bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A rising workfare state? Unemployment benefit conditionality in 21 OECD countries, 1980–2012
Authors: Knotz Carlo Michael 
Published: May 2018

AbstractOver the last decades, governments in the advanced democracies have put greater pressure on the unemployed to seek and accept employment. This development has been pointed out in much prior research, yet relatively little is known about the exact changes that have been introduced. This paper fills this gap. It draws on a novel time-series cross-section dataset on the strictness of unemployment benefit conditions and sanctions in 21 democracies between 1980 and 2012, and shows in which aspects these rules have become stricter – and in which not. The paper confirms that there has been a general trend toward tighter conditions and sanctions, but adds some important qualifications: Many rules and provisions have also been adapted in response to the emergence of new social risks and there is also a noticeable trend toward more clearly defined and precise rules. Based on these findings, new causal hypotheses are suggested.
The Impacts of Tax Reform on Agricultural Households
Authors: Beckman Jayson , Gopinath Munisamy , Tsigas Marinos 
Published: May 2018

AbstractEstimates of tax reform's impacts usually concentrate on macroeconomic impacts, but attention at the industry or sectoral level is often limited. Our study uses a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to estimate the disaggregated impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2018, which lowered personal and corporate tax rates. Focusing on agriculture, we use survey data to calculate how the TCJA would change the tax rates faced by farmers at the sector level. We use Internal Revenue Service data to calculate tax rates for all other producers. We then simulate the economy‐wide and sectoral effects of TCJA. We find that the TCJA would cause a reduction in agricultural output as resources would be reallocated to other sectors. Using our survey data, we extend the CGE results to measure the impacts to farm households—from changes in on‐ and off‐farm income. We find that most farm households would have income gains from tax reform. Our tax reform scenario highlights the fact that investment weighs heavily on model results. That is, firms that are attractive to domestic and foreign investment have gains in demand for their products, while other sectors, such as primary agriculture, experience decreases in production. A sensitivity analysis that reduces the attractiveness of the United States in foreign investment shows smaller impacts of TCJA, especially for macroeconomic variables.
ACBD3 is required for FAPP2 transferring glucosylceramide through maintaining the Golgi integrity
Authors: Liao Jing , Guan Yuxiang , Chen Wei , Shi Can , Yao Dongdong , Wang Fengsong , Lam Sin Man , Shui Guanghou , Cao Xinwang 
Published: May 2018

Abstract
Glycosphingolipid (GSL) metabolism is involved in various physiological processes, including all major cell signaling pathways, and its dysregulation is linked to some diseases. The four-phosphate adaptor protein FAPP2-mediated glucosylceramide (GlcCer) transport for complex GSL synthesis has been studied extensively. However, the molecular machinery of FAPP2 as a GlcCer-transferring protein remains poorly defined. Here, we identify a Golgi-resident protein, acyl-coenzyme A binding domain containing 3 (ACBD3), as an interacting partner of FAPP2. We find that ACBD3 knockdown leads to dramatic Golgi fragmentation, which subsequently causes FAPP2 dispersal throughout the cytoplasm and a decreased localization at trans-Golgi network. The further quantitative lipidomic analysis indicates that ACBD3 knockdown triggers abnormal sphingolipid metabolism. Interestingly, the expression of siRNA-resistant full-length ACBD3 can rescue these defects caused by ACBD3 knockdown. These data reveal critical roles for ACBD3 in maintaining the integrity of Golgi morphology and cellular sphingolipid homeostasis and establish the importance of the integrated Golgi complex for the transfer of GlcCer and complex GSL synthesis.
Illicit Cigarette Trade in Five South American Countries: A Gap Analysis for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru
Authors: Paraje Guillermo 
Published: May 2018

Abstract

Introduction
Because of its nature, it is very hard to measure illicit tobacco trade in any product. In the case of Latin American countries, there is scant information on the magnitude and characteristics of this cigarette trade. The goal of this article is to provide estimates on the evolution of the illicit cigarette trade in five South American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

Methods
Gap analysis estimates for cigarette tax evasion/avoidance (a comparison on the evolution of the difference between registered cigarette sales and measured population consumption) are developed for Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Nationally representative surveys, conducted regularly, are used to measure population consumption. Confidence intervals constructed by bootstrapping sample estimates are generated to statistically evaluate the evolution of the gap.

Results
Illicit cigarette trade has increased as a percentage of total sales in Brazil in recent years. In the case of Argentina, after a relative decrease between 2005 and 2009, it seems to have stabilized. There is no statistical evidence to argue that there has been an increase of illicit cigarette trade in Chile, Colombia, and Peru, despite substantial price increases in Chile and tax increase in both Colombia and Peru.

Conclusions
Using simple statistical methods, it is possible to assess the trend in illicit tobacco trade over time to better inform policy makers. Getting reliable and regular population consumption surveys can also help to track illicit tobacco trade. Claims by tobacco industry of a positive association between price/tax changes and illicit trade are unsubstantiated.

Implications
Evolution of illicit cigarette trade in five Latin American countries shows different trajectories, not in line with tobacco industry estimates, which highlight the importance of producing solid, independent estimates. There are inexpensive methodologies that can provide estimates of the evolution of the relative importance of illicit trade and can be used to inform policy makers.
Functional outcomes of internal fixation and arthroplasty in the treatment of intertrochanteric femoral fractures: a systematic review
Authors: Saeed Younis Ahmed , Mahmoud Shady , Salem Eid Ahmed , Khairy Mahmoud Amr 
Published: May 2018

Background:
Hip fractures are a common cause of morbidity, especially in the elderly. Treatment of extracapsular hip fractures is highly controversial. Fixation is the main treatment for this type of fracture including extramedullary and intramedullary fixation. The problem of fixation failure remains the main drawback. Many trials have shown that arthroplasty as an alternative option would have better functional results, especially in the early postoperative period. The aim of this review was to compare the functional outcomes of internal fixation versus arthroplasty in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures.

Methods:
Two reviewers searched the following databases: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Ovid, and Science Direct for randomized control trials (RCTs) and quasi-random trials comparing the outcomes of internal fixation and arthroplasty in the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. We assessed the quality of the studies meeting the eligibility criteria by using the Cochrane assessment tool. For measuring the outcomes, we used the mean difference with 95% confidence interval for continuous data and risk difference, with 95% confidence interval for dichotomous data.

Results:
The electronic search revealed 3402 citations. After removing duplicate articles, 3397 citations were screened for possible inclusion in the review. Of those 3273 citations were excluded by title or abstract. One hundred and twenty-four full text articles were assessed for eligibility. Six studies compared the results of fixation versus arthroplasty. A meta-analysis of the studies showed no difference in mean Harris Hip Score between groups (mean difference −7.51 [−12.28, −2.74). There was also no difference in the independence of ambulation at 1 yr (risk difference 0.01 [−0.17, 0.19]). The cost of treatment was higher in the arthroplasty group (mean difference 5898.00 [5364.00, 6432.00]). There was no difference in reoperation (risk difference −0.09 [−0.15, −0.03]) and mortality risks (risk difference −0.10 [−0.32, 0.12]).

Conclusions:
Although most patients with intertrochanteric fracture are treated successfully with internal fixation, arthroplasty could be useful in certain types of fractures. However, there is a lack of high-quality evidence to assist surgeons in deciding when to use this option.
Impact of a Vitamin D Replacement Algorithm in Children and Young Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Young Jennifer , Welin Elizabeth , Braeutigam Carina , Gilger Elizabeth , Lane Adam , Salloum Ralph 
Published: May 2018

Background:
Pediatric cancer patients have a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are at high risk for associated poor bone outcomes due to contributing effects of chemotherapy and supportive care. Evidence-based vitamin D guidelines are lacking in this population.

Materials and Methods:
This is a retrospective study following the implementation of an institutional guideline for standardized monitoring and supplementing vitamin D based on 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and patient age. Goal 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was defined as ≥30 ng/mL and levels were checked every 3 months.

Results:
Over a period of 22 months, 69 patients (median age, 6.7 y) were included. At diagnosis, 42 patients (60.8%) were insufficient. Among insufficient patients at diagnosis, 83.3% became sufficient at first repeat level following supplementation. At completion of the study 95.6% of patients were sufficient. Insufficiency was more common in winter than summer at baseline (74.3% vs. 47.1%, P=0.03), though the impact of seasonality was overcome following the algorithm. Throughout the study 4 patients had supratherapeutic but nontoxic levels.

Conclusions:
Vitamin D replacement guidelines implemented in the pediatric and young adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia population markedly increased the percentage of vitamin D sufficient patients in a short period of time.
The Accuracy of INECO Frontal Screening in the Diagnosis of Executive Dysfunction in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer Disease
Authors: Bahia Valéria S. , Cecchini Mário A. , Cassimiro Luciana , Viana Rene , Lima-Silva Thais B. , de Souza Leonardo Cruz , Carvalho Viviane Amaral , Guimarães Henrique C. , Caramelli Paulo , Balthazar Márcio L.F. , Damasceno Benito , Brucki Sônia M.D. , Nitrini Ricardo , Yassuda Mônica S. 
Published: May 2018

Introduction:
Executive dysfunction is a common symptom in neurodegenerative disorders and is in need of easy-to-apply screening tools that might identify it. The aims of the present study were to examine some of the psychometric characteristics of the Brazilian version of the INECO frontal screening (IFS), and to investigate its accuracy to diagnose executive dysfunction in dementia and its accuracy to differentiate Alzheimer disease (AD) from the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

Methods:
Patients diagnosed with bvFTD (n=18) and AD (n=20), and 15 healthy controls completed a neuropsychological battery, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, the Clinical Dementia Rating, and the IFS.

Results:
The IFS had acceptable internal consistency (α=0.714) and was significantly correlated with general cognitive measures and with neuropsychological tests. The IFS had adequate accuracy to differentiate patients with dementia from healthy controls (AUC=0.768, cutoff=19.75, sensitivity=0.80, specificity=0.63), but low accuracy to differentiate bvFTD from AD (AUC=0.594, cutoff=16.75, sensitivity=0.667, specificity=0.600).

Conclusion:
The present study suggested that the IFS may be used to screen for executive dysfunction in dementia. Nonetheless, it should be used with caution in the differential diagnosis between AD and bvFTD.
Medicare Expenditures and Health Care Utilization in a Multiethnic Community-based Population With Dementia From Incidence to Death
Authors: Ornstein Katherine A. , Zhu Carolyn W. , Bollens-Lund Evan , Aldridge Melissa D. , Andrews Howard , Schupf Nicole , Stern Yaakov 
Published: May 2018

Introduction:
While individuals live with dementia for many years, utilization and expenditures from disease onset through the end-of-life period have not been examined in ethnically diverse samples.

Methods:
We used a multiethnic, population-based, prospective study of cognitive aging (Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project) linked to Medicare claims to examine total Medicare expenditures and health care utilization among individuals with clinically diagnosed incident dementia from disease onset to death.

Results:
High-intensity treatment (hospitalizations, life-sustaining procedures) was common and mean Medicare expenditures per year after diagnosis was $69,000. Non-Hispanic blacks exhibited higher spending relative to Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites 1 year after diagnosis. Non-Hispanic blacks had higher total (mean=$205,000) Medicare expenditures from diagnosis to death compared with non-Hispanic whites (mean=$118,000). Hispanics’ total expenditures and utilization after diagnosis was similar to non-Hispanic whites despite living longer with dementia.

Discussion:
Health care spending for patients with dementia after diagnosis through the end-of-life is high and varies by ethnicity.
Ancient thioredoxins evolved to modern-day stability–function requirement by altering native state ensemble
Authors: Modi Tushar , Huihui Jonathan , Ghosh Kingshuk , Ozkan S. Banu 
Published: May 2018

Thioredoxins (THRXs)—small globular proteins that reduce other proteins—are ubiquitous in all forms of life, from Archaea to mammals. Although ancestral thioredoxins share sequential and structural similarity with the modern-day (extant) homologues, they exhibit significantly different functional activity and stability. We investigate this puzzle by comparative studies of their (ancient and modern-day THRXs') native state ensemble, as quantified by the dynamic flexibility index (DFI), a metric for the relative resilience of an amino acid to perturbations in the rest of the protein. Clustering proteins using DFI profiles strongly resemble an alternative classification scheme based on their activity and stability. The DFI profiles of the extant proteins are substantially different around the α3, α4 helices and catalytic regions. Likewise, allosteric coupling of the active site with the rest of the protein is different between ancient and extant THRXs, possibly explaining the decreased catalytic activity at low pH with evolution. At a global level, we note that the population of low-flexibility (called hinges) and high-flexibility sites increases with evolution. The heterogeneity (quantified by the variance) in DFI distribution increases with the decrease in the melting temperature typically associated with the evolution of ancient proteins to their modern-day counterparts.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Allostery and molecular machines’.
Mature dentate granule cells show different intrinsic properties depending on the behavioral context of their activation
Authors: Peret Angélique , Pléau Claire , Pearlstein Edouard , Scalfati Thomas , Marti Geoffrey , Michel François , Crépel Valérie 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe dentate gyrus (DG) plays a crucial role in learning, memory and spatial navigation. Only a small fraction of mature dentate granule cells (mDGCs) is active during behavior, while the large majority remains silent. To date, the properties of this active subset of neurons remain poorly investigated. Using fosGFP transgenic mice, we show ex vivo that activated mDGCs, from mice maintained in their home cage, exhibit a marked lower intrinsic excitability compared to the non-activated cells. Remarkably, activated mDGCs, from mice trained in a virtual environment, are more excitable than those from mice maintained in their home cage. Therefore, we show that activated mDGCs display different intrinsic properties and excitable states depending on the context of their activation. We propose that these properties could constitute a neural signature of cell assemblies recruited in different behavioral contexts.
Emergence and suppression of cooperation by action visibility in transparent games
Authors: Unakafov Anton M. , Schultze Thomas , Kagan Igor , Moeller Sebastian , Eule Stephan , Wolf Fred 
Published: May 2018

AbstractReal-world agents, such as humans, animals and robots, observe each other during interactions and choose their own actions taking the partners’ ongoing behaviour into account. Yet, classical game theory assumes that players act either strictly sequentially or strictly simultaneously (without knowing the choices of each other). To account for action visibility and provide a more realistic model of interactions under time constraints, we introduce a new game-theoretic setting called transparent game, where each player has a certain probability to observe the choice of the partner before deciding on its own action. Using evolutionary simulations, we demonstrate that even a small probability of seeing the partner’s choice before one’s own decision substantially changes evolutionary successful strategies. Action visibility enhances cooperation in a Bach-or-Stravinsky game, but disrupts cooperation in a more competitive iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma. In both games, strategies based on the “Win–stay, lose–shift” and “Tit-for-tat” principles are predominant for moderate transparency, while for high transparency strategies of “Leader-Follower” type emerge. Our results have implications for studies of human and animal social behaviour, especially for the analysis of dyadic and group interactions.
Predicting cell types in single cell mass cytometry data
Authors: Abdelaal Tamim , van Unen Vincent , Höllt Thomas , Koning Frits , Reinders Marcel J.T. , Mahfouz Ahmed 
Published: May 2018

AbstractMotivationMass cytometry (CyTOF) is a valuable technology for high-dimensional analysis at the single cell level. Identification of different cell populations is an important task during the data analysis. Many clustering tools can perform this task, however, they are time consuming, often involve a manual step, and lack reproducibility when new data is included in the analysis. Learning cell types from an annotated set of cells solves these problems. However, currently available mass cytometry classifiers are either complex, dependent on prior knowledge of the cell type markers during the learning process, or can only identify canonical cell types.ResultsWe propose to use a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) classifier to automatically identify cell populations in CyTOF data. LDA shows comparable results with two state-of-the-art algorithms on four benchmark datasets and also outperforms a non-linear classifier such as the k-nearest neighbour classifier. To illustrate its scalability to large datasets with deeply annotated cell subtypes, we apply LDA to a dataset of ~3.5 million cells representing 57 cell types. LDA has high performance on abundant cell types as well as the majority of rare cell types, and provides accurate estimates of cell type frequencies. Further incorporating a rejection option, based on the estimated posterior probabilities, allows LDA to identify cell types that were not encountered during training. Altogether, reproducible prediction of cell type compositions using LDA opens up possibilities to analyse large cohort studies based on mass cytometry data.AvailabilityImplementation is available on GitHub (https://github.com/tabdelaal/CyTOF-Linear-Classifier).Contacta.mahfouz@lumc.nl
Implementing new portable touchscreen-setups to enhance cognitive research and enrich zoo-housed animals
Authors: Schmitt Vanessa 
Published: May 2018

AbstractsTo understand the evolutionary development of cognition, comparing the cognitive capacities of different animal species is essential. However, getting access to various species with sufficient sample sizes can be very challenging. Zoos, housing large ranges of animal taxa, would offer ideal research environments, but zoo-based studies on cognition are still rare. The use of touchscreen-computers to explore the cognitive abilities of nonhuman animals has shown to be highly applicable, and simultaneously offers new enrichment possibilities for captive animals. To facilitate zoo-based research, I here illustrate the assembly and usage of newly developed touchscreen-computer-systems (Zoo-basedAnimal-Computer-Interaction System,ZACI), which can be used in various zoo environments and, importantly, with different taxa (e.g. primates, birds). The developed setups are portable, can be attached to various mesh sizes, and do not need any external power supply while being used. To evaluate the usability of the ZACI, they have been tested with experimentally naïve subjects of three great ape species (orang-utans, chimpanzees, gorillas) housed at Zoo Heidelberg, Germany, demonstrating to be easy to handle, animal-proof, and of great interest to the animals. Animals could be tested within their social group, as each subject had access to its own device during testing. To support the implementation of touchscreen-setups at other facilities, I also illustrate the training procedure and present first data on the apes’ performance in a simple object discrimination task. Portable touchscreen-setups offer the great possibility to enhance collaboration between zoos and researchers, allow a standardisation of methods, and improve data collection.
Chimeric antigen receptors that trigger phagocytosis
Authors: Morrissey Meghan A. , Williamson Adam P. , Steinbach Adriana M. , Roberts Edward W. , Kern Nadja , Headley Mark B. , Vale Ronald D. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractChimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are synthetic receptors that reprogram T cells to kill cancer. The success of CAR-T cell therapies highlights the promise of programmed immunity, and suggests that applying CAR strategies to other immune cell lineages may be beneficial. Here, we engineered a family of Chimeric Antigen Receptors for Phagocytosis (CAR-Ps) that direct macrophages to engulf specific targets, including cancer cells. CAR-Ps consist of an extracellular antibody fragment, which can be modified to direct CAR-P activity towards specific antigens. By screening a panel of engulfment receptor intracellular domains, we found that the cytosolic domains from Megf10 and FcRγ robustly triggered engulfment independently of their native extracellular domain. We show that CAR-Ps drive specific engulfment of antigen-coated synthetic particles and whole cancer cells. Addition of a tandem PI3K recruitment domain increased cancer cell engulfment. Finally, we show that CAR-P expressing macrophages reduce cancer cell number in co-culture by over 40%.SummaryWe report the first Chimeric Antigen Receptors for Phagocytosis (CAR-Ps) that promote engulfment of antigen-coated particles and cancer cells.