bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Health equity monitoring is essential in public health: lessons from Mozambique
Authors: Llop-Gironés Alba , Cash-Gibson Lucinda , Chicumbe Sergio , Alvarez Francesc , Zahinos Ivan , Mazive Elisio , Benach Joan 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Countries must be able to describe and monitor their populations health and well-being needs in an attempt to understand and address them. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have re-emphasized the need to invest in comprehensive health information systems to monitor progress towards health equity; however, knowledge on the capacity of health information systems to be able do this, particularly in low-income countries, remains very limited. As a case study, we aimed to evaluate the current capacity of the national health information systems in Mozambique, and the available indicators to monitor health inequalities, in line with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being for All at All Ages).

Methods
A data source mapping of the health information system in Mozambique was conducted. We followed the World Health Organization’s methodology of assessing data sources to evaluate the information available for every equity stratifier using a three-point scale: 1 - information is available, 2 - need for more information, and 3 - an information gap. Also, for each indicator we estimated the national average inequality score.

Results
Eight data sources contain health information to measure and monitor progress towards health equity in line with the 27 SDG3 indicators. Seven indicators bear information with nationally funded data sources, ten with data sources externally funded, and ten indicators either lack information or it does not applicable for the matter of the study. None of the 27 indicators associated with SDG3 can be fully disaggregated by equity stratifiers; they either lack some information (15 indicators) or do not have information at all (nine indicators). The indicators that contain more information are related to maternal and child health.

Conclusions
There are important information gaps in Mozambique’s current national health information system which prevents it from being able to comprehensively measure and monitor health equity. Comprehensive national health information systems are an essential public health need. Significant policy and political challenges must also be addressed to ensure effective interventions and action towards health equity in the country.
Australian policies on water management and climate change: are they supporting the sustainable development goals and improved health and well-being?
Authors: Delany-Crowe Toni , Marinova Dora , Fisher Matt , McGreevy Michael , Baum Fran 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Sustainable management of the natural environment is essential. Continued environmental degradation will lead to worsened health outcomes in countries and across generations. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for viewing the preservation of natural environments and the promotion of health, well-being and health equity as interconnected pursuits. Within the SDG framework the goals of promoting environmental sustainability and human health are unified through attention to the social determinants of health and health equity (SDH/HE). This paper presents findings from a document analysis of all Australian environment sector policies and selected legislation to examine whether and how current approaches support progress toward achieving SDG goals on water, climate change, and marine ecosystems (Goals 6, 13 and 14), and to consider implications for health and health equity.

Results
Consideration of a broad range of SDH/HE was evident in the analysed documents. Related collaborations between environment and health sectors were identified, but the bulk of proposed actions on SDH/HE were initiated by the environment sector as part of its core business. Strengths of Australian policy in regard to SDGs 6, 13 and 14 are reflected in recognition of the effects of climate change, a strong cohesive approach to marine park protection, and recognition of the need to protect existing water and sanitation systems from future threats. However, climate change strategies focus predominately on resilience, adaptation and heat related health effects, rather than on more comprehensive mitigation policies. The findings emphasise the importance of strengthened cross-sectoral action to address both the drivers and effects of environmental degradation. A lack of policy coherence between jurisdictions was also evident in several areas, compounded by inadequate national guidance, where vague strategies and non-specific devolution of responsibilities are likely to compromise coordination and accountability.

Conclusions
Evidence on planetary health recognises the interconnectedness of environmental and human health and, as such, suggests that ineffective management of climate change and water pose serious risks to both the natural environment and human well-being. To address these risks more effectively, and to achieve the SDGs, our findings indicate that cross-jurisdiction policy coherence and national coordination must be improved. In addition, more action to address global inequities is required, along with more comprehensive approaches to climate change mitigation.
Court as a health intervention to advance Canada’s achievement of the sustainable development goals : a multi-pronged analysis of Vancouver’s Downtown Community Court
Authors: Garcia Regiane A. , Kenyon Kristi Heather , Brolan Claire E. , Coughlin Juliana , Guedes Daniel D. 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
The increase in problematic substance use is a major problem in Canada and elsewhere, placing a heavy burden on health and justice system resources given a spike in drug-related offences. Thus, achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.5 to ‘Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse’ is important for Canada’s overall realization of the SDGs, including SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing). Since 2008, Vancouver’s Downtown Community Court (DCC) has pioneered an innovative partnership among the justice, health and social service systems to address individuals’ needs and circumstances leading to criminal behaviour. While researchers have examined the DCC’s impact on reducing recidivism, with Canada’s SDG health commitments in mind, we set out to examine the ways health and the social determinants of health (SDH) are engaged and framed externally with regard to DCC functioning, as well as internally by DCC actors. We employed a multi-pronged approach analyzing (1) publicly available DCC documents, (2) print media coverage, and (3) health-related discourse and references in DCC hearings.

Results
The documentary analysis showed that health and the SDH are framed by the DCC as instrumental for reducing drug-related offences and improving public safety. The observation data indicate that judges use health and SDH in providing context, understanding triggers for offences and offering rationale for sentencing and management plans that connect individuals to healthcare, social and cultural services.

Conclusions
Our study contributes new insights on the effectiveness of the DCC as a means to integrate justice, health and social services for improved health and community safety. The development of such community court interventions, and their impact on health and the SDH, should be reported on by Canada and other countries as a key contribution to SDG 3 achievement, as well as the fulfillment of other targets under the SDG framework that contain the SDH. Consideration should be given by Canada as to how to capture and integrate the important data generated by the DCC and other problem-solving courts into SDG reporting metrics. Certainly, the DCC advances the SDGs’ underlying Leave No One Behind principle in a high-income country context.
Systems approaches for localising the SDGs: co-production of place-based case studies
Authors: Tan David T. , Siri José Gabriel , Gong Yi , Ong Benjamin , Lim Shiang Cheng , MacGillivray Brian H. , Marsden Terry 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Localisation is a pervasive challenge in achieving sustainable development. Contextual particularities may render generalized strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unfeasible, impractical, or ineffective. Furthermore, many localities are resource- and data-poor, limiting applicability of the global SDG indicator framework. Tools to enable local actors to make sense of complex problems, communicate this understanding, and act accordingly hold promise in their ability to improve results.

Aim
Systems approaches can help characterise local causal systems, identify useful leverage points, and foster participation needed to localise and catalyse development action. Critically, such efforts must be deeply rooted in place, involving local actors in mapping decision-processes and causation within local physical, social and policy environments. Given that each place has a unique geographical or spatial extent and therein lies its unique characters and problems, we term these activities “placially explicit.” We describe and reflect on a process used to develop placially explicit, systems-based (PESB) case studies on issues that intersect with and impact urban health and wellbeing, addressing the perspectives of various actors to produce place-based models and insights that are useful for SDG localisation.

Methods
Seven case studies were co-produced by one or more Partners with place-based knowledge of the case study issue and a Systems Thinker. In each case, joint delineation of an appropriate framing was followed by iterative dialogue cycles to uncover key contextual factors, with attention to institutional and societal structures and paradigms and the motivations and constraints of other actors. Casual loop diagrams (CLDs) were iteratively developed to capture complex narratives in a simple visual way.

Results
Case study development facilitated transfer of local knowledge and development of systems thinking capacity. Partners reported new insights, including a shifting of problem frames and corresponding solution spaces to higher systems levels. Such changes led partners to re-evaluate their roles and goals, and thence to new actions and strategies. CLD-based narratives also proved useful in ongoing communications.

Conclusion
Co-production of PESB case studies are a useful component of transdisciplinary toolsets for local SDG implementation, building the capacity of local actors to explore complex problems, identify new solutions and indicators, and understand the systemic linkages inherent in SDG actions across sectors and scales.
Chiropractic treatment of older adults with neck pain with or without headache or dizziness: analysis of 288 Australian chiropractors’ self-reported views
Authors: Vindigni Dein , Zark Laura , Sundberg Tobias , Leach Matthew , Adams Jon , Azari Michael F. 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Neck pain is a leading cause of individual and societal burden worldwide, affecting an estimated 1 in 5 people aged 70 years and older. The nature and outcomes of chiropractic care for older adults with neck pain, particularly those with co-morbid headaches, remains poorly understood. Therefore, we sought to ascertain: What proportion of Australian chiropractors’ caseload comprises older adults with neck pain (with or without headache); How are these conditions treated; What are the reported outcomes?

Methods
An online survey examining practitioner and practice characteristics, clinical patient presentations, chiropractic treatment methods and outcomes, and other health service use, was distributed to a random nationally representative sample of 800 Australian chiropractors. Quantitative methods were used to analyze the data.

Results
Two hundred eighty-eight chiropractors (response rate = 36%) completed the survey between August and November 2017. Approximately one-third (M 28.5%, SD 14.2) of the chiropractors’ patients were older adults (i.e. aged ≥65 years), of which 45.5% (SD 20.6) presented with neck pain and 31.3% (SD 20.3) had co-morbid headache. Chiropractors reported to combine a range of physical and manual therapy treatments, exercises and self-management practices in their care of these patients particularly: manipulation of the thoracic spine (82.0%); activator adjustment of the neck (77.3%); and massage of the neck (76.5%). The average number of visits required to resolve headache symptoms was reported to be highest among those with migraine (M 11.2, SD 8.8). The majority of chiropractors (57.3%) reported a moderate response to treatment in reported dizziness amongst older adults with neck pain. Approximately 82% of older adult patients were estimated to use at least one other health service concurrently to chiropractic care to manage their neck pain.

Conclusion
This is the first known study to investigate chiropractic care of older adults living with neck pain. Chiropractors report using well-established conservative techniques to manage neck pain in older adults. Our findings also indicate that this target group of patients may frequently integrate chiropractic care with other health services in order to manage their neck pain. Further research should provide in-depth investigation of older patients’ experience and other patient-reported outcomes of chiropractic treatment.
Neutrophil extracellular traps in breast cancer and beyond: current perspectives on NET stimuli, thrombosis and metastasis, and clinical utility for diagnosis and treatment
Authors: Snoderly Hunter T. , Boone Brian A. , Bennewitz Margaret F. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThe formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), known as NETosis, was first observed as a novel immune response to bacterial infection, but has since been found to occur abnormally in a variety of other inflammatory disease states including cancer. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women. In breast cancer, NETosis has been linked to increased disease progression, metastasis, and complications such as venous thromboembolism. NET-targeted therapies have shown success in preclinical cancer models and may prove valuable clinical targets in slowing or halting tumor progression in breast cancer patients. We will briefly outline the mechanisms by which NETs may form in the tumor microenvironment and circulation, including the crosstalk between neutrophils, tumor cells, endothelial cells, and platelets as well as the role of cancer-associated extracellular vesicles in modulating neutrophil behavior and NET extrusion. The prognostic implications of cancer-associated NETosis will be explored in addition to development of novel therapeutics aimed at targeting NET interactions to improve outcomes in patients with breast cancer.
Quantifying the benefit offered by transcript assembly with Scallop-LR on single-molecule long reads
Authors: Tung Laura H. , Shao Mingfu , Kingsford Carl 
Published: December 2019

AbstractSingle-molecule long-read sequencing has been used to improve mRNA isoform identification. However, not all single-molecule long reads represent full transcripts due to incomplete cDNA synthesis and sequencing length limits. This drives a need for long-read transcript assembly. By adding long-read-specific optimizations to Scallop, we developed Scallop-LR, a reference-based long-read transcript assembler. Analyzing 26 PacBio samples, we quantified the benefit of performing transcript assembly on long reads. We demonstrate Scallop-LR identifies more known transcripts and potentially novel isoforms for the human transcriptome than Iso-Seq Analysis and StringTie, indicating that long-read transcript assembly by Scallop-LR can reveal a more complete human transcriptome.
TRITEX: chromosome-scale sequence assembly of Triticeae genomes with open-source tools
Authors: Monat Cécile , Padmarasu Sudharsan , Lux Thomas , Wicker Thomas , Gundlach Heidrun , Himmelbach Axel , Ens Jennifer , Li Chengdao , Muehlbauer Gary J. , Schulman Alan H. , Waugh Robbie , Braumann Ilka , Pozniak Curtis , Scholz Uwe , Mayer Klaus F. X. , Spannagl Manuel , Stein Nils , Mascher Martin 
Published: December 2019

AbstractChromosome-scale genome sequence assemblies underpin pan-genomic studies. Recent genome assembly efforts in the large-genome Triticeae crops wheat and barley have relied on the commercial closed-source assembly algorithm DeNovoMagic. We present TRITEX, an open-source computational workflow that combines paired-end, mate-pair, 10X Genomics linked-read with chromosome conformation capture sequencing data to construct sequence scaffolds with megabase-scale contiguity ordered into chromosomal pseudomolecules. We evaluate the performance of TRITEX on publicly available sequence data of tetraploid wild emmer and hexaploid bread wheat, and construct an improved annotated reference genome sequence assembly of the barley cultivar Morex as a community resource.
Continuous intravenous low-dose diclofenac sodium to control a central fever after ischemic stroke in the intensive care unit: a case report and review of the literature
Authors: Giaccari L. G. , Pace M. C. , Passavanti M. B. , Sansone P. , Esposito V. , Aurilio C. , Pota V. 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Introduction
Elevation in body temperature within the first 24 hours of ischemic stroke is fairly common and known to be associated with worse outcomes. Only after thoroughly ruling out infection and the noninfectious etiologies and in the appropriate clinical setting should the diagnosis of central fever be made. Acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are typical therapeutic options. External cooling is frequently used when pharmacologic interventions are inadequate. However, reports have suggested that neurogenic fevers are somewhat resistant to traditional pharmacologic therapies.

Case presentation
We describe a case of a Caucasian patient with central fever after ischemic stroke not responsive to acetaminophen administration and external cooling. After an initial bolus of diclofenac sodium (0.2 mg/kg in 100 ml of saline solution for 30 minutes), a continuous infusion (75 mg in 50 ml of saline solution) was started. After 5 days of treatment, the patient’s body temperature was below 37.5 °C, and the diclofenac sodium infusion was stopped.

Conclusions
We observed that a low-dose diclofenac sodium infusion was effective in treating fever without systemic side effects. This treatment may be suggested as an alternative to conventional antipyretic drugs, but additional clinical trials are required.
LncRNA Neat1 mediates miR-124-induced activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in spinal cord neural progenitor cells
Authors: Cui Yi , Yin Yanyun , Xiao Zhifeng , Zhao Yannan , Chen Bing , Yang Bin , Xu Bai , Song Hongwei , Zou Yunlong , Ma Xu , Dai Jianwu 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Emerging evidence suggests that miR-124 performs important biological functions in neural stem cells (NSCs); it regulates NSC behavior and promotes the differentiation of NSCs into neurons, but the exact molecular mechanism remains unknown. And also, the role of miR-124 during spinal cord injury regeneration is unclear.

Materials and methods
In order to explore the function of miR-124 in neural differentiation, the molecular markers (Tuj1, Map2, and GFAP) correlated with the differentiation of NSCs were detected by immunofluorescence staining both in cultured mouse spinal cord progenitor cells (SC-NPCs) and in spinal cord injury (SCI) animal models. The migration ability and apoptosis of cultured SC-NPCs were also evaluated by Transwell migration assay and TUNEL assay. In addition, the relative expression of lnRNA Neat1- and Wnt/β-catenin signaling-related genes were detected by quantitative real-time PCR.

Results
In this study, we revealed that lncRNA Neat1 is involved in regulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling that is activated by miR-124 in SC-NPCs. LncRNA Neat1 was also found to play an important role in regulating neuronal differentiation, apoptosis, and migration of SC-NPCs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that overexpression of miR-124 resulted in elevated Neat1 expression, accompanied with the functional recovery of locomotion in a mouse model of spinal cord injury.

Conclusions
Our results confirm the therapeutic effectiveness of miR-124 on the functional recovery of injured spinal cord, supporting the rationale and feasibility of miR-124 for spinal cord injury treatment in future clinical therapy. Furthermore, we concluded that the miR-124-Neat1-Wnt/β-catenin signaling axis is involved in regulating the cell function of SC-NPCs, and this may offer novel therapeutic avenues for future treatment of SCI.
Combination therapies enhance immunoregulatory properties of MIAMI cells
Authors: Rossi Fiorella , Noren Hunter , Sarria Leonor , Schiller Paul C. , Nathanson Lubov , Beljanski Vladimir 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), adult stromal cells most commonly isolated from bone marrow (BM), are being increasingly utilized in various therapeutic applications including tissue repair via immunomodulation, which is recognized as one of their most relevant mechanism of action. The promise of MSC-based therapies is somewhat hindered by their apparent modest clinical benefits, highlighting the need for approaches that would increase the efficacy of such therapies. Manipulation of cellular stress-response mechanism(s) such as autophagy, a catabolic stress-response mechanism, with small molecules prior to or during MSC injection could improve MSCs’ therapeutic efficacy. Unfortunately, limited information exists on how manipulation of autophagy affects MSCs’ response to inflammation and subsequent immunoregulatory properties.

Methods
In this study, we exposed BM-MSC precursor cells, “marrow-isolated adult multilineage inducible” (MIAMI) cells, to autophagy modulators tamoxifen (TX) or chloroquine (CQ), together with IFN-γ. Exposed cells then underwent RNA sequencing (RNAseq) to determine the effects of TX or CQ co-treatments on cellular response to IFN-γ at a molecular level. Furthermore, we evaluated their immunoregulatory capacity using activated CD4+ T cells by analyzing T cell activation marker CD25 and the percentage of proliferating T cells after co-culturing the cells with MIAMI cells treated or not with TX or CQ.

Results
RNAseq data indicate that the co-treatments alter both mRNA and protein levels of key genes responsible for MSCs’ immune-regulatory properties. Interestingly, TX and CQ also altered some of the microRNAs targeting such key genes. In addition, while IFN-γ treatment alone increased the surface expression of PD-L1 and secretion of IDO, this increase was further enhanced with TX. An improvement in MIAMI cells’ ability to decrease the activation and proliferation of T cells was also observed with TX, and to a lesser extent, CQ co-treatments.

Conclusion
Altogether, this work suggests that both TX and CQ have a potential to enhance MIAMI cells’ immunoregulatory properties. However, this enhancement is more pronounced with TX co-treatment.