nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
TBI-QOL: Development and Calibration of Item Banks to Measure Patient Reported Outcomes Following Traumatic Brain Injury

To use a patient-centered approach or participatory action research design combined with advanced psychometrics to develop a comprehensive patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measurement system specifically for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This TBI Quality-of-Life (TBI-QOL) measurement system expands the work of other large PRO measurement initiatives, that is, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and the Neurology Quality-of-Life measurement initiative.



Five TBI Model Systems centers across the United States.



Adults with TBI.



Classical and modern test development methodologies were used. Qualitative input was obtained from individuals with TBI, TBI clinicians, and caregivers of individuals with TBI through multiple methods, including focus groups, individual interviews, patient consultation, and cognitive debriefing interviews. Item pools were field tested in a large multisite sample (n = 675) and calibrated using item response theory methods.



Twenty-two TBI-QOL item banks/scales.



The TBI-QOL consists of 20 independent calibrated item banks and 2 uncalibrated scales that measure physical, emotional, cognitive, and social aspects of health-related quality of life.



The TBI-QOL measurement system has potential as a common data element in TBI research and to enhance collection of health-related quality-of-life and PRO data in rehabilitation research and clinical settings.
Penetration of ciprofloxacin into the human pancreas

The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of ciprofloxacin in human pancreatic tissue and juice. Concentrations were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two hundred mg of ciprofloxacin were administered as a short i. v. infusion (30 min). The median ciprofloxacin concentrations 140 min (median) after the start of infusion in pancreatic tissue as well as in pancreatic juice were 0.9 mg/kg (mg/l). The penetration ratio was 1.0 for pancreatic tissue and 0.83 for pancreatic juice. With regard to the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for the respective bacteria, ciprofloxacin seems to be an appropriate drug for the treatment of septic complications in necrotizing pancreatitis. Future clinical trials are necessary to prove this assumption. Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Konzentrationen von Ciprofloxacin im menschlichen Bauchspeicheldrüsengewebe und -saft zu ermitteln. Die von uns mittels Hochdruck-Flüssigkeitschromatographie (HPLC) ermittelte Konzentration betrug sowohl in menschlichem Pankreasgewebe wie auch im Pankreassaft im Median 0,9 mg/kg (mg/l) 140 min (Median) nach Beginn der intravenösen Kurzinfusion (30 min) von 200 mg Ciprofloxacin. Das Verhältnis der Gewebekonzentration zur zeitgleich vorhandenen Serumkonzentration betrug im Median für Pankreasgewebe 1,0 und für Pankreassaft 0,83. Im Vergleich mit den publizierten minimalen Hemmkonzentrationen für die relevanten Bakterien zeigt sich, daß Ciprofloxacin aufgrund seiner pharmakokinetischen Daten im Pankreas zur Behandlung septischer Komplikationen der akuten Pankreatitis geeignet erscheint. Allerdings sind weitere klinische Studien notwendig, um diese Vermutung zu beweisen.
VMR: volunteer MapReduce over the large scale internet

Volunteer Computing systems (VC) harness computing resources of machines from around the world to perform distributed independent tasks. Existing infrastructures follow a master/worker model, with a centralized architecture, which limits the scalability of the solution given its dependence on the server. We intend to create a distributed model, in order to improve performance and reduce the burden on the server.
 In this paper we present VMR, a VC system able to run MapReduce applications on top of volunteer resources, over the large scale Internet. We describe VMR's architecture and evaluate its performance by executing several MapReduce applications on a wide area testbed.
 Our results show that VMR successfully runs MapReduce tasks over the Internet. When compared to an unmodified VC system, VMR obtains a performance increase of over 60% in application turnaround time, while reducing the bandwidth use by an order of magnitude.
Acetylcysteine for prevention of acute deterioration of renal function following elective coronary angiography and intervention: a randomized controlled trial.

The antioxidant acetylcysteine prevents acute contrast nephrotoxicity in patients with impaired renal function who undergo computed tomography scanning. However, its role in coronary angiography is unclear.



To determine whether oral acetylcysteine prevents acute deterioration in renal function in patients with moderate renal insufficiency who undergo elective coronary angiography.



Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted from May 2000 to December 2001 at the Grantham Hospital at the University of Hong Kong.



Two hundred Chinese patients aged mean (SD) 68 (6.5) years with stable moderate renal insufficiency (creatinine clearance <60 mL/min [1.00 mL/s]) who were undergoing elective coronary angiography with or without intervention.



Participants were randomly assigned to receive oral acetylcysteine(600 mg twice per day; n = 102) or matching placebo tablets (n = 98) on the day before and the day of angiography. All patients received low-osmolality contrast agent.



Occurrence of more than a 25% increase in serum creatinine level within 48 hours after contrast administration; change in creatinine clearance and serum creatinine level.



Twelve control patients (12%) and 4 acetylcysteine patients (4%) developed a more than 25% increase in serum creatinine level within 48 hours after contrast administration (relative risk, 0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.96; P =.03). Serum creatinine was lower in the acetylcysteine group (1.22 mg/dL [107.8 micromol/L]; 95% CI, 1.11-1.33 mg/dL vs 1.38 mg/dL [122.9 micromol/L]; 95% CI, 1.27-1.49 mg/dL; P =.006) during the first 48 hours after angiography. Acetylcysteine treatment significantly increased creatinine clearance from 44.8 mL/min (0.75 mL/s) (95% CI, 42.7-47.6 mL/min) to 58.9 mL/min (0.98 mL/s) (95% CI, 55.6-62.3 mL/min) 2 days after the contrast administration (P<.001). The increase was not significant in the control group (from 42.1 to 44.1 mL/min [0.70 to 0.74 mL/s]; P =.15). The benefit of acetylcysteine was consistent among various patient subgroups and persistent for at least 7 days. There were no major treatment-related adverse events.



Acetylcysteine protects patients with moderate chronic renal insufficiency from contrast-induced deterioration in renal function after coronary angiographic procedures, with minimal adverse effects and at a low cost.
Quality of life in newly diagnosed cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to examine which domains of quality of life are most strongly affected in patients with newly diagnosed cancer, and to examine if quality of life was related to gender, age, educational level, cohabitation, time since diagnosis, treatment or type of cancer in these patients. Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index and the Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System, short form, were completed by 131 newly diagnosed Norwegian adult cancer patients. The patients had different cancer diagnoses, with breast cancer being the most common type. None of them were terminally ill, and 80% had been diagnosed within the last 6 months. The patients turned out to be satisfied with their lives, especially with the family and marital domains. They were least satisfied with health, functioning and sex life. Analyses of variance and multiple regression analysis were conducted to examine the impact on quality of life of cohabiting, age, gender, educational level, cancer diagnosis, treatment and time since diagnosis. Those cohabiting had significantly higher quality of life compared with those living alone. In contrast the younger group (19-39 years) living alone had significantly lower quality of life than the older groups living alone. Although age was only significantly associated with quality of life in one sub-scale, the elderly people reported their quality of life to be better in almost all sub-scales. Time since diagnosis was not associated with quality of life, while treatment was associated with quality of life as measured by Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index. Gender and educational level were only associated with one or two domains in quality of life, respectively.
Ointments and transdermal nitroglycerin patches for stable angina pectoris

Nitroglycerin (NTG) ointment is used for the prophylaxis against angina pectoris, but there are no data to support its effectiveness during long-term therapy. Continuous, once-daily application of isosorbide dinitrate cream produces tolerance with complete loss of efficacy within 1 week. Nitroglycerin patches are very popular and continuous once-daily application is still claimed by some investigators to provide 24 hour antiischemic and antianginal efficacy. This claim is based on data from postmarketing studies in a very large number of patients and placebo-controlled studies in smaller groups of patients from Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Germany. In contrast, studies from the United States, Canada, England, and some centers in Germany have failed to show superiority of patches over placebo during continuous therapy. This controversy was addressed by the NTG cooperative study group, in which a total of 562 patients who were responders to sublingual nitroglycerin were studied. Patients received either placebo or NTG patches delivering low (15–30 mg/24 hr), moderate (45–60 mg/ 24 hr), or large (75 and 105 mg/24 hr) amounts of NTG. Four hours after the initial application, NTG patches increased exercise duration compared to placebo, but this beneficial effect had disappeared by 24 hours. Furthermore, after 8 weeks of continuous therapy, none of the NTG patches were superior to placebo, whether patients were or were not taking concomitant beta-blockers. Therefore, current opinion is that continous therapy with NTG patches produces pharmacologic tolerance and is ineffective. Pharmacologic tolerance can be minimized when patches are applied every morning and removed after 10–12 hours at night. However, patches delivering >15 mg NTG/24 hr are required to maintain an increased exercise duration for up to hour 8 after the patch application. Intermittent therapy with patches, however, may lead to rebound nocturnal angina in some patients. Also, intermittent therapy with patches has been associated with worsening of exercise performance in the morning prior to the patch renewal, compared to therapy with placebo patches. This has been referred to as the zero-hour effect and probably represents a rebound phenomenon following nitrate withdrawal. Patients experiencing either nocturnal or early morning angina during intermittent therapy with patches should either be switched to oral long-acting nitrates or should in addition be treated with a beta-blocker, provided there are no contraindications to beta-blocker treatment.
Efficacy and safety of administration of oral iron chelator deferiprone in patients with early myelodysplastic syndrome.

Forty-eight patients with early myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) without excess of blasts, with average initial serum ferritin levels of 2739.5 μg/L (range 825-11287 μg/L), were treated with deferiprone (L1) in a daily dose of 40-90 mg/kg. Median duration of chelation treatment was 10.9 months (range 4-24 months). Chelation was effective (maintained or decreased iron stores) in 16 out of 22 patients (73%) with serum ferritin levels <2000 μg/L in contrast to only 12 out of 26 patients with serum ferritin levels >2000 μg/L. Combination of L1 with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) (30-40 kU/week) resulted in effective chelation in five additional patients with serum ferritin levels >3000 μg/L. Incidence of adverse effects was comparable to that in thalassemic patients. Gastrointestinal symptoms represented the most frequent adverse effect of L1 therapy (37.5% of patients) that limited an effective escalation of the daily dose of the drug and led to discontinuation of the treatment for six patients. A decreased number of granulocytes was observed in five (13%) patients and agranulocytosis occurred in two patients (4%). Granulocyte counts were restored after cessation of L1 treatment and administration of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in all but one patient. Administration of L1 in a daily dose of at least 75 mg/kg may represent an alternative approach in treatment of mild and moderate iron overload in MDS patients who cannot be treated with deferasirox (DFRA) or deferoxamine (DFO).
Erythromycin as an alternative to reduce interfering extra-cardiac activity in myocardial perfusion imaging

We sought to determine whether taking oral erythromycin prior to SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging with Tc99m-sestamibi would reduce the amount of interfering extra-cardiac activity and improve the image quality.



A total of 96 patients who were routinely referred for myocardial perfusion imaging were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Patients in group A received 500 mg of non-enterically coated erythromycin orally one hour prior to image acquisition (45 patients). Patients in group B received diluted lemon juice which comprises the current standard of care in our department (51 patients). A two-day protocol was followed and study participants received the same intervention on both days. Planar images of both the stress and rest images were assessed visually by three experienced nuclear medicine physicians for the presence of interfering extracardiac activity. Physicians were blinded to the detail of the protocol and independently assessed the images.



The qualitative results favoured lemon juice in reducing the amount of interfering extra-cardiac activity. The overall incidence of interfering extra-cardiac activity was 46.15% in the lemon juice group vs 55.56% in the erythromycin group. However, this difference was not found to be statistically significant (p = 0.36). The use of a MYO:EXT ratio similar to the one described by Peace and Lloyd,11 appeared promising in quantifying interfering extra-cardiac activity.



The difference between the effect of erythromycin and lemon juice on interfering extra-cardiac activity appears statistically insignificant and erythromycin could therefore be considered as a suitable alternative to lemon juice.
Granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor augmented hepatitis B vaccine protocol for rapid seroprotection in voluntary kidney donors.

Conventional hepatitis B vaccine protocols do not provide rapid seroprotection against hepatitis B. This randomized controlled trial was carried out to investigate the efficacy of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) augmented double-dose vaccine protocol in voluntary kidney donors prior to donor nephrectomy.



A total of 54 kidney donors, who had no history of hepatitis B infection, hepatitis B vaccination and tested negative for anti-HBs and anti-HBc antibodies were randomly allocated to the control or test groups. GM-CSF (300 microg) was administered subcutaneously on day 0, followed by 40 microg of recombinant hepatitis B vaccine intramuscularly on the same deltoid on day 1. The control group received only 40 microg of intramuscular hepatitis B vaccine. Anti-HBs titres were measured at the end of 4 wk.



Of the 54 donors studied, there was a significant (P<0.003) seroconversion in the GM-CSF group (82%) compared to the control group (37%), after a single immunization with double-dose recombinant hepatitis B vaccine by 4 wk. Minor side effects such as fever in four patients and myalgia in three were noticed.



GM-CSF augmented double-dose hepatitis B vaccine could be used in unvaccinated patients when a rapid response is desired.
Longitudinal outcomes in a cohort of Ugandan children randomized to artemether-lumefantrine versus dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the treatment of malaria.

Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has become the standard of care for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Although several ACT regimens are approved, data guiding optimal choices of ACTs are limited. We compared short- and long-term outcomes in a cohort of young Ugandan children randomized to 2 leading ACTs.



Overall, 312 children were randomized to artemether-lumefantrine or dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) at the time of the first episode of uncomplicated malaria (median age, 10.5 months). The same treatment was given for all subsequent episodes of uncomplicated malaria and children were followed until they reached 5 years of age. The cohort included a subgroup that was human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected (n = 44) or HIV exposed (n = 175) and prescribed trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) prophylaxis. Outcomes included time to recurrent malaria following individual treatments and the overall incidences of treatments for malaria, complicated malaria, and hospitalizations.



Among children not prescribed TMP-SMX prophylaxis, 4443 treatments for malaria were given over 790 person-years following randomization. Treatment with DP was associated with a lower hazard of recurrent malaria over the 84 days after treatment (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], .61-.70; P < .001). Children randomized to DP had a lower incidence of all treatments for malaria (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.85; 95% CI, .75-.96; P = .01), complicated malaria (IRR, 0.12; 95% CI, .04-.39; P < .001), and hospitalizations (IRR, 0.31; 95% CI, .13-.77; P = .01). Among children prescribed TMP-SMX prophylaxis, there were no significant differences in longitudinal outcomes.



Compared to artemether-lumefantrine, the use of DP to treat uncomplicated malaria delayed the time to recurrent malaria and reduced the incidences of treatments for malaria, complicated malaria, and hospitalizations.
HLA class I allele associations with HCV genetic variants in patients with chronic HCV genotypes 1a or 1b infection.

The adaptive immune response against hepatitis C virus (HCV) is significantly shaped by the host's composition of HLA-alleles with the consequence that the HLA phenotype is a critical determinant of viral evolution during adaptive immune pressure. In the present study, we aimed to identify associations of HLA class I alleles with HCV subtypes 1a and 1b genetic variants.



The association between HCV genetic variants and specific HLA-alleles was investigated in a cohort of 159 patients with chronic HCV genotypes 1a- and 1b-infection who were treated with pegylated interferon-alfa 2b and ribavirin in a prospective controlled trial for 48 weeks by direct sequencing of the genes encoding the HCV proteins E2, NS3, and NS5B and by HLA class I-genotyping of patients. HCV genetic variants were associated with specific HLA-alleles and the binding strength of accordant amino acid sequences to the corresponding HLA-allele was assessed by using the SYFPEITHI-algorithm.



Overall, associations between HLA class I alleles and HCV sequence variation were rare. Five unknown HLA class I-associated viral genetic variations were identified, which in part affected the binding of predicted HCV CD8+ T cell epitopes to the respective HLA-allele. In addition, different patterns of HLA class I-allele/HCV sequence associations between the two subtypes were observed.



We identified several unknown HLA class I-restricted HCV variants which in part impair binding to predicted HCV CD8+ T cell epitopes with remarkable differences between HCV subtypes 1a and 1b quasispecies.
Porcine model of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

To validate a porcine model of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) repair.



Experimental study.



Ten experimental and five sham-operated pigs were studied. Instrumentation for cardiac output (CO) measurement, regional blood flow (renal-REN and portal-PORT) and blood sampling (inferior vena cava (IVC), renal and portal vein) was done. Microcirculation was visualised sublingually and in ileostoma.



simulation of rAAA with bleeding (mean arterial pressure (MAP) 45 mmHg) and increased abdominal pressure (25 mmHg) for 4 h; 2 h of infrarenal clamp with shed blood retransfusion; 11 h of post-surgery care.



Six experimental pigs completed the protocol and are presented. Bleeding decreased CO to 95%, PORT to 80% and REN to 10% of baseline. From clamping on CO and PORT increased above baseline whereas REN (47%) with creatinine clearance remained compromised till the end. Microcirculation was affected more in ileum than sublingually. Approximately threefold increase in cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10) and oxidative stress markers (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) and 4-hydroxy-2-trans-nonenal (HNE) was observed. Only mild increase in IL-6 and TBARs was observed in sham-operated animals. Organ histology did not reveal differences between groups.



This near-lethal model of rAAA induced expected severe deterioration of haemodynamics and metabolism accompanied with a moderate inflammatory and oxidative stress response.
Left atrial volume index: relation to long-term clinical outcome in type 2 diabetes.

The study sought to determine the prognostic importance of left atrial (LA) dilation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD).



T2DM is associated with the development of CVD, and morphological changes in the heart may appear before symptoms arise.



A total of 305 T2DM patients without known CVD referred to a diabetes clinic were included consecutively (age 58.6 ± 11.3 years, diabetes duration 2.0 [interquartile range: 0 to 6.0] years). Each patient underwent a comprehensive echocardiogram and a myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) at inclusion. Patients were divided according to left atrial volume index (LAVi) ≥32 ml/m(2). Patients were followed for median of 5.6 (interquartile range: 5.1 to 6.1) years for the occurrence of major cardiac events and death.



LAVi ≥32 ml/m(2) was found in 105 patients (34%). During follow-up, 60 patients (20%) experienced the composite endpoint, of whom 28 (9%) died. Patients with LAVi ≥32 ml/m(2) had a significantly higher cardiac event rate and death rate (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). Univariate predictors of the composite endpoint were age, hypertension, left ventricular diastolic function, E/e'septum-ratio and LAVi ≥32 ml/m(2); however, myocardial ischemia on MPS was not a predictor. When adjusting for age and hypertension, only LAVi ≥32 ml/m(2) was a predictor of the composite endpoint (hazard ratio: 1.82 [95% confidence interval: 1.08 to 3.07], p = 0.024).



Increased LAVi was an independent and incremental predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in T2DM patients with no history of CVD.