TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph and a claim, classify it this way: If the claim contradicts the evidence present in the paragraph, classify the claim as '0'. If the claim has multiple supporting *AND* contradicting evidences, classify the claim as '1'. If the claim has supporting evidence and the paragraph is in overall favor of the claim, then classify the claim as '2'.
PROBLEM: Paragraph: The article doesn't discuss what the study authors new "way" of assessment might add in the way of costs. The story didn't provide any data to give a sense of the potential benefit of the new approach. No numbers were given to explain how well it worked. Because there is so little information about the imaging technique and what it requires, it's hard to say what the harms or benefits might be, but certainly the story might have mentioned the potential risk of drug intervention (or non-intervention) if the inflammatory cell "marker" is valid as a predictor of heart attack risk. Also, it would have been worth discussing if the new imaging technique exposes patients to radiation, which has been shown to increase the risk of cancer if used repeatedly. The story does not adequately establish the quality of the evidence, except to indicate that more research is needed, implying that this is preliminary work. From the journal article itself: "The main limitation of this study is the lack of data demonstrating a predictive value of these imaging markers for clinical outcomes, which falls beyond the scope of this current work." There was no such caveat in the news story. Rather, the headline trumpets that it "May Predict Heart Attacks." No disease mongering here. The story stated that "about 750,000 Americans have a heart attack every year." The article appears to quote only those who conducted the study. The article does describe current means of assessing heart attack risk, as well as some interventions (surgical and medical) to address those risks. However, the article doesn't mention how this new technique would stack up against standardtestslike stress tests or nuclear perfusion scans. There also is the option of simply treating people with risk factors and not utilizing imaging tests. The story explains that more research is needed before the technology might be available to everyone. The story focuses on the use of inflammatory heart tissue as having potentially better predictive value than current risk assessment tools for heart attack. But it's a reluctant satisfactory, because the narrative is confusing and nonumbers were given to estimate the scope of the potential benefithow well the new approach worked. We could not locate a release from the University of Oxford or Science Translational Medicine. Claim: New Heart Imaging Method May Predict Heart Attack

SOLUTION: 0

PROBLEM: Paragraph: A woman smokes a cigarette in an undated file photo. REUTERS/File Independent Pharmaceutica, a private company based at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute and founded in 1997 by Professor Torgny Svensson, joins a growing line-up of biotech companies seeking to develop an anti-nicotine shot. Its researchers say the vaccine eliminates the quick high smokers relish by creating antibodies that bind to nicotine molecules, making them too bulky to enter the brain. Once the high is gone, the argument goes, so is the main cause of addiction. In the Phase II study on 400 people in three Nordic countries, researchers will measure the effect of the vaccine on those who have quit smoking and want to avoid relapse. But they may use it in future to help active smokers quit, according to Independent Pharmaceutica. Several other vaccines against nicotine dependence are under investigation, but Independent Pharmaceutica Chief Executive Lena Degling Wikingsson said her company hopes to produce a more potent product with fewer side effects than competitors. "After this Phase II study, we want to have co-operation with a bigger pharmaceutical company to be able to take this further," Wikingsson told Reuters on Tuesday. "We are discussing (this) with the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies." Switzerland's Cytos Biotechnology published results from a Phase II trial in 2005, showing 42 percent of patients who achieved high antibody levels at vaccination stayed smoke-free after 12 months, against 21 percent in the group given a placebo. Bermuda-based private equity firm Celtic Pharma has said it will announce results from its Phase II trial on a nicotine vaccine this quarter, while U.S. company Nabi Pharmaceuticals is developing a similar product. According to the World Health Organization, tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the world, killing 5.4 million people every year, an increasing proportion of those in low-income countries. Claim: Nordic scientists start trial on nicotine vaccine.

SOLUTION: 2

PROBLEM: Paragraph: The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Wednesday that an older woman in north Texas died last week from a lung disease associated with using electronic cigarettes. The agency says the state has also identified 95 confirmed or probable cases of lung illnesses linked to vaping. The agency says those illnesses affect patients as young as 13, with a median age of 22. The department also says that among the illnesses, nearly 90% of patients reported vaping marijuana or THC, the high-producing ingredient in marijuana. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1,000 confirmed or probable vaping illnesses have been reported nationwide as of last week. Claim: Texas records 1st death linked to e-cigarette use.

SOLUTION:
2