bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Updated Health and Cost Impacts of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Using Recent Estimates of Relative Harm for Vaping Compared to Smoking
Authors: Summers Jennifer A , Ait Ouakrim Driss , Wilson Nick , Blakely Tony 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

Background
Measuring population health and costs effects of liberalizing access to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) is an evolving field with high persisting uncertainty. A critical area of uncertainty for policy-makers are estimates of net harms from ENDS relative to cigarettes, therefore, we model these harms using updated estimates incorporating disease specificity.

Methods
We use updated estimates of relative harm of vaping vs smoking, based upon relevant biomarker studies to model the impact of liberalizing access to ENDS in New Zealand (NZ), relative to a ban (where ENDS are not legally available), in an existing proportional multi-state life-table model of 16 tobacco-related diseases.

Results
This modeling suggests that ENDS liberalization results in an expected gain of 195 000 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) over the remainder of the NZ population’s lifespan. There was wide uncertainty in QALYs gained (95% uncertainty interval [UI] = −8000 to 406 000) with a 3.2% probability of net health loss (based upon the number of simulation runs returning positive QALY gains). The average per capita health gain was 0.044 QALYs (equivalent to an extra 16 days of healthy life). Health system cost-savings were expected to be NZ$2.8 billion (US$2.1 billion in 2020 US$; 95%UI: −0.3 to 6.2 billion [2011 NZ$]), with an estimated 3% chance of a net increase in per capita cost.

Conclusions
This updated modeling around liberalizing ENDs in NZ, still suggests likely net health and cost-saving benefits—but of lesser magnitude than previous work and with a small possibility of net harm to population health.

Implications
This study found evidence using updated biomarker studies that ENDS liberalization could result in QALY gains across the New Zealand population lifespan that are also cost-saving to the health system. Governments should include the information from these types of modeling studies in their decision-making around potentially improving access to ENDS for existing smokers, while at the same further reducing access to tobacco.
Fish intake, n-3 fatty acid body status, and risk of cognitive decline: a systematic review and a dose–response meta-analysis of observational and experimental studies
Authors: Kosti Rena I , Kasdagli Maria I , Kyrozis Andreas , Orsini Nicola , Lagiou Pagona , Taiganidou Fani , Naska Androniki 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

Context
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing supplementation with eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acids have failed to provide evidence supporting a suggested inverse association between fish intake and dementia risk.

Objective
Dose–response analyses were conducted to evaluate associations between fish intake, all-cause dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), and the effect of EPA/DHA supplementation on cognitive performance.

Data Sources
PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched for original research evaluating either associations between fish intake and dementia or AD, or the impact of EPA and/or DHA supplementation on the risk of cognitive decline.

Data Extraction
Data were collected on study characteristics and methods; number of cases/deaths (for observational studies); categories of exposure; model covariates; risk estimates from the most-adjusted model; type and dosage of supplementation (from RCTs); fatty acid levels in blood; and differences in cognition test results before and after supplementation. Risk of bias was assessed through the ROBINS-E and RoB2.0 tools for observational and experimental studies, respectively.

Data Analysis
Weighted mixed-effects models were applied, allowing for the inclusion of studies with 2 levels of exposure. Based on findings with low/moderate risk of bias, fish intake of up to 2 portions (250 g) per week was associated with a 10% reduction (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79, 1.02, Ν = 5) in all-cause dementia and a 30% reduction (95% CI: 0.54, 0.89, Ν = 3) in AD risk. Changes in EPA and DHA body status had a positive impact on participants’ executive functions, but not on their overall cognitive performance.

Conclusion
The protection offered by fish intake against cognitive decline levels off at intakes higher than 2 portions/week and likely relates to the impact of EPA and DHA on the individual’s executive functions, although there remain questions about the mechanisms linking the short- and long-term effects.

Systematic Review Registration
PROSPERO registration no. CRD42019139528.
Dairy matrix: is the whole greater than the sum of the parts?
Authors: Weaver Connie M 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Dairy foods are a heterogeneous group of products that vary in physical state and structure; profile and amounts of essential nutrients, bioactive ingredients, and other constituents; the extent of alteration of these constituents by processing, whether they are fermented or aged; and addition of constituents during manufacture. The complexity of the dairy matrix is associated with a heterogeneous impact on health outcomes from increased, decreased, or neutral effects for specific dairy products and specific health outcomes. Researchers must become more nuanced and systematic in their study of the role of dairy products in health to develop meaningful dietary recommendations. This review of the evidence for the dairy matrix and health points out the dearth of randomized controlled trials and of mechanistic insights. The variable effects of dairy-product consumption on health suggest possibilities for personalized nutrition advice.
The impact of collagen protein ingestion on musculoskeletal connective tissue remodeling: a narrative review
Authors: Holwerda Andrew M , van Loon Luc J C 
Published: September 2021

AbstractCollagen is the central structural component of extracellular connective tissue, which provides elastic qualities to tissues. For skeletal muscle, extracellular connective tissue transmits contractile force to the tendons and bones. Connective tissue proteins are in a constant state of remodeling and have been shown to express a high level of plasticity. Dietary-protein ingestion increases muscle protein synthesis rates. High-quality, rapidly digestible proteins are generally considered the preferred protein source to maximally stimulate myofibrillar (contractile) protein synthesis rates. In contrast, recent evidence demonstrates that protein ingestion does not increase muscle connective tissue protein synthesis. The absence of an increase in muscle connective tissue protein synthesis after protein ingestion may be explained by insufficient provision of glycine and/or proline. Dietary collagen contains large amounts of glycine and proline and, therefore, has been proposed to provide the precursors required to facilitate connective tissue protein synthesis. This literature review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the current knowledge on the proposed benefits of dietary collagen consumption to stimulate connective tissue remodeling to improve health and functional performance.
Shrinking capitalism: components of a new political economy paradigm
Authors: Bowles Samuel , Carlin Wendy 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
The climate emergency, rising inequality, and pandemic diffusion have raised the question: for what purpose is capitalism fit? Implementing new policies and institutions to meet these challenges will require a realignment of political forces on a scale similar to that achieved by neoliberal policies and ideas over the past four decades. We suggest that a successful new paradigm must provide the basis of a dynamic and sustainable economy and be constituted by a synergistic set of ethical commitments, economic models, emblematic policies, and a new vernacular economics by which people understand and seek to improve their livelihoods and futures. We illustrate these four components by reference to the classical liberal, Keynesian-social democratic, and neoliberal paradigms. Using an expanded space for policies and institutions that integrates markets, states, and civil society, we propose elements of a new paradigm, including diminished space for capitalism and greater equality not only of economic endowments but also of dignity and voice.
Non-Partisan Advisors in the Minister’s Office—Ghosts in the Core Executive Machine?
Authors: Cole Rose 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe ‘core executive’ is conceived of as the collection of organisations and procedures that coordinate executive government. Two approaches to core executive studies are: the resource dependency approach, which focusses on how roles interact and resources are utilised; and the functional approach, which focusses on how roles change over time. Both approaches are applied to non-partisan advisors (private secretaries) in ministerial office settings, actors which to date core executive studies have ignored. It reveals the resources that non-partisan advisors apply to contribute to policy coordination and maintain political neutrality; and that their role has changed since the increased presence of partisan advisors in ministers’ offices in the past 20 years. Six distinct roles describe how non-partisan advisors respond to and meet the needs of both minister and public service in the core executive. When compared with political advisory roles, five of the roles appear strongly aligned in function.
Analyses of a datable solar eclipse record in Maya Classic period monumental inscriptions
Authors: Hayakawa Hisashi , Sôma Misturu , Kinsman J Hutch 
Published: September 2021

ABSTRACT
Historical records of total solar eclipses provide vital information for computing the rotation of the Earth and understanding its long-term variations in the time before modern measurements. While eclipses recorded around Eurasia and North Africa for millennia have been subjected to consideration in this context, eclipse records in the American continents have received little attention. In this study, we analysed the solitary observational record for a solar eclipse conducted by the ancient Maya on 790 July 16 in the Julian calendar, recorded on the Stela 3 of Santa Elena Poco Uinic (N16°35′, W91°44′). This stela has an eclipse glyph and is associated with a total solar eclipse. Taking the up-to-date Earth rotation (ΔT) rate into account, our calculations locate this site slightly out of the totality path. The visibility of the total solar eclipse from Santa Elena Poco Uinic would require ΔT to be 4074 s &lt; ΔT &lt; 4873 s. In comparison with the contemporary eclipse records, this yields a short-term increase in ΔT ≥ 800 s between 761 and 790 and a decrease in ΔT ≥ 580 s between 790 and 873. Therefore, the total solar eclipse on 790 July 16 cannot be expected to have been visible from Santa Elena Poco Uinic, unlike what has been previously considered. We conclude that this stela probably records a partial solar eclipse of great magnitude (≈0.946) visible under favourable meteorological conditions or is based on hearsay from the southern coastal area.
The Christian Anti-Torture Movement and the Politics of Conscience in France
Authors: Johnston-White Rachel M 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
This article investigates how the concept of ‘conscience’ emerged as a battleground within the French Catholic Church and as a politicized concept with implications for ideas about human rights. State-sponsored torture during the Algerian War (1954–62) prompted dissident Christians to pioneer the use of ‘individual conscience’ as a tool of resistance. The Christians of the anti-torture movement embraced the theologically informed language of conscience alongside a French, secular tradition of rights drawn from the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The way that Catholic dissidents thought about rights transcended the secular–religious divide; while recognizing a liberal concept of rights coming out of the French Revolution, these Catholics also insisted upon the spiritual function of individual conscience as a check upon the state. Intra-Catholic debates about conscience thus reveal the political and theological diversity within mid-twentieth-century Christianity, long assumed to have been dominated by actors on the political right, as well as the multiplicity of coexisting ways of speaking about and interpreting human rights.
How to reach optimal estimates of confidence intervals in microscopic counting of phytoplankton?
Authors: Salonen Kalevi , Salmi Pauliina , Keskitalo Jorma 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Present practices in the microscopic counting of phytoplankton to estimate the reliability of results rely on the assumption of a random distribution of taxa in sample preparations. In contrast to that and in agreement with the literature, we show that aggregated distribution is common and can lead to over-optimistic confidence intervals, if estimated according to the shortcut procedure of Lund et al. based on the number of counted cells. We found a good linear correlation between the distribution independent confidence intervals for medians and those for parametric statistics so that 95% confidence intervals can be approximated by using a correction factor of 1.4. Instead, the recommendation to estimate confidence intervals from the total number of counted cells according to Lund et al. should be categorically rejected. We further propose the adoption of real-time confidence intervals during microscopic counting as the criterion to define how long counting should be continued. Then each sample can be counted in its individual way to reach the necessary reliability independent of highly different samples. Such a dynamic counting strategy would be the most significant development in the quality control of phytoplankton counting since the early pioneers established the present counting practices in the late 1950s.
Predator-induced allometric changes in the tail spine length ofDaphnia: a distinct resource allocation strategy
Authors: Gu Lei , Xu Yang , Yang Tingting , Qin Shanshan , Zhang Lu , Sun Yunfei , Huang Yuan , Yang Zhou 
Published: September 2021

AbstractUnderstanding resource allocation strategies underlying inducible defense is a challenging scientific issue, because of the difficulty in measuring resource allocations of defensive traits. We examined allometric changes to evaluate resource allocation strategies on the tail spine of Daphnia within and between species and further explore the allometric changes at different developmental stages and their relationship with growth and reproduction. We found that four Daphnia species (Daphnia magna, Daphnia sinensis, Daphnia galeata and Daphnia mitsukuri) can perform significant inducible defensive responses when exposed to fish kairomone. Different from the other Daphnia species, D. mitsukuri significantly enhanced the allometric slope of its tail spine when exposed to fish kairomone. We also found that allometric changes among different D. mitsukuri clones are significant in adult individuals. Furthermore, the allometric changes show a significant negative interaction with individual growth, indicating that a trade-off may exist between the resource allocations of tail spine elongation and growth. This study highlights the species-specific allometric changes in tail spine elongation and provides an explanation for this from resource allocations.
Prey selectivity and feeding rates of the scyphozoan Catostylus tagi (Haeckel, 1869)
Authors: Cruz Joana , Cerveira Inês , Andrade Inês , Baptista Vânia , TeodÓsio M Alexandra 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
The occurrence of scyphozoan blooms is frequently reported in coastal areas, suggesting a need to assess its impacts on trophic webs. However, many scyphozoan species remain understudied with regard to their feeding ecology. Here, feeding selectivity experiments were conducted to learn about the possible prey preference of Catostylus tagi among mesozooplankton prey and estimate feeding rates. In general, C. tagi demonstrated a relative positive selection on small prey as cyclopoid copepods (Oithona spp. and Oncaea spp.), copepod nauplii as well as non-swimming prey (fish eggs), and ingestion rates increased with prey concentration. Further in situ studies must be conducted during summer blooms, to determine the predatory impact, retrieving data of C. tagi and prey abundance, particularly in important nursery areas such as estuaries.
Nudging and Muddling through
Authors: Van Ryzin Gregg G 
Published: September 2021

AbstractDespite its grounding in prestigious theories of behavioral science, the findings of both academic and applied behavioral public administration (BPA) have tended to present a rather mixed picture of often contradictory results that appear highly context dependent. And more developed theory and better methods may not do much to remedy the situation. Rather, we should perhaps begin to view BPA through the lens of Charles Lindblom’s notion of a science of muddling through. That is, BPA should perhaps be seen not so much as a theory-driven attempt to uncover universal regularities of human thought and behavior, but rather as a method of incremental, limited adjustments—tested by successive randomized controlled trials (RCTs)—that form part of an evolutionary process of trial-and-error aimed at solving applied problems in localized settings. Implications for academic and applied BPA are discussed.
A comment on the averaging in an inhomogeneous cosmology and the Hubble constant problem
Authors: Tomonaga Masanori , Futamase Toshifumi 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
In recent cosmology, the Hubble constant problem has attracted much attention. As a possible solution to the problem, local variation of the expansion rate in an inhomogeneous cosmology has been proposed, where the spatial averaging over a finite domain was introduced in order to construct local Friedmann spacetime. However, the treatment was restricted to the comoving synchronous gauge and there is some confusion over the gauge ambiguity of the results. In this paper we study the spatial averaging in the Newtonian gauge in order to clarify the gauge ambiguity and obtain the same results as before.
Improving the Predictive Validity of the Dutch STarT Back Tool
Authors: Bier Jasper D , Kuijer Milou R , de Jong Annet , Verhagen Arianne 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

Objective
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the predictive validity of the Dutch version of the STarT Back Tool (SBT) can be improved by (1) using other cut-off values, (2) changing the items, or (3) adding prognostic factors to the SBT.

Design
This was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study (PRINS study: Prevalence of Risk groups in Neck- and back pain patients according to the STarT back screening tool) in patients with low back or neck pain.

Methods
The predictive validity was calculated with a relative risk ratio and a Spearman correlation. The new cut-off values were calculated with receiver operating characteristic curves. Replacing items of the SBT and adding new items were assessed with logistic regression analyses.

Results
A total of 150 patients were included; 51% were categorized as having low risk, 39% as moderate risk, and 11% as high risk. Changing the cut-off total score to ≤2 and the subscore to ≥5 led to an improvement of the Spearman correlation and RR. Adding the item “duration of the complaints” improved the RR for moderate risk (3.6) (95% CI = 1.6–7.9) and for high risk (9.0) (95% CI = 4.2–19.1) compared with low risk. The new Spearman correlation was improved to rs = 0.37.

Conclusion
The predictive validity was improved by adding the item “duration of the complaints” and changing the cut-off values.
Mobility indicators and COVID-19 growth ratio in Iraq: a correlation study
Authors: Lami Faris , Khaleel Hanan Abdulghafoor , Khader Yousef S 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

Background
There is no prior study of the effect of mobility-limiting measures on the occurrence of COVID-19 in Iraq.

Objectives
To determine the relationship between publicly available mobility index data and the growth ratio (GR) of COVID-19.

Method
We used Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports to extract Iraq’s mobility data and the official Ministry of Health COVID-19 statements. We used the data to calculate the Pearson’s correlation coefficient and fit a linear regression model to determine the relationship between percentage change from the baseline in the mobility indices and the GR of COVID-19 in Iraq.

Results
There was a moderate positive correlation between each of the mobility indices except the residential index and COVID-19 GR in Iraq. The general linear model indicated that as each of the mobility indices increases by one unit, the GR of COVID19 increases by 0.002–0.003 except for the residential index. As the residential mobility index increases by one unit, the GR decreases by 0.009. All the findings were statistically significant (P-value &lt; 0.0001).

Conclusion
Mobility-limiting measures may be able to reduce the growth rate of COVID-19 moderately. Accordingly, mobility-limiting measures should be combined with other public control measures particularly mass mask use.
The Greek smoking epidemic from a life-course perspective
Authors: Christopoulou Rebekka , Mavropoulos Georgios , Voucharas Georgios 
Published: September 2021

Abstract

Background
Smoking rates in Greece are the highest recorded among OECD countries, but the historical and life-course evolution of smoking patterns is largely unknown. The present paper addresses this gap.

Methods
We produce nationally representative life-course trajectories of smoking and related mortality of eight generations of Greek men and women. We estimate the smoking–mortality correlation conditional on several confounders and project the estimates forward.

Results
We show that smoking prevalence among Greek men has plateaued at &gt;60% for all but the youngest generation. For women, smoking prevalence is relatively lower, lags by several generations and follows a hump-shaped pattern. Smoking-attributable mortality is currently peaking for men (nearing 40% of total deaths) and is rising for women. We estimate that it takes ~20 years of smoking to maximize the smoking–mortality correlation (at 0.48 for men and 0.32 for women). Based on this estimation, we forecast that mortality rates will begin falling within the current decade.

Conclusions
The breadth of the Greek smoking epidemic has been high by international standards, reflecting the ineffective tobacco control efforts in the country. While smoking popularity fell during the Great Recession, policy vigilance is necessary to prevent a relapse once the economy recovers.