nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of the trial-based thought record, a new cognitive therapy strategy designed to change core beliefs, in social phobia.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) often follows a chronic course and is associated with substantial impairment in functioning. Although results from clinical trials clearly establish evidence for efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy in treating this disorder, up to 50% of patients with SAD show little or no improvement. Thus, new approaches that have promised in improving the efficacy of treatment for SAD are needed. One such approach is the trial-based thought record (TBTR), which targets the restructuring of patients' core beliefs.



To determine whether patients receiving TBTR would report fewer symptoms of social anxiety and general psychiatric distress following treatment, relative to conventional cognitive therapy (CCT).



A two-arm randomized trial comparing TBTR (n = 17) with a set of CCT techniques (n = 19), which included the standard seven-column dysfunctional thought record and the positive data log in SAD patients according to DSM-IV.



Scores on many outcome measures decreased significantly across the course of treatment in both groups (P < 0·001), including the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE), Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS), Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Clinical Global Impression - Improvement. In addition, a one-way ancova, taking baseline values as covariates, showed that TBTR was significantly more efficacious than CCT in reducing the scores of FNE (P = 0·01 at mid-treatment and P = 0·004 at post-treatment), and SADS (P = 0·03 at post-treatment).



This study provides preliminary evidence that TBTR is at least as efficacious as CCT in reducing symptoms of SAD, pointing to the need for additional studies of TBTR in SAD and other psychiatric disorders.
The fate of spinal schwannomas following subtotal resection: a retrospective multicenter study by the Korea spinal oncology research group

The fate of residual spinal schwannomas needs to be estimated in order to plan further management after subtotal removal. Our aim was to evaluate the growth rate of residual spinal schwannomas and compare results in regrowth and no regrowth groups by using data collected from the Korea Spinal Oncology Research Group database. From January 1989 to August 2011, 27 patients with residual spinal schwannomas were selected. Patients with at least two follow-up magnetic resonance image (MRI) studies after subtotal resection were included. The mean period of MRI follow-up was 62.4 months. A tumor size increase of over 2 mm in the maximal diameter was considered indicative of regrowth. Age, sex, size at initial diagnosis, postoperative tumor size, and Ki-67 labeling index were compared between regrowth and no regrowth groups. Eight residual schwannomas regrew (29.6 %), and 19 (70.4 %) did not regrow. Average growth rate of the regrowing tumors was 1.0 ± 4.4 mm/year. The mean percentage increase in tumor size during follow-up was 10.0 ± 28.8 %. The Ki-67 labeling indices were significantly different between regrowth and no regrowth groups (P = 0.014). Two patients underwent a revision operation for significant tumor regrowth. Nineteen cases (70.4 %) among 27 residual spinal schwannomas did not regrow significantly, but further surgical treatments were necessary in 2 patients due to significant regrowth. The Ki-67 labeling index was higher in the regrowth group. Earlier follow-up MRI is recommended for patients whose tumors have higher Ki-67.
Combining batch execution and leasing using virtual machines

As cluster computers are used for a wider range of applications, we encounter the need to deliver resources at particular times, to meet particular deadlines, and/or at the same time as other resources are provided elsewhere. To address such requirements, we describe a scheduling approach in which users request resource leases, where leases can request either as-soon-as-possible ("best-effort") or reservation start times. We present the design of a lease management architecture, Haizea, that implements leases as virtual machines (VMs), leveraging their ability to suspend, migrate, and resume computations and to provide leased resources with customized application environments. We discuss methods to minimize the overhead introduced by having to deploy VM images before the start of a lease. We also present the results of simulation studies that compare alternative approaches. Using workloads with various mixes of best-effort and advance reservation requests, we compare the performance of our VM-based approach with that of non-VM-based schedulers. We find that a VM-based approach can provide better performance (measured in terms of both total execution time and average delay incurred by best-effort requests) than a scheduler that does not support task pre-emption, and only slightly worse performance than a scheduler that does support task pre-emption. We also compare the impact of different VM image popularity distributions and VM image caching strategies on performance. These results emphasize the importance of VM image caching for the workloads studied and quantify the sensitivity of scheduling performance to VM image popularity distribution.
Randomized clinical effectiveness trial of nurse-administered small-group cognitive behavior therapy for persistent insomnia in general practice.

Persistent insomnia, although very common in general practice, often proves problematic to manage. This study investigates the clinical effectiveness and the feasibility of applying cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) methods for insomnia in primary care.



Pragmatic randomized controlled trial of CBT versus treatment as usual.



General medical practice.



Two hundred one adults (mean age, 54 years) randomly assigned to receive CBT (n = 107; 72 women) or treatment as usual (n = 94; 65 women).



CBT comprised 5 sessions delivered in small groups by primary care nurses. Treatment as usual comprised usual care from general practitioners.



Assessments were completed at baseline, after treatment, and at 6-month follow-up visits. Sleep outcomes were appraised by sleep diary, actigraphy, and clinical endpoint. CBT was associated with improvements in self-reported sleep latency, wakefulness after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency. Improvements were partly sustained at follow-up. Effect sizes were moderate for the index variable of sleep efficiency. Participants receiving treatment as usual did not improve. Actigraphically estimated sleep improved modestly after CBT, relative to no change in treatment as usual. CBT was also associated with significant positive changes in mental health and energy/vitality. Comorbid physical and mental health difficulties did not impair sleep improvement following CBT.



This study suggests that trained and supervised nurses can effectively deliver CBT for insomnia in routine general medical practice. Treatment response to small-group service delivery was encouraging, although effect sizes were smaller than those obtained in efficacy studies. Further research is required to consider the possibility that CBT could become the treatment of first choice for persistent insomnia in primary healthcare.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of varenicline tartrate for alcohol dependence.

To assess the efficacy and safety of varenicline (Chantix) for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Varenicline is a partial α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine agonist approved by the Food and Drug Administration for smoking cessation. It has reduced drinking in animal studies and in small studies of humans who were both heavy drinkers and smokers. This is the first multisite clinical trial of varenicline in a population of smokers and nonsmokers with alcohol dependence.



Men and women (n = 200) meeting the criteria for alcohol dependence were recruited across 5 clinical sites. Patients received double-blind varenicline or placebo and a computerized behavioral intervention. Varenicline was titrated during the first week to 2 mg/d, which was maintained during weeks 2 to 13.



The varenicline group had significantly lower weekly percent heavy drinking days (primary outcome) (adjusted mean difference = 10.4), drinks per day, drinks per drinking day, and alcohol craving compared with the placebo group (P < 0.05). The average treatment effect on alcohol use was similar for smokers and nonsmokers. Varenicline was well-tolerated; adverse events were expected and mild.



Varenicline significantly reduced alcohol consumption and craving, making it a potentially viable option for the treatment of alcohol dependence.
Blog tells what kind of personality you have: egogram estimation from Japanese weblog

In this paper, we investigate personality estimation from Japanese weblog text. Among various personality types, we focus on Egogram, which has been used in Transactional Analysis and is strongly related to the communicative behavior of individuals. Estimation is performed using the Multinomial Naïve Bayes classifier with some feature words that are selected based on the information gain. The validity of this approach was evaluated with real weblog text of 551 subjects. The results show that our approach achieved 12-25% improvement from baseline. The feature words selected for the estimation are strongly correlated with the characteristics of Egogram.
Ictal adipokines are associated with pain severity and treatment response in episodic migraine.

To evaluate ictal adipokine levels in episodic migraineurs and their association with pain severity and treatment response.



This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating peripheral blood specimens from episodic migraineurs at acute pain onset and 30 to 120 minutes after treatment with sumatriptan/naproxen sodium vs placebo. Total adiponectin (T-ADP), ADP multimers (high molecular weight [HMW], middle molecular weight, and low molecular weight [LMW]), leptin, and resistin levels were evaluated by immunoassays.



Thirty-four participants (17 responders, 17 nonresponders) were included. In all participants, pretreatment pain severity increased with every quartile increase in both the HMW:T-ADP ratio (coefficient of variation [CV] 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.08, 0.93; p = 0.019) and resistin levels (CV 0.58; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.96; p = 0.002), but was not associated with quartile changes in leptin levels. In responders, T-ADP (CV -0.98; 95% CI: -1.88, -0.08; p = 0.031) and resistin (CV -0.95; 95% CI: -1.83, -0.07; p = 0.034) levels decreased 120 minutes after treatment as compared with pretreatment. In addition, in responders, the HMW:T-ADP ratio (CV -0.04; 95% CI: -0.07, -0.01; p = 0.041) decreased and the LMW:T-ADP ratio (CV 0.04; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.07; p = 0.043) increased at 120 minutes after treatment. In nonresponders, the LMW:T-ADP ratio (CV -0.04; 95% CI: -0.07, -0.01; p = 0.018) decreased 120 minutes after treatment. Leptin was not associated with treatment response.



Both pretreatment migraine pain severity and treatment response are associated with changes in adipokine levels. Adipokines represent potential novel migraine biomarkers and drug targets.
Effect of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery: Converting 2 Alcoholic Drinks to 4.

Dr Kaplan had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.  Kaplan, Rogers, Carter. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Kaplan, Schecter, Lin, Carter. Drafting of the manuscript: Kaplan, Carter. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.  Kaplan, Carter. Administrative, technical, or material support: Lin, Carter.  Rogers, Carter.
Congenital Heart Disease Enalapril in Infants With Single Ventricle Results of a Multicenter Randomized Trial

Daphne T. Hsu, MD; Victor Zak, PhD; Lynn Mahony, MD; Lynn A. Sleeper, ScD; Andrew M. Atz, MD; Jami C. Levine, MD; Piers C. Barker, MD; Chitra Ravishankar, MD; Brian W. McCrindle, MD; Richard V. Williams, MD; Karen Altmann, MD; Nancy S. Ghanayem, MD; Renee Margossian, MD; Wendy K. Chung, MD; William L. Border, MBChB, MPH; Gail D. Pearson, MD, ScD; Mario P. Stylianou, PhD; Seema Mital, MD; for the Pediatric Heart Network Investigators
Effects of Vitamin D Intake on FEV 1 and COPD Exacerbation : A Randomized Clinical Trial Study

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of vitamin D intake on COPD exacerbation and FEV1 in the patients with severe and very severe COPD.  This double blind placebo control randomized clinical trial study was done in the Ashayer university hospital in Khorramabad in 2012. Eighty eight patients with severe and very severe COPD were randomly selected from those who recoursed to the internal medicine clinic of Ashayer hospital. They were randomly allocated to case and placebo group. The patients received routine treatment for COPD. Along with the routine treatment, placebo group received 100,000 IU of oral vitamin D per month, for 6 months. Data was analyzed using SPSS computer software, paired t-test, independent t-test, non parametric t-test and Pearson correlation coefficients.  In each group, there were 44 patients. After the intervention, there were significant differences in FEV1 and the number of COPD exacerbation between the case and control group patients. Also, after the study, in the case group, FEV1 was increased and the number of COPD exacerbation was decreased significantly.  Vitamin D intake decreased COPD exacerbation and improved FEV1 in the patients with severe and very severe COPD. It is suggested that baseline serum vitamin D levels will recorded in similar studies and the effect of vitamin D intake will evaluated regarding the baseline serum vitamin D levels.
Comparison of the effects of two different galenical preparations of glyceryl trinitrate on pulmonary artery pressure and on the finger pulse curve

The time course and the magnitude of the effect of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) on central venous (pulmonary artery diastolic pressure-PAPd) and peripheral arterial (a/b-ratio of the finger pulse wave) haemodynamics were compared in a randomized double-blind cross-over study in 12 patients suffering from congestive heart failure (NYHA II–III) with elevated PADd at rest (≥15 mm Hg). The data were obtained in a bioavailability study of two sprays of glyceryl trinitrate, which differed in their galenical characteristics and in the dose of GTN (0.4 mg vs. 0.8 mg). Following sublingual administration of each spray, PAPd, a/b-ratio and the plasma concentrations of GTN and its metabolites were measured up to 30 min. The relative bioavailability of GTN of the test preparation was estimated to be 157%, 161% and 147%, when calculated from the plasma concentration-time data or the integrated effect of GTN on a/b-ratio or PAPd, respectively. The mean time courses of the decrease in PAPd and the increase in the a/b-ratio of the finger pulse curve were mirror images. Thus, there was a strong correlation between the mean values of PAPd and a/b-ratio following the administration of glyceryl trinitrate. Since the slope of the relationship differed considerably between the patients, the magnitude of effect of GTN on PAPd in the individual patient could not be predicted from the changes in a/b-ratio.
Increased levels of symmetric dimethyl-arginine are associated with all-cause mortality in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.

Recent interest has focused on the role of the methyl-arginines, endogenous inhibitors of nitric oxide, as adverse prognostic indicators. To date, few studies have assessed the role of symmetric dimethyl-arginine (SDMA) in patients with peripheral arterial disease. We aimed to determine the relationship, if any, of SDMA to all-cause mortality and disease severity as assessed by the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD).



In 238 patients with symptomatic PAD and an ABI of <0.8, l-arginine, asymmetric dimethyl-arginine (ADMA) and SDMA levels were measured by hydrophilic-interaction liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.



The median follow-up was 6 years 11 months (interquartile range [IQR], 4 years 5 months-7 years 10 months). SDMA and ADMA levels were higher in those who died compared with those who survived (0.51 [IQR, 0.44-0.66] μmol/L vs 0.46 [IQR, 0.39-0.55] μmol/L, P ≤ .001; and 0.48 [IQR, 0.41-0.55] μmol/L vs 0.45 [IQR, 0.39-0.50] μmol/L, P = .007, respectively). l-arginine levels were similar in the two groups. On multivariate analysis, SDMA and ADMA as continuous variable were significantly associated with mortality (P = .001). For SDMA and ADMA, the highest compared with the lowest quartile levels were significantly associated with mortality (SDMA: hazard ratio, 3.855; 95% confidence interval, 1.625-9.143; P = .002; ADMA: hazard ratio, 2.277; 95% confidence interval, 1.114-4.654; P = .024). ADMA and SDMA showed a negative correlation with severity of PAD as assessed by ABI (r = -0.236, N = 216, P < .001; r = -0.209, N = 208, P = .002, respectively).



The novel finding of this study is that SDMA levels were predictive of all cause-mortality and correlated with disease severity. Further studies should assess the role of nitric oxide donors in patients with high levels of SDMA.
German experimental hepatitis B vaccine — Influence of variation of dosage schedule, sex and age differences on immunogenicity in health care workers

Of the medical staff of our hospital 217 members at high risk for hepatitis B were immunized with an experimental hepatitis B vaccine and anti-HBs titers used to study the influence of two dosage schedules, age, and sex on immunogenicity. Participants were 34 years of age (mean; range, 20–61); they were divided into two groups and vaccinated three times. Group A received 42 µg HBsAg for each vaccination. Group B received 84 µg for the first and 21 µg for the second and third vaccinations. The seroconversion rate was 32.7% after the first, 78.8% after the second, and 95.7% after the third vaccination. The participants who failed to produce anti-HBs titer (3 IU/l;n=9) or whose anti-HBs titers were below 50 IU/l (n=31) were vaccinated a fourth time. Only mild side effects of injections were observed in a third of all participants, usually in the form of a sore arm. Between groups A and B there were no significant differences as far as the seroconversion rate and anti-HBs titer were concerned. Nonresponders plus low-responders accounted for 19%. Female participants produced a markedly higher anti-HBs titer than males, and the female/male ratio among non- and low-responders was 1:2; among nonresponders, 1:2.5. There was a negative correlation of the anti-HBs titer with the age of the participants. These results not only have practical consequences for revaccination policy, but also offer the opportunity to further study the genetic regulation of the immune response to a complex peptide antigen in man.
Performance of CURB-65 and CURB-age in community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is common and associated with significant mortality. In this study, we validated a newly proposed severity assessment rule for CAP, CURB-age, and also compared with to the currently recommended criteria in UK, CURB-65.



We conducted a prospective study in three hospitals in Norfolk and Suffolk, UK. One hundred and ninety patients were included and followed up for 6 weeks.



Of 190 patients, 100 were men (53%). The age range was 18-101 years (median 76 years). Sixty-five (34%) had severe pneumonia by CURB-65 and 54 (28%) had severe pneumonia by CURB-age. There were 54 deaths during follow-up. There were 32 deaths (50%) in severe and 22 deaths (18%) in non-severe group by CURB-65. There were 27 deaths each in both the groups by CURB-age (50% of severe cases and 20% of non-severe cases). For CURB-65, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 59.3% (45.0-72.4), 75.7% (67.6-82.7), 49.2% (36.6-61.9) and 82.4% (74.6-88.6), respectively. For CURB-age, the respective values were 50.0% (31.1-63.9), 80.1% (72.4-86.5), 50.0% (36.1-63.9) and 80.1% (72.4-86.5). Exclusion of patients aged < 65 years did not alter the results.



Despite better specificity in correctly identifying 6-week mortality for CAP, CURB-age appears to be less sensitive than CURB-65. Our findings further assure the usefulness of CURB-65 for predicting mortality in CAP.
Analysis of neurosteroid levels in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Neurosteroids are important neuroactive substrates with demonstrated involvement in several neurophysiological and disease processes. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with dysregulation of the catecholaminergic and serotonergic systems, however its relationship to irregularities or changes in neurosteroid levels remains unknown. We examined the relationship between blood levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), its principal precursor pregnenolone and its principal metabolite dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) in 29 young male subjects aged 7-15 years with DSM-IV criteria of ADHD. Subjects were evaluated by a specially designed scale, following which patients were divided into two groups according to severity of symptomatology. Results indicated significant inverse correlations between clinical symptomatology and levels of DHEA and pregnenolone in the total group. These inverse correlations were particularly evident in the less severe group of subjects. Levels of DHEA and DHEAS were inversely correlated with the hyperactivity subscale. Furthermore, using median blood levels as a cut-off indicator, higher blood levels of DHEA and DHEAS were associated with fewer ADHD symptoms, in particular hyperactivity symptomatology. Our findings suggest a possible protective effect of various neurosteroids on the expression of ADHD symptomatology.
Ganglioside treatment in diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A multicenter trial

Ganglioside treatment was evaluated with a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, controlled, cross-overvs placebo trial in 140 insulin-treated diabetic subjects with peripheral neuropathy. The patients entered the study when they showed an impairment in at least two of the electroneurographic parameters, and were assigned to two protocols according to the presence and severity of their neurological symptoms. Ninety-seven diabetic subjects with no or mild symptoms were assigned to protocol I, whereas 43 symptomatic patients were assigned to protocol II. The treatment periods lasted 6 weeks with an intermediate washout period of 4 weeks. The treatment consisted in the daily i.m. administration of 20 mg gangliosides or of placebo. Electroneurographic parameters were recorded at the beginning and at the end of each treatment period, whereas clinical and metabolic data (mean daily plasma glucose, glycosuria and glycosylated hemoglobin) were evaluated every three weeks in protocol I and every two weeks in protocol II. No change in the metabolic parameters was observed throughout the trial period. However, the treatment induced a statistically significant improvement of paresthesias (protocol II) and of some electrophysiological parameters; in particular, ganglioside treatment improved MCV of peroneal nerve (p<0.03) in patients of protocol I, MCV of ulnar nerve (p<0.002) and SCV of median nerve (p<0.06) in patients of protocol II. Furthermore, 22 subjects of protocol II showed a ‘drug preference’ while 10 preferred placebo and 9 had no preference. In conclusion, ganglioside treatment seems to have a positive effect on diabetic peripheral neuropathy, improving both some symptoms and some electrophysiological parameters.