30796 research outputs found
Sort by
Narrative power in electoral autocracies: The policy narrative behind the success of a pension movement
Get PDFHow did a pension movement construct its narrative around pension age, shaping its structure and content to influence policy change in an electoral autocracy? This article delves into the campaign of the Turkish pension movement, a single-issue movement self-identifying as “people stuck in the pension age barrier” [emeklilikte yaşa takılanlar (EYT) in Turkish], to analyze policy narratives in an electoral autocratic context. Employing the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), this exploratory study dissects the Turkish pension movement's policy narrative through an examination of nearly 2100 tweets, selected from a total of 64,980 tweets posted between 2020 and 2023. It shows how, in 280 characters, the movement challenged the long-established pension age. The article reveals that the EYT movement positions itself as the hero, using a victim-centered injustice narrative with the villain often left vague, likely to preserve dialogue with the government. The movement emphasizes the diffused benefits of the moral of the story, portraying its constituency as larger than it is and its base of allies as wide as possible, reflecting the movement's strategic engagement with electoral politics. This study enhances the NPF literature by demonstrating how non-governmental actors construct influential narratives in electoral autocracies
Fruit and vegetable consumption and injurious falls among adults aged ≥ 50 years from low- and middle-income countries
Get PDFOBJECTIVE: Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption may increase risk for falls. However, to date, only one study has examined this association in a sample restricted to females, while the mediators of this association are largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and injurious falls, and to identify potential mediators in a sample including both males and females.METHODS: Cross-sectional, nationally representative data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed. Fruit/vegetable consumption was divided into two groups: ≥2 servings of fruits and ≥3 servings of vegetables per day (adequate consumption) or else (inadequate consumption). Fall-related injury referred to those that occurred in the past 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression and mediation analysis were conducted.RESULTS: Data on 34,129 individuals aged ≥ 50 years were analyzed (mean age 62.4 years; 52.1% females). Overall, inadequate fruit/vegetable intake was associated with a significant 1.41 (95%CI = 1.05-1.90) times higher odds for injurious falls. This association was only significant among females (OR = 1.96; 95%CI = 1.32-2.85). Mediation analysis showed that affect (mediated percentage 8.8%), cognition (7.2%), and sleep/energy (7.5%) were significant mediators, but vision, grip strength, and gait speed were not.CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with higher odds for injurious falls among adults aged ≥ 50 years (especially females), and this association was partly mediated by cognition, affect, and sleep/energy. Future longitudinal studies are necessary to provide more insight into the underlying mechanisms, and to assess whether increasing fruit/vegetable consumption may reduce risk for falls.</p
The association between physical multimorbidity and fall-related injury among adults aged ≥ 50 years from low- and middle-income countries
Get PDFStudies from high-income countries have shown that multimorbidity is associated with increased fall risk among older adults. However, studies specifically on this topic from low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) are lacking. Thus, we aimed to assess this association among adults aged ≥ 50 years from six LMICs.Cross-sectional, community-based data from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) were analyzed. Eleven chronic physical conditions were assessed. The presence of past 12-month fall-related injury was ascertained through self-reported information. Multivariable logistic regression and mediation analysis was conducted to assess the association between multimorbidity and fall-related injury.Data on 34,129 adults aged ≥ 50 years [mean (SD) age 62.4 (16.0) years; males 48.0%] were analyzed. Overall, compared to having no chronic conditions, having 2, 3, and ≥ 4 chronic conditions were significantly associated with 1.67 (95%CI = 1.21–2.30), 2.64 (95%CI = 1.89–3.68), and 3.67 (95%CI = 2.42–5.57) times higher odds for fall-related injury. The association between multimorbidity (i.e., ≥ 2 chronic conditions) and fall-related injury was mainly explained by pain/discomfort (mediated% 39.7%), mobility (34.1%), sleep/energy (24.2%), and cognition (13.0%).Older adults with multimorbidity in LMICs are at increased odds for fall-related injury. Targeting the identified potential mediators among those with multimorbidity may reduce fall risk in this population
High-dose vitamin D3 to improve outcomes in the convalescent phase of complicated severe acute malnutrition in Pakistan: a double-blind randomised controlled trial (ViDiSAM)
Get PDFWe have previously shown that high-dose vitamin D 3 improved weight gain and neurodevelopmental indices in children receiving standard therapy for uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Here we present results of a randomised placebo-controlled trial in Lahore, Pakistan, to determine whether two oral doses of 200,000 international units (IU) vitamin D 3 (the first administered on or before the day of hospital discharge and the second administered 14 days later) would benefit children aged 6-59 months during the convalescent phase of complicated SAM. Eligible participants were individually randomised to intervention vs. control arms with a one-to-one allocation ratio and stratification by hospital of recruitment using computer-generated random sequences. Double-blinding to treatment allocation was maintained by concealing allocation from participants’ parents or guardians, their medical care providers, and all trial staff. The primary outcome was mean weight-for-height or -length z-score (WHZ) at 2-month follow-up. Secondary efficacy outcomes included mean WHZ at 6-month follow-up and mean lean mass index, Malawi Development Assessment Tool (MDAT) scores and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations at 2- and 6-month follow-up. The trial has now completed. 259 children were randomised (128 to vitamin D, 131 to placebo), of whom 251 (96.9%) contributed data to analysis of the primary outcome (123 allocated to vitamin D, 128 to placebo). At 2-month follow-up, participants allocated to vitamin D had significantly higher mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations than those allocated to placebo (adjusted mean difference [aMD] 100.0 nmol/L, 95% confidence interval [CI] 72.2–127.8 nmol/L). This was not associated with an inter-arm difference in mean WHZ at 2-month follow-up (aMD 0.02, 95% CI −0.20 to 0.23), or in any anthropometric or neurodevelopmental secondary outcome assessed at 2- or 6-month follow-up. The intervention was safe. In conclusion, high-dose vitamin D 3 elevated mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations in children receiving standard therapy for complicated SAM in Pakistan, but did not influence any anthropometric or neurodevelopmental outcome studied. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier NCT04270643.</p
Beach Clean 2.0: a transdisciplinary, civic approach to tackling marine plastic pollution in Northern Ireland (NI)
Get PDFGlobal evaluation of the impact of food fortification with folic acid on rates of schizophrenia
Get PDFBackground: Low folate status is one of the multiple factors thought to contribute to the development of schizophrenia. As of 2023, over 70 countries have implemented mandatory fortification of foods with folic acid, a public health measure aimed at reducing neural tube defects; however, the impact of such policy on schizophrenia has not been comprehensively investigated. Method: We assessed the impact of mandatory folic acid fortification on changes in the schizophrenia rates in 194 jurisdictions between 1990 and 2019 using publicly available data. We used weighted regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and sociopolitical factors, experience of natural disasters, and baseline schizophrenia rate. Results: Age-adjusted prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia increased marginally between 1990 and 2019. In all geographic regions, schizophrenia prevalence and incidence per 100,000 positively correlated with countries' sociodemographic index and were lower with fortification. Schizophrenia burdens were higher among males compared to females. Lower prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia were associated with having mandatory fortification with modest magnitudes. Duration of fortification or the fortification dose did not appear to have a strong impact. However, in the 15–39 year age-group, both mandatory fortification (β = −13·14 (−22·60, −3·68)) and duration of fortification (β = −0·82 (−1·40, −0·23)) were significantly associated with lower schizophrenia with larger magnitude in both sexes. The highest dose tertile was reported to have the lowest incidence and the smallest increase in prevalence in this age-group. Conclusion: Folic acid fortification may be a beneficial intervention in lowering schizophrenia among adolescents and young adults.</p
The Application of Glycolipid-Type Microbial Biosurfactants as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients for the Treatment and Prevention of Cancer
Get PDFPharmaceutical scientists have researched the potential of secondary metabolites biosyn-thesized by microorganisms as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for the treatment of cancer. Ideally, these APIs should possess anticancer bioactivity that specifically targets tumor cells while having little cytotoxic effect on healthy tissue. Biosurfactants are micro-bial secondary metabolites with surface-active properties and individual bioactivities that have the potential to either destroy cancer cells in a targeted fashion or prevent tumor cell formation. Currently, the best-studied class of microbial biosurfactants for the purpose of anticancer bioactivity is glycolipids, which contain a hydrophilic sugar moiety bonded to a hydrophobic fatty acid. Anticancer investigations are mainly carried out using in vitro models that show that compounds belonging to each of the four sub-classes of microbial glycolipid have significant anticancer bioactivity. The targeted action of this activity ap-pears to be highly dependent on a specific congener molecular structure with nuanced al-terations in structure leading to the killing of both tumor and healthy cells. This review compiles the current literature relating to glycolipid anticancer activity and provides a critical appraisal of exploiting the bioactivity of these compounds as novel anticancer agents. Finally, we propose several suggestions on how this research could be improved moving forward via method standardization
Bio-mediated cementation of supratidal beach sediments associated with groundwater springs
Get PDFThe formation of beachrock, sensu stricto, via carbonate precipitation in the intertidal zone is widespread throughout the tropics and subtropics. While cementation of supratidal beach sediments has also been noted in several locations, it has received much less attention. Here, we report cementation of upper beach sediments promoted by discharge of mineralized groundwater springs and the associated development of microbial mats and biologically mediated tufa. These fundamentally supratidal deposits form at the co-occurrence of (a) unconsolidated clastic beach deposits, (b) carbonate-enriched groundwater and (c) bedrock or a stable substrate, where biological activity variably mediates precipitation of calcium carbonate cement. Analysis of sites in Ireland, Australia, South Africa and Scotland reveals commonalities and some differences that yield insights into the nature of cemented beach deposits and the cementation process. At some sites, primarily vadose, meteoric cementation occurs through the infiltration of beach sediments by groundwater, enabled by a stable substrate or bedrock and the infrequent mobility of back-beach deposits. At other sites, cementation by surficial biofilms or microbial mats forms microbial boundstone laminae, with mobile sediment producing multiple beds of cemented beach deposits and microbial boundstone in a multi-bed deposit. The differentiation of beachrock sensu stricto and the aforementioned groundwater spring-cemented beach deposits is key in establishing their utility as shoreline and associated sea-level indicators
Exploring the Impact of Cognitive Dysfunction During Recurrent Depression in a Sample of Mid-to-Older Age British South Asians:A Qualitative Study
Get PDFINTRODUCTION: Depression is a major public health issue, increasing the risk of comorbidities. Some people with depression experience cognitive dysfunction, which can persist even after symptomatic recovery. British South Asians are at greater risk of developing depression and are less likely to seek treatment. It is important to understand their experience of subjective cognitive dysfunction in depression and how best to support them.AIMS: This study explored subjective experience of cognitive dysfunction during recurrent depression, in a sample of 12 British South Asians aged between 45 and 60 years.METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore cognitive dysfunction during recurrent depression. We analysed the data using thematic analysis.RESULTS: Difficulties in attention and concentration resulted in lower quality of social relationships, including not feeling present and social isolation. Learning new information was difficult, thus impacting productivity. Participants found it difficult to engage in enjoyable activities that promoted brain health. The emotional, physical and spiritual impact negatively impacted on quality of life.DISCUSSION: Cognitive strategies used in therapies could improve brain health and functional recovery in people living with depression.IMPLICATIONS: Mental health nurses play a pivotal role in providing culturally appropriate information and strategies for managing cognitive dysfunction in recurrent depression.</p
