bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of initial treatment on health‐related quality of life in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma without immediate stem cell transplant intent: results from the Connect® MM Registry
Authors: Abonour Rafat , Rifkin Robert M. , Gasparetto Cristina , Toomey Kathleen , Durie Brian G. M. , Hardin James W. , Terebelo Howard R. , Jagannath Sundar , Narang Mohit , Ailawadhi Sikander , Omel James L. , Lee Hans C. , Srinivasan Shankar , Kitali Amani , Agarwal Amit , Wagner Lynne ,   the CONNECT MM Registry Investigators
Published: October 2020

SummaryAlthough new multiple myeloma (MM) therapies are effective in alleviating some disease‐associated symptoms (e.g. bone pain, fatigue, functional decline), they can result in additional toxicities, further impacting health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). Here, we compared HRQoL and safety of lenalidomide‐bortezomib‐dexamethasone [RVd (n = 445)], bortezomib‐melphalan‐prednisone [VMP (n = 77)] and Vd or VMP (n = 588) in patients with newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) from the Connect® MM Registry, a large, USA, multicentre, prospective observational cohort study. Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Multiple Myeloma subscale, EuroQol‐5D overall score and Bone Pain Inventory HRQoL scores were significantly improved with RVd versus Vd/VMP. Serious adverse event rates were similar in all groups. Treatment with RVd maintained HRQoL in this real‐world, largely community‐based population of patients with NDMM.
Phenotypic characters of static homology increase phylogenetic stability under direct optimization of otherwise dynamic homology characters
Authors: Lehtonen Samuli 
Published: October 2020

AbstractDirect optimization of unaligned sequence characters provides a natural framework to explore the sensitivity of phylogenetic hypotheses to variation in analytical parameters. Phenotypic data, when combined into such analyses, are typically analyzed with static homology correspondences unlike the dynamic homology sequence data. Static homology characters may be expected to constrain the direct optimization and thus, potentially increase the similarity of phylogenetic hypotheses under different cost sets. However, whether a total‐evidence approach increases the phylogenetic stability or not remains empirically largely unexplored. Here, I studied the impact of static homology data on sensitivity using six empirical data sets composed of several molecular markers and phenotypic data. The inclusion of static homology phenotypic data increased the average stability of phylogenetic hypothesis in five out of the six data sets. To investigate if any static homology characters would have similar effect, the analyses were repeated with randomized phenotypic data, and with one of the molecular markers fixed as static homology characters. These analyses had, on average, almost no effect on the phylogenetic stability, although the randomized phenotypic data sometimes resulted in even higher stability than empirical phenotypic data. The impact was related to the strength of the phylogenetic signal in the phenotypic data: higher average jackknife support of the phenotypic tree correlated with stronger stabilizing effect in the total‐evidence analysis. Phenotypic data with a strong signal made the total‐evidence trees topologically more similar to the phenotypic trees, thus, they constrained the dynamic homology correspondences of the sequence data. Characters that increase phylogenetic stability are particularly valuable for phylogenetic inference. These results indicate an important role and additive value of phenotypic data in increasing the stability of phylogenetic hypotheses in total‐evidence analyses.
Antidiabetic medication use in commercially insured children and adolescents in the United States from 2004 to 2019
Authors: Sun Jenny W. , Hernández‐Díaz Sonia , Bourgeois Florence T. , Haneuse Sebastien , Brill Gregory , Bateman Brian T. , Huybrechts Krista F. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAimTo describe the patterns of non‐insulin antidiabetic medication use, initiation and adherence in the paediatric population.MethodsWe conducted a descriptive study of non‐insulin antidiabetic medication use in children and adolescents (aged 10‐18 years) using real‐world data from a nationwide US commercial claims database (January 2004–September 2019). Trends in the prevalence of non‐insulin antidiabetic medication use overall and by class were evaluated. Among new users of non‐insulin antidiabetic agents, medication adherence was examined using group‐based trajectory models.ResultsIn a cohort of more than 1 million paediatric patients, the prevalence of any non‐insulin antidiabetic medication use was 75.7 per 100 000 patients in 2004 and more than doubled to 162.0 per 100 000 in 2019. Biguanides (metformin) was by far the most widely used medication class. The use of newer classes was low (<10 per 100 000), but there was an uptake in the use of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists after liraglutide received paediatric approval in 2019. Medication adherence was poor during the 18 months after treatment initiation: 79.6% of initiators experienced an early treatment interruption (median time to interruption: 90 days among metformin monotherapy initiators) and 21% of initiators did not return for a prescription refill after the first month.ConclusionsThere was a substantial increase in non‐insulin antidiabetic medication use among commercially insured paediatric patients from 2004 to 2019. Nearly all patients were treated with metformin, while the use of newer agents remained low. Despite the increase in medication use, short treatment episodes were observed, even among patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, raising concern over poor adherence.
Building clinical risk score systems for predicting the all‐cause and expanded cardiovascular‐specific mortality of patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Liu Chiu‐Shong , Li Chia‐Ing , Wang Mu‐Cyun , Yang Sing‐Yu , Li Tsai‐Chung , Lin Cheng‐Chieh 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAimTo develop and validate risk score systems by examining the effects of glycaemic and blood pressure variabilities on the all‐cause and expanded cardiovascular‐specific mortality of people with type 2 diabetes.Materials and methodsThis retrospective cohort study consisted of 9692 patients aged 30‐85 years, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and enrolled in a managed care programme of a medical centre from 2002 to 2016. All the patients were randomly allocated into two groups, namely, training and validation sets (2:1 ratio), and followed up until death or August 2019. Cox's proportional hazard regression was performed to develop all‐cause and expanded cardiovascular‐specific mortality prediction models. The performance of the prediction model was assessed by using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC).ResultsOverall, 2036 deaths were identified after a mean of 8.6 years of follow‐up. The AUROC‐measured prediction accuracies of 3‐, 5‐, 10‐ and 15‐year all‐cause mortalities based on a model containing the identified traditional risk factors, biomarkers and variabilities in fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c and blood pressure in the validation set were 0.79 (0.76‐0.83), 0.78 (0.76‐0.81), 0.80 (0.78‐0.82) and 0.80 (0.78‐0.82), respectively. The corresponding values of the expanded cardiovascular‐specific mortalities were 0.85 (0.80‐0.90), 0.83 (0.79‐0.86), 0.80 (0.77‐0.83) and 0.79 (0.77‐0.82), respectively.ConclusionsOur prediction models considering glycaemic and blood pressure variabilities had good prediction accuracy for the expanded cardiovascular‐specific and all‐cause mortalities of patients with type 2 diabetes.
A tale of two gravities*
Authors: Bowman Jason H. , Chen Xiaoping , Li Ben G. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe flows of traded goods across countries are known to follow a gravity pattern: Their volumes are greater between countries that are larger in size and closer to each other. We find a similar pattern in the flows of territories across countries between 1870 and 2008. During this period, countries experienced inflows and outflows of territories, mirroring the international flows of goods. We find three other pieces of critical evidence supporting that the two flows interact through similar economic motives. Our findings illustrate the usefulness of international trade models for understanding international politics.
Quarantining behaviour in ants: are Myrmica aphid milkers able to detect and get rid of fungus‐contaminated aphids?
Authors: Novgorodova Tatiana A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractFungal infections are highly dangerous for social insects including ants. Close trophobiotic interaction between ants and aphids promotes infection transmission, as aphids can be a disease vector. The ability of ants to detect fungus‐infected aphids and get rid of them is important to the prosperity of both symbiotic partners. However, the diversity of quarantining behaviour among ants is still poorly studied. Here, the behaviour of honeydew foragers of two ant species – Myrmica rubra L. and Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Myrmicinae, Myrmicini) – was studied in laboratory towards Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) (Hemiptera: Aphididae, Aphidini) aphids contaminated with the generalist fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo‐Crivelli) Vuillemin (Hypocreales). This fungus attacks a wide range of hosts including aphids and ants. The removal of conidia‐contaminated aphids from the host plant was found not to be typical of the ants studied. Aphid milkers of M. rubra and M. scabrinodis usually displayed non‐aggressive behaviour (tolerance, antennation, honeydew collection, grooming) towards the experimental aphids regardless of whether they were covered with conidia or not. Neither ant species, nor the number of milkers had significant effects on their behaviour towards ‘infected’ aphids. However, some individuals were found to demonstrate quarantining behaviour in full. They quickly detected and removed contaminated aphids, placing them at some distance from the plant. Moreover, in addition to the simple carrying of ‘infected’ aphids down, the more effective technique of dropping them from the plant was noted as well. Ants of the genus Myrmica appear to have a tendency to perform a certain sequence of actions to remove conidia‐contaminated aphids from the plant. It is likely that in larger colonies or under conditions of increased risk of infection with entomopathogenic fungi, some Myrmica ants are able to deploy and actively use the behavioural pattern of quarantining behaviour to increase their viability.
Contrast sensitivity deficits in schizophrenia: A psychophysical investigation
Authors: Zemon Vance , Herrera Shaynna , Gordon James , Revheim Nadine , Silipo Gail , Butler Pamela D. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIndividuals with schizophrenia have problems with visual contrast processing. The current study investigated contrast sensitivity (CS) in schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder to elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms affected by this disorder and to identify critical testing conditions that distinguish individuals with the disorder from healthy individuals. Principal component analysis was applied to the data (N = 143) to separate responses from distinct visual pathways. Participants were 68 patients and 75 age‐similar controls. CS was obtained using a forced‐choice psychophysical paradigm with grating patterns of low to high spatial frequency presented at short and long durations. Linear mixed‐effects models were used to examine differences in log CS with respect to group, duration, and stimulus condition. Lower CSs were found in patients compared to controls over all stimulus conditions with the magnitude of deficits dependent on both spatial frequency and stimulus duration. Log CSs to low and high spatial frequencies loaded onto separate principal components, supporting the existence of two psychophysical mechanisms, transient and sustained. Critical conditions were identified to tap each mechanism. Visual acuity was correlated moderately with log CS to high, but not low, spatial frequencies, and deficits found for acuity and CS to moderate/high spatial frequencies (4–21 cycles/degree) appear to reflect dysfunction in the sustained mechanism. CS deficits found at the lowest spatial frequency tested (0.5 cycles/degree) appear to reflect dysfunction in the transient mechanism. Both types of CS deficits may have diagnostic value and implications for social and neurocognitive deficits in this disorder.
Invasive freshwater snails form novel microbial relationships
Authors: Bankers Laura , Dahan Dylan , Neiman Maurine , Adrian‐Tucci Claire , Frost Crystal , Hurst Gregory D. D. , King Kayla C. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractResident microbes (microbiota) can shape host organismal function and adaptation in the face of environmental change. Invasion of new habitats exposes hosts to novel selection pressures, but little is known about the impact on microbiota and the host–microbiome relationship (e.g., how rapidly new microbial associations are formed, whether microbes influence invasion success). We used high‐throughput 16S rRNA sequencing of New Zealand (native) and European (invasive) populations of the freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum and found that while invaders do carry over some core microbial taxa from New Zealand, their microbial community is largely distinct. This finding highlights that invasions can result in the formation of novel host–microbiome relationships. We further show that the native microbiome is composed of fewer core microbes than the microbiome of invasive snails, suggesting that the microbiota is streamlined to a narrower set of core members. Furthermore, native snails exhibit relatively low alpha diversity but high inter‐individual variation, whereas invasive snails have higher alpha diversity but are relatively similar to each other. Together, our findings demonstrate that microbiota comparisons across native and invasive populations can reveal the impact of a long coevolutionary history and specialization of microbes in the native host range, as well as new associations occurring after invasion. We lay essential groundwork for understanding how microbial relationships affect invasion success and how microbes may be utilized in the control of invasive hosts.
Resource availability and disturbance shape maximum tree height across the Amazon
Authors: Gorgens Eric B. , Nunes Matheus H. , Jackson Tobias , Coomes David , Keller Michael , Reis Cristiano R. , Valbuena Ruben , Rosette Jacqueline , de Almeida Danilo R. A. , Gimenez Bruno , Cantinho Roberta , Motta Alline Z. , Assis Mauro , de Souza Pereira Francisca R. , Spanner Gustavo , Higuchi Niro , Ometto Jean Pierre 
Published: October 2020

AbstractTall trees are key drivers of ecosystem processes in tropical forest, but the controls on the distribution of the very tallest trees remain poorly understood. The recent discovery of grove of giant trees over 80 meters tall in the Amazon forest requires a reevaluation of current thinking. We used high‐resolution airborne laser surveys to measure canopy height across 282,750 ha of old‐growth and second‐growth forests randomly sampling the entire Brazilian Amazon. We investigated how resources and disturbances shape the maximum height distribution across the Brazilian Amazon through the relations between the occurrence of giant trees and environmental factors. Common drivers of height development are fundamentally different from those influencing the occurrence of giant trees. We found that changes in wind and light availability drive giant tree distribution as much as precipitation and temperature, together shaping the forest structure of the Brazilian Amazon. The location of giant trees should be carefully considered by policymakers when identifying important hot spots for the conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon.
Genomic landscape of reproductive isolation in Lucania killifish: The role of sex loci and salinity
Authors: Berdan Emma L. , Fuller Rebecca C. , Kozak Genevieve M. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAdaptation to different environments can directly and indirectly generate reproductive isolation between species. Bluefin killifish (Lucania goodei) and rainwater killifish (L. parva) are sister species that have diverged across a salinity gradient and are reproductively isolated by habitat, behavioural, extrinsic and intrinsic post‐zygotic isolation. We asked if salinity adaptation contributes indirectly to other forms of reproductive isolation via linked selection and hypothesized that low recombination regions, such as sex chromosomes or chromosomal rearrangements, might facilitate this process. We conducted QTL mapping in backcrosses between L. parva and L. goodei to explore the genetic architecture of salinity tolerance, behavioural isolation and intrinsic isolation. We mapped traits relative to a chromosome that has undergone a centric fusion in L. parva (relative to L. goodei). We found that the sex locus appears to be male determining (XX‐XY), was located on the fused chromosome and was implicated in intrinsic isolation. QTL associated with salinity tolerance were spread across the genome and did not overly co‐localize with regions associated with behavioural or intrinsic isolation. This preliminary analysis of the genetic architecture of reproductive isolation between Lucania species does not support the hypothesis that divergent natural selection for salinity tolerance led to behavioural and intrinsic isolation as a by‐product. Combined with previous studies in this system, our work suggests that adaptation as a function of salinity contributes to habitat isolation and that reinforcement may have contributed to the evolution of behavioural isolation instead, possibly facilitated by linkage between behavioural isolation and intrinsic isolation loci on the fused chromosome.
Comparative study of intralesional tuberculin protein purified derivative (PPD) and intralesional measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine for multiple resistant warts
Authors: Mohammed Yaser F. , Ibrahim Hany S. , Elbarbary Marwa A. , Elsaie Mohamed L. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundCutaneous warts are frequent conditions that possess much challenge to treat.ObjectiveTo evaluate safety and efficacy of intralesional injection of tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) antigen injection vs MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) antigen for the treatment of multiple warts.MethodsThe study included 90 Patients who were divided into three groups (A, B, and C). Each group consisted of (30) patients. Group (A) subjects received intralesional PPD injections. Group (B) subjects received intralesional MMR antigen injection and Group (C) received intralesional saline injection.ResultsFull clearance of warts was observed in 18 (60%) of patients in group (A) (70%) vs 24 patients (80%) in group (B). Distal warts completely disappeared in 18 (60%) of patients in group A and 12 (40%) of patients in group B. Infrequent side effects including pain, erythema, and minimal induration were reported in both groups.ConclusionWe established a good safety and efficacy profile for tuberculin PPD and MMR antigens in resistant wart treatment.
Exploring parents' provision of factors related to the establishment of physical activity between normal weight and overweight infants
Authors: Dinkel Danae , Rech John P. , Snyder Kailey 
Published: October 2020

AbstractPurposeInfancy is a critical time for the prevention of obesity and establishment of healthy behaviors such as physical activity that help to control weight. A limited amount of research has examined if factors related to infant physical activity vary by infant weight status. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed methods triangulation study was to examine differences in motor development, the home environment, and infant‐parent play behaviors as well as to explore how parents promote active play opportunities with normal weight infants (NWIs) and overweight infants (OWIs).Design and MethodsWe used a mixed methods triangulated approach to combine quantitative and qualitative data strands to examine variables associated with active play in normal weight (n = 16) and overweight (n = 11) infants. Data were analyzed using a two‐tailed Mann–Whitney U nonparametric test and a summative content analysis approach.ResultsAlthough there were no differences in infants' motor development and parent play behaviors based on infant weight, several other differences were found. OWIs had less access to materials that stimulate locomotor movement. Further, parents of OWIs more often reported utilizing cognitive play strategies in comparison to parents of NWIs who more often reported using physical play strategies. Parents felt they were the greatest influence on their child's activity regardless of infant size. Importantly, all parents desired more specific guidelines on how to encourage active play and preferred this information was delivered by their healthcare provider.Practice ImplicationsTo meet parents' desires and potentially improve infants' developmental outcomes through the establishment of healthy physical activity behaviors, pediatric nurses could provide more specific guidance on providing active opportunities for infants.
Fashion designs and brands: The role of the informed user and the average consumer
Authors: Frabboni Maria Mercedes 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe notions of the informed user and average consumer occupy centre stage in design and trade marks disputes. The current European Union legal framework exposes a tension between these notions as legal constructs informed by normative objectives, and the need to connect them with the business reality of design and trade mark practice. This article investigates how litigation concerning fashion design and brands addresses this tension and shapes the definition and application of legal tests for the informed user and the average consumer. It analyses key criteria that determine who these notional persons are, and how those criteria are applied when performing assessments that combine abstract legal standards with information acquired from the experience that real users and consumers make of fashion designs and brands.