between the two groups. Infarct size as measured by 201Tl tomography was 19.4 +/- 12.8% (n = 52) of the left ventricle for the streptokinase group and 19.6 +/- 11.8% (n = 48; p = NS) for the control group. When patients were compared within groups by electrocardiographic location of infarction, time to treatment, or the presence or absence of vessel opening, there were no significant differences between streptokinase and control patients. Statistical inclusion of the 18 patients who died early and were unavailable for study also failed to modify the results, except for a possible reduction in inferior infarct size as measured by 201Tl tomography.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Effects of 12 weeks of aerobic training on autonomic modulation, mucociliary clearance, and aerobic parameters in patients with COPD.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit aerobic function, autonomic nervous system, and mucociliary clearance alterations. These parameters can be attenuated by aerobic training, which can be applied with continuous or interval efforts. However, the possible effects of aerobic training, using progressively both continuous and interval sessions (ie, linear periodization), require further investigation.



To analyze the effects of 12-week aerobic training using continuous and interval sessions on autonomic modulation, mucociliary clearance, and aerobic function in patients with COPD.



Sixteen patients with COPD were divided into an aerobic (continuous and interval) training group (AT) (n=10) and a control group (CG) (n=6). An incremental test (initial speed of 2.0 km·h(-1), constant slope of 3%, and increments of 0.5 km·h(-1) every 2 minutes) was performed. The training group underwent training for 4 weeks at 60% of the peak velocity reached in the incremental test (vVO2peak) (50 minutes of continuous effort), followed by 4 weeks of sessions at 75% of vVO2peak (30 minutes of continuous effort), and 4 weeks of interval training (5×3-minute effort at vVO2peak, separated by 1 minute of passive recovery). Intensities were adjusted through an incremental test performed at the end of each period.



The AT presented an increase in the high frequency index (ms(2)) (P=0.04), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) (P=0.01), vVO2peak (P=0.04), and anaerobic threshold (P=0.02). No significant changes were observed in the CG (P>0.21) group. Neither of the groups presented changes in mucociliary clearance after 12 weeks (AT: P=0.94 and CG: P=0.69).



Twelve weeks of aerobic training (continuous and interval sessions) positively influenced the autonomic modulation and aerobic parameters in patients with COPD. However, mucociliary clearance was not affected by aerobic training.
Health-related quality of life and self-related health in patients with type 2 diabetes: Effects of group-based rehabilitation versus individual counselling

Type 2 diabetes can seriously affect patients' health-related quality of life and their self-rated health. Most often, evaluation of diabetes interventions assess effects on glycemic control with little consideration of quality of life. The aim of the current study was to study the effectiveness of group-based rehabilitation versus individual counselling on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and self-rated health in type 2 diabetes patients.



We randomised 143 type 2 diabetes patients to either a six-month multidisciplinary group-based rehabilitation programme including patient education, supervised exercise and a cooking-course or a six-month individual counselling programme. HRQOL was measured by Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) and self-rated health was measured by Diabetes Symptom Checklist - Revised (DCS-R).



In both groups, the lowest estimated mean scores of the SF36 questionnaire at baseline were "vitality" and "general health". There were no significant differences in the change of any item between the two groups after the six-month intervention period. However, vitality-score increased 5.2 points (p = 0.12) within the rehabilitation group and 5.6 points (p = 0.03) points among individual counselling participants.In both groups, the highest estimated mean scores of the DSC-R questionnaire at baseline were "Fatigue" and "Hyperglycaemia". Hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic distress decreased significantly after individual counselling than after group-based rehabilitation (difference -0.3 points, p = 0.04). No between-group differences occurred for any other items. However, fatigue distress decreased 0.40 points within the rehabilitation group (p = 0.01) and 0.34 points within the individual counselling group (p < 0.01). In the rehabilitation group cardiovascular distress decreased 0.25 points (p = 0.01).



A group-based rehabilitation programme did not improve health-related quality of life and self-rated health more than an individual counselling programme. In fact, the individual group experienced a significant relief in hyper- and hypoglycaemic distress compared with the rehabilitation group.However, the positive findings of several items in both groups indicate that lifestyle intervention is an important part of the management of type 2 diabetes patients.
Comprehensive Metabolomic Characterization of Coronary Artery Diseases.

Pathogenesis and diagnostic biomarkers for diseases can be discovered by metabolomic profiling of human fluids. If the various types of coronary artery disease (CAD) can be accurately characterized by metabolomics, effective treatment may be targeted without using unnecessary therapies and resources.



The authors studied disturbed metabolic pathways to assess the diagnostic value of metabolomics-based biomarkers in different types of CAD.



A cohort of 2,324 patients from 4 independent centers was studied. Patients underwent coronary angiography for suspected CAD. Groups were divided as follows: normal coronary artery (NCA), nonobstructive coronary atherosclerosis (NOCA), stable angina (SA), unstable angina (UA), and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Plasma metabolomic profiles were determined by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and were analyzed by multivariate statistics.



We made 12 cross-comparisons to and within CAD to characterize metabolic disturbances. We focused on comparisons of NOCA versus NCA, SA versus NOCA, UA versus SA, and AMI versus UA. Other comparisons were made, including SA versus NCA, UA versus NCA, AMI versus NCA, UA versus NOCA, AMI versus NOCA, AMI versus SA, significant CAD (SA/UA/AMI) versus nonsignificant CAD (NCA/NOCA), and acute coronary syndrome (UA/AMI) versus SA. A total of 89 differential metabolites were identified. The altered metabolic pathways included reduced phospholipid catabolism, increased amino acid metabolism, increased short-chain acylcarnitines, decrease in tricarboxylic acid cycle, and less biosynthesis of primary bile acid. For differential diagnosis, 12 panels of specific metabolomics-based biomarkers provided areas under the curve of 0.938 to 0.996 in the discovery phase (n = 1,086), predictive values of 89.2% to 96.0% in the test phase (n = 933), and 85.3% to 96.4% in the 3-center external sets (n = 305).



Plasma metabolomics are powerful for characterizing metabolic disturbances. Differences in small-molecule metabolites may reflect underlying CAD and serve as biomarkers for CAD progression.
Acetyl-L-carnitine for alcohol craving and relapse prevention in anhedonic alcoholics: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial.

The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of acetyl-l-carnitine (ALC), at different doses, in relapse prevention and craving in anhedonic detoxified alcohol-dependent subjects.



Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, pilot study in 64 alcohol-dependent anhedonic patients: 23 received ALC at a dose of 3 g/day, 21 received ALC at a dosage of 1 g/day and 20 were given placebo. Intensity of alcohol craving was evaluated by Visual Analogue Scale. Subjects were evaluated at the beginning of treatment and after 10, 30, 60 and 90 days.



Survival analysis showed that patients treated with ALC remained completely abstinent for longer than those treated with placebo (Z = -2.27; P < 0.05). From the 10th day onwards, a greater reduction of craving was observed in the ALC 1 g group than with placebo (P = 0.035). The two groups did not differ in the percentage of subjects remaining abstinent for the entire study period or the number of subjects who relapsed (defined as five or more standard drinks (four for women) on a single occasion or drinking on five or more days in 1 week).



The results of this study suggest that ALC can reduce craving and the time to first drink. ALC use was safe. Further studies are needed to clarify to confirm, over longer periods, these short-term outcome benefits.
A double-blind randomized study comparing imipramine with fluvoxamine in depressed inpatients

To compare the efficacy of imipramine and fluvoxamine in inpatients from two centers suffering from a depressive disorder according to DSM IV criteria. The study included 141 patients with a depressive disorder according to DSM IV criteria. After a drug-free and placebo run-in period of 1 week, patients were randomized to imipramine or fluvoxamine; doses of both drugs were adjusted to a predefined target blood level. Efficacy was evaluated 4 weeks after attaining predefined adequate plasma level. The mean age of the study group (47 males, 94 females) was 51.8 (range 19–65) years. Of these 141 patients, 56 had episode duration longer than 1 year, 48 had mood congruent psychotic features, and 138 patients received medication. Seven patients did not complete the medication trial. The total number of patients using concurrent medication was 12/138 (8.6%). On the primary outcome criteria patients on imipramine improved significantly better on the change of illness severity score of the CGI (χ2 exact trend test=4.089, df=1, P=0.048). There was no significant difference in 50% or more reduction on the HRSD, the other primary outcome criterion. On the secondary outcome criteria the mean reduction of the HRSD scores was significantly larger in the imipramine group than in the fluvoxamine group (mean difference=3.1, standard error (SE)=1.4, t=2.15, df=136, P=0.033). There was no significant difference in the number of patients with an HRSD ≤7 at the final evaluation. In depressed inpatients imipramine is more efficacious than fluvoxamine. Both drugs were well tolerated by all patients.