Global Comparison Research Articles

Proximity to active volcanoes enhances glacier velocity

AbstractVolcanic heating is predicted by theory to affect the velocity of nearby glaciers. However, conclusive studies on a large scale are lacking. Here, we conduct a global comparison of the velocities of glaciers near active volcanoes (i.e. within 5 km) and those located elsewhere ( > 5 km from an active volcano). Our findings show that, when considered over an annual scale (e.g. 2017-2018) and controlling for other factors, glaciers near volcanoes flow 46% faster than those located elsewhere (based on median values). This finding strongly suggests that volcanic heating impacts glacier velocity at a global scale, and supports the idea that glacier velocity monitoring could be a valuable indirect tool to help volcano monitoring and eruption prediction, particularly where volcanic heating (and therefore subglacial melt) intensifies months or years prior to eruptions.

The Role of AI in Shaping the Future of Labor Markets: A Comparative Analysis of Developed vs. Emerging Economies

This research explores the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping labor markets, focusing on a comparative analysis between developed and emerging economies, specifically the United States and India. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study evaluates AI’s impact on productivity, employment trends, and policy responses in both contexts. Findings indicate that AI drives significant productivity gains and job shifts in developed economies, while emerging economies face challenges due to limited infrastructure and slower AI adoption. The analysis underscores the need for tailored strategies in workforce development, emphasizing education, retraining, and policy interventions. The study also identifies gaps in AI adoption and proposes recommendations for future integration. Limitations include a focus on only two countries and rapidly evolving AI technologies. Further research is suggested to explore sector-specific effects and broader global comparisons.

Generalized Social Marginal Welfare Weights Imply Inconsistent Comparisons of Tax Policies

This paper concerns Saez and Stantcheva’s (2016) generalized social marginal welfare weights, which aggregate losses and gains due to tax policies while incorporating nonutilitarian ethical considerations. The approach evaluates local tax changes without a global social objective. I show that local tax policy comparisons implicitly entail global comparisons. Moreover, whenever welfare weights do not have a utilitarian structure, these implied global comparisons are inconsistent. I argue that broader ethical values cannot in general be represented simply by modifying the weights placed on benefits to different people, and a more thoroughgoing modification of the utilitarian approach is required. (JEL D60, D63, D71, H21, H23, I31)

Duplex-ultrasound as a single imaging test for Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (GLASS) assignment stage and comparison with intraoperative arteriography

Duplex-ultrasound as a single imaging test for Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (GLASS) assignment stage and comparison with intraoperative arteriography

Ceftriaxone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae detected in England, 2015-24: an observational analysis.

Since June 2022, there has been a rise in the number of ceftriaxone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae cases detected in England (n = 15), of which a third were XDR. We describe the demographic and clinical details of the recent cases and investigate the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of the isolates. For a comprehensive overview, we also reviewed 16 ceftriaxone-resistant cases previously identified in England since December 2015 and performed a global genomic comparison of all publicly available ceftriaxone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strains with mosaic penA alleles. All N. gonorrhoeae isolates resistant to ceftriaxone (MIC > 0.125 mg/L) were whole-genome sequenced and compared with 142 global sequences of ceftriaxone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae. Demographic, behavioural and clinical data were collected. All cases were heterosexual, and most infections were associated with travel from the Asia-Pacific region. However, some had not travelled outside England within the previous few months. There were no ceftriaxone genital treatment failures, but three of five pharyngeal infections and the only rectal infection failed treatment. The isolates represented 13 different MLST STs, and most had the mosaic penA-60.001 allele. The global genomes clustered into eight major phylogroups, with regional associations. All XDR isolates belonged to the same phylogroup, represented by MLST ST16406. Most cases of ceftriaxone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae detected in England were associated with travel from the Asia-Pacific region. All genital infections were successfully treated with ceftriaxone, but there were extragenital treatment failures. Ceftriaxone resistance continues to be associated with the penA-60.001 allele within multiple genetic backgrounds and with widespread dissemination in the Asia-Pacific region.

Sex Differences in Human Brain Structure at Birth

BackgroundSex differences in human brain anatomy have been well-documented, though remain significantly underexplored during early development. The neonatal period is a critical stage for brain development and can provide key insights into the role that prenatal and early postnatal factors play in shaping sex differences in the brain.MethodsHere, we assessed on-average sex differences in global and regional brain volumes in 514 newborns aged 0–28 days (236 birth-assigned females and 278 birth-assigned males) using data from the developing Human Connectome Project. We also assessed sex-by-age interactions to investigate sex differences in early postnatal brain development.ResultsOn average, males had significantly larger intracranial and total brain volumes, even after controlling for birth weight. After controlling for total brain volume, females showed significantly greater total cortical gray matter volumes, whilst males showed greater total white matter volumes. After controlling for total brain volume in regional comparisons, females had significantly increased white matter volumes in the corpus callosum and increased gray matter volumes in the bilateral parahippocampal gyri (posterior parts), left anterior cingulate gyrus, bilateral parietal lobes, and left caudate nucleus. Males had significantly increased gray matter volumes in the right medial and inferior temporal gyrus (posterior part) and right subthalamic nucleus. Effect sizes ranged from small for regional comparisons to large for global comparisons. Significant sex-by-age interactions were noted in the left anterior cingulate gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus (posterior parts).ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate that sex differences in brain structure are already present at birth and remain comparatively stable during early postnatal development, highlighting an important role of prenatal factors in shaping sex differences in the brain.

Global Comparison of COVID-19 Vaccination Rates among Psoriasis Patients.

(1) Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the rate of COVID-19 vaccination among psoriasis patients internationally and to correlate it with their treatment regimens. (2) Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from January 2021 to October 2022 among adults in the United States (US), Chile, China, Switzerland, and Singapore using the Global Healthcare Study on Psoriasis survey. (3) Results: A total of 310 psoriasis patients in the US (98), Chile (32), China (80), Switzerland (39), and Singapore (61) were surveyed. Of these, 248 patients (80.0%) were vaccinated at least once for COVID-19 (Chile: 100%, Singapore: 100%, US: 93.9%, Switzerland: 69.2%, China: 45.0%). Compared with other countries, patients in China were 89% less likely to report at least one COVID-19 vaccination (1 - 0.11 = 0.89; OR 0.11; 95% CI: 0.03-0.48), and patients in Switzerland were 80% less likely (1 - 0.20 = 0.80; OR 0.20; 95% CI: 0.05-0.79). Compared with patients on biologics, patients on topicals were 10.9 (95% CI: 2.1-56.6) times more likely to report at least one COVID-19 vaccination, and patients on oral systemics were 7.2 times more likely (95% CI: 1.6-31.6). (4) Conclusions: Country of residence and treatment regimen are associated with different COVID-19 vaccination rates in psoriasis patients.

Serum concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in dogs with chronic kidney disease in uremic syndrome undergoing intermittent hemodialysis with and without bypass

Intermittent hemodialysis (IH) is an important therapy in the context of kidney dysfunction in dogs. However, its impact on pro-inflammatory cytokines is unclear. This study assessed IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α serum concentrations in dogs with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing one session of IH without bypass (IH group, n = 4) and with bypass (IH + bypass group, n = 4). The control group (CG) included four healthy dogs. Cytokine levels were measured before, during, and after the first IH session. Comparative analyses of each cytokine within each group and time point were performed, along with a global comparison between groups. No significant changes were observed in cytokines across evaluation times in the IH groups. IL-1β was significantly higher post-session in the IH and IH + bypass groups compared to CG. Globally, IL-1β and TNF-α concentrations were significantly higher in the IH (11.41 pg/mL (10–16.17) and 2 pg/mL (2–88.54), respectively) and IH + bypass groups (10 pg/mL (10–10) and 2 pg/mL (2–215.5), respectively) compared to CG (0.96 pg/mL (0–3.56) and 0 pg/mL (0–0.003), respectively). The IH group also showed elevated IL-6 concentration (0.1 ng/mL (0.1–0.5)) compared to CG (0 ng/mL (0–0.1)). Higher IL-1β and IL-6 concentrations were observed in the IH group (11.41 pg/mL (10–16.17) and 0.1 ng/mL (0.1–0.1), respectively) compared to the IH + bypass group (10 pg/mL (10–10) and 0.1 ng/mL (0.1–0.5), respectively). In conclusion, a single IH session, with or without bypass, did not increase pro-inflammatory cytokines in CKD dogs with uremic syndrome but maintained the inflammatory state. Dogs undergoing IH without bypass may receive a stronger stimulus for cytokine release.

Elite persistence and inequality in the Danish West Indies, 1760–1914

The issue of how elites as a social group form, maintain their position, and influence the society they control is central to the debate on inequality. This paper studies one of the most extremely unequal societies ever recorded — the sugar-based economies in the West Indies — by focusing on the island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies and examines the emergence and persistence of its economic elite. The study relies on a novel dataset that covers the entire population of the island over 154 years, allowing for a long-run analysis of elite persistence and the effects of significant economic, institutional, and social changes. Our study shows that elite persistence remained high in global comparison throughout the period of interest, despite several 'critical junctures'. These junctures only had a temporary effect. We contend that this result can be attributed to three mechanisms of persistence: inheritance, institutional co-optation and limited franchise. Finally, we find that although the Crucian elite maintained its relative standing, it came at the cost of severe impoverishment in absolute terms.

S1990 A Global Comparison of Hepatitis B Drug Pricing: US vs the Other G7 Countries and Australia

S1990 A Global Comparison of Hepatitis B Drug Pricing: US vs the Other G7 Countries and Australia

Population age structure dependency of the excess mortality P-score

BackgroundSince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the excess mortality P-score has gained prominence as a measure of pandemic burden. The P-score indicates the percentage by which observed deaths deviate from expected deaths. As the P-score is regularly used to compare excess mortality between countries, questions arise regarding the age dependency of the measure. In this paper we present formal and empirical results on the population structure bias of the P-score with a special focus on cross-country comparisons during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.MethodsP-scores were calculated for European countries for 2021, 2022, and 2023 using data from the 2024 revision of the United Nations’ World Population Prospects and the HMDs Short Term Mortality Fluctuations data series. The expected deaths for 2021, 2022, and 2023 were estimated using a Lee–Carter forecast model assuming pre-pandemic conditions. P-score differences between countries were decomposed using a Kitagawa-type decomposition into excess-mortality and structural components. To investigate the sensitivity of P-score cross-country rankings to differences in population structure we calculated the rank-correlation between age-standardized and classical P-scores.ResultsThe P-score is an average of age-specific percent excess deaths weighted by the age-distribution of expected deaths. It can be shown that the effect of differences in the distribution of deaths only plays a marginal role in a European comparison. In most cases, the excess mortality effect is the dominant effect. P-score rankings among European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic are similar under both age-standardized and classical P-scores.ConclusionsAlthough the P-score formally depends on the age-distribution of expected deaths, this structural component only plays a minor role in a European comparison, as the distribution of deaths across the continent is similar. Thus, the P-score is suitable as a measure of excess mortality in a European comparison, as it mainly reflects the differences in excess mortality. However, this finding should not be extrapolated to global comparisons, where countries could have very different death distributions. In situations were P-score comparisons are biased age-standardization can be applied as a solution.

Multi-scale multi-instance contrastive learning for whole slide image classification

Multi-instance learning (MIL) has become the mainstream solution for processing super-high resolution whole slide images (WSIs) with the pyramidal structure in digital pathology. Current MIL-based methods usually learn features from WSI at a specific magnification, ignoring the multi-scale information contained in the WSI and the comparative learning of global features. In addition, the lack of instance labeling can lead to weak model supervision, which may compromise the model’s ability to discriminate fine-grained features, ultimately affecting bag-level feature learning. Therefore, we propose a novel multi-scale multi-instance contrastive learning framework to learn more discriminative feature representation across scales for pathological WSI classification. The proposed method begins with a two-stream feature aggregator module, which extracts both bag embeddings and selects the representative instances simultaneously. Following the bag embedding branch, a multi-scale contrastive learning module is designed to learn the global feature comparisons of WSIs across multiple scales by leveraging its inherent pyramid structure. Additionally, based on the instances selection branch, a patch-level classifier is combined with the bag-level classifier to jointly optimize the model training process, enhancing the supervision of the model. The proposed framework is evaluated on three publicly available WSI datasets, achieving an area under the curve of 95.8%, 95.5%, and 88.2%, respectively, consistently outperforming all the compared methods including single- and multi-scale ones.

Global comparison of urban bike-sharing accessibility across 40 cities

The global expansion of bike-sharing networks offers a cost-effective and environmentally friendly transportation alternative that complements public transit and promotes active, healthy lifestyles. Despite significant research, most studies focus on individual locations, specific environmental or health impacts, or infrastructure elements like bike lanes. Instead, this paper elaborates a comprehensive global comparison of bike-sharing systems by introducing a novel database that aggregates data from 40 cities worldwide. Our study integrates this data with population data and urban metrics to classify these networks topologically and assess their effective coverage concerning the population served and their relation with existing public transit systems. We introduce the “Bike-Share Service Accessibility Index” (BSAI), a new metric to evaluate and compare the performance of bike-sharing networks. Our findings provide valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers, offering data-driven strategies to enhance sustainable urban mobility through better-integrated and more spatially equitable bike-sharing systems.

Assessing the Validity of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels for Evaluating the Healthiness of Mediterranean Food Choices: A Global Comparison.

In response to growing public health concerns, governments worldwide have implemented various nutrition labelling schemes to promote healthier eating habits. This study aimed to assess the consistency and effectiveness of these labels in an out-of-home context, specifically focusing on restaurant, hospitality, and institutional food service settings. In total, 178 different dishes from Spain were analysed using labels from the Mazocco method, the UK's traffic light system, the Health Star Rating (Australia), Nutri-Score (France), multiple traffic lights (Ecuador), and warning labels (Chile and Uruguay). The results demonstrated a generally low level of agreement among these labels (K < 0.40), indicating notable variability and a lack of consensus, which could hinder consumers' ability to make informed food choices in out-of-home settings. Nutri-Score classified the highest number of dishes as unhealthy (38%). This study underscores the need for an easy-to-understand labelling system tailored to each country's culinary and socio-cultural contexts to improve consumer decision-making in various dining environments. Future research should focus on developing and testing qualitative methods to more accurately gauge the nutritional quality of cooked dishes in diverse out-of-home settings, thereby enhancing public health outcomes. By addressing the specific needs of the home, restaurants, hospitality, and institutional food services, tailored labelling schemes could significantly improve consumers' ability to make healthier food choices.

Medical Device Database: Scoping Lifecycle Review

Objectives: This study examines the utilization and lifecycle management of medical device databases in multiple regions including the United States, Europe, Japan, and Canada, and evaluates their public health impact. The objective is to identify best practices, gaps, and challenges in the current systems to inform future improvements and standardization efforts on a global scale.Methods: A comprehensive comparative analysis was conducted on databases in these regions. The analysis focused on the structure, operation, and application of these databases in lifecycle management. Key factors include data collection, integration, utilization throughout the product lifecycle, data accessibility, user interfaces, integration with other healthcare data, regulatory compliance, and public health impacts. Data were collected through literature reviews, policy documents, and expert interviews to provide a robust understanding of each system.Results: Results show reveal significant variations in how regions utilize medical device databases to enhance device safety and efficacy. While all regions aim to improve device safety and public health outcomes, there are notable differences in data accessibility, usage, and management practices. Comprehensive coverage of the medical device lifecycle from pre-market approval to post-market surveillance varies significantly. Integration with regulatory processes and support for public health interventions through detailed tracking and reporting mechanisms also differ widely. Data accessibility and integration with national databases remain challenging. Inconsistent data formats, varying levels of data granularity, and differences in regulatory requirements hinder effective global monitoring and comparison. Despite these challenges, the study highlights the potential for medical device databases to significantly enhance healthcare quality and patient safety.Conclusions: National medical device databases are crucial for improving healthcare quality and safety. They serve as vital tools for identifying issues and informing policy-making. Korea should consider developing a comprehensive database focused on user health protection and safety enhancement, aligned with global standards.

Land Cover and Land Use Ontology—Evolution of International Standards, Challenges, and Opportunities

Knowledge of land is of central importance to manage the impact of mankind upon the environment. The understanding and treatment of land vary greatly across different regions and communities, making the description of land highly specific to each locality. To address the larger global issues, such as world food production or climate change mitigation, one needs to have a common standardized understanding of the biosphere cover and use of land. Different governments and institutions established national systems to describe thematic content of land within their jurisdictions. These systems are all valid and tuned to address various national needs. However, their integration at regional or global levels is lacking. Integrating data from widely divergent sources to create world datasets not only requires standards, but also an approach to integrate national and regional land cover classification systems. The ISO 19144 series, developed through the collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), offers a meta-language for the integration of disparate land classification systems, enhancing interoperability, data sharing, and national to global data integration and comparison. This paper provides an overview of classification system concepts, different stages for the development of standards in ISO and the status of different standards in the ISO 19144 series. It also explores the critical role of the ISO 19144 series in standardizing land cover and land use classification systems. Drawing on practical case studies, the paper underscores the series’ potential to support global sustainable development goals and lays out a path for its future development and application. Using these standards, we gain not only a tool for harmonizing land classification, but also a critical level for advancing sustainable development and environmental stewardship worldwide.

Disrupted Dynamic Network Attribution Associated with Gait Disorder in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.

Background and Aims: Previous research has focused on static functional connectivity in gait disorders caused by cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), neglecting dynamic functional connections and network attribution. This study aims to investigate alterations in dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) and topological organization variance in CSVD-related gait disorders. Methods: A total of 85 patients with CSVD, including 41 patients with CSVD and gait disorders (CSVD-GD), 44 patients with CSVD and non-gait disorders (CSVD-NGD), and 32 healthy controls (HC), were enrolled in this study. Five networks composed of 10 independent components were selected using independent component analysis. Sliding time window and k-means clustering methods were used for dFNC analysis. The relationship between alterations in the dFNC properties and gait metrics was further assessed. Results: Three reproducible dFNC states were determined (State 1: sparsely connected, State 2: intermediate pattern, and State 3: strongly connected). CSVD-GD showed significantly higher fractional windows (FW) and mean dwell time (MDT) in State 1 compared with CSVD-NGD. Higher local efficiency variance was observed in the CSVD-GD group compared with HC, but no differences were found in the global efficiency comparison. Both the FW and MDT in State 1 were negatively correlated with gait speed and step length, and the relationship between MDT of State 1 and gait speed was mediated by overall cognition, information processing speed, and executive function. Conclusions: Our study uncovered abnormal dFNC indicators and variations in topological organization in CSVD-GD, offering potential early prediction indicators and freshening insights into the underlying pathogenesis of gait disturbances in CSVD.

Autologous Bone Marrow Aspiration Concentrate (BMAC) Therapy for Primary Knee Osteoarthritis-An Observational and Dose Escalation Study.

Anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties maximize the therapeutic potential of bone marrow aspiration concentrate (BMAC) in osteoarthritis (OA) knee. There is a lack of studies to standardize the treatment procedure to make the studies done across various centers comparable to understand the lacunae better and develop further the deficiency in our understanding of BMAC for OA knee. We aimed to assess the degree of pain relief, functional outcome, and cartilage thickness with different doses of BMAC in primary OA knee. A single-centered prospective observational study was conducted with 80 patients of OA knee who were divided into 4 groups where group A (n = 20), group B (n = 20), group C (n = 20), and group D (n = 20) received intra-articular 1, 2, 5million BMAC cells per kg body weight, and intra-articular saline, respectively. All patients were followed up with Visual Analog Scale (VAS), knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores both pre and post-procedurally at 1, 3, 6, and 12months follow-up. The study found no significant differences in demographics or co-morbidities across four participant groups (A, B, C, D). However, clinical outcomes varied markedly: Groups B and C showed significant improvements in pain perception (VAS scores), knee function, and quality of life (KOOS and WOMAC scores), while Group A showed marginal or non-significant changes, and Group D exhibited no significant improvements. These findings suggest that treatments in Groups B and C reached the Minimal Clinically Important Difference, significantly enhancing patient-reported outcomes. A dose of 2million BMAC cells per kg body weight for knee OA serves as the better regenerative modality of choice in cartilage regeneration. With our dose-escalation study, we would be able to standardize the treatment procedure and enable global comparison of the treatment method across various regions of the world.

Toward a Framework to Assess the Financial and Economic Burden of Cervical Cancer in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.

To review the economic burden assessment of cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and use the findings to develop a pragmatic, standardized framework for such assessment. We first systematically reviewed articles indexed in scientific databases reporting the methodology for collecting and calculating costs related to the cervical cancer burden in LMICs. Data on study design, costing approach, cost perspective, costing period, and cost type (direct medical costs [DMC], direct nonmedical costs [DNMC], and indirect costs [IC]) were extracted. Finally, we summarized the reported limitations in the methodology and used the solutions to inform our framework. Cervical cancer treatment costs across LMICs vary greatly and can be extremely expensive, up to 70,968 International US dollars. Economic and financial assessment methods also vary greatly across countries. Of the 28 reviewed articles, 25 studies reported DMC for cervical cancer treatment by extracting cost information from billing or insurance databases (eight studies), conducting surveys (five), and estimating the costs (12). Only 11 studies-mainly through surveys-reported DNMC and IC. The economic burden assessment framework includes health care/payer and societal perspectives (DMC, DNMC, IC, and human capital loss) across the cervical cancer screening and treatment continuum. To assess health care/payer costs, we recommend combining the predefined treatment standards with actual local treatment practices, multiplied by unit costs. To assess societal costs, we recommend conducting a cost survey in line with a standardized yet adaptable protocol. Our standardized, pragmatic framework allows assessment of economic and financial burden of cervical cancer in LMICs despite the different levels of available resources across countries. This framework will facilitate global comparisons and monitoring and may also be applied to other cancers.

The fibroblast heterogeneity across keloid, normal and tumor samples from single-cell resolution.

Keloids are defined as a benign dermal fibroproliferative disorder, with excessive fibroblast proliferation, and excessive overproduction of collagen. Although the heterogeneity during keloid development has been extensively studied, the heterogeneity across different skin states is still unclear. So, a global comparison across skin states is needed. In this study, we collected samples from 5 states of skin, including melanoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, keloid skin, scar skin, and healthy control samples. The heterogeneity of cell types and subtypes was analyzed and compared across 5 states, and we observed significant differences among them. Our results showed a cancer-like fibroblast, which is not in normal samples, may play an important role in antigen processing and presentation. We also noticed that the mesenchymal fibroblast increased in keloid samples, which highly expressed POSTN. And POSTN may participate in epithelial-mesenchymal transition and collagen overexpression to promote keloid growth. These findings help to understand the alteration among different skin states and provide potential genetic basis for keloid therapies.