nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections in Patients on Emergent Hemodialysis.

This study had 2 objectives: (1) to describe the epidemiology of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who have no access to scheduled dialysis and (2) to evaluate whether a positive culture of the heparin-lock solution is associated with subsequent development of bacteremia.



Retrospective observational cohort design for objective 1; and prospective cohort design for objective 2.



The study was conducted in a 770-bed public academic tertiary hospital in Dallas, Texas. The participants were patients with ESRD undergoing scheduled or emergent hemodialysis.



We reviewed the records of 147 patients who received hemodialysis between January 2011 and May 2011 and evaluated the rate of CRBSI in the previous 5 years. For the prospective study, we cultured the catheter heparin-lock solution in 62 consecutive patients between June 2012 and August 2012 and evaluated the incidence of CRBSI at 6 months.



Of the 147 patients on emergent hemodialysis, 125 had a tunneled catheter, with a CRBSI rate of 2.61 per 1,000 catheter days. The predominant organisms were Gram-negative rods (GNR). In the prospective study, we found that the dialysis catheter was colonized more frequently in patients on emergent hemodialysis than in those on scheduled hemodialysis. Colonization with GNR or Staphylococcus aureus was associated with subsequent CRBSI at 6 months follow-up.



Patients undergoing emergent hemodialysis via tunneled catheter are predisposed to Gram-negative CRBSI. Culturing the heparin-lock solution may predict subsequent episodes of CRBSI if it shows colonization with GNR or Staphylococcus aureus. Prevention approaches in this population need to be studied further.
Insulin-like growth factor I receptor density on CD4+T-lymphocytes from active early steroid- and DMARD-naïve rheumatoid arthritis patients is up-regulated and not influenced by 1 year of clinically effective treatment

The IGF-IR density on CD4+T-lymphocytes was studied using flow cytometry in 40 early steroid- and DMARD-naïve rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients before and after 52 weeks of treatment with methotrexate+placebo or methotrexate+cyclosporine A and in 15 controls. RA patients had increased IGF-IR density on CD4+T-lymphocytes at week 0 and week 52, irrespective of treatment. IGF-IR-positive CD4+T-lymphocytes fraction decreased during treatment, but neither at week 0 nor at week 52 did it differ from healthy controls. No correlations were found to disease activity parameters.
Long-term results of endoscopic symphathetic block using the Lin-Telaranta classification

Endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy has been used successfully in the treatment of blushing, excessive sweating, and social phobia. However, the adverse effects of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy are more severe and frequent than the adverse effects of endoscopic sympathetic block (ESB). The use of different blocking levels for different indications in ESB according to the Lin-Telaranta classification further decreases the postoperative adverse effects. However, there are few data on the long-term results of ESB performed using the Lin-Telaranta classification. Ninety-five patients (55 men, 40 women) were interviewed by before the surgery using our routine questionnaire, and the same questionnaire was answered postoperatively by the patients. In addition, a long-term follow-up questionnaire was sent to all patients whose address was known. Forty-seven patients (24 men, 23 women) answered to this questionnaire. The Davidson brief social phobia scale and the Liebowitz quality of life scale were used. Patients were divided to 3 categories: category 1, patients with sweating problems; category 2, patients with blushing; and category 3, and patients with symptoms other than sweating or blushing. Among patients in category 1, social phobia decreased from 12.43 to 6.71 (p = 0.004), in category 2 from 13.97 to 7.69 (p < 0.001), and in category 3 from 13.18 to 9.64 (p = 0.007) during long-term follow-up. Among patients with severe sweating problems preoperatively, sweating decreased from 2.50 to 1.29 (p = 0.003) among patients in category 1 and from 1.86 to 1.16 (p < 0.001) among patients in category 2. Among patients with unbearable blushing, blushing decreased from 4 to 1.80 (p < 0.001). Patients got a clear help from ESB performed using the Lin-Telaranta classification to treat blushing, excessive sweating, and social phobia with and without physical symptoms. In addition, compensatory sweating increased only slightly.
Detecting in-situ identity fraud on social network services: a case study on facebook

In this paper, we propose to use a continuous authentication approach to detect the in-situ identity fraud incidents, which occur when the attackers use the same devices and IP addresses as the victims. Using Facebook as a case study, we show that it is possible to detect such incidents by analyzing SNS users' browsing behavior. Our experiment results demonstrate that the approach can achieve reasonable accuracy given a few minutes of observation time.
A randomized trial of patellofemoral bracing for treatment of patellofemoral osteoarthritis.

The number of effective knee osteoarthritis (OA) interventions, especially those tailored to specific compartmental involvement, are small. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a realigning patellofemoral (PF) brace in improving pain and function among persons with symptomatic lateral PF OA.



We conducted a double blind, randomized crossover trial of a realigning PF brace for persons with lateral PF OA. Participants had lateral PF OA with anterior knee symptoms on most days of the month, lateral PF joint space narrowing, and radiographic evidence of a definite osteophyte in the PF joint. We compared two treatments: (1) Control treatment consisting of a BioSkin Q Brace with patellar realigning strap removed; and (2) Active treatment consisting of a realigning BioSkin Q Brace with the strap applied. For each participant, the trial lasted 18 weeks, including 6 weeks each of active and control treatment period separated by a 6-week washout period. The order of treatments was randomized. The primary outcome was change in knee pain on the visual analog scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes included WOMAC pain, function, and stiffness. An unstructured correlation matrix for observations within participants was used in generalized estimating equation fitting to derive a linear regression model that expressed the relation between the intervention and change in VAS pain.



80 participants (63 F) with a mean age and body mass index of 61 years and 28 kg/m(2), respectively, were randomized by order of treatment. A model examining the main effects for change in VAS knee pain (0-100) demonstrated no significant treatment effect (-0.68 VAS units, 95% CI: -6.2, 4.8 units, P=0.81) and no differential carryover effect. There was also no significant difference between active and control treatments for WOMAC pain, function, or stiffness outcomes.



The effects of a specific realigning PF brace are not of clinical or statistical significance.
Demonstration of teamwork in uncertain domains using hybrid BDI-POMDP systems

Personal Assistant agents are becoming increasingly important in a variety of application domains in offices, at home, for medical care and many others [5, 1]. These agents are required to constantly monitor their environment (including the state of their users), and make periodic decisions based on their monitoring. For example, in an office environment, agents may need to monitor the location of their user in order to ascertain whether the user would be able to make it on time to a meeting . Or, they may be required to monitor the progress of a user on a particular assignment and decide whether or not the user would be able to meet the deadline for completing the assignment. Teamwork between such agents is important in Personal Assistant applications to enable agents working together to achieve a common goal (such as finishing a project on time). This working demonstration shows a hybrid(BDI-POMDP) approach to accomplish such teamwork.
Preliminary results of centralized HER2 testing in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): NSABP B-43

NSABP B-43 is the first prospective, randomized phase III multi-institution clinical trial targeting high-risk, HER2-positive DCIS. It compares whole breast irradiation alone with WBI given concurrently with trastuzumab in women with HER2-positive DCIS treated by lumpectomy. The primary aim is to determine if trastuzumab plus radiation will reduce in-breast tumor recurrence. HER2-positive DCIS was previously estimated at >50 %, occurring primarily in ER-negative, comedo-type DCIS of high nuclear grade. There has been no documented centralized multi-institutional HER2 analysis of DCIS. NSABP B-43 provides a unique opportunity to evaluate this in a large cohort of DCIS patients. Patients undergoing lumpectomy for DCIS without evidence of an invasive component are eligible. A central review of each patient’s pure DCIS lesion is carried out by immunohistochemistry analysis. If the lesion is 2+, FISH analysis is performed. Patients whose tumors are HER2 3+ or FISH-positive are randomly assigned to receive two doses of trastuzumab during WBI or WBI alone. NSABP B-43 opened 11/9/08. As of 7/31/2013, 5,861 patients have had specimens received centrally, and 5,645 of those had analyzable blocks; 1,969 (34.9 %) were HER2 positive. A total of 1,428 patients have been accrued, 1,137 (79.6 %) of whom have follow-up information. The average follow-up time for the 1,137 patients is 23.3 months. No grade 4 or 5 toxicity has been observed. In NSABP B-43 the HER2-positive rate for pure DCIS among patients undergoing breast-preserving surgery is 34.9 %, lower than the previously reported rate. No trastuzumab-related safety signals have been observed. Interest in this trial has been robust.
Impact of preoperative and intraoperative factors in cataract surgery.

Cataract surgery is the most common procedure in ophthalmology. However the surgical outcome depends on various factors. The impact of preoperative and intraoperative factors on the surgical procedure were investigated.



Prospective consecutive study of eyes that underwent cataract surgery. The studied parameters included: age, body mass index (BMI), medical history, type of anaesthesia, preoperative patient's anxiety level (scale from 0 to 10), spherical equivalent (SE), keratometry, axial length (AL), time and percentage of ultrasounds (US), intraoperative complications, duration of surgery. The eyes were separated into two groups: the "no complication group" and the "complication group".



529 eyes were included. Age averaged 75.5 years old (44; 100), mean BMI (kg/m2) was 26.3 (13.7; 45.2), patients had cardiovascular history in 61.05% of cases, the type of anaesthesia used was topical in 93.4%, subtenon in 4.7% and general in 1.9% of cases. Mean preoperative anxiety was 4.04 (0; 10), mean preoperative SE was -0.12 (-10; 7.5), mean keratometry (diopters) was 43.88 (39.5; 49), mean AL (mm) was 23.29 (20.91; 29.78), mean time of US (minutes) was 1.89 (0.08; 9.2), mean percentage of US was 10.5 (2; 30) and mean surgical duration (minutes) was 17.15 (5; 50). There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001 in all cases) between both groups in the preoperative anxiety, the time of US and the duration of surgery. The "complication group" had higher scores in all cases as well as more proportion of patients with cardiovascular history. There was no statistically significant difference between both groups for the BMI, SE, AL, keratometry and percentage of US.



The preoperative anxiety level and a cardiovascular medical history together with a prolonged time of US and a longer surgical duration seem to provide more complications during the surgery. The BMI, SE, AL and keratometry did not influence the surgical procedure.
Cytokine biomarkers to predict antitumor responses to nivolumab suggested in a phase 2 study for advanced melanoma

Promising antitumor activities of nivolumab, a fully humanized IgG4 inhibitor antibody against the programmed death-1 protein, were suggested in previous phase 1 studies. The present phase 2, single-arm study (JAPIC-CTI #111681) evaluated the antitumor activities of nivolumab and explored its predictive correlates in advanced melanoma patients at 11 sites in Japan. Intravenous nivolumab 2 mg/kg was given repeatedly at 3-week intervals to 35 of 37 patients enrolled from December 2011 to May 2012 until they experienced unacceptable toxicity, disease progression, or complete response. Primary endpoint was objective response rate. Serum levels of immune modulators were assessed at multiple time points. As of 21 October 2014, median response duration, median progression-free survival, and median overall survival were 463 days, 169 days, and 18.0 months, respectively. The overall response rate and 1- and 2-year survival rates were 28.6%, 54.3%, and 42.9%, respectively. Thirteen patients remained alive at the end of the observation period and no deaths were drug related. Grade 3-4 drug-related adverse events were observed in 31.4% of patients. Pretreatment serum interferon-γ, and interleukin-6 and -10 levels were significantly higher in the patients with objective tumor responses than in those with tumor progression. In conclusion, giving repeated i.v. nivolumab had potent and durable antitumor effects and a manageable safety profile in advanced melanoma patients, strongly suggesting the usefulness of nivolumab for advanced melanoma and the usefulness of pretreatment serum cytokine profiles as correlates for predicting treatment efficacy.
Validation of World Health Organisation HIV/AIDS Clinical Staging in Predicting Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy and Clinical Predictors of Low CD4 Cell Count in Uganda

The WHO clinical guidelines for HIV/AIDS are widely used in resource limited settings to represent the gold standard of CD4 counts for antiviral therapy initiation. The utility of the WHO-defined stage 1 and 2 clinical factors used in WHO HIV/AIDS clinical staging in predicting low CD4 cell count has not been established in Uganda. Although the WHO staging has shown low sensitivity for predicting CD4<200 cells/mm(3), it has not been evaluated at for CD4 cut-offs of <250 cells/mm(3) or <350 cells/mm(3).



To validate the World Health Organisation HIV/AIDS clinical staging in predicting initiation of antiretroviral therapy in a low-resource setting and to determine the clinical predictors of low CD4 cell count in Uganda.



Data was collected on 395 participants from the Joint Clinical Research Centre, of whom 242 (61.3%) were classified as in stages 1 and 2 and 262 (68%) were females. Participants had a mean age of 36.8 years (SD 8.5). We found a significant inverse correlation between the CD4 lymphocyte count and WHO clinical stages. The sensitivity the WHO clinical staging at CD4 cell count of 250 cells/mm(3) and 350 cells/mm(3) was 53.5% and 49.1% respectively. Angular cheilitis, papular pruritic eruptions and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections were found to be significant predictors of low CD4 cell count among participants in WHO stage 1 and 2.



The WHO HIV/AIDS clinical staging guidelines have a low sensitivity and about half of the participants in stages 1 and 2 would be eligible for ART initiation if they had been tested for CD4 count. Angular cheilitis and papular pruritic eruptions and recurrent upper respiratory tract infections may be used, in addition to the WHO staging, to improve sensitivity in the interim, as access to CD4 machines increases in Uganda.
Nitroglycerin sensitises in healthy subjects CNS structures involved in migraine pathophysiology: Evidence from a study of nociceptive blink reflexes and visual evoked potentials

Nitroglycerin (NTG), a NO donor, induces an attack in migraine patients approximately 4-6 h after administration. The causative mechanisms are not known, but the long delay leaves room for a central effect, such as a change in neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission of various CNS areas involved in pain and behaviour including trigeminal nucleus caudalis and monoaminergic brain stem nuclei. To explore the central action of NTG, we have studied its effects on amplitude and habituation of the nociceptive blink reflex (nBR) and the visual evoked potential (VEP) before, 1 h and 4 h after administration of NTG (1.2 mg sublingual) or placebo (vehicle sublingual) in two groups of 10 healthy volunteers. We found a significant decrease in nBR pain and reflex thresholds both 1 and 4 h post-NTG. At the 4 h time point R2 latency was shorter (p=0.04) and R2 response area increased (p<0.01) after NTG but not after placebo. Habituation tended to become more pronounced after both NTG and placebo administration. There was a significant amplitude increase in the 5th VEP block (p=0.03) at 1h after NTG and in the 1st block (p=0.04) at 4 h. VEP habituation was replaced by potentiation at both delays after NTG; the change in habituation slope was significant at 1h (p=0.02). There were no significant VEP changes in subjects who received sublingual placebo. In conclusion, we found that in healthy subjects sublingual NTG, but not its vehicle, induces changes in a trigeminal nociceptive reflex and an evoked cortical response which are comparable to those found immediately before and during an attack of migraine. These changes could be relevant for the attack-triggering effect of NTG in migraineurs.
Recent Trends in Hospitalization for Acute Myocardial Infarction in Beijing: Increasing Overall Burden and a Transition From ST-Segment Elevation to Non-ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction in a Population-Based Study.

Comparable data on trends of hospitalization rates for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and non-STEMI (NSTEMI) remain unavailable in representative Asian populations.To examine the temporal trends of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and its subtypes in Beijing.Patients hospitalized for AMI in Beijing from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2012 were identified from the validated Hospital Discharge Information System. Trends in hospitalization rates, in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and hospitalization costs were analyzed by regression models for total AMI and for STEMI and NSTEMI separately. In total, 77,943 patients were admitted for AMI in Beijing during the 6 years, among whom 67.5% were males and 62.4% had STEMI. During the period, the rate of AMI hospitalization per 100,000 population increased by 31.2% (from 55.8 to 73.3 per 100,000 population) after age standardization, with a slight decrease in STEMI but a 3-fold increase in NSTEMI. The ratio of STEMI to NSTEMI decreased dramatically from 6.5:1.0 to 1.3:1.0. The age-standardized in-hospital mortality decreased from 11.2% to 8.6%, with a significant decreasing trend evident for STEMI in males and females (P < 0.001) and for NSTEMI in males (P = 0.02). The rate of percutaneous coronary intervention increased from 28.7% to 55.6% among STEMI patients. The total cost for AMI hospitalization increased by 56.8% after adjusting for inflation, although the LOS decreased by 1 day.The hospitalization burden for AMI has been increasing in Beijing with a transition from STEMI to NSTEMI. Diverse temporal trends in AMI subtypes from the unselected "real-world" data in Beijing may help to guide the management of AMI in China and other developing countries.
Response to Rituximab and Timeframe to Relapse in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Rituximab is used to deplete B cells and control disease activity, mainly in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not responded to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy. Response rates and time to relapse vary significantly among treated individuals. The objective of this study was to monitor the response of seropositive and seronegative RA patients to rituximab and correlate relapse with B-cell markers in the two groups.  Seventeen RA patients (eight seropositive for rheumatoid factor [RF+] and nine seronegative [RF-]) were treated with two cycles of rituximab. After treatment, all patients were re-evaluated at the outpatient clinic, and rituximab was readministered when disease relapse was confirmed by clinical-laboratory measures (Disease Activity Score [DAS]-28). CD20+ cells and CD20 receptor expression levels were estimated at initiation, relapse, and re-evaluation timepoints, and were compared between the two groups.  Seropositive patients responded favorably to treatment compared with the seronegative group. The mean time to relapse was 337.5±127.0 days for the RF+ patients versus 233.3 ± 59.6 days for the RF-patients (p = 0.043), despite more aggressive concomitant treatment in the seronegative group. The DAS28 decrease 3 months after treatment was 1.695 ± 1.076 in seropositive patients versus 0.94±1.62 in seronegative patients. At relapse, CD20 receptor expression (molecules/cell) was higher in RF+ patients than in their RF-counterparts, despite a significantly lower percentage of CD20+ cells.  Rituximab treatment is efficient in both seropositive and seronegative RA. However, seropositive RA patients tend to respond favorably compared with seronegative patients. The differential CD20 receptor expression in the two groups at relapse potentially suggests a different pathogenetic mechanism of relapse and merits further investigation.
Diabetes burden and prevention in Korea and the Western Pacific Region.

Diabetes burden in the Western Pacific Region (WPR) is more problematic than in any other part of the world. In 2013, the International Diabetes Federation reported >382 million people are living with diabetes around the world. About 36%, approximately 138 million people with diabetes, are living in the WPR. In addition, in the WPR, from 2012 to 2013, 6 million diabetes mellitus cases were newly diagnosed, accounting for 54.5% of all type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cases diagnosed in the world during the same period. South Korea is no exception, and the prevalence of diabetes is estimated to be as high as 5 million people. The prevalence of T2DM in Korea increased from <1% in 1960 to >10% by early 2000. According to the Ansung-Ansan Cohort study, from 2001 to 2011, T2DM increased 54% and 60% in the 50(th) and 60(th) age groups, respectively. The main reason for the rapid increase in the prevalence of diabetes in Korea was the sudden growth in the economy, resulting in rapid urbanization. Moreover, scientific evidence suggests the dramatic increase in T2DM incidence and prevalence in Korea is related to the influence of economic development, health policy, urbanization, westernized diet, decreased physical activity, as well as an individual's health behavior changes. However, diabetes management response rate was low in the newly onset groups with <20%, but gradually increased up to around 90%, then declined to <80% after 16-20 year of developing T2DM, showing an "M" management pattern. The study results revealed that despite the successful implementation of the universal health insurance system in Korea beginning in 1987, people diagnosed with T2DM were not properly managing T2DM. Most developing countries in the WPR are emulating the Korean experiences. There is clear evidence that utilization of BED (Behavioral change, Exercise, and proper Diet) could be the best vector to fight against the diabetes tsunami in the WPR. From the Korean experiences the WPR, at high risk for T2DM, could learn to prevent, intervene, and properly manage T2DM in order to reduce diabetes-related morbidity and mortality.