nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Nephrologists' reported preparedness for end-of-life decision-making.

Nephrologists commonly engage in end-of-life decision-making with patients with ESRD and their families. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived preparedness of nephrologists to make end-of-life decisions and to determine factors that are associated with the highest level of perceived preparedness. The nephrologist members of the Renal Physicians Association (RPA) and the Canadian Society of Nephrology were invited to participate in an online survey of their end-of-life decision-making practices. A total of 39% of 360 respondents perceived themselves as very well prepared to make end-of-life decisions. Age >46 yr, six or more patients withdrawn from dialysis in the preceding year, and awareness of the RPA/American Society of Nephrology (ASN) guideline on dialysis decision-making were independently associated with the highest level of self-reported preparedness. Nephrologists who reported being very well prepared were more likely to use time-limited trials of dialysis and stop dialysis of a patient with permanent and severe dementia. Compared with Americans, Canadian nephrologists reported being equally prepared to make end-of-life decisions, stopped dialysis of a higher number of patients, referred fewer to hospice, and were more likely to stop dialysis of a patient with severe dementia. Nephrologists who have been in practice longer and are knowledgeable of the RPA/ASN guideline report greater preparedness to make end-of-life decisions and report doing so more often in accordance with guideline recommendations. To improve nephrologists' comfort with end-of-life decision-making, fellowship programs should teach the recommendations in the RPA/ASN guideline and position statement.
Tracing the evolution of pluralism in community-based coalitions.

In this study, a crisis of leadership succession led to greater subsequent pluralism by the previously less inclusive coalition. Substantial tension existed between both coalitions and the federally funded Appalachia Cancer Network, especially around its evidence-based mission. The fact that this tension occurred even at the more locally inclusive site indicates that pluralism may vary across levels within the same coalition. This article contributes to theory by exploring how coalitions evolve over time across community boundaries, as well as to management practice by yielding guidance about how to build inclusive organizations.
Oscillatory activity in the pedunculopontine area of patients with Parkinson's disease

The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) has recently been introduced as a new therapeutic target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD). In a recent case report it was demonstrated that alpha frequency oscillations appear in PPN after the administration of levodopa in PD, indicating a possible physiological role of these oscillations. Here we confirm this result and investigate the functional connectivity and reactivity of subcortical alpha activity by recording LFP activity from the PPN area and EEG in six patients with PD while at rest and in four of them while they performed ipsi- and contralateral self-paced joystick movements. Levodopa strongly promoted 7-11 Hz oscillatory synchronization in the region of PPN and coupling of this activity with similar activity in the cortical EEG. Such coupling was bidirectional. Moreover, the 7-11 Hz oscillatory synchronization in the PPN area increased about 3 s prior to self-paced movements, but only following levodopa treatment. These findings suggest that alpha oscillations in the PPN area may represent a physiological pattern of activity. The subcortical oscillations are coupled to cortical alpha activity and possibly allied to motor related attentional processes.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for refractory or recurrent non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children and adolescents.

We examined the role of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients aged< or =18 years with refractory or recurrent Burkitt (n=41), lymphoblastic (n=53), diffuse large B cell (DLBCL; n=52), and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (n=36), receiving autologous (n=90) or allogeneic (n=92; 43 matched sibling and 49 unrelated donor) HSCT in 1990-2005. Risk factors affecting event-free survival (EFS) were evaluated using stratified Cox regression. Characteristics of allogeneic and autologous HSCT recipients were similar. Allogeneic donor HSCT was more likely to use irradiation-containing conditioning regimens, bone marrow (BM) stem cells, be performed in more recent years, and for lymphoblastic lymphoma. EFS rates were lower for patients not in complete remission at HSCT, regardless of donor type. After adjusting for disease status, 5-year EFS were similar after allogeneic and autologous HSCT for DLBCL (50% vs 52%), Burkitt (31% vs 27%), and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (46% vs 35%). However, EFS was higher for lymphoblastic lymphoma, after allogeneic HSCT (40% vs 4%; P < .01). Predictors of EFS for progressive or recurrent disease after HSCT included disease status at HSCT and use of allogeneic donor for lymphoblastic lymphoma. These data were unable to demonstrate a difference in outcome by donor type for the other histological subtypes.
Effectiveness of a selective, personality-targeted prevention program for adolescent alcohol use and misuse: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Selective school-based alcohol prevention programs targeting youth with personality risk factors for addiction and mental health problems have been found to reduce substance use and misuse in those with elevated personality profiles.



To report 24-month outcomes of the Teacher-Delivered Personality-Targeted Interventions for Substance Misuse Trial  in which school staff were trained to provide interventions to students with 1 of 4 high-risk (HR) profiles: anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, impulsivity, and sensation seeking and to examine the indirect herd effects of this program on the broader low-risk (LR) population of students who were not selected for intervention.



Cluster randomized controlled trial.



Secondary schools in London, United Kingdom.



A total of 1210 HR and 1433 LR students in the ninth grade (mean [SD] age, 13.7 [0.33] years).



Schools were randomized to provide brief personality-targeted interventions to HR youth or treatment as usual (statutory drug education in class).



Participants were assessed for drinking, binge drinking, and problem drinking before randomization and at 6-monthly intervals for 2 years.



Two-part latent growth models indicated long-term effects of the intervention on drinking rates (β = -0.320, SE = 0.145, P = .03) and binge drinking rates (β = -0.400, SE = 0.179, P = .03) and growth in binge drinking (β = -0.716, SE = 0.274, P = .009) and problem drinking (β = -0.452, SE = 0.193, P = .02) for HR youth. The HR youth were also found to benefit from the interventions during the 24-month follow-up on drinking quantity (β = -0.098, SE = 0.047, P = .04), growth in drinking quantity (β = -0.176, SE = 0.073, P = .02), and growth in binge drinking frequency (β = -0.183, SE = 0.092, P = .047). Some herd effects in LR youth were observed, specifically on drinking rates (β = -0.259, SE = 0.132, P = .049) and growth of binge drinking (β = -0.244, SE = 0.073, P = .001), during the 24-month follow-up.



Findings further support the personality-targeted approach to alcohol prevention and its effectiveness when provided by trained school staff. Particularly novel are the findings of some mild herd effects that result from this selective prevention program.
Parathyroid hormone 1-84 accelerates fracture-healing in pubic bones of elderly osteoporotic women.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) has been shown to increase bone mineral density and to reduce the rate of fractures in patients with osteoporosis and also to improve fracture-healing. The purpose of the present prospective, randomized, controlled study was to evaluate the effect of PTH 1-84 on the course of pelvic fracture-healing and functional outcome in postmenopausal women.



Sixty-five patients had a dual x-ray absorptiometry scan, radiographs, and a computed tomography scan to document pelvic fractures. Twenty-one patients received a once-daily injection of 100 µg of PTH 1-84 starting within two days after admission to the hospital, and forty-four patients served as the control group. All patients received 1000 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D. Computed tomography scans were repeated every fourth week until radiographic evidence of cortical bridging at the fracture site was confirmed. Functional outcome was assessed with use of a visual analog scale for pain and a Timed "Up and Go" test.



The mean time to fracture healing was 7.8 weeks for the treatment group, compared with 12.6 weeks for the control group (p < 0.001). At eight weeks, all fractures in the treatment group were healed and four fractures in the control group were healed (healing rate, 100% compared with 9.1%; p < 0.001). Both the visual analog scale score for pain and the result of the Timed "Up and Go" test improved in the study group as compared with the control group (p < 0.001).



In elderly patients with osteoporosis, PTH 1-84 accelerates fracture-healing in pelvic fractures and improves functional outcome.
MerBench: PGAS Benchmarks for High Performance Genome Assembly

De novo genome assembly is one of the most important and challenging computational problems in modern genomics; further, it shares algorithms and communication patterns important to other graph analytic and irregular applications. Unlike simulations, it has no floating point arithmetic and is dominated by small memory transactions within and between computing nodes. In this work, we introduce MerBench, a compact set of PGAS benchmarks that capture the communication patterns of the parallel algorithms throughout HipMer, a parallel genome assembler pipeline that has been shown to scale to massive concurrencies. We also present results of these microbenchmarks on the Edison supercomputer and illustrate how these empirical results can be used to assess the scaling behavior of the pipeline.
Melatonin treatment for age-related insomnia.

Older people typically exhibit poor sleep efficiency and reduced nocturnal plasma melatonin levels. The daytime administration of oral melatonin to younger people, in doses that raise their plasma melatonin levels to the nocturnal range, can accelerate sleep onset. We examined the ability of similar, physiological doses to restore nighttime melatonin levels and sleep efficiency in insomniac subjects over 50 yr old. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, subjects who slept normally (n = 15) or exhibited actigraphically confirmed decreases in sleep efficiency (n = 15) received, in randomized order, a placebo and three melatonin doses (0.1, 0.3, and 3.0 mg) orally 30 min before bedtime for a week. Treatments were separated by 1-wk washout periods. Sleep data were obtained by polysomnography on the last three nights of each treatment period. The physiologic melatonin dose (0.3 mg) restored sleep efficiency (P < 0.0001), acting principally in the midthird of the night; it also elevated plasma melatonin levels (P < 0.0008) to normal. The pharmacologic dose (3.0 mg), like the lowest dose (0.1 mg), also improved sleep; however, it induced hypothermia and caused plasma melatonin to remain elevated into the daylight hours. Although control subjects, like insomniacs, had low melatonin levels, their sleep was unaffected by any melatonin dose.
HIV Protective KIR3DL1/S1-HLA-B Genotypes Influence NK Cell-Mediated Inhibition of HIV Replication in Autologous CD4 Targets

Carriage of the genetic combination encoding a high expression inhibitory Killer Immunoglobulin-like Receptor (KIR)3DL1 with its ligand, HLA-B*57 (*h/*y+B*57) is associated with slower time to AIDS and better HIV viral load control than being a Bw6 homozygote (Bw6hmz). Natural Killer (NK) cells from *h/*y+B*57 carriers receive potent educational signals through HLA-B*57 KIR3DL1 ligation leading to high functional potential. NK cells from Bw6hmz are not educated through KIR3DL1 because Bw6 antigens do not interact with this inhibitory receptor. To better understand the impact of KIR/HLA combinations on NK cell mediated anti-viral activity we measured NK cell mediated inhibition of HIV replication in autologous infected CD4 (iCD4) cells by assessing the frequency of p24 positive CD4 targets and supernatant levels of HIV p24 longitudinally in the presence versus absence of NK cells. Forty-seven HIV uninfected subjects were studied, including carriers of *h/*y+B*57, a low expression KIR3DL1 genotype with HLA-B*57 termed *l/*x+B*57, a genotype designated 3DS1+*80I and Bw6hmz. NK cells from *h/*y+B*57 carriers, like those from 3DS1+*80I subjects, inhibited HIV replication in autologous iCD4 cells better than those from Bw6hmz and *l/*x+B*57 carriers. Cell contact between NK and iCD4 cells activated NK cells to inhibit viral replication in a non-contact dependent fashion through secretion of CC-chemokines. iCD4 stimulated NK cells from *h/*y+B*57 and 3DS1+*80I carriers produced higher levels of CC-chemokines than those from Bw6hmz or *l/*x+B*57 carriers. Higher levels of CC-chemokines were produced by KIR3DL1(+) than KIR3DL1(-) NK cells. We conclude that NK-mediated inhibition of viral replication in autologous iCD4 cells is partially due to a block at the level of HIV entry into new targets by secreted CC-chemokines.
Assessment of atrial conduction in patients with scleroderma by tissue Doppler echocardiography and P wave dispersion.

Atrial conduction abnormalities in patients with scleroderma have not been evaluated in terms of P wave duration, P wave dispersion (P(d)) and electromechanical coupling measured by tissue Doppler echocardiography.



Twenty-four patients with scleroderma and 24 control subjects underwent resting electrocardiogram (ECG), M mode and tissue Doppler echocardiography. The P wave duration was calculated in all leads of the surface ECG. The difference between the maximum (P(max)) and minimum P wave duration was calculated and defined as P(d). Interatrial and intraatrial electromechanical delays were measured with tissue Doppler tissue echocardiography.



The left ventricular dimensions, fractional shortening, and left atrial diameter did not differ between the patients and the controls. P(d) and P(max) were significantly higher in patients with scleroderma compared with controls: 51 +/- 17 versus 28 +/- 7 ms (p < 0.01) and 109 +/- 10 versus 93 +/- 6 ms (p < 0.01), respectively. There was a delay between the onset of the P wave on surface ECG and the onset of the late diastolic wave (A wave; PA) obtained by tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with scleroderma compared with controls measured at lateral septal annulus (lateral PA; 122 +/- 8 vs. 105 +/- 7 ms, p = 0.001), septal mitral annulus (104 +/- 11 vs. 93 +/- 10 ms, p = 0.01) and tricuspid annulus (right ventricular PA; 71 +/- 9 vs. 64 +/- 7 ms, p = 0.05). Interatrial conduction time (lateral PA - right ventricular PA) was delayed in patients with scleroderma compared with controls (88 +/- 13 vs. 76 +/- 11 ms, p = 0.01). A positive correlation was detected between interatrial electromechanical delay (lateral PA - right ventricular PA) and P(d) (r = 0.5, p = 0.03).



Atrial conduction abnormalities as estimated with P(d) and P(max) are significantly higher in patients with scleroderma compared with controls. There is a delay in both intraatrial and interatrial electromechanical coupling intervals in patients with scleroderma.
Brief psychosocial education, not core stabilization, reduced incidence of low back pain: results from the Prevention of Low Back Pain in the Military (POLM) cluster randomized trial

Effective strategies for the primary prevention of low back pain (LBP) remain elusive with few large-scale clinical trials investigating exercise and education approaches. The purpose of this trial was to determine whether core stabilization alone or in combination with psychosocial education prevented incidence of low back pain in comparison to traditional lumbar exercise.



The Prevention of Low Back Pain in the Military study was a cluster randomized clinical study with four intervention arms and a two-year follow-up. Participants were recruited from a military training setting from 2007 to 2008. Soldiers in 20 consecutive companies were considered for eligibility (n = 7,616). Of those, 1,741 were ineligible and 1,550 were eligible but refused participation. For the 4,325 Soldiers enrolled with no previous history of LBP average age was 22.0 years (SD = 4.2) and there were 3,082 males (71.3%). Companies were randomly assigned to receive traditional lumbar exercise, traditional lumbar exercise with psychosocial education, core stabilization exercise, or core stabilization with psychosocial education, The psychosocial education session occurred during one session and the exercise programs were done daily for 5 minutes over 12 weeks. The primary outcome for this trial was incidence of low back pain resulting in the seeking of health care.



There were no adverse events reported. Evaluable patient analysis (4,147/4,325 provided data) indicated no differences in low back incidence resulting in the seeking of health care between those receiving the traditional exercise and core stabilization exercise programs. However, brief psychosocial education prevented low back pain episodes regardless of the assigned exercise approach, resulting in a 3.3% (95% CI: 1.1 to 5.5%) decrease over two years (numbers needed to treat (NNT) = 30.3, 95% CI = 18.2 to 90.9).



Core stabilization has been advocated as preventative, but offered no such benefit when compared to traditional lumbar exercise in this trial. Instead, a brief psychosocial education program that reduced fear and threat of low back pain decreased incidence of low back pain resulting in the seeking of health care. Since this trial was conducted in a military setting, future studies are necessary to determine if these findings can be translated into civilian populations.
Development of a problem-focused behavioral screener linked to evidence-based intervention.

This study examines the factor structure, reliability and validity of a novel school-based screening instrument for academic and disruptive behavior problems commonly experienced by children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants included 39 classroom teachers from two public school districts in the northeastern United States. Teacher ratings were obtained for 390 students in grades K-6. Exploratory factor analysis supports a two-factor structure (oppositional/disruptive and academic productivity/disorganization). Data from the screening instrument demonstrate favorable internal consistency, temporal stability and convergent validity. The novel measure should facilitate classroom intervention for problem behaviors associated with ADHD by identifying at-risk students and determining specific targets for daily behavior report card interventions.
Association Between a Social-Business Eating Pattern and Early Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis.

The importance of a healthy diet in relation to cardiovascular health promotion is widely recognized. Identifying specific dietary patterns related to early atherosclerosis would contribute greatly to inform effective primary prevention strategies.



This study sought to quantify the association between specific dietary patterns and presence and extent of subclinical atherosclerosis in a population of asymptomatic middle-aged adults.



The PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) study enrolled 4,082 asymptomatic participants 40 to 54 years of age (mean age 45.8 years; 63% male) to evaluate the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis in multiple vascular territories. A fundamental objective of this cohort study was to evaluate the life-style-related determinants, including diet, on atherosclerosis onset and development. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data, including detailed information on dietary habits obtained as part of the overall life-style and risk factor assessment, as well as a complete vascular imaging study that was performed blinded to the clinical information.



Most PESA participants follow a Mediterranean (40% of participants) or a Western (41%) dietary pattern. A new pattern, identified among 19% of participants, was labeled as a social-business eating pattern, characterized by a high consumption of red meat, pre-made foods, snacks, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages and frequent eating-out behavior. Participants following this pattern presented a significantly worse cardiovascular risk profile and, after adjustment for risk factors, increased odds of presenting subclinical atherosclerosis (odds ratio: 1.31; 95% confidence interval: 1.06 to 1.63) compared with participants following a Mediterranean diet.



A new social-business eating pattern, characterized by high consumption of red and processed meat, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages, and by frequent snacking and eating out as part of an overall unhealthy life-style, is associated with an increased prevalence, burden, and multisite presence of subclinical atherosclerosis.
Gemcitabine in combination with vinorelbine for heavily pretreated advanced breast cancer.

To evaluate the activity and toxicity of gemcitabine and vinorelbine in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), previously treated with anthracyclines alone or with taxanes.



A total of 86 pretreated patients with MBC (median age 62 years), entered the study. Thirty-six patients had been pretreated with anthracyclines and 8 were resistant. The combination of gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2) and vinorelbine (25 mg/m2) was administered on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks, for a total of 6 cycles.



A total of 344 cycles of chemotherapy were administered (median 4 cycles per patient). Partial responses were observed in 31 patients (36.0%; 95% CI: 23-56). The median duration of response was 7 months (range 3-11 months) and the median overall survival was 14 months (range 6-21). The scheme was well tolerated.



The combination of vinorelbine and gemcitabine is an active scheme in pretreated MBC, demonstrating an acceptable toxicity profile, and may well represent a valuable therapeutic choice after anthracycline/taxane regimens.
Impact of genetic and non-genetic factors on clinical responses to prochlorperazine in oxycodone-treated cancer patients.

The contributions of DRD2 and OPRM1 genetic variants to clinical responses to prochlorperazine remain to be clarified in opioid-treated patients. We evaluated the clinical responses to prochlorperazine based on non-genetic and genetic factors in oxycodone-treated patients.



Seventy Japanese cancer patients starting oral prochlorperazine together with oxycodone were enrolled. Predose plasma prochlorperazine concentrations and serum prolactin concentrations were determined. The incidences of oxycodone-induced nausea and vomiting were monitored for 2weeks.



Plasma prochlorperazine concentration and oxycodone daily dose were not associated with the incidences of nausea and vomiting. The incidence of nausea was significantly higher in the DRD2 TaqIA A1A2+A1A1 group than in the A2A2 group. The incidence of vomiting was significantly higher in females than in males. Before and after the prochlorperazine administration, the serum prolactin concentration was significantly higher in female patients than in male patients. The serum prolactin concentration was weakly correlated with prochlorperazine concentration and was significantly higher in the OPRM1 118AA group than in the AG+GG group.



DRD2 TaqIA and female gender altered the prophylactic antiemetic efficacy of prochlorperazine. OPRM1 A118G together with plasma exposure of prochlorperazine and gender affected prolactin secretion in oxycodone-treated patients.