bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Educational Disparities in Age-Related Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use Across Age, Gender, and European Region
Authors: Stonkute Donata , Vierboom Yana 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Objectives
Affecting 1 in 5 adults in Europe, hearing loss (HL) is linked to adverse health outcomes, including dementia. We aim to investigate educational inequalities in hearing health in Europe and how these inequalities change with age, gender, and region.

Methods
Utilizing 2004–2020 data from the Harmonized Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), a representative sample of Europeans aged 50 and older, we analyze: (1) age-standardized prevalence of HL and hearing aid (HA) use among eligible individuals and (2) educational inequalities therein using the Relative Index of Inequality across age, gender, and European regions.

Results
The prevalence of self-reported HL increases with age, is greater among men, and is consistently higher among those with lower levels of education. At age 50–64, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe, low-educated women experience more than 3 times the risk of HL compared to highly educated women. These inequalities diminish as women age. Northern Europe is a front-runner in meeting HA needs. Southern and Eastern Europe lag behind, with less than 2 in 10 individuals eligible for HAs utilizing them.

Discussion
Substantial variations in the educational gradient of hearing health across age, gender, and European regions underscore the importance of targeting specific subpopulations in efforts to mitigate health inequalities. Of particular concern is the regional discrepancy between the prevalence of HL and the use of HAs. The example of Northern Europe suggests that there is unused potential to improve healthy aging in Europe through enhanced access to HAs.
State-level variation in access to long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy for HIV in the United States
Authors: Zalla Lauren C , Horn Tim , Lujintanon Sita , Lesko Catherine R 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy (LAI-ART) is expected to improve health outcomes among persons with HIV. Yet, uptake has been slow and data on potential barriers to access are sparse. We used medication formulary data from state Medicaid and AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) to examine state-level variation in access to LAI-ART among uninsured and low-income persons with HIV. We identified substantial coverage gaps: cabotegravir/rilpivirine was not covered without prior authorization by 26 state Medicaid programs and not covered at all by 15 state ADAPs; lenacapavir was not covered without prior authorization by 32 Medicaid programs and not covered at all by 18 ADAPs. As a result of these gaps, many US persons with HIV are currently unable to access LAI-ART. Policies that increase access are needed to ensure the equitable distribution of LAI-ART. As states work to reduce supply and payment chain barriers, the US Department of Health and Human Services, notably its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration, should provide increased federal assistance, guidance, and oversight to improve LAI-ART access among people with HIV.
Publishers face antitrust lawsuit with potential implications for peer review, duplicate submission, and dissemination practices
Authors: Curfman Gregory 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishers follow 3 basic tenets: (1) no compensation for peer reviewers; (2) manuscript submission only to one journal; and (3) no dissemination of manuscripts while under review. An antitrust lawsuit was filed in federal district court against STM publishers challenging these tenets. The lawsuit will have important implications for how STM research is published and will also affect authors and editors. Academic researchers (plaintiffs) who have served as authors and reviewers allege that the 6 largest STM publishers (defendants) have conspired to require authors to abide by the 3 basic tenets. The plaintiffs argue that the publishers have substantial market power, pursue anticompetitive policies, and violate Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This article focuses principally on the second tenet, that research manuscripts may be submitted to only one journal. This requirement, which the plaintiffs believe is an antitrust violation, is not a feature of law journals, where multiple simultaneous submissions of manuscripts are a central part of the publishing process. This article will explain how the court may approach the legal analysis in this lawsuit and the important implications of the outcome of this litigation for the scholarly publishing ecosystem.
The Framing of Federal Investigations: Exploring How Frames Altered the Impact of the Hur Report on Citizens’ Impressions
Authors: Fridkin Kim , Kenney Patrick J 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
The frames used to describe political events can powerfully influence the public’s understanding, interpretation, and evaluation of events. In this research note, we examine how the framing of a federal investigation of a sitting president can alter views of the investigation as well as evaluations of the president. In February 2024, Special Counsel Robert Hur released his year-long investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. We conduct a survey experiment to compare the impact of alternative framing of the Hur report. We find that alternative frames (i.e., the original Hur frame v. an alternative frame) significantly and consistently influence people’s views of the report’s findings. We also show that differing views of the report’s findings ultimately influence changes in evaluations of Joe Biden. Our results demonstrate how the framing of investigative findings by government officials can dramatically alter citizens’ assessments, producing consequential political evaluations.
Antibiotic duration for common bacterial infections—a systematic review
Authors: Mo Yin , Tan Wei Cong , Cooper Ben S 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background
Reducing antibiotic duration is a key stewardship intervention to mitigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We examined current evidence informing antibiotic duration for common bacterial infections to identify any gaps in terms of settings, patient populations and infectious conditions. Trial methodologies were assessed to identify areas for improvement.

Methods
MEDLINE and Embase were searched up to July 2024 for randomized trials comparing antibiotic durations in hospital and community settings (PROSPERO 2021, CRD42021276209). A narrative synthesis of the results was performed with a review on the major guidelines published by IDSA, NICE, WHO and other international societies to assess the impact of these trials on practice guidance.

Results
Out of 315 studies, 85% concluded equivalence or non-inferiority of shorter courses. Adult bacterial sinusitis, community-acquired pneumonia, female cystitis/pyelonephritis, uncomplicated cellulitis and intra-abdominal infection with adequate source control and perioperative prophylaxis had robust evidence supporting shorter durations. Few trials studied severe infections, such as bloodstream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Twenty-three (7%) of the trials were conducted in intensive care settings and only 43 trials (14%) enrolled patients from low-to-middle- or low-income countries. Only 15% of studies were at low risk for bias.

Conclusions
Reducing antibiotic duration likely remains an important strategy for antibiotic stewardship, and an area of active research. While shorter antibiotic courses may be suitable for many bacterial infections, more evidence is needed for severe infections and in low- and middle-income settings.
An audit of antibiotic prescriptions: an antimicrobial stewardship pre-implementation study at a tertiary care public hospital
Authors: Cassim Jowhara , Essack Sabiha Y , Chetty Sarentha 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Objective
To audit the prescribing of antibiotics at a tertiary-level public hospital, in preparation for the implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship programme.

Methods
A retrospective audit of antibiotic prescriptions for the period April 2020 to June 2020 was conducted to ascertain appropriate antibiotic prescribing based on a set of process measures, which included whether cultures were taken before the initiation of empirical antibiotics, the duration of antibiotic therapy, de-escalation to a narrower spectrum antibiotic, the concurrent use of four or more antibiotics, documented indication for antibiotic use, and parenteral to oral conversion. Statistics were calculated using Stata (Version 17).

Results
A total of 380 patient medical charts were reviewed. It was noted that there were no standalone antibiotic charts, and antibiotics were prescribed alongside other medication in one prescription record. There was non-compliance to one or more of the process measures in two-thirds of antibiotic prescriptions audited. Excessive duration of therapy was evident in 3.16% (12) prescriptions. There were 18 (4.74%) instances in which de-escalation to a narrower spectrum antibiotic based on susceptibility results did not occur. Only a small proportion of patients were switched from parenteral to oral antibiotics (n = 12, 3.16%). Some of the additional findings included redundant antibiotic coverage (n = 137, 36.05%) and prescription of an antibiotic that did not align with the susceptibility results (n = 98, 25.79%).

Conclusions
Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing did occur in some cases. The results from this pre-implementation study highlight the importance of introducing antimicrobial stewardship interventions with process and outcome measures.
Enhancing the general public knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa: a video-based Brief Educational Resource Review
Authors: Nkaiwuatei Jimmy , Hamza Hafeez , Akbi Samar , Muzondo Ngoni 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background
The ability of microorganisms to resist antimicrobial medicines is called antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR awareness among the general public may be increased via a variety of approaches including the use of social media campaigns, traditional media, influencer outreach storytelling, community theatre, interactive games and quizzes and art and music. This analysis aims to evaluate YouTube videos to educate the general public about AMR.

Methods
A content analysis was performed on the AMR educational videos that were retrieved from YouTube using the following keyword phrases: ‘what is antimicrobial resistance’, ‘causes of antimicrobial resistance’ and ‘prevention of antimicrobial resistance’.

Results
A total of 74 AMR educational videos were identified and analysed based on predefined selection criteria. Subsequently, three online videos that met the inclusion criteria were selected and analysed.

Conclusions
The analysed AMR educational videos were easily accessible and comprehensible, and serve as valuable resources for promoting AMR awareness and education among the general population.
Biases in the performance of FRAX without BMD in predicting fracture risk in a multiethnic population with diabetes: the Diabetes & Aging Study
Authors: Jain Rajesh K , Liu Jennifer Y , Grant Richard W , Haider Shanzay , Huang Elbert S , Laiteerapong Neda , Lipska Kasia J , Lo Joan C , Moffet Howard H , Parker Melissa M , Karter Andrew J 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Fracture risk calculators, such as the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX), calculate the risk of major osteoporotic (MOF) and hip fracture, but do not account for the excess risk of fracture in people with diabetes. We examined the predictive performance of FRAX without BMD in ethnically diverse, older patients with diabetes. Patients included were between ages 65-89 from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Diabetes Registry and not already taking osteoporosis medications. Race and ethnicity were self-identified. We calculated FRAX without BMD based on baseline characteristics and assessed how well FRAX predicted MOF and hip fracture over follow-up. Predictive performance was based on measures of discrimination (area under the receiver operator curve, AUC) and calibration (observed-to-predicted ratio, O/P). We identified 96 914 patients (47.0% female), of whom 5383 (5.6%) and 1767 (1.8%) had MOF and hip fracture, respectively, over a mean follow-up of 4.3 years. The AUC for MOF and hip fracture were 0.72 and 0.77, respectively. FRAX mildly underestimated MOF and hip fracture rates (O/P 1.2 for both) overall. Discrimination was similar by race and ethnicity and diabetes duration but was worse in those over age 75 (AUC &lt; 0.7). In some groups, there were substantial calibration errors, such as Hispanic women (O/P: 1.8 and 1.5), Black men (O/P: 1.5 and 1.8), those with duration of diabetes ≥20 years (O/P: 1.6 and 1.5), and those over the age of 80 (O/P: 1.4 and 1.2) for MOF and hip fracture, respectively. While the discriminatory performance of FRAX without BMD was good overall in patients with diabetes, it underestimated risk in Hispanic women, Black men, those with long duration of diabetes, and in the oldest patients with diabetes. These algorithmic biases suggest that diabetes-specific tools may be needed to stratify fracture risk in patients with diabetes.
Phase 2 randomized study of abobotulinumtoxinA in patients with provoked vestibulodynia: dose-finding results
Authors: Goldstein Andrew , Rubin Rachel , Dahir Melissa , Goldstein Irwin , Faught Brooke M , Bohm-Starke Nina , Krapf Jill , Caetano Peter , Volteau Magali , Silva Robert 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background
Hypertonicity of the pelvic floor muscles is commonly associated with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD); therefore, patients may benefit from treatments that relax the pelvic floor.

Aim
To define optimal (safe and efficacious) doses of abobotulinumtoxinA (aboBoNT-A) for the treatment of PVD associated with hypertonic pelvic floor muscle dysfunction and to explore use of a novel endpoint for pain assessment for PVD.

Methods
This phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled study comprised two steps: dose escalation (Stage 1) and dose expansion (Stage 2). Stage 1 included up to four treatment cycles; Cycle 1 was double blind, Cycles 2–4 open label. Patients were assessed for retreatment every 6 weeks. Stage 2 was not conducted because of early study termination by the sponsor, unrelated to observed safety signals. Enrolled patients—premenopausal women with PVD with associated pelvic-floor hypertonia—were randomized (n = 60) 4:1 to receive aboBoNT-A (doses: 100, 300, 400, or 500 units [U]) or placebo.

Outcomes
The primary endpoint was safety. Additionally, a novel composite endpoint, dilator maximum tested size was evaluated. This endpoint combined assessment of vaginal-dilator tolerability with patient-reported pain assessment on an 11-point numeric rating scale, used as a surrogate measure of sexual activity in this study.

Results
All treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) were mild or moderate in intensity, with no serious AEs or AEs leading to withdrawal reported in the double-blind period. AEs of special interest (urinary incontinence, anal sphincter atonia) were observed at low incidence and predominantly with higher aboBoNT-A doses. The dilator test composite score might be a useful endpoint for pain assessment, with a greater reduction in pain score noted for the 300 U dose group compared with other dose groups and placebo.

Clinical implications
aboBoNT-A was well tolerated in patients with PVD and a novel method for assessing dilator-induced pain was introduced.

Strengths and limitations
The study provided valuable data on use of aboBoNT-A in women with primary or secondary PVD and introduced a novel composite endpoint for assessing dilator-induced pain. Study limitations included the small sample size, limiting formal statistical analysis.

Conclusion
aboBoNT-A was well tolerated in patients with PVD with no safety signals reported. Further studies are warranted to demonstrate clinically meaningful benefits with repeated treatment.

Clinical trial registration number
NCT03598777.
Is the JWST detecting too many AGN candidates?
Authors: Habouzit Melanie 
Published: January 2025

ABSTRACT
In less than two years of operation, the JWST has already accelerated significantly our quest to identify active massive black holes (BHs) in the first billion years of the Universe’s history. At the time of writing, about 50 active galactic nucleus (AGN) detections and candidates have been identified through spectroscopy, photometry, and/or morphology. Broad-line AGN are about a hundred times more numerous than the faint end of the UV-bright quasar population at $z\sim 5{-}6$. In this paper, we compare the observational constraints on the abundance of these AGN at $z\sim 5$ to the populations of AGN produced in large-scale cosmological simulations. Assuming a null fraction of obscured simulated AGN, we find that while some simulations produce more AGN than discovered so far, some others produce a similar abundance or even fewer AGN in the bolometric luminosity range probed by JWST. Keeping in mind the large uncertainty on the constraints, we discuss the implications for the theoretical modelling of BH formation and evolution in case similar constraints continue to accumulate. At the redshift of interest, the simulated AGN populations diverge the most at $L_{\rm bol}\sim 10^{44}\, {\rm erg\, s}^{-1}$ (by more than a dex in the bolometric luminosity function). This regime is most affected by incompleteness in JWST surveys. However, it holds significant potential for constraining the physical processes determining the assembly of BHs (e.g. seeding, feedback from supernova, and AGN) and the current abundance of broad-line AGN with $\geqslant 10^{44.5}\, {\rm erg\, s}^{-1}$.
The Mystery of Alpha and the Isotopes
Authors: Webb John K , Lee Chung-Chi , Milaković Dinko , Flambum Victor V , Dzuba Vladimir A , Magueijo João 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
We report unbiased AI measurements of the fine structure constant α in two proximate absorption regions in the spectrum of the quasar HE0515−4414. The data are high resolution, high signal to noise, and laser frequency comb calibrated, obtained using the ESPRESSO spectrograph on the VLT. The high quality of the data and proximity of the regions motivate a differential comparison, exploring the possibility of spatial variations of fundamental constants, as predicted in some theories. We show that if the magnesium isotopic relative abundances are terrestrial, the fine structure constants in these two systems differ at the 7σ level. A 3σ discrepancy between the two measurements persists even for the extreme non-terrestrial case of 100% 24Mg, if shared by both systems. However, if Mg isotopic abundances take independent values in these two proximate systems, one terrestrial, the other with no heavy isotopes, both can be reconciled with a terrestrial α, and the discrepancy between the two measurements falls to 2σ. We cannot rule out other systematics that are unaccounted for in our study that could masquerade as a varying alpha signal. We discuss varying constant and varying isotope interpretations and resolutions to this conundrum for future high precision measurements.
Molecular and Functional Convergences Associated with Complex Multicellularity in Eukarya
Authors: Pereira Lobo Francisco , Benjamim Dalbert Macedo , da Silva Thieres Tayroni Martins , de Oliveira Maycon Douglas 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
A key trait of Eukarya is the independent evolution of complex multicellularity in animals, land plants, fungi, brown algae, and red algae. This phenotype is characterized by the initial exaptation of cell–cell adhesion genes followed by the emergence of mechanisms for cell–cell communication, together with the expansion of transcription factor gene families responsible for cell and tissue identity. The number of cell types is commonly used as a quantitative proxy for biological complexity in comparative genomics studies. While expansions of individual gene families have been associated with variations in the number of cell types within individual complex multicellular lineages, the molecular and functional roles responsible for the independent evolution of complex multicellular across Eukarya remain poorly understood. We employed a phylogeny-aware strategy to conduct a genomic-scale search for associations between the number of cell types and the abundance of genomic components across a phylogenetically diverse set of 81 eukaryotic species, including species from all complex multicellular lineages. Our annotation schemas represent 2 complimentary aspects of genomic information: homology, represented by conserved sequences, and function, represented by Gene Ontology terms. We found many gene families sharing common biological themes that define complex multicellular to be independently expanded in 2 or more complex multicellular lineages, such as components of the extracellular matrix, cell–cell communication mechanisms, and developmental pathways. Additionally, we describe many previously unknown associations of biological themes and biological complexity, such as expansions of genes playing roles in wound response, immunity, cell migration, regulatory processes, and response to natural rhythms. Together, our findings unveil a set of functional and molecular convergences independently expanded in complex multicellular lineages likely due to the common selective pressures in their lifestyles.
Telomemore enables single-cell analysis of cell cycle and chromatin condensation
Authors: Yakovenko Iryna , Mihai Ionut Sebastian , Selinger Martin , Rosenbaum William , Dernstedt Andy , Gröning Remigius , Trygg Johan , Carroll Laura , Forsell Mattias , Henriksson Johan 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Single-cell RNA-seq methods can be used to delineate cell types and states at unprecedented resolution but do little to explain why certain genes are expressed. Single-cell ATAC-seq and multiome (ATAC + RNA) have emerged to give a complementary view of the cell state. It is however unclear what additional information can be extracted from ATAC-seq data besides transcription factor binding sites. Here, we show that ATAC-seq telomere-like reads counter-inituively cannot be used to infer telomere length, as they mostly originate from the subtelomere, but can be used as a biomarker for chromatin condensation. Using long-read sequencing, we further show that modern hyperactive Tn5 does not duplicate 9 bp of its target sequence, contrary to common belief. We provide a new tool, Telomemore, which can quantify nonaligning subtelomeric reads. By analyzing several public datasets and generating new multiome fibroblast and B-cell atlases, we show how this new readout can aid single-cell data interpretation. We show how drivers of condensation processes can be inferred, and how it complements common RNA-seq-based cell cycle inference, which fails for monocytes. Telomemore-based analysis of the condensation state is thus a valuable complement to the single-cell analysis toolbox.