bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of health economics within health technology assessment: past, present, and future – an Austrian perspective
Authors: Zechmeister-Koss Ingrid , Götz Gregor , Fabian Daniel , Wild Claudia 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
In many countries, the economics domain forms a routine part of health technology assessments (HTA) next to analyzing the comparative effectiveness and safety of a technology. The method applied most often is economic evaluation, such as cost-effectiveness analysis, which is supposed to support the efficient use of resources. In Austria, economic evaluation has played a negligible role in HTA and reimbursement decisions, even though the country faces the same public healthcare sustainability challenges as others. In this commentary, we argue that while health economics will need to play a more active role in HTA-related decision support to deal with those challenges, current approaches in other countries may have to be broadened to fit the Austrian context. We are outlining four arguments to underpin this perspective: First, economic evaluations (in their current form) are of limited benefit for supporting reimbursement decisions of new high-priced technologies. Second, a broader variety of health economic methods is needed to address the scope of technologies. Third, applying health economic methods requires a reflection on their underlying values. Finally, health economics within HTA needs to go beyond microeconomic analysis of interventions. We are suggesting several alternative methods and approaches, encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and experimenting with methods developed in the academic context but rarely applied in routine HTA. Although some of our topics are unique to Austria, others may equally apply to other healthcare systems. With our thoughts, we aim to stimulate discussions for further developing health economics within HTA in Austria and internationally.
Content validation of the COST for patient questionnaire (COPAQ) for patients with low back pain: a qualitative study
Authors: Bakaa Layla , Al-Mosawi Fatima , Bakaa Nora , de Oliveira Lisandra Almeida , Laberge Maude , Macedo Luciana G. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Introduction
The costs of low back pain (LBP) are complex and difficult to estimate. This study aims to adapt the Cost for Patients Questionnaire (CoPaQ) for use in LBP populations.

Materials and methods
In a cross-sectional qualitative study, we conducted cognitive interviews to assess the CoPaQ’s suitability for addressing costs related to LBP. Three groups of participants were included (n = 5 each): (i) persons with a history of LBP or primary caregiver, (ii) researchers with expertise in LBP, and (iii) primary care providers specialized in treating LBP. The interpretation, analysis, and summary of results used Knafl et al.’s qualitative content analysis method.

Results
Persons with a history of LBP (n = 5), had a median age of 60 years (Interquartile Range (IQR): 26–71.5), and varying durations of LBP, the median duration of LBP 7 years (IQR: 4–32.5). Researchers (n = 5) had a median age of 33 years (IQR: 29–45). Primary care providers (n = 5) had a median age of 40 years (IQR: 37.5–65), and a background in chiropractic care (n = 3) and physiotherapy (n = 2). Content analysis of the interviews revealed sources of error with five pre-determined themes (clarity/comprehension, relevance, inadequate response definition, reference point, perspective modifiers) and one developed theme (organization). We modified the questionnaire for LBP populations based on the feedback.

Conclusion
Our study evaluated the content validity of a questionnaire that assesses the direct and indirect costs associated with LBP. Future studies should pilot this questionnaire with persons of varying LBP severity and compare it with cost diaries.
Effects of dietary proteins on cognitive performance and brain vascular function in adults: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Adams Micah S. , Mensink Ronald P. , Joris Peter J. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The incidence of cognitive decline is rising, leading to increased attention on the preventive role of healthy foods on brain function. Previous reviews including primarily observational studies suggested that dietary proteins may improve cognitive performance, but evidence from individual randomised controlled trials (RCT) is less consistent. Therefore, this systematic review examined the long-term effects of dietary proteins from RCT, considering both their amount and type, on cognitive performance (psychomotor speed and attention, executive function, memory and global cognition). Alterations in cerebral blood flow (CBF) – a validated brain vascular function marker – were also considered. A total of 4747 studies were identified through a systematic search, resulting in twenty-three included papers reporting effects on cognitive performance (n = 23) and CBF (n = 3). Improvements were observed in three out of the nine studies that evaluated psychomotor speed which compared a dietary protein intervention with a non-protein or lower-protein control. Of the six beneficial observations on working memory (n = 12), declarative memory (n = 10) and visuospatial memory (n = 10), five were nut interventions from three different trials. Limited studies focusing on global cognition suggested that specific target populations, namely subacute stroke or dementia, may benefit more than healthy individuals from increased dietary protein intake. From the three studies involving CBF, improvements in regional blood flow were associated with most cognitive performance outcomes. The comparative effects of different protein types warrant further investigation. Overall, this review encourages additional research into protein-rich foods or supplements which could potentially prevent or mitigate cognitive decline.
Association of a history of depression with infertility, miscarriage and stillbirth: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Liang Chen , Chung Hsin-Fang , Dobson Annette J. , Mishra Gita D. 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Aims
The role of depression in subsequent infertility, miscarriage and stillbirth remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association of a history of depression with these adverse outcomes using a longitudinal cohort study of women across their reproductive life span.

Methods
This study used data from participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health who were born in 1973–1978. Participants (N = 8707) were followed up every 3 years from 2000 (aged 22–27) to 2018 (aged 40–45). Information on a diagnosis of depression was collected from each survey, and antidepressant medication use was identified through pharmaceutical prescription data. Histories of infertility, miscarriage, and stillbirth were self-reported at each survey. Time-lagged log-binomial models with generalized estimating equations were used to assess the association of a history of depression up to and including in a given survey with the risk of fertility issues in the next survey.

Results
Women with a history of depression (excluding postnatal depression) were at higher risk of infertility [risk ratio (RR) = 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21–1.48], miscarriage (RR = 1.22, 95%CI: 1.10–1.34) and recurrent miscarriages (≥2; RR = 1.39, 95%CI: 1.17–1.64), compared to women without a history of depression. There were too few stillbirths to provide clear evidence of an association. Antidepressant medication use did not affect the observed associations. Estimated RRs of depression with infertility and miscarriage increased with age.

Conclusions
A history of depression was associated with higher risk of subsequent infertility, miscarriage and recurrent miscarriages.
Echoes Through Time: Transforming Climate Litigation Narratives on Future Generations
Authors: Wewerinke-Singh Margaretha , Ramsay Alofipo So'o alo Fleur 
Published: November 2024

AbstractStorytelling is essential in climate litigation. The narratives that are told in and around legal cases shape public discourse and our collective imagination regarding the climate crisis. The stories that plaintiffs and their lawyers choose to highlight hold immense power to either reinforce or challenge dominant assumptions and worldviews. This article analyzes how storytelling has been utilized in climate lawsuits, with a particular focus on those that involve future generations. It highlights the need to craft narratives that foreground entanglement and relationality rather than notions of competing interests. We offer recommendations for strategically using storytelling and framing techniques to build public engagement, spur equitable climate action and transform legal systems.
Synergistic effect of cover crops residue and herbicides for effective weed management in southern U.S. cotton production systems
Authors: Kumari Annu , Price Andrew J. , Gamble Audrey , Li Steve , Jacobson Alana 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Cover crop adoption is increasing among growers with the occurrence of herbicide-resistant weed species. A field study conducted at three sites from autumn 2021 through the crop harvest in 2022 in Alabama aimed to evaluate the combined effect of cover crop residue and herbicides for weed control and improved cotton lint yield. The experiment was conducted in split-plot design with main plots consisting of six cover crop treatments: cereal rye, crimson clover, oat, radish, cover crop mixture, and winter fallow. The subplots included four herbicide treatments: (i) preemergence, pendimethalin + fomesafen, (ii) postemergence, dicamba + glyphosate + S-metolachlor, (iii) preemergence followed by postemergence, and (iv) nontreated (NT) check. Cover crops, excluding radish, exhibited greater weed biomass reduction than winter fallow with corresponding herbicide treatments of either preemergence, postemergence, or preemergence + postemergence as compared to control (winter fallow and NT check). Considering preemergence + postemergence treatment, cereal rye, crimson clover, oat, and cover crop mixture provided >95% weed biomass reduction as compared to control. Looking at the overall effect of cover crop, cereal rye outperformed and showed greater weed biomass reduction than radish relative to control. Preemergence + postemergence herbicide treatment resulted in greater lint yield than other treatments. Cotton in cereal rye plots had a greater lint yield than in winter fallow at one out of three locations. In conclusion, integrating herbicides and incorporating high-residue cover crops such as cereal rye is an effective weed management strategy to control troublesome weeds.
Methods for Quantifying Source‐Specific Air Pollution Exposure to Serve Epidemiology, Risk Assessment, and Environmental Justice
Authors: Shan Xiaorong , Casey Joan A. , Shearston Jenni A. , Henneman Lucas R. F. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractIdentifying sources of air pollution exposure is crucial for addressing their health impacts and associated inequities. Researchers have developed modeling approaches to resolve source‐specific exposure for application in exposure assessments, epidemiology, risk assessments, and environmental justice. We explore six source‐specific air pollution exposure assessment approaches: Photochemical Grid Models (PGMs), Data‐Driven Statistical Models, Dispersion Models, Reduced Complexity chemical transport Models (RCMs), Receptor Models, and Proximity Exposure Estimation Models. These models have been applied to estimate exposure from sources such as on‐road vehicles, power plants, industrial sources, and wildfires. We categorize these models based on their approaches for assessing emissions and atmospheric processes (e.g., statistical or first principles), their exposure units (direct physical measures or indirect measures/scaled indices), and their temporal and spatial scales. While most of the studies we discuss are from the United States, the methodologies and models are applicable to other countries and regions. We recommend identifying the key physical processes that determine exposure from a given source and using a model that sufficiently accounts for these processes. For instance, PGMs use first principles parameterizations of atmospheric processes and provide source impacts exposure variability in concentration units, although approaches within PGMs for source attribution introduce uncertainties relative to the base model and are difficult to evaluate. Evaluation is important but difficult—since source‐specific exposure is difficult to observe, the most direct evaluation methods involve comparisons with alternative models.
Auroral and Magnetotail Dynamics During Quiet‐Time STEVE and SAID
Authors: Nishimura Y. , Gallardo‐Lacourt B. , Donovan E. F. , Angelopoulos V. , Nishitani N. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractAlthough Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE) and subauroral ion drifts (SAID) are often considered in the context of geomagnetically disturbed times, we found that STEVE and SAID can occur even during quiet times. Quiet‐time STEVE has the same properties as substorm‐time STEVE, including its purple/mauve color and occurrence near the equatorward boundary of the pre‐midnight auroral oval. Quiet‐time STEVE and SAID emerged during a non‐substorm auroral intensification at or near the poleward boundary of the auroral oval followed by a streamer. Quiet‐time STEVE only lasted a few minutes but can reappear multiple times, and its latitude was much higher than substorm‐time STEVE due to the contracted auroral oval. The THEMIS satellites in the plasma sheet detected dipolarization fronts and fast flows associated with the auroral intensification, indicating that the transient energy release in the magnetotail was the source of quiet‐time STEVE and SAID. Particle injection was weaker and electron temperature was lower than the events without quiet‐time STEVE. The plasmapause extended beyond the geosynchronous orbit, and the ring current and tail current were weak. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz was close to zero, while the IMF Bx was dominant. We suggest that the small energy release in the quiet magnetosphere can significantly impact the flow and field‐aligned current system.
Intrinsic Chemical Drivers of Organic Aerosol Volatility: From Experimental Insights to Model Predictions
Authors: Jiang Bin , Zhao Shizhen , Chen Wei , Tian Lele , Hu Weiwei , Li Jun , Zhang Gan 
Published: November 2024

AbstractAccurately predicting the volatilities of molecules in aerosols is challenging but crucial for understanding the atmospheric effects of aerosols. We used negative and positive ion electrospray ionization Fourier‐transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT‐ICR MS) to identify differences in the molecular compositions of gas and particle phase samples from urban atmosphere. We aimed to identify intrinsic chemical parameters that determine and predict the organic aerosol volatility. We found higher average molecular weights, carbon mass percentages, and double bond equivalents (DBE) but lower average O/C ratios and oxygen mass percentages in the particle phase than the gas phase. We identified DBE, which display a significant negative correlation with volatility, as a key parameter. We proposed to improve the previous model for predicting organic aerosol volatility by incorporating DBE as a new variant; and the result showed that this subsequently improved the accuracy of the model, particularly for compounds with minimal or no heteroatoms (0–2) such as hydrocarbons (CH). The revised model offers insights into the contributions of DBE, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur atoms to the volatilities of diverse organic molecules in aerosols and could be applied to improve our understanding of the phase distributions of volatile organic compounds in the ambient air.
Evidence for Magnetized Basin Ejecta on the Moon From Observations and Modeling of Demagnetized Craters
Authors: Park Hyeonhu , Garrick‐Bethell Ian , Johnson Brandon C. , Jin Ho 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThe formation of lunar crustal magnetic anomalies is not well understood, and most anomalies are not associated with any obvious geologic features. To investigate further, we studied lunar craters from 100 to 400 km in diameter (totaling 305 craters) that may have demagnetized the crust. We find that the four craters Chaplygin, Keeler, Gauss, and Fermi are highly likely to have demagnetized the crust, based on our statistical methods. We modeled the magnetic source of these craters as a simple hole in a thin magnetized plate, representing the destruction of a surficial magnetized layer (Hypothesis 1). Alternatively, we also simulated the impact demagnetization of deeper‐seated magnetism in the crust by shock and temperature (Hypothesis 2). Some interior magnetization remains unexplained under both hypotheses, but the destruction of a pre‐existing surficial layer of magnetized material is consistent with the location of the peak in each crater's magnetic field. We also find three of the craters are inversely correlated with remotely sensed iron, further supporting our interpretation that the craters demagnetized a surficial layer. The four craters are located on magnetized ejecta deposits from the South Pole‐Aitken, Orientale, and Crisium basins. Hence, these four craters further support the hypothesis that large provinces of magnetized material on the Moon arise from hot impact ejecta that cooled in a dynamo field.
Patterns and Drivers of CO2 and CH4 Fluxes in an Urbanized River Network and Their Response to Restoration
Authors: Li Lingling , Yan Renhua 
Published: November 2024

AbstractCarbon evasion from urban river networks becomes increasingly significant as urbanization accelerates. However, there remains a limited understanding of the overall carbon emission impact integrating CO2 and CH4 dynamics, particularly in response to ecological restoration efforts. In this study, we investigated patterns of fluvial CO2 and CH4 diffusive fluxes across an urban river network in Wuxi, China. Our results reveal that water quality variables, especially dissolved oxygen (DO) and phosphorus content, predominantly influence the variability of carbon emissions. These factors exhibit a stronger correlation with CO2 emissions compared to CH4, indicating a net increase in carbon emissions as water quality deteriorates. Seasonally, higher water temperatures, phosphate levels, and lower DO concentrations lead to increased carbon emissions during summer months. Spatially, areas with lower carbon emissions (averaged 86 mmol m−2 d−1 CO2 and 0.13 mmol m−2 d−1 CH4) are primarily situated near the lake and in river sections where significant water quality improvements have been achieved through ecological restoration efforts. Cluster analysis shows that over 60% of high‐carbon emission (averaged 162 mmol m−2 d−1 CO2 and 1.21 mmol m−2 d−1 CH4) sites in the study area have undergone ecological restoration, suggesting potential for further carbon emission reduction through enhanced restoration practices. Our findings underscore the importance of implementing carbon reduction strategies such as nutrient removal and aeration for oxygenation within water ecological restoration initiatives. Effective matching of restoration strategies holds further potential for mitigating carbon emissions from urban river networks.
Obesity-related subclinical hypothyroidism in childhood: Elevated triglycerides but not basal metabolic rate
Authors: Tersander Beata , Olsson Roger , Aydin Banu K. , Stenlid Rasmus , Ciba Iris , Manell Hannes 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
Background
Studies on the associations between obesity-related subclinical hypothyroidism with basal metabolic rate and risk factors of cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents are scarce.

Methods
Retrospective cohort study of children with obesity (n = 294) from the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Childhood Obesity cohort. Differences in basal metabolic rate quantified by indirect calorimetry, and the cardiovascular risk factors; body mass index, blood lipids, fasting and 2 h oral glucose tolerance test glucose, glycated haemoglobin and insulin resistance, between subjects with and without subclinical hypothyroidism were investigated. The associations of baseline thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and ΔTSH with change in cardiovascular risk factors over time were assessed.

Results
Subjects with subclinical hypothyroidism had elevated triacylglycerides but no alterations in basal metabolic rate or other measured cardiovascular risk factors. ΔTSH was positively associated with Δtriacylglycerides, Δtotal-cholesterol and ΔLDL-cholesterol, independently of age, sex, Δbody mass index and ΔT4. In the subclinical hypothyroidism group, 92% of individuals normalised their TSH 0.9–2.9 years later.

Conclusions
Children with obesity and subclinical hypothyroidism did not have an altered basal metabolic rate but elevated triacylglycerides. During the follow-up period, TSH changed in parallel with several blood lipids. Elevated TSH often normalised without pharmaceutical intervention within 3 years.

Impact

The present study found that subclinical hypothyroidism in paediatric obesity is related to elevated triglycerides.

The present study found that subclinical hypothyroidism is not associated to basal metabolic rate in paediatric obesity.

TSH change over time correlated with the change in triglycerides and LDL and total cholesterol.

Among subjects with subclinical hypothyroidism at baseline 92% normalised without pharmaceutical intervention within 3 years.

This research adds to the knowledge of the longitudinal, natural course of elevated TSH in paediatric obesity which is expected to help to make informed decisions regarding follow-up and evaluation of this patient group.
Genetic testing for monogenic forms of motor neuron disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in unaffected family members
Authors: Howard Jade , Chaouch Amina , Douglas Andrew G. L. , MacLeod Rhona , Roggenbuck Jennifer , McNeill Alisdair 
Published: November 2024

AbstractMotor neuron disease (MND), also referred to as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a monogenic disease in a minority of cases, with autosomal dominant inheritance. Increasing numbers of people with MND are requesting genetic testing, and indeed receiving a genetic diagnosis. Consequently, requests for genetic counselling and predictive testing (i.e. of unaffected family members) are similarly expected to rise, alongside pre-symptomatic clinical trials. Despite this, there is no evidence-based guideline for predictive genetic testing in MND. This paper provides an overview of the genomic basis of MND, focusing specifically on the most common monogenic causes of MND. It then lays out the complexities of MND predictive testing, including the genetic landscape characterised by incomplete penetrance, clinical and genetic heterogeneity, and an oligogenic mechanism of pathogenesis in some cases. Additionally, there is limited research on the psychosocial impact of predictive genetic testing for MND, with studies suggesting potential difficulty in adjusting to the news, in part due to a lack of support and follow-up. This underscores a case for evidence-based, disease-specific guidance for predictive testing in MND.