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Effectiveness of mobile smoking cessation treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy sampling at outdoor smoking hotspots: A cluster randomized controlled trial
No full textAims: To evaluate the effectiveness of mobile smoking cessation (SC) treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) sampling on recruitment and quitting outcomes. Design: Two-arm cluster RCT (1:1 ratio), single-blinded, at 244 recruitment sessions in Hong Kong outdoor smoking hotspots from October 2018–December 2019. Setting: Participant were recruited by ambassadors and treated at the mobile SC truck. Participants: 834 adult (≥18 years, male 81.3%) daily smokers, Chinese-speaking, non-NRT users in the past month, consented after nurse-led intervention in mobile SC truck were randomized to the experimental (n = 482 male 79.5%) and the control group (n = 352, male 83.8%). Intervention and comparator: The experimental group received a 1-week free NRT sample, an NRT instruction card, and mobile SC treatment including onsite nurse-led brief medication advice (about 15 minutes) and referral to SC clinics. The control group received the same mobile SC treatment. Measurements: Primary outcome was self-reported quit attempts at 1-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included SC service use at 1 month, and biochemically validated abstinence (exhaled carbon monoxide < 4 ppm; or saliva cotinine < 10 ng/ml) at 6-month follow-up. Additionally, a post-hoc cost analysis was conducted. Findings: By intention-to-treat, the two groups showed similar prevalence of quit attempts (44·4% versus 43·5%, risk ratio (RR) = 1·04, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0·79–1·37, P = 0·79). Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed lower SC service use at clinics (32·4% versus 44·9%, RR = 0·72, 95%CI = 0·57–0·91, P = 0·006), but no significant difference in validated abstinence (4·6% versus 2·8%, RR = 1·64, 95%CI = 0·76–3·50, P = 0·21). The experimental recruitment sessions recruited more smokers for onsite medication advice than the control session (mean 6·7 vs 5·0, adjusted incident rate ratio = 1·30, 95%CI = 1·08–1·56, P = 0·005). Conclusions: Mobile smoking cessation treatment with 1-week nicotine replacement therapy sampling did not increase quit attempts or abstinence outcomes among recruited daily smokers in Hong Kong. The intervention increased smokers' uptake of onsite medication advice but reduced subsequent smoking cessation service use at clinics.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Young Adults Rehabilitation experiences and Needs following Stroke (YARNS): A scoping review of the rehabilitation care experiences and outcomes of young adults post-stroke
No full textBackground Stroke is one of the leading disabling conditions in the United Kingdom. While an increasing focus on the rehabilitation care for stroke survivors has been noted, practice guidelines, targets and services tend to be tailored for the elderly population rather than young adults. Objectives This scoping review aimed to map the existing literature on the rehabilitation care experiences and outcomes of young adults post-stroke aged between 18 and 45 years within acute and social care settings. Methods and analysis A scoping review was conducted to identify existing practice and published academic and evidence-based literature related to the topic. Arksey and O’Malley’s framework guided the review and reporting followed the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Electronic databases and grey literature were searched to capture the potentially recent and relevant literature available in English from year 2000–2022. The databases included CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ASSIA, AMED, PEDro, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Grey literature was searched from the following sources: Google Scholar, websites of networks, organisations and charities related to stroke. Hand searches were performed on the reference lists of the included articles and grey literature to find relevant references. Data were extracted on young adults’ experiences of stroke and rehabilitation care and their outcomes and experiences of a particular stroke rehabilitation programme in acute and social care settings. Results Eighty-five articles were included in this review. In most instances, stroke was reported to negatively impact young adults, although positive consequences were also documented. The focus and the outcomes of stroke rehabilitation were predominantly physical especially in the areas of movement, communication and memory. Young adults experienced a lack of age-adapted stroke rehabilitation in acute and social care settings. Conclusion Our results highlight the unmet needs of young adults in their stroke recovery journey. Effective rehabilitation programmes and interventions should be developed to support young adults following stroke and meet their age-specific needs.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Genetic Susceptibility to Type 2 Diabetes, Television Viewing, and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk
No full textBACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). This study examined the interplay between watching television and T2D genetic risk for risk of ASCVD. METHODS: We included 346 916 White British individuals from UK Biobank. A weighted polygenic risk score for T2D was calculated on the basis of 138 genetic variants associated with T2D. Time spent watching television was self-reported and categorized into 2 groups: ≤1 h/d and ≥2 h/d. Over a median 13.8-year follow-up, 21 265 incident ASCVD events were identified. Models using Cox regression with age as the underlying time scale adjusted for potential confounders (demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle factors, and medication use) were fit. RESULTS: Compared with watching television for ≤1 h/d, watching ≥2 h/d was associated with 12% (95% CI, 1.07-1.16) higher hazards of ASCVD, independently of T2D genetic risk. Joint analyses (with low T2D genetic risk and ≤1 h/d of television viewing as reference) indicated that medium and high T2D genetic risk was not associated with higher hazards of ASCVD as long as television viewing was ≤1 h/d. The P values for multiplicative and additive interactions between T2D genetic risk and television viewing were 0.050 and 0.038, respectively. The 10-year absolute risk of ASCVD was lower for high T2D genetic risk combined with ≤1 h/d of television viewing (2.13%) than for low T2D genetic risk combined with ≥2 h/d of television viewing (2.46%). CONCLUSIONS: Future clinical trials of lifestyle-modification interventions targeting specific types of screen-based sedentary activities could be implemented to individuals at high genetic risk of T2D for primary prevention of ASCVD
Synthetic Non-Abelian Electric Fields and Spin-Orbit Coupling in Photonic Synthetic Dimensions
No full textWe theoretically propose a scheme to synthesize photonic non-Abelian electric field and spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in the synthetic frequency dimension based on a polarization-multiplexed time-modulated ring resonator. Inside the ring resonator, the cascade of polarization-dependent phase modulation, polarization rotation, and phase retardation enables a photonic realization of minimal SOC with Peierls substitution composed of equal Rashba and Dresselhaus coupling. The synthetic bands and associated spin textures can be effectively probed by the continuous-wave polarization- and time-resolved band structure measurements. Meanwhile, the pulse dynamics in the frequency dimension can be manipulated by both synthetic Abelian and non-Abelian electric fields, leading to Bloch oscillation, Zitterbewegung, and their interplay dynamics. Our proposed setup can be realized with free-space optics, fibers, and integrated photonics, and provides pseudospin control knobs for large-scale synthetic lattices based on frequency combs
Fine-grained analysis of transport-demographic relationships: County-level responses to multimodal connectivity across metropolitan and peripheral China
Get PDFDespite extensive research on transport-induced demographic change, few studies have systematically investigated how different transport modes shape population distribution across diverse geographical contexts at fine spatial scales. This study explores the relationship between multimodal transport networks and population density using 20 years of county-level panel data, focusing on differential impacts in metropolitan and peripheral counties across China. Employing high-dimensional fixed effects models and centrality measures derived from aviation, high-speed rail and conventional rail networks, our results show that higher degree centrality (i.e., more direct connections) is positively associated with population concentration (+0.018%), while higher inverse closeness centrality (i.e., greater average shortest distance to all other nodes) is negatively associated (−0.005%). These effects are not instantaneous but emerge with significant five-year lags. Metropolitan counties experience approximately 4% greater population gains from improved connectivity than peripheral regions. While connectivity effects are observed across all transport modes, high-speed rail exhibits relatively consistent and positive associations with population growth over longer time lags, although its effects in metropolitan areas are generally weaker than those of aviation and conventional rail. Complementing the regression results, LightGBM-based SHAP analysis reveals substantial spatial heterogeneity: even within the same classification (metropolitan or peripheral), counties with advantageous network positions—such as regional hubs—exhibit markedly stronger demographic responses. The findings offer valuable guidance for urban planning and transport policy, emphasising the need for targeted, mode-sensitive investment strategies that account for regional disparities in transport access and development potential.published_or_final_versio
High-Efficiency, Long-Lifetime and Color-Tunable Hybrid WOLEDs Using a Platinum Complex with Voltage-Dependent Monomer and Aggregate Emission
Get PDFColor-tunable white organic light-emitting diodes (CT-WOLEDs) have attracted widespread attention given their large color variation to meet the different daily scenarios from the perspective of circadian rhythm. However, most reported CT-WOLEDs, especially the tri-color devices, exhibit poor performances and sophisticated structures. Here, a simple structure tri-color CT-WOLED is demonstrated that simultaneously exhibits high efficiency, ultralong operation lifetime, and wide color-tunable range for dynamic sunlight emulation. The design is based on a newly developed platinum complex that can emit light efficiently in both monomer and aggregation states, providing voltage-dependent green-to-red phosphorescence emission, not only ensuring tunable colors in WOLEDs but also simplifying the device structure. Combining with a blue delayed fluorescence material, this hybrid device exhibits a wide range of tunable colors with Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage 1931 (CIE) coordinates and correlated color emperature (CCT) shifts from (0.502, 0.474) and 2628 K at 2.6 V to (0.211, 0.334) and 14860 K at 8 V, achieving good visual alignment with sunlight color throughout the day. This same device also shows high external quantum efficiencies from 28.8% at maximum to 26.2% at 5000 cd m−2. Furthermore, an impressively long time of 21,144 h is achieved to decay to 90% of the initial luminance at 100 cd m−2, being the longest among recorded CT-WOLEDs.published_or_final_versio
Burden and attributable risk factors of non-communicable diseases and subtypes in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021
No full textBackground: Understanding based on up-to-date data on the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is limited, especially regarding how subtypes contribute to the overall NCD burden and the attributable risk factors across locations and subtypes. We aimed to report the global, regional, and national burden of NCDs, subtypes, and attributable risk factors in 2021, and trends from 1990 to 2021 by age, sex, and socio-demographic index (SDI).Materials and methods: We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to estimate the prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for NCDs and subtypes, along with attributable risk factors. Estimates were presented with 95% uncertainty intervals (UI). Relationships between NCD DALYs and SDI across regions and countries were estimated using smoothing splines models.Results: In 2021, NCDs accounted for 7.3 trillion global cases, 43.8 million deaths, and 1.73 billion DALYs. Global age-standardized rates showed NCD prevalence at 91 034.0, deaths at 529.7, and DALYs at 20 783.0 per 100 000 population, with changes of −0.1%, −27.9%, and −19.4% from 1990, respectively. Subtypes with the highest age-standardized DALYs were cardiovascular disease (5056), neoplasms (2954), and other NCDs (1913 per 100 000 population), with diabetes and kidney diseases increasing by 25.6% since 1990. Regionally, Oceania had the highest age-standardized DALYs (28 782.0) in 2021, while Southern Sub-Saharan Africa saw the largest increase (+8.0%) since 1990. Nationally, Nauru reported the highest age-standardized DALYs (42 754.3), with Lesotho experiencing the largest increase since 1990 (+38.4%). Cardiovascular diseases had the highest age-standardized DALYs among subtypes across 16 of 21 regions and 159 of 204 countries. Key risk factors globally were high systolic blood pressure (contributing to 12.8% of age-standardized DALYs), dietary risks (10.0%), and tobacco usage (9.9%), with the most significant increase in high body-mass index (+57.8%). High systolic blood pressure was the biggest attributable risk factor for NCDs in 9 regions and 101 countries. Age-standardized data reveal higher NCD prevalence in women and greater mortality and DALYs in men, with DALYs spiking post-45 for both sexes. Men have higher DALYs attributed to most risk factors, excluding those from unsafe sex, intimate partner violence, low physical activity, and high body-mass index. Age-standardized DALYs of NCDs generally decline with the SDI spectrum. Dominant NCD risk factors follow gender-age and SDI-based trajectories.Conclusion: Despite declining age-standardized prevalence, death rates, and DALYs for NCDs, they remain a major health issue. Emphasis on managing cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, kidney diseases, and mental disorders is essential. The burden of NCDs is more severe in low-SDI countries and among males. Prevention efforts should prioritize blood pressure control, dietary improvements, and tobacco reduction, tailoring interventions according to gender-age-based and SDI-development-based trajectories of dominant risk factors.</p
Between binary- and mono-ontologies: The rewilding practice of Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Wetland Park
No full textThis article engages with the scholarships on rewilding, the Anthropocene, and urban nature to advance a case study of urban rewilding in Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Wetland Park (OCT Park), the only wetland park located in a megacity centre in China. We argue that the two philosophical underpinnings of rewilding, i.e., the ideal of a pristine baseline and human non-intervention, must be rethought in urban contexts. For one thing, Anthropocenic critiques of the Edenic imagination and the socio-nature dichotomy urge us to envision human-nature interactions as co-constituted and open-ended. For another, urban nature scattered and embedded in complex socio-natural negotiations provides different conditions for rewilding from remote natural reserves. To address these enquiries, we highlight three scenarios in OCT Park: (1) restoration and protection of the wetland; (2) establishment of Nature School and nature education; and (3) disciplining of tourists and the open-ended surprises. This paper reveals OCT Park's future-focused approach to ecological restoration, its open attitude toward human participation, and the outcomes of human-nature interaction, which collectively constitute a potentially worthwhile model for rewilding practices in urban settings. In doing so, this article adds new knowledge to the rewilding framework by drawing the ontological positions advocated by the Anthropocene literature and an emphasis on urban contexts. Specifically, the paper reveals that human-nature relationships in urban rewilding practices manifest as dynamic negotiations, oscillating between the binary-ontology, which divides humans and non-humans into separate realms, and mono-ontology, which, in contrast, emphasises blurred boundaries and ontological positions.</p
Measuring global migration flows using online data
Get PDFExisting estimates of human migration are limited in their scope, reliability, and timeliness, prompting the United Nations and the Global Compact on Migration to call for improved data collection. Using privacy protected records from three billion Facebook users, we estimate country-to-country migration flows at monthly granularity for 181 countries, accounting for selection into Facebook usage. Our estimates closely match high-quality measures of migration where available but can be produced nearly worldwide and with less delay than alternative methods. We estimate that 39.1 million people migrated internationally in 2022 (0.63% of the population of the countries in our sample). Migration flows significantly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing by 64% before rebounding in 2022 to a pace 24% above the precrisis rate. We also find that migration from Ukraine increased tenfold in the wake of the Russian invasion. To support research and policy interventions, we release these estimates publicly through the Humanitarian Data Exchange.published_or_final_versio
Exploring the ecological relationship between temperature and prosocial behaviour: A geographical and temporal analysis
No full textPrevious research on the link between temperature and prosociality has produced mixed findings. A recent meta-analysis focusing on laboratory-based research concluded that the effect was null, a conclusion that was subject to low ecological validity. This paper complements the discussion by investigating the link between ambient temperature and three indicators of real-life prosociality in 164 regions over 14 years. The between-regional comparison probes the relationship over a wide range of thermal conditions, whereas the within-regional temporal comparison draws this literature to the real-life problem of global warming. Bayesian analysis indicates that temperature is linked to helping strangers, but not volunteerism or charity donation. Hotter regions have more helping respondents than colder regions, and as a region warms, it also records more helping respondents. The positive link between temperature and helping is in line with social thermoregulation theory, but it is also subject to alternative explanations from a cultural perspective and sociological perspective. We conclude that it is unrealistic to expect temperature to have the same effect on all prosocial acts without considering contextual factors and the underlying mechanisms. Our findings call for a nuanced view concerning the effect of temperature on prosociality, which awaits verification by rigorous research designs.</p