nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Cultural adaptation and validation of the Korean version of the EORTC QLQ-CR29 in patients with colorectal cancer

We aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Colorectal Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-CR29), based on a sample of patients with colorectal cancer. A total of 123 patients treated for colorectal cancer participated in the validation study. Test–retest reliability was assessed using intra-class correlations from a random sample. Internal consistency reliability was estimated using Cronbach’s α coefficient. Convergent and discriminant validity was analyzed with multi-trait scaling. Clinical validity was assessed in terms of clinical differences using known-group comparisons. Concurrent validity was determined by correlations with the EORTC QLQ-C30, which was a generic core questionnaire to evaluate issues common to different cancer sites and treatments. The test–retest, administered to 35 patients, showed acceptable reproducibility (0.62–1.00) except the constipation scale of the QLQ-C30 (0.43). Cronbach’s α coefficient (0.70–0.87) exceeded the 0.7 criterion. Multi-trait scaling analysis showed that multi-item scales met standards of convergent and discriminant validity. The known-group comparisons showed quality of life (QOL) differences between groups of patients based on tumor location, receipt of neoadjuvant therapy, and with/without a stoma. Correlations between the scales of the QLQ-CR29 and QLQ-C30 were low in most areas, whereas correlations in several areas with related content were higher. This study shows that the Korean version of the EORTC QLQ-CR29 is a reliable and valid tool for measuring QOL, as determined by application to a sample of Korean colorectal cancer patients.
Response rates to a mailed survey targeting childhood cancer survivors: a comparison of conditional versus unconditional incentives.

Mailed surveys are widely used to collect epidemiologic and health service data. Given that nonresponse can threaten the validity of surveys, modest incentives are often used to increase response rates. A study was undertaken among childhood cancer survivors and their parents to determine if response rate to a mailed survey differed with provision of immediate versus delayed incentives.



A self-administered survey designed to ascertain health behaviors was mailed to 397 childhood cancer survivors (and their parents if the survivor was <18 years of age). Subjects were randomized into two groups based on gender, age, race, and cancer type. One group received a 10 US dollars incentive with their blank survey (unconditional incentive), whereas the other group received the incentive upon receipt of their completed survey (conditional incentive). If children were minors, both the parent and the child received incentives.



No significant differences in response rates were observed with respect to gender, age, race, or cancer type. However, significant differences in response rates were observed between incentive groups, with unconditional incentives yielding significantly higher response rates than conditional incentives for child survivors who were > or =18 years (64.4% versus 49.0%), as well as younger child survivors (62.5% versus 43.6%) and their parents (64.8% versus 41.5%; all P < 0.05).



The provision of an immediate incentive generated significantly higher response rates to this mailed health survey among childhood cancer survivors and their parents. Given that survey studies are commonly conducted across various pediatric populations, these findings may help inform the design of future pediatric survey research.
Project onward: an innovative e-health intervention for cancer survivors.

This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of an Individual Internet Intervention (III) embedded and integrated into an Internet Support Group (ISG) with the ultimate goal of enhancing adherence and learning, compared with an individual internet invention alone.



Thirty-one posttreatment cancer survivors were randomized in groups of seven to nine to either the 8-week III + ISG intervention or the 8-week III condition. Seventeen participants met the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) criteria for depressive symptoms (HADS ≥ 8).



Among all participants, the mean number of logins over 8 weeks was 20.8 ± 17.7 logins for the III + ISG compared with 12.5 ± 12.5 in III-only (p = 0.15). Two participants in the III + ISG dropped out, compared with five in III (p = 0.39). Among the 17 participants with depressive symptoms at baseline, both the Onward and the III-only condition showed large reductions in the depression scale of HADS (d = 1.27 and 0.89, respectively). Improvement over time and time x treatment effects only reached trend significance levels (ps = 0.07 & 0.12) as this pilot was not powered to detect these differences.



Both the III + ISG and III-only demonstrated pre-post reductions in depressive symptoms and high rates of utilization compared with other web-based treatments for depression. Although it is premature to make any determination as to the efficacy of the interventions tested in this feasibility study, these results indicate that pursuing the III + ISG model, as well as standard IIIs, may be fruitful areas of future research.
Coercive measures in general hospitals on non mentally-ill patients

Nihil volitum quem prae cognitum. Information on intrinsic elements of the consent of the patient for the medical act showed the physician's high importance in the definition of lex artis ad hoc. According to the High Court, other actions not specified habitually in texts should be considered as coercive measures (e.g. no information to patients from health staff). The catalogue should be opened to: involuntary admission, non-wished stay, non-wished medication or treatment, seclusion, chemical coercion and no information. The profile of the patient subject to coercion has been studied previously. We developed a complementary profile: age 71–80, lives alone, confused state, with neurological or respiratory disease, applied in the first 48 hours, by nursing staff, with a low perception of coercion, during the night, without patients' and/or relatives' opinion, without information to doctors or directors, without information to Court, without previous training, without taking care of the frequency whereupon they take place.
Optimization of the epithermal neutron beam for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy at the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor.

The use of epithermal neutron beam in clinical trials of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy for patients with malignant brain tumors had been carried out for half a decade at the Brookhaven's Medical Reactor. The decision to permanently close this reactor in 2000 cut short the efforts to implement a new conceptual design to optimize this beam in preparation for use with possible new BNCT protocols. Details of the conceptual design to produce a highly intensified and focused neutron beam with less gamma and neutron contamination in tissues are presented here for their potential applicability to other reactor facilities. Neutron-photon coupled Monte Carlo calculations were used to predict the flux, current, heating, and absorbed dose produced by the proposed design. The results were benchmarked by the dose rate and flux measurements taken at the facility then in use.
A phase II study of cisplatin /S-1 in patients with carcinomas of unknown primary site

Carcinomas of unknown primary site (CUPs) are heterogeneous tumors associated with a poor prognosis. This phase II trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel combination chemotherapy of S-1 and cisplatin (CDDP) in patients with CUP.  Patients with previously untreated CUPs were eligible for this trial. The treatment schedule consisted of oral S-1 (40 mg/m2) twice a day on days 1–21, and intravenous CDDP (60 mg/m2) on day 8. This schedule was repeated every 5 weeks.  A total of 46 patients were enrolled. The overall response rate and the disease control rate were 41.3 % and 80.4 %, respectively. The median overall survival time was 17.4 months. Grade 3/4 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and febrile neutropenia occurred in 28.3 %, 13.0 %, and 2.2 % of the patients, respectively.  CDDP plus S-1 combination chemotherapy is well tolerated and active first-line empiric therapies for patients with CUP.
Cost Effectiveness of Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease with Entacapone in the United States

To determine the cost effectiveness of adjunctive therapy with entacapone versus standard treatment (levodopa) without entacapone for patients in the US with Parkinson’s disease (PD)who experience ‘off-time’ (re-emergence of the symptoms of PD) while receiving levodopa.  A Markov model was used to estimate 5-year costs and effectiveness of standard treatment with and without entacapone.  Probabilities, unit costs, resource utilisation data and utilities were obtained from published literature, clinical trial reports, a national database, and clinical experts. PD disability was measured using the daily proportion of off-time and Hoehn and Yahr scale scores. The analysis measured costs from a societal and third-party payer perspective, and effectiveness as gains in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and years without progression to >25% off-time.  From a societal perspective, entacapone therapy resulted in an incremental cost of $US9327 per QALY gained compared with standard treatment. Treatment with entacapone also provided an additional 7.6 months with ≤25% off-time/day compared with standard treatment. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the model is sensitive to changes in rates of improvement/deterioration of off-time, and to the number of doses per day of levodopa with adjunctive entacapone.  The addition of entacapone to standard treatment for patients receiving levodopa who experience off-time provides additional QALYs and gain in time with minimal fluctuations. Results of this modelling exercise suggest that therapy with entacapone may be cost effective when compared with standard treatment for PD.
Assessing agreement between salivary alpha amylase levels collected by passive drool and eluted filter paper in adolescents with cancer.

To assess the validity of filter paper (FP) against the gold standard of passive drool (PD) for collecting salivary alpha amylase as a surrogate biomarker of psychological stress in adolescents with cancer.



Part of a longitudinal, descriptive study of symptoms in adolescents with cancer during chemotherapy.



A pediatric hematology/oncology treatment center.


SAMPLE
33 saliva sample pairs from nine adolescents with cancer, aged 13-18 years.



Salivary alpha amylase was collected by PD and FP at four time points during a cycle of chemotherapy: days 1 (time 1) and 2 (time 2) of chemotherapy, day 7-10 (time 3), and day 1 of the next cycle (time 4). A random effects regression was used to assess the correlation between PD and FP values, and a Bland Altman analysis was conducted to assess agreement between the values.



Salivary alpha amylase.



The estimated correlation between PD and FP values was r = 0.91, p < 0.001. Regression results were also used to rescale FP values to the levels of the PD values because the FP values were on a different scale than the PD values. The Bland Altman analysis revealed that the agreement between the rescaled FP values and PD values was not satisfactory.



Eluted FP may not be a valid method for collecting salivary alpha amylase in adolescents with cancer.



Psychological stress in adolescents with cancer may be linked to negative outcomes, such as greater symptom severity and post-traumatic stress disorder. Nurses need valid, efficient, biobehavioral measures to assess psychological stress in the clinical setting.
The relation between vitamin D deficiency and fibromyalgia syndrome in women.

To define the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and fibromyalgia syndrome.



This is a prospective cohort study for description of a medical disorder. The study was carried out in Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from May 2007 to March 2010. One hundred women suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome were included. Blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] was estimated at initial visit and every 4 weeks until its level exceeded 50 ng/mL. The patients with vitamin D deficiency were treated with ergocalciferol 50,000 IU once weekly until their blood level of 25(OH) D exceeded 50 ng/mL. The number of tender points and the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) score were used to assess the fibromyalgia before and after vitamin D repletion.



Among the 100 fibromyalgia women, there were 61 women with 25(OH) D deficiency; with vitamin D supplementation, only 42 women showed a significant improvement when their blood level of 25(OH) D became>or=30 ng/mL, this improvement became more significant when their blood level of 25(OH) D exceeded 50 ng/ mL.



Vitamin D deficiency has to be considered in the management of fibromyalgia syndrome.
Sexual orientation and psychiatric vulnerability: a twin study of neuroticism and psychoticism.

Recent evidence indicates that homosexuals and bisexuals are, on average, at greater risk for psychiatric problems than heterosexuals. It is assumed with some supporting evidence that prejudice often experienced by nonheterosexuals makes them more vulnerable to psychiatric disorder, but there has been no investigation of alternative explanations. Here we used Eysenck's Neuroticism and Psychoticism scales as markers for psychiatric vulnerability and compared heterosexuals with nonheterosexuals in a community-based sample of identical and nonidentical twins aged between 19 and 52 years (N = 4904). Firstly, we tested whether apparent sexual orientation differences in psychiatric vulnerability simply mirrored sex differences-for our traits, this would predict nonheterosexual males having elevated Neuroticism scores as females do, and nonheterosexual females having elevated Psychoticism scores as males do. Our results contradicted this idea, with nonheterosexual men and women scoring significantly higher on Neuroticism and Psychoticism than their heterosexual counterparts, suggesting an overall elevation of psychiatric risk in nonheterosexuals. Secondly, we used our genetically informative sample to assess the viability of explanations invoking a common cause of both nonheterosexuality and psychiatric vulnerability. We found significant genetic correlation between sexual orientation and both Neuroticism and Psychoticism, but no corresponding environmental correlations, suggesting that if there is a common cause of both nonheterosexuality and psychiatric vulnerability it is likely to have a genetic basis rather than an environmental basis.
Randomized Trial Acupuncture-Analgesia Following a Single Treatment Session in Chronic Whiplash is Unrelated to Autonomic Nervous System Changes : A Randomized Cross-over Trial

Thirty-nine patients with chronic WAD received 2 treatment sessions of identical duration, with acupuncture and relaxation therapy randomly crossed over in the 2 visits. The primary outcome measurement was the registration of autonomic nervous system parameters (heart rate, skin conductance, and heart rate variability parameters) during the administration of experimental pain. Endogenous analgesia was the secondary outcome.
Suicidal ideation, parent-child relationships, and adverse childhood experiences: a cross-validation study using a Graphical Markov Model.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in many Western countries. An exploration of factors associated with suicidality may help to understand the mechanisms that lead to suicide. Two samples in Germany (n = 500 and n = 477) were examined via Internet regarding suicidality, depression, alcohol abuse, adverse childhood experiences, and parent-child relationships. A Graphical Markov Model was constructed from the first subsample, testing for main, quadratic and interaction effects. All effects in the model were cross-validated using the second subsample. Depression was found to be a strong predictor of suicidality; alcohol abuse was not a predictor. Both maternal and paternal love also predicted suicidality; the former had an indirect effect via depression and the latter a direct effect. Early experiences with violence showed both a direct and indirect association with suicidality. In addition to depression being a predictor for suicidality, various pathways connect suicidality with early childhood experiences.
An Exploration of Parents’ Perceptions and Beliefs About Changes Following Participation in a Family Skill Training Program: a Qualitative Study in a Developing Country

Family skill training programs have been recognized as effective strategies for preventing substance use. However, they have been evaluated mainly in high-income countries. Families in developing countries also face difficulties; therefore, it is important to explore the fit of existing programs in this context. The present study explores parents’ perceptions and beliefs about changes following participation in the Strengthening Families Program 10–14, which was implemented in Panama by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Thirty parents who had taken part in the program between 2010 and 2011 were interviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted taking a participant-driven inductive stand. An exploration of parents’ narratives suggested that, after the program, they observed changes in themselves as parents, in their children, in the interaction between the two of them, and in their functioning as a couple. Perceived changes centered on communication, limits, obedience, relationship roles, emotional regulation, and social development. For example, parents reported being able to control their emotions in a healthier manner, reducing the use of shouting and setting limits in a more effective way. All these factors have been recognized in previous research as strategies for preventing substance use. It is important to assess participants’ perceptions of programs brought from elsewhere before dissemination efforts can take place. Parents interviewed for this study appeared to hold positive views about this program. This methodology is discussed as a means of evaluating evidence-based interventions in different cultural settings.
Acute MCL and ACL injuries: first results of minimal-invasive MCL ligament bracing with combined ACL single-bundle reconstruction

There is an on-going discussion whether to operatively treat combined grade II and III lesions of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the acute phase rather than conservative treatment of the MCL lesion with a delayed unitary ACL replacement. Another issue is the question how to technically address these MCL lesions. The aim of this study was, therefore, to analyze the results of simultaneous ACL replacement (hamstrings) in a single-bundle technique with a simultaneous MCL ligament bracing procedure. In this prospective non-randomized trial,, 16 patients were included with grade II and III lesions of the MCL. Surgical treatment was performed within 14 days (mean 10.4 days, SD ±2.3 days) by one single expert orthopedic surgeon using the semitendinosus tendon and Rigidfix® system for femoral and tibial fixation and 3.5 mm screws with one 1.3 mm PDS Cord for minimal-invasive MCL ligament bracing with screw fixation. Knee stability was measured with the Rolimeter® and KT-1000®. MCL stability was assessed in clinically and radiographically with valgus stress projections. The mean patient age was 36.4 with six female and ten male patients. There were no surgical complications such as infections or healing disturbances. Mean operation time was 64 ± 6 min. The arthrofibrosis rate was 0 %. Medial knee stability was normal in full extension for all cases with no intra-individual side-to-side difference. Radiological assessed MCL stability revealed Δ values with a mean of 1.1 ± 1.3 mm compared to the contra-lateral side. The Lachman Test revealed a side-to-side difference of 1.6 mm with the KT-1000® and 2.6 ± 0.9 mm when measured with the Rolimeter®. Subjective clinical assessment revealed good results with a mean Lysholm Score of 89.1 points. Acute ACL replacement and MCL ligament bracing with this novel technique revealed in this study good clinical results and objective restored knee stability without cases of knee stiffness or arthrofibrosis. The remarkable shortcoming is the small cohort number making further studies necessary.
Evaluation of curative and palliative radiotherapy efficacy in extensive stage small cell lung cancer.

To evaluate the efficacy of curative and palliative radiotherapy in the treatment of extensive stage small cell lung cancer (E-SCLC), and compare therapy effect on survival with or without metastatic disease.



From January 1998 through December 2004, 128 patients with E-SCLC were treated with radiotherapy and concomitants combined chemotherapy. Radical radiotherapy, consisting of approximately 60 Gy given in up to 30 fractions was performed in 53 (41.4%) of these patients. Others (58.6%) were treated with palliative dose radiotherapy. In all patients, chemotherapy was planned with cisplatin (80 mg/m2) intravenously (i.v.) on day 1, and etoposide (120 mg/m2) i.v. on days 1, 2 and 3, every 3 weeks for 3-6 cycles. Conventional follow-up of patients was conducted at Izmir Oncology Center, Izmir, Turkey. All results were evaluated statistically.



One hundred and twenty-four patients (96.9%) were males. The mean age was 58.49 (+/- 9.01), ranging from 37-78 years. Metastases were initially determined in 64 patients (50%). The median follow up of patients was 287.41 days and median survival was 354.87 days. One year survival rate was 35.8%, and 2-year survival rates was 16.9% in the radical radiotherapy group, while these rates were 26.6% and 8% in the others. According to the statistical findings; the gains in duration of median survival with the curative thoracic irradiation are 151.97 days in all 128 patients.



This study shows that curative radiotherapy at the primary tumor provides an additional survival benefit in patients with metastatic disease compared with palliative radiotherapy. This finding raises the question of whether treatment with radical thoracic radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy, consisting of first-line drugs, might be more beneficial and cost-effective as well as a less toxic treatment of E-SCLC.