nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Observer reliability in ankle and calcaneocuboid stress radiography.

Stress radiographic measurements play an important role in assessing the degree of joint instability in scientific investigations and for decision making in treatment. However, their validity and reliability are still a matter of intensive debate.



There is no difference regarding interobserver and intraobserver reliability with respect to anterior talar drawer, talar tilt, and calcaneocuboid stress radiographs.



Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 4.



Eighty-nine anterior talar drawer, 89 talar tilt, and 76 calcaneocuboid stress radiographs were selected. Analyses for anterior talar drawer (1 measurement technique), talar tilt (1 measurement technique), and lateral calcaneocuboid instability (4 measurement techniques) were performed by 4 independent raters. One rater repeated the measurements after 1 month. Intraclass and interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with calculated confidence intervals assessed intratester and intertester reliability of each measure.



Ankle stress radiographic interobserver agreement was ICC = 0.73 to 0.97 for anterior talar drawer test and ICC = 0.78 to 0.97 for talar tilt. Interobserver reliability for calcaneocuboid angle measurement methods was lower (ICC = 0.35-0.91) than for the calcaneocuboid joint-space distance measurements (ICC = 0.81-0.95). Intraobserver ICC varied between 0.78 and 0.97 for ankle stress testing and was 0.67 to 0.94 for calcaneocuboid stress radiography, respectively.



Ankle stress radiographic measurements were proven to be reliable. Insufficient reproducibility was found for angular calcaneocuboid stress radiography measurements, while lateral calcaneocuboid joint-space distances offered accurate reliability.



Measurement errors can be avoided using standardized stress radiography and measurement techniques with proven reliability.
A phase I study of oral LY293111 given daily in combination with irinotecan in patients with solid tumours

LY293111 is an oral agent known to be a leukotriene B4 (LTB4) receptor antagonist and a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor resulting in selective inhibition of the lipoxygenase pathway. Lipoxygenases metabolize arachidonic acid and have been involved in cancer cell proliferation and survival. In addition, LY293111 has been found to be a peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) agonist. Antineoplastic activity of LY293111 has been identified in preclinical models both alone and in combination with chemotherapy agents including irinotecan. The NCIC Clinical Trials Group studied LY293111 in combination with irinotecan to determine the recommended dose of the combination and to describe its tolerability and pharmacokinetic interaction. In addition the anti-tumour activity of LY293111 in combination with irinotecan was documented.  Twenty-eight patients with advanced solid tumours were treated on seven dose levels with the combination of irinotecan and LY293111. Irinotecan was administered intravenously every 21-days as a single dose. LY293111 was administered twice daily continuously by mouth.  Dose limiting toxicity (DLT) of grade 3 diarrhea was seen in two patients with doses of irinotecan 300 mg/m2 IV every 21-days in combination with LY293111 300 mg BID. Subsequently the dose of irinotecan was decreased to 250 mg/m2 IV every 21-days with escalating doses of LY293111. A DLT of grade 3 abdominal pain was seen at dose 600 mg BID of LY293111 with irinotecan 250 mg/m2. The pharmacokinetics (PK) indicated that the administration of LY293111 did not have an effect on the PK of irinotecan or its metabolite SN-38. No responses were seen; seven patients had stable disease of a median duration of 4.4 months (range 2.8–13 months).  The recommended phase II dose of LY293111 is 600 mg orally BID in combination with irinotecan 250 mg/m2 IV every 21-days. Gastrointestinal adverse effects were common but could be well managed.
Comparative Analysis of Classifiers for Developing an Adaptive Computer-Assisted EEG Analysis System for Diagnosing Epilepsy

Computer-assisted analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) has a tremendous potential to assist clinicians during the diagnosis of epilepsy. These systems are trained to classify the EEG based on the ground truth provided by the neurologists. So, there should be a mechanism in these systems, using which a system's incorrect markings can be mentioned and the system should improve its classification by learning from them. We have developed a simple mechanism for neurologists to improve classification rate while encountering any false classification. This system is based on taking discrete wavelet transform (DWT) of the signals epochs which are then reduced using principal component analysis, and then they are fed into a classifier. After discussing our approach, we have shown the classification performance of three types of classifiers: support vector machine (SVM), quadratic discriminant analysis, and artificial neural network. We found SVM to be the best working classifier. Our work exhibits the importance and viability of a self-improving and user adapting computer-assisted EEG analysis system for diagnosing epilepsy which processes each channel exclusive to each other, along with the performance comparison of different machine learning techniques in the suggested system.
NeoGemOx: Gemcitabine and oxaliplatin as neoadjuvant treatment for locally advanced, nonmetastasized pancreatic cancer.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy can facilitate pancreatic resection in patients with initially unresectable pancreatic cancer (PC). We report the results of a phase II trial of gemcitabine-oxaliplatin neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced, nonmetastatic PC.



A prospective, phase II clinical trial using neoadjuvant chemotherapy, consisting of gemcitabine (900 mg/m(2)) and oxaliplatin (60 mg/m(2)) given as intravenous infusion once a week at day 1 of each treatment cycle (NeoGemOx protocol). Patients received 6-9 cycles of chemotherapy. Those patients with sufficient tumor regression subsequently underwent pancreatic resection and were followed postoperatively to assess long-term survival.



A total of 33 patients were eligible and were included in the intent-to-treat and evaluable population. On centralized review of the imaging studies, 18 patients had unresectable disease at inclusion, and 15 patients had borderline resectable PC. Eventually, 13 patients (39%) had a curative resection after neoadjuvant therapy. The R0 resection rate was 69%. Median overall survival of patients who underwent tumor resection was 22 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 14-30) compared with 12 months (95% CI, 9-15) for those without resection (P = .046). The median recurrence-free survival rate after resection was 10 months (95% CI, 4-17).



Neoadjuvant gemcitabine plus oxaliplatin is well tolerated and safe. Substantive tumor regression occurs in some patients with locally advanced PC treated with this neoadjuvant protocol, offering the potential for curative resection and improvement in overall survival. Additional studies involving the NeoGemOx protocol should be considered to further evaluate the safety and efficacy of this combination.
Non-static nature of patient consent: shifting privacy perspectives in health information sharing

The purpose of the study is to explore how chronically ill patients and their specialized care network have viewed their personal medical information privacy and how it has impacted their perspectives of sharing their records with their network of healthcare providers and secondary use organizations. Diabetes patients and specialized diabetes medical care providers in Eastern England were interviewed about their sharing of medical information and their privacy concerns to inform a descriptive qualitative and exploratory thematic analysis. From the interview data, we see that diabetes patients shift their perceived privacy concerns and needs throughout their lifetime due to persistence of health data, changes in health, technology advances, and experience with technology that affect one's consent decisions. From these findings, we begin to take a translational research approach in critically examining current privacy enhancing technologies for secondary use consent management and motivate the further exploration of both temporally-sensitive privacy perspectives and new options in consent management that support shifting privacy concerns over one's lifetime.
Participant uptake of the fecal immunochemical test decreases with the two-sample regimen compared with one-sample FIT

Fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) are recommended to screen average-risk adults for colorectal cancer (CRC). Little research has examined whether a two-sample FIT affects participant uptake, compared with a one-sample FIT. Examining participant uptake is important, as evidence suggests that a two-sample FIT may increase the sensitivity to detect CRC.



This study had two objectives: (i) to evaluate FIT completion in a population that received either a one-sample FIT kit (1-FIT) or a two-sample FIT kit (2-FIT) and (ii) to understand whether uptake varies by age, sex, or receipt of prior CRC screening.



We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which 3081 participants who were aged between 50 and 75 years and were at an average risk for CRC, and who had requested FITs, randomly received 1-FIT (n=1540) or 2-FIT (n=1541) kits. FIT completion was defined as the completion and return of a one-sample test by the patients in the 1-FIT group or of both sample tests by those in the 2-FIT group. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to determine the independent effect of group type (2-FIT vs. 1-FIT) on the completion of the FIT, adjusting for age, sex, and receipt of prior CRC screening.



The 2-FIT group had lower test completion rates (hazard ratio=0.87; 95% confidence interval=0.78-0.97; P=0.01) after adjusting for age, sex, and receipt of prior CRC screening. Participant uptake did not vary by age, sex, or receipt of prior CRC screening.



This unique, rigorous randomized controlled trial found that the 2-FIT regimen decreases completion of FIT. Further research is needed to understand whether decreases in participant uptake are offset by increased gains in test sensitivity.
Robot gestures make difficult tasks easier: the impact of gestures on perceived workload and task performance

Gestures are important non-verbal signals in human communication. Research with virtual agents and robots has started to add to the scientific knowledge about gestures but many questions with respect to the use of gestures in human-computer interaction are still open. This paper investigates the influence of robot gestures on the users' perceived workload and task performance (i.e. information recall) in a direction-giving task. We conducted a 2 x 2 (robot gestures vs. no robot gestures x easy vs. difficult task) experiment. The results indicate that robot gestures increased user performance and decreased perceived workload in the difficult task but not in the easy task. Thus, robot gestures are a promising means to improve human-robot interaction particularly in challenging tasks.
Facilitation of self-transcendence in a breast cancer support group: II.

To pilot a second support group intervention study promoting self-transcendence perspectives and activities and to document changes over time in well-being in support group participants compared with nonparticipants.



Quasiexperimental, partial randomization, preference trial design.



An urban breast cancer resource center established by survivors.


SAMPLE
41 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were recruited, and 39 completed the study. 22 women participated in three intervention support groups; 17 were in a comparison group.



The intervention was an eight-week, closed support group based on self-transcendence theory. Data were collected three times during 14 months.



Support group intervention, self-transcendence, and emotional and physical well-being.



The intervention group had lower scores than the comparison group on self-transcendence and well-being variables at baseline (time [T] 1). Scores were higher for both groups postintervention (T2), with no differences between groups. One year postintervention (T3), intervention group scores again were lower than comparison group scores. Intervention group T3 scores were unchanged from T2.



Most potential participants were unwilling to risk being randomized into a nonpreferred group. Activities based on self-transcendence theory were associated with expanded perspectives and activities and an improved sense of well-being in support group participants at the end of the intervention, but not one year later. Findings from the pilot studies informed a study currently in progress.



Nurses should maintain awareness of local resources for support and make that information available to women when they are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, during their treatment, and later.
What oncologists tell patients about survival benefits of palliative chemotherapy and implications for informed consent: qualitative study

To examine how much oncologists tell patients about the survival benefit of palliative chemotherapy during consultations at which decisions about treatment are made.



Qualitative study in which consultations were observed and digitally recorded.



Teaching hospital and district general hospital in south west England.



37 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (n=12), pancreatic cancer (n=13), and colorectal cancer (n=12); and nine oncologists, including four consultants and five registrars.



All recordings were transcribed completely, anonymised, and electronically coded with ATLAS.ti. Constant comparison was used to identify themes and patterns. The framework method of data management, in which data were charted, was used to aid transparency of interpretation.



During the consultations, information given to patients about survival benefit included numerical data ("about four weeks"), an idea of timescales ("a few months extra"), vague references ("buy you some time"), or no mention at all. In most consultations (26/37) discussion of survival benefit was vague or non-existent.



Most patients were not given clear information about the survival gain of palliative chemotherapy. To aid decision making and informed consent, we recommend that oncologists sensitively describe the benefits and limitations of this treatment, including survival gain.
Clinicopathological factors associated to HER-2 status in a hospital-based sample of breast cancer patients in Puerto Rico.

Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy in Puerto Rico. Cases with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) oncoprotein overamplification are associated with aggressive clinical behavior. Given the limited availability of information for Puerto Rico, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical correlates of HER-2 gene overexpression among a hospital-based female population of breast cancer cases. We analyzed data from 1,049 female patients with invasive breast cancer (diagnosed 2000-2005) at the I. González Martínez Oncologic Hospital and the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital. HER-2 status and other clinical characteristics were retrieved from the hospitals' cancer registries, from the Puerto Rico Central Cancer Registry, and from a review of medical and pathological records. Prevalence odds ratios were estimated with 95% confidence intervals, using logistic regression models to quantify the association between HER-2 status and different clinicophatological factors. The overall prevalence of positive HER-2 expression was 22.5%. In the multivariate logistic regression model, factors significantly associated with HER-2 positivity included a diagnosis age of < 50 years, having a tumor with negative progesterone receptor (PR) status, and having regional disease (p < 0.05). No significant differences in HER-2 positivity were observed by tumor histology or estrogen receptor (ER) status (p > 0.05). This is the most comprehensive epidemiological study to date on HER-2 status in Puerto Rico. The prevalence and correlates of HER-2 overexpression in this study are comparable to those observed in US populations. Study results will aid in the development of breast cancer control strategies in Puerto Rico.
Impulsivity and smoking relapse.

Previous research has shown that elevated trait-impulsivity heightens the risk for initiating tobacco use and indicates that nicotine may be disproportionately rewarding for more impulsive persons. However, the influence of impulsivity on the ability to maintain nicotine abstinence has not been studied. The present study tested the hypothesis that a higher level of trait-impulsivity would predict a more rapid relapse to smoking following 48 hr of nicotine abstinence. Participants were euthymic, regular smokers (N=45), with a history of at least one major depressive episode, who participated in a paid smoking cessation study with biological challenge (tryptophan depletion). Treatment involved a 1-day skills training workshop followed by 48 hr of bioverified abstinence and weekly follow-up for 1 month. Regression analyses indicated that elevated impulsivity predicted shorter time to relapse following the workshop after controlling for treatment condition, baseline nicotine dependence, and age (beta=-.39, R(2) change=.147, p=.011). Greater impulsivity predicted more rapid relapse to smoking, which mediational analyses indicated could not be explained by positive affect, negative affect, or craving. Findings suggest a need to identify alternative mechanisms to explain impulsive smokers' increased difficulty in maintaining abstinence and to develop targeted treatments that address the special needs of smokers high in impulsivity.
Intravenous corticotrophin vs. hydrocortisone in the treatment of hospitalized patients with Crohn's disease: a randomized double-blind study and follow-up.

Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and corticosteroids have no maintenance values for inflammatory bowel disease but serve to reduce the severity of disease. The effectiveness of intravenous corticotrophin versus hydrocortisone in ulcerative colitis has been determined including whether previous steroid therapy influenced the better response to one rather than the other, but no such studies have ever been done in Crohn's disease. Eighty-eight patients hospitalized with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (Present-Korelitz [P-K] Index -3 to -2 and the International Organisation for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America [IOIBD-CCFA] Index, mean 14, range 5-23) were treated in a prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial to receive either continuous intravenous infusion of 120 U/day of ACTH (44 patients) or hydrocortisone 300 mg/day (44 patients). Patients were also subdivided into those who received oral steroids during the 30 days prior to intravenous therapy and those who had not. Response was followed on a daily basis and tabulated at 3, 5, and 10 days. Patients were followed from 1-3 years to determine the later status. After 10 days of intravenous therapy 36 of 44 patients (82%) who received ACTH and 41 of 44 patients (93%) who received hydrocortisone fully responded (P-K index +3 and IOIBD-CCFA Index mean of 3). At the end of the study, response to intravenous ACTH and hydrocortisone was not statistically different whether or not patients received oral steroids during the 30 days prior to admission, although the response to IV ACTH tended to be faster at 3 days in those who had received previous steroid therapy. Intravenous ACTH and hydrocortisone are equally effective in achieving therapeutic goals in patients with Crohn's disease who have not achieved results with oral medications. Moreover the response rate was high (mean 88%), serving to buy time for establishment of successful maintenance programs of treatment with oral 5-ASA and immunosuppressive drugs for 69% of patients at 1-3 years.
Weekday on-weekend off oral capecitabine: a phase I study of a continuous schedule better simulating protracted fluoropyrimidine therapy

Although protracted intravenous 5-fluorouracil is superior to bolus regimens in terms of tumour exposure to the drug during DNA synthesis as well as activity and safety, the oral fluoropyrimidine capecitabine is administered intermittently. In this phase I study, we investigated an alternative, dose-intense continuous regimen. Oral capecitabine was administered twice daily continuously with weekend breaks, in patients with advanced solid tumours refractory to standard therapy. Dose escalation proceeded from 1,331 to 2,510 mg/m2 daily. Dose limiting toxicity (DLT) consisted of any grade-3 or 4 adverse event except for alopecia and skin toxicity resolving within 7 days. Twenty-five heavily pretreated patients participated in the study. No DLT occurred in the first four cohorts. Two out of four patients developed grade III diarrhoea in the fourth week of capecitabine at 2,510 mg/m2 (DLT). The most common toxic episodes during all cycles of treatment were grade 1–2 fatigue, skin erythema, abdominal cramps, nausea, constipation and neutropenia. Disease regression was seen in three and stabilisation with clinical benefit in ten patients (clinical benefit response 54%). Pharmacokinetic studies of capecitabine and metabolites in four patients at 2,250 mg/m2 daily showed rapid absorption, short plasma half-lives with the exception of FBAL and absence of accumulation or conversion saturation during the course of therapy. At this dose, administered dose intensity in eight patients was 99.3% of the planned one. Weekday on-weekend off capecitabine maximizes cytotoxic impact on tumour cells during S-phase by safely simulating protracted fluoropyrimidine therapy at a recommended dose (2,250 mg/m2) close to that of the intermittent schedule and clearly higher than the continuous one of 1,331 mg/m2.
Full-endoscopic interlaminar and transforaminal lumbar discectomy versus conventional microsurgical technique: a prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Prospective, randomized, controlled study of patients with lumbar disc herniations, operated either in a full-endoscopic or microsurgical technique.



Comparison of results of lumbar discectomies in full-endoscopic interlaminar and transforaminal technique with the conventional microsurgical technique.



Even with good results, conventional disc operations may result in subsequent damage due to trauma. Endoscopic techniques have become the standard in many areas because of the advantages they offer intraoperatively and after surgery. With the transforaminal and interlaminar techniques, 2 full-endoscopic procedures are available for lumbar disc operations.



One hundred seventy-eight patients with full-endoscopic or microsurgical discectomy underwent follow-up for 2 years. In addition to general and specific parameters, the following measuring instruments were used: VAS, German version North American Spine Society Instrument, Oswestry Low-Back Pain Disability Questionnaire.



After surgery 82% of the patients no longer had leg pain, and 14% had occasional pain. The clinical results were the same in both groups. The recurrence rate was 6.2% with no difference between the groups. The full-endoscopic techniques brought significant advantages in the following areas: back pain, rehabilitation, complications, and traumatization.



The clinical results of the full-endoscopic technique are equal to those of the microsurgical technique. At the same time, there are advantages in the operation technique and reduced traumatization. With the surgical devices and the possibility of selecting an interlaminar or posterolateral to lateral transforaminal procedure, lumbar disc herniations outside and inside the spinal canal can be sufficiently removed using the full-endoscopic technique, when taking the appropriate criteria into account. Full-endoscopic surgery is a sufficient and safe supplementation and alternative to microsurgical procedures.