nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Effects of 6 Weeks of Balance Training on Chronic Ankle Instability in Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The objective of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of a 6-week balance training program on patients with Chronic Ankle Instability (CAI) in relation to the results obtained in Dynamic Balance, subjective feeling of instability and pain using a single-blind randomized controlled trial. 70 athletes were randomly assigned to control or intervention group. The control group performed their usual training, and the intervention group was administered the same usual activity in addition to a balance program. The paired t-test was performed to evaluate the change scores in each group. The t-test for independent samples was performed to evaluate between-group differences in change scores. Significance level was assigned for p-values less than 0.05 for all analyses. There were significant differences between groups in change scores in CAIT and all of the SEBTs reach distances (p<0.001) but not in Pain (p=0.586). The effect sizes were larger for the outcomes measures that showed significant differences. In the within-group change, the experimental groups showed larger effect sizes in CAIT, SEBT posteromedial and SEBT posterolateral, and moderate effect sizes in SEBT anterior. Exercise therapy training based on multi-station balance tasks led to significant improvements in dynamic balance and self-reported sensation of instability in patients with CAI.
Lifestyle modifications in the development of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome in Chinese women who had gestational diabetes mellitus: a randomized interventional trial

To study whether lifestyle intervention can reduce the development of type II diabetes mellitus (DM) and metabolic syndrome (MS) among Chinese women who had gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). A prospective randomized controlled interventional trial of 450 women who had GDM and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) postpartum. Advice on diet and exercise was given to the intervention group and reinforced in each follow-up visit. Women in both arms were followed for 36 months. Blood pressure and anthropometry were measured at each visit and blood tests were repeated. Fewer women in the intervention group developed DM (15 versus 19 %) but this was not statistically significant, and there was a lower incidence of DM among women over 40 years old. No difference was found in fasting glucose, insulin and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and triglyceride level, were lower but the significance was inconsistent among visits. BMI and percentage body fat were also significantly lower in the later visits. There was no difference in waist-hip ratio and basal metabolic rate. Our results demonstrate a trend towards lower incidence of type II DM within 3 years postpartum in GDM women given lifestyle advice, which also potentially offers protection against development of MS, in terms of lower blood pressure and triglyceride level. Women over 40 years old are more likely to benefit. Future studies should address ways to maximize compliance to lifestyle intervention as its potential benefits can be undermined by challenges of motherhood.
The acetylcholine releaser linopirdine increases parietal regional cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer’s disease

Centrally acting cholinergic drugs have been reported to increase regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) as measured by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in brain regions affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We studied the effects of the acetylcholine releaser linopirdine (LPD) on SPECT rCBF in patients with probable AD. Twenty-four AD patients (12 M, 12 F; mean age ± SD = 68.9 ±8.2 years) and 13 healthy controls (8 M, 5 F; 68.4 ± 8.0 years) participated. AD patients were scanned with 20 mCi of Tc-99m-ECD at baseline and following 4 weeks of treatment with LPD 40 mg TID (n = 15) or placebo TID (n = 9) in a double-blind trial. Healthy subjects were scanned for comparison with baseline AD scans. Cortical/cerebellar rCBF ratios were derived for nine cortical structures. The combined parietal association cortex showed a 20.6% reduction in patients relative to controls. Patients treated with LPD showed an increase in parietal rCBF of 4.1 ± 5.8%; whereas those treated with placebo showed a decrease of −2.0 ± 7.4% (F = 5.13; df = 1, 22; P = 0.03). These data support the conclusion that rCBF abnormalities in AD are, in part, truly “functional” and can be selectively altered with pharmacological interventions. The parietal activation seen with LPD and other cholinergic AD drug therapies suggests the importance of measuring parietal lobe neuropsychological function in the course of evaluating these drugs.
Philadelphia chromosome-positive cells are equally distributed in AC133+ and AC133− fractions of CD34+ peripheral blood progenitor cells from patients with CML

1466 negative for CD14 (DAKO, Glostrup, Denmark), which is a marker of macrophages, indicating that dendritic cells were contained in the stromal cell layer. For first PCR reaction 100 ng of genomic DNA was utilized. A primer pair was designed from KSHV genomic DNA sequences (GenBank accession number; U18551) as follows: forward; 59-TGTATTAGCTAACCCTTCTAGCG-39, reverse; 59-TCCGTG TTGTCTACGTCCAG-39. Using this primer pair, a 620 bp DNA fragment that contained the KS330233 sequence was amplified. We further carried out nested PCR using two sets of primers . Primers for nested PCR are as follows: S1; 59CAGACTCTTCGCTGATGAAC-39, S2; 59-TCATGGCACTCGACAAGAGT-39, A1; 59-AGATGTGGTACACCAACAGC-39, A2; 59-CCCATAAATGACACATTGGTGG-39. This system allowed us to detect KSHV genome from at least 1 pg of genomic DNA from BCBL-1, a Kaposi’s sarcoma-derived cell line which is known to be infected by KSHV (kindly supplied by Drs Michael McGrath and Don Ganem through the AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program, Division of AIDS, NIADA, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA). A b-globin genomic sequence was amplified as an internal control using a primer pair purchased from TaKaRa Biomedicals (Tokyo, Japan). Results are shown in the lower panel of Figure 1. In all samples, including all stromal cell samples, no KSHV sequence was detected by nested-PCR, although a clear band was detected in the positive control. The present results indicated no correlation between the occurrence of MM and KSHV infection and did not corroborate the report by Rettig et al. Rettig et al6 claimed that heparin contamination in the sample may decrease the sensitivity of PCR. However, since we utilized frozen cells or long-term cultured stromal cells as sources of DNA, heparin contamination should be negligible. Rettig et al1 also reported that KSHV was found only in stromal cells but not in myeloma cells. However, if stromal cells were infected with KSHV, nested-PCR analysis should be sensitive enough to detect the KSHV genome. Moreover, there was no KSHV DNA detected in purified stromal cells when four cases were examined. Our results suggest that KSHV does not play a significant role in the pathogenesis of MM in the Japanese population.
Association of mitochondrial complex I subunit gene NDUFV2 at 18p11 with bipolar disorder in Japanese and the National Institute of Mental Health pedigrees.

Linkage with 18p11 is one of the replicated findings in molecular genetics of bipolar disorder. Because mitochondrial dysfunction has been suggested in bipolar disorder, NDUFV2 at 18p11, encoding a subunit of the complex I, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)ubiquinone oxidoreductase, is a candidate gene for this disorder. We previously reported that a polymorphism in the upstream region of NDUFV2, -602G> A, was associated with bipolar disorder in Japanese subjects; however, functional significance of -602G> A was not known.



We screened the further upstream region of NDUFV2. We performed a case-control study in Japanese patients with bipolar disorder and control subjects and a transmission disequilibrium test in 104 parent and proband trios of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Genetics Initiative pedigrees. We also performed the promoter assay to examine functional consequence of the -602G> A polymorphism.



The -602G> A polymorphism was found to alter the promoter activity. We found that the other haplotype block surrounding -3542G> A was associated with bipolar disorder. The association of the haplotypes consisting of -602G> A and -3542G> A polymorphisms with bipolar disorder was seen both in Japanese case-control samples and NIMH trios.



Together these findings indicate that the polymorphisms in the promoter region of NDUFV2 are a genetic risk factor for bipolar disorder by affecting promoter activity.
Sorafenib or placebo with either gemcitabine or capecitabine in patients with HER-2-negative advanced breast cancer that progressed during or after bevacizumab.

We assessed adding the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib to gemcitabine or capecitabine in patients with advanced breast cancer whose disease progressed during/after bevacizumab.



This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIb study (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00493636) enrolled patients with locally advanced or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer and prior bevacizumab treatment. Patients were randomized to chemotherapy with sorafenib (400 mg, twice daily) or matching placebo. Initially, chemotherapy was gemcitabine (1,000 mg/m(2) i.v., days 1, 8/21), but later, capecitabine (1,000 mg/m(2) orally twice daily, days 1-14/21) was allowed as an alternative. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS).



One hundred and sixty patients were randomized. More patients received gemcitabine (82.5%) than capecitabine (17.5%). Sorafenib plus gemcitabine/capecitabine was associated with a statistically significant prolongation in PFS versus placebo plus gemcitabine/capecitabine [3.4 vs. 2.7 months; HR = 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45-0.95; P = 0.02], time to progression was increased (median, 3.6 vs. 2.7 months; HR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.44-0.93; P = 0.02), and overall response rate was 19.8% versus 12.7% (P = 0.23). Median survival was 13.4 versus 11.4 months for sorafenib versus placebo (HR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.71-1.44; P = 0.95). Addition of sorafenib versus placebo increased grade 3/4 hand-foot skin reaction (39% vs. 5%), stomatitis (10% vs. 0%), fatigue (18% vs. 9%), and dose reductions that were more frequent (51.9% vs. 7.8%).



The addition of sorafenib to gemcitabine/capecitabine provided a clinically small but statistically significant PFS benefit in HER2-negative advanced breast cancer patients whose disease progressed during/after bevacizumab. Combination treatment was associated with manageable toxicities but frequently required dose reductions.
Methotrexate in Crohn's disease: long-term efficacy and toxicity

A 16-wk, placebo-controlled trial has recently shown weekly low-dose methotrexate to be an effective treatment for patients with chronically active Crohn's disease. The long-term efficacy and safety of this antimetabolite drug, however, are not yet well established and are assessed in this study.A total of 49 patients with Crohn's disease who were treated with methotrexate for ≥6 months were studied. All patients had been chronically treated with steroids; but at the time of initiation, only 27 were still on steroids. Of the 49 patients, 42 had previously taken azathioprine but were no longer on this drug because of intolerance or failure. Clinical remission was defined as a Harvey-Bradshaw index of <4.RESULTS:In all, 41 patients achieved complete clinical remission and were maintained on methotrexate for a median of 18 months (range, 7–59 months). In these patients the probabilities of relapse were 29%, 41%, and 48% at 1, 2, and 3 yr, respectively. A higher rate of relapse was observed in women and in patients with ileocolitis. Adverse reactions were recorded in 24 patients, requiring discontinuation of methotrexate in five. A liver biopsy was performed in 11 patients; a mild steatosis was found in five, a slight dilation of the sinusoids in one, a granulomatous hepatitis with a mild portal fibrosis in one, and a slight periportal fibrosis in one patient.This study suggests a long-term benefit of maintenance treatment with methotrexate in patients with chronically active Crohn's disease, with side effects that are usually only moderate.
Pharmacokinetic study for the establishment of bioequivalence of two inhalation treatments containing budesonide plus formoterol.

The aim of this study was to compare lung deposition and assess the bioequivalence of two formulations containing budesonide and formoterol and being delivered via Elpenhaler and Turbuhaler, respectively. A pharmacokinetic (PK) study was conducted.



An open, randomized, two-sequence, two-period, crossover, single-dose study in 100 asthmatic patients under fasting conditions was performed. Wash out period was 6 days. Equivalence in lung deposition was assessed after a single inhalation of each treatment with concomitant oral administration of activated charcoal (40 g) to prevent gastrointestinal absorption of the drugs. Several PK parameters were estimated, the area under the drug concentration in plasma versus time curve (AUC0-t ) and the maximum drug concentration in plasma (Cmax ) being the primary response variables. Equivalent lung deposition was concluded if the 90% confidence interval (CI) for the Elpenhaler/Turbuhaler geometric mean ratio of AUC0-t and Cmax , for both drug substances fell within the regulatory limits (0.80-1.25).



Acceptance criteria were met. Equivalent lung deposition can be concluded. No statistically significant differences between treatments in the incidence of adverse events were found.



The formulations are bioequivalent regarding both rate and extent of absorption. The treatments were also well tolerated by the participating subjects.
Nitrogen mustard in severe rheumatoid arthritis

The value of intravenous bolus therapy was investigated in patients with severe active rheumatoid arthritis. Nitrogen mustard was given in 3 intravenous bolus injections (0.1mg/kg body weight) over 3–5 weeks. In a controlled study of 11 patients the actively treated ones (7 cases) showed greater improvement in all the clinical and laboratory variables measured than did the controls (4 cases). A prospective evaluation of this treatment in 22 patients over 6–18 months showed it had a persistent effect and was associated with clinically significant improvements in the assessments of disease activity. We consider bolus therapy with intravenous nitrogen mustard to be of value, but its use should be restricted to patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis during hospital admission, and it should be combined with other therapy.
A consultation training program for physicians for communication about complementary medicine with breast cancer patients: a prospective, multi-center, cluster-randomized, mixed-method pilot study

The aim was to develop and evaluate a training program for physicians for communicating with breast cancer patients about complementary medicine (CM). In a cluster-randomized pilot trial eight breast cancer centers (two physicians per center) were randomized to either a complementary communication training program (9 h e-learning + 20 h on-site skills training) or to a control group without training. Each physician was asked to consult ten patients for whom he or she is not the physician in charge. We used mixed methods: Quantitative outcomes included physicians’ assessments (empathy, complexity of consultation, knowledge transfer) and patients’ assessments (satisfaction, empathy, knowledge transfer). For qualitative analyses, 15 (eight in the training and seven in the control group) videotaped consultations were analyzed based on grounded theory, and separate focus groups with the physicians of both groups were conducted. A total of 137 patients were included. Although cluster-randomized, physicians in the two groups differed. Those in the training group were younger (33.4 ± 8.9 vs. 40.0 ± 8.5 years) and had less work experience (5.4 ± 8.9 vs. 11.1 ± 7.4 years). Patient satisfaction with the CM consultation was relatively high on a scale from 0 to 24 and was comparable in the two groups (training group: 19.4 ± 4.6; control group 20.5 ± 4.1). The qualitative findings showed that physicians structured majority of consultations as taught during the training. Comparing only the younger and less CM experienced physicians, those trained in CM communication felt more confident discussing CM-related topics than those without training. A CM communication-training program might be especially beneficial for physicians with less consulting experience when communicating about CM-related issues. A larger trial using more suitable quantitative outcomes needs to confirm this.
Label-Free Quantitative Detection of Tumor-Derived Exosomes through Surface
Plasmon Resonance Imaging

Exosomes are endosome-derived membrane vesicles carrying proteins and nucleic acids that are involved in cellular functions such as intercellular communication, protein and RNA secretion, and antigen presentation. Therefore, exosomes serve as potential biomarkers for many diseases including cancer. Because exosomes are difficult to enrich or purify from biofluids, quantification of exosomes is tedious and inaccurate. Here, we present a real-time, label-free, and quantitative method to detect and characterize tumor-derived exosomes without enrichment or purification. Utilizing surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) in combination with antibody microarrays specific to the extracellular domains of exosome membrane proteins, exosomes in tumor cell culture medium can be quantitatively detected. We found a positive correlation between the metastatic potential of tumor cell lines and exosome secretion. This method provides an easy, efficient, and novel way to detect exosome secretion and thus an avenue toward the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of cancer.
Secret communication via image hiding in image by pixel value differencing

Steganographic method for embedding secret messages into a gray-valued cover image is proposed. Cover image is partitioned into non-overlapping blocks of two consecutive pixels. Difference between the two consecutive pixel values is calculated and classified into number of ranges. Range intervals are selected according to the characteristics of human vision's sensitivity to gray value variations from smoothness to contrast. The pixels in edged areas can tolerate larger changes of pixel values than those in the smooth areas. So, in the proposed method we can embed more data in edged areas than in the smooth areas. The difference value then is replaced by a new value to embed the value of a sub-stream of the secret message. The number of bits which can be embedded in a pixel pair is decided by the width of the range that the difference value belongs to.
The relationship between gamma-glutamyltransferase and coronary collateral circulation in patients with chronic total occlusion.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between blood gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels and coronary collateral circulation in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO).



Two hundred twenty-two patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and CTO were included in this cross-sectional, observational study. Coronary collaterals were graded from 0 to 3 according to the Rentrop method. Patients with grade 0-1 collateral development were regarded as poor collateral group (n=66) while patients with grade 2-3 collateral development were regarded as good collateral group (n=156). Statistical analysis was performed using independent samples t, Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests, logistic regression and receiver operator curve analysis.



The poor coronary collateral group had significantly higher levels of serum GGT compared to the good collateral group (p<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that GGT levels were independent predictors of poor collateral circulation (OR-0.946, 95% CI=0.918-0.9719, p<0.001). The result of ROC curve analysis for GGT was as following: area under the ROC curve (AUC)=0.732, 95% CI: 0.622-0.841, p<0.001.



Higher GGT levels are associated with poor coronary collateral circulation in patients with CTO. GGT may be used to predict the grade of coronary collateral circulation in CTO patients with chronic stable CAD.
The European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour scale revised into a nine-item scale (EHFScB-9): a reliable and valid international instrument.

Improved self-care is the goal of many heart failure (HF) management programmes. The 12-item European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale (EHFScB scale) was developed and tested to measure patient self-care behaviours. It is now available in 14 languages. The aim of this study was to further determine reliability and validity of the EHFScB scale.



Data from 2592 HF patients (mean age 73 years, 63% male) from six countries were analysed. Internal consistency was determined by Cronbach's alpha. Validity was established by (1) interviews with HF experts and with HF patients; (2) item analysis; (3) confirmatory factor analysis; and (4) analysing the relationship between the EHFScB scale and scales measuring quality of life and adherence. Internal consistency of the 12-item scale was 0.77 (0.71-0.85). After factor analyses and critical evaluation of both psychometric properties and content of separate items, a nine-item version was further evaluated. The reliability estimates for the total nine-item scale (EHFScB-9) was satisfactory (0.80) and Cronbach's alpha varied between 0.68 and 0.87 in the different countries. One reliable subscale was defined (consulting behaviour) with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85. The EHFScB-9 measures a different construct than quality of life (r = 0.18) and adherence (r = 0.37).



The 12-item EHFScB scale was revised into the nine-item EHFScB-9, which can be used as an internally consistent and valid instrument to measure HF-related self-care behaviour.
Algorithm 572: Solution of the Helmholtz Equation for the Dirichlet Problem on General Bounded Three-Dimensional Regions [D3]

H e r e ~2, a t h r e e d i m e n s i o n a l b o u n d e d reg ion , c, a n a r b i t r a r y r e a l c o n s t a n t (posit ive , nega t ive , o r zero) , a n d t h e f u n c t i o n s f a n d g a r e spec i f i ed b y t h e user . T h e L a p l a c e o p e r a t o r A is in C a r t e s i a n c o o r d i n a t e s . A s e c o n d o r d e r a c c u r a t e f i n i t e -d i f f e rence m e t h o d is u s e d to d i s c r e t i ze t h e H e l m h o l t z e q u a t i o n . T h e r e s u l t i n g l i n e a r s y s t e m of e q u a t i o n s is r e d u c e d to a c a p a c i t a n c e m a t r i x e q u a t i o n t h a t is so lved a p p r o x i m a t e l y b y a c o n j u g a t e g r a d i e n t
Relationship between hemorrhagic stroke hospitalization and exposure to fine particulate air pollution in Taipei, Taiwan.

This study was undertaken to determine whether there was a correlation between fine particle (PM2.5) levels and hospital admissions for hemorrhagic stroke (HS) in Taipei, Taiwan. Hospital admissions for HS and ambient air pollution data for Taipei were obtained for the period 2006-2010. The relative risk of hospital admissions was estimated using a case-crossover approach, controlling for weather variables, day of the week, seasonality, and long-term time trends. For the single-pollutant model (without adjustment for other pollutants), increased HS admissions were significantly associated with PM2.5 levels both on warm days (>23°C) and cool days (<23°C), with an interquartile range rise associated with a 12% (95% CI = 7-18%) and 4% (95% CI = 0-8%) elevation in admissions for HS, respectively. In the two-pollutant models, PM2.5 remained significantly high after inclusion of SO2 or O3 on both warm and cool days. This study provides evidence that higher levels of PM2.5 increase the risk of hospital admissions for HS.