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Nature-based interventions for older adults:A systematic review of intervention types and methods, health effects and pathways
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Nature-based interventions (NBIs) may support older adults' health and well-being, but it remains unclear which interventions are most effective, for whom and in which contexts. The existing Wilkie and Davinson framework explains the pathways between NBIs and health outcomes but underemphasises the effects of environmental qualities. Therefore, the study aims to critically examine existing NBIs and their associated health outcomes, with a focus on identifying the environmental qualities and pathways that are either facilitating or impeding. METHODS: The review sought 16 databases for any nature-based interventions aimed at enhancing health outcomes where participants are older adults aged ≥65. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool assessed risk of bias. Narrative synthesis was used for result presentation. RESULTS: Of 6143 articles retrieved, 84 studies were included. Participants were primarily community dwelling without specific conditions. Most studies were quantitative experiments. Interventions were predominantly multicomponent, with restoring psychological capacities as the most common pathway. Spiritual, behavioural and socioecological changes were identified. Some health mechanisms were specific to outdoor interventions, but indoor interventions showed comparable outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The study predominantly included community-dwelling participants without specific health conditions, potentially limiting the generalisability of findings to older adults with multimorbidity or those in alternative living environments. Multicomponent interventions challenged direct associations between pathways and outcomes. Results extend existing frameworks by identifying spiritual, behavioural and socioecological benefits. Limited detailing of environmental qualities warrants further research to associate them with specific health outcomes. REGISTRATION: The protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024496114).</p
Nasopharyngeal microbiota is influenced by agricultural air pollution in individuals with and without COPD
Get PDFRespiratory health in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is influenced by environmental factors such as air pollution, yet the role of the airway microbiota in this relationship remains unclear. We investigated the association between exposure to air pollution from livestock farms and the nasopharyngeal microbiota in individuals with COPD compared to healthy control subjects. The study included nasopharyngeal swabs from 186 currently non-smoking participants in the Netherlands, including 65 individuals with COPD and 121 without from a regional rural cohort. Additionally, 116 individuals from a population-wide cohort were included as national controls. Samples were taken at three time points over 12 weeks. The nasopharyngeal microbiota was studied using 16 S rRNA gene-based sequencing for all baseline samples and a random selection of 6-weeks and 12-weeks samples. Dispersion models were used to determine the average concentrations of livestock-related PM10, endotoxin, and ammonia at the participants' home addresses. Individuals with COPD had a higher absolute abundance of anaerobic bacteria, such as Peptoniphilus, Anaerococcus, Finegoldia magna, and Prevotella. Importantly, residential exposure to ammonia was identified as the most important driver of the microbial community composition, explaining 6.6% of the variation in nasopharyngeal microbiota in individuals with COPD. Higher ammonia concentrations were associated with decreased levels of key commensals and increased abundance of anaerobic bacteria. Furthermore, individuals living in areas with high livestock density exhibited greater microbial diversity compared to the broader national population. The study highlights the influence of residential exposure to livestock-related air pollution, particularly ammonia, on nasopharyngeal microbiota composition in individuals with COPD. Our findings suggest that environmental factors significantly impact microbial communities and underscore the potential role of anaerobic bacteria in COPD pathology. Future research should further investigate the mechanisms by which environmental air pollutants affect microbial communities and explore potential interventions to mitigate their effects on respiratory health.</p
Taming affect:On the construction of objectivity in data annotation practices
Get PDFAffective computing applications promise to decode human emotional expressions and provide objective insights into users’ affective experience, ranging from frustration and boredom to states of clinical relevance such as depression and anxiety. In this paper, I explore the contexts of development of facial expression recognition systems, machine learning systems designed to recognize changes in facial expressive behaviors and produce some form of meaningful knowledge about such expressions. Drawing on 20 interviews with engineers and annotators involved in developing or working with these models, this paper sheds empirical light on the socio-material practices through which practitioners articulate notions of objectivity, truth, and accuracy to make sense of affective data and validate their systems’ predictions. By exploring two common annotation schemes used to label facial expression recognition training datasets, the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and the Valence, Arousal, Dominance (VAD) model, I foreground the situated judgments and negotiation practices required to make sense of affective data. Here, I juxtapose annotators’ account of data work – the non-linear interpretative practices that are necessary to ‘fit’ the data into FACS and VAD coding grids – to engineers’ perceptions and expectations around annotation. Here, I show how practitioners mobilize ideal notions of ‘subjectivity’ and ‘intuition’ to manage the uncertainty and ambiguity of affective data
Targeting Investigation and Treatment in Type 2 Myocardial Infarction
Get PDFBackgroundType 2 myocardial infarction occurs in the absence of atherothrombosis, due to myocardial oxygen supply or demand imbalance, often during another acute illness. It is common and associated with poor clinical outcomes. No randomized controlled trials are available to guide investigation or treatment.ObjectivesThe authors assessed the feasibility of implementing a complex intervention of investigation and treatment for coronary and structural heart disease in patients with type 2 myocardial infarction.MethodsA pilot phase of a prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. Process outcomes included the proportion of eligible patients approached, consented, and randomized. Adherence was defined as the number of recommended investigations and treatments administered at 90 days. Qualitative interviews explored reasons for participation and patient experience.ResultsBetween November 2022 and November 2023, 4,127 patients with increased cardiac troponin concentrations were screened across 3 sites, and 403 patients (10%) met inclusion criteria. One hundred and forty-three patients (35%) were eligible, 119 patients (83%) were approached, and 60 patients (42%, age 70 ± 10 years, 38% women) consented and randomized to the intervention (n = 28) or standard care (n = 32). Follow-up was complete in all participants. Adherence to recommendations was 90.7% (95% CI: 85.3%-96.1%). Patients highlighted variation in communication of the diagnosis and in trial investigation and management recommendations were potential barriers to participation.ConclusionsIt is feasible to recruit and randomize patients with type 2 myocardial infarction to a complex intervention targeting coronary or structural heart disease. A multicenter trial with an optimized intervention is now required to inform practice
Debate:Place-based public service ecosystems and the performance of local public services
Get PDFOver 15–16 February 2025, Toshihiko Ishihara and Stephen Osborne co-ordinated an international research workshop at the Osaka campus of Kwansei Gakuin University, with three invited Italian speakers—Greta Nasi, Maria Cucciniello, and Carmine Bianchi. This short article draws out the key lessons of their presentations, together with the keynote presentation of Stephen Osborne, to explore the import of place-based public service ecosystems (PSEs) for the performance of public services
SCONe:a community-acquired retinal image repository enabling ocular, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease prediction
Get PDFOBJECTIVES: To safeguard Scotland's community-acquired retinal images (colour fundus photographs) in a secure, centrally held repository and support a variety of research including ocular, neurodegenerative and systemic disease prediction.DESIGN: Retinal images captured in optometry practices linked to national, routinely collected, longitudinal healthcare data.SETTING: Community optometry and the Public Health Scotland National Safe Haven.PARTICIPANTS: Adults (mostly aged 60+) who have attended their optometrist since 2006 for an eye examination during which a retinal image was captured.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Successful retrieval of linkable colour fundus photographs from systems in use in practice and delivery to the Safe Haven for linkage and secure storage.RESULTS: Scottish Collaborative Optometry-Ophthalmology Network e-research (SCONe) currently contains over 367 000 retinal images matched to over 36 000 patients. Healthcare data (hospital inpatient and outpatient, general ophthalmic, death and prescribing) records were retrieved for patients with one or more images, providing demographic and healthcare information for 95% of the cohort. The linked data allow the application of condition labels or phenotypes at specific points in time, facilitating research into retinal manifestations of vascular and neural diseases. The cohort is representative of the Scottish 60+ population in terms of sex (54% female), and there is a slight over-representation of people of black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (2% vs 1%) and those living in areas of lower deprivation (30% vs 16% in lowest two categories). Early research work has begun and is focusing on ocular and neurodegenerative disease prediction.CONCLUSIONS: The SCONe retinal image repository has been successfully established. We believe it offers enormous potential to support research into earlier detection of disease.</p
A cross-national examination of the effects of accuracy nudges and content veracity labels on belief in and sharing of misleading news
Get PDFThis study examined whether accuracy nudges and content veracity labels enhance people’s discernment in believing and sharing true versus false news. Participants in the U.K., the U.S., and Hong Kong were shown five true and five false social media posts in random order. Two true posts and two false posts were randomly assigned “True” and “False” labels, respectively. Multilevel regression models indicated that accuracy nudges and veracity labels had no direct effects on the perceived accuracy of posts or willingness to share them, though the interaction of the “False” label and accuracy nudge significantly reduced the perceived accuracy of and intention to share false news across the samples. Post-hoc analyses further uncovered contingent effects based on individual differences, including partisan identity in the U.S. and conspiratorial thinking in the U.K. and Hong Kong. The findings demonstrate the efficacy of combined countermeasures in attenuating the effects of misinformation
Reconciliation of work and personal roles among critical care nurses:Constructivist grounded theory research
Get PDFObjectives: There are numerous and varied theoretical gaps in the study of work–family interaction, which limits the understanding and approach to this phenomenon, especially among vulnerable groups such as critical care nursing professionals. In this regard, the objective of this study was to theorize the work–family interaction process among nurses working in Critical Care Units in Chile. Methods: Constructivist grounded theory was employed to conceptualize the phenomenon of interest from the perspectives of nurses, their families, and administrative staff. Data were collected through observations in two high-complexity hospitals in Chile, one public and one private; document analysis; and 51 in-depth interviews. Data analysis was conducted using constant comparisons and multi-level coding. To ensure rigor, the study followed the 13 criteria proposed by Charmaz and Thornberg for constructivist grounded theory studies and was approved by a Scientific Ethics Committee. Results: The reconciliation of work and personal roles emerged as the core process explaining the interaction between work and personal life among nurses in Critical Care Units. This complex and multidimensional process comprised three stages: resisting the war of roles, hitting rock bottom, and reconciling, through which nurses attempt to achieve balance between work and personal roles. Conclusions: We developed a theory that explains the work–family interaction process. The theory developed highlights the importance of an integrated approach that considers both sources of conflict and reconciliation strategies. Addressing this phenomenon effectively requires interventions at the individual, organizational, and public policy levels
The JWST EXCELS survey: direct estimates of C, N, and O abundances in two relatively metal-rich galaxies at z ≃ 5
Get PDFWe present a spectroscopic analysis of two star-forming galaxies at ≃ 5 observed with JWST/NIRSpec as part of the EXCELS survey. The detection of the Ciii] 1906,09, [O ii] 3726,29, [O iii] 4363,5007, and [N ii] 6584 emission lines enables an investigation of the C/O, N/O, and C/N abundance ratios using the temperature-sensitive method. The galaxies have stellar masses of log(★/M⊙) = 8.09+ 0.24−0.15 and log(★/M⊙) = 8.02+ 0.06−0.08 with metallicities of ≃ 0.2 Z⊙ and ≃ 0.3 Z⊙. These metallicities are somewhat higher than is typical for other ≳ 5 galaxies with similar stellar mass and are comparable to ≃ 0 analogues. Bothgalaxies display evidence for elevated N/O ratios with respect to the typical star-forming galaxies at ≃ 0, with log(N/O) = −1.07+ 0.17 −0.13 and log(N/O) = −0.86+ 0.15−0.11 respectively. In contrast, we find low C abundances, with log(C/O) = −0.82 ± 0.22 and log(C/O) = −1.02 ± 0.22, consistent with the predicted yields of core-collapse supernovae. Following the trend observed in other high-redshift sources, we find that the C/N ratios are lower at fixed O/H compared to the majority of local galaxies. Via a comparison to detailed chemical evolution models, we find that a standard or bottom-heavy IMF can explain the observed abundance ratios where theN-enrichment comes from intermediate mass (≃ 4 − 7 M⊙) stars. Our results demonstrate that robust measurements of CNO abundances with JWST can reveal unique enrichment pathways in galaxies as a function of both metallicity and redshift
Teacher online educational resource search in education system context
Get PDFSchool teachers around the world use online resources in their teaching. The education systems in which teachers work directly impact their freedom to choose, adapt, and use resources in their classes. This, in turn, influences teachers’ information interactions involved in lesson planning and resource preparation, but few studies have investigated this relationship. Based on a semi-structured interview and observation study with 15 school teachers working with the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, a process model is proposed to describe teacher tasks and strategies for finding, using, and sharing educational resources. This study addresses the influence of the education system context and considers implications for design of search systems that support online educational resource search by school teachers.</p
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