nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
In vivo manipulation of Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells with zoledronate and low-dose interleukin-2 for immunotherapy of advanced breast cancer patients.

The potent anti-tumour activities of gammadelta T cells have prompted the development of protocols in which gammadelta-agonists are administered to cancer patients. Encouraging results from small Phase I trials have fuelled efforts to characterize more clearly the application of this approach to unmet clinical needs such as metastatic carcinoma. To examine this approach in breast cancer, a Phase I trial was conducted in which zoledronate, a Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell agonist, plus low-dose interleukin (IL)-2 were administered to 10 therapeutically terminal, advanced metastatic breast cancer patients. Treatment was well tolerated and promoted the effector maturation of Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells in all patients. However, a statistically significant correlation of clinical outcome with peripheral Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell numbers emerged, as seven patients who failed to sustain Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells showed progressive clinical deterioration, while three patients who sustained robust peripheral Vgamma9Vdelta2 cell populations showed declining CA15-3 levels and displayed one instance of partial remission and two of stable disease, respectively. In the context of an earlier trial in prostate cancer, these data emphasize the strong linkage of Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell status to reduced carcinoma progression, and suggest that zoledronate plus low-dose IL-2 offers a novel, safe and feasible approach to enhance this in a subset of treatment-refractory patients with advanced breast cancer.
Anal Cancer Screening Behaviors and Intentions in Men Who Have Sex with Men

The incidence of anal cancer has increased in the past decade, especially among men who have sex with men (MSM) and HIV-infected individuals. There is controversy about whether to routinely screen for anal cancer in MSM. To determine whether current anal cancer screening behaviors, intention, and concern differ by HIV serostatus and to identify characteristics of men who intend to seek anal cancer screening. Cross-sectional analysis of data collected from 901 HIV-infected and 1,016 HIV-uninfected MSM from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) in 2005–2006. Self-reported anal cancer screening history, attitudes, and intentions. A history of anal warts was relatively common in these men (39%), whereas having a recent anal Pap test (5%), intention to seek anal cancer screening in the next 6 months (12%), and concern about anal cancer (8.5%) were less common. Intention to seek anal cancer screening was associated with enabling factors (screening availability, health insurance), need factors (HIV-infection, history of anal warts), concern about anal cancer, and recent sexual risk taking. Among four large US cities, there was significant regional variability in anal cancer screening behaviors, intention, and concern (all p<0.001). Most MSM (76%) indicated they would go to their primary care physician for an anal health problem or question. This study demonstrates a low rate of anal cancer screening and intention to screen among MSM. As more evidence emerges regarding screening, primary care physicians should be prepared to discuss anal cancer screening with their patients.
Detection of tumor marker CA125 in ovarian carcinoma using quantum dots.

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) offer several advantages over organic dyes in fluorescence-imaging applications, such as higher quantum yield, exceptional photostability, and a narrow, tunable, and symmetric emission spectrum. To explore whether QDs could specifically and effectively label tumor markers and be used in immunohistochemistry as a novel type of fluorescent probe, we used quantum dots with maximum emission wavelength 605 nm (QD605) to detect the ovarian carcinoma marker CA125 in specimens of different types (fixed cells, tissue sections, and xenograft piece). Additionally, we compared the photostability of QD signals with that of a conventional organic dye, FITC. All labeling signals of QDs were found to be more specific and brighter than those of FITC. Moreover, the QDs exhibited exceptional photostability during continuous illumination for 1 h by a high-intensity laser (Ar laser power 100 mW) at 488 nm, while the FITC signals faded very quickly and became undetectable after 24 min of illumination. These results indicate that QD-based probes can offer substantial advantages over existing fluorophores in many applications, and can be used effectively in immunohistochemistry as a novel class of fluorescent probes.
A multi-classifier system for the characterization of normal, infectious, and cancerous prostate tissues employing transrectal ultrasound images

A computer-aided diagnostic system has been developed for the discrimination of normal, infectious and cancer prostate tissues based on texture analysis of transrectal ultrasound images. The proposed system has been designed using a panel of three classifiers, which have been evaluated individually or as a mutli-classifier scheme, using the external cross-validation procedure. Clinical data consisted of 165 transrectal ultrasound images, characterized by an experienced physician as normal (55/165), cancerous (55/165), and infectious (55/165) prostate cases. From each image, the physician delineated the most representative regions of interest, from which, 23 textural features were extracted. Classification was seen as a two level hierarchical decision tree. Normal from infectious and infectious from cancer cases were discriminated at the 1st and 2nd level of the decision tree, respectively. The best classification results for the 1st level were 89.5%, whereas for the 2nd level 90.1%. The utilization of multi-classifier system improved the discrimination of prostate pathologies as compared to individual classifiers; for infectious prostate cases improvement was from 87.3% to 88.7% and for cancer prostate cases improvement was from 84.1% to 91.4%. In terms of overall system performance (the decision tree's node propagating error taken into account), best classification accuracies were 89.5%, 79.6% and 82.7% for the recognition of normal, infectious and cancer cases, respectively. The proposed system might be used as a second opinion tool for assisting diagnosis of different prostate pathologies.
White matter fractional anisotropy is related to processing speed in metabolic syndrome patients: a case-control study

Metabolic Syndrome (MetSd) is a cluster of vascular risk factors that may influence cerebrovascular pathology during aging. Recently, microstructural white matter (WM) changes detected by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and processing speed deficits have been reported in MetSd patients. We aimed to test the relationship between WM alteration and cognitive impairment in these patients.



The sample comprised 38 subjects (19 patients aged between 50 and 80 years old, and 19 controls). All patients fulfilled National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP-III) criteria for MetSd. Speed of information processing was measured by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and reaction time (RT) on the Continuous Performance Test (CPT-II) and the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT). DTI images were acquired in a 3 Tesla Siemens Trio scanner. Voxelwise statistical analysis of the fractional anisotropy (FA) data was performed using the Tract-Based Spatial Statistics part of the FMRIB Software Library. A correlation analysis was performed between processing speed variables and FA values.



There was a larger proportion of slow subjects (percentile below 25th) in the patient group (Chi2 = 7.125 p = 0.008). FA values correlated positively with SDMT in anterior and posterior parts of the corpus callosum, and RT CPT-II correlated negatively with FA values in the anterior corpus callosum (p < 0.05 corrected) in the patient group.



We found significant correlations between WM alterations and cognitive impairment in MetSd patients, especially in the frontal lobe. These findings highlight the importance of MetSd prevention and control due to its association with structural and functional damage in the central nervous system.
‘I Know that I Do Have HIV but Nobody Saw Me’: Oral HIV Self-Testing in an Informal Settlement in South Africa

Reaching universal HIV-status awareness is crucial to ensure all HIV-infected patients access antiretroviral treatment (ART) and achieve virological suppression. Opportunities for HIV testing could be enhanced by offering self-testing in populations that fear stigma and discrimination when accessing conventional HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) in health care facilities. This qualitative research aims to examine the feasibility and acceptability of unsupervised oral self-testing for home use in an informal settlement of South Africa. Eleven in-depth interviews, two couple interviews, and two focus group discussions were conducted with seven healthcare workers and thirteen community members. Thematic analysis was done concurrently with data collection. Acceptability to offer home self-testing was demonstrated in this research. Home self-testing might help this population overcome barriers to accepting HCT; this was particularly expressed in the male and youth groups. Nevertheless, pilot interventions must provide evidence of potential harm related to home self-testing, intensify efforts to offer quality counselling, and ensure linkage to HIV/ART-care following a positive self-test result.
The impact of venous thrombosis on quality of life.

Quality of life (QOL) is increasingly seen as an important outcome in clinical care. Etiology, diagnosis, and management of venous thrombosis have been studied extensively, but only few studies have examined the impact of venous thrombosis on quality of life. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of venous thrombosis on quality of life in a well-defined population of patients with venous thrombosis, by using both a generic and a disease-specific quality of life measure. A total of 45 patients from the thrombosis clinic of the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT, returned a mailed questionnaire including the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) and a disease-specific venous thrombosis-quality of life (VT-QOL) questionnaire about the problems faced by patients with venous thrombosis. The sample consisted of 13 men (28.9%) and 32 women (71.1%). The mean age was 44.1 years, with a range from 21 to 80 years. Compared with population norms of a general U.S. population that were adjusted for age and sex (N= 2463), venous thrombosis patients scored significantly lower (p < 0.05) on all subscales of the SF-36. Patients with the postthrombotic syndrome (PTS) appeared to have more impairment in their quality of life as measured by both the SF-36 and the disease-specific questionnaire. All correlations between the SF-36 subscales and the subscales of the VT-QOL were significant, most of them on a p < 0.01 level. Given the impact of venous thrombosis and the postthrombotic syndrome on quality of life, assessment of QOL should be included in future studies on the outcome of venous thrombosis.
Hospitalized incidence and case fatality for upper gastrointestinal bleeding from 1999 to 2007: a record linkage study.

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is the most common emergency managed by gastroenterologists.



To establish the hospitalized incidence and case fatality for upper GI bleeding, and to determine how they are associated with factors including day of admission, hospital size, social deprivation and distance from hospital.



Systematic record linkage of hospital in-patient and mortality data for 24 421 admissions for upper GI bleeding among 22 299 people in Wales from 1999 to 2007.



The hospitalized incidence of upper GI bleeding was 134 per 100 000. Case fatality was 10.0%. Incidence was stable from 1999 to 2007; case fatality fell from 11.4% in 1999-2000 to 8.6% in 2006-7. Incidence was associated significantly with social deprivation. Compared with weekday admissions, case fatality was 13% higher for weekend admissions and 41% higher for admissions on public holidays. There was little variation in case fatality according to social deprivation, hospital size or distance from hospital.



Incidence, but not case fatality, was associated significantly with social deprivation. The higher mortality for weekend and public holiday admissions could not be explained by measures of case mix and may indicate a possible impact of reduced staffing levels and delays to endoscopy at weekends in some hospitals.
Peripheral dopamine receptors in the antihypertensive action of dihydroergotoxine in humans.

The effect of the intravenous administration of dihydroergotoxine (6 micrograms/kg) on arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and plasma concentrations of norepinephrine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (the deaminated dopamine metabolite) was studied in 20 subjects with essential hypertension (8 men and 12 women aged 32-68 years old, World Health Organization Class I-II). In supine resting subjects, dihydroergotoxine significantly decreased systolic blood pressure (from 175 +/- 5 to 156 +/- 4 mm Hg; p less than 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (from 109 +/- 4 to 95 +/- 3 mm Hg; p less than 0.001), and heart rate (from 71 +/- 2 to 63 +/- 2 beats/min; p less than 0.001) as compared with the results of placebo treatment. Moreover, dihydroergotoxine reduced plasma levels of norepinephrine (from 368 +/- 39 to 238 +/- 33 pg/ml; p less than 0.001) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (from 1.57 +/- 0.21 to 1.22 +/- 0.13 ng/ml; p less than 0.01). The time course of the blood pressure decrease paralleled that of plasma norepinephrine concentration. Dihydroergotoxine did not suppress the cardiovascular and plasma norepinephrine concentration. Dihydroergotoxine did not suppress the cardiovascular and plasma norepinephrine response to standing. The effect of domperidone, a peripheral presynaptic dopamine receptor antagonist, on dihydroergotoxine response was studied in six of the 20 subjects (3 men and 3 women 48-64 years old). The intravenous administration of domperidone (0.3 mg/kg) prevented the dihydroergotoxine-induced reduction in blood pressure and heart rate and the fall in plasma norepinephrine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid levels. Domperidone administered alone failed to significantly modify any measured variables.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Reliability, validity and factor structure of the GDS-15 in Iranian elderly.

Depressive disorders are a public health problem even in developing countries. Access to valid and reliable screening instruments is needed for conducting community surveys. The main objective of this study is to provide the Iranian version of the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS).



The GDS-15 Farsi version was developed by translation and back translation. Two hundred and four subjects aged 59 years or older, who were chosen randomly from residents of the Ekbatan district of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, completed the GDS-15. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to establish a gold standard diagnosis of major depressive disorders.



The GDS was found to be an internally consistent measure. Alpha, split-half coefficients and test-retest reliability were 0.9, 0.89 and 0.58 respectively. Two factors were extracted by using factor analysis and the principle component analysis (varimax rotation): 'depression' and 'psychosocial activity'. The Depression factor (omitting items 2, 9, 10, 13), which could be considered as a short form of the scale (alpha = 0.92), has significant correlation with the main scale (r = 0.58). Using receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis, the optimum cutoff score for GDS-15 is 7/8, yielding a sensitivity of 0.9 and a specificity of 0.84. The optimum cutoff score for GDS-11 is 6, yielding a sensitivity of 0.9 and a specificity of 0.83.



The long and short forms of the GDS have excellent properties as screening instruments for major depression in older dwellers in Iran, particularly in urban areas, as presented in our findings.
ProvenCare lung cancer: a multi-institutional improvement collaborative.

Geisinger's ProvenCare™ Program (for elective coronary artery bypass surgery, total hip replacement, and others) has shown that the principles of reliability science, facilitated by a robust electronic health record and institutional commitment, allow the re-engineering of complicated clinical processes. This eliminates unwarranted variation and promotes the completion of evidence-based elements of care. It has not been established that ProvenCare can be generalized to other institutions. Now, under the auspices of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, ProvenCare has been adapted to a multi-institutional collaborative for the care of the patient with resectable lung cancer.
Bayesian class discovery in microarray datasets

A novel approach to class discovery in gene expression datasets is presented. In the context of clinical diagnosis, the central goal of class discovery algorithms is to simultaneously find putative (sub-)types of diseases and to identify informative subsets of genes with disease-type specific expression profile. Contrary to many other approaches in the literature, the method presented implements a wrapper strategy for feature selection, in the sense that the features are directly selected by optimizing the discriminative power of the used partitioning algorithm. The usual combinatorial problems associated with wrapper approaches are overcome by a Bayesian inference mechanism. On the technical side, we present an efficient optimization algorithm with guaranteed local convergence property. The only free parameter of the optimization method is selected by a resampling-based stability analysis. Experiments with Leukemia and Lymphoma datasets demonstrate that our method is able to correctly infer partitions and corresponding subsets of genes which both are relevant in a biological sense. Moreover, the frequently observed problem of ambiguities caused by different but equally high-scoring partitions is successfully overcome by the model selection method proposed.
Psychometrics of the Recovery Process Inventory

The reliability and validity of the Recovery Process Inventory (RPI) were assessed in a statewide sample of 459 persons with severe mental illness from a public mental health system. Six factors were identified that reflect important aspects of the recovery process, have good internal consistency and fair to moderate test–retest reliability, and yield moderate to good convergent validity on the majority of subscales. The 22-item RPI performance across these dimensions and its comparability to the Recovery Assessment Scale and related instruments, e.g., empowerment, confidence, and healing, make it a potentially valuable tool in survey research regarding the process and outcomes of recovery among mental health consumers. Suggestions for its further research and development, and use of the scale in conjunction with the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program Adult Consumer Survey are discussed.
Comparative pharmacodynamics of olmesartan and azelnidipine in patients with hypertension: a population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis.

The objectives of this study were to identify the factors influencing antihypertensive response to the angiotensin receptor blocker, olmesartan medoxomil, or the calcium channel blocker, azelnidipine, and to discuss the possibility of utilizing them as predictors for drug selection prior to therapy. A two-way crossover study of olmesartan medoxomil and azelnidipine was conducted in 29 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. The 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM) and plasma drug concentrations were obtained on the first and at the end of each treatment period, and were analyzed using population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) modeling approach. The population PK/PD models considering circadian variations in baseline blood pressure well described the observed plasma drug concentrations and 24-hour ABPM profiles. Pre-treatment plasma renin activity (PRA) was identified as a significant covariate on the maximum drug effect (E(max)) of olmesartan, whereas azelnidpine E(max) was independent of patient background characteristics investigated. No patient was found to have a high E(max) to one agent who also had a high E(max) to the other. In conclusion, the effects of olmesartan medoxomil and azelnidipine were modestly correlated with pharmacokinetic profiles, and the pre-treatment PRA level could be a useful determinant of responsiveness in selecting olmesartan medoxomil and azelnidipine.
Self expanding wall stents in malignant colorectal cancer: is complete obstruction a contraindication to stent placement?

Technical failures have previously been associated with complete clinical obstruction and complete block to the retrograde flow of gastrograffin is considered by some to be a contraindication to the procedure. We report on the technical and clinical success rates of self-expanding metallic stents (SEMS) in both complete and incomplete obstruction in a prospective series of malignant colorectal obstructions.



A prospective study of all patients undergoing attempted palliative and bridge to surgery SEMS placement for malignant colorectal obstruction over a 7-year period (April 1999-October 2006) was undertaken.



Seventy-two patients (49 males) with a mean age of 71 years (range 49-98) were included. Technical success was achieved in 27 of 32 patients (84%) with complete obstruction and 33 of 36 patients (92%) with incomplete obstruction, P < 0.46, Fishers exact test. Clinical success was achieved in 17 of 26 patients (65%) with complete obstruction and 24 of 33 patients (73%) with incomplete obstruction, P < 0.58, Fishers exact test. Although placed correctly in 89% cases, relief of symptoms occurred in only 71%, P = 0.002, matched pairs test. There were two colonic perforations in the series with one procedure related death.



Placement of SEMS for obstructing colorectal cancer is technically successful in a high proportion of cases. Complete radiological obstruction is not a contraindication to stent placement. The relief of obstructive symptoms following successful placement of a wall stent is less predictable.
Reliability and sensitivity to change of the Bristol Rheumatoid Arthritis Fatigue scales.

To examine the reliability (stability) and sensitivity of the Bristol Rheumatoid Arthritis Fatigue scales (BRAFs) and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) developed to capture the fatigue experience. The Multi-Dimensional Questionnaire (BRAF-MDQ) has a global score and four subscales (Physical Fatigue, Living with Fatigue, Cognitive Fatigue and Emotional Fatigue), while three numerical rating scales (BRAF-NRS) measure fatigue Severity, Effect and Coping.



RA patients completed the BRAFs plus comparator PROMs.  A same-day test-retest interval (minimum 60 min) ensured both time points related to the same 7 days, minimizing the capture of fatigue fluctuations.  42 patients being given clinically a single high dose of i.m. glucocorticoids completed questionnaires at weeks 0 and 2.



The BRAF-MDQ, its subscales and the BRAF-NRS showed very strong reliability (r = 0.82-0.95). BRAF-NRS Coping had lower moderate reliability in both wording formats (r = 0.62, 0.60). The BRAF-MDQ, its subscales and the BRAF-NRS Severity and Effect were sensitive to change, with effect sizes (ESs) of 0.33-0.56. As hypothesized, the BRF-NRS Coping was not responsive to the pharmaceutical intervention (ES 0.05). Preliminary exploration suggests a minimum clinically important difference of 17.5% for improvement and 6.1% for fatigue worsening.



The BRAF scales show good reliability and sensitivity to change. The lack of BRAF-NRS Coping responsiveness to medication supports the theory that coping with fatigue is a concept distinct from severity and effect that is worth measuring separately.