bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of language preference and home resources on foundational literacy retention during school holiday closures in Ghana: Lessons from the Complementary Basic Education Programme
Authors: Akyeampong Kwame , Carter Emma , Rose Pauline , Ryan Jennifer , Sabates Ricardo , Stern Jonathan M. B. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis article assesses the extent to which children’s language preference and their home environment matter for literacy retention. Using data from the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) program in Ghana, the authors found that large numbers of disadvantaged students reverted to not even being able to read a single word following school closures over a four-month holiday period. Widening literacy gaps were found for girls who reported they did not receive instruction in a language that they understood or did not have the resources, support, or activities at home to enable them to continue to learn while schools were closed. For boys, widening literacy gaps were only influenced by resources, support, or activities at home, but not by language preferences. The article findings suggest that schools and teachers must pay closer attention to language preference, particularly for girls, in order to ensure that language of instruction is not a barrier to literacy retention. The article also provides further evidence to support the growing claims that home supports are essential for reducing inequities in learning outcomes during school closures.
Trends in yeast diversity discovery
Authors: Boekhout Teun , Amend Anthony S. , El Baidouri Fouad , Gabaldón Toni , Geml József , Mittelbach Moritz , Robert Vincent , Tan Chen Shuhui , Turchetti Benedetta , Vu Duong , Wang Qi-Ming , Yurkov Andrey 
Published: December 2021

AbstractYeasts, usually defined as unicellular fungi, occur in various fungal lineages. Hence, they are not a taxonomic unit, but rather represent a fungal lifestyle shared by several unrelated lineages. Although the discovery of new yeast species occurs at an increasing speed, at the current rate it will likely take hundreds of years, if ever, before they will all be documented. Many parts of the earth, including many threatened habitats, remain unsampled for yeasts and many others are only superficially studied. Cold habitats, such as glaciers, are home to a specific community of cold-adapted yeasts, and, hence, there is some urgency to study such environments at locations where they might disappear soon due to anthropogenic climate change. The same is true for yeast communities in various natural forests that are impacted by deforestation and forest conversion. Many countries of the so-called Global South have not been sampled for yeasts, despite their economic promise. However, extensive research activity in Asia, especially China, has yielded many taxonomic novelties. Comparative genomics studies have demonstrated the presence of yeast species with a hybrid origin, many of them isolated from clinical or industrial environments. DNA-metabarcoding studies have demonstrated the prevalence, and in some cases dominance, of yeast species in soils and marine waters worldwide, including some surprising distributions, such as the unexpected and likely common presence ofMalasseziayeasts in marine habitats.
Models and methods to characterise levonorgestrel release from intradermally administered contraceptives
Authors: Al Dalaty Adnan , Gualeni Benedetta , Coulman Sion A. , Birchall James C. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractMicroneedle (MN)-based technologies have been proposed as a means to facilitate minimally invasive sustained delivery of long-acting hormonal contraceptives into the skin. Intradermal administration is a new route of delivery for these contraceptives and therefore no established laboratory methods or experimental models are available to predict dermal drug release and pharmacokinetics from candidate MN formulations. This study evaluates an in vitro release (IVR) medium and a medium supplemented with ex vivo human skin homogenate (SH) as potential laboratory models to investigate the dermal release characteristics of one such hormonal contraceptive that is being tested for MN delivery, levonorgestrel (LNG), and provides details of an accompanying novel two-step liquid–liquid drug extraction procedure and sensitive reversed-phase HPLC–UV assay. The extraction efficiency of LNG was 91.7 ± 3.06% from IVR medium and 84.6 ± 1.6% from the medium supplemented with SH. The HPLC–UV methodology had a limit of quantification of 0.005 µg/mL and linearity between 0.005 and 25 µg/mL. Extraction and detection methods for LNG were exemplified in both models using the well-characterised, commercially available sustained-release implant (Jadelle®). Sustained LNG release from the implant was detected in both media over 28 days. This study reports for the first time the use of biologically relevant release models and a rapid, reliable and sensitive methodology to determine release characteristics of LNG from intradermally administered long-acting drug delivery systems.
Graphical abstract
Effect of Media News on Radicalization of Attitudes to Immigration
Authors: Agovino Massimiliano , Carillo Maria Rosaria , Spagnolo Nicola 
Published: December 2021

AbstractRecent years have witnessed a growing aversion to immigration worldwide and, at the same time, radicalization of public opinion on the issue. This paper explores the relationship between media news and individual attitudes to immigration. We run an empirical analysis whereby an index capturing individuals’ pro-immigration attitude, measured in 19 countries, is regressed over indexes capturing the coverage and tone of media news about immigration. We find that pro-immigration attitudes are negatively correlated with media coverage and the negative tone of news. However, this correlation is significant only for those with high trust in the media. In the case of low trust, higher coverage of immigration and a negative news slant make previous preferences and beliefsvis-à-visimmigration more extreme, yielding a lower pro-immigration index for those politically on the right, while the opposite applies to those on the left. The pro-immigration index is constructed by means of fuzzy methods to account for the many aspects defining attitudes to immigration.
POINT AND INTERVAL FORECASTS OF DEATH RATES USING NEURAL NETWORKS
Authors: Schnürch Simon , Korn Ralf 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe Lee–Carter model has become a benchmark in stochastic mortality modeling. However, its forecasting performance can be significantly improved upon by modern machine learning techniques. We propose a convolutional neural network (NN) architecture for mortality rate forecasting, empirically compare this model as well as other NN models to the Lee–Carter model and find that lower forecast errors are achievable for many countries in the Human Mortality Database. We provide details on the errors and forecasts of our model to make it more understandable and, thus, more trustworthy. As NN by default only yield point estimates, previous works applying them to mortality modeling have not investigated prediction uncertainty. We address this gap in the literature by implementing a bootstrapping-based technique and demonstrate that it yields highly reliable prediction intervals for our NN model.
The Politics of Interdependent Independence in Black Religion: The Case of the Reverend George Freeman Bragg Jr., a Black Episcopal Priest
Authors: Turner Nicole Myers 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIn the Reconstruction period, Black religion and politics intersected and fostered ideas about black interdependent independence in predominantly white churches. We see this form of black religious politics exemplified in the experiences and ideas of the Reverend George Freeman Bragg Jr., a Black Episcopal priest who was educated at the Branch Theological School (BTS) in Petersburg, Virginia. It was upon the foundation of Bragg's experiences at the BTS, established as a racially segregated alternative to the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary (in Alexandria, Virginia), and in the Readjuster Movement (a biracial political coalition that controlled Virginia's legislature from 1879–1885), that he wrote histories of Black people in the Episcopal Church, histories that extolled black leadership, the need for (white) economic support for but also autonomous action of black churches and black leaders, and the efficacy of the Episcopal Church as a political training ground for black church members. Bragg's case both demonstrates how broadening the definitions of black religion reconfigures studies of religion, reconstruction, and Blackness, and expands our notions of Black political critique as deriving from more than the familiar binaries of protest and accommodation.
Why subtitle speed matters: Evidence from word skipping and rereading
Authors: Kruger Jan-Louis , Wisniewska Natalia , Liao Sixin 
Published: December 2021

AbstractHigh subtitle speed undoubtedly impacts the viewer experience. However, little is known about how fast subtitles might impact the reading of individual words. This article presents new findings on the effect of subtitle speed on viewers’ reading behavior using word-based eye-tracking measures with specific attention to word skipping and rereading. In multimodal reading situations such as reading subtitles in video, rereading allows people to correct for oculomotor error or comprehension failure during linguistic processing or integrate words with elements of the image to build a situation model of the video. However, the opportunity to reread words, to read the majority of the words in the subtitle and to read subtitles to completion, is likely to be compromised when subtitles are too fast. Participants watched videos with subtitles at 12, 20, and 28 characters per second (cps) while their eye movements were recorded. It was found that comprehension declined as speed increased. Eye movement records also showed that faster subtitles resulted in more incomplete reading of subtitles. Furthermore, increased speed also caused fewer words to be reread following both horizontal eye movements (likely resulting in reduced lexical processing) and vertical eye movements (which would likely reduce higher-level comprehension and integration).
OP196 Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) For Antibiotic Management: Factors Limiting Sustainable Digital Transformation
Authors: Laka Mah , Milazzo Adriana , Carter Drew , Merlin Tracy 
Published: December 2021

IntroductionClinical decision support systems (CDSS) are being developed to support evidence-based antibiotic prescribing and reduce the risk of inappropriate or over-prescribing; however, adoption of CDSS into the health system is rarely sustained. We aimed to understand the implementation challenges at a macro (policymakers), meso (organizational) and micro-level (individual practices) to identify the drivers of CDSS non-adoption.MethodsWe have adopted a mixed-method study design which comprised of: (i) systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the impact of CDSS on appropriate antibiotic prescribing, (ii) Online survey of clinicians in Australia from hospitals and primary care to identify drivers of CDSS adoption and (iii) in-depth interviews with policymakers to evaluate policy-level challenges and opportunities to CDSS implementation.ResultsCDSS implementation can improve compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines, with a relative decrease in mortality, volume of antibiotic use and length of hospital stay. However, CDSS provision alone is not enough to achieve these benefits. Important predictors of clinicians’ perception regarding CDSS adoption include the seniority of clinical end-users (years), use of CDSS, and the care setting. Clinicians in primary care and those with significant clinical experience are less likely to use CDSS due to a lack of trust in the system, fear of comprising professional autonomy, and patients’ expectations. Lack of important policy considerations for CDSS integration into a multi-stakeholder healthcare system has limited the organizational capacity to foster change and align processes to support the innovation.ConclusionsThese results using multiple lines of evidence highlight the importance of a holistic approach when undertaking health technology management. There needs to be system-wide guidance that integrates individual, organizational and system-level factors when implementing CDSS so that effective antibiotic stewardship can be facilitated.
PP90 Effectiveness Of Music Therapy For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dementia, Depression, Insomnia, And Schizophrenia
Authors: Gassner Lucia , Mayer-Ferbas Julia 
Published: December 2021

IntroductionMusic therapy (MT) is a complementary creative arts treatment aimed at maintaining, restoring, and furthering physical, emotional, and mental health. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of MT for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder, dementia, depression, insomnia, and schizophrenia. In addition, the MT methods used for these indications were analyzed.MethodsFor this update of five Cochrane reviews, four databases (Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO) were systematically searched for studies published from 2013 to 2020. Two review authors independently performed the study selection and data extraction. The methodological quality of the included trials was assessed using the Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials.ResultsTen RCTs (1,248 patients) met the inclusion criteria. For schizophrenia, no study could be included. MT improved the following: behavior, social communication, and the parent-child relationship in patients with autism; mood for patients with depression; and sleep quality for patients with insomnia. In patients with dementia, MT enhanced mood, behavior (severe disease stage), and cognitive function, whereas cognition was unchanged. Memory was improved only in the mild disease stage. None of the studies observed any significant long-term effects of MT in these patient groups. Both active (playing music) and receptive (listening to music) methods were used for dementia, whereas active methods were applied for autism spectrum disorder and depression. For insomnia, only receptive methods were used.ConclusionsThe findings of this update of reviews provides evidence that MT may help patients diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, dementia, depression, insomnia, or schizophrenia. It is crucial to focus on patient-related evidence-based health care. MT improves physical, psychological, and social aspects, but more research investigating the long-term effects of MT in these patient groups is needed as it is crucial to know how long the effects of MT last.
PP228 Strategy For Including Information On The Research Priorities Of Patients And Experts In Health Technology Assessment Reports
Authors: León-Salas Beatriz , Toledo-Chávarri Ana , Ramallo-Fariña Yolanda , Morales-Manrique Claudia , Rivas-Ruiz Francisco , Trujillo-Martín María M. 
Published: December 2021

IntroductionThe process of health technology assessment (HTA) is an opportunity to identify gaps in the existing knowledge on the technology assessed. In January 2020, the Evaluation Unit of the Canary Islands Health Service, belonging to the Spanish Network of Agencies for Assessing National Health System Technologies and Performance, started a structured strategy to include in its HTA reports information on research priorities for the assessed technologies from the perspective of patients, clinicians, and researchers. The aim of this poster is to explain the methodology behind this strategy.MethodsThe following three-step process was proposed:
(i)Identify the knowledge gaps regarding the technology from systematic reviews on effectiveness, safety, and cost effectiveness, in addition to ethical, patient, social, legal, and organizational aspects analyzed for the HTA report;(ii)Search for specific studies on research needs regarding the technology on the websites of specialized initiatives such as the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) and the James Lind Alliance; and(iiii)If no needs are identified in the previous two steps, consult a group of clinicians or researchers and patients related to the technology being assessed with two online survey rounds using the Delphi method. The first round identifies the research needs and the second round prioritizes the identified needs.ResultsSince the methodology to identify future research needs during a HTA process was designed, it has been used in three HTA reports during 2020 with satisfactory results. Only one of the three reports required a Delphi study.ConclusionsThe proposed strategy provides a comprehensive list of knowledge gaps on health technologies that need to be addressed in the near future from the point of view of patients, clinicians, and researchers.
PP261 Development Of A Mapping Algorithm To Predict SF-6D Values In People With Drug-Resistant Focal Onset Seizures
Authors: Flint India , Medjedovic Jasmina , O'Flaherty Ewa Drogon , Alvarez-Baron Elena , Thangavelu Karthinathan , Meunier Aurelie , Longworth Louise , Savic Natasa 
Published: December 2021

IntroductionFocal-onset-seizures (FOS) are commonly experienced by individuals with epilepsy and have a significant impact on quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to develop a mapping algorithm to predict the 6 dimension short form questionnaire (SF-6D) values in adults with FOS for use in economic evaluations of a new treatment, cenobamate.MethodsAn online survey, including questions on sociodemographic, disease history, the short form (SF) 36, and an epilepsy-specific measure (quality of life in epilepsy problems questionnaire, QOLIE-31-P) was administered to individuals with drug-resistant FOS in the top 5 EU countries (UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and France). A range of regression models were fitted to SF-6D scores including direct and response mapping approaches.ResultsThe analysis included 361 people. In the previous 28 days, the mean number of FOS experienced was three, (range: 0–43) and longest seizure-free period was 14 days (range: 1–28). Mean responses on all SF-36 dimensions were lower than general population norms. Mean SF-6D and QOLIE-31-P scores were 0.584 and 45.72, respectively. The best performing model was the ordinary least squares (OLS), with root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) values of 0.0977 and 0.0742, respectively. Explanatory variables which best predicted SF-6D included seizure frequency, seizure severity, seizure freedom, and age.ConclusionsPeople with drug-resistant FOS have poor QoL. The mapping algorithm enables the prediction of SF-6D values from clinical outcomes in individuals with drug-resistant FOS. It can be applied to outcome data from clinical trials to facilitate cost-utility analysis.
PP424 Piloting A Comprehensive Search For eHealth Definitions In The Grey Literature: Preliminary Results From A Systematic Scoping Review
Authors: Zrubka Zsombor , Burrell Anita , Sharkawy Menna N , Pfeiffer Colin M , Janodia Manthan D , Saylan Mete , van Steen Cecile , Motahari-Nezhad Hossein , Redekop Ken 
Published: December 2021

IntroductionThe use of information technology within health systems has emerged over the years and the current pandemic has further catalyzed this development. As a result, various definitions of eHealth have emerged. Our objective was to provide an overview of definitions available on the internet to complement the traditional (“white”) literature search.MethodsWe adapted methodological guidelines from the Cochrane Handbook and management sciences to mirror the search in bibliographic databases. A comprehensive Google search was performed in July 2020 to retrieve uniform resource locators (URL's) of webpages containing terms for eHealth within four words of synonyms for the word “definition”. The DataScraper extension of the Google Chrome browser was used to collect all URL's. Webpages were eligible if they contained an original or adopted English-language definition of eHealth or contained a direct link to a definition or a document containing a definition. All document types were eligible. The analysis was performed 7 months after the data collection.ResultsOut of the 270 unique URL's, 37 (13.7%) were no longer accessible and 51 (18.9%) were links to academic publications (“white” literature). The language was not English for five webpages (1.9%) and 113 (41.9%) did not contain a definition of eHealth or other related terms. Other related terms were defined in 29 webpages (10.7%), among which “electronic health record” occurred most frequently (18/29, 62.1%). eHealth was defined in 35 (13.0%) webpages, out of which 45.7 percent (16/35) cited an existing source and 54.3 percent (19/35) provided an original definition.ConclusionsThe digital era raises both challenges and opportunities in conducting a grey literature search. We found that an augmented Google-based search can identify valuable references that traditional literature searches cannot detect. Term definitions (and their context) found in the grey versus bibliographic databases will be compared to assess their alignment with health economists perspectives.
Prologue to truth: Argentina’s National Commission on the Disappeared and the authority of international law
Authors: Vázquez Guevara Valeria 
Published: December 2021

AbstractArgentina’s 1980s transition to democracy is globally admired for pioneering a state-led process addressing the 1976–1983 dictatorship’s state-violence. The role of international law in the transition is well documented, especially through human rights and crimes against humanity. Yet, the extent to which Argentina’s transition was intertwined with international law and subject to its jurisdictional force deserves greater attention. This article analyses how the Argentinian truth commission (TC) accounts for the dictatorship’s state-violence, and how international law is implicated in the making of this account. It argues that the TC’s account draws on the authority of international law to establish the unlawfulness of the dictatorship’s state-violence. In turn, the TC subjects the meaning and interpretation of the dictatorship’s state-violence to a Eurocentric/Anglo-American lawfulness embedded in, and mobilized by, international law in the late-Cold War. To examine this, the article re-reads the Prologue to the TC’s Report as a literary text that does international legal work, harnessing the authority of international law in a way that has enabled the TC to deploy an authoritative, internationally acceptable, account of the unlawfulness of the dictatorship’s state-violence. This reading is based on original archival research, on scholarship in the fields of ‘law and literature’ and the history and theory of international law.