bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of insurance status on overall survival among children and adolescents with cancer
Authors: Wang Xiaoyan , Ojha Rohit P , Partap Sonia , Johnson Kimberly J 
Published: May 2020

Abstract

Background
Differences in access, delivery and utilisation of health care may impact childhood and adolescent cancer survival. We evaluated whether insurance coverage impacts survival among US children and adolescents with cancer diagnoses, overall and by age group, and explored potential mechanisms.

Methods
Data from 58 421 children (aged ≤14 years) and adolescents (15–19 years), diagnosed with cancer from 2004 to 2010, were obtained from the National Cancer Database. We examined associations between insurance status at initial diagnosis or treatment and diagnosis stage; any treatment received; and mortality using logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression, restricted mean survival time (RMST) and mediation analyses.

Results
Relative to privately insured individuals, the hazard of death (all-cause) was increased and survival months were decreased in those with Medicaid [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22 to 1.33; and −1.73 months, 95% CI: −2.07 to −1.38] and no insurance (HR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.20 to 1.46; and −2.13 months, 95% CI: −2.91 to −1.34). The HR for Medicaid vs. private insurance was larger (pinteraction &lt;0.001) in adolescents (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.41 to 1.64) than children (HR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.23). Despite statistical evidence of PH assumption violation, RMST results supported all interpretations. Earlier diagnosis for staged cancers in the Medicaid and uninsured populations accounted for an estimated 13% and 19% of the survival deficit, respectively, vs. the privately insured population. Any treatment received did not account for insurance-associated survival differences in children and adolescents with cancer.

Conclusions
Children and adolescents without private insurance had a higher risk of death and shorter survival within 5 years following cancer diagnosis. Additional research is needed to understand underlying mechanisms.
Higher risk of dementia in English older individuals who are overweight or obese
Authors: Ma Yixuan , Ajnakina Olesya , Steptoe Andrew , Cadar Dorina 
Published: May 2020

AbstractBackgroundSeveral risk factors contribute to dementia, but the role of obesity remains unclear. This study investigated whether increased body weight or central obesity were associated with a higher risk of developing dementia in a representative sample of older English adults.MethodsWe studied 6582 participants from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) who were aged ≥50 years and were dementia-free at baseline, that being either wave 1 (2002–2003) for study members who started at wave 1, or at either wave 2 (2004–2005) or 4 (2008–2009) for those who began the study as refreshment samples. Body mass index (BMI) was measured at baseline and categorized into normal weight (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2) and obese (≥30 kg/m2). Central obesity was defined as a waist circumference (WC) &gt;88 cm for women and &gt;102 cm for men. Cumulative incidence of dementia was ascertained based on physician-diagnosed dementia, an overall score &gt;3.38 on the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) and Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data at every ELSA wave from baseline until wave 8 (2016–2017). Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between baseline BMI levels or abdominal obesity in relation to dementia incidence during the mean follow-up period of 11 years.ResultsFrom the overall sample, 6.9% (n = 453) of participants developed dementia during the follow-up period of maximum 15 years (2002–2017). Compared with participants with normal weight, those who were obese at baseline had an elevated risk of dementia incidence [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07–1.61] independent of sex, baseline age, apolipoprotein E-ε4 (APOE-ε4), education, physical activity, smoking and marital status. The relationship was slightly accentuated after additionally controlling for hypertension and diabetes (HR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.03–1.59). Women with central obesity had a 39% greater risk of dementia compared with non-central obese women (HR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.12–1.66). When compared with a normal BMI and WC group, the obese and high WC group had 28% (HR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.03–1.53) higher risk of dementia.ConclusionsOur results suggest that having an increased body weight or abdominal obesity are associated with increased dementia incidence. These findings have significant implications for dementia prevention and overall public health.
Improving Replicability, Reproducibility, And Reliability In Preclinical Research: A Shared Responsibility
Authors: Cheleuitte-Nieves Christopher , Lipman Neil S 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Reproducible and reliable scientific investigation depends on the identification and consideration of various intrinsic and extrinsic factors that may affect the model system used. The impact of these factors must be managed during all phases of a study: planning, execution, and reporting. The value of in vivo (animal) research has come under increasing scrutiny over the past decade because of multiple reports documenting poor translatability to human studies. These failures have been attributed to various causes, including poor study design and execution as well as deficiencies in reporting. It is important to recognize that achieving reproducible and reliable preclinical research results is a joint responsibility that requires a partnership between the investigative team and the animal care and use program staff. The myriad of intrinsic factors, such as species, strain/substrain, age, sex, physiologic and health status, and extrinsic factors, including temperature, humidity, lighting, housing system, and diet, need to be recognized and managed during study planning and execution, as they can influence animal physiology and biological response. Of equal importance is the need to document and report these details. The ARRIVE and PREPARE guidelines were developed by concerned scientists, veterinarians, statisticians, journal editors, and funding agencies to assist investigative teams and scientific journals manage and report on intrinsic and extrinsic factors to improve reproducibility and reliability. This issue of the ILAR Journal will focus on the various extrinsic factors that have been recognized to confound animal research.
Holding Animal-Based Research to Our Highest Ethical Standards: Re-seeing Two Emergent Laboratory Practices and the Ethical Significance of Research Animal Dissent
Authors: Fenton Andrew 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
“Animal-based research should be held to the highest ethical standards” is becoming an increasingly common refrain. Though I think such a commitment is what we should expect of those using animals in science, much as we would if the participants were humans, some key insights of discussions in applied ethics and moral philosophy only seem to slowly impact what reasonably qualifies as the highest standards in animal research ethics. Early in my paper, I will explain some of these insights and loosely tie them to animal research ethics. Two emergent practices in laboratory animal science, positive reinforcement training and “rehoming,” will then be discussed, and I will defend the view that both should be mandatory on no more ethical grounds than what is outlined in the first section. I will also provide reasons for foregrounding the moral significance of dissent and why, most of the time, an animal research subject’s sustained dissent should be respected. Taken together, what I will defend promises to change how at least some animals are used in science and what happens to them afterwards. But I will also show how an objective ethics requires nothing less. Ignoring these constraints in the scientific use of animals comes at the cost of abandoning any claim to adhering to our highest ethical standards and, arguably, any claim to the moral legitimacy of such scientific use.
Harm-Benefit Analyses Can Be Harmful
Authors: Niemi Steven M 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Harm-benefit analyses (HBAs) are becoming de rigueur with some governmental regulatory agencies and popular with local institutional animal care and use committees (or their equivalents), the latter due, in part, to the adoption of HBAs as an international accreditation standard. Such analyses are employed as an attempt to balance potential or actual pain or distress imposed on laboratory animals against scientists’ justifications for those impositions. The outcomes of those analyses are then supposed to be included in an official assessment of whether a given animal protocol should be approved as proposed. While commendable in theory as a means to avoid or minimize animal suffering, HBAs come with a flawed premise. Establishing an accurate prediction of benefit, especially for so-called “basic” research (vs “applied” research, such as in vivo testing for product development or batch release), is often impossible given the uncertain nature of experimental outcomes and the eventual value of those results. That impossibility, in turn, risks disapproving a legitimate research proposal that might have yielded important new knowledge if it had been allowed to proceed. Separately, the anticipated harm to which the animal would be subjected should similarly be scrutinized with an aim to refine that harm regardless of purported benefits if the protocol is approved. The intentions of this essay are to reflect on the potential harm and benefit of the HBA itself, highlight how HBAs may be helpful in advancing refinements, and propose alternative approaches to both parts of the equation in the assessment process.
Constructing co-occurrence network embeddings to assist association extraction for COVID-19 and other coronavirus infectious diseases
Authors: Oniani David , Jiang Guoqian , Liu Hongfang , Shen Feichen 
Published: May 2020

Abstract

Objective
As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started its rapid emergence and gradually transformed into an unprecedented pandemic, the need for having a knowledge repository for the disease became crucial. To address this issue, a new COVID-19 machine-readable dataset known as the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19) has been released. Based on this, our objective was to build a computable co-occurrence network embeddings to assist association detection among COVID-19–related biomedical entities.

Materials and Methods
Leveraging a Linked Data version of CORD-19 (ie, CORD-19-on-FHIR), we first utilized SPARQL to extract co-occurrences among chemicals, diseases, genes, and mutations and build a co-occurrence network. We then trained the representation of the derived co-occurrence network using node2vec with 4 edge embeddings operations (L1, L2, Average, and Hadamard). Six algorithms (decision tree, logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest, naïve Bayes, and multilayer perceptron) were applied to evaluate performance on link prediction. An unsupervised learning strategy was also developed incorporating the t-SNE (t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding) and DBSCAN (density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise) algorithms for case studies.

Results
The random forest classifier showed the best performance on link prediction across different network embeddings. For edge embeddings generated using the Average operation, random forest achieved the optimal average precision of 0.97 along with a F1 score of 0.90. For unsupervised learning, 63 clusters were formed with silhouette score of 0.128. Significant associations were detected for 5 coronavirus infectious diseases in their corresponding subgroups.

Conclusions
In this study, we constructed COVID-19–centered co-occurrence network embeddings. Results indicated that the generated embeddings were able to extract significant associations for COVID-19 and coronavirus infectious diseases.
Semiochemicals Affecting Attraction of Ambrosia Beetle Euwallacea fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) to Quercivorol: Developing Push-Pull Control
Authors: Byers John A , Maoz Yonatan , Fefer Daniela , Levi-Zada Anat 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff), the polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), is an ambrosia beetle infesting avocado Persea americana Mill. limbs in North America and Israel. We conducted field experiments with sticky traps in avocado orchards to develop push–pull semiochemical methods of managing PSHB. Traps baited with 10-fold increasing doses (0.01 to 100× or 1.26 µg to 12.6 mg/d) of attractant quercivorol were previously shown to increasingly capture female PSHB (males flightless). We converted trap catch of this relationship to a standardized effective attraction radius (EAR) that predicts capture power of baited-traps regardless of insect flight density. Earlier, piperitone and verbenone were shown to strongly inhibit attraction of PSHB to quercivorol-traps. We tested increasing numbers of 1× piperitone dispensers at 0.75-m distance surrounding a quercivorol-trap and found PSHB catch to decline exponentially. Increasing decadic doses (0.01 to 10×) of either verbenone or piperitone released at 1× quercivorol-traps caused a sigmoidal first-order kinetic-decay in catch. Verbenone (1×) placed at increasing distances (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 m) from a 1× quercivorol-trap became increasingly ineffective in reducing catch of PSHB. We found no evidence that ethanol released from 7.5 to 480 mg/d affected attraction of PSHB, but Scobicia chevrieri (Villa and Villa) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) was increasingly attracted. Due to their relatively short-range (&lt;0.5 m) inhibition of attractive sources, piperitone, and verbenone dispensers should be placed on avocado trunks where PSHB aggregations occur before the flight season.
On the Provision of Unemployment Insurance when Workers are Ex-Ante Heterogeneous
Authors: Setty Ofer , Yedid-Levi Yaniv 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Labor market outcomes demonstrate considerable variation between and within skill groups. We construct a general equilibrium model with incomplete markets and exogenous differences that matches these facts. We study the role of exogenous heterogeneity in choosing the optimal replacement rate and the maximum benefit for an unemployment insurance (UI) system. The optimal average replacement rate is 27%, compared to 0% in a model without exogenous heterogeneity. The relatively generous choice is due to the redistributive role of UI, which is a manifestation of two elements. First, workers who are unemployed more often receive positive net transfers from the UI system because they draw resources more frequently. Second, the existence of a cap on benefits makes UI progressive. Our main result holds in the presence of a generous progressive taxation system.
The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in Implementing Decisions of the Inter-American System: Three Recent Examples from Costa Rica
Authors: Solano Carboni Montserrat 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
This practice note reflects on the potential role that national human rights institutions could play to promote implementation of judgments and decisions from supranational human rights bodies. In particular, it reflects on the experience the author had as head of one such institution in Costa Rica and the role she played promoting compliance by Costa Rica with cases decided by the Inter-American Court. She writes about the changing landscape of national human rights institutions in the Americas region and their potential in the future to impact implementation.
Accountability for Sexual and Gender-based Violence During Mass Repression and in Conflict
Authors: Kravetz Daniela 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
This article examines how national courts in Argentina and Guatemala are applying the international criminal law framework to address sexual violence perpetrated during mass repression and in conflict. It focuses on the emerging domestic jurisprudence in both countries and explores the challenges to prosecuting sexual and gender-based violence at the domestic level and the lessons learned from these experiences.
The protective role of m1A during stress-induced granulation
Authors: Alriquet Marion , Calloni Giulia , Martínez-Limón Adrían , Delli Ponti Riccardo , Hanspach Gerd , Hengesbach Martin , Tartaglia Gian G. , Vabulas R. Martin 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Post-transcriptional methylation of N6-adenine and N1-adenine can affect transcriptome turnover and translation. Furthermore, the regulatory function of N6-methyladenine (m6A) during heat shock has been uncovered, including the enhancement of the phase separation potential of RNAs. In response to acute stress, e.g. heat shock, the orderly sequestration of mRNAs in stress granules (SGs) is considered important to protect transcripts from the irreversible aggregation. Until recently, the role of N1-methyladenine (m1A) on mRNAs during acute stress response remains largely unknown. Here we show that the methyltransferase complex TRMT6/61A, which generates the m1A tag, is involved in transcriptome protection during heat shock. Our bioinformatics analysis indicates that occurrence of the m1A motif is increased in mRNAs known to be enriched in SGs. Accordingly, the m1A-generating methyltransferase TRMT6/61A accumulated in SGs and mass spectrometry confirmed enrichment of m1A in the SG RNAs. The insertion of a single methylation motif in the untranslated region of a reporter RNA leads to more efficient recovery of protein synthesis from that transcript after the return to normal temperature. Our results demonstrate far-reaching functional consequences of a minimal RNA modification on N1-adenine during acute proteostasis stress.
Dynamic Viral Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 RNA Shedding in Children: Preliminary Data and Clinical Consideration from a Italian Regional Center
Authors: De Ioris Maria A , Scarselli Alessia , Ciofi degli Atti Marta L , Ravà Lucilla , Smarrazzo Andrea , Concato Carlo , Romani Lorenza , Scrocca Raffaella , Geremia Caterina , Carletti Michaela , Calò Carducci Francesca I , Bernardi Stefania , Coltella Luana , Santilli Veronica , Chiurchiu Sara , Peschiaroli Emanuela , Mariani Rosanna , Marabotto Caterina , Perrotta Daniela , Villani Alberto , Rossi Paolo , D’Argenio Patrizia , Campana Andrea , Raponi Massimiliano 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
We evaluated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA clearance in 22 children. The estimation of positivity at day 14 was 52% for nasopharyngeal swab and 31% for stool samples. These data underline the significance of nasopharyngeal and stoolsample for detecting infected children. Additional studies are needed for transmissibility.
Anal fistula communicating to anterior abdominal wall treated with ksharasutra (medicated seton): a rare case study
Authors: Bhat Punchoor Ramesh , PN Deepthirani , Kiliyankandy Sandeep , Kizhakkayil Sathiajith 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
A case of anal fistula communication to anterior abdominal wall treated using ‘Medicated Seton’ called ‘Ksharasutra’ is reported here. Sushruta mentioned about Ksharasutra in his text book Sushruta Samhita in 500 BC. A 54-year-old male came with recurrent abscess in the lower abdominal wall and underwent incision and drainage three times earlier. Scar on lower abdomen and active sinuses on right and left ischiorectal fossa were noted. Internal opening was felt at anal mucosa posteriorly. Transrectal ultrasonography revealed posterior anal fistula, extending to left gluteum and traced till left ramus. Seton was placed in the tract from 5’o clock position to internal opening at 6’o clock position. Every week Ksharasutra changed for 8 weeks. This healed internal opening, right and left ischiorectal sinuses. Left tract toward groin and lower abdomen wall showed fibrosis. Same was confirmed through review scan. Six years of follow-up has shown no signs of recurrence.
Tracheostomy in a patient with COVID-19: a case report
Authors: Zvrko Elvir , Radunovic Ljubica , Pavicevic Vladimir 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Some of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with prolonged ventilation may require tracheostomy, which is an aerosol-generating procedure and poses a significant risk of viral transmission. We report our experience of the management of a patient with COVID-19 who underwent surgical tracheostomy and describe several essential infection control principles. In our patient, on the 14th day after intubation, an open tracheostomy was carried out because of the prolonged tracheal intubation and unsuccessful extubation attempts. Meticulous attention was paid during surgery to decrease the infection risk. Appropriate protection, infection control and teamwork are essential to perform open tracheostomy in COVID-19 positive patients safely with minimal risks to healthcare professionals.
Joint venture and joint operating agreements in Iran: legal aspects
Authors: Shiravi Abdolhossein , Vafaei Mahdi Abbasi 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Under current Iranian laws and regulations there is a requirement for an upstream petroleum contract to be managed by a joint venture entity and so the conclusion of a joint venture agreement (JVA) is compulsory in such petroleum projects. In this research article we first discuss the rules governing JVAs and the statutory requirements of such agreements in Iran. Then, by studying the relevant rules, we consider the advantages and disadvantages of the both unincorporated and incorporated forms of JVA and finally we discuss some of the implications of the JVA regarding tax, accounting procedures and fiduciary duties. We also consider the role played by unincorporated joint ventures and the joint operating agreement (JOA) in Iran.
The chromatin-modifying protein HUB2 is involved in the regulation of lignin composition in xylem vessels
Authors: Zhang Bo , Sztojka Bernadette , Seyfferth Carolin , Escamez Sacha , Miskolczi Pál , Chantreau Maxime , Bakó László , Delhomme Nicolas , Gorzsás András , Bhalerao Rishikesh P , Tuominen Hannele 
Published: May 2020

AbstractPIRIN2 (PRN2) was earlier reported to suppress syringyl (S)-type lignin accumulation of xylem vessels of Arabidopsis thaliana. In the present study, we report yeast two-hybrid results supporting the interaction of PRN2 with HISTONE MONOUBIQUITINATION2 (HUB2) in Arabidopsis. HUB2 has been previously implicated in several plant developmental processes, but not in lignification. Interaction between PRN2 and HUB2 was verified by β-galactosidase enzymatic and co-immunoprecipitation assays. HUB2 promoted the deposition of S-type lignin in the secondary cell walls of both stem and hypocotyl tissues, as analysed by pyrolysis-GC/MS. Chemical fingerprinting of individual xylem vessel cell walls by Raman and Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy supported the function of HUB2 in lignin deposition. These results, together with a genetic analysis of the hub2 prn2 double mutant, support the antagonistic function of PRN2 and HUB2 in deposition of S-type lignin. Transcriptome analyses indicated the opposite regulation of the S-type lignin biosynthetic gene FERULATE-5-HYDROXYLASE1 by PRN2 and HUB2 as the underlying mechanism. PRN2 and HUB2 promoter activities co-localized in cells neighbouring the xylem vessel elements, suggesting that the S-type lignin-promoting function of HUB2 is antagonized by PRN2 for the benefit of the guaiacyl (G)-type lignin enrichment of the neighbouring xylem vessel elements.