nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Functional outcomes of multilevel botulinum toxin and comprehensive rehabilitation in cerebral palsy.

The objective of this study was to measure the effect of lower extremity multilevel botulinum toxin A injections and comprehensive rehabilitation on spasticity and to determine the functional gains in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy. Sixteen ambulatory children with spastic cerebral palsy (9 hemiplegic, 7 diplegic), aged between 3 and 8 years, who were able to walk with or without assistance (Gross Motor Functional Classification System I-III) were recruited to the study. Botulinum toxin A injections were applied to a total of 23 extremities, followed by a comprehensive rehabilitation program. Walking distance and walking speed (evaluated by the Six-Minute Walk Test) were significantly improved after treatment. Similarly, scores on the Observational Gait Scale (assessed by video gait analysis) increased significantly. Improvements in muscle length, spasticity, and selectivity were recorded. Reduced muscle spasticity after botulinum toxin A injections in children with cerebral palsy, with a comprehensive rehabilitation program, enabled clinically relevant improvements in functional ability.
The Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life for Children (CP QOL-Child): evidence of construct validity.

The Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life for Children (CP QOL-Child) is the first health condition-specific questionnaire designed for measuring QOL in children with cerebral palsy (CP). However, its construct validity has not yet been confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Hence, this study assessed the construct validity of the caregiver proxy-report version of the Chinese version of the CP QOL-Child in children with CP using CFA. A total of 312 children with CP (mean age: 8.59 years, SD: 2.52 years) and their caregivers participated in this study. The Chinese version of the CP QOL-Child was completed by the caregivers of children with CP. Then, CFA was applied to evaluate the seven-factor measurement structure of the CP QOL-Child. The seven-factor CFA model had an adequate fit to our data as judged by χ(2) statistic and various goodness-of-fit (GOF) indices, including the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). This study provided empirical evidence of the construct validity of the CP QOL-Child to support its use with children with CP in the Chinese speaking society.
Lisinopril versus atenolol: Decrease in systolic versus diastolic blood pressure with converting enzyme inhibition

In a multicenter, parallel, double-blind study, lisinopril, a new converting enzyme inhibitor, was compared with atenolol in the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension. Four hundred ninety patients were randomized to once-a-day treatment with lisinopril 20 mg or atenolol 50 mg for 4 weeks, and the doses of lisinopril or atenolol were increased at 4-week intervals up to 80 mg or 200 mg, respectively, if sitting diastolic blood pressure (SDBP) was not well controlled. Lisinopril and atenolol reduced SDBP to a similar extent. All reductions from baseline in sitting diastolic and systolic blood pressure were significant (p < 0.01). Lisinopril produced a significantly greater reduction (p < 0.01) in sitting systolic blood pressure (SSBP) than atenolol. The predominant reduction in SSBP could not be explained on the basis of age, race, or severity of hypertension. It is suggested that the increase in arterial compliance reported for converting enzyme inhibitors could explain the predominant decrease in systolic blood pressure.
Programme coverage, condom use and STI treatment among FSWs in a large-scale HIV prevention programme: results from cross-sectional surveys in 22 districts in southern India

This paper evaluates Avahan programme's coverage of female sex workers (FSWs), focus on high-risk FSWs and intermediate outcomes.



First round of cross-sectional survey data, Integrated Behavioral and Biological Assessments (IBBA), conducted in 22 districts, were aggregated into district categories: Solo, where Avahan was the sole service provider covering all FSWs and Major or Minor where Avahan was not the sole provider, but intended coverage was >50% or <or= 50% of FSWs respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to compare exposure by district categories, vulnerability factors and intermediate outcomes associated with exposure.



Reported exposure, evaluated on basis of having received any of three core services, was higher in Solo (75%) compared with Minor (66%) districts. Logistic regression showed that FSWs in solo districts were more likely to be exposed (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.5; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.86) compared with FSWs in Minor districts. Multivariate analysis in Solo districts revealed that FSW with >or=15 clients in the past week had a higher chance of being exposed to core services (AOR=1.56; 95% CI 1.03 to 2.35). Exposure to the three services in Solo Avahan districts was significantly associated with correct knowledge on condom use (AOR=1.36; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.78), consistent condom use with occasional clients (AOR=3.17; 95% CI 2.17 to 4.63) and regular clients (AOR=2.47; 95% CI 1.86 to 3.28) and STI treatment-seeking behaviour (AOR=3.00; 95% CI 1.94 to 4.65).



Higher coverage of FSWs was achieved in districts where Avahan was the only intervention compared with districts having multiple and longstanding non-Avahan programmes. Exposure in Solo districts was associated with intermediate outcomes; this need to be further evaluated in comparison with non Avahan areas and substantiated through data from next IBBA.
HER2 expression in salivary gland carcinomas: dependence on histological subtype.

Previous evaluation of HER2 overexpression in salivary gland cancers indicated an incidence varying between 7 and 56%, with no clear difference among three histologically different subtypes. As part of a Phase II trial of trastuzumab for treatment of incurable salivary gland cancer, we screened 137 tumors for HER2 expression.



Unstained sections of paraffin-embedded tumor samples were stained with p185/HER2 receptor antibody. Tumors with moderate (2+) to strong (3+) complete membrane staining in at least 10% of the tumor cells were scored as positive for overexpression.



The overall frequency of overexpression for HER2 was 17% (23 of 137), whereas it was only 8% in the three most common histological subtypes screened. Overexpression was distinctly rare in the most common subtype screened, adenoid cystic carcinoma (4%, 3 of 70). Overexpression was very common in salivary duct cancers; 10 (83%) of 12 were positive for HER2. This observation is consistent with the typical high-grade histological features and aggressive behavior of this subtype as well as with its histogenetic similarity to breast cancer. Analysis based on histogenesis (intercalated duct versus excretory duct) indicated a higher frequency of overexpression in the latter (55%) than in the former (7%).



Our overall results suggest that trastuzumab will not have a major role in treatment of salivary gland cancers of intercalated duct origin. Further systematic evaluation of trastuzumab in subtypes of excretory duct origin could be supported.
The effect of a hypocaloric diet with and without exercise training on body composition, cardiometabolic risk profile, and reproductive function in overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

In overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the benefits of the addition of exercise to an energy-restricted diet in further improving cardiometabolic risk factors and reproductive function has not been extensively studied.



The objective was to evaluate the effects of aerobic and aerobic-resistance exercise when combined with an energy-restricted high protein diet (5000-6000 kJ/d) on metabolic risk factors and reproductive function in women with PCOS.



A 20-wk outpatient, randomized, parallel study was conducted in a metropolitan research clinic.



Ninety-four overweight and obese women with PCOS (age 29.3 +/- 0.7 yr; body mass index 36.1 +/- 0.5 kg/m2) were randomized to diet only (DO; n = 30), diet and aerobic exercise (DA; n = 31), or diet and combined aerobic-resistance exercise (DC; n = 33).



Weight, body composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, hormonal status, menstrual cyclicity, and ovulatory function were assessed.



All interventions reduced weight (DO 8.9 +/- 1.6%, DA 10.6 +/- 1.7%, and DC 8.7 +/- 1.7%; P < 0.001) with no difference between treatments (P = 0.7, time x treatment). Fat mass decreased more (3 kg) and fat-free mass decreased less (2 kg) in DA and DC compared with DO (P < or = 0.03). Reductions in blood pressure (5.6/2.7 mm Hg), triglycerides (0.4 mmol/liter), total cholesterol (0.5 mmol/liter), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.1 mmol/liter), glucose (0.2 mmol/liter), fasting insulin (4.3 mIU/liter), testosterone (0.4 nmol/liter), and free androgen index (2.8) (P < 0.001) and improvements in SHBG (7.0 nmol/liter) and reproductive function occurred in all groups, with no difference between treatments.



In overweight and obese women with PCOS, the addition of aerobic or combined aerobic-resistance exercise to an energy-restricted diet improved body composition but had no additional effect on improvements in cardiometabolic, hormonal, and reproductive outcomes relative to diet alone.
BIP-SMP : High Performance Message Passing over a Cluster of Commodity SMPs

Device Interface Channel Interface NX Check_incoming "short", "eager", P4 TCP/IP Paragon SP/2 Generic ADI code, datatype mgmt, heterogeneity request queues mgmt " Protocol interface" SGI port. other ports shared-mem port MPL BIP MPI BIP "rendez-vous" Protocols Figure1: Thearchitectureof MPI-BIP implementedwith oneor several messagesof the underlyingcommunicationsystem (BIP in our case). Thecostof MPI-BIP is approximatelyanoverheadof 2 s (mainlyCPU)overBIP for thelatency onourcluster. Thus,thelatency of thenon-SMPMPI-BIP is verygood, 7 s,andthebandwidthreaches110MB/s.
A method to assess hand motor blocks in Parkinson's disease with digitizing tablet.

The non-volitional sudden discontinuation of motor activity, called motor block (MB) or freezing is most commonly associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). MB extends beyond the classical manifestations of PD: akinezia, bradykinezia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability. MB has been observed and quantified in internally cued repetitive movements such as gait, speech, handwriting, and manual tapping tasks as a distinct feature of PD. We present a simple measurement system for objective evaluation of MB during point-to-point hand movements in patients with PD. Hand trajectories were evaluated in eight PD patients based on values obtained from a digitizing tablet (DT) score. 50 trials per day were recorded in seven consecutive working days. Subjects were instructed to consciously prepare and self-initiate movements between arbitrarily fixed starting and target points without lifting a wireless magnetic mouse. MB was identified as the time interval during movement with no change in coordinates. We analyzed three kinematic parameters: duration, start and number of MBs. If MBs were documented, the DT score was 1, if not, 0. Results were then compared with the ratings of the question in motor section related to freezing of hands from the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). For all patients, DT score was in agreement with the UPDRS. Present results indicate that DT is useful for assessing MBs during volitional planar hand movement. This low-cost instrument may be included in a clinical test battery because of short testing time and trouble-free preparation of patient.
A retrospective, pooled data analysis of the safety of pegaptanib sodium in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration in subjects with or without diabetes mellitus

To evaluate the safety of pegaptanib sodium 0.3 mg intravitreal injection in the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration in subjects with or without diabetes mellitus.



A pooled, retrospective, analysis was conducted of data from 9 sponsor-administered, randomized, open-label trials. Subjects who received pegaptanib by randomization or change in dose assignment, crossover design, or protocol amendment, were included. Reports of endophthalmitis, increased intraocular pressure, retinal injury, intraocular hemorrhage, traumatic cataract, hypersensitivity reactions, stroke, myocardial infarction, and other arterial thromboembolic events defined by the Antiplatelet Trialists' Collaboration were identified by Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities preferred terms. Adverse events were summarized from the first injection to 42 days after the last injection. The incidence of adverse events was stratified by the presence/absence of diabetes.



Of 1,586 subjects enrolled, 165 (10.4%) had a history of diabetes mellitus and 1,421 (89.6%) did not. The 2 populations were similar at baseline. Based on the comparison of prespecified ocular, hypersensitivity, and Antiplatelet Trialists' Collaboration event terms, the safety review did not identify any notable differences between the 2 populations.



This retrospective analysis found no increased safety risk resulting from treatment with pegaptanib 0.3 mg in individuals with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and concomitant diabetes mellitus.
A Randomized-Controlled Trial of Prophylactic Hydrocortisone Supplementation for the Prevention of Hypotension in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants are at risk for hypotension. Abnormal adrenal function may play a role in the pathogenesis of hypotension, and therefore, the administration of hydrocortisone (HC) may be an effective treatment for hypotension in some infants. However, the efficacy of prophylactic HC to prevent the use of vasopressors for a defined hypotensive state has not been studied. We conducted a randomized-controlled trial to determine the potential role on adrenal insufficiency in early neonatal hypotension and to determine the effectiveness of prophylactic HC in reducing treatment of hypotension in ELBW infants.Infants were assigned to receive either HC or placebo within the first 3 hours of life. Therapy was continued for 5 days. The presence of hypotension was based on an operational definition and treatment with vasopressors (VP) was standardized based on an a priori protocol.A total of 34 patients were enrolled. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. Of the HC group 25% received VP at 24 hours of age compared to 44% of the placebo group. On day of life 2, only 7% of the HC group received VP compared to 39% of the placebo group (p<0.05).CONCLUSION:Prophylactic treatment with HC reduces the incidence of hypotension, defined by treatment with VP, among ELBW infants during the first 2 days of life. However, the mounting evidence that prophylactic administration of glucocorticoids in the first days of life is harmful to ELBW infants makes HC prophylaxis unwise until the efficacy of treatment relative to safety can be clearly established.
How to interpret multidimensional quality of life questionnaires for patients with schizophrenia?

The classification of patients into distinct categories of quality of life (QoL) levels may be useful for clinicians to interpret QoL scores from multidimensional questionnaires. The aim of this study had been to define clusters of QoL levels from a specific multidimensional questionnaire (SQoL18) for patients with schizophrenia by using a new method of interpretable clustering and to test its validity regarding socio-demographic, clinical, and QoL information. In this multicentre cross-sectional study, patients with schizophrenia have been classified using a hierarchical top-down method called clustering using unsupervised binary trees (CUBT). A three-group structure has been employed to define QoL levels as “high”, “moderate”, or “low”. Socio-demographic, clinical, and QoL data have been compared between the three clusters to ensure their clinical relevance. A total of 514 patients have been analysed: 78 are classified as “low”, 265 as “moderate”, and 171 as “high”. The clustering shows satisfactory statistical properties, including reproducibility (using bootstrap analysis) and discriminancy (using factor analysis). The three clusters consistently differentiate patients. As expected, individuals in the “high” QoL level cluster report the lowest scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (p = 0.01) and the Calgary Depression Scale (p < 0.01), and the highest scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning (p < 0.03), the SF36 (p < 0.01), the EuroQol (p < 0.01), and the Quality of Life Inventory (p < 0.01). Given the ease with which this method can be applied, classification using CUBT may be useful for facilitating the interpretation of QoL scores in clinical practice.
Efficacy of high-dose interferon in combination with ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C resistant to interferon alone

Interferon combined with ribavirin has efficacy in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, its utility in patients who have not responded to prior interferon therapy is not clear. Furthermore, the effect of using an increased dose of interferon in combination with ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C resistant to conventional doses of interferon is not known. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of high-dose interferon in combination with ribavirin on the efficacy of treating patients with chronic hepatitis C resistant to interferon monotherapy in a large multicenter trial.We randomized 154 patients with chronic hepatitis C who failed to achieve a sustained response with prior interferon therapy to receive either 3 or 5 MU of interferon α-2b and ribavirin (1000–1200 mg/day) for 12 months. There were 119 patients who had not responded and 35 who initially responded but relapsed after prior interferon monotherapy. Serum HCV RNA levels were measured at entry, 6, and 12 months of treatment and at the end of a 6-month follow-up period.The mean age of the subjects was 47 yr (range 28–68 yr), and 110 (71.4%) were men. One hundred thirty-two patients (86%) had HCV genotype 1, whereas 21(14%) had cirrhosis. Eighty-one subjects (53%) were randomized to receive 3 MU of interferon α-2b. Fifteen of 35 relapse subjects (43%) and 12 of 119 prior nonresponder entrants (10%) achieved a sustained virological response to the 12-month course of treatment. Overall, 11 of 81 patients (14%) receiving 3 MU, and 16 of 73 patients (22%) receiving 5 MU of interferon maintained an undetectable HCV RNA level after cessation of therapy. The difference in sustained response rates between the two interferon dosage groups did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.09). However, among the nonresponder patients alone, there was an increased sustained response in the high-dose interferon group compared with the standard interferon dose group (15.5% vs 4.9%, p = 0.055). Twenty-six patients discontinued therapy before 6 months, including 10 patients (12.3%) in the 3-MU and 16 patients (21.9%) in the 5-MU groups (p = 0.17).Conclusions:Sustained virological response to combined interferon α-2b and ribavirin was significantly higher in relapse patients than those who did not respond to prior interferon monotherapy. Although, when all treated patients were analyzed, there was no significant difference in sustained response between subjects receiving 3 and 5 MU of interferon, among the prior nonresponder patients, treatment with 5 MU of interferon with ribavirin resulted in a slightly increased response compared with treatment with the standard interferon dosage. The tolerability of the treatment regimens was comparable.
Phase II study of fazarabine in advanced head and neck cancer

Fazarabine is an analog of the antitumor nucleosides cytosine arabinoside and 5-azacytidine. In the cell, the drug is metabolized to the nucleotide level by deoxycytidine kinase, is incorporated into DNA, and inhibits DNA synthesis and methylation [1-3] . Fazarabine has demonstrated antitumor activity against a wider variety of human tumor xenografts than cytosine arabinoside . In leukemia models, direct comparison revealed that the therapeutic margin of safety for fazarabine was double that for cytosine arabinoside . This phase II trial was designed to study the response and toxicity of fazarabine in advanced head and neck cancer.
Validating posttransplant hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence data in the United Network for Organ Sharing database.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)/United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database is the most comprehensive collection of liver transplantation data, but the quality of these data with respect to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence has not been well assessed. In this study, we compared observed HCC recurrence rates in the UNOS database to expected rates calculated with a hierarchical model for recurrence adjusted for recipient and tumor characteristics. We used the UNOS Standard Transplant Analysis and Research data set for adult transplant patients with an initial exception for an HCC diagnosis granted between January 1, 2006 and September 30, 2010 who underwent transplantation within the same time window. We developed a risk-adjusted Poisson model with patients as the unit of analysis, random effects for transplant centers, and years of follow-up as an offset to predict expected recurrences for each center. To further investigate the possibility of underreporting, we imputed expected recurrences for non-HCC deaths. In all, 5034 HCC liver transplant recipients were identified, and 6.8% experienced recurrence at a median of 1 year after transplantation. The covariate-adjusted shrinkage estimates of the observed/expected HCC recurrence ratios by transplant center ranged from 0.6 to 1.76 (median = 0.97). The 95% confidence intervals for the shrinkage ratios included unity for every center, and this indicated that none could be unambiguously identified as having lower or higher than expected HCC recurrence rates. Imputing outcomes for patients potentially experiencing unreported recurrence changed the center-specific shrinkage ratios to 0.72 to 1.39 (median = 0.98), with no centers having a shrinkage ratio significantly different from 1. The observed HCC recurrence rate was not significantly lower than the expected rate at any center, and this suggests that no systematic underreporting has occurred. This study validates the OPTN HCC recurrence data and supports their potential for further analysis.
Effect of guar crispbread with cereal products and leguminous seeds on blood glucose concentrations of diabetics.

To compare the effect on blood glucose concentrations of guar incorporated into crispbreads with that of unprocessed high-fibre foods groups of four to six diabetics took a total of seven test breakfasts on separate days. By comparison with a breakfast of wholemeal bread and cheese, guar crispbread combined with bread reduced the area under the glucose response curve to 51% (p < 0.05); bread and soya beans reduced the area to 65% (p < 0.05); guar crispbread with soya beans to 25% (p < 0.002); and soya beans with lentils to 29% (p < 0.002). Porridge and cornflake breakfasts showed no difference. The favourable results with leguminous seeds may not make such meals more acceptable than meals of guar products, but a combination of leguminous seeds and guar may allow smaller and more acceptable amounts of both to be used.