nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
RAVLT and nonverbal analog: French forms and clinical findings.

Objective clinical evaluation of memory frequently requires serial testing but the issue of whether multi-formed tests are equivalent and can be used interchangeably is seldom examined. An added problem in bilingual Canadian settings is the extent to which it is appropriate to measure French speakers' performance on translations of English tests. The present work used the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and a nonverbal analog, the Aggie Figures Learning Test (AFLT), to examine whether a) different forms of the same test are equivalent, b) performance on the two tests is comparable, c) two language groups perform similarly, and d) the RAVLT can detect dysfunction in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).



We compared three French versions of the RAVLT and three forms of the AFLT in 114 healthy francophone adults. We subsequently compared the performance of the same francophone subjects to a previously obtained sample of anglophones on both tests, and then administered the RAVLT to anglophone or francophone patients with TLE.



For both tasks the three forms were equivalent and performance on the RAVLT was comparable to that on the AFLT. Francophone subjects performed slightly worse on the RAVLT compared to anglophones but performance of the two language groups did not differ on the AFLT. Finally, left TLE patients were impaired compared to right on the RAVLT, but no performance differences were observed across the two language groups in the patient sample.



The RAVLT and AFLT are useful tools for examination of learning and memory in French and English speaking populations. On the RAVLT, the lesion effect in patients is not affected by differences in performance between language groups.
Role of the addition of cabergoline to the management of acromegalic patients resistant to longterm treatment with octreotide LAR

The aim of this prospective open trial was to evaluate the efficacy in normalizing IGF-I levels of the addition of cabergoline to the treatment of acromegalic patients partially responsive to Octreotide-LAR (OCT-LAR), a long acting somatotastin analog (SSA). Fifty-two patients who did not achieve hormonal control after longterm therapy (at least, 12 months) with OCT-LAR (30 mg every 28 days intramuscularly) were given cabergoline in addition to the SSA treatment. Normalization of IGF-I levels was achieved in 40.4% of patients by 6 months after the addition of cabergoline (1.0–3.0 mg/week; mean, 2.19 ± 0.64), and these patients were considered responsive. Compared to non-responsive subjects, responsive patients had significantly lower mean %ULNR-IGF-I and GH levels. However, the rate of hyperprolactinemia and positive immunohistochemical staining for PRL was similar in both groups, before the addition of cabergoline. Responsive patients were followed for at least 12 months on combination treatment and persisted with normal IGF-I levels. Patients with baseline %ULNR IGF-I up to 220% and/or GH up to 5 ng/ml were those who benefited the most from combination treatment. No patients with %ULNR-IGF-I > 250% reached normalization of IGF-I levels. Our findings demonstrated that the addition of cabergoline, even at relatively low doses, is effective in both short- and long-term control of IGF-I levels in acromegalic patients partially responsive to octreotide LAR, particularly in those with mild/moderately elevated GH/IGF-levels, irrespective of prolactin status.
A multi-centred audit of secondary spinal assessments in a trauma setting: are we ATLS compliant?

The global incidence of spinal cord injuries varies with the developed world having improved survival and 1 year mortality in a poly-trauma setting. This improved survival has been estimated at 20 % in a recent Cochrane review of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS).The aim of this audit is to evaluate the management of patients with suspected spinal cord injury by the trauma and orthopaedic team in three centres in South Wales. A retrospective case note review of the secondary survey was performed. Inclusion criteria were patients 18 years and above, with poly-trauma and presenting to Accident and Emergency department at the treating hospital. We used ATLS guidelines as an audit tool and reviewed the documentation of key components of the secondary assessment. Forty-nine patients were included (29 males, 20 females) with an average age of 53.7 years (19–92 years). We found that completion of all components of the secondary survey for spinal injury was poor, 29 % receiving a digital per rectal examination despite suspected spinal injury. Paralysis level was not documented in 20.4 % of patients. Medical Research Council grade was only documented in 24.5 % although was assessed in 73.5 %. The secondary survey took place after 2 h in 54.6 % of patients. We found that the documentation of the performance of a secondary survey was poor. We found that most patients included in this study are not currently meeting the minimal standard suggested by the ATLS guidelines.
Piloting behavioral family systems therapy to improve adherence among adolescents with HIV: a case series intervention study.

Adolescents with HIV are at high risk for suboptimal adherence but have been ignored by the literature. Treatment outcome and feasibility data for the first-known adaptation of Behavioral Family Systems Therapy (BFST) targeting adherence among adolescents with HIV are presented for four adolescents with suboptimal adherence. The intervention was delivered in an alternating home-based and telehealth format and a multi-method adherence assessment approach was used. Adherence improved for three adolescents, viral load decreased for two adolescents, and barriers to adherence declined for all participants. Delivery of an adapted BFST intervention was acceptable to families and may be a promising treatment approach.
The Taipei Adolescent Twin/sibling Family Study I: behavioral problems, personality features, and neuropsychological performance.

The present study aimed to investigate genetic and environmental influences on behavioral problems, personality features, and neuropsychological performance among adolescents in Taipei, Taiwan. Between 1996 and 1998, with the assistance of the Twin Association and junior high schools in Taipei City, we solicited a list of twins from 51 junior high schools in Taipei. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the twins enrolled in these schools were obtained. The vast majority of the recruited twins were between 12 and 16 years old. The recruited twins received assessments for behavioral problems, general and schizotypal personality, and cognitive functions. Their parents rated their children on behavioral/ emotional problems and were assessed on their own general and specific personality. Same-sex sibling pairs (ages vary within 2 years) and their parents from three schools were also recruited to increase sample size for the group with a kinship coefficient of .50. Twins' zygosity was determined by a combination of DNA typing and physical similarity. The Mx program was used to estimate parameters for the full model and its reduced models. The recruitment, measurements, data managements, and published results are described in this article.
Exclusion of patients from quality measurement of diabetes care in the UK pay-for-performance programme.

We examined associations between patient and practice characteristics and exclusions from quality indicators for diabetes during the first 3 years of the Quality and Outcomes Framework, a major pay-for-performance scheme in the UK.



Three cross-sectional analyses, conducted using data from the electronic medical records of all patients with diabetes registered in 23 general practices in Brent, North West London between 2004/2005 and 2006/2007. Patterns of exclusions were examined for three intermediate outcome indicators.



Excluded patients were less likely to achieve treatment targets for HbA(1c) (2004/2005, 2006/2007), blood pressure (2005/2006, 2006/2007) and cholesterol (2005/2006). Black and South Asian patients were more likely to be excluded from the HbA(1c) indicator than White patients [adjusted odds ratio = 1.64 (1.17-2.29) in 2005/2006]. Patients diagnosed with diabetes duration of > 10 years [adjusted odds ratio = 2.01 (1.65-2.45) for HbA(1c) in 2006-2007] and those with co-morbidities (adjusted odds ratio, ≥ 3 co-morbidities compared with no co-morbidity for HbA(1c) adjusted odds ratio = 1.90 (1.24-2.90) in 2004/2005] were more likely to be excluded. Larger practices excluded more patients from the HbA(1c) indicator [adjusted odds ratio, practice ≥ 7000 compared with < 3000, 3.52 (2.35-5.27) in 2005-2006]. More deprived practices consistently excluded more patients from all indicators, whilst in 2007 older patients were excluded to a larger degree [adjusted odds ratio = 2.52 (1.21-5.28) ≥ 75 compared with 18-44 for blood pressure control].



Patients excluded from pay-for-performance programmes may be less likely to achieve treatment goals and disproportionately come from disadvantaged groups. Permitting physicians to exclude patients from pay-for-performance programmes may worsen health disparities.
Reversibility of Fenofibrate Therapy–Induced Renal Function Impairment in ACCORD Type 2 Diabetic Participants

To assess the reversibility of the elevation of serum creatinine levels in patients with diabetes after 5 years of continuous on-trial fenofibrate therapy.



An on-drug/off-drug ancillary study to the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) Lipid Trial to investigate posttrial changes in serum creatinine and cystatin C. Eligible participants were recruited into a prospective, nested, three-group study based on retrospective on-trial serum creatinine levels: fenofibrate case subjects (n = 321, ≥ 20% increase after 3 months of therapy); fenofibrate control subjects (n = 175, ≤ 2% increase); and placebo control subjects (n = 565). Serum creatinine and cystatin C were measured at trial end and 6-8 weeks after discontinuation of trial therapy.  At trial end, case subjects had the highest adjusted serum creatinine (± SE) mg/dL (1.11 ± 0.02) and the lowest adjusted estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (± SE) mL/min/1.73 m(2) (68.4 ± 1.0) versus control subjects (1.01 ± 0.02; 74.8 ± 1.3) and placebo subjects (0.98 ± 0.01; 77.8 ± 0.7). After 51 days off-drug, serum creatinine in case subjects was still higher (0.97 ± 0.02) and eGFR still lower (77.8 ± 1.0) than control subjects (0.90 ± 0.02; 81.8 ± 1.3) but not different from placebo subjects (0.99 ± 0.01; 76.6 ± 0.7). Changes in serum cystatin C recapitulated the serum creatinine changes.



Participants with significant initial on-trial increases in serum creatinine (≥ 20%) returned to the same level of renal function as participants receiving placebo while participants who had ≤ 2% increase in serum creatinine had net preservation of renal function compared with the same unselected placebo reference group. The fenofibrate-associated on-trial increases in serum creatinine were reversible, and the reversal was complete after 51 days off-drug. The similarity of the cystatin C results suggests that the mechanism of this change is not specific for serum creatinine.
Does an extended stroke unit service with early supported discharge have any effect on balance or walking speed?

To evaluate the effect of an extended stroke unit service with early supported discharge on balance and walking speed, and to explore the association between initial leg paresis, initial movement ability and balance one year after stroke.



A randomized controlled trial comparing early supported discharge with ordinary stroke unit service.



A total of 62 eligible patients after stroke.



The outcome measures were Berg Balance Scale and walking speed at 1, 6, 26 and 52 weeks after stroke.



We found no significant differences between the 2 groups during follow-up. There was a significant improvement on Berg Balance Scale (p=0.013) and walking speed (p=0.022) in the early supported discharge group, but not in the ordinary service group, from 1 to 6 weeks' follow-up. All patients with initial severe leg paresis suffered from poor balance one year after the stroke. The odds ratio for poor balance was 42.1 (95% confidence interval; 3.5-513.9) among patients with no initial walking ability.



These results do not conclusively indicate that early supported discharge has an effect on balance. A strong association was found between initial severe leg paresis, initial inability to walk and poor balance after one year.
Esomeprazole for the Treatment of GERD in Infants Ages 1-11 Months.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is present in pediatric patients when reflux of gastric contents causes troublesome symptoms and/ or complications. The present study evaluates the efficacy and safety of esomeprazole in infants ages 1 to 11 months with GERD.



In this multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, treatment-withdrawal study, infants received open-label, weight-adjusted doses of esomeprazole (2.5-10 mg) once daily for 2 weeks. Infants with symptom improvement were randomized to esomeprazole (weight-adjusted doses [2.5-10 mg]) or placebo for 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was time to discontinuation owing to symptom worsening based on global assessments by the parent/guardian and physician. Adverse events were recorded.



Of the 98 patients enrolled, 81 (82.7%) experienced symptom improvement determined by physician global assessment (PGA) during open-label esomeprazole treatment; 80 entered the double-blind phase. During this phase, discontinuation rates owing to symptom worsening were 48.8% (20/41) for placebo-treated versus 38.5% (15/39) for esomeprazole-treated patients (hazard ratio 0.69; P = 0.28). Posthoc analysis of infants with symptomatic GERD (ie, no diagnostic procedure performed) revealed that time to discontinuation was significantly longer with esomeprazole than placebo (hazard ratio 0.24; P = 0.01); the complementary subgroup difference was not significant (hazard ratio 1.39; P = 0.48). Esomeprazole was well tolerated.



The discontinuation rate owing to symptom worsening did not differ significantly between infants receiving esomeprazole versus those receiving placebo. Improved diagnostic criteria in this age group are needed to identify infants with GERD who may benefit from acid suppression therapy.
Testing implicit assumptions and explicit recommendations: the effects of probability information on risk perception.

When people underestimate a risk, often probability information is communicated because of the implicit assumption that it will raise people's risk estimates as a result of these objective facts. Also, scientific literature suggested that stressing the cumulative aspects of a risk might lead to higher susceptibility perceptions than only emphasizing the single incident probability. Empirical evidence that supports the effectiveness of these strategies, however, is lacking. In two studies, we examined whether cumulative and single incident probability information on sexually transmitted infections leads to higher perceived susceptibility for Chlamydia and HIV. Contrary to assumptions and recommendations, results showed that both types of probability information may result in people feeling less susceptible toward Chlamydia and having less intention to reduce the risk. For HIV, no effects were found. These results contradict implicit assumptions and explicit recommendations concerning the effects of probability information on risk perceptions.
A client-centred ADL intervention: three-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

The aim was to study a client-centred activities of daily living (ADL) intervention (CADL) compared with the usual ADL intervention (UADL) in people with stroke regarding: independence in ADL, perceived participation, life satisfaction, use of home-help service, and satisfaction with training and, in their significant others, regarding: caregiver burden, life satisfaction, and informal care.



In this multicentre study, 16 rehabilitation units were randomly assigned to deliver CADL or UADL. The occupational therapists who provided the CADL were specifically trained. Eligible for inclusion were people with stroke treated in a stroke unit ≤3 months after stroke, dependent in ≥two ADL, not diagnosed with dementia, and able to understand instructions. Data were collected at inclusion and three months thereafter. To detect a significant difference between the groups in the Stroke Impact Scale (SIS) domain "participation", 280 participants were required. Intention-to-treat analysis was applied.



At three months, there was no difference in the outcomes between the CADL group (n = 129) and the UADL group (n = 151), or their significant others (n = 87/n = 93) except in the SIS domain "emotion" in favour of CADL (p = 0.04).



The CADL does not appear to bring about short-term differences in outcomes and longer follow-ups are required.
Cost-effectiveness of topical imiquimod and fluorouracil vs. photodynamic therapy for treatment of superficial basal-cell carcinoma.

A recent noninferiority randomized trial showed that in terms of clinical effectiveness imiquimod was superior and topical fluorouracil noninferior to methylaminolaevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) for treatment of superficial basal-cell carcinoma (sBCC). Although it was expected that MAL-PDT would be more costly than either cream, a full cost-effectiveness analysis is necessary to determine the balance between effectiveness and costs.



To determine whether imiquimod or topical fluorouracil are cost-effective treatments for sBCC compared with MAL-PDT.



An economic evaluation was performed from a healthcare perspective. Data on resource use and costs were collected alongside the randomized clinical trial. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was expressed as the incremental costs per additional patient free of tumour recurrence.



At 12 months follow-up, the total mean costs for MAL-PDT were €680, for imiquimod cream €526 and for topical fluorouracil cream €388. Both imiquimod and topical fluorouracil were cost-effective treatments compared with MAL-PDT. Comparing costs and effectiveness of both creams led to a incremental investment of €4451 to achieve an additional patient free of tumour recurrence. The acceptability curve showed that, for a threshold value of €4451, the probability of imiquimod being more cost-effective than topical fluorouracil was 50%.



Based on the 12 months follow-up results, imiquimod and topical fluorouracil cream are more cost-effective than MAL-PDT for treatment of sBCC. Hence, substituting MAL-PDT with either imiquimod or topical fluorouracil results in cost savings; these savings will be larger for topical fluorouracil. Long-term follow-up effectiveness data are necessary to confirm the cost-effectiveness of imiquimod vs. topical 5-fluorouracil cream.
Defibrillation testing in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is complicated by the need for anticoagulation during defibrillation testing. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the factors associated with successful cardioversion of AF during ventricular defibrillation testing and the safety of our local anticoagulation protocol.
The Effects of Low Calcium Dialysate on Arterial Compliance and Vasoactive Substances in Patients with Hemodialysis

Considering that dialysate calcium concentration is potentially a main determinant of the serum ionized calcium level and vasoconstriction is associated with the blood calcium concentration, we conducted a study to evaluate the interdialytic effects of treatment with a low calcium dialysate (LdCa, 1.25 mmol/L) on the changes in arterial compliance (AC), blood pressure (BP), biochemical parameters and vasoactive substances.



Eight hemodialysis (HD) patients (mean age: 46.8 +/- 13.7 years, 4 men and 4 women) were included in the study. AC, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse pressure (PP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), serum ionized Ca, intact-PTH, serum nitric oxide and aldosterone were compared after 10 sessions of treatment with LdCa. Right carotid artery diameter was measured 3 times using a real time B-mode ultrasound imager (Hewlett-Packard Sonos 2000) and AC was calculated using the Hayoz method.



1) AC was recorded as 0.140 (0.080-0.170) mm2/kPa at the baseline (1.75 mmol/L calcium dialysate), 0.170 (0.050-0.290) mm2/kPa after LdCa treatment (p < 0.05 versus baseline), and 0.140 (0.070-0.250) mm2/kPa following the HdCa treatment (p < 0.05 versus LdCa data). 2) MAP and PP were calculated at 114.12 +/- 10.56 mmHg and 63.50 +/- 10.87 mmHg at the baseline; 98.37 +/- 15.14 mmHg and 56.50 +/- 5.95 mmHg after LdCa treatment (p < 0.05 versus baseline); and 115.75 +/- 9.64 mmHg and 62.00 +/- 15.71 mmHg following HdCa treatment (p < 0.05 versus LdCa data). 3) Serum ionized Ca and intact-PTH were measured at 4.66 +/- 0.40 mg/dL and 25.08 +/- 16.44 pg/mL at the baseline; 4.45 +/- 0.28 mg/dL and 90.71 +/- 27.03 pg/mL after LdCa treatment (p < 0.05 versus baseline); and 4.65 0.43 mg/dL and 24.08 +/- 15.44 pg/mL following HdCa treatment (p < 0.05 versus LdCa data). 4) Serum aldosterone concentration was 300.8 (65.5-836.1) pg/mL at the baseline, and 220.2 (42.8-527.9) pg/mL after LdCa treatment (p < 0.05).



There were favorable changes in AC, BP, biochemical parameters after treatment with LdCa. These changes may be associated with the reduction in serum ionized calcium and decreased serum aldosterone concentration.
Diabetes Self-Management Profile Short Form: A Preliminary Report

Effective family management of type 1 diabetes in childhood is critical to maintaining optimal glycemic control. The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary evidence for a reduced form of the Diabetes Self-Management Profile (DSMP) using Rasch modeling techniques. The study was a secondary analysis of DSMP data drawn from a previous study on patterns of self-management from 239 preadolescents with type 1 diabetes. Rasch modeling strategies were used to identify the most informative items and then a reduced score composite was correlated with hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and blood glucose monitoring (BGM) frequency. A short form of the DSMP was obtained using seven items that comprised all five subscales of the DSMP. The DSMP Short-Form (DSMP-SF) composite score correlated significantly with child’s HbA1c and BGM frequency. The DSMP-SF may be considered a valid and effective screening interview alternative to the longer, original, DSMP, particularly when attempting to identify high-risk patients.