Diverse Claims Research Articles

Public agreement with misinformation about wind farms

Misinformation campaigns target wind farms, but levels of agreement with this misinformation among the broader public are unclear. Across six nationally quota-based samples in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia (total N = 6008), over a quarter of respondents agree with half or more of contrarian claims about wind farms. Agreement with diverse claims is highly correlated, suggesting an underlying belief system directed at wind farm rejection. Consistent with this, agreement is best predicted (positively) by a conspiracist worldview (i.e., the general tendency to believe in conspiracy theories; explained variance ΔR² = 0.11–0.20) and (negatively) by a pro-ecological worldview (ΔR² = 0.04–0.13). Exploratory analyses show that agreement with contrarian claims is associated with lower support for pro-wind policies and greater intentions to protest against wind farms. We conclude that wind farm contrarianism is a mainstream phenomenon, rooted in people’s worldviews and that poses a challenge for communicators and institutions committed to accelerating the energy transition.

A framework for quantifying individual and collective common sense

The notion of common sense is invoked so frequently in contexts as diverse as everyday conversation, political debates, and evaluations of artificial intelligence that its meaning might be surmised to be unproblematic. Surprisingly, however, neither the intrinsic properties of common sense knowledge (what makes a claim commonsensical) nor the degree to which it is shared by people (its "commonness") have been characterized empirically. In this paper, we introduce an analytical framework for quantifying both these elements of common sense. First, we define the commonsensicality of individual claims and people in terms of the latter's propensity to agree on the former and their awareness of one another's agreement. Second, we formalize the commonness of common sense as a clique detection problem on a bipartite belief graph of people and claims, defining [Formula: see text] common sense as the fraction [Formula: see text] of claims shared by a fraction [Formula: see text] of people. Evaluating our framework on a dataset of [Formula: see text] raters evaluating [Formula: see text] diverse claims, we find that commonsensicality aligns most closely with plainly worded, fact-like statements about everyday physical reality. Psychometric attributes such as social perceptiveness influence individual common sense, but surprisingly demographic factors such as age or gender do not. Finally, we find that collective common sense is rare: At most, a small fraction [Formula: see text] of people agree on more than a small fraction [Formula: see text] of claims. Together, these results undercut universalistic beliefs about common sense and raise questions about its variability that are relevant both to human and artificial intelligence.

Do Diversity Claims Cause Labor Market Sorting by Political Partisanship? Evidence from Experiments

Do Diversity Claims Cause Labor Market Sorting by Political Partisanship? Evidence from Experiments

A viable form of teleparallel F(T) theory of gravity

Unlike F(R) gravity, pure F(T) gravity in the vacuum dominated era does not produce any form, viable to study cosmological evolution. Factually, it does not even produce any dynamics. This eerie situation may be circumvented by associating a scalar field, which can also drive inflation in the very early universe. Here, we particularly show that, despite diverse claims, F(T) theory admits Noether symmetry only in the pressure-less dust era in the form F(T) propto T^n, ~n being odd integers. A suitable form of F(T), admitting inflation in the very early universe, a viable Friedmann-like radiation dominated era, together with early deceleration and late-time accelerated expansion in the pressure-less dust era, has been proposed.

Metal Ions versus Protons: Tracking of Charge‐Carrier Insertion into a Cathode Oxide in Aqueous Rechargeable Batteries

AbstractProtons in aqueous electrolytes can perform as an additional type of charge carrier for insertion/extraction in addition to the primary carrier cations in aqueous rechargeable batteries. Despite many diverse claims regarding the effect of protons, mutually conflicting experimental results and their interpretations without direct evidence have been reported over the last decade. Systematic examinations and analyses are thus imperative to clarify the conditions of proton insertion in aqueous rechargeable batteries. Utilizing V2O5 as a model cathode and beaker‐type cells with a sufficient amount of ZnSO4 aqueous electrolytes in this work, it is demonstrated that protons are inserted into the cathode prior to Zn‐ions in low‐pH conditions (pH ≤ 3.0). In stark contrast, the influence of protons on the discharge voltage and capacity is insignificant, when either the pH becomes higher (pH ≥ 4.0) or the electrolyte volume is considerably low in coin‐type cells. Similar behavior of pH‐dependent proton insertion is also verified in Na–, Mg–, and Al‐ion electrolytes. Providing a resolution to the controversy regarding proton insertion, the present study emphasizes that the influence of protons substantially varies depending on the pH and relative volume of electrolytes in aqueous batteries.

The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985

The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985

Pragmatism, skepticism, and over-compatibilism: on Michael Hannon’s What’s the Point of Knowledge?

ABSTRACT Function-first approaches illuminate phenomena by investigating their functional roles. I first describe virtues of this approach. By foregrounding normal instances of knowledge, for example, function-first theorising offers a much-needed corrective to epistemology's counterexample-driven momentum towards increasingly byzantine, marginal cases. And epistemic practices are shaped by human limitations, needs, vices, and power relations. These non-ideal, naturalistic forces of embodied sociality form the roots of function-first theorising, which creates a fecund foundation for social epistemology. Secondly, I consider an objection to function-first theorising. The objection holds that function-first approaches lack adjudicatory power. That is, function-first proposals are overly compatible with diverse claims about knowledge, which encourages “just so” speculation. In response to this concern, I advocate methodological pluralism in epistemological theorising. All methods have limitations; researchers must be mindful of those limits and fruitfully combine multiple methods. I illustrate with Hannon's function-first based arguments for “epistemic pragmatism”, which denies that the meaning of “knows” is determined by truth conditions. Finally, I argue that function-first theorising motivates staunch anti-skepticism about knowledge. Practical forces cannot chisel a sharp threshold for how much evidence is required for knowledge. But thinking this supports radical skepticism about knowledge conflates fuzzy thresholds and high ones.

Abstract PO-230: Racial differences in the adoption of opportunistic salpingectomy for ovarian cancer prevention in the United States

Abstract Introduction: Opportunistic salpingectomy (OS), the removal of the fallopian tubes during benign gynecologic surgery, has been rapidly adopted by clinicians in the U.S. as a strategy for ovarian cancer prevention. However, little is known about racial differences in OS adoption. As with other medical innovations, surgical innovations in gynecology may be adopted differentially across racial groups, exacerbating disparities in care quality. We examined racial differences in OS adoption in a population-based sample of inpatient and outpatient surgeries. Methods: A cohort of 809,911 women aged 18-50 years undergoing hysterectomy with ovarian conservation or surgical sterilization from 2011-2018 was identified using the Premier Healthcare Database, a large geographically diverse all-payer insurance claims database including over 600 acute care hospitals across the U.S. OS adoption was examined by race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic white [NHW], non-Hispanic Black [NHB], Hispanic, other) using multivariable-adjusted log-binomial regression models accounting for hospital-level clustering. Models included a race/ethnicity by year of surgery (2011-2013 [before guideline] vs. 2014-2018 [after guideline]) interaction term to test whether racial differences in OS adoption changed with the release of national guidelines supporting OS use. Results: From 2011-2018, 104,276 hysterectomy and OS (NHW: 60.1%, NHB: 18.8%, Hispanic: 11.4%, other: 9.7%) and 28,015 OS for sterilization (NHW: 65.4%, NHB: 10.0%, Hispanic: 10.6%, other: 14.0%) were performed. The proportion of benign hysterectomy procedures involving OS increased from 6.4% in 2011 to 62.3% in 2018, and the proportion of sterilization procedures involving OS increased from 0.7% in 2011 to 19.1% in 2018. After adjusting for demographic, clinical, procedural, and hospital/provider characteristics, NHB (risk ratio [RR]: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.99) and Hispanic women (RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.77-0.92) were significantly less likely to undergo hysterectomy and OS than NHW women. A significant interaction between race/ethnicity and year of surgery was noted in NHBs compared to NHWs, with a lower likelihood of hysterectomy and OS in NHBs undergoing surgery before but not after national guideline release (RR2011-2013: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.75-0.89; RR2014-2018: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.96-1.01). Results were similar in stratified analyses by hysterectomy route (abdominal, laparoscopic, vaginal). NHBs were also significantly less likely to undergo OS for sterilization than NHWs (RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.81-0.88), with no differences by year of surgery. Conclusions: Although OS for ovarian cancer prevention has been rapidly adopted into clinical practice in the U.S., our findings suggest that its adoption has not been equitable across racial groups. NHB and Hispanic women are less likely to undergo OS than NHW women even after adjusting for demographic, clinical, procedural, and hospital/provider characteristics. If these differences in OS adoption persist, disparities in ovarian cancer incidence may worsen in the future. Citation Format: Pritesh S. Karia, Yongmei Huang, Parisa Tehranifar, Kala Visvanathan, Jason D. Wright, Jeanine M. Genkinger. Racial differences in the adoption of opportunistic salpingectomy for ovarian cancer prevention in the United States [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-230.

Strategic ignorance and the legitimation of remote warfare: The Hawija bombardments

How must we understand and conceptualize the rationales and repercussions of remote warfare? This article contributes to scholarship on the ontology of remote war by analysing how Dutch officials engage with responsibility for the bombardment of an Islamic State weapons factory in Hawija, Iraq in 2015 under Operation Inherent Resolve. It observes that the main feature of Dutch officials’ accounts of Hawija is their diverse claims to not knowing about civilian casualties. Official narratives shifted from denial to secrecy to strategic ignorance. Bridging work on secrecy from the field of critical security studies with work on strategic ‘unknowing’ from ignorance studies, we propose a new take on the Foucauldian notion of ‘regimes of truth’. The regimes of truth that emerge to justify shifts to remote warfare – that it is riskless, precise and caring for civilian others – rely not merely on secrecy and denial but on feigned and imposed ignorance about casualties. Whereas denial can be disproven and secrecy has an expiration date, ignorance is more elusive and open-ended and hence politically convenient in different ways. Deliberate unknowing does not just postpone investigation and accountability but fundamentally and indefinitely obstructs it and thus sustains the regimes of truth for future remote wars.

Blindsight is qualitatively degraded conscious vision.

Blindsight is a neuropsychological condition defined by residual visual function following destruction of primary visual cortex. This residual visual function is almost universally held to include capacities for voluntary discrimination in the total absence of awareness. So conceived, blindsight has had an enormous impact on the scientific study of consciousness. It is held to reveal a dramatic disconnect between performance and awareness and used to motivate diverse claims concerning the neural and cognitive basis of consciousness. Here I argue that this orthodox understanding of blindsight is fundamentally mistaken. Drawing on models from signal detection theory in conjunction with a wide range of behavioral and first-person evidence, I contend that blindsight is severely and qualitatively degraded but nonetheless conscious vision, unacknowledged due to conservative response biases. Psychophysical and functional arguments to the contrary are answered. A powerful positive case for the qualitatively degraded conscious vision hypothesis is then presented, detailing a set of distinctive predictions borne out by the data. Such data are further used to address the question of what it is like to have blindsight, as well as to explain the conservative and selectively unstable response criteria exhibited by blindsight subjects. On the view defended, blindsight does not reveal any dissociation between performance and awareness, nor does it speak to the neural or cognitive requirements for consciousness. A foundation stone of consciousness science requires radical reconsideration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Intuitions in the Ontology of Musical Works

An impressive variety of theories of ontology of musical works has been offered in the last fifty years. Recently, the ontologists have been paying more attention to methodological issues, in particular, the problem of determining criteria of a good theory. Although different methodological approaches involve different views on the importance and exact role of intuitiveness of a theory, most philosophers writing on the ontology of music agree that intuitiveness and compliance with musical practice play an important part when judging theories. A multitude of diverse claims exist regarding folk intuitions and matters of musical practice in the literature on the ontology of musical works. In this review paper, a systematized collection of about one hundred empirical claims extracted from the theoretical literature is presented. All of the empirical claims are categorized thematically. The paper also includes a short discussion on the role of appeals to common intuitions in methodological literature, as well as some suggestions for future research.

THE CUMULATIVE INCIDENCE OF POUCHITIS AND POUCH-RELATED COMPLICATIONS IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH ULCERATIVE COLITIS

Abstract Background & Aims Despite highly effective therapies, many children develop medically refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) and undergo proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA). There is little real world evidence regarding IPAA outcomes in pediatric UC patients. We sought to determine the risk of pouchitis, recurrent pouchitis, and change in diagnosis to Crohn’s disease (CD) within two years of IPAA surgery among pediatric patients with UC using a large, geographically diverse insurance claims database. Methods Within the IQVIA Legacy PharMetrics Adjudicated Claims Database, we identified pediatric patients (age <18 years) with UC who underwent proctocolectomy with IPAA between January 1, 2007 and June 30, 2015. We utilized International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM) codes to identify patients with UC and Current Procedural Terminology III codes to identify IPAA. The primary outcome was the development of pouchitis in the first 2 years following surgery, as identified by a previously validated case-finding definition. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of recurrent pouchitis, and the cumulative incidence of a new diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (CD) in the first two years post-IPAA. A change in diagnosis to CD was identified by an ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM code for CD on at least three separate occasions. Bivariate analyses were used for all comparisons, utilizing chi-square and t-test as appropriate. Results A total of 68 patients with an IPAA with at least two years of continuous health plan enrollment following surgery were identified. Among all patients undergoing surgery, the median age was 15 years (interquartile range 11.5–16), with 29 (43%) female patients. In the first 2 years following IPAA, the cumulative incidence of pouchitis was 54%. Characteristics and prior medical treatments in patients without pouchitis and with ≥ one episode of pouchitis were similar (Table 1). The cumulative incidence of recurrent pouchitis during this period was 22%. The cumulative incidence of a new diagnosis of CD in the two years after IPAA for UC was 9%. Conclusions In a geographically diverse cohort from the United States, 54% of pediatric patients undergoing proctocolectomy with IPAA for UC developed pouchitis within the first two years after surgery. Furthermore, 9% had a change in diagnosis to CD. These data indicate that for many pediatric UC patients, surgery is non-curative and patients continue to have a substantial burden of illness. Future efforts should attempt to identify novel, actionable, predictors of pouchitis in this population.

Lone Geniuses Or Collaborative Pairs? Formal Role Separation to Enhance Organizational Creativity

Drawing from the literature on formal roles and organizational creativity, we tested whether formal role separation between creative and business functions at the top of organizations enhances their creativity and under which conditions such separation has a significant impact. While the “role as resource” approach sees in functional separation a way to combine diverse claims and access various forms of capital, we investigate its link with the generation of novel and useful outcomes. In the setting of high-end fashion houses, we found that when two distinct individuals filled the formal roles of creative director and CEO, organizational creativity was significantly higher. Organizational creativity is especially enhanced in cases of formal role separation when the creative director works on multiple projects because this improves specialization and gives more freedom to creative directors to experiment with novelty. Besides, companies, whose creative director and CEO started working for them at the same time, show superior creativity results. We found no evidence that formal role separation is beneficial for the focal firm’s creativity when its creative director works for multiple companies. Our findings suggest that when companies face multiple goals, like creative organizations, having a clear formal role configuration is beneficial to organizational creativity.

177-OR: Estimating the Costs of Diabetes Complications in People <65 Years in the U.S. Using Panel Data

Reliable, accurate, updated cost estimates of treating diabetes complications are needed to assess the financial gain of efforts to prevent and delay diabetes complications and for parameterizing diabetes cost-effectiveness simulation models. Using large longitudinal and geographically diverse claims data from Optum de-identified Normative Health Information dataset between 2007 and 2016, we estimated the annual per-person cost associated with all the main complications in people with diabetes aged <65 years. We identified persons with diabetes using diagnosis codes and distinguished type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 (T2DM) diabetes using both diagnose codes and type of medications. Complications were identified using diagnosis, procedure, or Diagnosis Related Group codes. Longitudinal panel data with a follow-up time of one to ten years were constructed. Costs in both the first and in subsequent years for a complication were estimated using individual fixed-effects models. All costs were adjusted to 2016 dollars. Our final sample included 47,166 persons with T1DM and 608,237 with T2DM. On average, compared to T2DM, the T1DM sample had a longer follow-up time (3.2 vs. 3.0 years) and was younger (39 vs. 52 years). About 46% of T1DM and 30% of T2DM samples had at least one complication. The most common complications were neuropathy, nephropathy, and history of these conditions. The estimated average costs for the three most costly conditions in the first vs. subsequent years were: end stage renal disease ($73,534 vs. $97,431 for T1DM; $94,231 vs. $98,981 for T2DM), congestive heart failure ($41,681 vs. $14,855 for T1DM; $31,202 vs. $7,062 for T2DM), and myocardial infarction ($40,899 vs. $9,496 for T1DM; $45,251 vs. $8,572 for T2DM). For both diabetes types, retinopathy and neuropathy tend to have the lowest costs. Our study provides the most updated and reliable cost estimates for evaluation of the long-term cost-effectiveness of interventions for preventing and managing diabetes. Disclosure W. Yang: None. I. Cintina: None. T.J. Hoerger: Research Support; Self; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. S. Neuwahl: None. H. Shao: None. M. Laxy: None. P. Zhang: None. Funding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (200-2016-92270)

Realizing the Basic Income

Current social innovation initiatives towards societal transformations bring forward new ways of doing and organizing, but new ways of knowing as well. Their efforts towards realizing those are important sites for the investigation of contemporary tensions of expertise. The promotion of new, transformative ways of knowing typically involves a large bandwidth of claims to expertise. The attendant contestation is unfolded through the exemplar case of the Basic Income, in which the historically evolved forms of academic political advocacy are increasingly accompanied by a new wave of activism. Crowd-funding initiatives, internet activists, citizen labs, petitions and referenda seek to realize the BI through different claims to expertise than previous attempts. Observing both the tensions between diverse claims to expertise and the overall co-production process through which the Basic Income is realized, this contribution concludes with reflections on the politics of expertise involved in transformative social innovation.

No Promo Hetero: Children's Right to Be Queer

This Article argues that the government has no legitimate interest in promoting heterosexuality or gender conformity during childhood. Although opponents of LGBT rights have longed cited this goal as one of the primary justifications for discrimination against LGBT people, it has no constitutional foundation upon which to stand. Building upon a familiar schema of legal scholarship on LGBT rights, this Article challenges the state’s interest in promoting heterosexuality by articulating a tripartite defense of children’s speech, status, and conduct. It argues that these three aspects of homosexuality are connected to and protected by three constitutional clauses — the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, and the Due Process Clause. When the state claims that promoting heterosexuality in childhood is a legitimate state interest, it violates at least one and perhaps all of these clauses. When this policy targets children’s homosexual speech, it is a form of viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment. When this policy targets children’s homosexual status, it is a form of animus against lesbian, gay, and bisexual people that violates the Equal Protection Clause. When this policy targets children’s homosexual relationships, it is a form of moral disapproval of homosexual conduct that violates the Due Process Clause. Taken together, these clauses require the state to maintain a neutral stance vis-a-vis the orientation of children’s speech, status, and conduct, and they guarantee every’s child equal liberty to be straight or queer. After developing a similar critique of the state’s interest in promoting gender conformity during childhood, the Article concludes by exploring the theoretical boundaries and implications of this constitutional framework. Drawing on one of queer theory’s foundational texts, it argues that No Promo Hetero challenges are both more universal than traditional identity claims, yet more liberal than many traditional diversity claims. By proceeding from decidedly queer premises, this Article makes the case for the full spectrum of children’s queerness — as a form of expression, behavior, and identity — within familiar frameworks of constitutional law.

1 LOW RISK OF LYMPHOMA IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE TREATED USING ANTI-TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR AGENTS

Abstract Background Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (aTNF) agents are among the most effective medications used to treat pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (pIBD). Despite their effectiveness, concerns regarding an association with lymphoma limit their use in everyday practice. We sought to determine the incidence rate and absolute risk of lymphoma in pIBD patients receiving aTNF treatment using a large, geographically diverse administrative insurance claims database. Methods We used the IQVIA Legacy PharMetrics Administrative Claims Database to identify pediatric (≤18 years) IBD patients (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) enrolled between 2007 and 2016. The IQVIA dataset contains enrollees’ clinical utilization, expenditures, and outpatient prescription information. We identified patient baseline data and medication exposure history over time to determine the incidence and absolute risk of lymphoma in our pIBD cohort. Results We identified 9,284 pIBD patients enrolled between 2007 and 2016, 62% with Crohn’s disease. The mean age of the cohort was 13.7 years (SD, 4.2) and comprised of 47% females. The median follow-up was 24 months (IQR, 33). Twenty-one percent of the cohort were treated with an aTNF agent during follow-up and 38% with an immune modulator (Thiopurine or Methotrexate). Nearly 8.5% were started on an aTNF agent while treated with an immune modulator, of which 90% were Thiopurines. We identified 3 cases of lymphoma occurring over 25,413 person-years of follow-up (Incidence rate, 11.8 cases/100,000 person-years). The absolute risk of lymphoma in our pIBD sample was 0.3 x 10–3. There were no cases of hepatosplenic T cell lymphoma observed. The medication exposure history for cases of lymphoma did not include treatment with an aTNF agent and/or an immune modulator. Conclusion Among our cohort of pIBD, the overall incidence and absolute risk of lymphoma were extremely low. Treatment with aTNF agents and/or immune modulators was not associated with an increased risk of malignancy. Our results would support prioritization of the clinical benefits of aTNF agents over the low risk for malignancy.

The Buddha’s Empirically Testable “Ten Criteria” Challenges the Authenticity of Truth Claims: A Critical Review and Its Potential Applicability to Debunking the Various Post-Truths

Modern readers who investigate religious theories and practices are exposed to diverse truth claims and worldviews. Such claims are often conflicting and subject the readers to various misconceptions and misguidance. In Buddhism, the Buddha is said to have awakened to the true nature of existence and attained final liberation from suffering, referred to as “enlightenment.” How was he able to convince his disciples of his self-claimed enlightenment? Can his reasoning be applied to modern readers, who are well-educated, but overloaded with the incessant proliferation of digital information? The Buddha, specifically in the Kālāma Sutta, presents empirically testable guidelines, termed the “Ten Criteria,” which were formulated as an integrated interplay of reasoning and morality. This essay examines the Buddha’s strategy, which is empirical and pragmatic in nature and embraces the fundamental principles of modern science. We contend that his proposed methodology is verifiably evocative of a moral discipline, while presenting a pedagogical approach to the teacher–student dynamic. Serving as a reference point, this view may help modern readers in differentiating the right truth from the biased post-truths, which appeal to emotion and personal belief.

PND70 ASSESSMENT OF MIGRAINE PROGRESSION AND PREDICTORS OF PROGRESSION USING A CLAIMS- AND ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD-INTEGRATED DATABASE

To determine the rate and identify predictors of episodic migraine (EM) to chronic migraine (CM) progression using machine learning and structured data from a large, geographically diverse claims and electronic health record (EHR) database. A retrospective cohort study design was applied to an integrated claims/EHR data set indexed on first EM diagnosis date. Descriptive analyses were conducted assessing progression rates. Using a hypothesis-free, Bayesian machine learning analytic platform (GNS Healthcare REFS™: Reverse Engineering and Forward Simulation), an ensemble of progression-free survival models was built to predict progression, computationally exploring thousands of variables and their interactions. Accuracy of prediction models was evaluated using Harrell’s C-statistic. The derivation cohort comprised 39,680 adults with an EM diagnosis between 2007 and 2017. In newly diagnosed EM patients, the progression rate after 1-year follow-up was 2.5%. By the end of follow-up, 4.5% of patients had progressed to CM with a median time to event of 377 days. Patients using preventive medications prior to first EM diagnosis had the largest median hazard ratio (HR) for progression; including those with prescriptions for beta-blockers (HR=1.78), anticonvulsants (HR=1.72), and antidepressants (HR=1.52). Other identified risk factors included migraine-related outpatient visits (2+ vs 0, HR=1.52), neurology visits (2+ vs 0, HR=1.49), physical therapy exercise (HR=1.36) and spondylosis (HR=1.32). Male gender (HR=0.69) and older age (75+ vs 18-34, HR=0.24) were protective against progression. All median P-values for listed predictors were <0.001. The mean C-statistic was 0.68 in held-out testing data. Using 10-year real-world data, we determined progression rates for extended follow-up periods, replicated established progression risk factors, and identified novel predictors of progression. Predictors can help clinicians identify at-risk patients and implement timely interventions, thereby reducing migraine progression, improving clinical outcomes, and lowering economic burden.

Inter-communal land conflicts in Benin City, Nigeria: Exploring the root causes in the context of customary land supply

Inter-communal land conflict in Benin City has increased owing to informal land subdivision by land owning communities. As development intensifies, boundaries between communities in peri-urban areas become distorted leading to contestations and violent conflicts. However, little is known about the roles of organized groups in these conflicts. The legal pluralism in land ownership in Nigeria and the ineffectiveness of the State’s Land Law have created informal land market in which leaders of land owning communities dominate. This paper explores these issues through a case study of boundary dispute that developed into violent conflict between two communities in Benin City. The findings revealed that at the root of the conflict were material and emotional needs of groups seeking power and wealth which resulted in diverse claims. Other endogenous factors underlying the conflict were the socio-cultural environment of urban land market and local power relations among the actors involved.