bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unrelenting Growth and Diversification: Using the Health and Retirement Study to Illuminate Cannabis Use Among Aging Americans
Authors: Kaskie Brian , Bhagianadh Divya , Bobitt Julie , Martinos Fadi , Milavetz Gary , Arora Kanika 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Cannabis use among aging Americans continues to increase. We examine correlates of cannabis use including attitudes, state of residence, health status, and service use.

Research Design and Methods
Using the 2018 Health and Retirement Study Cannabis module completed by 1,372 respondents aged 50 and older, we distinguished current cannabis users from those who have never used or have some prior use. We linked 2018 and 2016 core HRS data and used multinomial regressions to identify associations among current use, attitudes, place of residence, as well as current (2018) and past (2016) medical conditions, pain, and sleep issues. We also examined associations among cannabis use, hospital stays, and outpatient medical visits.

Results
Past-year cannabis use reached 10.3% among aging Americans. Attitudes toward cannabis have changed over time with 4 of 5 survey respondents currently holding a favorable attitude. Attitude and state of residence were associated with current use. Cannabis users reported higher levels of pain, were more likely to use prescription opioids, and report activity limitations in both 2016 and 2018. Associations between cannabis use and sleep issues or concurrent healthcare use were not observed.

Discussion and Implications
Changing attitudes and state legalization appear important for late middle-aged and older persons, and as many as 1 of every 5 persons over 50 may be using cannabis by 2030. Cannabis use among aging Americans warrants increased attention from care providers, program administrators, and policymakers, especially as a prevention or harm reduction strategy relative to prescription opioids.
Untangling the complex implementation process of community-based health promotion: a multiple-case study in the Netherlands
Authors: Huiberts Irma , Singh Amika , Collard Dorine , Hendriks Mara , van Lenthe Frank, J , Chinapaw Mai 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Community-based programmes are a widely implemented approach for population health promotion. Due to the context-dependent and dynamic nature of these programmes, evaluating their implementation is challenging. Identifying key events in the implementation process in evaluation could enable us to support future implementation, while acknowledging the complexity of real-world implementation. We studied the nationwide implementation of the Dutch Healthy Youth, Healthy Future (JOGG) approach, a community-based programme for childhood overweight prevention. The aims of our study were (i) to gain insights into the implementation process of the JOGG approach, and (ii) to identify key events that influenced said process. In nine communities, we conducted interviews (n = 24) with coordinators and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the JOGG approach and collected documents on the programme’s implementation. We applied the analytical tool ‘Critical Event Card’ to identify key events in the implementation process. Results showed that in 5–10 years of implementing the JOGG approach, communities have undergone different phases: preparation, upscaling, resource mobilization, integration with other policy initiatives and adaptation of the implementation strategy. Key events influencing the implementation process included national policy developments (e.g. new health programmes), framing of the JOGG approach in local policy, staff turnover and coordination teams’ experiences and actions. Furthermore, changes in implementation were often triggered by the destabilization of the implementation process and linked to opportunities for change in the policy process. The identified key events can inform future implementation of the JOGG approach as well as other community-based health promotion programmes.
Schools of clerks, schools of knights: John Grandisson and Hugh de Courtenay’s French correspondence, 1329–40
Authors: Mills Edward 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
The private letters within the Register of John Grandisson (bishop of Exeter, 1327–69) provide a fascinating insight into the intellectual climate of his episcopate, and attest to his strained relationship with the immensely important local magnate Hugh de Courtenay. Based on a re-examination of the manuscript Register (now held at the Devon Heritage Centre), this article offers the first modern edition and translation of a series of exchanges between the two men during Grandisson’s episcopate. Grandisson’s replies represent an assertion of clerical authority, as the two men fought over what was – in one case, literally – contested terrain.
Brahmins and Balance of Power: Re-Reading A.P. Rana's Imperatives of Non-Alignment
Authors: Thakur Vineet 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
In this article, I revisit a modern classic, a book that is often cited but rarely analyzed: A.P. Rana's Imperatives of Non-Alignment. Appearing in 1976, the book was a culmination of decade-long work and claimed to be the first attempt at IR theory from India. Rana was indeed from the first generation of scholars who engaged deeply with International Relation (IR) theory, and the book drew on a range of, sometimes contradictory, theoretical perspectives from Systems Theory to Realism to English School to Hindu Social Theory. In this intervention, I analyze this book and the corpus of Rana's writings with an attempt to contribute to two themes within IR. First, I show how caste plays a prominent role in Rana's thinking about Indian strategies of foreign policy behavior. His analysis makes a case for seeing nonalignment as a historical continuation of a Brahminical mode of balancing. Consequently, this article is also an effort to place caste as a central category of IR theorization from India. Secondly, I discuss the specific ways in which Rana's realism adapted to its Cold War context and advanced a redemptive vision of realism.
Modern challenges in competition enforcement and the need for clearer goals of competition law
Authors: Schwartz Ori 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
The debate over the goals of competition law and the standard by which to apply it have been around, more or less, ever since competition laws were first enacted. In principle, they influence every decision made by a competition enforcer or a court, whether this decision is around cartels, mergers, abuse of dominant position or even advocacy. In recent years competition authorities have been operating in an environment which is unprecedently challenging. Enforcement in digital markets and labour markets, as well as the interplay between competition and environmental policy and the green transition, shift competition enforcement to undiscovered territories. With these contemporary challenges, enforcers are far more frequently faced with the need to have a clear perception of the goal of competition law and the standard according to which to apply it to make enforcement decisions. the need for clarifying, or even redefining, the goals of competition law and the standards by which these goals are achieved, should be seriously considered by the enforcers as well as by the policy makers, who, from a democratic perspective, should be the ultimate decision makers on policy issues. The need for legal certainty presents yet another argument in the same direction.
Identifying the capabilities for creating next-generation registries: a guide for data leaders and a case for “registry science”
Authors: Labkoff Steven E , Quintana Yuri , Rozenblit Leon 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Objective
The increasing demands for curated, high-quality research data are driving the emergence of a novel registry type. The need to assemble, curate, and export this data grows, and the conventional simplicity of registry models is driving the need for advanced, multimodal data registries—the dawn of the next-generation registry.

Materials and methods
The article provides an outline of the technology roles and responsibilities needed for successful implementations of next-generation registries.

Results
We propose a framework for the planning, construction, maintenance, and sustainability of this new registry type.

Discussion
A rubric of organizational, computational, and human resource needs is discussed in detail, backed by over 40 years of combined in-the-field experiences by the authors.

Conclusions
A novel field, registry science, within the clinical research informatics domain, has arisen to offer its insights into conceiving, structuring, and sustaining this new breed of tools.
Impact of Supplementing a Backgrounding Diet with Nonprotein Nitrogen on In Vitro Methane Production, Nutrient Digestibility, and Steer Performance
Authors: Vargas Juan de J , Tarnonsky Federico , Podversich Federico , Maderal Araceli , Fernandez-Marenchino Ignacio , Gómez-López Camila , Heredia Daniella , Schulmeister Tessa M , Ruiz-Ascacibar Isabel , Gonella-Diaza Angela , Ipharraguerre Ignacio R , DiLorenzo Nicolas 
Published: February 2024

AbstractTwo experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) supplementation on in vitro fermentation and animal performance using a backgrounding diet. In experiment 1, incubations were conducted on three separate days (replicates). Treatments were control (CTL, without NPN), urea (U), urea–biuret (UB), and urea–biuret–nitrate (UBN) mixtures. Except for control, treatments were isonitrogenous using 1% U inclusion as a reference. Ruminal fluid was collected from two Angus-crossbred steers fed a backgrounding diet plus 100 g of a UBN mixture for at least 35 d. The concentration of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3–N), in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), and total gas and methane (CH4) production were determined at 24 h of incubation. In experiment 2, 72 Angus-crossbred yearling steers (303 ± 29 kg of body weight [BW]) were stratified by BW and randomly allocated in nine pens (eight animals/pen and three pens/treatment). Steers consumed a backgrounding diet formulated to match the diet used in the in vitro fermentation experiment. Treatments were U, UB, and UBN and were isonitrogenous using 1% U inclusion as a reference. Steers were adapted to the NPN supplementation for 17 d. Then, digestibility evaluation was performed after 13 d of full NPN supplementation for 4 d using 36 steers (12 steers/treatment). After that, steer performance was evaluated for 56 d (24 steers/treatment). In experiment 1, NPN supplementation increased the concentration of NH3–N and VFA (P &lt; 0.01) without affecting the IVOMD (P = 0.48), total gas (P = 0.51), and CH4 production (P = 0.57). Additionally, in vitro fermentation parameters did not differ (P &gt; 0.05) among NPN sources. In experiment 2, NPN supplementation did not change dry matter and nutrient intake (P &gt; 0.05). However, UB and UBN showed lower (P &lt; 0.05) nutrient digestibility than U, except for starch (P = 0.20). Dry matter intake (P = 0.28), average daily gain (P = 0.88), and gain:feed (P = 0.63) did not differ among steers receiving NPN mixtures. In conclusion, tested NPN mixtures have the potential to be included in the backgrounding diets without any apparent negative effects on animal performance and warrant further studies to evaluate other variables to fully assess the response of feeding these novel NPN mixtures.
Cattle are more motivated for a high-concentrate diet than Sudan grass hay, despite low reticulorumen pH
Authors: Coon Rachael E , Tucker Cassandra B 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is characterized by chronic low ruminal pH, and occurs for feedlot cattle fed high-concentrate diets. Forages slow digestion and reduce acid production. We aimed to assess how motivated finishing cattle are to access forage (Sudan grass hay, SG) via their willingness to interact with an electrified barrier. Reticulorumen pH was measured to relate the results to digestive health. Twenty-eight animals fed a high-concentrate ration ad libitum had access to 4 L of one of two treatments (n = 14/treatment) fed 1×/d behind a barrier: 1) SG or 2) an additional offering of the normal ration (total mixed ration [TMR]). To access their treatment, the steer voluntarily pushed his muzzle against an electrified barrier. The electrical current was increased exponentially every 24 h (0, 156, 312, 625, 1,250, 2,500, 5,000 µA) until the animal ceased accessing it. Visits to the treatment were recorded continuously 24 h/d and reticulorumen pH was measured every 10 min. Time with a reticulorumen pH below 5.8 was 348 ± 101 and 280 ± 76 min/24 h for SG and TMR animals, respectively; these durations meet the criterion for SARA. However, animals with access to SG were less likely to advance to the next current than TMR animals (P &lt; 0.01) and were approximately 3× less willing to interact with higher currents than TMR (mean maximum current touched: 469 ± 169 and 1,380 ± 254 μA, respectively, mean ± SE, P = 0.01). Lower motivation to access SG was further demonstrated through fewer visits to the SG (2.4 ± 0.4 vs. 5.3 ± 0.6 #/d, P &lt; 0.01), and less SG consumed than TMR (32.0 ± 0.1 vs. 74.0 ± 0.0 %/d, P &lt; 0.01, measured as % due to weight differences of SG and TMR). Overall, finishing cattle valued the TMR more than SG, likely because of differences in the quantity offered, palatability, and familiarity. When rumen health was considered, SG animals visited more often (r = 0.5, P = 0.09) and showed fewer failed attempts (r = −0.5, P = 0.06) to access forage as the severity and duration of pH depression below 5.6, for example, increased. No measures of treatment use were related to pH depression for TMR animals (P ≥ 0.31). These findings provide evidence that cattle are motivated for Sudan grass hay when experiencing chronic low reticulorumen pH. However, they also contribute to the mixed evidence about the motivation for forage in this life stage, because, overall TMR was valued more highly than SG. Despite widespread pH depression, TMR cattle contrafreeloaded for additional concentration, demonstrating unexpectedly high motivation for this resource.
Association of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance with feed efficiency and production traits of finishing beef steers
Authors: Foote Andrew P , Salisbury Carlee M , King Mindy E , Rathert-Williams Abigail R , McConnell Hunter L , Beck Matthew R 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Increasing nutrient utilization efficiency is an important component of enhancing the sustainability of beef cattle production. The objective of this experiment was to determine the association of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance with dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), gain:feed ratio (G:F), and residual feed intake (RFI). Steers (n = 54; initial body weight = 518 ± 27.0 kg) were subjected to an intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) where glucose was dosed through a jugular catheter and serial blood samples were collected. Three days after the last group’s IVGTT, steers began a 63-d DMI and ADG test. Body weight was measured on days 0, 1, 21, 42, 62, and 63, and DMI was measured using an Insentec Roughage Intake Control system (Hokofarm Group, Emmeloord, the Netherlands). To examine relationships between DMI, ADG, G:F, and RFI with IVGTT measurements, Pearson correlations were calculated using Proc Corr of SAS 9.4 (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Additionally, cattle were classified based on DMI, ADG, RFI, and G:F, where the medium classification was set as mean ± 0.5 SD, the low classification was &lt; 0.5 SD from the mean, and the high classification was &gt; 0.5 SD from the mean. No associations between DMI and IVGTT parameters were observed, and no differences were detected when classifying cattle as having low, medium, or high DMI. Peak insulin concentration in response to the IVGTT tended to be correlated with ADG (r = 0.28; P = 0.07), indicating cattle with greater ADG tend to have a greater insulin release in response to glucose. Glucose nadir concentrations tended to be positively correlated with ADG (r = 0.26; P = 0.10). Additionally, the glucose nadir was greater in high-ADG steers (P = 0.003). The association of greater glucose nadir with high-ADG could indicate that high-ADG steers do not clear glucose as efficiently as low-ADG steers, potentially indicating increased insulin resistance. Further, RFI was not correlated with IVGTT measurements, but low RFI steers had a greater peak glucose concentration (P = 0.040) and tended to have a greater glucose area under the curve (P = 0.09). G:F was correlated with glucose area under the curve (r = 0.33; P = 0.050), glucose nadir (r = 0.35; P = 0.011), and insulin time to peak (r = 0.39; P = 0.010). These results indicate that glucose metabolism and insulin signaling are associated with growth and efficiency, but the molecular mechanisms that drive these effects need to be elucidated.
Demographic and disease-related factors impact bone turnover and vitamin D in children with hemato-oncological diseases
Authors: Jackmann Natalja , Gustafsson Jan , Utriainen Pauliina , Magnusson Per , Harila Arja , Atanasova Diana , Rinaldo Carina , Frisk Per , Mäkitie Outi 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Children with hemato-oncological diseases may have significant skeletal morbidity, not only during and after treatment but also at the time of diagnosis before cancer treatment. This study was designed to evaluate the vitamin D status and circulating bone metabolic markers and their determinants in children at the time of diagnostic evaluation for hemato-oncological disease.
This cross-sectional study included 165 children (91 males, median age 6.9 yr range 0.2–17.7 yr). Of them, 76 patients were diagnosed with extracranial or intracranial solid tumors, 83 with leukemia, and 6 with bone marrow failure. Bone metabolism was assessed by measuring serum 25OHD, PTH, bone alkaline phosphatase, intact N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen, and C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen.
Vitamin D deficiency was found in 30.9% of children. Lower 25OHD levels were associated with older age, lack of vitamin D supplementation, season outside summer, and a country of parental origin located between latitudes −45° and 45°. Children diagnosed with leukemia had lower levels of markers of bone formation and bone resorption than those who had solid tumors or bone marrow failure.
In conclusion, vitamin D deficiency was observed in one-third of children with newly diagnosed cancer. Bone turnover markers were decreased in children with leukemia, possibly because of the suppression of osteoblasts and osteoclasts by leukemic cells. The identification of patients with suboptimal vitamin D status and compromised bone remodeling at cancer diagnosis may aid in the development of supportive treatment to reduce the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment.
Long-term oral meclozine administration improves survival rate and spinal canal stenosis during postnatal growth in a mouse model of achondroplasia in both sexes
Authors: Funahashi Hiroto , Matsushita Masaki , Esaki Ryusaku , Mishima Kenichi , Ohkawara Bisei , Kamiya Yasunari , Takegami Yasuhiko , Ohno Kinji , Kitoh Hiroshi , Imagama Shiro 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Achondroplasia (ACH) is a skeletal dysplasia characterized by short-limbed short stature caused by the gain-of-function mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene. Activated FGFR3, which is a negative regulator of bone elongation, impairs the growth of long bones and the spinal arch by inhibiting chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. Most patients with ACH have spinal canal stenosis in addition to short stature. Meclozine has been found to inhibit FGFR3 via drug repurposing. A 10-d treatment with meclozine promoted long-bone growth in a mouse model of ACH (Fgfr3ach mice). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of long-term meclozine administration on promoting bone growth and the spinal canal in Fgfr3ach mice. Meclozine (2 mg/kg/d) was orally administered to Fgfr3ach mice for 5 d per wk from the age of 7 d to 56 d. Meclozine (2 mg/kg/d) significantly reduced the rate of death or paralysis and improved the length of the body, cranium, and long bones in male and female Fgfr3ach mice. Micro-computed tomography analysis revealed that meclozine ameliorated kyphotic deformities and trabecular parameters, including BMD, bone volume/tissue volume, trabecular thickness, and trabecular number at distal femur of Fgfr3ach mice in both sexes. Histological analyses revealed that the hypertrophic zone in the growth plate was restored in Fgfr3ach mice following meclozine treatment, suggesting upregulation of endochondral ossification. Skeletal preparations demonstrated that meclozine restored the spinal canal diameter in Fgfr3ach mice in addition to improving the length of each bone. The 2 mg/kg/d dose of meclozine reduced the rate of spinal paralysis caused by spinal canal stenosis, maintained the growth plate structure, and recovered the bone quality and growth of axial and appendicular skeletons of Fgfr3ach mice in both sexes. Long-term meclozine administration has the potential to ameliorate spinal paralysis and bone growth in patients with ACH.
Gastroscopy for dyspeptic symptoms in patients &lt;65 years has a low yield of clinically important findings: a retrospective study
Authors: Maracle Brooke , Crick Katelynn , Novak Kerri , Campbell-Scherer Denise , Veldhuyzen van Zanten Sander , Sadowski Daniel C 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background
Dyspepsia is a common, generally low-risk gastrointestinal condition. The American College of Gastroenterology and Canadian Association of Gastroenterology recommend avoiding gastroscopy in healthy patients &lt;60 years old. Many dyspeptic patients can be effectively managed in primary care. This study aimed to determine: (1) the proportion of gastroscopies performed for dyspepsia among patients &lt;65 years old with no alarm symptoms or clinically appropriate indications and (2) to determine the frequency of clinically actionable findings and dyspepsia-related healthcare utilization in the year following gastroscopy.

Methods
Outpatient endoscopy reports were sampled and reviewed retrospectively from 2019 to –2021 in Edmonton, Alberta to identify gastroscopies performed for the indication of dyspepsia. Gastroscopies were considered low-risk for significant endoscopic findings if age &lt;65, no alarm symptoms or other concerning indications, and insufficient evidence that first-line treatments and diagnostic approaches had been tried prior to gastroscopy. Clinically important findings were defined as those impacting management, not otherwise identifiable non-invasively.

Results
Of the 358 reviewed gastroscopies for dyspepsia, 293 (81.8%) had no alarm symptoms, and 130 (36.3%) had no alarm symptoms or other appropriate indications. Clinically important findings were identified in 9 (6.9%) of the 130 low-risk cases. In the year following, one patient (1/130) visited the emergency department 3 times for their symptoms and no patients required hospital admission. No malignancies were detected.

Conclusions
Many gastroscopies are performed on patients &lt;65 years old with dyspepsia, even when they lack alarm symptoms or other clinical indications, despite recommendations against this practice and low procedure yield. Strategies to improve the uptake of current guidelines may optimize endoscopy resource utilization.