GameRank: R package for feature selection and construction.

Motivation: Building calibrated and discriminating predictive models can be developed through the direct optimization of model performance metrics with combinatorial search algorithms. Often, predictive algorithms are desired in clinical settings to identify patients that may be high and low risk. However, due to the large combinatorial search space, these algorithms are slow and do not guarantee the global optimality of their selection.

TRAIL Score: A Simple Model to Predict Immunochemotherapy Tolerability in Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: Rituximab with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) represents the standard of care for first-line treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, many patients are unable to tolerate R-CHOP and have inferior outcomes. This study aimed to develop a practical tool to help physicians identify patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL unlikely to tolerate a full course of R-CHOP.

Sex-specific bimodal clustering of left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with acute heart failure.

Aims: There is an ongoing discussion whether the categorization of patients with heart failure according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is scientifically justified and clinically relevant. Major efforts are directed towards the identification of appropriate cut-off values to correctly allocate heart failure-specific pharmacotherapy. Alternatively, an LVEF continuum without definite subgroups is discussed.

Dynamics of Left Ventricular Myocardial Work in Patients Hospitalized for Acute Heart Failure.

Background: The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the most commonly used measure describing pumping efficiency, but it is heavily dependent on loading conditions and therefore not well-suited to study pathophysiologic changes. The novel concept of echocardiography-derived myocardial work (MyW) overcomes this disadvantage as it is based on LV pressure-strain loops. We tracked the in-hospital changes of indices of MyW in patients admitted for acute heart failure (AHF) in relation to their recompensation status and explored the prognostic utility of MyW indices METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 126 patients admitted for AHF (mean 73 ± 12 years, 37% female, 40% with a reduced LVEF [<40%]), providing pairs of echocardiograms obtained both on hospital admission and prior to discharge.

Temporal changes in total and hippocampal brain volume and cognitive function in patients with chronic heart failure-the COGNITION.MATTERS-HF cohort study.

Aims: We quantified the concurring dynamics affecting total and hippocampal brain volume and cognitive function in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) over a period of three years.

Methods And Results: A total of 148 patients with mild stable HF entered this monocentric prospective cohort study: mean age 64.5 (10.