bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Barriers to healthcare for autistic adults: Consequences & policy implications. A cross-sectional study
Authors: Doherty Mary , Neilson Stuart D , O'Sullivan Jane D , Carravallah Laura , Johnson Mona , Cullen Walter , Gallagher Louise 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundAutistic people experience significantly poorer physical and mental health along with reduced life expectancy.AimTo identify self-reported barriers to primary care by autistic adults compared to parents of autistic children and non-autistic adults and link these barriers to self-reported adverse health consequences.Design and SettingFollowing consultation with the autistic community at an autistic conference, Autscape, a quantitative and qualitative survey was developed.MethodThe self-report survey was administered online through social media platforms.ResultsThe 57-item online survey was completed by 507 autistic adults, 196 parents of autistic children and 157 control subjects. 79.7% of autistic adults, 52.8% of parents and 36.5% of controls reported difficulty visiting a GP. The highest-rated barriers by autistic adults were deciding if symptoms warrant a GP visit (72.2%), difficulty making appointments by telephone (61.9%), not feeling understood (55.8%), difficulty communicating with their doctor (53.1%) and the waiting room environment (50.5%).Autistic adults reported a preference for online or text based appointment booking, facility to email in advance the reason for consultation, first or last clinic appointment and a quiet place to wait.Increased adverse health outcomes reported by autistic adults correlated with difficulty attending, including untreated physical and mental health conditions, not attending specialist referral or screening programmes, requiring more extensive treatment or surgery due to late presentations, and untreated potentially life threatening conditions.ConclusionReduction of healthcare inequalities for autistic people requires that healthcare providers understand autistic perspectives and communication needs. Adjustments for autism specific needs are as necessary as ramps for wheelchair users.How this fits inAdverse health outcomes are common among autistic people and so it is important to understand how we can promote access to primary care.This cross sectional study indicates that 79.7% of autistic patients (compared to 36.5% of controls) reported difficulty visiting a GP.Common barriers were: deciding if symptoms warrant a GP visit, difficulty using the telephone to book appointments, not feeling understood and difficulty communicating with their doctor.Common suggestions to promote access included: online or text based appointment booking facility, emailing in advance the reason for consultation, providing first or last clinic appointment and having a quiet place to wait.
Distribution of residual disease in the peritoneum following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and its potential therapeutic implications
Authors: Bhatt Aditi , Bakrin Naoual , Kammar Praveen , Mehta Sanket , Sinukumar Snita , Parikh Loma , Shaikh Sakina , Mishra Suniti , Shah Mita Y , Kepenkian Vahan , Benzerdjeb Nazim , Glehen Olivier 
Published: April 2020

AbstractIntroductionResidual disease in ‘normal appearing’ peritoneum is seen in nearly 30% following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Our goal was to study prospectively, the sequence of response in different regions, the commonest sites of occult residual disease, its incidence in different peritoneal regions and the potential therapeutic implications of these.MethodsThe patterns of response were studied based on the finding of residual disease in cytoreductive surgery specimens on pathological evaluation. A protocol for pathological evaluation was laid down and followed. Informed consent was taken from all patients. A correlation between clinical and pathological findings was made. Sugarbaker’s peritoneal cancer index was used to describe the regional distribution of peritoneal diseaseResultsIn 85 patients treated between July 2018 to June 2019, 83 FIGO stage III-C at diagnosis and 2 stage IV-A. Microscopic disease in ‘normal appearing’ peritoneal regions was seen in 22 (25.2%) and in normal peritoneum around tumor nodules in 30 (35.2%). Regions 4 and 8 of Sugarbaker’s peritoneal cancer index had the highest incidence of residual disease in absence of visible disease and regions 9 and 10 the lowest. The response to chemotherapy occurred in a similar manner in over 95% of the patients-the least common site of residual disease was the small bowel mesentery, followed by upper regions (regions 1-3), omentum and middle regions (regions 0, 4, 8), lower regions (regions 5-7) and lastly the ovaries. Nearly 85% had 4 or more peritonectomies and 67% had 6-7 peritonecomies.ConclusionsComplete resection of involved the peritoneal region could address all the occult disease in a particular region. The role of resection of the entire region as well as ‘normal appearing’ parietal peritoneal regions (or total parietal peritonectomy) during interval cytoreduction should be prospectively evaluated to determine its impact on morbidity and survival.
Exponential phase of covid19 expansion is driven by airport connections
Authors: Coelho Marco Túlio Pacheco , Rodrigues João Fabricio Mota , Medina Anderson Matos , Scalco Paulo , Terribile Levi Carina , Vilela Bruno , Diniz-Filho José Alexandre Felizola , Dobrovolski Ricardo 
Published: April 2020

AbstractThe pandemic state of COVID-19 caused by the SARS CoV-2 put the world in quarantine, led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and is causing an unprecedented economic crisis. However, COVID-19 is spreading in different rates at different countries. Here, we tested the effect of three classes of predictors, i.e., socioeconomic, climatic and transport, on the rate of daily increase of COVID-19. We found that global connections, represented by countries’ importance in the global air transportation network, is the main explanation for the growth rate of COVID-19 in different countries. Climate, geographic distance and socioeconomics had a milder effect in this big picture analysis. Geographic distance and climate were significant barriers in the past but were surpassed by the human engine that allowed us to colonize most of our planet land surface. Our results indicate that the current claims that the growth rate of COVID-19 may be lower in warmer and humid tropical countries should be taken very carefully, at risk to disturb well-established and effective policy of social isolation that may help to avoid higher mortality rates due to the collapse of national health systems.
Estimation of the probability of reinfection with COVID-19 coronavirus by the SEIRUS model
Authors: Okhuese Victor Alexander 
Published: April 2020

AbstractWith sensitivity of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test used to detect the presence of the virus in the human host, the global health community has been able to record a great number of recovered population. Therefore, in a bid to answer a burning question of reinfection in the recovered class, the model equations which exhibits the disease-free equilibrium (E0) state for COVID-19 coronavirus was developed in this study and was discovered to both exist as well as satisfy the criteria for a locally or globally asymptotic stability with a basic reproductive number R0 = 0 for and endemic situation. Hence, there is a chance of no secondary reinfections from the recovered population as the rate of incidence of the recovered population vanishes, that is, B = 0.Furthermore, numerical simulations were carried to complement the analytical results in investigating the effect of the implementation of quarantine and observatory procedures has on the projection of the further spread of the virus globally. Result shows that the proportion of infected population in the absence of curative vaccination will continue to grow globally meanwhile the recovery rate will continue slowly which therefore means that the ratio of infection to recovery rate will determine the death rate that is recorded globally and most significant for this study is the rate of reinfection by the recovered population which will decline to zero over time as the virus is cleared clinically from the system of the recovered class.
Global epidemiology, pathogenesis, immune response, diagnosis, treatment, economic and psychological impact, challenges, and future prevention of COVID-19: A Scoping review
Authors: Berhe Brhane , Legese Haftom , Degefa Hagos , Adhanom Gebre , Gebrewahd Aderajew , Mardu Fitsum , Tesfay Kebede , Welay Miglas , Negash Hadush 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundGlobally, the novel coronavirus, is a public health problem causing respiratory infections. Since the outbreak of severe acute and Middle East respiratory syndromes coronavirus was not reported to cause human infections. Now, it become an epidemic proportion with growing number of cases and deaths.MethodsA scoping review was conducted following the methodological framework. In this scoping review, 50 records published before 28 March, 2020 were included and discussed to better understand the current epidemiology, pathogenesis, immunological response, diagnosis, evasion mechanisms and suggested strategies to boost immune system, challenges, treatment, and future preventions of the virus. PubMed, BioRxiv, MedRxiv, Global Health and google scholars were searched comprehensively for articles, preprints, grey literatures, reports, websites, conference proceedings and expert information. Studies conducted in human and published in English language were included in the analysis. All the findings and statements of the review regarding the outbreak are based on published information as listed in citations.ResultsWe identified 360 records, of which 50 studies met the inclusion criteria. We synthesized the data from the included records and dig out the deep insights of them and pooled into this review. The burden of the outbreak is worsening due to overcrowding, presence of asymptomatic carriers, scarcity of test kits, the immune escaping ability of the virus and lack of awareness.Conclusions and recommendationsDue to the fast-spreading nature of COVID-19 the prevention and control strategies become challenging. It is imposing social, psychological, and socio-economic impacts. We recommended that following social distancing, isolation suspects, using personal protective equipment, health education and introducing hand-washing practices, avoiding contact with animals, vaccine development and treatment for controlling and prevention.
Socio-demographic, not environmental, risk factors explain fine-scale spatial patterns of diarrheal disease in Ifanadiana, rural Madagascar
Authors: Evans Michelle V , Bonds Matthew H , Cordier Laura F , Drake John M , Ihantamalala Felana , Haruna Justin , Miller Ann C , Murdock Courtney C , Randriamanambtsoa Marius , Raza-Fanomezanjanahary Estelle M , Razafinjato Bénédicte R. , Garchitorena Andres 
Published: April 2020

AbstractDiarrheal disease (DD) is responsible for over 700,000 child deaths annually, the majority in the tropics. Due to its strong environmental signature, DD is amenable to precision health mapping, a technique that leverages spatial relationships between socio-ecological variables and disease to predict hotspots of disease risk. However, precision health mapping tends to rely heavily on data collected at coarse spatial scales over large spatial extents. There is little evidence that such methods produce operationally-relevant predictions at sufficiently fine enough spatio-temporal scales (e.g. village level) to improve local health outcomes. Here, we use two fine-scale health datasets (<5 km) collected from a health system strengthening initiative in Ifanadiana, Madagascar and identify socio-ecological covariates associated with childhood DD. We constructed generalized linear mixed models including socio-demographic, climatic, and landcover variables and estimated variable importance via multi-model inference. We find that socio-demographic variables, and not environmental variables, are strong predictors of the spatial distribution of disease risk at both an individual and commune-level spatial scale. Specifically, a child’s age, sex, and household wealth were the primary determinants of disease. Climatic variables predicted strong seasonality in DD, with the highest incidence in the colder, drier months of the austral winter, but did not predict spatial patterns in disease. Importantly, our models account for less than half of the total variation in disease incidence, suggesting that the socio-ecological covariates identified as important via global precision health mapping efforts have reduced explanatory power at the local scale. More research is needed to better define the set of conditions under which the application of precision health mapping can be operationally useful to local public health professionals.
Evidence that higher temperatures are associated with lower incidence of COVID-19 in pandemic state, cumulative cases reported up to March 27, 2020
Authors: Triplett Michael 
Published: April 2020

AbstractSeasonal temperature variation may impact the trajectories of COVID-19 in different global regions. Cumulative data reported by the World Health Organization, for dates up to March 27, 20201, show association between COVID-19 incidence and regions at or above 30° latitude. Historic climate data also show significant reduction of case rates with mean maximum temperature above approximately 22.5 degrees Celsius. Variance at the local level, however, could not be well explained by geography and temperature. These preliminary findings support continued countermeasures and study of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 transmission rates by temperature and humidity.
Face selective patches in marmoset frontal cortex
Authors: Schaeffer David J. , Selvanayagam Janahan , Johnston Kevin D. , Menon Ravi S. , Freiwald Winrich A. , Everling Stefan 
Published: April 2020

AbstractPrimates have evolved the ability transmit important social information through facial expression. In humans and macaque monkeys, socially relevant face processing is accomplished via a distributed cortical and subcortical functional network that includes specialized patches in anterior cingulate cortex and lateral prefrontal cortex, regions usually associated with high-level cognition. It is unclear whether a similar network exists in New World primates, who diverged ~35 million years from Old World primates and have a less elaborated frontal cortex. The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a small New World primate that is ideally placed to address this question given the complex social repertoire inherent to this species (e.g., observational social learning; imitation; cooperative antiphonal calling). Here, we investigated the existence of a putative high-level face processing network in marmosets by employing ultra-high field (9.4 Tesla) task-based functional MRI (fMRI). We demonstrated that, like Old World primates, marmosets show differential activation in anterior cingulate cortex and lateral prefrontal cortex while they view socially relevant videos of marmoset faces. We corroborate the locations of these frontal regions by demonstrating both functional (via resting-state fMRI) and structural (via cellular-level tracing) connectivity between these regions and temporal lobe face patches. Given the evolutionary separation between macaques and marmosets, our results suggest this frontal network specialized for social face processing predates the separation between Platyrrhini and Catarrhine. These results give further credence to the marmoset as a viable preclinical modelling species for studying human social disorders.
Multi-Fluorescence High-Resolution Episcopic Microscopy (MF-HREM) for Three-Dimensional Imaging of Adult Murine Organs
Authors: Walsh Claire , Holroyd Natalie A. , Finnerty Eoin , Ryan Sean G. , Sweeney Paul W. , Shipley Rebecca J. , Walker-Samuel Simon 
Published: April 2020

Three-dimensional microscopy of large biological samples (>0.5 cm3) is transforming biological research. Many existing techniques require trade-offs between image resolution, sample size and method complexity. A simple robust instrument with the potential to perform large volume 3D imaging currently exists in the form of the Optical HREM, however the development of the instrument to date is limited to single fluorescent wavelength imaging with non-specific eosin staining. This work presents developments to realize the potential of the HREM to become Multi-fluorescent High Resolution Episcopic Microscopy (MF-HREM).MF-HREM is a serial-sectioning and block-facing wide-field fluorescence imaging technique, which does not require tissue clearing or optical sectioning. Multiple developments are detailed in sample preparation and image post-processing to enable multiple specific stains in large samples, and show how these enable segmentation and quantification of the data. The application of MF-HREM is demonstrated in a variety of biological contexts: 3D imaging of whole tumor vascular networks and tumor cell invasion in xenograft tumors up to 7.5 mm3at resolutions of 2.75 μm, quantification of glomeruli volume in the adult mouse kidney, and quantification of vascular networks and white matter track orientation in adult mouse brain.
Increasing testing throughput and case detection with a pooled-sample Bayesian approach in the context of COVID-19
Authors: Noriega Rodrigo , Samore Matthew H. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractRapid and widespread implementation of infectious disease surveillance is a critical component in the response to novel health threats. Molecular assays are the preferred method to detect a broad range of pathogens with high sensitivity and specificity. The implementation of molecular assay testing in a rapidly evolving public health emergency can be hindered by resource availability or technical constraints. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the applicability of a pooled-sample testing protocol to screen large populations more rapidly and with limited resources is discussed. A Bayesian inference analysis in which hierarchical testing stages can have different sensitivities is implemented and benchmarked against early COVID-19 testing data. Optimal pool size and increases in throughput and case detection are calculated as a function of disease prevalence. Even for moderate losses in test sensitivity upon pooling, substantial increases in testing throughput and detection efficiency are predicted, suggesting that sample pooling is a viable avenue to circumvent current testing bottlenecks for COVID-19.
Bacterial protein interaction networks: connectivity is ruled by gene conservation, essentiality and function
Authors: Dilucca Maddalena , Cimini Giulio , Giansanti Andrea 
Published: April 2020

AbstractProtein-protein interaction (PPI) networks are the backbone of all processes in living cells. In this work we relate conservation, essentiality and functional repertoire of a gene to the connectivitykof the corresponding protein in the PPI networks. Focusing on a set of 42 bacterial species with reasonably separated evolutionary trajectories, we investigate three issues: i) whether the distribution of connectivity values changes between PPI subnetworks of essential and nonessential genes; ii) how gene conservation, measured both by the evolutionary retention index (ERI) and by evolutionary pressures (evaluated through the ratioKa/Ksand ENC plots) is related to the the connectivity of the corresponding protein; iii) how PPI connectivities are modulated by evolutionary and functional relationships, as represented by the Clusters of Orthologous Proteins (COGs). We show that conservation, essentiality and functional specialization of genes control in a quite universal way the topology of the emerging bacterial PPI networks. Noteworthy, a structural transition in the network is observed such that, for connectivitiesk≥ 40, bacterial PPI networks are mostly populated by genes that are conserved, essential and which, in most cases, belong to the COG cluster J, related to ribosomal functions and to the processing of genetic information.
Age-related differences in negative cognitive empathy but similarities in positive affective empathy
Authors: Ziaei Maryam , Oestreich Lena , Reutens David C. , Ebner Natalie C. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractEmpathy, among other social-cognitive processes, changes across adulthood. More specifically, cognitive components of empathy (understanding another’s perspective) appear to decline with age, while findings for affective empathy (sharing another’s emotional state) are rather mixed. Structural and functional correlates underlying cognitive and affective empathy in aging and the extent to which valence affects empathic response in brain and behavior are not well understood yet. To fill these research gaps, younger and older adults completed a modified version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test, which measures both cognitive and affective empathy as well as empathic responding to both positive and negative stimuli (i.e., positive vs. negative empathy). Adopting a multimodal imaging approach and applying multivariate analysis, the study found that for cognitive empathy to negative emotions, regions of the salience network including the anterior insula and anterior cingulate were more involved in older than younger adults. For affective empathy to positive emotions, in contrast, younger and older adults recruited a similar brain network including main nodes of the default mode network. Additionally, increased structural integrity (fractional anisotropy values) of the posterior, but not the anterior, cingulum bundle was related to activation of default mode regions during affective empathy for positive emotions in both age groups. These findings provide novel insights into the functional networks subserving cognitive and affective empathy in younger and older adults and highlight the importance of considering valence in empathic response in aging research. Further this study, for the first time, underscores the role of the posterior cingulum bundle in higher-order social-cognitive processes such as empathy, specifically for positive emotions, in aging.