The association between unemployment and health is well documented, but causality remains unclear. This paper investigates how pre-existing health conditions amplify the effects of adverse labor market shocks. Using variation in local unemployment generated by a shock in the petroleum prices that hit the geographic center of the petroleum industry in Norway, but left other regions more or less unaffected, our study reveals that workers with compromised health face a higher likelihood of unemployment during downturns. Heterogeneity analysis reveals differences in susceptibility based on gender, age, education, and job type. Females exhibit greater sensitivity to health, and the youngest age group is most affected. Furthermore, higher education and white-collar jobs correlate with amplified health-related unemployment effects. Conversely, poor health in combination with high age, low education, and blue-collar jobs increases the uptake of social insurance during the economic downturn, pointing toward the substitutability between unemployment benefits and health-related benefits.

Increasing attention has been given to the environmental impact of tire-derived chemicals in aquatic systems, but submerged whole tires remain an overlooked source. This study investigates a previously unexplored underwater tire dump in Hjelmås Bay, Alver Municipality (Norway) where a blast mat manufacturer discarded large quantities of tires into the bay in the 1970s. These tires have remained submerged for over 50 years. We conducted an initial site mapping and collected sediment and water samples to assess tire-related pollutants in comparison with control sites. Sediment analysis revealed elevated levels of Zn, Pb, and Cu, particularly near the tire dump center, with Zn being the most abundant. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was the dominant phthalate detected in the sediments, though no clear spatial pattern emerged for phthalates. Non-target chemical screening of water samples identified 20 features potentially linked to tire degradation, with N,N′-Diphenylguanidine (DPG) being the most notable. Our study highlights the long-term environmental persistence of several tire-derived chemicals, which has ramifications for both the regulation of tire-derived chemicals and plans for remediation at Hjelmås. Our initial findings warrant the implementation of a comprehensive chemical and ecological baseline monitoring assessment prior to discussions on remediation.

The Arctic tundra biome is undergoing rapid shrub expansion ('shrubification') in response to anthropogenic climate change. During the previous ~2.6 million years, glacial cycles caused substantial shifts in Arctic vegetation, leading to changes in species' distributions, abundance and connectivity, which have left lasting impacts on the genetic structure of modern populations. Examining how shrubs responded to past climate change through genetic data reveals the demographic dynamics that shaped their current diversity and distribution and sheds light on the resilience of Arctic shrubs. Here we test scenarios of Quaternary demographic history of dwarf birch species (Betula nana L. and Betula Glandulosa Michx.) using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers obtained from RAD sequencing and approximate Bayesian computation. We compare the timings of modelled population events with ice sheet reconstructions and other paleoenvironmental information to untangle the impacts of alternating cold and warm periods on dwarf birch. Our best supported model suggested that the species diverged in the Mid-Pleistocene Transition as glaciations intensified. We found support for a complex history of inter- and intraspecific divergences and gene flow, and secondary contact occurred during both ice sheet expansion and retreat. Our spatiotemporal analysis suggests that the modern genetic structure of dwarf birch results from transitions in climate between glacials and interglacials, with ice sheets acting alternatively as a barrier or an enabler of population mixing. Tundra shrubs may have had more nuanced responses to past climatic changes than phylogeographic analyses have often suggested, with implications for future eco-evolutionary responses to anthropogenic climate change.

Abstract Background We are in a time of transition. Where once health technology was sequestered behind the guarded curtains of research and healthcare, it is now for the masses. Successful digital health research relies on the public to direct what is relevant, representative and useful. However, too often representative and diverse perspectives are absent from digital health development, including artificial intelligence (AI) for health. As a result, assumptions about what individuals (lay persons) want and need from digital health solutions go unchecked. As part of a larger project to develop a risk prediction and prevention app, this interview study will contribute insights about its reach and potential usability amongst lay persons and potential personalization of the app. Methods In Norway and Spain, interviews with lay persons explored perceptions, expectations and beliefs about health and health technology. Thematic analysis and Lubov’s structural model provided a scaffolding for narrative analysis, used to identify nuanced relationships between participants’ views of health and health technology. Results Twenty-one individuals participated in interviews (n = 8 in Norway, n = 13 in Spain, ages 18–60 years old, n = 6 women). Themes included: personal history, societal context, social network, health status and management, health beliefs, technology experience, and beliefs about AI and technology for health. Three main narratives described participants’ relationships with health technology, “Not for me, but good for you”, digitally dependent health users, and “Not on my radar”. Two stories are presented for each narrative to exemplify the complexity of relationships between an individual, their health and health technology. Conclusion By assessing lay persons’ relationships with their health and health technology, prior to the development of an app for the prevention of chronic illness, we were able to explore the real world potential of these technologies without a presumption of use and relevance. In doing so, we identified reasons that contributed to participants’ choice to use or not to use digital health for prevention. As part of a larger parent project, these results contributed to the personalization and usability assessment of an AI-driven app meant to predict the risk for and provide recommendations for prevention of chronic diseases.

ABSTRACT To establish reliability and construct validity of a Norwegian version of the social cognition test, the Awareness of Social Inference Test (N-TASIT). Participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI; n = 101) and 50 matched healthy controls performed either a virtual reality (VR) or 2D version of N-TASIT at baseline and 16 weeks later. Reliability measures were test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Intraclass correlation (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha (α) were calculated for the overall sample and both groups separately. Construct validity was tested with known groups validity, convergent and discriminant validity. Known groups analysis was conducted for both versions separately and combined. Convergent and discriminant validity were determined by associations between N-TASIT and established measures of social cognition and with measures of cognition, emotional distress and fatigue. ICC for the total sample was 0.63 (95% CI 0.49–0.73), and α was 0.88, when presentation modes (VR and 2D) were combined. The healthy control group outperformed the TBI group in both presentation modes. Medium-to-large associations were found between N-TASIT performance and social cognitive measures, and mostly weak or no significant correlations with non-social domains. N-TASIT appears psychometrically sound and comparable to the original. The influence of presentation mode on performance remains unclear.

Abstract High-resolution climate information is critical for the Vulnerability, Impacts, Adaptation, and Climate Services (VIACS) communities. Coordinated ensembles generated by initiatives like the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) provide consistent and comparable information for the present and future over all land areas of the globe. This manuscript focuses on the European CORDEX initiative (EURO-CORDEX) and its coordinated effort to build regional climate ensembles for the years to come. In its first phase, EURO-CORDEX produced a rich ensemble of regional climate simulations under different representative concentration pathway scenarios. The EURO-CORDEX dataset is openly available and was fed into the Regional Atlas of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. However, this ensemble suffered from several shortcomings, which the community seeks to address in the next phase of production. Chief among these is the oft-cited criticism that the selection of GCMs that provide input to the regional climate models was not rigorous and that the resulting ensemble represents an “ensemble of opportunity.” The present paper provides a description of how the community has addressed these shortcomings. We present a comprehensive, flexible, and traceable evaluation framework and toolkit for assessing the suitability of GCMs for downscaling, using EURO-CORDEX as an example. Its value lies in its explicit recognition of subjectivity and mechanisms implemented to transparently track decision-making. Further, the utility of the framework extends well beyond predownscaling decisions to also include postdownscaling investigations performed by the VIACS communities and beyond, to include researchers investigating such topics as model biases, future constraints, and exploring future storylines.

Abstract China's Chang'E‐4 probe successfully soft‐landed on the lunar far side at Von Kármán crater in January 2019. Onboard, the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) detected subsurface structures and properties such as dielectric permittivity, aiding in our understanding of regolith composition and origin. This study introduces an automatic method for estimating dielectric permittivity using radar diffraction focusing analysis. While developed from traditional seismic analysis, the method is tailored for LPR data by incorporating random noise removal, entropy‐based focusing, and lunar‐specific parameter optimization to address the challenges of noise interference, complex diffraction overlapping and applicability to LPR data. Applied to Chang'E‐4's first 42 lunar‐day data, this method revealed subsurface structure and permittivity distributions. Combined with instantaneous amplitudes, centroid frequencies, and geological features, we present a preferred geological interpretation. Our findings suggest that, after experiencing the latest basaltic magma intrusion and subsequent weathering, the region underwent multiple episodes of high ilmenite content ejecta deposition at a depth of 20–33 m. This was followed by several impacts, leaving craters visible today. Subsequently, the area was overlain by at least two ejecta layers with low ilmenite content at a depth of 13–25 m. Later, two meteoroids struck the paleo‐surface; the larger one created the most prominent irregular crater on the current surface. Thereafter, ejecta from nearby craters such as Finsen and Von Kármán L covered the area, weathering into the current lunar regolith. Our inversion results demonstrate high reliability, align with previous studies and geological context, and can offer methodological and empirical insights for future planetary missions.

This government-funded project comprised experimental treatment aimed at improving health and quality of life for individuals with health complaints attributed to dental amalgam. The objective was to evaluate long-term changes in health complaints and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after amalgam removal in individuals attributing health issues to dental amalgam, while also assessing effect modification and confounding factors. The project was designed as a prospective cohort study. Three cohorts were followed over time: an Amalgam cohort (treatment group, n = 32), a cohort of patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS cohort, n = 28) and a cohort of healthy volunteers (Healthy cohort, n = 19). The Amalgam cohort included patients with MUPS attributed to amalgam seeking amalgam removal, while the MUPS cohort had no such symptom attribution. Amalgam cohort participants had their fillings replaced with alternative materials. Questionnaires were completed at baseline (Q1), 1-year follow-up (Q2) and 4 years later (Q3). Changes over time were analysed using linear mixed-effects models. In the Amalgam cohort, general health complaints significantly decreased after amalgam removal, while HRQoL significantly improved. No major changes were observed over time in the other cohorts. The differences in change scores between the Amalgam and MUPS cohorts were statistically significant, indicating better health outcomes in the Amalgam cohort. Adjusting for potential confounders did not substantially alter the effect estimates. Stratified analyses suggested that baseline indicators of health might act as effect modifiers. Improvement of health was consistent over time even after adjustment for potential confounders. Baseline indicators of health could be effect modifiers.